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Has anyone played Age of Wushu?

MandresMandres Registered User regular
Apparently this one is set for US release next week. F2P, hugely popular in China, and I keep hearing it described as a 'sandbox' game instead of a 'theme park' game. Has anyone played it? Is it worth a download?

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  • MandresMandres Registered User regular
  • citizen059citizen059 hello my name is citizen I'm from the InternetRegistered User regular
    There was some discussion about it in the Free MMO thread, starting around here:

    http://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/comment/25302057/#Comment_25302057

  • MandresMandres Registered User regular
    thanks, it sounds awesome doesn't it? I am so ready for something different than the WoW-clone MMO's we've had for the last few years. I've thought about trying EVE a few times but I really don't want to be years behind everyone else.

  • imperialparadoximperialparadox Houston, TXRegistered User regular
    It's fun, different, confusing, refreshing, and bizarre. To get the most fun out of it, you need to create your own fun - it doesn't really do the quest railroad and after your finished with the tutorial area you're pretty much on your own as to what you will do. This can be a good or bad thing, depending on your disposition.

    While it's free, you essentially need to pay for VIP access to level with any speed. You aren't barred from leveling without VIP status, but the paid service allows your character to continue turning xp into skill gain while offline, which is a big deal if you want to advance with any speed. I don't particularily have a problem with this, but just throwing it out there so you know.

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  • DarkewolfeDarkewolfe Registered User regular
    This thread needs way more info about this. I could be interested, but you have not tantalized me, OP!

    What is this I don't even.
  • ringswraithringswraith Registered User regular
    I also found the tutorial (specifically, combat/martial arts section) a little trite.

    "Okay- let's teach you how to fight unarmed. Now, pick a school- where they will teach you their own martial art, thus reducing the chance of you actually using your inferior unarmed skills to almost zero!"

  • PoolCuePoolCue Registered User regular
    did they ever improve the localization for this game?

    it's an mmo I could see myself getting into if everything was explained a little bit better

  • MrVyngaardMrVyngaard Live From New Etoile Straight Outta SosariaRegistered User regular
    I think they delayed release to work more on the localization. I'll probably throw in my hat and try it out a bit.

    "now I've got this mental image of caucuses as cafeteria tables in prison, and new congressmen having to beat someone up on inauguration day." - Raiden333
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  • F87F87 So Say We All Registered User regular
    I'm thinking of trying this... can your character be offline if you aren't VIP?

  • PoolCuePoolCue Registered User regular
    I haven't really researched too much into the game but from what I hear, characters can grow offline only if they're VIP

  • MandresMandres Registered User regular
    edited April 2013

    While it's free, you essentially need to pay for VIP access to level with any speed. You aren't barred from leveling without VIP status, but the paid service allows your character to continue turning xp into skill gain while offline, which is a big deal if you want to advance with any speed. I don't particularily have a problem with this, but just throwing it out there so you know.

    I'm not sure that's still true. At least not for the NA version. None of the previews/features I've found mention having to pay in order to keep developing skills while offline. There may be some kind of item you can buy that boosts the rate of skill development slightly, but neutering non-paying players like that doesn't make much sense.

    Anyway, the U.S. version goes live this afternoon. I downloaded the client last night but I won't be able to check it out until this weekend probably. If it's fun I suppose I can throw together a proper OP and see what havoc the 36 Chambers of W(u) (t)ANG can wreak

    Mandres on
  • F87F87 So Say We All Registered User regular
  • MandresMandres Registered User regular
    really? Well that's some bullshit then. So are VIP players allowed to get stronger 3x faster than non-paying players?

  • Anon the FelonAnon the Felon In bat country.Registered User regular
    Mandres wrote: »
    really? Well that's some bullshit then. So are VIP players allowed to get stronger 3x faster than non-paying players?

    Welcome to the world of F2P.

    You know, back in the day, you just paid a subscription and got access to all the content.

    Now you have to pay twice that to get half the stuff.

  • imperialparadoximperialparadox Houston, TXRegistered User regular
    Yeah, you have to have VIP to be able to level offline. It also gets you some perks like the possibility of getting free money and experience.

    I guess you could just not log off...maybe that would work? Seriously though, I'm not sure how much this really bugs me. It's basically a sub game, with the possibility to play for free if you aren't in a rush to level. The big thing that sucks though, is there is only one character allowed per account - thus, to have VIP on multiple characters you have to shell out the Texa$. The game basically encourages you to have one main character with VIP and perhaps a handful of non-VIP alts that you use for crafting or badge farming (which is a school-quest thing related to advancement, you can basically farm up badges with alts and send them to your main).

