Anthem - PrEAying it Doesn't Suck

[Psyren]

So the Anthem VIP demo is out this weekend, and you too can participate for the low-low cost of $5 (on PC anyway.) No preorder or Premiere needed; simply sign up for Origin Access Basic and then press the "Try It" button in the Origin Store. details are here: https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2...tart-date-5830

If you don't want to give EA any money at all, the open demo will be next weekend; anyone can participate in that one completely free of charge. But come on, you've got 5 bucks laying around for a weekend's worth of entertainment, surely?

Impressions: I'm a bit torn. I was really burned by how badly they messed up and then abandoned Andromeda. But this game is feeling... much more polished right out of the gate. The combat is fast-paced, the world is expansive, and I love that you can fly almost anywhere out in the world. I swore I wouldn't preorder and I probably still won't, but I'm definitely going to buy it I think.

One big downside though is the hub town, where you're in first person. It's even worse/more boring that Destiny's, and that's saying something. You can only walk, the layout is a confusing warren, and the very first mission I was sent on had me walk across it just to talk to one guy and back again. When there's more to do there I might like it more, but right now, it seems to get in the way of you getting to the fun part.

Anyone else playing?

[The_Jackal]

Does the gameplay support aiming down sights? If not, I'm sticking with Destiny 2.

[Psyren]

Does the gameplay support aiming down sights? If not, I'm sticking with Destiny 2.

It's a third-person shooter, basically like Mass Effect - aiming zooms you in slightly, sniper rifles are first-person. Not sure if that answers your question.

[Rynjin]

It's a third-person shooter, basically like Mass Effect - aiming zooms you in slightly, sniper rifles are first-person. Not sure if that answers your question.

That'd be a "no"; ADS requires first person view.

I'll probably check it out next weekend.

[Psyren]

I got to try out 3 of the 4 javelins this weekend - Ranger, Storm and Colossus. I'll try Interceptor next weekend during the Open Demo; apparently all your progress carries over to the second demo so I won't have to reunlock them all.

Colossus disappointed me a little with how squishy it was. Sure it has a lot of health, and gets a Reinhardty shield that you can hold up (and move with) at the expense of being able to attack, which regenerates when not in use. But the Colossus itself has no personal shields, so you're far more dependent on health pickups than the Ranger and Storm. With those two, when my shields dropped I could simply disengage and take cover behind some geometry (like a boulder or under a cliff) until they regenerated. With the Colossus having only health, once mine dropped low my instinct was to disengage as before, but sitting in cover can't improve my situation - so I end up waiting for my allies to kill a couple more baddies, whipping out my shield, then barreling through the battlefield to grab some of their health orbs before it can be taken down.

I'd like a bit more self-sustain on a class that's designed to get shot at. Against boss enemies like Ash Titans, it's pretty much at the mercy of trash or occasional adds to be able to heal itself, though there may be a support module that addresses my concern. (The one I had was a taunt move, which was great for helping my team flank, but getting attention is only half of tanking dammit.)

[Kaptin Keen]

low-low cost of $5 (on PC anyway.)

So ... pay them only 5 dollars for their marketing? God I hope that fails.

[Psyren]

So ... pay them only 5 dollars for their marketing? God I hope that fails.

If all you want is the free demo, that's next weekend (2/1 at noon - 2/3 at 9pm). I wanted to try both, so I paid the $5 for this weekend.

[Kaptin Keen]

If all you want is the free demo, that's next weekend (2/1 at noon - 2/3 at 9pm). I wanted to try both, so I paid the $5 for this weekend.

I know, I know - I'm against every money grabbing scheme the big companies cook up to make full price titles even more expensive. I'm very old and even more grumpy, but at least I stand by it. They're utter villains, and I want them to fail, go under and walk the walk of shame down to collect social benefits. And no, I'm not kidding.

[Psyren]

I know, I know - I'm against every money grabbing scheme the big companies cook up to make full price titles even more expensive. I'm very old and even more grumpy, but at least I stand by it. They're utter villains, and I want them to fail, go under and walk the walk of shame down to collect social benefits. And no, I'm not kidding.

I hear you, and agree. I'm holding out hope that somehow, some of the mass disapproval of EA's scummier business practices have actually managed to penetrate their amorphous blob.

