Rift

[ericb]

I don't know about the Beta 5 announcement...there's nothing on the main site or the twitter page and the forums are saying the 21st so it would run over a weekend and not the middle of a week.  Well, it is listed on the official facebook page but those seem like weird dates still.

[Harkonis]

they do middle of week events sometimes for a variety of reasons including mixing up who is available to play.

[Elmo]

Massively podcast #130 has an interview with Scott Hartsman and Abigale.  Jump ahead to about the 33:20 mark for the start of the interview.

http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/01/12/massively-speaking-episode-130-talking-rift-with-scott-hartsman/#continued

[Blackadar]

Massively podcast #130 has an interview with Scott Hartsman and Abigale.  Jump ahead to about the 33:20 mark for the start of the interview.

http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/01/12/massively-speaking-episode-130-talking-rift-with-scott-hartsman/#continued

Excellent find.  Thanks.  They talked about one of my 5 points above (#2, the grouping mechanism) as a very high priority.

[skystride]

Massively podcast #130 has an interview with Scott Hartsman and Abigale.  Jump ahead to about the 33:20 mark for the start of the interview.

http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/01/12/massively-speaking-episode-130-talking-rift-with-scott-hartsman/#continued

Excellent find.  Thanks.  They talked about one of my 5 points above (#2, the grouping mechanism) as a very high priority.

They also hint that it might be entirely possible to skip the linear quest track if you desire.  I hope this is in for launch.

[Elmo]

OK it's official now:

Battle of the Ascended
Tuesday, Jan. 25 2011 at 10:00 AM PST (18:00 GMT) through 10:00 AM PST (18:00 GMT) on Friday, Jan. 28 2011

Levels 1-30

Eight forces all vie for control as the battle for Telara rages on! Take up the mantle as a noble Guardian or a techno-magical Defiant to confront extra-planar forces and enemy players as you explore this dynamic world.

Play to win! Defeat any player of the opposite faction in Scarlet Gorge or a Warfront and you could be eligible to win an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 video card! Terms and conditions apply, click here for details. And In-Game Prize Packs will be given away to ten (10) select players who complete the objective!

Beta Event dates subject to change and/or cancellation at any time in Trion’s sole discretion.

Source:http://www.riftgame.com/en/beta/schedule/listings/111810_ascended.php

[ericb]

Boo.  Worst possible time for a beta test for anyone that actually works for a living.  At least in the US.  Anyone know if they are going to implement server times on different servers or will all of the servers keep PST?

[Harkonis]

Boo.  Worst possible time for a beta test for anyone that actually works for a living.  At least in the US.  Anyone know if they are going to implement server times on different servers or will all of the servers keep PST?

plenty of people work for a living, but not 8-5 M-F

[Elmo]

And some of us are retired!    It's the only advantage I can think of to being old.

[ericb]

Boo.  Worst possible time for a beta test for anyone that actually works for a living.  At least in the US.  Anyone know if they are going to implement server times on different servers or will all of the servers keep PST?

plenty of people work for a living, but not 8-5 M-F

Actually I was thinking more along the lines of having it during the week when a majority of people do work and go to school...not necessarily 8-5   It would still be nice if they extended it at least through Sunday instead of ending it at lunchtime (for me) Friday.

[Razgon]

Actually, I think its pretty nice they do change the times and weekdays around like this. It gives pretty much everyone a chance then to try it out, instead of only those with the weekends off.

[Soulchilde]

Forum effect hasn't hit yet...   Still watching but I feel no pull on this yet

[Harkonis]

Forum effect hasn't hit yet...   Still watching but I feel no pull on this yet

you sadly probably won't until you try it.  It's hard to see what sets it apart until you play.  Going in I thought it looked exactly like a WoW clone with Aion type graphics.  A lot of people think it feels off, but it really clicked with me and the class options are pretty nice.

[Blackadar]

Forum effect hasn't hit yet...   Still watching but I feel no pull on this yet

you sadly probably won't until you try it.  It's hard to see what sets it apart until you play.  Going in I thought it looked exactly like a WoW clone with Aion type graphics.  A lot of people think it feels off, but it really clicked with me and the class options are pretty nice.

I have to agree with Harkonis.  From a feature standpoint, I don't know that there's anything in Rift that you haven't seen before beyond the soul (class) system.  And I don't know if Rift has whatever that elusive factor that makes a good MMO more than the sum of its parts.  But given the polish of the game and the soul system, I'm on board for giving it a try.