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  • The_SpaniardThe_Spaniard It's never lupines Irvine, CaliforniaRegistered User regular
    edited April 2013
    Thanks for making this thread. I work for the company, so if you have any questions about the game feel free to ask.

    To answer your questions about the offline stuff, things like offline cultivation and offline stalls are for VIPs, but that's not the entirety of offline play. Even free players gain experience, money, etc while offline, you just get additional perks for being a VIP.

    For people new to the game this guide might be a good place to start for an overview of various aspects of the game:
    http://www.ageofwushu.com/material/index
    Not quite finished yet, still adding images, cleaning up Engrish, and doing some final editing passes. It's plenty enough to get started though.

    http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=99247006
    Here's the Greenlight page as well.

    Might want to put those links as well as a link to the main game page in the OP.
    http://www.ageofwushu.com/

    The_Spaniard on
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  • Banzai5150Banzai5150 Registered User regular
    Downloading this now to give it a go. Pray it does not disappoint me!

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  • MrVyngaardMrVyngaard Live From New Etoile Straight Outta SosariaRegistered User regular
    http://ageofwushu.wikia.com/wiki/Age_of_Wushu_Wiki

    Might also come in handy for the OP as well, although it seems a touch rough at the moment.

    "now I've got this mental image of caucuses as cafeteria tables in prison, and new congressmen having to beat someone up on inauguration day." - Raiden333
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  • AldoAldo Hippo Hooray Registered User regular
    Massively is running bi-weekly guides on this game: http://massively.joystiq.com/category/the-art-of-wushu/
    This game has been described as EVE Online with colours, so I feel like the game deserves a decent and elaborate OP that will point anyone interested in the game to the most fun they can have as soon as possible. This might take a lot of effort, because the game is infamous for it's lack of information.

    @Mandres Would you be willing to turn this thread into an informative OP? If not then we'll use this thread for now to discuss the game, but I suppose we can start a new thread once we have a clue on what we should tell new players.

    @The_Spaniard What is your position with Snail USA? What are you working on right now? How long have you been working there? Are you willing to answer questions about the game mechanics in this thread?

    Is anyone in a guild yet?

  • F87F87 So Say We All Registered User regular
    Thanks for making this thread. I work for the company, so if you have any questions about the game feel free to ask.

    To answer your questions about the offline stuff, things like offline cultivation and offline stalls are for VIPs, but that's not the entirety of offline play. Even free players gain experience, money, etc while offline, you just get additional perks for being a VIP.

    For people new to the game this guide might be a good place to start for an overview of various aspects of the game:
    http://www.ageofwushu.com/material/index
    Not quite finished yet, still adding images, cleaning up Engrish, and doing some final editing passes. It's plenty enough to get started though.

    http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=99247006
    Here's the Greenlight page as well.

    Might want to put those links as well as a link to the main game page in the OP.
    http://www.ageofwushu.com/

    Awesome, that's good to know.

  • PoolCuePoolCue Registered User regular
    Played for a few hours today. I had also given it a small try during the beta but I put it down due to the localization/UI.

    In terms of changes between the two versions. This one seems easier to get into, but it's still a hassle what with all the menus and screens and navigational buttons.

    In terms of the localization, I can't really remember but it seems to be a lot easier to understand (although still pretty engrishy at times). I at least was able to understand most of the basic mechanics during the tutorial parts (having said that, you should take your time with the tutorials to make sure you understand whats going on). The attributes on your character and the skills you get still are hard to understand, but I was able to figure out the overall combat system this time around.

    After I got my bearings the game got a lot more fun so if you can go through that learning curve and have everything click you should be having some fun.

    Unless you're really against open world PvP in which case you should probably stop.

  • AldoAldo Hippo Hooray Registered User regular
    I had fun doing what I like best in MMOs: leaving the crowd and going exploring. And I got rewarded for that! One of the islands in the middle of a lake looked liked I would be able to climb to the top of it. As I got closed I spotted a silver treasure chest on a branch on a tree on the top of the island, so I spent 15 minutes trying to jump to the top of it and when I finally got there the chest contained 2 gear upgrades. :)

    Unfortunately on my way down I fell to my death and was resurrected in town again. :(

  • MandresMandres Registered User regular
    Aldo wrote: »
    @Mandres Would you be willing to turn this thread into an informative OP? If not then we'll use this thread for now to discuss the game, but I suppose we can start a new thread once we have a clue on what we should tell new players.

    possibly, it depends on whether I get into it when I check it out this weekend. If it's fun and seems like something I want to play for a while I'll put some work into the OP. I really just made the thread to see if anyone else had played it and if it was good or not.

