*kicks the tires*

[Tsujigiri]

Anyone got a light for this fire?

I’m sure this is probably a familiar story that floats through these forums once every so often, so I’ll try to keep my story short.

Like many I played Horizons when it first came out. Being someone who played Asheron’s Call from its inception, I was very excited to see David Allen construct yet another masterpiece. Well we all know the next part of the story. I, the 15 guildmates and the 5 real life friends who all came with me to Horizons left after 3 months, going back to AC or onto City of Heroes, and then later Star Wars Galaxies and World of Warcraft.

I think it’s mostly due to age, and maybe partially due to the direction of online gaming since those times but I find myself without a home and quickly loosing interest in what’s out there. The clan I belonged to since 1998 I no longer recognize or play with since Warcraft, and so for the past 3 months I’ve just found myself wandering the game world alone. I’m getting off base here, so I’ll sum things up with the obvious question along with what I’m curious about.

The question: I left initially due to the bugs, the horrible memory leaks, the leveling/xp exploits, the undeveloped world and the management’s handling of all of these issues. That in mind, is Horizons fixed yet?

My qualifications: I think what I’m looking for is a stable fantasy game with fun lore (please tell me they fixed the lore), decent worthwhile quests that don’t require more than a few hours (got a life ya know) a mature user base, a world that is worth exploring (i.e. Horizons with monsters in it and explanations/lore as to why one of the zombies in that blight patch is named “Tim�, or whatever) and a decent, mature guild that is just as prone to conquer a dungeon as they are to sit at the end of it and bs for a while.

So there you go. Hope it was shorter or at least more entertaining than most. Any feedback is appreciated, thanks.

[BKBanzai]

The question: I left initially due to the bugs, the horrible memory leaks, the leveling/xp exploits, the undeveloped world and the management’s handling of all of these issues. That in mind, is Horizons fixed yet?

Bugs still around, some are fixed, some are new, some are old, most of the bugs from when you played have probably been replaced or eliminated.

Memory leak better.

Cannot answer to the others, undeveloped world would be perception/expectation based so I don't know what yours are.

My qualifications: I think what I’m looking for is a stable fantasy game with fun lore (please tell me they fixed the lore), decent worthwhile quests that don’t require more than a few hours (got a life ya know) a mature user base, a world that is worth exploring (i.e. Horizons with monsters in it and explanations/lore as to why one of the zombies in that blight patch is named “Tim�, or whatever) and a decent, mature guild that is just as prone to conquer a dungeon as they are to sit at the end of it and bs for a while.

Dragon lore is pretty good.

Some quests are good, some are just porting from town to town talking to this person or that person, which I personally don't enjoy.

Quite a number of established guilds around, a number of which are both hunting/leveling and social.

[Vlisson]

log in again, try the trial, its a great game

HZ changed alot! dragons are now a finished race and can all do what they announced at the release ^^

bugs from your time got all eliminated. XP exploits are gone

the landshape got changed too, more forests, lakes... the world looks better now.

if you make your questions more concrete then i will answer them gladly

[Kulamata]

The advice to try is good; you will find a lot changed. XP/exploits, first and second generation: long gone. More quests; still not as many as some games, but a lot more since release, and some are fairly involved. The bank vault series was a lot of fun, and as you may have heard, Peter S. Beagle just completed a new, complex quest; his first since being hired.

As mentioned above, Dragons got a LOT of work done on their game; lairs, thicker armored hides, Ancient Rite of Passage, and perhaps even the Rite of Passage since you left. The Rite of Passage quest series was outstanding. Several islands and a Northern Continent have been added. Kwellens and Vexators were added, both great new critters.

There has indeed been work on the client; not perfect yet, but considerably improved.

The new players' experience also received a lot of work, which led to the recent excellent trial retention rates. So trying it seems a pretty safe bet.

[Sledge99]

Come on back and give it another look.

I too, started on the first day and, after a couple of months, had to leave. The promises were not the reality.

I went back to AC and then on to the games you talk of.

I jsut recently decided to give Horizons another look. It is not the game I left. Sure there are bugs in the game. Sure the protals still take a bit of time.

But..........

There have been so many improvements in the game play. The crafting is excellent. The players are mature, friendly and very helpful.

