Even if tons of other people come with negative posts, I'm definitely gonna give it a try when it is released. :)

I just tried this today.

Just now in fact.

Just killed mobs up to level 10. Had a handy 25% bonus scroll drop and plenty of gear drop.

Graphics aren't much to write home about. The levels are designed very well and the animation responds to your actions. When I buff I get a nice visual showing me it worked, when I hit an attack I get a nice visual that it worked. Pretty standard stuff you'd think, but not all games do this very well. (RIFT ahem)

It's pretty old schools standard otherwise. I didn't do any quests but the ones to get me out of the "Hi, you're here." zone. WASDQE controls worked fine, the interface pretty universal.

I missed being able to alot my points. Looking at my role as a reaver and the cross classing options.. The stats.. How you get stats.. What they affect.. Put in mind pvp and group tactics..

YOU can totally tell some of Shadowbane's better features are here in the numbers. Plus some features sadly from games that have came since.

Like time ranking of abilities. Eh, don't care.

I don't think I'll play it any more, but there's good stuff there and if it improves I may go back.

Unfortunately I have to agree with the laggy and clunky UI and outdated graphics (and no it doesn't even close to WoW). The minimap on UI was also horrible. Game might be good as I cannot comment on that as I only lasted maybe just an hour. I don't believe graphics and UI is everything but somehow game didn't really take me in, maybe the combat or the dullness of starting area. Only thing I noticed as interesting was the talent stuff but that wasn't really enough to keep me in game.

haha Warzod I totally agree with you :).Gamers that don't want to think and just get everything which ends up dumbing down games are  one of the reasons MMORPG's are dying.I want a challenge in a game.

As someone mentioend, saying this game has been "flying under the radar" when you guys have a huge banner of it it's kinda ironic xD But I didn't think much of it till I read this review...

Personally I'm not playing any MMO at the moment, at least till GW2 comes out. Just come here to keep up with the news and such. However, this game looks promising, especially since I've played Shadowbane for quite a while :)

Will definitely be following this. Any approx. Release date?

Originally posted by paulrgod

With the way the game runs it takes about 5 minutes to find where you're supposed to be and then you get to fight the thieves... exciting eh??

Cheers

Paul

{mod edit}

 Wait you had to spend 5 MINS of your time exploring to complete a quest?  UNACCEPTABLE!  I only play games with Huge arrows pointing in the direction I need to go with the final destination marked with road flairs.  Ill never try this one, thanks for the warning.

In personal opinion. The game came off as rather straight forward. All the stuff you can get from most any other game of it's kind was there. I thought the graphics were rather quirky which is a plus for me. When I did the same thing I would in any other mmo that's what sent me to the uninstall. I know that seems harsh, but it's hard for me to hold to any thing in modern gaming that doesn't throw something at least a little different at me.

I think the only thing that really bothered me was how huge the city was. I understand the whole trying to make social areas seem big and lively, but really do they have to be so big that it's like running across states to get some where?

I am very tired of seeing huge vacant areas in game. I don't care if stuff is a little tight at least I wouldn't feel like I'm living in giant land and running across a kitchen floor trying to get cheese. I like a challenge, I like having to search for things, I like to adventure, I don't like to see cities with areas that would echo with the noise of your own hollow footsteps. Maybe this game is only meant for the casual gamer, but there are a ton of games already providing that.

This all comes from personal taste, and since it's free it is simply a matter of taking the time to download it and try it yourself. Free is free.

@EQ2Thanos - Agreed...

@alderdale - Hahaha! That is all...

I tried the game out a few months ago, compelled by the idea of open-world PvP, but a few things caused me to uninstall before investing any considerable amount of time in it:

1. Character Models: I don't mind stylistic and "cartoony" graphics at all, but the character models in this game just kind of creeped me out, particularly the female, which looked like a guy in drag. Combined with the lack of customization, it was just too hard to get invested in my character.

2. Performance: At least when I played a while back, the lag and rubberbanding was so bad that I couldn't imagine being able to enjoy the PvP.

3. Two faction system: We all know three factions work best. Why developers continue to ignore this is completely beyond me.

4. Annoying quest system: I found myself lost on a number of occasions. I don't mind having to pay attention to know what I need to do next, but deciphering poorly-written directions to find some random non-descript NPC in a huge parking-lot of a city just isn't my idea of fun. Some people have this weird notion that a lack of quest location indicators is engaging and intellectually rewarding...it's not. Figuring out a puzzle or strategizing an attack plan is intellectually challenging and rewarding, roaming around a lifeless city hoping to bump into an NPC in order to continue a pointless, tired, uninspired "fetch quest" is just tedious.

I may try it out again when the next patch goes live, but to be honest, it seems like quite a bit of development would have to go into this game for it to be enjoyable.

