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Xanaki
Ghost of Asheron
Joined: 07 May 2002
Posts: 398
Location: Helsinki, Finland |
| Asheron's Call 2 NDA has been officially lifted. |
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I just read this on our Beta forums:
NDA HAS BEEN LIFTED
For the past several weeks, AC1 and AC Dark Majesty players have been actively participating in the AC2 Beta. We’d like to take this moment to offer our sincere thanks for your involvement. The Beta program depends on dedicated players to help complete AC2, and your bug reports, suggestions, and playtesting are all greatly appreciated. We certainly hope you are enjoying your early look at this incredible game!
Of course, as you romp through the world, what could be more fun than telling your friends about this experience?
Well now you can! As of today, the NDA (non-disclosure agreement) is officially lifted. AC2 Beta participants are free to discuss all the fun and excitement they’re having anywhere—including on public message boards. Arrange to meet up with friends in-game, debate the finer points of the Beta—whatever you wish!
So, if you have questions, start asking them 
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=Moderator of General MMORPG talk forum=
Senior Editor @ www.mmorpgdot.com |
Fri Aug 30, 2002 7:40 am |
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Ekim
Eagle's Shadow
Joined: 27 May 2002
Posts: 2365
Location: Montreal, Canada |
| Re: Asheron's Call 2 NDA has been officially lifted. |
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quote:
Originally posted by Xanaki
So, if you have questions, start asking them
ok, so how is the game??? hehehe!
_________________
=Proud Father of a new gamer GIRL!=
=Member of The Nonflamers' Guild=
=Worshiper of the Written Word= |
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Fri Aug 30, 2002 2:31 pm |
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Hexy
High Emperor
Joined: 28 Jun 2002
Posts: 621
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How is the game?
Tell us some about it, your general impressions, etc.
_________________
Like some bold seer in a trance;
Seeing all his own mischance |
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Fri Aug 30, 2002 4:29 pm |
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Ammon777
Warrior for Heaven
Joined: 20 Apr 2002
Posts: 2011
Location: United States |
EDITed: My questions are:
1) how customizable are the character avatars? can you change the eyes, nose, chins, cheeks, arms, legs, ect?
2) how big is Dereth now? i remember it was HUGE in AC1... is it as large or larger? i love big worlds (btw, DAoC is small compared to AC1)
3) how much variety is in the spell system? are there so many spells that you get flustered at trying to decide which ones you should use at any given moment? i hope so
4) how many different kinds of monsters are there?
5) how intelligent are the monsters' A.I.? are they stupid like in AC1, or are they smarter now?
6) what is the weather system like? snow? rain? sleet?
7) is combat exciting? challenging? rewarding?
 is there an auto-map function? can you view the entire worldscape somehow?
more questions on the way...
and thanx ahead of time! i am hoping this game tides me over until SWG 
Last edited by Ammon777 on Fri Aug 30, 2002 5:10 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Fri Aug 30, 2002 4:47 pm |
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Bach & Baroque
Village Leader
Joined: 02 Jul 2002
Posts: 86
Location: United States |
Yes, yes, impressions, impressions ... must have them! Please.  |
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Fri Aug 30, 2002 5:04 pm |
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Nietchse
Village Dweller
Joined: 12 May 2002
Posts: 5
Location: Distant Universe |
1) how customizable are the character avatars? can you change the eyes, nose, chins, cheeks, arms, legs, ect?
2) how big is Dereth now? i remember it was HUGE in AC1... is it as large or larger? i love big worlds (btw, DAoC is small compared to AC1)
3) how much variety is in the spell system? are there so many spells that you get flustered at trying to decide which ones you should use at any given moment? i hope so
4) how many different kinds of monsters are there?
5) how intelligent are the monsters' A.I.? are they stupid like in AC1, or are they smarter now?
6) what is the weather system like? snow? rain? sleet?
7) is combat exciting? challenging? rewarding?
is there an auto-map function? can you view the entire worldscape
somehow? "
1-You can select hieght/build/head/hair/tatoos/skin color and clothing.Characher creation is very limited and each one only has 5-10 options.
2-I would say AC2 is about half the sze of the old Dereth.
