Still pumping along after launching in 2001, still the biggest single shard MMO out there in terms of map size and still the best true combined arms game of all time. Nothing comes close to it. Its always had a hard core dedicated player base but the game deserved a wider audience.
Of the 12 people who were actually active and posting on the G+H beta forums during the Beta phase 11 of them were saying 'this game needs a lot more work, its broken, the classes are one dimensional and lack any soul, you've got a great setting but you can't release it so fundamentally broken and compared to real AAA titles no-one is going to pay a monthly sub, got F2P to try and get some people playing'....but they did anyway. Classes missing - yet their trainers and gear being found in loot, a dearth of people actually willing to buy the game and pay a monthly sub for such a woefully outdated game with show stopping flaws.
Its sad because it does have a great setting. I think people are waiting for a great Ancient era and mythology based game over the usual WEAS (Wookies Elves and Shit - for the uninitiated).
Maybe Heatwave should have started out on a clean slate instead of picking up such a fundamentally flawed engine?
Man, if only there was a Massively Multiplayer Online FPS style game that regularly had thousands of players playing on the same single server in the same 'battlefield' in campaigns that lasted weeks of to'ing and fro'ing across the largest map size of any MMO made to date.....and had a plethora of infantry weapons, dozens of historically accurate planes to fly, historically accurate tanks to drive, mortars, ack ack, anti-tank guns, patrol boats, battleships, trucks to drive etc
I played the tail end of Beta, pre-launch and then into Live...didn't extend pass the initial 30 days though. The game was boring. Batchit boring. The crafting was without a doubt the worst crafting of an MMO I have ever played...and that was after they apparently got it working.....but back to boring. The Space Combat was boring. It was and is nothing like Eve or SWTORs space 'combat'. or any other Space Combat you've ever played. Its basically identical to Pirates of the Burning Sea.....but in Space....with starships instead of Big Arsed sailing ships. The Land combat also sucked....just as much as POTBS's land combat sucked....hmmmm.now that I think about it launch STO was the closest to PotBS than any other game. Both good ideas - just horribly implemented. So I left to play something else.
Fast Forward to yesterday. A few days earlier a mate told me about the reactivation of old STO accounts to trial F2P....I was getting bored with SWTOR so I thought I'd kill a few hours with STO. Download was fast and painless, as was the patch to bring it up to date. I think I was up and playing inside of an hour and a half? My toon was siting there waiting for me just like I left him. Nothing missing or gimped. Custom uniform on all my guys, ship fitted out like I left it. When I logged in I had a about 5 minutes of Reward Spam! Achievements and XP were spitting out everywhere. Once I got ingame I died about eleventy six times.....because I'd forgotten how to play.
So I started a new toon. Inside of an hour it all came back to me and I jumped back on my main and put in probably...lets say...8 hours. Took my main from Commander 27 to Captain 32. And I enjoyed it. Surprisingly. Ground combat is noticeably 'crisper' and I was having fun straffing around with dual pistols. Space combat was much the same.....so I went a full Cannon setup on my escort....mucho fun running in headlong spewing-forth a line of 'glowing shit' at my opponents and making them go boom. To be fair, missions tend to still be a bit 'same old same old'. They have however 'dumbed down' the skills I see. Gone is the vast plethora of skill options and its been replaced by a lot of generic sounding skills...and a lot less of them. Which is a shame. I think that leads to more cookie cutter builds than real unique toons.
Some of the new options seem OK...the Duty Officer system isn't bad. Haven't tried any fleet actions or group activities yet but I do plan on it.
The C-Shop is a little 'Pay to Win' though. I hit Captain and got my new Tactical Escort....then saw that for 'only 1200 credits' I could get a special 'refitted' Tactical Escort with a lot more console space and more Bridge Officers I could put on. Kinda sucks for anyone who doesn't want to buy gear.....but meh.
So I'll probably keep this one like LotRO - something to just swing in and play casually when I need a break from whatever MMO I am currently invested in. It is improved on launch and is a bit of fun, but it would get tedious quick I reckon.
All the Beta testers said the game was not ready for release and would never work as a fully paid for client and ongoing sub at premium prices. I was one of them. To be honest, without major work - it won't work as a F2P title either.
You've got a great setting and premise, hell I can even look past the bland dated graphics - but your core systems just don't work 'as intended' and its a boring clickfest.
No AAA Title will ever go 'Browser'. All the browser games you see around nowadays are utter crap. Good for kids and people with limited skills/short attention spans. How can you even put BSG in a category anywhere near the likes of WoW, SWTOR, LOTRO, AOC etc?? Not even remotely comparable other than they are 'games' and are 'online'.....Browser based crap has far more incommon with crappy Facebook games than any actual MMO.
