Dark Days Are Coming - New Funcom Project

[Riggswolfe]

First experience -- game installer claims 15gb of disk space needed and 13gb in files to download, then proceeds to allocate and fetch 2x as much, before even getting to the actual installation part.

wth, funcom

edit: well it's done and fortunately didn't require any more space on top of that, but still 31 gb vs 13 claimed... ehh.

Interesting. I took a look and I have 36 GB in my secret world folder. Since I have a 2 TB drive I don't usually pay attention but it is interesting. I thought it might be the voice files but Star Wars only takes up 21 gigs. I wonder what is taking up so much room?

[Falconeer]

Funcom always had issues with game sizes. Age of Conan was 28 gigabytes install and didn't have that many voices. It also was, by far, the largest game I've ever installed at the time (2008). It could easily still be the second (Secret World being the new largest one).

[UnSub]

TSW: Bigger than SWOR.

[Falconeer]

The third Beta Weekend for The Secret World starts on June 15th, and for nearly three days you will get to explore and enjoy more of the game than ever before.

If you have the client already installed: start the game and it will patch to the latest version. If you do not have it installed you can download the client from your account page.

Your adventures in this Beta Weekend will take you beyond Kingsmouth and into a massive new region known as The Savage Coast. Here you will soon discover that the very gates of hell have opened up, inviting you into an epic dungeon experience known as 'Hell Raised'. But that's not the only dungeon available; a wrecked supertanker known as 'The Polaris' has been spotted off the coast of Solomon Island.

The game has received significant enhancements since the last Beta Weekend, with improved content, gameplay mechanics and performance. In addition you will get to experience the updated combat system as well as full DirectX 11 graphics! We are very excited to share all this with you.

The Secret World Beta Weekend #3: Hell Raised starts at 9am PST on June 15th and lasts until 11.59pm PST on June 17th.

See you in hell!

These are supposed to be their trash-less dungeons, without too many boring mobs and pretty much only bosses. Looking forward to try it with a decent group.

[Falconeer]

Also, this just in, from a Dev somewhere on the official boards.

I'll tell you one thing about servers that will make you happy.

It doesn't matter which server you choose for your character - if someone is on your friends list you will be able to "meet up" with them.

(...)

Basically dimensions (servers in other games) exist in parallel. You can invite friends from other dimensions to "meet up". Dungeons can be run with cross dimensional teams. PvP minigames run cross dimensions.

BUT - Fusang PvP (Big Huge permanent Open PvP area) and the bonuses it confers are tied to your home dimension.

Sounds like they have the technology to do the Guild Wars 2 thing (visiting friends on their server) just more seamlessly? If this is true (and _IF_ it works) I think it's amazing. Obviously I love it, considering I am the "One server to rule them all" guy. So, no cross-server dungeons or cross-server pvp. Cross-server whole game. YES.

[Rasix]

I hate to go into too much NDA breakage, but I'll just say this: I actually kind of like this game.  It reminds me of SWTOR, but with a really well done Lovecraftian vibe.  It's also reminds me a great deal of VtM: Bloodlines. I'm actually considering a purchase here.  

Sure, the combat is a bit crappy (not slow, however), and most of the game's systems are fairly indecipherable, but it's very intriguing.  I am, however, basing this all on Kingsmouth (think Tortage), and the quality could drop off farther down the line.  I'm just surprised at how good the execution of the setting is.  It's far better than what they managed with AoC, IMO.  This would make a fantastic single player game if the systems were tailored to it.

[Ingmar]

Man, why did someone I share MMO tastes with have to like it?

[Rasix]

Sorry, man.  I just find myself really wanting to play.  I haven't felt this pulled into a beta in a long time.  Most I just play for a bit and ditch.  

That being said, it's got a lot of MMOness to it that I haven't even touched.  But, I tend to ignore this lately in any MMO  and just focus on my personal experience.

edit: Try not to take it as an endorsement.  I fully expect this to be a massive mess at release, and I'm sure most of the grouping/MMO aspects are screwed up pretty hard.

