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The Chronicles of Spellborn: Launch Day Interview
Acclaim's CEO Howard Marks talks to MMORPG.com only hours after their brand new MMO hit the open market.
Launch day is easily the most important 24 hours in the life of a product. This morning, Acclaim flicked the switch and sent The Chronicles of Spellborn into the world for all to see. Hours after launch, MMORPG.com was able to catch up with Acclaim CEO Howard Marks to discuss the game and its launch.
“Are all MMOs doomed to be rolling the dice forever?” Marks asked rhetorically. That, to them, is the key to The Chronicles of Spellborn and the reason they wanted to bring it to the world. “We believe that MMOs do evolve and we have a game that shows that.”
Unlike most MMOs, Spellborn requires players to use both character and their own skill to succeed in combat. Marks pointed out that despite the visceral feel of the typical MMO’s combat, it is at its core essentially turn-based.
“Your skill in the combat system does matter [in Spellborn],” said Marks. “That has put our game in a completely new category than the classic MMORPG.”
;)
The key innovations are that the game makes players aim manually in real-time and allows both sides to move around and dodge to the best of their ability. What’s more, players get to create their fighting style through a skill deck and are less confined than most MMOs in how they fight. Each player is able to build a character that matches their personal play preference.
“The players who go through the experience of going through the skill deck and playing with it love it to pieces,” Marks said. However, even he admitted, that the novelty of the system can be both a blessing and a curse. Players need to commit to some time to learn the system, it’s not as pick-up and play as he would like. “We’re going to add into the tutorial entire training on using that skill deck.”
Developed in Holland by Spellborn International over five years, this is a big budget game and the first published by Acclaim to employ a subscription model exclusively. It is an important launch for Acclaim.
“We’ve got hundreds of players coming all the time, lots of downloads. Our systems are holding well,” said Marks of the launch to date. He reported no major problems. “We designed it so we could probably have 10x more people and it would still be OK.”
Technically, he is pleased, but what about financially? While it is still very early, Marks said that commercial reaction so far has met expectations. They may not be getting World of Warcraft numbers, but they never expected to.
;)
“The way we look at Spellborn is that Spellborn is a long term project for Acclaim, it’s not a one off,” he said. “We are able to release it, keep upgrading it, and offer every month new patches that are included in the game.”
He also reemphasized his company’s policy to both take and use player feedback. For example, each week, Creative Director David Perry, the lead designer of Spellborn and a writer for the game meet directly with the community in an online “webinar.”
The feedback gathered from these “webinars” are then evaluated and used to improve the game for the community.
For Marks, this is one thing that has been much easier for them to accomplish with Spellborn than some of their previous games. 2Moons and 9Dragons, for example, are both localized from Asian development studios and were originally aimed at a foreign market. Spellborn was developed from day one as an English language product. The developers speak English and come from a Western culture. It makes the process a lot smoother.
“David Perry has been working very closely with the designers and they are implementing lots of suggestions from our US players and David Perry into the next patch,” noted Marks.
;)
He added that all patches and updates will be released in all territories simultaneously. Functionally speaking, Acclaim holds the rights in all markets save Germany, France and the Benelux countries. However, neither Spellborn International nor Acclaim employs any kind of blocking. Germans can subscribe to the American game and Americans take their business to Germany, etc.
While the localization and development process has been refined, the biggest departure for Acclaim is the business model. A huge proponent of the free-to-play market, it seemed curious for Marks to take on a subscription based game.
“Spellborn was designed nearly five years and was designed as a subscription based game in the classic way,” he explained. “What we decided to do was maintain that subscription because the game was designed that way and for us to say no lets change it into an item based game would destroy the real heart of the game.”
Still, that doesn’t mean players need to get their copy at GameStop. The game is completely free to download and the first seven levels are completely free to anyone who wants to play. Marks noted that based on Beta feedback they intend to increase that to somewhere near level 10, as their community told them that players need a bit more time to make a truly informed purchasing decision.