Sorry, big fail on this 'prediction'. I'll sit it over next to the 'PC is Dead' and 'PC Gaming is dead' predictions from 10 years ago,
I love Wizard 101 because it lets me play a game with my two young daughters. Its nice to be able to take a break from more adult orientated MMO's to teach my kids the basics of online gaming in a happy, safe and fun environment.
The Daily Grind: Which MMO doesn't get the respect it deserves?
Apr 4th 2012 10:06AM (Massively)Still pumping along after launching in 2001, still the biggest single shard MMO out there in terms of map size and still the best true combined arms game of all time. Nothing comes close to it. Its always had a hard core dedicated player base but the game deserved a wider audience.
Gods & Heroes letter brings dire tidings
Mar 31st 2012 6:09AM (Massively)Of the 12 people who were actually active and posting on the G+H beta forums during the Beta phase 11 of them were saying 'this game needs a lot more work, its broken, the classes are one dimensional and lack any soul, you've got a great setting but you can't release it so fundamentally broken and compared to real AAA titles no-one is going to pay a monthly sub, got F2P to try and get some people playing'....but they did anyway. Classes missing - yet their trainers and gear being found in loot, a dearth of people actually willing to buy the game and pay a monthly sub for such a woefully outdated game with show stopping flaws.
Its sad because it does have a great setting. I think people are waiting for a great Ancient era and mythology based game over the usual WEAS (Wookies Elves and Shit - for the uninitiated).
Maybe Heatwave should have started out on a clean slate instead of picking up such a fundamentally flawed engine?
The Daily Grind: What dead game would you play in a second if it revived?
Feb 16th 2012 6:30AM (Massively)Browser-based FPS sets world record for simultaneous players
Feb 1st 2012 5:48AM (Massively)Oh wait, we do, since 2001 - WW2 Online.
Captain's Log: A new era begins
Jan 16th 2012 5:23AM (Massively)Fast Forward to yesterday. A few days earlier a mate told me about the reactivation of old STO accounts to trial F2P....I was getting bored with SWTOR so I thought I'd kill a few hours with STO. Download was fast and painless, as was the patch to bring it up to date. I think I was up and playing inside of an hour and a half? My toon was siting there waiting for me just like I left him. Nothing missing or gimped. Custom uniform on all my guys, ship fitted out like I left it. When I logged in I had a about 5 minutes of Reward Spam! Achievements and XP were spitting out everywhere. Once I got ingame I died about eleventy six times.....because I'd forgotten how to play.
So I started a new toon. Inside of an hour it all came back to me and I jumped back on my main and put in probably...lets say...8 hours. Took my main from Commander 27 to Captain 32. And I enjoyed it. Surprisingly. Ground combat is noticeably 'crisper' and I was having fun straffing around with dual pistols. Space combat was much the same.....so I went a full Cannon setup on my escort....mucho fun running in headlong spewing-forth a line of 'glowing shit' at my opponents and making them go boom. To be fair, missions tend to still be a bit 'same old same old'. They have however 'dumbed down' the skills I see. Gone is the vast plethora of skill options and its been replaced by a lot of generic sounding skills...and a lot less of them. Which is a shame. I think that leads to more cookie cutter builds than real unique toons.
Some of the new options seem OK...the Duty Officer system isn't bad. Haven't tried any fleet actions or group activities yet but I do plan on it.
The C-Shop is a little 'Pay to Win' though. I hit Captain and got my new Tactical Escort....then saw that for 'only 1200 credits' I could get a special 'refitted' Tactical Escort with a lot more console space and more Bridge Officers I could put on. Kinda sucks for anyone who doesn't want to buy gear.....but meh.
So I'll probably keep this one like LotRO - something to just swing in and play casually when I need a break from whatever MMO I am currently invested in. It is improved on launch and is a bit of fun, but it would get tedious quick I reckon.
Gods & Heroes crucifies subs and slashes box prices
Jan 14th 2012 1:36AM (Massively)You've got a great setting and premise, hell I can even look past the bland dated graphics - but your core systems just don't work 'as intended' and its a boring clickfest.
Sorry, still not worth my bandwith.
Brad McQuaid reminisces about the birth of EverQuest
Jan 6th 2012 8:14AM (Massively);)
Massively's MMO predictions for 2012: Beau Hindman
Dec 30th 2011 12:23AM (Massively)Sorry, big fail on this 'prediction'. I'll sit it over next to the 'PC is Dead' and 'PC Gaming is dead' predictions from 10 years ago,
[Updated] On the twelfth day of giveaways, KingsIsle gave to me...
Dec 24th 2011 10:58PM (Massively)BioWare hints at new SWTOR content, tops one million players
Dec 23rd 2011 9:51PM (Massively)Lack of same sex options is holding you back from buying a game? You must have the worlds smallest game collection then.....