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RIFT; the result of unoriginal/non creative game developers -- a review from a beta tester
In this most recent beta 5, I played extensively trying to go through as many different aspects as possible. After all those hours, I've realized this: RIFT tries so hard to be WoW and tries to capitalize on its few mistakes. Even things that seem illogically placed, or seem to bear no function, or just seem to not work are undoubtedly there because WoW had it. Consider:
Tangible/irrefutable/undeniable FACTS:
- RIFT's user interface is a twin/siamese brother (/or even a conjoined fetus) of World of Warcrafts UI. Floating numbers, group window, target's target windows, casting bars, health/mana/energy bars, bar colors, character portraits, maps, minimaps, loot boxes, loot icons, mouse over icons, icon placement, text color, text font, font size, etc etc. I've mentioned this to other players and the response is usually "WoW did not invent these things." My rebuttal is please point to a game pre exisiting WoW that has a UI as similar.
- Various mechanics are identical to WoW. Rogues use a 100 point energy system. The regen rate might be exactly identical to that of WoWs, idk. A combo point system is also in place (with those little shiny bubbles building up, looking exactly the same, ho ho!)
- There is global cooldown system (What reasonable argument is there to have this in place, other than WoW has it? What reason is there when there already exists weapon speed and casting speed?)
- There is renown / honor (though named differently, to exercise originality!), and you can buy gear with this form of currency.
- Warfronts, ala battlegrounds with leaderboards.
Update #1 2/5:
This game is linear. Everyone moves in the same path, same area to same area in the same order. You can't get lost. As a result of this, everyone has stat filling green armor that is top of the line (atleast until lvl 19, then the game stops holding your hand as much). I'd like to compare this just for a moment to DAoC. In DAoC, if you've not played it, there are for example armor merchants. They sell various makes of armor for various levels. There are also weapon merchants that sell different speed weapons, different weapon damage types, etc. RIFT does not give you this freedom. For example, there is a ranged weapon merchant, and as a marksman I had available to me two different weapons to buy, one a gun, other a bow. (Another point, not that there's a difference between a GUN and BOW other than the graphic.)
Once you move into the second tier leveling zone., the game becomes dull. There aren't as many players around but there are enough RIFTs to stop you from doing quests (because the NPC mobs prevent the quest npc from spawning). This works in the first zone when there are hundreds of lowbies everywhere, but after that it's just a broken clock.
Earlier I was exploring the third tier leveling zone (or so I think it's the third [Scarlet Gorge]) and it was completely frustrating just to get around, and I'll tell you why. Imagine playing Super Mario on your SNES. Standard 2d platform game. Now, imagine an entire level made of platforms that you'd have to maze through, and if you fell off a platform, you'd die. This is the zone Scarlet Gorge. It is a giant canyon with various platforms/levels. You can get around by waiting for the elevator to come up, or you can try jumping and not dying. Once you get to the bottom of the canyon, it's relatively easy to find mobs. But the pain is going back UP, mazing and mazing, then getting back to your quest NPC. Google image "rift scarlet gorge" and you'll see.
No critique is well built without compliments. The good:
- The soul system. Many variations of classes. It is actually addicting to try and figure out which class you want to level as because there are so many choices.
- Roles. Disables the need to roll a new class. You'd have to level at most 4 characters (one for each race) to the max level and you could try every class, unless you wanted a BG twink or something.
The main 'gimmick' of this game is as the title suggests: RIFTS. A rift is a random PvE encounter that spawns throughout areas. Therefore, the game's main interest is to cater to PvE folk. You can see this because pretty much all PvP related things involve PvE. In Port Scion, RIFTs will randomly spawn. Devs say that this will draw players to each other. There are also things called wardstones that players can fight over; one faction tries to destroy it, the other tries to save it. It's like, they try to draw players into fighting each other over PvE related crap. That's just my opinion though. The only thing that keeps my interest is if there will be a FFA server at launch. I doubt that will happen though, because WoW does not have such a server.
Comments
EverQuest II
Even Everquest if you used the player made UI mods
WoW just stole its design from the EQ modders
But seriously we know all this and I think at this point people understand that the game does borrow a lot from other games. The reason its maintaining its level of popularity now is the fact of how polished it is while still in beta. Despite having some performance issues for certain players, there are no real glaring issues that need to be addressed.
