What else does a level 60 person have to do? Well for starters, they could shelve the character and make another one, since the game does offer variety. Or, they could play other games and wait for battlegrounds.
Ah, so the endgame content is making a new character? Wohoo! I busted ass to get to 60 so now I can roll a mage alt! Or better yet, I achieved lvl 60 so I can go play Splinter Cell.
Tells you something about the end game when the recommended action is to stop playing it. The honor system will give higher level players something to do for a while, as will battlegrounds. But more significant content needs to be in the pipeline.
Should really read some of the stuff they have on the Guild Wars site. For one, having friendly warriors hack each other to pieces in training isn't all that bad, as they can be resurected afterwards (As a character is in the story at guildwars.com).
I'm fully aware of the fact that fighters are resurrectable, and that it is in the lore. It simply breaks with the flow of the story. If the kingdom is in imminent danger, why only take half of the volunteers? The player is led to believe their going to fight some Charr, but instead gets thrown into a PvP match, and depending on the outcome may not even take part in the battle.
Basically, it just feels like a bad attempt to integrate PvP into the tutorial section.
If you didn't pick a secondary in Pre Charr ascalon, you can still choose in Post Charr ascalon.
The tutorial area should make sure that the player accomplishes some key things before going on. I.E. reaching a suitable level, pick secondary profession, and get all skills available to them in the training area.
Upon leaving Old Ascalon I had no indication as to if I was of suitable level. (I left at lvl 5, and there were lvl 8's still running around) And I have no idea if I got all my basic skills from the zone, as the trainers gave no real impression of finality. ("I have taught you all that I can")
And lastly the game isn't in direct competion with any other MMORPG's, largely because its a CORPG (Competitive Online Role-Playing Game), think Magic: The Gathering, - cards + more people - other silly stuff.
Heh, I've been saying this since the first Alpha event. It's not a MMO and I certainly don't expect one. The Magic analogy is spot on.
My concern is that the very beginning of the game, the first impression, is not very good. There is no clear direction from the start (where it is needed most) and the plot given feels very disjointed. The player is not involved in the plot, and has no reason to care about it. Basically, it failed to draw me into the world at all, which is something the later missions do quite well. However, players may not make it to those later missions because of how weak the opening is.
With no monthly fee they will draw a LOT of people to give it a try, but remember those people have no incentive to stick around. Most MMO players stick around at least for the first month because of the monthly fee. GW doesn't have this going for them, and needs to hook the player from the outset to keep them playing.
Again, it's a very good game, and should be successful. But it had the potential to be much better.
I've been with GW since the forst E3 event, and was offered an alpha position. This weekend, I started a new character to get a feel for the game as a new player.
Visually the game is stunning. I love the enviroments, and the character design is quite good. Combat is fast-paced and tactical, and feels tight.
I'm concerned about how the game starts out. You see a short cinematic showing the Charr attacking Old Ascalon, and the guards call for all the fighters the city can muster. First gripe: characters conversing don't talk. There is no facial animation at all. They don't even gesture. If you didn't have the sound on, you would think it's just two guys standing there. Given how good the visuals are to this point, I don't know why they skimped on that.
But let us continue inside the city walls, where everything is peaceful. Huh? Theres a war raging outside and there is NO indication of it inside. Everyone is just kind of standing around. Talk to a guard, and he directs you to your class trainer. The trainer gives you some low level quests before giving you your first skills. What was my quest? Find a little girl who wandered off. Oh wait, she lost her flute too. Again, I get NO feeling that any kind of conflict is going on. The attacking Charr seemed pretty important to the guys outside, but we get no sense of that. Basically, nothing has 'hooked' me yet.
From here it loses direction. There are quests to do, but there is no real direction. Kill this, take this here, etc. Normal MMO fare, but it starts in the first 10 minutes of the game. Theres no logical progression at a time when the player is least familiar with the game. There is a story happening here, but it feels like your character has nothing to do with it. This is the time that the game should be filling you in on where you are, whats going on, and giving you a reason to give a crap about it. But it doesn't.
