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Post by blaze194 on May 13, 2010 17:36:44 GMT -8
I havent played yet. Just got home so I'm trying to download on another computer...but from what everyone is saying...I think it will be worth the $10. lol i'm jealous you guys got to play together!!! Yeah its pretty neat! Although it can sometimes be hard, like when someone is customising, already in a group, in a full district and things. I've only been able to group up twice, but they are the best! ;D I hate playing solo as most groups just kick you (not sure why they don't put it on private anyway) or don't work well together.
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Post by Brixi on May 16, 2010 18:52:16 GMT -8
Will you guys all be playing on the US servers? I'll be in the EU by the time release comes
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Post by Dee on May 16, 2010 19:55:16 GMT -8
Blaze asked the same question, we don't know yet =/
I guess we'll go by vote. I wouldn't mind EU server, as I have no lag and my ping is low, even from here. So personally, I have no preference between EU and US. I'll go with the majority.
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Post by Brixi on May 16, 2010 19:58:31 GMT -8
I don't really mind playing with Americans, I find them nicer than Europeans.
It's a shame they make us pick really - how hard would it be to have billing handled by either the US or EU, but then offer both region's servers to all.
P.S. Do you have amazing forum powers to capitalise my B?
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Post by Dee on May 16, 2010 20:12:07 GMT -8
This is due to latency issues, seeing as servers will be hosted in germany and texas (i think, not sure where exactly in the US). But seeing as there are no middle point in the atlantic ocean, playing on the other server while in a certain area creates lots of lag. It's not really a concern for most MMOs, but seeing as APB deals with a lot of custom made content that takes a lot longer to load, lag would be a lot worse. And one player lagging affects anyone near him. So in the end, it's better to just lock the servers than allow everyone on the same, so it doesn't turn out like this: Still, as long as they allow us to choose the one we want, it should be fine. Like I said, I'm not having much latency issues currently. But some people do =/ PS: It's fixed, your B is capitalized xD
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Post by Brixi on May 16, 2010 20:28:01 GMT -8
Haha that looks like every road I see in APB beta anyway As you probably picked up from my constant whining in /g, I lag and stutter a lot. Hopefully it will improve when im back home at the end of the month (I can switch to a proper gaming desktop PC rather than this laptop, and i'll actually be in the EU for less latency). Thanks for the B!
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Post by Karaa on May 18, 2010 12:35:18 GMT -8
I know that I lag a lot. I might need more ram though = /
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Post by Dee on May 20, 2010 21:41:18 GMT -8
I know that I lag a lot. I might need more ram though = / Lag has nothing to do with RAM, but stuttering/fps does. If you stutter a lot (game freezes quickly every few seconds) and your fps is low, then yes you need more RAM. If you lag (more like huh... you move, but the screen doesn't show it, and after 3 seconds POOF you're somewhere else), then it's either your internet connection, or the fact you are far far away from the host.
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Post by Karaa on May 22, 2010 10:13:05 GMT -8
I definitely have lag then. lol
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Post by Dee on May 29, 2010 16:50:47 GMT -8
The APB closed beta is coming to an end in a week, and release is just around the corner. As of now, what's your honest opinion of everything you saw?
My own is, sadly, very underwhelming.
I have looked forward that game since last fall, when I first learned about it. I don't really have to explain my hype to all of you, I'm sure you remember very well how I was, haha! Then I got into the beta, which I could only play for 4 hours on sunday. 4 hours per week made me even more hyped, as I thought it was impossible to see, do and unlock everything in those short time lapses. I wanted more, and so I was sitting in front of my PC, eagerly waiting for the servers to open. During that time I came up with the ideas for the faction in APB, started to put it in place, and preordered my copy.
Then came the longer sessions (The one-week one, and the three-weeks one). The first week I barely slept. All I could do was stay up and play, then go to work. Rinse&Repeat. By the end of the first week, I was dead tired, and glad I could finally rest. Then, they announced the three weeks and I thought "well I guess I'm not sleeping in the end". But to my big surprise, I actually slept. I didn't feel that need to keep going on it, and soon enough, I found myself logging in 1 hour or two per day, sometimes skipping one or two. And I have unlimited gameplay, why didn't I keep going on?
Truth is, the game went downhill extremely quickly since the longer sessions began. It was easy to see that there wasn't much more - or any, for that fact - content to be found, explored and unlocked. There was nothing more than what there was for the four hour sessions. Same missions, same driving, same pick-up item, same jump over fence, same protect area, etc. There are only two districts which actually feel exactly the same.
And the social district? It's closer to "Jump-in, buy items, customize items, jump out". There is little to now socializing in the social district. I had imagined something more of an actual district where you can drive, where there are shops spread around, activities to do, races, bars, beaches, etc. Instead, it's just a small over-populated park with everything packed together.
And then, with longer play times it was easier to see all the flaws with the game. For one, upgrades. Really, upgrades? On a skill-based game - that has no location damage, mind you! Nowadays, all we see everywhere are people grinding league weapons - 3 slots weapons, fitted with three tier3 upgrades. I.E. +30% damage, +30% accuracy, +30% damping. Coupled with the +30% health, +30% health recovery, etc. This means, most of the times, you go up against Terminators, resulting in even the most skilled players losing pretty much every match they get in. Before, when people all had default weapons, I could win games 10 to 3 sometimes. Don't get me wrong, I lost too, but there is no shame in losing against someone who is more skilled than you. With upgrades, it's not about skill. It's about grinding for the best gear. If there were at least headshots, it could work, but this is "the one who holds the trigger the longest wins" with powerups.
The way the actual game is made pretty much throws role playing out of the window too, seeing as there is nowhere to do it. In other MMOs, you could always find quite a few peaceful places with no one around besides you and your friends, and you could lay off some beautiful RP. This is not possible here at all, seeing as the action districts are way too small (and drivers are jerks), and the social district is over packed with people. It's simply not possible.
