Hellgate first impressions?

[coloumb]

Originally posted by: Xavier434
I have been reading the forums on hellgateguru.com and the answer about farming bosses that you can farm Shulgoth, the final boss in the game, and maybe the final boss in Act III but that is it. Also, the final boss in the game will only drop a unique item the first time.

I just bought the game too. I really hope they do something about this because it completely kills the fun when it comes to repeating instances...

Welcome to the world of "mmo's" [even though this game isn't technically an MMO]. I use to hate farming instances in WoW - but there was at least a reason to do so [phat lewt and armor sets]

As for the Engineer - it's ok - but I spend most of my time just holding down the left mouse button and moving around when needed. I probably should try another class that offers a little more variety...

Respec - One MMO [think it was DDO] didn't allow players to respec at first. Once you made the choice - it was set in stone. Player base begged, pleaded, etc to get a respec in place. From what I recall - the devs finally caved in and allowed a limited respec.

And like other MMO's - I really wouldn't be surprised to start seeing "default" skill-tree builds for this game.

Speaking of skill trees and builds - looks like someone has already made an off-line skill tree editor - HellGade.DE Skilltree build editor

 

[pontifex]

after you exit HGL, does your system run really slow?

Mine does, for about 30 seconds or so.

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: pontifex
after you exit HGL, does your system run really slow?

Mine does, for about 30 seconds or so.

for 2 minutes

Level 22 .. it just crashed .. 3 hours 'ding' outta memory
[in the station - this time ... :cool]

 

[gizbug]

The reviews that I've read are after a week, the game gets repetitive and becomes a bore. Be interesting to see if this holds true.

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: gizbug
The reviews that I've read are after a week, the game gets repetitive and becomes a bore. Be interesting to see if this holds true.

i seriously doubt *any* of the reviewers played it for more than a week and most of them focus on its "flaws" in the MMO aspect, not the SP.

i have 50+ hours into HG:L ... does that count as more than a week ?

-and i am NOT bored [currently, Level 23 Engineer; retired Level 20 Blademaster; Level 10 Guardian in "reserve"]
... in fact i am starting to manipulate the game's mechanics to my advantage - it is getting easy - and that is without reading anything beyond what is posted at ATF
{btw, don't forget to *remove* mods that become useless as you upgrade}


i realize that this game may very well not be for everyone ... but to those to whom it appeals ... it does what it does very well

 

[450R]

Originally posted by: apoppin
i seriously doubt *any* of the reviewers played it for more than a week and most of them focus on its "flaws" in the MMO aspect, not the SP

On the other hand, the reviews I've read said the MP/MMO aspect shows HGL at its best. The common sentiment I'm seeing is that the majority are finding the core gameplay monotonous, tedious and uninspiring.

I do agree with you on one point: people will either love it or hate it, for exactly the same reason.

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: 450R

Originally posted by: apoppin
i seriously doubt *any* of the reviewers played it for more than a week and most of them focus on its "flaws" in the MMO aspect, not the SP

On the other hand, the reviews I've read said the MP/MMO aspect shows HGL at its best. The common sentiment I'm seeing is that the majority are finding the core gameplay monotonous, tedious and uninspiring.

I do agree with you on one point: people will either love it or hate it, for exactly the same reason.

i dunno Gamespy gave it only 3 out of 5 - fair - their biggest criticism was the MP - the part that gets fixed
- they actually liked the "core" gameplay
:roll:

http://uk.pc.gamespy.com/pc/he...e-london/832252p1.html

"Action-RPG" is kind of a clunky moniker. Often used for Blizzard's classic Diablo series, it describes a game design that cuts out all the so-called "boring" parts of the classic computer RPG structure in order to provide a constant stream of exciting moments. Kill monster! Get treasure! Level up! Repeat with more powerful monsters! Hellgate: London, Flagship Studios' highly anticipated "spiritual sequel" to Diablo, was created with the explicit intent of bringing that formula into the modern era of gaming. In that, the developers have succeeded. There's certainly plenty to recommend in Hellgate: London. It's an endless demon-slaughtering party with fun combat and an addictive (if repetitive) loot system. But problems in design and implementation, and a general lack of polish -- especially in the buggy multiplayer experience -- mean you'll have to work a bit to enjoy the good stuff.

