Granado Espada - A MMORPG about being FANCY

kyoukan · Post by **kyoukan** » February 23, 2007, 5:42 am

I just got into the closed english beta for this. A lot of people saying it's quite fun and not an asstasic grind-fest like EVERY OTHER Korean MMORPG.

You get to play a group of adventurers (3 at the start but I think you get more) called a Family. You can link up with other families into super teams of dozens of characters. You can switch into the one you want to control at any time.

I like the character designs.

http://www.granadoespada.sg/en/thegame/?sec=3&ssec=12

I don't know if you can get new armor and change your look yet. I hope so because I require a plumed hat.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » February 23, 2007, 6:13 am

Just by looking at the link without clicking, it looks better than Vanguard.

After checking out the site, I have no idea about the game play yet but the graphics look great. I signed up for the beta...told them that since I can't steal online games, the only way I can play them is by getting into their betas because I can't afford Top Ramon Noodles much less a PC Game. Hope they feel bad for me.

Trias · Post by **Trias** » February 23, 2007, 1:09 pm

i applied for beta as well...this game looks dope.

Boogahz · Post by **Boogahz** » February 23, 2007, 1:27 pm

Not a fan of the whole click-to-move third person genre.

Aren't the character stats direct ripoffs of the AD&D system?

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » February 23, 2007, 1:42 pm

Boogahz wrote:Not a fan of the whole click-to-move third person genre.

Aren't the character stats direct ripoffs of the AD&D system?

The ability "webs' look City of Heroes Style. The wallpaper on the site reminds me of the Guild War wallpapers.

As with all the Korean games, it's worth checking out just for the eye candy if nothing else. It's a bonus if it turns out to be a fun game.

Someone wrote a newbie guide on their forums complete with images:

http://www.granadoespada.sg/forums/topic.asp?TID=1509

miir · Post by **miir** » February 23, 2007, 2:23 pm

Typical combat-centric Korean MMOG with graphics on par with Lineage 2.
Nothing special aside from being able to control multiple (up to 3) characters.

There is nothing in this game that makes me want to even log on.

Xanupox · Post by **Xanupox** » February 24, 2007, 3:39 am

miir wrote:Typical combat-centric Korean MMOG with graphics on par with Lineage 2.
Nothing special aside from being able to control multiple (up to 3) characters.

There is nothing in this game that makes me want to even log on.

Hell thats a wrap for me! Knowing Miir would never play it, makes me want to jump right in!

I've been watching this game for awhile. The 3 classes is interesting... You seem to be able to control one, while the other 2 still function by computer control.. not sure. It would make soloing really easy I guess.

Ransure · Post by **Ransure** » February 25, 2007, 7:22 pm

I would only play this game if I could log in a bot and let it play for me.

Zamtuk · Post by **Zamtuk** » February 25, 2007, 10:38 pm

looks like someone got banned for using wowglider!

Ransure · Post by **Ransure** » February 25, 2007, 11:20 pm

Actually I was refering to all of the bots that generally inhabit the asian MMO's... Lineage2 was terrible.

miir · Post by **miir** » February 26, 2007, 4:08 pm

Xanupox wrote:I've been watching this game for awhile. The 3 classes is interesting...

Even a retard looking at the web page for more than 30 seconds could have figured out that there are 5 base classes... not 3.

You seem to be able to control one, while the other 2 still function by computer control.. not sure. .

Brilliant fucking deduction, moron.
It's just like a console RPG. The AI controls your other party members.

It would make soloing really easy I guess

The game is tuned specifically for 'soloers' playing 3 characters.
Regardless, it's an easy game. None of these grinders require any semblance skill outside of PvP. It's a stamina test.

makes me want to jump right in!

Knock yourself out.
You liked DDO, so you might actually like this piece of crap game.

miir · Post by **miir** » June 4, 2007, 11:37 am

IF anyone cares, the north american beta starts today.

