"... I was detained and could not play for a few days. When I returned, I found that I could not remember which hotkeys brought up which windows. I decided to check my menus. Surely there is a list somewhere for easy reference. Not so. I was at a loss, and so I spent the next 10 minutes trying out different combinations until I got myself organized."
the very first tab in the options window is keyboard bindings. the options window can be found in the "blue gem" menu. a little more poking around would have found it quite quickly.
"Second on my list of criticisms is the fact that I often had trouble figuring out exactly where I was at any given time. I found the in-game maps next to useless. While they did tell me where I was in relation to a land mass, I was not given the amount of detail that I needed to really feel as though I knew where I was going."
this was a huge complaint when it changed recently. they reduced the quality of the map to try to reduce lag and totally removed a good deal of its usefulness.
not sure what else to say... there are still lots of problems, and lag is a big one.
is the negative side of HZ. It covers the many reasons that people quit over the first 18 months or so. Some of the issues that caused people to leave have been looked at, and some of the posts point to that fact.
stresses the positive from existing fans/players, what kept them playing.
The OP and the review are correct in one point. You should not compare HZ to WoW or EQ2, not even the games that were out before. AE tried to create a different style of game altogether.
discusses what players wanted or expected HZ to be, and what it has actually become, and how much progress is being made towards reaching it's goal. Importantly these are posts from long term current players that KNOW the game, what it does well, where it falls down, and how it should improve.
Certain people who post HERE think that ALL the negative posts come from players that quit 6 months ago, or a year ago, or even shortly after release. That's simply not true. Read the official forums. There is a far greater level of negativity from current players than anything posted here at mmorpg.com.
A year ago, during the chapter 11 turmoil, I began to post my thoughts on HZ on tazoon, and the then new community site. I was labelled a troll, a whiner, told to quit, etc.
A year later I see my thoughts echoed in many posts from players that have only just quit, or STILL play, and they express the present day state of the game far more eloquently than the main page review.
Originally posted by Magnaman You really have issues dude and by the look of all the posts you must be subbed to every online game out there. Again I am not dozer, and I really don't think you know me let alone yourself the way you go from game to game.
LOL man do I know you. You just can't let me get the last word, even when you're trying to deny it's you. You are STILL the only person who purports to know what games I play just by my xfire profile and brings it up. No one ever has done that, that's how I knew it was you even when you were posting my xfire profile in that other thread. Man you're funny.
Watch now you'll post again because you can't stand for me to have the last word and to win. No one else talks like you DOZeR, no one could. It really is funny how you can't just let things go. Meh.
i dont know who you are, anarchyst, or who is your enemy, but for sure if you are trying to look like ann asshole, you are hitting your success here!:(
I Beta tested the game, and the other day went back to it for a trial out period just to see how the game was now.
Unfortunaly none of the comments i had and sugestions at the time of the beta test were accepted, like they didnt accept any sugestions from the other beta testers i met at the time. they wanted to fast launch Horizons and get some fast bucks and so they did and thus Horizons was ill born.
There has been some small changes in the game since the beta time but you guys need to be honest. Horizons is long gone. Old gaming system and engine.. Is MMORPG receiving $ to make theese nice reviews of almost dead games? Just wondering and if so its sad really. What made me come to MMORPG was the idea of a fair website really analysing MMorpgs with neutrality and professionalism .. not this.
I played Horizons for about 6 months before growing tired of it and leaving for something new. I just finished trying out the current free trial to see if it had changed much... it hasn't. Its a fun new experience through about level 25 and then it starts to get repeditive. The tier II crafting stuff is all the same as the tier I stuff with the specs upgraded. Crafting starts out being novel with the search for recipes, but turns into a tedious grind of harvesting materials and crafting the same stuff over and over to advance. The higher you get, the more tedious it becomes because you have to travel farther to find stuff to harvest.
I did enjoy playing a dragon a lot and the quest to learn to fly is great. Flying around as a dragon has to be one of the greatest parts of the game. If you like dragons, you can get 2-3 months of fun play from this game. After that, unless you have a good group to regularly play with, it gets old and repeditive. I think one of the biggest mistakes they made in the game was turning it into a level based game when they originally promised a skill based game. The leveling grind ruins many otherwise good games.
This was an ok review. I have been a player of Horizon's since its release date And therefore thouroughly enjoy playing it to this day! One thing that I do have to say is that the screenshots taken for the review must have had the Graphics turned down due to that fact that they look a lot better to me on my computer ( I have the graphics almost all the way turned up except the ones that cause a lot of lag AKA real shadows) I have put up some of my screenshots on my deviantart page ( http://morthulwen.deviantart.com/ ) for those who may be curious also to what an Adult dragon looks like as well as a couple of biped screens too. (warning large files there they are my full size screenshots)
Morthulwen Ruzkrish Adult Lunus Dragon lvl 58 on the Chaos shard
A nicely presented review in my opinion. It covered all the topics I personally critique in looking at a game and did so in a forthright manner. Honest, both in point of view and presentation. While I've seen it pointed out that the review lacked some of the hardier details that would require an extended amount of experience to truly understand, I think the review did a great job of explaining the current state of the game, all things considered.
