R14 Feedback - Combat Dodge, Shardfalls, & Lots

Man... every release just gets better and better!! Alrighty. Here's what really stands out to me at this moment:


Part 1: Combat Dodge (Double-Tap Left, Right, or Back while in Combat Mode)

Dodge feels pretty damn good and has at least been useful while escaping down a hall in PVP, but where are some specific gameplay moments that really challenge this player action?

This question reminded me of a moment I really enjoyed from a game called "Richard Garriott's Tabula Rasa." It was the first time I encountered a critter in an MMO that physically charged me I think. I believe it was the "Boargar."

Tabularasa.wikia.com

"Although not aggressive by nature, when threatened, Boargars will charge their victim. A threatened Boargar may emit a loud squeal before charging, calling any nearby Boargar to join the attack."​

I had a blast just fighting these little things and dodging out of the way of their charge. No giant "tell" graphic painted on the floor like most MMOs do now. Just a squeal and animation, followed by a charge that was slow enough to dodge. Beautiful.

"Tabula Rasa Hands-On" Preview on GameSpy

"One of the biggest problems MMOs have is that they never immerse you in the world," Garriott said. "You spend most of your time pressing buttons, watching the interface and waiting for a cooldown meter to finish so you can press it again." Long and Garriott refer to this kind of MMO combat as "whack-a-mole" and claim that it's a legacy of a problem faced by the Ultima Online team. Given the connection speeds of the time, it was prohibitively difficult to synch combat in massively multiplayer online space, so the team solved the problem by taking the pacing of the battle out of the hands of players. The result was the traditional "round-based" combat used by most MMOs since.​

​

The difference is that the pacing -- the "pulse" of combat -- is placed under the player's control. Players want to keep moving and utilize cover, not to mess up an opponent's aim, but because all of these effects are taken into account when the computer rolls its virtual dice. Combat is more about situational awareness and timing than either twitch reflexes or speccing out maximum DPS. Winning a fight means holding fire until various parameters snap into place that maximize the chance to inflict damage.​

This article is from 2007. It's now 2015. How's that not-whack-a-mole combat coming along?


Part 2: Shardfall Flora & Fauna
The available Shardfall is by far my favorite zone at this moment. Not for it's open PVP (which is nice) or the resources... but for it's theme. It's so refreshing to see unique, alien life in a fantasy MMO. This is a huge reason why I was so excited for Ultima Online 2 (Ultima Worlds Online: Origin) way back when. I wanted to explore that world so badly because I had no friggen clue what crazy **** I was going to run in to!

So... how about we get some of these in soon? Pretty please? Especially the Mushroom Giant?

​

Part 3: House Lots... are there any left?...

I've picked up my Row House deed and Row House Lot deed from my Bank... was super excited to test them out... but after a long day of searching... I believe every Row Lot is in use. I know we're limited in the world right now... but oh how I fear the launch land-rush.

That's all I have for now. I'm gonna go back to pre-gaming!

 

for some oddball reason they decided to let people claim 3 lots this time round, this led to a quick disappearance of available house lots, and now to make matters worse they nerfed the one decent way to make gold during a alpha/beta and the crafting system got hit with a nerf hammer so hard that no one in their right mind wants to even consider crafting, all in all this so far in my opinion is a pretty disastrous test phase so far, we really cant test anything that actually needs testing.

 

Managed to locate a vacant Row Lot in Ardoris! Woohoo!!