Originally posted by monkey_butt

Checked out the OB now that is free on Fileplanet w/o a preorder. (good sign?) Anyway, I have to agree with a lot of the posts I am readng here. While the costume customizaton is great, the combat is really clunky. This one needs more time in the oven. Also, the quests just seem tedious, I can't put my finger on it. Maybe I need to give it more time... Oh that's right, with a million other games coming out soon I likely can't be bothered.

You mean the FEW posts.  Most people are saying its pretty dang good.  Excluding the haters which OP hated before it even came.

Originally posted by Cefka

about the character costumisation being worse than CoX, COs actualy a lot more deep.  If you toy around you'll see. The options may not jump out as much but they are there.

Its deeper yes but not as many options, yet.

Originally posted by upsilonmerc

 About the lack of customizable weapons. You can go to a tailor and change your weapons you just have to pay for it and you don't know what it looks like until you buy it and use it in combat =/

No you can't customize your weapons unless you unlock it with perks.  My Bow (on a level 15) and Sword (at level 6).

Originally posted by maskedweasel

Originally posted by Gyrus

Originally posted by Gyrus

Big, bigger, huge... massive.

Sounds like my...

... last fish I caught.

 

Seriously though, someone want to measure it for me?

This is easy enough to do
Simply run from one end of each zone to the other and record the time in minutes and seconds
then run from one side of the zone to the other and record the time in minutes and seconds
The rules are:
Please use a 'basic character' which is the default character at new character creation = unbuffed by skills, abilities or equipment. Preferably human if possible.
Please run at 'Standard Pace' = At a run (since this is the default mode for most MMOs). Not at a sprint.

Now I realise that to access higher zones you may need a more advanced character - but please try to use the basic character you need to enter that zone.

Add notes if you think it helps.

For example - I have just done this for The Chronicles of Spellborn and it looks like this
Hawksmouth: 3:30 from docks to city wall (East to West).  2:30 from North to South.  Level 3 human Warrior.  20/Aug/09

 

 

 

A bump for this because I would be interested in more info.

I just did the tutorial and got the following.

Tutorial area took 2 minutes and 50 seconds to run from West to East and 1 minute and 30 seconds to run from north to south with a level 3 Force character (if that matters?)
FWIW that makes it about 30% the size of the Hawksmouth + Hawk's Landing map from TCoS here*
http://spellborndb.net/?page=marker&map=pt_hawksmouth

*note that in the quote above it is 3:30 from the eastern edge of the map to the city wall.  It takes 6:00 to travel across that whole map West to East.

I moved on to the Canada map but I think it must open up more as the level progresses?

Anyway, the only reason I am comparing to The Chronicles of Spellborn (in case you are wondering) is because that is the last game I have done this exercise on.

I would be interested in more feedback.

Please remember though - measure on foot - not flying! :P

 

 

Thats just it though, is the travel powers make the areas feel a lot smaller then they really are.  I can sufficiently make it from  the starting area of MC or Canada, or MI or Lemuria to any of the mission areas in less then 5 minutes (usually)  using teleport, superspeed, flying or any regular travel power -- even acrobatics.

 

Regular walking would take forever on all levels,  but I'll  see what I can do, I know with diffent levels you can be forced to scale mountains and some levels have an irregular pattern, such as a rectangle more then a square,  but I'll try canada and see what I can do.

Walking/runnig is the only true way to see how big a level actually is.

Feels like a MMO to me.  Looks like its just you.

Originally posted by upsilonmerc

 About the lack of customizable weapons. You can go to a tailor and change your weapons you just have to pay for it and you don't know what it looks like until you buy it and use it in combat =/

I know there are perk weapons but I didn't know you could buy them at the tailor.  I will check it out.  =)

Originally posted by Soto

I really want to know, in detail, what PvP will be like in this game. I do NOT care for duels nor arena style battles. PvP, for me, should be either free for all OR good vs bad fought out in LARGE zones/frontiers. So, will this game's PvP come near to these points?

thx

Leaving duels and arena out.  You get NOTHING!  Seriously.  They will have scenerios like WAR but I haven't seen it yet.  =)  They have shown one so far.  Prison Break out.  It is a higher level Scenerio.  They probable will add more later on.  PvP is very lacking in this game.

Originally posted by syllvenwood

when do you get to change the color and origin of your powers i am in the desart and i still cant find a way to change how my powers look

You can do it right from the start.  Just hit P in game.  If it can be changed it will have a color in the right corner of the power.

Originally posted by Rayx0r

I like your review, However Id like to point something out to everyone.

Like yourself, many people are saying that CoH lacks things in the character customization department and it falls short of CoX.  I think this is completely incorrect.  For everything that CoH may lack, it adds at least one more character customization piece that CoX lacks.  So you may not have every single costume piece that CoX has, but you'll have some very similiar pieces as well as new pieces.  You also have all of the following that CoX lacks:

• Full body and facial sliders
• Glowing Eyes
• Wings and capes AT character creation
• 6 facial moods to choose from (to apply to the numerous different faces to choose from)
• 4 unique stances
• custom ability effect colors
• custom ability effect projection (projecting from hands, head, chest etc.)
• Custom Frameworks allowing you to mix match your abilities however you want

I agree.  I still give character customization to CoH.  Just barely.  CoH has been out 5+ years.  Like I said if it would of been 1 year to 1 year and half ago CO would of easily beat CoX.  I think CO will easily outdo CoX  with one update to the game.