Tried it, got fed up with bugs and other issues.

Example, in the city, walking/running on the flat ground/pavement, not texture or geometry changes involved. Fell through the world 3 times in 1 hour. That's a massive flaw. (Died 1st time, had to port out 2nd time, stuck 3rd time since the port hadn't cooled down yet.)

Also got really sick of getting ganked by some loser when I was talking to an npc (quest stuff or buy/selling junk).  Basically, everywhere outside the city wall is kill anyone you want territory. I know for sure that at least one of them was a one-shot kill to my warrior type character with the heaviest armor available, so he had to be a much higher level than I was.

And the other posters are right, the graphics are 1990s quality, when they work right.

I'm willing to give a lot of slack to stuff in dev, but this thing is way behind the quality level it should be for open beta.  I'd suggest leaving it alone. Now to say something nice... errr... ummm... uh, you character has wings.

Agree with others that the article was a bit bland for front page material.

Insofar as Faxion itself, last I checked, the open beta is actually under NDA.  Which makes no sense to me.  But then you've got a member of the team on here encouraging feedback?

What I will say is this: open-world PvP (whether its FFA or faction-based) does not work without a karma system.  It doesn't work because high levels will always utterly annihilate lower levels.  And since the lower levels (or even higher levels with inferior gear / skills) can't meaningfully participate in the majority of the game, they stop playing.  Goodbye population.  Goodbye game.

What do I mean by Karma system some may ask?  Ultima Online (and I believe darkfall also does this) is a perfect example.  "Innocent" players are blue.  If you attacked a blue player, you turned grey which then allowed others to attack you with impunity (i.e. without turning grey).  However, a grey player eventually turned blue, so PvP was certainly still alive and well.  However, if someone killed too many blue players, he became red, which was a permanent form of grey.  Red players couldn't even visit most of UO's towns (without getting insta killed by guards), except for the outlaw one.

I am amazed that so many games have tried open-world PvP without a similar karma system in place.  It is absolutely essential because it strongly discourages high levels from ganging up on low levels.  Why turn grey, or red, for very minor loot?  And, with the case of the outlaw town, it forced the heavy PvPers together.  Perfect!

Here's Faxion: a heavy PvP game where, to even meaningfully PvP, you need to grind/PvE to max level.

Hrm, I suppose they could have completely walked away from the very premise of the game (good vs evil) and added a third choice. How about... Canada?

Seriously, what is the problem with the graphics talk? Games developed are meant for everyone to try and surely Faxion will have its core player base build up no matter how 1990s the graphics most of you think about.

Hate the graphics much? Just walk away, let those who wanted to try comes in. I work in CG Industry for long enough to hunger for pretty visuals but i am still enjoying DAOC which have horrible walking animation and stale combat animation.

No matter what, IGNORE those bashing comments, try the game and let it do the talking.

Originally posted by Warzod

 How about... Canada?

 

Naah, Switzerland would be better.

Originally posted by Ruppich

Originally posted by Warzod

 How about... Canada?

 

Naah, Switzerland would be better.

 

 "There are only 2 things I hate, people who are intollerant of other peoples cultures... ... ... and the Dutch".

Austin Power's Father

Cheers for coming here and making your voice heard, Xanther. I wish more game devs had a fraction of your courage and integrity. Shadowbane was my first true MMO love and probably always will be.

That said, I just couldn't feel the same attachment to Faxion. Graphics wise it feels like I have once again walked into SB during the Rise of Chaos days. Game mechanics wise it feels too much like other games that usurped my beloved SB while at the same time being less perfect and shiny.

Now I'm not saying Faxion is a bad game. Just that it seems many of we MMO players, even those of us who profess to be dyed in the wool, diehard, oldschool sandbox MMO players, seem to be suffering from MMO "Stockholm Syndrome" and refuse to accept ANY game if we don't find it to be absolutely shiny and perfect. So frankly "bleep" us and our warped and spoiled opinions. Keep making the game YOU guys want to make.

If however you really really want to hear my thoughts, even after I've explained the somehwhat spurious value of them, then my two cents would be to stop trying to be so much like the major game that is already out there rampaging across the MMO scene like a juggernaught, and more like the games that came before.

Originally posted by zigmund

But the repetitive pve grind and no destructible assets - makes this game a non starter for me.

This alone is the reason people quit Shadowbane sooner or later. Guilds/nations had 'farm groups', people who spent hours of grinding, so they could pay the upkeep and expand their city. Only to find out it'd all be destroyed a week from now because they did not belong to this massive alliance that destroys anything that's not with them.

An alliance which sooner or later would quit the game too, because they had crushed all competition. Nothing left to crush; cancelled subs. The 'crushed ones'; cancelled subs. People need to be able to fight and acutally hurt the ones the beat, but no to such extent that everything the losing side had done for the past few weeks/months, would simply be no more.

