Originally posted by Kris.Kringle

Originally posted by fiontar
...snipped

 

I'm glad it appears to be the game you are looking for.  To make you even happier, version 1.5 launches with 1500 quests and fills the gaps currently evident in 1.0.

I also agree that character customisation is 2nd to none, and they obviously learned a huge lesson from Lineage in that respect - anyone who played that game will be nodding in agreement at this moment.  One of my original points is that the armour and customisation has no effect once you zoom out only very slightly, and all toons are just blurred objects with a glowy halo around them.  Great for mass PvP, but pretty mundane for visual quality - or lack of it.

Definately a benchmark for 2009?  Come on, that is just ridiculous.  Are you suggesting this is the new model that MMO's should now be following?  There isn't a single aspect of the game that is new or will take this genre forward, and just goes to prove how stale the RPG has become.  They have copied WoW in it's basic concept to the letter albeit using a slightly better game engine.

As for performance, the fattest thread on the CB forum is created by 'Ayase' <community manager> asking for folk to discuss their problems with lag, rubberbanding and disconnections.  It has over 160 replies at the last glance, and has been viewed by over 4k people.  The next most popular thread is about 1/10th the size of it - just for some perspective.

Both AoC and Warhammer started with performance issues which continued for a long time, and are often the root cause of cancelled subscriptions or failure to even buy the box game.  Luckily for NCSoft, they are smart enough to have given themselves some time to sort out this issue, and my overriding feeling is this game will be a hit - simply because they are sticking to WoW's winning formula, and the easily pleased fanbase that game has.

 

Are you playing with the bloom effect on? None of the character models "are just blurred objects with a glowy halo around them" on my client, zoomed in or not. You can spend a lot of time hunting around one small area and I could recognize people I would continually run across just by their appearance.

The graphics and character customization, models and animations are a benchmark for 2009. Is the game revolutionary? No. It is, however, a solid melding of old school, Asian and modern MMORPG conventions.

" As for performance, the fattest thread on the CB forum is created by 'Ayase' <community manager> asking for folk to discuss their problems with lag, rubberbanding and disconnections.  It has over 160 replies at the last glance, and has been viewed by over 4k people.  The next most popular thread is about 1/10th the size of it - just for some perspective."

Actually, some of the PvE threads are well over 270 replies.  

Originally posted by avalon1000

" As for performance, the fattest thread on the CB forum is created by 'Ayase' <community manager> asking for folk to discuss their problems with lag, rubberbanding and disconnections.  It has over 160 replies at the last glance, and has been viewed by over 4k people.  The next most popular thread is about 1/10th the size of it - just for some perspective."

 

Actually, some of the PvE threads are well over 270 replies.  

Imagine trying to tweak servers from complaints by beta testers.  While it is true that its an alien concept to most devs these days im glad NCsoft is asking for specifics and working to fix them. 

I just find it funny the OP said its basicly like WoW but with anime graphics...... Well then WoW must have been a ok game if it were from 2001. To put it in perspective  Anarchy Online and  Dark Age of Camelot were 2 games released in 2001, i loved AO but never really got into DAoC.  I wish I was into DAoC because I enjoyed WAR's  RvR when it happend and I heard Dark Age's was even better.

But yeah I had a feeling this game had really nothing new to offer, I'm sure I'll try the free trial or open beta and see how it is because I have nothing better to do than wait for 2 games to come out.

Originally posted by Kris.Kringle 

As for performance, the fattest thread on the CB forum is created by 'Ayase' <community manager> asking for folk to discuss their problems with lag, rubberbanding and disconnections.  It has over 160 replies at the last glance, and has been viewed by over 4k people.  The next most popular thread is about 1/10th the size of it - just for some perspective.

Why do I keep seeing you beat this horse into the bush? The "fattest" thread is titled, "How would you rate  your game experience so far?" and encourages  people to talk about how they enjoy the game on a scale of 1-5, 5 being awesome. A few people opt to talk about Latency here but it's not the focus. So no, server stability isnt the top subject. The other topic I can see you might be hinting at ask "Has your latency been alright?" in which 65% say "Yes" out of approx 1600 people.

It is scary to see that ncsoft is still stupid enough to stick with gameguard.

On topic, the game wouldn't even be worth playing unless you want a copy of wow in anime skin, without the content.

Stay with your current mmo or wait for something more promising.(final fantasy 14 or something )

I won't leave AO for this.

i must admit last beta(3) i had no real lag problems or d/c's but this weekend gone on beta(4) i did, infact in one 4 hour session i had around 4/5 d/c's and that was one of new servers with low pop.

