Originally posted by nariusseldon

Originally posted by kakasaki

Originally posted by MadDemon64

Originally posted by kakasaki

Originally posted by nariusseldon

Originally posted by vesavius

So I am going to have a look. It's free, why not.

 

Waste of time. There are hundreds better F2P games out there. Being free is no longer a reason to try out.

But if it is free, why not try it out? Sorry, I just don't get your logic...

His logic is that a long time ago, few games were free.  Mosts games required subscriptions.  Nowadays, more and more games are becoming free, and for every good free to play game, there are ten bad free to play games.  He is saying that you should be a smart consumer and think not about paying for games with money, but with time and disk space.

Ok, I see his point now. But, like I said, if it is free... by the very definition of free, it cost nothing to try. Hell, anyone with 30 min to burn can give a free game a whirl. What's the harm?

 

You definition is wrong. Here, free means free in terms of MONEY, not time. Wasting 30 min on a game that has this much bad press? NOT worth the time.

I would much rather play HellGate London, or what not ... it is not like i have an abundance of TIME for free (in terms of money) games.

Balance that against movies, books, tv shows, and it is even more silly to try something like Alganon. Would you watch all the bad movies in the world, if they are ALL FREE?

Fair enough, that is your opinion. But, your intro there should be changed to "NOT worth my time."

After all, you and I might consider it a waste of time but other people would not...

I played this game for a little a few months ago.

It looked great, very nice scenery.  I enjoyed the quest layout, no tedious back and forth.  Interesting skill system, which binds wow with an eve style time progression system.

In fact the game is basically a better looking wow, quest spam type game.

However, there was some pretty serious...turn offs with the game.

First is the "oh you can just buy the best gear and skills in the cash shop"...really?  Alright i guess this ties into my next issue with the game, which makes this issue make all the more sense.

No other players.  Yeah you got that right.  I played on both factions, at various times of the day, over the weekend ect.  One faction had zero, not one single player, none in chat, nothing, just me.  Other faction at least had a few afk people in the main city, and i saw one other guy running around, we both had a good laugh with "holy crap another player" being said by both.  This faction had some responses in chat with a fair amount of prodding and doubting their existance.  In all my years of gaming ive never see so few people online, especially for a game with no financial barriers to entry.

Then there was the sloppy combat. It wasnt lag, no one was on, everything ran smooth, it was something along the lines of the game not knowing where i was, where the mob was and what attacks i was attempting to execute.  For instance, my melee guy would whack on the mob several times before anything registerd, and then several times after the mob had died, however the mob was still there killing me.  My mage, well i knew how many fireball killed a mob, but sometimes it would take 3 times as many, as non were registering.  Both characters had many deaths because the low level mobs i was testing this on would get a whole lot of attacks in while the game seemed to be figuring out what was going on.  I cant imagine this game offering any type of satisfactory pvp or end game pve with this sort of sloppy combat.  Mobs seemed to rubberband all over the place, as melee mobs landed hit after hit before i was in melee range, and as they ran right through me out of melee range again, then popped up behind me ect, landing hits the whole time (this is why i made a mage btw)

My conclusion, is that someone put their heart and soul into the world, its beautifull and laid out well, however its paired to one of the worst combay systems ive seen in a game, even games with alpha state combat placeholders.  As for long time play, well at some point your gonna meet someone who basically bought their character in the cash shop, granted there are other people playing since there seemed to be zero to 5 new players in the weeks i casually played. Its a nice game to wander around for a bit and look at stuff, a nice game to check out the skills, but other than that, its a very loney, buggy, unenjoyable game, granted i hold  a games combat as one of the most importat features.

Merge this game with a real combat system,  get rid of focusing this game toward wow players (who wouldnt leave their game for a crappier version that just looked nicer), get rid of the cash shop that is more buy to win than any other ive ever seen, and mabey focus more on the skills and the time progression system *( make the game unique i guess) rename it and it might grow a niche crowd to it.

Right now, i dont see who is funding this game, because its certainly not player(s)...

I agree poeple should not judge gaems on what other poeple say

Originally posted by nariusseldon

Originally posted by kakasaki

Originally posted by MadDemon64

Originally posted by kakasaki

Originally posted by nariusseldon

Originally posted by vesavius

So I am going to have a look. It's free, why not.

