A true review of the **GAME**

Isobar

I am sick of seeing everyone complain about how bad this game is because they crash every 10 seconds, I have been able to play this game consistantly for 1-2 hours at a time untill the reboot the server.  So, I will review it with everything I like and don't like.

 

Graphics 8/10

Thats right, when you leave the island, and get on to the mainlands, you can turn everything on high, and the game looks incredible.  No lag, no problems crashing.  I played for 2 hours just exploring the mainlands with everything maxed, and had 25fps the whole time.  On a Laptop.  Not a gaming computer.  So this game can look good, and run well.

Gameplay 10/10

There is so much to do in this game already.  Don't like fighting hour after hour?  Hop on your dragon and fly around.  Flying a dragon not for you?  So you can hop into a hang glider and fly around, or go parachuting.  Snowboard?  Sure, just fly to a snow covered mountain and away you go.  Combine them all into one, or do them seperatly, its all up to you.  Once they tune the fighting system, and the crafting gets set, this game will be awesome.  I will agree, the fighting is bad right now, glitchy, and buggy.  Too many exploits, PvP needs some work too.  Being able to see your enemy 400 meters below you and able to target them and see their level isn't very fair.  They need to disable seeing enemies on radar, atleast make it so you have to physically see them before they show up on radar.  Swimming sucks, if you get stuck in the ocean, you are screwed.  /gate and /bind will be your best friends.  Don't want to run somewhere more than once?  /bind for easy travel.

Sound 5/10

The inital music sounds good, and even some of the effects sound good.  That wears off in 2-3 hours though.  I use ventrillo with my guild though, so I turned all the sound off anyway.  This isn't going to have the same type of music as LotR, or Final Fantasy, so don't expect it to be great.  It is a decent soundtrack while it lasts though.

Server issues. 4/10 (With new issues, comes a new rating.  First time I haven't been able to log in)

Thats right, I have had no probelms minus the first two days.  I have been able to log in whenever I want, and I am not a pioneer.  I stay in the game, only time I get kicked out is when they reboot the server, or my interent goes out on me.  Which is what I get for using wireless internet. 

Combat 3/10

This is the games main flaw, as it is horrid, buggy, and full of exploits.  Needs to be fixed asap.

Community 3/10

So far, the community is so pissed off at the crashes, and such that it hasn't had time to develop an economy.  Quests are few and almost unexistent.  NPCs, I have only found 3 merchants.  So that still needs time.  The so called daily GM events haven't happened, atleast when I play.  So many newbies running around helplessly, makes me wish I could kill my own realm sometimes.  Another benefit to being on the mainlands, don't have to worry about helpless noobs. 

Overall 7/10

Once you get over the inital launch of this game, and get into the main focus, this is a really good game.  Get away from the beginner island, and everything begins to fall into place.  You don't have 2000 noobs trying to ks every mob you fight, and the game runs just fine.  The sound needs some better effects for fighting, the swimming needs either boats, mounts, or speeding up.  The quest system needs to be added in, and the game still has some balance issues.  As expected though, this game has huge potential, and is already a blast to play.  If you can overlook the parts that have to do with the game just being released, you will be in for a treat.  The unique modes of travel in this game are more than enough to keep one entertained for a few hours, get together with your guild, and have snowboarding races, or skydive together and see who can freefall into a small lake without missing.  You just have to get creative in this game.  It is, as they said before release, a barren wasteland, so it isn't exactly the most populated world yet.  That is why we are playing it.  Give it a few more weeks, quests and npcs will be added, an economy will develop, and RvR will take off full force once everyone gets into the world, and off the damn Island. 

 

This is an unbiased review of the game.  I covered the good and bad parts that I noticed.  I have no affiliation with these companies, and do I care what anyone else thinks about the game.  I love it, and will keep playing it.  Have a good day.

WadeJ

Haha please save me the thoughts, Whoever could play SoG for 2 hours on a laptop with graphics turned high and 25 fps is most definitly lyeing, Im surprised that a Dark and light member of the Dev team would actually make an account on mmorpg.com to get peoples hopes up.
Im most definitly sorry but saying that you can get good performance and graphics is utter BS.
Stop thinking in the dream world please
You just try to cover this up by saying you are reveiwing the bad points aswell, If you notice you only said the sound was bad and the community was, Everyone knows it and it doesint make the game bad, You cant reveiw SoG like this and call it a true review.