With this level of polish, it can be hoped that it will free up the developers to add in new content.
[mod edit]
My Guild Wars 2 Vids
Rift simply took the things that worked from previous games and enhanced them.... Just as Wow did with EQ, and EQ did with MUDD... This is something that has been done for quite some time.
.. But in a good way.
Why does every mmorpg out has to be original? who the hell said it had to?
What car after ford t1 has been original?
There will not be an original mmorpg for the next 50 years, what might change is the controls, mob AI, server capacity, graphics etc
What changed since EQ1? graphics and players the rest is just the same old stuff mmorpgs are made of, some more then others.
Original is nice, but what matters most is FUN.
This game is fun.
None of the 'original' titles from the last few days were able to manage that for me.
So... I suppose the fact that it is fun is actually quite original.
If incremental advancement is the only way for developer studios to put out games that aren't bug-filled and hacktastic, then I'll take it.
I'd like some bigger leaps, but the software developement cycle has to catch up with other tech advancements before we can get there. Sucks, but the past couple of years has shown it true.
Avatars are people too
Theres's a difference between copy/paste and using the same idea. Rift so far is just copy/paste with their little touch. That's it.
Public Quest are Warhammer public quest with their touch, aka spawn anywhere.
How pet Fight/move/follow you ect is copy/paste from Wow... Nothing changed.
Combat Resource: Aka Rogue Energy/combat point is copy/paste from Wow.
Harvesting: Copy/paste from wow. Take 3sec, same node, same mini map tracking.
Tradeskill. Copy/paste from WoW. Click and you're done.
Soul Tree: Copy'ed from Wow as 3 tree build and added their touch to mix different class together. That's it. So instead of having 1 class with different build ( Hunter with BM/marksman/survival well it's 3 different class instead.)
Originality is possible in whatever you create. If you just copycat everything.... it just plain suck. Darkfall was original in it way, MO as well, EQ as well ect.. Every MMO has their originality... yet I can't see any in Rift beside a copy/pasted MMO with a little touch. I feel like Trion are some greedy punk trying to "steal" someone else work by copying what they've done and modifying it a little lmao. Guess I should copy/paste face book, change some code and lookout and voila! Im the new billionaire stealing all facebook fan junkie.
Playing: Rift, LotRO
Waiting on: GW2, BP
I don't particuarly understand why these are real 'complaints' other than perhaps the GCD complaint. While your Good compliments, i mostly agree with, i must differ in your critisism. While I do find faults with Rift, these are by far, not only what i Expect to see in a traditional MMO, but i probably wouldn't play one without them.
The UI System: Yes, it is exactly like WoW's. Good. Very Good. WoW's interface was excellent. It was easy to use, easy to understand, and easy to organize. It was large enough to be visible and relevant, yet small enough not to take up your entire screen. (Except the Raid Interface back in 40 man raids for Healers...those poor poor healers in MC.) My question, is, If WoW made such a good interface (And yes, i do understand that EQ and others were out before WoW with basically the same thing, but that's beyond the point atm) why should Trion change it? It would be like me wanting a design a car, but instead of a steering wheel, i use a joystick. Does it work? Sure. But not only would it confuse people who are used to a steering wheel, but it adds a huge amount of work to implement.
The Rogue energy system is exactly the same as WoW. I dislike that. While it is a good system, i just find it ackward for playing my Marksman, i dislike the flow, but I'm used to WoW, i will not lie, and i am missing my mana based system of combat. I do find that the class mechanics are a bit too...similar to each other. So, I agree with the OP on this point. Another system could have probably been devised.
The Global Cooldown. I like this feature, it prevents people from just spamming buttons. I prefer a solid, calculated, and difficult to perfect 'rotation' to my play. I like the second it takes between attacks, because It gives me a second to think, "Is this move, or this move the most optimal in this situation?" And that being said, I expect the combat to take this into account, and allow for decision making between attacks. This is debatable, and I can understand why some would dislike GCD. So, personal opinion, I respectfully disagree with the OP.
PvP Rewards. Of course this is how they implement PVP. Aside from the WoW ranking system of old, (Which was amazing btw, hated when they changed it.) this is one of the best, if only, ways to do it. If i PVP, i get points, if i get points, i get gear, it's simple, efficient, and makes sense.
