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Early Release thoughts....
MindTrigger
Member Posts: 2,596
As we quickly approach the full launch of this game, I wanted to throw some comments in the hat with others here. I played the BWE's but purposely didn't get very far in the game because I didn't want to ruin the launch experience. After playing the first BWE, I was concerned about the level of polish of this game. After playing now at early release, almost all of my concerns are gone.
In game, I've only heard a few small complaints about glitches. However, I'm hearing all kinds of happy people who are busy playing and asking questions about the game. Contrast this with some launches I've been to where the general chat was full of griping and moaning, and/or insults.
I'm not a huge "story driven" mmo guy, however, you play more the role of an investigator, hunter and adventurer in this game. Even though there is a superb main story to follow, I still feel like I have created my own character, and his story is mine to tell through playing the game. Other than all of the structural problems with SWTOR, my other main complaint was that I never felt like my character was mine because the whole experience, including my dialog, was decided by the developers. I don't have that problem with TSW. The quests are actually interesting, in my opinion. You end up getting curious about the story line in this game just so you can see how and why things are the way they are.
I also LOVE the complete lack of armor sets. You rarely see people who look the same in this game, and by that I mean I haven't really seen *anyone* dressed the same yet. We may see a little of this in the future as Funcom offers clothing outfits in the store, but there is so much room for tweaking your look that you should be able to feel like an individual and express yourself. In fact, I would go as far as to say that Funcom should be continously adding new clothes to the game and the store, because people will love it.
On the store, right now it's mostly all cosmetic stuff. Funcom could take some notes from other games such as LOTRO in that they should be offering higher-detailed exclusives in there. Most of the real-money store items aren't worth paying for, IMO, and if they want to make some money they should up the quality. That's not to say that there shouldn't be cool stuff available for free, but I'm not going to spend real money on items that aren't premium. They have a few things, but not much. They also need to add Hood-up clothing, hats and jewelery options. Let people go nuts on their character. Backpacks were a huge seller for LOTRO, and I'm shocked I haven't seen iPod-like headphones and stuff like that.
This game is beautiful, especially on a decent gaming computer. I have every single setting maxed, and not only does it look amazing, but it plays perfectly smooth. I can't think of another MMORPG that I was so impressed with visually, and I even think it's on par with many higher-end FPS shooters. Kudos to the art team for a great job. Yeah, like some of you I wish there was more diveristy in the player faces and stuff, but it sounds like Funcom is working on enhancements for character creation and character modifications in game. I think Guild Wars 2 is a cartoony, but good looking game. However, it's not nearly as interesting to me and feels a bit like more of the same. TSW stands out here with very unique, interesting areas and well-done art.
Combat? So far I have only done PvE, but I really can't complain. I've seen some people on this website complain about animations, and while I haven't seen all of them for each weapon type, I know I haven't seen anything that I thought looked bad for me. If you want to see really, really bad player animation, go play LOTRO.
As far as the abilities and skills go, there are some places where they re-use animations which I don't like, but this isn't a game killer for me. Maybe they will fix them along the way, but if they don't, I don't care that much. I'll have to get deeper into the decks before I can write ay kind of conclusive review about this aspect.
This game isn't going to appeal to everyone, but I have a feeling it's going to carve a very nice niche out for itself. If Funcom adds more tools for the social aspects of this game, including player housing, more pets, clothes, lots of emotes, etc. they will get a very diverse crowd of players rather than the same group who plays all the big fantasy MMOs.
I personally still prefer a sandbox/hybrid play style, but I can spend quite a bit of time playing TSW for now. My early impressions are generally great, and I'm looking forward to see what lies ahead in this interesting game world.
A sure sign that you are in an old, dying paradigm/mindset, is when you are scared of new ideas and new technology. Don't feel bad. The world is moving on without you, and you are welcome to yell "Get Off My Lawn!" all you want while it happens. You cannot, however, stop an idea whose time has come.
Comments
pretty much sums up my early thoughts as well.. nice writeup:)
I angered the clerk in a clothing shop today. She asked me what size I was and I said actual, because I am not to scale. I like vending machines 'cause snacks are better when they fall. If I buy a candy bar at a store, oftentimes, I will drop it... so that it achieves its maximum flavor potential. --Mitch Hedberg
It is awesome so far
Has it really launched already in all silence ?
http://www.facebook.com/thesecretworld/posts/10151004777516941
Im so busy with playing it since 2 or 3 weeks already, i totally hav'nt seen it ^^
Best MMO experiences : EQ(PvE), DAoC(PvP), WoW(total package) LOTRO (worldfeel) GW2 (Artstyle and animations and worlddesign) SWTOR (Story immersion) TSW (story) ESO (character advancement)
It was more of a comparison of the different art styles. The games are completely different. I just think that GW2, while being an improvement, is still very much the same as all the other fantasy games out there. TSW looks much more interesting and engaging to me.
A sure sign that you are in an old, dying paradigm/mindset, is when you are scared of new ideas and new technology. Don't feel bad. The world is moving on without you, and you are welcome to yell "Get Off My Lawn!" all you want while it happens. You cannot, however, stop an idea whose time has come.
I couldn't agree more, well put OP.
It's good, it shows.
Nice post OP.
Agreed! I can't say enough about how refreshing it is to NOT be playing a fantasy MMO. That one thing made the game a lot more interesting to me than I thought it would. The areas are so beautiful it really makes you want to explore as well.
A sure sign that you are in an old, dying paradigm/mindset, is when you are scared of new ideas and new technology. Don't feel bad. The world is moving on without you, and you are welcome to yell "Get Off My Lawn!" all you want while it happens. You cannot, however, stop an idea whose time has come.
I agree mostly with your thoughts but my main dislike is the Character Creater , its horribly limited and the female faces are totally uggly excpt one or two which everybody chooses so we all look the same , CC needs a lot of work .
The clothing options are great but the Total lack of body options , not even a height option is crazy , its probabllt the worst CC ive seen in a game for...... well for ages .
where are all these EQ clones? Only game Ive played thats remotely close is Vanguard. I wish someone tried to make a decent attempt at making an EQ-like game...
But yes, TSW feels like a breath of fresh air.