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PC Beta First Impressions

SBFordSBFord Former Associate EditorMember LegendaryPosts: 33,129
edited January 2016 in News & Features Discussion

imagePC Beta First Impressions

The Division, like Destiny, is part of a new class of small-group MMOs. Sharing a larger online world, with pockets of big social spaces, then smaller phased group areas makes The Division a lot like Destiny, or even the original Guild Wars. But what exactly is Ubisoft's first MMO all about? Read on to find out...

Read the full story here



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Comments

  • rapatpamprapatpamp Member UncommonPosts: 144
    edited February 2016
    I enjoyed the beta and will be ordering the game.

    Got my beta from a humble bundle if anyone wanted to know.

    I was playing with less than minimum requirements and it ran fine as well. I wanted to add that this isn't really an MMO. It's a rpg/shooter with drop-in/out coop. You will see other players in the darkzone though.
    Post edited by rapatpamp on
  • rojoArcueidrojoArcueid Member EpicPosts: 10,722
    I would rather play this over Destiny just because its third person. I hope its good. Waiting for launch to see the reviews and lets plays.




  • TalonsinTalonsin Member EpicPosts: 3,619
    Good stuff coming out so far but I will wait for the reviews before buying
    "Sean (Murray) saying MP will be in the game is not remotely close to evidence that at the point of purchase people thought there was MP in the game."  - SEANMCAD

  • psiicpsiic Member RarePosts: 1,640
    Ok decent review but my experience was pretty bad, I really want to like the game but found it very boring. Spent as much as an hour sometime between fights running around Q Q Q looking for something to fight. ( even in the dark zone )

    Best gear I got during this session was pink or purple and it came from pve infected building timed search. Almost everything in DZ was grey or green.

    Combat was overly easy dropping groups much higher than me easily solo. Open with a grenade, then a special, shoot the melee that charge you with no concern for the fact they are running at a guy with automatic weapons and grenades swinging a baseball bat. ( I know a few Italians I could see doing that I guess ).

    I leveled so quickly and got bored with the content my level I started zerging into the level 15 area and pulling mobs back to the beta area to make the combat at least something of a challenge.

    While the graphics are good there is a ton of tile reputation making a lot of areas look pretty much the same as every other area. I do like the lighting, but the shadows feel random and just tossed out there with no thought as to direction or lighting position.

    I am very curious if there is going to be a day night cycle as a night cycle of pitch dark in some of those alleys would add a fear factor maybe.

    A lot of people are giving me the " its only beta " excuse that they always give, but if people have not realized by now that at this point THIS IS THE RELEASE GAME, then they are delusional. The core mechanics do NOT change not in this short a window ever.

    As the game sits I find it mind numbing boring and suspect it will not even last as long as the interest in watchdog lasted. I really do hope I am proven wrong as I am stuck with my purchase of the game.

    As it sits however I would give it a solid 5 out of 10. And urge people to grab it on sale if at all.
  • psiicpsiic Member RarePosts: 1,640

    rapatpamp said:

    I enjoyed the beta and will be ordering the game.



    Got my beta from a humble bundle if anyone wanted to know.



    I was playing with less than minimum requirements and it ran fine as well.



    I ran it on very high with zero issues using an AMD 8320 16 gigs and a GTX 970.
  • MaricMaric Member UncommonPosts: 98
    edited February 2016
    Loving the game myself. Ran without a hiccup. Bought it. My only question is how will Ubisoft keep the game fresh? New cities? L.A. expansion? Damn fun game though. Good write up.
  • Soki123Soki123 Member RarePosts: 2,558
    rapatpamp said:
    I enjoyed the beta and will be ordering the game.

    Got my beta from a humble bundle if anyone wanted to know.

    I was playing with less than minimum requirements and it ran fine as well.


    What is your system specs. I have a friend who wants to play and he s barely under.

    I enjoyed the hell out of it btw. Between this and Overwatch, I ll be a happy camper for awhile,

  • liva98989liva98989 Member UncommonPosts: 252
    I find it lacking a lot of originality, I didn't find much to do, and the dark zone feels more like the "multiplayer" arenas that are in singleplayers. I actually think it's wrong for people to call this an mmo, if this is a mmo, then Assassins creed Unity or Brotherhood/rev etc. must also be mmos.
    The only thing that was different and nice was the setting, but there is no feature that sets Division apart from any other "mmo" out there. It has singleplayer, gear grind, skill tree and then some pvp on the sideline.

