Originally posted by maskmurda

 It's not a bash thread nor I don't expect to bash or be bashed, I just want a real and honest understanding at how some people can use the word "impressive" with this kind of game.

Ok. But first explain to me how can people play GW2 and call it "impressive"?

Originally posted by maskmurda

In all honestly, I can't see how people play this game. I want(no sarcasm at all) someone to enlighten me on how they can play this. Funcom+EA turns me away as it is, but I played the beta and the game was so bland and unimpressive I can't grasp at why some people are gravitating to it. I wasn't struck by it's visuals, clunky movement and character animations or quest system. People are saying that the skill system is innovative, I see no inovation in the Trinity, only a new perspective. I dont mean to bash anyone who plays it, it's your cup of tea then by all means share with me something you find good in the game that I can check out, but for me a game with this level of quality shouldn't be released in 2012. I expect something like this from 5 years ago.  But I seeing how well EA loves their consumer base I can't see this game ending will in the next few months.  I'm really trying to see the diamond in the rough because I notice alot of people are getting into it, but then again there is that "new car smell" effect things can have.

 It's not a bash thread nor I don't expect to bash or be bashed, I just want a real and honest understanding at how some people can use the word "impressive" with this kind of game.

Why i play TSW:

1.  It's made by Funcom.  Funcom has proven to me over the years that despite technical challenges, they're commited to making creative and innovative games.   They made the greatest MMO i've ever played in Anarchy Online and they made the best looking and most visceral MMO i've played in AoC.  

2.  The art design, music and writing are by far and wide the best in the industry to date.  The atmosphere is fantastic, the NPCs are interesting, the dialogue is fresh and well acted.  I kick back get a snack and watch the cinematics like an interesting mini-movie rather than skipping them outright as I do in most games.    The art design is also superb with many things looking downright freaky.

3.  The character progression system.  I love open-ended complex skill systems.  Figuring out a build, mixing and matching different skills and being able to do different things every time i go into combat is awesome.

4.  The quest system.  Finally a quest system that encourages actually focusing on story and the quest rather on gathering 20 quests in a hub and looking for red dots on a map.  Then there are the puzzles, the investigation quests, having to actually pay attention, etc.  And then there is "Something Wicked" - which takes "f***ing awesome" to a whole new level.

5.  Difficulty - you need to actually think about your build to be successful and to adjust that build in order to defeat different challenges.  You need to actually pay attention and do the right things in combat to beat the well-designed dungeons.  You need to stay alive or be left out of the fight.  All these things were missing for me when i tried GW2 and I was very happy to have them in TSW.  That last boss in Hell Raised is just an awesomely designed encounter and shows the amazing potential of this game in terms of combat difficulty.  

6.  Single-server architecture and nearly flawless launch - neither of these were things i knew about prior to picking up the game, but both have really impressed.  To date, the best MMO launches I've been part of were Rift and LoTRO, but TSW is right up there.  The game has been stable and mostly bug-free right from the get-go and I've never seen a crash or a waiting queue.  Even the most optimistic people were expecting at least SOME hiccups at launch, but aside from a few quests that bugged due ot the volume of people doing them simultaneously, the launch has gone super-smooth.   For those with bugged quests, there were still workarounds and GMs have generally been very good at showing up and fixing them on demand.

I'm not going to really respond to anything in your post other than this - if you aren't "struck by the visuals" of this game... you're probably just jaded from the genre as a whole and need to take a break.   There are simply incredible visuals to be experienced in TSW and if you aren't impressed by demon jumping your helicopter in polaris or the sudden appearance of a wendigo in the flashlight-lit darkness, i seriously doubt that there is ANYTHING in the gaming world that will impress you. I mean.. i just don't see visuals getting too much better than that.  In my experience in those games, neither TERA nor GW2 - both of which have better overall graphics quality - come anywhere close to TSW in terms of visual design.  But like any art, i guess it's partly a matter of taste.

I could play this game BECAUSE it's Funcom, Anarchy Online gave me something no other MMO has done to date. But I'm waiting for GW2 and that is more than enough for me :)

Help me understand why people drink cola. I think it tastes like shit.

Originally posted by Garvon3

I don't understand how anyone plays entirely instanced games and pretend they're MMOs.

Much less Funcom WoW clones.

/agreed

Originally posted by AdrianBLB

Well, it's "Impressive" for me mainly because of the Story in this game, and it is amazing. Most of us are bored of the predictable fantasy orc/elf crap and want something new. If you're playing MMO's just to grind your way to the top for bragging rights, well then that's your cup of tea. But, most TSW players that I know of including myself, loves a good story within the game and Ragnar and his team of writers at Funcom has done an amazing job with this game. Gameplay wise, sure there are the conventional MMO mechanics, but what sets this game apart from the rest for me is the way things are carried out. It's a game meant to be played at a much slower pace. 

