Malickie - it works in Left4dead - ggroup of 4 vs endless zombies.
Yeah I guess you're right about that, so maybe small groups would work. It works in L4d because you're still overwhelmed. It gives you a feeling of being isolated and cut off. I just don't see running around with 8-10 people, giving such a feeling. I may be wrong though of course, that's just my preliminary opinion.
For every minute you are angry , you lose 60 seconds of happiness."-Emerson
I really want this game to kick ass. I am hesitant since it is FunCom, but hopefully they have learned something since messing up Age of Conan. It has all the trapping for a really fun game. I like the classless system. Just hope they deliever this time or I guess will have to wait for World of Darkness for a true gothic/horror game.
Hmmm. Something about the way he was describing the combat, and the 7 power tray, makes me think of Champions. I've been looking forward to this game, but now I am becoming more skeptical. Lately MMOs are being dumbed down to arcade game levels and I am worried this is just another flashy shoot-em up with little depth and a suffocating story that is completely irrelevant to, and uneffected by, player's interaction.
"........people of a Stephen King-esque town appropriately names Kingsmouth"
Actually the town is Lovecraftian. Kingsport & Innsmouth, two towns created by HP Lovecraft(and set in New England area). Steven King has written several stories with a very Lovecraftian feel & in fact several that were based on the Cthulhu mythos, created by HP Lovecraft.
The web site for Kingsmouth has several references to the Cthulhu mythos as well.
Yeah I know that FunCom hasn't released their both MMO*s in flawless shape..
But still those games they have relased are BOTH in the area of the best MMO's there is today...
Funcom knows what they are doing, even thou they have had a few mismanagment issues..
If I'm spending 40-50 dollars on this one by pre-ordering this game I KNOW i will get a great product "eventually"..But to be on the safeside as a player no one should actually pre-order any MMO, because I can hardly count ONE that has been without some sort of issues in the launch, be it over hyped, bugged, mismanaged or any other problem that can arise during a release of a new MMO..All games get's overhyped by it's creators..
For crying out loud people are pre-ordering Mortal online even, I would not do that , but I can still understand why they are doing it..They believe in the outcome "eventually" and It's only 50 dollars, that is a small price to check in on something you believe in..
"........people of a Stephen King-esque town appropriately names Kingsmouth"
Actually the town is Lovecraftian. Kingsport & Innsmouth, two towns created by HP Lovecraft(and set in New England area).
I thought that too, but in the Gamereactor interview the Funcom guy mentioned Stephen King and Innsmouth as base for the name. Not that it matters much.
Here's a list of all the sites that revealed their experiences today that they've gathered on the GDC: see here
About the combat, and the fact that you can gather heaps of different skills but can only have 7 active skills on and 7 passive skills, it reminds me of Guild Wars. I don't think it's a dumbing down, I still consider the tactical PvP combat of GW one of the best for tis sort of games. Both GW and this TSW skillset reminds me of Magic the Gathering, where you had to build your deck from a large range of available cards.
There were other things that looked interesting, like the States in combat they mentioned, which looks like team combos. Here's some of the quotes of the other articles that revealed stuff:
Lead designer, Martin Bruusgaard referenced the comparison to a collectible card game when talking about this system of arranging powers. You can collect them throughout the game, and even well into the endgame. The active powers act in direct relation to combat, while the passive powers work to supplement those active powers. One example we were given was an active power with a knockback of three meters. When this is combined with a passive power that adds two more meters to any knockback, you have a five-meter knockback.
A caster-type character dealt a fire attack that set a group of zombies alight, while the healer-type character used an ability that dealt damage over time on one of those same zombies. If this damage-over-time ability kills an enemy that is on fire, it causes that enemy to explode for large damage. In this way, the two characters were able to maximize their effectiveness, but there's nothing stopping one character from having both the damage-over-time ability and the fire ability.
