Jumpgate Evolution :: Spaceships Types Revealed! (Now with more screen shots)

[Zzulo]

I don't think this game will compare to EVE when it comes to metagaming and all the complex things you can do in eve

combat might be better though. I hope they have a decent pvp system

[kildorn]

Please don't suck, Jumpgate. Pleeeease don't suck?

[Draegan]

They mentioned 50v50v50 battles.  I wonder how many players a healthy server will be able to maintain.

[Venkman]

Sorry for the Kotaku link, but the trailer is pretty good. Some stuff I hadn't seen yet.

This will be my personal Most Disappointing Game of 2009 if it sucks.

[Mrbloodworth]

Sorry for the Kotaku link, but the trailer is pretty good. Some stuff I hadn't seen yet.

This will be my personal Most Disappointing Game of 2009 if it sucks.

Hotness.

[Triforcer]

They mentioned 50v50v50 battles.  I wonder how many players a healthy server will be able to maintain.

100.

[Malakili]

I've never really been much for space flight type games (X-Wing v. TIE Fighter aside, i played the shit out of that game), so maybe this game just isn't for me, but when I look at the trailers that other people are going gaga over, I'm really just not getting it.

[Ghambit]

I've never really been much for space flight type games (X-Wing v. TIE Fighter aside, i played the shit out of that game), so maybe this game just isn't for me, but when I look at the trailers that other people are going gaga over, I'm really just not getting it.

THIS.

I dont get it either really, and I'm a 100% sci-fi dorknerd.  I see nothing special about JE so far.  Matter of fact, trailers for the indy title "Beyond the Red Line" are more compelling.  Nexus looks even better gamewise and that game is defunct.  I could rail off a slew of old-school stuff that's way better than what we're being fed from the JE devs.  Earth & Beyond gameplay trailers were more compelling even and that game is years old and now cancelled.

Either someone is just screwing up their marketing or their game is just gonna suck. 

They have no avatars.  They have no cap ship battles.   No EvElike politics.  There's no indication of any real adventure or storyline either.  All they have is a space-shooter MMO.  Might as well play ACE Online.   

Maybe we can hold out hope that they're just trying to make the game one big surprise.  Because really, I dont see anything there of any real value... if they've shown anything at all

[Mrbloodworth]

All they have is a space-shooter MMO.

As long as they get this right, that's all that matters. They can add the rest later, as i do believe is in their plans. Some of you also may want to go look at the website at the features and what not, because there IS already more to the game than you guys are saying.

[Draegan]

They have no avatars.  They have no cap ship battles.   No EvElike politics.  There's no indication of any real adventure or storyline either.  All they have is a space-shooter MMO.  Might as well play ACE Online.   

Maybe we can hold out hope that they're just trying to make the game one big surprise.  Because really, I dont see anything there of any real value... if they've shown anything at all

Your ship is your avatar, what else do you need?  It's not an issue for me, but I guess it is for some people.

On Cap ships, yea that sucks, because who doesn't want a big fucking ship?  I guess it's hard to balance them.

How do you build up evelike politics?  It completely relies on the playerbase.  Any game can have them as long as there is stuff to build and protect. 

Adventure and storyline.. they have one.  Something about 3 nations or whatever coming together and there being a bigger badguy enemy I think.  I have no idea if it's indepth or not. 

I love the games visuals, it's fun as hell to play (I've played it), and there looks like there is going to be some awesome multiplayer.

Can't wait.

[Ghambit]

I understand the excitement, I'm not saying I'm not excited.  I think the fact it's a space-shooter MMO is merit in itself.  But, is it enough??  That's what I'm wondering. 
They've written some feature-related stuff on their website, but it's uncompelling and they've yet to really show any meat of it in vids. (what little there is)
Really, it's a space-shooter... I get that
I have many of em... and most are multiplayer.
Okay, so now what?   

I will say I'm glad someone FINALLY will release an MMO with a robust voice system already available.  And I'm happy they're integrating proven systems, like a public quest system.

But really, I dont feel the "epicness" from this title.  It's just pew pew stuff, kinda like Tabula Rasa... and that stuff wears thin around lvl 20, space-shooter or not.  There needs to be more or it'll just end up Auto Assault in spaaaaaace.

[Malakili]

Auto Assault in spaaaaaace.

[Venkman]

I understand the excitement, I'm not saying I'm not excited.  I think the fact it's a space-shooter MMO is merit in itself.  But, is it enough?? 

Yes. Because we're all suffering from a lack of options. We're floating in a sea of fantasy DIKUs and are surrounded by non-MMO FPS and RTS games to fill any need. But how many space sims are there really, and how many are MMO?

JG:E gets a pass simply by existing. Which makes it worse if it sucks, because that'll mean "space sim MMOs don't work".

[Ghambit]

I understand the excitement, I'm not saying I'm not excited.  I think the fact it's a space-shooter MMO is merit in itself.  But, is it enough?? 

Yes. Because we're all suffering from a lack of options. We're floating in a sea of fantasy DIKUs and are surrounded by non-MMO FPS and RTS games to fill any need. But how many space sims are there really, and how many are MMO?

JG:E gets a pass simply by existing. Which makes it worse if it sucks, because that'll mean "space sim MMOs don't work".

Exactly.   I'm afraid man.  Real afraid.
And honestly, I dont think I can pew pew in a ship for hours on end in an MMO atmosphere.  It worked with EnB because there were relaxing things you could do and it wasnt a shooter, but it failed for Auto Assault and it failed for Tabula Rasa.

I mean let's face it.  Are there ANY successful "action" MMOs out there?  Let alone sci-fi ones?
And let's face it again.  w/o starbases, avatars, and cap. ships, JGE suffers horribly.  I mean horribly horribly.  (sigh)

I really dont want to play (sp)Ace: Online again.  I really dont.