Originally posted by echolon

It is scary to see that ncsoft is still stupid enough to stick with gameguard.

On topic, the game wouldn't even be worth playing unless you want a copy of wow in anime skin, without the content.

Stay with your current mmo or wait for something more promising.(final fantasy 14 or something )

I won't leave AO for this.

Sorry but your late to the party, Kris has eaten all the cookies. As for FF ive played two console ports and that was two too many. Ive also heard it said that FF X was the best of the series, if thats the best i will pass on it and continure wth Aion. But please carry on your trolling. With a little practice maybe some will not even smell you.

you cant have a mass pvp game an then have perfect graphics, it will fail and suck,  just go look at aoc, this game is suppose to be widely accesible by the players like WoW, looks MUCH better than WoW and guild wars ans still has no fps issues when lots of players are on

this game is a huge step up from all those korean mmos, and is much better than WoW and guild wars, maybe if you didnt want lag you shouldnt be playing in a beta that is stress testing the servers, the stupidity of some players is overwhelming

Originally posted by Xbuster231

you cant have a mass pvp game an then have perfect graphics, it will fail and suck,  just go look at aoc, this game is suppose to be widely accesible by the players like WoW, looks MUCH better than WoW and guild wars ans still has no fps issues when lots of players are on

 

this game is a huge step up from all those korean mmos, and is much better than WoW and guild wars, maybe if you didnt want lag you shouldnt be playing in a beta that is stress testing the servers, the stupidity of some players is overwhelming

Thank you.

Originally posted by Kris.Kringle

I've played Beta 3 and 4 recently, as extensively as the client would allow me - which wasn't a whole lot of time in all honesty.  I managed to spend as much time trying to relog back in and maintaining my connection as well as putting up with insane lag.

But hey, it's BETA....right?

 Aion BETA has been the most flawless, polished, and unbuggy of any beta I have ever participated in, which comes to a substantial amount.

If this game had been released in 2001, I would have given it a 9/10.  Unfortunately, we are now in 2009.

It seems to me they have tried to aim the game at the 'WoW' crowd, and it feels dumbed down and assinine in it's presentation.  The anime cartoonish style, accompanied by huge mis-proportioned weapons adds credence to this comparison, and it is a typical Korean MMO with Blizzard overtones and gameplay.

I would imagine the game will run well on most reasonably up to date machines, due to the style of graphics and the fact there are next to no textures in the game.  Some of the scenery is 'nice', but lacks any sort of feature and in my opinion, is disappointing.  Characters look decent very close up, but as soon as any distance between them is engaged by zooming, the simplicity of the engine is highlighted and it just looks extremely 'average'.

    You need to upgrade your system if the game looked "average" ,  the game is wonderfully vivid in detail, and scenery.

This 'simplicity' will aid in mass PvP at a later stage, but in this day and age surely we should be expecting something a little better.  The gameplay itself is just stale.  It offers absolutely nothing new - except for flight - and the quests  couldn't be more boring, pointless and similar - if you like this concept you will be in your element.

   It's an MMO ... if you don't like quests of this type you are playing the wrong type of games. I could spend some time detailing what was "new" in Aion. I don't think you want that though,  you want to complain because they didn't reinvent the wheel. Aion has many rehashed concepts from multiple mmos... the catch is they did it better.

For a game that is approaching it's first birthday in Korea, we in the West managed to get version 1.0 which has been obselete for months, and asked to test the localisation.  The performance was abysmal, and  probably the worst beta I have ever been involved in because of this one factor.  It has actually deteriorated in the two weeks since Beta 2, even though 2 more servers were added for the EU participants.  I played on both the new 'low' population servers provided, and the lag and rubberbanding was just laughable from a supposedly 'finished' product - their excuse of 'overloading' and 'stress testing' doesn't hold water because of the server I was playing on.  Is this annoyance due to 'Gameguard' anti-hax software?  I don't know.

  I have 40+ people in the beta.... none of us had ANY issues at all, we've been here since Beta1.  You really need to check your system...

Aion has a chance, due to the fact that the game is being aimed at folk who like this sort of casual junk.  I advise trying the proposed OB of this game or getting a free trial before parting with any cash.  I'll carry on waiting for something that has some innovation and thought behind it - if that ever arrives...

  The game wasn't for you,  I will go out on a limb,  I don't think MMO's in general are for you. There is not one single aspect of Aion I think was done poorly, or without thought. The game is nigh flawless as is, and is due only to improve with the late coming patches.

Scores 4/10 - Nothing new to see here, move along.

 

to bad it's just like wow and warhammer, but enjoy the game if you like it, no one is stopping you.

