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Play Now?
MightyUnclean
Member EpicPosts: 3,531
Is this game in an ongoing alpha? Can you log in any time if you have access? The $50 access option in the store is marked with "Play Now."
Thanks!
Comments
Yes, you can play right now for $50. You get the game download and one month of play time. I sent you a Buddy Key good for a 15-day free trial, so check it out first and see what you think.
It is a little bit beyond what was called the "Minimum Viable Product" (MVP) having basic combat, crafting (gathering, refining and crafting), and company mechanics. Coming soon is Holdings and Outposts (places run by companies to obtain bulk resources to support settlements), Factions and Feuds (Pathfinder factions and the ability to declare feuds against other factions), and some time this summer settlement construction from the ground up. Should be fun!
Fanndis
(Oh. There has been a promotion going where you can enter the coupon code "PFAdvantage" to save $10 off the $50 price. That might have run its course, but give it a try when you buy in.)
Is anyone even bothering to play it though? I've heard zero feedback on this game and not a single stream either. There's no way they have a valid NDA with an open alpha right?
Doesn't seem like any site gives a damn about this game, not a good sign.
The Kickstarters are in. There are a few thousand players in right now total, and lots of visitors from the various promotions. Goblinworks (the developer) doesn't want a huge rush of 10,000 players in at once, as their plan is to maintain a small staff (21 at last count) and grow slowly over time, much like CCP did with EVE Online. It leas to a much more stable growth chart without the huge spikes and dips big theme parks have (See what happened to Wildstar a few months ago?).
The game had an Alpha phase last summer for around 6 months. It is now in what is called Early Enrollment (EE) which will last another year or so (started on 31 DEC). Most of the current player just likes the idea of getting in on the ground floor and helping discuss development options with the team through a system called Crowdforging (forums, feedback, occasional polls, and some things on a website called "IdeaScale" we get to vote on).
I'm having fun, settlements are up but it is a struggle to keep them alive with this low population. Soon we will have to rebuild the settlements from the ground up (due to a pre-planned disaster). That will allow the players to decide what building they want, what roles will be trained, etc... It is not a complete game. It is at about 40%, but helping determine its direction is pretty cool.
Oh, and there is no NDA. They want people to discuss it, even though it is a boutique game at the moment. If you want to check it out send me an email at Fanndis.Goldbraid@gmail.com and I'll send you a Buddy Key for a 15-day free trial so you can see for yourself.
In the other thread you had said you were growing bored, now here the game will grow to be incredible one day. Which is more likely to persist or occur?
To answer to OP's question, yes you can play it now but you should wait at least until June.
Unless the person giving you a buddy key reveals that they will get a free month if you decide to subscribe, do t trust a word they say about the game. They will tell you shit tastes like ice cream to get you to subscribe. It may take you 2 months to realize this game has nothing to offer you can't get better from a F2P MMO made back in 2009.
Played: E&B, SWG, Eve, WoW, COH, WAR, POTBS, AOC, LOTRO, AUTO.A, AO, FE, TR, WWII, MWO, TSW, SWTOR, GW2, NWO, WoP, RUST, LIF, SOA, MORTAL, DFUW, AA, TF, PFO, ALBO, and many many others....
Bluddwolf, I had posted a "Full Disclosure" of that benefit to me and my account status on several threads in several game forums. No secret there. And no obligation at all for the people receiving the 15-day trial to pay for a sub. I want them to see the game, and have plenty of keys to offer. Here it is again:
"Full Disclosure: Anyone who "converts" (buys a month of game time after being referred by me via a "Buddy Key") earns me a month of bonus game time."
I am already paid for the next couple of months, and plan on subbing all four accounts for twelve months for $150 each (saves $30 on the annual sub fees.)
Hmmm, every time I log in, the game runs for a few seconds and then I get a message that the client has stopped responding. Is that a common problem? It's unplayable for me right now.
Now I can't even get into the game, it just stays stuck on "Loading Terrain" and then dumps to desktop.
God damn, they have the balls to charge $15 a month for a game in this state?
Other users reported a similar issue during the Alpha. You can go to the Goblinworks support forums and post there for help. Some setups had this issue but for most it seemed to be resolvable.
I backed it in kickstarter and tested the early alphas but i dont think its something I would pay a sub for during the alpha and beta stages lol..
If and when they finish making the game and if it turns out any good they might get some more of my cash.
I would agree and follow your plan except for the whole idea that XP is earned by sub time and thus by the time they get to "Open Enrollment" you will be a year or so behind the people playing now...
All time classic MY NEW FAVORITE POST! (Keep laying those bricks)
"I should point out that no other company has shipped out a beta on a disc before this." - Official Mortal Online Lead Community Moderator
Proudly wearing the Harbinger badge since Dec 23, 2017.