    Can anyone explain the difference/relationship between experience and cultivation? The_Spaniard said that free players would still be able to earn experience while offline, but not cultivation. What's the realistic impact on gameplay from this? I won't play a PvP game where those who pay the $10 have a major advantage over those who don't...

  • Banzai5150Banzai5150 Registered User regular
    edited April 2013
    I'm enjoying the game so far, though a few things are confusing and I'm slowly figuring them out. Lack of backpack space is a thing that may drive me to VIP.

    edit: So as I continue following the guide book thing in the upper right hand corner doing things a newb should do, I've picked up a couple gathering type professions. Fishing and Mining in particular are confusing me on how/where to find what I want to get. Other than opening up the profession thing and showing what's in an area, is there ANY way to find out WHERE in that big area to look? Right now I'm looking for Trout and their supposedly in Yanyu Villa where I am, but I've only found Breams, Green Pike and whatever the fish was right next to the trainer. I'll admit I don't think I've scoured 100% of the water area but I've come pretty damn close. Help?

    Banzai5150 on
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  • The_SpaniardThe_Spaniard It's never lupines Irvine, CaliforniaRegistered User regular
    edited April 2013
    Aldo wrote: »
    Massively is running bi-weekly guides on this game: http://massively.joystiq.com/category/the-art-of-wushu/
    This game has been described as EVE Online with colours, so I feel like the game deserves a decent and elaborate OP that will point anyone interested in the game to the most fun they can have as soon as possible. This might take a lot of effort, because the game is infamous for it's lack of information.

    @Mandres Would you be willing to turn this thread into an informative OP? If not then we'll use this thread for now to discuss the game, but I suppose we can start a new thread once we have a clue on what we should tell new players.

    @The_Spaniard What is your position with Snail USA? What are you working on right now? How long have you been working there? Are you willing to answer questions about the game mechanics in this thread?

    Is anyone in a guild yet?

    My primary job title is PR Coordinator, but I wear many hats, as evidenced by the fact that I'm working on the guide page/IGN wiki right now. I've had my fingers in a few different pies here. We all pull together and help out in any ways we are capable of here in the US office. I've been working here since October of last year. Well I did offer to answer questions about the game, so yeah!
    Mandres wrote: »

    Can anyone explain the difference/relationship between experience and cultivation? The_Spaniard said that free players would still be able to earn experience while offline, but not cultivation. What's the realistic impact on gameplay from this? I won't play a PvP game where those who pay the $10 have a major advantage over those who don't...
    Experience gets converted into cultivation points which are used to cultivate your skills.

    Oh and for anyone that's interested here are the first two reviews out so far:
    http://cheatcc.com/pc/rev/ageofwushureview.html#.UWWjZTckTkQ - 8.2/10
    http://www.gamematics.net/age-of-wushu-review/ - 7.5/10
    Might want to put a running list in the OP of reviews in the OP.

    The_Spaniard on
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  • Gigazombie CybermageGigazombie Cybermage Registered User, __BANNED USERS regular
    I've decided on giving this a try, despite being wary. Any tips? More info on the schools would help.

  • The_SpaniardThe_Spaniard It's never lupines Irvine, CaliforniaRegistered User regular
    I've decided on giving this a try, despite being wary. Any tips? More info on the schools would help.

    My biggest tip would be to give a cursory thumbing of the guide to get down the basics.
    http://www.ageofwushu.com/material/index

    And remember this is a sandbox MMO not your typical theme-park MMO. No hand-holding, no being lead by the nose from one quest to the next. This is literally you being dropped into a world and making your own adventure.

    Playstation/Origin/GoG: Span_Wolf Xbox/uPlay/Bnet: SpanWolf Nintendo: Span_Wolf SW-7097-4917-9392 Steam: http://steamcommunity.com/id/Span_Wolf/
  • DarmakDarmak RAGE vympyvvhyc vyctyvyRegistered User regular
    I've decided on giving this a try, despite being wary. Any tips? More info on the schools would help.

