f13.net

Patch details (http://forum.neocron.com/showthread.php?t=141165)

A couple years or so ago a new city was built, and basically the entire game mechanic concerning factions was changed (you can do a search on my rants concerning this).  Before there were a bunch of factions with seperate motivations concerning each other all living in one city- the intricate web was split so half were enemies of the other half (I am simplifying things somewhat).  

Now it is as before!  Oh, and there is something about a free month or somesuch for cancelled accounts. (http://forum.neocron.com/showthread.php?t=141163)

edit. changed title

The replies sure aren't acting like it's a giant step backwards.  Weird stuff.

Uhhhh, they just reversed what they had set up 2 years ago; hopefully it will bring an influx of players back to the game (I am still cheering them on!).

When it was first launched they had around 70k players or so.  DOY managed to cut that down to a thousand players or so; there are a variety of reasons as to why (Americans having issues getting an active sub, for one!). 

I guess what I am trying to say is that the current playerbase is hardcore enough to put up with the BS shovelled onto their plates.   :uhrr:   Or something.  I wish I was better at posting!

They fucked me on getting my NC1 account back, so I'm done for good. Though some of the best PVP action I ever had was in this game, so it has a soft spot in my heart. Too bad they were basically incompetent.

Hmmm, may have to give it a whirl again.   It will be cool to watch people duke it out in Pepper Park again.

I may give it a whirl- right now I am grinding my way to "the fun" on Lineage 2.  Level 22 and still hacking away...


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 :uhrr:

I think we just found your problem as to why you aren't good at posting!

I'm still having a hard time wrapping my head around the idea that Neocron actually had 70k subscribers at some point.  My experience with the game was in beta and early launch.  The way I recall launch, they actually had to bring several servers down due to lack of population, and even the the server selection screen showing the population rarely crested 500 players online for a single server.

Server closure was well after launch.  Fuck I hate you.  JUST SHUT UP.


Why do you have to post every 5.3 seconds?

I don't know.  Why do dickheads ask questions they don't want an answer for?

Okay, that was wrong.  To give you the honest answer it's because:

A) I currently have far too much free time and little sense on how to spend it.
B) I'm even easier to provoke with pointless jabs than you are.

However, I'm trying really hard not to make threads about me, so lets end it there.

Regarding Neocron's server closure - I was subscribed to the game near release.  I don't think it's a bad game, really.  However, I wasn't subscribed to it very long and servers were being closed during that time.  I don't know how to explain the gap in server closure you described - perhaps they closed servers twice or more.

Eh, you are forgiven.  You do not have the edit button like us, I will give you that.

There were 5 or 6 servers at first (I forget exactly, I barely noticed the German servers), and it took probably 6 months before any were closed down.  I was heavily invested in the game at that point and pre purchased a few copies. 

Why would you pre-purchase a few copies of a new MMO? Were you multi-boxing or securing copies for friends?

I wanted 2 copies because I wanted to play on the single character server- due to clicking the buy button twice I ended up with 4 copies.  I dispersed the extra 2 copies to friends- was well worth the investment as we had a blast for a few months.

Neocron still has one of the best crafting mechanics out of any game I have ever played, and the PvP was extremely fun and well done. 

How I remember Neocron.

Install.
While installing try to figure out character advancement options, get fucking confused.
Start game.
Follow FAQ/Guide and go to a sewer to kill rats/spiders w/ my starting pistol.
Find out sometimes when I shoot aiming at a rat on the ground I actually fire my gun so the bullet hits the ceiling.
Uninstall.

Heh, yea, I did the same thing by accident with Planetside. Luckily people believed me on eBay when I said the two I was selling were unopened (which they were).

I never got to the point of jerking around with Neocron's crafting system. How did it work?

There are 3 primary crating skills- recycling, researching, and crafting.  Everything within the game can be created- you start with minerals, make item parts, then construct the final item.  You could also skip steps in the crafting process by buying parts dropped of mobs or from various stores.  Player created items are always better then store bought.

The skill system allows crafters to gain ability without the need for combat (I knew quiet a few people who never stepped foot out of the safe zones!)  Basically a researcher makes blue prints and sells them to the people who craft; recyclers broke items down do base components, etc.  A new player could do all 3 and keep himself going in new equipment while out hunting; at higher levels you need to specialize more into 1 of the fields so as to maintain an edge.  Also, at the high end of the game are special parts that can only be gained through combat; this creates a synergy between the people who smash and the crafters.

There are a couple other secondary craft type skills (my first character specialized in Bartering); repairs skill was in high demand as items would eventually wear out if not repaired properly. 

For example:
My spy needed a new pew pew gun, so I bought 5 blue prints off a researcher.  I use my barter skill to buy the parts from a vendor, then find a crafter to make me the final product.  Viola, 5 new guns to pick from!