I'm curious to see if they changed much from the Chinese and Korean versions.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » June 4, 2007, 12:42 pm

miir wrote:IF anyone cares, the north american beta starts today.

I'm curious to see if they changed much from the Chinese and Korean versions.

I'd care if I got into the beta! Did you get an email admitting you into the beta today?

Fash · Post by **Fash** » June 4, 2007, 1:15 pm

register today and you're already in... i signed up and am able to download the client (when i get home)

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » June 4, 2007, 1:52 pm

Fash wrote:register today and you're already in... i signed up and am able to download the client (when i get home)

You need to remote access your home PC for things like this! Nice to have the files waiting for you when you get home instead of long wait.

Kinda lame they didn't notify peeps that already applied.

I'm torrenting the client right now as their options for downloading the 3.5gb client blow (free = 80kb/s)

torrent is well seeded though.

miir · Post by **miir** » June 4, 2007, 2:03 pm

Winnow wrote:I'm torrenting the client right now as their options for downloading the 3.5gb client blow (free = 80kb/s)

torrent is well seeded though.

The NA/EU client should be over 4 gigs.
You're probably downloading the asian pre-beta client.
K2 hasn't posted their client yet. It will be up at some point today.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » June 4, 2007, 3:22 pm

miir wrote:
Winnow wrote:I'm torrenting the client right now as their options for downloading the 3.5gb client blow (free = 80kb/s)

torrent is well seeded though.
The NA/EU client should be over 4 gigs.
You're probably downloading the asian pre-beta client.
K2 hasn't posted their client yet. It will be up at some point today.

Ah fuck, that's confusing on their site. I'm sure a lot of other peeps are doing the same.

This is what I was downloading. May 8th post date so it's most likely not the one. I'll cancel that.

Post a link when it's available! They need to specify a little more.

I'm was activated for the beta though after signing up today. I hope it's not a separate beta authorization.

Interestingly, there was no U.S. or Canada country choices. Did you have a North America region to select country today when signing up?

Fash · Post by **Fash** » June 4, 2007, 3:26 pm

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » June 4, 2007, 3:29 pm

There is a big "download client" beside the beta signup with no indication that it's for any particular region.

Not good. If the client I'm downloading won't patch/update, I'm sure there's a lot of wasted bandwidth going on atm.

Where did you see the note that the signups are for US/Canada now? The site indicates nothing about regions.

Fash · Post by **Fash** » June 4, 2007, 3:31 pm

I just took what miir said to be true and signed up. didn't see anything about US.

miir · Post by **miir** » June 4, 2007, 4:08 pm

Did you guys go to the GE Singapore site or the SoTNW US site?

Sword of The New World is the name of the NA/EU game.
Grando Empanada is the name of the Asian game.

Here is the site you want: http://swordofthenewworld.com/index.php

Fash · Post by **Fash** » June 4, 2007, 4:19 pm

that helps. now it's just an application and we're not automatically in. =\

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » June 4, 2007, 4:42 pm

Bah lame, I signed up but didn't even get a confirmation email. Just said "email received!" after I hit submit, whatever that means...I'm guessing it was supposed to mean form successfully submitted.

Looks like the instant approval opportunity.

Had no clue at all that the name was different for US version.

Why the fuck did they have beta sign ups back months ago for the other game. They need to get their act together and clarify what games works where. It isn't obvious on the Granado Espada site.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » June 4, 2007, 4:50 pm

If you do go to the GE site, you can get approved for the other game. Here's mine:

I'd like to check out that Hellgate game.

Maybe I'll try loging into the Granada Espada game in Australia. It's in english, I was downloading from an aussie site.

Any major differences between the GE game and Swords game?

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » June 4, 2007, 4:54 pm

hmmm hold on there fella

This shows I'm activated for the english beta:

I guess I'll see what the differences are.