[Elmo]

I've never seen anything like rifts in another MMO.  They go well beyond WAR PQ's.  Dynamically spawning invasions that roam around killing everything in their path and establish footholds is unique, at least in my MMO experience.

[Soulchilde]

Well, I pre-ordered the regular version from Amazon, so I will see if it grabs me

[Elmo]

We currently have a Wanderers guild on Byriel on the Guardians side.  All regular GT and OO forum members are welcome.  Wanderers forum membership is encouraged as we will be posting most of our guild info and activities there and you will have access to the Wanderers Vent server as a member.

http://www.the-wanderers-guild.com/portal.php

[Blackadar]

We currently have a Wanderers guild on Byriel on the Guardians side.  All regular GT and OO forum members are welcome.  Wanderers forum membership is encouraged as we will be posting most of our guild info and activities there and you will have access to the Wanderers Vent server as a member.

http://www.the-wanderers-guild.com/portal.php

What kind of server are ya'll going to be playing on?  PvE or PvP?

[Elmo]

Right now we're on a PvE server.  No decision has been made for launch.  It will depend in part on what we find out about open PvP between now and launch.  Everyone who plans to join us is welcome to post a preference and I assume the guild officers will make the final decision.

[CeeKay]

We currently have a Wanderers guild on Byriel on the Guardians side.  All regular GT and OO forum members are welcome.  Wanderers forum membership is encouraged as we will be posting most of our guild info and activities there and you will have access to the Wanderers Vent server as a member.

http://www.the-wanderers-guild.com/portal.php

Plus I hear rittchard is making real life leather codpieces for everyone who joins!

[rittchard]

We currently have a Wanderers guild on Byriel on the Guardians side.  All regular GT and OO forum members are welcome.  Wanderers forum membership is encouraged as we will be posting most of our guild info and activities there and you will have access to the Wanderers Vent server as a member.

http://www.the-wanderers-guild.com/portal.php

Plus I hear rittchard is making real life leather codpieces for everyone who joins!

They will be pre-worn as well, just to get the right scent!

[rittchard]

I've never seen anything like rifts in another MMO.  They go well beyond WAR PQ's.  Dynamically spawning invasions that roam around killing everything in their path and establish footholds is unique, at least in my MMO experience.

I think the closest thing we've seen to this was the stuff they did way back in Horizons.  Of course the tech is far far advanced from what we saw back then.

[jersoc]

Well, I pre-ordered the regular version from Amazon, so I will see if it grabs me

did you get the beta thru amazon too?

[Wargus]

I pre-ordered through steam.  It's convenience is nice.

[Wargus]

I'm assuming there will be a guild in Rift, what is the preference: Guardian or Defiant?

[Harkonis]

I'll be playing Defiant on pvp-rp.  I tend to regret playing on servers or sides I don't care for just to be with friends since they almost always leave for other games sooner than I'm ready for.

[Wargus]

I'll be playing Defiant on pvp-rp.  I tend to regret playing on servers or sides I don't care for just to be with friends since they almost always leave for other games sooner than I'm ready for.

What?  How dare you insinuate.... I'd NEVER do that.... *

<sub>* Except AO, WOW, SWG, Vanguard, WOW (again), CoX, AOC, WAR, CO, um... and I suppose I should include STO too.


edit: and Shadowbane, I never did that with Shadowbane either.

dang with these edits:  also forgot EQ2, Eve, AC, and AC2, however I think that should be it....  Did I mention how awesome this game is though? Its really awesome.  For now.  Really!</sub>

[Harkonis]

riiiiight... 

[Elmo]

I'm assuming there will be a guild in Rift, what is the preference: Guardian or Defiant?

The Wanderers have a Guardian guild on Byriel (PvE server) for beta.  Nothing has been decided about launch yet although most of us have gravitated to the Guardian side so far.

[Blackadar]

I'm going Guardian (lower pop = faster queues) and on a PvP or PvP-RP server. 

[Razgon]

I really hope there's going to be RP servers in europe as well - wasnt in beta, and it annoyed the hell out of me.

[Harkonis]

I'm going Guardian (lower pop = faster queues) and on a PvP or PvP-RP server. 

if you just care about queue times, you should roll on a PvE server.  They will pop faster there since that's the primary way to get pvp action there.  On a PvP server queues will take longer since a % of people hang out for world pvp instead.

