Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Quick Links
[Column] WildStar: The Arkships Wicked Weekend
SBFord
Former Associate EditorMember LegendaryPosts: 33,129
Last weekend marked an important turn in the development of WildStar as the team continued revealing more about the game and asked for player input. We had boots on the ground during Arkship 2013 and have a full report. Keep reading and then leave your thoughts in the comments.
There will be no coddling, no hand holding, no ring through the nose leading of players from one zone to the next. Carbine is going out of its way to erase all such notions from its fans’ minds. We’ve often heard the statement “play the game your way” but most game makers touting such things rarely make good on the comment. Not so of Carbine. From my experience with WildStar, there is great truth to the promise the dev team has made.
Read more of Suzie Ford's WildStar: The Arkship’s Wicked Weekend.
)
Comments
If in 1982 we played with the current mentality, we would have burned down all the pac man games since the red ghost was clearly OP. Instead we just got better at the game.
Very similar to other post-Arkship reviews due to that pesky NDA. Though all seem to be equally impressed. I have to say I'm "guardedly excited" about WS too. I like most of what I'm reading but like you said, we've seen all this before.
Not sure if you're allowed to answer this. I know you said players won't miss out on lore or story by skipping some of the tired-old quest hub but what about some decent starting gear? Will players still get equally rewarded by doing other things? I think seeing screenshots of exclamation points and question marks might scare some off.
For those who haven't seen the other reviews, check the official WildStar Wednesday update for Arkship
I can't describe how difficult it feels for us to keep tight lipped about features we know the community wants to know about!
--
Admin @ http://wildstar-central.com/
ZapRobo (PlanetSide 2) | Zap-Robo (The Secret World)
@Master Zaprobo (City of Heroes) | Zaphod@Zap-Robo (Star Trek Online)
If in 1982 we played with the current mentality, we would have burned down all the pac man games since the red ghost was clearly OP. Instead we just got better at the game.
Lol, so true! Keeping fingers crossed for beta invite. I would love some more details on the path system.
What happens when you log off your characters????.....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFQhfhnjYMk
Dark Age of Camelot
"guardedly excited" is pretty much my state with WildStar as well.
I've been following it for a while and it sounds like they are making all the right moves, but until I see some more concrete detail on various systems (character progression, itemisation, zone / world size) I'll continue to follow at a distance.
I know I'll probably get in trouble for this, but I'm kinda hoping WildStar turns out to be a sort of WoW 1.6 version 2. Also, 'genre game changer'... intrigued.
This article was about Wildstar, not Firefall.
Firefall tho - hope they have a good beta
If in 1982 we played with the current mentality, we would have burned down all the pac man games since the red ghost was clearly OP. Instead we just got better at the game.
The one thing that makes me highly wary is NCSoft.
Their quite brutal willingness to kill games off even when profitable makes me not want to touch this with a barge pole.
The team told us that the best quests are hidden in places that will take dedication and good luck to find.
Sweet, sounds like we'll be getting some great exploration
As someone who loves mmo's and hasn't seen or read much of this game... What are some things about this game that seem so great?
Better off reading up yourself instead of getting "hyped" answers for your feedback. I believe the article explains several reasons itself
I can list some features though:
Mix of themepark and sandbox. Paths that allow concentration on non-combat gameplay, settlements, housing, science. Combat seen as mix of WoW/GW 2, more action based. Huge diversified world with actual exploration.
They say no hand holding.....yet the entire combat system revolves around the monsters telegraphing exactly what they are going to do and all you need to do is step out of hte red box.
They say no handholding, yet each zone has a progressive series of quests that lead you to the end area of the zone, which then leads you to the next level zones.
Quest hubs, NPCs with exclamation points over their heads....etc.
Maybe they mean there is no hand holding as an actual emote?
Smile
I wouldnt be to worried NCSoft is just the publisher not the developer. WS looks like the real deal that alot of us have been waiting for. Give me this and EQNext and im a happy camper.
"Its better to look ugly and win than pretty and lose"
When I hear "completely new" then I know there is trouble. You want to kill this game - keep on with the "completely new" vein. There are only a couple of different ideas that I see, one or which is the Path system. Wildstart will NEVER be able to get away with the WOW clone tag simply because the art style looks like WOW. I am saying this from one who REALLY wants this game.
Other troubling signs - combat is more work. I want to play an mmo not a console game. Looking back at the Wildstar videos I noticed a number of references to "just like console games". Seems that Carbine is leaning more on the console side than the mmo side. Along this line - "lets make combat more difficult so that our game is not considered sissy". Thus the addition of nearby mobs piling up on you in combat. I have had enough of this in GW2 and the reason I quit my Ranger. Pet classes are going to get slammed by this.
Then there is the "we will not hold your hand" mantra. I am happy that Wildstar is not a controlling as SWTOR but going the GW2 way for making most quests invisible until found is not going to work in a two faction system. I am amazed that no one (that I know) has picked up on this. The reason why GW2 gets away with hiding their quests is that you can level in ANY race's area and that you are downleveled when you go into a lower level area. You can get experience in any level and area of the map. With 5 (? - have not been on in a while) races, let me tell you this idea really works. You have SO many places that you can level.
I feel like a manic depressant on this game. Last week I was sky high. This week I am down in the dumps again. Contrary to the OP admiration for Carbine releasing more information closer to release, I see the same hype trail as with SWTOR. Then again, I am most to blame on this. Just like SWTOR I REALLY want this game but I think that I do so because of what I am imagining it will be like. I have to rein in my enthusiasm and be, like the OP said - "guardedly excited".
We should be cautious in saying anything, as we are under NDA, but "no hand-holding" is their goal. At the moment, they have some quest hubs and such (which is great for new players), but they have a lot of quests in the world to be discovered later if you go off the beaten path.
The telegraph system is cool, but it doesn't hold your hand. If I said to you, "first I am going to have this sniper shoot you, then that mine there will explode, then I will toss a hand grenade at you, and then an airship will rain bullets down on you" you probably wouldn't be able to avoid all of this without some skill, even though I told you what was going to happen.
Who said the red box has to be a rectangle anyway?
Well put. There is a misconception that telegraph = easymode. Which couldn't be further from the truth. That's why raids have been using some kind of telegraph system for years. Just Carbine is making it a regular part of combat throughout the game world. What it does do is make players focus on the action instead of just staring at hotbars.
Carbine Studios is a development studio that is wholly-owned by NCSoft. So was Paragon Studios. Yes, doing a little research will tell most people that they have every reason to worry.
So every game in development sends up a red flag for you? NDAs are a normal part of the development process.