I used to be really excited about this game a couple years back,but the more i see the more i realize it IS just run of the mill fantasy MMO with a few innovations.Trust me Ive been gaming for 30 years now-D&D since 1982,my first video game was Pong In the late 70s.Ive played 20 MMOs so far since 2003 and about half were P2P subs.(And by play I mean a solid 2 weeks or more Bare minimum,however almost half were years of playing time.)
The worst thing to do was show actual gameplay footage to me for the last year or so.While it does have some interesting combat innovations,it just looks bland in the end.
So when I see people getting fanatical over this game I kind of chuckle to myself becuase i realize people will be so over-hyped theyre going to be let down when they realize it still is JUST a typical fantasy game at the core level.However when I see people that stay interested I realize theyre either a hardcore fanboy/girl or not very experianced in the MMO scene(Or both).
Anyway with that being said,GW2 may be my secondary MMO when i have xtra $ to get it,But my money is on The Secret World for a totaly new MMO experiance.Coming from my mouth that should mean something,Im not a Fanboy trying to advertise an MMO I like,Im a highly experianced Gamer with a little over 30 years of gaming under my belt and a few years of research on MMOs being developed since 2007,and which one will provide a unique experiance for players...And its The secret World.
Let's see if we can drill down a bit.
When you say it looks "bland", what do you really mean by that. is it a graphics issue? World look dead? Not very inspiring (in examples), etc.
Looks like you enjoyed it a bit haha! You know I really love the painted style of their site, char creation, etc. So stylized it alone attracts me into the game.
The one and most important thing I took from your write up is the exploring and wandering around the world. I remember in Guild Wars 1 I found myself doing this for hours early on. I really am excited about this aspect.
The exploration is what really caught me off guard. It's amazing. Been a long time since an MMO really 1.) made me want to explore 2.) let me and 3.) rewarded me for it. Explorers will get the most out of this game, as it doesn't hold your hand much other than to occasionally shoot you in the direction of a new event.
Awesome preview, i'm certainly getting more interested in this than previously. Especially due to the exploration stuff you talked about. I love doing that stuff. Sorta like defeating an end game raid boss which no other guild has beaten, or; i.e., treading where no one else has. It'll be fun to explore and find places other players have not found as well.
Also a VERY VERY good thing to point out is what you mentioned with the no subscription to play model. That in and of itself is going to get TONS more people buying this with the ability of enjoying and yet still having their typical one subscription MMO on the side.
Really good article Bill. i was fairly excited about this game before but now im at fever pitch!! ive sent this article to some friemds to try and get them excited and away from bloody swtor!!
If someone is talking in general chat in a language you dont understand, chances are they're not talking to you. So chill out and stop bitching about it!
I used to be really excited about this game a couple years back,but the more i see the more i realize it IS just run of the mill fantasy MMO with a few innovations.Trust me Ive been gaming for 30 years now-D&D since 1982,my first video game was Pong In the late 70s.Ive played 20 MMOs so far since 2003 and about half were P2P subs.(And by play I mean a solid 2 weeks or more Bare minimum,however almost half were years of playing time.)
The worst thing to do was show actual gameplay footage to me for the last year or so.While it does have some interesting combat innovations,it just looks bland in the end.
So when I see people getting fanatical over this game I kind of chuckle to myself becuase i realize people will be so over-hyped theyre going to be let down when they realize it still is JUST a typical fantasy game at the core level.However when I see people that stay interested I realize theyre either a hardcore fanboy/girl or not very experianced in the MMO scene(Or both).
Anyway with that being said,GW2 may be my secondary MMO when i have xtra $ to get it,But my money is on The Secret World for a totaly new MMO experiance.Coming from my mouth that should mean something,Im not a Fanboy trying to advertise an MMO I like,Im a highly experianced Gamer with a little over 30 years of gaming under my belt and a few years of research on MMOs being developed since 2007,and which one will provide a unique experiance for players...And its The secret World.
Well excuse me but a real experienced person wouldn't put down a new mmo only because its fantasy based without getting all the information and TESTING first aswell.
You seem to have gone through a few videos, decided that the game its too fantasy like for you and started stepping away from it.
I have tested over 290+ mmos through the years so far and have played several of them also for months. Three mmos I played for years and these were GW (5+ years), City of Heroes/Villains(5+ years) and Atlantica Online (around 2 years since it went downhill from there due to the gridiness of the company).