Wow sucks all the way now since they just make it more simple by each patch, and it seems like they will do the same with Aion, but just from the start instead. Hoping for a challenging game in the future.

Originally posted by echolon

to bad it's just like wow and warhammer, but enjoy the game if you like it, no one is stopping you.

Wow sucks all the way now since they just make it more simple by each patch, and it seems like they will do the same with Aion, but just from the start instead. Hoping for a challenging game in the future.

If you cannot tell a difference between WOW and War im not even going to go into  the differences of a third.

Actually, I compare Aion more to Dark Ages of Camelot than WoW... in gameplay at least. I have to admit that all the same old timesinks are there in Aion as was in most MMOG's over the years. To be honest, most of the time spent working oneself up to the end-game of PvP in Aion, is just a flat-out waste of my personal time. When the hell are these Game Developers going to understand that my time is valuable to me and that I am tired of paying them to waste it! The level grind is so boring, with stupid quests of 'kill x amount of these critters' type. When I got my Ranger to 18th Level, there was nothing left to do but do the old pull/kill routines... which is not all that much fun anymore after one has done it for the last 7 years as I have. The crafting system is the same old 2002 version of DAoC with the bar filling across the screen... which again, is a big waste of my time watching this damn thing work it way to the finishline, with only a small chance of leveling. Offline training and crafting is the way to go, which many in the gaming industry just do not get. I am a bit disappointed in Aion, because it is not at all looking into the future... just using what they think worked in the past. Instead of wasting our time with silly stuff, get us to the end game. Instead of endless grinds and watching crafting bars fill, let us play the damn game! But then, I guess the grind makes sure we play the game for a certain amount of time, so they get their money before we get bored and quit... it is always about money... which I pay someone to waste my damn time.

I will most likely play Aion for a bit, mostly because my gaming club will. However, Aion is not 'my game' and I have no idea how long I will play it before I just say I have had it and quit. That is what I did with WoW after only six months. I am really hoping that games like All Points Bulletin and Guild Wars 2 can relieve me of this grind. Of course, there is always EVE Online [grins].

An 2001 Asian grinder at an 2009 NA/European market. Yes, when will they learn?

Hey it is still a nice game, but man they missed out on westernizing that game. Actually they just didn't, they only translated it.

We wonder how many grinders there will be left after a couple of months really. Sure, there will be people, but we think they misinterpreted how the western people play mmos. Or said differently; forcing the Asian grinding standard upon western masses didn't work before, will it work now with Aion? (We here doubt it)



 

Originally posted by grandpagamer

Originally posted by echolon

to bad it's just like wow and warhammer, but enjoy the game if you like it, no one is stopping you.

Wow sucks all the way now since they just make it more simple by each patch, and it seems like they will do the same with Aion, but just from the start instead. Hoping for a challenging game in the future.

If you cannot tell a difference between WOW and War im not even going to go into  the differences of a third.

i can see the difference quite well, but that doesn't change the fact that their both simple and boring games in the end.

Originally posted by grandpagamer

Originally posted by echolon

It is scary to see that ncsoft is still stupid enough to stick with gameguard.

On topic, the game wouldn't even be worth playing unless you want a copy of wow in anime skin, without the content.

Stay with your current mmo or wait for something more promising.(final fantasy 14 or something )

I won't leave AO for this.

 

Sorry but your late to the party, Kris has eaten all the cookies. As for FF ive played two console ports and that was two too many. Ive also heard it said that FF X was the best of the series, if thats the best i will pass on it and continure wth Aion. But please carry on your trolling. With a little practice maybe some will not even smell you.

Which Final Fantasy an individual likes varries greatly, I personally think that 2/4 or 3/6 were the two best of all time.  Saying you dislike Final Fantasy as a whole proves you are uninformed, that is like saying you won't play Diablo 3 because you hated Star Craft.  It doesn't make sense.

Each Final Fantasy has a different design team and they strive to make each game unique and different.  14 will be unlike anything we've ever seen before I'm pretty certian of that, mostly because I've had the experience of playing every FF game ever made and I know that each time they come out with something unexpected and different.

Don't hate FF just because you disliked one of their games, its as bad as the folks who say they won't every play an SoE game because they hated EQ1, or CU from SWG.  Yes cus EVERY design team that SoE has is just like the first two they had, obviously, because people never get new jobs or switch companies or anything of that sort right?

A company is made up of individuals, pre juding a company based off an individual experience is just like being racist or sexist.

It all comes down to what you're looking for in a game really.  Technical difficulties exist in all software for some of the users.  This is inevitable.  It occurs with $10,000 business software, it will occur with an mmo.  I am happy to say I did not experience any issues with CB3.  With that aside, my primary concern in a game is fun.  Do I have fun playing it?

