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[Preview] Defiance: A Hard Look at Trion’s Gamble

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Comments

  • VolgoreVolgore Member EpicPosts: 3,872
    Originally posted by dotdotdash

    You're getting an MMO at no premium. Guild Wars 2 cost nearly double the price Trion are asking for Defiance. Trion have arguably delivered the better game. As a B2P title, Defiance is an excellent investment for anyone who liked Borderlands/Planetside/etc. It combines the strengths of single player TPS/RPGs with the strengths of MMOs. It doesn't do it amazingly, but it does it well enough that it is a thoroughly enjoyable game. 

    I'm not shure i can follow you here...in which possible way does Defiance show any strength of an MMO? It doesn't even have a functional chat.

    Are you by chance confusing the strengths of an MMO with mindless, anonymous zerging? Since Defiance shure has it's fair share of the latter.

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  • KrelianKrelian Member UncommonPosts: 385
    So; I can't drive around in a post-apocalyptic world like in RAGE (the game) AND SHOOT mobs (etcatera) with my VEHICLE's GUNS (forward fixed / decoupled whatever) AT WILL? Personally - to me- there could be nothing more interesting than jumping into my vehicle and shooting mobs around, and than getting out of the vehicle, and finishing them in person (and style:D) :(:(:(
  • RolleZRolleZ Member UncommonPosts: 42
    This game is D.O.A.
  • McGamerMcGamer Member UncommonPosts: 1,073

    I see this game unfortunately ending up like APB, great combat and graphics but populated by elitst vulgar brats with nothing better to do than grief others. 

    The only way to make the game have more longevity and not end up failing or even being sold and resold like APB is to add features like engaging social system, crafting, housing, and RP supportive content. Otherwise it is fated to be a forgotten mediocre FPS IP just like APB.

  • fiontarfiontar Member UncommonPosts: 3,682

    I'm enjoying the beta weekend so far. It's a really enjoyable game, though I have no illusions of it being a 1000+ hour title for me, I'm thinking it's worth a purchase for when I need a break from GW2.

    I agree with the preview. Pluses and minuses.

    Biggest pet peeve is the UI on the PC. Obviously designed for consoles and not very intuitive.

    Oh, the animations. Most are passable. The animation in the cut scenes is better than in game, so I'm guessing those were all motion captured. However, there is one animation that makes me wonder if Trion really gives a crap about the quality of the game" The Jumping animation. It's the same low gravity moon jump animation found in Rift. Probably the worst jump animation in any MMO in the past decade. It earned universal scorn in Rift and I am dumbfounded that they didn't bother to make a proper jump animation for Defiance, but rather just copied what is one of the biggest fails of MMO animation in the history of the genre! Why Trion, Why? What the heck is wrong with you guys!

    Anyway, yeah, fun so far, looks good, great cutscenes, nice environment. There is definitely some potential here.

     

    Want to know more about GW2 and why there is so much buzz? Start here: Guild Wars 2 Mass Info for the Uninitiated
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  • ArglebargleArglebargle Member EpicPosts: 3,381

    I played this continuously since the last Beta.  The UI, while still bad, is much better than it was.   Trion said their UI guys were totally swamped in this last phase.   Definitely console base that they've been revamping towards legit PC use.

     

    The last alpha build was surprisingly stable.  I often played for hours without a forced disconnect, or a glitchy mission.  Lots of tweaking going on though, making the game a little tougher in my opinion.  Shields were less effective, guns got tweaked, etc.  Thankfully, costumes got a little easier to get too.  Still, character creation was severely underwhelming.

     

    Biggest issue for me is that this does not feel like, at present, a $60 game.   Twenty, or twenty-five, maybe.   I expect the price to drop after the show finishes the season, so if you are on the fence over this one, you could revisit it in a couple of months.

    I did actually enjoy playing it though.  Pretty much light machine gun and shotgun, til I got this very nice machine pistol drop....  

    They do know how to put out the candy.

    If you are holding out for the perfect game, the only game you play will be the waiting one.

  • daltaniousdaltanious Member UncommonPosts: 2,381
    What I really do not understand is why players do not give up to WASD in favor of much much much better use of mouse. To me hurts only watching such videos yet immagine I would still use that sill combination that once was mondatory. Like horse riding that have been replaced by cars.
  • DoogiehowserDoogiehowser Member Posts: 1,873
    Originally posted by RolleZ
    This game is D.O.A.

    Some random guy said it will be DAO..seems legit.

