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Slightly unbiased review from an old closed-beta-tester.
svperstar
Member Posts: 19
Here's a small attempt at an unbiased review. Having been in closed (tech/general) beta since January 2007, I feel that I am somewhat qualified to write this.
The game starts you up on a beach, stranded in some shipwreck. The first thing you notice is how beautiful the game is. Having noticed the beauty, you immediately notice your FPS, which is almost always too low, no matter what setup you have.
Moving on. As you try to move your character you notice how "choppy" everything feels (not fps-related!). Being used to the smoothness of the WoW-world, you immediately become frustrated at how badly things like the character animations are made. Speaking of animations, they are obviously made by different persons, with completely different styles of design. The swimming animation (added just half a month ago) is beautiful and smooth, while the animations for getting out of the water, are horrid.
As you move forward a bit, you begin tinkering with the UI, which has been drasticly re-designed and revamped since the first betas. The UI now feels quite solid and looks really nice, however it is still slightly lacking in customization options. This will probably be adressed (as in WoW) by the players themselves writing mods.
Progressing further you early on notice how linear the game feels (especially the first 20 levels). It is almost like playing a sidescroller on an old NES system. You can only go where the developers want you to go, and getting there involves doing the same silly repetitive quests, over and over (just as in every other mmorpg!). There is however one big difference in the questing part of this game.
Destiny quests. These quests are quite intriguing and often very different from regular mmorpg-quests, they really immerse you in the world of Conan. Sadly however a lot of these quests are not quite completed yet, and still suffer from serious bugs (which have gone ignored by the developers for years now (!)).
The combat system itself claims to be revolutionary. In my opinion it is quite... interesting, for the first hour or so, after that it becomes quite annoying. There's something about being able to autoattack and autorun that, in the long run, appeals to me personally. I'm sure a lot of people feel differently about this.
About the PVP I can only say that it's pretty good, except that its far from seamless. The "hundreds of people involved in seiges" that we were promised, got squashed quite early on in the development process. The largest PVP battles possible right now are 48v48, which is a lot, but not "hundreds". The guild PVP also feels a bit too restricted. Here's an example:
First the guilds need to choose the players from each team that they wish to participate. Then they have to meet up at the defending guilds battlekeep. Once the PVP has started, noone, except the people previously submitted, can enter the battlearea (The frequently used words "Seamless PVP" and "Realtime" don't quite fit the finished product).
The last big turnoff off this game has to be the constant instancing. For example, during the early betas, the first 20 minutes of the game (following the storyline) required you to zone over 10 times. This has now been slightly improved. However the trip from the starting-beach to the city of tortage, still takes you through 4 zones. This is something that has been written a lot about on the betaforums, with little or no interest shown by the developers, claiming the zoning is something they cannot address without changing the game engine itself. Lately though, after massive petitioning and flaming, I feel Funcom has started to listen to us, and they have tried improve the situation.
To conclude this then.
Pros:
- The game is very beautiful.
- Destiny quests are fun.
- Large variety of classes.
- Lots of early level content.
- It's not WoW!
Cons:
- While the game is beautiful, it will always run surprisingly slow.
- One word: Instances.
- Badly animated characters.
- A general "low budget" feel to the game. I cannot explain this one, it might be how Funcom place rocks & bushes on paths that you aren't supposed to cross. Which you eventually end up trying to cross anyway, just to see whats on the other side. This then leads to one getting stuck and having to call a GM to get loose.
- Lack of endgame content (this has supposedly been addressed somewhat lately).
- Grouping issues. I could write a whole essay on just the grouping bugs in this game, but lets just say that with the instancing and a lack of means to locate your partymembers, the whole groupingsystem is flawed.
- Crafting system. This has a classical afterthought feel to it.
All these cons (and a lot more) have led me to not recommend anyone to buy AoC. I have really TRIED to like this game, but I can't even force myself to betatest it. I've felt guilty for over a year because I've had closed beta access to such an anticipated game, and still lacking the will to even start it up.
Thank god its releasetime!
/J.
Comments
Plenty of people have said the game runs smoothly for them with good FPS. (And not people with bionic computers, either)
Don't say 'the game will always run surprisingly slow" Because your experiences with lag shouldn't be and can't be applied to everyone else.
That right there turned me off to your review. Because it makes you sound like one of those people who probably either has a bad computer/internet connection or doesn't know what they're doing and experiences lots of problems, then includes said problems in their review as though it was the fault of the game/designers.
