MMO Insider: April 2024 Alpha & Beta Testing Roundup

Name: MMO Insider: April 2024 Alpha & Beta Testing Roundup | Open Video
Uploaded: 2024-05-09T09:05:24+00:00
Duration: 12 min 33 s

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Welcome to MMO Insider, your go-to source for exclusive insights into the hottest up
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and coming MMORPGs. We're here to dive into these new adventures, test the gameplay and
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deliver the inside scoop directly to you. April was a whirlwind month for MMORPG testing, particularly for some of the indie MMOs slated
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for launch in the next two years. We had the chance to dive into quite a few games and
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now it's time to unveil the inside scoop on each one. Keep in mind that many of these
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MMOs are still in early stages of development, such as pre-alpha, so the full potential is
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yet to unfold. We'll break down where things currently stand and share our excitement levels
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for each title. I'd love to hear your thoughts too, let me know in the comments below what you've
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been playing and which upcoming MMOs have you most excited. So Throne and Liberty held a confidential closed playtest this month which I had the
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opportunity to join. Although I can't disclose any details due to the NDA, I will say that
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this highly anticipated multi-platform MMORPG remains firmly on my radar. With a western
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release expected this year, I look forward to getting more playtime very soon
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My excitement level for this game is a 4 out of 5
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Next we've got Pax Day. Unfortunately I missed out on Pax Day testing in April for
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the second time in a row. Despite this, it's high on my watchlist as the concept looks
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promising and the game brings intriguing elements to the table. However, feedback from some
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testers and friends has me very cautious. The game is heavily focused on crafting, requiring
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significant teamwork and potentially large guilds to progress efficiently. The extensive time investment needed for crafting and skill advancement could be a slog for solo players
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and the combat has been described as lackluster. While I appreciate teamwork orientated MMORPGs
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Pax Day's groin heavy approach and uninspiring combat are definitely concerning. My excitement
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level for Pax Day is a 2 out of 5. Now we're looking at Eternal Tombs. April kicked off with an early look into Eternal
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Tombs, an MMORPG that promises some fascinating ideas and potentially unique features, particularly
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with the Live Tombmasters, which are staff members who create dynamic events within the
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game world. This strictly non-pay to win title has been on my radar for a while, but I kind
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of mistakenly anticipated a closer to ready game than what we actually saw. Instead, this
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pre-alpha playtest revealed that it's still in quite early development, so significant
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changes are likely before its anticipated 2025 launch. Visually, Eternal Tombs offers attractive environments with intricate detail, however
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the limited draw distance even on ultra setting did distract from the immersion. Moving the
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camera also caused noticeable framerate drops, hinting at optimization issues that extended
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to long load screens as well. The developers aimed to launch with 30 zones and 19 raids
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I did spend several hours exploring one of the beginner zones which introduced the lore
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and set the stage. However, some aspects didn't make much sense, particularly how the player
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character is meant to be the saviour, but arrives with no gear or supplies. The fully
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voiced NPCs also struggled to be heard over the distracting background noise. I initially
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had doubts about the combat system from early trailers, but found it strategic and engaging
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but slower paced than expected. Targeting enemies was tricky until I discovered the
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C key for highlighting them. A frustrating aspect was being immobilized or rooted by
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very distant enemies, particularly enemies like boars, and when I tried to evade them
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and run away from them, they were able to throw things at me and immobilize me, leading to multiple deaths. The inability to sprint was somewhat annoying, but I managed to compensate
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this with a creative jump plus dodge technique. Progression was significantly impacted by
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the presence of just two other players in this area, which limited available enemies
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and loot drops that were essential for quest advancement. Fortunately, the developers promptly
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patched enemy spawn rates the next day, increasing both spawn rates, respawn timers and loot
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drops, so kudos to them. The initial gear acquisition was confusing with essential equipment
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buried in vendor menus without any guidance. Exploring the world revealed both graphical
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inconsistencies and fascinating environmental interactions like climbing on buildings or getting stuck swimming in the water. The difficulty curve was steep, with low level enemies posing
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significant challenges. This created an overcrowded starting zone, limiting progression. The developers
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did quickly address this feedback, reducing the difficulty of early enemies to help players
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move out of these zones much faster. After hours of gameplay, the challenging pace and
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learning curve revealed the potential of Eternal Tombs, though it appears to demand significant
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time investment and seem tailored to a more niche audience emphasizing hardcore gameplay
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While this playtest didn't quite meet my high expectations, the developers are actively
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addressing these issues and I have feedback directly to them, and the dynamic world, raids
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and live tombmasters still have me intrigued. With bi-weekly testing sessions on the horizon
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and significant updates planned, I am excited to dive back into Eternal Tombs and explore
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the features that originally caught my attention. My excitement level for Eternal Tombs is a
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3.5 out of 5. Next we went to test Abyss and I had the chance to playtest Abyss online this month, a pre-alpha
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MMORPG that promises an expansive open world experience where players can forge their own
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path as heroes. My first session was a simple exploration around a castle, which I didn't
