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Atlantica Online: First Look Preview
MMORPG.com Atlantica Online Correspondent Matt Plourde gives us this first look preview of the new strategy-based MMORPG from NDoors.
Strategy RPGs have always held a special place in my heart - Fantasy General on the PC and Shining Force on the SEGA Genesis being the first two games to really capture my attention in this genre. Traditionally a single player affair, these games have carved a niche market for themselves through the years. There have been a few attempts recently to bring the StratRPG to the MMO market, but these games have fallen short (in some significant ways) of their single-player ancestors.
Until now.
If you are a StratRPG fan, Atlantica Online could be the best tactical online game you've never heard of. Available in the U.S. via NDoors Interactive, Atlantica Online is a free-to-play online game currently in open beta. They hope to get your money through microtransactions at NDoors' website (this feature is yet to be implemented).
After downloading and installing the game, you are presented with a standard MMOG character creation screen. You then select your main weapon from a list of nine choices (axe, sword, gun, staff, etc). Your choice of starting weapon defines what skills and equipment you can use. Choose a cannon (yes, there are cannons!), and you'll typically deal large area damage. Sword-users are tough tanks because they can equip shields. Wield a staff if you prefer to sit back and heal your team. Though Atlantica is not very deep when it comes to main character options, the ability to form and equip a unique team of mercenaries more than makes up for relatively static main characters.
;)
Moving on to appearance options - there are a few faces and hairstyles, but that's pretty much it. Combined with the fact that you can only make a "human" character, the design options are indeed shallow. Expect to look like a typical anime hero in the beginning of the game - just like everybody else.
After character creation, your main character awakens in a dream world (or the afterlife - the backstory is light) and you are sent on some tutorial missions by angels with floaty breasts. My wife assures me that breasts cannot defy gravity without proper support, but what does she know about video game women anyway? We gamers grew up on impossible breasts...
Breasts aside, your first few quests take you through combat, travel, and hiring your first mercenaries (characters who permanently fight alongside your main character). The mercenary system is where Atlantica departs from the ancient MMORPG formula of one main character and real-time battles. In Atlantica, you can eventually control up to eight mercenaries plus your main character in a turn-based battle grid not much unlike Disciples for the PC or the Ogre Battle games.
Travel is the same as any other MMORPG - you move your avatar around a 3D landscape filled with mobs. However, the enemies don't "aggro" like other online games (unless you get really close) - instead, you click on them to initiate a fight. So, you may see an evil fairy floating along a hillside. Click on that fairy and you are transported to an instanced "battle board" with your characters on one side, and the enemy characters on the other side.
And battle is where this game shines.
;)
You have a time limit to perform actions for all your characters, then the enemy performs all actions for their characters, and so on. For a turn-based game, Atlantica moves fast and furious. During your turn, your characters can attack the enemy, drink a potion, move to another spot in your formation, cast a spell (if they have the ability), or perform a special attack (differs for each character type). The controls are setup to allow you to perform any of these actions quickly, which is good considering you face a time limit. If that wasn't enough, you can team-up with up to two other players and the enemies may get reinforcements from other wandering mobs as well - for a maximum rumble of 27 on 27! With the smooth character animations, and colorful special attacks - a large fight is just as fun to watch as control (yes, you can observe other player's battles if you wish!).
To limit players from simply grinding up to 100th level (the current maximum), there is a "Stamina" system in place. Basically, after each battle, you lose 1 stamina point. Once your stamina reaches zero, you cannot initiate a fight. Stamina regenerates one point every ten minutes, and you start with 100.
Another limiting system in the game is Willpower. Once you travel to a location, you are allowed to teleport back to that location to make travel easier - much like Diablo II or Titan Quest on the PC. However, when you teleport, you use up some of your willpower and you must wait for it to regenerate over time. There are more game actions that require willpower (like teaching craft skills to other players), however travel is the most prominent.
;)
The tactical options appear deep. You can hire many different mercenary types and customize them with skills and equipment as you travel the world. Much like Pox Nora (another online strategy game), your decisions on your party composition are just as important as your tactical decisions during combat. Want to try a party of all archers and pelt your enemies into submission? Go ahead!
After the first few quests, you are transported to a "high-fantasy" version of Earth where you select to start in Japan, Korea, or a few other places. There, you meet more women with floaty breasts and take on more quests designed to help you learn all the features of the game. The game is deep, and bravo to the developers for easing you into the pool. My only complaint about this alternate Earth is the size - I walked from South Korea to Beijing in about 2 minutes. Though travel and discovery are not a focus of Atlantica (see: Lord of the Rings Online), I think the game could benefit from a more "open" feel. As it is, players do congregate in certain areas and you may feel like you're on the NY Stock Exchange floor from time to time.
The graphics are on par with current free to play Asian titles, and the smooth animations do an excellent job representing your character's actions and special attacks. Enemies in all the newbie zones appear well animated and are quite gorgeous. I would have preferred to see a tad more enemy diversity in the starter zones, but it's not any worse than other mainstream MMORPG titles. Heck, I don't know why I'm complaining - any game that allows me to slaughter evil unicorns in the newbie area must be doing something right!
In the coming weeks, I'll dive into some of the more advanced game features such as the player economy, crafting, microtransactions, PvP, and guilds.
Though the game is in open beta, the developers have emphatically promised no more character wipes. So, what are you waiting for? Don your helm of tactical acumen and get your strategy on!
And battle is where this game shines.
I disagree.
Battle seems like a dumbed down version of old console RPGs (Final Fantasy, Chrono Trigger, etc), but with much better animations and graphics.
I have a good first impression of this game, especially since I like both the art style and the sound/music. But I'm pretty sure I'll get tired of it very soon. Mostly because of the battle system, but also because of how dumbed down and linear it is. And the "auto-run to the exact quest location" crap, that's nothing less than retarded.
I appreciate this reviewers attempt to stay positive, but I have to disagree as well. Atlantica Online isn't even remotely competitive compared to the MMO's out today. The graphics are poor, the character customization is pathetic, and the battle system isn't enough to redeem it. When I saw an open beta for this MMO I jumped on the chance, but what the reviewer should keep in mind is your hyping a product we can all play, trying to jazz it up by emphasizing the one area in which it isn't terrible (Yes, terrible) will just annoy us after we spend an hour downloading it to find ourselves in a world devoid of entertainment.
On a five star scale, this gets a two. I know the game is in beta, but the way it feels it should be thrown back to alpha. Show us some polish.
It's obvious that both of you have barely played this game. Dumb and linear? You are quick to judge when you probaly haven't even gotten anywhere. Linear? Depends on how you play any MMO, there is versitility in this game like in everyother MMO.
"I disagree.
Battle seems like a dumbed down version of old console RPGs (Final Fantasy, Chrono Trigger, etc), but with much better animations and graphics."
Seems? As you self said, you have barely experienced this game, in which MMO's do you get thrown into action where a few mistakes will get you killed? Battle gets more intense and challenging. You've probaly just done the first couple of dungeons and experienced PvP on a beginner basis.
Isikari, why even comment on this when all you bring is a shallow first impression? I guess you barely touched the game. But I must admit I got a similiar notion as you in the beginning but the game really opens up more and more as further down the road you get.
Unlike any other F2P game this offers 100 times more, it's even better than many P2P games out there.
"On a five star scale, this gets a two. I know the game is in beta, but the way it feels it should be thrown back to alpha. Show us some polish."
Given you spent basically no time with this game I find your "review" void.
This game is not BAD, OK nor EXCELLENT, it is GOOD. I would give it 75/100. I've experienced over 200 PvP battles, reached well over level 80. The crafting, the market is very well done for being that simplistic, the game actually have an economy that is rather dynamic compared to most MMO's.
The guild system is better than most game, you can easily acquire a town and start building structures, persuading travelers to move there. Guild crafting, which is required for buildings but you can also craft everything else this way, where everyone in the guild who is not active with a personal craft will chip in on the workload.
You can establish a Nation relatively quick /Guild level 30) and start wars with other Nations which is a neat and fun feature.
There is several things you can do to gain points in several categories aswell which you can trade for items.
Mercenaries? You can customize your party in many ways, some take skill and strategy to pull off some takes no thought at all. Archer, Gunner, Artilleryman, Cannoneer, Shaman, Monk, Witch, Princess, Beast Trainer, Spearman, Swordsman, Viking, Inventor, Janissary, Spartan, Lady Knight, Excorcist, Prophet, Oracle... I might have missed some/one. There are several builds which you can make up - Some might make you weak in PvP but strong in PvE and vice versa.
