DC Universe Impressions

[Gryndyl]

so,question(most probably first of many)...do you need a headset for this? as i don't have one,i was just gonna go all FF11 on its ass and just use my pad and USB keyboard,but then it occurred to me,maybe you need the headset as FF11 was a few years back for me now

You can use either text chat or voice chat, so, no headset necessary if you have a keyboard.

[CeeKay]

Just finished my first Heroline against Grodd; man that fight was boring.

[The Grue]

I downloaded the initial beta file on PS3 and when I launched it, it kept complaining about not having some configuration file or something.  I couldn't ever get to the part where you do the full download.  Anyone else have this issue on PS3?

[Gryndyl]

I downloaded the initial beta file on PS3 and when I launched it, it kept complaining about not having some configuration file or something.  I couldn't ever get to the part where you do the full download.  Anyone else have this issue on PS3?

I have no idea if it's at all similar on the PS3 but on the PC the initial launch game window (The SOE Launchpad) has an options button. If you click that there is an option to scan game assets. This should detect if there's a file missing or corrupted and autopatch it for you. I would expect that there's something along those lines for the PS3 version

[Destructor]

So, yes I'm having fun, but unless they announce serious changes I don't see this lasting.  It certainly won't last beyond the next MMO release for any large crowd.  They may keep the PS3 users since this is a new realm of gaming to them, but PC users other than serious fans of DC will leave at the next best opportunity.

Yeah, this is totally my issue as well. The fact that PS3 players can join in will be something very impressive, but the game is sorely aimed at them to begin with.

As mentioned above - terrible chat interface that is behind the times, extreme reliance on voice chat (which not everyone wants to do), basically two quest lines to get through the game (one good, one evil - yes, your starting 'area' will be different, but you'll eventually be going to other areas as there's not enough quests in each), and a real lack of powersets at launch (again, you can't come remotely close to making the iconic Superman, even though you can be his mentor). Oh, and I'm not too much of a fan of the iconic 'boss' fights as well, as they rely too much on some other iconic Hero/Villain to be there with you.

And then on the RP side of things, you have no emotes, no usable chat interface, no bases, no random 'hangouts' in the world to talk with, and the costume creator is absurdly limited even compared to CO and CoX at their launches (no ability to save an outfit for quick retrieval, and very little that would be considered civilian wear as well).

Honestly, I say there's no reason to get this game for $50/$60 (PC/PS3) at launch, and instead wait for it to become much cheaper very quickly (like CO did). At least then you might have a few more powersets to pick from and have some basic UI functionality in 2011 (when it releases).

[metallicorphan]

well it took 5 and a half hours to download and finished this morning at 6.30 am,when i try to connect it says i have been disconnected and i should be signed into PSN<<<<<which i already am,tried it over and over and got the same thing

i couldn't be bothered looking into it so i just went to bed,and i will try again later on

[metallicorphan]

okay it worked fine when i tried again and i have been playing for a few hours and quite enjoying it,my superhero doesn't look great,i saw you can change everything in the start menu,so i will get to that one day,i got lost in the Watchtower for about 40 minutes and i did my first mission(fighting gorillas on the beach),and have just been touring the city and flying about,its great fun seeing all the other heroes and villains running and flying everywhere


i have one major gripe,and this will probably not effect most of you..see,i am still using my SONY Trintron 32" SDTV...so yup,the text is very small,i am not too bad on the HUD,but say on the power up screen,i can't read the text at all(and that isn't an exaggeration),so i have no idea what power ups i am selecting

i say the HUD text is fine,but not for the part where it tells you what has just been said(and world text as well),i can read my name and i can just about read what i have to do next

other than that,quite impressed

[metallicorphan]

this was on the DCUO website


I Wasn't expecting them to fix it for the beta,so that's cool

To all of you who have been participating in our DC Universe Online PS3 Beta, we’d like to welcome you and thank you! We’ve been listening closely to your feedback and we’ve heard a few of you are running into some technical issues. We want you to know your feedback is valuable and we are implementing fixes as quickly as possible. In the next patch many issues will be resolved.



Some of the specific issues that we are fixing include numerous changes to improve the user interface, in particular text readability. In addition, we want to make it easier for you to play with your friends! What is an online game without playing with friends?



Social enhancements will make it easier to communicate, play and group with others. Improvements to chat input, frequently used phrases menu, and the ability to use emotes will further convey your personality and mood to the world. There are also several adjustments in process that will improve instruction and hint messages within the UI. Plus, we are adding a way for you to quickly access combo sequences, super power information, and buff/debuff information for your character.



Finally, stability of the game has been greatly improved in the latest version. So, as you can tell there is a lot going on and more to come. Please, keep giving us your feedback and insights, and get ready for a great game play experience – thanks to your feedback!


