Hola. I'm a Norwegian dude, so I guess I have Funcom Fanboy firmly branded into my forehead from birth. So, if you will, take what I say with a grain of salt.
The below is a repost of an update log I kept on another gaming site.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
OK; I just popped the first DVD in the drive.
The time is 22:06 GMT+1 (Paris time). We're starting. No troubles yet.
Edit #1:
It's now 23:36 GMT+1 and the install from the DVDs have just finished. I'm not kidding. One hour and ten minutes long install; two DVDs, thirty gigabytes of data. And that's on a 10k RPM WD hdd. And now begins the patch download/update process. (This wait was sponsored by a pack of Camel Yellows, a coke and Terry Pratchett's The Monstrous Brigade.)
Edit #2:
23:39 GMT+1. I like the updater screens; the first is a text from the Game Director, saying welcome to Hyboria. The nice touch is the two linked tutorial videos for the interface and combat, which I've understood a lot of people from other MMOs have found somewhat different and unintuitive. Well played, sir. (Also patch notes from the last three days, which I presume are courtesy for the early launch customers.)
Edit #3:
23:54 GMT+1. My game is now patched up (aprox 600mb download, 1mb/s, courtesy of my adorable college dorm net connection.)
Wish me luck.
Edit #4:
00:006 GMT+1. Can't get in to the game due to an authentication failure. However, their account creation tool does say "Please allow the system 30 minutes to circulate and save your password before attempting to log in." This might be a sensible precaution, or at least a sensible warning, for an MMO launch, but I dearly hope I will be able to access the game tonight.
Edit #5: ATTENTION! If you have an "authentication failure" problem, try typing your USERNAME in all lower case. It worked for me.
Edit #6:
00:13 GMT+1. I'm pleased to see that there are 22 different servers and apparently a widely balanced load of characters. Server types are spread between PvE, PvP and localized (German, French, Spanish), with a few RP servers among them. "Dagon" (EU) will be my new home, because I'm such an Elder Scrolls *****.
Edit #7:
00:21 GMT+1. GOOD GOD. The character modelling tool is awesome, as we've heard.
However . . . the hair? Straight out from 80's german porn movies.
Edit #8:
01:05 GMT+1. [Basically McLovin's post is the newest one on this page]
I'm impressed. I've got two level 70s in WoW and am playing (and enjoying, mind) LOTRO, but this has just grabbed me. However, my computer is somewhat letting me down at a framerate between 20-40FPS at medium settings. HOWEVER, the game scales down very nicely and putting it at the lowest settings gives me a constant framerate of around 60. The lag is not bad either - I'm running constant at a 40-70 lat with a pretty powerful line, and on launch day, that's pretty goddamn good.
The interface is very good, the voice acting is strong (and most characters are voiced, which comes as a bit of a shock), the gameplay is fun even after the "gimmick" wears off, since it keeps you in action instead of a passive observer and lastly the game is just goddamn gorgeous.
I'm obliged to mention some of the things I'm not impressed by, too, of course; the entire thing is a bit rough around the edges. Nowhere near the code I saw at The Gathering in the easter holidays, of course, but still pretty rough. The visual cues and starting place are a bit confusing if you haven't played an MMO before, and I can easily see people getting lost. (However, the minimap/quest tracking synergy is pretty strong, so it shouldn't be too hard.)
While I'm pretty happy about having reached level 8 (in 40 minutes, lol) without having seen a single "Kill X creatures" quest, the current quests I'm doing seem to involve a lot of running back and forth between characters and handing over notes. I'm hoping that this is to keep things simple while you're still being spoonfed information and mechanics, it's quickly getting tedious. Very quickly.
So, let's go on to some numbers.
Graphics: 9/10. [It's not Oblivion, but then, it's a goddamn MMO.]
Gameplay: 8/10 [It's an MMO, but it feels fairly fresh]
Story: N/A [It's an MMO. Also, it's too early to really tell]
Interface: 8/10 [Some quirks here and there, but it works]
Voice acting: 8/10 [Would be 10/10, but GTA IV raised the bar]
Classes: 10/10 [W00t! Stat/skill points! Also, much diversity in between classes. Also, necromancers baby!]
Design: 8/10 [Again, it's an MMO. However, it's definitely on par with LOTRO as far as design goes, if not better]
Bugs: 7/10 [A lot of small quirks; hanging animations, etc. No crashes so far]
Launch impression: 10/10 [No crowding, loads of servers, no problems signing up, etc. Funcom's tactics are working so far]
Level of polish: 7/10 [There's a lot of work to be done, but it's up there with WoW and LOTRO. Nobody can accuse it for being another Vanguard, that's for sure]
So, my first impression advice is basically; if you want it, GET IT. There's no reason to wait. However, if you're looking for a new MMO and you're feeling just a bit cautious, hang back for a month and let the bugs get sorted out and get some impressions from the endgame. Also, consider your computer. This game has pretty hefty system requirements. And by hefty, I mean just under Crysis on the ladder.
Conclusory quote: "For another two months, this will be Age of Patchdom. Then, Age of Awesome."
