As was foretold, we've added advertisements to the forums! If you have questions, or if you encounter any bugs, please visit this thread: https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/240191/forum-advertisement-faq-and-reports-thread/
Options
Hellgate†London: It's out. Why aren't you playing it?
Monoxide
Registered User, ClubPA regular
Registered User, ClubPA regular
Okay, we've moved over to the Penny Arcade Ventrilo server as the voice quality is so much better.
The info is here: http://forums.penny-arcade.com/showthread.php?t=39448
address: 208.100.40.18
port: 3797
password (if needed): wang
Check out the Game On channels for people with HGL as their comment. If no one's in there, jump in a channel and change your comment to HGL so other people know to hop in with you.
since people keep missing the link:
Hellgate London: Online Skill Calculator
Set your level to 50 and start making builds.
Hellgate: London is the new game by Flagship Studios who are made up of a lot of ex-blizzard north employees and blah blah blah you all know this. I'm going to give some impressions because I'm sick of the ridiculously negative posts regarding the game from people that don't seem to understand what it is and what it isn't.
Single player demo out
This is important. If you play this demo, realize that it sucks, and barely represents the game. It's capped at level 5, only features the tutorial and the first mission hub, which is by nature, kind of boring and devoid of the large amount of monsters and the frantic gameplay you'd find later in the game. I'm kind of disappointed in them for even releasing it, all it seemed to do was generate more negative buzz. Trust me, it gets a ton better. I can tell you this because:
The NDA has been lifted!
That's right. And a lot of people are posting the issues they have with it. In fact, that's pretty much all I've seen, people posting how much they hate the game or how shitty it runs. I'm going to tell you right now, they're full of shit. The game has some bugs, yes, but the beta build we're using is 2-4 weeks behind the current internal build. There is a pretty terrible memory leak that causes the game to crash after a few hours of play, but I'm confident that this will be fixed before release. There's also been complaints about the NPC dialogue and voice acting, but Flagship has mentioned on the forums that they've replaced a lot of it, and just didn't bring the new assets over to the beta build. Because that's not what beta is about, it's about testing the servers and bugs. Most of the other complaints seem to stem from an utter lack in understanding what the game is supposed to be. So:
What is Hellgate?
Hellgate is a dungeon crawler in the vein of Diablo II. It can be played both alone, or online with friends. As such, the game is very much 'soloable', and there is no reason you shouldn't be able to play the entire thing by yourself. It's an action RPG, it's not an MMORPG. The subscription model and single server might confuse some, but the online component acts more like Guild Wars, where the station hubs between the instanced dungeons act as 3D lobbies and meeting places.
The game plays a lot like Diablo II would with a different control scheme. And it's a fucking blast. If you're looking for a game with tons of depth and an intricate group battle system with 40 man raids or whatever, get the fuck out. This is Hellgate, this is about mindlessly tearing through hordes of enemies at once with little to no effort and loving every second of it.
The other biggest complaint I've heard is about the skill trees, which you can see here:
Hellgate London: Online Skill Calculator
Set your level to 50 and start making builds.
Now, at face value, the skill trees do seem like they kind of suck. The point caps on skills implies and the weird pre-reqs and lines instead of trees means that there aren't going to be a lot of different builds. I don't think this is true, however, since there's still a ton that we don't know about skills. Only a handful of people in beta have even been able to get above Level 22, and no one is sure yet which skills synergize with others to make them more powerful. Once the game has been out for a while, I'm sure there will be plenty of very specific builds that make it possible to play a class different ways, especially with the skill-centric characters like Summoner and Evoker.
Overall, Hellgate is pretty fucking fun. And that's the point of the game. I haven't been able to get a character up into Nightmare yet, but I can imagine it'll be a blast, especially since Diablo II didn't really shine or become challenging until after Normal mode. It really does feel like Diablo, with a comprehensive online more, that's all I wanted. Flagship delivered in spades. Even with some of the issues, I'm still really looking forward to it. Now stop your bitching and start killing demons.
And here's Narian's excellent OP from the other thread for posterity:
Latest News - September 11th
-If you pre-order HG:L you will also be able to upgrade your account to a "Founder Account" which is a Lifetime Subscription for $149.99. You have to Pre-Order, and it's only offered until November 30th, 2007!
-If you go to http://www.hellgatelondon.com/beta/ you can see that if you Pre-Order HG:L you will be able to join into the Beta at a (as of today) undisclosed date. Also shows the three different Dye Kits you can get from the 3 possible vendors.
