I have been wanting to say some things about this game for a long time now but during CB was unable to do so. I will freely admit that the game defintly has flaws and i wont waste anyone's time trying to make excuses for them. On the other hand the game does have some rather apealing qualities as well.

     First off, yes your charachter itself is the least impressive thing in the game graphicly speaking. The animations for your toon are also the worst of the animations you will encounter and because it is your charachter it will be everpresent on your screen. On the other hand, the environments and monsters you will encounter are very well done. The atmosphere of the game itself is its own subtle narrative and easy to get lost in.

     When my gf played it there was a point where she was running down the street and she saw a scooter off the side of the road with a corpse nearby. When she went to investigate the corpse she jumped out of her computer chair with a yelp when she finally noticed the monster on all 4's that had been feeding on the corpse. It looked up at her as she aproached, growled, and scurried away quickly still on all 4's and she didnt even see it till she was almost right at the corpse and it growled at her, despite the monster being bigger than the corpse itself. On a side note, my gf is not squeamish. She actually deals with dead bodies every week and once stabbed a guy who tried to carjack her on her way to my place (she showed up with her hands still covered in blood).

     This is the only mmo i have ever played that i found myself making actual attempts to avoid combat when and where i could. The monsters you fight do lovecraft justice. The missions/quests dont hold your hand. Yes they do have quest indicators for many of them to at least get you in the right area but the context of the quests make sense and when you get to those area's you will still have to find what your looking for and its not always an obvious glowing item.

     The skill system is actually my favorite part of anything having to do with your charachter. The freedom to make whatever kind of hybrid or pure role build you like is something im a big fan of. It does remind me alot of GW1, but i happened to have enjoyed GW1 and the skill system was a major reason why. I loved coming up with builds. The inclusion of a passive skill deck as well gives it an interesting synergy, especially since unlike the active skills, passive skills arent limited by what weapons you are currently using.

     Now before everyone asumes im just a huge fanboy, let me also point out, I absolutely loathe the crafting system in this game. It is one of the worst crafting systems i have ever seen in any game. Its complexity is entirely pointless and not actually fun or redeemable in any way. They would have been better off sticking to just a basic run of the mill crafting system imo.

     In total, i did prepurchase the game for myself and my gf, but i decided against the lifetime subscription. I believe that issues aside this game may wind up being one of the best mmo's on the market as of this moment, but unfortunately for funcom and TSW, GW2 is coming out and admittedly TSW suddenly has a much higher bar to be compared to in the near future. I kind of wish this game had come out a year or 2 ago as it would have defintly had more time in the sun.

I used to be really hyped for TSW.  Now it's just feels meh to me.  My opinion may change, and I hope it does, but Funcom has to make a believer out of me again.  If I buy this game, it most likely will be a few months down the road after launch, unless I'm sold again after NDA is lifted.  I mean, it's like a little over a month until TSW is supposedly gonna launch, and I'm still struggling to find informations about this game.  A lot of the videos seem to be old and crappy, or very scripted demonstrations.

Character creation, animations and sound are all very important to me.  These don't make or break a game for me per se, but they come freaking close if I can't stand them or feel they were only done half-a**.

"This means there will be times when swinging a sword or using your fist weapons will look odd, but it's the price they've had to pay for allowing players the ability to move while attacking at any time. Basically, it becomes more difficult to structure animations that always look perfect when the characters can't move during the animations."

Ya know, I'm not sure I completely buy this from Funcom.  I mean, take a game like Saints Row the Third.  Granted, it's a single player game and I'm not sure what engine it uses, but you can move around freely while attacking and..omg does it look really fluid, natural, and good.  Funcom should study that game's animations ;3

Originally posted by BillMurphy

After hearing from Erling Ellingsen, the communications director at Funcom, we've added an editor's note to the top of the article.  It clears up some of our issues we had with character creation and animations.  Pasted below!