There are alot of people who tend to whine alot, but they don't understand the mechanics of combat in this game, you have to move, plan ahead, try to "outdraw" your opponents in PvP battles.
Titles? There are alot of them, some are very time consuming, costly and will have you make sacrifices to achieve.
There is more that just this that I haven't covered here. This game is good, this game is very good given the fact it's free.
There is much to be improved, there is alot of potential, hopefully nDoors will turn around and get to shine with this if executed properly.
I agree, its not great but its worth fiddling with if you are looking for something to do. (that 75 seems like a reasonable score) best of all, it cost nothing to just mess around with. No total overhaul of your PC, no 50 dollar box, no monthly sub ...in other words no outlay of hundreds of dollars just to find out it sucks.
I don't know where many of the traditionalist get these delussions that nothing can compare to the pay to play model games. Someone please point me at one of these mythical high quality AAA western made miracle games. It sure wasn't AoC, TR, Hellgate, Vanguard or any number of other burning wrecks of MMO's out there that either don't run, are only half finished or both and most of them have deserted servers by the time they hit a playable state.
IMHO the time has come for MMO players to start being more open minded because the P2P model has done nothing but f**k us in the a*s over and over for years now.
I say if you are bored, give it try. You have nothing to lose.
You are completely forgetting what kind of thread this is. Hint: FIRST LOOK Preview.
Coming here attacking us for our opinions based on our FIRST IMPRESSIONS, because we haven't played for 100s of hours, that's incredibly stupid.
I got to my mid 30s in the last closed beta. During the week or so between the end of closed and open I had unistalled to make room for other things.
It's a decent enough game, typical fantasy mmog with level grind, the turn based combat being the main distinguishing feature.
It is a very linear game, you must finish all the level 10-19 quests to be introduced to the level 20-29 quest guy to be introduced to the level 30-39 guy. Each set of quests takes place in a different dungeon, but has the same plotline: Something strange is going on, a peaceful place has turned dangerous, oh there's this ancient Atlantis technology corrupting them. Go beat the boss to turn it off. Heh, one of the quest steps was 'join a guild', so you're stuck on the quest chain until you join up.
Cities are disappointing. You access the market, bank, etc through a window. You don't actually walk through the city to a npc. Consequently , peope zone into a city, just sit there and open their city window. This leads to a slow zone-in since there's a huge crowd at the zone in point. Oh, and only one city in the world, Rome, has a bank with inventory slots. The rest just store money with a withdrawl fee.
Loot comes in boxes, click the box get a random piece of equipment. Same with skill books. Got very annoying.
Crafting was ok, ton of materials to keep track of with not much inventory space, though. Buy a auto-craft license so you can just click the make this button and sit while the progress bar fills up or you can go fight., as fighting also fills up the crafting progress bar. Craft stuff to earn crafting xp, once that's full you either pay an npc to level your skill, or find a player with a higher crafting skill to lvl you. Oh, yeah, the crafting npcs (one for each tradeskill) wander the entire world map. Want to find them? Pay another npc 1,000 to get their current loc, then go chase after them.
First off, my impressions of the game is, it is not a bad game, but it is also in beta too. I would give it at best a 5 on a 10 point scale. There were several things that I did not like about it.
The stamina system drains stamina really fast , after so many fights you are out of stamina and have to sit.
I also did not like the crafting system, but will admit it is better than some of the other f2p games.
I always liked stratgy games and have played my share of them, but I found the battle system to be not to my liking.
And yes the cities are a joke.
Its not a bad game, its different and that makes it stand out amongst 90% of the game out there.
The stamina system is not really an issue until after lvl 50. Even then its still difficult to run low.
This is one of those games that you won't know if you like it until you have played a few levels (at least to level 20). Starting out it looks a lot like all the other Asian F2Ps. Lots of mobs grouped in some area, wandering around and hardly aggro at all. It's the actual battles that make this game unique.
Battles are sort of like the Disciples:Sacred Lands strategy game. When you fight a mob, you are segwayed to a battle screen (and you no longer see the other mobs around you, or other players). You and your mercs are arranged in 3 ranks of 3 rows (usually only 2 ranks are used at low level, but a 9x9 pattern is the foundation). The mob also is a group, so you will face 4 to 9 mobs in ranks and rows of their own.
Some mercs and mobs can only attack the front rank, some can attack any other foe, and some can attack a row of 2 or even 3 at a time. Add to this each of the mercs (and mobs) special attacks, the ability to change ranks and rows in battle, the ability to rez and loot in battle (one of the earliest foes you face can rez their comrades during a fight), and scrolls that can be looted and used in battle, and things start to get interesting.
The story's linearity (and some of the NPC content) is typically asian. Some variety would be nice. Every 10 levels or so the storyline has you face a boss mob, which is normally a challenge but is only one battle.
Crafting is simple, but inventory intensive as is enchanting items to get those nice +4 and better weapons and armor. Unique is the idea of starting a crafting job and fighting to get them done (one or two fights will do it early on). That lets you farm and craft at the same time. Crafting weapons also usually ends up with a +1-4 item, so it ends up being better than trying to enchant from all the no + drops you get.
Without buying the inventory license (a pay item) you have little inventory space (something like 10 slots per mercenary, plus the same from your character). So until you get to level 20 and can go to Rome, you will need to manage it carefully. At low levels, if you do not craft or open boxes, you will be fine. Of course, then you don't get items, and won't be making or enchanting those + items and armor, so....
Atlantica is billed as a strategy game, and it does somewhat succeed as one. It is more a roleplaying low level strategy game. For F2P, it's good, so it is hard to go wrong there. Chat could be better (mainly local, "peer" or shout to all that are around your level, and whisper (tell)). The advertisement bar for players to ad their goods and training, or to request same, is a nice idea. So is the guild ad button/window. The game has a lot of unique and unusual features, and unique ideas. That alone makes it worth checking out.
Game looks pretty fun for a free one! I can't believe that such high quality games are made for free, we are very lucky!
I am downloading it right now. I played Rohan earlier this year and I enjoyed that as well!
Let's get real here. The free implication is strictly a come on. You don't play these games for free. Trying to get anywhere without using the item shop is made to be very hard and it is in this game as any other of the so called f2p games. In the long run you will end up spending more money on the free to play games than a subscription game.
Personally the subscription games offer so much more content, you are just missing out on a bunch of them. Now if you have tried them all and are bored, nothing wrong with these so called f2p, just as you are aware you will be sinking money into the item shops, it is inevitable and once you start it is hard to stop.
IIRL, I read about half your post before the vitriol in it turned me off. I did however get to the part where you said I barely played the game, which is an interesting insight seeing as I never mentioned how long I played, and all my comments have been mimicked to some degree by various other posters (Some of whom explicitly stated they've played it a significant amount. I actually spent about 10 hours in the game, yeah thats not a bunch, but its also not the five minutes you apparently assumed.
Take your fanboy rage elsewhere, I demand polish and this game simply dosen't have it, not anywhere close.
Finally, I know my opinion is just that, an opinion. Everyone here, but you, is stating their opinions, and mine happens to be the same as several others. You on the other hand state your opinion as fact, even bolding it, nice.
Nice frist look. I mostly agree.
I have played only as much as this review and I already find enough to decide continue play and see what else they can show me. At least it is not the same old types of battle system in mmo. I appreciate trying to be diffrent.
I am some what visual orientied player so its graphic and animation is good thing to start with and I do like what they do with camera when I trevel with auto-move around big monument like the great wall. I guess it was my first time that camera autometical move to show dramatic scenery from f2p mmo. (sure seen a lot but not in this type of game)
It's battle system is well falling into my type of strategy game. It is not same but the nortion of the merc and jobs remind me my favorite orga battel or FFT. Sure it is not same but it does have fill of console strategy.
Other interesting part is that this game is using somewhat real world map. Start from asia and travel to west. (the other way from my point of view) Seems they have regional, historical merc to hire. It would be interesting if I set up roman army or spartans.
I will sink my weekend into it and see. f2p nothing to lose and looks promising for now.
I find atlantica online is one of the good mmorpg nowadays... I mean the game is great, I think we should not compare atlantica online from the like of final fantasy series, simply because they are both totally different to each other... their only similarities is that they both use the turn based combat system... nothing to take away from final fatasy series... we all know that final fantasy is a legend in the turn base system and one of the leading games in rpg... they dominate the market and the gaming world... but final fantasy series always concentrate on a single player mode... they have a linear story which you have to follow while atlantica online is an mmorpg... which means it has no linear story, you can do the quest or not you can still enjoy the game without doing your quest.. do you get m point?? don't get me wrong... what i'm trying to say is that we should not compare final fantasy series from atlantica online because they have their own identities, final fantasy is for single player and atlantica is for multiplayer..