-European Subscription Pricing Announced! (€ 9.99 / £6.99 per month) Official Link
-You can now input your e-mail, and then sell your soul to Satan, for a chance to get randomly chosen into the Alpha/Beta here.
-New info on the Korean Beta + lots of new hot screens here at PlayHGL.
-New Coop Trailer showing a Guardian and a Marksman. Really smooth and just plain awesome. Shows loot!
-New info on the Collector's Edition down in the CE Section...
-Release dates announced! October 31st, 2007 for North America, and November 2nd, 2007 for Europe! No Asian release date announced so far. [/size]
-New Gamespy Hands-On of the Co-op aspect of HG:L. Really interesting, 3 guys play together as a Marksman, Guardian and a Summoner.
-New 4Gamer info on Marksman and Engineer skills and it includes lots of pictures.
-Brand spankin' new trailer for Hellgate: London. You will NOT be disappointed. YouTube Link.
-Yes, that's right, it's summer-time and the smell of newly sent Alpha emails is slowly trickling in. F5 buttons are crying out in pain. Life is good.
If you want to be a part of the testing process sign up at www.hellgatelondon.com to recieve their newsletter and to have a chance at testing HG:L in later stages. Right now they are going in alphabetical order of email. Please Digg this news!
-New E3 cam videos of game play about 90 seconds long. Shows Guardian and Summoner classes and some character voice. In regular and HD flavors.
The Game
The Story
"Hellgate: London takes place in 2038, 18 years after the start of a war: London has been invaded by demons from Hell. These particular hellions are a tireless lot, and have been looking for a way into our universe for a long time. Up until recently, humans have had many champions looking to hold back the flood. Various real-world events are referenced in the background of the Hellgate story as averted crossover attempts. The Crusades were actually undertaken to fight back the minions of Hell, as was the charring of London in the great fire to wipe out the Plague. According to the story line, the famous Knights Templar were the keepers of knowledge on how to battle these demonic forces. Unfortunately, these heroes underwent a charring of their own at the hands of a jealous King Phillip IV, who hated the power they held in the world at large. While the Knights Templar survived as an organization, their numbers were severely diminished and were forced to remain in hiding to stay alive.
As time passed and technology progressed, the old ways began to fade from memory and the secrets of the arcane were lost. When the demons attacked again, they found their enemies unprepared. Ordinary weapons were no use against the demons, who could shrug off an RPG round. The Templars offered their special services to the military, but the leaders balked, refusing to believe in the new truths. Hell quickly took the victory in the battle for Earth. The Burn, a decades-long process of "hellforming" or turning our world into theirs, has begun.
However all is not lost, as various groups have been preparing for just such an eventuality. Freemasons built the London Underground to be demon resistant, and as such the stations now act as bases, "safe zones" for would-be defenders. These defenders are armed with a fusion of modern weaponry and arcane magic such as flamethrowers that throw Greek fire. In the game, you play one of these defenders." -HellgateDB
The Classes
Three main Factions are the defenders of London. Cabalists, Templars and Hunters.
Cabalists - http://www.hellgatelondon.com/classes/cabalist/#fancy_panel
-Delvers of arcane knowledge, students of the dark arts, and explorers on the fringes of science, Cabalists use the powers of the demons against them. Cabalists are spell-casters, and more specifically, summoners and controllers of demons and the primal forces of the netherworld. They seek to study and dissect the essence of the demons to achieve the next evolution of mankind.
-These guys are broken up into Summoner and Evoker classes. Summoner are the Necros of HG:L, while the Evokers play like Mages using special weapons.
Templars - http://www.hellgatelondon.com/classes/templar/#fancy_panel
-These are the followers of the ancient rites and rituals of the Knights Templar whose writings and disciplines foresaw the demonic invasion centuries ago. Since the Dark Ages their order has been prepared for this apocalypse, training in the ways of holy magic and organizing their followers for the eventual war against the forces of Hell.
-This archetype is broken down into the Guardian and Blademaster classes. The Guardians wield Massive shields and use auras ala a Paladin, and the Blademaster dual-wields to deliver swift and painful death upon Hells' demons.
Hunters - http://hellgate.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Hunter
-Black Ops. Wetworks. The Agency. Every government has its darker side. No matter the name, the world powers have always maintained highly-trained individuals who are most comfortable clinging to the shadows and dealing with threats in their own extremely deadly ways. Trained with technology that is far superior to what the common man could even dream of, these Hunters commonly went after the most dangerous prey of all -- each other. That is... until the Demons came.