[trias_e]

I agree with everything Rasix says, also including only having knowledge of Kingsmouth.  Essentially I find the writing/setting to be excellent and the MMO bit to be a total crapshoot.  But as far as interesting characters/quest design/atmosphere goes it really impressed me, far more interesting than SWTOR which I found to be pretty bland in these respects.

[calapine]

Next Beta weekend starts June 15th. Keys available here: http://www.tentonhammer.com/tsw/giveaways/closed-beta

[palmer_eldritch]

I have another key. PM me if you want it.

[tmp]

Essentially I find the writing/setting to be excellent and the MMO bit to be a total crapshoot.

The writing is a bit strange to me, in the sense very little of what gets said feels like something someone would actually say on the spot, without preparation -- it's intricate almost across the board, and the VA (flat) delivery tends to highlight that 'out of place' impression. It's not bad, but somewhat off. Though not to the point where it'd become an issue.

[Bokonon]

Essentially I find the writing/setting to be excellent and the MMO bit to be a total crapshoot.

The writing is a bit strange to me, in the sense very little of what gets said feels like something someone would actually say on the spot, without preparation -- it's intricate almost across the board, and the VA (flat) delivery tends to highlight that 'out of place' impression. It's not bad, but somewhat off. Though not to the point where it'd become an issue.

You've summed up Lovecraft's dialogue style to a T... I wonder if it is at least somewhat on purpose.

[Ratadm]

I have 1 or 2 keys (assuming the first one I didn't use still works) for closed beta if anybody wants.

[tmp]

You've summed up Lovecraft's dialogue style to a T... I wonder if it is at least somewhat on purpose.

That's interesting take; given the theme of the game, maybe that's indeed at least to some degree what they're going for.

[trias_e]

Essentially I find the writing/setting to be excellent and the MMO bit to be a total crapshoot.

The writing is a bit strange to me, in the sense very little of what gets said feels like something someone would actually say on the spot, without preparation -- it's intricate almost across the board, and the VA (flat) delivery tends to highlight that 'out of place' impression. It's not bad, but somewhat off. Though not to the point where it'd become an issue.

I think that's exactly what I like about it.  The characters aren't realistic, they are more like props for the story-teller.  I like this quite a bit.  In fact, I think it's a far superior form for MMORPG writing, considering quest-givers have to be one-off characters anyways.

[Falconeer]

They are all so excessive. Give or take, it's a B-movie kind of thing and I like the style for a game like this. I mean, conspiracy theories, "everything is true", people going around wielding huge hammers and banishing demons with chaos magic while drinking milkshakes and wearing Prada shoes. Could it all be any cheesier? But somehow, the over-the-line approach seems to work for me. Funny and creepy where it needs to be, it's no Walking Dead, nor really Lovecraftian (there was really no place for jokes there) but it has its own intoxicating atmosphere.

EDIT: Also, active dodge is finally in. Double tap or fixed button. Nice.

[Rasix]

I've got a key if someone would like it.

[Lantyssa]

Seems pretty awesome... it took about 20 minutes to load the first time, and now all it does is crash upon trying to log in.

[satael]

Maybe gw2 has spoiled me but trying be the first to "tag" zombies at the beginning of Kingsmouth to get em killed for a quest really made me lose interest. There was potential in the lore and story part though.

[Phred]

The first beta weekend was much more stable for me. This week's client crashes constantly. I miss Rift offering to restart for me when it crashed

[Dark_MadMax]

So I played a bit last night.

Pros:
- atmosphere is great
- level of details is amazing.
- Skill customization system is great

Cons:
- its funcom  so its probably only kingsmouth is that good :)
- combat felt  not so good. Skills themselves are good , but overall flow is not.  GW2 does similar system way better
- perforrmance is bad. and it doesnt look that good either
- many quests feel like a chore (though the background and narration is great)

[palmer_eldritch]

60 seconds of footage showing various locations in the weekend beta event. Personally I do think it looks good:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7zybmNQh2U

[Brogarn]

My list which isn't too far removed from that above:

Pro:
It's not Fantasy/Sci Fi.
The initial story elements are intriguing although I too am worried about the Tortage Effect.
The skill system is deep and addictive to those of us who like theory crafting and creating new builds. Seriously, I could wrap myself up in that this entire beta weekend and be happy.
Voice acting so far is decent enough to not be distracting and allow you some immersion.