The Chronicles of Spellborn launched today and is available for download at spellborn.acclaim.com. Subscriptions start at $14.99 per month, $41.97 for three months or $77.94 for six months. Players can use either a credit card, or their Acclaim Coins to subscribe.
Awesome!!! Thanks for the heads up. I can't wait for the download.
And to add to the great release they are giving away FREE 2 week subscriptions to all players, so you just have to check it out IMO...
if they would just launch the patch for w7 i would be happy :(
Yeah 2 weeks to existing subscribers aswell :)
But if you signup as a new player for the game between the 23rd of April to the 7th of May then you get full access for 14 days, existing players just got 2 weeks added to their sub.
So a free game to download and free to fully experience for the next 2 weeks, have to say thats better than what WoW, AoC, War and Darkfall have offered so far.
I tried it while in Open Beta. It is a nifty little game and the story line is more immersive than I thought. Still sorely needing mounts and more players. Combat system is different, not sure if I like it better than DDO's (which is also real time, non-que, twitch-based but based on d20 system). But in all honesty I think the game will have a hard time grabbing new subscribers due to Acclaim's and Spellborn NV's decision to split regions and IP bans a few months back.
Peace.
Marks mentioned in the inteview specifically that there is nothing blocking one region from the other. Player choice.
Marks mentioned in the inteview specifically that there is nothing blocking one region from the other. Player choice.
You can probably google for more information on this, but having played it myself a bit, I can tell you that changing regions is pretty simple. If I remember correctly, all I had to do was replace some values in a text file. Not sure where toord (how is the oo pronounced?) got the information above.
That being said, I've only played in the beginning areas, and am thinking that having to constantly hold the right button down during combat may give me carpal tunnel syndrome. Does anyone know if there's a way to set up a different type of control system that might be a bit easier on one's aging joints and tendons?
Sooooo
Is it my browser being humorous again or did anyone else notice their Credit Card payment website is not secure...
Looking for the little gold lock.....still looking....maybe it's just not loading....
You can change something in the settings so that pressing the button toggles mouse aiming as opposed to having to hold it to get mouse aiming. The game still seems to have a lot of potential for repetitive strain injuries, though.
Yes, press 'R'. It will lock you into mouselook mode. 90% of the game can be played entirely in mouselook mode.
Anyone looking for a game that actually utilizes player skill and has a unique setting should be trying this game. Now is the best time to try since you get those free two weeks.
One warning though, it starts a little slow in the first zone. There are a lot of kill quests and fed-ex quests. It certainly gets better as you get into the second zone and beyond. This is one of the reasons why its especially good if you are able to try the game in the next couple weeks since you won't be limited to the trial content.
This is by far a fun game. i stopped playing because LoTRO got me. But it was fun, and I would recommend downloading it to at least try it out.
Hi all,
For those of you who are wondering if this is worth your time to download, check out my review for newbies over here: games.thegeeklynews.com/2009/04/chronicles-of-spellborn/ I've also done a bunch of other MMO reviews, compiled here, if you're interested.
Oliver
This kind of sums it up nicely. The game is good, it's fun. There's not a whole lot I can really say bad about it. However, somehow, it just doesn't seem to have the necessary draw to pull in the players needed to make it achieve it's potential. And honestly, with the current size of their worlds (though admittedly not feeling too cramped) are probably not large enough to handle the player base it'd need to remain steady.
I'm looking forward to giving this game a try once the Windows 7 fix is in.
OO = UR
Marks mentioned in the inteview specifically that there is nothing blocking one region from the other. Player choice.
I don't know if you remember that players in North America could NOT try the game out when it was released in Europe. In fact certain parts of europe could not play with other countries within europe. Not even through proxys. This might've changed recently.
Peace.
How would you know? ;)
I know a turd when I see one :P
Yes, press 'R'. It will lock you into mouselook mode. 90% of the game can be played entirely in mouselook mode.
