I'm suddenly excited about this game from this article. Probably for all the wrong reasons though. I immediately thought of role-playing a serial killer in this world. No so much a "griefer," but a character that watches from the shadows, catches you alone and well you know the rest. Surely, I would be caught tried and killed, but the thrill of the hunt could make it a fun experience.
This game sounds amazing, everything i have been looking for besides not being able to build my own home (own home meaning the shape and size i want.)
The graphics / setting seems a little foreign to me, but perhaps that is a good thing, and will turn out to be one of this games strong points
Well i don't know if in Salem it will be just like H&H when it come to this, but if you only have few house shapes, the houses shape really aren't at all what make a good house or village really. If you want to prosper you need good nodes like soil, clay, water, mines with good quality metals and such very close since both stamina (water) and food is a very big part of the game. And since every craft is based on quality, you have farming and all this, baking, crafting is really the base of the game. So the home is more about ye those things around it, have to plant good quality trees to make good tools and such. So its more the surrounding that are important if you have an access to cave to mine, good farming field... So ye you definitely have a sensation that's its your home and nobody have the same as yours even if they all have the same shapes, and if you have to leave to an other one you always kind of miss the older. You can even build a village in some huge caves for example, so really there is plenty of stuff to have your home and only yours. This part of the game is really fantastic tbh, i wish more mmo had this kind of stuff.
Ps: Also you usually have to make some palissade around your claim to protect you from other with a key and land claim, so you definitly have sensation of size and shapes of your home.
I wouldn't play this game if you paid me, the barrier to entry is too high.
It's actually too low.
If there *was* a real barrier to entry, such as a subscription fee (in the least), or a charge to change names (instead of allowing a fresh start no real link to your murdering predessor once it dies) *then* they would have the PvP f**kery sorted a bit more. It being F2P is the worst invite for people to be the worst they can possibly be, with zero risk. New accounts, multi-boxing to be a one-man zerg, etc.
Nothing they can do about it though, because nobody is likely to pay for it simply because they think it's ugly. Not to mention the current demand of absolutely free entertainment these days...
Writer / Musician / Game Designer
Now Playing: Skyrim, Wurm Online, Tropico 4 Waiting On: GW2, TSW, Archeage, The Rapture
I do like the idea of real PK consequences, but having the ability to get revenge or avenge someone else even when the PKer is offline. Honestly probably the only reason some might think twice about griefing. Unfortunately any game with full open PVP and perma-death will only attract the griefing crowd. Openworld PVP is very niche in itself. Permadeath is an even smaller community of players, and noone like PVP or permadeath unless youre on the winning side. That means lots of griefing.
I personally hate PVP, but the system does have merit. Im gonna give it a shot, but the second griefing becomes the only way to play, ill be gone. Just what happens in PVP, you cant escape it.
I do like the idea of real PK consequences, but having the ability to get revenge or avenge someone else even when the PKer is offline. Honestly probably the only reason some might think twice about griefing. Unfortunately any game with full open PVP and perma-death will only attract the griefing crowd. Openworld PVP is very niche in itself. Permadeath is an even smaller community of players, and noone like PVP or permadeath unless youre on the winning side. That means lots of griefing.
I personally hate PVP, but the system does have merit. Im gonna give it a shot, but the second griefing becomes the only way to play, ill be gone. Just what happens in PVP, you cant escape it.
actually people get the wrong notion of PVP and FFA pvp.. its not that it draws any kind of crowd it just opens the door for something to do other then PVe and crafting.. alot of "pro" pvpers are actually more PvE'ers who are just bored of grinding. my self im a big crafter/pve'er but i do take part in PVP alot as well. ffa is just another form of PVP to me. like capture the flag or seige lol
greifing is really only carried out by people who are bored or just suck at pvp they single out what they feel is a "sheep" and attack only it.. hense the greifing
Interesting article, but I doubt that the author ever played Haven & Hearth (HnH) from the same developers for longer than a few days.
I just can't see how the HnH formula can work with a cash-shop, and it seems to me the developers make Salem with the same game mechanics as they did in HnH. I'd like to read an article whether Salem's game mechanics are the same as in HnH, if they are then there's little to attract "normal people".
For the record, I played HnH for about the last 6 months and it was a very enjoyable experience (graphics mean little to me), definitely a gem of a game - but it has it's pitfalls, many of them in fact. Still, every sandbox gamer should have spent some time in HnH, btw, it's completely free and has no cash-shop. In return you get lag, a few server crashes, little polish, lots of meta-gaming, little of RP-value, but you get your sandbox experience in a virtual world.