Quests aren't the only means of storytelling in The Secret World. Funcom are employing a rather interesting technique wherein players enter "mini dungeons", which are basically instanced dungeons designed for the solo player. These dungeons allow the designers to make intricate scripted events that push the story forward for the player, and allow for scripted battles that would become clumsy or overly easy in a group.
The world will be persistent, but there will also be instances in dungeons and mini dungeons. Many of the regular storyline quests will be completely solo-able, while the instances are more for your 4-man party. While the title as a whole isn't meant to be a psychologically frightening game, there are moments that are meant to scare.
"When you are out in the open world with hundreds of people it can't be psychologically scary," Bruusgaard said. "When you go into dungeons and four player instances we have a more scripted experience. We use sound and scripting to create a more frightening experience.
In The Secret World each location has what the game developers call its own "monster ecology" based on the mythology and lore of the area. It is a world, the developers tell me, heavily inspired by Edgar Allan Poe, Stephen King and H.P Lovecraft. "Our game is a very fertile playground for telling a story. It's a vast open playground for going around and being able to pick up these little jigsaw pieces and put them together on this giant canvas and try to figure out what this story is really about."
And yeah, a good dose of skepticism is always good, but there can also be a thing like overskepticism or cynicism. I don't expect TSW to make 'all my dreams come true' , but I'll give Funcom the benefit of the doubt that they - or the new management - have learnt from the mistakes of the AoC launch. Nothing can be really said about it right now, we'll see in the months before launch. Besides, AoC these days isn't bad at all. It hasn't fulfilled all the promises that it had before launch, but as a MMO it is a good, solid one.
The ease with which predictions are made on these forums: Fratman: "I'm saying Spring 2012 at the earliest [for TOR release]. Anyone still clinging to 2011 is deluding themself at this point."
I thought the game was about conflict between the Illuminati, Dragon, and Templars. Now I'm hearing that the game is about zombie bashing, where the conflict between the 3 factions is really only over a little area called Hollowed Earth? I'm not sure what to think about this, but I'm disappointed.
The combat and skills system sounds alright. The fast-paced combat sounds like it could be alright, but also sounds like it could be too much for gamers who are getting older if you know what I mean. The skill system sounds like Guild Wars skill system. That was interesting, but it'll take a lot of testing to flesh it out really well.
The way they talk about everyone starting out in the same town, is the opposite of what I've been lead to believe up until now. I've always thought that the 3 factions would all be starting off in their own areas. Illuminati in North America, Templars in Europe, and Dragon in Asia. Now it sounds like we'll all start in the same area, and then go from one location to the next as the story progresses. Maybe it's more like AoC, where you all share the same starting area, and then break off into 3 different areas.
I have hopes for this game. It's already turning out differently than they originally lead on to believe, so I'll have to do the only thing I can do at this point...wait and see.
I think the Hollow Earth, the underground PvP zone, is more like the Abyss in Aion, a huge zone where the 3 factions (the Abyss was like a a1/4 of the whole territory in Aion) are in a constant war over resources and strongholds. At least, that's the impression I got from earlier interviews and articles.
And @Iceice, *shrug* sure, that's everyone's right, I guess. To each their own choice and MMO
The ease with which predictions are made on these forums: Fratman: "I'm saying Spring 2012 at the earliest [for TOR release]. Anyone still clinging to 2011 is deluding themself at this point."
Funcom does not have the best reputation of game deliverance. But anyway, we'll see.
On the face of it, this is probably a type of mmorpg in which my character is leashed to a pre-scripted story that I am nothing more than a pawn within, along for the ride. Single-player, heavily scripted and static story in a pve world of tokens that i exchange for items.
Pretty art, character models, animations and strong engine, but what about the player-centric ecosystem game-play?
I love how you put that, and its my main skepticism behind games like AoC tutorial and the feeling I get from the upcoming SWTOR. They can't really put lasting choices into a pve story in an MMO, I mean how much can a single person change in an online game?
Of course, I have nothing against quests and the like, those 'breaks' between grinding are vital in satisfying my thirst for rewards.
