shadowbane !?

[algahar]

looks like a better version of UO to me...

i heard its coming out world wide in late july. anyone excited ? any thoughts ?

[Mark Asher]

I'm interested in trying it. I'm burnt out on DAoC. I really don't know what to expect, though.

[Rob de los Reyes]

I sincerely doubt it will be out in late July--I think they haven't updated their FAQ. The last update I heard put release at the end of the 3d quarter. They recently expanded the beta and (I think) have another widening planned. Given what they're trying to accomplish, balance issues loom large.

Anyway, I'm eager to give it a shot, as well. From what I saw at E3, the graphics aren't going to blow anyone away (it's been in development forever), but the art is clever. The show is going to be the city/political developments.

[Robert Sharp]

Yeah, I heard October for a release date. That seems realistic to me too. The game looks promising, I have to admit. I am still unsure about the class structure though. I haven't tried too hard though to figure it out, I guess. I like the idea of building towns though, and defending them. IF that works, it could separate it out, but the general idea of PvP has me concerned overall. That aspect of UO kept me from playing the game. I hope it is handled much better in Shadowbane.

[Mark Asher]

The only reason why I was thinking it might be out sooner is that the box art has been released.

[Robert Sharp]

Really? The official box art, or just some picture? Sometimes games release a version of box art that doesn't end up being the final, just for places like Chips and Bits or EB, who send out flyers and such. Those games get more attention.

[Mark Asher]

Don't know. Here's the link:

http://shadowbane.en-tranz.com/images/boxart_black.jpg

[Rob de los Reyes]

Looking at that box I wonder about the wisdom of quoting Daily Radar. Nothing against that outfit, it just strikes me as odd to run a box quote from a defunct entity. Seems like bad karma.

[Greg Lannes]

Okay, here we go agian,

My wife as I pointed out is the MMORPG freak and for a while she was following the forums on this game (Shadowbane).

Let me itereate my stance on MMORPG's and any Diablo game, you can throw in NWN as well as I've seen them all. I detest these games, they offer nothing to what I'd call a refined gaming experience, I would prefer to play Ghost Recon or even Wolf online as opposed to these crimnially childish products.

My wife however does for the most part enjoy them. Now, what I've heard about this game is that it's essentially Diablo 2 with a supposed guild/faction system run by the playerbase. I'm going to take a wild stab and draw my conclusions on this game even before it comes out. It's going to end up like the PVP servers on both DOAC and or EQ. It will be a huge free-for-all and I am positive it'll sink like a "Lead Balloon". No it won't be resurrected as Led Zeppelin, it'll wallow in the depths of anarchic apathy.

[Desslock]

>It's going to end up like the PVP servers on both DOAC and or EQ. It will be a huge free-for-all and I am positive it'll sink like a "Lead Balloon

I think so as well, although it'll attract that crowd for a while, since it may be the best available PvP. It'll determine in a hurry how much of a niche audience that is/isn't.

Stefan

[Qenan]

It'll determine in a hurry how much of a niche audience that is/isn't.


Yeah. My money is on niche.

[algahar]

well the 'hawkman', minotaur and the centaur are cool looking, and the flying option is extremely new and attractive... besides that as far as i can tell from the demo, there really isnt anything new...

if one is going to advertise for this game, i wonder what about it that one can sell... well maybe make the monthly fee dirt cheap, that would help...

[Mark Asher]

well the 'hawkman', minotaur and the centaur are cool looking, and the flying option is extremely new and attractive... besides that as far as i can tell from the demo, there really isnt anything new...

if one is going to advertise for this game, i wonder what about it that one can sell... well maybe make the monthly fee dirt cheap, that would help...

The selling point is that it's designed for PvP from the ground up. If you like PvP, you should like Shadowbane, according to Wolfpack.

The big selling point for me is that I like MMOGs and I'm tired of the current crop. Shadowbane is something new. It may not be for me because the PvP may be too much for me, but I'll give it a try.

We're on the verge of a new and impressive crop of MMOGs at least. City of Heroes and AC2 should be out late this year and then in 2003 we should get SWG, EQ2, and maybe WoW. There are probably another 3-6 MMOG titles that may make it out next year. It's hard to imagine how games like DAoC and Shadowbane will stand up to those.

[Qenan]

Do you really think EQ2 will be out next year? Didn't they say something like Christmas 2003? (At which point I would be on them releasing in 2004...)

Does look like an interesting crop, though... kind of exciting.

[Mark Asher]

Do you really think EQ2 will be out next year? Didn't they say something like Christmas 2003? (At which point I would be on them releasing in 2004...)

Does look like an interesting crop, though... kind of exciting.

EQ2 could slip, just like any other game, but they've been working on it for a long time now. I was out there to do a piece on Kunark (or maybe Velious or Sovereign) before that was released and they were working on it then.

[Qenan]

Hmm. I wish they'd release more info on EQ2... beyond of few screenshots, the EQ2 site basically says nothing.

