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Rift: Ember Isle Preview

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Comments

  • LukainLukain Member UncommonPosts: 591

    Finally there getting close to how there game should have been released  6 months ago , longest paying Beta ever ..

  • ComafComaf Member UncommonPosts: 1,150

    Another fantastic example of how hard it is for a company to create siege warfare pvp!  /bravo at fail.  While the medieval period of history was filled with massive territorial acquisitions (the Crusades or 100 years war ring a bell?), apparently, once we say a world is epical and fantastic, and we mix magic into the formula, we suddenly lose any sense of reality - period.  And thusly, any sense of fun. 

     

    This is fancy non-meaningful pvp on a pve platter.

    image
  • lathaanlathaan Member UncommonPosts: 476

    this and AoC. for years.

  • I like rift. It's smooth, polished and worth playing but it's just not really my kind of game. That doesn't mean I will turn on the exaggerating rant machine so many seem to need to do. But badmouthing games we are tired of seems to be the norm so I hope most gamers know to try a game for themselves but to those that are constantly asking " Is it worth it?" you should know you ask a question and you might get 100 different answers from players with varying agendas for or against a game.

    If we like mmo's we really should try to be more positive instead of slamming everything except what you are playing because it just hurts the overall picture (and can lead to empty servers as the clones flit from game to game.

    And for the life of me I can't remember all those large cities in EQ1 near the beginning unless you call the starting cities for different classes as large. Freeport seemed pretty big (I hung out in queynos *sp though but I don't remember it or Halas or kelethin (and any I've forgotten) as being that big. But that was a long time ago.

  • teakboisteakbois Member Posts: 2,154

    Originally posted by jeddak

    If we like mmo's we really should try to be more positive instead of slamming everything except what you are playing because it just hurts the overall picture (and can lead to empty servers as the clones flit from game to game.

    Its the overhype about the game that causes many people to express their feelings on it.  Trion obviously pays this site to advertise and they clearly never address any of the negatives to paint the full, fair picture.

     

    If you went by MMORPG or people like Puremallace you would think Rift is the most amazing game ever made, better than EQ1 and Vanille WoW combined.  In Reality its a mixed bag, obviously far better than WAR and AoC (at release anyway), but its not a runaway hit and struggles to retain subs.

     

    It actually helps people trying out the game if they know the full story.  Its better to come in with lower expectations than high ones.  If they just think everything is amazing then find out its flaws, then you get disappointment.  If you know the flaws coming in you are better prepared to deal with them and then enjoy what Rift does well.  The first time I played Rift i spent half the time wondering why everyone said it was so great, and was greatly dissapointed.  Then i dug deeper and discovered that many, many people shared the same opinions I did.

     

    A lot of people are very fair.  Yes, some just bash the game at every chance they get, but most do address the good and the bad.  Everyone loves that Trion puts out fast content, and thats the number one thing Rift has done right that MMIRPGs will benefit from.

     

    On the flip side, Trion is also a tad dishonest with their customers to spin things in their favor.  The whole second collectors edition thing when they promised no cash shop is one.  I dont care if they have a cash shop, but dont try to paint it up as something else.  Just say 'hey, we need more revnue to keep your content coming, buy this spider for 10 bucks'.  And I have never seen a company so dishonest about server closings.  So Snarebrush is now a trial server.  you now have what, 40 trial servers?  something tells me I dont get an option of 40 trial servers when I roll up a new account.

     

    And for many, many people Rift is not the way we want MMORPGs to go.  Its still the WOTLK/Cata style gear acquisition and recycled dungeons for content.  Many people want more expansive worlds, not linear affairs packed tighter than a can of sardines.  Interesting worlds, interesting characters.  Meaningful choices.  This isnt a sandbox thing, its a full, immersive world thing.  Like Azeroth or Norrath or Telon.

     

    And have a vision.  Dont keep throwing crap up against the wall and see what sticks.  Adding features is great. Moving on to the next feature before fully fleshing out the previous one isnt.

     

    There is so much potential here and they are close to having a truly great game that could be a major factor down the road.  No one really wants to see that potential squandered.