Looks like I'm set for Hellgate London when the beta opens up.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » June 4, 2007, 5:57 pm

Here's a little more accurate date info on the upcoming beta unless things have changed:

Sword of the New World Beta Plans
Dana Massey posted on 25 May 2007, 10:51 AM

The adaptation of Granado Espada to the North American audience - appropriately called Sword of the New Word: Granado Espada - has a beta coming up. K2 Network today announced that on June 4th, a small beta of select VIPs and press kicks off. The VIPs seem to be people who've both pre-ordered the game and subscribe to FilePlanet.

K2 Network Announces Exclusive V.I.P Beta For Sword Of The New World: Granado Espada

Acclaimed MMORPG Will Be Open To Media and Select Gamers Starting

June 4, 2007

IRVINE, Calif. - May 24, 2007 - K2 Network, Inc. (http://www.k2network.net), an online game publisher, announced today that a select group of media and gamers will be able to test out its epic MMORPG, Sword of the New World: Granado Espada, in an exclusive beta starting June 4 before the public (open) beta begins June 15.

From June 4 through June 14, 2007 all interested North American and European press, Fileplanet subscribers and consumers who have pre-ordered the game will have the opportunity to experience the stunning and uniquely crafted gameplay of Sword of the New World™ before anyone else. The private beta will be hosted at http://www.swordofthenewworld.com.

"We know that this game is highly anticipated and we are thrilled to finally allow some key gamers and press a chance to get their hands on the game," said Grantley Day, Vice President of Development at K2 Network. "I believe that this is a game that sets itself apart from other MMORPG's on the market and I am confident that once people get a taste of what Sword of the New World has to offer, they will be anxious to spread the word to everyone."

Anyone interested in being part of the open beta which starts June 15 and continues through early July should visit http://www.swordofthenewworld.com/register-beta.php now to sign up.

Looks like unless you're special-K or pre-ordered, no beta until June 15th.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » June 4, 2007, 11:53 pm

Well, Granado Espada works. Patch after install only took about 2 minutes. It appears that they have live updating to an extent within the game.

The game certainly tests the power of your PC.

UI looks nice and seems pretty well thought out.

Don't like having to hit "confirm" after every text bubble pops up.

Haven't seen any action yet. Have crashed out of the game three times though!

The male/female starter characters look good which is typical of the "guild wars" type style.

Some low res pics. The most interesting is probably the world map with levels listed:

Made a friend!

How long before everyone is hanging out at the Ice Wizard's Tower?

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » June 5, 2007, 12:54 am

Thank god for the huge symbols above my player heads so I know what they are! Seems kinda silly for your own team. I think there's an option to turn them off.

This game has some beautiful outdoor scenery/landscaping and buildings but I crash while trying to take a screenshot with my 2fps. I'll have to cut the graphics down as it's unplayable atm. Local North American servers will help some of the lag/crashes.

miir · Post by **miir** » June 5, 2007, 10:44 am

Other than half assed localization, there looks to be few changes in the K2 version.

I'm gonna putz around with it for a bit.
My opinion on the game might change if there are more players at lower levels.

miir · Post by **miir** » June 6, 2007, 11:00 am

The client is actually the exact same version that GE was using around Oct of 2006.

They haven't made any localization changes yet.
Most of the splash screens, help screens and icons are still in Korean.
The text is still horribly translated and in many cases incomprehensible.

Click click click click click click click click click click click click click click click click click click click click click click click....

The servers were stable if that's any consolation.

miir · Post by **miir** » June 6, 2007, 11:10 am

The game certainly tests the power of your PC.

Not at all.
I ran it on my old P4 with everything maxed and got ultra smooth framerates.
It has ridiculously low draw distances, a miniscule variety in PC and NPC models/clothing and all the structures are low poly, painted boxes.

It does have top notch design and art direction.

UI looks nice and seems pretty well thought out.

The UI is excellent.

Don't like having to hit "confirm" after every text bubble pops up.

