From about every thread i read on this game forum, people said this game is good. Supposely they got..

-no monthly fees/cd, no advantages that cost real money.

-newb friendly

-good tutorial

-lots of spells/classes/monsters.

I never tried this game, but it has 6.9 rating. If it was so good it would be at least 7.5+.

So what kind things does this game "lack" or makes it with a low rating? Just asking.

Read through the threads here (or anywhere) and you'll see where people feel the game is lacking. It's already been discussed at length. It's really better to just look at what's already been posted, but if you want a very abbreviated list of what needs improving:

- the client is unstable and is a memory hog

- to close it in windows, you typically have to use task manager

- the game is vulnerable to bugs and exploits that force periodic money, item, and character wipes

- not all races and genders have character models

- magic is so underpowered that it is almost useless when compared to physical attacks

- you cannot alter the appearance of your character with clothing etc. (just armor)

- communication with NPCs emmulates text-parser games where NPCs look for keywords and combinations, many players find it frustrating and counter-intuitive, new players almost universally struggle with it

- PVP combat is unrealistic and relies on "hit and run" attacks, something many regard as out of character and not in the spirit of the game

- the levelling system is unrealistic and obnoxious: to advance in a skill, you must find a trainer of that skill. you then spend money and "progression points" to get training in that skill, and then you practice the skill until you level up. However, progression points are obtained by killing things (and to a lesser extent by doing quests, however quests give so few progression points that you MUST kill things in order to level). Also, progression points can be spent on anything. So if you wish to be a mason, musician, linguist, or wizard, you must kill rats. Lots and lots of rats. And then you move on to tougher monsters. And then you spend those points on musicianship, or smithing, or mining.

- which brings me to this: everyone must be first and foremost a fighter, unless you're just going to stand around and chat. it is impossible to be a pure-spellcaster because magic is so weak.

- characters cannot gain skills without the help of trainers; you cannot get better at something simply by doing it a lot

- there is no limit on how often you can drink potions or how many you can drink at a time. you can hotkey a shortcut that makes your character drink a dozen potions, and there's nothing in the game mechanics to stop it.

- the HP of everything was dramatically increased, making healing and attack spells even weaker.

- there is no transportation in game yet except by foot. this means it takes 15 minutes to get from one city to another.

- unlike other games, there is no progression from "newbie area" to "experienced area" to "advanced area". the result is an out of ballance economy where the devs are tweaking things according to the progress of the most advanced players. this makes life as a newbie that much more difficult.

- life as a newbie is difficult. you can't do much of anything except kill rats, and you have to know where to go to find the rats, and then you're just standing around killing the same rat over and over again.

- you can only sell dropped items and animal parts to specific NPCs, and new players find it difficult to locate those merchants

- NPCs always respawn in the same exact spot.

- NPCs respawn very quickly, but there are relatively few of them; this makes complaints about spawn location ownership and killstealing rather common (there should be many more spawns that respawn much more slowly)

- to mine, you have to dig for specific items (if you dig for gold at a diamond mind, you won't find diamonds by accident)

- mining locations aren't characterized by anything and are found only by trial and error or spoilers

- the names of weapons don't necessarily reflect their potency. you can have a "ruined dagger" in perfect condition, and you can have a "perfect sword" that is broken, and you can have a "mastercrafted battleaxe" that is much less powerful than a typical player-crafted weapon

- it takes an unreasonably large amount of steel to produce weapons

- it takes the creation of many weapons to advance even a little in weapon crafting; the creation of each weapon is very expensive and time consuming. making a weapon should require dedication, but the payoff should reflect what you put into it

- character generation works by giving your character a life history made from a list of possible events and experiences; those experiences then alter the stats of your character, however, people don't roleplay the character made by the generator; instead, they manipulate the generator into giving them a powerful character, and then they delete the history of the character and write a new one for it

- quests that become bugged cannot be dropped and reattempted

The game is a tech demo, some calling it a pre-alpha, so there are a great many features not finished, bugged, or missing. Since it is made by people in their free time, advancements are rather slow compared to many other games. The game is basic, but the end goal is grand.

If you are looking for a polished game with full features, PlaneShift can not live up to that yet. Many people stay just to see it develope. Others play because of the unique community. All depends on what floats your boat. Try it out. You loss nothing but a bit of time if it is not your cup of tea.

Yup.  Planeshift isn't short on excuses. :)

There is a difference between 'reasons' and 'excuses'. Now, do you have a reason or an excuse for not joining the PlaneShift team to make the game better? You do have all the solutions to the problems, I assume.

Originally posted by UtMoon

There is a difference between 'reasons' and 'excuses'. Now, do you have a reason or an excuse for not joining the PlaneShift team to make the game better? You do have all the solutions to the problems, I assume.

The guy asked for a list of shortcomings and I provided it.

Solutions:

Modeling, textures, bugs, streamlining the code:  Time and personel are the only solution.

