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| Thread: First impression from Heroes 6 Beta NO SPOILERS |  This thread is pages long: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 · «PREV / NEXT» |
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Elvin
Admirable
Omnipresent Hero
Endless Revival
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posted June 21, 2011 12:39 AM |
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Lol good luck getting it mate. I hate hearing about all those issues.
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Map also hosted on Moddb
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Aosaw
Promising
Famous Hero
Author of Nonreal Fiction
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posted June 21, 2011 06:21 AM |
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I think maybe what people mean when they say "art style" is that the game looks realistic. And to me, at least, it doesn't appear any different from what we've seen in the videos so far.
I only had a few minutes to play it, but what I saw, I liked. I had some scrolling issues, but I realized after I closed the game that it was because I was working with two monitors. 
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e-lysander
Known Hero
Lysander
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posted June 21, 2011 06:43 AM |
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I agree with everyone who's saying it lacks "soul".
I'd honestly give it a 6/10. I realize it's not a final version, or even the final beta, but... I think it's fair to say that what my gripes are will still exist in the final game.
I like Sanctuary, and its environments and terrain. Those are very pretty looking and it's obvious a lot of attention to detail went into the artistic aspect of the game.
The town screen is a major bummer. Am I the only one annoyed by the music of Haven's? Good Heavens.
Lastly, I couldn't help but have a feeling of "been there, done that" throughout my adventures. Which is weird, because I've never felt that way in a Heroes game before... it just felt like I was playing Heroes V once again.
And I hope this forum hasn't sold-out to Ubisoft to the point where I'm not even allowed to state my honest opinion. I was selected as a beta-tester, and I am a nearly two-decade going fan of this series, so I feel it is necessary for me to state it openly, and honestly.
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yasmiel
Supreme Hero
Former Chessmaster
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posted June 21, 2011 06:54 AM |
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Edited by yasmiel at 07:05, 21 Jun 2011.
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Strange, I was under impression most *closed* or *private* beta tests include not confirming it's existance in their NDA. Strange to see that this one might have different rules. Or does it?
I'd say even "i'm in" claims at this point would be bordering NDA violations if they exist as such. And opinons kinda implicate that .
On different note, I'm hoping that server strain test beta will include some multiplayer options.
EDIT: LOL, it seems I'm slightly out of the loop and didn't notice server beta out. Guess it happens during final weeks at college.
Opinions will follow when assembled and checked
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don_komandorr
Known Hero
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posted June 21, 2011 09:08 AM |
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I disagree with all this 'no soul' whining.
For me it have pretty nice soul.
Gives me a feeling similar when I play Heroes 1.
And for me H5 has no one.
Anyway, I've got a question.
Is the creatures 'attack' on the battlefield a bug or it's only a new mechanics?
(I spoiled nothing here. want only Yes/no)
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Avirosb
Promising
Legendary Hero
No longer on vacation
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posted June 21, 2011 09:23 AM |
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Edited by Avirosb at 09:34, 21 Jun 2011.
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Crtiticism =/= whining, FYI.
EDIT: Can't believe I mispelled that
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Zenofex
Responsible
Legendary Hero
Kreegan-atheist
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posted June 21, 2011 09:30 AM |
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Quote:
I think maybe what people mean when they say "art style" is that the game looks realistic.
I'm almost 100% certain that you wanted to type something else. I sure hope that you wanted to type something else.
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Crayfish
Known Hero
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posted June 21, 2011 09:37 AM |
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Edited by Crayfish at 09:42, 21 Jun 2011.
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I'm finding this a hard one to judge. I think this beta build is pretty old and a lot will change before release. I hope so, various things (town screens as a widely known example) aren't up to scratch yet.
That said, here are my opinions.
Pro
* Graphics are really excellent, especially in battle. Creatures and animations look great.
* Battles play well, they're fun and factions have quite distinct play styles when you get to know them.
* The new spell and ability system will work well when complete, although it feels very far from balanced right now.
* Without being able to give any detail, a few very important promises have been fulfilled and certain key gameplay features work very well in my opinion.
* It runs absolutely fine on my computer, I thought I might need a new one
Con
* Not enough factions. You end up battling the same creatures too often. Another two factions would push this into the realm of interesting variety.
