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Early Beta Review - Long!
crysent
Member UncommonPosts: 841
Hello, I've been in the Earthrise beta for roughly 2 days now, In that time I've played roughly 6 hours. I will do my best to present the game as the way I have seen it so far. This will be a rather long read, scroll down to the bottom for a TL/DR/summary version if you don't want to read it all.
A little about me, I've played tons of MMO's starting with Ultima Online back in the late 90's. I am a sucker for sandboxs, especially indie one's like Earthrise, Mortal Online, and Darkfall. I am currently subscribed to Mortal.
Ok, on with the game: Some things I will say early on, using a few cliche terms - the game will be a niche game, like most MMO's, the game has potential, but it's not there yet. Also I haven't experienced much with the crafting system, so I'm not going to say much about it.
Char creation - I was very disappointed here, the options were very minnimal - you choose a race (Asian, African, European), essentially your skin color. You pick Male or Female, there is a slider bar to change your head, and a slider bar to change your hair style, that's it - besides skin color most chars look the same.
After you pick your char you enter into a tutorial area, here you learn the basic movements: The controls early on are different and definitely take some getting used to, I admit I was turned off by them initially. They remind me slightly of Darkfall and it's early days. After an hour of playing however I adjusted to them and they no longer bother me, again they remind me a lot of Darkfalls. If you don't take time to read the manual, or play around with the controls you wont get them.
The tutorial area is rather simple, you get to experiment with the different weapons, currently there are a few basic weapon categories: Precision rifles (sniper rifles basically), Assault rifles, Shotguns, flame-throwers, and Melee - in the tutorial your allowed to get a starter weapon of your choice (or carry one of each) as well as a starter set of armor, you can replace this armor at any time you would like and it does NOT drop on death, you will always have at least a basic weapon and armor. It should be noted that Armor is one of the most important aspects of the game, you don't have traditional stat points like strength and dex that you manually raise, instead your hit points, speed, stamina is all based on the armor your wearing. So for instance before I put on the beginner set of armor I had something like 20 hit points, after equiping the starter armor my HP jumped up to 520. That is with Tier 0 armor. Looking through the crafting specialties I see armor categories like "speed armor" "Heavy infantry armor" "infiltrator armor", etc, etc. I assume these all will change your stats in some way or another, and there are multiple tiers of each.
Sooo...leveling up skills: Earthrise is a little unique in that you don't have character levels like many theme park MMO's, but you also don't gain skill through using a specific skill, e.g. like in Mortal or ultima online if you want to raise your swordfighting you go out and swing a sword. In Earthrise you have two types of experience - Combat and Crafting,. Combat experience is gained through killing monsters, you gain a small amount from each kill, maybe 4-12 xp depending on the monster. Crafting XP is gained through crafting (haven't experienced much here). To spend your experience you simply open up the skill menu, if you go to the combat tab (there are 4 different tabs to choose from: combat,tactics,production, and processing) you will see skills like "Precision Rifle" you can then further expand the preicison rifle category by clicking on it which will then show all the different skills you can purchase related to preicison rifles - there are different stances such as "sniper stance" which gives you 40% critical increase, costing 73100 points. (a lot!). The combat skill tab has a ton of skills under it ranging from weapon skills like precision rifles and shotguns to skills like "Leadership" and "heroism" , then each of the skills themselves have a large number of skills under them, and thats just the combat tab. Essentially what I'm getting at here is there is a metric ton of skills and abilities for a person to purchase and mix and match, hundreds, probably thousands. Some directly related to certain weapons, others to group abilities, then of course you have your crafting, building, resource gathering skills you can purchase.
You have the option upon entering the world of doing quest for one of two different factions (which happen to be at war with each other) - doing quest or killing members of the opposite faction will get your reputation with your faction - this works nicely because it curbs all out griefing, you don't want to kill other players that belong to your faction (incase you were not aware, Earthrise is full pvp, full loot). I was attacked a few times by other players, but it was usually a 1 on 1, I think a large guild battle would be an absolute blast in this game, you would need snipers, melee and healers, a large group would be able to play around with different strategies. You can hide in things like bushes our on top of hills and such. You can stay neutral, but it is not easy, or you could pk players from both factions if that's your thing.
The world itself appears to be huge, I've spent most the 6 hours or so I've played roaming around exploring different outposts and killing random mobs just to see what drops. The graphics are ok, if your a huge graphics person you will be far from impressed, I want to say the graphics look kinda like Fallen Earths - they are a little behind their time, but they didn't much bother me. They seem to fit the general feel of a post-apocalyptic planet.
Aside the from the first hour or so I played in which the server was crashing every 5 minutes, I have experienced not one single crash for any reason. My ping is generally 90-150 (I'm located in the Midwest United States). The game seem's to run fine, there are some performance issues, but nothing like when Mortal Online was in its early stages.
In Summary or TL/DR
Char creation - 3/10 - not a lot of options as to how your character looks. Very basic.
