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| Cluster Shout Box Link » /matrix/cluster.asp/18 |  Droniac (114) Mar 26, 2007 - 11:22 am
| Yeah - I'm from The Netherlands so it would take quite a while to send anything this way.
I wonder what the third round will be like if it's not going to be as was announced on the description page. Flag this | Edit this post |
| Matrix Blog Link » /matrix/blog.asp/61707/308 | Droniac (114) Mar 22, 2007 - 12:30 pm
| Thanks GrapeApe and viperman5686. Apparantly I made it through round 2 in spite of lacking your voting support :)
I've yet to notice performance decreases due to SetPoint, but then I haven't actually played any real system hogs as of late (UT2004 runs maxed out all the time and NWN1 isn't the most demanding of games either). I'll give it a go with Company of Heroes and see what happens. As for the dialing home thing - I have PeerGuardian so SetPoint ain't taking up any bandwidth here - haven't noticed it trying to do anything yet, but I could simply have missed it's frantic attempts to connect to the evil Logitech servers trying to steal my UT2004 cdkey so they can organize a lanparty :o Flag this | Edit this post |
| Matrix Blog Link » /matrix/blog.asp/61804/336 | Droniac (114) Mar 22, 2007 - 12:24 pm
| Haha, I was actually thinking about including a line in that comment: "unlike WoW's music which I still had on in the background by the time I quit playing". So yeah, I guess our tastes in music differ a bit ;)
Turbine hasn't even finished filling Eriador yet, most of the map (of Eriador) is empty and will - according to developers - be filled later on by means of patches. The expansion packs in turn will introduce all those other regions like Rohan (and when you look at the world map in LotRO... there's A LOT of other regions) from the books. It's definitely a small world they have now, but it's totally packed with content in comparison to just about any other MMO. There's beautiful sights everywhere - and travel times are generally low - but the low amount of actually differing locales turns it a tad repetitive.
As for those evil races, from what the devs have been saying those weren't included because the books and the entire lotro setting is about the good guys prevailing over evil. Then it indeed doesn't make much sense to have players in the role of evil characters, because then evil can triumph over good.
My opinion would probably be swayed if Turbine surprises everyone and releases the game with all of Middle Earth, enjoyable PvP and proper Kinship systems included. It'd be much the same as ArenaNet did with Guild Wars, but in Turbine's case that seems exceedingly unlikely. As it stands they're largely emulating World of Warcraft, which they've done rather well... it's like WoW for more advanced players with a much more well known and interesting setting (imo). Flag this | Edit this post |
| Matrix Blog Link » /matrix/blog.asp/61804/336 | Droniac (114) Mar 22, 2007 - 06:49 am
| Great review, well-written and pretty much on the mark. Anyone who likes a PvE MMO or liked WoW will most certainly agree with your assessment and find it a very useful read if they're interested in Lord of the Rings Online. I myself have been beta testing Lord of the Rings Online since September (US Beta) and have moved on to EU beta earlier this year... and can attest to your review - it's spot on.
I do have some comments though... first of all, there is no Dungeon Siege Online - the name you probably meant to type there was Dungeons & Dragons Online (Turbine's previous MMO). Then you mention the solo-player instances, those aren't offline, they're online just like everything else in the game - sort of like Guild Wars.
As for your scores... I'd have done it slightly differently, but my perspective is different from yours. I come from a PvP background - and LotRO doesn't offer PvP at all (Monster Play will remain PvE with 'evil characters for the first 3 months after release). There's also no Kinship (Guild) battles or Arenas to enjoy - and worse yet, Kinships aren't really properly handled - there aren't even any visual indications of you being part of a kinship (such as banners, flags, capes, tabards, etc. - none of it is in LotRO).
What would my scores have been? (Any I don't mention would be the same as yours)
Gameplay - 7/10 : Great PvE in the beginning, which gets somewhat repetitive as you hit higher 20s and find there's really nothing to do but questing. Lack of any proper PvP support - and plays like an extremely generic MMORPG overall. The awesome details (music system, glowing weaponry, sindarin) crank the score up a bit for LotRO fans to 7.5/10.
Music - 4/10 : Hands down the least inspiring and most repetitive music I have ever heard in a computer game. This is the first and only game where I muted the music after my very first day of playing... ordinarily I keep it on for months before switching to a playlist, but this was just too horrific.
