Blade and Soul

[risingstar3110]

Originally Posted by Jazzrat

Is this one of those fancy shmancy action RPG MMO like Vindictus & Tera?
Looking for one to try out but Vindictus isn't available outside of NA & EU and Tera thinks i'm a criminal if i m not living in NA & EU region XD

I think it's more like Aion, with skill cool down and combo

And instead of fly, it's like gliding all the way

[Vexx]

Originally Posted by Jazzrat

Is this one of those fancy shmancy action RPG MMO like Vindictus & Tera?
Looking for one to try out but Vindictus isn't available outside of NA & EU and Tera thinks i'm a criminal if i m not living in NA & EU region XD

Well, I don't consider the "hub and instance" games (like Vindictus) to actually be in the same category as immersive worlds (like TERA), so I really hope it isn't the former. Hub'n'instance games can be fun but to call them MMOs in the original Everquest sense I find a bit of false advertising.

[synaesthetic]

It's being run by NCsoft, so it's almost guaranteed to be terrible. NCsoft has the worst customer service in the universe, even worse than AT&T and Verizon combined.

[Vexx]

Originally Posted by synaesthetic

It's being run by NCsoft, so it's almost guaranteed to be terrible. NCsoft has the worst customer service in the universe, even worse than AT&T and Verizon combined.

And that is my biggest alarm bell.... NCsoft manages to make anything it touches radioactive which is sad because they've had some fair properties.

[Keroko]

Eh, GW1's support has always been pretty good for me.

Now Nexon, on the other hand, is a company I want to strangle.

[Jazzrat]

Originally Posted by risingstar3110

I think it's more like Aion, with skill cool down and combo

And instead of fly, it's like gliding all the way

That doesn't sound too promising.

Originally Posted by Vexx

Well, I don't consider the "hub and instance" games (like Vindictus) to actually be in the same category as immersive worlds (like TERA), so I really hope it isn't the former. Hub'n'instance games can be fun to call them MMOs in the original Everquest sense I find a bit of false advertising.

That's true though personally, i haven't felt much immersion from MMOs lately since my days of RPing in DAoC and SWG. I wouldn't attribute persistant world with immersion.

[Xion Valkyrie]

Originally Posted by synaesthetic

It's being run by NCsoft, so it's almost guaranteed to be terrible. NCsoft has the worst customer service in the universe, even worse than AT&T and Verizon combined.

I don't think NCSoft's customer service is that bad. They take a while compared to Western companies, but they get your stuff fixed eventually.

Unlike Nexon, which basically does not have a Customer Service department. Your tickets will be in limbo forever and they never restore accounts or money you paid even if you were hacked because of their own server security.

[Kismet-chan]

Originally Posted by synaesthetic

It's being run by NCsoft, so it's almost guaranteed to be terrible. NCsoft has the worst customer service in the universe, even worse than AT&T and Verizon combined.

I have heard a lot of bad cases about NCSoft, and I think I would agree in general that they aren't the best. But I did not have any bad experiences with them myself for the extremely short of time I played Aion back when it was P2P. A couple of my TERA guildies have also had no problems with NCSoft (and they've dealt with them for a much longer period of time than I have), so opinions will differ from person to person, of course.

Spoiler for Off-Topic:

And to be fair, I've personally had excellent customer service from Verizon over the years. I wouldn't switch to any other carrier (except maybe Sprint, because they have good customer service and cost less, but I really dislike their selection of phones). AT&T I can't comment on personally, but I haven't heard anything good about them from friends of mine. So it all depends on who you talk to.

[Vexx]

Verizon and AT&T are huge mega-corps... anecdotal evidence from either good or bad is pretty worthless as it depends on the specific call center person you get.

NCSoft has a marginal public relations track record in keeping the customers informed and in responding to serious problems - particularly with transplanted games. Are they worse than Nexon? To me that's like fighting for the bottom of the scum pond - neither one is all that great.

So what you hope for is basically a relatively stable game so you don't have to depend on customer services or the existence of GMs, etc.

[Keroko]

So, with Ncsoft behind the wheels and the growing market shift in MMO's, what are the odds of this being F2P?

