Arkland Empires Review

[bef]

Okay I have reviewed Arkland Empires on GraalNews.com
Here is a copy of my review

Today I’m reviewing Arkland Empires.
Gothic Diablo, the PR Admin will be my tour guide.

“We have a classic world thats called Elan. A modern world called Lunensis. And a Midevil world called Arkland”

I started with Elan, the classic world.
In the mall there’s elevators, escalators, blue tables and lots of pointless items such as a boom box, portable gralats (you turn in to a gralat), a “poo chunk” (so you can throw poo at people) and the infamous AE 8 ball “ask it a question and see what strange answers you get”.
I think I’ve seen enough from the Stardock Mall.

I cruised around the world of Elan and it seems to be a very stereotypical classic server, cluttered full of unneccesary crap!
Guild Houses, Spar Zones, PK Zones all that stuff and a lot of stupid item shops etc.
I’ve had enough of Elan lets move onto the next world.

As I was about to move on to the world Arkland, (five minutes after Gothic told me it was medieval) this happened – Read from top down.

Gothic Diablo (PR Admin) (13/10/2004 12:06:11 PM):
Ok. Well Arkland has changed its not Midevil anymore its more pairit
*bef (Graal News) (13/10/2004 12:06:26 PM):
Pirate?
Gothic Diablo (PR Admin) (13/10/2004 12:06:51 PM):
Mhm

Okay so now I’m in Arkland, the medieval world turned Pirate.
Inside the first house is a new tileset which uses a lot of non-complementary colours and styles which just looks odd.
Outside there are lots of what I’m hoping are banana trees that just aren’t done very well..
As I walked through some sand I realised something odd, for some reason water appears at your feet.
Now I’m in what the level name ‘ts-pub.nw’ makes me think is a pub, the setout makes me think its some kind of crafting place and what I think are chicken drumsticks on the floor make me think it’s some kind of restaurant. There’s no bar or anything, just a whole lot of tables and chicken on the floor.
Outside again and I came across some strange round brown things on the floor, I was stumped as to what they were so I asked Gothic, she assured me they are “coconuts” although they really don’t look like coconuts at all.
The beach is pretty well done, and this time when you get water at your feet it makes sense as opposed to just randomly in the middle of the town.
I discovered a big boat and hopped aboard, it seems pointless unless it can do anything and it’s way to big for something on Graal.
Just as I was about to leave I discovered some native, tribal looking men speaking their very own language (sdrawkcab hsilgne s’ti – that’s right – it’s English backwards) creative huh?

Finally I took the trip to Lunensis.
The first thing I saw in Lunensis was giant space looking cars that are owned by players, cool concept because they can be left on the street but you can’t steal them or anything so there is no reason they shouldn’t be an inventory item.
In Lunensis you get very confused as to whether you’re on Arkland Empires or Era, the tileset is almost the same (only done badly). There’s even vending machines which again keep making me think I’m on Era.
I took a trip to see the Gun Shop in Lunensis to make my final judgement on the question ‘Is Lunensis a complete rip-off of Era?’
Well, the guns look a lot different, but a lot worse – and the ammunition boxes look exactly the same.

Overall this server has disappointed me, there’s nothing original about their original idea of three worlds because they all have ideas stolen from other servers.
In my opinion this rates in the worst servers I’ve ever seen and I’m rating it 1/10 – the 1 is rewarded for the hard-work in producing such a large overworld.

[napo_p2p]

For one, it seems you came on the server for a SHORT amount of time.

For example, you said that the cars are "cool concept because they can be left on the street but you can’t steal them". Actually, you can. Being a "media" member, maybe you should try to get some facts straight. And that big space car thingy you were talking about is actually a shuttle that holds more than one person.

As for the RP World (Arkland), it isn't really a pirate town. The current Arkland overworld is under heavy construction. The pirate place is just a temporary area meant for players to get a taste of the arkland interface. I'm sorry if the place disgusted you, but we didn't put the same time and effort into the temporary overworld that we are into the permanent one.

Elan is supposed to be exactly as you stated it: A Classic Server. I don't have any problems with good old (tweaked) classic graal. But maybe that's just me ... maybe I'm unique, but so is everyone else =P. The events are what make or break a classic server. Perhaps maybe I can show you some, and you, again, can give your input on how to make things better.