Anyone looking for a game that actually utilizes player skill and has a unique setting should be trying this game. Now is the best time to try since you get those free two weeks.
One warning though, it starts a little slow in the first zone. There are a lot of kill quests and fed-ex quests. It certainly gets better as you get into the second zone and beyond. This is one of the reasons why its especially good if you are able to try the game in the next couple weeks since you won't be limited to the trial content.
I plan on trying this, even though with my aging system I should probably check the specs so I'm not surprised when I go to run it. I don't know how it will compete with DDO which seems to be the solid player skill and real time fighting MMO, especially since DDO is designed around quests so most of them have a lot of depth and they don't use fedex/killtasks to fill the space.
But what I have read on this does certainly peak my interest enough to download it sometime in the next couple days and see what it's all about.
This game is dead before it even started. By the very fact that it is being published by Acclaim diminishes the game's credibility to nil. Sorry, thanks for trying.
I don't know if you remember that players in North America could NOT try the game out when it was released in Europe. In fact certain parts of europe could not play with other countries within europe. Not even through proxys. This might've changed recently.
Peace.
Right, which is why I asked. It was apparently changed now that it's out in both places.
Right, which is why I asked. It was apparently changed now that it's out in both places.
Right, which why I said that decision might hurt them. A lot people felt alienated and ditched which I'm assuming is why they backed up the truck, so to speak.
Peace.
Starting from the first question,
1. You can use the "R" key to get into mouselook mode. If you have played any FPS in the past 5 years, you will find your movement to resemble that when in mouselook mode.
2. There is no reason to bring up the past about the IP blocks, as SiL (now SpellBorn NV) saw the problem and removed the IP blocks when Acclaim went into Open Beta. It's time people keep the past in the past.
3. The CC system is fine and secure. This system was also just put in place a day or two ago. If you don't feel secure in using the CC system, you can use the coin system with different methods of purchase.
4. There is a 2 week free subscription going on right now for new and existing players. This is probably the best deal you will find in any MMO, as you can if you work hard enough, get to a high level and enjoy some of the deeper questlines.
5. Here is some things slated for the next patch coming soon ( End of April was the last update ).
If you have any other questions, you can ask them here or send me a PM, as I have been playing and enjoying this game since Closed Beta in EU.
I've long thought the whole "I'm not going to play it because of pre-release difficulties" bit was a ridiculous excuse. If you want to play a game today and can play the game today, then why should it matter if you couldn't play it a few months ago?
Ostrich syndrome? While myself and a lot of other people are probably glad they took the IP bans down, the fact REMAINS that it was a bad decision AND it turned off quite a bit of people from even trying the game which might hurt them long run. You can read people talking about this issue quite frequently in zone chat, btw.
Peace.
It matters because it tells you the poor decision making and the companies you're dealing with. Ever heard of learning from the past?
How many MMOs do you know that don't let you try it for 2 weeks?
How many MMOs do you know that don't let you try it for 2 weeks?
And how many P2P's don't charge you for the game itself? There is no investment except a bit of time.
And how many DON'T charge you for the game itself?
Most of them that have been out for any decent amount of time. He was talking about a 2 week free play as some revolutionary tactic, it's fairly standard in the industry. Now not charging for the game when it first launched is different but it would of ended up there anyways. I'm betting they figured they'd get more players to try it this way, and enough would find it enjoyable to stay that they'd actually make more money then selling it out right.
I was just curious as to why the 2 weeks free was being stated as so amazing.
It matters because it tells you the poor decision making and the companies you're dealing with. Ever heard of learning from the past?
I'd think of trying to deliver the best possible product after launch, even if it comes at the expense of the beta, to be good decision making. It's not like the end of beta means the game goes poof and can never be played again. It's what the game is like after launch that matters, not before.
the game is amazing.. The game world and its lore is very post apocolyptic and depressing (similar to EvE's universe), the combat style and advancement (with sigils and stuff) make it a very involving game.
