I chose to try PlaneShift beacuse it was the highest rated of the free downloadable games listed here on MMORPG. The list indicates that this game is in "Beta" testing.

In my opinion, this game is not ready for ANY stage of "testing". It is still in early development.

The download, install, and update all proceeded normally as far as I could tell. I was able to get an account created in short order.

Problem area 1: Character creation

First, some of the races don't have both male and female models available. Fix: if both models aren't ready yet, remove that race from the menu until they are. Better fix: add the models. Putting in the characters should be done before the game is released at all. Also, if the different races are supposed to have certain advantages and disadvantages over other races, some description of what those are is appropriate.

Second, a number of history/background choices are offered with no description of how those choices affect your final character. Also, they don't make any sense if you aren't already familiar with the mechanics of the game. I think the typical player has some idea how they want to play, at least initially. It should be possible to build a charater around that.

Enter the game.

Problem area 2: the tutorial

I went through the tutorial without too much trouble until the very last step. I answered a question incorrectly and the NPC I was speaking with started repeating the first thing he said. I tried to re-start the series, but that didn't work. I finally went to the in-game help channel where it was suggested that I check the forums for that solution. I give high marks for the quick response by a moderator, unfortunately, THE FORUMS WERE DOWN, and THE MODERATOR DIDN'T KNOW IT. After that, he was able to give me some suggestions which eventually led to a solution. He was courteous and cooperative and I didn't have to wait days for a response, but I expect in-game support personnel to be aware of something as significant as the forums being moved to another site.

Problem area 3: the game

First, the graphics are a bit dated. Not bad, but there are problems, particularly around zone change points. I like that there is a /unstick command for those cases where you get stuck, but I ran into a couple of places where the command wouldn't function at all or moved me to another "stuck" point leaving me with only the choice to /die to get unstuck.

Second, the fighting is BORING. Run up to mob, hit the attack button and wait for the outcome or run away, if you can. The targetting is very hard with a mouse, and by the time you are close enough to evaluate a potential foe, he's already hitting you. I found one spot just outside of town where I killed an easy mob and the one next to it hit me for 4000 hp. At the time, i only had about 200 when fully healthy, so, dead again in one shot. Placement and difficulty of mosters should be a bit more predictable, even to a player with intelligence as low as mine. They also need to be much more common. Only having 20 or so per territory is silly in my opinion and invites camping.

Third, questing is problematic for a novice like me, the NPCs must get precise answers or they won't cooperate. Spelling counts too, so the game is off limits for those more challenged in that department.

Fourth, skill training is puzzling, most skills are progressive and slow, but character attribute training is not progressive and I find it odd that the 100th strength point should cost the same as the 50th. Also, some of the skills still aren't working. I can train backstabbing, but I can't execute one or gain any experience in it.

Fifth, I understand that the game is supposed to have sound, but I'm not hearing any. I can't find any controls to modify sound settings. I tried to find some help again in the forums (several days after the original problem with forums and after they were finally up again) Bringing me to...

Sixth, the forums are not working correctly. There is a search feature, but it only works (I assume) if you are a registered user on the forum. I tried several times to register, but the e-mail for confirmation is not being sent out. I'm sorry, but I have no intention of randomly browsing the forums trying to find specific problem solutions.

Finally, after playing for some time, I got in this morning to find that my character had been re-named. The name I had chosen was not copyrighted, insulting, profane, out of character, or in any other way a violation of any SANE naming policy, but that's fine if they want it changed, at least give me the option of changing it, don't just assign a randomly generated and unpronouncable one and leave me wondering what happened. I didn't even get any kind of notification.

To summarize, if you are a skilled computer programmer willing to donate your time freely, please join PlaneShift, they need your help, otherwise, don't waste your time.

The game is stated as being in development, it is not a finished release. The lack of models does not trouble me. The background stuff for character creation is an interesting try, and the devs know it needs to be redone.