The main reason why was because all 3 of these mmos stood out and were quite different to what the others offered.
GW was the mix between pve/pvp and the fact that your character was really involved in the story through the game segments/cutscenes, it offered a unique setting, secondary professions, balanced and fun pvp among tons of other things.
CoH was similar when it comes to inovation, difference to typical mmos, gameplay and most of all the best game out there when it comes to customization in the character creation (best editor ever).
Atlantica came out with the unique turn based battle system, great setting, nice gameplay till the company let their gridiness get in the way.
There are quite a few other less known GEMS out there when it comes to mmo but Secret World is also only "hype" so far with little footage shown.
It might not be the typical mmo in the fantasy department (even it contents parts of fantasy like the spells as example) and its setting might come across as unique since its mixed between real world, fantasy and science fiction.
However, the basics looks to be the same so far and alone because of that, I don't understand how you can say that GW2 is or will be "bland" when it offers new and innovative gameplay and features while you are hyping the secret world which is more basic and barely offers anything new to the mmo universe at all.
Don't get me wrong, I'm registered on the secret world since its beginnings aswell but I think if you drop in here and talk about experience, then you should at least show some proof and say WHY you think the secret world is THAT different and not as "bland" to you as GW 2.
Saying its because the setting is different doesn't justify the term "Bland" nor is it a explanation in my opinion.
I'm not being a troll or anything, it was NOTHING like that engineer preview here on MMORPG a while back, much less all the "action packed" parts of the class it promised, lol..
the video is very unimpressive, the combat looks fun, but there is too much going on, on the screen to really see what you are doing, with too many spell animations and fire. also I dunno if it was his computer settings, but the graphics look so very dated, like hardly better than GW1. I dont foresee this crushing the old MMO ways, it will however be a wonderful successor to the Original GW, and continue to be a niche game that those who played the first enjoy.
Hehe... so the end-game is "play just for the fun of it"? this concept has always failed ALWAYS. If there is no long term character development in any form, there's no incentive to play.
Edited for attacking someone based on a diffrent opinion than mine. I just simply cant understand how someone cant play a game simply because its fun. As to the "always failed" thing. That is simply false. There are a few MMO's out there still to this day that havent had any "progression" updates for a while and people still play them just because they are fun.
I am lookin forward to it. I fully expect to be let down dont get me wrong. But I am still looking forward to it. While most reviews from press feel like they are paid for it seems the press talking about GW2 are a hell of alot more....gushing? than usual. Even SWTOR they where "Yea this is cool. Its pretty fun. This is neat. Thats neat." With this game almost everyone is "wtfbbq this is the best thing since sliced bread". This gives me the slightest glimmer of hope that its not all just hype and it really is just fun to play.
One of my main questions so far--should anyone who got the chance to play the beta be so kind as to answer--concerns combos. I haven't heard anyone discuss them in this wave of press beta information. Did ability combos feel like an intuitive part of combat? Did you even notice them going off, or was it all just a bunch of chaos?
The frequency in which bill replys to this thread tells me that he is having withdrawls fromt he game and that maybe it is just as good as people are hoping (though the hype is a bit much for this game, it is something i will at least try). Thanks for the great article bill!
Hero Evermore Guild Master of Dragonspine since 1982. Playing Path of Exile and deeply in love with it.
I am more interested in the artistic styling of the game than anything else. I will reserve my excitment for actually being able to play it. However it does sound appealing so far. Other aspects still bug me, but I hope for their sake it is not enough to make me regret a purchase. By their sake I mean I hope they have a winner on their hands as I know it's tough when your putting everything you got on the line for something.
Thanks so much Bill for the original article, and all of the questions you've been answering. It seems that my cautious optimism is being replaced with childlike excitement.
Regardless of anything, at least the game is going to be a different type of Themepark.
One of my main questions so far--should anyone who got the chance to play the beta be so kind as to answer--concerns combos. I haven't heard anyone discuss them in this wave of press beta information. Did ability combos feel like an intuitive part of combat? Did you even notice them going off, or was it all just a bunch of chaos?
Honestly, I didn't notice them. I'm assuming that these combos will become something of a coordinated effort, and with all of us being noobs, we just did what we thought would work. That said, I know of a few times when I had a firewall from my flamethrower up that a ranger shot arrows through it. I assume this made the arrows catch fire, but there was no easy way of telling.
