Nosgoth

[Gaelbert]

Anyone here play Nosgoth? It's an asymmetric, third person shooter set in the Legacy of Kain universe. It's a free to play game in Open Beta right now and despite that, it's also a ton of fun. The free to play model is actually pretty decent, there hasn't been a single time where I felt like I lost because I didn't buy something and you unlock new classes at a decent rate.

Matches are split into two halves, you play as the humans for one half and the vampire for the other. It's a fairly simple TDM mode, but you're forced to work together with the rest of your team. Vampires are individually more powerful than the humans, but the humans have ranged weapons and a bunch of crowd control abilities that mean a coordinated human team is likely to beat an equally skilled vampire squad.

I've been playing a lot of the hunter for humans and the summoner for vampires. I feel pretty confident with my vampire classes (at lower levels the vampires win nearly all the time), although I'm not really sure of when I should be melee engaging with my summoner. She's pretty squishy. I'm less confident with my hunter (once again, people at low levels don't seem to have the coordination needed, myself included) but it's still probably more fun for me.

Anyone else?

[Psyren]

I'm boycotting this game on principle because I want another proper LoK game (preferably while Simon Templeman and Michael Bell are still doing voice work.)

[Gaelbert]

I'm boycotting this game on principle because I want another proper LoK game (preferably while Simon Templeman and Michael Bell are still doing voice work.)

Well I think this is made by a completely different studio so I don't imagine they cut resources from a "proper" LoK game to make this. Lore isn't too huge in Nosgoth but it has tempted me to look at some of the previous games now, I'd never heard of them until now but they sound fun.

[Divayth Fyr]

On the other hand they did scrap a single-player LoK game (Legacy of Kain: Dead Sun (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBN8N2NXfi4)) that was being developed and some claimed Nosgoth was supposed to be the multiplayer component of that (now, is that really true, or were the projects always completely separate as the devs claim, we won't be able to tell).

[Psyren]

On the other hand they did scrap a single-player LoK game (Legacy of Kain: Dead Sun (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBN8N2NXfi4)) that was being developed and some claimed Nosgoth was supposed to be the multiplayer component of that (now, is that really true, or were the projects always completely separate as the devs claim, we won't be able to tell).

This... this is fantastic. And only fills me with more rage.

[Kaun]

i got about an hour out of the game. It's ok, but meh, i have other things im more interested in playing.

I think there F2P model is a little bit tight, especially for a multiplayer shooter. To much of the game hidden behind the pay wall.

[Winthur]

This... this is fantastic. And only fills me with more rage.

There is no Raziel, no Kain (and so no reason to hire either Templeman or Bell; remember they also even tried to ditch David Bateson [the original voice for Agent 47] and they successfully ditched Stephen Russell [Garrett]), and the utterance of the phrase "**** YOU VAMPIRE" leads me to believe that Amy Hennig had also been gone at that point.

The development had been canned in 2012, which is also when Square Enix pushed the utter lore/gameplay travesty that was Hitman: Absolution (come to think of it, the game even looks very similar, if only because of the camera angles), which most of the core fans had no love for; and two years later, Thief had also been successfully destroyed as a franchise, satisfying neither the newcomers and especially not the Thief community. Hell, I didn't even like the newest Tomb Raider at all.

To reiterate:

Square Enix Europe community manager George Kelion said that the game would have rebooted or retconned the series' established mythology, and only utilized returning characters "in the broadest possible terms." (...) The Hylden race did not appear in the story.

Perhaps it was for the best -- I don't think the trailer honestly looks all that fantastic and all the signs and the quote above are screaming "It's a yet another horrible reboot of a beloved franchise lead by Squeenix".

Some people in the comments under the video and on other forums keep comparing it to Shadow of Mordor, gameplay-wise, so maybe there's that. But I don't think it would carry a proper LoK sequel vibe with what has been offered.

The only proper sequel would be Defender of the Cheese (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAds4kH7QDE).

[Psyren]

Winthur, don't take this the wrong way, but I think you and I have different enough tastes (especially story-wise) that I can basically take the above as a ringing endorsement instead of the condemnation it was intended to be.

And the fact that I got invested in that story even without Templeman or Bell at the helm, to me only highlights the viability of what they scrapped/squandered in favor of yet another bland MOBA.

[Gaelbert]

And the fact that I got invested in that story even without Templeman or Bell at the helm, to me only highlights the viability of what they scrapped/squandered in favor of yet another bland MOBA.