 

Waste of time. There are hundreds better F2P games out there. Being free is no longer a reason to try out.

But if it is free, why not try it out? Sorry, I just don't get your logic...

His logic is that a long time ago, few games were free.  Mosts games required subscriptions.  Nowadays, more and more games are becoming free, and for every good free to play game, there are ten bad free to play games.  He is saying that you should be a smart consumer and think not about paying for games with money, but with time and disk space.

Ok, I see his point now. But, like I said, if it is free... by the very definition of free, it cost nothing to try. Hell, anyone with 30 min to burn can give a free game a whirl. What's the harm?

 

You definition is wrong. Here, free means free in terms of MONEY, not time. Wasting 30 min on a game that has this much bad press? NOT worth the time.

I would much rather play HellGate London, or what not ... it is not like i have an abundance of TIME for free (in terms of money) games.

Balance that against movies, books, tv shows, and it is even more silly to try something like Alganon. Would you watch all the bad movies in the world, if they are ALL FREE?

 I can see where someones time is limited when they have waisted 3000 plus replies on this forum. Download the ame and try it. Can do that while you work towards another useless 3000 posts. How do you even get that many. There arent enough interesting things to post about on here.

Originally posted by dsmart

Exactly.

There is so much more to the game and community than most are even willing to consider - and simply because everyone likes a good train wreck; even if it is imagined and has no basis in reality.

Derek Smart, Derek Smart, Derek Smart. I have to say, Derek, I'm from Liverpool and you really let the side down.

Ultimately, this game is pretty much down the drain. Bad marketting, a lack of decent game design and I think I'll just stop there because the list goes on and on. There's been no real recovery, the game is pretty much still at the state it was at launch and it's got so much competition from better games in the same area (which is why we make NICHE games, guys, not try to compete with the bloody elephant in the room) that it is royally buggered.

Originally posted by Amjoco

This game isn't flashy and it doesn't have the high tech feel of some of the other fantasy MMO's out there. What it does have is a great community and most of all potential. I'm pretty old school, I remember when pong first came out, I played all the AD&D Gold Box games on a Commadore 64 and it erks me a tad when people quit playing without giving a title a chance. Slow down and play this game,  read the quests and get into the RP of RPG.  

I wanted to comment on the bit in blue because, in my several times trying the game, I've had exactly the opposite experience. The community has been very unresponsive and rather unfriendly. I'll get a few token "hellos" when I say hello in my faction's channel (on either side), but beyond that, nothing. And I've played at different times of day/night.

Not only that, I barely see anyone talking to anyone in that channel. Once in a while you'll see someone ask a question. Sometimes they get an answer. Sometimes they don't.

The last time I played, I tried on several occasions to interact and talk with the community - or at least whom ever was online. I commented on how quiet it was and how it seemed that people hardly ever responded when a question was asked, etc.  It was suggested I should join a guild, as that would change things for me.

Well, when I inquired of any possible guilds that are recruiting or what would be a good way to get in touch with members of one, the only answer I got, was a rather snarky "Talk to people and get to know them". Which was, in the context of when it was said, obviously a sarcastic jibe based on my having noted how quiet it was and how unresponsive people are.

For me to get to know people, or vice-versa, there has to be actual conversation. There can't be actual conversation when I'm talking to a wall 90% of the time.

Outside of the specific sarcastic jibe I noted above, I've had exactly the same experience every time I play. The community has consistently been the single weakest part of the experience in my time.

I see it claimed how Alganon has an active and helpful community... and I've yet to see it for myself. Perhaps it's only active and friendly if you're already part of a guild or something. But as a new player, it's a few voices shy of being a ghost town in my experience. I personally don't consider guilds as "community" by themselves. Community is everyone on the server. Guilds are a subset of that.

I would love to get to know people, join a guild and experience this wonderful community I see/read so much about. After several wholehearted tries, though, I'm just not seeing it.

 

 

Originally posted by WSIMike

Originally posted by Amjoco

This game isn't flashy and it doesn't have the high tech feel of some of the other fantasy MMO's out there. What it does have is a great community and most of all potential. I'm pretty old school, I remember when pong first came out, I played all the AD&D Gold Box games on a Commadore 64 and it erks me a tad when people quit playing without giving a title a chance. Slow down and play this game,  read the quests and get into the RP of RPG.  