Tulga is not no longer in charge and everyone is looking forward to what the new owners will do for the game.

I have a plot of ground and have started building on it.

See you in the game.

[Yuusuke Akiyama IV]

Most of what you remember from "days of yore Horizons" no longer is...

My guild just got a returnee from a two year absence, and she is simply stunned by how it "...looks like Hz but plays better" <paraphrase

I am more that a little amused by your Forumname, forgive me, friend. You do remember we have no PvP in general play, right?

Good luck with things here, and do call upon me if you chose to play on Order Shard. eigo de kokugo de dochi demo ii desu.

[Tsujigiri]

I am more that a little amused by your Forumname, forgive me, friend. You do remember we have no PvP in general play, right?

Hah! Yes, I am aware. However, my namesake (my cat) is convinced that everywhere is pvp, hence his name. It's a term I picked up from my hobbies; unfortunately Japanese is not a language I speak. I tend to use his name on forums these days since I lost my old gaming name to the rise in MMORPG popularity and Madonna making Hebrew mythology trendy a number of years ago. I guess Tsujigiri is analogous of my gameplay in some respects though. Plus he's just, like, the cutest cat ever.

Thanks for your feedback everyone. If you were looking for specific questions here are some things I am interest in knowing about the game now.

-I'm a huge clothes horse. Fashion in game is important to me. Is the armor in this game still only copper, bronze, or iron colored?

-On the fashion note, did they ever add cloaks?

-I recall crafting being fairly time consuming. While I absolutely loved the mechnaics of the crafting system in this game, I loathed mining for 2 hours to make 20 swords for my dragon friends' hoard. Is this the same?

Eh, just got a call from my boss. I'll have to leave it at that for now. Thanks for you opinions everyone.

[Yuusuke Akiyama IV]

heh... great Cat name then.

Armor takes dyed colors now... lots of them... so does some other equipage.

Cloaks we have in an Armor slot, but sadly remain invisible.

CFT take time, for sure, but the rate you mention is a bit slow unless you are someone just getting going with a material. Skill helps alot.

[Kulamata]

Not only is armor colored, but dye kits are available for changing existing colors.

Also, quite early on, a line of non-utilitarian clothing was introduced. I like some of it quite a bit.

[TheHaunt]

I am in much the same situation as you, except that I never played Asheron's Call... the void of nothing to play, the friends that have gone other ways, etc etc...

I came back and I will tell you that the game is quite different in many ways, from when we played...

There are some things that are still the same. I do have to re-log due to memory leaks but they aren't as bad as they were back then. A lot of issues have been addressed. There is high end content now (when I left there were no monsters over level 60, as I recall). A lot of work was done for dragons. Bipeds seem to have been changed... My old characters do not play the same as I remember them and conversations with players lead me to believe the character schools were "fixed" (read: nerf).

We're under new ownership now, so we're all waiting to see what that will mean but, if you feel up to giving it a try, I encourage you to do so. I did love the crafting system back then, and I still do like it... We'll simply have to see what other things happen under the new ownership.

If you decide to rejoin, and happen to choose Order, say hello... If I can be of help, I'l sure try...

[Tsujigiri]

Excellent! I thank you all for the replies. I'm especially excited about that armor dying business. I downloaded it last night, so hopefully I'll get to create something tonight.

Now, to decide whether or not I'm going to fall into the curiousity of being a dragon or be too cool for school and play some uncommon biped to even out the horizon (pun).

Thanks again for all of the info guys!

[C`gan]

With 5 character slots per account, do both!

[Uther Blade]

Now, to decide whether or not I'm going to fall into the curiousity of being a dragon or be too cool for school and play some uncommon biped to even out the horizon (pun).

Thanks again for all of the info guys!

Do both, I myself, and many others have completed the Dragon ARoP.. (my bestest Alt)... I feel I am a better fighter/crafter in both 2 and 4 legs for using all 6 .

Sorry no pun.. just bad math joke.

[Screech]

I used to play beta. And I was all gung-ho to play but Artifact wouldn't let me play on a US Shard - so I didn't play at all.
Some time ago I tripped over the free trial and it let me onto the US Shard....
Play, it's fun
Use the trial and see how you feel. I did, and I stayed.