Syfy + Trion = Defiance MMO Action Shooter (PC 360 PS3)

[Riggswolfe]

Steam that bitch.

Buying it through Trion's site guarantees you get the preorder bonuses that have yet to unlock on Steam. Also, I expect a greater percentage of the profits go directly to Trion.

Still not working this morning, though. ¬_¬

Regardless of where you buy it you get an outfit, a title, a Dodge vehicle and a special weapon. Those other bonuses on Steam are above and beyond that actually.

[Surlyboi]

Preordered the deluxe edition. I like that wanna-be Imperial Guard outfit.

[Stormwaltz]

Regardless of where you buy it you get an outfit, a title, a Dodge vehicle and a special weapon. Those other bonuses on Steam are above and beyond that actually.

You are correct. Thanks - it got turned around in my head.

[Ghambit]

Steam Reward 1 has been unlocked and it's halfway to reward 2.  Seems to be gaining some momentum now.
Fuckit I'm jumping on this bandwagon.   

[satael]

I gave in and pre-ordered 
While I think the game is not that great it's launching at the perfect time considering that the wvw-patch in GW2 was a big disappointment for me so I'm done with that game atleast for now and Defiance happens to be science fictiony enough to interest me (mostly due to the lack of a better choice of a game to play)

as a reminder for anyone actually choosing to play: arkfall codes

[Numtini]

I gave in as well.

as a reminder for anyone actually choosing to play: arkfall codes

"REDEEM ARKFALL CODES AS PART OF YOUR ARK HUNTER TRAINING"

Apparently Ark Hunters do a lot of cutting and pasting.

[satael]

I gave in as well.

as a reminder for anyone actually choosing to play: arkfall codes

"REDEEM ARKFALL CODES AS PART OF YOUR ARK HUNTER TRAINING"

Apparently Ark Hunters do a lot of cutting and pasting.

Just 120 times. After that they are trained. 

[Falconeer]

I was thinking about something the other day. The timeline in this game (and the show) seems really important. I was thinking on waiting before picking it up, I am playing various things now and I would certainly get a more fleshed out experience in a few months, more content and less bugs.

But it bugs me that given the unique nature of this product I would be missing on stuff should I not play it at the right time, meaning when the series is being aired. Catching up later on such a story-driven product makes me feel like things would be inevitably less cool. Or maybe I am just too anal about spoilers and timelines. What do you think?

[satael]

I was thinking about something the other day. The timeline in this game (and the show) seems really important. I was thinking on waiting before picking it up, I am playing various things now and I would certainly get a more fleshed out experience in a few months, more content and less bugs.

But it bugs me that given the unique nature of this product I would be missing on stuff should I not play it at the right time, meaning when the series is being aired. Catching up later on such a story-driven product makes me feel like things would be inevitably less cool. Or maybe I am just too anal about spoilers and timelines. What do you think?

Since they are already selling dlcs and a season pass (5 dlcs for the price of 4) I doubt they'll add that much free content and (imho) there aren't that many big bugs needing immediate attention (and since it's multi-platform any fixes might take a while if they aren't platform-specific). As far as the storyline goes I have no idea whether waiting a few months or playing at launch would be a better experience. I just know that alot of MMOs have their newbie-zones full of players at launch and then those areas become empty by the third month if the game isn't a big hit (or if there isn't a good reason to level alts immediately after getting your first character to max level)

[luckton]

I'm too lazy to search at the moment.  Are console people going to be able to play with PC people, or are they getting segregated yet again?

[Mrbloodworth]

AFAIK, its mixed.

[Draegan]

It used to be mixed, but it isn't any longer.  I think.

[Mrbloodworth]

The Trion Page says:

Defiance™ is the first multi-platform massive online shooter video game that is also a ground-breaking entertainment experience, interconnecting with a global television program on Syfy. The game combines the intense action of a third-person shooter, with the persistence and scale of a massive online game, while its TV counterpart exudes the scope, story, and drama of a classic sci-fi epic.

Being developed for the PC, Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, and PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, Defiance unites multiple game genres across the most popular platforms

[Draegan]

http://n4g.com/news/1140704/microsoft-and-sony-rivalry-blocking-defiance-cross-platform-multiplayer

Dealspwn.com reports: "Having spent several hours getting to grips with Defiance, it's clear that Trion's ambitious cooperative MMO shooter currently allows for smooth cross-platform play between PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 versions. However, Microsoft and Sony aren't willing to set aside their bitter rivalry for long enough to make it work at launch - if ever.

