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Chronicles of Spellborn - remember that game?
Margulis
Member CommonPosts: 1,614
I was just thinking about this game the other day, totally forgot about it. I remember being there on launch day, where you had to pick a character that was either super huge like a bodybuilder, skinny like a twig, or somewhat normal. Then you instantly were sent to kill many boars, lol. The combat was interesting, but man did that game flop hard. The idea of no gear stats really didn't seem to go over well in the mmo community either.
Who else remember Spellborn?
Comments
Despite it's many problems that game was ahead of it's time and people at that time being in full force WoW-brainwashed mode didn't understand what's going on with it.
Unfortunately it's amateurish company also didn't understand how to handle it and also Frogster not giving a shit to decently publish it, but rather push Runes Of Magic.
In proper hands TCOS could have it's second addon by now and be a real alternative. But then...it still takes the right minded people for such a game, the kind you hardly find among gamers today.
I quite enjoyed it, but when I got onto it the EU servers were practically already dead, and the popultared US ones were just too laggy. The chracters and art sytle was fun.
I looked it up 2 months ago when it popped into my head too.
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Used to love it.. I would've liked it even more if it had a combat not involving that rolling wheel.
I made a review of the game on this site when it first came out with pictures here at http://www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/post/2774670#2774670.
That game had the shi***est quests I've ever seen, and having played Aion that's REALLY saying something. It was as if every 4th quest entailed killing lots of boars! It deserved to die. Hard.
Indeed... I played the game for a short while, and played a rogue skinshifter class... I remember that my character could shape shift instead of vanish, which was an interesting game mechanic. It was fun to blend in with a pack of wolves while trying to avoid getting ganked by another player. I can't remember all the forms I could take, but one of them was also a human bandit that allowed me to travel though bandit mob camps un scathed. The combat deck (wheel) was interesting, and if I recall combat was skill / twitch based and not just tab targeting. I'm glad I had a chance to play this game before it shut down, as it was, if anything, unique.
Four wheels move the body... Two wheels move the soul!
I remember beign really hyped about this game, when I got into the game i didn't really know allot about it. I clearly remember thinking that the graphics we're extremely good, and the combat especially archery was brilliant and addictive. However I remember the no gear stats ruined it for me as one of the main draw factors which keeps me coming back to games is the feeling of progressing and collecting new gear etc.
The game had its problems but it did not deserve to tank like it did, there are much worse games out there doing way better. I personally really liked it, there was somewhat of a grind with the quests and it being light on content but the basic premise was quite enjoyable. Given proper care, I think it would've turned out to be great.
I didnt find out about it until after it was already disabled or whatever. Sucks cuz it looked like a really awesome game.
Jeremiah 8:21 I weep for the hurt of my people; I stand amazed, silent, dumb with grief.
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The game was a lot of fun, but the developer made some poor choices with distributors.
I remember something about ipblocks which divided Europe, so that the UK couldnt play with the mainland Europeans or something. And that really pissed off the European community. Many European guilds have members from the UK, so not being able to play as guild in that game was very annoying.
I tried it out and enjoyed it for a bit. Loved the look and feel of the game, loved combat, but hated the quests. It would've been nice to see it supported more by the devs and players, but that clearly didn't happen.
Current: None
Played: WoW, CoX, SWG, LotRO, EVE, AoC, VG, CO, Ryzom, DF, WAR
Tried: Lineage2, Dofus, EQ2, CoS, FE, UO, Wurm, Wakfu
Future: The Repopulation, ArcheAge, Black Desert, EQN
Tested it for more than a year.
The game had very good concepts, but the implementation across the board was lacking. And they were never going to have enough content in it. It was weeks before launch and I think they didn't have a solid idea of how the houses system would work, how the PVP would work, what players would do on endgame. Oh, and the latency, it had so many rubberbanding problems... On these alone, I'm afraid to say, it was bound to end badly.
On the other hand, just stepping into its world you instantly knew it was different. The stylistic euro-comic / euro-animation art design, the sounds, the beautiful music, it gave you that sense of being in a unique place. Besides, the realm and the "races" themselves felt a bit different.
I miss my characters there (especially warrior), I miss that novel skill wheel, I miss that the ordinary encounters were no walk in the park and you could get killed by practically a standard mob if you were not careful.
I wish they had better finances.