I know a lot of people seem to misconstrue that reviewers and Devs have oodles of time to devote to these reviews, but it's simply not the case. Many reviewers have 'day jobs' and can't afford to spend 100 hours in a game when 20 will cover most of the important basic topics. Consider also that a game review might just be one of many things on the writer's proverbial plate. So, you do lose a little bit of nitty-gritty info about the game in question, but the amount of return on time invested drops off pretty steeply after the first little while and sometimes it's better to make more efficient use of your time than to keep squeezing that stone for the sake one more drop.
Just my 2 cents, which ended up becoming more like a nickel, all told.
Well well well, fancy seeing you pop in in the most peculuar place...an HZ thread. Drop me a line if you get the chance.
As for the Article, I'm sure the reviewer tried to do justice to his own opinion. I can't say I agree with everything he said, because after trying to give HZ every opportunity possible (Beta, release, and again just recently), I have continually found the game lacking in several areas, for my own personal tastes and what I am looking for in an MMOG.
While i agree with about 90% of what the author stated, I have to disagree with his opinion about the music. Horizons in game music is my favorite MMO soundtrack...and I've played almost all of them.
Jon, name a game with a better soundtrack...maybe EVE can compete, but that's about it.
Actually, this gives me a thread idea...see you in general chat
Joined 2004 - I can't believe I've been a MMORPG.com member for 20 years! Get off my lawn!
I played the Beta extensively and really liked what they were trying to do up to a point. The crafting system was fresh at the time and a lot of fun instead of merely boring.
The turning point came when two things happened. First, the company tried to hold GM led events. In all my years of playing MMORPGs, these were THE LAMEST attempts I have ever seen. Imagine a bunch of MBAs from marketing deciding to organize "skeleton horde attacks a town" type of event. It was embarassing beyond belief!
Sadly, it exposed the creative underbelly of the game to be very shallow. I may be mistaken but I recall hearing that several of the leading creative designers of the game had left right before that in some internal dispute.
The second critical point for me was the then chief designer's view of future role of Dragons in the game. Now I, like Jon in his review, love the idea of playing a dragon, and they have done a REALLY nice implementation of being a baby dragon. I, and many of my firends, had joined Horizon soley to play Dragonkin, it was its greatest draw for us. We kept struggling to raise our our levels toward some unspecified point when we would get wings and fly! Then one day the chief designer said something to the effect that "Gee, aren't dragons great. When they get older and can fly, then the Fighters can ride on their backs into battle." Jaws dropped, dreams shattered. We, the Dragonkin, were going to ultimately become bloody taxis for the vaunted Fighters?!?!?!
A bunch of us closed our accounts on the spot and never bought the retail version. Like the Dragons, Horizon never got "off the ground" with the players. As far as I can tell from Jon's review, it still has not.
I played Horizons from Beta until about 6 months after release, I also had a look in recently with the free trial.
The review seems fairly accraute form my memory, except again the music, it is the best MMO best I have heard, it was one of the four things I really liked about the game. The music, the dragons, the crafting and the community.
I quit playing Horizons at the end of april, because the european support was not willing to help, me when I got stuck inmidst my ARoP after more than 2 years.
As stated before, there are no dungeons. But there are at least 3 greater caves coming up my mind. First for shure the dwarven city beyond Aughundel. Second the cave under the werewolve isle, Third the Cave unter the Island of Fire. As I am a 30 feet tall dragon I do not really have a use for dungeons to get stuck in.
I tried DAoC and Eve the last weeks, as they are highest ranks MMOs here. Maybe they are interesting if you like PVP/RVR... but I prefer the direct combat style of Horizons! So I disagree with Jon. Maybe the victim of my firebreath does not burn... but the victim of my Breath of Ice freezes! *grinning*
As there is much conversation in the game and even in combat, at least much more than in Eve and DAoC, and its (in comparision with EVE) direct way to move and fly, it is THE game i felt most excited in combat.
Try the trial! But stay away from the european shard "Unity", as there is no real support. Not that you need much, but if you need a single String added to your profile after more than 2 years, its awesome they cant do it within 6 Months!
Comments
from the review:
"... I was detained and could not play for a few days. When I returned, I found that I could not remember which hotkeys brought up which windows. I decided to check my menus. Surely there is a list somewhere for easy reference. Not so. I was at a loss, and so I spent the next 10 minutes trying out different combinations until I got myself organized."
the very first tab in the options window is keyboard bindings. the options window can be found in the "blue gem" menu. a little more poking around would have found it quite quickly.
