[Editorial] ArcheAge: Review in Progress

BillMurphy

Normally, we’d wait until the official day of launch or soon after to begin our Review in Progress series. But as ArcheAge is a special case, what with this weekend’s DDOS attacks, over-too-soon land rush, and more, we thought we’d over you some serious thoughts on the game on the eve of its official launch in the US and EU.

Read on for our initial thoughts on XLGAMES’ ArcheAge, brought to the US and EU by Trion Worlds.

Dauzqul

This is why dedicated housing areas is just a bad idea. Everyone gets pissed.

 

AA world is large. However, I'd say it at least needs to be 10 times as big with real World Housing (1 house per server).

Dreamo84

Wouldn't be so bad if the hardcore PvPers didn't insist on taking all the plots in safe zones.

Mikeha

I think they should have done 1 house per account for now and later down the road gave people more options on owning more than 1 house. I did watch a video and saw that owning multiple pieces of land gets very expensive.

rodingo

nvm

grimal

I will be keeping my eye on this one.  But I think for me it will probably be best to hold off until things settle down and issues get addressed.  I'm sure land will open back up after the initial rush, and if it doesn't?  Well, then that's another topic for discussion.

I can say this though:  I am glad I did not purchase any of the founder packs.  The weekend described by many  would have really turned me off. 

Elsabolts

For once my money is still in my pocket, I will wait abit before giving any to Archeage.

Dreamo84

I agree allowing people to own multiple plots is kind of ridiculous in a game where housing is such a big feature.

Cramit845

I have been following this game for awhile now and I am quite happy that I have held off on spending any money.  I realize that all MMO's go through these issues at release but it seems they typically just underestimate the hype that "they", the company, creates. 

 

So IMHO, they do this to themselves.  If you can't give at launch what you hype, maybe you should tell your marketing folks to shut up, cause this kinda stuff just pisses people off.  I will hold onto my money and maybe try the game in a month or so and see how it looks.

 

greatskys

I love this game but I also agree that allowing people to have mutliple plots of land is just asking for trouble . Its been very poorly thought through in that respect .

 

I didn't buy a founders pack but I'm interested enough to play it from tomorrow onwards and will pay a months subscription . If all the land ends up being taken by the time I get to the point I want to buy a house I doubt it will stop me playing but I won't be paying a monthly subscription either .

 

I suspect I wont be alone there . It never fails to amaze me how companies miss things such as this and don't realize how bad an idea it is .

 

mklinic

Originally posted by greatskys

I love this game but I also agree that allowing people to have mutliple plots of land is just asking for trouble . Its been very poorly thought through in that respect .

This game has been running in Korea for a bit though hasn't it? Do they have the same rules regarding land claims and is there a problem there as well or has it normalized over time?

I'm just curious if the Korean version provides any model for how the US version might trend. Maybe it's not apples to apples, maybe it is, but just something I was thinking about reading the various complaints about game features. The Korean servers' history as it relates to the US servers might be interesting to look at in a few months to see where there are parallels if nothing else.

zaberfangx

Even if people had 1 plot of land per acct. let say, the game server world still would be taken up very quickly, they can't make it instant base with out taking away the sandbox feel even more from the game.

meonthissite

Not interested in the slightest. I lost interest when they continued to claim it was F2P when it's clearly P2W model in which you even buy Gilda Stars direct from the store. Seriously, it's blatantly obvious no one took the time to properly look at the economic model. 

I might consider it if they actually take up no tricks no traps and remove the PK rewards system they have in place where trolls are able to just do whatever they want without consequence.

Ozmodan

Basically you can sum up this game in two words, "Money Grab".  Unless you have lots of money to throw into this game don't expect much of it.

Housing will be for those that have money to burn.  You can bet it will be exactly like UO, people are sitting on plots and selling them on user websites.

You really have to wonder why developers keep making the same mistake over and over again.

Sovrath

Originally posted by Jockan

I think they should have done 1 house per account for now and later down the road gave people more options on owning more than 1 house. I did watch a video and saw that owning multiple pieces of land gets very expensive.

I agree, they should have made it so that 1 house per account and as you say, "later" down the road give players options to get more than one plot with higher taxes.

That of course won't stop those who will pay for several accounts but it will dissuade some.

And the world needs to be larger to accomodate more plots. At least to make them a bit farther apart. Some of these "neighborhoods" look like slums.

zaberfangx

Originally posted by Ozmodan

Basically you can sum up this game in two words, "Money Grab".  Unless you have lots of money to throw into this game don't expect much of it.

Housing will be for those that have money to burn.  You can bet it will be exactly like UO, people are sitting on plots and selling them on user websites.

You really have to wonder why developers keep making the same mistake over and over again.

 

Can't forget it's not a money grab if people willing give them money, The way to be a money grab when you have to buy this game to play and pay to keep playing, when it's open to all on the 16th.