The forums being down happened recently for the first time in years. The project is not managed from some central office. It is different people doing different things. There is no "staff" as you would normally envision it. So Acraig (or whoever) moved the forums. This was just bad timing, and your own luck.

The combat system being boring is the least of considerations with combat. The monsters are just placeholders for now. Everything you mentioned is on the plans, but have not been implemented yet.

Quest system is what it is. If you had looked at the project history you would have seen that they are currently implementing some sort of popup window for the quests. Actually, the quests never bothered me all that much, but I am old school and don't mind working for things in a game.

If your name was changed, it violated the naming policy. What was the name? They are under no responsibility to inform you that your name has been changed. Don't confuse a bunch of volunteers with a real business. PlaneShift is a hobby project, they are not going to jump through hoops here.

Did I sound like I disagreed with you? Sorry. I don't. I just disagree with the premise of the post. The game is certainly ready to be tested and there are plenty of features that are working in it. A lot of people have fun with this game the way it is, and the project itself is damn nice for what it is.

That being said, if your expectations of online games are based upon experience with finished commercial projects like World of Warcraft, then go to Shaiya or something because PlaneShift is only going to piss you off.

Talad promotes uncivil behavior.

Quite simply, there is a conspiracy of PlaneShift players that pumped the ratings. Some people really enjoy the game the way it is.

Talad promotes uncivil behavior.

Sullton:

Thank you for taking the time to play & give feedback here. PS has some amazingly dedicated team members (all volunteers, as I believe you've already mentioned.) Response time is naturally not going to be as quick as it would be for a pay game with a full-time staff, but the team does watch, and they do listen. Every fresh perspective helps. Know this - the day all race models are completed will be a happy, happy day. It's a day that many folks are working hard to achieve.

Tuxide:

You've been a great supporter of PS for a long time now, and this is a great thing. Conversely, there are some folks who don't care for PS and never will. To my mind, 'tis better to focus on those who have specific suggestions for improvement rather than "calling out" by name those who are not comfortable with the project in general. Just my humble opinion. Fix what you can, y'know?

Talad promotes uncivil behavior.

Tuxide,

I think it would be a poor idea for me to jump into an IRC chan that I don't usually hang out in and start challenging someone that I've not chatted with before. I also don't do dares these days - they never seem to work out for me.

The thing that prompted me to say something to you was the tagline that accompanies this entire forum section: "The forum is to discuss anything related to Planeshift. Please stay on topic." If you use this space to try to resolve a personal conflict with another individual, you may be unintentionally making some hardworking mmorpg.com moderator's life that much harder. Since they are gracious enough to give us this free space to discuss our project, I'd like to reciprocate by making their jobs as easy as possible.

Oomi

Meanwhile, back on topic....

I'm one of the PlaneShift developers and I thought the review at the top of this thread was pretty accurate.  Let me try to address his points in order:

Character models: Character rework is in progress.

Character creation history: Don't know on that one.  Points in the review sound valid.

Forums down and mod didn't know:  Is the reviewer proposing some sort of automated tool for the moderator to know forum uptime status with?

Tutorial quest got off track: Yes it's annoying when that happens.  See quest comments below.

Dated graphics: See a message from our project leader on this subject here.  I think you'll like it.

Boring fighting: Not in progress yet but under heavy discussion and high priority to make more action-based.  Probably still a ways down the road but we know it is an issue and want to remedy it.

Quest dialog is hard: The quest dialog is all being converted to popup menus now.  We've also built a voice audio system for the NPC side of the dialog which we believe will make the quests more immersive and fun.

Skill training: Progression is going to get an overhaul in the next release or two also.

Sound problem: No idea.  Go to the forums for help.  They have a pretty good success ratio and the forums are usually up.  ;-)

Random renaming with no explanation:  We now have a non-RP server with very minimalist naming rules.  I suggest trying the next release on that server if you don't like your new name.  :-)

Regards,