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Aion Open Beta Starts September 6th
NCSoft announced today that the open beta for upcoming fantasy MMO Aion will begin on September 6th, extending through to the 13th. The client is available now. The game launches on September 22nd in the US, with a two-day head-start given to players who pre-order. NCSoft has also said they'll be showing off Aion in more detail at the Penny Arcade Expo, expanding on the information they provided at Gamescom (video).
A word of warning - Aion uses GameGuard which for all intents and purposes, is a rootkit. The article is a bit outdated w/ regards to incompatibility issues with other apps, as the Steam incompatibility was fixed a month or two ago iirc. Either way, it's a terrible and invasive bit of software that I won't allow anywhere near my PC.
Due to circumstances beyond my control, I am master of my fate and captain of my soul.
It looks like the open beta will only be available to Fileplanet Subscribers (about $5/month)...
There may be more beta keys available from other websites, but currently Fileplanet is claiming to have exclusivity on the beta.
So, I'm not really sure in what way this is "open", it sounds like it will be exactly the same as all the other Aion beta events with a limited number of keys for select (lucky) players.
Maybe, someone with more info can prove me wrong.
Where's the download for Mac?
This is a RvR game. To avoid the problems with PoTBS:
Don't join AION, if you can't handle ganking. Ganking in Darkfall could be much more fair than in AION, the "resistences" of a high level may make imposible to kill a players that is a few levels higher than you.
-Woof woof woof!
I played the closed beta. It's not terribly impressive. People have been excited about the graphics, but they're kind of outdated... maybe top of the line stuff for 2004 or so. There are a few impressive areas in the game, though.
Gameplay and questing is not terribly fun. If you've ever done a Kill 30 Wasps or Gather 10 Herbs quest, you've done them all, and AION has a lot of this kind of stuff. I guess there's a story or whatever to read, and IIRC some quests have different options, but by and large I was completely bored while leveling up my character.
While I would like someone to knock WoW off its high horse (because the game really isn't designed as well as they think it is), I doubt AION is going to be it.
Yeah, pretty much. I wasn't impressed and cancelled my order. Blizzard doesn't have much to worry about here. It gets really good when you get into the forced PvP part. Once people learned that, every single person in my WoW guild who had been interested decided not to bother.
It seems that being ganked isn't exactly a feature people look for in games.
-- "So they told me that using the download page to download something was not something they anticipated." - Bill Gates
Really, I was really excited about Aion, but all that excitement vanished once I learnt from the official web site the game cost $50 PLUS monthly fees. Sorry, nowadays I just don't spend that much time gaming to justify paying monthly fees, no matter how awesome the game is (otherwise I'd be another WoW addict).
The sad part is that NCSoft will likely abandon the incredible F2P Atlantica Online in favor of Aion.
Back to Perfect World, I guess, the best MMORPG I've ever played, period.
Yeah, pretty much. I wasn't impressed and cancelled my order. Blizzard doesn't have much to worry about here. It gets really good when you get into the forced PvP part. Once people learned that, every single person in my WoW guild who had been interested decided not to bother.
It seems that being ganked isn't exactly a feature people look for in games.
It does get really good when you get into the forced PvP part, none of that casual carebear blueshield / pveonly server bullshit in this game. I was impressed, kept my Aion preorder and cancelled my WOW subscription. Different strokes for different folks.
Just in time for school! Looks like another year mediocre performance for me!
I hardly agree with a summary of a game that doesn't even take two lines, but this is pretty apt.
I was in Aion Beta, "won" it as a TR player. To say the least, it was a bit of a letdown. As hacked together as TR was, that game had a better chance to succeed in countries that aren't big into what's commonly refered to as "Asia grinders". TR was one, sorta, but at least it was a little different from the usual "stand there and hit a few buttons" gameplay.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
If that's your thing, more power to you. I'm all for different flavors in games (hell, I know I'd want a game where groups are more than just 'raid only', i.e. where you will start playing with other players instead of against them before you hit levelcap). Just as much as my likes are not really mainstream, so ain't yours, I'm afraid. What's to be seen is if there are enough people like you to keep the game running.
I know I won't be there, sorry. Yeah, call me carebear, but my idea of fun isn't found in the frustration of being permaganked by people who have more time to play than I do and thus reach levelcap so early that there's nothing left for them to do but bash low level chars.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
The whole point of different server types is that you can play on yours, I can play on mine, and we're both happy. That means more customers.
Since Aion wants to force me to endure that bullshit, I'm taking my money elsewhere. The only real way you can oppose such a server split is if your goal is to get people who don't want to be ganked forced into it, so you can gank them.
-- "So they told me that using the download page to download something was not something they anticipated." - Bill Gates
Nope. PvE focused MMOs have always been more popular then PvP focused ones. Ganking is why forum whiners play the game, but that's a minority.