Replay Value - 4.5/10 - Add 2 points if you're really into PvE play. Overall I found this game really exciting in the beginning, but it soon became too repetitive to even play through it's PvE-content in it's entirety with a single character. Starting over on different races and classes didn't help, because the gameplay is mostly the same regardless of your class choice.
If you're into MMORPGs like World of Warcraft then this might be something for you. It's slightly more complex, the interface is at times a tad less intuitive (particular the chat screen). It won't keep you entertained for years, but it should be good for a few months at least. If you're looking for some PvP action or varied & innovative gameplay however, then this is not your game. It's essentially a non-instanced version of Dungeons & Dragons Online, with superior community and roleplaying tools. Flag this | Edit this post |
| News Link » /news/newsarticle.asp?searchid=14755 | Droniac (114) Mar 22, 2007 - 01:48 am
| | None, the expansion will feature zero new professions. This isn't a chapter like Factions and Nightfall but a true expansion, which doesn't just mean you need one of the previous games in order to play it but also that it's smaller content-wise and less expensive. Flag this | Edit this post |
| News Link » /news/newsarticle.asp?searchid=14755 | Droniac (114) Mar 21, 2007 - 10:02 am
| Bah. They really should stop releasing the PC Gamer magazine at such a weird time in the month - now I'll be reading all about it even before my magazine featuring a Guild Wars 2 & Eye of the North special arrives. (at the normal - end of the month - magazine publishing time)
Anyway as for the details that have been revealed by PC Gamer readers so far - I dunno. Much of the GW2 info sounds very cool and would be exactly what Guild Wars needs... but some of it sounds dodgy and could turn it into just another generic MMO (insane level cap, weird PvP system that sounds like numbers > skill, etc). Ah well, at least it'll be free and DX10-supported :) Flag this | Edit this post |
| Cluster Shout Box Link » /matrix/cluster.asp/15 | Droniac (114) Mar 19, 2007 - 08:43 am
| Actually I thought this round was rather downvote-free! In the previous round all the scores were incredibly low - even for the absolutely amazing entries that were amongst them, because there was sooo much downvoting. This round seems a lot different, with a much higher average score. Although I did notice nearly all entries dropped several points in the final few hours, it sucks that people do that, but it's not going to affect much when just about every entry dropped some points.
Every entry this round is awesome in it's own right - and deserves a place in the next round... unfortunately only about half of us get to advance. I wonder who will get to advance, because I have absolutely no idea. I'd be hard-pressed to pick 10 people out of these entries to advance, simply because they're all so good. Flag this | Edit this post |
| Matrix Blog Link » /matrix/blog.asp/61707/308 | Droniac (114) Mar 18, 2007 - 03:37 pm
| The DeathAdder is the latest Razer mouse and actually resembles the G5 in terms of design. It is slightly smaller and does appear to be a lot less heavy, but it's fully ergonomically designed for right-handed people. It does indeed use infra-red optical sensor technology, which is essentially the third generation in optical sensor technology. So it looks like Razer has abandoned Laser technology, at least for now.
So far in benchmarks, the Razer DeathAdder scores best of any and all mice - although it's also one of the most expensive ones you can get. Still, it's performance is unmatched - so far... Flag this | Edit this post |
| Matrix Blog Link » /matrix/blog.asp/61707/308 | Droniac (114) Mar 18, 2007 - 05:52 am
| Yeah the Razer DeathAdder and Diamondback are better choices (in terms of performance) than any Logitech mouse right now. Not the Copperhead though, because it uses the same laser technology the Logitech G5 does.
Personally I vastly prefer the design of Logitech mice over Razer mice, if only because the Razer mice are sooooo tiny. And the G5 is much more comfortable to use because it's an ergonomic mouse for right-handed people. Flag this | Edit this post |
| Matrix Blog Link » /matrix/blog.asp/19453/317 | Droniac (114) Mar 17, 2007 - 03:22 am
| Ah good, so it's a bit like Starlancer then? I still remember the keyboard map that came with it - literally every single key on the keyboard was mapped with a function, many even with two or three! Don't worry, I'm not a CS or CoD player, but more of a RtCW/Savage/UT player - so I'm used to having just about every key mapped to something important.
Anyway it sounds like this game has a hefty learning curve, so it should be worth playing - I like a challenge :p Flag this | Edit this post |
| Matrix Blog Link » /matrix/blog.asp/61707/308 | Droniac (114) Mar 17, 2007 - 03:08 am
| Convoy eh? I haven't played Assault in a long time, but it was (in my opinion) the best Assault map in UT2004. Nice gamemode too, but a little underrated.