Yea, it's annoying when all NPC/Object dialogue locks you in until you complete the conversation.
Especially annoying when you're in an area with hostile mobs and hear/see them beating on your characters and there's nothing you can do about ti until you finish talking.

Haven't seen any action yet. Have crashed out of the game three times though!

K2s servers were rock solid.

The male/female starter characters look good which is typical of the "guild wars" type style.

The last time I played GW, I didn't see any characters were wearing victorian/anime style outfits.

Just a FYI, the only character customization available is in their outfits. You can't change their hair, face, skin tone, eye colour, height, etc... nothing, zip, nada. Also, the armor that you can make/loot does nto show on your characters.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » June 6, 2007, 12:11 pm

miir wrote:
The game certainly tests the power of your PC.
Not at all.
I ran it on my old P4 with everything maxed and got ultra smooth framerates.
It has ridiculously low draw distances, a miniscule variety in PC and NPC models/clothing and all the structures are low poly, painted boxes.

It does have top notch design and art direction.

Hmmm, I'll have to try the US version. The visuals looked great but I was lagging horribly.

miir · Post by **miir** » June 12, 2007, 12:05 pm

I'm having a lot more fun with this version than I did when I tried the other.
Maybe it's because the text is actually understandable.

They had a stress test of sorts yesterday where the 2 newbie zones were filled with hundreds of mobs (and hundreds of players). The advantage of having a limited number of character models really pays off in situations like that. The area was literally a mass of players with groups of 50~ mobs spawning almost nonstop. The 50 foot tall giants they spawned were quite fun... especially with their AE stomp. The GMs were using their mass res judiciously.

Loads of different stances. They are the attacks styles you can use when wielding specific weapons. My fighter, at level 24 spear/polearms became available but she had to buy the Roof Guard stance book before she could use one. The generic polearm attack hits enemies in an arc/cone in front of the player. Some of the special attacks you can use after leveling up the stance (they level up through use) have very elaborate animations and deal insane amounts of damage.
Fighters seem to get the best variety of stances. Sword and board, dual daggers, knives, Sabres, GIGANTIC 2hand swords. pistols, rapier and pistol, polearms... lotsa cool stuff.

Combat is is more akin to 3rd person action RPGs.
Like Dungeon Siege or Diablo.
Mobs respawn FAST... you can literally be fighting nonstop for 10 minutes at a time.
AE attacks rule, especially at lower levels. Elementalists are the only class that get AEs right off the bat. Most people start out with one in their group.

Scouts are the healers. With no weapons equipped, they are a low maintenance healbot. They just follow you around and heal your characters when they need it. You can equip them with a couple of daggers or a knife and they can deal respectable DPS and heal manually but unless you're into micromanagement, it gets tedious very quickly. They have limited stances but they are pretty versatile. I haven't messed around with the traps stance but it looks like it could be interesting.

Musketeers, Wizards and Elementalists are the ranged DPS classes.

I haven't leveled up my musketeer very high so I don't have much of an opinion on them. They get a decent variety of attacks but the animations are not very spectacular.

Wizards are fucking awesome. At low levels they are pretty weak but when you get into the 20s they get some devastating AE spells. I've wiped out swarms of 30+ mobs with a well timed Apocalypse. Earthquake is really fun too... it's like an area effect Grav Flux. As they get higher level, they open up stances with some very effective debuffs and control spells. They are apparently the most powerful class at high level and in PVP.

Elementalists are awesome at low levels because of Fireball. Their other stances (lightning and Ice) are pretty mediocre.

Despite the core gameplay mechanic of killing massive amounts of mobs, the game feels a lot less grindy than it did the first time I played it. They have added some storyline quests and timed instanced missions. The NPC dialogue is still very engrish but the NPCs are just oozing with personality. Some of the quest NPCs are downright bizzare. A nice change from the standard "quest-dispensers-with-a-few-paragraphs-of-generic-lore" NPCs.

part 2 after lunch....

miir · Post by **miir** » June 12, 2007, 2:08 pm

I've never been fan of click-to-move, but I don't think any other control scheme would work with this game.

