Closed Beta First Impressions.

A place for alpha & beta testers to show off their screenshots, videos and streams from the Closed Beta

Xcaliburbane
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Closed Beta First Impressions.

Post by Xcaliburbane » 08 Jul 2017, 18:00

Well, I decided to take the plunge, and plop down $45 CDN to get access to the beta.

I've played many hours in the YO version, prior to this, so wasn't really anything surprising. I ended up spawning on the newbie island, poked around for a few minutes there, to see if there was anything interesting. Sadly, it was fairly bland copy of the existing map of the YO version.

So, I quickly made my way to the beam of light and teleported myself to the main island. Looking at the map once there, it's obviously quite a bit bigger. I spawned in some sort of deserted city, not sure what the purpose of it was, didn't seem to be anyone there. So, I made my way out of the claim and started going about gathering the materials necessary for some primtive tools.

A quick glance at the character info, shows little of anything new really, save the punishingly low skill cap of 400. I hope for the sake of the game, this is increased later. This pretty much destroys any chance of players going it alone, thereby forcing you to join a guild or make one with friends, soloing will simply not be an option, I guess.

After fishing for awhile, I simply lost interest in it very quickly. The whole development cycle of the MMO version is absolutely mind boggling. YO was released in November, 2015. Now, it's July 2017 and the MMO version remains in closed beta. I'm not sure I understand why it's taking so long to bring this MMO to market. It's a simple cut & paste job of YO, and yet two years later it's still not done.

I mean, if I missing some vast improvements in the MMO version, please tell me. I certainly can't find them. It looks the same, it plays the same, and I don't see much difference between the two games, other then the obvious fact that the map is bigger and everyone is lumped on a single server.

So, it took you what? Two years? I don't know what you guys have been doing all that time. It sure as hell can't be coding and designing the MMO. And to put the icing on the cake, you are actually charging people money to gain access to the Closed Beta, if you don't feel like waiting for Open beta. That's some shifty business right there. Not to mention the fact that the entire business model of basically developing one product, selling it, and then repacking said game basically into a low quality MMO, and charging more money for that while pocketing the rest I'm sure.

I'd ask for a refund for my founder package, but I have the distinct feeling they ordered a pizza yesterday with it.

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Arrakis
 
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Re: Closed Beta First Impressions.

Post by Arrakis » 09 Jul 2017, 12:44

While I may understand being worried about the skillcap, it's a mystery why would anyone want to play alone in a Massive Multiplayer Online sandbox with PvP and politics at its core. If someone is set on playing alone with huge skill cap, there's Life is Feudal: Your Own that allows doing just that. Of course, MMO allows to play alone, there are private claims after all. But that's optional only, it's not the game meant to be played alone.

Now what I explained a while ago, YO and MMO are aimed at a little bit different audiences. And if for some reason you failed to see a difference between those games, here's a comparison of key features that differ those titles, and that is only from a technical point of view.

And what have we been doing for 2 years? I could list it all, but I will simply redirect you to our news page and development news where you can check the progress for yourself. Of course, it's a lot of reading, but at least it a solid proof that we weren't tweedling our thumbs during that time.

I will also answer your question as for why it's taking so long. Well, everything comes down to server stability really. Our game world consists of 49 server nodes - you can see that on our world map - and we have to ensure that those server nodes are stable and transition between them is smooth. It is supposed to be a persistent world after all. It is a great challenge - especially to a small team such as ours - to create such big world, where you can literally change - terraform - every square of the land and build vast kingdoms and even raise new islands if you're patient enough. It's not a themepark game like WoW, where players only interact with each other, certain objects, questgivers and mobs. Here we need to ensure that none of the players actions, like terraforming, building, fighting etc. won't compromise server stability. There is an abnormous amount of variables changing each second with players activity, so it's not walk in the park because we have to prepare the servers having in mind all of those variables.

As for your refund request, if you are truly a player that prefers to play completely alone, I can agree that it may not be the game fitting your tastes and Life is Feudal: Your Own may fit you better at this point. You can send your request for refund of the supporter package via email helpmmo@lifeisfeudal.com

And just a quick summary - Life is Feudal: MMO is a game with some of the differences that may only be noticed in time, when great kingdoms will emerge, playing politics, waging wars and conquering other settlements and cities, changing the landscape in the process. This is something that you will never see in LiF:YO, but as I said, those two titles are aimed at a little bit different audiences and not everyone wants to take part in something that massive, but rather play alone or only with their friends, in peace. ;)


Batman026
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Re: Closed Beta First Impressions.

Post by Batman026 » 09 Jul 2017, 21:44

:beer: with all good things takes patience :beer:


Aivarioha
 
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Re: Closed Beta First Impressions.

Post by Aivarioha » 17 Jul 2017, 20:37

:shock:
Was thinking about buying the founder pack but after reading this thread I'll put a hold on that and considering how many baits we get these days on steam...

An MMO game that doesn't provide a productive and an interesting progression path for a solo player seems dumb and mind-boggling to me.

it's not the game meant to be played alone.


