Topic: My first impressions.

I don't want to defend PO - and I agree about the grind nature of all the assignments. I can stress it even more though. While OP mentioned selectiong a RANDOM assignment - is actually not as bad. Thing is if you decide to work for a certain NPC corporation you will have to grind 3 assignments at the most. If you want to specialize your character set on military skills for example - you will have to grind ONE assignment. In other word repeat the same action about 50 times until you have enough standing to get to level 2 assignments and I don't see how at that point this type of progression will change.


Another thing that makes it all MUCH WORSE - if you are in a squad with friends - KILLS ARE NOT SHARED between squad members. So being in a squad is just that - being in a squad. Oh yeah you can use it to ninja loot everything lol. There is no target assist system, there is no target mark system, and almost none-existant group communication battle interface. Squad mechanics at this point are very useless - its just a box showing few lines of armor left on pieces of metal you control.


I could simplify the game at this point to the following:

1. Create an ugly face
2. Complete long tutorial that teaches almost nothing about the game
3. Get post-tutorial bot that you actually DON'T WANT and offer no choice of selection whatsoever.
4. Do one random assignment from your terminal so that your reputation spreadsheet can populate with +0.01s and -0.01s
5. Chose the Faction with highest +0.0x and start grinding their THREE assignments... lol
6. If you want to specialize on specific template of your career (military in my case) - you'll actually end up grinding ONE assignment and repeat it about 50 times until your faction raises to 1.01 - then you get access to level 2 assignments.
7. You can of course transport things, and you can of course mine things, you can reconfigure your bot as many tiems as you want to either run faster or mine faster or kill faster but in the end you'll just grind that one assignment if you want to get to level 2 assignments any time soon. Which are the same as level one. You just grind towards level 3 etc.


People say - game flourishes in corporation. Nothing really flourishes even in corp. Everybody will be doing some type of grind - either they will be grinding kernels to research prototypes or they will be mining to get materials for later production.


I am enjoying the game SO FAR, only because all the fantasy MMOs become sickening and because I didn't reach that point in time in PO just yet where I am gonna get sick by repeatedly doing the same thing for hours. Sandbox games are a good place to allow players expand their imagination and do what they want. problem with PO is at this point - there is nothing to do other than - grind kernels, brake them afterwards to research stuff and then build something useless. Or - grind mobs until finally you loot the ugly cube, buy 1000 items of something you want to do reverse engineering on - and destroy it all to have a chance of getting a blueprint.


This game needs a LOT of work. I am gonna be testing it for a month but I am affraid that in a bout a week I'll be getting sick of going to mine for 547th time or by going to the same location to kill same mobs for 352nd time. Even on 2 accounts it may get a bit ugly and boring as hell. I give it about a week or two. I am going to try to join a corp to make this whole repetitiveness a bit less annoying and i hope it will work out as I as many of you see myself in a great mech, being wealthy from selling stuff on market and having fun PvPing newbs. We'll see.

I am gonna break it down now to ceertain points:

1. Graphics
Good graphics and to play on max requires actually pretty decent PC. - One of the reason some people complain about LAG. Graphics could definitely be better. While the game is loaded with stationary objects and graphics are so so even on max settings - game still requires a very good PC to play it. Anything you zoom in very close looks quite ugly. If you don't zoom in - it looks ok. This game seems to have quite a lot of structures piled up and while 3D objects don't seem to be using any high resolution surfaces - it still loads the PC like its a DX10 game - poorly coded graphics engine. Very old and outdated.

2. LAG.
I don't have any, but my wife's computer can hardly handle the game unless it runs on lowest settings. It can run LOTRO on max with 2x AA without problems. So whatever people complain about is actually a game engine lag unless of course their latency to the server (ping) is over 500. You can verify this - your ping to the server shows on right lower corner next to word LAG. I don't know why they called latency/ping - LAG.
So i'd say this "LAG" is more of a unpolished graphics and inefficient game graphics engine.

3. Sounds and music
This is probably the best part in this game - especially music, its very Sci-Fi. Sounds however are very odd in some cases. Why would an assault droid that has 4 legs sound like its a glider? Arkha droid at least has some logical sound of multiple limbs moving... but other droids sound's are not appropriate.

