A Horizons Beta Review (1 Viewer)

[SarahG]

I was a beta tester in a game called Horizons that we were talking about a few months back..I wanted to share my thoughts and some screenshots as well that will helppeople get a feel for what certain elements in the game are like, such as the crafting and building interfaces and combat moves.

This game has GREAT potential, and most of the people that I played with and grouped with in game had a blast doing so and have every intention of purchasing it. In fact...we all cannot wait to meet up again in game as beta sadly ends....but thats another thought.

I spend most of my time as a warrior/blacksmith/outfitter female human (with black hair and nice looking bod I might add!!!), I did not have a tremendous amount if time to be able to explore all the classes-so i decided to just focus on a few. I concentrated on getting my skills in blacksmithing/outfitter to be able to get up and going in making tools/armor/weapson..as well as being able to get set up in the economy by making much armor for others to use...so that I could get money. In fact that was one of my more favorite parts of the game, making items, selling them, then getting money once bought from consignement and purchasing better techniques and tools that allowed for me to become stronger at what I did.

Some people in beta have mentioned multiple CTD problems..but to be honest, that never really happenned to me but twice..and that was in some of the early versions from the summertime. Perhaps its my computer.

To graphics loading, I have the similar response..I never had grey graphics or white graphics (although a friend of mine did...must be computers again..i don't know though cause I am not that versed in that area).

To the lag issue...it was there. In places worse then others..but never to me unplayable, and something that from reading recent interviews by the developement, am confident that it will be overcome.

All in all- I am buying this game and playing it when it comes out. I cannot wait.


This is everyone standing out at the consignement shop in newbie town!:

http://www.media-file.net/images/h/image001.jpg

This is a plot of land that you can buy and build on:

http://www.media-file.net/images/h/image009.jpg

Here is the blacksmithing area:

http://www.media-file.net/images/h/image011.jpg

Aughundell..the Dwarven Race Capital
http://www.media-file.net/images/h/image042.jpg

Dragon Race Town
http://www.media-file.net/images/h/image040.jpg

The clock in The Dwarven Race Capital
http://www.media-file.net/images/h/image038.jpg

Me and My Cargo Disk Mining outside of Aug (great place to mine!!!)
http://www.media-file.net/images/h/image034.jpg

Some Ruins
http://www.media-file.net/images/h/image031.jpg

The Beach
http://www.media-file.net/images/h/image029.jpg

Fighting Lesser Zombie Warrior
http://www.media-file.net/images/h/image026.jpg

Special Attack Animation
http://www.media-file.net/images/h/image024.jpg

Fighting Z little Maggot
http://www.media-file.net/images/h/image022.jpg

Undead Spawn out of Sslanis
http://www.media-file.net/images/h/image020.jpg

Town taken over by the Undead/Withered Aegis
http://www.media-file.net/images/h/image016.jpg

The streams in Tazoon
http://www.media-file.net/images/h/image004.jpg

 

[Tim Markley]

Sarah - Glad to hear that you enjoyed the Horizons beta. I, on the other hand, hated it. I think that it's one of the worst MMORPGs I've ever played. Personally, I don't care about crafting. Combat is what makes a game for me and the combat in Horizons is BORING! I may be a little spoiled since the MMORPG I've played the most is DAoC and it has a very fun combat system IMO but the combat in Horizons needs a major overhaul just to make it mildly interesting.

This game shouldn't have been released. It just may make the release of Anarchy Online look good. If you scan the official forums, there are far more negative views of the game than positive. I'm disappointed in what's happened to Horizons since I thought that it had a lot of promise. It may be a good game eventually, but I don't see that happening for at least 6 months.

 

[Romier S]

Thanks for the impressions Sara and Tim.

How did the game run for the both of you? Framerate solid? Able to run on pretty high settings? I am debating whether or not to pick this up tommorrow. Though I have plenty of reservations I make it a point to try all MMO's out there at least once. I was looking into playing a dragon but from what I've read they are horribly underpowered (DAMMIT I WANT TO FLY!)

I've recently went back to the "one that started it all" (my addiction that is) so to speak. Bought the Trials Of Atlantis expansion pack for DAOC and well, its just damned glorious to be playing again (and the new areas are drop dead gorgeous). I want to add a second one to break the monotony as I usually keep two MMO's on board at a time. After the disappointing FFXI I'm looking at Horizons but I have reservations...

 

[Tim Markley]

The game ran OK for me but throughout most of the beta the lag was very bad. Toward the end of beta it did improve but it was still bad for me in the cities when there were a lot of people. I didn't try running the game on anything higher than 1024x768 since I don't think my system would handle it. The graphics are definitely nothing special and I think that they're poor compared to DAoC.

Dragons were nerfed toward the end of beta. Lots of people were very unhappy with that.