Eventually, after some random questing I got back to where I started and talked to that same guard. I got the option to join the fighting force and leave behind "Old Ascalon". Essentially, leaving the noob area. The problem is, I had no indication if I was the proper level for this, or if I had missed anything important before leaving. I almost left before picking my secondary profession, which would have been bad. Again, a new player needs more guidance than this.
So I'm finally ready to defend the city! (Remember that invading force?) So I go to the guard and agree to leave behind noob-ville, and it throws me into a PvP match! Even though there is an imminent threat, the military decides it needs to test it's volunteers by having them kill each other. Sounds like fun right? Well, the groups are random, and the group balance sucked. It was me and a Necro, versus 3 Warriors and a Monk. 2 vs 4. Needless to me and my necro ally got schooled. So, since we're not worthy the guards send us on the awesome task of killing some stuff in a cave. We proceed to kill stuff, and upon clearing the cave we get our second cut scene. Basically, Old Ascalon gets the crap kicked out of it by the Charr.
Once you get to this point, the game picks up steam again. The mission zones are much more interesting and follow a plot. Basically, now it starts to get fun. The problem is, it's too late at this point. Why didn't it start out this entertaining? The first impression is not nearly as good as it could be. It starts confused and aimless, with our heroes involved in nothing epic at all.
Again, the gameplay, mechanics, and art are all very good. Once you develop your character, PvP is solid, and looks to be the shining aspect of the game. PvE starts out weak, but ramps up to be fairly entertaining. Overall, the game is very good, but it falls just short of being GREAT. I didn't feel drawn into the world, and I wasn't given a reason to care about what happens in it. I could tell it was a good game, but I didn't get hooked by it. It does a lot of things right, but lacks that 'something' that makes it really stick out in my mind.
Is seems you've confused your opinion with fact. Just because you think MMO subscriptions are overpriced doesn't mean they are. personally, I get a crapload of entertainment value for my $15/month and think it is a reasonable price. If I didn't, I wouldn't pay it. I have my opinion, you have yours. I just don't confuse my opinion with fact.
because of all the stubborn people who refuse to listen to any opinions besides their own.
Homeworld was classic. Cataclysm, not so much. You could tell it wasn't relic. It just didn't have the same feel. Plus, while initially exciting, Ion Cannon frigates are just a stupid idea.
I work at a phone support desk. When we ask people to power-cycle their computers, we have to tell them to power-cycle that little box under the desk, where they put the floppy disks in. Not the monitor.
I think this goes back to how people are taught on a fundamental level. In general, public schools do not teach critical thinking. Its mostly repetition and memorization. A student gets "X + Y = Z" pounded into them so that they know "X + Y = Z" on a test.
However, if you ask the student "Y + Z = ?" and they won't have a clue because they don't know WHY "X + Y = Z". They never worked through the logic to get the first answer, and are unable to apply it to other situations.
A good teacher doesn't teach anything. They get the student to figure it out themselves.
Although for TV shows they often say 'contains material that may be offensive to some viewers', without saying what it is, and suddenly naked men are on the screen:(.
I don't quite know why, but I found this line to be friggin hilarious. Thank you.
Based on this review, it seems that Disney has shoved another classic work through it's non-stop sausage factory and the results reflect that. It's unfortunate that the end result resembles HHGTTG as much as the _I, Robot_ movie resembles that story.
The thing is, for all it's "summer blockbuster" bullshit, I, Robot didn't screw up the point of the original works. The three laws, even when followed to the letter, simply will not work. They got the important bit right.
If this reviewer is to be believed, that is exactly what is wrong with this movie. The important bits have been taken out back and beaten with a shovel. We are all aware that The Guide has changed in it's various incarnations, but the important stuff, the core ideas and elements were still there.
I mean, how the hell can it be The Guide if it never mentions the importance of a towel?
I would agree with you. However, we're dealing with mainstream MMO's where anything deeper than "click mob until dead, repeat" won't be tolerated by the masses.