Thanks. And dare I say it; heavily instanced, possibly. Funcom should ring-up Cryptic to see how that's working out for them. It certainly isnt a draw of AoC, but Funcom is probably at the extent of which instancing should be used in that game anyway.
So, again. This is all pretty, blah, blah, blah, but as someone else mentioned, one of my draws was about a game that seemed to have a hook about taking part in and serving up conflict between the Illuminati, Dragon, and Templars; player-driven. A game that doesn't skimp on mmorpg breadth and depth staples for a well-balanced pvevp ecosystem. That opposed to a pve-centric Left 4 Dead.
Striving for Silver Stars since Gold is so effeminate.
I'm so happy that there are finally some new and interesting games on the horizon.
SWTOR, Guild Wars 2, and Secret World all are shaping up to be freakin awesome games. I'm so happy we are getting some cool goodies in the MMO market FINALLY.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Guys! I'm hopelessly lost in a mountain of mole hills! Them damn moles!
I was actually starting to get concerned about the game. Just that, well its been a long time since its been announced and they havnt said much at all about the game.
however, they have been having fun with this. Giving the community these little puzzles every now and then in hopes to learn more about the game.
I still have a token from "passing the gauntlet" back in April of 2009 and I have no clue as to what its for..
This game could actually be quite interesting . Its so different from the others . I really hope it does well and isn't a repeat of AoC . Good luck to it .
Let's be honest here, more than a few of us are waiting to really see if Funcom has learned any lessons about launching games because let's face it, the last two launches they had crippled two games that most with experience would agree having been handled better at launch would hold a much higher regard in the community. I still don't trust FC enough to try anything they make at launch but I hope for those willing to go down that road again luck and FC as well.
but yeah, to call this game Fantastic is like calling Twilight the Godfather of vampire movies....
Yeah I know that FunCom hasn't released their both MMO*s in flawless shape..
But still those games they have relased are BOTH in the area of the best MMO's there is today...
Funcom knows what they are doing, even thou they have had a few mismanagment issues..
If I'm spending 40-50 dollars on this one by pre-ordering this game I KNOW i will get a great product "eventually"..But to be on the safeside as a player no one should actually pre-order any MMO, because I can hardly count ONE that has been without some sort of issues in the launch, be it over hyped, bugged, mismanaged or any other problem that can arise during a release of a new MMO..All games get's overhyped by it's creators..
For crying out loud people are pre-ordering Mortal online even, I would not do that , but I can still understand why they are doing it..They believe in the outcome "eventually" and It's only 50 dollars, that is a small price to check in on something you believe in..
I was saying don't pre-order based on what happens in the industry at large not just Funcom. Today a pre-order seems to me to be paying for the privelege of a final beta test. I will let others pay for that and when it is bug free I will buy it and play it.
Let's be honest here, more than a few of us are waiting to really see if Funcom has learned any lessons about launching games because let's face it, the last two launches they had crippled two games that most with experience would agree having been handled better at launch would hold a much higher regard in the community. I still don't trust FC enough to try anything they make at launch but I hope for those willing to go down that road again luck and FC as well.
Comments like this, and many others in this thread, should be a real cautionary tale for MMO developers. AoC has come along in leaps and bounds since it's release but because Funcom stuffed the release people will never give the game another chance and it tarnishes their reputation on upcoming, unrelated products.
I know how people can feel this way. I feel the same way about Mythic. I couldn't care less if Mythic announced they were making a steampunk sandbox MMO - I would still not give that company one more cent of my money.
I am eagerly awaiting The Secret World - I honestly can't see much else on the MMO horizon that interests me much at all. I just hope they can do the idea justice and provide us with a launch that contains everything they promised. I know it won't be all that smooth, as launches never are and I can quite happily put up with some glitches and crashes but promised content and features MUST be present.
I'm pulling for Funcom to do much better this time around with Ragnar Tournquist at the helm. I'm going to be keeping my expectations at a low until release.
Exactly my perspective, Saint.