All that text, and the only thing you're really saying, is that we shouldn't compare with FF. Undoubtly directed towards me, since I was the one doing that.
Feel free to post YOUR opinions, they are most welcome, but my opinions are MINE, and it's up to me if I want to compare with other games or not.
The review was good... it is not that biased or against the game.. One thing he didn't mention that is how atlantica differs to other f2p mmorpg... there are so many mmorpg are out in the market so the question is what makes atlantica special or differ to other f2p mmorpg???
I have 3 points why atlantica is differ from the other mmorpg:
1. The turn based battle system- I know turn based is very old and tradional way in a battle system. but having it in a mmorpg brings new to the game... It is my first time to encounter turn based mmorpg.. so it is quite fresh for me..
2. Economy/ Market system- In atlantica the economy is very fast pace... you can get rich in an instant.. by having observing their market, the prices there are very flexible there are times that the items there are so cheap but there are times that it so expensive.. if you observe these trends you can get rich easily.
3. Side quest/ Side events- There's a point in the mmorpg that you will feel grrinding in leveling up.. in atlantica there are side events like the arena betting something like that to ease away the ain of leveling up.. you can bet there or you can always to the league and test your team if it is strong enough...
Not to be biased about the game... what is lacking about the game is the character classes.. i feel atlantica should add atleast 2 to 3 character classes... I can't comment about the graphics because i run the game in low details to avoid lag and delays...
It's another item shop grinder. Don't waste your time.
That's what you think... Atlantica doesn't focus on item mall... it is one of the distinct features of atlantica that other f2p doesn't have....
Item mall in atlantica offers item only for the convenience of he player not for the game changing or making the game imbalance...
I'd say for players convenience because the items that are being sell in atlantica are those items who can make your character have an easy time playing.. for example you can play and the game is still balance even if you dont have teleport.. there's always an auto move in the game.. so if you want some convenience you can purchase a tele license...
Atlantica Online is not always an item mall game... just trry the game and you will see what im talking about...
I don't see the similarities of this game with old-style console RPGs. The only thing common between them is that they are both turn-based. I think it's a misconception that all turn based combat-systems are alike. If there is a single game that the combat system compares to, it would probably be Heroes of Might and Magic. I suggest users give it a try before saying that it is a simple clone of old-school MMORPGs. It isn't a perfect game, but I find a whole lot more fun than simple grinding, etc. Leveling mercenaries and changing formations are what I find fun.
I downloaded this game out of curiosity about a month ago. Reason as to why is because my friends are playing this and they keep on asking me to try it out. As they say, "You won't loose anything anyways since it's free."
Huh, why does people always start with that when it comes to F2P MMOs. Why won't they start introducing the game with what makes it different compared to other MMOs or why they are drawn into the game.
My friends started by comparing it to other games both online, console, pc and all but it turns out,(honestly speaking) it just added confusion to me. And so i told myself, "Why not try it?" Not that i'm badgering anyone here but Final Fantasy, Disciples, Heroes of Might and Magic, Titan Quest and all the others being compared to this is all different in there own way. In anyway i try, they differ in a lot of ways and is only similar due to the turn based system.
So, a few weeks ago, i installed it, created a character that uses a bow and tried to understand the story which is what i love aout RPGs. Now, I am at level52 with an upgraded weapon with full 8 mercenarie in my party all upgraded to their second upgraded and is kicking ***. I am still enjoying the game and i would just want to share my own opinion why this game differs from the rest.
The battle system is new in an MMORPG environmetn since it is turn based. Some claim that it is similar to this and that, and it might be true but the devs and the publisher of this had already a solid outlook as to how things work. I read in there official forum that this game was 15 years in the making and i do believe that. Why do i say so?
Well, basically, comparing this to other F2P MMOs, this is by far one of the best among them. That is of course how i see it. I am a bit graphical as well, same as one of the posts above and i like the way they created the animation and how the world will look like.
The economy system of the game makes use of the basic rule of economics which is the supply and demand and there is also a fixed price integrated to it as the balance curve for an item. This i believe is unique and well done.
The customization is a bit lacking but most probably more will be added soon. As to the main storyline, it maybe linear to some but the way they integrated the fantasy stories with historical characters is quite nice and gives an additional plus on how it coincides with the overall feel the game promotes. Another feature that i like in this game is the side mini events added such as the gambling of boxes for a better one and even the arena betting which is fun once in a while.
Crafting is added as a side job which of course adds to the way toons become unique form each other.
On top of it all, i like the way the game promotes a community that can thrive on its own. I like the way the game also promotes strategy in different aspects, which should be since this is considered as a tacticalgame as the first review states.
As for the item mall, it is still closed for the international version where i play and which the author is referring to, but what i've notice is that everything's all good.
Overall, it is a game that may remind us of several other games but is a new and different flavor overall.
I saw this game on an advertisement on a manga site, and it got me interested. I think it has pretty nice graphics, and from what I saw in the youtube videos, the combat system seems good. I think NDOORS did well in polishing this game, even if there are still some things that need to be fixed. I just recently downloaded the game and I am excited to try it out. Hopefully, it will turn out to be an excellent game that I will play for some time... I need a new game anyway.
For me, this game has a lot of potential. Even in its early stages, it has proven itself as something “different” compared to other mmorpg’s. I’ve been playing for quite sometime now, and I’m still enjoying the game. I like the battle system, as I’m tired of the hack and slash system that most mmorpg’s offer. Here, it’s all about the right tactics and the right mercenaries to hire. You are also able to do lots of sidequest and crafting, also guild quests. When you’re in a party here, experience isn’t split to member. Instead, it promotes partying by giving extra items/stamina/experience. I can’t wait to try joining guilds or nation wars
hope the item shop won’t destroy the balance in this game.
Nice review on this one. I checked as well the subforum just to make sure if it's worth trying and all i can say is this game do have a lot of things to offer for a F2P MMO. I tried to check as well on the vids and the world looks great. The battle video samples of a few players as well are ok. There were a few bugs that people complain about but i guess, it is worth a try.I can't wait to be able to join the community and help out and share observations and guilds and find new friends. Knowing how this has grown into such a hype just in beta, it is promising enough for me.
So says the guy who has only played at the lower levels, get above 50 and tell me you don't need the item malls. Believe me, Atlantica is exactly like every other item maul game, once you get to the higher levels you almost have to buy from it if you want any decent advancement.
I am glad you are enjoying the game, but don't try to come here and try to bamboozle us with what it is not. it is an item maul and they intend for you to need it once they get you hooked on the game, just like every other f2p. Like I said before it is not a bad game, but once you compare it to the subscription games it just is second rate at best.
i'm at level 54, and there's not one time in this game i felt "grinding".. this game is pro-questing, so you basically go through quest after quest as you enjoy upgrading weapons and mercenaries.. there are even quests for summoning higher classes of mercs like the exorcist or the witch or the beast trainer which is really exciting as you party with other players when going at it..
and as the title says itself, first look preview. the item mall isn't even out yet, who knows what items will be sold?? i am VERY willing to see how atlantica will fair, so don't go "bad-mouthing" the game for other players (and potential ones) while it's still in its early stages.. alright?
I have to respect these other MMORPGers who have alot to say about the game... Most especially the haters of AtO... We all have our own opinions but what i do not care for are those people who try to bash the game ruining the interests of would be players...
We are all entitled to our own opinions im sure but let us be courteous to the gamers who read it for the sake of getting to know more about the game..
If you are one of those people who want to start out in AtO consider all these points raised in this "first look thread" but filter out for yourself if points raised were valid or not..
as for me, all i could say is that this game in a sense could be considered revolutionary which has both positive and negative implications to it..
why you ask?
first lets talk about the town and auto-locate system... you warp in a teleport hole and spawn at the middle of a structure which is the so called town in AtO... banks, market, training arena, are all neatly tied up in one convenient selection box onscreen that you just have to click in order to be able to access...
now for some players, especially the new players of mmorpg, this system would seem as if it was lazily done or haphazardly thought of. now in my opinion being i guess an mmorpg veteran, this implementation would actually be a level up for mmorpgs. Im one of those players who hate playing hide and seek with well hidden NPCs in the virtual world.. From my experience, half of the time spent playing mmos are spent walking or travelling aimlessly looking for stupid NPCs.. PLayers like me want to play a game and progress quests or unravel stories... making towns inaccessible or npcs hard to find destroys the whole concept of role play gaming and therefore results to a cumbersome gameplay experience
what this game brings to the table is convenience. as i said awhile ago this game is revolutionary because of the auto-locate feature or the town system which is MEANT to be played by hardcore MMORPGers...
this means that playing AtO as your first mmo would pretty much ruin the whole experience of traditional style of mmorpg. And if you think about it town systems and auto-locate features like this are pretty much unheard of in the whole mmorpg world... the only thing that comes close is a legalized bot system in mmorpg which is pretty much stupid for so moany reasons
what AtO is trying to do is adapt the game to the needs of hardcore players.. they dont expect to invite "softcore" players if they were gonna make such a comprehensively strategic turn based strategy system. i think AtO's target market are are players who are gonna be serious playing the game..
