"The Secret World", Funcom's (Anarchy online, AoC) new MMO.

If they've learned from their AoC mistakes, maybe. It's a nice concept, but I'm really gunshy about MMOs that aren't World of Warcraft at this point.

The world would be a much more interesting place if real cults had recruitment websites as jazzy as that personality test.

It's a small thing, but I loved the dashes and dots in the web browser bar for the website name. It's Morse code for "S.O.S."

I've been playing the weekend beta events and I'm wondering if this is on anyone else's radar? I'm finding the whole setup fascinating, with genuine problem solving quests that require a fair amount of deduction, sometimes requing an in-game browser as apparently some problems will only be solveable with web research.

 

Combat is a bit sketchy at the moment, with massive targetting problems, but the basic idea of being able to play as anything and swap out builds at a moments notice is a good one. They've just pushed back release date so hopefully they're fixing up complaints.

 

The big selling point is the atmospheric modern setting, which seems tailor made for roleplay. Unfortunately the game does not currently have speech bubbles, which I find essential for RP. There's a bit of a campaign to get them incorporated though, and speech bubbles are part of the ccnfig, so probably just need tweaking and switching on.

 

All in all I'd recommend what I've seen, a good adult horror MMO that could carve out a nice niche for itself.

It definitely is on my radar (I applied for the beta about a century ago) and because of its lore I would normally be fiending for it. But the speed and severity with which my crashing out of SWTOR occurred indicate I may be done with the genre, at least for a while.

Were your problems with SWTOR community or gameplay based? For me it was down to no real social hub and player interactions kept to a minimum, if you can't properly socialise with other players there's no point it being an MMO as far as I'm concerned.

 

Anyway, we'll have a European Templar Cabal up as soon the game goes live, if anyone's up for some seriously righteous patronising* then join us!

 

 

 

 

*I'm lobbying for Templar characters to have a larger font than their faction peers, and to always speak in CAPS.

This has been on my radar as well.  I know that a lot of people bash the fuck out of Funcom due to the complete botch of a launch for AoC...and they're right to do so...but AoC morphed into a fairly solid game.  I stuck with it for a good year and a half and thoroughly enjoyed it once they got all of the bugs fixed.  I still log on occasionally as a free player and have quite a bit of fun.

 

The concept is intriguing, and I really like your description of how problem solving works within the game.  I'll probably give it a go once it launches.

 

Gameplay and fundamental game design problems.

 

But if there's going to be a group set up my interest in joining would go way up.

I'll keep you informed, I'm hoping this game will be reunification following the great Argent Dawn diaspora of 3 or 4 years ago.

 

It has its fair share of "go there, kill that" quests as well inevitably, but on the plus side they do actually feel like you're taking part in a story. Also, each new quest is fully animated and voiced, if that's your thing, however your character does tend to stand there in stunned silence during the exposition. At the end of the day you can't go wrong with a game which constructs quests aound the phrase "the filth will corrupt us all..."

I've been tinkering with the beta a bit just to try it out, and it's an interesting game. It won't make you forget you're playing an MMO (long walks and lots of fighting trash), but the setting is unique and the character building is original and very well done, which goes a long way.

 

I can't imagine paying a subscription for an MMO again, but TSW also seems very likely to be easily worth $50 to play for the free month.

I've been playing this quite a bit this weekend (open Beta).  I didn't care for it much at first (I find the UI to be pretty clunky) but I must admit to the fact that it really grew on me.  I like the problem solving aspect to the game alot.  I'll grant that the problems aren't particularly hard yet, but they at least provide something to engage your brain beyond the 'go there and kill shit' grind that is the norm with most MMOs.

 

Also, it's definitely made for an adult audience.  The language is R-rated with really blunt sexual references throughout.  Hell, my Dragon character had a woman go down on her during a cut scene...wasn't expecting that.

 

The skill setup is interesting.  You can quite literally make your character use any kind of weapon setup that you want...firearms, close-quarter melee, or magic...and combine them in any way that you want.  I was going around with a pistol/sword combination that was really effective in taking out pretty much anything.

 

I might buy this.

The amount of content is likely to be staggering. The game install directory is 30GB(!). MMOs tend to have more content bang-for-the-buck than any other genre, due to the scale they require. When the content is fun and interesting like in this one, it makes the game a bargain.

I had a crack at dungeons and battlegrounds this weekend past. The boss fights in the instances can get pretty intense but what stood out for me was the atmosphere, particularly when you're fighting the old ones from the sea. I was tank so I died once or twice before we realised that when Cthulhu is in a certain mood, the only thing to do is run. Hiding behind rocks whilst he stalks you is genuinely unsettling! PVP seems pretty standard at the moment, although the battles are between three teams at a time so that can make things interesting.