Graphics - 6/10 - they are not awful by any means, but there is nothing great here, again I think they are similar to Fallen Earth. If your a big graphics person, you will be dissapointed . People will likely think they are a bit dated, and, they are.
Skill system - 8/10 - Literally hundreds of skills to specialize in and choose from, if the system works the way it appears to be set up it could lead to some very fun, strategic group pvp situations. You would need snipers, medics, people with the leadership skills, people with the heroics skills. Again the skill tree's are massive and there are tons and tons of skills, some group oriented, some solo oriented.
Crafting - Not certain as I have just started playing around with it.
Overall- 6/10- In it's current state, if it releases as intended (Feb 4th) the game will be fun, but not a complete product, as I've already said I must use the oh-so-common cliches we hear when discussing indy sandbox mmos, that is, the game is a niche game and it has great potential, but is not there yet. It holds a lot of promise for guilds interested in captureing territory and strategic pvp, however if your looking for great PvE this game is probably not for you in it's current state.
If you approach the game understanding that its being made by a small indy company, that it's a niche game, and that it's not a finished product and your OK with these things then you will have some fun, as there is fun to be had, espcially pvp wise. The game run's better then either Darkfall or Mortal did at it's current state, it also is more complete. There are mobs a plenty to fight, and they drop various loot. So if you do decide to make the purchase you won't be entering an empty world.
I'm still on the fence about it, There is a good chance I will get it, but it largely depends on the last "big" patch they are planning before release. I
Hope this helps a bit, If you have any specific questions I will do my best to answer them, please remember this is my early impressions, I have only been in the beat for 2 days.
Comments
Nice of you to have taken the time to write that up and all but you can't "review" a beta, you can only preview a work in progress. Your opinion of an unfinished work is just that, your opinion.
Nice review. Love to get a full list of the "skills" you can buy.
Semantics really; from my 12 years of beta-diving MMOs I have found little actually changes from Beta to Release. Considering the game is slated for launch in little over a week I feel comfortable that statement will apply to Earthrise. Thank you OP, I feel you have touched on a few concerns I had about this one.
Considering the game is a go in less then two weeks I think it's fairly safe to say what you see is likely what your going to get. Again I think Earthrise is a good game, it has a long ways to go to please the majority of MMO players, who are very unforgiving.
Nice to see a review from somebody that plays and understand games like Darkfall and MO (currently subscribed to DF).
Here is a question tho: So what happens when you go red/criminal? Rather why would you want, or not want, to be red/criminal, aside from the PVP part. Like in Darkfall and Mortal Online, you can't go to NPC cities, but there are lawless and guild cities that you can operate out, does ER has anything similar?
Edit:
Lol, here is another question, about armor. Do you get armor set, or do you get armor pieces like in DF and MO? Can you mix and match different types of armor to make your 'build' if you will?
Playing: Darkfall Unholy Wars
Played: Darkfall, EVE, AoC, Ryzom, Ragnarok Online, GW2, PS2, Secret World, WOW, City Of Heroes/Villains, Champion Online.
How much are they charging for the game? If they're charging AAA prices for an incomplete indy game then they can forget about it, I rarely even buy AAA games for 50 but if they're charging like 30 bucks then I might buy it.
Semantics. You know what he is saying. Don't be THAT guy. As with any REVIEW, PREVIEW, or any other kind of VIEW its a matter of opinion. Whether its from a professional reviewer or a noob.
Thanks for the review, I'm looking forward to the game.
I self identify as a monkey.
Thanks for the write up! I'm going to be purchasing the game as soon as the digital copy is available!
I'm not sure there is a red/criminal status - Your faction reputation would simply fluctuate a lot based on who you killed - if you kill members of noir you would get faction with the opposite and visa versa.
There are guild cities you can use, if you have bad standing with one of the two factions and attempt to go into their cfities, the guards will attack you, however I'm fairly certain they can be killed, even key NPCS appear to be killable (although quite hard). There also are a number of camps in the middle of nowhere, I'm not real certain these are associated with either faction (I have little standing with either of the two factions).
You have a slot for each piece of armor, so yes, you can mix and match armor. There are different types of armor, and then there are 10 tiers for each armor.
Last I checked the game was going to go on sale Feb 1st with a Feb 4th release for 49.99
nice review
hearing from a MO and DF player that the game is not THAT bad is good.
There actually is a Criminal system in right now. How it is suppose to work is if you kill someone from a faction your not currently figting you get Criminal Karma. If you get enough Criminal Karma you become a Player Killer and will be shot on sight in gaurded cities. Criminal Karma points go away in real time whether playing or not.
In beta some of us have been testing this system and currently the Criminal Karma points are going away too fast, I got up to 16 and it was gone within 30 minutes. We haven't found out how many criminal karma points it takes to become a PKer. At the rate you gain CK points (slowly) and the rate you loose them (quickly) it seems pretty hard to become a PKer.