I played TCOS as a Void Seer also had a Death Hand and a Rune Mage I messed with, played off and on til level 30 but had problems with the shaders and starting up, mainly because support was dumped early on. If your like me you enjoyed the atmosphere and PVP mechanics. That being said there are spiritual successors or cousins to Spellborn so all is not lost, You need to look at project Copernicus from 38 studios, which is a long way from being in beta and Guild Wars 2, which honestly Spellborns skill system wasnt that far off from Guild Wars to begin with. I would like to get as many TCOS junkies as possible to go to Guild Wars 2 and maybe guild up over there. I know how you feel though I spent a looooooooooong time on the original spellborn forums only to watch it's botched release.
I miss this game so much.
Best experience I've ever had with starting a new MMO.
I still wish someone will pick it up, even though I know no one ever will
This is the only thempark MMO that i played for over a month. I really liked its art style, combat and difficutly (depending on class it was very difficult). I had a lot fo fun playing this game and would go back in a heart beat if it came back.
Playing: PO, EVE
Waiting for: WoD
Favourite MMOs: VG, EVE, FE and DDO
Any person who expresses rage and loathing for an MMO is preposterous. He or she is like a person who has put on full armor and attacked a hot fudge sundae.
I was one of the people that followed the game early and had high hopes for Spellborn.
One comment I want to make is yes, the quests were weaksauce, but the game was about pvp more than pve.
I could not care less about gear or stats or farming +.0001 shoulderpads until my eyes bleed.
But, I guess most people want gear with stats.
Spellborn was one of three games that made me feel sad at the 'What could have been'
Horizons and Warhammer were the others.
Now all of my hopes are on Guildwars 2 (for dynamic events), and Tera (for the half naked avatars)
Yep I remember that. Probably a big reason the game tanked.
That plus a poor publisher for NA led to an early death. I followed this game for some time, then when all the problems started I honestly just wrote it off.
Good concept, I wish it would have been handled better.
i remember it. i played some levels (didnt get even to lvl 10 so i cant say much). The bit i played felt like DDO which i didnt like (obviously because i dont like DDO and its gameplay) but it felt somewhat more fun that DDO. The character customization was really good to (i loved to make my toons with cow legs lol). I would play it longer if someone brings it back to life... F2P of course.
The main reason the game flopped was due its odd publishing deals that reaaly costed them big time.
Tthe quest were meh generic and the world smallish but its combat system was far ahead of its time, just could have used a little more speed in general play.
The art style was nice (tho art style is always apersonal preference thing) and they did try to break the habbit of orcs and elfs a bit
shame it went under and dint get pickedup by a other company,could have bina good one but that is the same for manny games whit good idea's .
Completely agree.
Combat in Spellborn was fantastic, as was the PvP, but at the time tab targeting was the only way for combat.
Now, years later, everyone is bored of tab targeting and we all need skill based combat, like Spellborn.
This, Warhammer and Vanguard are my "what could have been" games. But at least with the other two I can still play them.
I really enjoyed this game as well. I believe it was also my first review here! The A.I was really convincing. They actively tried to kite you if they were ranged. I remember not being sure if some of them were NPCs or players! The combat system was unique and fun to use as well.
Just read through your review.
I really liked the graphics, but I agree with everything else, reading it only made me more sad that this game still isn't about.
On a brighter note, that was one of the best reviews I've read on this website.
Yes, OP, I remember this game.
I played the free version, which had a level cap of 7.9, and I didn't like the game at all.
The rolling hotbar system was probably the most retarded idea I've ever experienced in any game. You had the skills, but unless you arranged them "correctly", they weren't available, ie you had to use a skill on hotbar 1 before it rolled over to 2 and gave access to whatever you put there. Gameplay issues ruined this game, not that stat-less gear stuff, at least for me.
The game had a tutorial which was a waste of space. The devs admitted they knew a lot of players had problems with the combat system and the rolling bar, and what did they do? They added a tutorial which almost exclusively forcused on movement...
Further, several publishers were going to handle this game. The REALLY bad part about that, was that we who lives in Scandinavia, had to play on seperate servers, and IP blockings prevented us to register on "main EU" servers, to play with a more international playerbase.
Acclaim were to publish it in the US. I don't know if that ever happened, but if it did, I never heard about it.
I have almost tried Vanguard about a dozen times. The only reason I did not get it when it was new was being distracted by other games an dnot having a lot of free time. Still tempted
I sure did, it had some really good ideas but it felt like they ran out of money and had to release it half baked.
My biggest issue with it was the skill wheel or whatever they called it. The idea was brilliant but they should have linked the attack you just pushed and what attacks you get to choose from next round, it would have made a lot of more sense then and it would led to interesting chains of attacks.