after I got the flamethrower, I ran around killing guys around my level... It was fun... Sometimes I start getting framerate problems though:/, it has to do with my computer...
Quests aren't any better than what's out there right now...
I learned the discipline to craft by the trainers..but I can't figure out how to use those crafting places...so I can't figure out how to craft?
Thanks for the screens Size Twelve! I really am intrigued but I'll have to wait till it comes out to try it. 100 kb/s is just too sadly slow for me to wait and patch it. Gf is coming over and then heading to her house for a couple days and there's only a craptop there.
For all of you having problems with steering. You do realise there is a "hard steer" (default A and D) and a "soft steer" (default Q and E) yes? You should probably be soft steering at high speeds.
I'm playing in the Auto Assault beta test weekend, so let me tell you what I think. First of all, the game is great looking!
My system:
Athlon 64 3000+ 1 gig RAM GeForce 7800GT 256mb vid card High speed cable connection
With my setup, the game runs beautiful. I haven't experienced even 1 second of lag. The graphics are crisp, clean, and mean. The avatars are awesome looking (especially the chicks), and so are the landscapes. The missions are very similar to the mission system in City of Heroes, which is fine and to be expected since it was produced by the same company (NCSoft). The games car upgrade system reminds me a lot of the upgrade system in Jumpgate, Netdevil's first forray into MMORPGs back in the late 90's. So far so good.
Let me say first, I don't wanna knock NCSoft or Netdevil. I was a big fan of both COH and Jumpgate and I'd like to see them succeed with Auto Assault. There are some things about Auto Assault that I don't like however.
First - the cars don't drive that great. They don't drive like real cars at all. It feels to me like driving an electric forklift more than anything else. (The cars don't require fuel either, but that's probably a good thing) I just don't like the way they handle, and yes I use both the hard steer and soft steer.
Second - this game is boring. Talk to your contact, get a mission, go kill 8 of these, or get 6 of these, or kill 12 of those, you get the idea. Its also very repetitive. You have to stay moving to take less damage, so you just go around and around in circles, trying to shoot and run over your enemies.
Third - this is my biggest complaint, there is not much player to player interaction. Basically, this is a single player game sharing the same game environment with other single players. The main reason to play an MMO is to interact with other human beings. In this game, you don't have any reason to interact with anyone except the NPCs. Sure you can strike up a conversation with someone, but thats as far as it goes. You have to go to an arena for PvP, you can't kill another player on the regular map screens.
Fourth - the game isn't very deep or compelling. There doesn't seem to be a hook to keep you interested and coming back day after day to see whats gonna happen next. Its just driving around and around in circles pressing right click to shoot.
Well, I was hoping that Netdevil and NCsoft would hit a homerun with this one, but I think it missed the mark. Its a cool looking game, all except for the cars, and its a neat idea for a game, all except for the gameplay, and it'd make a really great MMORPG, all except that there isn't and RPG in this game at all. I'm gonna pass on Auto Assault.
I downloaded it on wednesday, so I wouldn't have to wait. Started playing fri night and saturday. I wanted to really, really like this game, as I love the game Car Wars. This felt like I was playing the original Twisted Metal that came out 10 years ago. There just isn't anything that is drawing me to this game. So after about 4-5 hours of playing/crashing to desktop, running the same missions. I uninstalled the game.
I wasn't bothered by the driving, it was easy enough after 5-10 minutes. The crafting seems overly complex, probably because I didn't look at it for more than 10 minutes or so. Combat was driving in a circle holding the mouse button down for the gun. Even enemies that were 5+ levels higher than me I could kill, it just took forever as its all level based, making higher level enemies harder to near impossible to hit. But with enough repair items and my healing spell (which is kind of silly - how do I cast a spell to repair a car?)
Neat idea for a game. Maybe not so much for a mmo.
Not much to the game, hit tab and hold down mouse button. There is no real player skill except moving. Even pointing the car at a enemy and trying to hit it with bullets will do nothing to the enemy unless you select it and the dice rolls determine if you hit. It does have fast pace automatic combat. But in the end its still boring automatic combat. twisted metal, roadkill, etc car fighting games make this resource hog of a car combat game mechanics feel super cheap and the targeting system is a complete disapointment. I was expecting a realtime combat targeting damage system but no no. I was left feeling like ok now what were is the rest of the battlefield, no tanks no other armor no planes... no foot soldiers, just you running round hitting tab and holding mouse button and driving in circles.