"There will not be cross-platform play," Trion Worlds Senior Producer Robert Hill told us during a lengthy interview scheduled for publication later today. "We do it right now."

[Goreschach]

I don't want console players in my pc games, thanks.

[Ghambit]

I was thinking about something the other day. The timeline in this game (and the show) seems really important. I was thinking on waiting before picking it up, I am playing various things now and I would certainly get a more fleshed out experience in a few months, more content and less bugs.

But it bugs me that given the unique nature of this product I would be missing on stuff should I not play it at the right time, meaning when the series is being aired. Catching up later on such a story-driven product makes me feel like things would be inevitably less cool. Or maybe I am just too anal about spoilers and timelines. What do you think?

I had similar thoughts last night when thinking about waiting myself.  I mean already we're getting spoilered arkfall codes and the show hasnt even started (kind of weird they're all found when I figured they'd easteregg em into the show; I anticipate them adding more rewards then).  Also, the show's main chars will have already moved out of Mt. Tam and into Defiance by release week 2.   Soooo, does that mean they'll disappear from the Mt. Tam side mission?  I do believe they should but who knows.

Part of the sudden influx of orders has to be due to this same exact thinking process; which one has to give kudos to Trion for taking advantage of regardless of how good the product ends up being.  For the consoleer it's a perfect medium, but I cant be arsed to deal with those folk.

[Phred]

I was thinking about something the other day. The timeline in this game (and the show) seems really important. I was thinking on waiting before picking it up, I am playing various things now and I would certainly get a more fleshed out experience in a few months, more content and less bugs.

But it bugs me that given the unique nature of this product I would be missing on stuff should I not play it at the right time, meaning when the series is being aired. Catching up later on such a story-driven product makes me feel like things would be inevitably less cool. Or maybe I am just too anal about spoilers and timelines. What do you think?

Doesnt the game take place in a totally different area than the show? Kind of hard to have it stay relevant for long unless they put radios on every table like in Fallout or something. Your concern about waiting echos mine though, just not the reason. I just figure it will be like every other mmo this past decade and have a peak population lasting at best a month then everyone gets bored and wanders away to the new shiny.

[Falconeer]

About player numbers, how do servers work? I never got to choose a server in alpha and beta, so could it be that they have the ONE-BIG server thing going on (maybe two, EU and NA), with infinite instances that can be reduced when population shrink to keep it consistent and prevent server mergers?

[Modern Angel]

So I didn't give this a second glance until yesterday. It looks pretty cool, but I'm having a tough time getting a shot of condensed information.

What's the bullet list version of why this game is rad?

[Falconeer]

I am not buying the game, so it's not that I like it _that_ much, but here's why I mostly appreciate it.

+ Combat is fun.
+ I like the world and setting. Cutscenes are nice, and if you count the TV show, you kind of have the best cutscenes ever.
+ Lore is (again, partly thanks to the show. But partly thanks to being on Earth) huge and detailed.
+ Driving around, and car/bike races are cool.
+ Challenges (brief solo instances where you have a score set by other players to beat) are fun.
+ There's a certain feel of dynamic world thanks to some random spawns and encounters. Not sure how long that will last, but it breaks the monotony of the quest grind.

That's all I could gather from my time in alpha and beta.

A brief bullet point of what I don't like:

- UI is a disgrace. Can't believe there's still people so inept at making UIs. What are you saying? Consoles? Not my problem, UI is a disgrace.
- Some weapons behave weirdly, or feel extremely underpowered in an uncool way.
- Character customization is definitely lacking at creation (non existent), and while I don't know how it will evolve look-wise, I can already say I don't like the way perks/talents/abilities work. Call it bland, it just doesn't look interesting.

Can't think of much else so far. I'd get it if it weren't for lots of other cool games I am playing, but this one doesn't feel engaging enough to make me want to drop anything else at the moment.

[Ghambit]

About player numbers, how do servers work? I never got to choose a server in alpha and beta, so could it be that they have the ONE-BIG server thing going on (maybe two, EU and NA), with infinite instances that can be reduced when population shrink to keep it consistent and prevent server mergers?

It's technically one big server with shards, only you have no choice in shard unless you have a friend in one (you can logoff and come back hoping to be in a different one but unless the other one was pretty full it'll just plop you right back where you were - as it should).  So if the population shrinks, so do the shards.  They learned their lesson with Rift; you cant have this dynamic-spawn game with a constantly shifting player population and expect it to work.