But the combat is what has me.. It really adds a flavor to combat that I have never seen nor can describe, but it works for me..
PvP makes more sense in this game, as players must use skill to win.. Any player has real chances to beat another based on pure skill and understanding of their skill deck.
Yeah 2 weeks to existing subscribers aswell :)
But if you signup as a new player for the game between the 23rd of April to the 7th of May then you get full access for 14 days, existing players just got 2 weeks added to their sub.
So a free game to download and free to fully experience for the next 2 weeks, have to say thats better than what WoW, AoC, War and Darkfall have offered so far.
WoW gave a free month when it was released to players
A lot of games give free time to test them, but usually they don't give it at launch. Now we can test the game for free and decide if it is good enough to pay for it. I think that it is a great point for the players, and not so good for the developers, because they can find that in two weeks nobody pay for the game. Many games give free time but they do when they see they need more playerbase, not when they launch the game. I think the important here is the moment when they do it and not the fact of giving free time. WoW case is different(correct me if I'm wrong), they gave a free month in the case you had paid for the game.
That was exactly what Aventurine was trying to do with Darkfall, but in the end they changed their mind and I supose they saw that they were going to earn more money if they do it in the traditional way of charging everybody for testing the game, both satisfied and unsatisfied players.
I think its not the same and this is an interesting way for a game's launch, at least for us, the players.
Downloading it at the moment. Let's test it!
I was able to play this game in January on the German servers and it wasn't my cup of tea. In my opinion, it didn't offer anything that Diablo 2, Sacred or Sacred 2 couldn't give you with their multiplay options.
The game didn't seem like your typical MMO, you could only play till level 7 for free and then had to subscribe. I saw nothing in the way of crafting, and if I remember right they weren't going to add anything in the way of traditional skill point based crafting. The combat system was clickety click click, click, click, jump behind your enemy, click click click, dance around your enemy, click click click... I think I got carpal tunnel playing it to level 7. :)
I just didn't like it, wasn't an MMO to me, was more Diablo 2 reinvented for a larger player base.
can you play this with Windows 7 yet?
This description is laughable at best. Obviously by level 7 you're no closer to understanding the innovative combat system than at level 1. This is something they are working on and are going to up the level limit on the free trial. You have more slots available than you do skills and this is obviously not what the system is about. As the game progresses you have more skills than slots and actually have to put some thought into what goes where.
A very basic example would be: I have a spell heals anyone who hits the mob with a melee attack and I have a melee skill that hits 3 times in quick succession. To get the most of these two abilities you would cast the heal first so when you fire off the melee ability you get healed 3 times. If you put them the other way round then the heal may have expired by the time the melee ability comes round again.
The difference between a well setup skill deck and a poor one decides the outcome of the battle which makes PVP very interesting.
The combat system in TCoS is more interactive than AoC which is also very good. Your description is WAY off and reads like most other MMOs out there. (WoW, WAR etc). The combat system is NOTHING like that. You also forgot to mention the active dodging in combat and that you actually have to AIM your abilities. It is FAR more than just a "click fest".
There is also crafting in this game, although I will admit it is fairly basic and similar to WoW for example. You get broken items, take it to an NPC and he/she will give you a recipe to fix it. You gather the required materials throughout the world and complete the recipe to craft the item.
Try It. Play It. Decide for yourself.
in-my-not-so-humble-opinion it's a Very Good mmo with an immersive Storyline which will only get better as it evolves.
Jump in now if you want to experience a long term fun World.
It's a fun game. I'm level 22 adept and the quests just keep coming. No grinding in the traditional sense. The only downside is the only mode of transportation is your feet, but if you're a PeP-oholic like me you wont mind much. I've read mounts are coming though.
There is no reason not to try it out, this is the best mmo deal going right now.