-The archetype of the Hunter is obscure, cloaked in mystery and subterfuge. In one way he is the Assassin, the Ninja, the Knife in the Dark. In other ways, he is the Ronin, a highly-trained warrior with no master. In yet more, he is the Destroyer, a force of blazing gunfire and deadly accuracy that lays waste to any that stand in his way. In all ways, The Hunter will not be staid.
-The Hunter Faction breaks down into the Marksman and Engineer classes. The Marksmen wields Heavy Weapons and grenades relying on his abilities with the gun to kill anything that moves. The Engineer on the other hand relies on his weaponry, his drone (like a Hunter pet created from spare weaponry) and his drones.
The World of London
"The game world of Hellgate: London is a massive set of perilous environments, featuring safe zones (disused Underground stations) connected by numerous demon-infested dungeons and city streets. The journey between zones will be randomly generated, as in Diablo II, but unlike Diablo II the levels will be fully 3D. Randomly generating convincing 3D levels is technically fairly difficult; it was attempted in Soldier of Fortune II: Double Helix to mixed critical response. For this reason, Hellgate: London uses its own proprietary graphics engine, an upgraded version of the Mythos engine. Included in this randomization is randomly generated enemies, as well as weaponry used by the enemies.
The game will feature London areas and buildings of interest, and indeed St Paul's Cathedral was featured in an early concept art drawing, hinting further at this. Another building that has been brought up in an interview is Big Ben. However, the developers are still keeping these details, and which role such buildings may play in the game, mostly to themselves and thus a surprise for the gamers.
The game has been revealed to consist of five acts to unify the areas a player travels through on a greater scale. This act system is also used in other games of the action-RPG genre, not to mention the five acts of Diablo II. These acts actually will be transparent and the user will have a very difficult time realizing they just moved to a new act.
The safe zones scattered across the world will act like safe havens to purchase and upgrade items at NPC merchants, interact with other people in the game world, and gather and complete quests. The safe zones are the only parts of the world that are not instanced." -HellgateDB
The Gameplay
The game plays like Diablo 2 in 3D set in the future. Basically. Theres a slot inventory system where you place your armor, weapons, and mods. Mods are little addons that you place on your weapons which can add special effects or give boosts to damage, ect. But they also appear ingame on your weapon. Neat. Best way to get an idea of how it plays is to watch one of the many gameplay vids, especially the newer ones.
Other Info
Hellgate: London IRC
Server: irc.forthegamers.org
Channel: #hellgatelondon
The PA HGL/Mythos Teamspeak Server
202.142.142.195:8767
Mythos/HGL Channel Pass: wang
Hellgate: London Novels
There will also be a trilogy ofnovels based on Hellgate: London written by Mel Odom. The first novel, called Exodus was released in June 2007. The second novel, called Goetia is scheduled for release in February of 2008.
Pricing Scheme
I'm not going to really comment on this section because there is no solid info about this AT ALL.
Mythos - www.mythos.com
A free Diablo clone made by Flagship to test the Hellgate engine that is currently in beta. A fun little game that could.
Collector's Edition
-Special Packaging and Art Design
-Hellgate: London Game 2 DVDs
-Bonus Disc containing: “Making of Hellgate: London” & Official Game Soundtrack
-Hellgate: London Map Poster
-106 page Dark Horse Graphic Novel
-Unique in-game pet – Mantawraith (Picture below of a possible look of the pet)
So that's pretty much it, might update the OP if I have forgotten anything, but for now just keep refreshing those mailboxes in hopes of a beta invite. More news as it flows in.
Disclaimer: Please don't talk about subscription plans because 1) Nothing is set in stone right now 2) because no one cares 3) it always makes shitty discussions. Thank you
Monoxide on
0
This discussion has been closed.
Posts
Problem is my char and most of the monsters don't have textures, just "effects" on them so they look 80% transparent. Framerate is fine, I try tweaking the video options and nothing.
Any clues or help?
BRAWL: 1160-9686-9416
Do the demo quests just full on stop once you give the tech the capacitors?
Because I've been wandering aimlessly around the convent garden area just killing things.
I think they do. I haven't played it myself, but that's what someone was saying earlier. It just ends with no indication.
