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DC Universe Online: Launch Preview
SBFord
Former Associate EditorMember LegendaryPosts: 33,129
It's no secret that MMORPG.com's Bill Murphy has been looking forward to this day with great excitement: It's DC Universe Online launch day! In his Launch Preview, Bill outlines the good and the not-so-good about DC Universe Online as he's experienced the game throughout the beta. It's a terrific look at the game and something to give you a step up as you anticipate your own heroic adventures. Check it out!
It’s no secret that I’m a fan of the game, but this isn’t about my own personal preference for the action found in SOE’s latest release. This is about me going through the ups and downs of the game as they stand right now and making a suggestion to all of you who might be on the fence, sitting at your desk, hovering over the button to pay for and download your own copy. DC Universe is going to be a very divisive game in its first month or two. It’s not exactly a standard-fare MMO, and for as many things it does well it does others poorly. People will argue over why crafting is not included, and they will argue over the decision to have only six power sets and limit the amount of skills on one’s hot-bar. But ultimately, at the end of the day, I believe that SOE has designed a truly compelling experience that is only limited by the expectations you have going into it.
Read more Bill Murphy's DC Universe Online: Launch Preview.
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Comments
Nice write-up, just recently became interested in buying this and you provided some useful tid-bits. I think this will be my b-day present to me, because I care. It sounds refreshing actually, considering I started an alt in WoW the other day (new server) and 84 levels look more like a task than an adventure at this point. (Three 85s already, plus tons of 70+ alts just have alt related issues.)
Quick question, would I be amiss buying a controller for this game on PC? Is it viable or is mouse and keyboard where it's at? I usually use a mouse, keyboard and a speedpad.
More superheroes... hmm.
I personally prefer the controller at this point for the action, but the UI is more readily navigable by using the M&KB. I pretty much use the controller only now though, except for chatting.
I don't think you'd have a hard time with the mouse, as it worked wonderfully for me on my first character, I actually think movement is much easier with a mouse in general, especially flying. It's really just preference.
Some folks found their hands sore from a lot of clicking, as weapon combos are a mix of right and left clicks, and there's no auto-attack. Still, if you can hack it in Diablo 3 or maybe an RTS for long periods of time, DCUO is nothing new in terms of wrist/hand fortitude.
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I think that was a good, fair assessment of the game, though I don't think it deserved that final "Buy It!" logo at the bottom. It's certainly a game I can and will live without, but that's not to knock it. I see it doing some new and interesting things which I am thankful for, not for what they are, but for what they can influence and initiate within future games and developer thinking. Every MMO is a building block to the next generation of MMO's, with technology and such constantly improving.
Something I noticed however, is a lot of people seem shocked about the monthly fee. I noticed some posts here about that, where people literally didn't know it would come with a monthly fee. Likewise when I went to visit my cousin over the weekend, her husband was all pumped for this until I mentioned the monthly fee. He stared at me like I had four eyes. Turns out he's not an MMO'er, he's mostly just into FPS and action games, so the idea of a monthly fee for a game confounded him and also turned him off the game completely. I think that's a pretty major concern for the game; it's appeal to an audience that's unfamiliar and thus suspicious of monthly fees, especially since button-mashers are a dime a dozen these days. Most of the console ones, which seems to be what DCUO is built for primarily, are also much more in-depth with their combo systems and don't have to worry about possibly hundreds of other people on the screen spamming their skills, so can go all out with the flashy (Bayonetta, God of War, Darksiders, Dynasty Warriors, etc).
I hope the best for this game but even with constantly updated content, I think it still remains to be seen whether DCUO will be a long-term success. The gameplay alienates a lot of traditional MMO'ers, and the targetted demographic seems to be pretty anti-monthly fee when they've got plenty of games that are just as good or better, for a single price, plus some DLC as they see fit.
"Forums aren't for intelligent discussion; they're for blow-hards with unwavering opinions."
Bill,
You can use both combined, correct? I can switch between controller, mouse/keyboard on the fly? Is combat easier with the mouse/keyboard or is the controller more fun? I'm sortta loking forward to mashing buttons and leaning left and right like I do when I'm playing something on my PS3. Not a shooter, I'm ok on a PC but horrid at shooters with a controller. I'm sort of hoping for an arcade feel to it.
So great they won't take my money to buy it..
it friggin great..playing it on ps3 as soon as my son GTFO ! LOL!
I don't wanna be a hero, let alone a superhero in ma mumorpeger V_V
My brand new bloggity blog.