Horizons, IMO, is a MMORPG for crafters. I don't see why anyone would play it for the combat. Since you're used to DAoC, I don't think that you'd like the combat at all. The combat in DAoC is mostly about crowd control and controlling aggro. Neither of these really exist in Horizons. I only played melee characters during the Horizons beta and the combat is very boring for melee. Click on mob and then click on "Attack". Wait for the battle to finish. That about sums it up. Sure there are special attacks and stances but none of them seemed to do a whole lot. It also didn't seem to matter what weapon damage type (slash, crush, etc.) I was using. Crush should work better against skeletons than slash but I didn't notice any discernable difference.

There are many more problems with this game but I won't go into them since they can be found on the message boards. I wanted to like Horizons but I just can't in it's current state. I'm currently thinking about going back to DAoC once again.

 

[MattBu]

Sarah-

You don't happen to work for the company that produced this game do you?

 

[Romier S]

Picked the game up today.

Haven't really played much, only played some of the tutorial stuff and certainly its not enough to begin to speak about the game. Thus far the crafting seems really interesting and I like the opening setup. Noted no lag at all in moving through the world and performance so far is great (running at 1280X960 with graphics details set to high and 2XAA and 4XAF). Currently residing on the Dawn roleplay server.

On the subject of launch, from the point of installing, to registering my account, creating a character and getting into the gameworld it all took about 10 minutes. Completely seamless, easy to do what needed to be done and only a 2-3mb patch to start with. Again I can't comment on the game but excellent job and a kudos to Artifact Entertainment for a great launch!

 

[SarahG]

Sarah-

You don't happen to work for the company that produced this game do you?

Ha no...I wish I worked for a video game company..that would be really freaking cool..why???

 

[SarahG]

Tim- Sorry to hear that your beta experience was less then pleasant..but luckily that is why there are so many choices and genres out there so that people can find the right fit..maybe for yu that will be in WoW or UXO...I liked the game because for me it was a fun community to be in. I liked the crafting a lot and making money..but I also had fun going out hunting in groups..for me I think that the combat became more of a fun social interaction where I was able to go out and play around with other people and friends and talk..ya know...

Rom..I must admit, I am no computer guru..the game ran fine for me. As I said I had some beta friends who would get really bad lag and constant CTD and memleaks as well as slow loading graphics..I honestly think that I only had maybe 3 CTDs..and often times that was because I had other programs running as well while I was playing (at least thats what I think...)

Anyways..I just got the game and loaded onto my computer...I had no problem getting on in the first try..which was refreshing to say the least. I played for about two hours, but had to take a RL break. Gonna get back on later and hope that some of my crafting items have been bought so that I can go shopping!!!

Rom...I totally agree with the Kudos to a great lauch...after the end of beta and reading boards and past launches for MMOs I was a tad bit nervous...but like you I think the time from load to reg. to in game was about 10-15 minutes..which is nothing at all IMO...

Let me know what you think of the game as you get in or if you need any advice since I have been in beta for a while.

 

[Bill MacAdoo]

Ha no...I wish I worked for a video game company..that would be really freaking cool..why???

He suspected you were a plant. A little research on his part could've answered his question without having to resort to an (in my mind) insulting semi-accusation.

 

[SarahG]

He suspected you were a plant. A little research on his part could've answered his question without having to resort to an (in my mind) insulting semi-accusation.

Yeah..that is rather insulting...obviously since he just signed up yesterday he doens't really know whats going on and such..oh well!!

thanks for clearing that up for me...i was very confused..

 

[Tim Markley]

There are definitely a lot of mixed feelings on Horizons. I really did want to like it but to me it just wasn't fun. I don't play MMORPGs to just socialize and I don't like crafting. I'm all about killing stuff. One of my friends did decide to buy the actual game just to try it out and he's gonna keep me posted with his thoughts. I might try it eventually.

 

[Sam Posten]

5 years and every game thats 'Gonna kill everquest' has been a dud. I've got high hopes for EQ2 but I'm not even sure Sony can outdo themselves, based on how ho hum SWG was.

Sam

 

[SarahG]

Yeah Tim..there are definately a lot of mixed feelings. I will tell you that I got the game on the first day...it was VERY smooth getting into it and the lag on my computer at least was non-existent. I do think that what this game is about is great and that it will turn out to be a long living game...if you have some free time, I would definately try out the new game on your friends account.

 

[Tim Markley]

5 years and every game thats 'Gonna kill everquest' has been a dud.

I don't agree with that. DAoC has been a very successful game and there's still a ton of people playing it. I enjoyed it immensely for 2 years but just got burned out on it and need something new.

Sarah - I'm still watching the Tazoon boards to see how things are going.

 

[Sam Posten]

I played DAOC for 3 months at launch. It was sooooooo boring and repetive to me.... =) If you enjoyed it, great! More power to ya, not trying to take anything away from you on that. But you have to admit that DAOC with a 3 year newer engine and having the opportunity to 'fix' all the things people hated about EQ at the time hasnt come even close to either critical or commercial success that EQ has.... Hell, EQ was making millions just on name changes! =)

I hear its better now, and so is AO. But IMO both lost their chance at greatness by being so off at launch.