    My biggest tip would be to give a cursory thumbing of the guide to get down the basics.
    http://www.ageofwushu.com/material/index

    And remember this is a sandbox MMO not your typical theme-park MMO. No hand-holding, no being lead by the nose from one quest to the next. This is literally you being dropped into a world and making your own adventure.

    Didn't you link me to an article about this awhile back that sort of described the sandbox aspect of it as very Eve Onlineish?

    JtgVX0H.png
  • The_SpaniardThe_Spaniard It's never lupines Irvine, CaliforniaRegistered User regular
    Darmak wrote: »
    I've decided on giving this a try, despite being wary. Any tips? More info on the schools would help.

    My biggest tip would be to give a cursory thumbing of the guide to get down the basics.
    http://www.ageofwushu.com/material/index

    And remember this is a sandbox MMO not your typical theme-park MMO. No hand-holding, no being lead by the nose from one quest to the next. This is literally you being dropped into a world and making your own adventure.

    Didn't you link me to an article about this awhile back that sort of described the sandbox aspect of it as very Eve Onlineish?

    To answer your question in as detailed a fashion as possible: Yes.

    Playstation/Origin/GoG: Span_Wolf Xbox/uPlay/Bnet: SpanWolf Nintendo: Span_Wolf SW-7097-4917-9392 Steam: http://steamcommunity.com/id/Span_Wolf/
  • CorehealerCorehealer The Apothecary The softer edge of the universe.Registered User regular
    I've been watching a livestream of this on a friend's Twitch channel; people can kidnap others, gank in the open world other factions, get shoved in jail, etc. Pretty crazy stuff I did not expect to see.

    I'm considering giving it a go when things slow down with this semester.

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  • DigitoDigito Registered User regular
    Kinda mixed feelings, this sounds pretty cool but I always had a hard time getting into EVE. And it sounds like VIP's progress much, much much faster than non-VIP's do unless I just let the game run overnight or something. That's an awfully big edge in what sounds like an extremely PvP driven game.

  • imperialparadoximperialparadox Houston, TXRegistered User regular
    Mandres wrote: »
    Aldo wrote: »
    @Mandres Would you be willing to turn this thread into an informative OP? If not then we'll use this thread for now to discuss the game, but I suppose we can start a new thread once we have a clue on what we should tell new players.

    possibly, it depends on whether I get into it when I check it out this weekend. If it's fun and seems like something I want to play for a while I'll put some work into the OP. I really just made the thread to see if anyone else had played it and if it was good or not.

    Can anyone explain the difference/relationship between experience and cultivation? The_Spaniard said that free players would still be able to earn experience while offline, but not cultivation. What's the realistic impact on gameplay from this? I won't play a PvP game where those who pay the $10 have a major advantage over those who don't...

    You earn XP by completing typical MMO activities, such as turning in quests, doing school tasks, etc., etc..

    Experience goes into several different pools based on where you got it from, and these individual pools of experience convert at differing rates into Cultivation. Last time that I checked, 1 XP eventually turns into 1,000 Cultivation. So if you do a quest and get 50 XP, it might not sound like a lot, but it's really 50,000 Cultivation, which is a fairly good amount.

    Once XP is converted into Cultivation, it can be funneled into whatever skill you are currently training, through one of three means:

    1) Internal Cultivation, which is the process that you will use the most. This happens passively, with X amount of Cultivation going into your chosen skill at Y rate. There are various pills (alchemy) that speed up this process. If you have VIP status on your account, this can happen while you are offline.

    2) Team Practice, which is a process whereby you team up with other players and have a martial arts kata session, which plays out like a game of Dance Dance Revolution. It's a bit silly, yet awesome at the same time. Basically you take turns inputting prompted keyboard entries, and as long as everyone performs this correctly Cultivation will be funneled into your skill at a dramatically increased rate. While it takes a large party for this form of training to be efficient, in a full group it will greatly decrease the time that it takes to train a skill. It's fairly common to find people looking to party up for this activity at the schools of each "class," and it's a good idea to do this whenever you can, as it will increase the rate in which you level skills. Note however that you may only benefit from Team Practice so many times in one day due to a stat that you have called Fatigue. I believe that it basically works out to two Team Practices a day.