Early launch started yesterday and I'm knee deep in it.  There are still a few bugs but overall it's really quite smooth for me.  Population is really high and almost everyone really seems to be digging it.  LOVE the problem solving aspect of it.

Compare this to Blizzard:

 

On Sunday there was a 4 hour maintenance as they balanced PVP rewards to tie together better with PVE equivalents. We were told in advance that it would be happening and the game isn't live yet so it's pretty obvious stuff like this would be happening.

 

Maintenance actually lasted less than 2 hours. Whilst it was underway the head honcho behind TSW, Ragnar Tornquist, sat in on the forums and basically shot the shit with everyone. He gave away a few secrets about what to expect in the future but mainly just pissed about and had fun.

 

In terms of a way to keep your fan base happy it was almost revolutionary.

There are still a few bugs in the system...for instance, a few quests seem to be broken in certain instances...but it's pretty solid. Population is extremely high and seems pretty enthused overall.

I'm amazed at how many people are already decked out with QL 12 gear.

Those people are the ones who have been guilded up and beta-ing for months already.

 

I'm perfectly happy at QL5, hoover-ing up every mission I find. It's a good time.

 

I did play in the beta a decent amount, so if you need a hand with anything, I'm "Lapidus". 

 

All beta characters were deleted, so it's not that.  These people have been cranking 24/7 since launch to get to that point already.  

 

I'm at QL 3/4 at this point.  My main is AuroraSnow and I'm on Cerberus.  So far, I'm doing a fist weapon/pistol combo and it seems to be going pretty well.

Launch trailer.  Looks pretty cool, good choice of music.  I'll likely never play it since I'm not big on mmos, and I don't have anything capable of running it.  Still, I hope it does well, if only to increase the chances of us getting a third Longest Journey game.

You can entirely solo it if you want. Some missions are hard if you're not in a group, but they're doable...especially if you've gotten dexent gear. There are many dungeons that require groups that you won't be able to do, but they aren't essential to your storyline.

Fwiw, I'm pretty much a solo player im MMOs who occassionally groups up on the spot with other players doing the same mission. The game works perfectly for this.

 

That's not what I meant. They had played through the content multiple times already, so just grouped up and annihilated it once the game launched.

 

Personally, I'm in it for the exploration, so that kind of thing sounds like work. 

 

Amen.  I can't understand these people that are seemingly obsessed with getting to the endgame NOW NOW NOW and not stopping to smell the roses along the way.

But you can't bitch about there being no end game content if you don't hurry up and get to the end game!

 

Oh YOU.

I think I'll pick this up today. Got nothing on my slate until Monday.

 

Edit: Downloading now. Gonna take a little while. Any tips for a noob?

Edited by Jacob Singer - 7/5/12 at 5:56am

 

Hi Jacob:

Near as I can tell, there's no gameplay/mission difference between the three factions.  Choose whichever one suits your mood.

- Illuminati: sarcastic

- Templar: uber serious

- Dragon: devious

 

I have characters in all three but am concentrating on my Dragon character.  On my server, Templar seems to be the most popular.

 

You can be armed with two weapons at any given time.  Most people take one healing weapon (fist weapon, blood magic, or the one for guns that I can't recall) and then something else.  Early on in the game, you'll go to a dojo type place where you'll get to try out the various weapons available to you in the game (magic, melee, or guns).  Play around with all of them and find what suits you.  Also, plan what your second weapon will be.  I'm personally running around with a fist weapon (think Wolverine) and dual pistols, so I'm essentially dps with off-heals.  A really effective tank that I team up with has the Assault Rifle and sword combination.  I'm thinking of trying that with another char.  A lot of people take Blood magic as their healing choice.  In game, you'll see people playing with EVERYTHING.  I'm unsure if there's a consensus yet on best builds.

 

Be ready for a slightly clunky UI.  It took me a bit to get used to.

 

Regarding missions: you can only have a certain number of missions in play at a time.  If you choose to accept one, you may have to cancel/pause an active one.  If you want to reactivate that paused missions, you'll have to go back to the person who gave it to you.  No big deal.

 

One last thing: if you go with Dragon, you'll have a really hot lady go down on you in a cut scene.  