And their going to ask for $14+ for this game, are you crazy? $14+ for what?
first few levels I was thinking the same as the previous posters, missions all the same, grind kicking in early, little or no interaction. Steering took a couple of minutes to get to grips with.
Gave it a few more levels, and realised this game is huge, and there is a lot more to it than initially meets the eye.
Just been on for the pimp your rig meet up , what a riot, all driving around wrecking the place, doing huge jumps etc.
For a beta weekend, I'm well impressed. bye bye Wow
Originally posted by David_Wolfpa I didn't get a chance to play, I tried to get a key and it said US resisdents only :(Comeon anyone out there who can tell us unlucky non-US residents or people otherwise unable to play what its like?
Im from and living in Canada and im par-taking.. dont kno what the issue is with that.
Played " Wasted Weekend" myself being a (former) pre order(er). All i can say is its another NCsoft mmo churned out with same looking interface and type set as the rest of their games.
Its pointless and shallow and very uninviting in that you dont really care where you drive since you cant damage yerself . You can drive off a cliff and you bounce.
The community (EU) is mainly pre 18 and going by the forums most are pre puberty. Devs said 90% of euro pre orders are under 18. Doesnt mean that the community is bad par sae but it is very immature tbh.
I cancelled pre order today and cant say that ill ever buy it even after two weeks of release when its dropped to £9.99 in GAME stores.
Just a totally pointless, shallow, removed and "press auto fire and turn in circles" game.
I've been in Auto Assault's beta for a few months, but their schedule didn't match up with mine for the most part. This weekend was my first really good look at the recent improvements.
I tried using the joypad support. Steering is much, much better with a PS2-style controller. You gain full analog control of your turning and speed. The default WASD scheme isn't worth using... and yes, I tried using Q and E.
I find the complaints about story surprising. It's at least as good as what's in other games, in terms of originality and quality of writing. Of course, to encounter the story, you do actually have to read the mission text.
It probably helps that casual games are all I have time for. People who are looking for something complex and difficult they can do eight hours a day probably won't enjoy the casual-friendly games that are turning up lately, Auto Assault included. Personally, I am not interested in a game designed to play like an unpaid job.
I really liked the feeling of driving a fast car through a large, interesting world. The physics system -- the destructability of nearly everything but the ground itself -- makes the game interesting to play around in.
Glad I can talk about this finally - been in beta for a long time and no one could/ wanted to talk about it. It has changed a lot since the start of beta but does anyone else think the cars just are not fast enough and do not handle right?
I want a hand break, I want to slam on the breaks and skid out and do 360's or 180's if I want. I want it to handle like Grand Theft Auto or a driving game. I played the commando and scout and they both seem to lumber along. It is better but still not quite there. Maybe I just chose the wrong car.
The quests were okay, the world being destructible was awesome, the upgrade to the looks of the car was not enough. Maybe you can get there in crafting but never devoted time to that. The color change and light up fenders just are not enough - where are the spikes and chains and tires slapped on there. Everyone looks pretty much the same (the downfall of most games these days).
I had my fun but just don't see it as a long term fun game, and don't think I ever grouped - never saw the need. There was plenty of satisfaction just flooring it across country mowing down guys on foot and spraying bullets and firing as you went.
---MMO EXPERIENCE:--- WoW - 06-2006 to current COV - 40 Corruptor - 10-2005 to 04-2006 COH - 50 Scrapper - 04-2004 to 04-2006 EQ2 - 35 Barb Berserker - 12-2004 to 04-2005 EQ1 - 55 Barb Warrior - 2000, 2001 Tried: DaoC, DDO, Auto Assault, SWG, Lineage II
Note- I've only gotten to level 5..so I havent gotten very far..Never got to an instanced mission, and never got to try hazard mode:/
What I found fun
- Just running around and shooting and killing stuff...
- Customization, building your car, putting parts on it, buying other cars... I never really got to the crafting, but it looks like it's something
What I feel needs work on
- There's no need to group... When I use the signal for grouping, I get grouped with a guy that isn't even on the same map as me:/... I wish the grouping thing was more like the way COH set it up (with lists of level, name, class,etc...)...
