Eternal Crusade (WH40K MMO)

[Major_Blackhart]

Holy crap I forgot about this game.

 

[Mangoose]

This is an eternal alpha ?

Well duh, the Alpha Legion's in there?

Which side are they on?

 

[Caim]

This is an eternal alpha ?

Well duh, the Alpha Legion's in there?

Which side are they on?

All of them of course.

 

[Mangoose]

This is an eternal alpha ?

Well duh, the Alpha Legion's in there?

Which side are they on?

All of them of course.

Multi-headed dick slapping ass and thigh

 

[Papa Môlé]

I have a feeling this is going to be another MWO situation. 80s franchise resurrected to appeal to old grognards that stays in development forever and ultimately goes nowhere.

 

[Mangoose]

Since there'll be no monthly subscription, instead just an initial retail buy of probably $50 to $60, then the cheapest "Founder's Pack" is basically a discounted preorder ($40) + closed alpha/beta access. Crowdfunding-esque?

Now do I dare take the risk? If the gameplay is anything like Space Marine (note: gameplay, not content/maps/balance/post-game-content) - then I'd do it. But man did post-release content shit over the entire game. Mein Gott. The original maps were actually decent but gets tiring. And then the little they added was worse and banal with Dreadnoughts that were basically a gimmick. Man I miss the DoW2 days (I subjectively prefer smaller, tactic-level gameplay rather than "real" RTS especially with DOW's nodes all over the place). Two expansions - the first being awesome in single-player, the second being both in single player very tedious yet fun-ish (being able to play through single player with multiple classes). And then "The Last Stand" mode was very awesome. Very very awesome.

Also I rarely dislike arena shooting even if it sucks (Transformers War for Cybertron), the competition makes up for it. I mean I'd much prefer playing a better quality shooter but I've always spent a good amount of time playing such a game. Well, outside of stupidly small team console ports like Modern Warfare and Halo.

Some streamers (Angry Joe, etc. lol) have had their NDA lifted so we can check out the current closed alpha status:

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=eternal+crusade&oq=&gs_l=
http://forum.eternalcrusade.com/threads/approved-list-of-streamers.48943/

Apparently they're also starting with a typical arena shooter and attempt to bring it to Planetside scale later. The latter probably won't happen for the company of this little size/budget/experience.


Edit: They have the Stalker Bolter. Pretty sure that wasn't considered a 'unique' weapon until Space Marine. Okay it's a copy, almost. With vehicles. Hm

 

[Mangoose]

FUCK they have a cover system goddamn it.

But they have crouch, too. Wtf?

Okay yeah it's a Space Marine clone. Which is fine.

 

[Mangoose]

Okay cover system is fine, it's basically that you can crouch, but when you come up to a railing or whatever, you'll crouch flat against it more.

It's basically Space Marine with extra stuff and different maps so far. I liked Space Marine so it's good that they stuck with those base mechanics.

Coming to Early Access soon btw.

 

[Zerginfestor]

Space Marine definitely had good combat, at least I thought so. Always felt satisfying to rip apart greenskin in the name of the God Emperor. From what I heard though, development has been slow lately or something?

 

[Mangoose]

Space Marine definitely had good combat, at least I thought so. Always felt satisfying to rip apart greenskin in the name of the God Emperor.

There'll be player Orks in the game. That is one of my main worries though. Space Marine gives Eternal Crusade developers an easy way to set up base mechanics. But that's for Space Marines only. They will have to build Eldar and Orks from ground up so that makes things questionable.

Also there is no single player/PVE (besides horde mode against Tyranids), though you may already know that.

From what I heard though, development has been slow lately or something?

Uhhh I haven't followed it really until very recently, so I have no idea. But for what it is now, it looks solid for a closed alpha. On the other hand, again they had it easy in that Space Marine already gave them a template for Space Marines. So perhaps a better question is whether development will slow down in the future.

It was just announced that it's going to be on Early Access though, which implies it development is fine? I dunno. You may be thinking about the previous MMO attempt, "Dark Millennium."

Spoiler

I am in so, yes, it is basically Space Marine + extra stuff + bugginess + shitty performance.

In any case, the only weakness of Space Marine multiplayer was complete lack of post-release support. Eternal Crusade is currently almost the same game at the moment: arena combat with Loyalists vs. Chaos, surprisingly a one-time retail buy with no subscription (in fact if you buy a "founders pack" you're basically pre-ordering/"kickstarting" the game for $10-$20 dollars less than release price)... If they simply polish/optimize/balance the game right now, maintain post-release support, and scrap any ideas of adding the other races and MMO content... Then I am perfectly fine with the game.