4. User interface
Pretty crappy I have to say. I hated the interface in EVE and this one resembles it too much. Can't even change the damn font size. Did they buy some alpha code from CCP and then build their game based on it? At least we can increase/decrease size of the windows. But game itself seems to be built keeping in mind old CRT monitors that can't go higher than 1024x768. At leat all the interface fonts (not chat window) seem to be of a normal size somewhere around that resolution definitely not for 1920x1080 or even 1920x1200. Why same problem as in EVE? No idea...

5. Controls
Pretty much standard MMO template. Pretty much EVE template. Lock target, activate weapons and modules and have fun... lol. Oh wait, in EVE you had to orbit the target, here they give you a chance to strafe your droid around the target and keep the distance so that your weapons are effective and your target doesn't drop... lol.

6. Replayability
Worst ever. This game is definitey not for solo play. Not because its difficult to play solo, but because you will probably hang yourself after about 20 hours of grinding faction of your choice. Even in corp it will be more of a 'group grind' - but grind nevertheless. There are outposts now but at this point those outposts have close to nothing point of being in game. You can own them but they don't repsent any value. You can't have any support devices or buildings, nothing, its just a few vertical walls and a ceiling that you imagine is YOURS...

7. PvP
At this point PvP is go to beta Island - get blown up, return to your terminal and grind station until you have money to buy yourself an assault droid. PvP is gonna be like in a lot of games - bunch of people gang on one target - destroy it then switch targets and rince and repeat. There are no objectives behind holding any outposts so this will get quite boring eventually. Unless PO expands the gameplay a LOT next few weeks - couple of months, devs excitement will be replaced with sadness of people not wanting to come back.

As I said I like the game so far but it has a lot in it to not like it. or let me say - it doesnt have much to like it for YET. I hope this little underfunded company of 10 people will be able to pull it off and develop PO to at least what EVE felt like in 2000. This game needs a lot more reason for people to want to OWN those outposts. And do something other than gang up on each other on Beta Island.

Re: My first impressions.

Have you tried giving yourself an actual goal?

Personally I find the grind is actually enjoyable as long as I keep a goal in mind. This isn't a game where you get handed quests on a platter and if you just do as the nice devs tell you then you'll eventually have all the best stuff on the server, just like everyone else.

I set myself a goal and then I work for it. I spend my EP to achieve that goal. I save my NIC for that goal. I investigate the fittings if it's a robot. I investigate the materials if it's production. I investigate the market if it's trade. I spend my time and energy on it so that at the end I have something that I earned. Something I'll remember as the time I finally got my Assault Bot, or when I finally built my first Mech, or when I finally earned my first billion.

Yes the basic gameplay is fairly repetitive and probably a bit boring. But for me a sandbox isn't about that. It's about achievement and determining your own path.

Sure, this game needs work. It's an indie game made by 10 people that released less then a week ago. But the basis for something great is definitely here. If you need the devs to give you reasons to play then maybe you're doing it the wrong way?

Find your own reasons in the game. If you can't find any then the conclusion should be simple, the game's not for you. At least not yet.

*Insert really awesome sig here*

Re: My first impressions.

Gobla has it right. This isn't about arbitrary "Complete this, do this, get me X of X and return here", this is a sandbox and it is what you make it. Sure there isn't a whole lot of content, but considering the Dev team size, the small budget, and the fact that it JUST came out of Beta, you can't be expecting anything more than what it has now. In fact, most other MMO's at this stage would be HALF the quality this is. MMO's need time to develop and mature, they are never released finished. Don't be judging this so harshly, and honestly, if you are having a problem with the game, just don't play it.

Re: My first impressions.

Hey, we all fanbois here. Clear off.

J/K. Thanks for your review. Game does need a lot more development but they are working on it and listening to what we want. I have faith and have paid up for a year.

Re: My first impressions.

You cant even begin to compare this to the fantasy MMO's its a sandbox pvp game with a hardcore ruleset, ie you die, you lost ***.

I've played warhammer for 2 years now and i did that after many years of EvE for a break. 

