Originally posted by Sebber

Originally posted by santasanta

I am one of those elusive forum creepers that never actually posts anything. If I agree with something, I just smile and nod my head. If your post is dumb, I think that you are dumb and move on. But I have never EVER signed up to a website or posted on a forum; and not just gaming forums....ANY...forum. And then, five days ago, something happened............The Secret World.

I am a 27 year old gaming addict, who has played well over 300 games on just about every console (PC is my primary mode of gaming); including Virtual Boy. I have played nearly all of the MMO behemoths, and many obscure titles as well. This is not a "OMG I'm a better gamer than you" post. I'm hoping to build a little credibility before making the following statement.

The Secret World could become one the greatest games of all time.

"Whoa!.....what? Did he just say that?" Just hear me out. Whether you agree with the above statement or not, you will have to admit that this game has an unlimited build potential. This is also the reason that EVE is in the same category. They both have the potential to NEVER stop growing. Also, if you are expecting a sappy gushfest about TSW, move on. Know that the game is brilliant in just about every aspect (opinion, so for the love of God, don't tell me I am wrong), and that you should buy it.

We have seen just about everything JRR Tolkien had to offer this world. Between him and Gary Gygax, you have pretty much every MMO ever made. Sure you can alter this or that, or the other thing to make it a bit different; or put more money into production to make it more fluid(which is very important). But what people have been missing out on is not a groundbreaking game. Those happen every year. What is difficult to make is a groundbreaking "Framework".

What I mean by this is; in order to make a groundbreaking game, product, service, all you have to do is wrap it up better than the last guy. We'll all complain about clones till we're blue in the face, but in truth, a part of us desires this cleaned up shiny new piece of familiarity. But every once in a while, we want something different, or at least we claim we do. In truth most people who want different, don't really know what the hell they want, and then they leave dissapointed.

This is that game. Like EVE, or Fallen Earth, it's the game you have asked for. Sadly, what is demanded, and what is accepted, are two completely different things. Many will love this game, and many will not, but it will not "Fail" as so many people like to say. I'll finish with a couple reasons for why I believe this.

• The first impression (launch) was nearly flawless.
• The love for this game from the community and developers is so blatently deeper than surface level.
• The 'hate' for this game from "the other game" crowd is very superficial, and will be extremely temporary. Just wait.
• Unlimited resources to draw from, providing unlimited growth possibilities.
• The "framework" that Funcom have created is of masterpiece quality, and it will only get better.

Good greif! I'm done. Reading forums is so much easier. I should have made my first post short and sweet, but NO! I had to get all long wind.........oh frak it! just buy the game and try it for a month. Even at minimum wage it's only about 6 hours of work, and if you can't find a way to get 6 hours of benefit from this game...............................................................

 

[mod edit]

Your very much in the minority "Dude!"

Originally posted by Vonatar

I wish I could like it, it seems good in many ways. But the combat, ugh, I just can't get past the lack of any sense of actually slashing, shooting or whatever. It just feels so detached and every time I'm in a fight I feel like I'm playing a game, rather than immersed in the world and connected to my character.

Just my opinion, and I'm glad that others don't have this problem and enjoy the game, but unless and until they give the combat a really good overhaul and make it feel better, the game is not for me.

Is this a joke post? You do know that TSW is a game you are playing right?

In the off chance you are not joking, let me retort, if I may:

The beauty of the combat system is not how it is played out, but rather the way you set it up. For example, the game has 525 abilities you can choose from, and every single one of them can be learned by one character. The way it is set up is that you essentially create your own build, class, and rotations. You find and choose skills that you like and work for you, and it is an unofficial goal to put abilities that work well together, called having "synergy" for example:

Lets say you like a certain skill. I'll use one that I am familiar with. In the Assault rifle tree there is skill that I personally like, that is called "Fire at will". This is a finisher move. Meaning you can only use it after you have built up rifle resources with what is called a "builder ability" So now you go and find a builder ability you like. Lets take one of the first builders you get "Safety Off" it builds a resource everytime you use it.

