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Phase I of Alpha Two testing will occur on weekends. Each weekend is scheduled to start on Fridays at 10 AM PT and end on Sundays at 10 PM PT. Find out more here.
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Phase I of Alpha Two testing will occur on weekends. Each weekend is scheduled to start on Fridays at 10 AM PT and end on Sundays at 10 PM PT. Find out more here.
Check out Alpha Two Announcements here to see the latest Alpha Two news and update notes.
Our quickest Alpha Two updates are in Discord. Testers with Alpha Two access can chat in Alpha Two channels by connecting your Discord and Intrepid accounts here.
The little things
I will first off say that my first experience with MMOs was EQ2. I have tried many since that one, and I never quite found one that gave me the same "complete" feeling of experience that EQ2 did.
It's the little things that I found lacking:
*Cool little additions that were fun but didn't have a combat impact, like shinies (collections). These are the little side things you can do that didn't require grouping, didn't revolve around crafting or combat, etc. You could log in and just run around and collect shinies if that's all you wanted to do.
*Not all quests took itself seriously. The world was more than just this war or that war.
*Housing--Sure, the housing was instanced. I didn't mind. I loved being able to decorate with what I wanted, seeing people's creativity, and the FUN stuff, like items you get from particular instances or quests. One of my favorites was an item that would randomly scare the crap out of you when you entered your house if you had placed it in your house...it would pop up a ghoul right on your full screen out of nowhere that would scream at you.
The things I wanted to be better was more colorful variety in construction materials (walls, floors, etc). It was pretty dingy.
I have yet to find a housing system in another game that made it feel like MY house, decorated with my tastes and my accomplishments.
*It's the random, cool things that you wouldn't expect. I think it was Unrest (been a while) where you entered a certain area, and your computer screen would go snowy and a skull popped up on screen and laughed at you, and it was acknowledging how YOU the player thought you were safe behind your screen.
Or an area where it would pick a player character in the group and you had to fight a doppelganger of that player.
*Actually being needed by random groups. So many people begged for flexibility to the point that it discouraged people seeking certain classes. I loved having a class, and customizing within the class. It is basically specializing. Dirge and druid were my favorites.
*I loved instances. Some were just unbelievably fun, and it didn't matter how many times I did it, it was so well designed that I still enjoyed it. As mentioned before, Unrest. It was one of my favorites because it was all the little details. They did a wonderful job making it immersive, and making it feel like it's own unique place.
*Fighting was overall strategic, and people really worked together, rather than mobbing something. A lot of the current games I've tried, it was mostly mobbing, especially with world event type games.
I think most games have gone the way of stab, stab, fight fight. It's all about action and style, with little thought to the overall fun factor. I am drawn to RPG type games for the rich world, a virtual full life, and the stories. The little things that complete the games get forgotten, as they focus mainly on combat. I know combat is an important part, but when it's the ONLY thing that gets focused on, all the things that make the game come alive and playable for every mood falls to the wayside.
I hope they will consider having a team whose sole job it is to focus on these little things that will complete the game and make the world truly alive. Obviously, the major bases are already covered.
These are the people that will take the bare bones of a house and make it a home.
I don't know if any of this has been mentioned before, or if anyone besides myself cares, but I just thought I'd put this out there.
It's the little things that I found lacking:
*Cool little additions that were fun but didn't have a combat impact, like shinies (collections). These are the little side things you can do that didn't require grouping, didn't revolve around crafting or combat, etc. You could log in and just run around and collect shinies if that's all you wanted to do.
*Not all quests took itself seriously. The world was more than just this war or that war.
*Housing--Sure, the housing was instanced. I didn't mind. I loved being able to decorate with what I wanted, seeing people's creativity, and the FUN stuff, like items you get from particular instances or quests. One of my favorites was an item that would randomly scare the crap out of you when you entered your house if you had placed it in your house...it would pop up a ghoul right on your full screen out of nowhere that would scream at you.
The things I wanted to be better was more colorful variety in construction materials (walls, floors, etc). It was pretty dingy.
I have yet to find a housing system in another game that made it feel like MY house, decorated with my tastes and my accomplishments.
*It's the random, cool things that you wouldn't expect. I think it was Unrest (been a while) where you entered a certain area, and your computer screen would go snowy and a skull popped up on screen and laughed at you, and it was acknowledging how YOU the player thought you were safe behind your screen.
Or an area where it would pick a player character in the group and you had to fight a doppelganger of that player.
*Actually being needed by random groups. So many people begged for flexibility to the point that it discouraged people seeking certain classes. I loved having a class, and customizing within the class. It is basically specializing. Dirge and druid were my favorites.
*I loved instances. Some were just unbelievably fun, and it didn't matter how many times I did it, it was so well designed that I still enjoyed it. As mentioned before, Unrest. It was one of my favorites because it was all the little details. They did a wonderful job making it immersive, and making it feel like it's own unique place.
*Fighting was overall strategic, and people really worked together, rather than mobbing something. A lot of the current games I've tried, it was mostly mobbing, especially with world event type games.
I think most games have gone the way of stab, stab, fight fight. It's all about action and style, with little thought to the overall fun factor. I am drawn to RPG type games for the rich world, a virtual full life, and the stories. The little things that complete the games get forgotten, as they focus mainly on combat. I know combat is an important part, but when it's the ONLY thing that gets focused on, all the things that make the game come alive and playable for every mood falls to the wayside.
I hope they will consider having a team whose sole job it is to focus on these little things that will complete the game and make the world truly alive. Obviously, the major bases are already covered.
These are the people that will take the bare bones of a house and make it a home.
I don't know if any of this has been mentioned before, or if anyone besides myself cares, but I just thought I'd put this out there.
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