LOL! You know that you can just hold the mouse button down, right? It will select the next ability in the tumbler when its ready. At least learn how to play before you complain.
Look people you NEVER have to BUY the game all you have to do is Download it and try it. This wont change you dont have to buy the box EVER. No game has ever done this and the Amazing part about the free 2 weeks is You dont have to BUY THE BOX!!! Do you get it now.. I really hope so.
This is a great game.. Yes it needs some more activities with in the game, but guess what, they are coming.
Just try the game if you want, if you dont, move on and when you come across it again, guess what, You wont have to buy the box then either, you wont get 2 free weeks (unless it takes you that long to reach 7.9) but you still can try it for free and just subscribe if you want to continue, uninstall if you dont.
Not much to really argue here.
All retail games give the free month, they have to.
It's not often a free-to-download subscription game does give two weeks free.
i think the free 2 weeks is a pretty clever move
i play the game for a few month on the german pve server now and really love it
if they back it up with a bit of advertising it will probably get more ppl hooked then the level restricted ftp trial because only later some core aspects like cofiguring your skill deck, crafting for looks, sigils... come into the equasion.
anyway all the best to one of (imho) most underappreciated games currently on the market
WoW gave a free month when it was released to players
But WoW doesn't then add more free time onto your account when they open in new regions now do they, thats the point the poster was making, we all know games give away the first month free, it's a standard in the industry, but this is taking it further.
This description is laughable at best. Obviously by level 7 you're no closer to understanding the innovative combat system than at level 1. This is something they are working on and are going to up the level limit on the free trial. You have more slots available than you do skills and this is obviously not what the system is about. As the game progresses you have more skills than slots and actually have to put some thought into what goes where.
A very basic example would be: I have a spell heals anyone who hits the mob with a melee attack and I have a melee skill that hits 3 times in quick succession. To get the most of these two abilities you would cast the heal first so when you fire off the melee ability you get healed 3 times. If you put them the other way round then the heal may have expired by the time the melee ability comes round again.
The difference between a well setup skill deck and a poor one decides the outcome of the battle which makes PVP very interesting.
The combat system in TCoS is more interactive than AoC which is also very good. Your description is WAY off and reads like most other MMOs out there. (WoW, WAR etc). The combat system is NOTHING like that. You also forgot to mention the active dodging in combat and that you actually have to AIM your abilities. It is FAR more than just a "click fest".
There is also crafting in this game, although I will admit it is fairly basic and similar to WoW for example. You get broken items, take it to an NPC and he/she will give you a recipe to fix it. You gather the required materials throughout the world and complete the recipe to craft the item.
There is nothing "innovative" about TCoS combat skills.
I have a hotbar in every mmo I play. TCoS "skilldeck" is a hotbar with a graphical rotation gimmick added.
I place the skills on my hotbar in the optimal firing order on my hotbar. TCoS, as you just plainly explained, is the same.
I make a macro to fire off my skills in succession. TCoS lets you hold down the mouse button to do the exact same thing. perhaps convenient, but hardly innovative.
In case you haven't noticed Tabula Rasa, AoC, and even Dorkfail have twitch based combat. Dorkfail even has manual aiming.
So tell us again how the combat is "innovative"?
The best thing to do is not try to play the "the game is much more complex than any other game so obviously you don't understand how to play" card. It's one of those "desperation arguments" players throw out when they can't think of anything better. It never works in other games' defence, and it won't work in the case of TCoS either.
It's only a clever move if they advertise it well, they won't get a lot of interest if not that many ppl know about it.
As for me I'm sold, or not sold..lol, I didn't have any interest buying the game but I'm definately going to try it out since it's free for 2weeks...;D
There is nothing "innovative" about TCoS combat skills.
I have a hotbar in every mmo I play. TCoS "skilldeck" is a hotbar with a graphical rotation gimmick added.