    I had hoped it would introduce something original.

    image

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  • XanzoXanzo Member UncommonPosts: 129

    psiic said:

    As it sits however I would give it a solid 5 out of 10. And urge people to grab it on sale if at all.


    This is just from first impressions, not an actual review, so I think there's a lot more to come...hopefully. Giving the game a rating when most of the game isn't even available in the beta doesn't make sense.

    So, far what I've played this weekend was fun and enjoyable. I do have to say that being in a group is crazy more fun that going at it solo, especially in the dark zone. I look forward to playing the full game.
  • raazmanraazman Member UncommonPosts: 35
    This game is so prone to hacking it's not even funny. Good luck to the people that play it on pc. This one is going to fail unless ubisoft does something about it, which seems like they don't care as of right now.
  • ArskaaaArskaaa Member RarePosts: 1,265
    Watched some Summit stream. game combat looks very easy. a lot running around. all streets looks same? rogue system is very bad, attacking another player in pvp zone make u pvp target>< every one should be target in pvp.

    but i will skip tis game. its clearly for people that have friends to party with. not a solo game.
  • acidbloodacidblood Member RarePosts: 878
    Posted this in a different thread before this one came up....

    Spent more than a few hours with The Division PC Beta over the weekend, and...

    Gameplay: Passable TPS with additive loot system.
    - Enemy AI is OK, and will use cover, throw grenades to make you move, and execute flanking maneuvers, but ultimately doesn't offer much of a good challenge; shifting between too easy for anything below your level, to annoying (read: you will be looking for exploits) for the more armoured / bullet spongy types. Note: 'Amour' basically works like a 2nd health bar, so even shooting an enemy in the head will deplete their armour first.
    - The weapons feel OK to use, and while different weapons, even of the same class, do feel different, i.e. an M4 feels different to an AK47, I didn't really find any that felt great to use. I think this may be down to how enemies react to getting shot... which is that they stagger (sometimes they just keep shooting you) while getting hammered, but then go right back to 'fine' despite being on 5% HP after taking half a mag.
    - Between weapons, gear, mods, and appearance items there is plenty of loot to hunt for. Unfortunately as with all games like this bigger numbers are better, so what you equip usually comes down to numbers more than preference. Crafting (not available in the beta) and the speed of leveling (reasonably slow pace in beta) may help with this.

    The World: While technically 'open', encounters always felt like a shooting gallery.
    - While the world does at least feel large, it often also feels quite narrow, as you are funneled down streets, through builds or over roof tops, making encounters frequently feel like little more than a linear shooting gallery (as opposed to an open world with multiple approaches; see MGS5).
    - Exploring the world is a bit of fun, though I often felt more like a government sanctioned looter (as opposed to those 'bad guy' looters) than a survivor. Also, once all the special encounters are done the city feels pretty dead. A lot of content was held back from the beta, so this may change come launch, but I'd wait for the launch reviews if exploring a ruined New York is your thing.

    Graphics: Passable.
    - Apparently my graphics settings were on ultra, and while the game ran well, it didn't really look that good. Maybe it was just the shaky-cam camera and the whole 'messy' city thing but I was far more impressed with the graphics of Rise of the Tomb Raider (which I also played this weekend).

    Solo vs. Multiplayer: Can solo, but multiplayer, with friends, is better.
    - If you plan to run solo (which I did for most of my time in the beta), it is certainly possible, but be prepared to get frustrated by flanking enemies, especially if they have armour.
    - While there is matchmaking for both random open world stuff and specific missions, I found it rather disappointing that, outside the dark zone, you will never run into anyone else and help / be helped by them in a passing moment, which to me, is one of the big draws of playing solo in an online world.
    - Running solo in the The Division feels like a bad single player game.

    The Dark Zone: Where it's at.
    - The Dark Zone is by far the most exciting, tense and dynamic part of The Division, and probably where you are going to be spending most of your time once the story is done.

    PC Version: It's playable with a mouse and keyboard, the aiming feels smooth and it runs well (i5, GTX 780, 16GB ram), but the UI makes it feel like a console game.

  • psiicpsiic Member RarePosts: 1,640
    Xanzo said:

    psiic said:

    As it sits however I would give it a solid 5 out of 10. And urge people to grab it on sale if at all.



