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My Xsyon experience so far
Althewiseguy
Member Posts: 108
Greetings all. So I decided to take the jump and try Xsyon after a few weeks reading their forums. And thought I would share some of my impressions with you all. I have played a slew of MMO's over the years. And in an increasingly homogenised industry Xsyon piqued my interest immediatly when I heard of it.
The forums are easy to navigate and account creation was extremely easy and fluid. It might sound like a simple thing but the amount of needlessly complicated/convoluted account management systems I've had the displeasure of experiencing in online gaming is more than I care to count. Pricewise at 39.99 dollars it isnt cheap. But at least with conversion rates to pounds it's not so bad if you live in the UK or somewhere in the world with a higher strength currency. The launcher downloaded and updated the client and I was ready to go in the space of a few hours.
Character creation. I really like this. You have a variety of options to choose from to customize your characters looks. Height, preset faces, hairstyles and a very flexible set of skin colouration options. Here you also pick some starting skills and attribute distribution for when you enter the game world. Whilst not necessary to optimize for your playstyle ( you gain and lose attributes over time depending on what you do in the world ) I would seriously consider taking this simple view on attributes. If you want to do alot of crafting and little combat maximize dexterity and perception. These skills govern many of the trade skills and makes successes doing it much more likely. If you plan to be more of a straight up fighter/warrior. Go for fortitude and strength with a few points in agility. Strength also directly governs how much you can carry. So if you want to be able to be a packrat strength is good for that also.
Starting skills give you bonuses in what you choose starting out. You can theoretically skill up anything you want if your patient enough. Though there is an experience bar you fill up by progressing skills/doing activities. There are no levels in this game. You just get points every time the bar is filled that you can spend on improving skills of your choice. What you pick in the beginning though just helps give you a starting trade to make you useful partway in something. I chose basketry and logging ( Who doesnt need baskets and lumber in a post apocalypse right? Right!?) and axes for my weapon type and dodge for my combat skill. The logic behind that being I would more than likely have an axe handy to chop trees anyway. And dodge to help my crafting focused character survive more if he got ambushed. Letting him get away to safety ( in theory).
With my grizzly red haired survivor with a penchant for cutting trees down and weaving baskets ready. I set forth into the game world. Spawning by the side of the lake in a region called Crystal. I was immediately greeted by the sight of Lake Tahoe stretching into the distance. The far shore just visible in the afternoon sun and mountains on the skyline. By the lakeside and up into the hills I could see trees and streams. And I was immediately taken by the view and overcome with a great sense of being lost. All I had was a pouch with a few tools and some grubby looking cargo shorts for clothing. Graphically this game I would say is nice looking for a game that allows terraforming. The detail and animations are great. Especially considering this is the fruit of the labours of a small indie developer making its way in the MMO/online game world. Whilst on the minimum settings it wont win any beauty contests. The maximum level graphics are great. Trees bough in the breeze. Water laps serenely at the lake edges and pours from waterfalls. With grass and scrubland interspersed with rocky outcrops and the odd junk pile.
The interface once you learn your way around it is quite intuitive and easy to use in my experience. you have lists of actions your character can do. These range from crafting and gathering sklills to refinement of resources and construction. Though the complete lack of tutorial upon first entry to the game world is somewhat irksome I must say. But even muddling along blindly it didnt take long to get used to some of the core concepts of the game. Nearly every square foot of the game world can contain some sort of resource based on its nature. From grass and foragable berries to various stone types, branches, timber from cutting trees down and more. These myriad resources go into making the various items youll need and use throughout the game. The chat interface at the moment is somewhat basic. There are currently no filters for channels though the different / commands are available on the games forums/website. As are various player made guides. Also check youtube for video guides if thats more your thing.
I set out and explored my surroundings further. The grassy plain I was on by the river was very flat with a path running paralell with the coast of the lake. It didnt take me long to find some signs of other human activity. Partially constructed stockades and earthen ramparts with walls on top of them. With tents and storage houses inside I noticed from some of the unfinished settlement perimeters. It looked like the locals were digging in for the long haul. Thankfully my sparing contact with the locals amounted to the odd wave or friendly emote as I made my way along the coast road. Having read on forums of more unfortunate players whos first experience was having theie faces caved in by someone with a shovel. I was glad I hadnt met a similar fate.
I decided to try out my basket making skill. Finding the button in my actions list I opened up a sub menu to find what I needed to get started. It seems when you start the game your character gets randomized starting gear. Though usually its geared towards your chosen starting skills. There was a list of different intermediate ingredient recipes as well as some clothing and storage items I could make. So I set about gathering some grass. Which was easy to find. Though whilst gathering I realised I had picked a patch of ground bare of grass. Leaving the ground just bare dirt. This amazed me because I have never seen an online game world where you can affect the state of it on such a basic level. And made part of me admittedly worried what impact humanity will have on this pristine world given our track record with real world earth..
