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Bainwalkers Beta Journey
Southpaw.Gamer
Member CommonPosts: 572
There will be no video, sorry... this is just a written summary of my Beta Experience thus far (2 days)
Background:
I won't type out some long winded BS, long story short I enjoy all types of games... though to be honest I am a huge fan of PVP and MMO's like Darkfall Online.
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Character Creation :
I like the fact each race has different "tribes" that look slightly (or vastly) different, overall the system works and characters look good. I'd love to see more options however, if no more options are put in for launch we'll likely have a lot of people looking nearly the same.
Controls:
I never bothered trying to use the keyboard setup everyone is bitching about, my brother insists it works just fine but I chose to skip it in favor of using my already owned PS3 controller. Setup took about 30 minutes because I'm on a 64-bit OS but once it was installed properly it worked like a charm. I LOVE IT, I WISH I COULD PLAY EVERY MMO WITH A CONTROLLER NOW... it's so much more relaxing than hovering over a keyboard all the time.
Introduction / New Player Help:
The introduction was cool, not too long as to make it a chore so perfect. Once you get to the city the overall introduction to the basics of the gameplay is done well with a longish first quest that will take roughly an hour or more if you watch all the cutscenes. After the quest is done however you're left to fend for yourself.... and I've found myself wondering how to join the city guilds... and god help me but I just don't know how to craft in the game even though I've asked the NPCs for advice. Long story short they need an introduction to crafting, badly.
Combat:
Faster than everyone was moaning about, it's engaging and I love how you can mix up abilities from the other classes... so many options. Oh and another thing, it's actually HARD! Thank you god a game with challenge for a change.
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Overall Feel Of The World:
The world feels alive, the city is full of NPCs and players and all the little things I've always wanted to see in an MMO are there. Even without the players it would feel like a world that is physically there, that's a big compliment from me right there. The storyline also seems interesting, I've actually been compelled to read everything every NPC says.
Things I was worried about but no longer concern me:
Performance - I have a rig that was top of the line two years ago, I can run the Beta at near full settings without a hiccup
No Jumping - I actually now like the fact it's not part of the game... would break the illusion of it being an actual world if I was watching people bunny-hop everywhere.
Controls - Like I said above, I love it
No PVP - As you read above I love my PVP, and before you say anything I know this game has no meaningful PVP content. For once I am choosing a game with content over a game with the ability to kill other players... I need content, I need storyline and to feel like I'm part of an actual world. This game has finally done that for me.
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I'll cap it off there for now, I may type out more once I've had more time in the game to experience more.
P.S. If you know a good linkshell my brother and I may be interested in joining. Were both 23 (Twins) and plan to play this game fairly hardcore (at least at launch)
Full Sail University - Game Design
Comments
Nice writeup and thank you.
The potential is there, but a lot more need to be done to make the game good enough for September.
I'm actually playing the game using keyboard+mouse right now, and it's working quite nicely (still needs work though).
Playing Pugilist is awesome, 4 attacks per round is great.
There, that's my Beta insight.
Well it is a beta so if you explained what lot of stuff that needs to be done maybe then Square Enix can start taking notes.
Do you mind posting your PC specs and what resolution you were able to play at?
Of course lol, don't get your panties in a twist.
I know exactly what needs to be done, and I have sent my feedback already.
2.5 quad core Intel
4GB DDR3 ram
9800 GX2 video card
Keep in mind I am playing on a 65 inch TV with a maximum 720P HD output. To read everything going on in game I am running on a very low resolution of around 1152 x 654... I myself don't feel I am losing out on playing on that resolution it just feels as though I'm playing a console game.
Full Sail University - Game Design
Wasn't trying to piss you off, sorry bud.
Explaining to the forum members wouldn't hurt either.
Lol you think the intrtoduction was done well...
You start on the ship they say kill these 3 mobs, Do they explain combat at all? No they dont you are just suposted to know how it works. Once your done with that you reach shore were you are left to figure out the rest of the game with not so much as a hint of how to go about it. So your left with just running around talking to every NPC in the damn city ( not fun at all) .
They do not explain crafting or combat or quests or even how to go about geting them. They do not explain the armory system or any of it.
The games system works well but the game its self is not fun due to the amount of time they make you put into just finding the npc you need to even start the local leve quest .
If they make an indepth tutorial and actually explain how systems work and if they made it easyer to find npc's that give quests or in leve quests case to get mats to start it, then maybe i could see it being fun and have more people then ffxi did witch is just managing to stay a float.
Thanks for the post!
He who keeps his cool best wins.
Hah, Soo reminiscent of FFXI, but I love it.. sounds like this game will be for the hardcore that remain followers to the non-linear, learn it yourself style of play.
SquareEnix has also proved themselves as great content pushers, always having something new, always releasing new content and expansions (case in point: Final Fantasy XI ) so I'm sure Final Fantasy XIV will grow in to a great addicting game.
