Age of Wushu

[FatherXmas]

It's like EVE, but with Kung Fu.

GameStop will have premium box sets for $20 on the 23rd.  Otherwise it's F2P.

http://www.ageofwushu.com/news/view/96

[Tenzhi]

It's like EVE, but with Kung Fu.

A world of PVP, spreadhseets, and tedium?

[FatherXmas]

A world of PVP, spreadhseets, and tedium?

No, a sandbox world with emergent game play and open PvP.

[Tenzhi]

No, a sandbox world with emergent game play and open PvP.

Seems like "yes" may have been the answer you were looking for:

"Emergent gameplay" sounds like there may be at least a certain amount of tedium before it maybe starts to get good.

"Sandbox world" implies a certain amount of complexity.

And "open PVP" is, in fact, a world of PVP - and while the other two facets could be good or bad, this one is an unforgivable sin of gaming.  There are many games which didn't look promising at all that I've given a chance simply because of kung fu flavour, but "open PVP" is the ultimate deterrent.

[FatherXmas]

I don't disagree that open PvP is a turn off.  The OP was just informing people about a kung fu movie style gameplay MMO that doesn't have weirdly proportioned characters with jiggle physics and gratuitous skin.

Plus they have their own "Chuck Norris endorses WoW" moment with Jet Li.

[Tenzhi]

It certainly looks like the sort of game that I'd give a shot if not for the PVP.  And now I'm sad that there's been no sequel to Jade Empire.

Actually, reading the entry on Wikipedia made me wonder momentarily if I hadn't already played this game, though given that it was *just* released it's undoubtedly because of shared elements of kung fu that other games have used.

[TimtheEnchanter]

The paradox of a persistent PvP world is there's a lot more pushing you to feel like you can't take a break.

When you're constantly dealing with opponents, and fighting over territory, trying to take over a map, a completely different mindset kicks in compared to the classic PvE MMO. It becomes a game where you literally feel like you can't stop playing, because something critical might happen. This isn't the case with PvE. Missions start at a certain time, and you have a pretty good idea of how long you'll need to play in order to finish it.

The same holds true with classic PvP games. You know how long the fight is going to last (roughly), and there's a definitive beginning and end to the conflict.

World PvP with long-term goals always boils down to two things.

The first is "Which faction is more popular?" That faction has the most players.

The second is "Which faction is more popular among the kiddies?" That faction has the most players who have few responsibilities and can easily play in 12-hour intervals.

I've already had one experience in which I tried to help overcome both of those problems. I went into hardcore military mode in SWG to fight over a contested zone for 2 days (taking combat naps, living on coffee, and leaving the interface sounds on so if Hell broke loose, my guild could wake me up). We still lost control in the final hours.

Never again.

[wei yau]

I love the world theme and plan on giving it a try.  However, I doubt I will last long due to the Open PvP and, as Tim said, how that does not really work for a casual gamer. 

I've got other responsibilities and can't dedicate a serious amount of time to the game.  That's gonna cost me as everyone else in the server levels up and I'm just low-level cannon fodder.

Still...that setting.  A good number of my CoH characters were inspired by Shaw Brothers movies.  They'd love to be in this world.

[Mistress Urd]

Open pvp is p(you)vpppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppp(them)

I'll take a look at it since you suggested it FatherXmas. F2P and Open PVP usually = city of griefing blobs.

[FatherXmas]

There's a thing up on massively talking about how they handle griefing with a reputation system which when taken to the extreme will mean the griefer's character will be beheaded when caught by the authorities.  Lesser offenses can "buy off" the local officials.

[Brightfires]

A few other things to know about this one before you jump in...

It's F2P, but character progression is slower for free players. To get normal progression time, you have to be a subscriber. That costs 30 gold a month.

The VIP status you buy is not only tied to a particular server (White Tiger and Black Tortise are the new ones, Blue Dragon is the unwiped beta server and has a four month head start-), it's tied to an individual character... So if you want a VIP character on all three servers you have to buy it individually for each of them. If you delete your VIPed character to reroll for some reason, you'll have to re-buy VIP for the new character, even if you had time left on the deleted one.

Many of the cash items are "rentals" rather than purchases, a bit like some of the items in Aion. Pay attention to when they expire.

There's a "kidnapping" system that's a very popular way to make money. Your character hangs around doing things in the game world while you're off-line, and they can be attacked, killed or kidnapped and sold by other players during that down time. So, you may leave your toon happily minding his shop or composing his poetry and come back to find yourself a captive in the mines. That can get annoying.

ETA: People who use that as a money-maker kidnap players, then immediately go off and offer bribes or otherwise "repent for their sins". Only the stupid ones let it get to the point the reputation system bites them, so don't expect that to stop it any more than a similar system for rifters in Aion stopped them from camping contacts or griefing lowbies. <_<

On the good side, the beta community at least is more civil than Aion's ever has been, in spite of the PvP-centric nature of the game. That's not saying a lot given how toxic PvPers can be... but it's something.

[Mistress Urd]

A few other things to know about this one before you jump in...

It's F2P, but character progression is slower for free players. To get normal progression time, you have to be a subscriber. That costs 30 gold a month.

The VIP status you buy is not only tied to a particular server (White Tiger and Black Tortise are the new ones, Blue Dragon is the unwiped beta server and has a four month head start-), it's tied to an individual character... So if you want a VIP character on all three servers you have to buy it individually for each of them. If you delete your VIPed character to reroll for some reason, you'll have to re-buy VIP for the new character, even if you had time left on the deleted one.

Many of the cash items are "rentals" rather than purchases, a bit like some of the items in Aion. Pay attention to when they expire.

There's a "kidnapping" system that's a very popular way to make money. Your character hangs around doing things in the game world while you're off-line, and they can be attacked, killed or kidnapped and sold by other players during that down time. So, you may leave your toon happily minding his shop or composing his poetry and come back to find yourself a captive in the mines. That can get annoying.

ETA: People who use that as a money-maker kidnap players, then immediately go off and offer bribes or otherwise "repent for their sins". Only the stupid ones let it get to the point the reputation system bites them, so don't expect that to stop it any more than a similar system for rifters in Aion stopped them from camping contacts or griefing lowbies. <_<

On the good side, the beta community at least is more civil than Aion's ever has been, in spite of the PvP-centric nature of the game. That's not saying a lot given how toxic PvPers can be... but it's something.

Good to know. I'm sure players can and will be faster than devs at "gaming" the system.

[Absolute]

Was Age of Wushu not one of the biggest MMOs in Asia?

I recently saw an ad with Jet Li advertising it here in some gaming magazine.

I started looking at gameplay videos about a year ago of that game. I can't judge the mechanics of it; I'm sure they have it well-balanced, and it wouldn't be as popular as it is if the gameplay itself was inherently flawed. The environment looked somewhat nice, although I'm more of a futuristic/city person.

I didn't think the gameplay was very smooth though. The way the characters moved and fought each other. For that kind of game I'd prefer Skyrim like graphics.

It seemed reflex intensive, with emphasis on timing. It also looked although it was geared to 1v1 with the enemy, rather than 1vMob or TeamvMob as CoH was.

I don't think that game would specifically appeal to any City of Heroes players.

It was nice to bring it to people's attention though. They can go try it out.