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A new player's initial reaction
FlynnQ
Member Posts: 11
I did not play ATITD I or II, so when I say NEW I really mean NEW!
Let me start by saying that after about 4 hours of gameplay I am beginning to get the hang of it, and can see how a game without PVP or PVE can be enjoyable. However, if you are a hardcord FPS gamer than I doubt that you will find anything of interest here. On the other hand, if you like RPG or Strategy them this could appeal to you.
The game was developed by a much smaller team than other MMORPGs, and it shows. There is no manual. The initial quest, to become a Citizen, is meant to be a tutorial but it took me over half an hour of play, and a couple of posts on a player forum to accomplish the first, very simple, task. My problem was that I was supposed to gather slate near the shoreline. (There is lots of it) But I couldn't find any! NADA! My problem was that I expected to find it in, or near, the water's edge. After all there was other stuff there. But, for some reason, the devs made it so that when your character passes over slate a small icon at the top right of the screen appears BRIEFLY! (Unless you happen to stop right on top of it.)
However, once I had that figured out the rest of the Citizenship quest went smoothly, and I am now about 80% of the way thru it. There is talk of a manual being produced. I hope it doesn't take long. In a previous life I wrote (business) software and recall learning that the best software is that where the dev writes the manual first! Then codes the app to match up with the manual. These devs must have been working from a story line--it might have been wise to turn that into a manual before starting to code.
Ah well, if only I were the king....
Conclusion--you will either love or hate this game depending on your genre preferences. I suspect I am going to love it.
Comments
Likes:
Seemingly endless smooth world- no zones, no choke-points that connect one land to another.
You modify the landscape - you leave something behind that says "I was here", and other people will rate whether its an eyesore or something nice. This includes your house which can become rather large and intricate.
The community - I'm not usually much into the community because in most other games the community is a bunch of 'leets' and 13 year old gankers. But the people in this game are genuinely nice and helpful. Kinda takes some getting used to.
No fighting - Its a nice change. I can step away from my computer to answer the door without fear that my character will be killed by a spawn
Unscripted - Unlike other MMO's, you don't have a list of quests that always lead to other quests that lead to more quests. You do what you want instead of acting like a gopher for a bunch of NPCs
Stable economy - No money (that I've seen), and you don't farm creatures for drops that you sell to NPCs who have a seeminly infinate sum of cash and need of junk. If you need something, you trade for it. When you need something, its usually because you need it in order to make other stuff, not because you want to be 'uber'.
The Art - I'm an engineer, my wife is an artist. And yet, I'm just as drawn to the fact that you create artwork in this game to show off to others. Its really pretty cool.
No dead-end choices - Most other MMO's start of with a choice of class, and you head down a series of choices that lead you to wonder about the paths you didn't take. So, you create a bunch of alts to explore these choices. In ATITD, if you want to head down a different path that you've been going down, you can do it without starting all over. And the things that you've learned and created so far will only help you in your new path.
Research - You can contribute resources to the universities to help them research new technologies that help everyone out. Its kinda like a community based quest.
Less stressful - Its just much for relaxing and peaceful
Dislikes:
Interface - It seems like everything involves click->Bring up Menu, select item, click click click. By the end of the day your hands just hurt. I haven't found any keyboard shortcuts yet.
Inadequate access to useful information - most MMOs have this problem. You have to go to a website or keep notes to get information about something. Its particularly bad here. What did I need to study traveling? What does that do for me? If I went to the University of Architecture, would they have a new task for me at level 2? What can I learn from them? How many bricks did I need to upgrade my house? It would be nice if more information was listed about an item before you built it (what is required to build it, what does it do?)
Abandoned buildings - The landscape is littered in them.
This might help with access to usefull information:
http://wiki.atitd.net/tale3
And here's the official forums: http://atitd.net/forum/index.php?