Heh, I bought 2 sets for my apoc at 8mil each. Glad I still have most of them, as 12-15 mil is getting rediculous. Shoot, when Miner II's were first released they didn't got for that much...
The difference here is that there is no easy way to see pricing history in WoW. Eve has a very robust market system compared to anything else.
Plus, in my opinion, it is MUCH harder to corner a market in Eve. I applaud any organization that has the capital and the influence to really monopolize a market. How much are Cap Recharger II's going for nowadays?
Slashdot Mirror
Tells you something about the end game when the recommended action is to stop playing it. The honor system will give higher level players something to do for a while, as will battlegrounds. But more significant content needs to be in the pipeline.
Basically, it just feels like a bad attempt to integrate PvP into the tutorial section.The tutorial area should make sure that the player accomplishes some key things before going on. I.E. reaching a suitable level, pick secondary profession, and get all skills available to them in the training area.
Upon leaving Old Ascalon I had no indication as to if I was of suitable level. (I left at lvl 5, and there were lvl 8's still running around) And I have no idea if I got all my basic skills from the zone, as the trainers gave no real impression of finality. ("I have taught you all that I can") Heh, I've been saying this since the first Alpha event. It's not a MMO and I certainly don't expect one. The Magic analogy is spot on.
My concern is that the very beginning of the game, the first impression, is not very good. There is no clear direction from the start (where it is needed most) and the plot given feels very disjointed. The player is not involved in the plot, and has no reason to care about it. Basically, it failed to draw me into the world at all, which is something the later missions do quite well. However, players may not make it to those later missions because of how weak the opening is.
With no monthly fee they will draw a LOT of people to give it a try, but remember those people have no incentive to stick around. Most MMO players stick around at least for the first month because of the monthly fee. GW doesn't have this going for them, and needs to hook the player from the outset to keep them playing.
Again, it's a very good game, and should be successful. But it had the potential to be much better.
There were voice overs, but there was no character animation to match it. It was a harsh visual break. (my original complaint)
Story driven FPS: Marathon
Multiplayer FPS: Unreal Tournament
WoW is not genre-defining. It is genre-refining.
Subtle but significant difference.
I've been with GW since the forst E3 event, and was offered an alpha position. This weekend, I started a new character to get a feel for the game as a new player.
Visually the game is stunning. I love the enviroments, and the character design is quite good. Combat is fast-paced and tactical, and feels tight.
I'm concerned about how the game starts out. You see a short cinematic showing the Charr attacking Old Ascalon, and the guards call for all the fighters the city can muster. First gripe: characters conversing don't talk. There is no facial animation at all. They don't even gesture. If you didn't have the sound on, you would think it's just two guys standing there. Given how good the visuals are to this point, I don't know why they skimped on that.
But let us continue inside the city walls, where everything is peaceful. Huh? Theres a war raging outside and there is NO indication of it inside. Everyone is just kind of standing around. Talk to a guard, and he directs you to your class trainer. The trainer gives you some low level quests before giving you your first skills. What was my quest? Find a little girl who wandered off. Oh wait, she lost her flute too. Again, I get NO feeling that any kind of conflict is going on. The attacking Charr seemed pretty important to the guys outside, but we get no sense of that. Basically, nothing has 'hooked' me yet.
From here it loses direction. There are quests to do, but there is no real direction. Kill this, take this here, etc. Normal MMO fare, but it starts in the first 10 minutes of the game. Theres no logical progression at a time when the player is least familiar with the game. There is a story happening here, but it feels like your character has nothing to do with it. This is the time that the game should be filling you in on where you are, whats going on, and giving you a reason to give a crap about it. But it doesn't.
Eventually, after some random questing I got back to where I started and talked to that same guard. I got the option to join the fighting force and leave behind "Old Ascalon". Essentially, leaving the noob area. The problem is, I had no indication if I was the proper level for this, or if I had missed anything important before leaving. I almost left before picking my secondary profession, which would have been bad. Again, a new player needs more guidance than this.