There are promising signs. They've forbidden lootboxes in Anthem (no doubt coming off the Battlefront 2 debacle.) What microtransactions there are are cosmetic-only, direct-purchase (buy only the ones you want, directly), and all the ones in the shop can ostensibly be earned in-game. And in the demo at least, there was a ton of customization available right off the bat. (Example: Iron Javelin.) Time will tell whether all that translates to live, but I'm hopeful.

[Kaptin Keen]

I hear you, and agree. I'm holding out hope that somehow, some of the mass disapproval of EA's scummier business practices have actually managed to penetrate their amorphous blob.

There are promising signs. They've forbidden lootboxes in Anthem (no doubt coming off the Battlefront 2 debacle.) What microtransactions there are are cosmetic-only, direct-purchase (buy only the ones you want, directly), and all the ones in the shop can ostensibly be earned in-game. And in the demo at least, there was a ton of customization available right off the bat. (Example: Iron Javelin.) Time will tell whether all that translates to live, but I'm hopeful.

I'm not trying to diss the game or ruin the mood. As I said, I really am old and excessively grumpy. Quite possibly excessively old and grumpy. It's only the economic side of things I'm really against. The Ironman thingy looks genuinely cool, and AAA titles, for all their overpriced, money-grubbing shenanigans, are nothing short of impressive =)

[The_Jackal]

It's a third-person shooter, basically like Mass Effect - aiming zooms you in slightly, sniper rifles are first-person. Not sure if that answers your question.

That'd be a "no"; ADS requires first person view.

I'll probably check it out next weekend.

Yep, pretty much. Sorry if this makes me come off as some kind of FPS snob, but yeah, I like what I like, and what I like is squinting down the sights of my weapon and clicking heads. I mean, I enjoyed Max Payne all right, but the effect of all the 3rd person shooting is you just wound up cheesing the dodge mechanics all the time (my impression of Max Payne combat: Roll, shoot, roll, shoot, roll, shoot).

[Psyren]

No apology necessary, people like what they like. I play both FPS and TPS titles, but ever since Gears and ME2 and Warframe I've known that TPS is the gold standard for me.

Besides, if I'm going to deck my character out in snazzy cosmetics, I prefer to see them in action - and not just for a brief window when I'm "ulting."

[Spore]

I hear you, and agree. I'm holding out hope that somehow, some of the mass disapproval of EA's scummier business practices have actually managed to penetrate their amorphous blob.

If you approve, I am sure you could have waited another week...

[Psyren]

If you approve, I am sure you could have waited another week...

Yeah, and I could have bought some ice cream or rented a movie with that $5 too. I made a calculated decision there, and I think I came out ahead with the fun I had over the weekend

[The_Jackal]

No apology necessary, people like what they like. I play both FPS and TPS titles, but ever since Gears and ME2 and Warframe I've known that TPS is the gold standard for me.

Besides, if I'm going to deck my character out in snazzy cosmetics, I prefer to see them in action - and not just for a brief window when I'm "ulting."

It's interesting you should mention the issue of cosmetics, but I find the inability to look at my self a boon, in a game which we know will be festooned with cosmetic microtransactions. That way I don't have to look at my hoboclown self and be annoyed how the only way I can get something that looks cool is to grind for 2,000 hours or shell out fifteen more dollars.

Okay, unrelated but related story:

One reason I'm such a firebreathing nutcase when it comes to hating F2P shenanigans is Star Trek Online. My buddies bought this game back in the beta, paying the princely sum of $200 for a lifetime subscription. I had just recently been screwed over by Cryptic for the launch of Champions Online, which I had paid for the lifetime, and it had turned out to be a steaming pile of baby vomit, so I was going to be set on fire before I poured another $200 down Cryptic. Fast-forward a year or so, and my friends are still playing STO, and profess to enjoy it, and now it's free-to-play. I'm a big Trek fan, so I figure what the hell. And yes, it is pretty fun. The ground combat is a dog's breakfast, but the spaceship combat is really quite fun, and the 'select target and resolve via hash table' mechanics don't really bother as much because, after all, I'm the captain of the starship, it's not like I'd be aiming my disruptors out of a hole in the hull.

Anyhoo, I like the game, I'm playing it, and sure, I'm cool with paying some money so that the developers get paid. All seems well. Then they go and put in the D7 Temporal Battlecruiser. This ship is friggen awesome. I love TOS, I love Klingons, and I love the D7, and this ship actually kicks butt. It's top tier. Great, let's buy one.