Next the item mall
the item mall is pretty much irrelevant in game... you dont have to buy items in the item mall to have a "stronger" character per se.. what item mall mainly does is that the already convenient game can only be made more convenient by availing of items in the item mall.. Now again, like i said, this is primarily only for convenience... thats why the item mall is mostly compromised of temporary teleport scrolls and the like which could easily be acquired in the game.
but of levelling up or becoming richer,, there are so many ways and means ingame that you could do to achieve this WITHOUT depending on the item mall... some examples would be crafting, fishing, market sconomy, etc.
this leads me to my next topic, the market system..
some mmos have a market place where people can vend their stuff,, some other mmos on the other hand have a bulletin board where people can shout out their trades and hawk their wares...
in AtO on the other hand, we have the market icon, and thats it.. ingenuous
this is the most simple but most effective way of implementing money market economy in the virtual world... as a player in the game wants to sell an armor, all he does is click on the market tab, place the price based on the going rates and thats it... he can go afk and still his items are gonna be sold
as a buyer in the game on the other hand, all he does is go to the market tab, click on "buy" then everything thats being sold will be conveniently listed according to their prices....
this means that if you sell an item at a price below the equilibrium of demand and supply curve, people are gonna take notice of your item and it will easily be sold.. techie talk but in a sense, now sellers will have more incentive to lower the price minimizing the risk of exorbitant prices being fetched for measly items... what this does is that the people get to control the market! the more demand for an item the price goes up... the less demand for it, sellers are gonna be forced to lower their prices until it gets sold...
i always believed the market to be a game in itself.. ive literally spent hours in the market monopolizing specific items and selling them at higher prices.. this is perfectly legal and one among many means to be able to get rich in the game
although this does not count as a "first look", in my opinion this is the fairest way to describe Atlantica Online... for hardcore gamers, this could be your holy grail because it caters to every hardcore gamer's needs... revolutionary = serious, competitive, fun AND conveninet gameplay...
for mmorpg initiates, this could be a boon, because from the way the game is set up, this could just be the most lethargic game you have ever played.
There will be items in that pay mall that will allow you game convenience but nothing I have seen or read that will give you an advantage and make your character outlevel or dominate other non-paying item mall buyers. So to the naysayers that this is just another item mall F2P sink hole - I really don't think so. Everyone that is 80+ now didn't need the item mall and when/if it is implemented it will be a convenience not a necessity.
teleport licenses, auto-battle licenses, health check licenses, merc room licenses are probably some of the things you can possibly buy. Hopefully there will be some costumes and/or accessories. I hope hope hope there will be transports. I haven't been lucky enough to win a horse.
I played at the end of CB03 and since OB opened. I will just give a quick list of some of the things I do in AO that makes it never a dull day in the world of Atlantica for this little Gunner.
Quest - town/guild quest - fight a lower level boss (especially if it killed me back at lower levels I give em a little payback) - craft - learn new crafts - teach crafts- fight in free league - pvp someone - go to the gambler in Rome - go to arena and watch matches while betting on them - go to the sparring hall and test different builds - buy a new diff build merc and work on leveling it up - travel to see the appraiser - shop the market (can take hours depending) - go farm crystals - help lower level guildmate in dungeons - guild crafting - armor/wep enhancing - treasure map hunting - town mapping - item/field info research - share information - chat - OMG where did the last 8 hours go I NEED SOME SLEEP!!!!
That is pretty much how it goes on a daily basis. If you get a chance take a peek.
"After character creation, your main character awakens in a dream world (or the afterlife - the backstory is light) and you are sent on some tutorial missions by angels with floaty breasts."
Huh... never really thought of the angels' breast as floaty before... But, after seeing it again, it does seem to be nicely lifted without the proper support...
Kidding aside, I like your review of the game. I also happen to think the commands for the game a setup nicely since we need to perform those actions very quickly. I also really like the graphics of this game.
Over the weekend I tried Atlantica because afther wasting $55 on WAR I am done with PTP games till AION comes. I am one who cannot play a game if it does not make an impression on me from the start and afther about the first 5 minutes of Atlantica it had me totally impressed. I only played for about an hour which gave me just enough time to learn the system and make it off the noob zone but I really enjoyed it. I am at work right now and cant wait to get home to dive back into Atlantica. I have not felt this way about a game in a long time and I am glad to have this feeling about a game burning inside me again. This game is going to be a huge success and I am going to be there everyday helping it become just that.
I dont understand why everybody is asking for a change but when something different comes people do nonthing but complain. The game is free to play so if you dont like it then dont play it.
Yeah, I agree. I for one, was very skeptical about a turn-based MMORPG, especially because MMORPGs are based on real time actions by real people. I tried it for the hell of it, and was pleasantly surprised. I also agree that the combat system is the main draw of this game - and IT IS NOT like Final Fantasy at all. I say that they did quite well in implementing a turn based combat system to a dynamic setting like an MMORPG. The mercenary system is another draw, as it adds another thing to aspire for in the game, and adds different possibilities in both PVP and PVE formation. I'd say that you should at least give it a try before dismissing it as another FF clone.
Ive gone from mmo to mmo this past year, free mmos and full paid mmo's..
This is the first mmo on which I have at last found the 'addiction factor' I played for 2 weeks in closed beta and have played since the first minutes of open beta. I've gone as far as creating a guild. Ive not felt like I have wanted to make another guild in any of the mmo's ive played since my first mmo game.
The combat does indeed make this game what it is, its full of depth, strategy and possabilities. When you get into the pvp, wow it really gets the adrenaline going and is full of rewards, even if you lose horribly!
Leveling up is no grind at all, unlike other mmo's where the first 20 levels are quick and interesting where it then suddenly grinds to..well, grinds to a grind. Atlantica keeps you leveling and leveling at a very good pace, a pace of which ive yet to experience in any mmo. Im not grinding nor am I bored, even if I did want to grind there is an 'auto-battle' licence you can buy (quite expensive) but ive yet felt the need to use it.
The game forces player interaction upon you, you may want to solo and go it alone but before you know it you have a friends list and people are trading monster information with you, people are giving you gifts unexpetantly, people message you offering to help and become your mentor. you CAN solo Atlantica but this requires you KNOWING atlantica, and the only way to know it is by asking for help. Even when you do know it you realise that if you want to level faster and easier, soloing is not the way to go. At last an MMO which emphasises the 'Multiplayer' part.
The guild and 'Nation' (like an alliance of guilds) functions encourage interaction with each other, so many mmo guilds Ive played where you have to beg and bother people all the time for help where noone really wants to help you, helping others in most mmo's is tedious and not something you really want to do. With Atlantica, people are falling over each other to help you, your guild members are helping other members without the leader or officers having to stop what they are doing every 5 minutes.
There are indeed some flaws and complaints with Atlantica, just like any mmo really and I could go into depth about those flaws, those things which annoy me and make me feel like posting negative things on the official forums, but you know what?.. Im so enjoying Atlantica that with all its faults, the good things MORE than make up for the faults to such an extent that you really dont care!
TheSnowman
Inquisittion.org.uk
i agree, this game is not a FF clone, it is unfair for both games to be typically compared or put in the same level.. AtO is a revolutionary game in itself, turnbased system, the market economy, the social dynamism being promoted through the gameplay is simply revolutionary
On the other hand, FF is a masterpiece in its own right. The game is a classic, A mona lisa of all console MMORPGS...
Although they both have the same battle system, they are both two unique styles and the only way to find out is to play both games... I loved AtO, and I loved FF... my two cents worth on both of em? theyre two different games, stop comparing them because theyre both great in their own right
Very nice review!
It basically summarized what I also feel about the game! The batlle system of this game is truly remarkable for me as well. So come on guys! Join in the fun!
