SMITE ( Hi-Rez Studios )

[Malakili]

It was fun but not so fun that I stopped playing LOL.

This is pretty much the problem with every one of the many attempts at games which compete with DOTA 2 and LoL.  Even when they are good, they aren't good enough. 

[Spiff]

I'm still having fun with this on and off and once again Hi-Rez impresses me with their ability to process valid feedback and communicate with their customers.
It is obvious they don't have the ginormous budgets LoL or Dota2 have, so a lot of features, fixes and QoL things are added slowly in comparison.

Making it 3d person though, however simple an idea, was inspired imo and differentiates it enough from any predecessors to be a valid alternative.
I really hope it works out for them as a long term success.

[Falconeer]

I think simply by changing the perspective and the control scheme Smite differentiates itself well enough from traditional MOBAs to deserve not to be compared to those giants.

But if we have to, as much as I understand why LoL and DOTA are better games all around, I just can't get into those because I don't like point and click/RTS-style systems. On the other hand this is familiar to me and just plays right, giving me the kind of direct control I like in PvP games.

[Mrbloodworth]

Its different in more than just being 3ed person though. And I am personally really enjoying it for that. Stuff like needing to aim instead of click, WASD movement feeling more connected to my toon, the way minions react, that objectives are not static items but entities you have to fight. Also, jungleing is a completely different skill-set in this due to perspective. I find it much more exhilarating than the RTS style of Lol and such. I suppose your like or dislike will really come down to that, RTS style love or TPS style love. I would imagine that the RTS style is more liked by RPG and RTS players, while the TPS style would be more comfortable to those that play more action oriented games.

[Mrbloodworth]

Been playing this a lot. And the controls are much better for me then RTS like controls. However, most of my friends are to entrenched ( AKA: Spent lots of money ) on Lol despite how good a game it may be, to come play. So, its kinda lonely. Things i like:  Farming being less emphasized or critical to who wins ( A form of attrition in Lol I hate ). More emphasis on Battle play determining outcome. Weekly tournaments you have a chance in participating in, unlike Lol foreign dominated single tournament series.

EDIT: Some other items I enjoy. The Arena mode is incredibly well done in terms of atmosphere and fun. That crowd roar! The lack of skill trees and runs also help with the attrition issues in lol. Its just you that determines the outcome. You, your god, your advancement in a match and your navigation of map and play awareness.

[Falconeer]

So glad you brought this up Bloodworth, I was about to do the same. I am kind of in love with this game lately (by the way, let's befriend each other. I am Falconeer), I think it has been insanely improved since last year, it has so many game modes and it just plays so damn well. It is a pleasure, it has depth, it has pace, it has awesome heroes (gods) and it is sensibly growing. This is really awesome, I am telling you.

Also, Arena is PERFECT for when you don't have the head to commit to 30+ minutes of strategy or just want to test out how a god fares in battles without losing the teamwork environment. And it feels extrmely good especially coming from "traditional" MMORPGs, battlegrounds and the likes. Seriously, loving this game. The most enjoyable fantasy PvP I've had in quite a long while. Nebu might really like it.. (might)


EDIT: Here, just to add some flavor, enjoy the latest, just released "trailer".

[Spiff]

This is scratching the same itch TF2 did for me for a long while. It's quick, not too involved when I don't want it to be and just the right amount of quirky.
It's like everything I ever wished MMO pvp could be, but without all the annoyance MMO brings.

[Falconeer]

Same here.

To keep up with the MMO comparison, it also helps that there are a lot of different "classes" (heroes) with very different skills and mechanics, and personally I love that as opposed to traditional MOBAs, in Smite every single hit is a skillshot and there's no lock on and no autoattack or auto-aiming missiles of any kind, not even on basic attacks.

[Mrbloodworth]

Actually there is a slight assist on auto attacks, but nothing major ( like a narrow soft target ). Shots themselves will not do any turns and such.

[Pennilenko]

I bought one of the original "beta is ending" god packs that gave me a good portion of gods to work with.  I haven't picked it up in a while. However, this thread leads me to believe that there have been a great many improvements. I will re-download it and give it another spin.

Edit: Originally I wasn't even in to Smite, or mobas, I just wanted to support Hi-Rez because I really liked what they did with Tribes Ascend.

[Falconeer]

Actually there is a slight assist on auto attacks, but nothing major ( like a narrow soft target ). Shots themselves will not do any turns and such.

Uh? I don't have any assist. Is it something you turn on, or maybe in practice mode? What are you referring to? You even have to lead the target on simple "basic attacks" if you are a ranged class and they are moving around.

[Mrbloodworth]

Your right, I was confusing the Range finder with a soft target.