  • RogoshRogosh Member UncommonPosts: 208

    I think you are wrong about Trion not having a vision, their vision is to keep adding new things that work for their customers. Something other mmos need to look at. Currently only Guild Wars 2 and Wildstar online give me hope for the future of mmos, other than Rift.

    "Its better to look ugly and win than pretty and lose"

  • teakboisteakbois Member Posts: 2,154

    Originally posted by Rogosh

    I think you are wrong about Trion not having a vision, their vision is to keep adding new things that work for their customers. Something other mmos need to look at. Currently only Guild Wars 2 and Wildstar online give me hope for the future of mmos, other than Rift.




     

    If you keep adding to a building with a small foundation and you dont strengthen that foundation as you go, the whole thing is going to topple under the weight of your lofty aspirations.

     

    Instant adventures are too soon.  People have reacted positively to chronicles.  Spend that time developing more.  When you have 20+ chronicles to choose from, and a deep, meaningful 3 teirs of AA in place, then work on adding something else.

     

    And when people have MAJOR issues with your 1-49 game why spend all this time on this other stuff and exclude those levels?

     

    Strengthen yiur foundation Trion

  • RogoshRogosh Member UncommonPosts: 208

    They do, their foundation is end game, not leveling.

    "Its better to look ugly and win than pretty and lose"

  • VolgoreVolgore Member EpicPosts: 3,872

    I think that Trion does a great job adding all this stuff to the game. But then, the state the game was released in, they had little choice and Rift would have been gone down the WAR path if Trion would have been any slower adding stuff. However, it's a good thing and if they keep this pace in about a year Rift could be a heavyweight.

    The question is does Trion have this year? I don't know. It's obvious that no matter how fast content is being added and no matter how good the game may be by now -it just does not sell well to the folks.

    If people would buy it for 39,99 or 29,99 we wouldn't see it for 4.99 just every other day. In fact, Trion has something to "celebrate with us" e-v-e-r-y weekend, so in the end this supposed to be discount is just the same obscuring move as "trial servers" and "CE upgrade" were. Trion's trying to cloud the fact that the game is basicly down to a 4,99 market value by leaving it at the obligatory standard price of 29,99 for a couple of days a week. It's not that anyone buys it anyway - but it looks better and they can sell you the discounts as such, while -being honest- this is the regular price already.

    On a sidenote: I may also hesitate to buy a future addon for 39,99+ when they hand it out for say 9,99 three month after. Same goes for the addon as a CE-box, when it's content will be available ingame later on anyway.

    So, back to the question: Does Trion have another year at the rate the game loses value on the mmorpg market? Or will they have to turn it freemium before (and therefore rightfully lose another good chunk of alienated subscribers)?

    One thing about Rift's future i am shure of: a big stunt like F2P will again come with an obfuscating spin, as did server closings and the cash shop.

    image
  • popinjaypopinjay Member Posts: 6,539


    Originally posted by VoIgore
    I think that Trion does a great job adding all this stuff to the game. But then, the state the game was released in, they had little choice and Rift would have been gone down the WAR path if Trion would have been any slower adding stuff.
    However, it's a good thing and if they keep this pace in about a year Rift could be a heavyweight.The question is does Trion have this year? I don't know. It's obvious that no matter how fast content is being added and no matter how good the game may be by now -it just does not sell well to the folks.

    I think it sells well enough to those that like the game though. Some of the players I played with in Rift aren't even that in love with the game. You know what makes them tingle down below? The actual company, lol. They are more fixated on what "Scott says" or "Scott does" or "Scott wore" than the actual game of Rift. So regardless they will have those people; those are FANS.


    I agree with most of your point, though. A lot of people in Rift are simply going through the motions. They are doing a LOT of repeat stuff as they've done since launch. All events are the same, buggy, predictable and generally lose interest after Phase Two. People log in, do those things and log out. They run several alts so they can stack up and send the coins to one toon.. it's just for loot.. not fun.