network crash ... almost Level 24
--thank goodness ... g'nite
:moon:

 

[apoppin]

wow! there is a lot of performance differences between the SP and MP online ... SP plays much more smoothly ... Frame rates are very good with everything mxed out in DX9 ... there is some stuttering in MP with lots of action going on
- However, i *still* cannot get DX10 to work ... anyone running it

BtW, the *intro* in HG:L is powerful and the voice acting is excellent ...
-i saw it for the first time this morning playing off the DVD
i started as a Summoner - the 'pets' are cooler then the Engineer's drones.
--the Servers are down for the patch

 

[warcrow]

So after getting the new patch (btw, how uninformative the DL processes. Why not have a progress bar? What a weird design decision), I tested the game out and it did indeed run more smoothly. I didnt have it crash once after playing for a few hours.

But, like you guys, after exiting out, my machine chugs for a good minute. I hope they get these memory leaks and reallocations fixed soon.

 

[KeithTalent]

Originally posted by: apoppin
wow! there is a lot of performance differences between the SP and MP online ... SP plays much more smoothly ... Frame rates are very good with everything mxed out in DX9 ... there is some stuttering in MP with lots of action going on
- However, i *still* cannot get DX10 to work ... anyone running it

BtW, the *intro* in HG:L is powerful and the voice acting is excellent ...
-i saw it for the first time this morning playing off the DVD
i started as a Summoner - the 'pets' are cooler then the Engineer's drones.
--the Servers are down for the patch

Agreed, the intro movie is very well done.

Any word on what the patch holds? I'm hoping for server error fixes and a patch to make DX10 work.

KT

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: KeithTalent

Originally posted by: apoppin
wow! there is a lot of performance differences between the SP and MP online ... SP plays much more smoothly ... Frame rates are very good with everything mxed out in DX9 ... there is some stuttering in MP with lots of action going on
- However, i *still* cannot get DX10 to work ... anyone running it

BtW, the *intro* in HG:L is powerful and the voice acting is excellent ...
-i saw it for the first time this morning playing off the DVD
i started as a Summoner - the 'pets' are cooler then the Engineer's drones.
--the Servers are down for the patch

Agreed, the intro movie is very well done.

Any word on what the patch holds? I'm hoping for server error fixes and a patch to make DX10 work.

KT

this patch is for the subscribers - Guy Fawkes Day
:brokenheart:

Eventually, the devs *claim* that DX10 will not only look better but ALSO run better
:Q
--that i GOT to see

my rig "chugs" way less in SP on exit then in Online and performance is way better in SP also


Work ...
short day ... cya!

 

[Xavier434]

There is a ton of talk amongst the top forums for HGL about future changes along with many well thought out feature requests. If FSS considers many of the changes then I think this game will be 5 star given some time. We just need to be patient which game reviewers are not known to be. You have to remember that these reviewers spend much of their lives playing each video game for short periods of time and they rush to get enough exposure to meet the deadline for their reviews. That often kills the true experience and fun with some games.

In regards to performance bugs, that will probably be fixed even sooner. The main known issue right now is due to memory leaks. These are in the progress of being fixed.

 

[pontifex]

i got stuck in sp twice last night. once i was jumping around some stuff but the 2nd time i just walked behidn a truck or van and i got stuck. there wasn't even anything near me to get stuck on.

 

[Xavier434]

Originally posted by: pontifex
i got stuck in sp twice last night. once i was jumping around some stuff but the 2nd time i just walked behidn a truck or van and i got stuck. there wasn't even anything near me to get stuck on.

I believe there is an auto unstuck feature but don't quote me on that. Do a quick Google search because I have never tried it.

 

[hooflung]

Last night I was playing the MP solo and I took on the second Hellrift. I just knew what was going to come next... ever since I entered the British Museum ^^ Didn't disappoint either as my expectations were met and exceded. Marksman isn't the build for this particular mission. I have to get a friend to help as my guns just aren't powerful enough atm even though I have all blue.

Great game thus far.