Turns out the thing is a rare <1% drop from a R&D Promo pack that costs $3 each, and they're only on sale for limited times. I checked out the math on just converting money into dilithium into energy credits, and to buy the thing on the open market would have cost ~$450. To earn that kind of credits through normal play would take north of two years of daily play. This is what happens when you take micro-transactions to their logical conclusion. You make an awesome reward which, in lieu of earning it in-game, you hide behind a massive paywall, just because the target audience of this reward is likely older and has the discretionary income to afford such an absurd purchase.

So yeah, Anthem and their cosmetic-only microtransactions can go pound sand.

[Anteros]

Not every game with micro-transactions goes that route. Tastes vary of course, but I've played several where I was able to find a suitable look for my characters. ESO and The Old Republic are both owned by EA and I managed to ignore the store in those completely and still not look like a hobo.

[Beleriphon]

Not every game with micro-transactions goes that route. Tastes vary of course, but I've played several where I was able to find a suitable look for my characters. ESO and The Old Republic are both owned by EA and I managed to ignore the store in those completely and still not look like a hobo.

I admittedly paid for in game currency in TOR, but that was mostly to unlock the stuff that comes with paying even just once. And I bought a nifty armour/cloak combo for orange gear for my Guardian. So I always look good, and can upgrade it as needed.

[Psyren]

Not every game with micro-transactions goes that route. Tastes vary of course, but I've played several where I was able to find a suitable look for my characters. ESO and The Old Republic are both owned by EA and I managed to ignore the store in those completely and still not look like a hobo.

Isn't ESO owned by Bethesda? Otherwise I agree.

It's interesting you should mention the issue of cosmetics, but I find the inability to look at my self a boon, in a game which we know will be festooned with cosmetic microtransactions. That way I don't have to look at my hoboclown self and be annoyed how the only way I can get something that looks cool is to grind for 2,000 hours or shell out fifteen more dollars.

But in both kinds of shooter you still see other people, so I'm not sure how you plan to avoid being exposed to cool looks (cash shop or otherwise.) This is pretty standard for any online game with avatars now.

*snip*

Turns out the thing is a rare <1% drop from a R&D Promo pack that costs $3 each, and they're only on sale for limited times. I checked out the math on just converting money into dilithium into energy credits, and to buy the thing on the open market would have cost ~$450. To earn that kind of credits through normal play would take north of two years of daily play. This is what happens when you take micro-transactions to their logical conclusion. You make an awesome reward which, in lieu of earning it in-game, you hide behind a massive paywall, just because the target audience of this reward is likely older and has the discretionary income to afford such an absurd purchase.

So yeah, Anthem and their cosmetic-only microtransactions can go pound sand.

Bold sounds like a lootbox, which Anthem doesn't have. It also sounds like P2W or pay-for-power as opposed to cosmetic.

I admittedly paid for in game currency in TOR, but that was mostly to unlock the stuff that comes with paying even just once. And I bought a nifty armour/cloak combo for orange gear for my Guardian. So I always look good, and can upgrade it as needed.

I bought some cash shop transmog items in WoW for a similar reason. It lets you maintain a consistent look by always having something you can transmog over specific slots, even at level 1 when a lot of the other transmog items aren't available yet.

[Anteros]

Isn't ESO owned by Bethesda? Otherwise I agree.

You're right. I get them mixed up with Bioware sometimes who are owned by EA.

Then again, modern Bethesda's reputation is about the same as EA's anyway.

[CrunchyCHEEZIT]

bioware is gonna collapse in on itself and form a black hole if this game flops, which I think is more interesting than the game itself imo.

[Psyren]

bioware is gonna collapse in on itself and form a black hole if this game flops, which I think is more interesting than the game itself imo.

Oh for sure. I don't foresee a good outcome if this fails.

Though we could also see them get emancipated like Bungie did in the wake of Destiny's collapse - wouldn't that be something? (Whether they can do that as "Bioware" or not, the individual developers/talent certainly will strike out on their own.)

[The_Jackal]

Not every game with micro-transactions goes that route. Tastes vary of course, but I've played several where I was able to find a suitable look for my characters. ESO and The Old Republic are both owned by EA and I managed to ignore the store in those completely and still not look like a hobo.

