Aion Coverage - It's live folks!

[ViviTheMage]

Originally posted by: SunnyD

Originally posted by: skace
I went through a phase were I tried every MMO under the sun looking for the next big thing. Nothing ever met my expectations, just sayin SunnyD...

To be honest, one of the things I look for in an MMO is story. Aion happens to have plenty of it. Other than that, gameplay-wise, it's just another MMO.

My ideal MMO would me a twitch-based FPS style MMO (which I would suck horribly at). Basically I enjoyed Planetside... but there was zero story and no PvE, so it got boring quickly.

I loved the idea of planetside, but it was too small/short I guess.

post the screenies at pics.bbzzdd.com if you could...i cannot see those at work!

 

[SunnyD]

Originally posted by: ViviTheMage

Originally posted by: SunnyD

Originally posted by: skace
I went through a phase were I tried every MMO under the sun looking for the next big thing. Nothing ever met my expectations, just sayin SunnyD...

To be honest, one of the things I look for in an MMO is story. Aion happens to have plenty of it. Other than that, gameplay-wise, it's just another MMO.

My ideal MMO would me a twitch-based FPS style MMO (which I would suck horribly at). Basically I enjoyed Planetside... but there was zero story and no PvE, so it got boring quickly.

I loved the idea of planetside, but it was too small/short I guess.

post the screenies at pics.bbzzdd.com if you could...i cannot see those at work!

Unfortunately I can't hit pics.bbzzdd.com at work, so no. You should honestly be able to find a plethora of pictures about the web. Aion isn't really a huge secret (since it's out in China and Korea already).

 

[ViviTheMage]

True, but the ones I looked at are not as up to date as I assume yours would be ...unless nothing has changed in the last year.

how's the crafting/economy?

 

[SunnyD]

Originally posted by: ViviTheMage
True, but the ones I looked at are not as up to date as I assume yours would be ...unless nothing has changed in the last year.

how's the crafting/economy?

Didn't have enough time to get to crafting. All I can say is that it is part of the money sink in-game. There is an auction house sort of place. And, you can open up "personal shops" while you're afk.

 

[invidia]

I played the weekend beta and decided to play on the China retail for more.

The grind was terrible with your first character. It took me hours just to hit level 5 and the whole weekend to hit level 10. But I started on the China retail with some WoW guildmates. I hit level 10 within one night (about 4-5 hours of playing). The game turns into a whole new game after hitting 20 for most characters. Pre-20, it's feels more like a grind.

The hard part is the learning curve. WoW was easy to adapt for a first timer. This stuff is pretty difficult to get use to and most likely be the major deterrent to new players. It's missing the customization of WoW's UI.


One more thing I have to note:

I can play max settings with +80 FPS on Aion in the large cities and can hit barely above 20 FPS in Dalaran on WoW with max settings. And I'm playing from half way around the world. It seems this game was VERY WELL programmed or that the CryEngine is very efficient.

 

[ivan2]

so is it a grindfest or not, we need to come up with a conclusion. about flying, you can fly in city of heroes too, it doesn't really make it any better or worse.

 

[invidia]

Originally posted by: ivan2
so is it a grindfest or not, we need to come up with a conclusion. about flying, you can fly in city of heroes too, it doesn't really make it any better or worse.

No, not as bad as Lineage 2.

The grinding is equivalent to WoW's leveling from 1-70. The amount of time to hit 80 is less than the amount of time to hit 45 (max level in Aion ATM). Everything happens at the end-game.

Flying in Aion is too slow compared to WoW.

 

[Fardringle]

This is just my opinion, but Dark Age of Camelot looked better five years ago (to directly compare another MMO). I don't know anything about the game play so I can't speak for that, but it seems that a new game based on the CryEngine should be able to outdo the graphics in an old game that ran comfortably on a 6600GT..

 

[VashHT]

Originally posted by: Fardringle
This is just my opinion, but Dark Age of Camelot looked better five years ago (to directly compare another MMO). I don't know anything about the game play so I can't speak for that, but it seems that a new game based on the CryEngine should be able to outdo the graphics in an old game that ran comfortably on a 6600GT..

What isn't good about the graphics? I can understand if you don't like the artstyle, but the character models and environment are way more detailed than they were in DAOC or WAR even (which uses the same engine as DAOC I think).

 

[Fardringle]

Originally posted by: VashHT

Originally posted by: Fardringle
This is just my opinion, but Dark Age of Camelot looked better five years ago (to directly compare another MMO). I don't know anything about the game play so I can't speak for that, but it seems that a new game based on the CryEngine should be able to outdo the graphics in an old game that ran comfortably on a 6600GT..

What isn't good about the graphics? I can understand if you don't like the artstyle, but the character models and environment are way more detailed than they were in DAOC or WAR even (which uses the same engine as DAOC I think).

I didn't say that the graphics aren't good. They are. They just aren't as good as DAOC was five years ago, which surprises me.

 

[VashHT]

Originally posted by: Fardringle

Originally posted by: VashHT

Originally posted by: Fardringle
This is just my opinion, but Dark Age of Camelot looked better five years ago (to directly compare another MMO). I don't know anything about the game play so I can't speak for that, but it seems that a new game based on the CryEngine should be able to outdo the graphics in an old game that ran comfortably on a 6600GT..

What isn't good about the graphics? I can understand if you don't like the artstyle, but the character models and environment are way more detailed than they were in DAOC or WAR even (which uses the same engine as DAOC I think).

I didn't say that the graphics aren't good. They are. They just aren't as good as DAOC was five years ago, which surprises me.

Lol ok whatever, shouldn't have responded to obvious troll post...

 

[abaez]

Not as good as DAOC? right.