Definitely something we'll have to look into more in later stages.
Try to be excellent to everyone you meet. You never know what someone else has seen or endured.
One of my main questions so far--should anyone who got the chance to play the beta be so kind as to answer--concerns combos. I haven't heard anyone discuss them in this wave of press beta information. Did ability combos feel like an intuitive part of combat? Did you even notice them going off, or was it all just a bunch of chaos?
Honestly, I didn't notice them. I'm assuming that these combos will become something of a coordinated effort, and with all of us being noobs, we just did what we thought would work. That said, I know of a few times when I had a firewall from my flamethrower up that a ranger shot arrows through it. I assume this made the arrows catch fire, but there was no easy way of telling.
Definitely something we'll have to look into more in later stages.
Thanks for the reply.
That's exactly what I suspected might happen. In the chaos of multi-player DEs, and especially world pvp, I'm sure combos are going off all the time; but if they're not visually dazzling, or if you don't know ahead of time what to look for, most players probably won't even realize they performed combos. Based on some of the footage I've seen, every GW2 spell effect seems to be quite dazzling. So even if a combo had its own unique visual effect, it would be nearly impossible to discern it unless in a small group setting.
It would be nice if they would add an option to turn on a combo indicator to inform both players involved what happened. It might make it feel more rewarding, and they might be inclined to try to reproduce the effect, igniting some intentional teamwork. Obviously not everyone would like their UI to be bloated with this feature, which is why it should probably be an option, the same way as scrolling combat text usually is.
I hope players can eventually feel the combos they perform; and I hope it feels satisfying. If it's mostly just passive stuff that goes on in the background (like the lovely arrow through the wall of fire that everyone thinks of because that was the only combo Anet had revealed for a good while,) then really the entire point of having combos in the first place will be defeated.
Like you said though, there will be a slight learning curve for the playerbase. The same way WvW pvp will likely mostly involve massive groups traveling together to zerg assault 1 keep after another before they learn actual tactics and designate smaller groups to pursue smaller objectives.
Originally posted by Homitu One of my main questions so far--should anyone who got the chance to play the beta be so kind as to answer--concerns combos. I haven't heard anyone discuss them in this wave of press beta information. Did ability combos feel like an intuitive part of combat? Did you even notice them going off, or was it all just a bunch of chaos?
Honestly, I didn't notice them. I'm assuming that these combos will become something of a coordinated effort, and with all of us being noobs, we just did what we thought would work. That said, I know of a few times when I had a firewall from my flamethrower up that a ranger shot arrows through it. I assume this made the arrows catch fire, but there was no easy way of telling. Definitely something we'll have to look into more in later stages.
Thanks for the reply. That's exactly what I suspected might happen. In the chaos of multi-player DEs, and especially world pvp, I'm sure combos are going off all the time; but if they're not visually dazzling, or if you don't know ahead of time what to look for, most players probably won't even realize they performed combos. Based on some of the footage I've seen, every GW2 spell effect seems to be quite dazzling. So even if a combo had its own unique visual effect, it would be nearly impossible to discern it unless in a small group setting. It would be nice if they would add an option to turn on a combo indicator to inform both players involved what happened. It might make it feel more rewarding, and they might be inclined to try to reproduce the effect, igniting some intentional teamwork. Obviously not everyone would like their UI to be bloated with this feature, which is why it should probably be an option, the same way as scrolling combat text usually is. I hope players can eventually feel the combos they perform; and I hope it feels satisfying. If it's mostly just passive stuff that goes on in the background (like the lovely arrow through the wall of fire that everyone thinks of because that was the only combo Anet had revealed for a good while,) then really the entire point of having combos in the first place will be defeated. Like you said though, there will be a slight learning curve for the playerbase. The same way WvW pvp will likely mostly involve massive groups traveling together to zerg assault 1 keep after another before they learn actual tactics and designate smaller groups to pursue smaller objectives.
I don't remember where it was, but I heard in an interview that they do have something notifying players that a combo happened, and a list pane somewhere that has tells you combos you have discovered. I think it pops up in the combat chat box, but I heard them saying there was a more visible notification that a combo just happened, and what it was and why.
Edit: The thing I find really funny about that arrow example is, if you have ever shot an arrow through a fire, however large, you'd know it doesn't actually catch fire. Not that I like the mechanic less; it's just funny.
