Flip the score around 5.8 and it's still too high.EA game yep looks it too,no more than another cheap entry into the gaming genre,seems TOO many people have too little of standards to call something like this good.The concept/idea is good,the game is not because a GAME is the complete package and not just an idea.
The score of 8.5 could be justified for the idea alone but after that ,big time out of line score.
"cash shop" why would i even care about the cash shop if the game looks like another cheap Trove /Minecraft lookalike,a bunch of non desirable graphics,pixel stuff.
The way people buy games now it is like going into a store,umm this shirt looks too good,you have it in something less desirable?I know this car looks nice but i was thinking something more in line with a little rust,maybe paint faded,you know something that looks like crap.
3D VIDEO gaming,VIDEO means we can see it,you know why we want to see it,because we want to see nice things,not pixels from the days of DX4,Dos gaming.
Put something like this together with a professional engine,professional graphics,make the game look professional then it is worth paying for.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
What ive ben reading on the Cash Shop and microtransactions has me concerned , im gonna hold off abit on this and see what direction that takes ...
Was a concern for me as well before purchase but it is not a PVP game so for now I see no negative in game. Hopefully that remains true. So far it is a really fun game. I play as a trader and contractor. Folks contract me to find things they need. I am not much of a builder (though I enjoy cooking) So far so good.
As a UO vet for over 20 years PvP does not bother me i welcome it , im conerned over posts regarding building/cubits/plots ... Seems some static about this going on , ill just watch for a bit see how it shakes out , God knows i have plenty of games to keep me occupied as it is
This game started as "Oort Oline" back in 2014 during original Early Access.
They renamed it to Boundless in 2015 when they got funding from Sony.
The game has been limping along with next to no playerbase until now - last 24 hours on steam they peaked at 646 players, not exactly great but much improved over double digit playerbase.
For me the game is mediocre - it didn't really meet my expectations - and that's ok. The biggest letdown is combat for me - it's just not very good.
The other aspects are decent, if there was a 3rd person camera and good combat - this game would be 10x better.
But I always have this "minecraft" feeling when playing this due to 1st person.
The biggest concern is for me is - how long can the game development continue with minimal money coming in?
I always hate to invest myself heavily into games that may not be around for long.
Oh well.
Keep in mind that there's a lot of PS4 players as well, considering theres crossplatform play, meaning that number is far higher.
New planets seems to be coming online every day or so even ;o
I've put over 100 hours in the game. Cash shop is unnecessary unless you want to pay for cosmetics and even then you still don't need to pay for them, you can earn enough of the "cubits" in game. Yes...the "cubits" can also buy you plots, new characters and skill trees however they can be earned at a pretty good rate so that at any given time I've never even thought about buying cubits.
Combat is...horrible, I agree. This game is about Building/Crafting/Gathering resources/building, and setting up shops for trade. Its not really a combat oriented game and the "Hunting Profession" feels more tacked on then as a core aspect of the game. The resources hunters provided are needed, yes however the combat mechanics were not done very well.
It's also a community, or at the least group based game. You'll be hard pressed to do everything your self unless you roll up a bunch of alts. One chacater cant be and efficient Crafter/Gatherer/Hunter/builder all at the same time. You have to pick one, maybe two to specialize in. Now there are skill sets you can purchase (again without spending money) but its usually better to spend the cubits on an Alt and let them do the work. With that said, working with a small group, or even a full community allows you to build large towns or even cities. If you try to do this game solo, it will eventually get pretty boring. Unless the solo grind is your thing.
So I just bought the game, and finished the tutorial.
_______________________
The tutorial has you opening "loot boxes" for experience and cubits
half a dozen times in the tutorial (Click the box, box animates itself,
box opens, box rewards come out, box rewards fly to their currency
wallets). The tutorial has you opening the store more than half a dozen
times. The store UI is explicitly and brilliantly designed so that it (the shop)
is an utterly seemless part of the game. The core game loop is
designed such that you WILL completely NEED to visit the store to do
even basic things (expand your ability to claim more land, or come back
for respecs). Future objectives and "quest" rewards are set up so
that when they do deliver rewards they are in the form of the EXP/Cubit
loot box, in the store.