    "The problem is that the hardcore folks always want the same thing: 'We want exactly what you gave us before, but it has to be completely different.'
    -Jesse Schell

    "Online gamers are the most ludicrously entitled beings since Caligula made his horse a senator, and at least the horse never said anything stupid."
    -Luke McKinney

    image

  • ScotScot Member LegendaryPosts: 22,823

    “I’ve been fortunate to spend time with Trion’s persistent world shooter (they’re trying to steer away from the term “MMO” lately”

    Some gaming companies have realised that the old WoW template is not generating money like it used to. They know shooters make money, perhaps more than any other genre, so the persistant world shooter was born. Trouble is how long before we have a slew of these on the market? Two years, five at most, then its back to square one. The idea may be to get in quick and be the big daddy like WoW was, time will tell.

     

    “The shortcuts, once you get them down, help a lot but overall it’s clear as day that it was designed from the ground up for console players.”

    Playing on a PC? Then its simple, wait to two to three months after launch by which time this will be sorted out before you buy.

     

    “The latter of which looks like a slightly more forehead-endowed human with a wide nose bridge.”

    I recon that must be easy for make up artists to do as it has been used in so many SF generes.

     

    “And since you can essentially unlock every skill and item with one character, what incentive is there to replay the game’s content?”

    This is the archilles heel of the MMOFPS, no replay value. MMO’s have an issue with keeping players past end gameplay as it is and this won’t help.

     

    “Another woe? The character animations are suspect. I can’t think of a better way to put it.”

    Once again wait till a few months after launch when that sort of stuff gets sorted out.

  • kaiser3282kaiser3282 Member UncommonPosts: 2,759
    Originally posted by OG_Zorvan
    Originally posted by bestever

    I love how some of you say its not a mmo. How's it not a mmo? Just because its not like wow,eq,rift. 

    Its real simple and mmo is an abbreviation of massively multiplayer online game and thats what the game is. Its not a mmorpg its a mmotps. I know most people think its need to be some guy running around with a sword killing a dragon or some dumb shit like that but thats not what a mmo is. 

    Massive amounts of people playing a game online at the same time is a mmo so get over it. 

    Maybe the fact that I never once saw any amount of people even close to "massive" in the game the whole time I played? Yeah, that's probably it. By the way, Battlefield and Call of Duty aren't mmos either.

    And considering they've handed out keys like water, the fact they can't even get people to stick around during beta when the game is completely free tells me what's gonna happen when it comes time to cough up dough for it.

    So youre basing its "massiveness" on the number of people youre seeing in a beta with a limited number of players, not the full release version of the game? Wonderful logic. I guess any game that doesnt have X number of players anymore (X being whatever you personally feel is massive enough) is no longer an MMO by definition because "i dont see tons of people everywhere".

    Funny thing about definitions though. Theyre based on actual facts, not the whims and opinions of random people who dont even know what the terms mean. The game has the ability to hold a large number of players in the same world who can interact with eachother. That is what makes it an MMO. Games like Call of Duty and BF simply cannot do that which is why, unlike Defiance, they are not MMOs.

  • BaitnessBaitness Member UncommonPosts: 675

    I am not sure why people are so deadset on defending the current state of the game, it is really horrid.  These people have nothing to worry about, there is no sub anyways so it isn't like it will go F2P.  If anything, maybe all the negative attention the flaws get will get those things fixed faster.

     

    Trion may have done wonderful things with rift but this game is just so incredibly bland.  It feels like the gaming equivelant of eating plain cream of wheat, and I am about as interested in playing with a bowl of plain cream of wheat as I am in playing this game.

     

    Edit:  Just fixing the damn UI would warrant it a second look.  With no graphics customization options I am not sure if these puddles of mud are the high-res textures or if those were taken out to make the download smaller.  It would also be nice to see just what it is that is dragging performance down when everyone is on screen at once, as it is only using 50% of each gpu, isn't coming close to maxing any cpu core, and isn't harddrive thrashing either.  If this is just the engine, then what the hell are they expecting us to do at the ark events?  I can't stand playing shooters at sub 60 fps, let alone ugly shooters at sub 60 : /

  • OzmodanOzmodan Member EpicPosts: 9,726
    Another thing that does not get mentioned enough, the UI for the PC sucks.  Expect to play this game on the console.
  • dragonherderdragonherder Member UncommonPosts: 20
    Originally posted by nttajira

    you guys hype bad game amazing like alway , you have make me buy so many shitty game since 2 year ... i will reply because i have play this game in all the beta .

    first

    1- that in no way , shape or size a mmo game , if you call that a mmo then all shooter game online are also mmo , because most of them are more mmo that defiance , in defiance you pick skill nothing else , are you kidding me for calling that a mmo ??? . you got no item with stats customization , nothing 

    2- console GAme , warning WARNING , console port , here you go for update and so on , that not something nice when you play a pc game trust me

    3- console UI , the computer ui are the worst you can ever get , all screm CONSOLE .