    You are 100% correct about Trion not having a choice as far as pushing out a lot of content. Everything they've done has been lightweight overall which can be done in two weeks before boredom sets in.


    RIFT is kinda like a cook who says "I can make more types of sandwiches than any other cook around due to our system of competence and speed." What it actually ends up being (at least the way I saw it) was like this:


    Monday: Bologna sandwich on White bread, tomatoes with American cheese.

    Tuesday: Bologna sandwich with pickles and Romaine lettuce on White bread.

    Wednesday: Bologna sandwich with Swiss cheese, Iceberg lettuce, mayo on Wheat bread.

    Thurday: Bologna sandwich with Shard lettuce, bacon and mayo on Pumpernickel.

    Friday: Bologna Surprise Special! (on toasted bread)


    Week Two the same, just with Liverwurst. Week three the same just with Ham. Etc etc.


    Where the other cooks (games) are like this:


    Monday-Friday: Five sandwiches: Bologna, Ham, Roast Beef, Chicken breast, and Turkey. Your choice of bread and fixings.

    This way for a month, then they change the menu.

  • IllyssiaIllyssia Member UncommonPosts: 1,507

    Originally posted by popinjay

     




    Originally posted by VoIgore

    I think that Trion does a great job adding all this stuff to the game. But then, the state the game was released in, they had little choice and Rift would have been gone down the WAR path if Trion would have been any slower adding stuff.

     



    However, it's a good thing and if they keep this pace in about a year Rift could be a heavyweight.The question is does Trion have this year? I don't know. It's obvious that no matter how fast content is being added and no matter how good the game may be by now -it just does not sell well to the folks.





    I think it sells well enough to those that like the game though. Some of the players I played with in Rift aren't even that in love with the game. You know what makes them tingle down below? The actual company, lol. They are more fixated on what "Scott says" or "Scott does" or "Scott wore" than the actual game of Rift. So regardless they will have those people; those are FANS.

     

     



    I agree with most of your point, though. A lot of people in Rift are simply going through the motions. They are doing a LOT of repeat stuff as they've done since launch. All events are the same, buggy, predictable and generally lose interest after Phase Two. People log in, do those things and log out. They run several alts so they can stack up and send the coins to one toon.. it's just for loot.. not fun.

     

     

    You are 100% correct about Trion not having a choice as far as pushing out a lot of content. Everything they've done has been lightweight overall which can be done in two weeks before boredom sets in.

     

     



    RIFT is kinda like a cook who says "I can make more types of sandwiches than any other cook around due to our system of competence and speed." What it actually ends up being (at least the way I saw it) was like this:

     



    Monday: Bologna sandwich on White bread, tomatoes with American cheese.

    Tuesday: Bologna sandwich with pickles and Romaine lettuce on White bread.

    Wednesday: Bologna sandwich with Swiss cheese, Iceberg lettuce, mayo on Wheat bread.

    Thurday: Bologna sandwich with Shard lettuce, bacon and mayo on Pumpernickel.

    Friday: Bologna Surprise Special! (on toasted bread)



    Week Two the same, just with Liverwurst. Week three the same just with Ham. Etc etc.

     

     



    Where the other cooks (games) are like this:

     



    Monday-Friday: Five sandwiches: Bologna, Ham, Roast Beef, Chicken breast, and Turkey. Your choice of bread and fixings.

    This way for a month, then they change the menu.

    The mmo-food metaphor has always been a good one. Trion and Rift need an "eat fresh campaign" something different to suggest the game is more than just a WoW clone/ cheap hamburger if they want to get over more than a hundred K subs right now.

  • popinjaypopinjay Member Posts: 6,539


    Originally posted by Illyssia

    The mmo-food metaphor has always been a good one. Trion and Rift need an "eat fresh campaign" something different to suggest the game is more than just a WoW clone/ cheap hamburger if they want to get over more than a hundred K subs right now.

    Well, it's not the "WoW clone" part. I actually don't think it's a clone so much as uses a lot of things they do like the LFG cross server, the reputation grind, 3,000 different currencies, the PvP style, that kind of stuff. All games do that to some extent so that doesn't bother me too much.


