Verdict

Submitted by Silencer on Fri, 08/21/2009 - 11:27pm

My continuing experience with Spellborn:  When I started the game, it did Another update, that only took a minute.  It started up in windowed mode, which I personally think is pretty stupid.  One of the splash screens mentioned Unreal Technology, which I was pleased to see.  I had to visit their website, to create my account.  "Earn Coins through Surveys" came up after I made my account.  (Meaning you can fill out surveys for game gold, no thanks.)  Space and Esc won't allow bypassing of the splash screens, annoying.  I glanced over the EULA, and noticed that they say you can have multiple accounts, but that you're not allowed to transfer items between them.  The login screen looks like the upper deck of a really long wooden ship, with tents on it.  It looks like it's going through space, but it also looks like there's a mountain next to it, confusing.  It has a couple of sails, that are waving unnaturally fast, with nothing else on the ship moving.  Not realistic, believable or immersive.  Double-clicking the server name won't do, you have to highlight it and then click the button, weak.  I got disconnected from the server after about 5 minutes while creating my character.  The music didn't suck, but the sound effects in the tutorial got annoying quick.  After character creation, you're on a ship that looks similar to the one on the login screen.  It's a wooden ship, flying through space, with a hull mostly composed of rock textures.  Looks really stupid, but I guess it's part of the story though.  Character walking animations looked unnatural.  The text for conversations is on the left, instead of the center of the screen.  I was pleased to see that there weren't too many controls, however THE CONTROLS ARE CONVOLUTED.  I guess the ship was taking me to a planet where I could explore, and maybe things would get better, but I'm done with it.  On a scale of 1 to 10, I give it a 3.

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I decided to check out "The Chronicles of Spellborn"

Submitted by Silencer on Fri, 08/21/2009 - 6:49pm

Well, I decided to check out "The Chronicles of Spellborn".  The download is 3055 MB.  Kind of big, but that's not a bad thing, as it probably means there's lots of content.  (And they also offer to ship to you on a free DVD, for just $5.99 for shipping, which is cool.)  I let it download overnight.

The installation went fine, as expected.  I launched the game.  The artwork for the initial splash/dialog box looks high-quality, but a little "gaudy" or "flowery" to me, but that's to be expected for an RPG.  I guess it's good for RPG graphics to have a little character, although I've always preferred a "crisp", "clean", "straight-line" kind of look.  But it doesn't look bad.

The game did a "Checking Files..." routine, (I think it took about 30 seconds.)  Then it started to download an update (patch) from the servers.  It took about 5 minutes, to get to about 3.17%.  I 'X'ed out of it, because I've got other things to do, and I figured I'd try to manually download the patch (which might be faster) and apply it myself.

I went to the website looking for a patch download link, I couldn't find one, just the release notes, which said it would be distributed by the servers.  I Googled for it without success.  So I guess it's not available as a seperate download.

I re-launched the game, figuring I'd just minimize it while it updated.  It's doing the "Checking Files..." routine again, only this time MUCH slower.  As I write this, it's at 74.07%, and it's been going for about 20 minutes.  I suppose this has something to do with my cancelling the update, which I still need to finish downloading.  At this rate, it could be a few more hours before the game actually launches.  It's 10:37pm, and I've got about a dozen other things I need to do right now.

I'd hoped to have more informative comments about the game by now, but it's taking me 2 days to launch the game.  "Checking Files..." is now at 76.67%...

 

BTW, Taqueed, I'm sure it's safe.

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I've been investigating these free MMORPGs lately...

Submitted by Silencer on Fri, 08/21/2009 - 12:12am

...since I keep hearing about them.  I agree with PDeath and comptech08, so far I'm un-impressed with all of them.  They're all either in beta, or they're awaiting launch, or they're delayed, or they suck, or something.  Maybe with some more time, some 'cream' will 'rise to the top'.  I'll probably check this one out too... but the screenshot isn't exactly inspiring me, it 'looks' weak.  People want a high-quality, high production value experience for their valuable time, even if the game's free.  World of Warcraft production quality.  Nobody wants to waste their time with a 'B' title.  At least I don't.  I'm curious how good Diablo III will be, or if I'll be busy with something else that I think is 'better', when it comes out.  It's unlikely I'd spend time with 'Spellborn', over 'Diablo III', just because it's free.  Time is priceless, and I'm only interested in games that are truly "Kick-Ass".  Just my two cents.

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Free is free

Submitted by Taqueed on Wed, 08/19/2009 - 7:28am

I will try almost anything if it is for free, but when launching the game AVG comes up with a virus warning. Is this a legit company? The error is win32/devir part of the patch when you launch.

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Anyone give a shit?

Submitted by PDeath on Tue, 08/18/2009 - 4:15pm

Anyone give a shit?

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