 

[kadnod]

I've been fooling around with this for a few hours on PS3 and keep thinking it would have been an awesome single player RPG.  The fighting is a blast and the storyline is great.  The presence of other actual humans in my game world is doing nothing for me at this stage, though.   I agree that some emotes and other social stuff would go along way, here.   

[metallicorphan]

I've been fooling around with this for a few hours on PS3 and keep thinking it would have been an awesome single player RPG.  The fighting is a blast and the storyline is great.  The presence of other actual humans in my game world is doing nothing for me at this stage, though.   I agree that some emotes and other social stuff would go along way, here.   

I got downed by some Hive turrets in Metropolis,and as i was knocked out and another player came over and instead of just having the option to press Triangle and Flee i also had an option to press X and Rally,i am guessing it was because of the player that came over to me

I am not going to comment on the Co-Op part of the game until that patch is out so i can read the world log

I just read on Gamespot forums that the beta is running until the release of the game,which is currently set for February,so that's cool

I am currently trying to find my way to Gotham City as i have a mission to meet Batwoman there,however i am not even sure if Gotham is included in the beta,as i have not got a clue how to get there,the Waypoint doesn't direct me

[Wargus]

I've been fooling around with this for a few hours on PS3 and keep thinking it would have been an awesome single player RPG.  The fighting is a blast and the storyline is great.  The presence of other actual humans in my game world is doing nothing for me at this stage, though.   I agree that some emotes and other social stuff would go along way, here.   

I got downed by some Hive turrets in Metropolis,and as i was knocked out and another player came over and instead of just having the option to press Triangle and Flee i also had an option to press X and Rally,i am guessing it was because of the player that came over to me

I am not going to comment on the Co-Op part of the game until that patch is out so i can read the world log

I just read on Gamespot forums that the beta is running until the release of the game,which is currently set for February,so that's cool

I am currently trying to find my way to Gotham City as i have a mission to meet Batwoman there,however i am not even sure if Gotham is included in the beta,as i have not got a clue how to get there,the Waypoint doesn't direct me

You can get to Gotham by going to the Watchtower first and then porting into Gotham. You can't get directly there from Metropolis.

[Gryndyl]

Yeah, go to any police station, port to Watchtower, find the Science wing in the Watchtower and it will have a teleport platform to Gotham.

[Destructor]

Yeah, go to any police station, port to Watchtower, find the Science wing in the Watchtower and it will have a teleport platform to Gotham.

Yes, go to the extremely huge absolutely giant space station of absolutely hugeness that is so big it's giant beyond all possible scale levels of giantism and I've run out of words to describe just how big the blasted place is.

Sorry, I'm not a fan of the huge ass station at all.

[Wargus]

Yeah, go to any police station, port to Watchtower, find the Science wing in the Watchtower and it will have a teleport platform to Gotham.

Yes, go to the extremely huge absolutely giant space station of absolutely hugeness that is so big it's giant beyond all possible scale levels of giantism and I've run out of words to describe just how big the blasted place is.

Sorry, I'm not a fan of the huge ass station at all.

And if you look out the windows you can see there is more of it that you can't get to!

Just roll with the space station, try not to think too much about it and you'll like it just fine.  Don't put any thought into who built it or how, or what technology they used, or anything like that. 

Hey, has anybody look up from Metropolis or Gotham to see if its visible from the Earth?   It should be.

[metallicorphan]

Yeah, go to any police station, port to Watchtower, find the Science wing in the Watchtower and it will have a teleport platform to Gotham.

Yes, go to the extremely huge absolutely giant space station of absolutely hugeness that is so big it's giant beyond all possible scale levels of giantism and I've run out of words to describe just how big the blasted place is.

Sorry, I'm not a fan of the huge ass station at all.

And if you look out the windows you can see there is more of it that you can't get to!

Just roll with the space station, try not to think too much about it and you'll like it just fine.  Don't put any thought into who built it or how, or what technology they used, or anything like that. 

Hey, has anybody look up from Metropolis or Gotham to see if its visible from the Earth?   It should be.

