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Installed... Tried Combat... Uninstalling

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Nov 19, 2008 zamzx zik link
What's your name in-game? I could show you around.
Nov 19, 2008 Tenet_GWP link
Tenet, and that's not needed yet. Someone is always there to answer the few questions that arise.
Nov 19, 2008 zamzx zik link
By 'show you around' I mean "Beat the living daylights out of you' ;)
Nov 19, 2008 Forboding_Angel link
Yar TWP is right in this regard... Youtube fails in many respects. Especially for instruction.
Nov 20, 2008 Puciek link
If you plan to learn VO pvp from videos then you fail sir. There is only one way to learn - get soemone to show you some moves and then practice, practice, practice and practice some more.
Nov 20, 2008 incarnate link
The point of the video suggestion was not for instruction, per se, but rather to demonstrate what is possible. What the "real" game is all about, that new players can aspire to. Without that, they are left only with the impressions they can gather briefly during the trial, which can be meager at best. I don't disagree with the need for a "trailer".
Nov 20, 2008 yodaofborg link
I would offer to make such video's Incarnate, I can record em up-to 1900x1200 atm, if needed. I get in lots of fights, and I have trained a few in the past in at least the way of the gauss, and the way of the neutron blaster.

Hey, maybe this could be my new thing to do in VO. And as a PCC memeber, you would have full control of any vids I submit.

[edit]

Thank you Tenet for bringing this up, I also think training video's are a good idea, heres a few ghost made, hope he dont mind me posting them.

http://skv.wwwd.name/5th_Strafe.avi
http://skv.wwwd.name/Flare.avi
http://skv.wwwd.name/L_Mines.avi
Nov 20, 2008 Tenet_GWP link
Those were the only videos I found so far, and they provide a lot of information.

The only problem is they are probably hosted on a private server and will go out of bandwidth if posted publicly. I suggest uploading them as .zip files to FileFront, and linking from the Media or even FAQ.
Nov 20, 2008 Phish link
Kudos to ghost... but boy are they big!

Anyways... I've a question for you Tenet. What predetermined notions of the game did you have before you started playing? For example, did you think it was a space combat game or a space flight simulator game or a space life game, etc,?

On the original topic, combat, or rather the need for new players to be hooked by the combat, is not necessarily true. Sure combat does exist in many thing, but a lot of games also instantly throw you into a story line of some sort. The original Freespace is an example of that. I don't claim to be an expert on combat, but I do know that a story line will make people more interested.

Combat, especially with the current number of people is a little odd. I am of course, talking about B-8. I don't care who you are, it's kinda ridiculous sitting in any sector waiting for someone to come a long and shoot you... which is part of which Genka was pointing at. I think. If not, it should be. Strong Bad ftw.
Nov 21, 2008 Tenet_GWP link
Predetermined notions?

I expected all three - a space combat simulator as the backbone for a space life-game.

I expected a more balanced population and active faction warfare. A more focused world map, with less colonized planets and a wild-west kind of feel (Firefly, Independance Wars 2). Speaking of IWar - I expected graphics and interface on that level.
My first thought when looking at Navigation was that the world was waaaaayyyy too big. That there are too many systems, and that they have too many sectors. I expected three planets, several mining or military bases, and a few asteroid belt navpoints here and there - I expected that Player Interaction be an almost mandatory experience, that you would constantly run into players and compete for missions and resources.

I expected a more realistic depiction of weapons and ship designs. For example, the EC "Bus" looks believable, and so are most of the "wingless" ships in the game. But some ships look more like planes, as if designed for atmospheric combat. Bad cliche'. I actually prefer the "Pod + Weapon Platforms" look - modular manufactured designes. Look at the Star-Wars fighters from the original movies.

I expected weaponry balance similar to Terminus - Energy Weapons being limited by generation and heat, and a heavier emphasis on Ammo based weaponry. I also expected most weapons to not differ much in velocity, just power - which allows rookies to get used to the proper combat dynamics.

I also expected more effort into immersion on the "Space Life" portion of the gameplay - with a mix of generic and special content. I don't think that a "Main Storyline" is necessary to hook a person into an MMO, but better scripted special missions can be a good start. Short stories can be very involving, and reading about community generated content - that is what I imagined.