I'm a big fan of Ragnar Tornquist (Longest Journey and Dreamfall both being excellent games, among my all-time favs... and I enjoy his story work for AO as well), so given the setting - and given it's something he started thinking about back in, what.. the late 90s I think? - I expect great things in terms of setting, characters and story.
Now... as far as how it all wraps up as a *game*... Well we'll see how that pans out. I love the setting, though, to be sure.
The whole "secret world" concept - of the idea that there are these creatures, and societies and goings-on in general all around us that we're blind to... has always intrigued me. Stuff like the Montauk Project and such is fascinating to me - even if only as really involved science fiction.
So... yeah... if nothing else, it'll be a feast for my imagination in particular.
"If you just step away for a sec you will clearly see all the pot holes in the road, and the cash shop selling asphalt..." - Mimzel on F2P/Cash Shops
"Finally, on top of the game's three player factions (Illuminati, Templars and Dragon), there will also be a number of NPC factions, which promises to make unravelling the game's story that much more interesting"
This part sounds win.
After experiencing the severe limitations to games where there are only TWO factions (ala Warhammer), it will be refreshing to have a third element that will be an ally at times and a foe at other times. Let the fair weather players flip-flop all they want but with three sides, when one gets too strong the other two WILL gang up on it.
How anyone can get excited about anything put out by failcom is beyond me. You have to be a glutton for punishment.
This game will be just another pay for alpha testing it. When will people learn. You have to wait a least a year on any of their products for it to be a half decent game.
How anyone can get excited about anything put out by failcom is beyond me. You have to be a glutton for punishment.
This game will be just another pay for alpha testing it. When will people learn. You have to wait a least a year on any of their products for it to be a half decent game.
I never played AoC or AO, but I cannot look down on the company that made The Longest Journey. Im sorry but I just wont.
=P
PS - the new reply box on mmorpg.com is horrible. It forces me to reload the page multiple times.
If you stand VERY still, and close your eyes, after a minute you can actually FEEL the universe revolving around PvP.
I get the feeling that Funcom isn't a monolithic company as far as games. It's like each game has it's own studio in Funcom, and those are the people who make or break the game. I'm putting my trust in Ragnar & co, as they were the people who produced The Longest Journey - a game I now wish I'd played back when it first came out.
They also seem like people who understand what is engaging about games, and that counts for a huge amount with me. I tried AOC and found it lacking bigtime, esp. in the feel of the very starting gameplay. I walked off the beach to head to town and immediately saw the worst thing I could have seen - dumb two-legged bundles of XP and loot just walking around waiting for me to go kill them. Bye bye excitement and adventure, hello treadmill
At least this sounds like it'll take you into the story and your actions will have some meaning. Add in horror-style monsters, cool powers and three factions, and it could be a good time.
Comments
Yeah I guess you're right about that, so maybe small groups would work. It works in L4d because you're still overwhelmed. It gives you a feeling of being isolated and cut off. I just don't see running around with 8-10 people, giving such a feeling. I may be wrong though of course, that's just my preliminary opinion.
For every minute you are angry , you lose 60 seconds of happiness."-Emerson
I agree that 8-10 is large but who knows how tuff and aggressive the mobs are? Maaybe 8-10 would have to flee for their lives.
Pardon me, if I don't get excited over this. This is Funcom we're talking about, folks.
I really want this game to kick ass. I am hesitant since it is FunCom, but hopefully they have learned something since messing up Age of Conan. It has all the trapping for a really fun game. I like the classless system. Just hope they deliever this time or I guess will have to wait for World of Darkness for a true gothic/horror game.
Hmmm. Something about the way he was describing the combat, and the 7 power tray, makes me think of Champions. I've been looking forward to this game, but now I am becoming more skeptical. Lately MMOs are being dumbed down to arcade game levels and I am worried this is just another flashy shoot-em up with little depth and a suffocating story that is completely irrelevant to, and uneffected by, player's interaction.
I would pre-order this just to support the coolest theme for a MMO ever!