With Aion, I have had a great time so far.  I'm looking for something to do in my spare time and Aion seems to be able to fill it pretty well.  I don't care if it's revolutionary or top of the line graphics (although Aion does look very nice on max settings).  I care that I spend my free time having fun.  Get a couple of friends together in a game that offers a good base fun factor and I'm satisfied.  It seems that mmo's in particular suffer from unreasonable expectations.  Every game is not going to "revolutionize" an industry.  If you don't like playing mmorpg's, it's probably not the genre for you.  This is what they are like.  It's an RPG game, typically with a set storyline, that you play with other people.  You kill monsters (and enemy players) and you get gear to advance your character.  It's a great format, why?  Because it's fun for a lot of people.  I grew up on RPG's, the advent of multiplayer RPGs is very cool.

On the flip side, no matter how fun a game is, you will eventually get bored of it.  That's just the way people are.  You do the same thing enough times, it stops being fun.  People get bored of genres.  I still like mmorpgs.  I'm happy to find a new one that will be "fresh" for a year or two, possibly longer.  Don't chase your "virgin" mmorpg experience, no "high" is ever as good as the first one. ;)

Anyways, I think I had a point and I probably hit it somewhere in there.  Just my ramblings on the topic, I suppose.

Originally posted by killion81

It all comes down to what you're looking for in a game really.  Technical difficulties exist in all software for some of the users.  This is inevitable.  It occurs with $10,000 business software, it will occur with an mmo.  I am happy to say I did not experience any issues with CB3.  With that aside, my primary concern in a game is fun.  Do I have fun playing it?

With Aion, I have had a great time so far.  I'm looking for something to do in my spare time and Aion seems to be able to fill it pretty well.  I don't care if it's revolutionary or top of the line graphics (although Aion does look very nice on max settings).  I care that I spend my free time having fun.  Get a couple of friends together in a game that offers a good base fun factor and I'm satisfied.  It seems that mmo's in particular suffer from unreasonable expectations.  Every game is not going to "revolutionize" an industry.  If you don't like playing mmorpg's, it's probably not the genre for you.  This is what they are like.  It's an RPG game, typically with a set storyline, that you play with other people.  You kill monsters (and enemy players) and you get gear to advance your character.  It's a great format, why?  Because it's fun for a lot of people.  I grew up on RPG's, the advent of multiplayer RPGs is very cool.

On the flip side, no matter how fun a game is, you will eventually get bored of it.  That's just the way people are.  You do the same thing enough times, it stops being fun.  People get bored of genres.  I still like mmorpgs.  I'm happy to find a new one that will be "fresh" for a year or two, possibly longer.  Don't chase your "virgin" mmorpg experience, no "high" is ever as good as the first one. ;)

Anyways, I think I had a point and I probably hit it somewhere in there.  Just my ramblings on the topic, I supposypee.

Yes Aion graphics are  gorgeous if one doesnt like the artsyle so be it ,other than AOC (which is a completely different style) i cant think of an MMO that is any prettier. I had fun playing the game but then i dont mind the  RPG  factor in my MMORPG. I would like to know what these whiners want, unless its a FPS i have no idea. If you dont like RPG elements dont play RPG's. Seems ive been heard MO is a "gank 'em all right out of hte gate" type of game but im sure they wouldnt be happy with that game either. Some will never be happy with anything, this type of person i refer to as a chronic bitch. Yes i like Aion, for as said, the graphics and the main reason is, its fun. Im no rabid fanboi, if you folks have an honest criticism of the game i will listen but just bitching for the sake of bitching only makes you look small and pettty.

Originally posted by grandpagamer

Yes Aion graphics are  gorgeous if one doesnt like the artsyle so be it ,other than AOC (which is a completely different style) i cant think of an MMO that is any prettier. I had fun playing the game but then i dont mind the  RPG  factor in my MMORPG. I would like to know what these whiners want, unless its a FPS i have no idea. If you dont like RPG elements dont play RPG's. Seems ive been heard MO is a "gank 'em all right out of hte gate" type of game but im sure they wouldnt be happy with that game either. Some will never be happy with anything, this type of person i refer to as a chronic bitch. Yes i like Aion, for as said, the graphics and the main reason is, its fun. Im no rabid fanboi, if you folks have an honest criticism of the game i will listen but just bitching for the sake of bitching only makes you look small and pettty.

Well, there goes the conversation... down to name calling. Guess we ran out of anything constructive to say. This will be my last visit to this tread.