Yea, that does sound cool. I'm a big fan of games that allow crafters to just be crafters alongside combatants just being combatants. I didn't realize Neocron offered that.

I've always heard of this game but I've never looked at it.  Is it an FPS type MMO?

Sorta kinda.  Your aiming is directly influenced by skills, position, and movement.  Pistols are the easiest to compensate for with cannon type guns being the hardest. 

Question:  I have large genitalia.  As such, will the game instantly recognize this upon character creation so that I can start out being 5 levels above anyone else and equipped with all the best gear?

*Sorry, this started looking like a FAQ section and I always thought that would be a funny entry in any game's FAQ.  Plus, I'm just in one of those moods...*

The implant system was great as well.

I loved how you could drug yourself to use higher end spells or weapons, but the side effects keep getting worse and worse. It was kind of a juggling act for how many drugs you could take and still be able to function :)

It was a get to the endgame quick and then the fun starts kind of game. The PvE was pretty horrid but i didnt care.

Reason i never played this game, even if i wanted to. The Subscription site and options.

I like the PvP system.  It's a flag, but when your PvP is enabled you are able to use tougher equipment earlier. 

Although PvP is somewhat overly stat-based because players with a moderate level lead over you will take a whopping 1 point of damage from each of your attacks.

(This is assuming none of this has changed since I was last playing it at launch.)

I've currently got more MMO goodness than I can handle because I just installed DDO's 10-day free trial, playing for the first time since beta, and it is FUCKING BRILLIANT.  But as soon as that's done, I'd actually like to get in on this.

Are they still blocking Americans from subscribing or something like that?  Can I simply pop in my credit card and play?

There are a few new options to sub now; issue was with the people who they chose to handle the money- many American banks would not allow funds to go to said company due to fraud in the past.  Heh, I remember my bank calling me in a panic after I tried to resub after they launched the new expansion.

Somebody rez a DDO thread - I'm curious about this.

Yah, tell us whats up with DDO.  I will change the thread title as needed; shit only like 2 people care about Neocron anyhow.

If all three of you died in a trash fire while trying to restart a DDO thread that would do wonders for my day.

So do not read this thread.  Shit, who the fuck pissed in your Cheerios this week?  You sound like a whiny bitch.

If you need a hug let us know, I am sure Signe can dig up one of those fancy yellow smiley hugs or something. 

Perhaps you could do a comparison between DDO and SWG?

I will fucking kill you.

Momentarily veering back on topic 

Did they manage to roll back all the shitty design decisions, bugs and general crap that makes the game so unenjoyable?  :grin:

Yes and no.  Same bugs, but reverse design decision concerning factions.

Bummer.

Should have been the perfect storm of awesome.  Strippers, pew pew, and cyberpunk.  How did it all go so wrong?

Bad leadership.  Paging Hartsman!!!

Alright, this is officially on my 'will play when I get the chance' list.

And then it will be on your "wtfbbqomg why did I ever play this" list. Seriously. About the only thing they get right is the ambiance. The rest of the game is either cliched or crap. Mobs pop up right in front of you after you've killed them 90 times. PvP is a gankfest of epic proportions. The hacking? It's a puzzle mini-game that's totally crap-tastic.

Dont even get me started on all the shady dev shit with helping favorite guilds and the database problems where characters were wiped.

Jeez man, sounds like you have never played a PVP game before. Neocron's PVP being a 'gankfest' ? Well of course it is, you are fighting over outposts versus other gangs. I have plenty of one on one or two on two fights, I think its pretty unfair to call it a gankfest of epic proportions. Overall, your sentiment about the game is pretty much on...but the knocking of the game's PVP is off target, IMO. It was the main thing it had going for it.

I havent played in a long time though, I may just be defending old memories of a game.

Yeah I'm not sure wtf your talking about w/ the pvp, the hacking was sort of cool also, at least as cool as AO's cyberspace was.  The problem was the very mechanics of the game sucked.  Why go through all this trouble making a setting that is so far from the diku norm and then trying to shove it back into a diku gameplay experience?  Morons.  See Neocron & AA for why taking original concepts that demand new core gameplay and forcing them into a mold derivative shit is a bad idea.

The second my gun couldn't fire where I was aiming the crosshair, by that I mean the bullet wasn't even on a similar trajectory to where I had been pointing.  Because apparently I wasn't skilled enough to aim better then I can in real life with two trips to a firing range under my belt...

Fuck off.
Just fuck off and die.
Idiots.
Stupid german idiots.
I wanted to play Neocron, they wouldn't let me.
Also the severe information overload and lack of any central place to find the answers to basic newbie questions was bad, mkay.

Perfect review.  I disagree somewhat with the aiming portion; it did not take much to get a weapon that you could handle.  Lack of information really hurt the game more then anything else.  They should have boosted noob character somewhat and had a central location for information.