I was a member of Silent Tribe, with our capital Colossa. We had over 1500 people bound to our city, only to be sieged in the middle of the night, having all our non-protected buildings destroyed. The opposing side? The cowardly House of Lok-Ri and it's allies who switched sides and the Lords of Death and their allies. Where you once had 3 'factions', all of a sudden 2 would join up against the third. Needles to say the Lords of Death crushed the silly Elven alliance soon after... also after a very 'lowly' tactic; logging into the account of a Lok-Ri officer and using it to delete any available assets. Well deserved for all I care, but a lowly thing to do.

Not only did we get defeated, not only did the Elves get defeated, but soon after the entire server had been 'defeated' for it had become a ghost server.

Hey i´ve tried it and it it is buggy and very simple game. In my opinion, avoid it, waste of time and you can find other that is better . Look for other games if you wish to play "recently"

Score 2/10

Originally posted by Xenrathe

Agree with others that the article was a bit bland for front page material.

Insofar as Faxion itself, last I checked, the open beta is actually under NDA.  Which makes no sense to me.  But then you've got a member of the team on here encouraging feedback?

What I will say is this: open-world PvP (whether its FFA or faction-based) does not work without a karma system.  It doesn't work because high levels will always utterly annihilate lower levels.  And since the lower levels (or even higher levels with inferior gear / skills) can't meaningfully participate in the majority of the game, they stop playing.  Goodbye population.  Goodbye game.

What do I mean by Karma system some may ask?  Ultima Online (and I believe darkfall also does this) is a perfect example.  "Innocent" players are blue.  If you attacked a blue player, you turned grey which then allowed others to attack you with impunity (i.e. without turning grey).  However, a grey player eventually turned blue, so PvP was certainly still alive and well.  However, if someone killed too many blue players, he became red, which was a permanent form of grey.  Red players couldn't even visit most of UO's towns (without getting insta killed by guards), except for the outlaw one.

I am amazed that so many games have tried open-world PvP without a similar karma system in place.  It is absolutely essential because it strongly discourages high levels from ganging up on low levels.  Why turn grey, or red, for very minor loot?  And, with the case of the outlaw town, it forced the heavy PvPers together.  Perfect!

Here's Faxion: a heavy PvP game where, to even meaningfully PvP, you need to grind/PvE to max level.

It is absolutely untrrue that you need to grind/PVE to max level in order to meaningfully PVP. To state that it does means you don't understand the game at all.  In fact, Faxion is the only PVP game I know of that's so incredibly friendly to casual players while still letting them be competitive.  As an example, my main character is level 41, with less than 40 total hours played, but over 600 hours of offline skill training. I don't get to actively play often, but I try to remember to login every day and queue up some skills to train while I'm at work. This helps me stay very competitive, at least in terms of skill ranks. I also disagree that a karma system is necessary.  The real issues, as I see them are twofold:

1. Lack of players - there simply aren't enough players online for meaningful pvp within most players' level ranges. You got killed by a high-level opposite faction character because you were soloing in a PvP zone.   You were killed in a game where the only death penalty is a slight loss to the durability of your equipment and a short run back from your respawn crypt so you could pick right back up again.  You don't lose experience, items, reputation, anything.  You can't even really be spawn-camped, because you have multiple exits from the crypts to entirely different sections of the zone. So what's the problem? 


2. 
   Lack of content and battle incentives for higher levels players. As such, for those players who've reached max level, there isn't much for them to do...

Originally posted by MisterNoGooD

Hey i´ve tried it and it it is buggy and very simple game. In my opinion, avoid it, waste of time and you can find other that is better . Look for other games if you wish to play "recently"

Score 2/10

Please define "simple"?  Is the PvP combat simple, or did you not get to epxerience it?  It also has one of the most elaborate skill systems I've seen of any recent games.  Is that simple, too? If all you did was play a level or two in the newbie pve zone, then yes, I could see how you would think it was simple. 

~Ripper

Originally posted by zigmund

The only reason Faxion is not getting the "player press" a game needs to get noticed is because it's nothing like Shadowbane, it's bug infested, graphics from the 1990's, horrible UI, lacks good game mechanics and has a host of other problems. So yes it's free, people try it for a few days and then uninstall it.Faxion needs 6 months to another year of development time.

I've got nothing but agreement on this one. Faxion is incredibly rough in any way that matters. So rough that there's no way it would ever survive as a retail product. The original Quake almost has a better graphics engine. Sound makes me cringe. After that, the gameplay isn't something you can't replicate on half a dozen better looking/feeling/playing MMOs found advertised on this very site.

Games like this just don't deserve your dollars until they show the effort.

Faxion hasn't.