- Quests aren't great nor bad... I never got to any instanced quests... But I sure wish there was atleast 1 or some at the beginning... Hopefully it'll require grouping for them? And hopefully it could be more interesting? ( Ex: Interesting like groupings doing an instanced, getting into a stronghold, then a timer counts down for missiles, so they need to split up to disarm the missiles... OR there's multiple areas the group needs to attack, but once one of the area is attacked, a short timer will run before the other areas would increase its defence, so the group should have taken all the areas out at once...And have some missions where groups would just fight together...)
Something extra I want to comment on... I kind of like the idea of the arc and the fact that the cone area decreases after each shot and then repeats after the 3rd shot... That makes the player want to aim.. However, there's that tab thing and auto aim stuff, so wouldn't that always allow perfect aim for the turret weapon(in other words all 3 shots always make it)?
The way the targeting works currently is thus: Each of your ranged weapons has a Tactical arc and range. If you have no target selected, any enemy currently in the tacarc of a weapon has a random chance of getting hit. If you have a target selected, then if that enemy is in the tacarc, it is garaunteed to be one of the targets that the weapon effects.
In regards to the steering: Your starting vehicle does not handle like a performance car. As said by others, upgrading your tires can have a dramatic effect on turn radii on different terrain, and at level 11-13 you can upgrade your chassis to a better performing vehicle. Think of the handling of your vehicle as one of the advancement areas of the game. If they gave you an indie car as your starting vehicle, there wouldn't be much room for improvements from later chasis.
The current stat system is very basic, and I hope that they expand on it. The biggest drawback the stat system is is that the only stat that effects your chance to hit is combat, and if you are a class that has a lot of powers, you have to pump combat in favor of getting more power to use your special abilities.
The crafting system is intersting, but needs a ton of work, as the pre-requisites for the non first-tier apprentice skills would currently take you until around level 40 to complete.
There are instance missions that you can go on, and would be better served with a convoy (group) if you are doing it when it is at or above your level, the only problem with these is that currently they are one-shot deals per character. Once you complete the instance missions, the instance gets 'reclaimed' and the spawns change to make it just a grinding zone.
The different enemy types are quite unique, from the mutated wildlife, to the human scavs and pikes, to the mechanized based temperNet, and provide a range of different enemy faction abilities and enemy types.
The itemization is still being worked on, as evidenced that the Human area is the most complete with distribution of quests, item types, and item drops being the most complete. Biomecs are next, with the mutant areas being the least finished.
The current skill system is also very limited right now. Gaining only a single skill point per level really removes a lot of breadth of play from your selected class. I hope that they increase the number of skill points you get at some point so that your character can be broader. Along with that they need to re-adjus t the power levels the skills take and the power levels that you have at any combination of level and theory stat.
The leveling right now is very very fast. You can get to level 20 (current max level in this beta stage) in the human area in about 12 hours if you just go from quest to quest and don't spend time monkeying around in towns or with crafting. Biomec takes a little longer, and mutant takes longer still, but those are mainly due to having less quests to do at any one time.
Considering this game doesn't have a solid release date yet, it is comming along very well. They have mastered some of the most important eliments to make this a revolutionary mmo. Those that compare this game to carmagedon "online" are paying it quite a compliment. To achieve that kind of speed and mass destruction in an mmo would be something!
Only issues I found during the weekend were lag issues in over populated areas, easily solved with better instancing. Other than that the game ran perfect. Cannot wait to see it closer to release and beyond.
I only played in the biomec area, and was pleased with the amount of quests and things to do. Easily the best feature of this game is the entertainment value of randomly trashing the countryside is incredible fun.
Was treated to seeing one advanced car chasis on a friends account, definitely encouraging to see the amount of content already in the game.
Like many of you, I am not sure what my feelings are for this game. I try to keep in mind that as a beta, there are several issues to be fixed and feature updates that will come. With that said, here are my thoughts:
Good
- Love the concept, a combination of Auto Duel, Twisted Metal and Wasteland (anyone remember that one)?
- I like the speed and pace of the game. I play a lot of WoW and for all its great features, running from place to place is text book tedium. Even the epic mounts dont give you the speed sense of AA's cars (obviously).