I am open to your critical remarks, and I'm actually happy you made such a review. I, now, know how to make the server better. It's the reason we are a development server. We work to get better. On the other hand, I'm sorry that you feel that way about the server. Perhaps under closer investigation you might feel otherwise, but if not, that is completely OK with me. You are entitled to your own opinion.

As for my opinion, I think Arkland deserves higher than a 1 if you looked more into the server. Yes, I believe that the server is very big. I think we have to work on making things more clear to lessen the shock of so many things. Maybe if things were a little clearer as you walked around, the review may have gone smoother.

Again, I thank you for the work you are doing in reviewing various playerworlds, and hopefully sometime in the future Arkland might get a better one from you.

[bef]

For one, it seems you came on the server for a SHORT amount of time.

Actually I was on for almost two hours checking out your server before I wrote the review, and all of the information I used was the information given to me by your PR Admin so maybe they should get their facts straight.
I'm open to a re-review when your server is complete... but at the moment it is deserving of only a 1.

[Darlene159]

I dont like this review, it is very opinion based and should have been written up to show what was there rather then how much you didnt like it.
Too much negativity....

It sounds like the world is very large and there is alot of content, 2 hours isnt enough to review a world of that size in my opinion....also, your opinions on the npc's weren't really needed in there either...afterall, just because you dont like something, doesn't mean noone will.
It would have been better to just tell what the npc's were, and let people form their own opinions without saying negative things about everything.
Saying something like this would have been ok though, in my opinion: "There were list of npc's here...not to my liking, but that is just my opinion" or something like that instead of saying "there lots of pointless items". they might be pointless to you, but not to others.

As a former server Manager, I have come to realize how much players love "poinless items" because they are fun

[bef]

yes but alot of players are *****s who appreciate servers with muchos inconsistancy and rubbishy ideas... thats why certain servers have made it big

my review was opinion based i agree and when i re-review it (when its complete) i will take on the role of a real Journalist which is going in there with no bias and maintaining the role of that for the entire review.

[bef]

Here is a less opinion based version of that review:
--- if everyone thinks is best I will post this on GraalNews.com

Today I’m reviewing Arkland Empires.
Gothic Diablo, the PR Admin will be my tour guide.

“We have a classic world thats called Elan. A modern world called Lunensis.
And a Midevil world called Arkland”

I started with Elan, the classic world.
In the mall there’s elevators, escalators, blue tables and lots of items for sale such as a boom box, portable gralats (you turn in to a gralat), a “poo chunk” (so you can throw poo at people) and the AE 8 ball “ask it a question and see what strange answers you get”.
I think I’ve seen enough from the Stardock Mall.

I cruised around the world of Elan and it seems to be a very stereotypical classic server, full of Guild Houses, Spar Zones, PK Zones all that stuff and a lot of item shops etc.
That’s enough of Elan lets move onto the next world.

Okay so now I’m in Arkland, the medieval world which I have been informed has just recently turned Pirate.
Inside the first house is a new tileset which uses a lot of colours and styles which just makes for an interesting look.
Outside there are lots of are banana trees and bananas and coconuts scattered on the floor.
The beach is pretty well done, a bit different and the sand acts as shallow water.
A little further east I found a big boat which is graphically nice and just near by I found a native, tribal looking men speaking their very own language which is really English written backwards.

Finally I took the trip to Lunensis.
The first thing I saw in Lunensis was giant space looking cars that are owned by players, cool concept because they can be left on the street which adds to the feel of the modern city approach.
In Lunensis you get very confused as to whether you’re on Arkland Empires or Era, the tileset is almost the same. Other similarities such as the Vending Machines kept me thinking.
I took a trip to see the Gun Shop, there’s a lot of different looking guns and ammunition.

Overall this server has disappointed me, there’s nothing original about their original idea of three worlds because they all have ideas stolen from other servers. In my opinion this rates in the worst servers I’ve ever seen and I’m rating it 1/10 – the 1 is rewarded for the hard-work in producing such a large overworld.

I will be wanting to re-review Arkland Empires after its completion as they have promised a lot of things for the future which I would be interested in seeing.

[Darlene159]

Second review is much better in my opinion

Originally Posted by bef

yes but alot of players are *****s who appreciate servers with muchos inconsistancy and rubbishy ideas... thats why certain servers have made it big

See, this is the kind of remarks that should be kept to yourself....