DAOC was solid technologically at launch but had nothing fun to do.

AO had tons of fun stuff to do at launch but was a disaster technology wise.

When will game makers get the word that you have to have BOTH at launch?

Sam

 

[Brian E]

Glad to hear that you enjoyed the Horizons beta. I, on the other hand, hated it.

While I wouldn't say I hated it, there is a lot more I disliked than liked. I had tons of performance problems & while my machine isn't current top of the line, it's close (XP 2700+, 1 gig RAM). I will say it was one of the better run betas I've been in for a while & I've done quite a few. The game definately has potential & I wish them luck with it. I won't be getting it though, just not enough to like for me. Hopefully the lag problems have gotten better.

 

[Romier S]

I have played EQ quite a bit from launch and now with all the released expansions and I while I didn't/don't find the game very enjoyable (in fact I find its combat system downright dull and snore inducing compared to DAOC's) I respect its affect on the industry and MMO's in general. I do think I need to comment on something though...

There are MMO's out there that surpass Asherons Call in social interactivity IMHO. The afformentioned Star Wars Galaxies REQUIRES it and puts it at the top of the gameplay totem pole. I could also argue that Dark Age of Camelot is also a bastion of social gathering as I played the game non-stop for almost 14 months. Of course for you Max, nothing has yet to even come remotely close to AC. Therein lies the problem. I like to call it MMO "leap frog"

No MMO will EVER compare to the first one that hooks you. Mind you not the first one you play, but the first one that hooks you. That is truly embedded on a mental level I think.

You spend the rest of your MMO time searching for a replacement. Searching for that one game that will sink its claws into you again and make you feel that great sensation of fighting monsters in a huge explorable 3D world. Of getting together with folks online and making new friends. Being immersed in an adventure that you just dont want to let go. You've tired of the one you love and you desperately want something to take its place but inevitably you've placed that first game on a pedestal so high, honestly nothing can touch it because you have so many wonderful memories and experiences with it. Hence each new MMO comes out and you give it a whirl and a few months later (usually 3-4) you quit and move on because the experience just doesn't compare. Though to get back to my original point MMO devs continue to shovel the same fighting engine, crafting systems (ie tedium) etc..etc.. because the player continues to long for more of what they once had.

Mind you I am utterly guilty of the same exact thing. My Shining god of an MMO is Dark Age of Camelot. It was the first that hooked me. The first game that got me to play for almost 14 months without a second thought. The first game I ran a 60 person guild in, roleplayed in, met a bunch of new people in and experienced for the first time what it was like to really explore a 3D world that was at my fingertips. I've been on the hunt ever since and in all honestly, nothing has compared (Its funny you mentioned Anarchy Online as its been the only game that has even remotely come close to DAOC for me, with Asherons Call 2 a close second.).

I'm sure some will completely dismiss what I say and some other MMO players who may read this will no doubt sit and think to themselves "Damn he may be right". Its really just what I've gathered in my time with this genre.
I dont see myself playing FFXI long. Its an MMO through and through and I don't fault Square-Enix for that. I'll get my 3-4 months in and move on (though who knows, I may get so into it at later levels that I just cant stop.)

My last bastions of hope are Horizons and World of Warcraft. Horizons looks interesting but I have vowed to myself that if WOW does not hold me I will give up the MMO genre for a very long time, if not for good. I just don't have the time or energy to continue "the search" so to speak. At least not these days

Sorry for rumbling and if you've read this far your in danger of being an MMO whore.

 

[Sam Posten]

Something that Everquest also did not accomplish at launch. Everyquest had crash issues, lag problems and bugs out the back side at launch.

Oh absolutely, I agree with you 100%! BUT the difference is today there are tons of MMORPGs vying for peoples attention and the market for those are 1/100th of what they are for single/multiplayer games. Most people cannot afford the time investment.

So new games MUST not skimp on any of the above if they want to have a chance at success. Graphics, story, interface, stuff to do for power games and casual gamers, solid tech, you cannot miss any of them, cause if you dont you wont get an audience.

Sam

 

[Romier S]

Might interest you to know that EQ's combat system is completely revamped TOMORROW. check out eq.crgaming.com for details. Its completely dynamic now, no more hitting auto-attack and going for pizza.

I'll give it a try if you give DAOC and the Trials of Atlantis expansion a shot Posten.

 

[SarahG]

"Sarah - I'm still watching the Tazoon boards to see how things are going. "

Sounds good Tim! Glad to hear it. I think they have gotten a lot more positive as of late..except for the occasional person who complains about not know how to get it loaded or that they can't get in the game..still don't get that since i got up and going in 20 minutes..oh well.

"Hopefully the lag problems have gotten better."

From what I have personally expericenced...as well as if you read the threads at Tazoon that Tim was talking about you will see that people all in all have said that lag has improved.