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record, but I later revisited allowing me to explore more of the game's systems due
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to active patching during the testing phase. Upon entering the game, players start with a template character, meaning character creation
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hasn't been implemented yet. The biome I loaded into was visually appealing, with a surprising
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level of detail in the plants, the grass, water and shadows. However, the gameplay itself
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felt quite sparse, with limited activities available. I noticed another player and decided
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to engage in combat to test out the skills. Equipping a weapon was a challenge since they
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didn't appear on the character model, leaving me uncertain whether they were properly equipped
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The combat system is relatively simple with 6 skills linked to the equipped gear. Weapons
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and armour determine the available abilities, reflecting the classless combat design. I
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appreciated the action combat system and found the streamlined skill set appealing, but invisible
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weapons distracted from the immersion. Dodging and jumping added some strategic flair, though
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the overall system still needs refinement. Building represented similar challenges. I did notice an unfinished structure and attempted
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to contribute, but struggled to figure out the controls. Once I figured out how to gather
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materials which were already in my inventory and how to build, I found the idea of open
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world structures intriguing as long as they aren't permanent, which could clog up the
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landscape if abandoned by inactive players. Camera, UI and movement issues hampered the
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building experience. The character would sometimes walk sideways and the cursor aimed completely
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inaccurately. The arrow keys used for rotating and placing items only partially functioned
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After changing the zoom on my camera I could finally place objects at a distance, but it
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was difficult because the whole system didn't seem to function properly and when you've got an object floating above your head you're not able to place that anywhere
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With limited gameplay options I explored the weapons animations before roaming the empty
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zone in search of enemies. I didn't happen to find any enemies and reaching the maps
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boundaries led me to fall through the world. Despite the issues, Abyss Online aims to deliver
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a rich, lore-driven story, player-based economy and immersive multiplayer features such as
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co-op quests and intense PvP battles. Taking all this into account, Early Access was planned for release on May 7th 2024, which
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has now been delayed for a few days. The game still feels like it's in very early
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development phase and far from being playable. I am hesitant to invest in Early Access given
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how incomplete the game currently appears and that you will have to buy the game in
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Early Access. This approach hasn't bode well for other MMORPGs in recent years and
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so this is a major concern for me. My excitement level for this game is a 1.5 out of 5
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Although I was late to join the party for Evercraft Online, I managed to catch the tail
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end of their recent early alpha test. The game embraces a block-based aesthetic which
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carries a nostalgic vibe while emphasising gameplay quality. Character creation kicks off the experience offering a variety of races and classes. While I couldn't try them all
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it's clear that each choice impacts your character's playstyle. I selected an Ogre
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to change things up and found myself starting in Osgul, which was the Ogre City. This zone
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seemed well designed so I explored to figure out my next move. However, the absence of
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a map or compass was frustrating as instructions to head east by NPCs for quests felt very
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vague without any direction indicators. Evercraft features a tab-target combat system that's
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intentionally slow-paced, focusing on strategic, impactful encounters rather than rapid, chaotic skirmishes. You select an enemy, turn on auto-attack and then juggle the cooldowns of your skills
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while managing resources. Combat meshes well with the game's aesthetic, reinforcing teamwork
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since enemies just a couple of levels higher prove to be a real challenge. The camera angle
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poses significant issues, often obscuring enemies and forcing me to switch to first-person
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view for proper aiming, gathering and looting. Targeting and attacking were cumbersome, sometimes
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leaving my character immobile despite highlighting an enemy due to a slight misalignment. This
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will need a bit of refinement to make it a bit better for the player. Although I didn't have much time in Evercraft Online, it shows significant potential and
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it seems to emphasize team-based play, exploration and character development. Compared to other
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MMOs at this alpha stage, it seems relatively far along. Interestingly, this game might
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appeal to children, drawing a younger audience into the MMORPG scene. As a parent, I often
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find my gaming preferences don't have any interest from my kids, but Evercraft Online
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could bridge that gap. It holds the potential to introduce a new generation to the genre
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if marketed to a broader audience and made into a family-friendly game. I could definitely
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see myself playing this with my kids if it's done right. Because of this, my excitement level for Evercraft Online is a 3 out of 5
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And that wraps up my April MMORPG testing. It was a packed month and I had a blast exploring
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these games. In May we'll be testing The Quinfall, an exciting opportunity since this
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game hasn't had any open testing yet and given the controversy that surfaced in January
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it will be interesting to see how it plays. I also have plans to test Ardvita in early
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May and Call of the Punk at the end of May. And if you're aware of any other MMORPGs
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testing in May, let me know in the comments so we can get invited and check those out
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I hope you enjoyed the video. This was the MMO Insider for April 2024
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Thank you very much for watching and I'll see you next time. Bye bye for now

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