Originally posted by gruntmaster1

As someone who only has a PC and no controller I thank you for being almost the only ones trying the game with mouse and keyboard, were you using that all the time? How was the rest of the ui (inventory, other menues, etc.)? Were there any problems (as in game working against you) during combat, such as targeting?

Yes, I was using only mouse and keyboard. Heh... getting to inventory, skills, quests, etc. pauses the game - use was pretty intuitive though.  No, no problems, which is why I am so impressed. We were warned it wasn't a final build and to please pardon them if we ran into any bugs, but throughout my 2 hours with the new character and rest of the time with the pre-built characters, I didn't have any problems.

I really liked how the camera worked with you when you had many enemies. You have to face your enemy to attack, but generally (in easy mode anyway) as long as you were partially facing them, you could target and attack.

I also liked that the game asked me if I wanted to go to an easier version after I died too many embarrassing times trying to get through a trapped corridor.  :P  Before I found that I had blink.  :P

Carolyn

Actually, I loved the UI. Very spare. But the way they've designed the game and the skills, there's no need for multiple hot-bars. We were joking about some games which require multiple upon multiples of hot-bars.

I didn't get flagged for beta until Monday.  It was a huge download. The article was due Thursday. I have a day job where I usually work  8 - 6. It was a completely new build and new class for me, and servers went down Thursday morning. Soo... partly trying to avoid spoilers, partly - I just did not have much time with the game before I had to write it.

Originally posted by Gondlyr

"most player find the slider bar system of avatar customization very difficult and simply press the random button until they arrive at a character they like."

???  How is moving a slider difficult?  I have never clicked the random button in any game I have played.  Do the Devs think we are idiots?   I like my character to look a certain way from the choices they give us.  How long will I have to hit the random button before I get the correct hair color with the hair style that I like?  And then have it also match my other preferred choices?

You can mix and match faces with hair choices / tattoos / facial hair / colors, etc.  It's not a forced "Random" only.

LoL. Where does the word "Farmville" show up in my write-up?  Yes, all of them are synchronous multiplayers with persistent worlds. More simplistic? Definitely. Open worlds you can run around in and meet other people?  Yup.  Instancing? Dungeons - like current MMOs as well.

Old Auntie Gamer?  Oh yes.  Since M59 children.  Since Meridien 59.

Originally posted by Respit

I am just curious as to "who's who" in your CLIO results. (I am guessing that the PC161 is the black)

  

But seriously. I find the "on-ear" PC161's to actually be more comfortable than my "over-ear" FATAL1TY MKII's, not to mention being much more "wife freindly" as was mentioned in another post.

That's Left & Right.  There's always some variance when you shoot curves and I should have kept the two that matched the closest. I stretched the first curve I did (Y axis) for the first head-set reviewed to better show the bad distortion in the upper frequencies and of course the later curves now look less flat as well.  

Well, as the PC161s aren't "noise cancelling" the "spouse factor" will be fine as you'll be able to hear the spouse, kids, door-bell, dog, etc.

As to the "Skpye Certified" - no comment!

Originally posted by maddbomber83

Carolyn;  Once again, thank you for the review.  I like your writing style.  This review seemed, shorter than the others?  I liked how in the prior ones you gave a lot of specific examples such as in this game at this time I was wowed by this, or disapointed in that.  With the G35 some people including me hear this:

it's hard to review a headset that doesn't shine in any particular moment.  That's what I meant when I said... 

"It’s easier to rhapsodize over how well a piece of music is delivered than how well an explosion is, or how well you can hear human speech in the midst of a cacophony of sound. "

Hard to be wow'ed by how clear that last conference call.  :P  I struggled over this one quite a bit. "Competent" wasn't good enough praise as it was better than just "adequate."  

There are somethings in audio that you miss only when it isn't there. For example, there are movie theaters in which you're always missing what the actors are saying during the action parts.  I threw everything I could at it and it took it, processed it and handed it back to me.  Deadpan.  No flair, no fuss, no muss.  Good meat and potatoes.  No fancy sauce.  

Originally posted by darkboaz

 

Is there any form of in game chat? My son keeps saying he would like to try this game but the wife will not allow it.

Darkboaz, the words you can use in the in game chat is from a dictionary of allowed words.  Any words not on the list will not show up in the chat box, so players cannot circumvent "Black Lists" by typing "Fook" or "sh!t" for example.

Originally posted by Aericyn

3 comments about active/passive state. :)

LoL... you don't know how stooopid I felt during the opening tutorial when my character just stood there and the game prompted me to get into the active stage.  I think I scared the cats yelling...  "HOW???!!!" at my screen before I figured it out.

~ Carolyn

Then neither should Guild Wars or DDO (to stretch a point).  Guild Wars stuck their toe into that door and it's remained open ever since.

SoE isn't calling it an MMO, but there is that big social hub with several rooms for players to run around and interact, get quests, show off your gear and access vendors. Granted, there are less multiplayer game instances than DDO or Guild Wars, but *shrugs* it qualifies and hence is listed.