TLDR if it were a subscription MMO, then, no, I can't conclude anything about the game until it's developed way further.

But the fact is that it is not, at least at the moment. It's a regular FPS (Battlefield-like I suppose), one time buy. I think the only gamble right now is whether/how well they will be able to balance, optimize, and polish the game through beta.

However, if you're looking for a Planetside experience, then that's something that is REALLY questionable whether it will reach that stage.

 

[Mangoose]

Okay so yeah basically it's Battlefield-esque size right now:

Whether you’re in PVP (up to 30 vs 30) or PVE (5 vs AI [Tyranids]), your squad must work together to overcome constant resistance in their quest for glory.

I think there's friendly fire too.

 

[Maculo]

I find myself tempted to buy a starter pack, but I know I will get burned with the quality of the game. They have so much left to do, such as the Eldar and Orcs. I just do not believe they will be able to deliver in the long run.

 

[Mangoose]

I find myself tempted to buy a starter pack, but I know I will get burned with the quality of the game. They have so much left to do, such as the Eldar and Orcs. I just do not believe they will be able tot deliver in the long run.

That is also my major concern. I almost wish they didn't do those races. Because they have base mechanics from Space Marine to copy over to the SM/CSM combat in this game. But new races are gonna have to be built more ground up.

Honestly I almost want them to Just polish whatever they have now. It would be Space Marine multiplayer except done well.

On the other hand, Starter Pack is $10-20 cheaper than retail value.

You are the chosen one and must choose.

 

[Martius]

Damn, these starter packs are pretty expensive. Any idea if full game is supposed to be paid or in some form of f2p?

 

[Maculo]

At the end of the day, I feel like they screwed themselves, because they promised a full featured game with four (4) races, a Tyranid mechanic, and PVE content. The expectation is that they will have all that packaged together by release, and I just do not see that happening. Instead, I think they should have started with a promise to make Space Marine, or Space Marines vs. Chaos Space Marines. Once they had a solid base, then they could move to Eldar and Orcs. At this rate, I feel like they will either rush things or simply not deliver at all.

Damn, these starter packs are pretty expensive. Any idea if full game is supposed to be paid or in some form of f2p?

It has been a while, but I thought Orks were F2P, whereas SM, CSM, and Eldar require a one-time purchase of the base game. I do not remember if they touched upon micro-transactions, but I fully expect those.

Edit: Despite everything I have said, if I could play Space Marine with a Death Company aesthetic, I would purchase it in a heartbeat and accept the Decline as lord and master. I liked Space Marine's campaign, but why did they have to go with Ultramarines?

 

[Mangoose]

Damn, these starter packs are pretty expensive. Any idea if full game is supposed to be paid or in some form of f2p?

You can only play Orks as F2P. However in general there is no subscription, and all you need is a one-time purchase of the "box" in order to unlock the whole game.

To be honest the release is not going to be an MMO. Better to consider it a regular multiplayer FPS (30vs30 with vehicles, Battlefield-esque).

Starter pack isn't too expensive, though, because you won't need to buy the full game, and there is no sub.

At the end of the day, I feel like they screwed themselves, because they promised a full featured game with four (4) races, a Tyranid mechanic, and PVE content. The expectation is that they will have all that packaged together by release, and I just do not see that happening. Instead, I think they should have started with a promise to make Space Marine, or Space Marines vs. Chaos Space Marines. Once they had a solid base, then they could move to Eldar and Orcs. At this rate, I feel like they will either rush things or simply not deliver at all.

Agreed. On the other hand I think they're cognizant, as they already have changed the objective to releasing a non-MMO 30v30 FPS thingie. They "plan" to open it up more (Planetside 2 like) but eh who knows.

Actually right now they are only doing Space Marines and Chaos Space Marines and they play about the same as Space Marine. Right now it seriously is a copy of Space Marine with some changes and addition of vehicles (again, like a Battlefield type game).

 

[Mangoose]

Edit: Despite everything I have said, if I could play Space Marine with a Death Company aesthetic, I would purchase it in a heartbeat and accept the Decline as lord and master. I liked Space Marine's campaign, but why did they have to go with Ultramarines?

They actually are gonna try to add a bunch of chapters. They did some polls. I have absolutely no idea if Death Company is in though.

 

[Martius]

I liked Space Marine, at least in singleplayer part since I am not really into multiplayer. I will probably just wait how it will turn out or check out that whole playing as Orks. 40 bucks is still not that cheap.