3-Spell selection is poor and it is dependant on the skill tree you take and race.AC 2 does not offer anywhere near the spell selection AC 1 did.
4-There are quite a few but not quite as many as AC1.For some reason they have included some really silly monsters such as the ever popular rat man and a variety of insects.Monster do look very nice though.
5-Monster AI is improved but its still buggy at the monment.Its a step in the right direction but by no means extrodinary AI.
6.There are a variety of wheather effects rain/snow/fog etc.. and it all looks very nice..
7.Combat is extremely dull and dumbed down immensely for AC 1.Combat consists of target monster hit speacial attack when the monster glows yellow rinse wash repeat.Combat is a step down from AC 1 where you could use tactics and the enviorment to your advantage.Also gone are the days of tanking swarms of mobs AC 2 has color coded mobs ala EQ Daoc which i think detracts from the game immensely.You no longe rfeel the power and accopmlishment like you did in AC.For me combat is deffinatly the most dissapointing part of the game it has been dumbed to the point of just plain boring.Combat is merely a roll of the dice and cross your fingers and hope you win or know when to run.
8.Yes there is a world map that you can bring up and zoom in on. |
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Fri Aug 30, 2002 11:33 pm |
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Ammon777
Warrior for Heaven
Joined: 20 Apr 2002
Posts: 2011
Location: United States |
Over-all to me AC2 sounds very much like a "better graphics, worse gameplay" version of AC1. I dont think I will buy it, since from what I have heard it is just a big disappointment. There are better games coming out anyway, like SWG, Dragon Empires, EVE, et cetera. But that's just my opinion.  |
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Sat Aug 31, 2002 12:17 am |
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Nietchse
Village Dweller
Joined: 12 May 2002
Posts: 5
Location: Distant Universe |
My initial impression for playing for a few weeks is deffinatly disapointment.They seem to have thrown out everything that made AC fun and unique and mixed in ideas from other games with a few new changes that are for the most part poor at best.For a next generation MMORPG i was expecting something new and exciteing and all AC 2 is beautiful graphics with poor gameplay/rehashed ideas and over simplified mechanics.
They seem to have gone the EQ/Daoc route to cash in instead of making a truely revolutionary game.They had a good base with AC and learned alot to bad it was all thrown out the window in favor of a game that resembles Diablo II/EQ /Daoc thrown into a blender.The only thing that remains of AC are the Lore and a few monsters and some scattered landmarks.
The game is still in beta but the mechanics and gameplay seem pretty set in stone and are unlikely to change.If they plan on a succesful Nov/Dec release they have a lot of work ahead of them and need to start communicateing with thier testers.The beta forums have to be the worst i have ever seen in a beta suggestions and opinions go unoticed.There is slim to none developer interaction with there testers.No disscussions between players and developers for insight.All thats there is a *Moderated Board* with a few posts by the devs that are poor and little if any feedback from them is ever seen.In its current state AC 2 does not look promising to me in the least bit. |
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Sat Aug 31, 2002 12:37 am |
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Hexy
High Emperor
Joined: 28 Jun 2002
Posts: 621
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Oh...
So EQ is still the best thing then...
_________________
Like some bold seer in a trance;
Seeing all his own mischance |
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Sat Aug 31, 2002 6:07 am |
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Bach & Baroque
Village Leader
Joined: 02 Jul 2002
Posts: 86
Location: United States |
 Well, if it's got some Diablo in there, and with beautiful 3D graphics as you've admitted, it can't be that bad ... In fact, it sounds quite delicious to me!  |
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Sat Aug 31, 2002 4:39 pm |
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The Omen
High Emperor
Joined: 01 Jul 2002
Posts: 489
Location: Greenville,SC |
Umm, release date anyone?
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Nothing is impossible... for me!!
The funniest site ever! |
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Sun Sep 01, 2002 5:55 pm |
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Ammon777
Warrior for Heaven
Joined: 20 Apr 2002
Posts: 2011
Location: United States |
I am downloading the AC2 client from fileplanet to give it a shot. I should not judge a game before I play it, hence i am going to try it before commenting on it. |
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Sun Sep 01, 2002 11:38 pm |
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vaticide
Put food in here
Joined: 21 Feb 2002
Posts: 1122
Location: One step behind a toddler bent on destruction. |
I would be downloading it off of Fileplanet, but I am not going to pay to subscribe just so I can pay a beta. Frustrating...