Originally posted by Ozmodan

Sorry to burst your bubble, but I have seen a few reviews on this product indicate very little difference between this product and a  normal nic.  Could be that DSL is your problem and not your nic.

Lag usually is the result of poor connections via your isp than the local nic in your computer.  While the card does offer some benefits, it is in my opinion stil highly overpriced for the little advantage it offers. 

Not criticizing your review, you did a nice job with it, but it is quite hard to measure any nebulous results this cards provides.

Oz, the DSL connection is totally the problem.  The pleasant surprise was that the NIC helped as much as it did. 

What really matters is the balance between the components, and which upgrade benefits more.  Here's a review one of our MMORPG staff did in 2007 of an earlier card: http://www.mmorpg.com/showFeature.cfm/loadFeature/1214

I think he came to the same conclusion.  If you've already got a kick-ass system, you're not going to see much improvement. I'm at a stage in my hardware where I have to upgrade the entire works - new motherboard, new CPU. So at a time where the budget is tight, a smaller upgrade is giving me the better online performance I crave.

Originally posted by heihojin

 

---

DC Universe Online was showing off their Iconic Play feature at Comic Con this year. This is pure PvP play where you take on the role of one of the icons and play against others in a PvP arena, using the powers and abilities which are based off what’s seen in the game in your earlier time with it.

---

 

I've bolded the section I don't understand. What does "based off what's seen in the game in your earlier time with it" mean?

Also, what relation does the "Iconic Play" have to character progression in DCUO?

Iconic play is a game feature separate from your character progression.  However, the powers that the icons have are based on what you see them use in game.  So playing Joker allows you to see how some of his powers work.  The Devs were coy about saying whether you get to experience all their powers, so they said the powers are based on what you see them use in the game.

Originally posted by bobfish

Isn't it called Legends play?

Is it?  They were calling it "Iconic" all weekend long.  I've found though, that this happens more often than not. A game feature gets a "nickname" (for want of a better word) in house and then becomes something else when marketing gets their hands on it... and sometimes can be named something else altogether at launch!

Cheers,

Carolyn

Originally posted by Nifa

 

Now for a moment of nerdrage...please learn to spell Mandalorian, Alderaan and Consular before writing any more about Star Wars.

 

Mea culpa.  Let the whippings with the wet noodles commence.

Originally posted by Aluscia

Carolyn, is there any way you can test the clarity of the microphone?  

Thanks in advance!

Voices were clear through game sound but perhaps I didn't make that clear in my review. As for measurable clarity tests... you and other posters have me thinking.  I'll have to tap a recording engineer friend for help.

Cheers.

Carolyn

{edited for typos}

Originally posted by hikariuk

Originally posted by Sylvene

As I have not been exposed to a broad range of headsets, my current recommendation range for under $200 headphones is small:  Razer, Sennheiser and the up and coming NOX - which I am currently reviewing.

Cheers - Carolyn

 

What do you think of Beyerdynamic?

Beyer Dynamic is a Pro-Audio manufacturer in the same class as Sennheiser (both out of Germany).  :)  They are the industry references.  They've also recently entered the Gaming / Multimedia arena.

Both these companies are only beginning to introduce the budget / entry level headsets into their lines.  I don't think the Beyer Dynamic has broken the $100 yet. Last I heard, the MSRP on the budget Beyerdynamic was $109.99.

I would love to review both the Sennheisers and the Beyer Dynamic budget & better sets.  I'll see what I can do.  :D

Cheers, Carolyn

Originally posted by lestaticon

Carolyn, that was an awesome review. I loved the technical details in this piece! I'd be very interested in the methods you use to test headphones in general, especially the frequency response you showed.

I have to say, I feel the need to ask if you actually have any headphone recommendations? Something with decent imaging and perhaps without the distortion. I wonder if that would even exist below $200? Have any tips? Maybe you know a couple of headphones which are not bad I could do some research on. I'm probably not the only one who'd love to have your insight.

Letaticon,

At Genesis (my day job) we use the CLIO measurement system by Audiomatica.  Other than that, it's critical listening with selected pieces of music that we are very familiar with in the office.  I am classically trained in piano and voice, and I have perfect pitch.

As I have not been exposed to a broad range of headsets, my current recommendation range for under $200 headphones is small:  Razer, Sennheiser and the up and coming NOX - which I am currently reviewing.

Cheers - Carolyn

Per the publishers, the item mall will sell the usual consumables - health / power potions - which my character was stocked up with for the preview - and convenience items such as town portal scrolls, and time duration controlled +% XP, +% Loot type scrolls.  For example... +10% XP for the next hour - and they are also controlled like - once a 12 hour period use etc.

GamepotUSA has been quite vehement since their start that you won't be able to buy the game unbalancing uber armors and weapons.

You can also be hit with hacked Ads on legitimate sites, that spawn pop-ups or pop-unders.  You may think you are clicking on them to close them, but they are a disguise. Clicking anywhere on them just gave them permission to install themselves on your system.

Malware writers can go die in manners too horrible to imagine.

Originally posted by Scot

Carolyn makes a great Cheetah cosplay gal. :D

ROFL!  Ain't me!
 

Carolyn