Free to Play (with store) MMO. WoW type, similar graphics. Russian game, but the English translated version is in closed beta right now.

Normally I would have passed right by this one, but their ship-to-ship team combat caught my attention.

From the ign.com article wrote:

The most unusual element is Astral battles, which can be against demons or other players. Up to six characters can crew a ship, taking different roles like navigator, gunner and engineer. These aren't fixed, so it's possible to switch at any time. The key to success is maneuvering. Avoiding the enemy vessel's shots, destroy its running gear and board it. Win the ensuing PvP encounter and take the treasure aboard.

There's the usual two faction PvP. Empire (humans, zombie-borgs?, & orcs) vs League (humans, fuzzy critters, and elves).

I don't know much yet, but here are the resources I'm planning on reading through during lunch:

allods.gpotato.com/ (Official English Site)

rpgvault.ign.com/artic...900p1.html (Interview)

And of course there are youtube vids.

Get back to work, slacker.

Looks interesting, so I signed up for beta.

BrewSki wrote:

Get back to work, slacker. Looks interesting, so I signed up for beta.

Hey now, dude's gotta eat.

On the game, it looks like the bit with the astral ships is higher level stuff.

The negative stuff I've found has been either the typical "WOW CLONE" comments (which I ignore) or the grumpier testers saying the devs are ignoring them and bugs aren't being fixed.

Hey welcome to the brave, new, slackerific world of game development n00blets! It ain't right, but it's pretty much standard now days.

I pretty much expect all devs to be cold and uncaring going in. If they prove themselves different, fantastic.

Regardless I figure since it's "free" I can at least test drive it. I'll probably give it a shot.

And yeah, signed up for beta after I submitted that initial post.

Back to work.

Allods Developer Tour

Latest update from the Massively website takes a look at astral ship combat and higher level content. For a free to play MMO its looking like an awesome game!

I'm quite sure ill be trying it out at some point. Reminds me of Spelljammer pen and paper that i used to play. Had an awesome GM who conjured up a really vivid and vibrant universe with lots of mystery, intrigue and really good plot twists. I've never played in such a detailed and enjoyable world since

Russians are bats&(* crazy and unless it's crazy monkey sex, getting involved with them is probably going to end poorly for you.

Just thought id give this one a bump as another fun free to play game. I noticed the Runes Of Magic thread and figured every one likes the bargain basement price of free to play!

allods.gpotato.com/

I've spent a little time in game and had a blast. I havn't run into any circumstances where i felt obliged to make any purchases from the store to continue my merry adventures.

Quests classes and game dynamics are all quite polished and learning curve is low if you've played WOW or EQ. The GEM system for more intricate development of the baseline skills/spells is interesting. There is a trade and crafting system in place as well.

If i had more time on my hands id been keen to get to the more end game ship combat in the etheral, but i havn't touched this in months due to lack of free time. It really reminds me of Spelljammer AD&D campaign setting, the ships make for a really unique experience.

Just installed this today - my brother directed me toward it & after watching some youtube vids, I figured it would be worth a try. Had install problems with Rune of Magic... Just started playing tonight (took me about 2 hrs to get it up & running) but for a free-to-play, the graphics at this point are amazing; way polished. Going to be playing it a bit more & will add what I find out/experience.

I had a blast playing this for a while, if probably still be playing regularly if i had more time on my hands. Made my toons on the Tenesses server.

Graphics are quite nice. All the quests are quite interesting. I started playing as League rather than Empire. Made a Gibberling Seer first and then a Kanian Druid second, spent more time playing the Druid. Seer was interesting as you establish a mind link to your target which on its own has 3 forms of "attack" you can trigger once linked or you can use your other powers which rely on mindlink being established. The psionic clone is a cool ability as you effectively become invisible and all mobs focus on your psi clone. Also played a Necromancer for a while which was a cross between healing, damage dealer and pets. I Had just reached the point where i can start to modify skills using the Gem system on my Druid.

I'd like to get back to playing it sometime in the future for the astral ship combat. The ships themselves require teamwork to fly.

Helm - This station allows the helmsman to control the heading of the ship.
Turbine - This station allows an engine worker to control the speed of the ship.
Motor - This station allows an engine worker to control the altitude of the ship.
Artillery - This station allows a senior cannoneer to fire deadly beams at Astral demons and enemy ships.
Canons - This station allows a cannoneer to fire bursts of energy at Astral demons and enemy ships.
Visor - This station allows the lookout to see an exterior view of the ship as well as an overview of all the ship's devices.
Goblin Mechanics - This station allows an engineer to carry goblin mechanics to damaged devices so they can be repaired.
Scanner - This station allows the navigator to view a map of the sector that shows landmarks such as allods, Astral demons, other ships, wormholes, and ship wrecks.

Theres a good overview of everything in the beginners guide! allods.gpotato.com/?m=...innerguide

Would be nice to get a game of goblin ball in sometime as well!
allods.gpotato.com/?m=...goblinball

How does the "not free" part of the game fit into it? Is it mostly stuff like potions that level you faster or give you speed boosts? Or does it play into your abilities or gear?

The shop is mostly potions and scrolls and such for boosts. You can buy chests which contain a totally random bit of magical equipment.

I never once felt like i needed to buy anything to stay in the game or stay on top. I don't like the concept of "free" where you get suckered into buying stuff just to stay at your best or to keep progressing. If i enjoy myself i might be tempted to sink a few dollars in support of the developers tho.

I don't know if store purchases may be a bigger thing towards the end game. As far as i played i couldn't foresee a greater need for store purchases towards end game.

Store purchases seemed mildly useful for making life in game a fraction easier and smoother. Nothing you could pay $$$ for seemed to be balance destroying.

Installing and gonna give this a test run too. So far RoM is fun I just need more time to play with it. I'll be the usual Healer of some sort that fits my play style, if not a melee capable tank. Lemme know I'll be in vent while I try it out.

I went ahead and tried this, but had some initial problems getting up and running. First, since I'm a member of FilePlanet I downloaded the client from there, using the link provided on the Allods website. It turned out to be an old beta client, and after waiting for the 1.6G file, the installer complained of a Checksum error and wouldn't install.

So, I downloaded the installer app from the official website and it wouldn't run. It complained about not having a network connection.

Finally I downloaded a newer version of the client from on of the other listed sites (Filehippo or somesuch). It took about 6 hours to download the 2G file, but at least it worked.

I have to say I'm not a huge fan of the super-cartoony graphics styel... I guess I've gotten too used to LotRo. However, the tutorial instance was quite well done and the game seems pretty well polished. I played a necro of some sort, so I got an acid blast, a vampirism spell, and a staff.

I only played through that bit and a few minutes in the newb zone, so my impressions are minimal. It seemed like most other MMOs in that genre, with a couple interesting twists. I guess if I was tired of LotRo I'd check it out more. But nothing about it excited me enough to give it a lot of time. Maybe I'll check it out again next time I'm bored