Cons:
The combat leaves a lot to be desired. A lot.
Some bad graphics like my character was missing his elbow during an entire cut scene. I'll give this the "but it's still beta" caveat.
Quests are same ole same ole with only the occasional intriguing bits.
No way to respec. So to try different builds right now, you have to keep rerolling. /facepalm


By the way, I don't see it mentioned, but I could be blind. There's no NDA for beta weekends, just in case anyone is curious: http://forums.thesecretworld.com/showpost.php?p=822992&postcount=3

[tmp]

- its funcom  so its probably only kingsmouth is that good :)

It's pretty easy to see chunks which were added only recently -- the hubs for Illuminati and Dragon are very bare bones compared to how developed London is, e.g. And yeah, given the release was delayed just couple weeks with this state of things, that doubt is well justified.

[Dark_MadMax]

60 seconds of footage showing various locations in the weekend beta event. Personally I do think it looks good:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7zybmNQh2U

Well its one thing to watch HD footage on youtube and another to actually play it on your PC without the slideshow effect. I have decent enough rig (i760, gtx 465, 8Gb ram) and it barely crawls at sub 20fps at lowish settings. GW2 in contrast ran much smoother  even in 100 ppl battles while looking better at same time

[PalmTrees]

It's really hard to make a char that isn't ugly. Got some plain looking at best, and dammit, hold your head still for more than 1 sec so I can see what the changes look like. Did anyone else have problems using the mouse on the sliders? Wound up having to use the arrow keys. Had similar problem closing windows, the x had a tiny little sweet spot that I had over a bit to find.

After swtor a silent protagonist seems odd. No, not just silent, but mute. You never have any responses, not even a few throwaway text ones like in Skyrim. It really sticks out in some situations. That Dame whatshername in the Templar HQ direly needed some telling off. And during the Illuminati recruitment with the mad doctor, not having any reaction at all was just lame. My sith inquisitor would've gotten Deputy Andy to stfu about his childhood with some get-to-the-point-already lightning.

Combat was ok, you don't turn in place fast enough for my tastes. Zombies could run behind me faster then I could turn and I'd get 'no line of sight' errors. I used pistols and there was some synergy between skills. Looking through all the other weapon skills trying to find further synergies... Kinda fun, but there's just so much. Didn't wind up using a second weapon as I didn't have enough ap during my few hours.

I didn't do any grouping. I kinda tried at one point, Both me and some guy were obviously on the same quest step but he engaged the big mob before I could find the invite to group function. So I started shooting it too, got quest credit. So either it's shared or I ks'ed the guy. Not sure which.

Not really sold or turned off by the game as of yet.

[Falconeer]

No way to respec. So to try different builds right now, you have to keep rerolling. /facepalm

To a degree.
The growth is flat, so oddly enough for the genre the more your character advances and the faster it "levels up" gaining AP and SP that you can save to spend in another branch or "class" completely. Sure, if what you mean here is that in order to see how a weapon/role plays in the first 2 hours of gameplay you have to roll another character, then you are quite right (although that's questionable too), but isn't the same in any game? Getting to the point when respeccing makes any sense usually takes days in a MMO, that not taking into account that you can't change "class" anyway (while you can here). I can't remember any "horizontal growth" game that had respec, but I have short memory. Certainly not UO, nor EVE, what else...?

In TSW there is absolutely no need for alts (which might be a problem in itself) since your main character will ALWAYS be gaining new AP faster than any new character, so gaining new low level abilities will be easier and exponentially faster on an advanced character than on a freshly rerolled one.

If, again, your point is that once you have committed 5 hours into Rifles you can't get those points back and commit them to something completely different like for example Blood Magic, then you are right. But once you understand the system you will probably realize how that is not necessary. Skilling up a new weapon is pretty fast no matter what. If you think about the abilities in the ability wheel as if they were cards from a TCG then you see why you want to have them all at some point, so you can do some serious deck building. What is missing here is not respeccing in my opinion, but trading them with friends. That would have been fun. Ha.