After a few minutes I was now sporting a fetching grass hat a ricefield worker would be proud of and storage bin I was now using as a higher capacity backpack. Disproportionately pleased with my success in my efforts I then realised that my hunger and thirst bars had fallen quite low. I needed to find water and food. Or I was worried my survival of the apocalypse might be a short one. I found out water was easy. Just go shallowly into the water and click on the resource icon for water that shows up in the resource menu. Not having found any animals yet to kill for food. And no fishing pole to catch fish. I was reduced to combing through the grassland with the foraging skill. Eventually ( along with a lot of flowers ) I collected a meagre meal of berries. Which my character dined on till the hunger bar was 3/4 full.
Content that I now had the basic knowledge to feed, water and clothe myself I looked towards shelter. I saw that I had options to build vaious walls and the like of various materials via architecture. But I didnt fancy lone-wolfing it. Talking via the general chat channel I eventually got directions from a tribe that was willing to take me in. Called the Xsyon Mercenaries. Their tribe name apparently eluding to their long term goal to be a group of warriors for hire. Being a crafting oriented person I liked the sound of this. A brave new world with a gang of well armed survivalists to protect me? Yes please!
After around 20 minutes of getting lost and getting used to the waypoint system. ( 3 sets of numbers. The first goes higher if you go east. the second higher if you go north. The third being elevation.) I found my way to their camp. Which was impressive. So far I had only seen the beginnings of partially constructed settlements. This had a stone wall encircling it with a wooden outer perimeter. With some storehouses and a watch tower. Even a communal area replete with campfires and a great view out to the lake from the plateu it was situated on. This had been my first experience of anything approaching civilisation in the world so far. It felt reassuring. Especially after the horror stories I had previously read of players meeting their maker via encountering bears and the odd player killer. Upon meeting a player named China who directed me on how to get to the base. I got a guided tour. This plucky bunch of survivors had already set up an organised storage yard. Offering me free use of tribe resources. On the condition in turn I replace what I could that I used when practical and help with various jobs in the camp. I figured free access to food and protection was a no brainer deal for me.
Over these last few days I have bonded with my tribemates and mucked in with activities needing done in the clan. From gathering timber to helping build more walls or scavenging. This game eschews many of the norms in online gaming many experienced in them have come to expect. There are no quest givers or npcs to converse with right now. Just a world for players to shape and found their societies. Whilst daunting for some undoubtedly. I find refreshing. This game is the definition of a sandbox experience. Even if we might not have as many toys to play with as we might like. It feels like a world with untold untapped potential and possibilities. That I feel that given time could lead to some enthralling stories of this game worlds history in the making.
Also I must state. For all its positives and quirks the game does have its issues. There are server crashes and lag time to time amongst other bugs that need to get sorted out and many features/activities needing put in/changed. Such as pvp in general and ranged combat. But even then the developers are working on it and actively engage with the community. I have confidence that once this games stability has improved and more refinements are made this MMO/sim can quite confidently carve its own niche. Much like the players in the game right now are setting up their foundling towns from the raw earth. If you dont mind persevering the issues the game currently has and fancy a leveless, survival simulator where the playerbase gets given the tools and they decide what do with them. Then I would highly reccomend you try Xsyon and support a bold endeavour from an independent developer. This game has alot of promise and could be right up your street if you fancy a change from grind-centric online games.
See you by the lake some time.
Comments
man its good so see someone having a good time and not just bashing the game. Ill be picking the game up soon so ill see you ingame
Excellent review Mordechai!
Mindurz, if you DO get ingame, contact either Caedmon, Mordechai, Tuwa, Felidor or China and we'll be more than happy to welcome you into our folds!!
cool thaanks
Really good read and agree a positive experience. Maybe it's the combination of niche genre, small community and a game with some true dynamic world interactions? I'll watch this one a bit more closely.
http://www.gdcvault.com/play/1014633/Classic-Game-Postmortem
hmmm...I'm not the norm for bashing games, but........
I see the post and simply don't understand were they are coming from. For a $40 game and then $15 bucks a month, it's not even close to ready (and when I say close, I meane at least a year, maybe two).
First off and the most important is Glitch Central, Lag and Crashes. And I have the absolute best system on the planet (well, maybe not the best, but way more than needed for this). Complaints all over the place because full screen doesn't work right and subs have to play windowed. What am I going to use my HD monitor for. WTS monitor.
