Dark Days Are Coming - New Funcom Project

[lamaros]

I found the youtube video very meh. No character at all.

[HaemishM]

You might want to check your emails. New beta invites have gone out. Beyond that... 

[Ghambit]

So, it's looking increasingly like Funcom is trying to beat GW2 to release.  They're talkin a few months left to OB for an April release.
I find I'm liking the premise behind TSW more than GW2.  The 500skill classless/lvlless system seems rather intriguing.  Builds as "decks".  A skillwheel, etc.  No two toons should be alike.  Also the emphasis on problem-solving rather than brute force all the time.

Oh yes, I'll be playing GW2 regardless but it'll be nice having a Spring fling to play with.

[Kageru]

I love the setting... I don't trust the company, and doubly so if they're "rushing" things. But I guess a hopeful optimism is a requirement to be an MMO fan.

[K9]

No two toons should be alike.

More famous last words were ne'er spake.

[Ghambit]

No two toons should be alike.

More famous last words were ne'er spake.

Yah, I probably should've underlined should.

From the devlogs and vids though it seems like they're going the utility route with spec choices.  You'll have "builds" (or deck, whatever) that you can flip in/out of at will ala Spellborn, depending on situation.  I'm sure the best ones will always fall out of solution, but with no lvls or talents and the ability to respec on-the-fly it should be interesting.

Here's a site with the skillwheel done in flash (unfinished mind you):
http://tsw.mmoz.pl/tsw-skillwheel.html


Note how it seems much more tabletop RPG-like skillwise than MMO-like.  Kinda nice, but good luck with that.

More info on the deck:

GamesRadar: Could you tell us about the deck system and what it entails?
Martin Bruusgaard: A deck in The Secret World is a collection of 7 active and 7 passive abilities that work well with each other. Each deck will enable the player to fulfill one or several roles, either soloing or teaming up with others. Upon collecting all 14 abilities the player is also given a kick-ass outfit, so he won't only be able to play the part, but also look the part!

There are evidently 10 "decks" to collect per secret society and each one rewards a special outfit, but you're not forced into collecting the deck obviously.  They're definitely aiming the game towards the hardcore player, but giving newbs the ability to follow easier skill paths.  If they get Rift lvl of polish/mechanics but have the engrossing storyline and exploration there's no reason the game shouldn't do well.


LoL:

[DraconianOne]

Release date: June 19th, 2012

[Mrbloodworth]

Is it like every other MMO?

Levels, kill ten rats, quest hubs, Gear progression, TAB targeting, Bullets that bend around corners??

[01101010]

Is it like every other MMO?

Levels, kill ten rats, quest hubs, Gear progression?

LMGTFY

you lazy bastard.

[Mrbloodworth]

The main site for a game is of course going to say "We are not like the other guys!". Just like SWTOR was a unique snowflake. I want to know what its REALLY like. If its just another MMO from the MMO mold, with another new skin.

Yes, today I am lazy.

[Ghambit]

edit: nvm
I tire of 'defending' other people's game designs, only to be disappoint.

[Mrbloodworth]

I like the no classes, no levels is a godsend ( But is it REALLY no levels? Not anywhere.....?  Did they just move it to the skills? ). I read about the combat, and it seems like its the same as it ever was.

I'd like to know if I am mistaken. That's why I asked.

[HaemishM]

Kind of hard to tell you that since it's still under NDA.

[Mrbloodworth]

Oh, I thought they were past that. Ill just wait and see.

I guess a good question is. If I shoot someone point blank, is there still a dice roll to hit? 

[HaemishM]

I could answer that, but I'd have to kill you.

[Ghambit]

The lvls are indeed the skills, but only in the sense you're given skill points instead of xp.  It's essentially a resource mechanic wherein you use to build your 'deck' from.  But obviously in order to get to "large assault cannon" you need to dump into "med. assault cannon" first and follow whatever other branch of the tree to get there.

SUPPOSEDLY, they're building all sorts of interesting synergies into the skill system to force situational variance, but yah YMMV.

The real fun is in selecting your 'deck' of skills. You have slots for seven active skills and seven passives, filled from an expanding range as you spend the skill points awarded instead of experience - there's no explicit levelling in the game - on new toys. Skills are bought from a radial wheel (a showpiece of The Secret World's exceptionally slick and pretty UI). This isn't much more than a fancy way of presenting an open series of parallel skill trees; although The Secret World claims to have no classes, you will find archetypical skills for tanking, healing, crowd control and so on within.