"........people of a Stephen King-esque town appropriately names Kingsmouth"
Actually the town is Lovecraftian. Kingsport & Innsmouth, two towns created by HP Lovecraft(and set in New England area). Steven King has written several stories with a very Lovecraftian feel & in fact several that were based on the Cthulhu mythos, created by HP Lovecraft.
The web site for Kingsmouth has several references to the Cthulhu mythos as well.
Whats up with all the "do not preorder" etc etc
Yeah I know that FunCom hasn't released their both MMO*s in flawless shape..
But still those games they have relased are BOTH in the area of the best MMO's there is today...
Funcom knows what they are doing, even thou they have had a few mismanagment issues..
If I'm spending 40-50 dollars on this one by pre-ordering this game I KNOW i will get a great product "eventually"..But to be on the safeside as a player no one should actually pre-order any MMO, because I can hardly count ONE that has been without some sort of issues in the launch, be it over hyped, bugged, mismanaged or any other problem that can arise during a release of a new MMO..All games get's overhyped by it's creators..
For crying out loud people are pre-ordering Mortal online even, I would not do that , but I can still understand why they are doing it..They believe in the outcome "eventually" and It's only 50 dollars, that is a small price to check in on something you believe in..
I thought that too, but in the Gamereactor interview the Funcom guy mentioned Stephen King and Innsmouth as base for the name. Not that it matters much.
Here's a list of all the sites that revealed their experiences today that they've gathered on the GDC: see here
About the combat, and the fact that you can gather heaps of different skills but can only have 7 active skills on and 7 passive skills, it reminds me of Guild Wars. I don't think it's a dumbing down, I still consider the tactical PvP combat of GW one of the best for tis sort of games. Both GW and this TSW skillset reminds me of Magic the Gathering, where you had to build your deck from a large range of available cards.
There were other things that looked interesting, like the States in combat they mentioned, which looks like team combos. Here's some of the quotes of the other articles that revealed stuff:
Lead designer, Martin Bruusgaard referenced the comparison to a collectible card game when talking about this system of arranging powers. You can collect them throughout the game, and even well into the endgame. The active powers act in direct relation to combat, while the passive powers work to supplement those active powers. One example we were given was an active power with a knockback of three meters. When this is combined with a passive power that adds two more meters to any knockback, you have a five-meter knockback.
A caster-type character dealt a fire attack that set a group of zombies alight, while the healer-type character used an ability that dealt damage over time on one of those same zombies. If this damage-over-time ability kills an enemy that is on fire, it causes that enemy to explode for large damage. In this way, the two characters were able to maximize their effectiveness, but there's nothing stopping one character from having both the damage-over-time ability and the fire ability.
Quests aren't the only means of storytelling in The Secret World. Funcom are employing a rather interesting technique wherein players enter "mini dungeons", which are basically instanced dungeons designed for the solo player. These dungeons allow the designers to make intricate scripted events that push the story forward for the player, and allow for scripted battles that would become clumsy or overly easy in a group.
The world will be persistent, but there will also be instances in dungeons and mini dungeons. Many of the regular storyline quests will be completely solo-able, while the instances are more for your 4-man party. While the title as a whole isn't meant to be a psychologically frightening game, there are moments that are meant to scare.
"When you are out in the open world with hundreds of people it can't be psychologically scary," Bruusgaard said. "When you go into dungeons and four player instances we have a more scripted experience. We use sound and scripting to create a more frightening experience.
In The Secret World each location has what the game developers call its own "monster ecology" based on the mythology and lore of the area. It is a world, the developers tell me, heavily inspired by Edgar Allan Poe, Stephen King and H.P Lovecraft. "Our game is a very fertile playground for telling a story. It's a vast open playground for going around and being able to pick up these little jigsaw pieces and put them together on this giant canvas and try to figure out what this story is really about."