The newest and hottest game has arrived. Atlantica Online is the newest Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG) to hit our desktops. Unlike any other MMORPG’s, Atlantica Online features a new playing style: strategic turn-based system. If you aren’t familiar with this, then I may give you a little hint. Ever played FF7? If yes, then it is close but much better. The graphics are stunning and the skill effects are superb.
A player may choose from 7 primary different characters, ranging from the mighty swordsman to the meek staffer. Unlike any other games, Atlantica Online offers Mercenaries for your chosen primary hero. These mercenaries can aid or support you in battles. A team can have as much as 9 different members which provide players to mix and match their chosen primary hero to various mercenaries. In Atlantica Online, there is no such thing as a perfect team, so players can have different combinations until they are pleased.
As Atlantica Online enters the scene of online gaming, it started conflicts in the gaming community. The culprit for this clamor is the new stamina dependent battle system. This means that each battle consumes an amount of stamina. If all your stamina is consumed, then you have to wait for your stamina to be replenished. This feature prohibits power grinding to level up, but may be a lot of help to non-hardcore players. This may be an off set for some gamers, but I hope they resolved it soon.
Overall, Atlantica Online is a great game. The graphics are slick and the playing style is quite fresh. There are many characters to choose from that would make my time worth while. I would definitely spend long sleepless nights for Atlantica Online
Impression of Atlantica Online tossed as just another MMORPG game out there, or worse, it may not be as good as the others. But as I entered the game itself, it turned out to be wrong after all.
The game has an exclusive turn based battling system feature like no other. The idea should make players worried about what tactic is needed for the faction. A good player have to consider the formation of the party, the roles of the mercenaries, the damages of the monster can inflict and the moves have to be performed during a precise time. Its difference from any other battling system is in every bout from monsters comes different approach of strategy. There may be easier or harder practice of fighting with just the same fiend encountered. Having idea of perception and awareness during battle is a must and swift response since there is a limited time each round. Over all, the game’s inspiration made the combat structure into a whole new level.
The environment is a blast, a premium setting, which should convey players experience historical beauty. It is actually an advantage for the game; it formed rational scenery in creative ways. It has landscape of South East Asian and European countries, such as Athens and Korea. There are terrains, animals and structures which will give participants the mood of countryside geography. The characters are so detailed, the facial expression is so real, and the design is outstanding, everyone can feel like a real warrior. The game should obtain a high respect for its graphics.
The best of its features? Playing the quest. It has an automated function where you can reach the appropriate NPC to talk to without spending time walking literally or having hard time looking in the map. This function should place the players to the set location where the next destination will be. It’s a blessing for a gamer; it should lessen the time and effort in questing.
Agreed, Atlantica Online is a very unique game, which makes it a must-have game. Though it’s nice and stunning, it has its own repulsive traits. The battle system is so good that it may take so much time to finish a single fight. It may have the gameplay slower. Players may also have a lot of reliable mercenaries, yet you have to control each one of them, which is a total crap. You have to worry for everyone else in the party. The Hero may be a warrior or a spell caster yet instead it should force players to be good at any jobs, worse, worried about the equipments for all of them, actually 9 of them. It may sound cheesy and definitely leave a mark, which is a shame.
Playing Atlantica Online is a very overwhelming experience everyone should consider. New ways and looks of MMORPGs and devastating work of tactics and strategy will definitely bring this game to the top. This game is absolutely a Must-Have and in no doubt, a game that is worth playing.
I loved to played online games specially mmorpg., got to spent lot of times playing it., level-up your character and sometimes your mercenary too., I’ve got to admit that atlantica online is different from the others coz in this game., you can bring not one but 8 merch., along your journey., your quest and battleling with other players too., the first AMO(Advanced Multiple Operation) System which combines turn based extreme strategic and battle I played though it is on its closed beta.,
Yes in this game you can hire 8 mercenaries together with your main character., each mercenary you bring has unique skills to develop tactical combat strategies. A player may choose from seven different types of character such as sword., spear., axe., gun., bow., cannon., and staff., each character has different skills and attack power., and C-class and D-class mercenary.,
game is soo great that they even paying ppl for makeing chars...
What I really like about Atlantica Online aside from its superb graphics is the turn based system. It is very rare to see a turnbased system in a MMORPG. And combine with the addition of the mercenaries, it is a perfect battle system. As the main character, you tend to lead your soldiers to battle, and wanting to get that victory in each battle. You are the general of your troops in this game, which is not featured in any games. Teamwork, good decision making skills, judgement, composure, are tested in this game. I'll give this game 8.5/10
Yeah sure it is a great game now, it is free. Wait till they open the item shop and you have to pay to play, it won't be such a great game then.
it's been three weeks since i've started playing atlantica and i don't see myself stopping anytime soon.
where the game lacks isn't much..
character customization - there's gender then face (premade ones) then hair.
stamina (for some)
graphics - some leaves still have squares around them.
then the reasons why atlantica online tops my list..
braindraaain! one thing i never liked about most mmo's are the mindless grinds especially the hack-and-slash ones. what's the point in walking up to a monster, killing it then leveling up after? my answer, none. at all. now my point is atlantica involves strategy (lots of it at that) - pve tactics do not always apply during pvp, especially at the free leagues where lvl3x's could beat lvl4x's. oh, and i also like that the world map is based on the RL map with some historical places included.
community. i've encountered a lot of people ingame who were more than willing to help. that time someone shared info on the monster i needed for a quest, that time i was looking for goncourt and lots more. add to this the fact that it's also fun during the quizzes where people just talk about the funniest answers. this is a lot different from other gaming communities where people just go 'wtf?! yer liek teh ultm8 n00b tahts so ghey'.
storyline. nuff said.
rating: 4/5
For the could be players, this is a game worth trying out. Now, the guild system is pretty amazing as well. They added a nation system where several guilds can join forces to become a nation. What more is the possibilty of the strongest guild's leader to become the king of that nation. Another note worth mentioning is the capability of a guild to take control of a town which they can work on to improve or increase the security, industry, commerce, culture and health. With a guild, special guild dungeons can be opened for a run on top of it all. This is something that separates it to other games.
The thing is it will always depend on the player on how he/she is going to play the game. He can play the game freely without buying those items from the item shop.
Now, about the game, I'm definitely looking forward for seeing those items to be sold in item mall.
The day I started playing the game was just an accident, I was so bored with my friends place so I tried out the game he is playing with, then I did enjoy it since it isn't that complicated to play. This is a friendly based game to all gamers out there. A turn base system that won't bore you to death because it just offer a limited time to do all your necessary attacks to defeat the enemy. The game can actually helped you out to think strategically since you'll need it killing those silly monster. This game really keeps me going up to now because I wan my character to get stronger and learn stuff.
first thing i noticed: i just think that this game is really friendly for newbies.
1)automove because you can never get lost in the game because this function takes you to the next quest.
2)quests in themselves are actually tutorials. specially the first few ones
3)the people are always replying to inquiries
Yup, these features are designed to shorten the learning curve of the game... it helps you familiarize things in the early part of the game...
automove makes the game easy because you will not be lost in this big environment. plus you can easily locate the location of your target monster and npc...
The first part of the quest is really a tutorial, it is designed to help you familiarize with the controls and features of the game... also hewlps you level up faster...
Atlantica online has a good community... you will rarely encounter trash talker people in the game...
I only played some of MMORPGs but I never played something like Atlantica Online. This is the first time that I was really hooked, or I should say, addicted with a game. While the graphics is great, the turn based system and the mercenaries are the most interesting in this game IMO. I just love going to battle in this game. And also, I can't wait for the item mall to be open to gamers. I just want to see how the developers will surprise us again this time.
Yeah atlantica is one of the good f2p game available, You can play the game with the help of your friends and guildmates... atlantica is very friendly to the newbies.. all of its features is designed for the newbies to cope up with the high levels in the game...
The review was great, this game will surely keep you playing because of its unique game feature and plot. I did play the game because of the plot that it offers, unlike other games, this is quite a educational one since the story revolved around the ancient civilization. This i assure you, you can enjoy the game and learn at the same time. You don't have to bore yourself for a turn base game, due to its limited time attack. And the graphic was amazing.