What about water combat? Is that in game... can you swim at all actually? lol. I hope it's nothing like Mortal Online, one of the top 5 things that made me quite MO is drowning in rivers. I wish it's more like Darkfall.
Also... I'm guessing sound doesn't really play a large role in combat/situational awareness? Like for for example in Darkfall where sound is 100% essential for everyday gameplay.
Playing: Darkfall Unholy Wars
Played: Darkfall, EVE, AoC, Ryzom, Ragnarok Online, GW2, PS2, Secret World, WOW, City Of Heroes/Villains, Champion Online.
Yes you can swim, but just on top of the water. You cant shoot while swiming and I'm 95% sure you cant drown.
As for sound it does help but isn't near essential. Its helped me because I've heard other players shooting close by or a mob aggroing behind me, but its not like you need to sound whore to listen for footsteps.
Yes you can swim nothing like MO. Its like any other game, you dot not drown, I been in beta for a few months, far as the graphics, I feel your off on that, right now alot of stuff is turned off, so you may have not seen the rela effects and some stuff has been bugged the last few builds so 8/10 for graphics the rest of your review is pretty good for a few hrs of play.
Fas as fallen earth , FE you must not of played in a long time as it has one of the better graphics out there, there sky in the game now is amazing, and its supports SLI where most games do not.
At any rate your review was spot on, Far as listing skills someone asked well guess what there is about 200 or more , so we would be here all day, there is more than any game on the market to get for skills, for crafting, tactics, combat and more.
I find the crafting to be a nice breath of fresh air some people will quit crafting as its not easy and it takes time to get used to as its very time consuming its not your typical add this and that bam here is your item.
There is some skill involved and different items you need to add and you need to know what to add and when to get a good item out of it, I bet alot of people will quit crafting as they will not be used to this, I for one love it.
You will need get snipers in this game as they already said it would ruin it , because everyone would be one so you know so don't bother , it does have range but not like your thinking. You can hide in bushes and alot of hiding spots like someone said which is nice though.
I for one already preodered so for those doing the same I will see you in game!
Seems promiseing.. Just cant get over the fact that ill be paying for a game that isn't even finished yet.. And until TW is introduced i won't even think about playing it.
Currently Playing:
Rift + Starcraft II + Gears Of War 3 Beta
Nice Review indeed.
My only comment is about graphics. I would give 8/10 if you compare to other MMOs - like I stated in my review only Age of Conan has better graphics from the MMOs I have tried.
A) You are currently subscribed to Mortal Online - possibly the worst "MMO" released to date.
Seriously, I'll wait until I get back home and can test out the beta myself - may be good, most likely be a failure like Mortal though... Shall see soon enough.
M
"Regard your soldiers as your children, and they will follow you into the deepest valleys. Look on them as your own beloved sons, and they will stand by you even unto death!"
- Sun Tzu, the Art of War
Support the Indie Developers - Kickstarter
currently subscribed to Mortal.
stopped reading when I saw this...
I noticed someone mentioned the "big patch they have coming up", yea they keep promising that said patch has everything including peanut butter and strawberry jam.
I was slated early this week, but it's not going to happen this week at all. It might come early next week, but the day before launch day they'll probably tear down the old server and switch to the live ones, so we'll have to be very very quick about testing it
A) a hyperbole - the "worst MMO released to date" - are you new to MMO's?
I take it you don't know what your talking about based on your "release date" so we can end it here.
Seriously, I figured most people reading the review would know that the review was based on my experience in beta which is of course relative to the individual player and their expectations. Apparently you lack this knowledge, so I'll explain it. I've enjoyed Mortal and Darkfall, I'm entitled to enjoy them, you don't have to. That said, based on what I expect from an Indy, sandbox MMO is what I reviewed Earthrise on.
Mortal is a niche, it's not for the everyday MMO player, if your looking for a theme park, or game with LOTS of financial backing then maybe Rift or DC universe is for you. Your the absolute worst type of player, in that you have the same expectations with all your MMO's - you need to understand that a SMALL, INDY company out of Europe isn't going to produce a game on par with a company like SONY or BIOWARE in terms of complete product. If you dont understand this, or can't comprehend this, then maybe it's best you stay away from these games..
Free to roam anywhere. There are no instances or "loading zones" or "zone walls" - you wander where you please.
There aren't any loading zones but you can't claim any mountain and there are paths. Its between DFO and FFXIV/ Does that help?
Games:
Currently playing:Nothing
Will play: Darkfall: Unholy Wars
Past games:
Guild Wars 2 - Xpiher Duminous
Xpiher's GW2
GW 1 - Xpiher Duminous
Darkfall - Xpiher Duminous (NA) retired
AoC - Xpiher (Tyranny) retired
Warhammer - Xpiher
Please leave personal arguements out of the discussion, it disrupts forum discussion. Thanks!