The NDA has lifted so I can talk about the game now. If there are any questions, I'd be happy to answer them.

Well, dang, man! WHAT WAS IT LIKE??!!!! Do we have to pull your teeth?! ;-)

Seriously...what was the gameplay like? Please tell us it's not a glorified chat room.

Yeah. How does it work?
How does the interaction with other characters work?

And do you explore D'Ni or worlds that you get to from D'Ni?

Do you get to meet Atrus and Catherine?

No Atrus and Catherine. This is well after their time. I'm a little unclear about how the retail game will be. I got to explore lots of D'ni because I've been part of the online version. You get to meet a lot of people there. You can chat or even talk over a mic. Graphics are great. Very smooth with my system. You will have 4 ages to explore and solve puzzles with. You will be looking for Journeys. They are like handprints you touch. You will also have your own Relto (personal age) where you can dress up your character. Choose from clothes, shoes, beard, mustache, hats. You may also be male or female (probably no beard or mustache option though What else?

The whole dressing up thing sounds stupid. Doesn't this have really high end requirements?
I have a Celeron 533; I don't think I can play it.
C

Jenny100, you're a big Riven fan like me. When you play URU you are actually playing in today's time. We don't hear from or see Atrus or Catherine at all. The only one we really hear from is their daughter Yeesha. It's gonna be interesting to see how people react to URU. I really like it. It still has the Myst feel even though it's 3rd person and realtime 3d. I've read all three myst books a few times so it's been great to go to the cleft and to D'NI. I have a feeling though that some will feel it doesn't have the Myst feel. Luckily it did for me. By the way, my sys specs are:
Athlon 2100 XP
512 Ram
Win98
80 Gig HD
Abit MB
64 meg Ti 4200 Video card
Comcast cable internet
It's run very smoothly on my system. I'll like having the CD because then I won't have to log onto their servers to play anymore. Should be a quicker load time. I also couldn't save. It only saved after the last journey I touched and only on their server. There may be certain places I can't go though since I won't be online.

Hey Crispeto - doesn't it feel great to have the NDA FINALLY lifted.

Yep - that's right - I be another secret beta tester. Gad - you don't know how hard it has been to not say a word, with all the questions that have popped up over the last month.

Take it away Crispeto - you are doing a grand job of fielding questions.

Yea, I've run out of duct tape trying not to spill the beans. When did you become a tester? I'd love to hear your input on the game and how you'd compare it to Broken Sword. Any other questions from anyone else? Please ask, I'm dying to talk (now that I can

I looked for you on the beta forums, I had thought you might be a tester. But I didn't know your URU name

I was LauraMac and joined the test in September.

I loved URU!! I loved going there every night. The Cleft area was one of my favorites, next to the city and the neighborhoods. I do hope that Eddie is still present in the online version!!

URU and Broken Sword are two very different concepts. Broken Sword is an awesome game. URU is like being part of a whole other world. You get that immersed or at least I did. I felt like I was traveling to such a real place when I loaded up URU each time. I think of myself as part of URU and the DRC and the journey.

BTW: Eddie is the name given to a beach ball that was in a public area called the neighborhood. He was a stress reliver of sorts and developed a mythic reputation over the course of the test.

I am working on some writing right now - but will check back in later.

My user name was the same as here. Yea, I kicked Eddie around a bit. I miss having URU. I'll be excited when it comes this week. Glad you enjoyed it too. I hope others do as well. Will we have a Nexus or was that just the beta? Seems the Nexus was just to go to D'NI and talk to others so I'll probably have to sign up again. Are there any other GB URU beta testers here?

Well a few have agreed to take part in the GB Q & A I have put together (hope you will too but I need your e-mail address - Just mail me at gatorlaw@gameboomers.com )

But I am sure they will pop in at this thread to answer member questions too.

I am not sure about the nexus - but I see what you mean. That is probably an online feature.

Hi all,
I was also a beta tester. I had been in the beta since January! I'll be participating in Laura's (Gaterlaw) excellent Q & A. I'll also answer any questions (that I can) and post observations. I'll try not to give any spoilers.

On the ages - Crispeto, you didn't count all the ages you get in Uru, the solo player game. There are more than four ages. If you buy the solo player game (the game in the stores, via the internet), you'll see that it's a big game. And yes, it's full 3D (there was some question about that in previous posts) and it's incredibly beautiful, the best looking game I have ever seen.