    4- in this game you shoot monster , get exp , pick skill , and kill some player , get some poor done quest , get exp , kill , pick skill , NOTHING ELSE TO DO . also they are no chat channel , you feal like you are playing a single player realy fast ....

    hope i have save some money for some people , dont buy into the hype guy !!

     

    I guess you never actually played the game.... It most certainely is a PC game and an MMO it was ported to consoles and yes while the UI could be better for PC it is still a PC mmo first and foremost. Also by your definition no game in the last almost a decade are really mmos...

  • kaiser3282kaiser3282 Member UncommonPosts: 2,759
    Originally posted by OG_Zorvan
    Originally posted by kaiser3282
    Originally posted by OG_Zorvan
    Originally posted by bestever

    I love how some of you say its not a mmo. How's it not a mmo? Just because its not like wow,eq,rift. 

    Its real simple and mmo is an abbreviation of massively multiplayer online game and thats what the game is. Its not a mmorpg its a mmotps. I know most people think its need to be some guy running around with a sword killing a dragon or some dumb shit like that but thats not what a mmo is. 

    Massive amounts of people playing a game online at the same time is a mmo so get over it. 

    Maybe the fact that I never once saw any amount of people even close to "massive" in the game the whole time I played? Yeah, that's probably it. By the way, Battlefield and Call of Duty aren't mmos either.

    And considering they've handed out keys like water, the fact they can't even get people to stick around during beta when the game is completely free tells me what's gonna happen when it comes time to cough up dough for it.

    So youre basing its "massiveness" on the number of people youre seeing in a beta with a limited number of players, not the full release version of the game? Wonderful logic. I guess any game that doesnt have X number of players anymore (X being whatever you personally feel is massive enough) is no longer an MMO by definition because "i dont see tons of people everywhere".

    Funny thing about definitions though. Theyre based on actual facts, not the whims and opinions of random people who dont even know what the terms mean. The game has the ability to hold a large number of players in the same world who can interact with eachother. That is what makes it an MMO. Games like Call of Duty and BF simply cannot do that which is why, unlike Defiance, they are not MMOs.

    See, the real funny thing is, I've been to this rodeo so many times , it's now just a pattern. i point out why the game is going to fail, people who refuse to believe it will fail come in with assinine arguments, then I come back later after the game fails and say "Told ya so."

    *Yawn*

    You pointed out why the game is going to fail? Well damn. I must be hallucinating. Because all I see is your claims as to why it is supposedly not an MMO while clearly not even knowing what the term actually means. Not a single word in there about wether or not it is going to fail, or why.

    What was that again about assinine arguments?

  • dragonherderdragonherder Member UncommonPosts: 20
    Originally posted by DeniZg

    I'm not happy to say this, but the game has pretty shallow class design system.

    More accurately, it only has 1 (one) class available, which you tailor using passive talents. On top of that, you have only 4 skills (besides shooting gun and throwing grenade), where only 1 can be actively used.

    So, the way I see it, Defiance is aiming at console shooter fans. But, why would console shooter fan play this over, I don't know, Gears of War, Borderlands, or even COD or Battlefield?

    I actually applaud the way the class is done. It's an mmo shooter not an mmorpg we don't need another game that is all about freaking spamming 1 - 0 + f1-f10 + alt+1 - alt+0. This is a nice clean method and allows for a more borderlands like setup and far more customization when you break it down. Yes you only have 4 skills at first but you can only at max have about 10 of the perks on at any given time at your highest end + one main skill. Those perks actually allow you to customize. Look at it this way. The other option is button spamming and frankly a shit ton of "magic" looking skills would be asinine. The skills that do exist are technology based skills to make you faster, stronger, invisible or to send a decoy out. This isn't an mmorpg and it's not meant to have like 20 + skills on screen at any given time. 

  • dragonherderdragonherder Member UncommonPosts: 20
    Originally posted by Baitness

    I am not sure why people are so deadset on defending the current state of the game, it is really horrid.  These people have nothing to worry about, there is no sub anyways so it isn't like it will go F2P.  If anything, maybe all the negative attention the flaws get will get those things fixed faster.