Ganking in particular is never popular for the people on the receieving end. Only instead of bitching about it on Slashdot, they just quit the game entirely and go spend their money on something else.
-- "So they told me that using the download page to download something was not something they anticipated." - Bill Gates
What's the point of pwning people in MMOs when that usually amounts to "my level is higher than yours, I win"? It's not a demonstration of skill, it's just a demonstration of how long you have played before that battle.
Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
What's the point of pwning people in MMOs when that usually amounts to "my level is higher than yours, I win"? It's not a demonstration of skill, it's just a demonstration of how long you have played before that battle.
I am confused. When talking about PvP, why even bring pre-levelcap PvP into the discussion? It's irrelevant.
At the same time (the 5th I believe) Cryptic Studio is expected to launch Champions Online.
That MMO is a competitor to NCSoft City of Heroes.
By the way Cryptic developped and delivered City of Heroes to NCSoft a few years ago, then sold it to NCSoft.
Then Cryptic went on Champions.
Is it intriguing that NCSoft starts its new MMO at same time as Champions the competitor of its product CoH ?
If this is just calculated, then it may proove Aion is too young and not complete at launch time.
The world belongs to those who get up early. - I'm far from being the king of Earth then
PvE mmorpg servers seem to be missing a huge element of the game. Like most people, I hate getting killed... especially to a much higher level or when I was involved in some other task. But I can't imagine playing an online game with hundreds/thousands of other people without getting to "interact" with them. I'm on a very low pop PvP server.. so low population that there's practically no PvP going on except at meeting stones and of course the battle grounds. It's boring.. I can't remember the last time someone tried to gank me. Part of the thrill is killing someone who got the jump on you.
Sure pvp isn't for everyone, if you want protection travel in small groups. These games aren't designed for solo play.
"Action without philosophy is a lethal weapon; philosophy without action is worthless."
Played the beta.... Another Korean grindfest MMO. NC Soft's track record is not that great. Their greatest achievements: CoH/V and Guildwars. Decent, but not great. Too many fails to mention. Go look at Wikipedia for a full list. Alot of people claim it has the best graphics of any MMO. AoC had great/best graphics of any MMO Ive seen, but was fail overall. Flying in PvP is lame. Adds another dimension for people to abuse as I can guarantee there are going to be bugs. Those that played DAOC can remember all the bugs water brought on in NF. Ganking lowbies is retarded. Only hastens the death of a server and game even if they are penalized. Leveling that is basically get 20 of object X and bring it to NPC Y to level, and then rinse and repeat that 500 time, equals grind. No MMO is perfect. Christ I beta tested "The Realm" way back in the day. Ive played almost every pay to play every major MMO out there from UO, EQ, DAOC, WoW, Lotro, AoC, And WAR. Im currently playing WAR, but will be quitting when my sub is up. Ive seen Aion, its not for me. I downloaded and reinstalled DAOC last night and am waiting for the new super cluster server to be created. Time to get back to the land of where casters are dangerous but killable and tanks get respect.
we haven't seen those in like 5 secs.
You think a penalty that is removed by spending a few coins at the healer is a real death penalty?
Wow.
-- toolie
I am confused. When talking about PvP, why even bring pre-levelcap PvP into the discussion? It's irrelevant.
Because pre-levelcap PvP is where ganking happens, which is what the subthread is about.
Champions Online has a 5-star system. You die, you lose all your stars. They start building up the longer you fight and stay alive. The more you have, the more goose your powers get. Something like that.
Anyway, back in the day, we didn't have no steenking slap on the wrist death penalties. No, your character died and you lost three levels of XP and had to go rescue your body within 30 minutes or it vaporized with all your stuff, and you liked it! >:-(
That it was impossible for your now-naked group to fight its way back into the dungeon to the body area was part of the challenge! So you went and got a high level guy to wade in there and /drag your corpses out and hope he didn't /drag 'em deeper to the king's throne room.
And if worse came to worse, your magnificent, tarnished two-hander, the first upgrade from rusty, and looted from a zombie in the desert, was gone. And you liked it!
(-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
Forced PvP isn't the only Fail.
> Warriors are masters of close combat. They are about grit,
> power, and sheer strength. They use their great physical
> strength and prowess to pound the enemy and provide cover for allies .
Jesus Christ! Another game where warriors are crap-damage pseudo-controllers instead of, oh, I don't know, an actual warrior.
(-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
You don't get to decide "I'm not at the level cap, I don't want to engage in PvP" because it's enough that the other guy decides to attack you.
Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
Check out PlanetSide. The shallow power curve make level a minor factor. Skill, tactics, and organization can beat higher level and high numbers.