[Mark Asher]

They're being tight with info. I suspect they're angling for an eventual cover story with one of the mags.

It's weird that they are launching Planetside, Galaxies, and EQ2 all in the same year. That couldn't have been part of the master plan. Doesn't make much sense. I'd think they almost have to have a bundled pricing plan. No way all but a few hardcore will pay full price to play all three concurrently. I'd think $20 a month for all three is a good price, but I suspect they'll want more. LucasArts gets a piece of the SWG revenue too. to complicate matters.

[Jason Becker]

A game like Planetside isn't going for the EQ crowd. They want to try and get all those online shooter players to give them money if they can. Also SWG still is supposed to be released by the end of they year where EQ is already set at late 2003. Its not like their releasing them within a month of each other.

[Mark Asher]

Planetside may be a shooter, but I'm sure SOE is hoping MMOG fans take a look at it. MMOG fans and shooter fans aren't mutually exclusive groups, either.

I'll be a bit surprised if SWG releases this year. Planes of Power and the PS2 EQ game, Online Adventures are both due out later this year. Perhaps it has been decreed that SWG will be out before Xmas, though.

[Jason Becker]

I don't see what about Planetside would appeal to EQ players. To me its for the FPS crowd, just like Sovergein was to get the RTS crowd. Basically a MM game to try and appeal to the diffrent popular generes.

[Anonymous]

You guys forgot about Neocron! Sheesh... Deus Ex meets System Shock 2 meets the Massively Multiplayer RPG genre..

It's going to blow us away...

[Tyjenks]

....the PS2 EQ game, Online Adventures......due out later this year.

When is the PS2's online service to be live? I am afraid that the bugs will not be worked out of the service itself before these games start going online. I certainly have not seen much press on it. Other than the $39.99 adapter's pricetag, that is.

Cracking that console audience for online games is a whole other animal. On that subject, does anyone have figures on how many Dreamcast owners were online once it reached it's peak?

Also, I know PSO had a shitload of cheaters which pretty much ruined it for the majority. What is EQ Online Adventures doing to combat these problems?

I have heard precious little on all these points. If anyone with info would care to share it, I would be much obliged.

[Mark Asher]

EQ Online Adventures should be fairly cheater proof. All the character info is stored server side.

As to working out the bugs, I'm sure there will be some, but this is Verant/SOE running the game, and they have the experience of running EQ and other online games.

[JFeil]

Have you seen that Wolfpack and Ubisoft are selling what is basically an empty box a couple of months before this game comes out? It seems that, if you buy a "pre-order" box, you'll get a cd with a wallpaper, a screen saver, a video trailer and a code which will allow you to play a character in the game with some restricted races.

Further, you only get this cd (and box!) if you buy it from an actual store. Buying it online only gets you the code.

So, what I'm seeing here is Wolfpack needing a quick cash infusion to cover last minute expenses, like servers, customer support, etc. Which makes me wonder why Ubisoft isn't covering these expenses. It also makes me wonder how well they'll handle their launch, which, historically, is the hardest part of the entire process of making this kind of game.

[Mark Asher]

Are they really doing this? Selling a box without the game? Can you get this now?

I would never buy something like this. What happens if the game never comes out?

[Alan Au]

The Icewind Dale II folks are doing something similar as well, calling it an "adventure pack" which contains most of the pre-order goodies, but no actual game. These things are like console game pre-orders, but you actually have something tangible in the meantime.

Of course, the one that sticks in my head is the Tribes 2 hype, where Sierra planted a rack full of empty boxes in stores with some fine print that it was for display only. The Penny Arcade guys did a piece about it. http://www.penny-arcade.com/view.php3?date=2001-03-26&res=l

- Alan

[JFeil]

Are they really doing this? Selling a box without the game? Can you get this now?

I would never buy something like this. What happens if the game never comes out?

Here's the quote from the official site at:

http://shadowbane.ubisoft.com/home/news.shtml

"The Shadowbane pre-order box will be available in September at Electronics Boutique, Gamestop, and CompUSA in limited quantities for $10.00 suggested retail price. "

It looks like you get the price of the preorder off the cost of the actual game when it comes out later, making it look like, for the glass-half-full-faction, a "value-added preorder". Kind of like slapping down 10 bucks to reserve a copy, and having the EB guy hand you a complimentary cloth map or something. However, instead of that 10 bucks accruing interest in EB's savings account, it looks like part of it goes straight to Wolfpack, or, more likely, Ubisoft.

The game is scheduled to come out this November, when, I believe, Asheron's Call 2 is coming out.

[Mark Asher]

Oh, $10 isn't that bad. Microsoft did that with Dungeon Siege. You bought the box and got a lousy t-shirt inside and reserved a copy. I thought they were selling Shadowbane full-price, shades of what Bethesda did years ago with Daggerfall when pre-orders shipped with a note in the box instead of the game.