     

    Trion may have done wonderful things with rift but this game is just so incredibly bland.  It feels like the gaming equivelant of eating plain cream of wheat, and I am about as interested in playing with a bowl of plain cream of wheat as I am in playing this game.

     

    Edit:  Just fixing the damn UI would warrant it a second look.  With no graphics customization options I am not sure if these puddles of mud are the high-res textures or if those were taken out to make the download smaller.  It would also be nice to see just what it is that is dragging performance down when everyone is on screen at once, as it is only using 50% of each gpu, isn't coming close to maxing any cpu core, and isn't harddrive thrashing either.  If this is just the engine, then what the hell are they expecting us to do at the ark events?  I can't stand playing shooters at sub 60 fps, let alone ugly shooters at sub 60 : /

     

    First off the game actually looks pretty good it's far from ugly you may not like the art style and while its not crysis it is good looking for an MMO. You gotta keep in mind these things cant be crysis level or it'd lag to high holy hell (see early days of WoW in iron forge as an example....) Second there are graphics options from high to low (there used to be more options available under the custom option too but they seem to of been taken out for the time being but will hopefully be put back in) You don't maybe see some of the closer up visuals in the video that well but http://img833.imageshack.us/img833/678/defiance201303151751275.png (if it lets me post that) shows how well the game can look 

     
  • DoogiehowserDoogiehowser Member Posts: 1,873
    Originally posted by OG_Zorvan
    Originally posted by kaiser3282
    Originally posted by OG_Zorvan
    Originally posted by bestever

    I love how some of you say its not a mmo. How's it not a mmo? Just because its not like wow,eq,rift. 

    Its real simple and mmo is an abbreviation of massively multiplayer online game and thats what the game is. Its not a mmorpg its a mmotps. I know most people think its need to be some guy running around with a sword killing a dragon or some dumb shit like that but thats not what a mmo is. 

    Massive amounts of people playing a game online at the same time is a mmo so get over it. 

    Maybe the fact that I never once saw any amount of people even close to "massive" in the game the whole time I played? Yeah, that's probably it. By the way, Battlefield and Call of Duty aren't mmos either.

    And considering they've handed out keys like water, the fact they can't even get people to stick around during beta when the game is completely free tells me what's gonna happen when it comes time to cough up dough for it.

    So youre basing its "massiveness" on the number of people youre seeing in a beta with a limited number of players, not the full release version of the game? Wonderful logic. I guess any game that doesnt have X number of players anymore (X being whatever you personally feel is massive enough) is no longer an MMO by definition because "i dont see tons of people everywhere".

    Funny thing about definitions though. Theyre based on actual facts, not the whims and opinions of random people who dont even know what the terms mean. The game has the ability to hold a large number of players in the same world who can interact with eachother. That is what makes it an MMO. Games like Call of Duty and BF simply cannot do that which is why, unlike Defiance, they are not MMOs.

    See, the real funny thing is, I've been to this rodeo so many times , it's now just a pattern. i point out why the game is going to fail, people who refuse to believe it will fail come in with assinine arguments, then I come back later after the game fails and say "Told ya so."

    *Yawn*

    If i go by negztive nancies on these forums every MMO is a fail. Who care what few loud  mouths claim? if we starting listening to likes of you not a single MMO is worth playing. So yeah *yawn* indeed.

    Same song and dance every time a MMO is about to release.

    "The problem is that the hardcore folks always want the same thing: 'We want exactly what you gave us before, but it has to be completely different.'
    -Jesse Schell

    "Online gamers are the most ludicrously entitled beings since Caligula made his horse a senator, and at least the horse never said anything stupid."
    -Luke McKinney

    image

  • FusionFusion Member UncommonPosts: 1,398

    One day in, i didn't find the UI that bad at all, just takes some getting used as it's not like every other game, maybe it's just people who don't have half a brain that find it that awful.

    Beef in your SCHTAKO!

    http://neocron-game.com/ - now totally F2P no cash-shops or micro transactions at all.
  • darkhalf357xdarkhalf357x Member UncommonPosts: 1,237
    Originally posted by kaiser3282
    Originally posted by OG_Zorvan
    Originally posted by bestever

    I love how some of you say its not a mmo. How's it not a mmo? Just because its not like wow,eq,rift. 

    Its real simple and mmo is an abbreviation of massively multiplayer online game and thats what the game is. Its not a mmorpg its a mmotps. I know most people think its need to be some guy running around with a sword killing a dragon or some dumb shit like that but thats not what a mmo is. 