I place the skills on my hotbar in the optimal firing order on my hotbar. TCoS, as you just plainly explained, is the same.
I make a macro to fire off my skills in succession. TCoS lets you hold down the mouse button to do the exact same thing. perhaps convenient, but hardly innovative.
In case you haven't noticed Tabula Rasa, AoC, and even Dorkfail have twitch based combat. Dorkfail even has manual aiming.
So tell us again how the combat is "innovative"?
The best thing to do is not try to play the "the game is much more complex than any other game so obviously you don't understand how to play" card. It's one of those "desperation arguments" players throw out when they can't think of anything better. It never works in other games' defence, and it won't work in the case of TCoS either.
The innovation comes where, yes you have a "hotbar" but how many of those "hotbar" games require you to manage your resources in this way WHILE manually aiming... It is not like darkfall (dorkfail?) that plays alot more like an fps where there are not that many active attack skills and styles, like the few weapon choices of an FPS. AoC is closer but still, you had a left swing, mid swing and a right swing, combos were the only thing that I found to be different as you did combos to do certain moves rather than them already being available to you..
None of these games have the resource management seen in spellborn. Every battle is a new battle. Armor is a non factor and there are no pre-fight BUFFS that would or could change the battle before the battle has begun. This insures that every battle requires the that the player put forth every bit of effort for each one..
There is "innovation" in this game.. You just have to be open to it. Nope, didn't have to play the "complex" card, but you make it sound easier and more simple than it actually is..
Edit: I garuntee you that you couldn't hold the mouse button and win every battle with those same few attacks in the same rotation.. I garuntee you that it is alot more "complex" than that..
Replies in GREEN.
Now ... am I saying that this game is a clone or a waste of time? Absolutely not. It's a fun, story-driven game with solid combat system. And yes, you SHOULD definitely try it. But I don't think it's the end-all, last word in the MMO world as some of its fanbois would assert.
Peace.
I have to agree, the skill decks only real innovation is that its a new spin (no pun intended) on the usual hotbars, nothing really complex about it. I dont agree on the ridiculous notion of 'holding down mouse button lolz' to scroll through your deck. Thats fine if youre fighting a level 1 boar, but not when you have to start considering your status bar.
You have to consider buffing your morale, physique and concentartion depending on your class type (morale + 1 other status for damage as an example), resistances both buffing and debuffing, stats both buffing and debuffing, silences, disarms, cripples, burning, all kinds of debuffs to consider and counter and thats without adding combo openers with their specific opener type (defense for heals, calibrate, infusions etc). All of this whilst trying to do the complete opposite to your opponent. What about fighting multiple mobs when you have morale and physique 0 and your stats are al lowered by 10%? what about if your target is kiting you, or has slowed your attack speed to 0 whilst their own is buffed by 30%? what about if your magic resist is debuffed heavily and youre taking massve spirit damage from a mage whilst his warrior buddy is whacking your physique to 0?
Theres all kinds of things to think of, which is why the notion of claiming you can simply hold down L mouse to play is laughable.No, having to plan your attacks isnt anything new, but spellborn almost forces you to preplan due to the skill deck, which is kinda the whole point. much like guildwars only allowing you to use 8 skills at once, there is no optimal set up for all tasks.
Sorry, but its like people who claim that you can play wow by auto attacking stuff to death, its nonsense.
Short and sweet, my first 4 hour impressions are that I was totally immersed, and have fallen in love with the world. The quirks in the rest of the game - I think will grow on me. I have been playing with my sound blasted and I just feel completely gripped by the game's environment.
Give it a try.
Replies in GREEN.
Now ... am I saying that this game is a clone or a waste of time? Absolutely not. It's a fun, story-driven game with solid combat system. And yes, you SHOULD definitely try it. But I don't think it's the end-all, last word in the MMO world as some of its fanbois would assert.
Peace.