Jeez man, sounds like you know nothing about me. I'm a 100% PvP aficionado. UO, EQ, Shadowbane, RF Online, Silk Road ... you name the MMO..I've griefed someone on it. But I still have problems with Neocron's PvP system. There's a difference between a slim chance of being able to compete and no chance based on GM fuckwittery and dumb game mechanics.


If you like dumb ass connect the pipes mini-games...then sure. It's loads of Disney fun. But hacking could be so much better. Check out Hacker Evolution (http://www.exosyphenstudios.com/page_hacker-evolution.html) or google DarkSign, Uplink, or StreetHacker. You want to impress me? Make hacking an integrated part of the game, not connect the fucking dots.

EDIT: Link fixed

Your link sends me to Wikipedia.  :uhrr: Too many http://'s

Fixed.

I guess the main reason why I hated Neocron pvp (ignoring all the other problems) was that there are no binding rules and also the storyline doesn't properly allow you playing a killer. There were virtually no coherent storyline punishments for just randomly ganking someone. When somebody's answer to why they are doing something in an MMORPG is 'because I can' then you know that you've cocked it up. I expect more.

This is 100% inaccurate.   There is a system in place called Soullight- when you kill people it drops (FAST) and will lock you out of certain "safe" areas.  Also the faction system is also in place; kill someone from Tangent and they start hating you- going so far as NPCS taking potshots at you and all. 

If anything Neocron has the best PvP mechanic I have ever seen, it was one reason I loved it.

Well that shit wasnt in when I played the damn game. And I played it up until just after Neocron2. If it had, I wouldn't be bitching.
Come to think of it, yeah I would. With all the server / db fuckups that screwed people's characters and the retarded mob spawning the game is still crap except for the ambiance.

EDIT: Soullight has always been in the game, but not in the form you describe. It was a panicky addition after all the safezones were deleted.

I played NC for longer than most I guess, and I never experienced anything I thought was fishy from the GM side. Thats not saying that it didn't happen, but we could always compete with or beat STORM ... the German Clan

And ... um yeah Soullight had been in for a long time and I'm pretty sure you didnt want to be too far negative. One of the biggest PVP bummers was how bad vehicles were. I remember getting a tank and expecting it to at least be worthwhile, but it was horrible.

I tell ya, I had as many random PVP scraps in this game per hour as I did even UO. You could find fights easily when you wanted, and avoid them as well. I always thought the faction system they had was kinda weird but allowed for a lot of fighting, and eventually caused some hate between sides. It drew battlelines very well. Outpost fights were great. Not much else for me to say.

Evidently people with accounts created already get to play for free.  There was a big meltdown behind the scenes and the developers of Neocron dumped the people handling billing and whatnot.  I figure I would check out the changes and see whats going on!

My account automagically works!  Not sure if you can create new accounts, but I bet the admins would if you asked.

I am a sick, sick man.

Since i was unable to recover my old account, I wont be firing this bad boy back up :) I just can't go through painfully bad PVE anymore to get to the good stuff, especially an old ass game.

I am actually have a good time.  Made some new friends, started as a spy.  We will see how things progress - the unfuck patch has really made a difference this go around.

Bargle. I figured I'd get around to trying this out, but I think the middle of a billing crisis is a bad time to start.

I can't get an account registered.

I would sign up in the forums and PM a GM.  They have a quick response and may be able to hook you up on the fly.

http://forum.neocron.com/showthread.php?t=142990  == New accounts

Yeah. My problem was Click2Pay said I wasn't in a country that qualified for the transaction. (I live in Washington state, USA...)

Thanks for looking that up.

Know why its bad to necro threads?  Because I see a post from geldonyetich2, think he's back, and die a little inside.  DON'T DO THAT. 

Now that KK is officially bankrupt the development cycle has continued (I know- ass backwards).

You can now make accounts (download client, click on account management) and server population has been better then I have seen since 2004.  The test server is live and they are going through bug fixes at the moment.

Still rough to get the hang of for new players- but here ya go.  Oh, and free to play.

Is this subsidized by some European government or something? I am... a little unclear on the cause and effect behind the developments in your post.

I'[ve always had a soft spot for this game (despite the devs best attempts to screw it up) and I was worried it would go under when I heard about Black Prophecy but I have no idea how they have managed (or will manage) to keep it running without a sub (they toyed with in game advertising like Anarchy Online did but I dont think anything came of it)

From what I have pieced together- and a lot is scuttlebutt- the IP has reverted back to the original creators/developers.  New company formed under http://nukklear.com/.

The product has changed hands many times.  Once Black Prophet went full on they had a complete stoppage of any development to the game.

Kirk and Martin have been very fanatic about it over the years.  Makes me wonder how much interferance they have had over their beloved game.

