The Secret World

[Mharvey]

I feel either name (EA or Funcom) is sorta company nongratta. I've made this point before, so apologies for getting repetitious... but even if EA wasn't writing checks and assuming they aren't interfering, Funcom itself still has a terrible track record for rushing incomplete MMOs out the door.

I just can't see something published by EA and made by Funcom ever filling that "fresh" role. After all, Age of Conan looked *fantastic* for the first 20 levels. Turns out, that's where 80% of their design went. By the time you were at 50, it was a miracle if your level 50 story quest actually worked.

But, for what it's worth, I hope you're right. I'd love a fresh MMO. I won't be buying launch day, but sing its praises a couple of months down the line and I'll probably jump in the pool.

 

[defcon6000]

I don't blame you for waiting; I'm debating with myself if I want to jump in or stay back and see how it turns out. I had a lot of fun playing the beta, and after he first night of the beta weekend, they did shut down for a couple of hours to fix any bugs addressed, so they seem to be on top of things. But... there's always room for doubt. Plus, MMO's are so time-consuming.

 

[efkelley]

I think I said it earlier, that the non-fantasy setting was intriguing. Pretty much anything that isn't sword&sorcery gets a look from me these days. But the EA connection makes it a wash, especially at launch.

I'm with you guys. I'll give it a few months, wait for the reviews, and decide based on that. Totally not paying anything near launch price though.

 

[LOG]

Well EA is only publishing the physical version, you can buy the digital version from Funcom and EA won't get a dime (directly from you anyways)/

 

[efkelley]

Hmm. You make a good point, Sir Log of Logistania. Hmm.. Well, I'll give it a bit. Folks are kind of 'eh' on it at the moment. Let's see what happens in three months. Lots of things popping in the next couple of months. I'm not so tired of the current batch as to need something right now.
(Liar!)
(Quiet, you.)

 

[Mharvey]

Funcom CEO Resigns Position 24 Hours Before Secret World Launch.

While he didn't quit the company, I don't care what kind of spin they put on that... that's a bad freaking sign.

 

[LOG]

Funcom CEO Resigns Position 24 Hours Before Secret World Launch.

While he didn't quit the company, I don't care what kind of spin they put on that... that's a bad freaking sign.

That's possible, or it could just really be that he wants to go work on other projects.

 

[Mharvey]

That's possible, or it could just really be that he wants to go work on other projects.

I guess, but if that was the case, he couldn't have waited until two weeks after release - or even two days? This announcement can only negatively effect initial sales.

IMHO: he just pulled an Alan Smithee on TSW.

 

[defcon6000]

I'm going with what LOG said. It doesn't mean "bad news" that the CEO stepped down, only that he wanted to end his position on a high note. It's not like all the game developers up and quit, hanging their heads in shame.

 

[Wiskel]

This is surprisingly good so far.

I caved on firday night and bought a digital download. i resisted any of the optional extras.

I'm playing a templar (I'm english) and they haven't kicked me out for not having as bad a cockney accent as theirs yet. I'm still low level so haven't ventured past the first quest area. I had a bit of a go at healer but backtracked and went for the mage as it's easier to learn the game when I have a couple of spells to kill monsters with, as the skill and ability levelling system took a few advancements to get my head around.

It's got better as I've understood it more, and the first questing area is great. I feel suitably powerful, (and badass) wearing a hoodie and setting zombies on fire in a moody seaside town that wouldn't look out of place in Silent Hill. The missions are all pretty good storywise, although it's a bit wierd I can't load up on 30 and go blitz the town. It has a strange system for getting you to concentrate on one major mission at a time but that helps the story. So far, not one mission I haven't enjoyed.

There's still a few parts of the game i'm clueless on, like crafting, and i haven't fully understood the powers system, but this morning the game recomended I get my mage a shotgun with the promise of a new, better hoodie if i did, and what's not to like about that?

Funniest thing was watching a stream of people ask over general chat if the game really expected them to learn morse code for one of the quests and watching people reply that it did. I think i'm going to like quests like that.

Can't comment on anything beyond the opening few hours, but it's a lot better than i expected.

Craig

 

[defcon6000]

Free weekend to play!!! In honor of their one month anniversary. Also, they'll be fireworks.

 

[efkelley]

Thanks for the heads up! Was just looking for something to do.

 

[efkelley]

So, I went Templar and this writing isn't bad! Sonnac is quite the character. I'll have to do characters for the other two organizations and run through their tutorials just to see what they're like.

 

[OC-138]

I wont say no to a free game. Will have to check it out

 

[defcon6000]

It really is a great game. It's less of a grind and more about exploring the world, discovering weird mysteries. Right now I'm playing Dragons on server Grim (couldn't resist the name ), trying out a hammer/shotgun build.

 

[efkelley]

Liking a Templar Magus build the most at the moment. I gather that the decks are just to give us ideas to work towards so that you don't gimp yourself while gathering up points. I'd guess that in the later game we'd have multiple builds constructed to face different critters and do different challenges.

The crafting needs a FAR more comprehensive tutorial than what's in game. I found a devblog on it, and it makes a lot more sense now. It's always funny to find everything perfectly explained out there on the web. I want to tap the devs on the shoulder and say 'You see that? Those words right there should be in the game.'

 

[defcon6000]

Now with rocket launchers!

(When I get through all my other games, and assuming I don't fall pray to sims3, I'll probably sink my teeth in this.)

 

[WritingIsHard]

I just bought it a week ago and I'm having a blast with it. The world looks very cool, the ability point system is very interesting, and I love the quests. Even the ones that do turn out to be "kill X monsters of Y type" (I only found one so far, and I'm almost through the starting location) give you a good reason for it. Also the monsters are sufficiently challenging without being too hard. You can always run away if you're out of your depth... And as you get too cool for some of the mobs it's still very satisfying to cut down several of them in two great sweeps

Is anyone from AW still playing?

 

[LOG]

I have it on my desktop, but my time is oriented more towards GW 1 and 2 ATM.