--

EDITOR's NOTE: Since publishing this article, we've heard some feedback from Funcom about our concerns with character creation and the animations.  Director of Communications, Erling Ellingsen, told us that the character creation is indeed very much limited in this beta build, and will be more fully fleshed out in the future with options and the like.  As for animations, Erling explained two things.  One is that there are many animations which are not yet final in this build.  The second part is that because of the team's decision to allow characters to move while casting skills, they had to untie the upper body from the lower body in the animations.  This means there will be times when swinging a sword or using your fist weapons will look odd, but it's the price they've had to pay for allowing players the ability to move while attacking at any time.  Basically, it becomes more difficult to structure animations that always look perfect when the characters can't move during the animations. 

 

Well sorry but no one is saying animations are bad for no reason, people are simply saying it is bad. I for one don't actually care why it sucks or the technicality of it but only that it sucks. I don't care about their technical reasoning and it is not my problem as a customer because there are games out there(mmos too) which has good animations and mobile combat. So either make it so that it is possible for your game too or let it be known that your game has bad animations. Simple as that. Frankly, Mr. Ellingsen shouldn't embarass themselves with such meaningless explanations in my opinion.

And by the way, what about the sounds? Which is a huge component in creating atmosphere which this game is so bragging about, are those sound effects placeholders too? Such horsec**p.

I can kind of see what she means about animations and sound, but it really comes with the territory of having been spoiled by a *single* title.

The upper-body working in tandem with lower-body animations is nothing new, and is actually a smart method to use because it prevents what could be even worse singular animations while kiting (etc). What has spoiled that for me is the Euphoria engine used in GTA4; no matter what angle you are running, firing at a target always looked picture-perfect (in terms of pose). It's not enough to make me dead set on every game having that high of a benchmark for this kind of thing, though.

Sound quality could get to me though, because I am one to not play an entire race/class/whatever if I can't stand the noises they make. I can't really see myself being picky over the sounds guns make, but I can say that I was a bit spoiled by Fallen Earth. When you get to actual gunpowder-type guns in that one, it becomes epic. They are authentic and *loud*, as well as able to ring out for quite a distance. You could be out on the range and hear a shot that lets you triangulate the direction and distance to a target based on a lot of factors. It's really well done.

Again, though... just because one group has "done it right" doesn't mean everyone has to. That's how things get "samey" in the first place. I remember a time when "the lack thereof" meant "charm".

Originally posted by GTwander

I can kind of see what she means about animations and sound, but it really comes with the territory of having been spoiled by a *single* title.

The upper-body working in tandem with lower-body animations is nothing new, and is actually a smart method to use because it prevents what could be even worse singular animations while kiting (etc). What has spoiled that for me is the Euphoria engine used in GTA4; no matter what angle you are running, firing at a target always looked picture-perfect (in terms of pose). It's not enough to make me dead set on every game having that high of a benchmark for this kind of thing, though.

Sound quality could get to me though, because I am one to not play an entire race/class/whatever if I can't stand the noises they make. I can't really see myself being picky over the sounds guns make, but I can say that I was a bit spoiled by Fallen Earth. When you get to actual gunpowder-type guns in that one, it becomes epic. They are authentic and *loud*, as well as able to ring out for quite a distance. You could be out on the range and hear a shot that lets you triangulate the direction and distance to a target based on a lot of factors. It's really well done.

Again, though... just because one group has "done it right" doesn't mean everyone has to. That's how things get "samey" in the first place. I remember a time when "the lack thereof" meant "charm".

 

I see what you mean about the being "spoiled" aspect.  I think Saints Row the Third has maybe spoiled me a little with their animations, and maybe FFXIV to an extent when it comes to an MMO.  I don't think anyone is expecting Funcom to raise the bar on animations with TSW.  I think what a lot of people are saying though is that they're mostly horrid and dated in their current form, and should be improved upon. :)

If this game doesnt flop Im gonna eat my hat

Animations look cheap, the hp bar stays almost at full when being attacked, the rooms look "boxy" and plastic like. The ui isnt nice looking. The gameplay videos simply has the effect on me that I dont want to play TWS. A miracle has to happen if this game makes game of the year.