So now you can use Safety Off, which is a single target attack that hits the target 3 times. After you use  it once, you can now use the "Fire at Will" abitity, which hits all targets in front of you. But wait a minute. You can build up to 5 resources, and the more you build up, when you use your finisher move, it does more damage!. Awesome! but...thats not even the tip of the iceberg. There are also passives abilities that you can choose that "boost" your active abilites, or does something else. For example, if you look at Fire At Will, you will see it is classified as a frenzy ability. There is a passive ability (one of many) that says when you activate a frenzy ability, you are healed for XX amount. There is also another ability that says when you activate a frenzy ability, you give the target a damage over time effect. So your Fire At WiIl can either heal you, DoT the enemy, or a number of other effects that you can choose from. You can also chain these affects. When an enemy has a  DoT, it is in an "Afflicted" state. And there are abilities that exploit Afflicted staes, and other states. It is up to you to choose what you like, based on your preferences and playstyle.

And this my friend, is not even scratching the surface.

Another example is EVE Online. One of the big things about that game is the PvP. But when you se the combat system, its just your ship flying Automatically, while you circle your opponent and try to hit his ship. But that is not where the beauty lies within the system, its how you use the different modules, and upgrades in battle. And EVE Online has been out for 5. 6 years? and it has been the number 2 MMO in that time period behind "that other game" before the Rift/SWTOR era.

But alas, I can relate, this game, like EvE Online, is not for anyone. That I can agree on. But seriously, what kind of combat were you expecting? I can respect your opinion, but please dont call the combat system bland, plain, or boring, when in reality it is far, far away  from any of those things.

Originally posted by santasanta

Originally posted by Vonatar

I wish I could like it, it seems good in many ways. But the combat, ugh, I just can't get past the lack of any sense of actually slashing, shooting or whatever. It just feels so detached and every time I'm in a fight I feel like I'm playing a game, rather than immersed in the world and connected to my character.

Just my opinion, and I'm glad that others don't have this problem and enjoy the game, but unless and until they give the combat a really good overhaul and make it feel better, the game is not for me.

Much better, and thank you. It really is a shame that there were such dramatic improvements from beta to launch. That really good overhaul you're hoping for.....well it already happened. While I liked the combat, even in beta, it has been dramatically improved. So.....? Any more objections? Or are you already entering your credit card info? :)

Unfortunately I am not in a position to lay out €50 or whatever the game costs to see if, in fact, the combat changed dramatically between the final beta weekend and launch. Call me an old sceptic, but I find it hard to believe new animations, sounds, effects etc. all appeared in the release version that were not in the final beta just a week or so beforehand. I have a few friends who decided to buy the game and I have asked them about the combat - they say it's no different from the final beta weekend.

Originally posted by santasanta

Originally posted by Sebber

[mod edit]

[mod edit]

Are you sure you arent a seasoned forum poster, cause this my friend is a masterwork. Also, I agree with you about TSW it is the first game to come around for a long time to grab me this way...and here I was after TOR wondering if I had outgrown video games altogether. Funcom hit it out of the park with this one.

But alas, I can relate, this game, like EvE Online, is not for anyone. That I can agree on. But please dont call the combat system bland, plain, or boring, when in reality it is far, far, from any of those things.

Actually I never called the combat system any of those things. The mechanics themselves are good, deep and complex as you say.

What I have an issue with (and again I stress that it is my issue as a matter of personal opinion) is the way combat plays out on screen. I find it clunky, unsatisfying and unrealistic. This is really down to animations of both player and enemies, reactions (or lack of them) to player abilities, sounds, effects and camera shake, to name a few things. A dev once made a comment about creating a "sense of hitting" in combat design and this kind of captures my problem - for me this sense is not there in TSW's combat. I don't find the moves "cool" or "satisfying" and the enemies do not react much to what you do to them, so in that respect, not the system itself, I find combat unengaging.

As for whether I know I'm playing a game, I would ask this. When you sit on the couch and read a book, are you thinking in every moment you're sitting there that you're on a couch with a book in your hands? Or is the book well-written and interesting enough that your mind is sufficiently distracted and your imagination stimulated by what you're reading? This is my point.

Originally posted by Xstatic912
This launch went smooth because of a few factors..

Compare to other Mmo games this wasn't all that hyped so servers weren't que over..

Guild wars 2 beta weekends are more full than this (not bashing the game or anything).. I can say no matter what arenanet do there launch will have problems on the popular servers..

pvp, when it isn't laggy its fun to play, but like any game where you got more than 50 person on screen, casting spells etc.. I expect a performance hit if some sort..

Not Hyped? there was over 1 Million open beta keys given out. The servers have been full. What most people don't realize is that FunCom did another amazing thing here. The brought MMO's to the "CLOUD".