Originally Posted by bef

my review was opinion based i agree and when i re-review it (when its complete) i will take on the role of a real Journalist which is going in there with no bias and maintaining the role of that for the entire review.

Reviews should always be non-bias

[bef]

See, this is the kind of remarks that should be kept to yourself....

no; thats my opinion, thats not a review... thats a statement and thus its opinion based and there is no problem with me having an opinion, ya?

[Darlene159]

Originally Posted by bef

no; thats my opinion, thats not a review... thats a statement and thus its opinion based and there is no problem with me having an opinion, ya?

Of course not, but it really could be worded better....all this statement does is piss people off, and make you look less credible.

In that one statement, you bashed alot of players, and made it seem like the servers on top are "servers with muchos inconsistancy and rubbishy ideas..."
I hardly think it is fair to send messages like this....
Unless, of course, Graal News is more like a "trash-talk-type news", then I retract everything I have said....

[haro41]

im sure any player would read his reviews if they agreed with his judgement. If he thinks a server deserves a 1 then so be it. Wether a persons feelings were hurt because of it is no concern to readers or him. they want a straight up honest review, and thats exactly what he delivered.

[xAndrewx]

Bef, No offence, But if you are trying to be a PWA or something wait for an opening, Otherwise i don't see the point in these reviews;o

[Emily_Cruddas]

My guess is that's what the purpose of his guild is, And he seems to be the only one doing ANY playerworld reviews right now so instead of feeling confused why not help out with your own reviews eh?

[xAndrewx]

because my english is crap, eventhough it's my mother tongue..

[Mykel]

Reviews are supposed to be opinions. X.x
What are you talking about Moonie?

[Dach]

Originally Posted by Darlene159

As a former server Manager, I have come to realize how much players love "poinless items" because they are fun

They're fun, yes, but a random assortment of silly stuff isn't going to make a server good.

All I can say about the server is that it seems to be too far from being complete to get a real review yet.
and yes, it is quite unoriginal

[Darlene159]

Originally Posted by Dach

They're fun, yes, but a random assortment of silly stuff isn't going to make a server good.

All I can say about the server is that it seems to be too far from being complete to get a real review yet.

I agree on both

Note: I just gave my thoughts and opinions on the review beings it is for "Graal News" and not an actual PWA review. It doesn't mean any advice has to be taken, or my opinions have to count for anything...take it, or leave it

[haro41]

your RP world is a ripoff of zenkou

[bef]

Yeah I am currently the only reviewer...

And xAndrewx you're obviously pretty *****ic not to realise that the owner of Graal News has every right to write news and reviews ;-)

We are actually currently hiring FOUR reviewers and you can find the application for that in the Main Graal Forum!

I will in a minute be posting a Poll in the Main Graal Forum as to what is prefered (opinionated or non-opinionated)

[CedricTheEntertainer]

Originally Posted by bef

no; thats my opinion, thats not a review... thats a statement and thus its opinion based and there is no problem with me having an opinion, ya?

Yes I follow that I understand that it is an opinion but as Im reading that whats wrong I just remembered something oh ya that quote from the first paragraph.

"Today I’m reviewing Arkland Empires." quote from BEF

but he said it was a review thats odd hes changeing his mind now. Maybe hes not so sure about allot of things like why he gave AE a bad review when really he doesent know the first thing about it he hasent spend more than 2 hours on it! that may seem like quite a bit IRL but on graal thats crap and maybe hes not so sure about why hes doing these so called review/not review my bias insulting opinion. People dont wanna hear the truth about a server if they are going to read up on what they are planning to play but they certainly dont want to hear everything that is wrong with it they want to hear "hey its got this and that" sounds interesting I think I might just check it out. Think about that the next time cause if you think about it pretty much everything is useless its a GAME not rl you go to a bank on Graal how far is that going to get you. Usless I can imagine if you had never heard of UN and you did a so called review allot of people would have something to say.

[bef]

Im not saying that my review isnt a review, im saying the comment that i made after my review which moonie responded to wasnt a review, *******.

