Starvault posted a couple beta reviews they felt reflected Mortal Online's current  "combat beta stage" .   

Both reviewers are still under NDA but permission was given to post these reviews.

This is the first review.

Mortal Online Combat Beta Review
by Lachrymose

Character Creation
Upon entering Mortal Online’s combat beta, I was first prompted to create a new character. The character creation allowed me to first choose a race, and then combine that race with one of the other available races via the blood mix system. I tried out some of the many combinations, and some mixes were clearly more noticeable than others. For instance, mixing a Half-orc with a Tindremene will result in a relatively unique look, but the effects of mixing a Tindremene with a Kallard aren’t quite as noticeable. However, once racial attributes are unlocked, I imagine the less cosmetic mixes will prove useful.

There are many different types of faces, hairstyle, tattoos, etc. to choose from, and several customization options can be used, such as changing the size of the nose, ears, mouth, forehead, etc. Overall, I was impressed with the character customization, as it offers quite a bit to make your character appear unique. In addition, players are able to select from a range of heights. At the moment, I see no reason to choose anything other than the tallest height, as the benefits gained from having a large character greatly outweigh the benefits of choosing a smaller character. Henrik has explained, however, that this is only because attribute points have not yet been unlocked. Increasing your character size will cost attribute points that could be used to increase your dexterity, for example. In addition, you will be able to create a smaller than normal size character to gain more than the default attribute points, which allows for even more variability when creating your character.

First Impressions
The very first thing I noticed after finally logging into the game is that the first person view is absolutely incredible. I think Star Vault has really succeeded at creating a more realistic first person view than any I’ve ever seen. I spent my first couple minutes in game just admiring the unique perspective and the motion blur as I looked around.

The small island we were placed on looks impressive, especially for being a temporary beta test island, and for some reason, I just can’t get over how incredible the sky looks (something I don’t think I’ve ever really noticed in an MMO). Some of the other beta testers and myself had a lot of fun exploring the island and finding a few hidden ruins. Traversing the island is no easy task, so although the island is relatively small, it certainly seems large. Not only are there mountains and other land formations obstructing any straight paths across the island, but navigating the island is very difficult until you’ve walked around it enough to really familiarize yourself with it. At one point, I broke off from the group to do a little solo exploring, and I quickly realized that I had no idea where I was. For me it was a really unique experience in an MMO because there was no radar in the upper corner showing me where I was on the map. There was no arrow pointing the way to go. I was actually lost, which made for a truly immersive experience, and this was only on the tiny test island we were placed on. I can only imagine what the immersion of being lost in a much larger and inhabited world would be like.

Armor & Weapon Creation
Weapon creation at the moment is impressive. Crafting itself hasn’t been unlocked to players, but NPC crafters allow us to choose which type of material to use for each piece of a weapon (handle, core, blade, etc). In addition, when creating armor, not only do you choose which type of material to construct the armor out of, but you also choose how much material to use when creating the armor. Using less material obviously makes the armor lighter and less cumbersome, but it also provides less protection.

Needless to say, there is a seemingly endless amount of combinations to choose from, but the trick is to determine which combinations are most effective, as some combinations just aren’t very practical. For instance, attaching a great blade to a dagger handle will result in a strange looking and ineffective weapon, and although creating a sword made out of pure gold certainly looks fashionable, it will do little damage and require the majority of your stamina to swing it (if you’re able to swing it at all, that is). The amount of options given to the player is incredible and really adds to the involvement of player skill, as players will have to determine the best gear compositions for their particular playstyle.

The only ranged weapon that can be created in the current stage is a recurve short bow. I learned from talking with Henrik that the bow should be constructed realistically to achieve the maximum effectiveness. I began scouring the internet to find instructions on how to create my very own recurve bow, and I found a very useful online guide and applied some of the same construction concepts to my in-game bow. The result was a bow more powerful and stamina efficient than any other bow I had managed to construct up to that point, which I found amazing. I am excited me to see what other realistic concepts like this will be used elsewhere in the game.

