Guild Wars Trial Opens Early

[Pug]

I've been playing around in Guild Wars... someone choke me before I become a fanboi. (-:

The alpha opened early. So far so good. I know what I'll be doing for the next four days. =D

[schild]

Fuck me, I'm on it. And since there's no NDA. Expect the worst.

Haemish, Whitesmith, Sonic, Joe, Cevik - you know the drill.

[schild]

After playing for 5 minutes. It's MMO Diablo. I'm a fanboi.

That is all.

[Riggswolfe]

Alright, I'll give it a try.

[schild]

Alright, I've already stopped playing, but there are 5 things that need to be known. Right now.

1. The graphics in this game make every single MMO look like shit.

2. I won't be doing a writeup because I don't want to wear out the game. I don't care about the E3 contest now, after playing for 15 minutes - I *will buy this.*

3. Raph, take note, NCSoft is about to drop a bomb all over SOE's face.

4. WoW doesn't stand a chance going up against it's defectors - but it'll still make assloads of cash because Blizzard fanbois are quite literally, retarded.

5. It's Diablo with better graphics, better loot, crafting, and more than a couple other players.

5a. Oh, there's no monthly fee. CoH should last until it's out.

[Velorath]

So is it too early to nominate "Paradigm Shift" as the f13 guild name?

[schild]

Sounds good to me. Haemish might not go with it though.

[HaemishM]

Don't make me get stabby, motherfucker.

I'll be trying this at lunch and writing some kind of something ASAP.

[ajax34i]

From looking at the pictures on the official web site, my only impression was that the heads of all the models are too big for their bodies.  Especially if you assume that that armor has some padding (i.e. thickness) to it.  Not sure if it's like that in game.

I'm generally not interested in PvP-centric games, so I'm not going to give it a try, but I'm not gonna dis it either.  Is it truly a Diablo 3'rd isometric look, or is it first person?

[Riggswolfe]

I played it briefly. I wasn't impressed with it very much. WoW is much more polished. The graphics seemed subpar to me, which kind of weirds me out considering the screenshots I've seen. I did the beginning mission where I had to kill 5 renegades, then went to the town which had a couple of static NPC trainers standing around. I guess I don't see the appeal yet. The city was terrible looking. The renegades I fought were basically the male mage model from character creation. The area I started in was a sort of boring valley looking area.

I saw one shimmering globular forcefield looking thingy, that was about the best graphics I saw. I got one loot drop, something used for crafting. Combat was....eh. Click, hit special attack button, click.

On the plus side I did like how you could make a primary skillset and a secondary skillset ( I went warrior/elementalist). I guess I don't see what you were so impressed with. Where are the beautiful scenes I saw in the screenshots? Where is the awesome loot?

So far WoW has this one beat hands down in so many ways I am not sure where to start. I had hope for this one considering the pedigree of the designers, but I just don't see much to impress me so far.

Yes, it has better graphics than Diablo, but then again, so does every other single game out there.

I'm a little curious about them not having a monthly fee. I want to know how they're pulling that off and still keeping the servers running and staying in business.

[Morfiend]

Fuck me, I'm on it. And since there's no NDA. Expect the worst.

Haemish, Whitesmith, Sonic, Joe, Cevik - you know the drill.

I feel left out. I dont know the drill. :c

[Pug]

I won't offer a review but I'll give my first impressions after having played four or five hours.

The graphics are great and the game runs smooth despite the fact that I'm using my old P3 700 to play. One caveat, the camera doesn't seem to follow my toon. Maybe there's a way to change this... maybe it's suppose to be difficult. It's hard to tell what the intentions are since the game is still in alpha and I don't have the energy to search for an answer. I've gotten use to it anyway.

The PvE is PvE. It's better than EQ auto-attack or a Diablo click fest. There is some strategy in GW's PvE but there will always be a recognizable pattern. It's only a matter of time before PvE will become mindless in any game, even in a FPS. PvE is there for (partially unimplemented) character progression and learning how to play. PvE is not where the game shines.

Getting around is easy. Open the full screen map, click where you want to go, 30 seconds later you're there.