 

[Mangoose]

I liked Space Marine, at least in singleplayer part since I am not really into multiplayer. I will probably just wait how it will turn out or check out that whole playing as Orks. 40 bucks is still not that cheap.

Sadly. No singleplayer except for "horde mode" against Tyranids.

Well 40 bucks is cheap for a one time buy game. $50-60 is norm anyway. Again this is not an MMO.

Also I forgot it's not an FPS, it's TPS. Just like Space Marine lol.

Hopefully Relic finishes messing with CoH, and comes back to DoW and/or Space Marine.

 

[Martius]

Well, I guess I am just too used to steam sales at this point. Also in Poland 50-60$ is still not normal price for pc games, hopefully it will keep up for some time. Usually I just wait for game price to be bit lower (with few exceptions like Devastation since Platinum usually delivers).

 

[Maculo]

Edit: Despite everything I have said, if I could play Space Marine with a Death Company aesthetic, I would purchase it in a heartbeat and accept the Decline as lord and master. I liked Space Marine's campaign, but why did they have to go with Ultramarines?

They actually are gonna try to add a bunch of chapters. They did some polls. I have absolutely no idea if Death Company is in though.

If I remember correctly, Death Company is just a sub-group of Blood Angels that have gone insane from the Black Rage and are sent on missions too dangerous for normal Blood Angels. Therefore, the Death Company technically is not a different chapter from Blood Angels. Granted, it still has a slightly different style (Red and Black rather than Red and Gold).

Hopefully Relic finishes messing with CoH, and comes back to DoW and/or Space Marine.

What I would give for a decent DoW III. I cannot wait to see what the Blood Ravens steal find through legitimate means next.

 

[vonAchdorf]

Hopefully Relic finishes messing with CoH, and comes back to DoW and/or Space Marine.

While I would of course welcome DoW 3, a Space Marine 2 with good production values is even higher on my list.

 

[27]

They actually are gonna try to add a bunch of chapters. They did some polls. I have absolutely no idea if Death Company is in though.

There will be five subfactions (chapters etc.) at launch for each faction -with three already implemented, though without any mechanical differences- and the community vote concerned only the fifth one (in case of SM some yellow guys won). They're aiming for some diversity among subfactions (eg. Space Wolves still aren't in the game because they are to have a completely different support class instead of standard apothecary, 'wolf priest' I think? - in other chapters/subfactions differences will consist probably of unique weapons, equipment, and elite classes - ie. classes that require resources each time they are spawned, like MAX units in Planetside 2), so they obviously want to limit their number even though there are plans to add more after launch.

 

[Caim]

Wolf Priests are Apothecaries and Chaplains at the same time. That makes for a different class, yes.

 

[27]

At the end of the day, I feel like they screwed themselves, because they promised a full featured game with four (4) races, a Tyranid mechanic, and PVE content. The expectation is that they will have all that packaged together by release, and I just do not see that happening. Instead, I think they should have started with a promise to make Space Marine, or Space Marines vs. Chaos Space Marines. Once they had a solid base, then they could move to Eldar and Orcs. At this rate, I feel like they will either rush things or simply not deliver at all.

That's kind of the plan right now. Basic Eldar and Orks were supposed to be in game half a year ago, more or less. But instead they focused on improving SM and CSM factions first, getting all their vehicles and basic classes to work (I suppose their elites won't have (m)any new mechanics and termies are planned for the first expansion 3 months after launch), and implementing all the different kinds of weapons (I may be wrong but from the more obvious stuff only melta weapons are missing right now, and they're coming soon), so when other races come they'll have a solid playtested base to copy/modify.
Eldar are coming in March, since they require quite a bit of new stuff (Hawks' wings are supposed to work differently than jetpacks, Scorpions will have infiltration, ie. stealth, Banshees will have their own movement quirks etc.) and that takes a bit of work. Orks are much more basic in that regard - besides obvious balance problems, most of their stuff can be copied from what marines already have (they have SM-equivalent classes and -for the most part- weapons) so you won't have to wait for them as long.

It has been a while, but I thought Orks were F2P, whereas SM, CSM, and Eldar require a one-time purchase of the base game. I do not remember if they touched upon micro-transactions, but I fully expect those.

Orks are F2P but in a limited way. You still need the full game to play all their elites, use all their special equipment etc. But you can play for free as the basic classes at least ('Free2Waaagh' as they call it - I think it's kind of cute).
Concerning microtransactions, well... technically there are some already. Basically unique skins only - everything that you can buy will have a free equivalent obtainable by normal means in game.
And from what I've seen if you buy it now (before 25th when it goes on steam) you'll get considerable amount of currency for that store ('Rogue Trader').