Melee Combat
To put it simply, melee combat is a lot of fun. Circle strafing and spamming the left mouse button is definitely not the strategy to use in this game, as you will run out of stamina very quickly and be rendered helpless. Attacks can be “charged” so that you can release at the precise moment to hit your enemy, which adds to the skill based strategy of combat. Furthermore, blocking can be very effective, as achieving a perfect block (aiming directly towards the incoming attack with a block) will mitigate a very significant amount of damage that would have otherwise been dealt by the attack. The current prediction system needs a considerable amount of work to ensure that the client side location of players match up with their server side location. It has been frustrating to attack an opponent directly in front of you, only to have the attack miss him. Fortunately, I’m told that the prediction system has been fixed and the corrected system will be implemented in the next build.

At the moment, weapons are imbalanced, so some weapon types are far more effective than others. However, I imagine weapons and armor will be balanced throughout the remainder of the beta.

Ranged Combat
Again, we only had access to one type of bow, so I have little exposure to all that ranged combat has to offer. At the beginning of the beta, kiting was extremely easy to pull off, but by the second build, that was taken care of. However, I feel that at the moment, archery is a little too underpowered because bows drain a bit too much stamina in my opinion. Again, I expect an appropriate balance will be found during the beta process.

Barring any balancing issues, I think ranged combat is fairly good. There is a circular targeting reticle that gets smaller as you pull back the bow string. The circle indicates where your arrow may fly, so the smaller the circle, the more accurate the shot will be. I’m told that the targeting reticle is still being worked on, however, so this likely won’t be exactly what we see on release.

Overall Conclusion
My overall impression of Mortal Online’s combat is that it still needs a considerable amount of work on gear balancing and the prediction system, but it has a tremendous amount of potential once those things are perfected. However, even with those imperfections, melee combat was still very enjoyable overall. Ranged combat shares that same potential, but again, I feel there is still a bit of balancing to do before it is perfected.

Character creation is better than the majority of MMOs I’ve played, and so far we haven’t even seen all that there is to offer, as attributes have not been added to the beta client thus far, and only cosmetic changes are available.

The aesthetics of the game are very impressive, and again, the first person view is absolutely amazing in my opinion. Despite the graphical settings being locked below the maximum settings (for beta only I’m sure), Mortal Online is definitely one of the most visually appealing MMOs I’ve played.

Other than a few other minor bugs and tweaks, the little amount of gameplay that we were given access to gives me very high hopes for Mortal Online. I’m very excited to see the improvements that are made in the next client and gain access to more features and a large portion of the actual world.

Review 2

Combat Beta Review
by (Awaiting confirmation by reviewer to use name)
Headlines and formatting by me (Mats)

Introduction
Starvault has certainly made a lot of claims in what Mortal Online is going to contain, and especially after the resounding agreement about the sub-par quality of Darkfall, all eyes are on Mortal Online and in turn Starvault to deliver. The bar is certainly set fairly high with expectations coming from "Old school" players of Ultima Online, the more recent defectors of WoW, and the spaceship hating escapees of EvE Online. The pressure is on, and it's now up to Starvault to appease the ravenous masses. One thing to keep in mind when talking about Mortal Online is that it's an MMO, even though it might seem like an obvious statement, things start getting more complicated as you go along.

Character Creation
Let's begin with something every MMO has and is the very first thing any player has to do before entering the game; the character creation screen. The first thing that will hit the players is the davincian accuracy of the player model; that's right the availability of full frontal nudity. The initial shock value aside, everything as it should be and the multitude of sliders for facial features remind of Oblivion, though nowhere with as many sliders, though fortunately just as many styles of hair and even facial hair to choose from, even a mustache befitting of a German porn star. Then come the tattoos, a wide assortment ranging from scars, to tribal markings, this is where you see some of the features of the Unreal 3.5 Engine, instead of "Popping" into view; the tattoo begins as a blurred version of itself, gradually sharpening as the texture loads.

From what is presented in the beta, it seems that there are 5 character slots available per account, though this number is very probable to change around before the final release. The character creation is split into three screens. In the first you select your Species, then your primary race, and then finally gender. The next screen is where all of the appearance sliders and such are contained, and at the bottom the race sliders where you can slide away your genetic history. Everything works perfectly, if you chose a half-Orc as your primary race and you start to wiggle the Khurite slider, your character will smoothly warp to resemble a Khurite with the facial features blending instantly and smoothly. Since half-Orc is your primary race in this instant, it’s impossible to slide any other race more than half way up. You can also have a mix of every race, but the half-Orc slider will never fall below 50%. The next screen is supposedly where you will pick your starting Attributes and abilities, though currently it's only limited to Age and Size, which both alter your character accordingly. The character creation is flexible, large and was certainly built to please. I have seen people build characters that will make you burst out loud laughing, resembling imps, or some that are cringe worthy scarred and old, looking as if they have seen one battle too many.