I finally found Gotham and the warp stations in the watchtower,in fact i started a new character and had my mentor as Batman (not supes like last time),and this time you start of in Gotham(no idea where you start if you choose Wonder Woman as your mentor)..as for the watchtower being visible from earth,there are some info stations in the watchtower,and i am pretty sure one of them the Oracle tells you that it is invisible

At first i was a bit overwhelmed with the Watchtower,but i have it pretty much mapped out now..central hub,Mech wing,Magic wing and Meta wing...they all have the exclamation signs that the Huntress ask you to find(and then pretty much ignores you when you do find them.....bitch)

Gotham i think i prefer,its always night time and rains every now and then,and in the sky.....The Bat Signal!!(and you get an achievement-or whatever they are called- when you find the source of the Bat signal)

i have to say i am not a fan of the boss battles,half the time i haven't got a clue what to do,i left that Gorilla to The Flash for most of the fight,just like i am trying to leave the Scarecrow to Batwoman,but it's still bloody hard

my game crashed just as i defeated the Gorilla and then later on crashed again while fighting the Scarecrow on my other character...oh and while down in the sewers i had no sound at all..damn beta

[CeeKay]

I was curious how high you could fly so I flew upwards, and once I hit the ceiling I looked down and have to say the city looks pretty cool from high up, with a lot more detail than I expected.

[The Grue]

I tooled around with this on the PS3 last night and really wasn't impressed.  The graphics aren't very good and I wasn't enjoying the combat at all.  I might give it another look, but about 20 minutes after I started, I had no more interest in continuing.

[Destructor]

I was curious how high you could fly so I flew upwards, and once I hit the ceiling I looked down and have to say the city looks pretty cool from high up, with a lot more detail than I expected.

Go do that again at night - you'll see imaginary cars in the distance (well, the headlights anyhow) driving around. The cities do look quite alive at the distance.

[CeeKay]

Has anyone disrupted traffic yet?  I got a bunch of cars to try and drive over each other, and after a bit they exploded.

[Wargus]

I tooled around with this on the PS3 last night and really wasn't impressed.  The graphics aren't very good and I wasn't enjoying the combat at all.  I might give it another look, but about 20 minutes after I started, I had no more interest in continuing.

is it possible to take a screenshot with a PS3 & post it?  I'm curious if there is a difference in graphics quality between the PS3 & PC.

[CeeKay]

looks like they're launching 1-11-11.

[Blackjack]

looks like they're launching 1-11-11.

Isn't that the day the world ends? Oh wait, that's in 2012, maybe 12-12-12? Never mind...  

The DC Universe Online game boxes seem entirely disingenous, given that you don't actually play as any of the characters they paste on the box.

Unlike STO this past January, I intend to remain retired from MMOs and let you guys decide if this is a long-haul MMO or something you play 29 days and then quit, assuming you don't quit 13 days into the inevitable Commercially Required 2-week Open Beta That Fixes Nothing But Does a Good Job of Tricking You into a Lifetime Subscription. Damn right I'm bitter and cynical.   I eagerly await the verdict.  

[Wargus]

I don't know what possesses game developers to drastically change game mechanics prior to launch.  They just took the controller archetype and gutted several control powers out of it, gutted a passive mana regen ability, and added a bunch of mana regen powers. The intention seems to be that for end game content controllers would ditch the control powers to load up 4 (of their 6 slots) with active mana regen powers.  They've essentially turned the class into a mana battery. 

[Gryndyl]

Yeah, the last couple of patches have gone in a worrisome direction. They've taken what was a fun and light casual action hero game a month ago and taken it into a far more hardcore and grindy direction. Currently a fair amount of the solo content is too difficult to solo and at end game class roles in groups have become very rigid and allow little flexibility. Movement during combat has been slowed to a crawl and taking on more than 2 or 3 trash mobs of even level at once is a gamble. Granted, they may fire off another patch or two with more balance changes before launch but as it is now they are headed full steam in the wrong direction.

[Jaddison]

time to cancel my preorder it seems

[metallicorphan]

been away for a day or two,has an new patch been released then?,has it improved the text?

and January release date?..bah,Wiki said Feb,i thought we were gonna get a good long time with the beta.

if i do go for it,i may wait a month or two...since i last played on Sunday i would of said that a January release(what,less than 3 weeks away?) would of been out of the question ...i have had a lot of lock ups,especially when fighting bosses for some reason,and as said the text and the loss of sound completely...hopefully they can get all the fixes in before release(that is if they haven't already all been fixed in this latest patch then)

[metallicorphan]

okay nabbed this of the PS3 forums that someone posted

The servers will be brought down at for maintenance but there is good news!

 

When we come back up, your Playstation 3 DCUO Beta will be updated!  We’ve read your feedback, and the development team has been diligently working on numerous improvements to address outstanding issues.  Here are a few of the changes you can expect:

 

    * Text font has been increased to make menus and the User Interface more readable.
    * A number of crash bugs have been identified and corrected which should reduce “freezing” issues.
    * We’ve adjusted the User Interface to work better with the directional pad on the PS3 controller.
    * The Social menu is much larger and we’ve provided menus with emotes and common phrases to help you communicate more efficiently. The Directional Pad on your Gamepad now gives players quick access to the following menus.
          o Up: Actions Menu - Allows players to see Combo and Ability descriptions, toggle PVP Flag and change role.
          o Down: Canned Chat Menu - Allows players to choose from commonly used phrases.
          o Right: Buffs Menu - Allows players to see details about buffs that are currently applied
          o Left: Emotes Menu -  Allows players to use Character animation to communicate.te.
    * Sound bugs have been fixed and all the final voiceovers are in the game. 