I was in the beta this weekend.. got to level 12. Not much grinding and quests lead you around quite well. Supposedly the crafting system is awesome but I'm not a crafter. The grouping system is a bit difficult though, and it definitely needs click to cast mod or something.

 

[SunnyD]

Updated: NCsoft has apparently lifted the NDA. Another closed beta test starts tomorrow with the Asmodean (evil) race. A little bit more info in the OP.

 

[brandonb]

So how is the gameplay? Is it just a WoW clone, or does it bring something new/different to the table?

Or is it just pull mobs, whack it to death, repeat for a year? Grind some quests which are kill 10 bats, return to me all day?

Is there a death penalty? Do monsters roam around and kill people? Can one character take on 3 months and kill them in 5 seconds with no real challenge?

What type of skills/spells are there? Is there crowd control? Snaring, rooting, dots, etc etc etc...

I play Vanguard now and I like it alot, but just wondering what this brings to the table.

 

[SunnyD]

Originally posted by: brandonb
So how is the gameplay? Is it just a WoW clone, or does it bring something new/different to the table?

Aren't they all? Fantasy hack'n'slash with magic. The added benefit is being able to fly (in certain areas), which get incorporated into the game mechanics.

Or is it just pull mobs, whack it to death, repeat for a year? Grind some quests which are kill 10 bats, return to me all day?

Tell me of a quest system that does anything more/different than this, and I will make you rich.

Is there a death penalty? Do monsters roam around and kill people? Can one character take on 3 months and kill them in 5 seconds with no real challenge?

Yes, after level 10 or 15, can't remember. Mobs roam in typical fashion. Generally localized roaming. There is BAF, so you have to pay attention, and some mobs will run away and attempt to get help. Characters are somewhat powerful (+1 level isn't terribly difficult), and generally have the tools they need to survive. But you won't go around beating everything in the world at level 1.

What type of skills/spells are there? Is there crowd control? Snaring, rooting, dots, etc etc etc...

The usual. Swords, maces, axes, staves, etc. Healing spells, offensive spells, dots & hots. There are stuns, roots, snares. Standard fare.

I play Vanguard now and I like it alot, but just wondering what this brings to the table.

The big thing is it looks gorgeous, it's a brand new world to explore, and there's (going to be) a definitely PvP aspect to it. There is somewhat of a story behind the game, though it's the same no matter what you roll for a character. I haven't gotten a chance to dive into the peripheral aspects (crafting), so I don't know what that will bring. That's sort of a priority for me this weekend should I have the time.

All in all, Aion is pretty much standard fare as far as MMORPGs go. But it's gorgeous, does many things absolutely right (hey, it doesn't stray far from the traditional formula), and it's a brand new world to explore not riddled with Chuck Norris Tauren Shaman running around claiming they're 1337 (yet).

 

[SunnyD]

Anyone else playing this weekend?

 

[VashHT]

Originally posted by: SunnyD
Anyone else playing this weekend?

I will be playing it, but not that much, my gf doesn't want me to get bored of it b4 it comes out. It's just the asmodian side this weekend right? I played Elyos on all my chars on the chinese servers, so it will be nice to try the other side. Plus I'd like to see how well the localization is going and see how much better the game plays on more local servers.

Kind of a side note, I expect most servers to be Asmodian heavy in the US, people seem to gravitate towards the 'evil' side in the US in almost every game that comes out.

 

[SunnyD]

It appears there's nothing terribly special about Asmodae. The world is a bit different, but otherwise identical to Elyos. Classes are the same, skills appear the same. Quests are very similar (though with different dialog).

 

[Schfifty Five]

Has anyone else experienced this "bug"?

I have my system set for 5.1 sound in windows. Once I run Aion, it changes it to 2.1 (I'm assuming the game only runs 2.1 sound right now as there's no options to change it in the game). When I exit windows, my system STAYS at 2.1 and I have to manually change it back to 5.1.

It's very annoying to have to change it back each time I play.

 

[SunnyD]

Originally posted by: Schfifty Five
Has anyone else experienced this "bug"?

I have my system set for 5.1 sound in windows. Once I run Aion, it changes it to 2.1 (I'm assuming the game only runs 2.1 sound right now as there's no options to change it in the game). When I exit windows, my system STAYS at 2.1 and I have to manually change it back to 5.1.

It's very annoying to have to change it back each time I play.

Make sure you report it in the support forums.

 

[MBrown]

Do you move your character using wasd?

 

[VashHT]

Originally posted by: MBrown
Do you move your character using wasd?

It's click to move and wasd, but wasd gives you bonuses I guess. Basically if you're holding w and moving forward a little green arrow comes up in the forward direction and I think you get a bonus to defense and offense from the front. If you strafe to the sides you get the bonus to both sides, and if you're backing up you get it to the back. I'm not sure exactly how the bonuses work, but I know they only work if you use wasd, I think they're meant to keep people moving in pvp.

 

[Schfifty Five]

Originally posted by: MBrown
Do you move your character using wasd?

You can map your own key bindings.

 

[SunnyD]

Originally posted by: MBrown
Do you move your character using wasd?

Yes.

 

[Schfifty Five]

Originally posted by: SunnyD

Originally posted by: Schfifty Five
Has anyone else experienced this "bug"?

I have my system set for 5.1 sound in windows. Once I run Aion, it changes it to 2.1 (I'm assuming the game only runs 2.1 sound right now as there's no options to change it in the game). When I exit windows, my system STAYS at 2.1 and I have to manually change it back to 5.1.

It's very annoying to have to change it back each time I play.

Make sure you report it in the support forums.

Where is that?

I can't find any forums from aiononline.com