    The problem is the way they present their content. It's a lot of the same stuff like their world events. They change one or two things and voila!.. they call it "new content". They change a dungeon from normal to "elite" and that's content. They have souls that look pretty much the same with all identical skills but different names/icons and that's called "flexibility". It really isn't original at all as a whole. The rifts and invasions are by far the most interesting thing about the game and they don't even know how to use those properly.. they use them as giant loot pinatas.

    It's the same with their maint schedule: They do two or three times every other day then at the end of the week it amounts to hours. Then compare that to other games who do one day shutdown for four hours at a time and you have the same exact thing, but they insist it's better. You don't know annoying until you log in, get something going and then right after you start "Hi everyone. In ten minutes, we'll be taking down the servers briefly for 30 minutes so find someplace safe to log" constantly.

  • sancher36sancher36 Member UncommonPosts: 458

    Originally posted by popinjay

     




    Originally posted by Illyssia



    The mmo-food metaphor has always been a good one. Trion and Rift need an "eat fresh campaign" something different to suggest the game is more than just a WoW clone/ cheap hamburger if they want to get over more than a hundred K subs right now.






    Well, it's not the "WoW clone" part. I actually don't think it's a clone so much as uses a lot of things they do like the LFG cross server, the reputation grind, 3,000 different currencies, the PvP style, that kind of stuff. All games do that to some extent so that doesn't bother me too much.

     



    The problem is the way they present their content. It's a lot of the same stuff like their world events. They change one or two things and voila!.. they call it "new content". They change a dungeon from normal to "elite" and that's content. They have souls that look pretty much the same with all identical skills but different names/icons and that's called "flexibility". It really isn't original at all as a whole. The rifts and invasions are by far the most interesting thing about the game and they don't even know how to use those properly.. they use them as giant loot pinatas.

     

     

     

    It's the same with their maint schedule: They do two or three times every other day then at the end of the week it amounts to hours. Then compare that to other games who do one day shutdown for four hours at a time and you have the same exact thing, but they insist it's better. You don't know annoying until you log in, get something going and then right after you start "Hi everyone. In ten minutes, we'll be taking down the servers briefly for 30 minutes so find someplace safe to log" constantly.


     

    what game are you playing again??? I don't see too much downtime at all these days with rift and is certainly less downtime than what wow does on a tuesday night even if you combine all the downtime.

    I rather they fix bugs than to play a buggy game

  • popinjaypopinjay Member Posts: 6,539


    Originally posted by sancher36
     what game are you playing again??? I don't see too much downtime at all these days with rift...
    Pretty sure we were talking about this game:


    Rift Patch Notes


    Sorry to confuse you, thought it was understood by the title of the thread. :(


    P.S. In before the obligatory "Well, look at other games and you'll see blah bleh blah".

  • teakboisteakbois Member Posts: 2,154

    Originally posted by Rogosh

    They do, their foundation is end game, not leveling.




     

    The end game needs a foundation.  They keep stacking and stacking and stacking without reinforcing any of the floors beneath it and its showing signs of crumbling.  And its way more than just 'leveling'.  The soulless world hurts endgame just as much as levelling.

  • sancher36sancher36 Member UncommonPosts: 458

    Originally posted by popinjay

     




    Originally posted by sancher36

     what game are you playing again??? I don't see too much downtime at all these days with rift...



    Pretty sure we were talking about this game:

     



    Rift Patch Notes

     

     



    Sorry to confuse you, thought it was understood by the title of the thread. :(

     

     



    P.S. In before the obligatory "Well, look at other games and you'll see blah bleh blah".


     

    maybe I just play at the best times of the day considering I'm in australia

  • popinjaypopinjay Member Posts: 6,539


    Originally posted by sancher36
    maybe I just play at the best times of the day considering I'm in australia
    Very possible, friend.

    I remember them doing a lot of fixes during the regular times East Coast wise... morning, afternoon, primetime, didn't matter.. anytime really they'd just shut the things down to fix something. Good they would do that, but it showed a lot of QC problems that they had to do it so often.