Where can you actually get it? The web site said there is a demo of the browser version, but didn't give a link!

Hmm that thing still going on? Wow lol. I must give credit to reakktor   -game they made were innovative in many ways even if lacking for long term commitment.

The demo is/was offline and 100MB, I have a copy dated 2004 (probably hasn't been updated since then tbh) if you really want a copy and can come up with an easy way for me to get it to you I'm happy to oblige.

I'm not sure now indicative it is of the current game though (the graphics should be the same) some aspects of gameplay (Psi Monks for example) are notable different now than they were at launch

They hid multiple mirror sites under the "Down Load Now" Link- here is one such from Gamers Hell (http://www.gamershell.com/news_37017.html)

What fucking sucks is they banned some hackers/dupers and are now suffering massive DOS attacks.  The servers have been mostly offline during primetime- they are struggling to get everything backup.  Since this is a work of passion with zero corporate support its taking them awhile to work through these issues.

I am, for some reason, very very very itchy to play.  Goal this time around is crank out my crafters then focus on other stuff.

Be warned: you do not get walked through things.  Neocron city is just a tiny part of the world!

Did they ever improve the whole hacking part of the game?  I was in the original Neocron beta with high hopes of being the 1337 hax0r, only to find that hacking was just a little minigame to open some boxes.  You can't have good cyberpunk without good hacking.  Anarchy Online similarly falls flat on that front.

Hacknet got added, its basically a variation on fast(er) travel, You hack a GenRep and immiediately go to your faction HQ Hacknet zone (regardless of where the GR was) and can then travel through HackNet to any other GR (which you dont need to have tagged in the real world). But youll need to be a high level hacker or the mobs will make short work of you.

There was also something in there about getting faction blueprints but I never bothered to look that up as I dont play a Spy so I'll never get a high enough hack skill

Is the PvE less of a slog now? That seems like the biggest thing they'd have to take on if they're going to get people back.

I'm inclined to say its worse but I can only qualify that by saying that they did make some changes (they moved the Aggy Captain cellar in NC for example) and I seem to recall they made it harder (which means you end up having to run more shitty 'kill roach/radiated roach/sewer rat' missions before you can face the Aggy captains

They also made Outzone 2 (IIRC) almost impossible to get through for lowbies by having it swarming with mutants (no idea if this was a bug or intentional)

Gameplay is similar to what you remember.  What is exciting is the development going on.  New servers should be up this weekend and they have an announcement coming out within the next 24 hours.

The team has already isolated the cause of numerous bugs (focus of patch 175 is to fix broken stuff) and are really being productive.

Problem is- damned game still down during peak hours because of the DDOS attacks.   :ye_gods:

Thanks Cheddar and 5150. I'll just wait until it's open. Man, I wonder if I have my own old disks somewhere.

Hopefully by tomorrow.  Due to the attack they went ahead and jump started the new server project (complete upgrade of all servers).  Latest news is they are tweaking things and almost ready to roll out the game again and add a new world (Titan).

Example of their passion:  Zoltan, the lead manager and dude who admins the servers, has had around 4 hours sleep since early yesterday.

Edit.  I think I am going to start on the new server. 

Service back up and there is a new world available.

I am going to try and start new on Titan (the brand new world).  Going to crank out some crafters (starting with researching).  Will post my names as things unravel.   :grin:

Scratch that, gonna stick with Terra for now.  Titan still not available.

Let's say I want to be a sneaky, stealthy, possibly sniper-y dude and participate in PvP. What's the path to endgame look like for me?

Spy Infiltrator.  You will want to use assault rifles until later levels (low level sniper rifles are slooooow).

http://wiki.techhaven.org/JonesGuide:Infiltrator

The reward for infiltrator quest is a snazzy stealth tool that will last until end game (otherwise you won't get stealth until much, much later).

Path to endgame is harder to pinpoint as its sandboxy.  You could solo missions, explore and find area's full of baddies, group and hit up popular spots, or team up with a tank and drive around blowing shit up (double win if you get some hacking).

Fucking sweet, stumbled onto a test run of new servers.  In game now (though its down for most people).

So how well has this game aged? I vaguely remember playing the beta and liking some of the concepts but being disappointed in the execution. I seem to remember it having a very cyber-punk feel to it. I think I also had my own apartment. I also remember that what drove me away was having to kill rats over and over and over in hopes of getting strong enough to do, well, anything else. Is that still the case? And how jarring are the graphics compared to a modern game?

Question, this is a client download but the blurb on their site says it is now a browser based game...so what gives?

There is a web based version in the works- not live yet.

Always liked this game, and mighta checked it out had I been able to recover my old account. I'm not rat hunting in the sewers and killing aggie capts for days again.

The small group PVP was maybe my favorite of any MMO to date, outpost battles were great.