So you're back to "take mission, win/lose, take mission, win/lose, take mission, win/lose, go buy something in social, take mission, win/lose". And that's all there is. These last few weeks, most of the times I quit the game in frustration because of how unfair and broken the entire system is. And a game isn't supposed to frustrate you this much.
So my honest opinion, as hard as it is for me to admit, is that I'm very disappointed so far. The excuse "this is a beta" doesn't work anymore, since the game comes out in less than a month. I doubt they'll fix all of the issues by then.
So what do you think? I need your honest opinions, because at this moment, I really don't know what to look forward to in the future with APB.
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Post by k9fiend on May 30, 2010 2:20:01 GMT -8
Yeah, sadly I feel your pain Dee. Especially on the weapons issue. I'm continually getting smoked by the exact type of people you mention. I have resorted to "bunny hopping" as a tactic (which is extremely lame) when fighting somebody with a 3 tier weapon.
The make or break point for me in this game is going to be the group I play with. So far I have had some mixed experiences with SPSD. On the positive side they will still RP the Sheriff's Dept angle and limit themselves dept wide in terms of what gear you are able to use, similar to the whats posted in "The Pride's" recruitment thread. Ie; beat cops will drive a certain style of patrol cars, uniforms, LTL primay weapons with a pistol as back up. While SRT (SWAT Team) will be the heavy weapons crew. Now they will be behind the 8 ball and out gunned (like RL cops sadly), but if they, and groups like Pride can still pull off the RP style of play in a non RP game. I think the experience can still be rewarding despite the game's lack of content. I believe playing with a fun group can turn a so-so game fun. For me I will buy it since all I have is time on my hands anyway. Hopefully some thing get tweaked and balanced. I think the game still has potential, but who knows....
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Post by Brixi on May 30, 2010 10:59:22 GMT -8
Personally for me, the game runs so badly I couldn't bring myself to pay for it. Since day one of getting into the beta, ive been altering the ini files desperately trying to make it so that I can fight without stuttering (screen freezing, only for milliseconds but constantly). This makes it impossible for me to fight and has frustrated me since day one. I might not have a top of the line computer, but I can run all other games fine - perhaps not on highest detail - but I can't even run APB on "minimal" settings.
If it ran smoothly, I would be tempted to buy it. It's a fun shooter, and I like the customisation and nice people i've met (90% from the Pride). However, I don't see RP ever taking off. Theres no RP server and the game just doesnt feel setup for RP, you know? They added all these emotes, yet noone ever stands still enough to use them. There is no place or time in the game when doing an emote isnt anything except wasting time, and the lack of an RP server means that anyone trying to RP will be made fun of by leetkids. As Dee said, the social district isnt social at all - it should be renamed the safe district, because thats all it is. There isn't anything social about it. They added some places to dance and some bars, but they are empty and completely non functional (no way to sit on a chair, no way to buy a drink etc).
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Post by Karaa on May 30, 2010 11:33:29 GMT -8
I agree with most of what everyone has said.
The game, as dee said, is not living up to the hype. I remember when we were all so excited about it. ( I even started thinking of possible RP ideas and I think Dee was about to strangle me when I couldnt pick a name for my character lol = p )
In the end though, Its very tedious and monotonous in my opinion...same thing over and over and over again. I think if you get into a good group of people, like K9 said, its fun but even with good people I can see the same missions getting boring after a while. I think that if it had more options in the social district it would be much improved.
And like brixi, I have a lot of trouble running the game....my screen freezes and i end up in a wall or dead.
As of right now...I am not impressed with APB. I like the customization but thats pretty much where my love for the game ends.
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Post by k9fiend on May 30, 2010 11:38:40 GMT -8
Personally for me, the game runs so badly I couldn't bring myself to pay for it. Since day one of getting into the beta, ive been altering the ini files desperately trying to make it so that I can fight without stuttering (screen freezing, only for milliseconds but constantly). This makes it impossible for me to fight and has frustrated me since day one. I might not have a top of the line computer, but I can run all other games fine - perhaps not on highest detail - but I can't even run APB on "minimal" settings. If it ran smoothly, I would be tempted to buy it. It's a fun shooter, and I like the customisation and nice people i've met (90% from the Pride). However, I don't see RP ever taking off. Theres no RP server and the game just doesnt feel setup for RP, you know? They added all these emotes, yet noone ever stands still enough to use them. There is no place or time in the game when doing an emote isnt anything except wasting time, and the lack of an RP server means that anyone trying to RP will be made fun of by leetkids. As Dee said, the social district isnt social at all - it should be renamed the safe district, because thats all it is. There isn't anything social about it. They added some places to dance and some bars, but they are empty and completely non functional (no way to sit on a chair, no way to buy a drink etc). Well, I guess if the game does not take off with the majority of Pride and an in game. You can always hook up with an SPSD group if your numbers are low. Or you can outright join the SPSD, (but then again it would be waste of those cool uniforms and patrol cars I have seen in the beta forums) In the mean time we can sit, wait and get to know each other better for the next year, while waiting for the SWTOR beta/release Unless there is some other MMORPG that is on the horizon that catches the eye.
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Post by Brixi on May 30, 2010 14:54:36 GMT -8
Btw if anyones looking for real RP in a GTA style setting, I play on an RP server in GTA:SA multiplayer. www.ls-rp.comI havent played in a while, but its pure RP and i'm planning on getting back into it. If any of you guys want to get into it too, it could be a good chance to start over with my character. (She used to be a paramedic, was fun riding around in the ambulances and doing medic RP - but I left for a while and the leadership changed and I became a stranger to the medical faction).
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