Warfronts: I hate to troll. I really do, but i find I must reply with this remark. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare featured battlegrounds, or 'maps.' They also had leaderboards. Did they copy WoW? Or did WoW copy them? Or has Rift copied BFBC2? /trolloff. This is such a basic and integral part of any gaming genre, why wouldn't they implement leaderboards in a battleground? I play to win again the other team, but i also play to win against other players on my team. Being the 'top' of the leaderboard, is something to strive for, and without a goal to strive for, the game loses meaning. I completely disagree with the OP on this point.
So, while one of two of these complaints are justifiable in some sense, I find the others quite a stretch. Rift is not without fault, in fact, i can point out 1-2 major faults in it, however these are definatly not even close to them.
I'd say it's more a result of being smart enough to go with what works.; from both the developer and the gamer perspectives.
Can I jump on the WOW was the 1st mmo ever made bandwagon also? Just a hint, when you post that (insert game name here) is a WOW clone or copied this or that from WOW you lose all credibility for knowing anything about mmo's. WOW has done the same thing that EVERY mmo has done in the past 10 years which is to take the same basic ideas from the mmo's before it and make it their own in some way. All the OP has done is make him or herself sound like a moron.
What I will never understand is if someone thinks a game is so horrible, why do they find it necessary to come into forums and crap on everyone elses enjoyment. I don't roll into other game forums and bash there game just because I don't care for it. I just don't spend my money on it. Most people come to these forums to discuss topics that make there gaming experience more enjoyable.
its not where this game went wronge but it was the HUGE over hype mashine that all the "wow heads" saying this was going to be the next big thing...then they all turn on it like someone takeing a sandwich from a fat guy...dunno why every game has to have a wow standerd or every game has to be labled a clone..i guess the mmo times have truely changed for the worst ..the thing thats sad is that i might have to give up on the genra altogether
Now tell me
How mutch different can those things copy pasted from other games be made?
Why change what is working fine to something totally different?
Why do cars have 4 weels and not 8? cars have 4 weels since 100 years now its time to change right?
Rift is not copy paste... They have ENHANCED others ideas that's it... To say the two games have the exact same thing in any category is just plain lazy...
To counter your points:
PQ in rift are able to be activated by the player, have different versions, have mobs that venture away from the area, and are never in the same place twice like WAR's were
Pet pathing is significantly better in Rift... The pet will stop attacking if you CC and enemy, it will attack on defensive mode if you right click the target, and you don't have pet talent trees..... NOT THE SAME!
Harvesting isn't the same either you will need 2 harvesting professions in order to be an effective crafter, you have to refine the product in order to use it i.e. saw lumber, you also have to do particular quests in order to advance the skill you can't just jump up tiers as you would in wow.
The trade skills aren't the same, they are used to craft many different items in a much broader category than WoW I.E. apothecary will make explosive potions, debufff, potions, and resurrection potions. Also if you're creating items you are able to enhance any item with a planar in order to change it's stats....
You really need to research more about a game before you throw around such ignorant statements! It's really not becoming, and it's showing your ignorance on the subject.
People seem to be confusing mmorpg "standards" like for instance, footbal games have standards, FPS have standards. This game is a mmorpg meant to be familiar and easy to jump into. Its going to do things in ways that are familiair if you have ever played a mmorpg before.
Ok that being said, ys they did infact use little thought, and didnt take any risks, drawing outside the lines. Yes it seems there are certain aspects of the game whos only purpose is to exactly mimmick other games. WoW is used a lot, although there are others from other games.
For what it is worth, its a well put together game, and take absolutly no risks in development, other than their blurring (destroying) unique class roles. The consequences of this may be that there are entire classes with little advantage in role or versatality when compared to other classes. Im thinking mage as nothing more than a buff class, in usefull roles, since some of their other unique abilities dont exactly add much to any fight, not at least any that cant be better done by other classes.
Either way, its a well put together game.
I tould have gone a long, long way, however, had they sat down, and really though of some unique applications to some of the mechanics, looks and functions in the game. It really does seem like the develoeprs save tons of effort and time using the line "it worked well in this game, lets not risk it and put it in Rift exactly as it was"
So people who just want a fresh start, in a good, standard, mmorpg, this game fits the bill.
People looking for something unique, next gen, or with PVP balance, this may not be for you.