So I'm finally ready to defend the city! (Remember that invading force?) So I go to the guard and agree to leave behind noob-ville, and it throws me into a PvP match! Even though there is an imminent threat, the military decides it needs to test it's volunteers by having them kill each other. Sounds like fun right? Well, the groups are random, and the group balance sucked. It was me and a Necro, versus 3 Warriors and a Monk. 2 vs 4. Needless to me and my necro ally got schooled. So, since we're not worthy the guards send us on the awesome task of killing some stuff in a cave. We proceed to kill stuff, and upon clearing the cave we get our second cut scene. Basically, Old Ascalon gets the crap kicked out of it by the Charr.
Once you get to this point, the game picks up steam again. The mission zones are much more interesting and follow a plot. Basically, now it starts to get fun. The problem is, it's too late at this point. Why didn't it start out this entertaining? The first impression is not nearly as good as it could be. It starts confused and aimless, with our heroes involved in nothing epic at all.
Again, the gameplay, mechanics, and art are all very good. Once you develop your character, PvP is solid, and looks to be the shining aspect of the game. PvE starts out weak, but ramps up to be fairly entertaining. Overall, the game is very good, but it falls just short of being GREAT. I didn't feel drawn into the world, and I wasn't given a reason to care about what happens in it. I could tell it was a good game, but I didn't get hooked by it. It does a lot of things right, but lacks that 'something' that makes it really stick out in my mind.
I'll try and get in game some more tonight...
oh the irony.
Eve just patched yesterday, and completely overhauled their Electronic Warfare system. Should I submit that as a story?
This isn't battlegrounds. It's simply the PvP honor system that affects Factional PvP throughout the world.
Battlegrounds is still in development/testing.
Homeworld was classic. Cataclysm, not so much. You could tell it wasn't relic. It just didn't have the same feel. Plus, while initially exciting, Ion Cannon frigates are just a stupid idea.
/me needs to start drinking more coffee.
In coffee shops.
I think this goes back to how people are taught on a fundamental level. In general, public schools do not teach critical thinking. Its mostly repetition and memorization. A student gets "X + Y = Z" pounded into them so that they know "X + Y = Z" on a test.
However, if you ask the student "Y + Z = ?" and they won't have a clue because they don't know WHY "X + Y = Z". They never worked through the logic to get the first answer, and are unable to apply it to other situations.
A good teacher doesn't teach anything. They get the student to figure it out themselves.
It sounds silly, but in action the effect is very nice and looks significantly better.
It's just one of those things you have to see in action...
Or you can simply download and install the 3rd party HL2 mod that adds HDR lighting to the first person campaign. (can't find a link at work)
It looks VERY nice btw.
Remember, gratuitous violence is okay as long as there are no naughty words.
"Too lazy to pick up the phone?"
Heh. Gotta love Blizzard for that one.
If this reviewer is to be believed, that is exactly what is wrong with this movie. The important bits have been taken out back and beaten with a shovel. We are all aware that The Guide has changed in it's various incarnations, but the important stuff, the core ideas and elements were still there.
I mean, how the hell can it be The Guide if it never mentions the importance of a towel?
I still havn't forgotten "Conjunction Junction"
I would agree with you. However, we're dealing with mainstream MMO's where anything deeper than "click mob until dead, repeat" won't be tolerated by the masses.
Heh, I bought 2 sets for my apoc at 8mil each. Glad I still have most of them, as 12-15 mil is getting rediculous. Shoot, when Miner II's were first released they didn't got for that much...
Depending on what he's running, it's not a hack. There are a lot of perfectly legit UI addons for tracking Auction House and Vendor prices.
Very deep game, very open ended, and a very steep learning curve. I've played it almost since release, and it is a great game.
Worth checking out, but expect to be frustrated in the beginning.
The difference here is that there is no easy way to see pricing history in WoW. Eve has a very robust market system compared to anything else.
Plus, in my opinion, it is MUCH harder to corner a market in Eve. I applaud any organization that has the capital and the influence to really monopolize a market. How much are Cap Recharger II's going for nowadays?