    It also made a lot of things you'd want to do unpredictable which got irritating... and then there was almost always some respec after a class fix where you had to redo ALL your skills every time if they fixed one skill in one soul, lol. That got old fast.


    You used to get a lot of people complaining but the response from fanbois was always "Well, what time would you have them do it? They can't have their employees up late at night doing it at 4 am!"

  • sancher36sancher36 Member UncommonPosts: 458

    Originally posted by popinjay

     




    Originally posted by sancher36

    maybe I just play at the best times of the day considering I'm in australia





    Very possible, friend.

     

    I remember them doing a lot of fixes during the regular times East Coast wise... morning, afternoon, primetime, didn't matter.. anytime really they'd just shut the things down to fix something. Good they would do that, but it showed a lot of QC problems that they had to do it so often.

     



    It also made a lot of things you'd want to do unpredictable which got irritating... and then there was almost always some respec after a class fix where you had to redo ALL your skills every time if they fixed one skill in one soul, lol. That got old fast.

     



    You used to get a lot of people complaining but the response from fanbois was always "Well, what time would you have them do it? They can't have their employees up late at night doing it at 4 am!"


     

    Another thing too is how fast they are pushing out content, its not possible to always catch every bug before release. Overall I still think trion are doing a great job considering how fast they are working to try and keep the game constantly fresh with new things to do.

    My main complaint with rift is they need more variety in questing, something to make them more enjoyable and interesting. Not the same ol rinse and repeat like it is now for most.

     

  • tsprincesstsprincess Member UncommonPosts: 10

    i love reading the Rift bashing lot on here, i've been playing rift since beta now, havent unsubbed once,  the rift playerbase is generally of higher calibre and older more mature than most mmo's, what made people leave rift and go back to wow was the fact that things are stepped up, dungeons are harder, mobs hit harder, Wow proves people dont like a challenge they like it handed to them,yeah it's quick to level but the journey is fantastic, the story that unfolds is brilliant, the twists and turns, pvp maybe unbalanced, but hey it's fun, people saying servers are dead really need brains testing, most are alive and well, so far they are doing everything right, content, keeping players informed, tech support, bug smashing, i agree there should be more than one leveling path for each faction, a few extra starting villages would be brilliant, but hey, theyve added more end game content in 6 months than wow did in a year. i reserve judgement on ToR and GW2 as i was never a GW fan, played for a month got bored.

  • teakboisteakbois Member Posts: 2,154

    Originally posted by tsprincess

    what made people leave rift and go back to wow was the fact that things are stepped up, dungeons are harder, mobs hit harder, 




     

    Not even close.  While there may have been a little of this, this isnt even in the top 25 reasons of why people stopped playing Rift.

     

    Also:

    1.  Not every one that tried Rift came from WoW

    2.  Not everyone that leaves Rift goes to WoW

     

     

    But then you think Rift has a brilliant story with twist and turns...

  • ProserpinaProserpina Member Posts: 3

    Originally posted by tsprincess

    i love reading the Rift bashing lot on here, i've been playing rift since beta now, havent unsubbed once,  the rift playerbase is generally of higher calibre and older more mature than most mmo's, what made people leave rift and go back to wow was the fact that things are stepped up, dungeons are harder, mobs hit harder, Wow proves people dont like a challenge they like it handed to them,yeah it's quick to level but the journey is fantastic, the story that unfolds is brilliant, the twists and turns, pvp maybe unbalanced, but hey it's fun, people saying servers are dead really need brains testing, most are alive and well, so far they are doing everything right, content, keeping players informed, tech support, bug smashing, i agree there should be more than one leveling path for each faction, a few extra starting villages would be brilliant, but hey, theyve added more end game content in 6 months than wow did in a year. i reserve judgement on ToR and GW2 as i was never a GW fan, played for a month got bored.




     

    You seem to forget a lot of lower areas in WoW were toned down over the years. All MMo's seem to do that over time, I assume to try and encourage more players to pick the game up, it's not a "WoW thing" it's an aging MMO thing.