Very nice game for people like me who like controlling multiple units and seeing them grow stronger. Good graphics, great gameplay and combat system, and a very nice way of integrating turn-based in an MMORPG. I would like to see more interactivity, a larger scale pvp, and better implementation of town use and guild control over cities, but all in all, a very polished and nice game.
good job but for me aside from the individual aspects of the game, i like the way the developers blended together each individual piece to create a wonderful gameplay experience... as you play the game you tend to overlook the various strengths of the game becuase youre immersed into this greater gameplay experience
This is game is so so so awesome. I love playing this game, it was so simple and easily understand by people. That is why I still continue to play this game because it was a really user friendly game. The games graphic is so awesome as well. I'd love it.
good job but for me aside from the individual aspects of the game, i like the way the developers blended together each individual piece to create a wonderful gameplay experience... as you play the game you tend to overlook the various strengths of the game becuase youre immersed into this greater gameplay experience
I agree with you guys as well as with the other post. This game is magnificent. Being able to make the game features work hand in hand creating a world full of possibilities to make sure that a player will never run out of things to do in game and to have lots of fun for a unique experience for everyone. Kudos to the developers and the staffs who made things work for us gamers.
Would you just STFU please? All you've done is troll this topic. Why are you so raged at Atlantica? Got your a** handed to you? Hell, I had to register an account here just to tell you to cut your crap. Don't like it? Go troll elsewhere.
Don't listen to this guy, make your own opinion of the game. He for one does not seem to have extensive MMO experience, secondly the item shop feature is NOT going to affect player capabilities but will facilitate things already in the game (buying teleportation scrolls, items to reset skills/main char class and items that will change the look of your character). These items, I should mention, can also all be crafted with high level crafting skills.
Item shop doesn't FORCE you to pay. If it rages you so much that someone can put a few dollars in and change some of the looks of his characters, well you can go QQ to your mom, I think she'd be happy to see you come out of her basement once in a while.
To everyone else, if you haven't played AtO, give it a shot. Hell, if you don't like the game, level your char to lv50 (takes about 4-5 days) and NDoors will PAY YOU 20$. That's right! The game is FREE and they are so confident about the product that if you don't like it they'll pay YOU for your character (obviously the account is deleted after so people don't abuse the system).
You better have a darn good system to run this client, it has pretty high system requirements. Ran like molasses on my system even with things turned down.
It's an item shop game and it's designed to force you to buy from the item shop. That's how they make money and obviously they can't survive unless they coerce item shop purchases by manipulating the game mechanics. Mark my words, when the item shop opens, you will see. Right now they are allowing people to play without an item shop just so you get attached to your characters and invest enough time in the game where you will feel more compelled to buy from the item shop. It's and insidious ploy.
The system requirements aren't TOO high... I have a semi-ancient pc, and it runs well on lowest settings, though I must admit it lags a lot in cities. Currently level 71, and I think it's a very well done game, especially since at first looks, it seems pretty ordinary. In fact, I was kind of bored with it until I reached around level 30+, which is the time you get a few mercs - enough to be able to differentiate your group from others. I'm messing around with different unit builds, and i find it enjoyable.
story of my life when it comes to f2ps.. but you gotta ask, so what else is new right? this is pretty much the premise in f2ps and dont expect to play a great game without a catch... definitely i am expecting some items in the mall thats gonna tilt the odds in favor of paying players, but for me it still wouldnt ruin the game... if you dont like to pay then keep playing. the outlets and mediums provided in the game are diverse enough so that you cang get that i tem you want just by manipulating the game mechanics.. sure gamedevs want us to spend for item malls. but that doesnt mean we cant manipulate their game to tilt it in favor of us nonpaying customers. its jsut a matter of familiarity with the game and street smarts
Atlantica is one the the best games I've played. It may seem like it doesn't need multiplayer interaction during gameplay when in fact it strongly encourages camaraderie within in players. It will become obvious as you progress through the game, as you encounter bigger and tougher bosses. Forming parties and joining guilds (then governing towns
) is one of the highpoints of this game.
Well, I just don't see this game as anything great, it is an ok game that is getting over hyped for no reason that I can see. The sneaky devs even changed my default web page to theirs without asking.
As to performance, don't usually have any trouble with clients in these f2p games, but this one I do. It pretty much feels like swimming in molasses.
I would suggust thinking twice before downloading the client and trying the game out, it is not as good as people are portraying it.
This is the game for all gamers out there. The graphic was awesome, I'd really love on how they had managed to keep up such high standard graphics.
For your satisfaction mate.
The question now, is why are you so mad at this game that a lot of people is praising it? And what are your PC Specs?
Ah, maybe you tried this game but can't comprehend? I'm confused.
I believe the system requirement is quite the specs users have nowadays.
And one more thing, why do you limit how F2Ps graphics and performance. This one wants to give something to gamers that most f2ps doesn't. Now what is wrong with that.
Maybe you have issues you are not saying as well as the main reason why you keep on repeating yourself over and over.
Why don't you go play molasses while we enjoy this one.
how could they change your default webpage? i haven't experienced such.
i think it's pretty mean of you to tell people not to try this game out. they could be missing out on something for that matter. it's also good that they try it out so they'll see for themselves the credibility of the comments posted here.
it's also vague that you justify having troubles with clients with that metaphor of swimming in molasses. one, because other people could find swimming in molasses a good experience (though i haven't tried it out). it's like saying i don't like ice cream because it feels like romeo serenading juliet or something like that. two, you could've come up with real reasons like my computer has low specs and it keeps crashing whenever i use the client. see that would've made more sense.
Hello! I'm new to this forum and I also just started playing Atlantica Online. I saw this review and downloaded the client. I had some problems but playing the game was well worth the trouble.
On the graphics, I found them satisfactory since it's an F2P. I was expecting low-end ones but i realized there's a reason that the certain system requirements were required.
I really liked the gameplay because the quests are part of the storyline and it feels like every quest brings you closer to endgame. The day you finally save Atlantis!
So there, overall, I give this 8/10.
i have a question about the combat system.
Me and a friend of mine which we both are funs of turn-based combat quetioned ourselfs the same thing after we watched a video showing the game's combat system.
Isnt any movement factor during the battles? I mean isnt it quite ridicullus to just run towardsan enemy position hit him and then the unit returns back?
Example: Wouldnt be perfect the units have to move from the location and stay in the location they need to go in order to reach the opponent's unit? that way there could be lot of truly tactical element like forifying a ranged attack unit with some melee units in front of it? like it happens in heros of might and magic ,age of wonders, temple of elemental evil , and many other good turn-based combat systems?
That way also u could get advantage of the place ,a hill , or some trees which the enemy should make a whole way around in order to engage youre ranged attack units e.t.c.
That's what I mentioned when I said I wished to see more interaction, however, the hit monsters and separate into a different fighting screen is similar to console RPGs. Ranged units/tanks positioning and strategy come into play on the battle itself. The gameplay isn't anything similar to FF though.
Nice review!
I really like Atlantica as well! I love the turn-base battle which enforces more strategy than most hack-and-slash MMOs out there. And I really like crafting equipments! Also, even though some don't like it, I really enjoy during quests in the game! It's fun roaming around the world, doing favors for NPCs and getting nice rewards for your efforts!
For your satisfaction mate.
The question now, is why are you so mad at this game that a lot of people is praising it? And what are your PC Specs?
Ah, maybe you tried this game but can't comprehend? I'm confused.
I believe the system requirement is quite the specs users have nowadays.
And one more thing, why do you limit how F2Ps graphics and performance. This one wants to give something to gamers that most f2ps doesn't. Now what is wrong with that.
Maybe you have issues you are not saying as well as the main reason why you keep on repeating yourself over and over.
Why don't you go play molasses while we enjoy this one.
Excuse me, but I have played a lot of these MMO's and the system requirements for this game are noticably beyond what most of the other F2P games require. The client has issues, if you want to differ fine, but it obvious to anyone playing the game without a top end gaming platform.
Try Perfect World, it has BETTER graphics and the client is very well written, I have not noticed lag in that game at all and it is just as new as Atlantica. Sorry I am criticizing the game you like, but it in fact deserves it.
how could they change your default webpage? i haven't experienced such.
i think it's pretty mean of you to tell people not to try this game out. they could be missing out on something for that matter. it's also good that they try it out so they'll see for themselves the credibility of the comments posted here.
it's also vague that you justify having troubles with clients with that metaphor of swimming in molasses. one, because other people could find swimming in molasses a good experience (though i haven't tried it out). it's like saying i don't like ice cream because it feels like romeo serenading juliet or something like that. two, you could've come up with real reasons like my computer has low specs and it keeps crashing whenever i use the client. see that would've made more sense.
Sorry you did not understand my metaphor. Swimming in molasses is moving in slow motion.
I did not say it was a bad game, just that everyone seemed to be jumping on the bandwagon of what a great game it is and I just beg to differ on that opinion. Enjoy the game, but this is a discussion forum and others that do not play this game have the right to know that the client is not well written and can cause issues without a newer computer. and that this game is not the be all end all of f2p games.
i have a question about the combat system.