* Incomplete stuff, but totally unfair to comment on that except to say that some things need a lot of work (from this older version)
* Some skills seem pretty useless right now
* I don't like the look of some adventure map objects, they're too bland or odd sizes or don't look like they should do what they do
* Town screens are so much needed. I was sort of hoping that the windows we know about would work for me before I actually played the game. Nope. This won't feel like heroes until it has proper town screens. I think the comments about soul are almost entirely down to this fact for me.
My overall opinion is quite high. I've played several games already and enjoyed myself. I hope that the real beta will show a lot of necessary improvements and allow for a better evaluation.
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Brukernavn
Hero of Order
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posted June 21, 2011 10:03 AM |
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I'm happy with most of the aspects of the game, except the famous town window. I mean, it's a complete joke. I almost cried. But it's part of a wider trend, that several have commented on already, and that I've been worried about for a few months now, and that's the over-use of windowed interfaces in the game. For some reason the developers found out that it would be a good idea to have everything in a window instead of covering the whole screen. The only thing that's not windowed at the moment is the battle screen. (All of this has been known for a long time through the trailers, but when I actually play the game I realized that my concerns were justified). This results in everything being very, very small. Especially with high resolutions. I can't sit back relaxed in my chair while playing, because I constantly have to lean forward to see the x-button, read describtions and so on.
My one advice for improvement would be: DROP ALL THE WINDOWS AND MAKE INTERFACES FULL SCREEN!
(not shouting, just making the point very clear). It would help very much on the whole experience and immersion of the game, without slowing down gameplay. For me, gameplay is slowed down by the windows, because of the "smallness" of everything.
It would also help improve the "soul" of the game, that some have mentioned. But I'm not so worried about that. Many small details are not yet in place, and these things do much for the feel of the game, without going into more details.
Edit: After re-reading my post I realized I sounded very negative, but I'm not. As I said in the beginning of my post, I'm happy with most aspects of the game. It looks very promising, and I'm assuming that in the public beta many of the small "bugs" will be mostly sorted out. Looks good (except for the important point mentioned above)!
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Cepheus
Honorable
Legendary Hero
Far-flung Keeper
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posted June 21, 2011 10:37 AM |
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Quote:
And I hope this forum hasn't sold-out to Ubisoft to the point where I'm not even allowed to state my honest opinion. I was selected as a beta-tester, and I am a nearly two-decade going fan of this series, so I feel it is necessary for me to state it openly, and honestly.
Yes, as long as the open honest opinions don't breach the NDA 
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"Those who forget their history are inevitably doomed to repeat it." —Proverb, Might and Magic VIII
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AlexSpl
Responsible
Supreme Hero
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posted June 21, 2011 10:50 AM |
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Can I play the beta on two different computers? How much time we have for the stress-test?
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Arhaeus
Tavern Dweller
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posted June 21, 2011 11:05 AM |
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Many thanks Cepheus for the beta key, I am enjoying the game so far. 
And we can sit back and relax, we will have 2 exceptional games this year (Heroes 6 and Diablo 3). That, it will wash the bitterness of Duke Nukem Forever and the mockery of XCOM series, that will be released by 2K Marin.
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Avirosb
Promising
Legendary Hero
No longer on vacation
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posted June 21, 2011 11:09 AM |
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Aren't you forgetting a certain Sky.Rim?
(It's okay, I don't have high hopes for it either)
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alcibiades
Honorable
Undefeatable Hero
of Gold Dragons
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posted June 21, 2011 11:12 AM |
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Well since the cat is out of the bag, I'll share some impressions of my own from what I've seen.
Overall, I'm sad to say that the game pretty much confirms my fears that the wish for Ubisoft to change so many fundamental aspects of the game has resulted in a game that doesn't work particularly well in terms of gameplay. I belive that if they had chosen to build upon Heroes 5 and correcting the weaknesses that game had, they could have made a fantastic game in terms of gameplay - probably the best of the series. Instead they have chosen to move back to square one, a lot like 3DO did with Heroes 4 after Heroes 3, with all the problems that ensues: Lack of experience and testing from previous games, resulting in a game that feels poorly balanced and at times tedious.