Players can move betwen servers or dimensions as they are called. In addition each "Server" has multiple instances of the same areas, the end result is that the game can support a lot more people per server than most other games.

They started this in AO, with some instanced areas, continued it with AOC with even more playfields being instances and now it seems they have taken it to the next level with TSW.

You can team up with people from other servers or instances and they can move to the server you are on. If a server shuts down or crashes, you can continue playing on another server. Just like Server clustering in Cloud!

It also means that they only need to make as many instances as the population supports. if the population dwindles as it certainly will after the first month of launch. there will be less instances created so the population will still seen to be about the same.

There will be no server merges as there is no need, ever!

The OP is right. This is an amazing game that everyone should give a chance.

For those with lag issues, its probably time for an upgrade.... OR lower your settings when in the pvp zones. You can change your settings on the fly...

If you have the computer to handle it, this is hands down the most amazing looking MMO ever! <- My opinion of course!

The game is a winner, and a breath of fresh air, for everyone who want a good challenge, to use their brains, and have a good time in a modern MMO setting. No more no less!

And for those who dont like it, fine, but still no need for you to shit in TSWs back yard just because you prefer a different flavour...

Originally posted by AwDiddums

Originally posted by Sebber

Originally posted by santasanta

I am one of those elusive forum creepers that never actually posts anything. If I agree with something, I just smile and nod my head. If your post is dumb, I think that you are dumb and move on. But I have never EVER signed up to a website or posted on a forum; and not just gaming forums....ANY...forum. And then, five days ago, something happened............The Secret World.

I am a 27 year old gaming addict, who has played well over 300 games on just about every console (PC is my primary mode of gaming); including Virtual Boy. I have played nearly all of the MMO behemoths, and many obscure titles as well. This is not a "OMG I'm a better gamer than you" post. I'm hoping to build a little credibility before making the following statement.

The Secret World could become one the greatest games of all time.

"Whoa!.....what? Did he just say that?" Just hear me out. Whether you agree with the above statement or not, you will have to admit that this game has an unlimited build potential. This is also the reason that EVE is in the same category. They both have the potential to NEVER stop growing. Also, if you are expecting a sappy gushfest about TSW, move on. Know that the game is brilliant in just about every aspect (opinion, so for the love of God, don't tell me I am wrong), and that you should buy it.

We have seen just about everything JRR Tolkien had to offer this world. Between him and Gary Gygax, you have pretty much every MMO ever made. Sure you can alter this or that, or the other thing to make it a bit different; or put more money into production to make it more fluid(which is very important). But what people have been missing out on is not a groundbreaking game. Those happen every year. What is difficult to make is a groundbreaking "Framework".

What I mean by this is; in order to make a groundbreaking game, product, service, all you have to do is wrap it up better than the last guy. We'll all complain about clones till we're blue in the face, but in truth, a part of us desires this cleaned up shiny new piece of familiarity. But every once in a while, we want something different, or at least we claim we do. In truth most people who want different, don't really know what the hell they want, and then they leave dissapointed.

This is that game. Like EVE, or Fallen Earth, it's the game you have asked for. Sadly, what is demanded, and what is accepted, are two completely different things. Many will love this game, and many will not, but it will not "Fail" as so many people like to say. I'll finish with a couple reasons for why I believe this.

• The first impression (launch) was nearly flawless.
• The love for this game from the community and developers is so blatently deeper than surface level.
• The 'hate' for this game from "the other game" crowd is very superficial, and will be extremely temporary. Just wait.
• Unlimited resources to draw from, providing unlimited growth possibilities.
• The "framework" that Funcom have created is of masterpiece quality, and it will only get better.

Good greif! I'm done. Reading forums is so much easier. I should have made my first post short and sweet, but NO! I had to get all long wind.........oh frak it! just buy the game and try it for a month. Even at minimum wage it's only about 6 hours of work, and if you can't find a way to get 6 hours of benefit from this game...............................................................

 

[mod edit]

Your very much in the minority "Dude!"

 

Nah he is spot on.

I disagree with every fiber of my being. This game is a disaster and it'll take a few days for that to sink in for some people.

Originally posted by JonnyBigBoss

I disagree with every fiber of my being. This game is a disaster and it'll take a few days for that to sink in for some people.

Your sig says it all:

Playing: PlayStation 3, World of Warcraft
 

/ignored...