    Massive amounts of people playing a game online at the same time is a mmo so get over it. 

    Maybe the fact that I never once saw any amount of people even close to "massive" in the game the whole time I played? Yeah, that's probably it. By the way, Battlefield and Call of Duty aren't mmos either.

    And considering they've handed out keys like water, the fact they can't even get people to stick around during beta when the game is completely free tells me what's gonna happen when it comes time to cough up dough for it.

    So youre basing its "massiveness" on the number of people youre seeing in a beta with a limited number of players, not the full release version of the game? Wonderful logic. I guess any game that doesnt have X number of players anymore (X being whatever you personally feel is massive enough) is no longer an MMO by definition because "i dont see tons of people everywhere".

    Funny thing about definitions though. Theyre based on actual facts, not the whims and opinions of random people who dont even know what the terms mean. The game has the ability to hold a large number of players in the same world who can interact with eachother. That is what makes it an MMO. Games like Call of Duty and BF simply cannot do that which is why, unlike Defiance, they are not MMOs.

    I would say its an MMOFPS which is different from an MMORPG (which I prefer to play).  I do believe they will have a hard time maintaining population like other MMOFPS... typically these games have been 'jump-in, jump-out' as opposed to 'grow with' games.

    But thats going to be up to people's personal preferences.  I played it - thought it looked good.  Agree with the UI constraints.  But for me there was nothing to keep me there long term.   Same thing happened with Planet Side 2.

    Wish them luck.

    image
  • GravargGravarg Member UncommonPosts: 3,424

    I was suprised with this game.  I generally stay away from shooters, mainly because I'm horrible at them.  This game though was different.  I'm no sure why, but I'm actually pretty good.  There's always tons to do; I always have like 20 missions on my map.  I also like how the equipment system is simple.  You don't have to collect 20 different items for each slot.  You need like maybe 4 guns, 2 shields, 2 grenades, and you're set.  The gameplay I found especially fun, and it's not as repetative as I thought it would be.  There's a great variety in missions, and the arkfalls are epic.  It's nice to see 50+ people running around a huge (and I mean huge) bug-spire that's spitting out bugs :D

     

    Overall I might actually have to play this game.  I went into the beta and alpha, not sure if I would like it, but I do.  I can't really explain why either, I just do.

  • epoqepoq Member UncommonPosts: 394
    Give me a cover system, some more races, and a bit more customization and you have a solid game.  Either way, I actually enjoyed it enough in the first few hours of play to go ahead and pre-order it.  At the very least it is a change of pace from all of the stale fantasy game clones that keep popping up left and right.  I don't really see LONGEVITY for me in this game, but I do see a good 60-90 days of playing this game for myself, which is well worth the price tag for a game versus your single player games that cost the same and offfer 7-10 hours of playtime.  It's a shame that I have to look at it this way, but I have yet to see a game that I feel myself playing for a year+ since the days of EQ/EQ2.  Hopefully someone will change that at some point, but for now it seems I'll continue "settling".
  • SysFailSysFail Member Posts: 375
    I know most MMO players are pretty horrid when it comes to FPS games, but theres more FPS players in the world than tab target fanboi's, which means to me this games about as much of a gamble as  any other new title, i for one have bought it.
  • Synns77Synns77 Member Posts: 124

    Games defiantly got some weaknesses as mentioned, th UI is awful for a PC game personally didn't find the character creation that bad it's better than many mmos. I do think this game has got a very good base to build on though, if Trion do it right this game could be epic especially if the show turns out to be as good as it looks and gets linked into the game as much as its been hyped. 

    Personally can't wait till April 2, have enjoyed alpha and beta but just want to play now without wipes.

  • RobbgobbRobbgobb Member UncommonPosts: 674

    Game went off my radar when I saw there is a store and a content pass. I have to check games now to see if the game is going to cost me $100 for the first year to play everything. BF3 was not so bad because of the packs so far away from each other but when I need to spend $60 for the game but told that it is not all there (if they are planning content that needs to be paid for then that is part of the game) then why should I buy it? I will just wait until it is cheap. I remember the expansions for EQ and DAoC and was happy to pay to get them as they were so far apart. Seems like that time is getting shorter and shorter for some. 

     

    Wish Defiance luck though with the tv show and game working well together.

  • trash656trash656 Member UncommonPosts: 361
    This is a boring, linear MMO. Firefall has more to offer.
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