Also, I sincerely hope that you enjoy the game.  I dig it, and most of the people that are playing are very vocal about enjoying it.  You WILL find that chat is getting spammed with people that are simply wanting answers to the puzzles that are presented to them, frustrating the populace that actually wants to figure stuff out on their own.  

Thanks, Judas! Unfortunately, I'm outta rep for the day, otherwise...

 

I never mind trying out a new mmo, even though I mostly solo anyways. I figure many games I've bought and played to completion don't even give me half the playtime I might get out of an mmo in the first month, so it's not like it's a risk. And I still have an active AoC character, so I trust Funcom.

 

Still another hour or so to finish the download, then I'm in. Looking forward to a modern-day setting, and getting oral sex.

A final tip: when you see a loot bag drop, just hit 'V' rather than clicking on the bag.  'V' auto-loots it, saving you time.  If I'm in the middle of a big battle and see a loot drop, I'll just click 'V' in the middle of the battle and bam, done.  Works really slick.

 

Another thing: the crafting element aspect is clunky.  Some players have zero issue with it but I do.  It's a minor gripe of mine but it's there.

Another thing: most quests work perfectly.  If you run into a quest that doesn't seem to work right, it's usually one of two things:

1. you've got other players around trying to do the same thing and your competition is screwing things up.  In these instances, try and team up so that you don't compete.

2. your instance is bugged.  If this happens, post in chat that you're in a bugged instance and that you want to move to an instance where the quest is working.  When you find a person, group up with them and get pulled into their instance.  This is the standard workaround for this issue (which I believe that they are working on fixing).

 

And the girl that goes down on you?  She does that regardless of whether your character is male or female.  When you see the chick in the red dress in a cutscene, you'll know it's...coming.

Well, I'm really digging it so far. Just made it to Kingsmouth, needed to take a break for lunch. I'm not sure if I did the Dojang stuff properly -- you can do everything in there, right, but it's only important which weapon you actually leave the dojo with, correct? I won't get a second weapon until later, right? 

 

Also, being thrusted into that initial subway mission was a blast. A tense, insecure blast, but a blast nonetheless.

 

I'm on Grim (Cerberus was listed as full) with a dark-skinned, blue-eyed character named, oddly enough, Jacob Singer (nickname Jakester).

 

Now I'mma eat this sammich and get back to Kingsmouth.

You did the Dojang stuff right.  You leave with one weapon set and the skills that go with it.

 

Keep adventuring and build up skill and ability points.  Put those points into your current weaponset AND whatever other weaponset you want to use.  Hopefully you'll get a drop for the second weaponset and you'll be ready to roll.  Otherwise, try and trade with someone.  Also, many missions will have rewards with weapons in them.  You'll be fine.

 

Also, don't think that you're limited to 2 weapons.  You can have all 9 if you want and swap out the skills.  It'll just take you a long time to build up any real proficiency in weaponry if you keep spreading your skillpoints all around.

Edited by Judas Booth - 7/5/12 at 10:55am

I had a really amazing mission last night, by the way.  It was called IN DARKNESS, and it made me go to New York to accomplish it.  Essentially I had to follow a contact to a car park and try and infiltrate it.  Once you're in the car park, you descend in almost complete darkness down the ramp.  You have a flashlight on your head to help you see.  You need to avoid all contacts that you come across on the way down or they'll kill you.  There's some combat at the end but it's pretty much exclusively a stealth mission.  It was great.

 

The investigation missions are quite fun to do, also.  As an example, there's a mission where you need to hack into a computer.  When you try and log in, it asks for a password.  If you ask for a hint, the computer prompts you with 'my wife'.  Nearby are a bunch of dead bodies.  Both of them have IDs, and the ID on the guy has his name, his company name, and their website.  Solution?  You have to pull up the in-game browser and go to that company's website and browse through it.  Eventually you come to an article by that agent where he mentions his wife's name.

 

There's another mission early that's similar where the computer password hint is 'favorite composer'.  If you look around, you'll see a pictureframe where the man comments that he went and saw the Seasons with his girlfriend.  Again, pull up the browser and do a search.  Cool stuff.

Those investigative things are what I'm looking forward to the most.

 

And I have to say, the learning curve is a bit steep. I'm not a fan of hand-holding, but there's a lot of just basic interface stuff going on that hasn't been explained yet. I'm tempted to go back to Seoul and just fart around a bit, but I doubt it would do me any good.

Edited by Jacob Singer - 7/5/12 at 12:16pm

Dammit, you guys are going to make me break my self-imposed ban on paid MMOs, aren't you?

 

I agree on the learning curve.  Indeed, I was a tad frustrated with the game initially (thanks to the clunky UI) but once it clicked it wasn't an issue.