"Second on my list of criticisms is the fact that I often had trouble figuring out exactly where I was at any given time. I found the in-game maps next to useless. While they did tell me where I was in relation to a land mass, I was not given the amount of detail that I needed to really feel as though I knew where I was going."
this was a huge complaint when it changed recently. they reduced the quality of the map to try to reduce lag and totally removed a good deal of its usefulness.
not sure what else to say... there are still lots of problems, and lag is a big one.
The review is ok but rather slim on detail.
To anyone thinking of playing the game they should read the official forums.
This thread:
http://community.istaria.com/Web/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=89094
is the negative side of HZ. It covers the many reasons that people quit over the first 18 months or so. Some of the issues that caused people to leave have been looked at, and some of the posts point to that fact.
However, this thread
http://community.istaria.com/Web/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=89094
stresses the positive from existing fans/players, what kept them playing.
The OP and the review are correct in one point. You should not compare HZ to WoW or EQ2, not even the games that were out before. AE tried to create a different style of game altogether.
This thread
http://community.istaria.com/Web/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=90214
discusses what players wanted or expected HZ to be, and what it has actually become, and how much progress is being made towards reaching it's goal. Importantly these are posts from long term current players that KNOW the game, what it does well, where it falls down, and how it should improve.
Certain people who post HERE think that ALL the negative posts come from players that quit 6 months ago, or a year ago, or even shortly after release. That's simply not true. Read the official forums. There is a far greater level of negativity from current players than anything posted here at mmorpg.com.
Just read this thread is you don't believe me;
http://community.istaria.com/Web/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=90103
A year ago, during the chapter 11 turmoil, I began to post my thoughts on HZ on tazoon, and the then new community site. I was labelled a troll, a whiner, told to quit, etc.
A year later I see my thoughts echoed in many posts from players that have only just quit, or STILL play, and they express the present day state of the game far more eloquently than the main page review.
LOL man do I know you. You just can't let me get the last word, even when you're trying to deny it's you. You are STILL the only person who purports to know what games I play just by my xfire profile and brings it up. No one ever has done that, that's how I knew it was you even when you were posting my xfire profile in that other thread. Man you're funny.
Watch now you'll post again because you can't stand for me to have the last word and to win. No one else talks like you DOZeR, no one could. It really is funny how you can't just let things go. Meh.
i dont know who you are, anarchyst, or who is your enemy, but for sure if you are trying to look like ann asshole, you are hitting your success here!:(
who cares who is your enemy-poster?:(
try getting a life!:8
I Beta tested the game, and the other day went back to it for a trial out period just to see how the game was now.
Unfortunaly none of the comments i had and sugestions at the time of the beta test were accepted, like they didnt accept any sugestions from the other beta testers i met at the time. they wanted to fast launch Horizons and get some fast bucks and so they did and thus Horizons was ill born.
There has been some small changes in the game since the beta time but you guys need to be honest. Horizons is long gone. Old gaming system and engine.. Is MMORPG receiving $ to make theese nice reviews of almost dead games? Just wondering and if so its sad really. What made me come to MMORPG was the idea of a fair website really analysing MMorpgs with neutrality and professionalism .. not this.
I played Horizons for about 6 months before growing tired of it and leaving for something new. I just finished trying out the current free trial to see if it had changed much... it hasn't. Its a fun new experience through about level 25 and then it starts to get repeditive. The tier II crafting stuff is all the same as the tier I stuff with the specs upgraded. Crafting starts out being novel with the search for recipes, but turns into a tedious grind of harvesting materials and crafting the same stuff over and over to advance. The higher you get, the more tedious it becomes because you have to travel farther to find stuff to harvest.
I did enjoy playing a dragon a lot and the quest to learn to fly is great. Flying around as a dragon has to be one of the greatest parts of the game. If you like dragons, you can get 2-3 months of fun play from this game. After that, unless you have a good group to regularly play with, it gets old and repeditive. I think one of the biggest mistakes they made in the game was turning it into a level based game when they originally promised a skill based game. The leveling grind ruins many otherwise good games.
This was an ok review. I have been a player of Horizon's since its release date And therefore thouroughly enjoy playing it to this day! One thing that I do have to say is that the screenshots taken for the review must have had the Graphics turned down due to that fact that they look a lot better to me on my computer ( I have the graphics almost all the way turned up except the ones that cause a lot of lag AKA real shadows) I have put up some of my screenshots on my deviantart page ( http://morthulwen.deviantart.com/ ) for those who may be curious also to what an Adult dragon looks like as well as a couple of biped screens too. (warning large files there they are my full size screenshots)
Morthulwen Ruzkrish Adult Lunus Dragon lvl 58 on the Chaos shard
A nicely presented review in my opinion. It covered all the topics I personally critique in looking at a game and did so in a forthright manner. Honest, both in point of view and presentation. While I've seen it pointed out that the review lacked some of the hardier details that would require an extended amount of experience to truly understand, I think the review did a great job of explaining the current state of the game, all things considered.