    This is just from first impressions, not an actual review, so I think there's a lot more to come...hopefully. Giving the game a rating when most of the game isn't even available in the beta doesn't make sense.

    So, far what I've played this weekend was fun and enjoyable. I do have to say that being in a group is crazy more fun that going at it solo, especially in the dark zone. I look forward to playing the full game.

    Notice I said " as it sits " I agree with you hopefully my numbers go up but tbh a 5/10 is pretty generous for what they showed.
  • psiicpsiic Member RarePosts: 1,640

    Rhoklaw said:

    Is it just me or do people who solo in MMO's or multiplayer games tend to always say they get bored easily. I don't know how to say this without coming off as well... anyhow, try adding "WE" to your gaming. Spend some time with friends doing stuff. I can't think of any MMO that's all that entertaining solo. Before we had TeamSpeak and Ventrillo, people spent a fair amount of time grouping instead of soloing, simply for the conversations to be had.



    I did not just solo did a lot of group fighting in the DZ which I found to be pretty screwed up to be honest. At one point we were attacked by another squad and some solo's jumped in to help us and one of them ran into my grenade flipping me red and everyone turned on me including my own people.
  • ZagatoMKRZagatoMKR Member UncommonPosts: 263
    Trying beta only made me more concerned about PC version of the game. UI elements are designed for consoles and left the same for PC version. Why do devs do that when PC and console are very different platforms? I have no idea. Also there are so many buildings in the game world but only a very few are accessible with very limited intractable objects. Lots of stability and optimization issues. Hopefully by the launch, most issues will be sorted out (somehow I doubt it though). Also the cut out portions of the game make me think that it will be a DLC-fest.

    Cheers.
  • blamo2000blamo2000 Member RarePosts: 1,130
    How are the rpg elements such as character building? Is every character the same besides equipment, and how deep is the rpg character development system if there is one. No real mention of this from anyone above.

    Also ZagoatoMKR stated it ha a console UI for the PC version. I hate that with a passion. Is this game going to have mod support so PC players can fix the console bullshit or is it what it is and that's it?
  • RoinRoin Member RarePosts: 3,444
    edited February 2016
    I don't think Ubisoft has refered to The Division as a MMO since it was announced at E3 2013. Could be wrong though I only follow half the info the put out.

    The beta was indeed an awesome experience. I've waited a long time for it. It's exactly what I expected and exactly what I wanted. I had a friggin blast. I was going to go back to Destiny sometime this month, but now I don't think I'll bother. Come release going to play The Division till the wheels fall off.

    <br><blockquote class="Quote">
      <div><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank">psiic</a> said:</div>
      <div><blockquote class="Quote"><br>
      <div><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Rhoklaw</a> said:</div><br>
      <div>Is it just me or do people who solo in MMO's or multiplayer games tend to always say they get bored easily. I don't know how to say this without coming off as well... anyhow, try adding "WE" to your gaming. Spend some time with friends doing stuff. I can't think of any MMO that's all that entertaining solo. Before we had TeamSpeak and Ventrillo, people spent a fair amount of time grouping instead of soloing, simply for the conversations to be had.</div><br>
    </blockquote><br>
    <br>
    I did not just solo did a lot of group fighting in the DZ which I found to be pretty screwed up to be honest. At one point we were attacked by another squad and some solo's jumped in to help us and one of them ran into my grenade flipping me red and everyone turned on me including my own people. </div>
    </blockquote>
    <br>

    Except for your "own people" turning on you that is how it should be. Someone not grouped with you, but wanting to help you. SHOULD still be worried about line of fire and friendly fire.

    In War - Victory.
    In Peace - Vigilance.
    In Death - Sacrifice.

  • acidbloodacidblood Member RarePosts: 878
    blamo2000 said:
    How are the rpg elements such as character building? Is every character the same besides equipment, and how deep is the rpg character development system if there is one. No real mention of this from anyone above.

    Also ZagoatoMKR stated it ha a console UI for the PC version. I hate that with a passion. Is this game going to have mod support so PC players can fix the console bullshit or is it what it is and that's it?
    Most of that side of character customization was locked out of the beta, so it's hard to say but there are 12 base skills across 3 lines, each with several variations (e.g. scan with extra range vs. scan with bonus damage to scanned mobs). You can have two skills equipped at a time (swap anytime they aren't on cooldown) and skills range from scans, to heals, to turrets to portable cover and more.