Environment
The graphics present the player with a lush jungle environment, with vegetation so thick in some parts, making navigation a feat in itself, without the slightest hit on performance; though granted you will not be able to run Mortal Online with a lower end machine, so it's probably wise to upgrade. The current build despite the entire vegetationial prowess of Mortal Online, still lacks grass. Something which will no doubt add even more visual eye candy to an already impressive sight. There are truly some vistas within the current build that could rival a screenshot from Crysis, with crawling vegetation and distant mountains, complete with a sun that will wane as if hiding behind clouds and then coming back out. The game handles large amounts of players honorably, capable of displaying some 20-30 characters on screen all wearing different custom made armor and weapons without the slightest notice of slowdown. Though granted, once the bloody ragdolls start covering the ground, things do slow down, though it has been noted this is a concern point, and is probably going to be alleviated in the very near future.

Combat
The combat in Mortal Online even though still far away from commercial quality without a proper prediction system certainly delivers on the claim of skill based combat. Testers that logged in for the first time or relatively new were absolutely slaughtered by the more experienced ones, though some adapted very quickly and became proficient after a single fight. The combat, though only limited to Melee and Minimal Ranged, is designed so that it can accommodate a multitude of play styles, from aggressive to defensive it is all there. The closest comparison would be the Half-Life 2 MOD Age of Chivalry, as they share a lot of features and dynamics. Attacking and Blocking cost stamina, and stamina regenerates relatively quickly, but not fast enough to make you forget about it. During fights it's important to balance sprint, block and attack otherwise you will run out of stamina in the middle of a battle and will be a sitting duck. You can press and hold the attack button in order to "Charge" an attack and release it at the right moment, but it continuously drains stamina making it unwise to hold down attack forever. In a similar fashion you can hold a block for as long as you want, but it also drains stamina, so precisely timed blocks are advised less you want to drain all of the stamina. It must be stated that characters wearing poorly thought out equipment will not do well on the battlefield. Even if the difference is not that large, it still makes an impact when in battle, as you try to cling on to every possible advantage you can get.

Crafting
The crafting system presented in the Beta version is said to be not fully complete, with some pieces missing, but already it is absolutely massive. Weapon balance aside, it is boggling as to what type of weapons can be made, practical ones and even comical ones, like a two handed great sword handle combined with a spiked ball, make for some interesting weapons with their practicality in question. Each material has an impact on the texture of the final product; it's possible to say that on top of this a dye system can be implemented. When crafting, everything is as described in the power point presentation, with many of the handles and armor requiring a combination of two materials. On top of this the player is presented with the choice of how much of a material to put into the armor. Weight plays a huge role in Mortal Online, a player wearing the heaviest gold armor, even though well protected will move at a snail's pace, and his golden great hammer will take out all of the stamina bar in one swing, making extremely heavy weapons and armor while powerful absolutely useless in any real combat situation, as every action requires stamina. A smart crafter will pick the materials and their proportions used wisely to achieve the maximum effect, making the weapons light and heavily specialized, and in turn a smart player will pick weapons and armor that are a direct reflection of their playstyle.

Armor and Combat
The armor crafting system is worth mentioning because it's nothing like we have seen before in any other game, the paper doll is divided into several slots: Head, 2x Shoulders, 2x Sleeves, 2x Gloves, Torso, Grieves, and Boots. The armor is broken down similarly, with each individual piece custom crafted and placed into each location on the body. So it becomes important to put the most armor in the places that are most exposed with your fighting style. This means a player could potentially place all of the protection, in the torso while leaving everything else relatively unprotected, or spread out all of the armor to provide reduced protection all over the body. A good weapon can take out a naked character with 3-4 swings depending on the health, since body size determines the amount of health, while a fully armored character can take anywhere between 4-6 direct swings depending on health, and armor used. A usually battle can have 4-20 swings in it, because both players will be actively dodging, blocking and sometimes hitting each other’s swords or shields causing reduced damage. It's also a fact that two experienced fighters will battle much longer than inexperienced ones due to this. Also, no healing potions or spells are in at this point, so it's hard to say how this number will be affected. What is obvious though is that the skill of the crafter will be directly reflected in combat on top of the combatant, and it's impossible to separate the two, good items will be determined not by their "Max/Min" damage, but by the use they were designed for and personal preferences of each player, as certain weapons will be heavier, draining more stamina and in return doing more damage, or light weapons that do less damage, it's really up to the player to decide how they want to fight.