"There are two great powers, and they've been fighting since time began. Every advance in human life, every scrap of knowledge and wisdom and decency we have has been torn by one side from the teeth of the other. Every little increase in human freedom has been fought over ferociously between those who want us to know more and be wiser and stronger, and those who want us to obey and be humble and submit."
John Parry, to his son Will; "The Subtle Knife," by Phillip Pullman
Comments
Let's see if we can drill down a bit.
When you say it looks "bland", what do you really mean by that. is it a graphics issue? World look dead? Not very inspiring (in examples), etc.
Awesome preview, i'm certainly getting more interested in this than previously. Especially due to the exploration stuff you talked about. I love doing that stuff. Sorta like defeating an end game raid boss which no other guild has beaten, or; i.e., treading where no one else has. It'll be fun to explore and find places other players have not found as well.
Also a VERY VERY good thing to point out is what you mentioned with the no subscription to play model. That in and of itself is going to get TONS more people buying this with the ability of enjoying and yet still having their typical one subscription MMO on the side.
Sounds pretty cool!
Really good article Bill. i was fairly excited about this game before but now im at fever pitch!! ive sent this article to some friemds to try and get them excited and away from bloody swtor!!
If someone is talking in general chat in a language you dont understand, chances are they're not talking to you. So chill out and stop bitching about it!
Well excuse me but a real experienced person wouldn't put down a new mmo only because its fantasy based without getting all the information and TESTING first aswell.
You seem to have gone through a few videos, decided that the game its too fantasy like for you and started stepping away from it.
I have tested over 290+ mmos through the years so far and have played several of them also for months. Three mmos I played for years and these were GW (5+ years), City of Heroes/Villains(5+ years) and Atlantica Online (around 2 years since it went downhill from there due to the gridiness of the company).
The main reason why was because all 3 of these mmos stood out and were quite different to what the others offered.
GW was the mix between pve/pvp and the fact that your character was really involved in the story through the game segments/cutscenes, it offered a unique setting, secondary professions, balanced and fun pvp among tons of other things.
CoH was similar when it comes to inovation, difference to typical mmos, gameplay and most of all the best game out there when it comes to customization in the character creation (best editor ever).
Atlantica came out with the unique turn based battle system, great setting, nice gameplay till the company let their gridiness get in the way.
There are quite a few other less known GEMS out there when it comes to mmo but Secret World is also only "hype" so far with little footage shown.
It might not be the typical mmo in the fantasy department (even it contents parts of fantasy like the spells as example) and its setting might come across as unique since its mixed between real world, fantasy and science fiction.
However, the basics looks to be the same so far and alone because of that, I don't understand how you can say that GW2 is or will be "bland" when it offers new and innovative gameplay and features while you are hyping the secret world which is more basic and barely offers anything new to the mmo universe at all.
Don't get me wrong, I'm registered on the secret world since its beginnings aswell but I think if you drop in here and talk about experience, then you should at least show some proof and say WHY you think the secret world is THAT different and not as "bland" to you as GW 2.
Saying its because the setting is different doesn't justify the term "Bland" nor is it a explanation in my opinion.
That engineer video almost put me to sleep..
I'm not being a troll or anything, it was NOTHING like that engineer preview here on MMORPG a while back, much less all the "action packed" parts of the class it promised, lol..
Edited for being a jackass.
Edited for attacking someone based on a diffrent opinion than mine. I just simply cant understand how someone cant play a game simply because its fun. As to the "always failed" thing. That is simply false. There are a few MMO's out there still to this day that havent had any "progression" updates for a while and people still play them just because they are fun.
I am lookin forward to it. I fully expect to be let down dont get me wrong. But I am still looking forward to it. While most reviews from press feel like they are paid for it seems the press talking about GW2 are a hell of alot more....gushing? than usual. Even SWTOR they where "Yea this is cool. Its pretty fun. This is neat. Thats neat." With this game almost everyone is "wtfbbq this is the best thing since sliced bread". This gives me the slightest glimmer of hope that its not all just hype and it really is just fun to play.
One of my main questions so far--should anyone who got the chance to play the beta be so kind as to answer--concerns combos. I haven't heard anyone discuss them in this wave of press beta information. Did ability combos feel like an intuitive part of combat? Did you even notice them going off, or was it all just a bunch of chaos?