Finding a group is easy. Go where you want to go, say "anyone got a spot?" to the people waiting to play and somone will invite you. This can only improve after the game is released and players get to know one another.

PvP is fun. Everyone is a no.0b so it's a bit chaotic right now but once you've been playing with the same group of players for a few rounds things start to click. PvP goes from chaotic button mashing to organized assaults that rely heavily on good team work. I was in a few very good battles where I thought that my team was going to win only to find myself being bitch slapped.

The different mission goals are great if you're group mates know what to do. It's somewhat frustrating playing CTF with people who think it's a deathmatch... but it's hard to ask for more so early in the game's life when players are still trying to learn how to move their toons around the map.

I haven't tried crafting. I haven't spent much time in PvE or questing. I haven't ran about trying to find pretty scenery. I'll have to pry myself away from the PvP areas so that I can try to evaluate the rest of the game. I don't even care if the rest sucks. The PvP is fun enough in this pre-beta demo that I'd easily drop $50 to play this game since it has no monthly fees... of course being the cheap ass that I am, I'll wait to preorder until I've had a bit more time to evaluate the game.

So far so good. Don't take my word for it. Go get the demo and try it for yourself... unless you think WoW is a good game, eye candy is the only reason to play, and PvE is "where it's at".

[Riggswolfe]

I just don't see the graphics in this game as good as people say. I checked and had all details maxed and stuff, but they were...ugly. I don't much care for PvP because it is not about skill, it's about time spent and that is frustrating to a person with a life. That and bluntly, PvP brings out the worst in gamers which is another reason for me to avoid it.

I did find WoW more enjoyable. I'm still going to try GW a little more to give it some time, maybe only the main city and that barren valley you start in are horrible looking. We'll see. I will say the game looked nothing like the beautiful screen shots.

[cevik]

I just don't see the graphics in this game as good as people say. I checked and had all details maxed and stuff, but they were...ugly. I don't much care for PvP because it is not about skill, it's about time spent and that is frustrating to a person with a life. That and bluntly, PvP brings out the worst in gamers which is another reason for me to avoid it.

We've already had discussions about this, and while I haven't played Guildwars enough to tell you either way (since everyone seems to be locked in at level 15 there is no way for us to tell during this Alpha test), but the idea behind Guild Wars is supposed to be levels (thus time invested) have nothing to do with PvP ability.  

Gaining levels only gains you more skills, but at the onset of your PvP experience you are forced to pick 8 skills which you'll use throughout that session, i.e. your character gets a deeper skillset to chose from during PvP, but he doesn't gain more power over any other character.  Will this play out as they've said?  I have no idea, but the game is supposed to be designed with the idea that those of us who don't invest large amounts of time still have the same chance to win a PvP battle as those who do.

[Krakrok]

Actually you can change your skills however you want whenever you want. I picked a fighter elementalist and then maxed out the fire magic (20). The fire rain spell does 25 dmg dot or so now.

The targeting is driving me ape shit crazy though, trying to click just right on the pixels far off in order to target a character. I don't know why it seems so hard to target things in GW other than maybe the camera is wacked.

@Riggswolfe: Does you video card have pixel/vertex shaders? There is a blur/glow filter on a lot of models. That is about the only thing I see that might be making people say "wow".

[Sky]

So....does Riggs like WoW?

[Aslan]

I don't know the drill, schlid, but if you hum a few bars, I'll fake it.  

And Riggs either loves WoW, or he loves rubbing in the fact that he's in and no one else is, or some twisted combination of both.

[Riggswolfe]

Yes, I love WoW. It's very immersive. It has its issues, rest state being one of them.

My video game is an ATI 9600 top of the line for that number. As far as I know it has pixel shaders. Other games look beautiful, GW doesn't.

[Signe]

Yes, what is this drill... you pig men, you?  Ta, Eric... I introduce you to all my nice WTO friends and you do stuff with them behind my back.  I want in on this drilling, dammit!!!!

[Riggswolfe]

4. WoW doesn't stand a chance going up against it's defectors - but it'll still make assloads of cash because Blizzard fanbois are quite literally, retarded.