[Blackadar]

I'm going Guardian (lower pop = faster queues) and on a PvP or PvP-RP server. 

if you just care about queue times, you should roll on a PvE server.  They will pop faster there since that's the primary way to get pvp action there.  On a PvP server queues will take longer since a % of people hang out for world pvp instead.

The warfront queues aren't just for an individual server.  At least they weren't in beta 4.

[Harkonis]

I'm going Guardian (lower pop = faster queues) and on a PvP or PvP-RP server. 

if you just care about queue times, you should roll on a PvE server.  They will pop faster there since that's the primary way to get pvp action there.  On a PvP server queues will take longer since a % of people hang out for world pvp instead.

The warfront queues aren't just for an individual server.  At least they weren't in beta 4.

you sure about that?  Everything I read and experienced in Beta 4 pointed to same server only for Warfronts.

[Blackadar]

I'm going Guardian (lower pop = faster queues) and on a PvP or PvP-RP server. 

if you just care about queue times, you should roll on a PvE server.  They will pop faster there since that's the primary way to get pvp action there.  On a PvP server queues will take longer since a % of people hang out for world pvp instead.

The warfront queues aren't just for an individual server.  At least they weren't in beta 4.

you sure about that?  Everything I read and experienced in Beta 4 pointed to same server only for Warfronts.

They're supposed to be cross server.

[tcweidner]

plus what is being rumored is the port of scion is going to be a open pvp area on all servers.  From what is being talked about there will be plenty of pvp opportunities no matter what server type you play.

[Lockdown]

Apparently they are cross-server, at least some of the vids I've seen make them appear to be.

For those of you who didn't get to try a Warfront in beta and are interested, there are a bunch of them recorded on youtube if you do a search.  There are dozens of them.  They remind me a lot of Warhammer Online's scenarios (especially maps like Codex), which I always liked.  Here is one of many examples. LINK to Vid Sounds like this is one of the first warfronts this guy did, but there are all kinds of vids out there.  This one is of a really early pvp warfront, which aren't quite as good as the next tier's versions imo.  (At 4:44 of this vid you can see a warden named Harkonis, so I thought it was as good a vid as any to link).
It cracks me up how the bard's songs go so off-tune when he starts getting close to death.  

[Elmo]

...Everything I read and experienced in Beta 4 pointed to same server only for Warfronts.

Pretty sure when you see a player in a warfont with a name like Elmo@Byriel it is telling you their server.  No need for that unless they are cross server.

[Blackadar]

I think I'm going with a PvP (and probably PVP-RP) server for a few reasons. 

- I think the questing is one of the weakest parts of the game.  PvP tends to add an element of danger & excitement to normal questing.  Yeah, it'll be frustrating at times, but at least I'll stay on my toes while leveling.  I feel that if I go PvE, I'll probably be bored questing at higher levels if the lower-level quests are indicative of the quest style throughout the game.

- PvP (and RP) communities tend to be tighter.  I find ad-hoc groups forming on PvP servers just to fend off opposing players or just for safety in numbers.  There tends to be an us versus them mentality that fosters a closer community.  On PvE servers, there's no real reason to group. 

- The game seems really built for it.  Just the whole soul system seems like it's built for a PvP type of showdown.  Plus, opening up Rifts in opposing player's areas (and then kind of defending those rifts by preventing opposing players from getting to them) seems like a blast.

[USMC Kato]

I think I'm going with a PvP (and probably PVP-RP) server for a few reasons. 

- I think the questing is one of the weakest parts of the game.  PvP tends to add an element of danger & excitement to normal questing.  Yeah, it'll be frustrating at times, but at least I'll stay on my toes while leveling.  I feel that if I go PvE, I'll probably be bored questing at higher levels if the lower-level quests are indicative of the quest style throughout the game.

- PvP (and RP) communities tend to be tighter.  I find ad-hoc groups forming on PvP servers just to fend off opposing players or just for safety in numbers.  There tends to be an us versus them mentality that fosters a closer community.  On PvE servers, there's no real reason to group. 

- The game seems really built for it.  Just the whole soul system seems like it's built for a PvP type of showdown.  Plus, opening up Rifts in opposing player's areas (and then kind of defending those rifts by preventing opposing players from getting to them) seems like a blast.

+1

This is why I choose PVP (or PVP-RP) in all the MMO's I've played like Conan, WoW, Aion, Etc etc