Another asymmetrical game, Nosgoth

Nordic

Developer: Square Enix
Status: Closed Beta

I have been seeing a lot of old and current ns2 players playing nosgoth so I thought I would post this here.

Nosgoth will go into open beta soon, and will be a free to play game. It is a spin off of the Legacy of Kain lore, but is a completely different game. Instead it is an asymmetric ranged humans vs melee vampires.

Here is the Nosgoth steam page.
If you are interested in the lore you can read here.
If you are interested in competitive play, read here, as Square Enix is offering cash rewards right now on a weekly and monthly basis.
If you want to know more about gameplay, watch this video.

In my couple months playing so far I have really enjoyed it. It has been very buggy until just recently, but as a beta that is expected. By what I have seen so far I can not see it being pay to win. As of right now you can get all abilities just by playing long enough. The abilities aren't any stronger than the free default ones, just built for different play styles. Skins and cosmetics can only be purchased with real money though, with the Square Enix money called runestones.

Gameplay is unique because it is asymmetrical. You play 4v4 in public games. In the beginning players will find vampires to seem very strong, but as you get more skilled you will find out coordinated humans who can aim are much stronger. Matchmaking is still a work in progress, but has made great improvements just recently in the beta.

Anyone else playing Nosgoth? Right now you have to pay to get into the closed beta on steam, or use this link to get into the game for free.

Soul_Rider

WoW, I was working briefly on a game in 2007/2008, which I was going to call - Undead Overkill. Humans verses Werewolves/Vampires etc. I am most definitely interested in giving this a go...

Nordic

Soul_Rider wrote: »

WoW, I was working briefly on a game in 2007/2008, which I was going to call - Undead Overkill. Humans verses Werewolves/Vampires etc. I am most definitely interested in giving this a go...

Follow the link at the bottom of the op to get the game free today.

Soul_Rider

Needs more players.

Sat waiting in a room with only me for 5 mins then quit. Did the tutorials though, I'm not keen on 3rd person games normally. I can't get the hang of movement with them and always go in the wrong direction. I have the same trouble with FIFA games. My spatial awareness in 1st person games is bad, in 3rd person games, it doesn't exist :P

If you had mentioned it was 3rd person I might not have even loaded, but now I have I will give it a try when someone else is online to play with :P

Nordic

Player count is the biggest complaint about nosgoth. It has the same amount of players as ns2, but do to how they handle their forced matchmaking it feels a lot less.

I am not a fan of third person games in general, but I didn't deem it necessary to mention. I was wrong then. I still think the game is a lot of fun, and it would be awesome if they allowed first person view down the line. In fact I think I will ask on the forums for that, and probably be turned down.

If you weren't across the pond, I would try and get a game with you. At least right now, nosgoth seems to handle high ping really poorly. I think this is because of a lack of lag compensation, as @ironhorse has mentioned Unreal engine 3 lacks lag compensation.

SquishpokePOOPFACE

I played it a bit about 5 months ago, an early beta build I think. Introduced to me by a friend because he figured it might have similarities to ns2, which I can't shut up about.

Nosgoth is unique and has great potential. The map I played on was outdoorsy with a bunch of wooden shacks. Actually reminded me of The Haunted's level design, but not as good. (to be fair, it would be very difficult to beat The Haunted's level design, because the levels were created by one of the best unreal tournament mappers I've ever seen).

It was pretty cool to play both sides and feel out the different playstyles. The monsters are roof jumping maniacs whereas the humans are pretty much sitting ducks, hahaha. Melee combat was cool, but ultimately felt a bit off because of netcode. It has most likely been ironed out since then.

I don't like third person much, but nosgoth did alright with it. Makes sense when you play as one of the roof leaping monsters, anyway.

Sadly, I have not played enough to see any high-level play or interesting tactics. Mostly just humans running off to die, or cowering as a group inside a shack while the vamps camped the roof. The less patient vamps died one by one to potshots. I don't remember any objective modes or anything, but I'm sure this game would be ripe for something like that.

There might have been some F2P or level unlock BS, but my memory may be false. My friend likes to show me F2P games so I usually end up going on a rant about how F2P is bringing doom to the universe and never touch a game he shows me after I play it once. If this is not the case, I'll go back and check and see how this game is coming along, because it really does have potential.

Nordic

SquishpokePOOPFACE wrote: »

I played it a bit about 5 months ago, an early beta build I think. Introduced to me by a friend because he figured it might have similarities to ns2, which I can't shut up about.

Nosgoth is unique and has great potential. The map I played on was outdoorsy with a bunch of wooden shacks. Actually reminded me of The Haunted's level design, but not as good. (to be fair, it would be very difficult to beat The Haunted's level design, because the levels were created by one of the best unreal tournament mappers I've ever seen).

It was pretty cool to play both sides and feel out the different playstyles. The monsters are roof jumping maniacs whereas the humans are pretty much sitting ducks, hahaha. Melee combat was cool, but ultimately felt a bit off because of netcode. It has most likely been ironed out since then.

I don't like third person much, but nosgoth did alright with it. Makes sense when you play as one of the roof leaping monsters, anyway.

Sadly, I have not played enough to see any high-level play or interesting tactics. Mostly just humans running off to die, or cowering as a group inside a shack while the vamps camped the roof. The less patient vamps died one by one to potshots. I don't remember any objective modes or anything, but I'm sure this game would be ripe for something like that.

There might have been some F2P or level unlock BS, but my memory may be false. My friend likes to show me F2P games so I usually end up going on a rant about how F2P is bringing doom to the universe and never touch a game he shows me after I play it once. If this is not the case, I'll go back and check and see how this game is coming along, because it really does have potential.

Net code is still pretty bad, but probably not as bad as it was.

Public games, similar to ns2, can be quite low quality just as you described. I did participate in a draft tournament and it was quite a bit of fun playing with high level. There are tactics and a meta you don't see in public play.

They had an objective mode, but it was so unpopular the took it out and are currently designing something else.

I do agree this game is quite good already, even in beta. It has a lot of potential.

SquishpokePOOPFACE

It's a shame the objectives were taken out. In most cases it really does improve pub play. Take TF2 for example- with a simple objective, even the most brain dead players can contribute to a fun time.

Nordic

SquishpokePOOPFACE wrote: »

It's a shame the objectives were taken out. In most cases it really does improve pub play. Take TF2 for example- with a simple objective, even the most brain dead players can contribute to a fun time.

When it isn't played, it isn't played. The playerbase voted by simply not playing it.

Edit: They just released the new 2nd mode which is a capture point like mode. A simple objective that is to secure points around the map.