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My view on RF
I've been looking forward to RF Online since the summer of 2005, I've played Phil' beta for about a month and I've got a lvl 30+ char on the CM servers. I am making this thread for everyone who hasn't got the chance to play this game yet and who would like to know what they can expect from this game.
This is my personal view on RF and I am making this topic just to let you and CM notice what I think should (have) been done better.
I'll start with (in my opinion) one of the worst parts of the game; the chatbox. When people are discussing things in /Map chat aswell as in Guild chat it is just impossible to folllow, even when I disable System messages I still have a very hard time to read what has been said.
For an example: When the transport message comes in, the COMPLETE chatbox is filled with just that single message.
I mean com'n; is there nobody at CM that noticed this terriple chatbox? Well, we will find out when p2p starts.
Secondly, the language filter. This is by far the worst filter I've ever seen. I know CM can't change many things, as this game is made by CCR, but if there is one thing they can fix, then it has to be this hell of a filter.
I'll give you an example:
"Hello, I have just put a sword on the AH."
This message got filtered complety, and it took me quite some time to find out why:
You can't write down "put a" because the filter won't notice the space and thinks you trying to say the evil word "puta"....
Next, there are some other things with the chatbox that really irritates me, but I've said enough about it already, I would just like to advice CCR and CM to take a look at the one in "FFxi" and see how a chatbox should look like in games like these.
The PvE is very basic and mindless. There are only 1 or 2 quests each level and when you finished them you still have to get 50% or more XP to level, which will just mean grinding as there aren't any other quests or missions you can do. The quests are very simple aswell (kill x amount of y), and doesn't explain the story very well.
This wouldn't be bad, if the combat system itself would be fun and complex, but all you have to do is pot spamming and use one skill over and over.
I won't start about the fact that you only have 1 attack skill for the first +/- 30 level as a ranger, but is it asked too much to just add one?
Another downside is that once you reach lvl 30, it takes ages to level up on your own (read: solo'ing). And this way, you are more or less "forced" to group up as the XP rate in paty's is MUCH better.
Now I know you are thinking: "what's bad about this?"
Well, if it takes about 10 hour to solo your way from 30 to 31, but only 2 hours in a Brutal party, then it will be completely impossible to solo at higher levels and we will just have another FFxi.
But in FFxi, party'ing was rather complex, at higher levels it req. some real teamwork to level up. You needed a White Mage for healing, Black Mage for MagicBurts, a PLD or Ninja for tanking and 2 other dmg dealers to form a nice chain.
In RF, all you need is someone tanking and many many healing pots, that's about it. In my opinon it's just a bit too simple.
My next point is the rather small world and the "static" city's. There are (relatively) a small amount of zones and those zones doesn't even form one complete world, as you reach them trough "teleporting".
The city's look awesome, but are far too static; there are only a few NPC's and none of them are actually moving or doing something. It all feels quite "dead" and that's a shame, because the graphical part of the city's has been done very well in my opinion.
So things that should have been made better or are worth a look are:
- chatbox (and language filter)
- more quests (and maybe some unique story missions)
- maybe just 1 or 2 more skills each class pre 30.
- a few more zones with active NPC's walking around in the city's
I am not adding the pot spamming to this list, as it's something you like or not and is very personal.
Of course, RF has to offer some unique and nice things aswell, like the graphics (anime style FTW), the spectacular Chip wars and awesome weapon/armor layout.
Don't get me wrong, I like playing RF, and that's the most important thing, but I just think CM should look at some things before releasing the game and charging $15 a month for a product that isn't done.
Luxor
Comments
Just for your information. You can disable the transportation msg in the chatbox options. Also disable the system msg so the chat wont get spammed with skill points and potion spamming text. That helps alot and makes reading the chat very easy.
Btw i dont say the chat is good. I posted that in my feedback thread but the reading isent a problem
Yes I know, but isn't it ridiculus (sp?) that a complete chatbox can get filled with just one message?
The complete box only show 5 small lines, this way it's very hard to follow anything that has been said.
I hope they make that we can change the size of the chatbox.
You can't.
umm is it me, or do ppl not completely understand the meaning of BETA?
cummon, really. Its not as if theyre gonna leave it like that, there's still phase 3 to go
You can't.
You can by pulling on that green arrow but first you have to unlock the chatbox by pushing one the button next to chat channel options. I hope this helps heh.
Should I buy This RF Online game or what?
there has been a lot of speculation as to whether the chat box will be changed, certainly has been a lot of complaints about it, so who knows.
as for myself, i very rarely take any notice of it anyway, so the resizing doesnt bother me much
You can change the size of chatbox already...people seriously need to learn2play before they post.
I am not that stupid. I figured that out after 5 mins in game. It dosent stay with the new size once you exit the chatbox setup.
Well after the huge amount of time that was spent upgrading the servers and software, i'm quite dissapointed that nothing has been done to fix any of the bugs. Don't get me wrong, the game is still enjoyable, its just those niggly things that start to irritate u, and the chatbox is a real "itch you can't scratch" type of irritation.
In all honesty the whole layout should really change to accomodate the amount of flow that goes thru the chat, and also enable channels that u can "subscribe" to. Sure there are the Guild, Party and Map chat, but I mean splitting up the Map chat so that u have various subchannels, like hardcore rfoers, newb channel (this one would go down especially for most ppl, as it would mean we don't have to read the same q every 30secs). IMO, they should take a leaf out of AO's book who sorted this out ages ago, with loads of channels u could subscribe to, they even go beyond that with OOC/IC channels.