It's not a question of looking like a hobo. It's a question of developers putting much of the coolest loot out of the reach of the free tier gamer, which is precisely what SW:TOR does as well. You might be able to assemble a cool looking outfit in SW:TOR, you can get cool-looking ships in STO, and for all I know, playing ESO doesn't give you some kind of disease, but they all fundamentally pad their revenues by dangling things that no sane player would ever be able to earn through regular play and selling them for cash.

Bold sounds like a lootbox, which Anthem doesn't have. It also sounds like P2W or pay-for-power as opposed to cosmetic.

It's actually more cosmetic than power. There were better ships you could buy for a reasonable effort in-game, if your only goal was being effective in space combat. There was also some other D7 ship models, but that was the ship that let you both a) Look like a D7, and b) Fly a top-tier ship at the same time. I'll concede that Anthem doesn't feature lootboxes... YET. I will put nothing past EA, and Bioware has already shown pliable to such antics in SW:TOR.

As long as players are going to rationalize their purchases in micro-transaction systems for games they've already paid full price for, the publishers are going to pollute the games with this kind of BS. The only remedy is to say "no".

[CrunchyCHEEZIT]

Oh for sure. I don't foresee a good outcome if this fails.

Though we could also see them get emancipated like Bungie did in the wake of Destiny's collapse - wouldn't that be something? (Whether they can do that as "Bioware" or not, the individual developers/talent certainly will strike out on their own.)

It makes no difference to me because I'm in the camp of "bitter mass effect fans". I mean, I think by now Andromeda isn't as bad as it was memed up to be on launch but that game still flopped like a sack of ****. The current devs on Bioware aren't going to go back to that well and it WOUNDS me

[Kaptin Keen]

Oh for sure. I don't foresee a good outcome if this fails.

Though we could also see them get emancipated like Bungie did in the wake of Destiny's collapse - wouldn't that be something? (Whether they can do that as "Bioware" or not, the individual developers/talent certainly will strike out on their own.)

Wait - did Destiny collapse? In what way? When? Why?

[DeTess]

Wait - did Destiny collapse? In what way? When? Why?

IIRC, it didn't so much collapse as 'not do as ridiculously well as expected'.

[Keltest]

IIRC, it didn't so much collapse as 'not do as ridiculously well as expected'.

Pretty much. Activision is only just starting to realize that infinite growth is not a thing, and like all children theyre throwing a tantrum and blaming the people who provide for them for not giving them what they want.

[Antonok]

Wait - did Destiny collapse? In what way? When? Why?

It didn't live up to Avtivision's expectations. Bungie was fine with how it did. Though recently Bungie split with Activision and is an independent company calling all the shots now.

Edit: As far as Anthem goes, I tried to play the VIP beta but gave up due to all the bugs and errors. Will try again during the open beta.

[Calemyr]

I watched my brother play the VIP beta and I was reasonably impressed - the gameplay was fun, although the missions seemed as formulaic and hollow as Dinklage-era Destiny 1. Tempting though it might be, I'm not going to get it the first day out, especially after the microtransaction leak. Any company that thinks $20 is a fair price for such lackluster cosmetics in a full price game is as tone deaf as 2018 Bethesda. Or 2018 Blizzard. I don't even really care if they change it after the fact - that they thought that was ever going fly tells me everything I really need to know. After the game comes out, though, I'll check out the opinions on it and maybe pick it up then.

[DeTess]

I watched my brother play the VIP beta and I was reasonably impressed - the gameplay was fun, although the missions seemed as formulaic and hollow as Dinklage-era Destiny 1. Tempting though it might be, I'm not going to get it the first day out, especially after the microtransaction leak. Any company that thinks $20 is a fair price for such lackluster cosmetics in a full price game is as tone deaf as 2018 Bethesda. Or 2018 Blizzard. I don't even really care if they change it after the fact - that they thought that was ever going fly tells me everything I really need to know. After the game comes out, though, I'll check out the opinions on it and maybe pick it up then.

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Can you link me to the source of the leak? I've seen the screens, but I haven't seen anything to confirm the claim that those 2000 shards translate to $20.

[Calemyr]

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Can you link me to the source of the leak? I've seen the screens, but I haven't seen anything to confirm the claim that those 2000 shards translate to $20.

I'm going mostly off of Yong Yea on youtube, but I can't think a single cash currency in games that went more than 100 currency for a dollar (not counting "bonus" currency for larger purchases), and Bioware's response to the backlash was to say that the pricing wasn't final, not that the shards didn't have the predicted cash value.