Tom Clancy's "The Division"

[wittyscorpion]

It is probably too early to talk about this game as it won't come out until late 2015. But we have a drought going on until next month so I figured why not?

What is this game all about? 3rd person, survival, tactical shooter, in an open world of the "Big Apple", where PvE (seems to me PvP as well) happen in an MMO(?) manner. This E3 demo is a good intro to the game's main appeal:



More info will be revealed in next week's (08/11/2014) gamescon.

Bros, are you excited about this game?

[Den]

Might be cool.

[mannon]

This looks very interesting to me. On the other hand if it's going to be a subscription based MMO I'm out. I'm not into paying money every month for access to a game I may or not play. I skip around and sometimes don't play a game for years then come back, and I don't want to have the pressure of wasting money if I only play one weekend in a month... Just, nope.

I think the only thing I'd consider subscribing to is mebbe EVE, just because I know I enjoy it and the subscription model is kinda flexible and it's possible (though horribly expensive) to even earn your subscription in game. But I probably won't even do that.

[wittyscorpion]

Aug 8, 2014 13:16:13 GMT -5 mannon said:

This looks very interesting to me. On the other hand if it's going to be a subscription based MMO I'm out. I'm not into paying money every month for access to a game I may or not play. I skip around and sometimes don't play a game for years then come back, and I don't want to have the pressure of wasting money if I only play one weekend in a month... Just, nope.

I think the only thing I'd consider subscribing to is mebbe EVE, just because I know I enjoy it and the subscription model is kinda flexible and it's possible (though horribly expensive) to even earn your subscription in game. But I probably won't even do that.

That's a very good point. I have not seen any info related to this.

Subscription model on console games has been a very touchy matter. Bungie and ActiVision explicitly said that they will never do that for the entire span of Destiny, instead they will offer new contents in the form of Expansion Packs. Elder Scrolls Online decided to go with subscription model, and is getting very negative feedbacks from the community. My guess is that UbiSoft is going to sit back and see how successful each method is, and decide before launch.

[mannon]

Yeah I'd like to try out both TESO and Wildstar, but I won't pay a subscription. I'll just wait and see if they change business models. There are plenty that have gone FtP or buy once so I'm good if I miss them. (Will be putting loads of hours into Destiny for example.)

[wittyscorpion]

Impressions from Gamescom live demo private screening:

www.xboxmad.net/x/impressions-the-division-running-on-xbox-one.html
www.totalxbox.com/80336/previews/the-division-xbox-one-impressions-a-massive-attack-on-the-big-apple/

[iw5000]

Aug 15, 2014 14:42:11 GMT -5 wittyscorpion said:

Impressions from Gamescom live demo private screening:

www.xboxmad.net/x/impressions-the-division-running-on-xbox-one.html
www.totalxbox.com/80336/previews/the-division-xbox-one-impressions-a-massive-attack-on-the-big-apple/

Looks interesting.

[wittyscorpion]

More preview: www.videogamer.com/ps4/tom_clancys_the_division/preview-3783.html

This article shed some lights on how this game is like from high level point of view. Specifically speaking, looks like the game has more of a crowd control focus than boss fights in traditional MMOs.

One of the most striking things about the demo is how you always seem to be greatly outnumbered in any given firefight. There seems to be an emphasis placed on pitting players against enemies of great quantity rather than quality, the challenge coming from managing the crowd rather than picking off singularly powerful foes.

As a result an enormous amount of time is spent creating distractions - either thanks to the drone or to automated turrets that can be deployed on ground level – in order to divide enemies and prevent them overcrowding you. This approach fits with The Division's 'against all odds' mentality, but we're keeping our fingers crossed for greater diversity to combat in the final game.

[wittyscorpion]

More detail: www.examiner.com/article/tom-clancy-s-the-division-gives-players-the-choice-to-engage-or-avoid-enemies

[mannon]

I'm still waiting to hear what the business model is for this before I'll bother to really care. If it's subscription then it might as well be a platform exclusive to the most obscure console ever... I won't even care about the game if it's sub only or if it's like demo-sub the way WoW is free up to a certain level then not. Nope.

Sure hope it's not like that, though I have an entirely different set of worries for FTP games I will at least try them and some are good. Though if it's a one time purchase like GW that might be for the best. I think I'd even be okay with it being a one time purchase with some in game purchases if the one time price was lower and the in game purchases were CLEARLY OPTIONAL and not obnoxious. But meh... I don't have high hopes that I'll like the business model to be honest.

[wittyscorpion]

Cross post from another thread: denkirson.proboards.com/post/186881/thread

Women gamers now significantly outnumber teenage boys: www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/female-adults-oust-teenage-boys-largest-gaming-demographic/

What do women play?

The spike in the number female gamers is likely tied to widespread smartphone adoption. In addition to traditional PCs and the Nintendo Wii game console, women were more likely to game on their mobile devices, and were just as likely as men to play on Apple’s iPhone and iPad platforms. In the past, female gamers were thought to play games primarily as a means of connecting with their loved ones.

With this trend, we probably will see more games that can be co-op played between console and mobile device, like what The Division is trying to do.

[Pegasus Actual]

This MMO with tablet thing has pretty much already lost me. In Clancyville it's starting to look like Rainbow 6: Siege or bust.

[mannon]

I think I'm okay with it as long as it's something cool but not necessary. If it were to the point that it's just about necessary to have someone with a drone join you that'll suck.

I wonder if you can run your own via tablet of if it's too much of a pain in the arse. Could be kinda cool playing the same game via two devices like that, but if it's like you have to keep moving one, then the other, then go back and forth prolly not worth it.

