Originally Posted by
Grayne
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Here is the state of (the paid early beta access of) the game so far, please feel free to add anything i missed...
The good:
1. The game looks and feels fantastic. Everything from the streets to the feeling of character and environment models having the correct "weight" just feels very authentic.
2. The game sounds as good as it looks. Everyone in the art/modelling/audio departments deserves a huge thank you. Well done guys.
3. The game runs really well and is smooth as silk on Ultra in 4K. I have not seen it on console yet but i'm betting that PC guys with higher-end rigs are loving it. I know i am.
4. The UI is not bad on a PC. I can't say it's the best but it's not bad at all.
5. The NPCs are not bad at all either. I am not talking about just the hard hits they are dishing out but the way they "behave" and "react".
6. The concept of DZ and going rogue is great. Might need a few tweaks somewhere down the road but really fun as it is already.
What could use improvements:
1. A split into PvE DZ and a PvP DZ may be something to consider. This way you still retain the full PvP experience but separate it from the loot for those who simple do not want to engage in PvP. The idea needs to be thought through though as a sloppy implementation may make DZ worse or useless even.
2. Incursions need to stop being an indoor-track marathon and start being both fun and challenging. Wave after wave of the same thing and simply increased damage resistance and output of NPCs isn't fun at all.
3. Loot drops - for this type of game loot is super important. Give us more variety and make the rewards match the effort that is required to obtain it.
4. Going rogue needs to have harsher consequences like a longer timer and 4x the current XP and funds loss when killed by a non-rogue agent.
5. Daily missions need a lot more variety. Doing the same 3 missions several days in a row feels like going to work and no part of any game really should. You should be challenged but not bored.
6. The kick (from group) functionality needs a timer and a count-down. "You've been kicked from the group by X. You will be removed in 10 seconds."
7. Separation into regional servers would be really good. NA, Europe and Asia to start. The server you connect to will be based on your location (and/or your ISP, etc.)
8. A language chat filter would be great. We should be able to pick which languages we want to allow to appear in chat.
9. Did i mention more loot variety and loot drop rates as well as quality matched to the encounter? Yeah, that would rock.
The bad:
1. While the look and feel of the game deserves commendation, the code appears to be really sloppy. Take stat stacking for example - it isn't a problem that was not discovered in time but a problem that should have never ever existed in any type of software unless it was coded by someone on their first day at their first job having zero prior experience and just knowledge picked up from programming for dummies. Instead of more beta-testing (aren't we still?) i would suggest that the devs hire outside consultants to go through their code first.
2. Lack of clear rules that are not open to interpretation, transparency of enforcement and reporting of any type of statistics.
3. People exploiting code vulnerabilities and/or glitches because they feel abandoned by Ubi/Massive and left behind by those who do it specifically to gain an unfair advantage. The fact that people are forced to even consider catching up via glitches and exploits is not good at all.
3. Going back to the code again - the wide-spread hacking and the areas of the code that can be manipulated are scary. I will gladly switch to a monthly subscription if it is required due to most of the decision-making/control processes being moved to the server vs the client. I really do not see an inexpensive way to fix what is happening right now. Chat is highjacked by spam, DZ full of hackers.
The ugly:
1. Community relations or lack of. Instead of reaching out to the customers we are met with silence or cold/generic responses if we get lucky. Given the amount of problems we are experiencing we should be getting daily status updates.
2. Lack of any time of road-map or content release schedule. For all we know Ubi/Massive can be cutting their losses and preparing to shut the game down. Customers are completely in the dark.
3. Lack of action against 3rd party "services". How difficult is it to go after the "advertised" sites, skype and social media account and sites? Not difficult at all. Nothing is being done about the spammers selling "services", programmers developing hacks and sites selling them.
Conclusion:
The game gave us a gorgeous environment but sadly not that much to do after finishing the initial story and leveling up to 30. While everyone at Arts, Sounds and Modelling did a fantastic job - truly the only thing that holds this boat afloat right now, it really looks like coding was outsourced to reduce costs and that resulted in poor quality. If the game is to survive (and i hope it does) then Ubi/Massive need to stop the bleeding by engaging in conversation with the customers, by answering questions and laying out a road-map. It's 2016 and gamers know and understand a lot more about what makes a game tick than some think. Transparency, urgency and a sense of respect for the customer is what we would really appreciate right now. This game can be great and i hope it will be. To those thinking about bying it - i'd hold off right now, at least on a PC. To those thinking of getting out - i can't blame you but i say stick around for at least a few months, have faith. To Ubi/Massive - start treating your customers like customers.