If I want to ignore animations to simply follow the story I buy a sound book instead.

The character build, sound and animation huh? Really? You do realize that this is beta right?

The Tokyo flashback is not the same thing as the intro movie - which is what you discribed. 

Tired of zombies? You do know what kind of game this is right?

Nothing about the incredible Lovecraft inspired atmosphere in Kingmouth huh? 

Seems like there are somethings that you like in your games that may make this not the game for you.

Originally posted by Jaxon26

The character build, sound and animation huh? Really? You do realize that this is beta right?

 

The Tokyo flashback is not the same thing as the intro movie - which is what you discribed. 

 

Tired of zombies? You do know what kind of game this is right?

 

Nothing about the incredible Lovecraft inspired atmosphere in Kingmouth huh? 

 

Seems like there are somethings that you like in your games that may make this not the game for you.

 

Dude, they are a mere 5 weeks away from release! Get a grip!

And that Erling Ellingsen guy! You do know who he is right?  That guy litterly grew a nose a 1000 times larger than pinochio with all the lies and false promisses and other PR bullshit he spread during his time on Age of Conan.

I don't believe a single word anymore coming from his mouth!  Not after Age of Conan.

I have been so looking forward to his game! Following it for years since it was announced! Hoping third time would be the charm with Funcom, with a better director/producer on the helm would make a difference!

This game is absolutely awful!  Age of Conan was smooth as silk at launch! With better animations, better combat, better voicing, very smooth gameplay.

The Secret World is the complete opposite of that!  It's horribly clunky, with awful controls, terrible animations and combat. And the voice acting is even worse than SW:TOR's!

You won't believe how dissapointed I am with this game in it's current state! I am shocked! Especially since this game is actually longer in development than Age of Conan ever was.

And looking at the Achievements list.  3 tiny hubs (one for each society). 3 zone areas and a handful of dungeons!  Is that all the game is going to release with??

I really wonder what they have been spending all that time on?? /shrug

For once I am giving myself a HUGE pat on the back for NOT pre-ordering this time! I won't be buying this game until I actually hear and see more positive feedback after launch.... but with Funcom's reputation, it probably gonna take at least a year (like with AoC) to fix this mess.

It all makes me really sad! As I absolutely love the setting and what this game tries to do. /cry

It is overally pretty amazing looking to me.

I will agree there is something a bit off with the character models, lack of ability to customize your size/build.  Also movement is not the best.  But apart from that the apparent depth of abilities and the ambience of the world is just outstanding.

Ah.. same old funcom..  exactly what they did with AOC.   Have a beta with a ton of broken or missing stuff, but promise that it will all be magically fixed right before launch.

If AOC and AO are any indication..what you see now is what you will see at launch.  There was never any major improvement made in AOC the last 8 weeks of beta... despite all the promises.

Also again, they are showing very very limited amount of the game.   For all your talking about ambiance and ´feel´..  you don´t have to believe, but I almost promise you it will drop off a cliff after the small part of the game they allowed you to play.   In AOC, leaving tortage was like starting a new game.. a much much less polished game.

Funcom strikes again.

The game is the very definition of "meh." The setting is interesting but the execution is not. The voice acting is passable at best but the cutscenes and conversations are ridiculously long! If you hated SWTOR's long winded conversations, this is like SWTORx7. The sad thing is that despite these long conversations, most of them fail to explain what's going on. The quests are the your usual MMO fare, nothing groundbreaking. The animations are clunky at best and the combat needs lots of work. Sure, you can move and attack but what's the point if you still get hit? The overall story is worse than GW2's and I hate GW2's stories. You're a nobody, then you swallow a fly and all of a sudden you're being headhunted by the Templars?

This game's only redeeming factor is the music, it's absolutely fantastic. The zone design is also very nice, albeit lifeless. Some NPCs also look great, which is kind of sad because player characters are ugly.

I give this game 6/10 and I'm off to play Path of Exile which also is having an open beta weekend tonight and is an absolute blast, compared to this POS.