    I will agree that Rift is pretty bug free (minus the balance issues) but sadly for me, it was horribly bland. There was just nothing to grab me. The story (or lack there of) really turned me off. The races and lack of any real depth to what makes each tick was a turn off as well.

    Overall it's a well polished game mechanically but it just doesn't draw me in. I was able to play it for a month or two and moved on. I think both EQ2 and WoW do the same things Rift does, but with the added lore and style that make them better games imo.

  • SmokeysongSmokeysong Member UncommonPosts: 247

    People keep saying "best of all, it's free".

    If that's the best thing there is about new content for a game, then the new content must be worth what you paid for it, nothing.

    ;)

    Have played: Everquest, Asheron's Call, Horizons, Everquest2, World of Warcraft, Lord of the Rings Online, Warhammer, Age of Conan, Darkfall

  • AshrealAshreal Member UncommonPosts: 42
    Originally posted by Strap

     
    I had loads of fun in Rift until my laptop broke... I may play again when I have a new pc.
    I think some of the people here are a bit peeved they don't like the game more... and it really isn't for everyone... but if you do like it then the pace of development is amazing.

     

    I love playing Rift especially since I got my new computer it's fab! I loved Rift before but now that I have a computer that can handle it it's even better! I'm sure it will become your favorite Strap!

    I have friends that stopped playing WoW, EQ II, and other games for Rift! Thus far all concerned are having a blast. I love the world of Rift for an explorer player type like myself there's nothing better than seeing if I can get up to an. Area that seems impossible to reach. I've found some nice collections Easter eggs and just beautiful vantage points. Seeing a Rift from close but above is amazing. I get that Rift isn't for everyone, but it's definitely for me! This next content update will give. Me even more areas to explore!

    Ashreal D'Synn - Shadowlover & Death's handmaiden

  • BartDaCatBartDaCat Member UncommonPosts: 813

    Basically, patch 1.6 is adding content that the game should have started with at its initial release.  Fans of the game can gesticulate wildly all they want, but from what I've seen of Trion's content so far, RIFT feels like an Open Beta that subscribers (like myself) were duped into paying for.  

    Content comes trickling in via small "world event" patches filled with limited and repetitive content to tide hangers-on until the next "world content" patch.  Meanwhile, Trion uses this time to fine tune the "new" content.  People flip out over these new "world events" like Trion has done them some favor, when really it's spoonfed minute increments of end-game content that should have been ready and available at launch so that people would have actually had something to do once they reached level 50.

    There is constant shifting around of class "balance", driving players to readjust playstyles over and over again, rearranging skill points and rebuilding skill trees over and over again, terribly reminiscent of Blizzard's constant class changes in World of Warcraft.  I was sick of it in WoW, and I'm definitely sick of it here.

    In other MMO's, once I reached the level cap, I felt like my journey had just begun.  With RIFT, I feel like I have to sit tight and hope for another PR-driven "Patch 1.x" to attain some sort of momentary satisfaction with the game.

    I won't deny that Trion offers up some very polished content with minimal bugs, and they DO address gamebreaking issues in a prompt manner, but I've seen a lot of lazy fixes to certain important class issues that go overlooked for far too long, or get swept under the rug via deactivation until they can fix the issue at a later date.

    All in all, I am disappointed that Trion felt the need to rush RIFT out the door when it obviously needs so much more content to make it a viable MMO for people that want to immerse themselves into the world of Telara after reaching the level cap.  The game wasn't done yet.  All patch 1.6 does is give it something that should have already been in place:  More end-game content.

  • Rave_n_roseRave_n_rose Member Posts: 25

     

    3- 20 man raid zones, 2-10  man raid zones, 10 level 50 dungeons and 5 pvp warfronts.. Then add 3  solo instances.. "AA" advancement post 50, achievements with rewards,  8-10 various raid rifts and zone invasions.   This is what we have now (and more)  -within the first 9 months-  all polished and before tommorow's 1.6 release.  I am having a blast and looking forward for more to come.

     

     

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