Me and a friend of mine which we both are funs of turn-based combat quetioned ourselfs the same thing after we watched a video showing the game's combat system.
Isnt any movement factor during the battles? I mean isnt it quite ridicullus to just run towardsan enemy position hit him and then the unit returns back?
Example: Wouldnt be perfect the units have to move from the location and stay in the location they need to go in order to reach the opponent's unit? that way there could be lot of truly tactical element like forifying a ranged attack unit with some melee units in front of it? like it happens in heros of might and magic ,age of wonders, temple of elemental evil , and many other good turn-based combat systems?
That way also u could get advantage of the place ,a hill , or some trees which the enemy should make a whole way around in order to engage youre ranged attack units e.t.c.
It's quite a good suggestion, maybe you can post your suggestion in their official forums, i'm sure the developers were happy to hear that, that's why atlantica needs your comments and suggestion in order for them to improve their game. right now atlantica is one of the good f2p mmorpg we have today...
Well I guess having those hills would be too much, don't you think? I mean it would be difficult to control for us players our mercs if they hide in different hills? it would turn out like a starcraft or a red alert, isn't it? I don't know honestly but maybe I just like too much what system is Atlantica Online is using right now. Anyways, there is always a room for improvement right?
Of course there is always room for improvement. There are things that can still be improved upon, but so far, I believe that NDOORS is doing a good job so far. The game is pretty polished so far, and they are going on the right track in the open beta. Like I said, item mall can make or break the game depending on the items offered and the prices.
Atlantica is really one amazing game! Battle within the game is not all about mindless slashing but you have to think about strategy and tactics especially during hard boss battles. Also, you won't even think abou levelling up in the game because there are other fun stuff to do like crafting and fishing! Definitely something new and fresh for the MMORPG scene.
one thing i also love about this game is you dont have to be a power player in order to own other players in pvp.. all you have to have is smarts baby ^^;
even i myself have been defeated by low levelled players by just employing intricate strategy.. think about chess but with swords and magic in a way.. you always have to think ahead of your opponent especially when youre employing stun based freezing strategy
Maybe that was me you are mentioning here. lol just kidding. The battle system may be comparable but is a whole new system when you try to get to know the game. c",) It is a whole new wolrd of gaming with lots of new game style integrated in one beautifully "crafted" game.
Excuse me, but I have played a lot of these MMO's and the system requirements for this game are noticably beyond what most of the other F2P games require.1 The client has issues, if you want to differ fine, but it obvious to anyone playing the game without a top end gaming platform.
Try Perfect World, it has BETTER graphics and the client is very well written, I have not noticed lag in that game at all and it is just as new as Atlantica.2 Sorry I am criticizing the game you like, but it in fact deserves it.
1 So what if it asks for something higher? There are still a lot of players playing it. And like the guy said on his previous post, maybe you have underlying issues with the game why you would like to put it down so much. We are all entitled to a game we like. You have made your point that you dislike this game, we all know that as of now. Still, the makers have the right to set the limitation of the system that will play the game and it's up to the gamers to meet those requirements, that's why it's called "System requirements"??? lol
2 Seems like you are working for these guys? lol A job well done to you for finding an opening of plugging a game.
And from what i know, Perfect world has been in the market longer than Atlantica.
Note: I see no reason for you to apologize to all Atlantica lovers here for criticizing the game, 'coz you are not. We love the game and even if some experience a few lags, we still are playing the game and we still love the features of the game and the way it is created.
Sorry you did not understand my metaphor. Swimming in molasses is moving in slow motion.
I did not say it was a bad game, just that everyone seemed to be jumping on the bandwagon of what a great game it is and I just beg to differ on that opinion. Enjoy the game, but this is a discussion forum and others that do not play this game have the right to know that the client is not well written and can cause issues without a newer computer. and that this game is not the be all end all of f2p games.
oh cool. thanks for clearing out the molasses metaphor then.
maybe we can't blame them for being too hyped about atlantica that they fail to point out some points where the game fails like some graphics and a few bugs here and there.
but can't you like let it pass considering that it's just in open beta? they even extended beta. which could more or less mean that they're addressing the concerns.
NDOORS, created a revolutionary game by having a turn base fighting into much more interesting one. This game will help you out on your strategical analysis, I've been playing it for weeks now and still enjoying it. What I like most of it feature is the in game feature of looking up for help, well there is really a online helper whom gonna help you out your querries regarding the game. It is a good game feature since there is an actual being available to help you out on doing your quest and etc.
Atlantica Online is a very good game imho... is it perfect? Not by a long shot, but I really believe that it has an aspect of fun, which is very important in playing games. I used to raid high-level WoW before, but soon it became similar to a chore. Atlantica Online is a fun game, and doesn't require me dedicating 10 hours each day to catch up with other people and be semi-competitive in pvp.
I really like playing Atlantica especially doing quests. My only complaint so far in the game is the lack of customization for the character... It's not really fun seeing so many look-alikes in the game... Sure you can customize as you progress but I still wish you there are still more option for your main character... Anyway, still enjoying the game!
Customization!! yes, that is where it lacks as of now and maybe a bit more interaction with the world or environment. But for now, i'm sticking with this game. It hasn't yet dissapointed me and honestly, i like the way it makes me think and strategize. It is really something new that is incomparable to other games out there. The market, even if it is simple is a minigame in itself and the battle simple has more to it than meets the eye given the planning needed for winning.
Yeah customization is lacking in Atlantica Online but the other game features fully compensate its shortcomings. You see, the graphics is great, the game play is great, and the story line is great. It definitely covers up its cons. But nobody has a perfect game, there are always pros and cons, but Atlantica Online has lots of pros.
For those critics, just got one silly question, have you really tried out the game? If not, go try it out. A reminder, not all first impression last, it will be better if you'll leave those comments not barely just because of the review that you have just read.
So, the game thus offer a one of a world graphic design, it quite realisitc already. What I believe lacking in the game are emoticon features, not actually emoticons but action skills like dancing, laughing etc. The game offer a strategical based fighting system in which you really have to take in consideration of your every action like, "is it the right decision to kill the monster or should I just heal one of my mercenaries?" This will really improved one's strategical capacity because a proper strategy can help you out to kill those monsters and pvp addicts as well.
Now to those who are checking this review out with comments here about there frustration on the game, try to filter things out. or maybe check the game itself as this guy said. He actually has a point.
This game might be perfect but in my opinion it is still a game worth trying out and maybe you'll see your sefl liking how it was created, appreciating how the game was designed and seeing how differs with other games out there.
yeah. i also think that they could add more on the character customization part. but theeen.. what i do to look unique is mix and match different equipment sets. but then your might would be screwed up. lol.
I really don't think there is lacking customization. Well, there is maybe, but I guess the equipments really compensated it. You see Barbie has the same face and the only thing you can change about her is clothes, right? So I guess lack of customization with the characters is no big deal because as I said, there are lots of equipments to choose from.
If only we can climb up those hills and enter houses. :)) That would be nice. I pretty much agree with on this one. The quest line is pretty much a run a round though but still is a good one. What i like best in this game is the crafting and the hundreds of items that are craftable and is used in pretty much craftable items. ^-^ As well the PvP element of the game.
Im A New Player Of This Game.
This review said it all. You guys should try this game!
I think Sourajit is just very very mad because he is not good in playing the game. LOL.
Breasts? LOL. Graphics are really that good to notice those details. The new character, Sailor, is the bomb!
Limiting Systems do not really limit me because I go to school and I only play around 3-4 hours per day.
About the Mercenary System.. Coolio! I can't wait until I have the monk so that I can try out the free leagues.
ATLANTICAA!!
The game looks pretty good for a free one and I can't believe that a high quality games is for free, I find this game a lot more fun because of simple killing monsters, doing quest you can level up yourself and your mercenaries. You can easily get golds by killing monsters and selling items in the market.
The item mall by the way, is now open. Most of the items sold are either licenses, scrolls or potions. There is a mount as well, although I'm not sure if it's permanent or not. There is also an item that changes your appearance and class.
Yeah the item mall is open and I am looking forward to get those scrolls. Scrolls had gone missing since I got into mid levels so I guess this is the time I get a few scrolls. They got an exchange rate out there with golds to real dollars. Does that mean we can buy using our golds in the game too?
I really like this game since it has other fun things to do such as crafting. Definitely enjoying crafting! And the free leagues are also okay. I'm not really a PvP player but I also had fun joining the free leagues.
Could anyone write down a review here, whose mmorpg.com-account is older than September/October 2008?