Utilizing the synergization of benchmark e-solutions to pre-workaround action items!
It does get really good when you get into the forced PvP part, none of that casual carebear blueshield / pveonly server bullshit in this game. I was impressed, kept my Aion preorder and cancelled my WOW subscription. Different strokes for different folks.
I always thought that's what fps games were for. MMORPG pvp tends to be of the "I-can't-beat-you-fairly-so-I'll-outgear-you-or-out-level-you-or-get-12-of-my-friends-to-kill-you" variety. It's seldom challenging.
Actually they are designed for solo play now. Where have you been the last few years? Solo-unfriendly MMOs are a niche product these days.
When I want to PvP, I can go hit a battleground, or arena, or just flag up and try to screw with people. That's a small price to pay for the ability to be left the fuck alone when I just want to go exploring and not have some asshat 40 levels higher then me decide to do some corpse camping.
For people who like that kind of gameplay? More power to them, thats what PvP servers are for. But I notice that type is much more quick to start hurling insults at people who don't like it.
-- "So they told me that using the download page to download something was not something they anticipated." - Bill Gates
Because that's what ganking IS. It's what forced PvP is about. You come into this zone where somebody who you can't possibly fight back against can simply flatten you.
-- "So they told me that using the download page to download something was not something they anticipated." - Bill Gates
Actually, WoW is designed with the ability to solo play in mind, especially for leveling. Which is a huge part of its success.
PVP servers aren't just about ganking. Some of my fondest memories of WoW were taking on 2 lvl 60's with my solo level 60 rogue and coming out victorious. Or being able to assassinate 1 person (usually the mage) in a group of 5 and being able to escape the the other 4 level 60's trying to come after me. And while I did some raiding I wasn't top geared by any means. Battlegrounds I found to be extremely boring. If I wanted to have that kind of play experience I'd play a FPS.
Jesus Christ! Another game where warriors are crap-damage pseudo-controllers instead of, oh, I don't know, an actual warrior.
You mean one who participates in war? I'd say they are doing that.
What exactly do you want them to be? Damage only? That's not very interesting. I have no idea how they are implemented in this game, but in WoW, they have the ability to be substantial damage dealers(or have had in the past, don't know if they are broken or not these days).
Someone really needs to do away with the level concept in MMOs. All they do is separate players. There needs to be some other form of advancement that still feels like advancement, but doesn't prevent players from grouping together.
You said that you thought that's what FPS games were for, but maybe it shouldn't be something exclusive to their genre.
The new Star Wars: The Old Republic will destroy WoW, even with WoW's new expansion 'Cataclysm' coming out. Blizzard doesn't have a chance, people would rather play a kick-ass Sith Warrior or Bounty Hunter and kill innocent Jedi than what WoW offers. Crappy quests that you do the same of, just different variations; Collect 20 Wolf Fangs, Collect 10 Raptor Eggs, blah blah blah.
Plus in World of Warcraft you get a new expansion and always are leveling, never getting a chance to enjoy all the content. Maybe a year and you still haven't done everything but a new expansion comes out, so you miss that dungeon or instance. It gets tiresome. I was pissed when Burning Crusade came out, I had been 60 for a few months and all of a sudden I need to level up, gain more rep, do more grind quests. It's not even fun, you don't have 'fun' grinding quests. I only ever had fun doing high level raids and PvP.
I hope SW:TOR destroys Blizzard's precious money-making addictive social life destroying game. So for anyone waiting for a new, refreshing MMO that actually has real voice actors and not terrible voice-overs, wait for 2010 and check out Star Wars: The Old Republic.
Bye-bye World of Shitcraft!
It already has millions of players in Asia, and it's been a long time since Blizzard was constantly crowing about its subscriber numbers.
If you're a new player looking for an MMO, you're not going to get WoW. It's incredibly dated, the graphics are ugly and the 'kill ten boars' quests are laughable archaic. Plus, you're eighty levels behind everyone else and have no-one to group with.
That's your opinion, millions of others disagree. Your WoW guild might not like it, but there's a selection bias there. In WoW, even dying is a mere several-second inconvenience, so they're never going to like a game with difficulty and set-backs.
At any rate, people who decide they don't like a game without even playing it are the sort who would never like it anyway, as it isn't exactly like everything they're used to. Like a child screwing his face up at a new food before it's even in his mouth, your guild-mates would find any excuse not to like Aion. If not the 'ganking', then the combat sytem not being exactly like WoW, or the quest-givers not having huge question marks over them, or not being allowed to install add-ons to walk you through quests without the player having to put any thought or effort in, or a million other things.
At least now the 'ganking' will turn off the WoW-tourists so they won't flood the chat channels and forums with whining about how every little thing isn't exactly like how they want it.