I wanted to comment on the bit in blue because, in my several times trying the game, I've had exactly the opposite experience. The community has been very unresponsive and rather unfriendly. I'll get a few token "hellos" when I say hello in my faction's channel (on either side), but beyond that, nothing. And I've played at different times of day/night.

Not only that, I barely see anyone talking to anyone in that channel. Once in a while you'll see someone ask a question. Sometimes they get an answer. Sometimes they don't.

The last time I played, I tried on several occasions to interact and talk with the community - or at least whom ever was online. I commented on how quiet it was and how it seemed that people hardly ever responded when a question was asked, etc.  It was suggested I should join a guild, as that would change things for me.

Well, when I inquired of any possible guilds that are recruiting or what would be a good way to get in touch with members of one, the only answer I got, was a rather snarky "Talk to people and get to know them". Which was, in the context of when it was said, obviously a sarcastic jibe based on my having noted how quiet it was and how unresponsive people are.

For me to get to know people, or vice-versa, there has to be actual conversation. There can't be actual conversation when I'm talking to a wall 90% of the time.

Outside of the specific sarcastic jibe I noted above, I've had exactly the same experience every time I play. The community has consistently been the single weakest part of the experience in my time.

I see it claimed how Alganon has an active and helpful community... and I've yet to see it for myself. Perhaps it's only active and friendly if you're already part of a guild or something. But as a new player, it's a few voices shy of being a ghost town in my experience. I personally don't consider guilds as "community" by themselves. Community is everyone on the server. Guilds are a subset of that.

I would love to get to know people, join a guild and experience this wonderful community I see/read so much about. After several wholehearted tries, though, I'm just not seeing it.

 

 

That pretty much sums up my experience on the forums, but I had a less enjoyable experience.  There the community is only active and helpful to those who are fully accepting of the game and do not give criticism of any kind.  Alganon, in my eyes, went from a game that was ruined by game crippling bugs and content that bordered on plagiarism, to a game that is ruined by a tiny community populated with unfriendly people.

Speaking of content, any word on the upcoming expansion?  I have only heard about it when it was announced, and there has been no word about it since, not even a notice that the expansion was being delayed (it was promised to be released in winter 2011, but its 2012 now, and the fact that it was delayed and that there was no word that it would be delayed is a grim sign, probably that the game is on its last legs, but nobody wants to admit it).

Eh I'll download it.

I was going to try it back at launch anyway. Seems like they had a pretty reasonable buy to play option then.

Other games came along and I lost general interest.
So why not try it now that it's more free to try than it seemed like it was at the last moment in time I cared to look at it. ( A bit better than a year or two ago right? )

Thanks for pointing it out again.

Well I had this download over night and spent the morning playing for more hours than I intended. This isn't exactly the same thing as getting lost in a SimCity game or AOE2 skirmish..

-Likes
The skill system seems excellent. A step in the right direction. There's the timed training to gain different stats, specializations, and even access to more quests. I don't get the system over all. But yeah I've played for 4 hours and can only compare it to strat games and other MMOs I've played that has tried to use it.

The art is big, the models are big. It's big and it feels big.

The class system seems pretty standard with some room to customize. I have a reaver who looks like he can gain access to some spells as well as tanking skills.

-Dislikes
Why put so much effort into creating a product to start skimping at the most seen part of your game? The animation feels too sluggish. I've been told it will speed up as I level, well your first impression is: WHY THE HELL AM I MOVING SO FUCKING SLOW?! Sorry, it's the part of a MMO that people should work on most in my opinion.

Usual dumb AI, and what quests you get at the hubs are rather un-inspired. Sure I'm low level, but why not introduce me to the world? Instead I'm told to go out into a field absolutely filled with mindless mobs just tracking back and forth over top of one another. That I had to run through a mostly empty field to get to. Mind you, as slowly as friggin' possible.