I maintain this List of Sandbox MMORPGs. Please post or send PM for corrections and suggestions.
Wait a minute! As I said in a previous post about this game, it takes being " Wiccan" or a Witch totally out of context.
I'm "Wiccan" and I just don't know what to think of this game. Last thing I want is to have the gaming world think that being a witch is to be bad and to cast evil spells and in order to level,if that is what you have to do ingame. The complete opposite is the truth!
It's like an MMO has been created that is gender specific. Witches are not just female. There are male witches too and no, they're not called warlocks.
Maybe the developers can create a "catholic" game where a player tries to become the pope and it's a male dominated society by your only being able to be a priest.
We take pride in our Salem witches and I'm not sure this game does Salem or the Wiccan community justice.
Wait a minute! As I said in a previous post about this game, it takes being " Wiccan" or a Witch totally out of context.
I'm "Wiccan" and I just don't know what to think of this game. Last thing I want is to have the gaming world think that being a witch is to be bad and to cast evil spells and in order to level,if that is what you have to do ingame. The complete opposite is the truth!
It's like an MMO has been created that is gender specific. Witches are not just female. There are male witches too and no, they're not called warlocks.
Maybe the developers can create a "catholic" game where a player tries to become the pope and it's a male dominated society by your only being able to be a priest.
We take pride in our Salem witches and I'm not sure this game does Salem or the Wiccan community justice.
Bright Blessings to you all.
I don't think that "doing justice" to the wiccan comunity is among their concerns. Their concern is make money.
Wait a minute! As I said in a previous post about this game, it takes being " Wiccan" or a Witch totally out of context.
I'm "Wiccan" and I just don't know what to think of this game. Last thing I want is to have the gaming world think that being a witch is to be bad and to cast evil spells and in order to level,if that is what you have to do ingame. The complete opposite is the truth!
It's like an MMO has been created that is gender specific. Witches are not just female. There are male witches too and no, they're not called warlocks.
Maybe the developers can create a "catholic" game where a player tries to become the pope and it's a male dominated society by your only being able to be a priest.
We take pride in our Salem witches and I'm not sure this game does Salem or the Wiccan community justice.
Bright Blessings to you all.
Yeah, and although I totally respect your stance on this, this is a period piece and things were not so accepted or understood in 1690 when they were burning people alive for such things.
As a period piece and as an RPG, you are kind of suppose to suspend your perception of the current day and get into the mood of the era you are playing in.
There would not be much atmosphere in a colonial New England rpg, if we were just to accept the Wiccan practices as they are understood today.
Originally posted by drel Wait a minute! As I said in a previous post about this game, it takes being " Wiccan" or a Witch totally out of context. I'm "Wiccan" and I just don't know what to think of this game. Last thing I want is to have the gaming world think that being a witch is to be bad and to cast evil spells and in order to level,if that is what you have to do ingame. The complete opposite is the truth! It's like an MMO has been created that is gender specific. Witches are not just female. There are male witches too and no, they're not called warlocks. Maybe the developers can create a "catholic" game where a player tries to become the pope and it's a male dominated society by your only being able to be a priest. We take pride in our Salem witches and I'm not sure this game does Salem or the Wiccan community justice. Bright Blessings to you all.
Is being a "Wiccan" the same thing as being a Wiccan? :-)
It's all about context. Witches, in the context of the game, have nothing to do with Wicca and everything to do with what people thought about witchs in the 1600's. Especially the superstitious and crazy pilgrim settlers. So...witches are gender specific. You might have Warlocks or Alchemists, but no male witches.
I can not remember winning or losing a single debate on the internet.
Good for them if they wanna cater to pure pvpers more power to them they will of course lose out on the other 95% of the mmog market but I am thinking they are aware of that and decided that this is as a pvp only game has a better chance to make them money rather than trying to compete with WoW SWTOR etc etc..Graphics don't matter much to me if gameplay is good having said that I won't touch it I do not like someone else dictating my fun in the game (pvpers).But still alot of great idea's
Wait a minute! As I said in a previous post about this game, it takes being " Wiccan" or a Witch totally out of context.
I'm "Wiccan" and I just don't know what to think of this game. Last thing I want is to have the gaming world think that being a witch is to be bad and to cast evil spells and in order to level,if that is what you have to do ingame. The complete opposite is the truth!
It's like an MMO has been created that is gender specific. Witches are not just female. There are male witches too and no, they're not called warlocks.