WadeJ

And you said there is loads to do in the game already, I hardly call snowboarding and dragonflying loads to do Fanboys these days.

Phoenixs

Hopeless.

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I will agree, the fighting is bad right now, glitchy, and buggy. Too many exploits, PvP needs some work too. Being able to see your enemy 400 meters below you and able to target them and see their level isn't very fair. They need to disable seeing enemies on radar, atleast make it so you have to physically see them before they show up on radar. Swimming sucks, if you get stuck in the ocean, you are screwed.

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He rates gameplay 10/10

Isobar

Yes, I do play it on a laptop, and I do get max fps, and when I am in the main cities, where all the players are, I barely get 10, so it all depends on where you go.  I gave gameplay a 10, because I have been looking for a game where you can do other things besides fight the whole day.  The fighting in this game is bad, there are no quests, and the community and economy suck right now.  I have not experienced any of the major bugs, becuase I got off the island as soon as I could.  I don't have the Dnlg error, I don't have any problems with my username, or characters, I must be lucky, because after the inital 2 day screw up, I have had perfect timing getting into the game, as I don't have any errors.  I haven't experienced the log in loop as I am at work, and can't try and log in.  So to me, the only things wrong with the game:Fighting, Quests, Economy, Community, and the NPCs.  Even the fighting is good enough for me to enjoy, I expected this from the economy, community, and the NPC.  Is was all about expectations.  You guys call me a fanboy, when you expected this game to be great.  I knew it would be rough, and was better than I expected.

WadeJ

Yes the thing is you say Your revew is a 'True' review of the game, It is not its merly your point of view of the game, There is no way it could get '10' in gameplay if you say Crafting and fighting is not in there/very good.

WadeJ

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Originally posted by Isobar
You guys call me a fanboy, when you expected this game to be great. I knew it would be rough, and was better than I expected.

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And no i didint expect this game to be great, I hate game developers that state there game has 1 million squaremiles 'blah, blah'.
Whats the point by saying your game has all new features when you cant even implement them right.
The only game that promised and delivered is World of warcraft.
And i dont even think thats great.

Formless

go away NP Cube employee

tsr57

"I am sick of seeing everyone complain about how bad this game is because they crash every 10 seconds

that should tell you enough. LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Isobar

Why the hell are you playing this game now if you expected everything to be perfect?  You were the true fanboy if you expected this game to be a full stand alone game at launch.  I get called a fanboy because I like the game, but I like it because I don't want to spend my whole day in a game fighting monsters.  Then it just becomes everquest all over again.  That whole game was about killing and crafting.  Pointless. Here, I have the choice to do lesiure activities.  The fighting system will get better, and so will the quests and crafting.  THe whole point was everyone is bitching about there being no crafting and quests, when it was stated before release that there wouldn't be, because the lands are in turmoil, and chaos.  Albeit, probably just a lame excuse saying they don't have it finished yet, but they still annouced it.

tsr57

"That whole game was about killing and crafting.  The fighting system will get better, and so will the quests and crafting.  "

there is no crafting or quests..

Isobar

So because I like the game I am an employee?  Why would I waste my time with message boards if I was an employee.  I am just trying to make the time go by faster at my own work place. 

tsr57

NO ONE could like this.. because theres nothing to like.. its not a game.. its a big empty terrain engine alpha.

WadeJ

Take it this way, The dev team of Dark and light have fallen to its own popularity, I purchased a Pioneer key from a frend for a measly 5 pound just to see what the game was like, I went around his to play, He has a very very decent gameing desktop pc, (Its a new alienware one crammed with everything), He works as a games developer for lionhead and knows everything about how to make your system very powerfull.
Now back to the point.
We logged on, I saw the starting area, It was lagged like hell, Bugs etc. We then went to this so called 'Mainland' He had his graphics high all the time. On this mainland he had about 11 fps and his pc is new and could outmatch any laptop.
This game isint nothing special as what they claim it to be.
When i brought the account of him i went home then played on my pc, Im once again sure this could outmatch a laptop aswell, I gave up after 10 mins after i was crashed and everything.
So isobar you are totally and utter Lyes.