I'm not saying you are that sort of person but still. -shrug-
I'm not saying there aren't people who are willing to accept their framerates. I'm saying the framerates are in general surprisingly low.
In honesty we weren't allowed to test the game on other computers than the ones we specified when applying for the beta. I did however try the game on a variety of different systems, and AoC somehow always manages to disappoint in the framerate apartment.
/J.
I agree with this entirely and fair assesment
I'm not saying there aren't people who are willing to accept their framerates. I'm saying the framerates are in general surprisingly low.
In honesty we weren't allowed to test the game on other computers than the ones we specified when applying for the beta. I did however try the game on a variety of different systems, and AoC somehow always manages to disappoint in the framerate apartment.
/J.
Errr, what? Did FC come up to your house and check which computer you were running on?That's some serious lie right there. I upgraded and changed my computer from the time I applied to Beta till the point where I was actually in and nowhere did FunCom -EVER- say we are required to play the game ONLY on the computer we specified.
And it's not about accepting Framerates. You are apparently totally ignoring the people who are reporting steady 40FPS up to steady 75 and more.
So much for unbiased.
Which Final Fantasy Character Are You?
Final Fantasy 7
A good reviewer would never say 'I recommend you don't buy the game.' That should be left to the reader to decide. For example maybe some people don't mind instances. I also dissagree with parts of your review from my experience in the game. I would suggest anyone who is interested in the game read a few reviews and decide for yourself if its worth getting rather then from the advice from an amaturish review.
The only difference is that alot of people with sub $1000 computers have said they get anywhere from 30-60 FPS. Which surprises me. That's about the only thing, thanks for the review.
--------------------------------------
A human and an Elf get captured by Skaven. The rat-men are getting ready to shoot the first hostage with Dwarf-made guns when he yells, "Earthquake!" The naturally nervous Skaven run and hide from the imaginary threat. He escapes. The Skaven regroup and bring out the Elf. Being very smart, the Elf has figured out what to do. When the Skaven get ready to shoot, the Elf, in order to scare them, yells, "Fire!"
Order of the White Border.
Then, my friend, you have not read the rules that applied to that particular beta. If I recall correctly, that rule was in place up until ~3 weeks ago, when they lifted the early-game-nda.
I was attempting to be unbiased. I think however it seems like I failed.
/J.
I completly agree with you. Anyone interested in this game should read a lot more reviews than just mine. The large fanbase that Funcom has, is proof that the game most certainly appeals to a lot of people. I'm just not one of them.
/J.
So you're basing all of your negativity without even playing the game? Hard to put a lot of stock in anything that you say :
How does the non-auto attack combat system get old quickly without playing it for even 5 minutes?
Op, nice review. I agree with most of your points, at least those I've seen so far.
My biggest gripe with AoC so far, and it's likely the kind of thing that is going to turn me away rather rapidly, is that "mechanically" it's very poorly assembled.
First, the command system (/this /that) is mediocre at best. Where's the /who for example? Also, why can't I type / anywhere and have it start the command? Why do I have to do gyrations like hitting enter or clicking the chat window??
How about mouse buttons. My god, how out of touch are these devs that they don't know that people use 5 button mice and will expect to be able to bind those keys? Absurd.
Movement and combat... this one just drives me batty. While I "appreciate" that my character wants to move itself to the mob when I attack... I'm sorry but I (capital) want to control my character, not some artificial mechanic that besides beign annoying is also goign to get people killed as it moves you around and possibly into mob agro range.
The UI. Slick. Looks great. Map is wonderful. But where is the customizable UI that every other decent game out there has? How about moving screen elements?
Quest cutscenes. Please lose this. I want to see my environment, not the face of some quest NPC.
Jumping. /boggle. What physical deformity causes characters to jump like they do? Really. Fix this please.
And finally, Funcom tech support, or lack thereof. If they are simply out to lunch for a few days fine. But the lack of a support number, and everyone implying that there IS no live support, has me astounded. We pay, you support, that's how it works.
I might have come across a bit wrong. I did force myself to play the game, a lot. But in the end I still felt I hadn't played it half as much as I would have wanted to. Wonder if that makes any sense..
/J.
actually it makes lots of sense, hopefully when it comes out in 2 days it will be awsome. Thanks for the review
I laughed so hard
You make several valid points, and I agree, the thing you refer to as "mechanical assembly" is what I called "low budget feel". It kinda feels like most desktop-linux-distros out there - They look great, but are horridly put together.
Lets hope I didn't start an OS war here
/J.