[CedricTheEntertainer]

Hey now you dont have to go off with insults I suggest you reread the forum rules if you wanna start that

[bef]

but you were trying to be a smartass and only made a ******* out of yourself.. you're just trying to pick holes in air - which is impossible

[Darlene159]

You arent helping yourself bef =/
Is Cedric.... not allowed an opinion now?
He didnt call you any names, he simply disagrees with what you say, and misunderstood what you replied to...simple mistake to make. *shrugs*

[bef]

yes but its a mistake worth being picked up on ya

[Scott]

Originally Posted by Darlene159

You arent helping yourself bef =/
Is Cedric.... not allowed an opinion now?
He didnt call you any names, he simply disagrees with what you say, and misunderstood what you replied to...simple mistake to make. *shrugs*

This is a review, yes? I don't believe the thread as asking for peoples critisism. I must have missed that.

[bef]

oh its true

[CedricTheEntertainer]

What are you talking about man? our critisisms on his review that was rather opinionated, or his critisisms on Arkland Empires cause to begin with it did sound like a bunch of critisisms and of coarse that led to more.

[sage_scooby]

First thing why cant we just leave this as a review. Thats all this thread was meant to be. As for the review its just one persons opinion not the end of the world. It is also not anyones place to tell bef how he should run his news. There are many ways of reporting news and it is reported as someone sees it. All things said are opinionated just as what I am saying is my own opinion. As for the Review of Arkland Empires I would just suggest asking a Manager or Owner of that server if they would like to be reviewed if you did not do so. Also talk to more than one person on a UC server not everyone knows the whole plans of a server and one person can be mistaken and miss things that they may not know of or just didnt think of. Also a suggestion is to Interview someone of rank in the staff and maybe some players (if applicable).

[HoudiniMan]

This is why we only do full blown reviews for playerworlds going Classic, when we do them. Though, we do try to do one for each classic world put up.

They're "finished"; that is to say, they have everything ready to go for the public. Then there's no "well, we're planning on doing this and this." That's what hosted is for

Don't be too surprised when everything isn't done

[bef]

pretty much the server rated what i rated it at okay, i dont think i reviewed it unfairly because in my opinion it genuinely was one of the worst servers i have ever seen.

[Inverness]

Thats nice, but its only an opinion... coming from someone I don't really know or trust in.

[dysangelium]

I personally hate when a playerworld tries to do multiple themes in one, in an attempt to appeal to as many players as possible.

Pick a theme and stick by it.

[Inverness]

Originally Posted by dysangelium

I personally hate when a playerworld tries to do multiple themes in one, in an attempt to appeal to as many players as possible.

Pick a theme and stick by it.

I agree with that

[Leasure-13]

Originally Posted by Inverness

I agree with that

Hmmm??? Ok? x.x

[Slash-P2P]

Server variety is nice but you shouldnt do it on 1 playerworld...That defeats the purpose of buying playerworlds.

[Zurkiba]

The problem this server will have is that out of their playerbase (which they'll be lucky if they average 100 at a time)... it will be divided by three. So expect 33 players at a time per world.

Not to mention... if you split your server into different worlds... then the split will happen... OR everyone will just play one world.

[Okilian]

most likely they'll go to one playerworld.

[dysangelium]

It's also three times as much work for the staff, unless they want three subpar playerworlds. I'm guessing they're going to go for the subpar option, though.

[RosesLove]

Excuse me, I'm with Napo, If you say you were on for 2 hours you must have been doing something else while you were looking around for "2 hours" and what does make a server good in the fun items don't You PK= zZz.. Boring plz. You talk which can be boring at times.
Nothing to do on graal except play with "silly items" which is why I don't see how people are addicted to the game. The only server that doesn't bore me is AE, OW, and GK. Well, OW kinda bores me *runs from mag so he doesn't go corrupt on me, AGAIN.* n_n.. And burgers on the floor, Look at UN, Sides it makes you feel more.. Homish, Dunno a word for it But anyways if you feel you don't like the server, Don't play it.. But don't make a rude report on it advising others not to play.

[link master111]

Originally Posted by RosesLove

Excuse me, I'm with Napo, If you say you were on for 2 hours you must have been doing something else while you were looking around for "2 hours" and what does make a server good in the fun items don't You PK= zZz.. Boring plz. You talk which can be boring at times.
Nothing to do on graal except play with "silly items" which is why I don't see how people are addicted to the game. The only server that doesn't bore me is AE, OW, and GK. Well, OW kinda bores me *runs from mag so he doesn't go corrupt on me, AGAIN.* n_n.. And burgers on the floor, Look at UN, Sides it makes you feel more.. Homish, Dunno a word for it But anyways if you feel you don't like the server, Don't play it.. But don't make a rude report on it advising others not to play.

This topic was over last year lol