Ending Notes
In conclusion from what has been seen in Beta Starvault has defiantly hit the mark with everything they wanted to achieve and promised to the general community. The level of thought taken can be seen in everything you do. Bugs that were posted by the testers were always quickly found and eradicated at alarming speed, which sometimes put up the question if the guys at Starvault even sleep. Games that were mentioned in discussions during beta testing were nearly always single player, or small multiplayer games, and it was very easy to start criticizing Mortal Online for being worse than Crysis, Oblivion, Mount and Blade, Age of Chivalry or any other game, but the fact that this is an MMO must always be remembered, because when contrasting to other MMO's, you quickly realize that Mortal Online is on the bleeding edge. The response from the developers both during testing and the forums makes it clear that this is simply not just a game, but their game, their dream project, something done with love and care. I am sure there are many of us amongst us with such aspirations. Mortal Online stands as a beacon to not just MMO Buffs but other startup developers, and as such it's not a question if Mortal Online becomes successful, but how much of a success it will be. Time will tell.

WEEEEEEEEeeeeeeee!!! =)

Wow.....this sounds very promising. I like the realism, and the attention to detail.

Let's keep our fingers crossed, eh?

Whatever. Coming from the failed Darkfall and other previous games, I've heard these niceties before.  Bottom line is breadth...and i truely mean the broad degree of freedom of gameplay compared to todays mmo's, and depth, the quality of how far we can push that game-play involvement in a player-driven ecosystem is what matters.

I dont give a crap about how well the sky looks.

This gives me a bit of hope, but I know that it's waaaay to early to tell.

Wow, I'm very hopeful seeing as how there seems to be a lot of attention paid to crafting even at this very early stage.  Thanks for posting.

I actually do care about how the sky looks believe it or not.

And ya wow, the attention to detail in this game is astounding. The level of customization with regards to weapons and character creation has now brought my full attention towards this game.

I'm genuinely looking forward to a few upcoming titles. Nice for a change.
 

Originally posted by Cecropia

I actually do care about how the sky looks believe it or not.

 

And your exactly what the problem is with the dumbification of mmorpgs playing to the lowest common denominator of player thinking that window-dressing is the difference between good and great in mmorpg's today.   You'll be happy with alot of good mmorpgs since that's your litmus test; the sky.

But I've had my fill of staring at the sky with titles that deliver little game-play content, but make things look pretty.  I already have a pretty screen-saver, and aint interested in paying $15 a month for one.  But hey. . .that's me. /shrug

No I'm really not into most mmorpgs, I've basically played EVE exclusively for the last 3 + years. Sampled WAR (not my thing), and was able to at least appreciate LOTRO.

However just going on these first and most likely hand picked reviews (why wouldn't they).  I'm simply going to keep up to date with the progress of this game.

So just relax a bit man, that alright with you.

Dumbify this.

Originally posted by Cik_Asalin

Originally posted by Cecropia

I actually do care about how the sky looks believe it or not.

 

And your exactly what the problem is with the dumbification of mmorpgs playing to the lowest common denominator of player thinking that window-dressing is the difference between good and great in mmorpg's today.   You'll be happy with alot of good mmorpgs since that's your litmus test; the sky.

 

But I've had my fill of staring at the sky with titles that deliver little game-play content, but make things look pretty.  I already have a pretty screen-saver, and aint interested in paying $15 a month for one.  But hey. . .that's me. /shrug

Oxycontin not kick in?  I think the  point was attention to those little details.  If the game can deliver realistic combat, which it sounds like it may do so, while having such details, it just adds to the immersion the game offers.  I was burned by AoC too, but I'm not whipping it out and pissing on every game out there before it even comes out.  It's a beta review, and  he concentrates on more than the sky.