This (the G5) is actually my first Logitech mouse and I have to say I like it (especially after overclocking and whatnot) but I can also see what other people might not like about it: it's heavy, big and made for right-handed people only. That kind of limits the user-base to people who are right-handed, have big hands, strong arms and generally use high sens (because a heavy mouse & low sens doesn't work very well) - such as myself. Flag this | Edit this post |
| Matrix Blog Link » /matrix/blog.asp/62001/311 | Droniac (114) Mar 16, 2007 - 02:07 am
| After reading your entry I was wondering... how can a German team be from The Netherlands? They're two different countries! (I should know, I live in The Netherlands ;)) But apparently one of the two people is Dutch and the other German, so it's probably just poor wording?
Nice entry anyway, although it could have benefited from some consistent spacing between paragraphs to make it read a little easier. Flag this | Edit this post |
| Matrix Blog Link » /matrix/blog.asp/19453/317 | Droniac (114) Mar 16, 2007 - 02:00 am
| | Can't you simply bind stuff to your keyboard? I'm used to having all my binds on my keyboard around movement keys from FPS games. I'd play with esdf for movement and all my weaponry and necessary binds around that. Is that possible in Allegiance too? Flag this | Edit this post |
| Matrix Blog Link » /matrix/blog.asp/61707/308 | Droniac (114) Mar 16, 2007 - 01:56 am
| | You guys have actual UTComp TDM pub servers!? The only decent UTComp powered (t)DM server I know in Europe is KPlay, the rest are all demo servers, non-UTComp and usually locked to 25 frags with a way too high player limit. I wish I could play DM or TDM on pubs, but there's no place to play it at... :( (KPlay is always full or overcrowded) Flag this | Edit this post |
| Matrix Blog Link » /matrix/blog.asp/61707/308 | Droniac (114) Mar 15, 2007 - 05:34 pm
| Thanks for commenting on my entry :)
It seems that both SetPoint and hidusbf only overclock the USB port your mouse is attached to, although I haven't been able to confirm it with hidusbf - because the G5 has some issues with non-Logitech overclocking software.
I played on differing teams during the various matches to try and eliminate the factors of being in the winning/losing team. Usually in TAM the winning team is comprised of experienced players, because the amount of servers is low and the amount of experienced players is (relatively) high. The servers I tested on were my regular servers, which ordinarily see only the better players in the European TAM community - as was the case during testing. In both 3-map sessions, only a handful of players left/joined during play, so the playing field remained roughly the same throughout. The level of play on both days was roughly the same - which can be attributed to these (European) servers being known for attracting skilled players.
I would indeed have tried to increase my sample size some more if I had the time, but this was actually my third article (the other two - SupCom and LotRO - had already been posted) idea and I only had a few days to pull it off. If it's any consolation: after turning the polling rates up to 1000HZ, my performance in clanmatches increased significantly as well. I actually had a 2v2 match yesterday and broke personal accuracy records all over the place (on the first map anyway, the second map saw a bit of a dip due to external factors (whining sister & telephone) interrupting my play).
So yeah, I do play with a clan, two actually (beMEAN and TuF). I haven't noticed my performance to be all over the map in publics, but then the servers I frequent are home to a returning playerbase with whom I've become familiar over time.
There is a benefit to testing this on public servers, namely strategic deterrent fire (spam). Spam is common in clanmatches, because people are playing to survive and win - so they'll spam choke points when they're running or chasing, all of which is non-aimed fire and skews accuracy statistics. Now this doesn't matter for the lightning gun or shock primary fire (which usually see increased accuracy during matches, compared to pubs, for me anyway), but it does for just about any other weapon (rockets, flak, mini, link, combos) in TAM. Public servers are casual and tend to be more crowded, which results in less spam - because otherwise you wont have enough ammo in the end to kill everyone - every shot has to count. Flag this | Edit this post |
| Matrix Blog Link » /matrix/blog.asp/18766/276 | Droniac (114) Mar 15, 2007 - 05:51 am
| | Supreme Commander is largely a CPU-hog. Upgrading your video card shouldn't have as dramatic an effect as upgrading your CPU would. Only if you're playing in very high resolutions or dual-monitor setups does upgrading your video card really help. Flag this | Edit this post |
| Matrix Blog Link » /matrix/blog.asp/19453/317 | Droniac (114) Mar 15, 2007 - 01:12 am
| | Hehe, I was actually interested in buying Allegiance when it was first released, but Microsoft's multiplayer pricing was what put me off. I really liked playing Natural Selection and Savage (also a freely downloadable game now) so I'll be certain to try it again sometime. I just hope a joystick doesn't turn out to be mandatory, because my joystick is from the old Descent 2 times: 3 massive buttons (or was it 2?) - it doesn't get much more basic than that :p Flag this | Edit this post |
| Cluster Shout Box Link » /matrix/cluster.asp/15 | Droniac (114) Mar 15, 2007 - 12:10 am
| No problem and good luck.