[Nonentity]

For anyone who hasn't played this since it first hit beta, it's DRAMATICALLY better. They've done a full art pass on pretty much everything in the game and looks/plays a lot better now, better animations, and so on.

I dropped the 40 bucks at some point to get the 'you always have all gods' pack, a great investment.

I don't even play the traditional DotA-style Conquest map, 99.9% of the time I am playing Arena. I think it suits the fast-paced format much more, and I enjoy it a LOT.
 
This game is different enough from DotA 2 and League to be interesting, and I'm happy to hear they are doing well.

[MrHat]

Cool, based on the opinions in here I'll give it a go next week when I have some more time.

[Falconeer]

They are also doing a honest effort to push the eSport aspect of it. I can't say I don't like these things (cause I like them).

[Cadaverine]

How's the community, though?  If I'm wading through a morass of assholes, it doesn't matter how fun the game is.

[koro]

I'm surprised people are still getting invested in this, especially now that it's pretty clear that Hi-Rez is only in the business of doing pump-and-dump games they're not going to support for very long after the full release.

[Mrbloodworth]

Except for like, years.

[Spiff]

Sensing the backlash they were getting for 'abandoning' Tribes one of their founders posted about the how and why of it all a while back (I'll see if I can dig up the link at some point).
He made some pretty good points imo, basically saying they were a fairly new and young company trying out a lot of different things. A game has to show potential for profit to keep investing in it and they lost on GA and could only break even on Tribes.
SMITE is supposedly garnering more interest and more revenue, which doesn't surprise me since it's the best concept they've launched by far.

Anyway, who the fuck knows what they're actually thinking; I find the game fun and they haven't disappointed me yet with the updates, that puts them well ahead of most alternatives.

As far as the community goes: it's a MOBA  PvP game so nerdrage and douchebaggery are inevitable. It feels a lot better than LoL though, but I've been max level with mid-range ELO for a while now and that did seem to help weed out the worst of it (either that or I've turned into the biggest douchebag in each game without noticing  ).

[EDIT] the link to the thing the guy said (yes, it's on reddit, since that's apparently HR's unofficial/official forum now  ): http://www.reddit.com/r/Smite/comments/1m7ybi/what_will_hirez_do_with_smite/

[Falconeer]

New God Reveal: Sun Wukong the Monkey King.


EDIT: Also from today's patch:

Leagues
Smite Leagues allow players to compete against each other in Arena and Conquest during month long seasons.  At the end of each season, players that have qualified with ten played matches are then evaluated and placed in a league tier based on their performance on the leaderboard.  When the season ends, the scoring for the top 10 wins for each player is aggregated, with the top 20% of each tier graduating to the next tier.  The bottom 20% are moved down to the next lowest tier.  The rest of the participants stay in the current tier.  Player rankings are then reset and the new season starts. 

For the first season, everyone will be placed into the Bronze league with the top 20% moving up to the next tier when the season ends.  The bottom 20% in the Bronze league will remain in the Bronze league.  The rest of the leagues will be populated each season as players begin to shift among the tiers.

League tiers:
Bronze
Silver
Gold
Platinum
Diamond

In the near future qualifying participants will earn special rewards for competing in the Leagues.  Each tier will have special rewards associated with them.

Starting today there will be Leagues, updated monthly, for both Conquest mode (traditional MOBA) and Arena. Since everyone begins today in the Bronze League, this is a great time to get into this game.

[HaemishM]

LOL has gotten so frustrating lately, I tried this out again.

It's still fun. I was getting hammered to start with because I was playing a champ I'd never played and didn't know what the fuck I was doing with the items. But it's certainly fun. If the mongoloid quotient continues to be high in LOL, I may be playing this more.

[Nightblade]

I think I'll give this another shot when I get home. League has been getting on my nerves too (Play mostly dominion and... yeah.)

Last time I played, the client was shitty, and the visuals queues were too vague sometimes.

[Falconeer]

"Dramatically improved" is the keyword(s) here.

[Falconeer]

They have been actively tuning the game to fight one of the most dreaded (by casuals) mechanics of MOBAs, the Snowball Effect, and this created two passionate factions. Those who think the game should be more like a sport, where scoring points is important but doesn't grant you ADDITIONAL points, and those who feel it should be more like chess, where getting an advantage rewards you with a significant gap that the opposition has to find ways to minimize and comeback from.

This is a link to the official forum (Reddit, ha!) where even HiRez owner, Erez, makes an appearance.

I see both points and honestly am not sure where I stand. I always hated how many DOTA games seem to end pretty early and how dififcult, in general, tend to be. At the same time, I also feel that it is somewhat wrong if one team can win a PvP game after having been bashed over and over only because they managed to keep up in the gold race through minions and creeps.