Personally im not even sure im going to subscribe yet, and am unsure if i want to participate in the next beta events. If i do subscribe, there is NO variety in paths of progression...i dont want to burn out on it. I want to test to see how the pvp balance plays out, however i dont want to burn out on playing the same quest paths. Even the rifts got stale toward the end of the last beta...there was nothing to em, other than cool effects....just tank n spank in a hectic attempt to get more DD off and rise in the top contributor rank.
So as it stands im leaning towards just waiting it out a full month, however theres really nothing else out there thats "new".
This leads me to believe that Trion Worlds knew exactly the dry spell that would occur during this timeframe, because i really see no other reason to flock to RIft other than theres nothing new out there, at least not for a while.
just asking to myself: why should I buy tons of same games...
try before buy, even if it's a game to avoid bad surprises.
Worst surprises for me: Aion, GW2
I don't have a problem with similarities, but I do take issue the the massive number of shortcuts Trion has taken. I'm a believer in the philosophy that if you can't improve on what exists, don't waste the time, resources, or emotion on what you're doing. Rift's design is the well-worn boxes within boxes concept. You are once again funneled through a chute to get from one stage of the game to the next. No deviation. The rifts are a side distraction, but little more and after you've played through a few of them you begin to see the sameness. After a while, you're saying, "Oh look, another water rift," as you pass by on your way to the next quest hub.
The souls system is pretty much an exploded version of the WoW specialization swapping system, You're not creating a character, you're developing a collection of specs that you can flip through on the fly. Personally, I had trouble figuring out what to do when I switched souls. You become a little good at everything and skilled at nothing.
The races are lackluster and playing them doesn't change that. I usually develop an attachment to the characters I play, even in beta testing. In Rift, as in the latest incarnation of WoW, I found myself playing a "toon" in a world that I found hard to care about.
"Soloists and those who prefer small groups should never have to feel like they''re the ones getting the proverbial table scraps, as it were." - Scott Hartsman, Senior Producer, Everquest II
"People love groups. Its a fallacy that people want to play solo all the time." - Scott Hartsman, Executive Producer, Rift
I think the mmo community is expecting to have all the features that WoW has used and others that are suppose to be great but havent been implemented well...again to make it clear.......everyone that is burnt out on mmos are expecting all these features to keep them from leaving early ...its up to the devs to keep them locked in for the subscription. so people can claim that rift is just a copy of wow but really you know that having a standard set for the simple things (ui movement combat ect.) will free up time for devs to make the game really interesting and it is just the gold standard so-to-speak..
imo rift is doing it right by polishing the ruff spots and having a solid FUN foundation to build on
Don't start that old saw about the "real" content being in the levels you haven't seen yet. It's been used with every recent MMO and has been proven a myth every time. Say what you will. We don't have to be developers. We're more important because potential customers are the real experts! We know what works and what doesn't. Any development company that ignores that is on a fast track to obscurity.
"Soloists and those who prefer small groups should never have to feel like they''re the ones getting the proverbial table scraps, as it were." - Scott Hartsman, Senior Producer, Everquest II
"People love groups. Its a fallacy that people want to play solo all the time." - Scott Hartsman, Executive Producer, Rift
I'm not. I like the 1-30 content and think the 31-50 will be even better.
My comment is how a small percentage of people on this site prematurely post ewot about RIFT like they are experts on the game. You guys are just a bunch of RIFT newbs like the rest of us.
Public Quest, i did say ti was copyed from warhammer with their touch. Still an idea from Warhammer that's it.
Pet pathing is the same as wow, pet will stop CC with addon in wow too. nothing new, In defensive mode, I don't know if you're playing Rift like I am but when I right click, bang my pet is alrdy charging the mob. Same as Wow... Pet talent tree is missing, big deal... They didn't copy the customaziation for pet...
Harvesting is the same... It take 3second to harvest a node, you have the same mini map tracking ect. If you talk about Saw'ing lumber and shit? does it make a difference? No. IT's the same as creating one item from your tradeskill to craft another such as Blacksmith creating a stone to create their armor. That's it.
Harvesting Quest, there's daily quest in Wow to bring up your tradeskill as well such as fishing and cooking.
Man, have you been playing Rift? Tradeskill is EXACTLY the same. Get the stuff, click. You're done. That's it. Oh right... just a little add on, you can add a "plane loot" to add a little bit of stat. LOL!
I guess you haven't been playing the same "Rift" game as me... because that's what ti was.