As for Final Fantasy XI just barely staying afloat, It's been around for ages as far as MMO's go and there's still big content patches, level 99 anyone?
Could there be a better explination as to the combat? Yes, however the first scene in which you fight those three mobs there shouldn't be any need to explain how to attack since anyone with half a brain could have figured it out. I did clearly state I wish there was a tutorial for crafting / gathering, I've figured out gathering (Mostly) but the crafting I am still lost on... but that's all after the first quest line which if you actually read what the NPCs tell you during cutscenes off the boat is easy to find and do provided you read and follow the instructions. The first quest line takes you through how to bind to those teleport stones, how to use emotes and gives you a taste of the storyline and word settings; the quest also forces you to learn the city layout and once you've done the quest the city should be a breeze to understand.
Things I think can improve:
- Better tutorial on advanced combat and how you can mix the class abilities
- Crafting / Gathering
- How to join NPC guilds (I may have missed how in the first quest)
- A clear explination on how to obtain and complete quests, I know where to get them... but some even after reading I have no idea where to start. (Crafting ones the most)
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I rather like that the game doesn't hold your hand, it forces you to explore and learn... I find myself trying to remember all these FF terms and phrases like "yalm" and so forth.
Sure the game may require some patience at first, but that's something I can live with considering the massive potential this game has.
Full Sail University - Game Design
*disclaimer* I haven't played the beta so I have no first hand knowledge
On the subject of tutorials on how to fight, craft and everything else is it possible they will just ship the game with a very comprehensive manual instead? I know we are all used to getting manuals that tell you how to insert the disc and not a lot more but I'm old enough to remember when games came with actual 'instruction' manuals which detailed what each stat did, what the different spells and abilities were for and how to craft etc
Could it really be that simple an answer in that you'll get a manual explaining what to do? this is a genuine question and I'm not trying to be sarcastic but would a good manual suffice.
*sigh* I miss the old style manuals that would run to over 100 pages that you could open and study when you wanted to know how something worked, I have the manual for Vampire The Masquerade Redemption beside me and it's a thing of beauty
I was thinking the same thing, a detailed manual would fill the role any tutorial would serve. I'd actually rather a manual because then I always know I can just grab the book and look it up instead of backtracking to find NPCs that explain how to do something.
Full Sail University - Game Design
They tell you to talk to Hobbs I think that was his name first NPC off the ship lol you need to read.... Then he takes you directly to the place were leves are started and tells you who you need to talk to now getting out of the city that took me a while
Good to hear, so much throlling around these days, it's hard to know what to believe. I know SE stated a lot of times that they just wanted to test the mechanics and NOT the content, but people don't seem to know that.
Yea this is what i've been thinking myself.
XI really didn't have much, or now that i think of it any form of a introduction/tutorial, but the box came with a hefty manual.
Seems a lot of people agree the tutorial for XIV isn't very helpful, so i imagine SE will give a decent manual to cover all we need to know.
edit: Good writeup btw OP
Full Sail University - Game Design
You're right.. it's hard to know what to believe, thats why we need links, and proof!
Everything you're complaining about comes in the manual. Please read the manual.
Thank you.
To OP
Good post bro nice clean and easy to read keep passing us info as you get it ty
I did some gathering today, it's a nice change from what most MMOs do in terms of how a player goes about doing it. I may not fully understand the mini-games you do to complete the task of gathering but it is engaging and from what I've seen would be hard to write a bot to do these tasks for you which is a very good thing, I fully support anything SE may do to make AFK profiting impossible.
It's hard to explain the mining mini-game VIA written word so I won't, I just felt like sharing my views on the matter in terms of how it's done. For those who never liked gathering or crafting in past MMOs, you like me may be converted into actually having fun doing said jobs.... I've had enough fun mining to consider taking it as my first primary job at release.
Full Sail University - Game Design
For myself personally the most troubling news coming from the beta is that this is looking like it could be another 'solo to level cap' game and if that's true and no body really wants to group I'll be so disappointed, I could live with some bugs on release and with balancing still needing to be done as these are more or less par the course in MMO launches.
I have nothing against people being able to solo the game, options are always good, but I don't think it should ever be the most optimal way to level your character. Games like WoW more or less punish you for grouping up to quest and I'm simply tired, so very tired, of people playing an MMO and then not wanting to group in case it hinders their mad rush to reach level cap and the start of the collect em up that is modern MMO end game.
SE could release the most polished and stable MMO ever but if it's going to be a mostly solo affair then I'll pass thanks. Bioware and Bethesda do single player infinitely better than any MMO game so I have no intention of playing another solo MMORPG. Solo MMORPGs, surely there is a contradiction in the very idea of that for a start, just have terrible communities and in my mind community should be the foundation of any MMO.
Out of curiosity - what have you seen that makes you believe that soloing will be the most efficient way to level to cap?
SE would not go from FF11 a game that is mostly groupingto xp and level cap to a total solo game sorry just not how it is going to work.