And yeah, a good dose of skepticism is always good, but there can also be a thing like overskepticism or cynicism. I don't expect TSW to make 'all my dreams come true' , but I'll give Funcom the benefit of the doubt that they - or the new management - have learnt from the mistakes of the AoC launch. Nothing can be really said about it right now, we'll see in the months before launch. Besides, AoC these days isn't bad at all. It hasn't fulfilled all the promises that it had before launch, but as a MMO it is a good, solid one.
The ACTUAL size of MMORPG worlds: a comparison list between MMO's
The ease with which predictions are made on these forums:
Fratman: "I'm saying Spring 2012 at the earliest [for TOR release]. Anyone still clinging to 2011 is deluding themself at this point."
I'm confused...
I thought the game was about conflict between the Illuminati, Dragon, and Templars. Now I'm hearing that the game is about zombie bashing, where the conflict between the 3 factions is really only over a little area called Hollowed Earth? I'm not sure what to think about this, but I'm disappointed.
The combat and skills system sounds alright. The fast-paced combat sounds like it could be alright, but also sounds like it could be too much for gamers who are getting older if you know what I mean. The skill system sounds like Guild Wars skill system. That was interesting, but it'll take a lot of testing to flesh it out really well.
The way they talk about everyone starting out in the same town, is the opposite of what I've been lead to believe up until now. I've always thought that the 3 factions would all be starting off in their own areas. Illuminati in North America, Templars in Europe, and Dragon in Asia. Now it sounds like we'll all start in the same area, and then go from one location to the next as the story progresses. Maybe it's more like AoC, where you all share the same starting area, and then break off into 3 different areas.
I have hopes for this game. It's already turning out differently than they originally lead on to believe, so I'll have to do the only thing I can do at this point...wait and see.
Hows the old saying go
Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me...
I would never give this company another dollar
Pimpwars/Cripplesmash/Legend of the Red Dragon/TradeWars 2002/TrollMud/Usurper
Present: Wurm , Fallen Earth
I think the Hollow Earth, the underground PvP zone, is more like the Abyss in Aion, a huge zone where the 3 factions (the Abyss was like a a1/4 of the whole territory in Aion) are in a constant war over resources and strongholds. At least, that's the impression I got from earlier interviews and articles.
And @Iceice, *shrug* sure, that's everyone's right, I guess. To each their own choice and MMO
The ACTUAL size of MMORPG worlds: a comparison list between MMO's
The ease with which predictions are made on these forums:
Fratman: "I'm saying Spring 2012 at the earliest [for TOR release]. Anyone still clinging to 2011 is deluding themself at this point."
Thanks. And dare I say it; heavily instanced, possibly. Funcom should ring-up Cryptic to see how that's working out for them. It certainly isnt a draw of AoC, but Funcom is probably at the extent of which instancing should be used in that game anyway.
So, again. This is all pretty, blah, blah, blah, but as someone else mentioned, one of my draws was about a game that seemed to have a hook about taking part in and serving up conflict between the Illuminati, Dragon, and Templars; player-driven. A game that doesn't skimp on mmorpg breadth and depth staples for a well-balanced pvevp ecosystem. That opposed to a pve-centric Left 4 Dead.
Striving for Silver Stars since Gold is so effeminate.
I'm so happy that there are finally some new and interesting games on the horizon.
SWTOR, Guild Wars 2, and Secret World all are shaping up to be freakin awesome games. I'm so happy we are getting some cool goodies in the MMO market FINALLY.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Guys! I'm hopelessly lost in a mountain of mole hills! Them damn moles!
I was actually starting to get concerned about the game. Just that, well its been a long time since its been announced and they havnt said much at all about the game.
however, they have been having fun with this. Giving the community these little puzzles every now and then in hopes to learn more about the game.
I still have a token from "passing the gauntlet" back in April of 2009 and I have no clue as to what its for..
so puzzeling
This game could actually be quite interesting . Its so different from the others . I really hope it does well and isn't a repeat of AoC . Good luck to it .