I know a lot of people seem to misconstrue that reviewers and Devs have oodles of time to devote to these reviews, but it's simply not the case. Many reviewers have 'day jobs' and can't afford to spend 100 hours in a game when 20 will cover most of the important basic topics. Consider also that a game review might just be one of many things on the writer's proverbial plate. So, you do lose a little bit of nitty-gritty info about the game in question, but the amount of return on time invested drops off pretty steeply after the first little while and sometimes it's better to make more efficient use of your time than to keep squeezing that stone for the sake one more drop.
Just my 2 cents, which ended up becoming more like a nickel, all told.
Michael K. Donovan
Aura00,
Well well well, fancy seeing you pop in in the most peculuar place...an HZ thread. Drop me a line if you get the chance.
As for the Article, I'm sure the reviewer tried to do justice to his own opinion. I can't say I agree with everything he said, because after trying to give HZ every opportunity possible (Beta, release, and again just recently), I have continually found the game lacking in several areas, for my own personal tastes and what I am looking for in an MMOG.
While i agree with about 90% of what the author stated, I have to disagree with his opinion about the music. Horizons in game music is my favorite MMO soundtrack...and I've played almost all of them.
Jon, name a game with a better soundtrack...maybe EVE can compete, but that's about it.
Actually, this gives me a thread idea...see you in general chat
Joined 2004 - I can't believe I've been a MMORPG.com member for 20 years! Get off my lawn!
I played the Beta extensively and really liked what they were trying to do up to a point. The crafting system was fresh at the time and a lot of fun instead of merely boring.
The turning point came when two things happened. First, the company tried to hold GM led events. In all my years of playing MMORPGs, these were THE LAMEST attempts I have ever seen. Imagine a bunch of MBAs from marketing deciding to organize "skeleton horde attacks a town" type of event. It was embarassing beyond belief!
Sadly, it exposed the creative underbelly of the game to be very shallow. I may be mistaken but I recall hearing that several of the leading creative designers of the game had left right before that in some internal dispute.
The second critical point for me was the then chief designer's view of future role of Dragons in the game. Now I, like Jon in his review, love the idea of playing a dragon, and they have done a REALLY nice implementation of being a baby dragon. I, and many of my firends, had joined Horizon soley to play Dragonkin, it was its greatest draw for us. We kept struggling to raise our our levels toward some unspecified point when we would get wings and fly! Then one day the chief designer said something to the effect that "Gee, aren't dragons great. When they get older and can fly, then the Fighters can ride on their backs into battle." Jaws dropped, dreams shattered. We, the Dragonkin, were going to ultimately become bloody taxis for the vaunted Fighters?!?!?!
A bunch of us closed our accounts on the spot and never bought the retail version. Like the Dragons, Horizon never got "off the ground" with the players. As far as I can tell from Jon's review, it still has not.
Hawkwinde
I played Horizons for a year and i must say that this review is more like an intro to the game.
There are many aspects of this game that are not taking into consideration
High End Crafting (endless grinding)
Building Plots (endless grinding)
Lack of High end content
It is possible that all the problems with servers are over ... maybe because they don't have that much subscribers.
It is a good intro that has been written, but to call it a review?
I played Horizons from Beta until about 6 months after release, I also had a look in recently with the free trial.
The review seems fairly accraute form my memory, except again the music, it is the best MMO best I have heard, it was one of the four things I really liked about the game. The music, the dragons, the crafting and the community.
In order for this to have been a "Re-review" I think the reviewer should have played when the game first went retail.
That said. I give this review a 'Meh'.
www.itsbroken.com
When in doubt, Right click.
As stated before, there are no dungeons. But there are at least 3 greater caves coming up my mind. First for shure the dwarven city beyond Aughundel. Second the cave under the werewolve isle, Third the Cave unter the Island of Fire. As I am a 30 feet tall dragon I do not really have a use for dungeons to get stuck in.
I tried DAoC and Eve the last weeks, as they are highest ranks MMOs here. Maybe they are interesting if you like PVP/RVR... but I prefer the direct combat style of Horizons! So I disagree with Jon. Maybe the victim of my firebreath does not burn... but the victim of my Breath of Ice freezes! *grinning*
As there is much conversation in the game and even in combat, at least much more than in Eve and DAoC, and its (in comparision with EVE) direct way to move and fly, it is THE game i felt most excited in combat.
Try the trial! But stay away from the european shard "Unity", as there is no real support. Not that you need much, but if you need a single String added to your profile after more than 2 years, its awesome they cant do it within 6 Months!