This is an explicitly high effort design to make the game store a
fundamental aspect of gameplay. Sure right now it's pretty darn
friendly, but one does not design a system to have it not be used.
Someone does not just "Hold out their hand for a tip", and expect to go
untipped.
TBH I'm actually a little bit of a fan of the game (right up my ally for crafting), but I'm wary with actually bothering to play because of how much effort was put into the shop. Because you know it's going to get worse, since F2P shops always get worse as time goes on.
Practice doesn't make perfect, practice makes permanent.
"At one point technology meant making tech that could get to the moon, now it means making tech that could get you a taxi."
So I just bought the game, and finished the tutorial.
_______________________
The tutorial has you opening "loot boxes" for experience and cubits
half a dozen times in the tutorial (Click the box, box animates itself,
box opens, box rewards come out, box rewards fly to their currency
wallets). The tutorial has you opening the store more than half a dozen
times. The store UI is explicitly and brilliantly designed so that it (the shop)
is an utterly seemless part of the game. The core game loop is
designed such that you WILL completely NEED to visit the store to do
even basic things (expand your ability to claim more land, or come back
for respecs). Future objectives and "quest" rewards are set up so
that when they do deliver rewards they are in the form of the EXP/Cubit
loot box, in the store.
This is an explicitly high effort design to make the game store a
fundamental aspect of gameplay. Sure right now it's pretty darn
friendly, but one does not design a system to have it not be used.
Someone does not just "Hold out their hand for a tip", and expect to go
untipped.
TBH I'm actually a little bit of a fan of the game (right up my ally for crafting), but I'm wary with actually bothering to play because of how much effort was put into the shop. Because you know it's going to get worse, since F2P shops always get worse as time goes on.
Perhaps but it is not a PVP game and it is not F2P. I always found a PVE game cash shop a funny thing anyways. What the future will hold who knows. For now all is well in Whoville.
You're right all is pretty much well, as long as the devs don't make future monetization mistakes it'll stay that way pretty much forever.
Practice doesn't make perfect, practice makes permanent.
"At one point technology meant making tech that could get to the moon, now it means making tech that could get you a taxi."
I know it's a necro thread but I LOVE this game so I'm going to answer :-)
Cash Shop and in game purchases - they don't affect gameplay. It's cosmetic items and additional plots over and above the 1000's you get by leveling - a plot is 8x8x8 and prevents world regeneration or other players interacting - unless you grant permissions. And guilds and stuff. You can also pay to have all your settlements refueled instead of doing it by hand once every few weeks. As for having to buy something to complete the tutorial - it's the opposite - the tutorial actually gives you additional plots!
It's very definitely PvE at the moment. The "protection" referred to above is basically reserving the above mentioned 8x8x8 plots.
The game loop I'd split into 2 parts:
1. the gather, hunt, craft, build that's part of the engine. Worlds are tiered so not all players can gather and hunt at high ends. Hunting at highest tiers is best in teams of 20 or more. Then even lower level players can join in.
2. what I'd call meta game - where players use the engine in creative ways. All items can be bought and sold whether that's raw blocks, crafted consumables or a high end enchanted slingbow. Because you can set up and maintain portals between worlds, the way the community organizes teamwork, trade and construction is very dynamic.
So the game itself is pretty good.... Unfortunately the Developers pick winners and losers in a fashion that I have never experienced in a game. There are a vocal minority in the community who pretty much bullies people into either quitting or kissing their rear ends.... the Developers favor this group and will target you for their benefit.
I spent thousands of dollars on this game filling the coffers of Wonder struck company and tens of thousands of hours playing and building in the game only to have it all stolen out from under me via unscrupulous means.