Originally posted by Vonatar

But alas, I can relate, this game, like EvE Online, is not for anyone. That I can agree on. But please dont call the combat system bland, plain, or boring, when in reality it is far, far, from any of those things.

Actually I never called the combat system any of those things. The mechanics themselves are good, deep and complex as you say.

What I have an issue with (and again I stress that it is my issue as a matter of personal opinion) is the way combat plays out on screen. I find it clunky, unsatisfying and unrealistic. This is really down to animations of both player and enemies, reactions (or lack of them) to player abilities, sounds, effects and camera shake, to name a few things. A dev once made a comment about creating a "sense of hitting" in combat design and this kind of captures my problem - for me this sense is not there in TSW's combat. I don't find the moves "cool" or "satisfying" and the enemies do not react much to what you do to them, so in that respect, not the system itself, I find combat unengaging.

As for whether I know I'm playing a game, I would ask this. When you sit on the couch and read a book, are you thinking in every moment you're sitting there that you're on a couch with a book in your hands? Or is the book well-written and interesting enough that your mind is sufficiently distracted and your imagination stimulated by what you're reading? This is my point.

I can respect your opinion. But the fact is that comabt animation "like that" dont define a game. As I previous stated, look at Eve Online. That games combat system consist of firing weapons at a floating ship that is circling your ship, which is floating and circling the other players ship....for 2 hours. One might think that combat system, with no real animations is bland and weak. but it does not define the fun of the combat system.

And to your example of reading a book. Sure I can get immersed in a book, but when I close it, its not like Im like " holy crap, where am I? a minute ago I was on a ship as a pirate, now im in a house sitting on a couch. Oh yea thats right, it wasnt real" That never realistically happens.

And the environment is what is suppose to get you immersed into a games enviromnet (crazy right?) not its combat animations, sure it helps, but its not the deciding factor. And TSW's enviroment gets you immersed in spades. From the lighting to the environmental details, to even details that depend on the character (for example jumping on cars starts their alarm systems and thus attracts zombies, or when there are dead bodies on the floor from a car crash on a bridge, and you walk over them, and all of sudden they come alive and start attacking, thus meaning they are reacting to YOU)

If TSW's environment doesnt get you immersed, but you're expecting a games combat animations to do that job for you. I, respectfully, have to question your definition of immersion, good sir.

So I got to try the game finally,  went buy the game store on the way home from work, grabbed a copy,  and pretty much was in this game non-stop all of Wednesday.

This game is fantastic !

Felt very polished right from the start (minus some crashing which DID occur, however did not detract from my immersion in the game significantly) everything else seemed smooth, and no lag.

The Ambience, 10/10 the whole atmosphere really draws you in, unique setting, top notch voice acting, and while it IS a theme-park,  its one hell of an enjoyable one so far.

I really got into the story from the get-go .. and I ABSOLUTLEY LOVE the fact that I am wanting to pay attention to not only the story, the mission details (because you have to) but also all the other little nuances of the environment.

A game that has made me *think* again, and feel challenged and intrigued by missions (not just mindlessly chasing ! and ? all day)

I realize this may not be everyone's cup of tea, but right now this is my #2 fave MMO of all time, right next to EVE.

Perhaps Ill write more later, but dont buy into people saying this game is terrible,  while it may not suit you personally, there I honestly don't know how you can call this game terrible, it's graphics and setting alone pale any recent MMO release that I can think of.

Perhaps will write more later, but if you have an itch to try this game, and are looking for something to savor and not rush through to "end game"  this might just be the game.

My computer is crap.  I'm playing everything on low and it's glitchy and slow if I see more than 10 ppl.  It's also sometimes glitchy if I'm alone, just running.  I'm still enjoying the game though, which is really wierd.  Usually I'll just play till I'm bored (which is about 3 weeks), but I'm actually considering spending some dough and upping my specs so I can enjoy the game even more. First time in a very long time I've done that.  I think WOTLK was my last upgrade and I did it for that. 

Originally posted by Kuppa
I take it you liked the combat op?

I do very much. I posted more in depth about it, along with a reply to "a wonderful individual who I am such good friends with". Apparently my post was considered retaliation and I was sent a nice little message from the mods. Yes the combat is fantastic, the story is fantastic, the world is fantastic, the amount of fun I am currently having is fantastic, the direction and possibilities that this game has access to is fantastic. 