Another thing I find different is the Ability Wheel. 7 Actives and Passives from a pool of 500+ to pick from and find the perfect synergy for, is unique and challenging in it's own way. Beats the usual hack & slash skills from other MMOs no?

I enjoyed your story comment, that makes more sense than anything else in my opinion.

Originally posted by NorseGod

Nobody can explain why other people play a particular game. However, I can post my reason that I play.

I like doing all the quests. That's it. Just do quests and enjoy something with a different atmosphere.  I'm not rushing because the game doesn't offer anything else for me. I knew this before I bought it. But, the quests in CB were interesting so I wanted to do them all.

I commend Funcom for always trying a new twist on their games. I'm more than happy to support such efforts. Will it have millions of players? Nope. But, again, I already knew this. So did many others. And we were ok with this reality.

It's been a long, long time since I've had to keep pen and paper next to me while I played an MMO.

Wierd ability combos are becoming an itch that I might have to scratch. >.>

Well that's interesting, I encountered a raven mission in beta that didn't make much sense to me, however, I really, really liked the fact that it doesn't spell out what you have to do next, nor does it "generally" point the way to the next part, I'm not sure about missions later on as I didn't make it that far, I did, however, play it for a while. I think in the beginning the first couple of missions show where to go but after that it became less and less.. Which is fine, I would like an MMO that has me using pen and paper again..... Or an iPad, what fun! Nice comments!

Originally posted by AdrianBLB

Well, it's "Impressive" for me mainly because of the Story in this game, and it is amazing. Most of us are bored of the predictable fantasy orc/elf crap and want something new. If you're playing MMO's just to grind your way to the top for bragging rights, well then that's your cup of tea. But, most TSW players that I know of including myself, loves a good story within the game and Ragnar and his team of writers at Funcom has done an amazing job with this game. Gameplay wise, sure there are the conventional MMO mechanics, but what sets this game apart from the rest for me is the way things are carried out. It's a game meant to be played at a much slower pace. 

Another thing I find different is the Ability Wheel. 7 Actives and Passives from a pool of 500+ to pick from and find the perfect synergy for, is unique and challenging in it's own way. Beats the usual hack & slash skills from other MMOs no?

 This for me pretty much.  A simpler take is I play the game, I have fun and I am engaged while playing.

Originally posted by ShakyMo
Also are you perchance a gw2 fanboi. Because I'm testing both.

Gw2 has MORE instancing than tsw. It's not a corridor grinding solo fest like swtor, and I like gw2 but it has MORE INSTANCING than tsw.

Garvon is far from that. He is an equal opportunity hater, except for EQ I think.

Originally posted by Sorrow

Omg come on seriously? We play it because it is the newest thing out there atm and we are bored to death with every aspect of every thing.

 

But seriously there are times I hate TSW and times I love it. The game definately has a challege factor, but on the other side of the coin the game mechanic and core design are flawed beyond belief.

 

1) The game launched WAY too early, and NO I refuse to entertain those people that claim every game releases with bugs give them time they will get it fixed. We are 20 years into this industry, there are no longer any excuse why any game should EVER release in the state TSW is in now. IF they can fix the game " IN TIME " then they should fix the game on thier time, not on my time. Many games have released in recent years with clean nearly flawless clients, the days of  " ALL games release buggy " are done and over and yes players are starting to prove that to developers, take SWTOR as an example, and sadly TSW will be another example simply because they do not have time to " fix " the game eventually.  August 25th will be here before you know it and then the nomads will be moving on to a new game.

2) Mini bosses easier than yard trash surrounding them, should never be the case, but in TSW many of the " elites " and random minibosses, are way easier to kill than any of the yard trash mobs around them.

3)Gah drawing a blank on what its called atm, clipping? When the terrain is not put together right in some places? Anyway tons of that in TSW, maybe not so much walking down the main roads, but off the roads there is a lot of it.

4)One of my big issues as it has been going on since the industry began and every developer should know to address it before release... audio or video memory leak.. basically when sound or audio files do not unload from memory cache when you move into a new area, eventually bogging down your game and system.

5)The fact they release a game with a place holder character creation system, they knowlingly admit it is horrible and that they intend to eventually replace it and give us all 1 free makeover for our characters.. WTF!!! I mean seriously I play MMO's and RPG's to IMMERSE myself into my character to forget my life and become someone else for a little while. WHY would any SERIOUS game developer ever release a game they knowingly admit is crap or flawed??

Now on the other side of the coin, I have been begging them to make a game for real gamers again, something that takes a brain to play, TSW is a pretty good attempt at creating a game for real gamers, by real I mean geek gamers, the smart people. I mean so far I have had to learn morse code, and binary just to get past a few quests, and Im barely into the game.

All in all I would rate the game as loaded with potential, but how many damn times do we say well that game had potential too bad they screwed it up.

Memory leaks = really bad programming... Drives me crazy to see this and experience it.

I would have to agree with you on your points, especially the quality of the MMO games released... Make a better game and I'll play it. Story, critical thinking, and gameplay features mean nothing if the game barely works.