Realistically there have always been merchants, hunters, adventure seekers/explorers and many other roles that have been a part of medieval world.
Sandbox MMO's were always about options and diversity but if "winning" can only be achieved via massive scale PvP and being a piece of a braindead zerg clan in this game.... I'll put a stamp DECLINED for now.
We got Lineage 2 for that and it doesn't cost anything...


Swaney.shawn
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Re: Closed Beta First Impressions.

Post by Swaney.shawn » 20 Jul 2017, 02:59

Aivarioha wrote::shock:
Was thinking about buying the founder pack but after reading this thread I'll put a hold on that and considering how many baits we get these days on steam...

An MMO game that doesn't provide a productive and an interesting progression path for a solo player seems dumb and mind-boggling to me.

it's not the game meant to be played alone.


Realistically there have always been merchants, hunters, adventure seekers/explorers and many other roles that have been a part of medieval world.
Sandbox MMO's were always about options and diversity but if "winning" can only be achieved via massive scale PvP and being a piece of a braindead zerg clan in this game.... I'll put a stamp DECLINED for now.
We got Lineage 2 for that and it doesn't cost anything...


One assumes that'll come naturally as the need arises. At this point, we're in a closed BETA with a limited number of players, so the need for 'solo' players isn't there...yet. Once a global economy of sorts is established there's no reason a person couldn't just focus on a particular aspect of play.


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Re: Closed Beta First Impressions.

Post by Zelos » 20 Jul 2017, 07:14

Aivarioha wrote::shock:
Was thinking about buying the founder pack but after reading this thread I'll put a hold on that and considering how many baits we get these days on steam...

An MMO game that doesn't provide a productive and an interesting progression path for a solo player seems dumb and mind-boggling to me.

it's not the game meant to be played alone.


Realistically there have always been merchants, hunters, adventure seekers/explorers and many other roles that have been a part of medieval world.
Sandbox MMO's were always about options and diversity but if "winning" can only be achieved via massive scale PvP and being a piece of a braindead zerg clan in this game.... I'll put a stamp DECLINED for now.
We got Lineage 2 for that and it doesn't cost anything...


i think the game is playable on your own perfectly, but in a realistic way.
There is a skillcap of 400, but that only means that you can't learn and do everything. However if you think about it, that makes perfectly sense, because there barely is anybody in the real world who can hunt, cook, smith and on top knows how to build a fortress.

The roles you mention, merchants, hunters, adventure seekers and explorers should all be possible, you just have to trade a lot. But none of them require you to get more than 400 skill points.


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Re: Closed Beta First Impressions.

Post by Baal » 20 Jul 2017, 10:59

Zelos wrote:i think the game is playable on your own perfectly, but in a realistic way.
There is a skillcap of 400, but that only means that you can't learn and do everything. However if you think about it, that makes perfectly sense, because there barely is anybody in the real world who can hunt, cook, smith and on top knows how to build a fortress.

The roles you mention, merchants, hunters, adventure seekers and explorers should all be possible, you just have to trade a lot. But none of them require you to get more than 400 skill points.


Remember you can up to 500 skill points with 60 points in intelligence and 600 skill points with 110 intel., it will be the choice of non-figther character like merchant or pure craftman. Many craftman reroll character will be like this.
So this choice can unlock a range of skill at lvl 30 or 60. and give access to practicaly all skills, not mastered at 100 of course but playable for most parts of crafting recipes for solo players. Solo player also mean that he will be more intend to trade with friendly (and generous) neighbour to get quality stuff he need the most.

After all having 110 intel don't mean you can't defend yourself and fight versus a stronger ennemy, you still can handle light weapons and do damage.

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Re: Closed Beta First Impressions.

Post by Brother » 20 Jul 2017, 13:35

I'll add that the enhanced permissions system in the MMO is also conducive to solo players. It's now totally possible to be a wandering craftsman and contract your work to guilds for a price, as guild leaders can give you individual permissions without you actually joining the claim. This is a big difference from YO and adds a lot of potential for niche skills that solo players can pursue.
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Re: Closed Beta First Impressions.

Post by Baal » 20 Jul 2017, 15:11

Brother wrote:I'll add that the enhanced permissions system in the MMO is also conducive to solo players. It's now totally possible to be a wandering craftsman and contract your work to guilds for a price, as guild leaders can give you individual permissions without you actually joining the claim. This is a big difference from YO and adds a lot of potential for niche skills that solo players can pursue.


It's what i love in this game is the fact that solo people can travel around freely with his master skill to sell his service to other guilds who need this guy talent, for instance a skilled building repairer with his kits can visit a town to sell his service to maintain building when it's needed, because a broken building can be a huge spine-in-the-foot to a guild who has is repairer on vacation. Then the guild can temporarily give permission the guy to repair a specific building ;)
It goes the same for all skills if anyone wanted to.

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Hodo
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Re: Closed Beta First Impressions.