Anyway, there is gonna be a hotfix today about this, so clearly nothing is set in stone yet (it is, officially, still beta).

[Dark_MadMax]

After LOL I played DOTA2 and then this,  it made me realize that while SMITE is better than either of them and is more fun, better game at the core all MOBAs are utter sh1t as games. The only reason lol is so popular now  is because so many kids want make it big in esports. If not for esports LOL would be dying  but Riot had the foresight to have a better candy dangling.

So yeah I dont believe in SMITE bright future -it might be better game ,  but LoL has more people invested in it for other reasons . Just like SC2 is not all that good of an rts, but still most popular one

[Spiff]

No.

[MediumHigh]

The ESPort angle keep the 1% playing, LoL is supported largely by casual fucktards who couldn't build a coherent rune page if it saved their lives. LoL hits on all cylinders, milking money from the casuals, the tryhards and the 1% with a business model and gameplay designed to please all three. Riot claim to fame is not being retarded.

[Dark_MadMax]

The ESPort angle keep the 1% playing, LoL is supported largely by casual fucktards who couldn't build a coherent rune page if it saved their lives. LoL hits on all cylinders, milking money from the casuals, the tryhards and the 1% with a business model and gameplay designed to please all three. Riot claim to fame is not being retarded.

I dunno about playing but it surely keeps people more interested in the game. Its not about only the kids who want to become pro its also because of people who watch, just like any major sport.
you would be surprised but if not for esport angle a lot more people would not give a single fck about lol -just like with any other sport

[MediumHigh]

The ESPort angle keep the 1% playing, LoL is supported largely by casual fucktards who couldn't build a coherent rune page if it saved their lives. LoL hits on all cylinders, milking money from the casuals, the tryhards and the 1% with a business model and gameplay designed to please all three. Riot claim to fame is not being retarded.

I dunno about playing but it surely keeps people more interested in the game. Its not about only the kids who want to become pro its also because of people who watch, just like any major sport.
you would be surprised but if not for esport angle a lot more people would not give a single fck about lol -just like with any other sport

No. The chicken doesn't come before the egg. The egg = the sheer popularity of a game with millions of players, comes way before the chicken = the actual esport and the attention it gets. If LoL didn't have a massive playerbase who were terrible at the game, no one would care about the .1% that are actually great.

[Mrbloodworth]

I think you guys have the wrong thread.

[Falconeer]

Bloodworth, sorry for ignoring your party request yesterday. I was alt-tabbed out and only saw it after you went offline. I'd be happy to play together, but i gotta warn you: for some reason seems like I am terrible at this game. Which is hurting my PvP pride quite a lot.

[Malakili]

I think the games (LoL, SC2) that were big at the time that streaming took off had a very big advantage.  Nowadays many games (SMITE included) have tried to kick off their eSports part with streams, but they are no longer novel or interesting.  Back when Twitch was new and you tuned in to see a Starcraft 2 tournament, or even just pro players streaming their ladder games it was a back deal. Now those exist for everything so it is much more difficult to stand out in the crowd.

[Falconeer]

In other not-so-new news but almost relevant to the eSport/LoL conversation up there, two months ago Hi-Rez struck a deal with Tencent Holdings to publish Smite in China. For those of you who don't know what Tencent is, this is a huge deal. Tencent, according to Wikipedia, is "third-largest Internet company in the world behind Google and Amazon, as at November 2010, when it was valued at US$38 billion. In September 2013, Tencent's market valuation rose to US$101 billion, just nine years after going public."

But most importantly, Tencent is the "parent company" of League of Legends, having acquired Riot Games in 2011 for allegedly 400M $. So basically, the "owner" of League of Legends is investing in Smite.

Tencent has NOT acquired Smite yet, just the publishing (and promotional) rights for countries outside of North America and Europe.

Closed Beta will start in China next week. Looks like, as usual for the Chinese market, some assets went through a redesign since it is not allowed to portray skulls and skeletons and corpses in videogames in China.

[HaemishM]

Been playing this a bit more as the LOL community is just sapping my will to live. You can friend me as HaemishM.

I am alternately horribad and decent at this game depending on lane opponent and champion. I am mostly having fun with it though. Late-game Artemis can be a face melter.

[HaemishM]

Having played this a bit more, is it just me or is there a significant lack of depth in this game compared to LOL/DOTA2? It seems to have a simpler item system than LOL, and the lack of player-level stategy (runes and masteries) seems to lead me to believe it's very shallow compared to LOL. There's the added element of player aiming skill but no character building for the player. The mastery levels don't do anything as far as I can tell so I'm not sure what they are there for.