Nightfyre

Heard the plots were being taken up by one group.  So wonder if it's worth it to even play with the ones who did head start will most likely be waiting to gank new players.

cowhead

That's the danger/opportunity that even partial Sandbox elements brings to the game. Those fast enough, strong enough, or smart enough will always gain an advantage. I say power to them. If you can get there first and claim what you want, good for you. While sandbox does not have to mean total chaos, placing arbitrary restrictions in the name of "fairness" kinda defeats the purpose.

 

GeezerGamer

Originally posted by Nightfyre
Heard the plots were being taken up by one group.  So wonder if it's worth it to even play with the ones who did head start will most likely be waiting to gank new players.

I wonder if that some group bought a bunch of LP pots and put them up for auction to fund all these plots. That would be interesting. So now all the players who want to buy Cash Shop items off the market with gold, actually end up funding their own ganking.

Callidor

Originally posted by cowhead
That's the danger/opportunity that even partial Sandbox elements brings to the game. Those fast enough, strong enough, or smart enough will always gain an advantage. I say power to them. If you can get there first and claim what you want, good for you. While sandbox does not have to mean total chaos, placing arbitrary restrictions in the name of "fairness" kinda defeats the purpose.

 

strength and speed had nothing to do with the housing rush. It was whoever could actually get the wind talisman at the beginning mob. Then, it was mostly luck if you could stay in game long enough to actually get it done. I had several crashes and restarted queue, it was just stupid luck, not strength or skill. And if you didnt get a plot? oh well a good portion of the game is now closed off to you. Don't get me started on how high the AH prices are. 5k labor points, and I cant find a damn thing to do with em.

Nickhead420

My gaming group leader advised us to stay away from this one months ago.  I'm glad we listened.  I checked out the beta though, and the mediocre combat was enough to keep me from paying.

Callidor

Originally posted by Nickhead420
My gaming group leader advised us to stay away from this one months ago.  I'm glad we listened.  I checked out the beta though, and the mediocre combat was enough to keep me from paying.

Analogy time! I love gyros, but in the town I live in, there wasnt a singly gyro place for a long time, and when a greek cuisine place finally opened up, i heard immediately they were terrible. But it had been so long since I had fullfilled that craving for a gryo that I sucked it up, and went.

I bought the gyro, and it was barely passable. But you know what, in the back of mind I said "Ill let it pass", because it was at least a gyro, and I hadnt had one in ages.

I feel the same way about Archeage, I was gonna let it slide because it was a "flavor" I had been craving for ages. Unfortunately for me Archeage just like the gyro was bland, disappointing, and left me sick to my stomach.

Delusive

I'm torn with this launch, it has been the most fun, most stress, and most aggravation I have had in a long time.

 

The last time I had this much fun and aggravation was with Star Wars: Galaxies. I don't think I have ever had this much stress though. The fun came from the SWG feel, as far as having a house and farm. I made it to 30 on Sunday with my wife and our next trade run with our group takes us into PVP territory to get the large farm. I can't wait. But the land rush stress was awful, so stressful. And now we will have two large farms and no house...probably for a long while with all the land already claimed.

 

With SWG there was land for housing EVERYWHERE, so no stress there. The launches were similar though. With SWG I couldn't get in to create a character for a long time and the game ran like trash for days. With AA I created a character fine and played with minimal lag, but the disconnects and queues were awful. First day I didn't have a single crash, but my friends did and we didn't get the land we wanted or even all together.

 

I feel for other headstart players who didn't get any land. I hope plots become available in about 6 weeks when some people stop holding on to certain beginner slots. I also hope they role out several new servers for the F2P population or the server stress will be horrible.

 

BillMurphy

I got a house today... on the opposite continent, in level 5 danger zone. Yeah, I'll be moving that to a safe area one day.  

cowhead

Originally posted by Callidor
Originally posted by cowhead
That's the danger/opportunity that even partial Sandbox elements brings to the game. Those fast enough, strong enough, or smart enough will always gain an advantage. I say power to them. If you can get there first and claim what you want, good for you. While sandbox does not have to mean total chaos, placing arbitrary restrictions in the name of "fairness" kinda defeats the purpose.

 

strength and speed had nothing to do with the housing rush. It was whoever could actually get the wind talisman at the beginning mob. Then, it was mostly luck if you could stay in game long enough to actually get it done. I had several crashes and restarted queue, it was just stupid luck, not strength or skill. And if you didnt get a plot? oh well a good portion of the game is now closed off to you. Don't get me started on how high the AH prices are. 5k labor points, and I cant find a damn thing to do with em.

 

I'll grant you luck was involved in people getting their plots. Between the queues, DDoS, and regular MMO problems some people werent able to get in. Fair enough. Still, assuming everything was equal, people would have still taken all the land they could. Because they could. If you get there first you deserve to take it. Is all the land taken or just the easy land? As for the AH prices, supply/demand is all I have to say. People seeing An advantage and taking it. Same as any other game. Markets will equalize. They always do.

galjin

Waiting for 3 years to be dissapointed, not even Blizzard makes people wait so long and evne if they do their creations are master pieces, but this? This is painfully bad, if it was 3 years ago then it would have been awesome, but now? not really.