It's not a MOBA. It's a MOBA in the sense that any online multiplayer game within a set arena is a MOBA, but it plays more like TF2 than Dota or LoL.

[Psyren]

It's not a MOBA. It's a MOBA in the sense that any online multiplayer game within a set arena is a MOBA, but it plays more like TF2 than Dota or LoL.

Either way, it's going to be light on plot and nonexistent on setting progression, because of the inherent flaw with multiplayer-focused games that they have to wipe the slate clean after every match for balance's sake.

TF2 got around that somewhat with strong characterization and very stylized/expressive art; thus the "endless war" aspect of the setting whereby nothing really changed (except hats I guess?) squeaked by unremarked. But Nosgoth is very much a setting built around the idea of breaking cycles and defying destiny, and I don't think a repetitive multiplayer arena (however you want to categorize it) fits with that mold at all.

But anyway, I'm not trying to say it's not a fun game - it might very well be. But like ESO, I never asked for it and don't think it's a good idea, so I won't be playing it - that's all I'm saying.

[Malistrae]

i got about an hour out of the game. It's ok, but meh, i have other things im more interested in playing.

I think there F2P model is a little bit tight, especially for a multiplayer shooter. To much of the game hidden behind the pay wall.

Well, actually there is no paywall. Every 5th level you get a class token which allows you to unlock an advanced class for free. The level cap is being raised consistently (currently 50) to accomodate this. The extra loadout options are purchasable though the in-game, earned currency. The class packs, etc. are there for the impatient people. The only thing you can't earn through gameplay are the majority of the skins, which are cosmetics and don't affect gameplay.
So, there is no paywall, since that would mean that there is gameplay-affecting content that you can only get through shelling out money.

[Gaelbert]

Either way, it's going to be light on plot and nonexistent on setting progression, because of the inherent flaw with multiplayer-focused games that they have to wipe the slate clean after every match for balance's sake.

TF2 got around that somewhat with strong characterization and very stylized/expressive art; thus the "endless war" aspect of the setting whereby nothing really changed (except hats I guess?) squeaked by unremarked. But Nosgoth is very much a setting built around the idea of breaking cycles and defying destiny, and I don't think a repetitive multiplayer arena (however you want to categorize it) fits with that mold at all.

Does anyone actually play TF2 based on the strength of the story or characterization though? That seems like the weirdest thing in the world to me.

[Driderman]

Well, actually there is no paywall. Every 5th level you get a class token which allows you to unlock an advanced class for free. The level cap is being raised consistently (currently 50) to accomodate this. The extra loadout options are purchasable though the in-game, earned currency. The class packs, etc. are there for the impatient people. The only thing you can't earn through gameplay are the majority of the skins, which are cosmetics and don't affect gameplay.
So, there is no paywall, since that would mean that there is gameplay-affecting content that you can only get through shelling out money.

More of an XP-wall, really. Which is just as bad if you're impatient AND want free-to-play :smallbiggrin:

[Gaelbert]

More of an XP-wall, really. Which is just as bad if you're impatient AND want free-to-play :smallbiggrin:

I honestly like it. You play two classes for the first five levels (actually you have access to 4) which gets you time to learn the mechanics of those two just in time to unlock another. It slows down later on in the game, but there's enough meat in the classes available to all that you could probably play those for 75-100 hours without hitting the skill ceiling or getting tired.

[Driderman]

I was just kidding. I got bored with the gameplay before hitting level 3 anyway and since my computer is old and creaky, I play Evolve on my PS4 instead. Which is a lot of fun and by all accounts will have a pay-wall even though it's not free-to-play :smallbiggrin:

[Kaun]

Well, actually there is no paywall. Every 5th level you get a class token which allows you to unlock an advanced class for free. The level cap is being raised consistently (currently 50) to accomodate this. The extra loadout options are purchasable though the in-game, earned currency. The class packs, etc. are there for the impatient people. The only thing you can't earn through gameplay are the majority of the skins, which are cosmetics and don't affect gameplay.
So, there is no paywall, since that would mean that there is gameplay-affecting content that you can only get through shelling out money.

Ahh ok, i must have misinterpreted the system when i read it. I did get to level 5 from memory but i dont remember receiving a token.

[Grytorm]

Ahh ok, i must have misinterpreted the system when i read it. I did get to level 5 from memory but i dont remember receiving a token.

Hmm, when did you play? I think earlier the whole system wasn't implemented yet so maybe that part wasn't going on then?

Also just got my first token and not certain what to pick up. I am really bad if that is anything to base the decision off of.