-vaticide |
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Mon Sep 02, 2002 12:18 am |
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Ammon777
Warrior for Heaven
Joined: 20 Apr 2002
Posts: 2011
Location: United States |
OK now i know firsthand that AC2 sucks, so here is my verdict:
1) gameplay -- 1 out of 10, terrible
2a) graphics -- 8 out of 10, dragon empires and SWGs have better grafix
2b) hardware dependency -- 1 out of 10, YOU NEED AN AWESOME MACHINE
3) avatar diversity -- 2 out of 10, crappy
4) skills diversity -- 1 out of 10, shallow
5) login process -- 0 out of 10, i logged on a total of 2 times
6) beta-testers opinions -- 3 out of 10, most are complaining
7) company feedback -- 0 out of 10, nonexistent
combat system -- 2 out 10, boring, dull, you name it, i'll say it
Overall: i give AC2 a score of 2 out of 10 -- this game sucks
Solution: go buy SWG, EVE, even SB, or Dragon Empires; skip this one!
Why? because it is not "revolutionary," IT IS A STEP BACKWARDS for MMORPGs -- it is a new leveling treadmill -- merely AC1 with Better Graphics, Shallow and Worse Gamplay, AND A VAIN COCKY COMPANY BACKED BY MICROSOFT (that is who funded the graphics engine) who fired all its good employees and then begged them to come back again. For What? i ask.  |
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Tue Sep 03, 2002 12:17 am |
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Xanaki
Ghost of Asheron
Joined: 07 May 2002
Posts: 398
Location: Helsinki, Finland |
quote:
1) how customizable are the character avatars? can you change the eyes, nose, chins, cheeks, arms, legs, ect?
What you can customize depends on your race. Generally: you can only change the face, hairstyle, tallness, color of clothes, color of hair, tail style. Much less customable than AC1.
quote:
2) how big is Dereth now? i remember it was HUGE in AC1... is it as large or larger? i love big worlds (btw, DAoC is small compared to AC1)
Land mass is smaller but believe me there are *A LOT* to explore. The world is much more detailed and much more packed up with stuff. Atleast I like it this way.
quote:
3) how much variety is in the spell system? are there so many spells that you get flustered at trying to decide which ones you should use at any given moment? i hope so
There are many spells but it is NOT so versatile as in AC1. Although the spell system is something I do not like. Spells, like any other skill, are trained in the skill tree. The more higher level you are the more choises you have to select from the skill tree. It's quite exactly like in Diablo II except there are no "classes" and each character can specialize in multiple skill trees.
There are three main skill trees + passive skills. Melee, Ranged and Magic. Each new character starts with the lowest skill trained in there, once you reach the next level you can choose which skill tree to raise. Every race has their own skill trees and every basic type of skill tree has multiple specialisation paths, multiple trees. Eg. magic user can select a magic skill tree from like 3 different ones.
quote:
4) how many different kinds of monsters are there?
I believe not all are in yet, but there still are many of them.
quote:
7) is combat exciting? challenging? rewarding?
Every type of combat is similar. Magic, melee and ranged. You have a basic auto attack granted by your item + you have your special attacks that you gain once you reach higher in the skill trees.
You initiate the autoattack by entering combat mode with a hostile target. Melee starts to swing their swords/etc., mages start to cast a damage spell (YES it comes automatically and is repeated automatically!), archers start to shoot with their bow. Any time you can activate your special attack styles (for mages they are spells, for melee they are attack styles etc.)... If the target is vulnerable (it is visible around the target) the special style does far more damage than if the target is not vulnerable, so timing is the issue.
It will be VERY odd at first when you come to this system after AC1. I really HATED it. It removes all choises I had in AC1... but after a while many will like it.
It is much more action packed now.
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=Moderator of General MMORPG talk forum=
Senior Editor @ www.mmorpgdot.com |
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Tue Sep 03, 2002 11:14 am |
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