My bullet-point:
+Game just has a Fun feel.  That's all I need to say really.  It lacks the depth and challenge (so far) I typically require, but that's made up for by the IP that comes with it and (somewhat) the achievement system.

edit:
Steam reward #2 was unlocked overnight and we're halfway to #3.  So yah, there's definitely more value to that $60 purchase now.  Maybe I'll take a peak at Storm Legion for a month or so.

[Stormwaltz]

Steam reward #2 was unlocked overnight

I played Rift, but not through Steam. Can I use this copy of Storm Legion, or would I have to buy a second copy of the base game through Steam (which, um, won't happen)?

[Ghambit]

Steam reward #2 was unlocked overnight

I played Rift, but not through Steam. Can I use this copy of Storm Legion, or would I have to buy a second copy of the base game through Steam (which, um, won't happen)?

Any Steam codes you get just get applied (manually if need be) to your Trion account.  To be sure, when u get Storm Legion, copy the CD Key from the right menu, then paste it into your Trion account.

[Numtini]

I was 50/50 on going with Storm Legion or Defiance and when the Steam rewards started to go up, it became a no brainer.

[Surlyboi]

-I'll echo the sentiment that the gameplay is fun. I enjoy the hell out of it. Will that last? Who the fuck knows. But if I get a good month out of it, it's worth the 100 bucks.

-I'll also echo the sentiment about how lacking character customization is. Four archetypes and the choice is limited to either human or Irathien? Really? I thought the Votans were seven races?

[Pennilenko]

I'm sorry, I just can't agree that the empty game play is fun enough to be worth sixty bucks.

[Surlyboi]

Define "empty".

[Riggswolfe]

-I'll echo the sentiment that the gameplay is fun. I enjoy the hell out of it. Will that last? Who the fuck knows. But if I get a good month out of it, it's worth the 100 bucks.

-I'll also echo the sentiment about how lacking character customization is. Four archetypes and the choice is limited to either human or Irathien? Really? I thought the Votans were seven races?

One of the DLCs will add another alien race. I find that kind of odd since the choice of race is purely cosmetic so why not have it in at launch?

Still, the character customization is 'ok'.

You have hair style, hair color, eyes, a few facial tweaks, a few archetypes to start with, scars, and tatoos. Oddly you cannot change your body at all. Everyone is built exactly the same. I'd probably give character customization  a C. It's not the worst I've seen but it's not Cryptic/COH levels of customization either. If I could request two things from them it'd be far more hair colors and the ability to at least choose 3 or so body 'types' like TOR did.

[Ghambit]

They make up for it somewhat with armor/clothing choices, which is where the meat of the customization will be I'm sure... along with DLC and microtrans of course.  It has a very TSW feel in that regard.  In the end chars  in most games dont look very customized no matter how much choice you have at inception (especially if your game sports a lot of armor, helmets, etc.); Trion knows this, so why waste the resources.

Btw, there are now 6 Arkhunter chronicles up (I havent been keeping up with them).  Most have ego codes of course.  They're not half bad.

[Riggswolfe]

They make up for it somewhat with armor/clothing choices, which is where the meat of the customization will be I'm sure... along with DLC and microtrans of course.  It has a very TSW feel in that regard.  In the end chars  in most games dont look very customized no matter how much choice you have at inception (especially if your game sports a lot of armor, helmets, etc.); Trion knows this, so why waste the resources.

Btw, there are now 6 Arkhunter chronicles up (I havent been keeping up with them).  Most have ego codes of course.  They're not half bad.

I'm at 120/120 ego codes but I do still need to watch those ark hunter videos. Well, I don't need to, I just wonder if they're fun to watch.

[Pennilenko]

Well, I guess it doesn't matter what I think about this game, since my wife pre-ordered copies for us and is totally pumped to play this with me. I don't actively try to piss off the wife so it looks like I will have time to learn to love it.

[Ghambit]

Well, I guess it doesn't matter what I think about this game, since my wife pre-ordered copies for us and is totally pumped to play this with me. I don't actively try to piss off the wife so it looks like I will have time to learn to love it.

 
After all that, you still end up playing.  And I'd give my left testicle to get my woman to do anything of the sort yours did.  I'd say, even if the game ended up sucking for you, you'd still win.

[Pennilenko]

I'm totally thankful for my wife. Its just that it was a long alpha which still is under nda i think so 

This is the first MMO that she has been interested in since we had our son, so Im going to do what ever it takes for her to enjoy herself. She played MMOs with me for years before she got pregnant then all of a sudden she had no interest until now.

[Falconeer]

Fuck. This might actually make me cave in.

[Ginaz]

Looks like all the Steam rewards have been unlocked.  Surprising considering it was sitting at only 30% of reward 1 this time last week.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/224600/