Now take your drugs, so you can chill the hell out.  YOU are the problem with these forums!

This definitely looks promising.  I'm still a bit unsure about the 1st person view, but the people who have played it seem to think it really works, so I'm keeping an open mind.

I'm putting together a guild with a bunch of friends, as well as anyone else interested, because it seems like it's not going to be safe to go solo in this one.  It'll make everything a little more dangerous and exciting.  As a guild leader, I'm looking forward to all of the political implications as well.

Originally posted by haggus71

Originally posted by Cik_Asalin

Originally posted by Cecropia

I actually do care about how the sky looks believe it or not.

 

And your exactly what the problem is with the dumbification of mmorpgs playing to the lowest common denominator of player thinking that window-dressing is the difference between good and great in mmorpg's today.   You'll be happy with alot of good mmorpgs since that's your litmus test; the sky.

 

But I've had my fill of staring at the sky with titles that deliver little game-play content, but make things look pretty.  I already have a pretty screen-saver, and aint interested in paying $15 a month for one.  But hey. . .that's me. /shrug

Now take your drugs, so you can chill the hell out.  YOU are the problem with these forums!

I'll take my drugs, really, I will. . .just letting that last glass of wine get through my system, honestly.  And now I'm sad that interest in game-play over a fresh coat of paint is second fiddle.]

Tell ya what.  You keep your skirt on and cheer-lead for fancy clouds, and I'll root for game-play.

Originally posted by jaspr180

Review 2

 

Combat Beta Review
by (Awaiting confirmation by reviewer to use name)
Headlines and formatting by me (Mats)

Introduction
Starvault has certainly made a lot of claims in what Mortal Online is going to contain, and especially after the resounding agreement about the sub-par quality of Darkfall, all eyes are on Mortal Online and in turn Starvault to deliver. The bar is certainly set fairly high with expectations coming from "Old school" players of Ultima Online, the more recent defectors of WoW, and the spaceship hating escapees of EvE Online. The pressure is on, and it's now up to Starvault to appease the ravenous masses. One thing to keep in mind when talking about Mortal Online is that it's an MMO, even though it might seem like an obvious statement, things start getting more complicated as you go along.

Character Creation
Let's begin with something every MMO has and is the very first thing any player has to do before entering the game; the character creation screen. The first thing that will hit the players is the davincian accuracy of the player model; that's right the availability of full frontal nudity. The initial shock value aside, everything as it should be and the multitude of sliders for facial features remind of Oblivion, though nowhere with as many sliders, though fortunately just as many styles of hair and even facial hair to choose from, even a mustache befitting of a German porn star. Then come the tattoos, a wide assortment ranging from scars, to tribal markings, this is where you see some of the features of the Unreal 3.5 Engine, instead of "Popping" into view; the tattoo begins as a blurred version of itself, gradually sharpening as the texture loads.

Rated M for Mature

Been smokin' some of mine, and my whiskey is depleting.

FU%Hk the sky, I'm after immersion in the end. If i look up and I see things that seem real it's not going to hurt. When I game all I desire is to disappear into that universe with as few distractions as possible.

Lets not tarnish MO too soon you know. I havn't put on my pom poms yet, lol.

Originally posted by Seven77

Originally posted by jaspr180

Combat Beta Review
by (Awaiting confirmation by reviewer to use name)
Headlines and formatting by me (Mats)

Introduction
Starvault has certainly made a lot of claims in what Mortal Online is going to contain, and especially after the resounding agreement about the sub-par quality of Darkfall, all eyes are on Mortal Online and in turn Starvault to deliver.

Character CreationThe first thing that will hit the players is the davincian accuracy of the player model; that's right the availability of full frontal nudity. 

Rated M for Mature

 

 Okay...you win with full frontal nudity :) But, unless a fully frontal nude character model can mesmerize me with a gyrating hip thrust, skill level 100, then overall game-play still tops the list :)

Originally posted by Cik_Asalin

Originally posted by Seven77

Originally posted by jaspr180

Combat Beta Review
by (Awaiting confirmation by reviewer to use name)
Headlines and formatting by me (Mats)

Introduction
Starvault has certainly made a lot of claims in what Mortal Online is going to contain, and especially after the resounding agreement about the sub-par quality of Darkfall, all eyes are on Mortal Online and in turn Starvault to deliver.