PS

CoH you can have wings at character creation stage also.  =)

Man I wanted to do a short review.  LOL so much for that idea.  =)

1) The Character Creation Screen: 9/10
To a point the Character Creation is better then City of Heroes (which had the best character creation to date). Champions have a GREAT character creation yet its missing a few of things that City of Heroes has. This is why I put this at a 9. If this would of been a year too a year and a half ago Champions would easily get a 10. There is just so many options in City of Heroes that Champions just doesn't have (weapon customization is one thing). Yet you can customize the body and face far more in Champions Online then you can in City of Heroes. I am sure they will be adding a lot more to the game as it grows older but City of Heroes just has more models at this time. For right now Champions Online comes in at #2 for character creation.
 

2) Combat : 8/10
Combat, what can we say about that. Your either gonna love it or hate it. Most people I have talked to said they love it. Its face pace and you don't have to just sit there and take it like the other Super Hero game. Your energy builder is your auto attack power. Turn it on and you don't have to worry about it. If you don't have enough energy for your attack it will attack. What’s nice is you can charge up certain powers. Using up more End, if you have it to do more damage. When you’re fighting you actually have to pay attention. When you see the graphic above the head of the villain hit the Block (shift key). This is a must to learn. You will live and die by how well you can block.

There are also Stances in the game. Balanced is the best of both offense and defense. No pluses but no negatives. Offensive you sacrifice your Defense for more damaging attacks. Defensive you do less damage but you take less damage. There is also Support. Anything that is not Attack or Defense Related gets a boost. Pretty much your Heals and Holds.

Pretty much the Combat is a step above Lord of the Rings and Older. It’s not as complex as Age of Conan or Warhammer Online.

Level Designs/Missions: 8/10
Get use to the Tutorial. Your gonna have to do it every time you make up a new character. The tutorial area is really small I can finish it in 10 minutes. I have done it about 50 times. I did find some nice hidden stuff coughfoxbatcough. After you’re done with the Tutorial you go to a slightly bigger area. You get to pick where you want to go Canada or The Desert. These areas get you use to how things are done in Champions Online. You can level from 5 to 9 in these areas.

Once you get out of those starter areas you get to go into the normal world. These zones are huge. You can now jump between Canada, The Desert or Millennium City (I really hate trying to spell that). All three of these zones have up to level 31 Characters. I would advise not going to Millennium City until your at least level 13. The lowest level characters I have seen in Millennium City was 14 (there was not a lot of those). Most are 15 and up. I have still not yet been to Monster Island or Lemuria. If you get to a hard mission you can easily jump to another zone and do missions there.

There are several instances where you can take a group in. At level 15 if you’re in Millennium City people will start to run up to you and ask for help. I have been told that this civilian instance is only for you and you can't take your group into it. This is not including cell phone instances. Yes they are different categorizes of missions. These are people calling for your help directly and you can take your group in with you. One nice thing is as of level 24 (my highest level) I have yet to see reused missions tiles. It’s all different each time I have gone in one.

The missions do provide a linear game but it’s your choice to where you want to play at the level your at.

Power Sets: 9/10
There are so many power sets to pick from. There is still some that are obviously missing. coughearthpowercough For the most part they are all there. You pick your energy builder power (this power once turned on for that target is always on) and then whatever secondary power you want. There are 3 tiers. Tier 1 Powers Requires 1 power from "THAT GROUP" or 2 non energy building powers from any framework. Tier 2 powers requires 3 powers from "THAT GROUP" or 5 non energy building powers from any framework. Tier 3 powers Requires 5 powers from "THAT GROUP" or 8 non energy building powers from any framework There are several groups of powers that go together for example Energy (Electricity, Force, Fire, Ice), Hand to Hand (Single Blade, Dual Blades, Claws, Martial Arts), etc.

Certain power sets are better then others. That’s a balancing issue that needs to be fixed. For the most part each set seems to have a plus or minus to it. Some sets can dish out more damage then others but not take the damage. Force for example is a nice middle ground set. I can deal damage and take damage. Fire can do a lot of damage in a short time but can't take it as well as Force. Power Armor seems to be the top of the power and defense.

The min/maxers of the world will of course take the best of whatever build they are doing. Power Armor and Gadgeteering, which are in the same group, seem to be the best combo for now. What’s nice and the Min/Maxers will be hurt by is you can only respec 10 Powers/Talents/Abilities (total) back. There is no respec from the start if you’re over level 8. You are going to be stuck with those powers/Talents/Abilities.

PvP: 4/10
This is the weakest spot of CO. Of course this was never its strong spot. If I wanted to play good PvP I would go play Warhammer Online. You do get a taste of PvP though. The instances teleport you to team fight. As soon as you get out of the first tutorial you can start getting into PvP.