Post by Hodo » 20 Jul 2017, 20:09

To OP.
Punishingly low skill cap? You have 400pts (+INT) so you could have between 410-450 if you build an average character.

But that is 400pts in EACH area, Combat, Crafting and Minor.

So you could max 3 tiers of one class and have a second tier 1 maxed, in each area.

And with attribute bonuses to the skills you dont even have to max them.

Then there is the fact that this is a sandbox MMO, life is not easy when you want to do everything on your own. Try living on your own today, without any help from anyone. Just walk out your front door with nothing but the clothes on your back, and go build a house and a life for yourself in the woods. See how well you do it.
IF you survive your first winter you will be a pretty miserable person BUT you will be alive, and you will have tons of skills, none of them at an expert level, but good enough to survive without failing.

Humans are social creatures, we do not do well alone. We NEED other humans to prosper. We cannot succeed on our own.


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Re: Closed Beta First Impressions.

Post by Scratchit » 20 Jul 2017, 21:18

Arrakis wrote:While I may understand being worried about the skillcap, it's a mystery why would anyone want to play alone in a Massive Multiplayer Online sandbox with PvP and politics at its core.



If that statement is true, if you're honest about it, I can totally explain it to you.


I mean I can explain to you why someone, in fact many people, would want to play solo (not alone) in a MMORPG, especially a sandbox with pvp and politics at its core.

Because I'd like to do that, for one. And I've done it in lots of other MMORPGs including sandbox etc

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Re: Closed Beta First Impressions.

Post by Arrakis » 21 Jul 2017, 13:37

Scratchit wrote:Because I'd like to do that, for one. And I've done it in lots of other MMORPGs including sandbox etc

Then make sure to hone your skills in one particular area and sell your services to people around and trade goods with them. You can't stay completely secluded in an online game like this if that's what you're planning on doing, not for long anyway.


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Re: Closed Beta First Impressions.

Post by Scratchit » 22 Jul 2017, 18:03

I know this is a bit off topic, but just for the sake of argument, would a young man living alone in his house in a village be secluded?

That's what I was imagining.

You could have a profession, go to the market, participate in throwing tree trunk tournament, steal, fight whatever.

My point is not being in a guild doesn't necessarily mean "secluded".

Not everyone in medieval towns and villages were part of clans, guilds and so on, and the relationship between peasants and the nobility that was "protecting" them wasn't binding like a membership.

It was more a case of "I pay taxes, if we get invaded you shelter us".

Lastly, from a larger angle, I suppose you could say that if you were "born and raised " in a country then you probably couldn't really escape being a national, civilian.

Though from a gaming perspective, specifically to LIF, I insist that playing "solo" should be a viable way to play. I've done it and currently it's extremely time consuming, requires loads of alts, and honestly isn't really much fun.

But I'm not lying when I say that even during the CBT I have read very often in global chat newbies asking if they could "solo". (also on forums since last year)

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Re: Closed Beta First Impressions.

Post by Hodo » 22 Jul 2017, 20:05

Scratchit wrote:I know this is a bit off topic, but just for the sake of argument, would a young man living alone in his house in a village be secluded?

That's what I was imagining.

You could have a profession, go to the market, participate in throwing tree trunk tournament, steal, fight whatever.

My point is not being in a guild doesn't necessarily mean "secluded".

Not everyone in medieval towns and villages were part of clans, guilds and so on, and the relationship between peasants and the nobility that was "protecting" them wasn't binding like a membership.

It was more a case of "I pay taxes, if we get invaded you shelter us".

Lastly, from a larger angle, I suppose you could say that if you were "born and raised " in a country then you probably couldn't really escape being a national, civilian.

Though from a gaming perspective, specifically to LIF, I insist that playing "solo" should be a viable way to play. I've done it and currently it's extremely time consuming, requires loads of alts, and honestly isn't really much fun.

But I'm not lying when I say that even during the CBT I have read very often in global chat newbies asking if they could "solo". (also on forums since last year)


Actually depending on the culture, if you lived in that village you were part of that "clan".

Scottish Highlanders are a great example same for the Danes, Norse, and Swedes. If you lived in the village you were part of that clan, you were part of that fiefdom and ultimately answered to the nobility over you.

People who live alone were hermits and often didnt live long on their own. There are a few examples through history of individuals doing well on their own. But they were often not truly alone just living on the fringe.

Even in modern times if you grew up in one town for most of your life... say till 18... then went out on your own. You will ALWAYS be considered from there. So you are part of that community, that clan of sorts.

I am sure people could let you live on their lands without being part of the clan, but the first sign of trouble and you will be ousted.

While having a profession and going into "town" to trade and such, while that is good and all, you are not truly alone. You are living on the fringe of that society. And that is completely possible, but I would pick somewhere VERY well populated that would support your trade and lifestyle. The starter town is a good point to stay near. Or find a very large active clan after launch and hope they stay that way. So you have people to trade with.

But most large clans will be self-sufficient and not need your wears. They will also offer little in the way of protection to you, as you will not live within their walls.

Either way it is a life choice in game.

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