Coined the phrase "Role-Playing a Development Team" January 2018
"Oddly Slap is the main reason I stay in these forums." - Mystichaze April 9th 2018
Is there a game, on this forum, that you can't find someone telling a sad story like this about? If that is the standard anyone uses to decide on playing a game then they'll never find one to play.
I don't really think that will matter. This isn't a 1v1 PvP deathmatch game. Anything you do of consequence will have to be done in a group. Your social skills and team mates will have more of an impact on your success than individual experience. That being said, if you aren't interested in helping to develop the game and gain satisfaction from that, it would be best to wait. The game is not in a state that most would enjoy it as their full time game right now.
So I bought in. $50... I haven't gotten to the point where I have to renew my monthly deal. $15 is a bit much at this stage.
Thus far I have immensely enjoyed the game. Crafting is interesting, but fairly reliant on others, unless you do nothing but gather and craft, which by yourself can be fairly dangerous. I find the skill trees, crafting trees and the mechanics of the system to be fairly engrossing. I enjoyed the feeling of being lost and in a new place. I can say that exploring the world hasn't gotten old as it does quickly in more recent mmos. There is also the risk of pvp occurring in the open world, which I have been lucky enough to avoid. I trained in combat, cleric 3 fighter 6... I'm an odd sort of wanna be paladin. The economy is all player based, and quests, if you do them make you money. As a new player you have to sell crafting materials to make money, but recipes are where the money is to be made. Money is automatically deposited when you open a bank.
People are fairly quick to call out when/where they have been ganked and you learn peoples haunts fairly quickly. People can loot your corpses when they pvp you, or if you are killed in the environment and they happen upon your corpse (husk) before you get back. There is also the unfortunate happenstance of items just going *poof* upon death. Not like item degradation, but rather inventory items just go away.
It would be nice if there was an indicator about what was lost how when you died.
Combat as it is, I'll give it the alpha pass. It works, it's just not pretty. Though I did have a caster drain my yellow bar, and it's been empty for two weeks now.
Graphics wise, this game is years behind. I understand it's a style, but to compete the game should at least look like 2015/2016 and not 1999 (Over exaggeration, there are more pixels, but things are very basic looking)
I have yet to actually encounter any people... I've seen people in town, emoted at them, used the local channels and generally get nothing. There is a crew who appears to have been playing for some time who talk in general chat and joke around constantly. I'm not sure what the secret pass phrase is to speak with the cool kids, as I've yet to break into the club. As a Dwarf I've also spent some time in the proclaimed Dwarven towns and seen a few people, but they are few and far between and also fairly silent.
If you're looking for a new game to play. Wait.
If you're interested in testing and getting the exploration feeling from your first mmo, give it a shot.
Use the freebie codes.
I've always been interested in Pathfinder, so I chucked the $50 bucks. I'm disappointed in the graphics and some minor other things at this stage. I've been following the game since the 2012 announcement and I expected a bit more by now, but I can wait.
I'm also disappointed in the fact that only one character gains experience at a time. I have personally found no point in having an alt to try different things with because they cannot gain exp. This has prevented me from trying other things I've wanted to try. This may change in the future.
Certain MMOs require patience and foresight. EVE Online is one, the Pathfinder Online (PFO) is one. If you played EVE Online long enough to learn every single skill to max level you would have to play around 30 years. Pathfinder Online is somewhat modeled after EVE in the skill system and the skill advances are even slower so it would take around 75 years to learn it all. Obviously no one will be here that long. So you have to specialize to advance. It is east to learn a lot at the lowest levels, but skilling up quickly gets very expensive to you have to decide what you will do: adventure, craft, lead a settlement, build things. They are all professions. Even being a porter is an important job because the map is huge and there is no fast travel.
There will always be those who want immediate gratification. Guild Wars 2 is a beautiful game with innovative systems build throughout. But a player hit max level (50) in 36 hours after the game was commercially launched. Hard to tell if that made the design a failure, but it felt like it to me as another player that likes to savor advancing. It really blew up the economy of GW2 since the highest level characters could suddenly engage the toughest monster and get more loot. The prices on the single global auction house went straight through the roof in less than two weeks. It was a mess. Beautiful art, really cool character classes, but there were design issues that crippled parts of the game early on. Not uncommon in MMOs.