Maybe the developers can create a "catholic" game where a player tries to become the pope and it's a male dominated society by your only being able to be a priest.
We take pride in our Salem witches and I'm not sure this game does Salem or the Wiccan community justice.
Bright Blessings to you all.
Who really gives a flying donkey turd if they "do Salem or the Wiccan community justice"?
This game is based off the paranoia and myths surrounding Salem during that specific time. Taking offense to something that really does not care one way or the other about your "religion" is pretty stupid. Are Black people to take offense to All Points Bullitin because you can make a black character and rob people?
Screw being politically correct. Stupid is stupid, and you getting offended in any way, shape, or form about a game is just that.
Pray tell how long you have actually been a "wiccan" or is this just one of those passing hipster phases we are all so blessed to have happening in society at the moment.
this game will fail perma death is wanted by a very very very slim percentage of gamers, perma death alone will be teh downfall of this game.
If a niche game is extremely solid, it doesn't matter if it only starts with a few hundred really dedicated players. The players that stay are going to remain dedicated, so as the game improves there is nowhere to go but up.
My only concern is how much time it will take to make a capable pk'er. If people can make a free account, create a character and start killing people within a few hours, it could hurt the game's other aspects quite a bit.
I sit on a man's back, choking him and making him carry me, and yet assure myself and others that I am very sorry for him and wish to ease his lot by all possible means - except by getting off his back.
My only concern is how much time it will take to make a capable pk'er. If people can make a free account, create a character and start killing people within a few hours, it could hurt the game's other aspects quite a bit.
having watched a gameplay video it showed a guy get mugged; a clue was left behind which then put an arrow over his head pointing him to the criminal. The real mystery here for me is how can anyone possibly get away with a crime? And if every criminal gets busted then why kill or steal...or for that matter even have the system in the game?
Originally posted by drel Wait a minute! As I said in a previous post about this game, it takes being " Wiccan" or a Witch totally out of context. I'm "Wiccan" and I just don't know what to think of this game. Last thing I want is to have the gaming world think that being a witch is to be bad and to cast evil spells and in order to level,if that is what you have to do ingame. The complete opposite is the truth! It's like an MMO has been created that is gender specific. Witches are not just female. There are male witches too and no, they're not called warlocks. Maybe the developers can create a "catholic" game where a player tries to become the pope and it's a male dominated society by your only being able to be a priest. We take pride in our Salem witches and I'm not sure this game does Salem or the Wiccan community justice. Bright Blessings to you all.
I sure hope they are aware of this. Also they already have a very strong base coming from their older title that is not related at all with witches. And i think they said somewhere the witch and witch hunting part is like a game into the game and will have his own section in the game. So ye i hope they will play with that aspect, which is the really interesting aspect of those old european believes and catholicism domination over them, and not much the potion brewing and such.
My only concern is how much time it will take to make a capable pk'er. If people can make a free account, create a character and start killing people within a few hours, it could hurt the game's other aspects quite a bit.
having watched a gameplay video it showed a guy get mugged; a clue was left behind which then put an arrow over his head pointing him to the criminal. The real mystery here for me is how can anyone possibly get away with a crime? And if every criminal gets busted then why kill or steal...or for that matter even have the system in the game?
maybe there's some kind of expiration timer on the clue? If it simply points one in the right direction without naming the perp, then a timer would be sufficient, no?
Good for them if they wanna cater to pure pvpers more power to them they will of course lose out on the other 95% of the mmog market but I am thinking they are aware of that and decided that this is as a pvp only game has a better chance to make them money rather than trying to compete with WoW SWTOR etc etc..Graphics don't matter much to me if gameplay is good having said that I won't touch it I do not like someone else dictating my fun in the game (pvpers).But still alot of great idea's
Unless Salem somehow attracts a bunch of people that aren't like those who currently play Haven & Hearth (which it won't) then I doubt that the only thing people will be doing is PvP. The majority of your time will be spent crafting, farming, mining, etc. You might have trouble with griefers if you decide to play alone, but you shouldn't be playing alone.
Don't read FFA PvP and just assume that it's aimed at the PvP crowed. It's a crafting game, and that's who they're after. The people who come just to PvP or grief won't stay for very long once they find out that they'll have to put weeks of work in before they can even engage another in combat, and weeks more before they can kill them. The FFA PvP and full loot are just more grains of sand in the box to play with, not the main focus.
that does bring up an interesting point. The FFA PVP isnt the main focus of the game, so hopefully the diehard griefers will find solice somewhere else. But it really depends if the other features of the game really do take the focus. I see its billed as "The Crafting MMO", and i absolutely love crafting, but i hope it turns out to be more than gather the ingredients and hit one button to turn it into something else. If crafting, farming, building etc are your main draw points, its gotta be more involved than that. Heres hoping.