[risingstar3110]

Originally Posted by Jazzrat

That doesn't sound too promising.




That's true though personally, i haven't felt much immersion from MMOs lately since my days of RPing in DAoC and SWG. I wouldn't attribute persistant world with immersion.

Yeah i was waiting for this at first, but then the earlier gameplay trailer seems to be not as promising.

Waiting got Guild War 2. And actually one more Ncsoft game: Lineage Eternal. Seems to be similar to Diablo (Or Lineage 1) but there are lots of interesting and creative mechanisms. Massive number of mobs at every spawn (like hundred easily), draw the mouse on the ground for Aoe, or throw mobs up and blow it away down the cliff for instant kills, or fire up the torches to kill ghosts. It said the investment for Lineage Eternal just in preparation state is as much as the whole budget for Blade and Soul already

[Jazzrat]

Originally Posted by Keroko

So, with Ncsoft behind the wheels and the growing market shift in MMO's, what are the odds of this being F2P?

Considering it's not a full on MMO, probably very likely to be a sub-less model. Not sure if they ll drop the box cost though.

Originally Posted by risingstar3110

Yeah i was waiting for this at first, but then the earlier gameplay trailer seems to be not as promising.

Waiting got Guild War 2. And actually one more Ncsoft game: Lineage Eternal. Seems to be similar to Diablo (Or Lineage 1) but there are lots of interesting and creative mechanisms. Massive number of mobs at every spawn (like hundred easily), draw the mouse on the ground for Aoe, or throw mobs up and blow it away down the cliff for instant kills, or fire up the torches to kill ghosts. It said the investment for Lineage Eternal just in preparation state is as much as the whole budget for Blade and Soul already

Doesnt look like there's much focus on marketing this to the non-Asia region. So far, most of the effort seemed to be focused on the Korean and China market which is understandable considering the setting of the game.

As for Lineage, it's a very very well established franchise (especially in the Korean market) unlike Blade&Soul which is a brand new IP. Not surprised to hear NCsoft putting their weight on this one.

[Xacual]

Originally Posted by Keroko

So, with Ncsoft behind the wheels and the growing market shift in MMO's, what are the odds of this being F2P?

They've been having pretty good luck with MMOs being F2P, so I wouldn't be surprised if it starts out being just a box sale and no sub like GW2.

[Vexx]

Well.. so far their actual press announcements make it sound like they're leaning toward a classic subscription model... but the translation was bad enough I wouldn't place bets on any final business model.

Personally, I *like* the subscription model with a cosmetics cash shop. Proper game design does more to mitigate gold farm/sellers to annoyance level.

[Keroko]

Since my spare time has shrunk considerably since my WoW days, I've grown to dislike the subscription model. I'd rather have a game I can play when I finally find the time without having to check whether I'm allowed to and pay up if I'm not.

[Vexx]

A "pay by the hour" scheme might be interesting and address the time available issue (perhaps it would come to $20/month if 24/7 and people who opt in monthly get a lesser rate just like the current 1/3/6/12 sub model). Of course, I have no idea whether an hourly model would sustain the game's operation and development.

[Xion Valkyrie]

All MMOs, other than TERA, are pay by hour in Korea and China. I don't think there's even box fees. Monthly subscriptions are pretty much a western thing only.

[Vexx]

So "by the hour" ... is one still billed monthly? (e.g. You played for 16 hours this month, that'll be $8 at 50 cents an hour)

[Tenchi Hou Take]

Originally Posted by Vexx

So "by the hour" ... is one still billed monthly? (e.g. You played for 16 hours this month, that'll be $8 at 50 cents an hour)

More like go to an internet cafe play for a certain period of time and pay for that time. (In fact a lot of internet cafe's in Asia make a heck of lot of money from this) or pay for how you played at home.

[risingstar3110]

Originally Posted by Tenchi Hou Take

More like go to an internet cafe play for a certain period of time and pay for that time. (In fact a lot of internet cafe's in Asia make a heck of lot of money from this) or pay for how you played at home.

Interesting, so the internet cafe fees will also including the hour subscriptions fee?

Smart business if it's the case. 50 cents more or so will be hardly recognisable. But then you still feel like no subscription