-Other Thoughts
I don't mind the art work. The "Inn" being so empty was laughable.
If I had a ton of time to really "work" to get into the game I feel that I could, but really I think the developers should spend more time trying to convince me it's a good idea. Rather than thinking (Well they've done it in every other themepark, so we'll just put them into the drill.)
Fix the animation. The textures and stuff are easy things for people to pick up on and gripe about, knock their socks off with some new animation.
Give us two or three skills at the beginning so we can feel useful. I know 2 hours invested in a tank class to get the usual special strike, buff shout, and bleed / taunt stuff has worked for others in the past.
But a unique class ability sooner rather than later could help the game stand out some.

I dunno.
I'll keep it installed and see if I care to give it another go by the weekend.

I did the same thing over a year ago.  With all the hype, the f2p re-release, negative word-of-mouth, etc..., I figured the only way to really find out about the game was to play it ,so I did.  What I found was a game I enjoyed, but also felt was flawed in a number of significant and obvious ways. I also had serious questions regaring the pay-to-win factor, but Mr. Smart and other staff members were good enough to listen to and respond to my questions. I honestly felt they took my issues seriously and I felt their response alleviated my concern.

Ultimately, irrespective of the various technical issues that bothered me about the game, what bothered me most was the lack of other players. There just never seemed to be enough other players online for me to play with, ever...  I soloed to 30 and barely saw other players or heard them in chat.  A huge part of playing a MMO is the social interaction; grouping and playing through content can be a great experience, much less simply being able to chat and socialize.  During my play time, that factor was pretty much non-existent.

Would I play Alganon again?  Sure.  Is there anything really pulling me back into it, especially over any other game that may interest me right now?  Not at all.  I could take it or leave it.

Originally posted by rhinok

I did the same thing over a year ago.  With all the hype, the f2p re-release, negative word-of-mouth, etc..., I figured the only way to really find out about the game was to play it ,so I did.  What I found was a game I enjoyed, but also felt was flawed in a number of significant and obvious ways. I also had serious questions regaring the pay-to-win factor, but Mr. Smart and other staff members were good enough to listen to and respond to my questions. I honestly felt they took my issues seriously and I felt their response alleviated my concern.

Ultimately, irrespective of the various technical issues that bothered me about the game, what bothered me most was the lack of other players. There just never seemed to be enough other players online for me to play with, ever...  I soloed to 30 and barely saw other players or heard them in chat.  A huge part of playing a MMO is the social interaction; grouping and playing through content can be a great experience, much less simply being able to chat and socialize.  During my play time, that factor was pretty much non-existent.

Would I play Alganon again?  Sure.  Is there anything really pulling me back into it, especially over any other game that may interest me right now?  Not at all.  I could take it or leave it.

Indeed - but the CATCH-22 situation is that some people jump in (usually at odd times depending), don't see many others - or don't actually know how to find/contact them - then leave. I've seen that flow for almost two years (next month) now since I took over the company and development.

Anyway, there are a number of things in the works so I remain optimistic that it will continue to grow - albeit slowly.

Originally posted by dsmart

Originally posted by rhinok

I did the same thing over a year ago.  With all the hype, the f2p re-release, negative word-of-mouth, etc..., I figured the only way to really find out about the game was to play it ,so I did.  What I found was a game I enjoyed, but also felt was flawed in a number of significant and obvious ways. I also had serious questions regaring the pay-to-win factor, but Mr. Smart and other staff members were good enough to listen to and respond to my questions. I honestly felt they took my issues seriously and I felt their response alleviated my concern.

Ultimately, irrespective of the various technical issues that bothered me about the game, what bothered me most was the lack of other players. There just never seemed to be enough other players online for me to play with, ever...  I soloed to 30 and barely saw other players or heard them in chat.  A huge part of playing a MMO is the social interaction; grouping and playing through content can be a great experience, much less simply being able to chat and socialize.  During my play time, that factor was pretty much non-existent.

Would I play Alganon again?  Sure.  Is there anything really pulling me back into it, especially over any other game that may interest me right now?  Not at all.  I could take it or leave it.

Indeed - but the CATCH-22 situation is that some people jump in (usually at odd times depending), don't see many others - or don't actually know how to find/contact them - then leave. I've seen that flow for almost two years (next month) now since I took over the company and development.

Anyway, there are a number of things in the works so I remain optimistic that it will continue to grow - albeit slowly.

 

I'm just going to offer a sincere good luck.  You obviously see something special in the product and are gainfully employing people in the industry.