Yea, sure.. Im a "fanboi" but your last reply.. So I suppose you've seen EVERYONE doing that eh? What level were you? Oh yeah, I forgot you subbed and fought some of the later (non nubish introductory) battles that await..
But we won't go into details, it will just be a back and forth mish mash of nonsense, but to leave it short and simple..
It is not as easy as you seem to make it. Nor did I say it was the "end-all".. You MMORPG folk are so hung up on "the next best thing" that every compliment people give new games has to be "the end-all" praise that many of you would prefer to see of new games. it is not the best game (if there is ever such a thing) but it does deserve a little more credit than so me of you "haters" err excuse me "Haterz" are giving it.
The game is simply amazing and the combat has me hooked.
So many people saying how the skill deck isn't innovative and how its the same as hot bars as you would be casting skills in a specific order anyhow.... well in PVP your not going to just be casting the same 5 moves over and over. Your going to be constantly doing different skills and if you miss or cast the wrong skill guess what you will have to wait for your skill deck to do a complete rotation unless you have that skill on another tier. Where as hot bars you could simply use that move right away.
Also I do not know if the critics have reached level 11 when Combo openers are introduced. This adds a huge level of depth to the combat as these openers give huge boosts to your character (damage modifiers, heals, damage to attackers etc). There is a downside however and the downside is if you miss a skill after using an opener, your opener effect goes bye bye.
So when you combine the skill deck with openers and finishers and your trying to keep your Combo's flowing while trying to figure out what class the guy attacking you is and exactly what strategy you should adopt that is what makes the whole Spellborn package innovative.
You completely forgot to mention manual dodging and the great enemy AI. All contribute to the combat system in TCoS. This game is obviously not "WoW with a tumbler" as you make it out to be.
Its also interesting how you downplay the role of the tumbler. Its more complex than simply creating each rotation without considering many different factors. You have to consider the end of a rotation and where it leaves you in the other rotations. You need to account for abilities that you may need to have available in more than one place in one rotation. Those are just a couple very simple examples of why the tumbler does more than provide a firing order. Things get much more complex in practice, which I don't think you have much of.
I think I will play that "I don't think you understand" card because I really think its true.
You completely forgot to mention manual dodging and the great enemy AI. All contribute to the combat system in TCoS. This game is obviously not "WoW with a tumbler" as you make it out to be.
Its also interesting how you downplay the role of the tumbler. Its more complex than simply creating each rotation without considering many different factors. You have to consider the end of a rotation and where it leaves you in the other rotations. You need to account for abilities that you may need to have available in more than one place in one rotation. Those are just a couple very simple examples of why the tumbler does more than provide a firing order. Things get much more complex in practice, which I don't think you have much of.
I think I will play that "I don't think you understand" card because I really think its true.
Hitting ctrl + 1-2-3-4, etc. in other mmos gives me a new hotbar which I have filled with different skills for different situations. So basically you've just described the skilldeck as a gimped version of the multi-hotbar setup found in other games. It has nothing to do with my not understanding, it has to do with people like yourself trying to make the skilldeck anything more than it is.
LOL! You know that you can just hold the mouse button down, right? It will select the next ability in the tumbler when its ready. At least learn how to play before you complain.
At least recognize the humor before you respond. :)
This description is laughable at best. Obviously by level 7 you're no closer to understanding the innovative combat system than at level 1. This is something they are working on and are going to up the level limit on the free trial. You have more slots available than you do skills and this is obviously not what the system is about. As the game progresses you have more skills than slots and actually have to put some thought into what goes where.
A very basic example would be: I have a spell heals anyone who hits the mob with a melee attack and I have a melee skill that hits 3 times in quick succession. To get the most of these two abilities you would cast the heal first so when you fire off the melee ability you get healed 3 times. If you put them the other way round then the heal may have expired by the time the melee ability comes round again.
The difference between a well setup skill deck and a poor one decides the outcome of the battle which makes PVP very interesting.
