Yearly Archives: 2016

RIP: Tribes Ascend

Tribes: Ascend Launches Update 1.1 news header

Now, now. Tribes Ascend servers aren’t going offline [at least that I’m aware of], but simply, the last update has happened. Not too long ago HiRez attempted to resurrect interesting in Tribes Ascend. As probably one of the longer-running Tribes games, it still wasn’t wildly popular. Definitely more of a niche’ pick, it was fast-paced and exciting. I never really played Tribes Ascend but I am familiar with Tribes/Tribes 2. The reaction has been pretty mixed about Ascend. Some people insist it’s P2Win and if you don’t agree you’re basically Satan.  Most of what I’ve read is that people have come to terms, and made their peace with the fact that it’s not going to get more content updates. I’ve enjoyed all the stuff I’ve played that was designed by HiRez though, but alas, never really got to Tribes. Though they did have some of the original crew working on it, it’s still not a “HiRez Product”.

At least that I’m aware of. I’m not surprised even a little bit that it is no longer receiving updates, and that’s for a few reasons. Again, it’s not their product, so it’s probably not as high priority as Paladins [now in Open Beta] and SMITE [working towards SWC]. Those are probably their biggest products. Now, does that mean they might not make a new Tribes later? Or focus on another new project? Maybe more Global Agenda? That’d be cool. I don’t think it was a ship that could be steadied. They simply had so much on their plate, that if they wanted everything they’re working on to be gold, they had to make sacrifices. I do think it’s a shame, even if I didn’t really play it, but I would rather see that energy and focus going into what made them big, instead  of trying to draw in a small crowd that might or might not try their other products. That’s just my opinion though. Putting their focus onto SMITE is the right move.

Otherland Review – MMOCeption?

By Jordan Hall (ApocaRUFF), OnRPG Journalist

Otherland is an action MMORPG based on a series of novels with the same name. As you might imagine, coming from such a lore-rich background, the game has a large focus on storytelling. It also aims to turn elements from the novels into something playable in the game, such as various features like u|Space and u|Space hacking. Because it has an existing fanbase, there is a decent amount of hype surrounding the game, which has set expectations high. Today I’m here to help answer whether or not Otherland has managed to live up to the hype.

Customization

Customization, at least early on, is rather weak in Otherland. There is a fair number of options, sure. But in terms of the market of today, where customization is a huge focus in game development, the options are sparse in comparison. With most modern MMOs having customization options that completely out-do what you’ll find in Otherland, it’s hard to feel anything other than, “meh” with what you’re presented. Unfortunately, this was a recurring theme while I played Otherland.

Otherland Review - MMOCeption?Not completely disappointing, but nowhere near impressive.

Graphics

This is, at least in my opinion, Otherland’s strongest point. The landscapes sculpted by the art team really do justice to the namesake. I’m usually one to not enjoy the representations of written work found in movies or games, but in Otherland you will see things that you would think impossible. You’ll even come across some experimental techniques that haven’t really been explored in an MMO setting, that provide a truly unique graphical experience. I’m going to be giving Otherland a 5/5 in graphics because they’re innovative and could honestly be considered artwork. Honestly, not many games have made me want to frame screenshots or purchase flatscreens to play a GIF on repeat to display how majestic and beautiful the game world is. Otherland has managed to make me seriously consider the possibilities of doing both.

Otherland Review - MMOCeption?This is the strongest feature the game has; this screenshot simply does not do the game justice.

Controls

Honestly, kind of clunky. This really becomes an issue once you get into melee combat. It felt boring, bland, and even felt hard to deal with at times. You should never feel like you’re having more difficulty with the controls than you are with your actual enemies. I’m hoping that this will improve a great deal soon, as I’m afraid that this alone will turn away a large portion of the potential playerbase of the game.

Otherland Review - MMOCeption?Almost everything feels clunky and unpolished.