PS: this game needs at the very least 3 more months of development time. If Funcom releases it next month, it'll be a complete disaster.

If it weren't for GW2, I'd probably be buying this game at launch. I'm wary of Funcom, so I'm actually glad that I don't feel a need to rush in. I'm really hoping this game will have legs though and I'll almost certainly play it later this year, if it doesn't turn out to be a dud.

As to the animations, I'd have to see them to pass judgement. GW2 has skill use on the run as well and with a single exception everything looked good, smooth and natural during my 38 hours of testing during the last weekend event. IF TSW animations have issues that GW2 doesn't, then the Funcom excuse just won't be very valid. Many animations in AoC were stiff and un-natural, so it really wouldn't surprise me if there were simlar issues in TSW.

I really hope this game is good, though, there appears to be some innovation here and I love the concept for the game.

For those talking about the 'placeholder' animations, this is something that's been discussed in the official forums.  There are some responses from Martin - the lead designer here: http://forums.thesecretworld.com/showthread.php?t=26959&highlight=animation

"Making animations for over 500 abilities is quite the task, therefore we have to use some placeholder animations on some of the abilities when showing a game still in production. We are working on it, and it will be amazing "

and:

"

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skeeter http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrzpL...eature=related Animations from another fc game. I think the animations will be just fine.

Fun fact: I and a guy called Ketil Støren designed all of these. Good times

i just logged out from beta (being playing several hours). I LOVE the aBLood Magic. I have been expecting an mmo that includee Blood magic since i played Dragon Age. So far my combo is Blood magic + shotgun, and sometimes switch the shotgun for elemental. Gonna try sword + chaos later on. I agree with Suzie that the Rifle sounds like kids toy gun and its annoying.

I like so far the game setting, but today there were times that i felt no progression at all since theres no levels. After couple hours of questing in Kingsmouth i felt the grinding for AP / SP as deep as any korean grinder mmo. However the variety of quests and tier format makes it feel more fresh at times too. They need to work on animations more (in both cinematics and gameplay but more in gameplay).

The idea of playing a main character that doesnt know how to speak (not even in cinematics) in an mmo that HAS speaking npcs is beyond me.... Funcom, thats a huge loss.

Another thing that really bothered me is the entire map where kingsmouth is located has a small variety of monsters and all quest that requires killing something makes the game feels beyone repetitive. I hope outside kingsmouth area map there are different stuff to kill.

I am considering to buy the game after launch although in my very personal opinion its not worth a sub. ill play the first 30 days just like i did with Rift, Swtor, Tera, AoC (before f2p).

I've been playing the Beta and have found it to be slow and boring. The combat is uninspired.  

this is just my opinion and I thought since the game was such a disapointment to me I would cancel my preorder with Funcom...which they had charged me in full a month ago.

Well guess what they said no I can not have a refund as they consider beta access as receiving the game. So I have now wasted $65 on a game I don't like that isn't even out yet because unFuncom have decided to treat me (And a lot of other people) with a lot of disrespect.

So as a warning DO NOT preorder games from Funcom unless you are 100% sure the game is what they say it is and you don't mind loosing your money if it isn't.

Angrah

couldn't even finish the videos. 

The Editor's note addition for character creation was a given :) I was thinking we were just offered a demo there, because it was quite poor. The update on animations is nice to know :)

So... the prize we have to pay for the separate body parts animations are... clunky combat? So he's basically saying his animators suck... other game pull it off just fine, why can't TSW?

After trying the beta and being disapointed. I attempted to cancel my preorder with Funcom to be told basically nahnahnnah we have your money and you can't have it back.

No refunds because playing in the beta is the same as receiving the game. So no refunds.

I personally found the game lackluster and the combat boring.... I guess it's a $65 lesson learnt to not trust Funcom.

I got burnt with AoC and was silly enough to believe they would not make the same mistakes.

In my opinion the graphics are subpar, quests are limited to find x and kill y. 

If you enjoyed it and wasn't bored more power to you.

[mod edit]

Angrah