I understand being a bit defensive over something you worked so hard to write. It's not like you just wrote a piece in 20 minutes - you obviously spent a lot of time writing it. Flag this | Edit this post |
| Matrix Blog Link » /matrix/blog.asp/62074/300 | Droniac (114) Mar 14, 2007 - 04:55 pm
| The human eye can distinguish between 30 and 60 fps, in fact - research has shown that a fighter pilot's eye can distinguish and identify a plane on a single frame out of 280. So we're able to perceive a heck of a lot more than 60 fps.
That's also why playing a game like UT2004 in 30 fps feels exceedingly slow and choppy, whereas 60 fps is decent and 85 fps is yet several more notches up the ladder of comfort. Oh and most PC games are only truly enjoyable at a steady 60 FPS or more, 30FPS is the low-end minimum - lower than that and you need to upgrade.. Flag this | Edit this post |
| Matrix Blog Link » /matrix/blog.asp/44675/307 | Droniac (114) Mar 14, 2007 - 03:46 pm
| It's a problem because the two are completely unrelated.
Lag is a connection issue.
Poor FPS is a client issue.
When you're experiencing a low framerate, then this (ordinarily) means your PC cannot handle the game you're trying to play. It has nothing to do with your internet connection, the server you're playing on or the quality of your ISP.
When you're experiencing lag, this means you're experiencing slowdowns due to connectivity issues. This could be caused by a poor ISP or server, simply poor routing to a specific server, or any other number of non-system-related issues... but should NOT affect your framerate in any game. Flag this | Edit this post |
| Cluster Shout Box Link » /matrix/cluster.asp/15 | Droniac (114) Mar 14, 2007 - 02:43 pm
| Ooh finally finished mine as well. Took a fair amount of time to write up and turned out a wee bit longer than I expected... ;o
I would have done an earlier post, but my initial topics were Supreme Commander and Lord of the Rings Online tbh. I had already covered a bit of SupCom performance issues on my own blog after all... although I suppose my current topic is slightly more unique ;)
I'm wondering one thing though... are we allowed to promote our articles on our own blogs? So say I repost it on my blog (The Game Drone) with a link to the FiringSquad entry encouraging people to vote - is that allowed? Flag this | Edit this post |
| Matrix Blog Link » /matrix/blog.asp/61849/302 | Droniac (114) Mar 14, 2007 - 07:06 am
| | Wouldn't the G5 Gaming Mouse also be considered ergonomic, since it's shaped to be very comfortable for right-handed people? Anyway nice test, although it would've been nice if you had included a fast-paced FPS (Quake/UT/WarSow) rather than another RPG in the end. I'd assume the difference would've been most noticeable in games like that, because just about any move and/or weapon requires fast response and high accuracy from your mouse. Flag this | Edit this post |
| Matrix Blog Link » /matrix/blog.asp/61831/198 | Droniac (114) Mar 05, 2007 - 04:09 am
| How can someone possibly have an advantage with a brightskin mod that is enabled by default for everyone who enters the server? I don't see a problem with mods that alter game settings if it's the same for everyone on the server - it's still equal grounds for competition.
In fact, many such mods greatly enhance the competitiveness of a game. Try playing vanilla Enemy Territory and then the same game on an ETPro server, you'll see what I mean. That's the reason no one plays vanilla ET in competitions, it's futile when ETPro is a superior competitive arena in every regard. Flag this | Edit this post |
| Matrix Blog Link » /matrix/blog.asp/61804/153 | Droniac (114) Mar 05, 2007 - 03:59 am
| | Yeah but the truth is that WoW doesn't even "try" to appeal to all people. It's just like a tv-show that "tries" to appeal to all people, there is no such thing. Every game, every movie, every story tries to appeal to a specific group of people - WoW is no different. Flag this | Edit this post |
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