- Graphics are above average to good. I like some of the particle and weather effects.
- The sense of empowerment is pretty addictive once you get past that starter gun (the one that takes about 2,000 rounds to kill a noob mob
Bad
- The physics seem way off right now. Something i expect (hope) they fix. For instance, regardless of my speed, when i hit a jump i get a speed boost that is unrealistic. This does not seem to happen on all jumps however.
- Maybe i just need to get used to the steering, but as a left handed player i absolutely cannot play with a WSAD setup and prefer the arrow keys which work but are still a little wonky. Why can't we use the mouse to steer?
- The game needs more customization (which may come). Maybe I was spoiled with CoH (great customization, average game) but i would like a lot more options. Tats, piercings, more hairstyles, build, scars, geat, etc. I absolutely HATE the human males, they all look like dorks.
I am hopeful for this game and while i have not pre-ordered, i may buy the game if they stay on track and fix some of the issues i listed.
Despite the fact I doesn't like the PvP End Game setting...I am currently heavily considering buying this game when it come out.
I was impressed with the beta, it was not perfect, but I was clearly impress. And as many of you know, I am a rather cynical person now and I am not afraid to flame when it is due.
AA staff doesn't hide behind the "Please understand it is beta only" argument, you are angry about something, fine they take it with humility and they work harder. That is the attitude I like, rather than pointless justifications (hell-O Turbines).
I doesn't know if I will stick with this game should I buy it, doesn't know if I will or not buy it, I am really end game concerned and I am not approving their end game orientation, not at all. But I was clearly and nicely impress by the game.
DDO is already removed from my computer. AA is not gonna be removed, I dunno if I will make the leap and play it.
Not all factions are equally refined however. The Biomek faction is working very sweetly. The human faction, well, let's say they have no shortage of work IMO!
I hope I didn't break any NDA, but if I did, I was not the only!
1 of the strong point I didn't realize, it is NOT a nasty twitch game, it is fast and it is definitely an action game, but it is by no mean nasty. I can deal with that and enjoy the gameplay experience. Action is not my favored style, but when it is done like that, I can enjoy it.
- "If I understand you well, you are telling me until next time. " - Ren
Comments
after I got the flamethrower, I ran around killing guys around my level... It was fun
... Sometimes I start getting framerate problems though:/, it has to do with my computer...
Quests aren't any better than what's out there right now...
I learned the discipline to craft by the trainers..but I can't figure out how to use those crafting places...so I can't figure out how to craft?
Finally got it installed!
It works good (well for me having 512 MB RAM).
Stearing seems a bit senstive.....
That and why the Fire button is on the Right Mouse Button....
Well, anyone got an extra stick or RAM.
For all of you having problems with steering. You do realise there is a "hard steer" (default A and D) and a "soft steer" (default Q and E) yes? You should probably be soft steering at high speeds.
My system:
Athlon 64 3000+
1 gig RAM
GeForce 7800GT 256mb vid card
High speed cable connection
With my setup, the game runs beautiful. I haven't experienced even 1 second of lag. The graphics are crisp, clean, and mean. The avatars are awesome looking (especially the chicks), and so are the landscapes. The missions are very similar to the mission system in City of Heroes, which is fine and to be expected since it was produced by the same company (NCSoft). The games car upgrade system reminds me a lot of the upgrade system in Jumpgate, Netdevil's first forray into MMORPGs back in the late 90's. So far so good.
Let me say first, I don't wanna knock NCSoft or Netdevil. I was a big fan of both COH and Jumpgate and I'd like to see them succeed with Auto Assault. There are some things about Auto Assault that I don't like however.
First - the cars don't drive that great. They don't drive like real cars at all. It feels to me like driving an electric forklift more than anything else. (The cars don't require fuel either, but that's probably a good thing) I just don't like the way they handle, and yes I use both the hard steer and soft steer.
Second - this game is boring. Talk to your contact, get a mission, go kill 8 of these, or get 6 of these, or kill 12 of those, you get the idea. Its also very repetitive. You have to stay moving to take less damage, so you just go around and around in circles, trying to shoot and run over your enemies.