Not trying to make your viral...err... positive posts obsolete, but...
Well ok, RedwoodSap wrote a negative view, but he does it in every game forum. ;)
Well I'm not too good at reviews but after reading most of the posts in this thread I'd say they are fairly accurate. The game certainly has its strengths such as the battle system, the economy (market buying and selling), decent graphics, nice in-game guide, side activities (arena betting, leagues, guild quests), and challenging dungeons.
But it has its weaknesses too. It's pretty linear so far, you don't deviate much from the main quest. There are a few side quests thrown in that mostly amount to kill X number of wolves or whatever. Character customization is pretty limited. The magic skills are pretty limited as well, at level 35 most of my mercs still have only one skill.
Give it a try and play it to level 10-12. By that time you'll have beat the first boss, have 4 mercs, and a pretty good idea of what the game is about.
In terms of magic skills, all you need to get is the skill book. It may be crafted of may be you can buy it from the market. Or maybe dropped by a monster. There are many ways to acquire it. Character customization may be limited by how the real character looks like, but the armors, weapons, equipments are fully customizable.
You know I tried this game, but the client is just too poorly written for my computer. The combat just completely ruins any immersion qualities of the game. I just deleted it from my hard drive. I usually don't do that unless I am very disappointed with a game.
I have been playing Perfect World and in my opinion it makes Atlantica look like an afterthought. Much better written client, better graphics, and you can actually fly in the game.
So my recommendation is to ignore the hype MMORPG is giving this game, it most certainly does not deserve it.
I guess you should not blame the game for having a low system. There is one solution out there and that is upgrading it. If there's a will, there's a way, isn't it? Having recommended system while playing this game is surely fun. You get to appreciate more from the game.
The only thing I don't like in the game is the lack of customization options for your main character. Other than that, I really like it! This game is definitely not a grindfest since you can do other activities in the game as well (like crafting and fishing). The PvP aspect of this game is also very interesting and will definitely test your strategical thinking.
Sorry to hear this mate. As for me, i can play it quite well except for a few lags every now and then. ^^ Perfect world has a lower specs than this one and it has a totally different system altogether so why compare the 2 unless you are a marketer as one of the posters here commented with a few other posters here at atlantica. What's funny though is that i see your post in alot of reviews here and pointing to one thing, this game can't be played on your rig. :( too bad but for players like me who can and is enjoying it, lucky us. lol
peace out dude.
Well, due to the release of item mall items, you can definitely level up your character faster. Some, items are quite amazing especially the power potion. It really help me a lot to level up my new mercenary. Though I believe that it has some problems or quite bug a little. Before, I level up myself solo, now I go with other parties to level up myself due to massive experience that I do gain, I also used some bewitching scrolls to help me level up my character.
well. i don't think the item mall has something to do with what this thread should be about. but since its there then, ohwell.
the first time the item mall came out, i was pretty disappointed at the prices they set for the items. so after a while, i noticed the prices went down. well, still not pleasing but then i thought i could live without it for a while.
turns out i did cos the item mall stuff could be sold in game so what i do is earn money and wait till someone sells them. :D
Yeah it can be sold in the game for people who can't buy directly from the item mall. But I hope that Atlantica Online provides more modes of payment so that everyone in the whole world can buy from the item mall, to avoid scammers. I don't have any info if there has been a case of scam but just to prevent it.
Atlantica has a new server, Argos! Does this mean the game is getting popular? That there are more players registering in the game and the four previous servers can't accomodate them all?
Since battles only occur when players voluntarily click on monsters on while wondering, players are generally free to explore the world and avoid getting into battles. Even at release, Atlantica Online is one of the largest and and in depth free MMORPGs on the market. Even if you hate turn based RPGs, give Atlantica Online a try. You won’t regret it.
Maybe and maybe not. From what i know, they added that server to balance out the servers to give options to new and old players alike if they experience too much lag from the old servers. now, i can see that the population of each server given a few left for the new one is normal and not busy. so less lag for us and more enjoyment for everybody. ^^
Oh... Now that I think about it, I don't experience too much lag in the game recently... Well, except in Rome. But, it's always slow in Rome.
Me too, I experience it in Rome, especially when I am going to bet in the Arena. So much lag experienced there. Also, I experience some lag whenever I am with PvP with my friends. I mean three versus three. I don't know if my computer is to blame.
Impression of Atlantica Online tossed as just another MMORPG game out there, or worse, it may not be as good as the others. But as I entered the game itself, it turned out to be wrong after all.
The game has an exclusive turn based battling system feature like no other. The idea should make players worried about what tactic is needed for the faction. A good player have to consider the formation of the party, the roles of the mercenaries, the damages of the monster can inflict and the moves have to be performed during a precise time. Its difference from any other battling system is in every bout from monsters comes different approach of strategy. There may be easier or harder practice of fighting with just the same fiend encountered. Having idea of perception and awareness during battle is a must and swift response since there is a limited time each round. Over all, the game’s inspiration made the combat structure into a whole new level.
The environment is a blast, a premium setting, which should convey players experience historical beauty. It is actually an advantage for the game; it formed rational scenery in creative ways. It has landscape of South East Asian and European countries, such as Athens and Korea. There are terrains, animals and structures which will give participants the mood of countryside geography. The characters are so detailed, the facial expression is so real, and the design is outstanding, everyone can feel like a real warrior. The game should obtain a high respect for its graphics.
The best of its features? Playing the quest. It has an automated function where you can reach the appropriate NPC to talk to without spending time walking literally or having hard time looking in the map. This function should place the players to the set location where the next destination will be. It’s a blessing for a gamer; it should lessen the time and effort in questing.
Agreed, Atlantica Online is a very unique game, which makes it a must-have game. Though it’s nice and stunning, it has its own repulsive traits. The battle system is so good that it may take so much time to finish a single fight. It may have the gameplay slower. Players may also have a lot of reliable mercenaries, yet you have to control each one of them, which is a total crap. You have to worry for everyone else in the party. The Hero may be a warrior or a spell caster yet instead it should force players to be good at any jobs, worse, worried about the equipments for all of them, actually 9 of them. It may sound cheesy and definitely leave a mark, which is a shame.
Playing Atlantica Online is a very overwhelming experience everyone should consider. New ways and looks of MMORPGs and devastating work of tactics and strategy will definitely bring this game to the top. This game is absolutely a Must-Have and in no doubt, a game that is worth playing.
The Graphic design of the game was so great that it will really tell you to “play me!” The designer of the game did really a good job by adding more realistic backgrounds, monsters and effects. It is far beyond imagination. It will really send you off to a new world while playing the game.
Me too, I experience it in Rome, especially when I am going to bet in the Arena. So much lag experienced there. Also, I experience some lag whenever I am with PvP with my friends. I mean three versus three. I don't know if my computer is to blame.
Too many data packets running back and forth to the server and your computer. ^-^ I experienced this one in my friends house when we had our LAN party. ^-^ but all is good and manageable after a while. (Maybe we got used to it). That was during the peak player up time before the new server. i believe the internet speed affects this one as well. But now, back to normal since i use bewitching in dungeons and has not experienced this one for a while.
First im having difficulty at the combat controls but whe n you get used to it.. its very easy. . you can attack at the same time. .loot system was alright at first its difficult to loot if you are used to other mmorpg loot system. Pvp hahaha haven’t tried yet. . im busy leveling up my character and mercs.. . locating npc and place where to go to was not that hard. You can use the auto move function then you will never consume much time being lost and looking for your next quest.. its easy. . . item box was random you don’t know what you’ll be getting but its alright you can use it to your merc if you already have that item. .thats for I can say just starting playing this game this morning .. ^_^
Atlantica, a new virtual world of MMORPG that can at least give us some insights on what Atlantica really is. On the current state of our world, we had already tried of many online games that had been released these past few years. Now, I want you to try out this new game that I just discovered, Atlantica Online, it is a virtual world of fantasy, magic, mystery, dungeons and many more that can help us escape reality, to simply give ourselves joy and happiness for a moment period of time.
I also alway experience much lag in Rome... Especially for the first few moments after teleporting there. But, it does become manageable after some time.
Yeah, it can't be avoided whenever you went to Rome because there are lots of players there. But there is a message from Atlantica Online whenever you experience some lag, isn't it? It says you can change your setting in order for the game to run smoothly even though there are lots of players. Have you done that? I haven't done that though
The best part for me with this game is, it’s pretty easy to understand and get the feel of the game. With the very in depth PvP and Guild options. Players can participate in PvP leagues to win fame and fortune or form powerful guilds to conquer and manage cities.