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Tera Focus Group Test 2 - Postmortem: Gameplay
TERA Focus Group Test 2 - Postmortem: Gameplay
05-10-2010 |
By TERA-
TERA Focus Group Test 2
Postmortem: Gameplay
Two weeks ago, our second Focus Group Test came to an end. We’d like to thank each and every participant who ventured into the pre-Beta world of TERA and put their hearts into testing it. Here at En Masse, we believe that your feedback is going to help us deliver an incredible MMO experience.
The moment we shut down the FGT2 servers, En Masse Entertainment began the important task of reviewing the data to determine how it went. The 60-hour test generated more than 400 forum threads of valuable feedback. We posted official threads featuring relevant questions, which also resulted in a lot of great feedback.
We’d like to share the results of FGT2 with you in a series of postmortem articles. We’ve separated the feedback into three very broad categories: gameplay, Westernization, and technology. This first piece covers gameplay.
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Gameplay
The overwhelming majority of players felt that levels 1 to 11 were well-balanced and provided a good introduction to TERA and its lore. However, feedback on levels 12 and onward was a lot more diverse. Some liked the pacing at those levels while others felt it needed improvement. We agree that there’s room to improve in this area and plan to add new quests in more centralized hubs.
Feedback regarding progression fell into four categories: equipment, items, skills, and gold acquisition. We asked testers whether they felt they received real and tangible rewards for their efforts, and feedback followed many of the same trends for each of the three categories. Gear was a hot topic: moving forward, TERA will feature more equipment items per level, new visuals for these items, and a wider assortment of item statistics. Gold seemed to be just about right, although testers noted that it was hard to tell for sure without a live, in-game economy.
The focus test results revealed that classes will need additional balancing in order to create distinct roles in parties while allowing solo play. In this early version of TERA, the most popular classes were warriors and sorcerers. Favorite races on the other hand varied widely, with the most popular being Aman, Castanic, High Elf, and Popori. The FGT2 game client limited the number of available race and class combinations, and testers indicated that they wanted more variety in this area. In future builds of TERA, your characters will enjoy more customization options, including additional race and class combinations.
Party play comments fell into three categories: incentives, bonuses, and finding a party. In one poll, 92% of testers experienced party play. Testers agreed that grouping and its social aspect are important elements of massively multiplayer online games. The focus test also confirmed that party play needs work; we’ll be making a number of improvements to the grouping system to make grouping more beneficial for players.
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Focus Group Test 2 was pivotal to the ongoing development of TERA. As we mentioned on our social network channels last week, the Development Team from Bluehole Studio visited En Masse Entertainment in Seattle specifically to discuss the results of TERA’s latest focus group test at length. Tester feedback was collated and used to help make specific recommendations to the developers and writers. All parties agreed that the testers' findings were on target and that their experiences and feedback will be invaluable in helping us Westernize and generally improve TERA.
We welcome your questions and comments on the official TERA forums. We ask that our Focus Group Testers be mindful of the non-disclosure agreement as it is still in effect.
Source tera-online
Comments
"Feedback on the game's flow was clear: playing through the Island of Dawn was a finely crafted experience, while adventuring beyond level 11 and the first major city required self-propelled exploration. Quests during the first 11 levels were easy to find and rewarding to complete. The feedback on later quest chains, however, showed that our testers sought better flow and rewards that scaled to match the increased difficulty levels. Participants agreed that quests were a viable method of leveling, and they would like even more dynamic and exciting quests. Some testers also reported that they were able to level well simply by killing monsters instead of accepting quests.
We want to make questing the optimal method of leveling. To that end, we're developing more than 1,000 quests and four times as many quest archetypes as were in FGT2. Additionally, we are evaluating and improving the geographic distribution of quests to ensure that the rewards scale to match the required level."
http://tera-online.com/news/news_view.php?seq=210&cpage=1
From part 2.
Total fail IMO.
Another Eastern WoW clone with spiffy graphics and shallow gameplay (Aion part 2!!)
Lets see. En Masse is developing a player-centric more open player-driven environment with content and features to support it while emphasizing community socialization, cooperation and involvement by addressing more dynamic and exciting quests, and addressing rewards that scale better.
That’s a bad thing?
the "westernization" and gear feedback makes me worry, hope they dont make it a "carebear" gear centric game.
now: GW2 (11 80s).
Dark Souls 2.
future: Mount&Blade 2 BannerLord.
"Bro, do your even fractal?"
Recommends: Guild Wars 2, Dark Souls, Mount&Blade: Warband, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning.
Why do people screem out for a better mmo but when one is in early development they shoot it down in flames before its even launched or played ?
To reply to your post I will quote your sig
What you've just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever read. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this thread is now dumber for having read it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.
Velika: City of Wheels: Among the mortal races, the humans were the only one that never built cities or great empires; a curse laid upon them by their creator, Gidd, forced them to wander as nomads for twenty centuries...
WoW is Half Life clone because they both play with keyboard and mouse.
Oh wait!
Aion was a wow clone? i dont think me and you played the same aion or the same wow.