Third - this is my biggest complaint, there is not much player to player interaction. Basically, this is a single player game sharing the same game environment with other single players. The main reason to play an MMO is to interact with other human beings. In this game, you don't have any reason to interact with anyone except the NPCs. Sure you can strike up a conversation with someone, but thats as far as it goes. You have to go to an arena for PvP, you can't kill another player on the regular map screens.
Fourth - the game isn't very deep or compelling. There doesn't seem to be a hook to keep you interested and coming back day after day to see whats gonna happen next. Its just driving around and around in circles pressing right click to shoot.
Well, I was hoping that Netdevil and NCsoft would hit a homerun with this one, but I think it missed the mark. Its a cool looking game, all except for the cars, and its a neat idea for a game, all except for the gameplay, and it'd make a really great MMORPG, all except that there isn't and RPG in this game at all.
I'm gonna pass on Auto Assault.
Fencer
An Earlier pic of my char, ill take some more pictures later.
I downloaded it on wednesday, so I wouldn't have to wait. Started playing fri night and saturday. I wanted to really, really like this game, as I love the game Car Wars. This felt like I was playing the original Twisted Metal that came out 10 years ago. There just isn't anything that is drawing me to this game. So after about 4-5 hours of playing/crashing to desktop, running the same missions. I uninstalled the game.
I wasn't bothered by the driving, it was easy enough after 5-10 minutes. The crafting seems overly complex, probably because I didn't look at it for more than 10 minutes or so. Combat was driving in a circle holding the mouse button down for the gun. Even enemies that were 5+ levels higher than me I could kill, it just took forever as its all level based, making higher level enemies harder to near impossible to hit. But with enough repair items and my healing spell (which is kind of silly - how do I cast a spell to repair a car?)
Neat idea for a game. Maybe not so much for a mmo.
Not much to the game, hit tab and hold down mouse button. There is no real player skill except moving. Even pointing the car at a enemy and trying to hit it with bullets will do nothing to the enemy unless you select it and the dice rolls determine if you hit. It does have fast pace automatic combat. But in the end its still boring automatic combat. twisted metal, roadkill, etc car fighting games make this resource hog of a car combat game mechanics feel super cheap and the targeting system is a complete disapointment. I was expecting a realtime combat targeting damage system but no no. I was left feeling like ok now what were is the rest of the battlefield, no tanks no other armor no planes... no foot soldiers, just you running round hitting tab and holding mouse button and driving in circles.
And their going to ask for $14+ for this game, are you crazy? $14+ for what?
FoE Fist of the Empire
first few levels I was thinking the same as the previous posters, missions all the same, grind kicking in early, little or no interaction. Steering took a couple of minutes to get to grips with.
Gave it a few more levels, and realised this game is huge, and there is a lot more to it than initially meets the eye.
Just been on for the pimp your rig meet up , what a riot, all driving around wrecking the place, doing huge jumps etc.
For a beta weekend, I'm well impressed. bye bye Wow
Im from and living in Canada and im par-taking.. dont kno what the issue is with that.
you aint missing much tho
Played " Wasted Weekend" myself being a (former) pre order(er). All i can say is its another NCsoft mmo churned out with same looking interface and type set as the rest of their games.
Its pointless and shallow and very uninviting in that you dont really care where you drive since you cant damage yerself . You can drive off a cliff and you bounce.
The community (EU) is mainly pre 18 and going by the forums most are pre puberty. Devs said 90% of euro pre orders are under 18. Doesnt mean that the community is bad par sae but it is very immature tbh.
I cancelled pre order today and cant say that ill ever buy it even after two weeks of release when its dropped to £9.99 in GAME stores.
Just a totally pointless, shallow, removed and "press auto fire and turn in circles" game.
I've been in Auto Assault's beta for a few months, but their schedule didn't match up with mine for the most part. This weekend was my first really good look at the recent improvements.
I tried using the joypad support. Steering is much, much better with a PS2-style controller. You gain full analog control of your turning and speed. The default WASD scheme isn't worth using... and yes, I tried using Q and E.
I find the complaints about story surprising. It's at least as good as what's in other games, in terms of originality and quality of writing. Of course, to encounter the story, you do actually have to read the mission text.
It probably helps that casual games are all I have time for. People who are looking for something complex and difficult they can do eight hours a day probably won't enjoy the casual-friendly games that are turning up lately, Auto Assault included. Personally, I am not interested in a game designed to play like an unpaid job.