Fixing the progression system:  First, the devs must decide that the existing system is flawed.  Only then can progress be made.

Fixing communication with NPCs:  The newer quests seem to recognize the problems with NPC communication.  Right now, the settings devs seem to be doing the best they can with the system they have.  Since the dev team is unwilling to move away from a text-parser format, this is probably all that can be done.

Ballancing the economy, mob spawns, magic, levelling, crafting, and so on:  I believe that a fundamental problem is that the devs adjust the difficulty of the game based on the players at the very top.  The problem with this is that players who are new get screwed.  A lot of the problems seem easy to solve, but we're told by the devs that the problems are not easy to solve, and I will not contest that judgement.

The guy asked for a list of negatives about the game.  Maybe they'll be solved years from now, but for now they're with us.

Originally posted by pstruth

Solutions:

Modeling, textures, bugs, streamlining the code:  Time and personel are the only solution.

>Obvious. We are already actively recruting folks to help out. If you watch the bugtracker and svn, you can see the progress that is being made.

Fixing the progression system:  First, the devs must decide that the existing system is flawed.  Only then can progress be made.

>Obvious. The system is known to be flawed. However, it is a complicated chunk of code. When it starts getting imporved, it will be either replaced all at once, or imporved over time.

Fixing communication with NPCs:  The newer quests seem to recognize the problems with NPC communication.  Right now, the settings devs seem to be doing the best they can with the system they have.  Since the dev team is unwilling to move away from a text-parser format, this is probably all that can be done.

>As you said, improvements are already being made. I for one think the text based NPCs improve the quality of the playerbase, and would not change it besades improving the parser and syntax.

Ballancing the economy, mob spawns, magic, levelling, crafting, and so on:  I believe that a fundamental problem is that the devs adjust the difficulty of the game based on the players at the very top.  The problem with this is that players who are new get screwed.  A lot of the problems seem easy to solve, but we're told by the devs that the problems are not easy to solve, and I will not contest that judgement.

 >Some problems will be hard to solve, some easy. Economy is one of the hard things to control in a game. most other MMOs are proof of that.

The guy asked for a list of negatives about the game.  Maybe they'll be solved years from now, but for now they're with us.

>I did not contest your list. I did not even read it. I know what the negitives are. I listed my own and the reasons for them. I had issue with you calling them excuses. I know you must be smart enough to realize that was a trolling remark I would respond to.

They are excuses though.  "Please excuse the shortcomings of the game, we're working on them."

If a person enjoys the game, they play it.  If a person doesn't enjoy the game, they don't play it - even if they recognize that it's a work in progress.  But let's call it for what it is.

Originally posted by pstruth

They are excuses though.  "Please excuse the shortcomings of the game, we're working on them."

If a person enjoys the game, they play it.  If a person doesn't enjoy the game, they don't play it - even if they recognize that it's a work in progress.  But let's call it for what it is.

You should see some of the other companies that try to create a "free" MMO.  I put quotations around the word free because most games these days aren't free.  They have cash shops, which end up (unfortunately) controlling the game. 

Another thing that most companies do for free games is not inform people often, or you can tell that they are not extremely serious.  Take the company Webzen, they hardly inform anyone about most of their games.

As you can see, the devs of this game are trying extremely hard to work on a game.  Especially since it is all valauntary work.  They are coming to forums like these and hearing their communities opinions/problems, and listening with both ears wide open.

Personally, I am glad for what these people are doing.  These are the true makers of a 100% free MMO  (something we haven't seen in a while)

Originally posted by mike470

 

This is not an excuse.  They are stating the truth, that people are working hard to try to fix this games' bugs (it is still in beta).

Perhaps, but the response Moon gave was the response he and others give whenever Planeshift's shortcomings come into question.  Instead of talking about where the game needs work, individuals such as Moon attempt to minimize awareness of such flaws, or respond with the blurb about the game being in development.  They're obsessed with PR and the image of the game, but sometimes you just need to answer the question. People already know the game is a work in progress.

Originally posted by mike470

As you can see, the devs of this game are trying extremely hard to work on a game.  Especially since it is all valauntary work.  They are coming to forums like these and hearing their communities opinions/problems, and listening with both ears wide open.

Personally, I am glad for what these people are doing.  These are the true makers of a 100% free MMO  (something we haven't seen in a while)

Although it's "free t-shirts" free, not opensource free.  I will say this though, and hopefully I won't get myself in trouble by being honest:  Planeshift's devs keep their eyes on forums like this because they want to pounce on any negative reviews people have for the game.  Getting feedback is really only a secondary objective, and in truth it seems like asking for feedback is just another way they're trying to improve the game's image.  Maybe I'm being cynical, but there's a pattern to their behaviour that can't be denied.

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Originally posted by pstruth
Instead of talking about where the game needs work...

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Edit: Holy hell...it seems version 0.4 Steel Blue came earlier than I thought it would.