I expected less artificial grind - with character progression being primarily in the field of "reputation" and "wealth", and was severely discouraged by the "combat training" missions (killing hundreds of bots with little story or reason, just dry repetition - aka grind).

What I see is an ambitious and scattered effort at achieving the impossible, that fails to seize the opportunity to provide an immersive experience. I see a strong community of enthusiasts that is largely satisfied with the direction of the game and are content with what they have.
Nov 21, 2008 Ghost link
I've been thinking of making another trailer using a bunch of footage from nation wars to illustrate the kind of combat that vo is capable of. Unfortunately, I can't really afford a subscription right now, so it's on the back burner.

The trailer that we made a little while ago kind of gets that side of VO across, be it in a flawed sort of way. But that and the other videos tend to get lost or only exist in low quality versions.
Nov 21, 2008 Dr. Lecter link
Ghost, I have an extra 2 yr sub that hasn't even been logged on yet (not Lecter account). Shoot me an email (Dr.LecterVO@gmail.com) if you're interested.
Nov 21, 2008 Agrajag link
Tenet, you make good arguments and much of what you are pointing out has been discussed in some form or another in the suggestions section of the forums. VO is still and ongoing project for the devs as they are only 4 of them. VO also has not come about like most typical games you see developed. I would not call their efforts "scattered", but rather doing more through hard work and ingenuity with much less resources than most mmos and mmorpgs that make it to market. I would say you are correct on the "ambitious" part. I don't know if you have had a chance to read this article, but it is a good read that may give you some insight that you didn't have before.

http://ncfc.taloncrossing.com/qa.html

I hope that you find VO enjoyable enough to keep your sub, but if not, that is highly understandable. There are certain games that folks just don't get into, and not everyone that tries VO likes it in its current manifestation......which includes some players that have been with VO since alpha and beta. I would prefer that you did stick around because you seem to have some good and interesting ideas that are thought out. I don't agree with all of them.

I personally like the world being as big as it is. The universe is a big place, and I think VO does a good job of creating that atmosphere. Once the devs have worked out and implemented some up-and-coming changes, I strongly believe there will be more player interaction and PvP.

In reference to balanced population and active faction warfare, this is something the devs are working on diligently. They are restructuring the faction system to balance it out more and make in more realistic in relation to the back story. In addition, they are interested in having more faction vs. faction missions, conflicts and border disputes, and that these will have an impact on the game. This is done in a minor way with CTC and border skirmishes.

As far as realistic ships and weapons, what ships you like and so on, that is more of a personal preference than anything else. I would like to see more faction/nation specific ships that only members of that faction/nation could get. I know Serco has proms, Itani have valks and so on, but it isn’t that hard for Itani to get proms and vice-a-versa.

Energy weapons are balanced by the amount of energy they use in relation to what type of battery you are using. Apparently in the VO universe, the different nations have solved the technology issue of heat. I also like how different weapons have different velocities and power as this adds another dimension to outfitting your fighter and how you fight. I guess we disagree here. :) There are a lot of suggestions on new weapons and tweaking existing weapons.

I would like to see less "grind", but it’s not really bad until you hit about level 9 or 10. Except maybe mining. Mining can be a real grind so I recommend group mining, music and beer if you want to level mining.....at least for me that is...

Anyways, hope you stick around. You seem like a decent fellow. My VO alt is Almighty Bob btw.
Nov 22, 2008 SuperMegaMynt link
If you're still reading this thread, I would like to recommend you go down to Sedina and try out a Gatling Turret, or Rail Gun. As a fresh player, you can buy many guns that you could not otherwise equip at most stations, and at any station owned by Corvus, you can equip (but not buy) many of those same guns. These weapons are very unlike anything you've probably tried before. Both are above average when it comes to accuracy, although for opposite reasons, and you can spend the rest of your VO future specializing exclusively in one or the other. Personally, I've had a lot of fun using both at the same time.
Nov 22, 2008 Ghost link
Thx for the offer Lecter! I might take you up on that when I get some more free time.