I built Roman Republic themed builds for months using the s p q r acronym which means The Senate and People of Rome...No Problem...but when a neighbor wanted me gone because their group was very impotent and unable to compete for capital of the planet against a solo player suddenly kicked and banned for Racism! Quite a shock since my family is more diverse than any of these cry babies... and the Roman Republic was according to Mary Blair's book the S P Q R the most DIVERSE society in human history (go look it up). THE TRUTH is the Developers know darn well I am NOT RACIST but this was an excuse to "get rid of me" since these Pet Players of the Developers were impotent and could not compete (11 players against 1.... Pretty pathetic to be sure ) and were constantly crying like little entitled Babies...
SO I would suggest to ANY person reading this to NOT spend ONE DOLLAR/PESO/POUND etc on this game or with this Company Wonder struck of United Kingdom. The Developers are UNPROFESSIONAL and have have no business running a game community with their Poor Ethics.....
The game and company owner is the one who drives this Unprofessional behavior usually personally which strikes me as very odd so do not give this owner the benefit of the doubt. This owner even berated me privately for DARING to have an Avatar with the Star of David that supported the Jewish state of Israel!!!! ANTI-SEMITE much?
I would list names etc...but it is totally not required... the days of this game are NUMBERED... the player base long term trend is falling (short term upticks withstanding).... there used to be delays to go to a planet at around 80 players max (and there are around 50 planets) so there was a lot of people....now the average was 1 to 3 players for most planets and at times perhaps as many as 15 (barring an event or some other draw).
Just to be very clear, I am FAR from the only player who has been targeted... most just walked away and who could blame them after being treated so disrespectfully by the "pets of the Developers", others were run out by the Developers....and then some like me stood firm in the face of it.....
They are now also FINALLY delivering on their promise of "rental/private" planets which was promised to the early backers 2+ years ago! Scuttlebutt has it this is being released to fulfill that contractual obligation. Further scuttlebutt has it that their multiyear contract with Sony is coming to its end... Any truth to this? No way of knowing....but I would SERIOUSLY consider ANY money given to this company as pouring it down the drain....
Comments
거북이는 목을 내밀 때 안 움직입니다
The score of 8.5 could be justified for the idea alone but after that ,big time out of line score.
"cash shop" why would i even care about the cash shop if the game looks like another cheap Trove /Minecraft lookalike,a bunch of non desirable graphics,pixel stuff.
The way people buy games now it is like going into a store,umm this shirt looks too good,you have it in something less desirable?I know this car looks nice but i was thinking something more in line with a little rust,maybe paint faded,you know something that looks like crap.
3D VIDEO gaming,VIDEO means we can see it,you know why we want to see it,because we want to see nice things,not pixels from the days of DX4,Dos gaming.
Put something like this together with a professional engine,professional graphics,make the game look professional then it is worth paying for.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
New planets seems to be coming online every day or so even ;o
Combat is...horrible, I agree.
This game is about Building/Crafting/Gathering resources/building, and setting up shops for trade.
Its not really a combat oriented game and the "Hunting Profession" feels more tacked on then as a core aspect of the game. The resources hunters provided are needed, yes however the combat mechanics were not done very well.
It's also a community, or at the least group based game.
You'll be hard pressed to do everything your self unless you roll up a bunch of alts. One chacater cant be and efficient Crafter/Gatherer/Hunter/builder all at the same time. You have to pick one, maybe two to specialize in. Now there are skill sets you can purchase (again without spending money) but its usually better to spend the cubits on an Alt and let them do the work.
With that said, working with a small group, or even a full community allows you to build large towns or even cities. If you try to do this game solo, it will eventually get pretty boring. Unless the solo grind is your thing.
Just my two cents.
The tutorial has you opening "loot boxes" for experience and cubits half a dozen times in the tutorial (Click the box, box animates itself, box opens, box rewards come out, box rewards fly to their currency wallets). The tutorial has you opening the store more than half a dozen times. The store UI is explicitly and brilliantly designed so that it (the shop) is an utterly seemless part of the game. The core game loop is designed such that you WILL completely NEED to visit the store to do even basic things (expand your ability to claim more land, or come back for respecs). Future objectives and "quest" rewards are set up so that when they do deliver rewards they are in the form of the EXP/Cubit loot box, in the store.