I am certain that the big azz DCUO banner on the top of the MMORPG.com home screen (and the money that presumably paid for it) had absolutely nothing to do with the "Buy it" logo at the bottom.
Oh, wait....
(Not the worst game ever, but not worth $50+$15/mo + cash shop)
Yes you can switch at any time. Like Bill said, I use the 360 control for combat, but use M&K to go through the menus, especially when going through costume items, or selecting new loadouts. Also, chat, of course.
I find the controller more fun, and more relaxed then the PC, I always find my posture more close to the monitor with a M&K, with the controller I can sit back a bit and relax.
In spite of the HUGE amount of time and space MMORPG has given this game, (cost?), DCUO will crash soon due to the consule forced crippling of the UI and the lack of content.
If you are thinking of buying the game, do yourself a favor and wait a couple months. By then it will cost much less or even be in the bargin bin.
Thanks for the preview and I think I will wait until I see the game becoming more of an MMO and less a standard, albeit good, single/multiplayer game.
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Play with the controller for a bit, put down to chat. Pick up controller play for a bit. Put down controller to chat. Pick up controller and play for a bit, put down controller to check on new items in inventory to sell/equip.
Play with the controller for a bit, put down to go through costumes on keyboard. Play for a bit, put down controller to chat with guildies. Pick up controller, play for a bit, put down the controller for new loadouts.
All of this takes way too much micromanaging skill (or tedium) to be bothered with for hours on end. Just too much busywork.
Most any other MMO, you can do all this just using keyboard and mouse, WHILE fighting.
"TO MICHAEL!"
Its always exciting to be there for the launch of a game. That said, I'm going to wait until I can get a cheap copy of this game and its already had its first few content updates. The beta was fun, but nothing that absolutely blew me away. I'm sure I'll have fun playing eventually, but I'm going to give it a little time to mature.
I suppose, if thats how you feel. I don't NEED to switch back and forth, but I like to. When I'm in the menus its not a quick thing for me, I like to go through all of my pieces and look over everything carefully. I can just hop in and switch out weapons without touching the keyboard, and I usually scroll the map or enter queues without the keyboard....but I like the feel of going through inventory and costume items with the M&K.
Bill may be different and spend the majority of his time using the controller, but its my choice to not.
[Edit]
I was replying to Popinjay, but MaskedWeasel beat me to it, and said it better than I would've...
But I also liked switching my costumes quite a bit in beta. Everytime you finished a little short quest, you got a new piece of gear, or if you killed mobs you got gear drops. So then you have to put down the controller to bind it with the keyboard or would probably take more steps with a controller, then look at it and figure which piece you want to wear with what, and how that makes your overall gear set look.
Then you figure how many times you'll be repeating these actions as you level up. Then different toons... way too much.
If I'm not yakking about what my team/guild and I are killing, we are yakking about something we did yesterday or want to do tomorrow. Half of the time it's Ventrilo, the other half is typing chats. Other than the voice control added for groups (which is nice but not good quality) DCUO makes it hard to communicate while playing this game navigating throug chat channels. This is why it has so much of a 'loner' feel to it, even when you're in groups like PvP matches.
I'm not sure you can use the DCUO voice chat with your guild (correct me if I'm wrong) and in that instance, you'd be forced to put down the controller to chat with them in Vent.
Given all the other random things you do with menus, this is just one more impediment. Bill did mention that aspect about social crippling in this game. While he brushed it over and didn't seem to think it wasn't a major gripe, this is one main reason I play MMOs. to socialize with others while gaming.
"TO MICHAEL!"
This is true..and is pretty much the only major problem I have with the game. Beautiful game and pretty damn fun when not bothered to use the menus. In beta I ended up using both a controller (for fighting and some menus) and mouse and keyboard for the rest.
Pepsi1028
PEPSI!!!!!
Get out of your box already...
Question. Can I use a XBOX controller for this game on PC?
Pepsi1028
PEPSI!!!!!
Get out of your box already...
Yes
I don't share your optimism in this game; not at all. But I said why already, so I save it.
People don't ask questions to get answers - they ask questions to show how smart they are. - Dogbert
I good write up. The graphics are great and I enjoyed some of the action, but it's not something I will continue to play outside of the Beta. It's to console oriented a game and for me I just don't find that style of game-play enjoyable on my computer.
Not a superhero or comic fan and I highly doubt I'll ever play an SOE game ever again. What they put SWG through was just painful to endure and I'll never forgive them.
3 letters : SOE.
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