I truly believe that people think we are lying when we say that we love this game so much. I'm sure they think we've been duped or manipulated somehow; otherwise, I can't imagine a reason for why they would try to convince us that we are wrong. It's not that they say "That's cool that you think that, but I dissagree with you." No, they seriously try to convince us that we are dead wrong, or just confused. They think they are saving us from our stupidity. I have to tell you, we will not be coerced into thinking that we've made a mistake.

To those people.....Get Over It. We love the game, we are playing the game, and we will discuss it with other like minded people who feel the same way. I truly believe that it is better to have somebody try something for themselves and make a decision than to tell them not to. Nobody can ever learn truth from another persons point of view. If you think you are saving somebody time and money, you are wrong. Your words are only poison to people who can't think for themselves. If that's who you want to be, well, then you and I will probably never get along.

Short and sweet Santa.......short and sweet. I'll get better at this I swear.

Originally posted by santasanta

Originally posted by Kuppa
I take it you liked the combat op?

I do very much. I posted more in depth about it, along with a reply to "a wonderful individual who I am such good friends with". Apparently my post was considered retaliation and I was sent a nice little message from the mods. Yes the combat is fantastic, the story is fantastic, the world is fantastic, the amount of fun I am currently having is fantastic, the direction and possibilities that this game has access to is fantastic. 

I truly believe that people think we are lying when we say that we love this game so much. I'm sure they think we've been duped or manipulated somehow; otherwise, I can't imagine a reason for why they would try to convince us that we are wrong. It's not that they say "That's cool that you think that, but I dissagree with you." No, they seriously try to convince us that we are dead wrong, or just confused. They think they are saving us from our stupidity. I have to tell you, we will not be coerced into thinking that we've made a mistake.

To those people.....Get Over It. We love the game, we are playing the game, and we will discuss it with other like minded people who feel the same way. I truly believe that it is better to have somebody try something for themselves and make a decision than to tell them not to. Nobody can ever learn truth from another persons point of view. If you think you are saving somebody time and money, you are wrong. Your words are only poison to people who can't think for themselves. If that's who you want to be, well, then you and I will probably never get along.

Short and sweet Santa.......short and sweet. I'll get better at this I swear.

Very well said....

I had my issues about this game but when I played during Beta, I was very pleasanty surprised.  I have been playing ever since and enjoying myself more that I have in a very long time.  This game isn'tperfect buts its amazing me as you get to new areas how this game changes and forces you to think and adapt.

Originally posted by santasanta

I am one of those elusive forum creepers that never actually posts anything.

The Secret World could become one the greatest games of all time.

Yeah, seems like a lot of you guys gushing about this game follow the same pattern.

Originally posted by Vesavius

Originally posted by santasanta

I am one of those elusive forum creepers that never actually posts anything.

The Secret World could become one the greatest games of all time.

 

Yeah, seems like a lot of you guys gushing about this game follow the same pattern.

 

OK, in this situation, I have to agree with you. 

Originally posted by gamekid2k

Originally posted by Sebber

Originally posted by santasanta

 

 

Dude the combat and character animations are awful , the graphic is outdated, there is limited content and the PVP in the game is horrible.

Graphic outdated?  Do you want your typical Toystory rainbow graphics of TERA?

Animation Awful? Some are and they can easlly be fixed with a patch

Limited content? Define content? With so many Quest/Lore/Puzzile are F##@ing kidding me? 

PvP is one of the best.  PvP is very well implemented where everyone can tinker with the skill and come up with an opitmal build that matches their playstyle.

Graphically it's not great, there really is no counter argument to that. It's not bad, but it's not great.

The animations are a problem, thats pretty much acknowledged.

The content is limited, it's not endless now, is it? The BIGGEST challenge facing FC is to keep this game fresh, it's a pve game which has it's questing system centric to the entire game, as such they need to keep the content flowing in to keep the game interresting. Any new content must be interspersed with good content, not just more grinding or more of the kill x quests. While most realise any updates will include a certain amount of grinder time sinks, as the story is the game, they really need to keep it going to keep subscription numbers. This is a massive undertaking and i doubt FC is up to the challenge....im not sure any game developer is really.

PvP is a side-attraction, it's the usual tack-on all pve mmo's seem to use these days, if you think this is one of the best you haven't played any of the better pvp mmo's.

TSW isn't a bad game, but defending the indefensible aspects with this kind of blinkered rhetoric only makes it look like fanboism.