First Impression about PS

[Ytanium]

Hi! I\'m here to review the game and so I\'m trying it...
a first impression:

- graphics is very good
- sounds and music are good, but not many
- races and creation of character are ok
- newbie support... very poor. You logon and don\'t know how to do and what to do! (and where!)
- commands&controls: poor. Not friendly at all and there\'s no real mouse support for free look. Talkin also is not too comfortably.

I see the \"potential\" inside the project but seem like a Linux machine, powerful but very uncomfortable to use... and games are for \"everyday\" users

Maybe I\'m not right... but if so, please tell me something more about the game, the commands, the gameplay and the \"newbie\" related things

[acraig]

Well, it\'s in a constant state of development and improvement.  Adding in all the bells and whistles is something that will get done eventually as we get more of the structure of the game in place.  

Crystal Blue ( the next release ) should be more friendly with more GUI windows and a nice help window that explains the different commands.

[Xalthar]

Originally posted by Ytanium

- newbie support... very poor. You logon and don\'t know how

Actually when I logged on the first time I knew exactly what to do, I didn\'t get any of the errors or anything everyone keeps posting a new thread about almost every day.. You want to know why? Because I spent a while reading through the numerous newbie help threads that can be found on these forums. And since I joined, several others have popped up.

If you took the time to read through these forums, you wouldn\'t be complaining about newbie support, because it\'s there in abundance, it just isn\'t lamer-n00b support.

[PokannickNow]

Originally posted by Ytanium
 games are for \"everyday\" users

I\'m agree with you, but Planeshift \"Molecular Blue\" isn\'t a game, it is an alpha version under heavy developpement! Btw next release will come soon!

[Moogie]

Greetings, and like I said in the other thread, Welcome to Planeshift.

The game has come a long way since the days of Molecular Blue (the tech demo you\'re playing).

Read the other thread you have in Newbie Help for some links and tips.

[Magerranger]

one final note, pressing \'#\' will put you in free look mode.
Welcome to PS

[Ytanium]

Ok people, I\'m sure that this project grow! But I\'m taking the part of the casual player. Not all users like to search through a forum to get the \"basic\" info and I think that all the basic info are not shown on site... and forums are \"more complicated\" to \"browse\".

I have \"some\" experience with MMORPG and I think that a really important card is \"user friendlyness\" and \"newbie\" support... a nice idea could be a sort of \"training camp\" with automated npcs who teach the basics (I used this method on a couple of MMORPG I worked years ago).

So take me as a \"average newbie\" who don\'t likes to read tons of faq, posts and search through all the forum...

This is a game and one of the most important target is to make it \"simple to use\"... And interface complexity must be considered in each step of the development of a software.


So take my comments as \"costructive\". I\'m not here to teach or to criticize only. But I\'m here to try this game to review it and I know it\'s potential so I\'d like to review with all the \"know-how\" needed to take the most fun of it... but I must say these things, because I know feedback is important.. and newbie feedback in a game is one of the most important things to make the game for everyone!



note: I tried with #, but doesn\'t work...

[acraig]

Originally posted by Ytanium
Ok people, I\'m sure that this project grow! But I\'m taking the part of the casual player. Not all users like to search through a forum to get the \"basic\" info and I think that all the basic info are not shown on site... and forums are \"more complicated\" to \"browse\".

We have somebody working on large player guide for the next version so that should help in this area.

I have \"some\" experience with MMORPG and I think that a really important card is \"user friendlyness\" and \"newbie\" support... a nice idea could be a sort of \"training camp\" with automated npcs who teach the basics (I used this method on a couple of MMORPG I worked years ago).

Yes, eventually something like that could be done at some point.  However, that is more of a \'bell\' that is not \'critical\' to the game at this point.  When we have better tools to create content then something like this can be added a lot more easily.  At the moment though these tools are not available so we have to write those first.

So take my comments as \"costructive\". I\'m not here to teach or to criticize only. But I\'m here to try this game to review it and I know it\'s potential so I\'d like to review with all the \"know-how\" needed to take the most fun of it... but I must say these things, because I know feedback is important.. and newbie feedback in a game is one of the most important things to make the game for everyone!

At the moment I think that PlaneShift is still a version or 2 away from being considered a \'main stream\' type game where new people can download it and start playing without really have to do a lot of research.

[Ytanium]

ok... I agree.

ah I found the key for freelook on my (QWERTY Italian) keyboard is: ? (or ?)


I need suggestion on \"things to try\"

I surely use some days to try it, before I can make a review.

[Pegasus]

Ytanium you should consider that MolecularBlue (current version) is a tech demo. So currently you are wasting your time if you review Planeshift.
Wait a few weeks till CrystalBlue (CB) is there. It may still be a techdemo but there will be much more stuff to do (and as Acraig pointed out it will be userfriendlier).

[Ytanium]

well I try it anyway... kind of a preview... then I\'ll make a new review on new version too

Putting the review on my site quickly may help game visibility a bit


The date of the new version?

[Draklar]

Originally posted by Ytanium
So take me as a \"average newbie\" who don\'t likes to read tons of faq, posts and search through all the forum...

Originally posted by Ytanium
The date of the new version?

I see what you mean...
Use the search button...
And I don\'t think people would like this place swarmed with newbs who don\'t want to read faq... :|
But I\'m sure that as a professional reviewer of rp games, you were playing lots of non-graphical MUDs (with their enormous FAQs) or p&p RPGs (with few-hundred-pages instructions)... after something like that you shouldn\'t have problems with reading PS FAQs...

- Swords

[Altharion]

isnt CB also a tech demo?

[acraig]

Originally posted by Altharion
isnt CB also a tech demo?

I prefer to think of them as milestones.  Each version represents a new level of development and activity.  As long as we set reasonable milestones for us then it doesn\'t matter what version it\'s called.

[Kiva]

Originally posted by Ytanium
So take me as a \"average newbie\" who don\'t likes to read tons of faq, posts and search through all the forum...

So.. Um... Did the thought of playing like \"an average newbie\" ever come to your mind? I mean, did you even bother asking any of the people currently online what to do? Those questions are answered at least 10 times per day, in MB, and if you had bothered doing that, you would notice that your statement; \"- newbie support... very poor.\" isn\'t quite true. Even if you don\'t read a lot of FAQs and fancy guides, you should still be able to read the site and figure out how to shout questions to people. Very simple. Even people who are below the \"average newbie\" stage have managed to do so.

This is one of the more helpful and friendly communities in the MMORPG world. If you just take a look around and accept people\'s help, be that through guides, FAQs or simply asking ingame, you\'ll notice just that. Noone here wants to tell you that you\'re an idiot noob blablabla like in every other game, simply because noone is more noob than the other, and noone has any reason to call others noobs (yet), and you as \"an average newbie\" have no reason not to read a very easy and useful FAQ, which contains every bit of detail you might need.

But okay... People don\'t even read what the installer says about MB being a tech demo, so why bother reading what the forum says.