I've heard VERY nice things about how AC2 has improved since release.
I played in the beta but was heavily into AC1 at the time, and just never quite got grabbed the same way by AC2. But I do know it has it's own very solid fanbase.
I did not play the game when it was first released, except I have heard there were tremendous performance issues back then. I do know many 'oldtimers' say that area has massively improved since release. I have only been playing since June 2004. I play with an older Radeon 8500LE and with 56k dialup.
I very much like Horizons, and expect to be playing it for several years to come. Maybe I was very lucky having come into Horizons six months after release. I generally stay away from games right after their release, and especially ones with a lot of this-is-gonna-rock! hype attached to them.
Personally I would never go near a game if someone told me "Dude! This is going to be the best game EVER! All my old Everquest friends are going to be playing it!"
That alone would send me running in the opposite direction...
I have a Radeon card (an older 128DDR 8500/9100) and have never heard of any particular issue with Radeons. I have no idea whether this means it was fixed sometime after June 2004, but certainly I've never seen any indication of an ATI issue since June 2004. Was it involving CTDs or general performace or..? I rarely ever have a CTD in the game.
I did see one thread since starting in June, discussing ATI/nVidia cards but it seemed to have very mixed outcome, with some people running two computers with one of each brand saying their nVidia system played better, and others saying their ATI system actually ran better.
I am also not aware of any GUI issues. What was the specific issue there? They have made a lot of changes in the past few months.
The deluge of negative articles about this game has always astonished me. I've been a very heavy MMORPG player since 1999 or so, and have played EQ, AC, AC2, DAoC, FFXI, and some others I cannot recall now.
Horizons is hands down my favorite of all of those. I foresee myself playing this game for years to come.
The game has a much more mature player base than any other I have seen, a complete lack of d00ds/griefers (the lack of a PvP element probably is a part of this). The game certainly is less attractive to power-levelers who do become bored with it rapidly. The game is also the most "solo friendly" of anything I've played since AC1. I have always hated forced-grouping games, and Horizons gives you both the ability to participate in a community, as well as a chance to be self-reliant if you choose.
For me the attraction is the very immersive world. The world itself is a beautiful one, the player models from Dragon to Dryad are great, the crafting system is first-class, and the multi-schooling system is much more enjoyable and intriguing for me than rigid class systems like EQ/DAoC had. I love the *process* of playing Horizons, and just interacting with the world. If you are a goal-oriented person in a race to level 100, then yes this game may not be for you.
There ARE issues with the game at this time, and they ARE making some major improvements, which I expect to really transform the game over the next 6-12 months. For a game like Horizons, I am willing to give this game the time it needs to fully mature. I currently play mainly on the Blight test server and there are a LOT of changes coming in the very near future.
Visit Tazoon.com to see a greater amount of positive feedback from CURRENT players who really love this game, and learn WHY they like it. It has a loyal diehard fanbase that I have not experienced since my three years with AC1.
But most of all, try the 7-day free trial and make up your own mind about this game.
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I've heard VERY nice things about how AC2 has improved since release. I played in the beta but was heavily into AC1 at the time, and just never quite got grabbed the same way by AC2. But I do know it has it's own very solid fanbase.
I very much like Horizons, and expect to be playing it for several years to come. Maybe I was very lucky having come into Horizons six months after release. I generally stay away from games right after their release, and especially ones with a lot of this-is-gonna-rock! hype attached to them.
Personally I would never go near a game if someone told me "Dude! This is going to be the best game EVER! All my old Everquest friends are going to be playing it!"
That alone would send me running in the opposite direction ...
I did see one thread since starting in June, discussing ATI/nVidia cards but it seemed to have very mixed outcome, with some people running two computers with one of each brand saying their nVidia system played better, and others saying their ATI system actually ran better.
I am also not aware of any GUI issues. What was the specific issue there? They have made a lot of changes in the past few months.
Horizons is hands down my favorite of all of those. I foresee myself playing this game for years to come.
The game has a much more mature player base than any other I have seen, a complete lack of d00ds/griefers (the lack of a PvP element probably is a part of this). The game certainly is less attractive to power-levelers who do become bored with it rapidly. The game is also the most "solo friendly" of anything I've played since AC1. I have always hated forced-grouping games, and Horizons gives you both the ability to participate in a community, as well as a chance to be self-reliant if you choose.
For me the attraction is the very immersive world. The world itself is a beautiful one, the player models from Dragon to Dryad are great, the crafting system is first-class, and the multi-schooling system is much more enjoyable and intriguing for me than rigid class systems like EQ/DAoC had. I love the *process* of playing Horizons, and just interacting with the world. If you are a goal-oriented person in a race to level 100, then yes this game may not be for you.
There ARE issues with the game at this time, and they ARE making some major improvements, which I expect to really transform the game over the next 6-12 months. For a game like Horizons, I am willing to give this game the time it needs to fully mature. I currently play mainly on the Blight test server and there are a LOT of changes coming in the very near future.
Visit Tazoon.com to see a greater amount of positive feedback from CURRENT players who really love this game, and learn WHY they like it. It has a loyal diehard fanbase that I have not experienced since my three years with AC1.
But most of all, try the 7-day free trial and make up your own mind about this game.