Enchanting/reinforcements work pretty much the same as they do in L2. The failure rate goes up after +5 and to get anything beyond +7 is gonna cost you a lot of cash and items. Weapons get a nice sparkly particle effect at +6 and beyond. The particle effect up to +5 is a subtle glow.

The game is loaded with superficial crap like poses and a plethora of costumes and costume pieces... most of which you have to buy. I got some hats for my characters the other day and while they offer no stat improvements, they are still pretty cool. The detail work on them is just phenomenal.

One very cool feature is UPCs (unique player characters). If you perform certain quests for certain UPCs, you will get rewarded with a card that will let you create that specific UPC as a playable character. These characters have unique looks, skillsets and stances. There's one that I'm still trying to figure out how to unlock that does martial arts. I've unlocked a city guard, an annoying kid, a miner with a polearm and some other dude who I haven't created yet.

Extra character slots for your family (you start with 3 i think) have to be purchased ingame. The cost is 10k. I think you can have a maximum of 30 character slots per family and 4 family slots per server.

The stat system so far is totally pointless. Sure, there are numerical values beside the STR/AGI/CON etc, but I haven't been able to raise them nor have I found any items that increase them. Maybe it's for some type of character advancement when you hit the level cap... shrug.

The character voice acks that play every time you click to move can get pretty annoying. You can cut down on them if you keep your characters moving or if you ctrl+shift click. The generic footstep sounds are also pretty shitty.

The music is interesting.
It ranges from waltzes to cheesy j-pop to orchestral overtures. They have an ingame music jukebox so it's just a couple of keystrokes to skip to the next track or turn off the music altogether.

Powerleveling your characters is pretty easy. You can stick a level 1 in a group of level 20s to kill level 20 mobs and as long as they don't get gibbed, they can level up really fast.

The chat interface is typical of any japanese/korean/chinese MMOG... pretty fucking cumbersome, but the rest of the interface is excellent. Keyboard shortcuts or mouseclicks for everything. The macro system is not very intuitive or useful.

The graphics are a mixed bag.
The draw distance is ridiculously low. You could be in the same room in a dungeon with another group and not see them from the other side of the room.
Some of the environment textures are just horrible. The zone designs are very linear and there are far too many straight lines and square corners...
But 10 feet away from those ugly corners and shitty textures could be a statue in a broken, crumbling building beside an amazingly cool pond with rippling water and reflections so realistic you have to do a double-take. Or you could be running through a dark corridor in a dense forest and come across a breathtaking waterfall or an area with beams of sunlight streaming down from a break in the trees.
The detail in the cities and ports is nothing short of awesome.

After playing the game for a fair bit, my very negative first has totally turned around.
There's really very little I dislike about this game.
Your mileage may vary.

miir · Post by **miir** » June 12, 2007, 3:53 pm

Here's a video with some fighter stance moves.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3AcnlyFPWo

Kwonryu DragonFist · Post by **Kwonryu DragonFist** » June 12, 2007, 8:53 pm

miir wrote:Here's a video with some fighter stance moves.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3AcnlyFPWo

Moves ain't bad! Too bad no spinning kicks!

So the classes are fighter/tank, scout/healer and rest ranged DPS? (musketeer/wizard/elementalist)

No debuffer or crowdcontroller etc?

Can you dual wield sabres?

miir · Post by **miir** » June 12, 2007, 10:21 pm

So the classes are fighter/tank, scout/healer and rest ranged DPS? (musketeer/wizard/elementalist)

Fighters are the only class with a taunt, so they are by default tanks... but they can deal some pretty awesome DPS depending on the stance.

Scouts are the only class thta can heal but they also are DPS with daggers and traps.

Musketeers are ranged DPS but some stances have melee moves. They also have some AE debuffs.