    3) You can spend NPC-Grade silver to buy pills to quickly use Cultivation. When you are first starting out, this will seem like an expensive option, but as you play you will discover that it is very economical. Note that you can only do this so many times a day, though unless the latest patch changed it, the game will give you an error message about not having enough money to continue your training. If you see this message, what it really means is that you've hit your daily limit for this type of training. There is also a button that you can check in this menu to allow you to use the type of silver that is used for player transactions (which is also the type of silver that can be paid for with real-life money). DO NOT DO THIS. While this might seem like the "pay-to-win" option, it is horribly inefficient, and a waste of money. You'll level just fine without it.

    Once you get comfortable with the game, you will find that XP is very easy to earn. The main thing that hinders your progress is the time that it takes to turn that XP into actual skill gain. This is why VIP accounts have such an incredible advantage over non-paying players, they can continue to train skills even while offline. Basically you might play for an hour or two, and earn enough XP to advance several skills, though it will take so many hours of real-life time to complete your advancement. So, for the VIP player, they will earn XP, log off for the night with a specific skill set to be trained, and log back in with that skill at a new level. A non-VIP player will only experience skill gain while they are logged in, and thus they will eventually lag behind their paying counterparts. Granted, they are able to earn the same levels as the paying customer, they just won't get there as fast.

    You could just not log out, I suppose. I don't think the game kicks you for idling, though you will be disconnected with the daily server reset. You'll even discover that VIP players are logged on idling fairly often, for varying reasons having to do with PVP mechanics and the like. Ultimately, the various real-life time restrictions to character advancement encourages you to level at a steady pace, you can't quickly grind levels because of the waiting involved in skilling up.

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  • DarkewolfeDarkewolfe Registered User regular
    Downloading this. I miss EVE sometimes, but not that much, so we'll see how it scratches that itch. Not a huge fan of asian martial arts, but I'll just pretend it's Jade Empire.

    What is this I don't even.
  • DarkewolfeDarkewolfe Registered User regular
    Are we on a certain server or anything?

    What is this I don't even.
  • PoolCuePoolCue Registered User regular
    While I didn't play EVE that much, I enjoy Age of Wushu a LOT more simply because it's a sandbox mmo with a lot more control over my character.

  • DigitoDigito Registered User regular
    10 dollars a month wouldn't be that bad though, especially if the combat's halfway interesting. But how much like EVE is it? The setting sounds interesting but Open PvP has me a little wary, the only other experience I have with that was EVE where PvP was pretty much all there was to the game and the drama, while fascinating to watch, made actually playing the game kind of a chore.

  • The_SpaniardThe_Spaniard It's never lupines Irvine, CaliforniaRegistered User regular
    Digito wrote: »
    10 dollars a month wouldn't be that bad though, especially if the combat's halfway interesting. But how much like EVE is it? The setting sounds interesting but Open PvP has me a little wary, the only other experience I have with that was EVE where PvP was pretty much all there was to the game and the drama, while fascinating to watch, made actually playing the game kind of a chore.
    Well the great thing about the PVP system in AoW is that people aren't given carte blanche to be turds. Ganking people raises your infamy stat, and when it's high enough you can be arrested, put in prison, executed, etc. Hell if somebody kills you unprovoked and it pissed you off enough you could put a bounty on them. So there is no free reign with no consequences. Sure you can run through town indiscriminately slaughtering everyone you see. But let's check in on you later and see how far that got you. ;)

    Oh and if you are the kind of person that likes doing things like that, you can always pay off officials, try to bribe your way out of prison, gamble with a guard, or even have your guild run a prison break.

    The PVP system is set up a lot like the real world. It's not like there is a magic force-field that would just spring up if you tried to shoot someone in the face, but you're in for a world of misery if you think you can just get away with doing it.

    Playstation/Origin/GoG: Span_Wolf Xbox/uPlay/Bnet: SpanWolf Nintendo: Span_Wolf SW-7097-4917-9392 Steam: http://steamcommunity.com/id/Span_Wolf/
  • DigitoDigito Registered User regular
    Interesting! It does sound like a very well done Sandbox MMO which is something I've certainly missed. How rampant is griefing and the like compared to say EVE then, how hard is it to get rolling as a newbie who doesn't know anybody ingame? Having only one character's fairly intimidating, but I'm guessing like EVE there's no way to screw up a character.

  • AldoAldo Hippo Hooray Registered User regular
    Darkewolfe wrote: »
    Are we on a certain server or anything?

    I went with Blue Dragon based on the advice of the Massively guy. The best reason why to go for the old server is that there is less crazy drama going on and it's actually possible to chop down a tree without fearing for your life.

This discussion has been closed.