Sorry but, animation is the last thing you can complain on this game imho.I never saw sucn nice moves in and out combat since SWG.The walk is ok , combat animation most of it is really nice made, not to mention the fatalities, movemnts looks and feel real.My 2c.
OP are you basing your review off Beta or what we have been playing the last 24hrs?
Yes some issues remain but not to the degree you write up reports.
To other readers - this has been the nail in WoW's coffin for me. Emphasis on 'me'.
random troll #46, next pls
his review is NO LESS credible than someone giving a positive review after 24 hours.
Thus, he can give impressions, subjective and personal opinions, but not an accurate review. However, his points come acroess as the "given" truth, that -his- opinions and -his- judgement should be valid for anyone reading this.
They are not. Those are his experiences and, valid as they no doubt are, they cannot give an accurate view of the game. Which is why I for one did not title my Post "Review" but "Impressions". What difference a simple word can make, no?
Which Final Fantasy Character Are You?
Final Fantasy 7
A few things...
Stevon: You do know there are settings that you can change for auto targeting right? I have never seen my character automatically move to targets etc apart from keeping direction which in my opinion is done brilliantly. In any other MMO I have played, by now I would have had a 'you are not facing your target' error, but I never got any of these in AoC.
Regarding the animations, this is one big issue I normally pick on with games, however I think the animations in AoC are pretty damn good.
When you are sprinting and do a jump, the jumping animation is great. When you are on the spot and jumping the animation is not so great - however... the issue here is, does anyone even know what it looks like to jump on the spot? Have you ever seen anyone jump on the spot? It just isn't something people do. If you don't like the animation you probably shouldn't jump on the spot because it's not something you would normally be doing anyway.
Running animations are mostly pretty good, but combat animations are great. The combat directions flow in quite nicely, I don't see how anyone could complain about this.
Anyhow agree with only one or two things the OP said, it really seems like a review from someone who only played early closed beta, especially with the comments regarding performance.
Thus, he can give impressions, subjective and personal opinions, but not an accurate review. However, his points come acroess as the "given" truth, that -his- opinions and -his- judgement should be valid for anyone reading this.
They are not. Those are his experiences and, valid as they no doubt are, they cannot give an accurate view of the game. Which is why I for one did not title my Post "Review" but "Impressions". What difference a simple word can make, no?
all reviews are subjective and personal since they are given by a human, which is not a machine and not devoid of emotional interaction. Look up Review in the dictionary. You will see the words "criticism" "critic" and "opinion" being thrown out alot there
When did you write this? So far in EA, my game plays beautifully and very smooth on the highest graphics settings. Even when I went to Tortage, it was still smooth as silk. I am very impressed with this game so far. I don't have a super computer either. I run a 8800GT card.
Amazing CGI toons: http://www.damapro.com/ & http://www.renderosity.com/
I did write this today. However my impressions are most certainly tainted by earlier experiences. I'm happy to hear your copy works flawlessly. Funcom do claim increased performance with the last few patches. Haven't been able to play the game since last week.
I must note that the FPS issue is not the one that put me off this game. It's just something that people have been complaining about since day one, and something I thought deserved mentioning.
/J.
Lol this board moves so fast...anyways I edited my first post to state during EA of course.
Amazing CGI toons: http://www.damapro.com/ & http://www.renderosity.com/
I'm a beta tester as well. My FPS is very good, and I have alot of smoothness overall at high settings.
I disagree with the original post about animations. I believe they are excellent. The movements and details of the characters are terrific. Just run and jump and watch the entire body react, its amazing.
Combat gets better and better. As you level, options open up. You also have a skill tree. You start with 3 skills that you can put points in, when you lvl 25 you have around 12, etc.
The instancing is very well done and not too excessive. Its there to keep the lag down, and improve FPS in instanced zones.
The UI is good. but the chat box leaves alot to be desired. I want to move it around but cant, and I just dont like the look. Other than that I dont have complaints.
Graphics. just Awe inspiring. Best water, fog, smoke graphics in any game ever. The models are excellent. The environments look as good as Vanguard, in some cases better.
Sound. Best sound in any MMO ever. The quality of sound is top notch. The music has a "feel" about it, like your in medieval times. The sound effects are real sounding. I was running along side a hill, and was just listening to a player fight a monstor over the hill. I could not see him, but it sounded wicked. It was like "ruhhh! ahhh, squish....ching chank......" then the birds twirping in the background. It really immersed me.
I stoped reading when he said the game had abnormally low framerates.
If 70-90fps average outside cities, and 50fps average inside cities is abnormally low, then your expectations are to damn high.