Alot of features not in game. Simple and what I would consider needed items for a crafting game like floor/roofs for building (hell the building don't even look like buildings), cooking....really? How can cooking not be here.
I know this game was (is) being developed be indy type and I fully support them and I feel we need em, but for the cost? At this time, this game should still be in developement or at best free with a $10 sub. Hell, WURM Oline with its 80s graphics is far, far, far better.
With that being said...I hope these guys get their S*** together because I like indy developer.
Ok let's start off with what you just said.
Subs are the same as every other game that is generic and not trying to break the rules of "korean 'unique' grindfest".
Fullscreen works perfectly haven't seen a single post complaining about it. The crashes have been erased and they worked literally 27 hours straight to get it sorted.
The game is called Prelude as it's the prelude of the "bronze age" the game evolves with the players and the devs work so hard to get this game out.
You obviously haven't played in a while cause every game stopping bug is gone.
You're thinking that this game isn't ready cause it hasn't got some features, news flash: THE APOCALYPSE has just happened, this game is meant to be based on a real apocalypse, with the odd mutant with a shovel added. Meaning animal taming isn't going to happen straight away, magic isn't gonna shoot out of our asses, and guns aren't going to magic out of nowhere.
The game is in Prelude, expect epic views, fort building and petty PvP. If you're looking for a polished end game don't play this, play WoW.
But if you're looking for an excellent game where you ahve to hunt animals, cut tree's for wooden palisades or even makes bricks for walls, then play this game. If you want politics and micro management, join this game. If you want a game that is constantly giving and does give endless amounts of choices. JOIN THIS GAME!
Does this game have magic system in?
"The game is in Prelude."
I love it!
There isn't a "right" or "wrong" way to play, if you want to use a screwdriver to put nails into wood, have at it, simply don't complain when the guy next to you with the hammer is doing it much better and easier. - Allein
"Graphics are often supplied by Engines that (some) MMORPG's are built in" - Spuffyre
No. Magic has always been planned after Prelude, and many of us have some hope that it will never be in
I preordered just days before launch, so my $40 goes into paying for my first 2.5 months.
You sound like a person grapsing at excuses to like the game. Explain buttons, soda can tabs, large metal sheeting and various other worthless piles of junk you fish up in the junk piles. Explain Faith and Charm. Or explain why architecture recpies only allow for walls and tents, not floors or roofs? There is no in-game lore that can explain this away.
I can understand the game advancing, but there's a deifference between "Prelude" and "Not done". I posted recently that AAA charge $40+ and then $15 a month. Xsyon was... $40 and... another $15 a month. Hrmmmm. This is like buying a Yugo for $45,000 and thinking you got a luxury car because it has the same price tag as a BMW.
Xyson is a shell of a game.
I find it insulting that that they'd even dream of charging us 15$/month.
No one force you to pay that 15 USD so how is that an insult ?
I wonder if lowering the monthly fee would make any diference. Most of the people either like Xsyon and therefore willing to pay, or hate it and therefore won't play it even for free. Are there people out there who kinda like the game but will only play if it costs 5 or 10 bucks ?
Wrong. I like it and I know a lot of people who like it too. Lol how can you claim something like this: 'No one really likes it' ? Did you make a survey and got an answer from every single player ?
I for one would vote that I do like it if polled.
The game is not without its faults and is a real "you make the content" game; which is kinda what you are buying when you get a sandbox.
It has some tech issues
It will be 6 months to a year before it really can stand as a full game.
But for those that like to build and are social there is never a dull moment.
Just today I went 8 zones away from my area to check on a friends construction; and because of mountains and other landscape it took me quite a while to get there.
Ah, one of the posters that know what everybody likes.
For the record, I like the game. (And I'm quite happy that the wargame contingent is getting more restless than the "carebear" contingent.)
I maintain this List of Sandbox MMORPGs. Please post or send PM for corrections and suggestions.
Not very good review as it is missing alot of points which are expected in any MMORPG.
For example where is the info about combat mechanics?
How is the combat like? Are there ranged weapons? Guns? Bows? Is it targetted combat or FPS type combat or...? How does armor work? Are there hit areas in combat? Is there magic?
Is there an In Game map system? How do you find your way around?
What is the end game? Is there and end game?
What different viable builds are there and are they balanced in PvP? PvE?
What is the death penalty system like? Full loot?
What mobs are there in the game and what loot do they have?
Are there dungeons? raids?
The impression I get when reading this review is that it is more like Farmville than Darkfall.
