Hellgate: London

[Wolfstan]

WARNING: This game has mature content. As OCR is now being pegged as a family site, I ward the immature and easily offended from viewing this thread. Otherwise, proceed happily. :3



Since there is apparently no thread for this, my lurking status comes to a jolly end.

http://www.hellgatelondon.com/
http://www.hellgateguru.com/

It is a PCRPG by Flagship Studios, a developer made up of the cadre of the former Blizzard North, popularly known for the excellent Diablo series.

I have been participating in the beta for the last 2 days, and my initial impressions are anticipatory of a great release.

Screenshots ahoy!

http://img86.imageshack.us/img86/5786/hellgatempdx9x862007101qm2.jpg
My engineer fighting in 1st person
http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/2901/hellgatempdx9x862007101rr0.jpg
3rd person, Etc
http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/8274/hellgatempdx9x862007101ex9.jpg
My summoner in FP, with two summons, fire elemental(left) and Carnagor(right)
http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/2609/hellgatempdx9x862007101qo8.jpg
Summoner fighting in 1st

The game is set to be released nine days, and counting (http://www.hellgatecountdown.com/).

This game is going to be 50 USD, 60 for the Collector's Edition. You can still pre-order through select retailers via their main site, guaranteeing you a copy at the day of launch, giving you a beta access key, and a special in-game item.

[Wolfstan]

Only 4 images per post? I've been away longer than I thought.

http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/788/hellgatempdx9x862007101ae8.jpg
More fighting in 1st, notice zombie bitch on left trying to fellate my firedart
http://img522.imageshack.us/img522/7034/hellgatempdx9x862007101lp7.jpg
Burn, heretic!
http://img86.imageshack.us/img86/7261/hellgatempdx9x862007101ci5.jpg
Minimap slightly obscuring my Carnagor in rage mode (large dark demon), who is about to kidney-swipe a zombie
http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/2928/hellgatempdx9x862007101gf5.jpg
Badass weapon 1 of ???

[Wolfstan]

http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/7850/hellgatempdx9x862007101mf0.jpg
Character creation, which offers quite eclectic customization.
http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/6793/hellgatempdx9x862007101pr3.jpg
D2 ftw
http://img81.imageshack.us/img81/3056/hellgatempdx9x862007101il6.jpg
http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/5513/hellgatempdx9x862007101ia7.jpg

[zircon]

Can't wait for this game. We need to do an OCR league.

[TehDonut]

Wait, isn't it Wirt's peg leg?

[Wolfstan]

Wait, isn't it Wirt's peg leg?

Blizzard has the rights to Diablo, including, believe it or not the character "Wirt." I guess Flagship wanted to poke fun at Blizzard, so they have a similar character, who gives you the leg.

Can't wait for this game. We need to do an OCR league.

Yeah, guilds can only be created by elite subscribers, who pay a monthly fee of 9.99 to access elite content. It's not as bad as it sounds, the game is still free to play, but subscribers get more content, like the creation of guilds. Anyone, however, can join a guild.

I have to try the full game before I'd make any such financial commitment

[TehDonut]

Wow I just watched a video of the gameplay...well..i've got to say I love FPS/hack n slash games and I love RPG games..this game may well satisfy both cravings at once..I can't wait

[supremespleen]

I'll play. And by "I'll play" I mean my computer could never run this in a thousand years.

[Sir_NutS]

I've been waiting for this game for ages.

[Bahamut]

I need to build a desktop :(

[KiroiKiri]

I can't wait for this game. If the league happens, hopefully it will last a little longer than the Diablo one...or have better communication about when the game nights are :?...

[zircon]

Hey, the D2 one lasted, but D2 just doesn't have that much content... we beat all the way up to the ubers.

Also, HGL has a demo. I just tried it and the game is exactly what I expected. Awesome 1st/3rd person demon/undead killing action RPG. The Diablo influences are incredibly obvious, but welcomed. Even on my new computer (2gb RAM, e6600 core 2 duo, 10k RPM hard drive) I had a low framerate... probably need a new video card.

[shikigami]

from what i hear youd be able to customize the graphics and such to allow it to run on even low-end computers. it was a slight breath of relief after reading it would be dx10. how much monthly is it though? thats my only turnoff.

[zircon]

Well, it is $0 monthly unless you elect to pay ($10/mo for "elite"). Basically, elite players get more added content as the game goes on, 24/7 tech support, more features for account management, more game modes (like hardcore), and generally preferential treatment.

[shikigami]

so is it worth it to pay?

[zircon]

I'm having a lot of fun with the demo, which is limited to two classes, no extra gameplay modes, no online play (I think?) but I haven't beaten it yet. So far, I am really enjoying it. I'll buy it when it comes out.

[Equinox]

Game is hella pretty in DX10, though i was getting about 20fps at 1680 x 1050 with everything cranked the hell up. I actually didn't try out DX9 performance. Pretty good so far, just haven't had time to play it enough.

Also, this was the beta, not the demo, so i was playing online with everything, all classes.