As the others say, find a goal to achieve.  The sense of satisfaction is amazing, i built a corp from nothing to an end game Titan fielding 0.0 corporation over 3 years and i'm very proud of what myself and my corp achieved

This isnt WoW where everything is handed to you on a plate, you have to earn it.  Give it some time and work out what you want to achieve and then go for it and ignore the flamers and trolls that are lurking about wink

Re: My first impressions.

1. Did manage that, i see

I for myself like the feeling of the ancient Steve times.
When they start charging 15 bugs for this game i will be gone, till then, i will play on and off
and enjoy the progression much more then in any themepark.

Regards

Re: My first impressions.

KILLS ARE NOT SHARED: I really dont understand why this is such a pain in the ***. You just increased the amount of loot you get to sell, everyone makes more robobucks. Smile.

1) ugly face: but you're so cute!
2) long tutorial: the tutorial actually covers a large portion of the game mechanics, maybe you should have paid attention.
3) if you dont want it i'll take it. light bots are nice to have around.
4) stop grinding missions
5) stop grinding missions
6) stop grinding missions
7) stop grinding missions

Seriously, stop grinding missions and pick a corp with a stated goal and go with it. Its a lot more fun when you're working with other people for a reason. This isn't a solo play mmo. Missions are good to run for that extra NIC when nothing much is going on. Not for your primary source of income. If I tried that I'd burn out and write up a 1000+ word rant on a forum too.. but I haven't.

Re: My first impressions.

I recently decided to drop corp and just do my own thing because I felt like I was running on a treadmill. I agree that that the rep grind can be pretty dire, but its not the whole of the game.

I think once the game has matured a little, the market is flourishing and more people have reason to be on beta islands, Perp will be a really engaging game. With player built stations on the horizon the political aspect could end up being great too.

Check back in a couple months if you aren't feeling it right now.

9 (edited by Valkadesh 2010-11-30 07:38:53)

Re: My first impressions.

The point isn't "Do missions, get rep, do better missions". Right now, if anything, the goal for most people is "Do whatever it takes to amass better tech/secure corp island/dominate world" You're amassing resources. With a sandbox title, it's all how you look at it. If you want something more guided, that isn't necessarily a bad thing, but you're not really going to find it in a sandbox title.

Also, cut the guys some slack. Considering a team of, what, ten guys made this, and the game has been released for a grand total of four or so days, of course it needs work. That being said, it's *** phenomenal compared to some of the releases I've seen with larger groups/more funding. Give them the time and the resources, and things will improve.

Re: My first impressions.

Valkadesh wrote:

The point isn't "Do missions, get rep, do better missions". Right now, if anything, the goal for most people is "Do whatever it takes to amass better tech/secure corp island/dominate world" You're amassing resources. With a sandbox title, it's all how you look at it. If you want something more guided, that isn't necessarily a bad thing, but you're not really going to find it in a sandbox title.

Also, cut the guys some slack. Considering a team of, what, ten guys made this, and the game has been released for a grand total of four or so days, of course it needs work. That being said, it's *** phenomenal compared to some of the releases I've seen with larger groups/more funding. Give them the time and the resources, and things will improve.

i totally agree with this, its a game that requires time to mature economically and for wars to develop between corps in a month or so it will be a totally diffrent experience

Re: My first impressions.

I don't see how anyone could stand playing solo. 

Get yourself a corp, seriously.  It makes the game 1000% better.

12

Re: My first impressions.

This game has had such a great release that we're already minimizing what's working. Seriously, think back to <insert name here> MMO when chat functions weren't working the first week, you couldn't use the Market/Auction system, and in-game mail was sporadic at best for a month.

When my friends emailed me about this game in beta, I had never heard about it before. After doing research, I was doubtful, because of various gameplay reasons. But I still bought this game despite its current flaws, real or imagined, for two big reasons.

1. The promise of better things. This game is just starting, and will be enhanced, fixed, broken, patched, repaired, augmented, changed, and manipulated for months until it either becomes something better or dies slowly. Maybe the bad is never changed and people leave. Maybe the good makes the bad tolerable. We won't know until we know.

2. We grow when we aren't playing too. With most MMOs and games, I don't get anything if I don't play. With Perpetuum, I can take 2 days off and only be out the NIC that I might have made (or lost). How cool is it to login each day and have another 1440 EP to spend? Seriously, at current sub rates it's $6 a month (when you buy a year). That's a good deal.