 

You WILL die a lot in the beginning as you get used to it.  That's OK.  Consider it a trial by fire, especially as you're learning the skills and such.

I've only died in combat once so far. But I died several times being detected by cameras on my first stealth mission (instant death, folks, so be warned). Even then, though, it was just that I kept thinking the path I was choosing was right, kept trying to jump up on some crates, and was missing a nearby ramp that was forehead-slappingly obvious. My fights so far have been tough, but fair.

 

And man, these servers are crowded at the moment. I can't recall the last time I saw so many people running around common areas. Hasn't affected my frame rate, though.

 

Also, I have yet to mention that this is one good-looking game. I'm running it in Ultra in DX11 and it's running flawlessly.

 

The adventure game puzzle aspects of this are simply awesome so far. This can't be overstated. Hacking computers, in-game browsing... too cool. Although I haven't been able to get a YouTube video to load yet in the browser. That might be on purpose, though.

 

And I'm still pretty sure I don't know quite what I'm doing with skill points and ability points yet.

Yeah, it IS a good looking game. Also, the voice acting is top notch across the board.

Have you tried the DEAD IN THE WATER dungeon yet? You essentially fight Cthulhu at the end of it. Great 5 man dungeon.

Found this for builds:

 

http://yokaiblog.wikidot.com/guides:deck-abilities

I'm getting increasingly curious, now that the launch appears to be going smoothly. For those who have played the game so far, how important are stats on gear? Do you feel like you're using your character's abilities and weapons, or does it feel like a Blizzard product where your avatar is just a vehicle for the gear? It seems like that will tell whether they're going to use the loot table slot machine, in lieu of challenging or fun video game encounters, to keep players hooked the way Blizzard and others do.

It's a pretty good mix of powers and gear. And you can really mix n match with both to change playstyles. If you have the gear and powers, you can be any combination of damage / tank / healer / crowd-control / buffer / debuffer that you prefer for any given challenge.

 

You can also craft and enhance any gear you need, so except for the very most powerful stuff, you can always keep yourself in the gear you want/need.

 

I started out full damage, and now that I have some spare points, I'm enhancing my support and healing to start, and I'll add tanking skills if I'm still having fun at that point (a while off). 

Farsight: what's your setup?  So far on my main, I'm doing a fist weapon/dual pistol approach.  It worked great for a while but it sure feels like I'm dying a lot now that I'm in the Savage Coast.

I went pistols alone for a long time. I'm mixing in elementalism now, and some passives from others.

 

I've always died a lot, but mainly because I'm 100% damage-focused for fast killing, so any fights that introduce new strategies tend to murder me a couple times until I figure em out.

 

With pistols, I'm entirely focused on +critical hit chance, since I have chosen abilities that give me heals and crit bonuses when I crit, and place extra damage on enemies at the same time. It works really well for pretty much all of the fights except the rare long attrition-style challenges where there's no chance to rest.

 

"Hindered" (root) is surprisingly valuable, since enemies can't turn while it's active. So you can get in some attacks with the enemy stuck facing the other way and wasting their special attacks at empty space.

 

After the interesting story, the best thing about this game is how you could easily spend hours just tinkering with skills and abilities and come up with numerous sets that -work-.

I've been doing some looking around on various wikis, and it looks like the control scheme limits you to seven active abilities and seven passives (chosen at the player's discretion from the abilities tied to weapon type), and some of the demand for player skill comes in when you're choosing abilities that complement each other well while staying within that limit. It sounds like it would be a breath of fresh air after WoW, where I'm using third party UI addons to keep two dozen situationally useful keybinds where I can manage them, while learning to live without another dozen keybinds in my spell book because a man can only do so fucking much.

I'm replacing my trusty, stalwart, 2007 vintage single-thread CPU before the end of the year in favor of a quad-core. I'll keep TSW in mind for when I have some hardware that doesn't fall below the minimum recommended specs to run it.
Edited by Reasor - 7/6/12 at 1:06pm

Yes, TSW and Guild Wars 2 (and Diablo 3) have all followed DC Universe's "limited hotkeys" approach to MMOs. It makes the old standard of, "40+ buttons flooded all over the screen" seem archaic and terrible.

 

Limiting your active abilities (and buttons) makes the game control better and play more strategically. It's excellently designed.

Guild Wars was that way as well...you had 8 skills at any given time, and you were locked into those skills once you left a city.  It required you really think about how you wanted to approach the battles.  Excellent system indeed.