    There are also 2 dozen or so (I assume passive) talents and bonuses (e.g. carry extra med packs) but they were locked out in beta so details are limited at this point.

    Equipment also does a fair bit to affect play style with stats for increased DPS, health and skill potency... so while two characters may have the same level of gear and skills they could focus on different stats and play quite differently.

    The UI is usable with a mouse / keyboard, but it makes me want to reach for a controller. It's nothing major, but a lot of little things like:
    - Limited hot keys with multiple uses, i.e. press for heal, hold for circle menu of consumable items.
    - The circle menus feel like they tried to map the mouse to movement around a circle (you know, like you would for a thumb stick).
    - Buttons feel laggy when clicked, and placement is not great so it's often much faster to just use the hotkeys.
    - Long scrolling lists that 'jump' between categories, which would work for digital buttons, but is rather jarring when using a scroll wheel.

  • mmoguy43mmoguy43 Member UncommonPosts: 2,770
    I played the beta for a few hours and I'd say this "First Impression" is fairly accurate without going into as much detail as some of the other posters.

    It's probably the most empty MMORPG you will play with how barren the city streets are, especially in the non-DZ areas. Honestly, if you don't intent to play the DZ often with friends, you are not going to get your money's worth. I did a fair amount solo roaming, hunting as a group, and going rogue but it wasn't as thrilling as I hoped.
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  • rapatpamprapatpamp Member UncommonPosts: 144
    edited February 2016

    Soki123 said:


    rapatpamp said:

    I enjoyed the beta and will be ordering the game.



    Got my beta from a humble bundle if anyone wanted to know.



    I was playing with less than minimum requirements and it ran fine as well.



    What is your system specs. I have a friend who wants to play and he s barely under.

    I enjoyed the hell out of it btw. Between this and Overwatch, I ll be a happy camper for awhile,




    AMD A10-5800K 3.8g

    10g ram

    GTX750 1gig

    windows 10 64bit

    installed on regular HDD not SDD

    According to them my processor (I believe is low) and needed 2 gig ram on graphics. Hope that's good enough :)
  • Righteous_RockRighteous_Rock Member RarePosts: 1,234
    Don't worry about it, game hardly looked worth the price let alone upgrading your pc. The AI looked worse than Defiance AI when it launched.
  • TerminalDeityTerminalDeity Member UncommonPosts: 133
    This game looks cool right up until a guy wearing a t-shirt soaks up 3 magazines of 7.62x39. Sorry, but I work in Afghanistan, so I can tell you that looks comically ridiculous. There is a way to make a game like this interesting without making the bad guys simply eat a hundred rounds of ammunition before dying.
  • DAS1337DAS1337 Member UncommonPosts: 2,610

    ZagatoMKR said:

    Trying beta only made me more concerned about PC version of the game. UI elements are designed for consoles and left the same for PC version. Why do devs do that when PC and console are very different platforms? I have no idea. Also there are so many buildings in the game world but only a very few are accessible with very limited intractable objects. Lots of stability and optimization issues. Hopefully by the launch, most issues will be sorted out (somehow I doubt it though). Also the cut out portions of the game make me think that it will be a DLC-fest.



    Cheers.



    Interesting. I didn't have issues with the UI. I thought it was done very well. While it may not be completely optimized for the PC, it's certainly still excellent when compared to most games out there. As far as stability and optimization.. I'm not sure what you mean. I did not crash, I did not drop below 50 FPS on high settings. I did not lag at all. The game runs very well as it is. The cut out portions of the game were designed to be cut out. If you would have read the information when you launched the game, it will tell you specifically that it is a beta and several elements, in fact, most of them, will be removed from the game. So I'm not sure what you were expecting. I do agree with a lack of explorable areas. You can run up and down every street. You can run up and down the allyways. But besides that, there are only a few houses or apartments on every block that you can actually enter. Many of them are mission locations as well. Though I did find one of the apartments in the origins trailers. That was fun. I do wish there were a little more. The underground areas were essentially completely devoid of any enemies. I feel that if they added more enterable locations and increased the mob frequency, it would go a long way in making the world less tedious and boring,
  • SelzyrSelzyr Member UncommonPosts: 60
    gotta take a look into this game, seriously interested.
    Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning. And the more you know Insanity, is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. But I can tell you that only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former.
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