Originally posted by Ginaz

Originally posted by maskmurda

In all honestly, I can't see how people play this game. I want(no sarcasm at all) someone to enlighten me on how they can play this. Funcom+EA turns me away as it is, but I played the beta and the game was so bland and unimpressive I can't grasp at why some people are gravitating to it. I wasn't struck by it's visuals, clunky movement and character animations or quest system. People are saying that the skill system is innovative, I see no inovation in the Trinity, only a new perspective. I dont mean to bash anyone who plays it, it's your cup of tea then by all means share with me something you find good in the game that I can check out, but for me a game with this level of quality shouldn't be released in 2012. I expect something like this from 5 years ago.  But I seeing how well EA loves their consumer base I can't see this game ending will in the next few months.  I'm really trying to see the diamond in the rough because I notice alot of people are getting into it, but then again there is that "new car smell" effect things can have.

 It's not a bash thread nor I don't expect to bash or be bashed, I just want a real and honest understanding at how some people can use the word "impressive" with this kind of game.

GW2 didn't impress me all that much yet many people rave about it.  Different strokes and all that.  I'm enjoying TSW a lot and its the best MMO I've played in years.

I refuse to by into any statement that TSW is the best game they've played in years, but I'm glad you like it!

In my case i play it due to the only reason i'd play a video game.  It's fun (for me) and i enjoy doing it.

Originally posted by Morv

Originally posted by Ginaz

Originally posted by maskmurda

<snip>

GW2 didn't impress me all that much yet many people rave about it.  Different strokes and all that.  I'm enjoying TSW a lot and its the best MMO I've played in years.

I refuse to by into any statement that TSW is the best game they've played in years, but I'm glad you like it!

TSW is the best themepark MMO I've played since pre-NGE SWG, and that's like 8 years ago...

Originally posted by SpottyGekko

Originally posted by Morv

Originally posted by Ginaz

Originally posted by maskmurda

GW2 didn't impress me all that much yet many people rave about it.  Different strokes and all that.  I'm enjoying TSW a lot and its the best MMO I've played in years.

I refuse to by into any statement that TSW is the best game they've played in years, but I'm glad you like it!

TSW is the best themepark MMO I've played since pre-NGE SWG, and that's like 8 years ago...

TSW feels more like what a mmorpg use to be like, and less like an instanced pvp grind to endgame.

I love pvp-action mmorpgs as much as the next guy but its really nice to have a different, non rushed feeling when playing a mmorpg.

While it might be a themepark, and still has the pvp of wow-clones...it sure as hell doesnt feel like, look like, or play like your typical wow-clone...which is what the major draw is here for a lot of people.

If youve been complaining over the last few years about every game being the same old...you might want to take an honest look at this game.

I'm with you OP. I spent 30 hours in the game and never had a single moment where I felt I was having fun. Sure, the environments can be okay, the cutscenes are great, and the skill system rocks, but the entire game feels dated and boring. You would have to pay me to log back in.

Originally posted by JonnyBigBoss

I'm with you OP. I spent 30 hours in the game and never had a single moment where I felt I was having fun. Sure, the environments can be okay, the cutscenes are great, and the skill system rocks, but the entire game feels dated and boring. You would have to pay me to log back in.

wait wait so you spent 30 hours in a game where you did not have any fun?

Thats like somone pissing on you and you not moving out the way..

Originally posted by Caldrin

Originally posted by JonnyBigBoss

I'm with you OP. I spent 30 hours in the game and never had a single moment where I felt I was having fun. Sure, the environments can be okay, the cutscenes are great, and the skill system rocks, but the entire game feels dated and boring. You would have to pay me to log back in.

wait wait so you spent 30 hours in a game where you did not have any fun?

Thats like somone pissing on you and you not moving out the way..

 Well to be fair....if he would have said he came to that conclusion after an hour someone else would take him to task over that.

Seems he gave it an effort.

Just his taste in games sucks :P

Originally posted by Wickedjelly

Originally posted by Caldrin

Originally posted by JonnyBigBoss

I'm with you OP. I spent 30 hours in the game and never had a single moment where I felt I was having fun. Sure, the environments can be okay, the cutscenes are great, and the skill system rocks, but the entire game feels dated and boring. You would have to pay me to log back in.

wait wait so you spent 30 hours in a game where you did not have any fun?

Thats like somone pissing on you and you not moving out the way..

 Well to be fair....if he would have said he came to that conclusion after an hour someone else would take him to task over that.

Seems he gave it an effort.

Just his taste in games sucks :P

For those who dislike games that are different, theres like 100+ games out there that all do stuff the same...so at least having that taste in games isnt hurting his gaming ability...so hes got that going for him....which is good.

I think a lot of people find learning a painful and unfun activity, which i can see a lot of players getting turned off by a game that tosses it up a bit and forces you to learn new mechanics and pay attention ect.