Early questing spot Kingsmouth, where the Illuminati apparently took an interest in public sanitation.
However, you are genuinely free to develop your own hybrid or switch between multiple builds with different utilities, and this is clearly where the long-term satisfaction of character development resides. Meanwhile, the limited number of skill slots ensures that combat should stay focused and manageable despite the ballooning possibilities.

Combat is diku with in-combat deckswaps.  Simple as that.

note: I aint in the beta so I can speculate based on media propaganda   

[Draegan]

Here I thought I remember seeing an aiming mechanism in some of the videos.

[luckton]

If people have learned anything from Funcom's last two MMOs, then I suspect they may have a flawless crash-free launch. 


Of course, that's due to no one actually bothering to play the new game, so....yeah 

I give the game six months, if not sooner, post-launch before it goes F2P.

[Draegan]

That's a very annoying meme.

"I give it X time before it goes f2p."

Be more original please.  Esspetially since most of the time going f2p has equated to increased profits.

[Ghambit]

The Secret World’s combat has a lot in common with other MMOs. Magic will cool down and you won’t be dashing about making headshots from behind cover. What you will be doing is targeting an enemy and then hitting it with a barrage of skills by pressing the relevant numbers on your keyboard. While this is happening, you’re free to move and dodge attacks, or manoeuvre into a better position, and if you do have guns you can fire them into a group of enemies to your heart’s content.

There's tab-targeting and a collision system (similar to AoC) last I read.  All this could change though.
Given they're using AoC's engine they could employ some other stuff like positional buffs/debuffs as well.

[Kageru]

Adore the setting, would love it to work, but anyone who doesn't approach a funcom game with caution has more optimism than I can manage. If the NDA is maintained throughout beta, and beta is short, then doubly so.

[luckton]

That's a very annoying meme.

"I give it X time before it goes f2p."

Be more original please.  Esspetially since most of the time going f2p has equated to increased profits.

Can't be helped.  We live in an age now where you either AAA your shit or go home to the F2P shack.  I'm not saying F2P is a bad thing, as it can be profitable, but in FunCom's case, they're 0/2 for successfully launching and successfully maintaining an MMO without having to resort to a F2P conversion.  Fool me once, shame on you.  Fool me twice, shame on me.  Fool me three times?  I'm gettin' my gun...

[Draegan]

It's one thing to say "Hey it's Funcom" and it's another to go "herp derp F2P in 5 months!"

[Ghambit]

I find whining about "it's funcom" et. al. is fruitless when there's an impending beta that'll ultimately be the determining factor regardless, NDA or not.

[palmer_eldritch]

Anarchy Online was messed up for the first couple of weeks after its release in 2001 but Funcom have provided the service just fine for the ten years since. I don't see how Anarchy Online's launch can be seen as evidence that the company is incapable of running an MMO today.

[Rasix]

Patch 12.6.   

[palmer_eldritch]

Okay but that was still 2001! Geez, you kick a guy in the balls a few times and they still remember it 10 years later, I dunno.

[UnSub]

Especially when they get invited over to see your new steel capped boots.

[tmp]

Another preview at RPS with a little insight into Illuminati faction.

Sounds positive, though the part about dungeon mini-bosses usually involving teamwork may be a red flag for these who like their games solo.

[luckton]

April 2012

Yeah, no.

Today Funcom has announced that The Secret World will miss its intended April launch window, and will instead go live on June 19th.

The additional development time is so that Funcom can "maximize the potential of the game", according to the official press release.

"Allowing for even more time to polish the game really shows just how much faith Funcom as a company has in 'The Secret World' and how committed we are to making it the best it can be," explained creative director and senior producer, Ragnar Trnquist.

[UnSub]

Ha ha! Good ol' Funcom! 

[Modern Angel]

That should put them right around my guesstimated earliest possible release for GW2. Perfect!

[Draegan]

GW2 will probably be fall if I had to guess.  Their 2nd beta event isn't for another month (end of March).

I saw some Machinima video on TSW with Tornquist.  He talked a bit about the UI and I was happy with the direction he took it (minimalistic) and other things he said about the game's approach were well said.

That doesn't mean they made a fun game that actually works though.

[Modern Angel]

I could totally see GW2 launching by mid to late July, depending on how things line up.

[Draegan]

I could totally see GW2 launching by mid to late July, depending on how things line up.

What are you basing that on?  The beta event didn't even have two of the races available.  Worst case, they're aren't finished at all and that's at least 4ish (newbie areas) zones worth of content they need to build plus storyline stuff.