Right now it's perfect for me, because I don't have a lot of downtime. So the few hours I get to play each week are really fun. Login, spend a bunch of EP, run a few missions, and amass my fortune of NIC for when I have more time to play in the future.

Granted, it's a poor game design if players get more excited about the EP they receive by NOT playing, but there is still the promise of better things to come. After all, THE GAME IS A WEEK OLD.

Re: My first impressions.

Gobla wrote:

Have you tried giving yourself an actual goal?

Personally I find the grind is actually enjoyable as long as I keep a goal in mind. This isn't a game where you get handed quests on a platter and if you just do as the nice devs tell you then you'll eventually have all the best stuff on the server, just like everyone else.

I set myself a goal and then I work for it. I spend my EP to achieve that goal. I save my NIC for that goal. I investigate the fittings if it's a robot. I investigate the materials if it's production. I investigate the market if it's trade. I spend my time and energy on it so that at the end I have something that I earned. Something I'll remember as the time I finally got my Assault Bot, or when I finally built my first Mech, or when I finally earned my first billion.

Yes the basic gameplay is fairly repetitive and probably a bit boring. But for me a sandbox isn't about that. It's about achievement and determining your own path.

Sure, this game needs work. It's an indie game made by 10 people that released less then a week ago. But the basis for something great is definitely here. If you need the devs to give you reasons to play then maybe you're doing it the wrong way?

Find your own reasons in the game. If you can't find any then the conclusion should be simple, the game's not for you. At least not yet.

/pwned
big_smile

[img]http://www.cryptostudios.com/PO/Sigs/BC.jpg[/img]

Re: My first impressions.

Chief Ubenor definitely has some points. but the others said, the fact is that missions in the game are not made to have fun (unlike WOW) is an indication that the point of the game is probably a bit different.

like you, i will give the game a bit time, i really look forward to see the game develops and more content is added to it, don't care if it will be added by devs or players.

Re: My first impressions.

Yeah, giving the game time myself. Giving it 1 month. If I don't see ANY attention to the game from devs, no patches, no 'work in progress' blogs, nothing that assures that they actually care about PO - I won't renew. PO has a good potential and I like the mech concept behind it. Time will show. For now I'll definitely stick around at least until I'll get really bored (joining a corp tonight hopefully) or until some other game steals my attention and interest.

Re: My first impressions.

Chiming in here.  I too have to remind myself to give myself some time to develop an opinion of this game.  I've never been one who has enjoyed the 'low level/skillpoint' area of an MMO so there are things I like and things I really dislike.  It really is difficult to start from square one with nearly no skills, no understanding of the game and no money.

So far, though, things are looking good.  A month will be a decent timeframe to determine if I transition fully to Perpetuum from my current game or if it is relegated to a few moments of playtime here and there.

Re: My first impressions.

The fun for me is the character planning, trading, fulfilling corp goals, fulfilling personal goals, making NIC, shooting at robots (human and computer) and interacting with other people from around the world who also have an affinity to internet robots.

This is enough for me to be happy with a game. Once these things become realized and there are no more goals that peak my interest I will move on. This hasn't happened in EVE for me yet and i am hoping it wont happen in PO for a long time. Only time will tell.

For now i wont worry about and just enjoy my time here.

"False friends are like our shadow, keeping close to us while we walk in the sunshine, but leaving us the instant we cross into the shade."

Re: My first impressions.

Letalis Deus wrote:

Gobla has it right. This isn't about arbitrary "Complete this, do this, get me X of X and return here", this is a sandbox and it is what you make it. Sure there isn't a whole lot of content, but considering the Dev team size, the small budget, and the fact that it JUST came out of Beta, you can't be expecting anything more than what it has now. In fact, most other MMO's at this stage would be HALF the quality this is. MMO's need time to develop and mature, they are never released finished. Don't be judging this so harshly, and honestly, if you are having a problem with the game, just don't play it.

this is the biggest pile of BS I have seen in a long time.

+1 on everything the OP said. You are spot on and this game needs help except for the DOPE *** music!