Community

If you look at the reviews or comments of the game by players, you’ll see a large number that are dissatisfied and a smaller group that will admit the game has issues yet still give it a positive score. If you look closer, you’ll realize that almost all of the people who give the game a positive review are those that have already become invested in the series by being fans of the books. Not to say they’re biased, but I feel like this shows that the game is truly a labor of love and a gift for the fans of the series. I hope they can fix the issues so that those fans, and those that aren’t fans yet, can both enjoy the game.

Gameplay

Besides the graphics, the thing the game has going for it is the lore. Of course, this lore is derived from the Otherland novel series. The basic setting is that it is the near future and you are a ‘player’ logging into the virtual world. I know Otherland isn’t the most well-known series, and it’s getting on in the years, but a more recent novel that has a similar premise is Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. Essentially this is a virtual world with a central ‘hub’ and many different worlds that have different rules and laws. If you’re like me and you’ve been a big fan of these types of stories (my first taste of this being Epic by Conor Kostick) you’re probably going to want to stick through the horrible starting experience (which I get into more later on in the review).

Right now the game is fairly vanilla. If you’ve played similar techno-themed games, such as Matrix Online or Anarchy Online, you’ll get a very similar vibe from Otherland. About five years ago, the player and clan housing would have put this game in the “very innovative” group, but in the current climate of MMO development, those features are fairly standard. It’s gotten to a point where a game without player housing, or at least plans to add player housing, is considered incomplete. What all this adds up to is, Otherland seems to be just the same stuff we’ve been getting for years with a slightly different skin.

Otherland Review - MMOCeption?The game looks great.

Not to say that skin isn’t beautiful. It is. I’ve already gushed over the graphics for the game and the Otherland novels are nothing to scoff at either. If you check out the history, you’ll find a strong fanbase and fantastic reviews of the series. Further, if you take the time to read them (which I am just now doing) you’ll find an immersive world that feels like it’s within the realm of possibility. The only other book that I can, at least from my own experience, relate it to would be Ready Player One by Ernest Cline.

Otherland Review - MMOCeption?I feel like the Otherland developers should have taken a look at The Secret World.

The game, straight from the get-go, is a fairly standard quest grinder with a lean towards PVP in various forms. I feel like the developers really wanted to go with a much more sandbox approach for the game, but for whatever reason abandoned that in favor of a more quest-heavy experience. Not to say there aren’t some sandbox features; the way the u|Space and u|Clan player and clan housing works feels like it would be a great sandbox feature on paper. The problem is the stuff you have to wade through to get there.

Otherland Review - MMOCeption?It felt like I was doing generic quest after generic quest, with a few paragraphs of reading in-between.

Which brings me to the starting experience. I’m hard pressed to figure out a game that comes close to the horrible starting experience I found in Otherland. The two games that come to mind were 2007 Wurm Online (Took me about 8 tries over a year to finally get into the game) and Shores of Hazeron (took three tries over two years to finally get into the game). The downside is that while Otherland has a horrible starting experience, it doesn’t have the ground-breaking sandbox experience at the other side of the shit covered rainbow.

Otherland Review - MMOCeption?Combat was bland and sometimes annoying.

Anyways, I probably spent two hours total in the starting quest line. This is a non-stop, no-voice acting, repetitive kill-quest infested, rage-inducing experience that almost made it impossible for me to continue playing. In all honestly, and I hate saying this, if it hadn’t been for the fact that I was playing the game to review it I would have stopped playing, uninstalled, and never took another look at the series. However, because it’s my job to play the game I stuck through it as much as I could. I convinced a friend who was a fan of Ready Player One and enjoyed the idea of various types of virtual worlds you could play in that Otherland presents, but he couldn’t play for more than thirty minutes before he did exactly what I described above. It’s a sad fact that this game needs A LOT of work, and I’m hoping the developers can manage to repair this before too many people try it out and decide the game isn’t worth a try.

Conclusion

Otherland has more than its fair share of issues. As it stands, I imagine that 99% of the people that try the game out will simply stop and pass the game over after they’ve spent less than an hour in the starting experience. The 1% that stays will be a mixture of hardcore fans of the series and a small population of people who have wills of steel and a very unique taste in MMORPGs. I’ve been railing on the games starting experience all throughout this review, but I’ve got to admit that it DOES get better. Unfortunately, many people will still quit before they get a chance to see it get better.