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You are completely right about that, Xsyon is no wargame a la Darkfall, though plenty of posters seem to want to make it into one.
Personally, I believe many posters have only ever experienced a so-called sandbox game by playing Darkfall or MO, and they now assume that is what a sandbox game has to be. They completely missed quite some of the earlier sandbox games (SWG, Tale in the Desert, Ryzom, Horizons for example) that didn't have that wargame and combat focus.
I maintain this List of Sandbox MMORPGs. Please post or send PM for corrections and suggestions.
SWG had a quite extensive combat aspect, so did Horizons and also the games you did not mention such as Asherons Call and Ultima Online. Sandbox in itself does not say if the game will have extensive combat mechanics or not, that is completely decoupled. Rather it is computer RPGs that have traditionally had alot of combat so it is kinda expected these days.
Xsyon has quite poor combat capabilities (or seem to as I have not played the game) and as such I dont think it will cater to RPG players, sandbox or not.
I am an RPG sandbox-fan but such a game without a well built out combat system is for me like hamburger without the meat and hence the reason I havent even considered this game.
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He didn't mention combat because its very basic now, kinda broken and under rework.
There is no ranged combat, and no magic.
No ingame map, there are coordinates to help you navigate.
This is a sandbox game...there is no endgame and I hope there never will be.
About builds....you can set your stat points as you like if thats what you meant..
Death penalty is not in game yet. Its supposed to be partly full loot but its not working now. You can loot what a character is wearing but not his baskets.
There are animals in the game, you can get bones, hides, skull etc out of them, just like when you kill a real animal.
OMG, no dungeons and no raids, you are confusing this game with WoW.
The game is definitely more like Farmville than Darkfall. Thankfully.
I thought I'd take a stab at your questions, but I played a month or so ago, things may have changed since "launch".
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Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
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Thanks, that answered alot of my questions
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xsyon combat isn't tab-target.
Armour works fine aswell, you just gotta have high lvl crafting/gathering skills to make better quality armour, at the moment non-one ingame can make the best armour yet and it's mostly poor quality so doesn't protect you much.
There IS a compass but it's built into the enviroment.
I know what stats effect what so i know how to make a starting charactor build, others do to, i say starting char because your stats change over the course of your game life depending on what you do ingame, for instance you might roll a charactor with low strength but over a few months if you do labouring jobs like cutting down trees and hauling the logs around your strength will increase while your intelligence might drop because you havn't been crafting at all.
If you look in the game files you will notice that there are more than 4 animals, hopefully they will be turned on soon.
That highlighted point sums up the game perfectly. There's a lot of potential for Xsyon, but that's all it is - potential. They charged people to buy the game and then a monthly fee on top of that (albeit, you get several weeks for free) yet they haven't turned on most of the features that would make their game, a game
Armor is, in effect, broken. Unless they come out and say otherwise, it's hard to sell the idea that it does anything. Bone is bone, leather is leather, there is no quality involved in the materials. During beta/pre-wipe, many people had high crafting skills yet the armor still failed to do anything noticeable.
When you say stats change, do you mean up as well as down, or just down? For ages they only had stat decay implemented, not stat gain. Just about everyone lost points in most of their stats, especially the ones they didn't use often. No one, however, ever gained any points. Oh, and they launched the game in this state!
Combat though, isn't tab based, it's the exact opposite. It's a clsuterf*** of latency and random hits. There's no skill, no tactics... nothing really involved in combat that even hints at the idea of being combat.
And since I haven't played it since 1 week after launch, perhaps people can tell me if they ever fixed/added the following:
Faith - does it do anything yet?
Buildings - serve a purpose or just look pretty? Does it still rain indoors?
Comfort - was supposed to give buildings a purpose - is it in the game yet?
Terraforming - still lag everything down, or can everyone start digging holes and the game stays stable (with more than just 12 people logged in)?
Trash - I had thousands of buttons, coins and can tabs stored up with no use for them at all. Have they added recipes that actually use some of these worthless items?
Invisible walls - a ditch or mound that went 4 levels deep/high became an invisible object you couldn't navigate around, even if you could esily jump the ditch, you'd hit an invisible wall mid-air and fall in the ditch.
Animals - Do they run off into the Mist or stick around finally?
Combat - Have they gotten that specialist they were hiring to fix the combat system yet?
I agree; it is silly for people to claim no one likes the game as is. There is always a group of people that likes product "X" in its current state. The real question becomes: Is there enough people who like the game and are willing to pay a monthly sub in its current state? If the answer is "No", then don't see much hope of Xsyon surviving. Only time will tell...
A man is his own easiest dupe, for what he wishes to be true he generally believes to be true...