Wizards are primarily DPS but one stance has some pretty sick crowd control spells while another stance has some very good protection buffs.

Elementalists are pretty straightforward DPS but each element has different secondary effects.

Moves ain't bad! Too bad no spinning kicks!

Those are just low level moves. The higher level stances have even more elaborate animations.

miir · Post by **miir** » June 12, 2007, 10:44 pm

Here's some screens:

Random shot of a cool area

Another shot from the same zone

The best spell ever: Earthquake.
Notice the airborne corpses.

Some more cool scenery.
They did an excellent job with the water effects.

Here's a shot from a port town.

A shot from the starter city.
The character in the dress is holding a wand with a +6 enchant... sparkly!

Another shot from the port town. This one is at a bistro. The attention to detail is impressive.

More AE fun in a dungeon.

This was the little stress test event. Surprisingly, I had no lag at all.

The same event. The giant looks all washed out because when you mouseover a mob glows kinda ugly.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » June 12, 2007, 11:09 pm

Nice pics. Great looking game visually.

I hope to try it again if I get into the US version of the beta.

Miir's got a nice rack. (orange shirt) The entire trio in that pic looks good.

miir · Post by **miir** » June 13, 2007, 12:25 pm

The two biggest negative points about this game.

The grind even at level 30 (out of 100) is getting noticeable.
By 40 it's probably going to be 2 to 3+ hours per level.

The fact that there is only one single zone/dungeon per level range means the game is going to have very limited replayability. I'm getting kinda sick of the Tetra Ruins.

Open beta starts tomorrow.
If anyone else checks it out, PM me or send me a tell ingame.
Family name is Camisado on the Vespanola server.

Kwonryu DragonFist · Post by **Kwonryu DragonFist** » June 13, 2007, 2:09 pm

When you say lvl range, are you saying you have to stay in Tetra Ruins from lvl 40 to lvl 50?

miir · Post by **miir** » June 13, 2007, 2:51 pm

Kwonryu DragonFist wrote:When you say lvl range, are you saying you have to stay in Tetra Ruins from lvl 40 to lvl 50?

More like 25-34.
Would be nice to have a variety of zones to check out for that level range.
The equivalent in Vanguard would be like levels 12-17.
I can think of like 8-9 unique areas where you can hunt for that level range in Vanguard.

Kwonryu DragonFist · Post by **Kwonryu DragonFist** » June 13, 2007, 3:36 pm

Understood.

Always nice with variety! Should be at least three diff zones for the same lvl-range so peeps won't get bored!

Kwonryu DragonFist · Post by **Kwonryu DragonFist** » June 22, 2007, 12:49 pm

What server you guys on? I get three different choices!

miir · Post by **miir** » June 22, 2007, 1:13 pm

miir wrote:Open beta starts tomorrow.
If anyone else checks it out, PM me or send me a tell ingame.
Family name is Camisado on the Vespanola server.

Kwonryu DragonFist · Post by **Kwonryu DragonFist** » June 23, 2007, 3:49 am

Great

At what lvl can you enter an instanced dungeon together with another squad?

miir · Post by **miir** » June 23, 2007, 11:08 am

Kwonryu DragonFist wrote:Great

At what lvl can you enter an instanced dungeon together with another squad?

All the instanced missions I've seen so far are solo only.

Kwonryu DragonFist · Post by **Kwonryu DragonFist** » June 23, 2007, 12:58 pm

Ok, at what lvl is the first world dungeon then where you can teamwork with other squads?

miir · Post by **miir** » June 23, 2007, 3:01 pm

Al Quelt Merzena (or something like that) starts around level 9 or 10.
Progression is totally linear. You can't exactly miss any zones or dungeons.

Vetiria · Post by **Vetiria** » June 23, 2007, 8:42 pm

Don't waste your time on games produced by K2. Of all the games I've played, I've never seen a more incompetent company as far as customer service, server stability, and ability to deal with macroers.