The combat system in TCoS is more interactive than AoC which is also very good. Your description is WAY off and reads like most other MMOs out there. (WoW, WAR etc). The combat system is NOTHING like that. You also forgot to mention the active dodging in combat and that you actually have to AIM your abilities. It is FAR more than just a "click fest".
There is also crafting in this game, although I will admit it is fairly basic and similar to WoW for example. You get broken items, take it to an NPC and he/she will give you a recipe to fix it. You gather the required materials throughout the world and complete the recipe to craft the item.
The combat portion of the post was for humor sake, hence the carpal tunnel and :)
As for the rest, my point on the game is that if it doesn't catch you by level 7, then why pay to play beyond level 7? I didn't like what i tried of it, so I'm not going to pay to play it on a whim that it might get better and hook me later one.
To get the "free" month in WoW, you had to pay $50 plus shipping and tax to buy a box. That doesn't sound terribly "free" to me. To get the free two weeks in The Chronicles of Spellborn, you pay $0.
Love this game! I really like the combat system and the lore is great. I recomment it to everyone :)
I decided to give this game a try. Unfortunately the game didn't want to give me a try. After fighting with it minimally(because I'm tired of putting up with crappy launch products) I tried some of the fixes that didn't fix anything.
Then I posted on their boards that I was done trying to play their game(I didn't go on a rant) and they locked my thread.
What a charming little game experience. Hope this game crashes and burns.
Good... If you're not able to install a game, we don't need you asking dumb questions on the zone channels later...
I know it is way too late to speak my piece,but i will have to disagree totally on the combat system.I actually mentioned how bad it was during beta ,so i'm not really too late,however i knew already then it was a design they would never change.
The skill deck is not only a hinderance but it does not allow the player total freedom to do what they want with their player.All it does is act like an innefficient hotbar and force players to try and remember where they put each skill,not a brilliant idea by any stretch.
The rest of the game was ok,the AI acted pretty much newish but after awhile it was always the same,quite predictable.I don't like moving combat so much, actually not at all in a MMORPG because it makes for non controlled combat ,more of a chaotic type play.The mob running after certain damage inflicted seemed to be pretty much automatic also ,witch became old after a while.I also do not like dodging,moving combat unless there is weapons to facilitate each type of combat and the surroundings have to be suited to moving combat.Standing in a wide open field does nothing for moving combat,there is no thinking involved ,no strategy,just a matter of holding your aim steadfast.
What i did like about it was the fact there was some realism in that you could jump on a rock to escape a critter that could not navigate it.It seemed like all the mobs had a certain area they were confined too,once they crossed that threashold they returned to their spot again, that part i did not like,because it feels more like a program than gameplay.
TCOS tried to do a few things differently,but IMO they chose the wrong ideas.The areas were ok to challenge because AI and combat are two areas that can always be looked at,but they just failed IMO and made it worse instead of more exciting.AI however is a VERY tricky part of a game to try and perfect,i think all games have a long way to go there.
lol.. You don't like moving combat? lol..
So the participants in combat ( a battle to the death) shouyld just stand still and take pre-determined whacks at each other until one dies? lol.. yeah that sounds really fun and doesn't break immersion at all..
blasphemy... :-)
I chuckled but then I saw that this is your first post and realized you must know all about being dumb.
Yes sir, first and probably last post on this forum. I was eager to see what was said about this game on this site, and was amazed to see the number of "haterz" who had something to say without even trying it... acting like what they think has any value. Anyone having played a few MMOs knows you can't make up your mind about a game before lvl 15/20, so please spare us the "don't play it because it's not innovative" or "I can't install so it's worth nothing". Be a good boy and try it (or not if you can't manage the install ^^) and if you have nothing more to say than "I like it" or "I don't like it", well... tell your ma and that'll be enough ^^
Btw i always like a good post that says why
ps. i just realized you only have 20 posts, and i waste my time writing an answer... pfff /sarcasm off