 

As a note we've made adjustments to the Trait system so you may need to reselect yours.  Let us know how you enjoy the patch and thank you for playing DCUO!

the patch however is only for the US servers at the moment(3 gig i heard),no patch for me yet

[CeeKay]

Gorilla Island

Area 51

I'm hoping to get in some decent time with this over the weekend, and then decide whether to pre-order or not.

[metallicorphan]

seems i was a little short on quoting that update list,this is the full list..**warning:- its the longest list man has ever created**

http://forums.station.sony.com/dcuops3/posts/list.m?topic_id=975


the EU servers finally got the update and i downloaded it,however our servers are now down for 2hrs,so i can't check out the 'improvements'

[metallicorphan]

well i think i am out,even after the update the Text is still small and very hard to read(especially the chat board that appears on your HUD),i just did some more missions as well and they are still exactly the same as the last 3 dozen missions i have done and to top it off i found out that the monthly fee for the game will be £11,which is dumb when compared to WoW which is £8 and FF14 will be £8 also when they get things sorted...and where the f**k is my robotic sidekick i selected????

[CeeKay]

20 minutes of beta gameplay.

[metallicorphan]

20 minutes of beta gameplay.

I see the PC version you can actually read what is said on the message board on HUD,i haven't touched the beta again for about a week

[Blackjack]

20 minutes of beta gameplay.

I see the PC version you can actually read what is said on the message board on HUD,i haven't touched the beta again for about a week

It sounds like you and I have similiar eyesight (very poor).  More MMOs these days are letting you "scale" UI interfaces (so you can keep things readable, even if running at a super high resolution), and adjust specific font sizes for various UI components (like chat windows and UI labels and stuff). I'm often finding I have to resize those things so I don't have eye strain. I guess there are challenges to implementing that sort of adjustability on consoles maybe?

[metallicorphan]

I need to buy a HDTV,which is the ultimate answer,but when everyone complained about Dead Rising text i was fine i didn't see what the fuss was about,and the same with other games(i think Mass Effect 2 had some complaints as well,but again i had no problems)...but DCU its terrible and the colours don't help either,i wish i could take a screenshot,there are a lot of other people complaining on the PS3 forums as well

I mean i played Final Fantasy 11 on the 360 for two and a half years and had no problems whatsoever

it could also be because those other games are on the 360,maybe i have some setting different on the PS3,but i have been fine for all other games on there

as said though i was getting bored with the missions all being the same,so i am not too put out,i could manage for what i got out of the game which was to get a taste of it.......hopefully though FF14 wont be similar when it does finally arrive on the PS3

[CeeKay]

well the US beta is supposed to end today, I figure I'll try to log in after work and get in a final few hours.

[CeeKay]

well I went to uninstall the beta last night, and good thing I was paying attentuon, as when I went to do so the normal yes/no question box popped up, but it asked if I wanted to delete the system32 directory    figured OK, I'll just check the beta forums....

only to find they already nuked them.  doing some more digging I found some other people who have this problem (luckily windows is smart enough not to let you do it and you'll get a runtime error that stops the uninstaller), and found this tidbit:

First: Locate or Download the launcher installed that you got to install the game

Second: Run the Installer and select Repair/Reinstall, on the next two boxes asking for permission to install click cancel (you don't need to install them again), at this point the launcher will load

Third: Close the launcher, you must NOT let it patch, if you do, repeat the first two steps and try again

Fourth: You should now be able to uninstall the game without any errors (i uninstalled it through the .exe in the game folder, I'm not sure if you will be able to uninstall the game through control panel but i imagine you should be able to.)

so if you're having that issue hopefully that helps.

[Gryndyl]

Uninstalling through the control panel works just fine.

[CeeKay]

Uninstalling through the control panel works just fine.

that's where I first tried it.  like I said not everyone has the problem, but that should fix it if it does crop up.

[hepcat]

I WAS going to pick this up on release day because I'm an unabashed DC fan boy.  But with my huge game backlog and a subscription to WoW still on my credit card each month (until I burn out again) means I should probably just wait until a sale. 

[Gryndyl]

I still feel that, especially if you're a DC fan, you'll get your money's worth of fun out of it in your free month. Personally I don't see it as being worth subscribing to beyond that but your mileage may vary.