Mechanics looks good but Do they really think people will play this game with this art style? Horrible design. Even if gameplay is more important than art style there is a line, a minimun, and in my opinion they dont reach that minimun.
Comments
I'm suddenly excited about this game from this article. Probably for all the wrong reasons though. I immediately thought of role-playing a serial killer in this world. No so much a "griefer," but a character that watches from the shadows, catches you alone and well you know the rest. Surely, I would be caught tried and killed, but the thrill of the hunt could make it a fun experience.
Oh, yes you would.
Well i don't know if in Salem it will be just like H&H when it come to this, but if you only have few house shapes, the houses shape really aren't at all what make a good house or village really. If you want to prosper you need good nodes like soil, clay, water, mines with good quality metals and such very close since both stamina (water) and food is a very big part of the game. And since every craft is based on quality, you have farming and all this, baking, crafting is really the base of the game. So the home is more about ye those things around it, have to plant good quality trees to make good tools and such. So its more the surrounding that are important if you have an access to cave to mine, good farming field... So ye you definitely have a sensation that's its your home and nobody have the same as yours even if they all have the same shapes, and if you have to leave to an other one you always kind of miss the older. You can even build a village in some huge caves for example, so really there is plenty of stuff to have your home and only yours. This part of the game is really fantastic tbh, i wish more mmo had this kind of stuff.
Ps: Also you usually have to make some palissade around your claim to protect you from other with a key and land claim, so you definitly have sensation of size and shapes of your home.
It's actually too low.
If there *was* a real barrier to entry, such as a subscription fee (in the least), or a charge to change names (instead of allowing a fresh start no real link to your murdering predessor once it dies) *then* they would have the PvP f**kery sorted a bit more. It being F2P is the worst invite for people to be the worst they can possibly be, with zero risk. New accounts, multi-boxing to be a one-man zerg, etc.
Nothing they can do about it though, because nobody is likely to pay for it simply because they think it's ugly. Not to mention the current demand of absolutely free entertainment these days...
Writer / Musician / Game Designer
Now Playing: Skyrim, Wurm Online, Tropico 4
Waiting On: GW2, TSW, Archeage, The Rapture
I do like the idea of real PK consequences, but having the ability to get revenge or avenge someone else even when the PKer is offline. Honestly probably the only reason some might think twice about griefing. Unfortunately any game with full open PVP and perma-death will only attract the griefing crowd. Openworld PVP is very niche in itself. Permadeath is an even smaller community of players, and noone like PVP or permadeath unless youre on the winning side. That means lots of griefing.
I personally hate PVP, but the system does have merit. Im gonna give it a shot, but the second griefing becomes the only way to play, ill be gone. Just what happens in PVP, you cant escape it.
Brilliant! As a sandbox gamer currently playing Wurm Online and Xsyon this little gem made my day.
actually people get the wrong notion of PVP and FFA pvp.. its not that it draws any kind of crowd it just opens the door for something to do other then PVe and crafting.. alot of "pro" pvpers are actually more PvE'ers who are just bored of grinding. my self im a big crafter/pve'er but i do take part in PVP alot as well. ffa is just another form of PVP to me. like capture the flag or seige lol
greifing is really only carried out by people who are bored or just suck at pvp
they single out what they feel is a "sheep" and attack only it.. hense the greifing 
Interesting article, but I doubt that the author ever played Haven & Hearth (HnH) from the same developers for longer than a few days.
I just can't see how the HnH formula can work with a cash-shop, and it seems to me the developers make Salem with the same game mechanics as they did in HnH. I'd like to read an article whether Salem's game mechanics are the same as in HnH, if they are then there's little to attract "normal people".
For the record, I played HnH for about the last 6 months and it was a very enjoyable experience (graphics mean little to me), definitely a gem of a game - but it has it's pitfalls, many of them in fact. Still, every sandbox gamer should have spent some time in HnH, btw, it's completely free and has no cash-shop. In return you get lag, a few server crashes, little polish, lots of meta-gaming, little of RP-value, but you get your sandbox experience in a virtual world.
I maintain this List of Sandbox MMORPGs. Please post or send PM for corrections and suggestions.