On the bright side, game overall looks great, as has also been seen in the screenshots. I won't cover town screens here, 'nough said about those already, and current game doesn't change that impression. The said irony is that reportedly, the 3D townscreens were removed to speed up the game, and instead we get other recurring animations (can't go into details on that) which take considerably longer than loading the townscreen did in H5 (without looking as great). Duh!
I do agree what others said that many things look very small - I don't even play with particularly high resolution, and still many details are simply lost and not seen during combat. Game also runs pretty smoothly - there are some bugs etc. as is to be expected so early in the testing phase, but when it runs, it's fast and smooth on my computer.
The downsides come with some aspects of the gameplay. The new tier system is imo. at best moderately succesfull, but hopefully will be adjusted to work better in the final game. Ironically, I feel that this change and the ressource change, which was supposed to simplify balancing, has had the opposite result instead.
The real disaster for me is the leveling and skill system, which I think is a huge step-back compared to previous games, and which threatens to kill the gameplay completely. Again, I cannot go into detail with this, but I feel that they threw away what was an excellent system in favor of something that might on paper have looked like a good idea, but which in reality is huge step-back, and which needs a serious overhaul in order for the game to be succesfull.
All that being said, I don't think the game will be truely horrible, I find it to be a decent game (if not more) as it is, and I trust some polishing and adjusting will improve on that. Still, I don't see it as being the best game of the series, and that is a pitty, because I think that they with Heroes 5 (for all its faults) had a very good basis for making just that, if they had not been so afraid to stick to the known. I know that the argument is that they don't want to launch a new game that is too close to an old one, but given the immense success of Heroes 3 - and it's almost carbon-copy similarity to Heroes 2 game style - I don't really see think that would have been a problem. Even if gaming industry has changed since 1998, I think people would have appreciated an upgrade for being that.
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What will happen now?
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Zenofex
Responsible
Legendary Hero
Kreegan-atheist
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posted June 21, 2011 11:20 AM |
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Regarding the leveling system, so far I can't see a serious difference between a Might and a Magic hero. Going into details will be a violation of the NDA I guess but for now I can say that this is something that BADLY needs to be addressed.
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Avirosb
Promising
Legendary Hero
No longer on vacation
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posted June 21, 2011 11:30 AM |
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Without going into detail, what do you think of the new "Class promotion" system compared to H4?
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Brukernavn
Hero of Order
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posted June 21, 2011 11:36 AM |
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Quote:
Regarding the leveling system, so far I can't see a serious difference between a Might and a Magic hero. Going into details will be a violation of the NDA I guess but for now I can say that this is something that BADLY needs to be addressed.
I would say there is quite an important difference.
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Zenofex
Responsible
Legendary Hero
Kreegan-atheist
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posted June 21, 2011 11:38 AM |
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Edited by Zenofex at 11:40, 21 Jun 2011.
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Quote:
Without going into detail, what do you think of the new "Class promotion" system compared to H4?
Haven't tested it yet. The early game is not what I'm used to, it requires quite different approach in terms of army and resource management, hence reaching the first "promotion threshold" is hardly straight-forward and simple. At least that's my initial impression.
Quote:
I would say there is quite an important difference.
There is a difference but it doesn't seem major to me, at least not so far. Explaining in details will require some private board.
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Crayfish
Known Hero
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posted June 21, 2011 11:48 AM |
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Quote:
Regarding the leveling system, so far I can't see a serious difference between a Might and a Magic hero. Going into details will be a violation of the NDA I guess but for now I can say that this is something that BADLY needs to be addressed.
Agreed. I'm optimistic that this will change by release. Balance between might and magic heroes / skills also needs major improvement imo.
Currently thinking that this could be the best of the series after expansions, not so sure about vanilla. The potential is there, the game mechanics, graphics etc. seem very respectable apart from beta bugs.
Just a few tweaks (full town screens, proper balancing, better interfaces, more factions) will really make it a great game.
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xerox
Promising
Undefeatable Hero
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posted June 21, 2011 11:49 AM |
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I agree with the might/magic hero concern. It doesn't feel like a very big difference between them atm.
I think the early game is better than in H5 because you got so much more options now with the new ability/spell system. Still, I think that sometimes combat goes on for a little to long time. I remember a siege which I just ended up being tedious for me.
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Over himself, over his own
body and
mind, the individual is
sovereign.
- John Stuart Mill
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