Right now Range dominates all. Close combat is just not a viable option. The lunges (lunges allow you to charge at the target and is suppose to stop movement powers from working) for close combat don't stop certain move powers like they say they do. Even for the ones that do stop the movement powers it still doesn't remove them. For example flight when you hit someone in the air with lunge they still stay in the air.

Conclusion
Not including PvP that comes out to an 8.5 average. That is great for a MMO that is coming out. There are a few bugs. Nothing that is game breaking I have had 3 crashes to the desktop since I have been in Beta. There was some lag on Friday night but this is stress testing it was to be expected.

All in all it’s a great game everyone that likes superheroes should give it a try.
 

OP lied sounds like a lot of BS.  =) Its a good fun game.  Its just different from the Norm, which is a good thing.  I just spent 2 hours helping a friend go through the tutorial her husband won't take as long but she will.  =)

Originally posted by Krux

Originally posted by solareus

Originally posted by Bureyku

This isn't made to be a group based game.  It's a solo centric themepark for casual fun and glorified dueling for getting a slight PvP kick.  It was never advertised as more or less.

And yet the character customization and skill system is deeper then Aion.

Did I mention the graphics are pretty amazing, with possibility of dx10 in the future :)

 

Im not interested in paying $15 a month to create a character in a pretty virtual world.  And the skill system really boils down to ranged or melee that offers different named abilities but all with the same end-result; so your just really customizing your animation.

Since its not you don't have to worry.  Every power is something different.  Except for a few that are the same.

Originally posted by PatchDay

The solution is simple- liuke other classless MMOs eventually the devs will have to add Epic drops that can only be farmed at with a group of 5 members.

They already have equipment and crafting so these 'lairs' or whatever will no doubt be perfect opportunity to get people to group

 

I'm very happy with the game right now and i am glad they removed his thread :P

 

Also, they could use more instanced missions like the predeccesor had that allows groups to farm XP x3 faster than people solo. My guild we used to powerlevel lowbies so fast they didnt know what level they were when they left.

There are all ready lairs in the game and you do have to group up for them to beat it.    King Pong is one I hear all the time Looking for group.  Same with Sinsister.  Pretty much they made instances tough.

Edit.

Oh and the Player Quests are another spot you need to group. 

Originally posted by maskedweasel

Originally posted by ethion

I'm going to agree the world is definitely too small.  Discounting the tutorial zones the game only has 3 zones.  Canada, desert and millinium city.  None of these zones are really HUGE but are comparable to other games.  I've flown around much of Millinium and it didn't really take that long.  They are bigger then the COH zones I remember but thats from playing COH pretty much at release.

I think each zone seems to have only 2 open quests which was depressing since I love the open quest concept.  There are a number of instances but so far the 4 I've done upto lvl 15 are very small and two of them were using the same map.

What's even worse is that the canada zone seems like it isn't adequate to level up nore is the desert zone without a lot of open quest grinding.  At lvl 15 I've finished all the quests that are doable in the desert and headed to canada but there I'm finding a lot of broken quests.  But from a quest lvl point of view the canada quests are a better level.

In general I'd say starting you character in Desert is far better then canada.  The Desert has a better set of quests with better leveling and less quests were you need to wait for something to spawn and compete for access with it from a line of people.  Also there are far more broken quests in canada then the desert area.

So my fear right now is that the game is seriously lacking in content.

 

Again, I disagree,  Lemuria and MI I already said how big they were... apart from that, I've leveled to 21 and beyond without ever going to MC.  (I even did it recently in OB) so between 2 zones - desert and canada you can sufficiently level with the content there before ever stepping foot into MC.  Thats straight questing and no grinding. (slow going unless you take the mission item quests if not,  theres always repeatables)  

 

Once you hit 25 and DO go to MC content opens up, you then have 3 areas full of quests, by the time you reach 30 you should be in monster island, which has enough quests to get you to max level... but you'll probably want to mess around in lemuria as well..   There is enough content to level from 1 - 40 and still miss half the content.... meaning you probably have enough content to level 2 characters without getting bored. (not counting PvP) 

What he said.

Pretty much I have to disagree.  Sure it can be boiled down to that for min/maxing groups but the group of people I play with don't do that.  I know tons of other people that don't do that.  Most people play the game to have fun.  Thats includes socializing.  There is enough high level stuff in there to cause people to join groups.

The OP is an opinion, it is FAR from fact.

Originally posted by Yamota

What a poor review. Why didn't you start of by saying that you are a fanboi, instead of ending with it. That way I would have skipped the review entirely.

What a poor post.  Why didn't you start of by saying your a hater.  That way I could put you on the ignore list. 

A decent review. 

You have to be pretty stupid, or a troll, to think this game isn't good.  Sure its got bugs, every game has bugs with every update.   Just remember the Haters/Trolls usually have the biggest mouths.  Play it have fun and ignore (I mean put them on ignore) the Haters/trolls. 

This is actually a good review.  Sure the game does have some problems but its no where near how some people put it.  =)