Just out of curiousity, since you seem so hellbent against WoW. Are you in the beta? Do you know anything about the game?

So far WoW even with a monthly subscription is tempting me more than GW. Gameplay in WoW just seems so much more immersive.

[schild]

I'm probably going to play WoW. If only because I play almost every MMOG. But I'll make this short. I fucking hated the players in Star Wars Galaxies. They were by and large the most exploitive bunch of inbred morons I'd ever played a game with. I have no reason to believe that World of Warcraft won't be at least 10x as bad. (AT LEAST. 10X.)

The people who got into beta may be behaving nicely now. But the moment that shit hits live I expect the most horrible players in the world to be drawn to it like a fly on a camels ass.

EDIT: To add to that, I'm sure the game is great. But MMOG's are as much about the other players as they are the game.

[Riggswolfe]

I too fear the battlenet kiddies. However, I have noticed alot grumbling about the monthly fee and am hoping that'll help some. (for the record I hate, hate, hate the concept of game cards, why? Cause it lets the kiddies play. ). I understand your fears from that standpoint. My guess is that they'll start WoW but be frustrated from the different pace of such a game and take off.

[Signe]

EDIT: To add to that, I'm sure the game is great. But MMOG's are as much about the other players as they are the game.

Absolutely.  Technical issues prevented me from playing Shadowbane not long after launch and SWG just became less and less interesting.  BUT... if this had not been the case, the player base would have soon sent me screaming for the cancel button in time, anyway.  The exploitive nature of a large percentage of the people playing both games was, by far, the worst I'd ever seen.  

It might be easy for some to ignore what happens to a game infested with exploitive and abusive people, but it definitely affects it adversely and ruins the atmosphere for me.

I also have some trepidations concerning WoW.  Although I really do want to try this game, the horrors of the boards early on nearly changed my mind.  I've not been back there since.  People trying to con their way into the beta by insisting the email invite was lost, eaten by their spam cruncher, or had forgotten to update their new info, ect.  One person cried they were in a terrible car accident and a roommate stole their invite and another sounded serious when he threatened to commit suicide if he was not let into the beta posthaste.  Hopefully this game won't be attractive to so many scary people.

[Alkiera]

So, I tried the alpha.  It has the same graphical glitches that EQ and Camelot have for me, as it uses directX.  I only have a GF2 GTS, so glowy blurry shader technology doesn't impress me.

I was only able to get as far as the 'wall' area after the 'kill 5 bad guys' initial mission, due to bugginess, namely, no one seemed to be able to form a group, most of the people in the clump were complaining about invites failing due to the game claiming someone who was there, was actually not connected.  And since I apparently couldn't do the next 'mission' solo, I was stuck and quit.

I agree with Krakrok on the targetting...  Targetting was really painful.  I played a Ranger/Mesmer, so I liked to engage targets from a distance, but doing so was difficult with the mouse.

I don't think timered auto-attack is really gonna be able to hold my attention anymore after CoH.  Even with special attacks to toss in randomly.  The group bugs, the targetting issues, and the DirectX graphical glitches all point to me not playing this game.

--
Alkiera

[Shockeye]

Yes, what is this drill... you pig men, you?

It usually involves taking the new MMOG out for a nice dinner and then slipping some roofies in its drink when it goes to "freshen up".

[Alluvian]

I personally think guild wars will be more battle.net like than WoW.  Guild wars has the same pricing plan and is promising similar gameplay.  I think the worst of they whiny bitch battle.net crowd will land smack dab on guild wars.  I have nothing other than my hunch and their bitching about a monthly fee to back me up though.

[Big Gulp]

Didn't like Diablo, don't like this.  Sorry, there are villains that need to taste sweet justice in COH.

[HaemishM]

I personally think guild wars will be more battle.net like than WoW.  Guild wars has the same pricing plan and is promising similar gameplay.  I think the worst of they whiny bitch battle.net crowd will land smack dab on guild wars.  I have nothing other than my hunch and their bitching about a monthly fee to back me up though.