Wait a minute! As I said in a previous post about this game, it takes being " Wiccan" or a Witch totally out of context.
I'm "Wiccan" and I just don't know what to think of this game. Last thing I want is to have the gaming world think that being a witch is to be bad and to cast evil spells and in order to level,if that is what you have to do ingame. The complete opposite is the truth!
It's like an MMO has been created that is gender specific. Witches are not just female. There are male witches too and no, they're not called warlocks.
Maybe the developers can create a "catholic" game where a player tries to become the pope and it's a male dominated society by your only being able to be a priest.
We take pride in our Salem witches and I'm not sure this game does Salem or the Wiccan community justice.
Bright Blessings to you all.
I don't think that "doing justice" to the wiccan comunity is among their concerns. Their concern is make money.
Yeah, and although I totally respect your stance on this, this is a period piece and things were not so accepted or understood in 1690 when they were burning people alive for such things.
As a period piece and as an RPG, you are kind of suppose to suspend your perception of the current day and get into the mood of the era you are playing in.
There would not be much atmosphere in a colonial New England rpg, if we were just to accept the Wiccan practices as they are understood today.
Is being a "Wiccan" the same thing as being a Wiccan? :-)
It's all about context. Witches, in the context of the game, have nothing to do with Wicca and everything to do with what people thought about witchs in the 1600's. Especially the superstitious and crazy pilgrim settlers. So...witches are gender specific. You might have Warlocks or Alchemists, but no male witches.
I can not remember winning or losing a single debate on the internet.
Good for them if they wanna cater to pure pvpers more power to them they will of course lose out on the other 95% of the mmog market but I am thinking they are aware of that and decided that this is as a pvp only game has a better chance to make them money rather than trying to compete with WoW SWTOR etc etc..Graphics don't matter much to me if gameplay is good having said that I won't touch it I do not like someone else dictating my fun in the game (pvpers).But still alot of great idea's
Who really gives a flying donkey turd if they "do Salem or the Wiccan community justice"?
This game is based off the paranoia and myths surrounding Salem during that specific time. Taking offense to something that really does not care one way or the other about your "religion" is pretty stupid. Are Black people to take offense to All Points Bullitin because you can make a black character and rob people?
Screw being politically correct. Stupid is stupid, and you getting offended in any way, shape, or form about a game is just that.
Pray tell how long you have actually been a "wiccan" or is this just one of those passing hipster phases we are all so blessed to have happening in society at the moment.
so exited about it, this one could be it!!
If a niche game is extremely solid, it doesn't matter if it only starts with a few hundred really dedicated players. The players that stay are going to remain dedicated, so as the game improves there is nowhere to go but up.
My only concern is how much time it will take to make a capable pk'er. If people can make a free account, create a character and start killing people within a few hours, it could hurt the game's other aspects quite a bit.
I sit on a man's back, choking him and making him carry me, and yet assure myself and others that I am very sorry for him and wish to ease his lot by all possible means - except by getting off his back.
having watched a gameplay video it showed a guy get mugged; a clue was left behind which then put an arrow over his head pointing him to the criminal. The real mystery here for me is how can anyone possibly get away with a crime? And if every criminal gets busted then why kill or steal...or for that matter even have the system in the game?
salem is a cigarette brand. the title oh this game is so un-healty. iam report this to National environement ageny.
Which FF Character Are You?
I sure hope they are aware of this. Also they already have a very strong base coming from their older title that is not related at all with witches. And i think they said somewhere the witch and witch hunting part is like a game into the game and will have his own section in the game. So ye i hope they will play with that aspect, which is the really interesting aspect of those old european believes and catholicism domination over them, and not much the potion brewing and such.
maybe there's some kind of expiration timer on the clue? If it simply points one in the right direction without naming the perp, then a timer would be sufficient, no?
that does bring up an interesting point. The FFA PVP isnt the main focus of the game, so hopefully the diehard griefers will find solice somewhere else. But it really depends if the other features of the game really do take the focus. I see its billed as "The Crafting MMO", and i absolutely love crafting, but i hope it turns out to be more than gather the ingredients and hit one button to turn it into something else. If crafting, farming, building etc are your main draw points, its gotta be more involved than that. Heres hoping.
Mechanics looks good but Do they really think people will play this game with this art style? Horrible design. Even if gameplay is more important than art style there is a line, a minimun, and in my opinion they dont reach that minimun.
Salem is also the name of a town in the USA known for its "sorcery"... Just how ignorant are you?
Anyone else see the trollface icon in the bottom right?