The other irritation is keymapping. Although i've spent quite a lot of time in the beta, and now know the relvent keys, there are still those time when ur missing a certain specific key. Auto targeting a mob is the main key i miss the most, and the option to customize keys. The most frustrating thing about this is that the option is obviously there to customize, because its only a txt coded DAT file that controls it...
Maybe CM are holding back a few surprises even from the Beta Testers, it wouldn't surprise me as there are a lot of ppl interested in the game, and from the frustration of the beta testers during the week the servers were down, this is going to be a very addictive game for anyone who enjoys the 1st 10mins of playing it.
I Think CM are holding back the best till last, whether they will release it at launch, or in the next Giga, they already have a big following in this game, and i feel it will get bigger
Completely agree, having a hard time not being annoyed with the chatbox.
This is the part that I might not be able to wrap my head around long enough to enjoy/buy the game. I know this game is aimed towards late game pvpers and the common argument is "well theres grind in every game", but unfortunately there just is not much content in this game. "Game is in Beta" argument noted, however since it is supposed to be released in a few days, unless they plan on pulling the other 50% of this game ( other than the battle mechanics ), then it wont be much more than a bunch of people logging in to do one thing, click to attack a monster to level, wait to pvp. And for most MMORPGS, that may be what lies on the surface for their meat and potatoes, but we generally fall in love with them/addicted to the rich content that diversifies the game.
Im still considering buying the game...I just don't know if its worth paying per month for something that feels so...empty?
But this is just my opinion...
The sad thing about it is, im actually having fun with the character i made and leveling so far...but as most, I need something to look forward to, it just feels more empty than something im paying 15 dollars a month to be immersed into. Call me greedy
Nice post.
If you enjoy the game, just buy it, I really do enjoy RF so i pre-ordered it yesterday and it will keep me occupied for quite some time. The game itself really opens up from level 25 upwards that is why quite alot of what people say is off because they havnt tried the best bits of the game (well none of us have tried even higher levels, im guessing it only gets better), dont get me wrong the first 25 levels are also good fun, but they can seem slightly boring at times. At the end of the day mate, just play it if you are enjoying it
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As for content being added, Zzeno from the CM team has said that CM can request additional patches and features for our specific version of the game and CCR will make these updates and give them to CM, you have to remember CCR will do this because the more money CM make, the more they also make. So im sure there will be plenty of updates.
Garrik
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"once upon a midnight dreary, while i porn surfed, weak and weary, over many a strange and spurious site of 'hot xxx galore'. While i clicked my fav'rite bookmark, suddenly there came a warning, and my heart was filled with mourning, mourning for my dear amour, " 'Tis not possible!", i muttered, "give me back my free hardcore!"..... quoth the server, 404."
Well I enjoy the game that's what matters. While the chat was a pain if you tried to use it, which I rarely did, they are supposed to have been some changes to it.
The CW's are the most fun in PvP I've had since SB first came out. The grind at lvl 30+ is a pain when ya really think about it no matter what game you play you grind, sure you might grind at different places and on different monsters or while doing a quest but it still just doing the same thing over and over. RF just simplifies it and keeps ya in one place for longer period of time.
Finally found some posts that are mature and not just flaming.Since i am very close to buying this ,i sitll need to oknow a few things that were posted.
Are the zones so small that high level players doing skillups,will take away too many of the mobs the low level players are trying to level on?
True grinding is in everygame but,are the battles fun to keep the grind fun?
Is there anything that makes forming a party anything other than a timsink of doing nothing but waiting?If partying is done better than most games ive played than this wont be a problem at all.
Scares me when people say the game gets better [lol].Is this an acknowledgement that the game starts bad?If i pay for the WHOLE game i wanna enjoy the whole game.
Most important to me is the battle system.Since this is mainly a PVP based game,how does that interact in a party?Seems to me that PvP contradicts a party forming game?My favourite battle engine is FFXI ,because it forms strategies using skillchains/weaponskills in combats.Is there anyone that has played this beta ,that is also very knowledgeable of the FFXi battle system,that can tell me of this games uniqueness?pros/cons in comparison.
That is pretty much all i need to know.If i decide to get the game,it won't take me long to realize the games mechanics,to see weather this is a polished product or just a niche game looking to cash in...time will tell.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
Wow what an awesome feature they are adding, something that should have been there in the first place.
Well I don't know if I will be able to answer all of those questions, but I will try. I played FFXI so I know that battle system extensively. The battels system in RFO is much much different. You can't link skills together like in FFXI, there are no MB's like in FFXI. Basically, each person operates independantly of everyone else in PvE. It isn't really all that exciting in PvE, it could be improved upon/deepened.
However, coordination in a party is very necessary in PvP and makes it very interesting. Mages debuff/bind a target. If players use their strong weapon attacks in coordination, it won't give an opponent time to pot.
The benefit to Partying is great for exp. You get exp based on the damage you do, and then an extra bonus for killing it. You also get more exp the more members you have in your party (very different from FFXI). One huge benefit to the whole pot system though, is that you never have to wait around for a healer. There is basically no healer class, everyone heals themselves. This means that in order to start a party, you basically just need to have enough people, and hopefully one or two shield-wielding tanks. You can have 8 people in a party.
I love that there is absolutely no waiting in this game. None at all, maybe the only waiting will be down the line when you get organized for pit-bosses. But if there aren't enough people that want to party, you can just solo and grind your PTs up, or mine, or whatever.
If you have any other questions, feel free to ask.