WadeJ

So, Isobar the dev team promise all this content when only 6 months left and they have all this stuff to put in.
Dark and light is going to fail misrably

WadeJ

Dark and light reminds me of Irthonline, Loads of terrain, Just empty

WadeJ

http://www.darkandlight.net/forums/showthread.php?t=43791
You are even getting flamed from your own community.

Ah how i love 'Bullying' Simple Mindless fanboys

WadeJ

Ill quote from a reply that he had on the forums/
Meyithi Meyithi is offline
Prince

Join Date: May 2005
Location: Wirral, UK
Posts: 896
Send a message via MSN to Meyithi
"Gameplay 10/10"

All you have listed is the gimmicks, the travel.

WOW wtf what a great game! A terrain simulator! 10/10!

Stupid fanboi....

Edit*
Even greater Reply:

You call that unbiased ?
Remove your blinders ...

Graphics : while the landscape is nice and can be breathtaking, the character graphics suck badly, and don't get me started with the animations. Most mobs look damned ugly too.

Gameplay : oh yes, you can fly around on some dragon, snowboard, etc ... but that doesn't make a game. Crafting, fighting, questing, the real elements that make a MMORPG, are close to inexistant and totally bugged.

Sound : I agree the sound is correct. No more, no less. I'd agree on 5/10 here.

Server issues : I usually don't like the word "fanboi", but come on ... the server is a real yoyo, up, down, up, down. The login server is as stable as a drunken madman walking on a ledge. And saying that you can login whenever you want is just a sweet little lie.

Overall : for the moment, this is not a game. It's a very bugged, almost empty but nice looking landscape simulator populated with ugly characters and monsters.

I would forgive the not so good character and monster graphics, but the bugs and the lack of content is unforgiveable. Let's see what will happen in the next months, but there is much, much work to do to turn this into a successfull and stable online MMORPG.

Isobar

Believe what you want, I will give you the specs of my laptop, and it isn't even that great.  I haven't had a crash since I moved to mainlands, I haven't turned my graphics off of high either.  I did however change the settings on how my computer manages its system memory, so that could have something to do with it also. 

 

I have Pentium 3, 1gig of memory, ATI Radeon 9700 256mg.  I don't remember all the details, I will check when I get home from work.  I have no reason to lie about my performance, it works wonderfully for me, and I don't have that good of a system. 

 

I have found plenty to explore, as I am looking for new places for forts, new places to hunt, to places to snowboard, and new places for my guild to attack other enemy forts.  I have found various resources on the ground, all just blocks of wood where I can extract pieces of wood into my inventory, so the crafting can't be too far off.

Phoenixs

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Originally posted by Isobar
You are a moron then, a lot of people like this game, they are the ones who actually get in and play it. Everyone that doesn't like it is too busy flaming the game to realize that it isn't as bad as they think. If you are more focused on spending yuur time fighting in this game, then you aren't going to like it. Its that simple. But let the people who are more interested in having fun adventuring, and exploring play it and have a jolly good time.

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Please tell me what there is to explore. I was running around for 2 hours on the main land 2 days ago. It was 2 hours with the same 2 ground textures over and over again. The same 3-4 tree models all over the place and between the same rocks and small branches. Everything you have seen countless times on the starter island. It's nothing except the same bloody terrain all over again. Occasional you run across some mana towers but that's it. What I love about exploring in mmo's is finding cool places. With cool places I mean old temples, famous places (lore wise), beatiful places and so on. Sog doesn't offer any of this. It's like I said the same stuff all over again.

Don't call people morons. Your review had no credibility at all whatsoever. If somebody deserves to be a moron, it's a person who rates gameplay 10/10 while he agrees that most of the gamplay is lacking or fucked up.

I think that most people can agree that the topic should be changed to "A untrue review of the **GAME**"

eh ganstabruv. Try to keep all your stuff in 1 post instead of spreading it across 6 posts.

WadeJ

You are quite mad, and have no idea of what an MMORPG is. 10/10 gameplay? The core game mechanics aren't in the game yet!

