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Anxst · 08-20-2008, 12:06 PM

So, I've been beta testing on and off for just over a week now. I'll admit, I've been working overtime, so I haven't had a ton of time lately, but here are my impressions.

The IP: I played the tabletop game for years, used to be a White Dwarf subscriber, the whole deal. I feel they really brought the overall feel of the tabletop to their world. Everything is dark and grity, the styles are there, and the humor is there. Great job here.

The graphics: Stylized, but not cartoonish. The beta client graphics are locked at the lowest settings, and the game still looks awful damn good.

The combat: About the same as WoW, and I never had any beefs with WoWs combat system. Just before I started beta testing a number of patches went in that supposedly made the combat feel more responsive, and I guess they worked, as everything feels pretty tight here.

The animations: Hot or miss. Some things look smooth as butter and work so well for what you're doing. Others look like crap. However, some of these have been changed even during the week I've been playing, so I think the last of these are being implemented over this last month, and the bad looking ones are still placeholders.

The RvR: Even at low levels, the scenarios are a hell of a lot of fun. It takes some time to actually kill someone, and working together is a must, even if it's just 'follow me, I'll lead the way' so you all stay together. I'm only rank 10 on my highest character, but everything still seems quite balanced at this point. Healers are hard to kill, but take some time to kill you, same with tanks. DPS is the usual. Witch Hunters are a pain just because they have a high damage snare early on, but I see most classes get that by level 15, so it's just a minor disparity at this point.

The PQs: Fantastic! The only drawbacks are if they're overcrowded, everything dies so fast it's hard to contribute. However, they cycle over super fast then. If they're underpopulated, you get a ton of contribution, but they take quite a while. If you're trying to solo one, you can really only do the first stage. However, even a group of 6 can finish one, and it's easy to call for people to give you a hand with them.

The quests: Well written, no quest bugs encountered yet. The stories they tell are really well done. The UI thing on the map that shows the general area that the quest item/mob/next NPC can be found in is freaking brilliant, and can be turned off for those who want to explore everything themselves.

The UI: It does all the things I ever downloaded/wrote UI Mods for in WoW right out of the box. And it's in LUA for the most part, so I can change or download stuff for it in the future if I so desire.

Overall, I give it a big thumbs up. It could use another month of polish to really come roaring out of the gate, but I'd say it seems at least as well done as WoW was during the final month of their closed beta. I'll be keeping my CE pre order.

And yes, I do agree that Mythic's idea of an 'Open Beta' is crap. They've posted their reasons for it, but I really think they should call it something besides an open beta.

If you have any questions about my play experience, ask away!

08-20-2008, 12:06 PM	#29 (permalink)
Anxst Condensing fact from the vapor of nuance. Location: Madison, WI	So, I've been beta testing on and off for just over a week now. I'll admit, I've been working overtime, so I haven't had a ton of time lately, but here are my impressions. The IP: I played the tabletop game for years, used to be a White Dwarf subscriber, the whole deal. I feel they really brought the overall feel of the tabletop to their world. Everything is dark and grity, the styles are there, and the humor is there. Great job here. The graphics: Stylized, but not cartoonish. The beta client graphics are locked at the lowest settings, and the game still looks awful damn good. The combat: About the same as WoW, and I never had any beefs with WoWs combat system. Just before I started beta testing a number of patches went in that supposedly made the combat feel more responsive, and I guess they worked, as everything feels pretty tight here. The animations: Hot or miss. Some things look smooth as butter and work so well for what you're doing. Others look like crap. However, some of these have been changed even during the week I've been playing, so I think the last of these are being implemented over this last month, and the bad looking ones are still placeholders. The RvR: Even at low levels, the scenarios are a hell of a lot of fun. It takes some time to actually kill someone, and working together is a must, even if it's just 'follow me, I'll lead the way' so you all stay together. I'm only rank 10 on my highest character, but everything still seems quite balanced at this point. Healers are hard to kill, but take some time to kill you, same with tanks. DPS is the usual. Witch Hunters are a pain just because they have a high damage snare early on, but I see most classes get that by level 15, so it's just a minor disparity at this point. The PQs: Fantastic! The only drawbacks are if they're overcrowded, everything dies so fast it's hard to contribute. However, they cycle over super fast then. If they're underpopulated, you get a ton of contribution, but they take quite a while. If you're trying to solo one, you can really only do the first stage. However, even a group of 6 can finish one, and it's easy to call for people to give you a hand with them. The quests: Well written, no quest bugs encountered yet. The stories they tell are really well done. The UI thing on the map that shows the general area that the quest item/mob/next NPC can be found in is freaking brilliant, and can be turned off for those who want to explore everything themselves. The UI: It does all the things I ever downloaded/wrote UI Mods for in WoW right out of the box. And it's in LUA for the most part, so I can change or download stuff for it in the future if I so desire. Overall, I give it a big thumbs up. It could use another month of polish to really come roaring out of the gate, but I'd say it seems at least as well done as WoW was during the final month of their closed beta. I'll be keeping my CE pre order. And yes, I do agree that Mythic's idea of an 'Open Beta' is crap. They've posted their reasons for it, but I really think they should call it something besides an open beta. If you have any questions about my play experience, ask away! __________________ Don't mind me. I'm just releasing the insanity pressure from my headvalves.