Another thing that has to be considered and it is totally counter intuitive is that the abilities form the outer wheels are in no way more powerful than the abilities in the inner circles. They are just "more abilities", or "other abilities". More cards for your deck building, and they cost more only to simulate the time(money) investment that you put into getting all the cards in a TCG when you keep opening packs and only get copies of those you already have. So basically, all cards are in a way equally powerful/useful, but the more cards you have and the harder it is to get the few that you are missing.

[Brogarn]

Well, I would have had alts anyways just to see the three different starting areas. Beyond that, none of what you said occurred to me. Makes sense now that I'm better understanding the class system.

[palmer_eldritch]

60 seconds of footage showing various locations in the weekend beta event. Personally I do think it looks good:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7zybmNQh2U

Well its one thing to watch HD footage on youtube and another to actually play it on your PC without the slideshow effect. I have decent enough rig (i760, gtx 465, 8Gb ram) and it barely crawls at sub 20fps at lowish settings. GW2 in contrast ran much smoother  even in 100 ppl battles while looking better at same time

Fair enough. I made that little film this morning and it might have been an idea to mention my PC specs - I have a GTX 580 and i7 950 CPU, running Windows 7 64-bit. The game is running Direct X 11 in that footage.

[Phred]

After swtor a silent protagonist seems odd. No, not just silent, but mute. You never have any responses, not even a few throwaway text ones like in Skyrim. It really sticks out in some situations. That Dame whatshername in the Templar HQ direly needed some telling off. And during the Illuminati recruitment with the mad doctor, not having any reaction at all was just lame.

Is this going to be the new F13 meme? After mocking SWToR for spending so much money on voice overs we will now loudly complain about any game that doesn't spend money on a VO?

[satael]

After swtor a silent protagonist seems odd. No, not just silent, but mute. You never have any responses, not even a few throwaway text ones like in Skyrim. It really sticks out in some situations. That Dame whatshername in the Templar HQ direly needed some telling off. And during the Illuminati recruitment with the mad doctor, not having any reaction at all was just lame.

Is this going to be the new F13 meme? After mocking SWToR for spending so much money on voice overs we will now loudly complain about any game that doesn't spend money on a VO?

I think it's that your character has nothing to say (not even text) so it seems like the npcs are lecturing when the dialogue seems so one-sided.

[Tyrnan]

In TSW there is absolutely no need for alts (which might be a problem in itself) since your main character will ALWAYS be gaining new AP faster than any new character, so gaining new low level abilities will be easier and exponentially faster on an advanced character than on a freshly rerolled one.

From a mechanics point of view sure, but Ragnar posted in a thread yesterday that there will be unique content for each faction come launch. How true or extensive this is I have no idea but here's the blurb...

Yes, the factions will have unique ranking missions as well as completely unique chapters of the story missions. None of that is in this Beta, unfortunately, but we don't want to spoil TOO much before launch.

Aside from the choice of secret society, there is another way to affect the course of the story mission, but that will have to remain hush-hush until we open up for reals.

And a few posts later

Joel told you about Exodus? I'll kill that fu--

There is no Exodus.

Also, not talking about Exodus. We've kept a few things very, very secret, but as soon as the game launches -- and I mean SECONDS after the game launches -- you'll know what I mean.

Let's put it this way: even if you've watched the Origin Story of your character a hundred times already...don't skip it at launch. Just don't.

So there might be something for us altaholics to do after all 

[calapine]

Only touched the surface so far, so I wont say much about gamemechanics

Pro:

• Modern Setting
  
• Coming from SWTOR it's pretty pretty.
• Can't relate to the complains it runs bad. My graphic card is 4 years old and it works decently on Ultra setting.
• I like the dialog writting so far.
• I loooove the character creation/dressing up part

Cons:

• Combat does feel somewhat clunky.
• Too many people in short, short miniskirts. Feels like all Goldshire nightelves are rolling a toon here.
  

Meet Theresa "Tressa" Averne:

[Xuri]

A somewhat popular live stream from this beta weekend:
http://www.twitch.tv/brotatoe