What he said. Since there is PVP and no monthly fee to Guild Wars, I'm betting there will be many, MANY more cockmunchers in GW than in WoW. Not that WoW won't have its share of slack-jawed shouting rascist cum guzzlers, just that I think many of the cheap ones who infest the Blizzard boards will reject the monthly fee for this game

[Shockeye]

...MANY more cockmunchers in GW than in WoW. Not that WoW won't have its share of slack-jawed shouting rascist cum guzzlers...

Are those industry terms?

[HaemishM]

I think the industry just calls them "customers."

[WayAbvPar]

I think the industry just calls them "customers."

I was under the impression that they were called wallets or walking credit cards. Customers implies some sort of give and take, instead of 'take it, you walking fucking wallet!".

[Riggswolfe]

Well let's just say GW is hotly watched on the Blizzard forums. It's free to play. It's Diablo with better graphics. Its gameplay is simplistic. I suspect that yes, it'll pull in the Diablo kiddies. Leaving me free to play WoW.

[Pug]

Well let's just say GW is hotly watched on the Blizzard forums. It's free to play. It's Diablo with better graphics. Its gameplay is simplistic. I suspect that yes, it'll pull in the Diablo kiddies. Leaving me free to play WoW.

Guild Wars combat is anything but simplistic. If you didn't get past the solo area, build a character up by completing coop PvE, buy advanced skills, and then compete in either the random PvP or PvP mission area enough to be competant with your character skills and team strategies then you didn't really play the game. The starter skills are much easier to use than the more advanced skills and some classes require more thought than others. I've put in more than a dozen hours and I still haven't seen half of the content that is in the alpha demo much less what will be in the finished retail game. I'm in no way a master of Guild Wars PvP either.

I looked into WoW just for grins. The graphics are cartoony. It's ugly. Then I read about the rest system. Yes, the want to be your mom and punish you for playing too long. And then get a load of their combat...

Combat Log
Your combat log can be very helpful to inform you how you are doing, what is happening during combat, and to test changes to combat via spells or item changes. Additionally, there are interface mods made by the fan community which can provide you with combat analysis mods.

WoW's combat is so fucking exciting that you can log it and relive it! It's so deep and complex that they expect players to be unable to comprehend what is happening during combat and so give their customers this extraordinary feature that will allow them to read what happened while they were in combat during their rest period!

Hmm... slam the toilet lid on my pud or play WoW... gee, it's so close. Stay far away from this turd. WoW's a floater.

[Riggswolfe]

As I said about Guildwars, I'll give it another chance just in case. I just have to motivate myself. Got 2 fun games on my plate right now and so making myself give one another chance that left me so underwhelmed is hard.

As for your comments about WoW:

Graphics: Graphics are one of those things. Some people like certain styles, some don't. Your reaction reminds me of my reaction to Legend of Zelda Wind Waker when I first saw screenshots. I did NOT like them. Then I kept hearing over and over how good it was and decided to give it a try and ended up liking them after all. WoW graphics don't really look good in screenshots. In the game it kind of reminds me of a really well done anime. One of the more realistic looking ones like Record of Lodoss War maybe. I've come to really like them, it just...fits somehow.

Rest system: This is one of those things I have mixed feelings about. My gut tells me its there to stay. To be honest I don't pay alot of attention to it since rest doesn't affect quest XPs. Even with Rest in people have made it to the maximum current level already. (39). I do like having a way to instantly teleport back to Inns, since I use it as a way to do all my selling, training, crafting at the end of a game session.

I've never used the combat log but I'll say one thing. There is alot of variety in combat. Just as a warrior I have 2 stances ( A 3rd I can get later) about 10 skills for each stance and 3 different choices for weapon styles (sword and shield, 2h, and dual wielding, the last I just recently acquired and I find it quite fun. Something about going in with a sword in each hand really appeals to me.) Combine that with various buffs I can get from party members and various new equipment I pick up all the time and my combat can change fairly drastically from one night to the next.

Anyway, you're welcome to your opinion. Not sure why you're so vehemently against WoW and/or Blizzard. I'm not totally sold on GW but I'm not yet ready to call it a waste of hard drive space either.

[Signe]

I'll come visit you in WoW when it's released, Riggs.  I will, however, hold you responsible if my gaming experience is anything less than perfect.