More later.

Hey mszv!

I didn't want to "release anyone's name - thought they should do that themselves. I can say there are a lot of folks here at GB who were in the test.

As for the length - it will be a long long game. I resorted to some hints help for a few of the puzzles and such. Even then I put in a good 60 hours to get through my first play through the game. It is a very big place and there is just so much to see and do. ALso - there was mention of materials that involve the greater story and history that was held back even from the beta testers. We had many areas with seemingly nothing to do there - yet! SO I am sure that people will be thrilled with the level of involvement and game play with the stand alone game of URU. The online will just take it to such a higher level.

OK, that's right you b******** I've already got a problem about what to play next and you add this temptation!!!

asazen

I thought the automatic language censor would deal with that word, noticed it didn't so i edited my self!!!

I have been a member of Gameboomers for a long time, and although I am more of a lurker, I check it out everyday and live vicariously through my fellow members.
I probably have almost every Adventure game ever made and play them as a stress reliever from a very demanding job.
I too was a Beta tester and like the solitude my games give me give me when I play them.
Uru blew me away. I am an absolute addict. The graphics, the sounds, the character movement, the challenges and even the jumps.
I am a klutz and fell many times but I had more fun and walked away with such a sense of accomplishment when I mastered that difficult jump to take me further into the Journey.
The area of the game I was most unsure of was the on-line portion and much to my surprise, I had a ball. Who would believe this lurker would partake in chats, work out puzzles with others, crack up constantly and just plain enjoy what Cyan has produced for us so much.
For me, Uru rates a A+. I will definitely be one of the first in line to enter the on-line portion and continue this wonderful journey.
Katie

Another Beta tester here!

I wanted to add that Uru has the option to TOGGLE back and forth between 3rd person and 1st person. I know many prefer that 1st person. It's as simple as pushing the F1 key to switch back and forth.

When in 1st person, it feels a lot like the RealMyst movement and I liked it.

Uru is a beautiful, mysterious place. Hope you all enjoy it as much as I did!

Laura, I would add the word Uru in that pinned note. I almost missed it.

Dadguy

Hey Katie and Dadguy

Changed the title line - yep I left off the URU.

See all you guys on the other side.

Another beta tester checking in. I just started in August and had a blast. Loved running across the desert and jumping over the tumbleweeds. Great atmosphere created in all the ages. This is a game to immerse yourself in. And the best part is more will be added to the online version as the story unfolds.

Hi all,
I'm going to wait for a few more people to say what they liked about it, before I say what I did not like. There was a lot that I liked, even loved. I did buy the game and I plan to participate in the next "play test" for the online part (whatever they are calling it). I'll also probably pay the fee for the online subscription after the new online test is over.

Incidentally, anyone can apply to be in the next online part - it's free (for the beta), and they are going to admit thousands of people, in groups. Odds are extremely good that if you want to play the online part (for free during the test) you'll get in. I believe they are still listing broadband as a requirement for the online part.

As for machine specs - the specs listed on the retail box (assume so, haven't seen it) or online - they appear to be correct. Uru does require a machine with some power, but it doesn't have to be the super high machine of an intense gamer. CPU processor speed is not the most important thing needed, though you need to be in the range. What's really important is to have enough memory and a decent video card. Remember, this is a 3D game, and your video card and machine must be able to create the images you see on the screen (that's how full 3D games work - the graphics are not pre-rendered). You don't have to have the highest end video card (there are settings you can adjust, greater or more detail, that sort of thing), but your video card will make a difference. I'll list the specs I played with -
- 1.2GH CPU
- 640MB memory
- GeForce4 TI 4200 128MB video card
- Santa Cruz Surround Sound audio card
- broadband - DSL, 1200kbps down/100 kbps up, going in on a wired port, Linksys router
- WinXP

Wow, I can't believe how many of GBers got to be testers!

A couple of questions. I will never have broadband being out in the sticks, will I feel left out if I just play the non on-line game?

And if I did buy the on-line version, would it be possible for me to go to the near by community college and play on their machines, or is there tons that have to be loaded onto the computer? If you can play off of the DVD and can save onto a CD, would it be possible to play on a different computer?

One last request:
When you folks post about pros and cons of the game, please try and mention whether the feature you are refering to is on only the on-line version, or is it something that us non on-line folks will be able to do. Thanks.

Sequoia

Some of you may want to try the demo available from www.avault.com. Just came out today!