Comments on: Brainwaves From Beta: Champions Online

By: Blast Hardcheese

Blast Hardcheese — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 17:26:34 +0000

@ Wulf

I think you’re just being hard on him because he’s not part of the regular Hivemind.

By: Ironsides00

Ironsides00 — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 15:02:29 +0000

One of the things that makes other mmos super dull to me is that as you level, it takes longer and longer to kill a single mob. I get bored fighting the same monster for 5 minutes straight. I also get bored of being in the same “role” constantly. Sometimes I don’t feel like being a tank and I wanna do some damage. I like that in CO I don’t have to be stuck in a single role, and that I can kill a mob in like 10 seconds even at higher levels. I also like the idea of choosing what stat is primary and affects my damage output. Yeah it’s a tough choice, but that means it IS balanced. I am relieved to finally find an mmo like this. And BTW, the OPTION of grouping is loads of fun and much preferable to hitting that level 20 mark and being able to do nothing without a group.

By: armlesscorps

armlesscorps — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 14:44:31 +0000

Succubus Nancy I love your post

By: Sakujo

Sakujo — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 07:52:44 +0000

The game is just too fun for me, I pre-ordered it and can’t wait to start playing tomorrow.

By: Wulf

Wulf — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 18:10:19 +0000

@Grouping out of the gate.

I was doing that, even in the tutorial area. I don’t know whether it’s because of the odd were-creatures/therians/furries stick together mindset, but as a werewolf I had a surprising amount of group invites from characters who went down a similar path. I did the starting area with one new character alongside some Tiger bloke.

Of course, it could also be that Champions Online players are just extremely friendly and group-happy, rather than it being down to the above hypothesis. After all, this was true in City of Heroes. Anyone remember the groups of high level heroes who’d hang around in the safe-camps of dangerous areas and fight off trains of mobs chasing lower-levelled heroes in danger, and heal them up/buff them too?

I do.

But yes, I can’t imagine what might make a character in Champions Online unpopular, though I have noticed that the soulless clones of comic book heroes have trouble, because I think the majority just aren’t impressed by the lack of imagination (considering the amazing things the character creator can do).

All those Supermen, Lobos, Wolverines, and so on are probably going to have more trouble than most. I mean, I don’t want to be in a group with clones because… well… oh, what fun.

Sorry.

So yeah, grouping seems to be healthy in Champions Online, and a friend will be joining me soon too, so I’ll probably be running through the starter area with him, it’s all good fun.

@Dobs

I find that reviewer incredibly dubious at best…

I say this because the way he speaks of the game shows that his opinion comes primarily from closed beta, rather than open. And there are two problems with this:

1) Many of the things he talks about have already been rectified by Cryptic, even by open beta, or are being actively worked on.

2) Closed beta only had tiny play parcels, and it would’ve been impossible to formulate an opinion on a game based upon the short, timed, bi-weekly playtests that he’s built this review around.

And despite that, he says he’s gotten his opinions from ‘a beta of the game’, instead of ‘I formulated the majority of my opinion of the game based on short, bi-weekly playtests in the closed beta. Where the game was still being actively developed by Cryptic, and it’s fair to consider that my experiences will differ from those playing the more finished, polished open beta’.

I find any reviewer who does this questionable, to say the least. And he’s not the only one I’ve seen to do this, there are other examples of this out there (in comments and reviews), and it’s happened to other MMOs as well.

One day, developers will learn to include a clause in their agreements that reads: “You will not review the closed beta, even after the NDA has lifted.”

By: LeCrasseux

LeCrasseux — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 14:11:47 +0000

This game ownz :p

By: Succubus Nancy

Succubus Nancy — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 08:24:54 +0000

In Warcraft I was warlock Bethwyn’s minion. In Age of Conan I was demonologist Reshet’s minion. I ain’t no one’s minion anymore thanks for my freedom Cryptic!

By: Gabbo

Gabbo — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 07:45:11 +0000

I just can’t get over the fact that I LOVED playing an MMO with a GAMEPAD. Being a long time PC gamer and MMO veteran, I would have laughed at such a thought a mere month ago. After playing the open beta, I found the combat to be an absolute blast with the gamepad. The analog movement and the redefinable keys made for extremely fun combat. It was like playing a beat-em up single-player game in an MMO environment.

This game is a no-brainer to me since I loved CoX, but couldn’t stand the grind any longer. I was dying for the next step in Superhero RPG goodness.

I have no doubts that it will become a great long standing MMO (at least I hope so, because I signed up for the lifetime sub). The only thing that worries me is that Bill Roper is involved with the game.

By: Doctor Mobius

Doctor Mobius — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 00:02:42 +0000

I have to say that overall my experience in the beta has been positive. I will admit the team dynamic is a bit lackluster, although I only played to level 15, because I kept making new characters to try.

What I did see however was very rapid change and improvement based on player feedback. This game has an amazingly solid core, a fun interface, and of course killer character customization. With their record so far for fast responses to customer feedback, I imagine if the biggest complaint is that the game needs more team content, then that will be in the first update we see.

More than anything else, I think “Statesman” has learned from his own mistakes in city and instead of trying to adapt his players to fit his idea of the game, he’s learning to adapt his game to fit the players.

In short, I think the game is good and will continue to get better.

By: Blast Hardcheese

Blast Hardcheese — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 21:31:06 +0000

ARRRR! Thar be trolls in these here waters. AVAST! OFF THE PORT BOW! “Maybe all of you should stick to COH and WOW till champions and star trek online kills em both. Try a faster computer to improve performance. To the guy who wrote the article get out and get a life. Champions rules!”

I lol’d.

By: David

David — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 21:19:07 +0000

I like the game. I like the ability to choose from different powersets (the lack of which pretty much killed CoX for me).

Travel powers are very cool.

I played solo and grouped, although group with the wrong person and, as in any mmo, you’re looking at a world of hurt. :)

Bought the lifetime sub, and am looking forward to launch.

Cheers
D

By: Paulie

Paulie — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 17:54:55 +0000

Coming from other MMO’s that simply burned me out after extended play and required grouping (wow, war, aoc), I found CO to be quite fun and addicting. The character creation is pretty sweet and the story lines are great for those of us who want a story in a game, not just a “go here and kill this many X” for no good reason pertaining to the story lines. I thought the lore behind the game was pretty well developed (but I don’t mind reading a lot, in fact, I quite enjoy it).

I wasnt sure I’d buy the game because there are some little nuances that were apparent, like NPC pathing and the robust graphics that require a stellar system to run at decent FPS, but I know that Cryptic is a good developer and, as with most MMO’s, the game evolves as time moves along.

(I had to tweak the graphics down to minimum, then inch each setting one at a time to get a balance between frame rate and eye candy. I suggest turning OFF the “Comic Outlining”, and adjusting some of the smaller impact effects. Adjust to your own liking.) But Im running at x 1050 (windowed), with most settings at medium-low, and pulling about 25-45 FPS. Any lower in the settings and I wouldnt buy it right away. Looks like I need to upgrade my system some time soon. ahh, the eventual ‘push’ to do so.

Sys specs:
nVidia 9800GT 1GB Ram
Intel Core2Duo E6600 (2.4ghz)
4GB DDR2 @ 800mhz
Seagate 7200 RPM Sata w/ 16MB buffer
Gigabyte EP45-DS3L Mobo
Vista Premium.
Latest Drivers.