As far as I can tell, there's the quests in Holborton Station -- and that's it. The main-story-quest tells you to go to Convent Garden Station, but that's actually not allowed in the demo. Bunch of other people have posted with similar observations.
i think i'm gonna buy this on release. i believe in the last thread i talked about what a bad taste the demo left in my mouth, not gonna buy it, etc... but i'm hoping the demo truly was an awful representation of the game. i'm trying to ignore the demo in my mind, and it's working for the most part, because i'm excited about the release
hopefully it'll remain that way until the 31st.
most of all, most of all
someone said true love was dead
but i'm bound to fall
bound to fall for you
oh what can i do
Yeah, I guess the setting isn't as important once you're making your 30th boss run in the day searching for phat lewt, but really... it should grab you even a bit.
There's also getting the leg and the other guy asks you to kill zombies and some other things. If you're looking at the door you helped the tech repair, it's to the left. Not sure if that's the one you mention because I don't remember the names of the places.
Not sarcasm, though I don't expect most of you to get founders :P
3ds friend code: 2981-6032-4118
Honestly I played the SP demo (even though I'm in beta) and the demo is god awful. I wouldn't buy the game if the only thing I played was the SP demo. 90% of the good things about the game, they left out.
BRAWL: 1160-9686-9416
BRAWL: 1160-9686-9416
BRAWL: 1160-9686-9416
But, I am just playing this demo to see how well it run on my old crappy comp, if it looks decent and plays decent I may just pick this up.
Steam: abunchofdaftpunk | PSN: noautomobilesgo | Lastfm: sjchszeppelin | Backloggery: colincummings | 3DS FC: 1392-6019-0219 |
If I go crit build with my marksman, I think I will go...
Tactical Stance: 10/10
Beacon: 5/10
Escape: 1/10
Dead Eye: 7/7
Overshield: 3/7
Reflected Shot: 7/7
Hollow Points: 7/7
Elemental Visions: 10/10
Escape is a one point wonder. Tactical stance is vital for the crit chance bonus, overshield is pre-req for elemental visions, and EV is good for ignite/phase, both good for taking out bosses(which is what a crit build is mainly meant for). Dead eye and Hollow points are obvious, and critical(yay puns). Reflected shot was a hard choice over the other boost skills, but it will help with boss mobs and regular mobs as well, letting you focus on the boss itself. I dumped the last five points into beacon(normally a one hit wonder), as it just makes you do more damage overall, and its more useful than anywhere else it could have been put(though 1 into sniper or grenade wouldn't have been a bad choice, if you wanted to level a bit easier.
3ds friend code: 2981-6032-4118
Yes you should, that's what it comes in, it comes with one key that gives the dye, the beta and the option for the founder thing. If you want the dye you need the key.
Ugh, back to the mall I go haha. Thanks!
Cue: devoir
SteamID: FronWewq
Battle.net: Orange#1845
3DS Friend Code: 1289-9498-5797
I've had a few graphical stutters (nothing that takes more than 30 seconds to clear up) and no real bugs to speak of. And as far as the gameplay itself, it's a hell of a lot of fun (ouch, no pun intended there). Having never played the demo I can't speak to its faults, but having gotten to level 12 the quests, areas, and monsters have really start to show some fun variety. I mean, what's not to love about jumping around a replica of the British Museum, spraying swarms of rockets into demons the size of small houses?
I want it. Me. For free.
BRAWL: 1160-9686-9416
I'm leaning towards corner and crying, but that's just me. You could always call a best buy store and ask them to give you one of the pre-order cases or something, if you can prove you pre-ordered
Devoir must be MIA today or something. I thought he'd be all over the Mythos thread that I made, but I haven't seen him yet.
Aussie-land must have finally driven him crazy, what with all the incessant upside-downness.
im sold.
360 Gamertag: Baronskatenbass Steam: BaronVonSnakPak HgL: AnsonLuap
Some of the skills seem a bit below par but I love how you can sort of theme your character. I took marksman and it seems like you can theme around precision sniping, throwing out an unholy amount of lead from a base of fire and relying on crit chances and ricochets and so on or what I took, all the grenades and AoE strikes (and my rare Firefox with upgrades, god I love that gun). The amount of firepower and explosives you can dish out, even moreso in tight areas is pretty obscene.
Armour starts off looking awesome and just gets better as well. In short this is boughted. Now to try and find the collectors edition in the UK.
I'm not sure if the problem is on their end or mine.
IOS Game Center ID: Isotope-X