I really liked the feeling of driving a fast car through a large, interesting world. The physics system -- the destructability of nearly everything but the ground itself -- makes the game interesting to play around in.
I had a lot of fun. I've decided to preorder.
Glad I can talk about this finally - been in beta for a long time and no one could/ wanted to talk about it. It has changed a lot since the start of beta but does anyone else think the cars just are not fast enough and do not handle right?
I want a hand break, I want to slam on the breaks and skid out and do 360's or 180's if I want. I want it to handle like Grand Theft Auto or a driving game. I played the commando and scout and they both seem to lumber along. It is better but still not quite there. Maybe I just chose the wrong car.
The quests were okay, the world being destructible was awesome, the upgrade to the looks of the car was not enough. Maybe you can get there in crafting but never devoted time to that. The color change and light up fenders just are not enough - where are the spikes and chains and tires slapped on there. Everyone looks pretty much the same (the downfall of most games these days).
I had my fun but just don't see it as a long term fun game, and don't think I ever grouped - never saw the need. There was plenty of satisfaction just flooring it across country mowing down guys on foot and spraying bullets and firing as you went.
---MMO EXPERIENCE:---
WoW - 06-2006 to current
COV - 40 Corruptor - 10-2005 to 04-2006
COH - 50 Scrapper - 04-2004 to 04-2006
EQ2 - 35 Barb Berserker - 12-2004 to 04-2005
EQ1 - 55 Barb Warrior - 2000, 2001
Tried: DaoC, DDO, Auto Assault, SWG, Lineage II
Note- I've only gotten to level 5..so I havent gotten very far..Never got to an instanced mission, and never got to try hazard mode:/
What I found fun
- Just running around and shooting and killing stuff...
- Customization, building your car, putting parts on it, buying other cars... I never really got to the crafting, but it looks like it's something
What I feel needs work on
- There's no need to group... When I use the signal for grouping, I get grouped with a guy that isn't even on the same map as me:/... I wish the grouping thing was more like the way COH set it up (with lists of level, name, class,etc...)...
- Quests aren't great nor bad... I never got to any instanced quests... But I sure wish there was atleast 1 or some at the beginning... Hopefully it'll require grouping for them? And hopefully it could be more interesting? ( Ex: Interesting like groupings doing an instanced, getting into a stronghold, then a timer counts down for missiles, so they need to split up to disarm the missiles... OR there's multiple areas the group needs to attack, but once one of the area is attacked, a short timer will run before the other areas would increase its defence, so the group should have taken all the areas out at once...And have some missions where groups would just fight together...)
Something extra I want to comment on... I kind of like the idea of the arc and the fact that the cone area decreases after each shot and then repeats after the 3rd shot... That makes the player want to aim.. However, there's that tab thing and auto aim stuff, so wouldn't that always allow perfect aim for the turret weapon(in other words all 3 shots always make it)?
The way the targeting works currently is thus: Each of your ranged weapons has a Tactical arc and range. If you have no target selected, any enemy currently in the tacarc of a weapon has a random chance of getting hit. If you have a target selected, then if that enemy is in the tacarc, it is garaunteed to be one of the targets that the weapon effects.
In regards to the steering: Your starting vehicle does not handle like a performance car. As said by others, upgrading your tires can have a dramatic effect on turn radii on different terrain, and at level 11-13 you can upgrade your chassis to a better performing vehicle. Think of the handling of your vehicle as one of the advancement areas of the game. If they gave you an indie car as your starting vehicle, there wouldn't be much room for improvements from later chasis.
The current stat system is very basic, and I hope that they expand on it. The biggest drawback the stat system is is that the only stat that effects your chance to hit is combat, and if you are a class that has a lot of powers, you have to pump combat in favor of getting more power to use your special abilities.
The crafting system is intersting, but needs a ton of work, as the pre-requisites for the non first-tier apprentice skills would currently take you until around level 40 to complete.
There are instance missions that you can go on, and would be better served with a convoy (group) if you are doing it when it is at or above your level, the only problem with these is that currently they are one-shot deals per character. Once you complete the instance missions, the instance gets 'reclaimed' and the spawns change to make it just a grinding zone.