[Wolfstan]

Equinox, what the hell. Haven't seen you around in 100 years.

And yes, the gold version is going to be even better than the beta.

I'm also thinking about starting a Mythos thread.

[anosou]

I hate Flagship for not doing it for Mac too. Especially since they have a history in Blizzard and Diablo, that actually was for mac too..
DAMN YOU I HAVE NO MONEY FOR A DESKTOP :(((

[shikigami]

I hate Flagship for not doing it for Mac too. Especially since they have a history in Blizzard and Diablo, that actually was for mac too..
DAMN YOU I HAVE NO MONEY FOR A DESKTOP :(((

i guess since macs can now use intel they found no reason to go through the painstaking process of porting it to the mac.

[anosou]

i guess since macs can now use intel they found no reason to go through the painstaking process of porting it to the mac.

Yeah because it's so much harder to port a game to a platform that uses the same processor.. O.o that reason actually promotes porting

[Wolfstan]

Mac development would not make make sense for a relatively small developer like FSS. Also, Mac is pretty much 99% workstation.

[anosou]

Mac development would not make make sense for a relatively small developer like FSS. Also, Mac is pretty much 99% workstation.

Sad but true. But I think Hellgate could really work on mac. Partially because more and more people are buying macs and that mac-users love blizzard and diablo. so there's a market

[The Dennis]

In all the other games and game forums I've been on, I've just been posting "Fuck this shit, I'm going to London." without really explaining what it means. It references the banner ad found on PA, which I find entertaining enough:
http://img140.imageshack.us/img140/6987/hlondonzq7.jpg

I -loved- the beta. I happen to have off work wednesday, so me and my brother are powering through normal mode and starting 'elite hardcore' mode characters, so if anyone finds themselves hankering for some EH action or maybe some palladium, we might be able to lend a hand!

I'll have to live on the demo until then. But me and LittleRichard?
http://img458.imageshack.us/img458/7578/jalolgs8.png

We beat it naked.

[Wolfstan]

One day, 11 hours, and 29 minutes until the North American release.


Dennis, I have work on work and school on wednesday, but I might be able to join you guys at 5pm EST or later.

I expect great things from this game in the long run. :]

[Hyperion5182]

I'll play. And by "I'll play" I mean my computer could never run this in a thousand years.

www.cyberpowerpc.com you wont believe what you can get cheap if you dont need to replace monitor and perifs.

[shikigami]

Yeah because it's so much harder to port a game to a platform that uses the same processor.. O.o that reason actually promotes porting

...you dont need to port it to a mac when its using intel and running windows. not to mention that if your compiler supports intel, it doesnt matter what OS it is its still using the same instruction set.

Mac development would not make make sense for a relatively small developer like FSS. Also, Mac is pretty much 99% workstation.

mac development only makes sense if the money you put into it doesnt exceed the money youll make from it. knowing the convoluted architecture of the g4/g5/ppc, this will probably never happen unless you hire really good mac developers, in which case theyll probably want a huge salary and it still wont happen.

[anosou]

...you dont need to port it to a mac when its using intel and running windows. not to mention that if your compiler supports intel, it doesnt matter what OS it is its still using the same instruction set.



mac development only makes sense if the money you put into it doesnt exceed the money youll make from it. knowing the convoluted architecture of the g4/g5/ppc, this will probably never happen unless you hire really good mac developers, in which case theyll probably want a huge salary and it still wont happen.

I feel pwnt. It feels good.

[shikigami]

I feel pwnt. It feels good.

dont, my intention was to teach, not pwn.

[anosou]

dont, my intention was to teach, not pwn.

then you failed utterly :)

[Alpine Flame]

then you failed utterly :)

But pwning and teaching are so close to one another...

[anosou]

But pwning and teaching are so close to one another...

The man has a point.. I consider myself pwnt, yet again

[shikigami]

so anyway is this game worth getting? so far im at "no" and i kinda want a reason to buy 2 GeForce 8800GT's.

[mattoco]

This game is definitely worth getting, even if you only play the single player campaign (35-50 hours). I was in the beta from late September on, and I am pretty confident that I will be purchasing the founders offer ("lifetime" subscription for $150) as I can see myself playing this game for a very long time.

The game runs very smoothly on my 2 year old computer, and even with all the fancy settings (shaders,anti aliasing,shadows) turned down, the model and texture detail still make this game look great. The major concern at this time is that the DX10 version of the game really slowed down even newer computers, so we have yet to see if they fixed most of the frame rate issues with their release candidate.

If nothing else, it is definitely something to keep an eye on; the success of the game will probably depend on the level of continuous support provided by Flagship (which at this time appears to be their selling point for the subscription based services). Naturally I should mention the music and music system (random and interchanging) is very nice, but there is no continuous stream of background music unfortunately (something that may be changed).

[Salty]

Conversely, I've played the beta for the last few weeks and I'm not convinced this game is really worth my money. To me it's just more of the same, if I'm going to be dropping over $200 on a game for unlimited online play in a tier that isn't castrating gameplay it's going to have to completely blow me away.