I'll be back for more tomorrow; right now it's time for bed. I'll have to make a new post, though, as I'm approaching the character limit.
The below is a repost of an update log I kept on another gaming site.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
OK; I just popped the first DVD in the drive.
The time is 22:06 GMT+1 (Paris time). We're starting. No troubles yet.
Edit #1:
It's now 23:36 GMT+1 and the install from the DVDs have just finished. I'm not kidding. One hour and ten minutes long install; two DVDs, thirty gigabytes of data. And that's on a 10k RPM WD hdd. And now begins the patch download/update process. (This wait was sponsored by a pack of Camel Yellows, a coke and Terry Pratchett's The Monstrous Brigade.)
Edit #2:
23:39 GMT+1. I like the updater screens; the first is a text from the Game Director, saying welcome to Hyboria. The nice touch is the two linked tutorial videos for the interface and combat, which I've understood a lot of people from other MMOs have found somewhat different and unintuitive. Well played, sir. (Also patch notes from the last three days, which I presume are courtesy for the early launch customers.)
Edit #3:
23:54 GMT+1. My game is now patched up (aprox 600mb download, 1mb/s, courtesy of my adorable college dorm net connection.)
Wish me luck.
Edit #4:
00:006 GMT+1. Can't get in to the game due to an authentication failure. However, their account creation tool does say "Please allow the system 30 minutes to circulate and save your password before attempting to log in." This might be a sensible precaution, or at least a sensible warning, for an MMO launch, but I dearly hope I will be able to access the game tonight.
Edit #5: ATTENTION! If you have an "authentication failure" problem, try typing your USERNAME in all lower case. It worked for me.
Edit #6:
00:13 GMT+1. I'm pleased to see that there are 22 different servers and apparently a widely balanced load of characters. Server types are spread between PvE, PvP and localized (German, French, Spanish), with a few RP servers among them. "Dagon" (EU) will be my new home, because I'm such an Elder Scrolls *****.
Edit #7:
00:21 GMT+1. GOOD GOD. The character modelling tool is awesome, as we've heard.
However . . . the hair? Straight out from 80's german porn movies.
Edit #8:
01:05 GMT+1. [Basically McLovin's post is the newest one on this page]
I'm impressed. I've got two level 70s in WoW and am playing (and enjoying, mind) LOTRO, but this has just grabbed me. However, my computer is somewhat letting me down at a framerate between 20-40FPS at medium settings. HOWEVER, the game scales down very nicely and putting it at the lowest settings gives me a constant framerate of around 60. The lag is not bad either - I'm running constant at a 40-70 lat with a pretty powerful line, and on launch day, that's pretty goddamn good.
The interface is very good, the voice acting is strong (and most characters are voiced, which comes as a bit of a shock), the gameplay is fun even after the "gimmick" wears off, since it keeps you in action instead of a passive observer and lastly the game is just goddamn gorgeous.
I'm obliged to mention some of the things I'm not impressed by, too, of course; the entire thing is a bit rough around the edges. Nowhere near the code I saw at The Gathering in the easter holidays, of course, but still pretty rough. The visual cues and starting place are a bit confusing if you haven't played an MMO before, and I can easily see people getting lost. (However, the minimap/quest tracking synergy is pretty strong, so it shouldn't be too hard.)
While I'm pretty happy about having reached level 8 (in 40 minutes, lol) without having seen a single "Kill X creatures" quest, the current quests I'm doing seem to involve a lot of running back and forth between characters and handing over notes. I'm hoping that this is to keep things simple while you're still being spoonfed information and mechanics, it's quickly getting tedious. Very quickly.
So, let's go on to some numbers.
Graphics: 9/10. [It's not Oblivion, but then, it's a goddamn MMO.]
Gameplay: 8/10 [It's an MMO, but it feels fairly fresh]
Story: N/A [It's an MMO. Also, it's too early to really tell]
Interface: 8/10 [Some quirks here and there, but it works]
Voice acting: 8/10 [Would be 10/10, but GTA IV raised the bar]
Classes: 10/10 [W00t! Stat/skill points! Also, much diversity in between classes. Also, necromancers baby!]
Design: 8/10 [Again, it's an MMO. However, it's definitely on par with LOTRO as far as design goes, if not better]
Bugs: 7/10 [A lot of small quirks; hanging animations, etc. No crashes so far]
Launch impression: 10/10 [No crowding, loads of servers, no problems signing up, etc. Funcom's tactics are working so far]
Level of polish: 7/10 [There's a lot of work to be done, but it's up there with WoW and LOTRO. Nobody can accuse it for being another Vanguard, that's for sure]
So, my first impression advice is basically; if you want it, GET IT. There's no reason to wait. However, if you're looking for a new MMO and you're feeling just a bit cautious, hang back for a month and let the bugs get sorted out and get some impressions from the endgame. Also, consider your computer. This game has pretty hefty system requirements. And by hefty, I mean just under Crysis on the ladder.
Conclusory quote: "For another two months, this will be Age of Patchdom. Then, Age of Awesome."
I'll be back for more tomorrow; right now it's time for bed. I'll have to make a new post, though, as I'm approaching the character limit.