The different enemy types are quite unique, from the mutated wildlife, to the human scavs and pikes, to the mechanized based temperNet, and provide a range of different enemy faction abilities and enemy types.
The itemization is still being worked on, as evidenced that the Human area is the most complete with distribution of quests, item types, and item drops being the most complete. Biomecs are next, with the mutant areas being the least finished.
The current skill system is also very limited right now. Gaining only a single skill point per level really removes a lot of breadth of play from your selected class. I hope that they increase the number of skill points you get at some point so that your character can be broader. Along with that they need to re-adjus t the power levels the skills take and the power levels that you have at any combination of level and theory stat.
The leveling right now is very very fast. You can get to level 20 (current max level in this beta stage) in the human area in about 12 hours if you just go from quest to quest and don't spend time monkeying around in towns or with crafting. Biomec takes a little longer, and mutant takes longer still, but those are mainly due to having less quests to do at any one time.
Considering this game doesn't have a solid release date yet, it is comming along very well. They have mastered some of the most important eliments to make this a revolutionary mmo. Those that compare this game to carmagedon "online" are paying it quite a compliment. To achieve that kind of speed and mass destruction in an mmo would be something!
Only issues I found during the weekend were lag issues in over populated areas, easily solved with better instancing. Other than that the game ran perfect. Cannot wait to see it closer to release and beyond.
I only played in the biomec area, and was pleased with the amount of quests and things to do. Easily the best feature of this game is the entertainment value of randomly trashing the countryside is incredible fun.
Was treated to seeing one advanced car chasis on a friends account, definitely encouraging to see the amount of content already in the game.
Come join the feudal goodness
Like many of you, I am not sure what my feelings are for this game. I try to keep in mind that as a beta, there are several issues to be fixed and feature updates that will come. With that said, here are my thoughts:
Good
- Love the concept, a combination of Auto Duel, Twisted Metal and Wasteland (anyone remember that one)?
- I like the speed and pace of the game. I play a lot of WoW and for all its great features, running from place to place is text book tedium. Even the epic mounts dont give you the speed sense of AA's cars (obviously).
- Graphics are above average to good. I like some of the particle and weather effects.
- The sense of empowerment is pretty addictive once you get past that starter gun (the one that takes about 2,000 rounds to kill a noob mob
Bad
- The physics seem way off right now. Something i expect (hope) they fix. For instance, regardless of my speed, when i hit a jump i get a speed boost that is unrealistic. This does not seem to happen on all jumps however.
- Maybe i just need to get used to the steering, but as a left handed player i absolutely cannot play with a WSAD setup and prefer the arrow keys which work but are still a little wonky. Why can't we use the mouse to steer?
- The game needs more customization (which may come). Maybe I was spoiled with CoH (great customization, average game) but i would like a lot more options. Tats, piercings, more hairstyles, build, scars, geat, etc. I absolutely HATE the human males, they all look like dorks.
I am hopeful for this game and while i have not pre-ordered, i may buy the game if they stay on track and fix some of the issues i listed.
Despite the fact I doesn't like the PvP End Game setting...I am currently heavily considering buying this game when it come out.
I was impressed with the beta, it was not perfect, but I was clearly impress. And as many of you know, I am a rather cynical person now and I am not afraid to flame when it is due.
AA staff doesn't hide behind the "Please understand it is beta only" argument, you are angry about something, fine they take it with humility and they work harder. That is the attitude I like, rather than pointless justifications (hell-O Turbines).
I doesn't know if I will stick with this game should I buy it, doesn't know if I will or not buy it, I am really end game concerned and I am not approving their end game orientation, not at all. But I was clearly and nicely impress by the game.
DDO is already removed from my computer. AA is not gonna be removed, I dunno if I will make the leap and play it.
Not all factions are equally refined however. The Biomek faction is working very sweetly. The human faction, well, let's say they have no shortage of work IMO!
I hope I didn't break any NDA, but if I did, I was not the only!
1 of the strong point I didn't realize, it is NOT a nasty twitch game, it is fast and it is definitely an action game, but it is by no mean nasty. I can deal with that and enjoy the gameplay experience.
Action is not my favored style, but when it is done like that, I can enjoy it.
- "If I understand you well, you are telling me until next time. " - Ren