[The Dennis]

so anyway is this game worth getting? so far im at "no" and i kinda want a reason to buy 2 GeForce 8800GT's.

I love the game, but this one isn't graphic-intensive enough for two 8800GTs. I have one GTX, and that's more'n enough to run it without even a hint of framerate slowdown throughout my beta experience. This is with DX9, mind you, because I don't have Vista. I hear a few DX10 horror stories, but that's with every game.

[!Nekko!]

Hate to revive this thread, but I've been playing the demo for this game a bit and I'm undecided whether I should pick it up or not.

Since the game is out, does anyone have any opinions either way? Reviews have been lukewarm, but I would probably get my money's worth from it since it seems like they're fixing a lot of stuff and I don't mind repetitive game play.

[mattoco]

From what I've seen, there are a lot of problems on newer computers (specifically crashes and memory leaks), but they're working hard on fixing those problems. There are a lot of other bugs that definitely hinder the playability of the game, but I have still played through it on normal and have characters in all different game modes (mostly Hardcore Elite). I still think the game is a blast to play, and fortunately for me it does not have a lot of the common crashing issues that I hear about.

I'm not certain about the state of the demo code, but if you aren't crashing or running out of memory on it, then you may want to try the full game. At this point I would say it is definitely worth buying for the experience, but whether or not you want to subscribe may be another matter. I think most people will just ride out the storm and enjoy the free online play. The game definitely has potential.

[!Nekko!]

The only problem I've been having is that my video card (X1950XT) sometimes slows down a bit. They also recommend 3GB of RAM, when I have only 2, though I don't know how big a part that plays with my predicament. I got no problem dumbing down the settings as long as I can play smoothly.

I was wondering, game play wise, how long does it take to level up or travel from place to place? Is it fairly similar to Diablo2? I don't mind repetitive tasks, but I don't want to take days to level up or to get from one place to the next. I just want to try out different builds and go item hunting for the most part.

[mattoco]

Well, I run all my settings on low, only have 1 GB of PC2700 RAM, and have an x800 XL. I don't usually see a huge frame rate drop unless there are a lot of effects going on at the same time. I blew through normal mode in about two days in order to get to Hardcore, and that put my character at around level 30. The pace with which you level depends on your play style, your character, and what game mode you're playing; if you're constantly killing things 3 or 4 levels above you you'll obviously be leveling faster than otherwise.

Once you get past level 30, the game will start to slow down as you will likely be in nightmare mode, where the creatures out level you most of the time, making them harder to kill. The most distance between any two stations is 3 or 4 areas, and depending on your character and the area, it will take maybe an hour or so to get across all those areas. Time investment is not something that is emphasized in this game, as you can log in, immediately enter an area, kill some things for a few minutes, and log off. There is no transit time to speak of.

[Xbob42]

I was actually looking forward to the game... It looked fun, FPS-RPG? Neat.

Then I tried it. The RPG elements were fine, but the gunplay just felt really low impact to me and I found myself getting bored rather quickly. Plus I wasn't able to find any variety in locations, not that I magically played through the entire world in a few days, but no matter where I went it felt like more of the same.

I was disappointed, in short. :(

[!Nekko!]

Amazon had it for 35 bucks, so I picked it up.


If anyone wants to pick it up to play with me, heres the link!
http://www.amazon.com/Electronic-Arts-Hellgate-London-DVD/dp/B000QB058U/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1196894346&sr=8-1

[eternal Zero]

In commemoration of me beating normal and being able to start the real game on elite:

http://home.comcast.net/~eternalzero/xirkurei.png
This is Xirkurei. He's a guardian. He's a fucking beast. He'll almost never be used again because normal mode is a joke.

http://home.comcast.net/~eternalzero/xirkurei1.png
Long before I beat the game, but it was a good looking armor set.

http://home.comcast.net/~eternalzero/xirkurei2.png
Without the helmet. There's a reason he's got red hair but that has to do with the name. (Old RO story)

http://home.comcast.net/~eternalzero/xirku.png
This is Xirku. She'll be my first elite character. Main reasons for switching to a female character include: 1) I play female characters a little more than half the time. 2) With full armor the male model takes up too much of the screen and this doesn't help when small but strong mobs are rushing me. I need to be able to see to kill.

Her name also holds significance to me, same reason Xirkurei does. Also if you couldn't tell the name Xirku came first and then Xirkurei. And here's a hint: If it wasn't already taken Xirkurei's name would have been Kurei. (Again, old RO story)

[mattoco]

Good jorb. I spend most of my time on the Test Center these days doing testing; you can usually find me around Stonehenge:

In Hell's Heart
http://img510.imageshack.us/img510/6743/calaverahellsheartaa8.jpg

Fighting Moloch
http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/1333/calaveramolochfixedsb5.jpg

Currently patch 1.3 just hit the Test Center, but patch 1.2 went live a few weeks ago:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=oCC43yhWxyM