The only thing I dislike so far is NCsoft being anywhere near this (or any) game in whatever capacity.
would u preffer EA? Sony? Activision?
that has worked so well in the past
"I am not a robot. I am a unicorn."
in terms of gpu usage, what what game would you compare gw2 to?
The frequency in which bill replys to this thread tells me that he is having withdrawls fromt he game and that maybe it is just as good as people are hoping (though the hype is a bit much for this game, it is something i will at least try). Thanks for the great article bill!
Hero Evermore
Guild Master of Dragonspine since 1982.
Playing Path of Exile and deeply in love with it.
I am more interested in the artistic styling of the game than anything else. I will reserve my excitment for actually being able to play it. However it does sound appealing so far. Other aspects still bug me, but I hope for their sake it is not enough to make me regret a purchase. By their sake I mean I hope they have a winner on their hands as I know it's tough when your putting everything you got on the line for something.
Take the Magic: The Gathering 'What Color Are You?' Quiz.
"Love can be innocent and can be sweet, but sometimes about as nice as rotting meat."
Thanks so much Bill for the original article, and all of the questions you've been answering. It seems that my cautious optimism is being replaced with childlike excitement.
Regardless of anything, at least the game is going to be a different type of Themepark.
Great in-depth and informative article, Bill, thanks. And also for being so quick to answer the questions raised.
I've been waiting for this game for so long now I can hardly believe that its release is just around the corner.
Nope this is going to be the greatest MMO since DAOC. If you didn't play it, (DAOC) I feel bad for you, really.
Vack
FF XIV - the single worse game to cross my hard drive, ever.
Honestly, I didn't notice them. I'm assuming that these combos will become something of a coordinated effort, and with all of us being noobs, we just did what we thought would work. That said, I know of a few times when I had a firewall from my flamethrower up that a ranger shot arrows through it. I assume this made the arrows catch fire, but there was no easy way of telling.
Definitely something we'll have to look into more in later stages.
Try to be excellent to everyone you meet. You never know what someone else has seen or endured.
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Thanks for the reply.
That's exactly what I suspected might happen. In the chaos of multi-player DEs, and especially world pvp, I'm sure combos are going off all the time; but if they're not visually dazzling, or if you don't know ahead of time what to look for, most players probably won't even realize they performed combos. Based on some of the footage I've seen, every GW2 spell effect seems to be quite dazzling. So even if a combo had its own unique visual effect, it would be nearly impossible to discern it unless in a small group setting.
It would be nice if they would add an option to turn on a combo indicator to inform both players involved what happened. It might make it feel more rewarding, and they might be inclined to try to reproduce the effect, igniting some intentional teamwork. Obviously not everyone would like their UI to be bloated with this feature, which is why it should probably be an option, the same way as scrolling combat text usually is.
I hope players can eventually feel the combos they perform; and I hope it feels satisfying. If it's mostly just passive stuff that goes on in the background (like the lovely arrow through the wall of fire that everyone thinks of because that was the only combo Anet had revealed for a good while,) then really the entire point of having combos in the first place will be defeated.
Like you said though, there will be a slight learning curve for the playerbase. The same way WvW pvp will likely mostly involve massive groups traveling together to zerg assault 1 keep after another before they learn actual tactics and designate smaller groups to pursue smaller objectives.
This game looks like a dissapointment.
I don't remember where it was, but I heard in an interview that they do have something notifying players that a combo happened, and a list pane somewhere that has tells you combos you have discovered. I think it pops up in the combat chat box, but I heard them saying there was a more visible notification that a combo just happened, and what it was and why.
Edit: The thing I find really funny about that arrow example is, if you have ever shot an arrow through a fire, however large, you'd know it doesn't actually catch fire. Not that I like the mechanic less; it's just funny.
"There are two great powers, and they've been fighting since time began. Every advance in human life, every scrap of knowledge and wisdom and decency we have has been torn by one side from the teeth of the other. Every little increase in human freedom has been fought over ferociously between those who want us to know more and be wiser and stronger, and those who want us to obey and be humble and submit."
John Parry, to his son Will; "The Subtle Knife," by Phillip Pullman
gonna be nice not having to deal with douchebag DPS
Anyone has a clue what the settings for this game will be? I have an quad core, 1gb video and 4 gb ram, it will play?
Yep, they swore they controlled the outcome of the game...