Features: 3/5 – Some neat features, like u|Space and u|Space invasion, but overall a generic MMO experience.

Customization: 3/5 – Just enough, but not much.

Graphics: 5/5 – One of the best looking games I’ve played.

Controls: 2/5 – Frustrating.

Community: 4/5 – A strong core of hardcore fans of the novel series means that the game will probably always have a playerbase.

Overall: 3/5 – It’s a game that has a ton of potential, but poor execution. We can only hope the developers will continue to improve the game. It took Wurm Online almost a decade to get to a releasable state, and it was essentially alpha-state for much of its life. I feel like with enough love and care, Otherland would have the potential to follow the same path. The problem is whether or not it will be able to receive that love and care.

 

Otherland Screenshots

Shards Online: Ambivalent but Hopeful

2016-09-29 15_47_35-Shards Online

Shards Online is an interesting beast. I’ve spent a little time, creating characters over and over again. Partially because I’d forget what server I was on, input the same name I was using, and my character would be gone. I think that was less “player-wipes” and more “I keep logging into different damn shards and not realizing it”. The idea behind it is that you make your own fun, make your own exploration. It’s very player-driven, very skill-based progression system.  With Shards, you can craft your own MMOs with your own rules, creating the world you want to play in, and play with others in. When I looked at it though, I felt like I had been taken back in time. Back to the era of Fallout 2, Ultima: The Black Gate/False Prophet and other 256 VGA graphics PC games. I don’t hate how it looks though, don’t get me wrong. But I do feel visually speaking the graphics are a little out of date. Though once I thought about this a bit more, I realized that it would allow for many users to utilize the game engine without requiring a powerful PC. So, kudos Citadel. One of my big fears is replayability though. How much creative power and how deep you can make your stories really will be a factor there. Not to mention we have to ask “just how much work is going into it” and “How long will the stories be?”  Is there going to be an overarching story on all of the Shards? I kind of wish I had access to the creation suite so that I had these answers. But I’m sure time will tell.

2016-09-29 16_00_20-Shards Online

But I still sort of find myself ambivalent. I love the concept of players having their own shards and creating their own worlds but I have to wonder, will there be a limit? Say a million people are playing and they all have their own shard. . . is there a limit? Can each player have one? Will there be an additional cost in addition to the purchase of the game? Will players have to host it themselves? I have a lot of questions in that regard. I also wonder just how big a shard is going to be, in acreage. Will I be able to invite my friends to mine or are they going to have an IP address to connect to? Each time I played they were pretty quiet so I didn’t really get a good feel of the community, but from reading across reddit/other forums, it’s been a good experience. But what I do like is the ability to create the world you want. To make the skills and experience that you want other players to be absorbed in. In most of the shards I traveled, the characters were very bland and uncreative. Like “John the Miner” or “Smith the Guard”. Again, not a criticism, definitely something I noticed though. And I imagine the owner of a shard can God-Mode and just be infinitely powerful. Sure, that would turn off the average user, but all you have to do is not go back!  While I personally was not emotionally invested in the game, I had no story to grasp to. I’m looking forward to seeing what people do with it though. You can create fantastic tabletop experiences for online communities that you’d normally see in D&D/etc. So while I’m emotionally and intellectually ambivalent, the notion that so much creative control is given to the players is fantastic. I don’t have the patience to do that level of world building but I cannot wait to what is developed in its suite.

Hired Ops

Hired Ops is a fast-paced action packed online first-person multiplayer shooter. Choose a specialization and go to war against rival mercenary groups for global supremacy, available for Microsoft Windows.

Special Operations: First in and out is the heavily armored Stormtrooper; dealing constant damage per second is the Destroyer; running and gunning is the Scout; and controlling the battlefield from afar is the Sniper.

World Domination: Face opposition in a variety of locations such as the bitterly cold article circle, or the desolated and abandoned village.

Train to Gain: Invest skill points and credits to further upgrade a battle-hardened veteran.