SWTOR had a great story, but zero end game. WoW has such ridiculous number inflation I couldn't bear playing it anymore. The power curve started off bad in the early days and has gotten worse every update. *shrugs*
I guess the bottom line is, no one game will make every gamer happy, so Ryan and Company designed and are creating a niche game with a small budget and small staff. they are trying something new, and that seems to infuriate some gamers...strangely even those who have not played, and never will. They can't get their head around the concept a game design company would get a game to a point where it is playable and offer players the chance to play while allowing the players to help influence the direction of the design. It is a new model. So far it is very cool. There are some things in game that are not in, or are broken. We all acknowledge that. And that's okay. We understand trying new things is a challenge and there will be issues. The programmers and designers are on the forums pretty much every day answering questions and presenting alternatives to game mechanics we don't like. I for one feel like they are listening to our input. and that is important.
Play if you like. You can get a 15-day key from many players. If you like the idea but not the state of the current game. come back later to see what the updates have brought in. There is no hurry if you think you'd rather wait. But the Dwarves of Forgeholm, and about 20 other settlements are in. We'd love for you to join the fun!
No, that was not a straw man argument. You are still confused and have learned nothing.
You specifically stated that this game has sad stories told about it on these forums which means that the game is "nothing of interest". You offered no other justification for the game being "nothing of interest". I simply stated that if you use that standard for every game then you would never find one to play ie all can be defined as nothing of interest. I did not use "a superficially similar proposition" (part of the definition of a straw man argument). I used the exact same proposition applied to other MMOs. I did not oversimplify, misquote or any of the other "straw man" indicators. You offered an overly simplified argument.
PVP focused MMOs need to have risk, otherwise they grow stale very quickly.
Played: E&B, SWG, Eve, WoW, COH, WAR, POTBS, AOC, LOTRO, AUTO.A, AO, FE, TR, WWII, MWO, TSW, SWTOR, GW2, NWO, WoP, RUST, LIF, SOA, MORTAL, DFUW, AA, TF, PFO, ALBO, and many many others....
Cal, It has been hinted at that one account might be able to train multiple characters at once, but that account would have to be paying a monthly sub for each character that is training up. I know in EVE I could have up to three characters on one account, but only one could be training, so that is the "norm" (one example is not much, but there are not many games using this system, which is a good system). It would prevent having to manage multiple accounts, but would not reduce the cost.
Players should jump into chat if they wish. Sometimes it is easier to start off joining a settlement and getting to know the other players, then there will be more likelihood of chatting in General Chat when you are away from your settlement or otherwise occupied. I spend a lot of time on my TeamSpeak channel even when not logged in to the game (which we call "playing Pathfinder Offline). Settlement and Company admin, recruitment, forums posting, whatever. It's good to get feedback from your settlement members and leadership as you work on behalf of the group.
And CommoX, the yellow bar is "Power" which is reduced when using "expendables" like more powerful spells. The lowest level spells (Orisons for Clerics) use stamina (blue bar) and regenerate quickly. Power does not regen in the wild. You have to go to an Inn , Camp, or Small Holding to regenerate Power. Next time you log in go into the nearest Inn and right click or stand near the fireplace and see the trickle of Power start to regenerate. It is slow but steady.
I'll check out the power thing the next time I'm online. Though it was definitely drained by a casting goblin.
I certain I'm talking in /general, though using /local near others hasn't been successful either.
I've been trying to find a Dwarven company for a bit of time now, but I think my play hours don't seem to mesh with others. I've hung out in Forgeholm and the surrounding area for quite a few days before deciding to explore and craft elsewhere (Auction availability, stuck all my stuff in the starter town bank. et cetera)
Currently my midterm "zone" so my play time has slipped. I'll try to be back to poke around and try people again.
I can't believe they charge a subscription for an alpha. To me that's terrible. We should be testing the game for them for free or for a founders pack, but not WITH a subscription. The game is far from being complete.
Proud MMORPG.com member since March 2004! Make PvE GREAT Again!
Commox, The Dwarves of Forgeholm are more often in Ozem's Vigil and Alderwag for the last couple of weeks due to the tower requirement to get our crafting leveled appropriately. There are usually several of us on during the afternoon and many more in the evening time EST US. Post in the General Chat tab and ask for someone from Forgeholm and we can make an arrangement to meet you and get you outfitted. Hope to see you soon!
Fanndis Goldbraid
Yeah, I backed them in Kickstarter at the Adventurer level, but have no intention of throwing more money down the toilet. The idea of paying for a "Minimal Viable Product" (nice that they thought up a new phrase so they didn't have to say pay for alpha here) does not appeal to me.
I am disappointed in the stance Goblinworks has taken on this. It doesn't bode well for the future. I can't help but think that any game that actually emerges will be hopelessly pay-to-win based on the greed demonstrated by a paid alpha.
Oh well, live and learn. I am definitely learning not to back kickstarters. It is much easier just to wait and see what happens, and then buy a game if/when it actually is created.