This is an explicitly high effort design to make the game store a fundamental aspect of gameplay. Sure right now it's pretty darn friendly, but one does not design a system to have it not be used. Someone does not just "Hold out their hand for a tip", and expect to go untipped.
TBH I'm actually a little bit of a fan of the game (right up my ally for crafting), but I'm wary with actually bothering to play because of how much effort was put into the shop. Because you know it's going to get worse, since F2P shops always get worse as time goes on.
Practice doesn't make perfect, practice makes permanent.
"At one point technology meant making tech that could get to the moon, now it means making tech that could get you a taxi."
거북이는 목을 내밀 때 안 움직입니다
Practice doesn't make perfect, practice makes permanent.
"At one point technology meant making tech that could get to the moon, now it means making tech that could get you a taxi."
That sounds like PvP to me. Yet, folks are saying this is a PvE title.
Cash Shop and in game purchases - they don't affect gameplay. It's cosmetic items and additional plots over and above the 1000's you get by leveling - a plot is 8x8x8 and prevents world regeneration or other players interacting - unless you grant permissions. And guilds and stuff. You can also pay to have all your settlements refueled instead of doing it by hand once every few weeks. As for having to buy something to complete the tutorial - it's the opposite - the tutorial actually gives you additional plots!
It's very definitely PvE at the moment. The "protection" referred to above is basically reserving the above mentioned 8x8x8 plots.
The game loop I'd split into 2 parts:
1. the gather, hunt, craft, build that's part of the engine. Worlds are tiered so not all players can gather and hunt at high ends. Hunting at highest tiers is best in teams of 20 or more. Then even lower level players can join in.
2. what I'd call meta game - where players use the engine in creative ways. All items can be bought and sold whether that's raw blocks, crafted consumables or a high end enchanted slingbow. Because you can set up and maintain portals between worlds, the way the community organizes teamwork, trade and construction is very dynamic.
I spent thousands of dollars on this game filling the coffers of Wonder struck company and tens of thousands of hours playing and building in the game only to have it all stolen out from under me via unscrupulous means.
I built Roman Republic themed builds for months using the s p q r acronym which means The Senate and People of Rome...No Problem...but when a neighbor wanted me gone because their group was very impotent and unable to compete for capital of the planet against a solo player suddenly kicked and banned for Racism! Quite a shock since my family is more diverse than any of these cry babies... and the Roman Republic was according to Mary Blair's book the S P Q R the most DIVERSE society in human history (go look it up). THE TRUTH is the Developers know darn well I am NOT RACIST but this was an excuse to "get rid of me" since these Pet Players of the Developers were impotent and could not compete (11 players against 1.... Pretty pathetic to be sure ) and were constantly crying like little entitled Babies...
SO I would suggest to ANY person reading this to NOT spend ONE DOLLAR/PESO/POUND etc on this game or with this Company Wonder struck of United Kingdom. The Developers are UNPROFESSIONAL and have have no business running a game community with their Poor Ethics.....
The game and company owner is the one who drives this Unprofessional behavior usually personally which strikes me as very odd so do not give this owner the benefit of the doubt. This owner even berated me privately for DARING to have an Avatar with the Star of David that supported the Jewish state of Israel!!!! ANTI-SEMITE much?
I would list names etc...but it is totally not required... the days of this game are NUMBERED... the player base long term trend is falling (short term upticks withstanding).... there used to be delays to go to a planet at around 80 players max (and there are around 50 planets) so there was a lot of people....now the average was 1 to 3 players for most planets and at times perhaps as many as 15 (barring an event or some other draw).
Just to be very clear, I am FAR from the only player who has been targeted... most just walked away and who could blame them after being treated so disrespectfully by the "pets of the Developers", others were run out by the Developers....and then some like me stood firm in the face of it.....
They are now also FINALLY delivering on their promise of "rental/private" planets which was promised to the early backers 2+ years ago! Scuttlebutt has it this is being released to fulfill that contractual obligation. Further scuttlebutt has it that their multiyear contract with Sony is coming to its end... Any truth to this? No way of knowing....but I would SERIOUSLY consider ANY money given to this company as pouring it down the drain....