You give fanboi's a bad name, you are the worst example of a fanboi I have ever seen, well done!
Reply With Quote

Another reply,
How i love this

Honestly isobar you lye out of your skull, I know this cause you work for isobar
Fanboy Run run away please please never come back to these forums and never see the light of day.

Instago

I don't understand how you give 10/10 in gameplay when you (the review writer), yourself have so many issues with the game.

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. I will agree, the fighting is bad right now, glitchy, and buggy. Too many exploits, PvP needs some work too. Being able to see your enemy 400 meters below you and able to target them and see their level isn't very fair. They need to disable seeing enemies on radar, atleast make it so you have to physically see them before they show up on radar. Swimming sucks, if you get stuck in the ocean, you are screwed.

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Quests are few and almost unexistent. NPCs, I have only found 3 merchants.

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WadeJ

Also you did not post the answer to this kind mans post.

ok what laptop have you got name it, so i can check the specs for myself let me assure you laptops use lower powerd components , than there desktop top brothers and cannot perform as well, you see laptops have to use a lower power source , so there components are in general not as powerfull, ie there graphic cards, and processors , etc . but hey if you can run 25fps on you laptop im off out to purchase one like yours because my desktop only gets upto 20 lol on this game, when i can get on it.
Reply With Quote

Isobar

I gave it a 10/10 because I hate fighting, I don't do it unless I need to make money for more boards, or gliders.  Yes, I am easily entertained to the point where I can spend 2-3 hours just snowboarding around and looking for new places to explore.  Who cares?  IF you guys hate this game so much, then go find something better to do.  Its obvious that you arent going to change people opinions, the game itself is the only thing that can do that.  The game will only get better from here, and you guys will be so worried about flaming it that you won't be able to see it getting better.

 

I told you I will post the main specs when I get home, as I am at work, the basic was the Insperion 9100 I believe, from Dell. I upgraded a lot of the core features though, so just looking at the basic model will tell you nothing.

WadeJ

"

eh ganstabruv. Try to keep all your stuff in 1 post instead of spreading it across 6 posts.[/b][/quote]

Hehe sorry, I just loooovee patranizing fan boys

Finduilas

Isobar.

Firstly I must call into question your integrity. You have JUST 7 posts, All of them in this thread. What proof can you offer me that you are not a DnL dev or rep that just created an account here to support the game? I, on the other hand have posts dating back to last year, posting about numerous games, so my opinion can be shown to be truly objective.

Secondly. I prefer to play the game, but in this case have not been able to get an account due to the way they set this thing up. So I must rely on people that HAVE played to provide feedback to allow me make a reasonable judgement. I NEVER take the word of one witness, but listen to many, and weigh up both the good and the bad, the fanbois and the trolls.

Thirdly. You give gameplay 10/10 yet go on to talk ONLY about 3 things that amount to the SAME thing; flight sim, snowboarding. Let me list what I consider to be necessary for gameplay, NOT in older mmorpgs which I won't play, but in this NEW generation, which has the older games to learn from.

• Quests, not just kill 10 rats, but varied, interesting, lore based, with character development, end rewards in cash, or items.
• Detailed, expansive interesting, non-grind based crafting and gathering system.
• Exploration; not just eye candy, but actual content worth finding, such a villages of mobs developing somewhere out in the wild independently, caves to delve into, treasure to find inside, mobs to fight in there, ancient ruins to stumble upon with NPCs that lurk there offering a quest, or an item to find like a sword on the ground or a treasure chest.
• Fighting that is more than just "hit the attack key".
• World changing activity. Build your own house, guild hall, furnish it, add storage and functionality.
• Challenges for duos or small groups, quest arcs, or triggered encounters, or dungeon delves, with appropriate rewards.
• Excellent loot tables, Ability to improve your gear through looting.
• Player market system allowing you to trade or barter for better gear.
• Detailed towns and cities with roaming NPCs, merchants, taverns, crafting machines, places for cummunity to develop.
• Tutorial that leads you through the basics, the interface, keys, where you get spells, or skills, or materials or supplies.

Many of the newer games, WoW, EQ2 and so on, offer SOME of these, but not all. Based on my list, how close does SoG get?