[wittyscorpion]

Based on what I read, the tablet thing is a gimmick, not essential to game play.

I was wondering why they would spend time on such a feature that is of little interest to core gamers, now I start seeing the point. It is an interesting way to bring core gamers and casual gamers to play this game together, especially for hubby/wife bf/gf kind of coop situation.

[wittyscorpion]

DattoDoesDestiny started covering this game in his YT channel, he gave a pretty good overview on his debut:

[wings]

Looks like me getting an Xbox One will probably hinder on how good The Division is. I liked GRAW 2, GRFS and R6V2 so hopefully another Tom Clancy title can be added to that. Pity HAWX kinda sucked.

[wittyscorpion]

Dec 20, 2014 12:36:20 GMT -5 wings said:

Looks like me getting an Xbox One will probably hinder on how good The Division is. I liked GRAW 2, GRFS and R6V2 so hopefully another Tom Clancy title can be added to that. Pity HAWX kinda sucked.

This game looks like another time sink, probably bigger than Destiny. If the game is indeed good and UbiSoft did take the micro-transaction route (which everybody hates), I may have to use that to buy "time".

[wings]

Dec 20, 2014 12:39:19 GMT -5 wittyscorpion said:

Dec 20, 2014 12:36:20 GMT -5 wings said:

Looks like me getting an Xbox One will probably hinder on how good The Division is. I liked GRAW 2, GRFS and R6V2 so hopefully another Tom Clancy title can be added to that. Pity HAWX kinda sucked.

This game looks like another time sink, probably bigger than Destiny. If the game is indeed good and UbiSoft did take the micro-transaction route (which everybody hates), I may have to use that to buy "time".

Yeah, true. I will wait a month or so when it is released. Really after Rainbow Six Siege though.

[wittyscorpion]

Some new info about this game came out during E3, and looks the the accurate branding of this game is Open-World-Third-Person-RPG with limited MP elements.

As an FPS MP fan, this game now looks a lot less appealing to me. Grind by myself in a game where shooting is not the central activity does not like something I feel fun about. Still thinking about preorder my way into the beta and see what it plays like.

[wittyscorpion]

A recent hands-on experience with the game: thegamebolt.com/2015/10/hands-on-with-tom-clancys-the-division/

[wittyscorpion]

Sneak peak from the dev team: tomclancy-thedivision.ubi.com/game/en-GB/news/detail.aspx?

[wittyscorpion]

Beta is this weekend. Anybody participating on the XONE side would like to party up? My play time is likely to be Thursday night and Sunday.

[iw5000]

Jan 25, 2016 14:50:51 GMT -5 wittyscorpion said:

Beta is this weekend. Anybody participating on the XONE side would like to party up? My play time is likely to be Thursday night and Sunday.

Maybe sunday for me witty.

[wittyscorpion]

I played it a bit on Thursday night. The game looks solid, but with that said...

as I predicted not something that I feel excited about: more RPG than Shooter, Third Person vs. First Person, and Tactical vs. longer TTK. Most likely won't play it on Sunday.

[wings]

Jan 30, 2016 17:29:22 GMT -5 wittyscorpion said:

I played it a bit on Thursday night. The game looks solid, but with that said...

as I predicted not something that I feel excited about: more RPG than Shooter, Third Person vs. First Person, and Tactical vs. longer TTK. Most likely won't play it on Sunday.

Perhaps I have missed something but how come you post a lot about competitive gaming for Halo but then not really like the more tactical side to shooters?

[wittyscorpion]

In general I enjoy longer TTKs than Twitch based shootings, and evasive maneuvers than cover based. The preference has little to do with competitiveness.

Maybe I used the word tactical wrong...

[wings]

Nah tactical was used correctly. I don't know, I just find it a bit weird that games like Halo and COD have a significant competitive scene (and Destiny has some of that) whilst games like Rainbow Six Siege appear to be built with competitive from the get go. Perhaps it's just because of the popularity of Halo and COD that means they can have a competitive scene. It is the same with Destiny where I know of players want to boost its competitive scene presence, despite many features that might appear to contradict its suitability for high level game play (e.g. tracking grenades, permanent radar etc.).

[wings]

Oh I would probably prefer a game that doesn't have a competitive scene.

[Deleted]

Feb 1, 2016 15:47:28 GMT -5 wings said:

Oh I would probably prefer a game that doesn't have a competitive scene.

I don't know; I'd rather have some prototype of a comp scene over nothing at all- even if its strictly community driven. It'll certainly send a message to the developer that people are willing to play competitively on their own time, and that is always a good thing. This effect can be further exacerbated by the community getting a handle of the meta, having the player-base break the game, and forcing the developers to do something about it to improve the game as a whole. That's why developer support is so important; if you don't have a game suited for eSports the community can use their influence to make that happen.

These things take time. Rainbow Six may not have much of a reputation as an eSport now, but it can start building one for future reference. Games like Starcraft and Counter-Strike took well over a decade to evolve into what they are now; given enough time many games can become that with the right developer support. Of course, like Mousey said, Ubisoft would have to allow the developers to support their game if any of this were to ever happen.

Things might change; who knows? While I think "it won't happen" is a likely outcome for Siege, I'd say "it shouldn't happen" is too early to call.

[iw5000]

Feb 1, 2016 9:30:10 GMT -5 Mousey said:

. like it or not, console shooters have a much tougher time maintaining a competitive scene than pc shooters.

Isn't that mostly due to the nature of consoles, which are constantly pushing yearly cycles of games. Or two years? PC gaming maybe has a bit more stability, because some of these games never change. How long has CS been using the same game? LoL? DoTA? If you have the same game going for three or four years plus, it creates a more stable community, especially amongst the tournament community.