 

[Ephemeral]

Make sure to upgrade your guns at each level, and pick a damage type to mod it with. At the museum a firefox would be your best bet, load it up with ignite strength to ensure the damage radius is always debuffing mobs. I believe you can also get a cluster rifle at that point, which should work extremely well in conjunction with the firefox. Load a cluster with %chance to spray shrapnel/release bolts/nova, and suddenly things will be dropping in no time.

 

[Pheran]

I've been playing Hellgate since the beta and mostly I've enjoyed it. However, it definitely needs some more polish. The game itself is fun, but there are outstanding issues like a crappy chat system, no automatic inventory management and various bugs. FSS has slowly been fixing the issues with patches, so I think it will get better over time. The storyline is definitely not as coherent as the one in Diablo 2 - often the NPCs you interact with are rather off-the-wall characters with a strange sense of humor, and many of the quests feel generic. Combat is very different than it was in Diablo and definitely has more of an FPS feel, even for the 3rd-person classes. I was playing my Guardian the other night and had to dodge behind a burned-out bus because Imp Snipers were nailing the heck out of me. As I was hiding behind the bus I thought - damn, this is really cool. There are *tons* of items and ways to mod them; you'll never want for options in that area.

The ongoing content seems cool (game has only been out a few days and we've already had Halloween and now Guy Fawkes), I got a 3-month subscription to see how things go. If FSS keeps improving the game I think it could be quite good, but for the moment the mixed-bag reviews are certainly justified.

 

[Netscorer]

How does this game compare to Dungeon Siege franchise? I've never played Diablo but know that DS was kind of dumb-down version of it.

 

[pontifex]

Originally posted by: Xavier434

Originally posted by: pontifex
i got stuck in sp twice last night. once i was jumping around some stuff but the 2nd time i just walked behidn a truck or van and i got stuck. there wasn't even anything near me to get stuck on.

I believe there is an auto unstuck feature but don't quote me on that. Do a quick Google search because I have never tried it.

there is and i used it. its /unstuck

 

[Xavier434]

Originally posted by: Netscorer
How does this game compare to Dungeon Siege franchise? I've never played Diablo but know that DS was kind of dumb-down version of it.

I felt that Dungeon Siege was much slower pace and far more restricting than HGL. It definitely was not as good as Diablo although I suppose some would disagree depending on their tastes. As far as actual game play is concerned, if you like the idea of crossing a great FPS like Doom 3 with a futuristic RPG such as Phantasy Star (minus the anime feel) and then toss in Diablo style rules then you will love this game. Strategy is much more about FPS style interaction than it is about math unlike many RPGs/MMOs.

 

[TechBoyJK]

Originally posted by: Xavier434
I just started Titan Quest, but after reading a bunch of stuff on various sites I think I will start this game instead. It sounds great!

I have one question for you guys. After reading about the classes I think I want to start with a Marksman, but I would really enjoy the use of swords too. I read that Marksmans can use swords after some training, but how good are they with them? I don't expect them to be as proficient with swords as Templars but it would be disappointing if using them as a secondary is pointless.

Titan Quest ROCKS! It should not be ignored.

 

[Xavier434]

Originally posted by: TechBoyJK

Originally posted by: Xavier434
I just started Titan Quest, but after reading a bunch of stuff on various sites I think I will start this game instead. It sounds great!

I have one question for you guys. After reading about the classes I think I want to start with a Marksman, but I would really enjoy the use of swords too. I read that Marksmans can use swords after some training, but how good are they with them? I don't expect them to be as proficient with swords as Templars but it would be disappointing if using them as a secondary is pointless.

Titan Quest ROCKS! It should not be ignored.

Ya I started a char and played until I got HGL lol. I like HGL more, but I imagine that I will pick up Titan Quest again some time.

 

[Judgement]

I just beat normal mode... Blademaster is extremely underpowered. I think I died 12+ times fighting the last boss.

 

[Eeezee]

Wait, the demo "sounded like disappoinatment?" Why don't you download the demo and find out for yourself if it was actually disappointing?

 

[Eeezee]

I have the subscription - I can ride around on non-elite players like mounts! IT's great!