Character CreationThe first thing that will hit the players is the davincian accuracy of the player model; that's right the availability of full frontal nudity. 

Rated M for Mature

 

 Okay...you win with full frontal nudity :) But, unless a fully frontal nude character model can mesmerize me with a gyrating hip thrust, skill level 100, then overall game-play still tops the list :)

I think if you take a look at what the MO dev's want to bring you *they post a LOT on the official forums*,   THEY personally rarely bring up the graphics and focus on gameplay.   Some of them still play UO as you can see from a contriversial thread here which should tell you what they enjoy.

Well, it sounds good but there are a lot of other things mortal online needs to deliver, particulary fun and varied gameplay.

Still, it do sounds like DF is toast.

Originally posted by Loke666

Well, it sounds good but there are a lot of other things mortal online needs to deliver, particulary fun and varied gameplay.

Still, it do sounds like DF is toast.

ya dont see how df is gonna do with this coming out, but i will tell you the MO community hopes it doesn't happen, i could care less think it would be funny to see them squirm

Am I the only one who was discouraged by these reviews? Especially the 2nd one.

The part where he says "it was very easy to start criticizing Mortal Online for being worse than Crysis, Oblivion, Mount and Blade, Age of Chivalry or any other game, but the fact that this is an MMO must always be remembered" sounds like he's making some excuses for some lackluster features (seems like PvP)?

I know the game is in the early stages, but this paid beta will definitely affect the game's future. With 10,000 people testing it, leaks will be out everywhere and if it's really that unpolished then those leaks could kill the game.

I guess I'll just have to wait and see, but it sounds like next month will be a pretty bare bones game even for a beta.

Originally posted by harmonica

Am I the only one who was discouraged by these reviews? Especially the 2nd one.

The part where he says "it was very easy to start criticizing Mortal Online for being worse than Crysis, Oblivion, Mount and Blade, Age of Chivalry or any other game, but the fact that this is an MMO must always be remembered" sounds like he's making some excuses for some lackluster features (seems like PvP)?

I know the game is in the early stages, but this paid beta will definitely affect the game's future. With 10,000 people testing it, leaks will be out everywhere and if it's really that unpolished then those leaks could kill the game.

I guess I'll just have to wait and see, but it sounds like next month will be a pretty bare bones game even for a beta.

1. It's not  a paid beta, as you.. well, don't pay for playing. It's simply a preorder that you pay full price for. If you don't like it, don't buy it.

2. There will be no NDA, so there can't be any leaks.

Besides, all this really shows is that the devs are very honest.

This just sounds amazing to Me. I cant wait for it to come out.

Originally posted by sandolainen

1. It's not  a paid beta, as you.. well, don't pay for playing. It's simply a preorder that you pay full price for. If you don't like it, don't buy it.

2. There will be no NDA, so there can't be any leaks.

Besides, all this really shows is that the devs are very honest.

Technically, no, it's not a "paid beta" since you'll get the game when it comes out, but it seems to be the only way to get in the beta at the moment, no?

As for no NDA, I didn't know that.. that's pretty cool, but just because the info coming out won't be a "leak," since there's no NDA doesn't mean that negative info that is posted won't affect the game.

These 2 "reviews" are named "Combat Reviews" and they both seem to say that combat doesn't work very well but SHOULD (as far as they know) work better in the future. Therefore, combat in it's current state is bad, but now we should hope that it gets better.

I'm looking forward to MO and am considering paying for a pre-order, but I just don't see how people are posting stuff like "I knew it! This game is going to be amazing!" based on 2 reviews that both agree that the thing they're reviewing (combat) is not working very well yet.

At the moment, it's not a paid beta at all, regardless of your definition.  The preorders are not til next week, so the current reviews are from  the current totally free beta.

As far as the comparison to single player games, my impression was that the second reviewer is talking about the flaws in the position prediction system in game.  This in particular would be problematic for an mmo.  Meanwhile in a single player game its not a factor at all and in a game with a limited number of players it would be a minor factor.

It is not a paid beta. You can still apply to the random selection which is already going on for quite some time.

www.mortalonline.com/beta/