Exteel Closed Beta has started and ended; Open Beta now on

[UnSub]

Linkage

Unsurprisingly, the majority of people who have registered are yet to see an invite, or perhaps anything at all from the Exteel devs.

Anyone out there in or interested in this game?

Edit by Trippy: fixed link

[Trippy]

Big robots blowing each out up? What's not to like? I'm hoping, though, that the combat will be a little more 3D than is shown in the E3 trailer.

[Falconeer]

It could be me but the trailer looks totally unappealing to me. Looks like one of those filler-licensed game for the PS2.
I could be wrong, and I am a sucker for big robots blowing each out up, but I smell a fart here.
Hope to be wrong, though...

[Simond]

Isn't Exteel one of NCSoft's "free to play"* quartet?


*with micropayments for teh shiney.

[stray]

I don't think they've settled on a payment option yet.

I that respect, some of my concerns about Huxley apply to this. What's keeping me from playing Armored Core or Gundam over Exteel?

[Simond]

Aha.
I thought I remembered that.

[Flood]

I'm extremely excited about this game because I'm el ghey for mech stuff.  I also made a post about it while ago after some of the info came out during E3.

However, I don't seem to have much luck getting into beta's and the extent of my networking re: gaming is being a poster on this site - so I don't foresee myself getting in anytime soon.

[geldonyetich]

Second shortest sign up process I've ever seen.

Judging by a trailer I've seen from Exteel, it'll play a lot like Shogo and nothing like Chromehounds.  That's not necessarily a bad thing, but I think that the greatest extent of depth the game will offer is in dodging shots and the use of learned combos (called maneuvers).  Quake with avatar customization and combo moves - well, I hear the game has no subscription fee anyway, so no skin off my nose.

[raydeen]

Mmmmm...Shogo. I loved that game.

[Velorath]

I don't think they've settled on a payment option yet.

I that respect, some of my concerns about Huxley apply to this. What's keeping me from playing Armored Core or Gundam over Exteel?

The fact that Armored Core hasn't really changed much since the first game on the PS1 and my dislike for Gundam are what keeps me from playing either of those.

[damijin]

So are we talking something like Rakion or Gunz... but with robots, and (hopefully) playing more like Virtual On, but without the cool arcade dual joysticks.

If so, that's not too bad. As long as the game is entirely free (minus RMT), it's worth a few afternoons of gameplay!

[Simond]

Speaking of Gundams....

[geldonyetich]

Speaking of Gundams....

Did they actually get around to releasing that in Japan? 
I like the live cam of absolutely nothing going on.

[Simond]

Yes, it's live...and most of the in-game text is in English, apparently.
The Goons (naturally) have a wiki for it.

[Tale]

Mmmmm...Shogo. I loved that game.

So did I. I was working for a magazine and I still have the CD-R review copy with "Shogo" scrawled on it :)

Shogo was from Monolith, using the Lithtech engine. I've only just started playing F.E.A.R., but it's like meeting Shogo's grandchild.

[Venkman]

As to Exteel, was fun at E3 but not an MMO. Felt more like robot FPS with a match-making service on the front end. A great vehicle for a microtransaction-supported business model, but that'll largely depend on which territory they decide to launch in first. I didn't see enough here to justify a flat monthly fee though.

[Falconeer]

Mmmmm...Shogo. I loved that game.

So did I. I was working for a magazine and I still have the CD-R review copy with "Shogo" scrawled on it :)

Shogo was from Monolith, using the Lithtech engine. I've only just started playing F.E.A.R., but it's like meeting Shogo's grandchild.

I wanted to love Shogo, but the only Monolith game I actually loved is Blood. That was a heck of a shooter.

[UnSub]

For those who care, apparently beta invites have started to appear in people's inboxes.

If you've signed up, you may just have one.

[CadetUmfer]

The hour I played this was pretty fun, and pretty bug free.  I'm sensing a lack of depth that'll make it pretty short-lived on my HDD, however.