Let's be honest here, more than a few of us are waiting to really see if Funcom has learned any lessons about launching games because let's face it, the last two launches they had crippled two games that most with experience would agree having been handled better at launch would hold a much higher regard in the community. I still don't trust FC enough to try anything they make at launch but I hope for those willing to go down that road again luck and FC as well.
but yeah, to call this game Fantastic is like calling Twilight the Godfather of vampire movies....
I was saying don't pre-order based on what happens in the industry at large not just Funcom. Today a pre-order seems to me to be paying for the privelege of a final beta test. I will let others pay for that and when it is bug free I will buy it and play it.
Comments like this, and many others in this thread, should be a real cautionary tale for MMO developers. AoC has come along in leaps and bounds since it's release but because Funcom stuffed the release people will never give the game another chance and it tarnishes their reputation on upcoming, unrelated products.
I know how people can feel this way. I feel the same way about Mythic. I couldn't care less if Mythic announced they were making a steampunk sandbox MMO - I would still not give that company one more cent of my money.
I am eagerly awaiting The Secret World - I honestly can't see much else on the MMO horizon that interests me much at all. I just hope they can do the idea justice and provide us with a launch that contains everything they promised. I know it won't be all that smooth, as launches never are and I can quite happily put up with some glitches and crashes but promised content and features MUST be present.
Exactly my perspective, Saint.
I'm a big fan of Ragnar Tornquist (Longest Journey and Dreamfall both being excellent games, among my all-time favs... and I enjoy his story work for AO as well), so given the setting - and given it's something he started thinking about back in, what.. the late 90s I think? - I expect great things in terms of setting, characters and story.
Now... as far as how it all wraps up as a *game*... Well we'll see how that pans out. I love the setting, though, to be sure.
The whole "secret world" concept - of the idea that there are these creatures, and societies and goings-on in general all around us that we're blind to... has always intrigued me. Stuff like the Montauk Project and such is fascinating to me - even if only as really involved science fiction.
So... yeah... if nothing else, it'll be a feast for my imagination in particular.
and the cash shop selling asphalt..." - Mimzel on F2P/Cash Shops
"Finally, on top of the game's three player factions (Illuminati, Templars and Dragon), there will also be a number of NPC factions, which promises to make unravelling the game's story that much more interesting"
This part sounds win.
After experiencing the severe limitations to games where there are only TWO factions (ala Warhammer), it will be refreshing to have a third element that will be an ally at times and a foe at other times. Let the fair weather players flip-flop all they want but with three sides, when one gets too strong the other two WILL gang up on it.
But.. the... Illuminati???
Oy vey.
"TO MICHAEL!"
It's about time more information was released... even if it's piecemeal *shakes fist*. I look forward to FunCom's newest offer to the MMO genre.
How anyone can get excited about anything put out by failcom is beyond me. You have to be a glutton for punishment.
This game will be just another pay for alpha testing it. When will people learn. You have to wait a least a year on any of their products for it to be a half decent game.
I never played AoC or AO, but I cannot look down on the company that made The Longest Journey. Im sorry but I just wont.
=P
PS - the new reply box on mmorpg.com is horrible. It forces me to reload the page multiple times.
If you stand VERY still, and close your eyes, after a minute you can actually FEEL the universe revolving around PvP.
I get the feeling that Funcom isn't a monolithic company as far as games. It's like each game has it's own studio in Funcom, and those are the people who make or break the game. I'm putting my trust in Ragnar & co, as they were the people who produced The Longest Journey - a game I now wish I'd played back when it first came out.
They also seem like people who understand what is engaging about games, and that counts for a huge amount with me. I tried AOC and found it lacking bigtime, esp. in the feel of the very starting gameplay. I walked off the beach to head to town and immediately saw the worst thing I could have seen - dumb two-legged bundles of XP and loot just walking around waiting for me to go kill them. Bye bye excitement and adventure, hello treadmill
At least this sounds like it'll take you into the story and your actions will have some meaning. Add in horror-style monsters, cool powers and three factions, and it could be a good time.