[geldonyetich]

My impressions were better, there was more depth than I anticipated there'd be.

However,

[Yoshimaru]

However,

[d4rkj3di]

My impressions were better, there was more depth than I anticipated there'd be.

However,

There was more shooting geldonyetich than I anticipated there'd be.

Also, 

[5150]

I like mechs so I'll check it out (really should play Steel Battalion more on my XBox) but I cant see my playing long as I prefer a more Mechwarrior style of play to this uber-fast-paced anima-style-graphics stuff

One thing from watching the trailer - for a planet(?) where urking big robot fight all the time the cities and buildings looked far too pristine, they either need to 'wreck' the terrain a bit or have the players weapons do it

[UnSub]

Arise from the dead! ARISE!

And so, full circle - Exteel Closed Beta ends on the 14th (which is already today for me, but y'know, timezones and stuff) with the NDA dropping too and Open Beta starting up.

Commentary to follow post-NDA drop.

[geldonyetich2]

Holy carp with reverse swordfish inbreeding - has it really been a year?

[UnSub]

I sent schild a long, rambling overview of Exteel. He may use it, he may not.

Anyway key points of Exteel:

GIANT ROBOTS.

If you've played a team-orientated online FPS game, you know what to expect from Exteel.

Bunnyhopping (and boosting around in general) is essential to playing.

Built on the Unreal 2 engine.

GIANT ROBOTS.

Soft-lock and server calculated accuracy to determine if your attacks hit for 90% of weapons.

No locational damage.

Free to play. You can buy NC Coins from NCsoft if you want to be able to play more competitively quicker though.

You can customise your mech.

Although Exteel closed beta was from November (?) 06 to now, they shut down the servers in January and only reopened them in September 07. When the second closed beta wave started, it has less content in it than the first closed beta. It still hasn't caught up.

GIANT ROBOTS.

The patch they released today has dramatically upped the prices of some (all?) items. The tutorial no longer gives a large wad of cash for completing it although it does give you some free weapons.

The last patch dramatically altered weapon attributes. If in any doubt, go for the SMGs, which are the short- to mid-range kings.

Info that you see in the Mech Info panel before you buy / equip something may not be accurate.

Pure melee is underpowered.

Heavy mechs have more hitpoints, but this isn't a good trade-off since lighter mechs are faster and can just pepper the heavy mech to death.

GIANT ROBOTS.

Exteel is an okay distraction you can get for free and play until a real game comes out.

Open beta starts on the 15th. Right now there is a server wipe of closed beta accounts and a short period for closed beta testers to log in and get a 'thank you' can of paint.

[UnSub]

I've just found out that Exteel also installs GameGuard on your system. FYI.

[geldonyetich2]

Fortunately, GameGuard is not a StarForce-type app but rather something along the lines of a Korean Punkbuster.

I'm assuming there's no more and, that being the case, I concur with your observations.  It's essentially a FPS deathmatch with customizable fighters and a Gunbound-esque grind on the parts.

[UnSub]

One issue with GameGuard is that it may invalidate Vista if it hasn't been properly patched. Also it's apparently hard to get rid of.

I'm just putting it up there so people know up-front. It certainly isn't advertised by NCsoft.

[Simond]

GIANT ROBOTS.

But does it have drills and/or Burning Courage?

[UnSub]

GIANT ROBOTS.

But does it have drills and/or Burning Courage?

It's got Spears which look like drills.

[damijin]

I was impressed with how good the robots look, both their models and the animations for the special attacks. I really loved charging up on people and bashing them in the face with my shield then driving my sword through their body, or any of the other various and awesome special attacks.

The level designs needed a lot of work, and the levels in general needed a lot of polish. It's pretty lame to hear that the content has somehow gone down since the first closed beta, because it looked like it was on the cusp of being one of the most entertaining microtx games out there.

[Chenghiz]

They need to do something about the fucking SMGs. There's very little reason to use anything else, except in my case, cussed stubbornness. It does play a lot better than I thought it would, though.