[Triforcer]

I am slightly worried about the potential for Evelike politics.  Sounds like this game has static points that can be "captured" by one of the three empires.  Thus, actual GUILDS (if I am understanding correctly) cannot hold space.  That makes this more like Fort-based WAR rvr than Eve- ooh, our generic faction's flag is painted on the station!

EDIT:  Plus, twitch-based is death.  Eve works because positioning, etc. is important.  Twitch skills means that 90% of people playing will never win.  The other way (you build up levels, tactics are more important) at least gives the non-twitch crowd a shot because investing of time helps them.  Investing of time in a twitch game, however, won't really help past a certain point. 

[Zzulo]

this being twitch is the one and only reason to play it over EVE.

Well, that and if you like space PVE

[Venkman]

w/o starbases, avatars, and cap. ships, JGE suffers horribly.  I mean horribly horribly.  (sigh)

Dunno yet. I played XvT, Freespace, etc. I loved those games. If they do anywhere near that but replace half the NPC ships with players, that'll be enough for a time. The JTL expansion kept me in SWG for another four months on the space mechanics alone.

I don't use Eve as a comparison here any more than I would compare WoW to UO. The setting is the only similarity. You're right on the lack of action-y MMOs that have been successful (though from a pure gameplay standpoint, Planetside does "work"). And the lack of sci-fi successes is still a subject of debate (though my hypothesis is that people see Fantasy as an escape and Sci-fi as a place to go fight in, and the latter has never been as strong in MMO as it has in FPS).

But 3D space combat, even if it's light sim, I'm ready to buy now on that alone. Or would be if I ever thought an MMO would be worth preordering before getting into the beta 

[DraconianOne]

The thing that puts me off is the Freelancer feel. That three monitor setup was awesome and the graphics were awesome but...

mouse control?
3rd person perspective?

gief cockpit view and joystick control plz.

Other than that I am definitely interested. When JtL came out for SWG, I lost all my time flying in that to the point where I hardly set foot on a planet apart from to do shipwrighty type stuff.  Whether there will be the market for this, however, is another matter.

[slog]

The thing that puts me off is the Freelancer feel. That three monitor setup was awesome and the graphics were awesome but...

mouse control?
3rd person perspective?

gief cockpit view and joystick control plz.

Other than that I am definitely interested. When JtL came out for SWG, I lost all my time flying in that to the point where I hardly set foot on a planet apart from to do shipwrighty type stuff.  Whether there will be the market for this, however, is another matter.

You know all that is in right? (cockpit view and joystick control)

[Moaner]

Me and a couple friends have been playing Freelancer Discovery while waiting for JE.  We can't fucking wait.  EveLite + real time twitchy space combat sounds perfect.  All 3 of us are patiently awaiting beta invites.

[fuser]

Minimum Specifications:
- Windows XP/Vista
- Intel P4 1.4GHz or better (2GHz if using Vista)
- 512MB RAM (1GB if using Vista)
- 64MB Graphics Card
- Direct X® 9.0c
- Broadband connection

Recommended Specifications:
- Windows XP/Vista
- Dual-core Intel Pentium D
- 2GB RAM
- 256MB Graphics card with vertex and pixel shader capability.

Haven't seen requirements like this in a few years, 1.4ghz P4! Any news on guild invites?

[DraconianOne]

You know all that is in right? (cockpit view and joystick control)

I figured it would be best if I went and read up on it a little more and yes, did see this and that delights me. I am still looking for an excuse to buy whatever the lastest version of the X52 is as I've always fancied it but never had a game that I thought was quite worth spending that much money (replaced my old Wingman Extreme with a Cyborg Evo which is alright but the throttle is in a fucking awkward position).

[Engels]

I have to echo Ghambit's reservations. Where is the stickyness factor? Even if its absolutely seamless twitch and it gets flooded by CoD4 kids, it still won't support a subscription based community if there's not something more tangibly obtainable than one more rocket launcher slot on your car, er, ship. Auto Assault indeed.

[Mrbloodworth]

I have to echo Ghambit's reservations. Where is the stickyness factor? Even if its absolutely seamless twitch and it gets flooded by CoD4 kids, it still won't support a subscription based community if there's not something more tangibly obtainable than one more rocket launcher slot on your car, er, ship. Auto Assault indeed.

Your saying this like the only thing to do in the game is twitch combat. Last i read there is territory control, resource meta game, transport game, PvP, crafting corporations, battleground type things.....

They have already said things like capital ships, player factions, and avatars are something they want to do...just not right now as the focus is on the foundation, and that foundation is combat.

Its funny, MY biggest bitch about Eve was lack of twitch combat, lack of fighter craft (Drones do not count) and lack of avatars and giant spreadsheets.

The most significant improvement that Jumpgate Evolutions brings to the original game is the artificial intelligence (AI) built into the entire game. From the moment your ship leaves space dock you encounter any number of haulers, miners and pirates. These could be actual players; if the population on the server at that moment requires it, they could be NPC ships. The game will auto-balance according to server population to ensure that the economy is always working, albeit imperfectly. A perfect economy model would leave little for a player to do upon logging in.

Feel the need to just, blow something up? You can do that within your first 60 seconds of entering the game. The same factional combat that existed in the original exists in Evolution with the added dimension of NPC enemies. At the beginning they sit there like domesticated cattle waiting for you to slaughter them. Later on? Not so much. Only players own and build space stations with modules (and they're huge!). The addition of the AI is only to perform mundane tasks and it scales its activity with the population. More activity usually means more people.

Link

The game's being designed to let players partake in whatever kinds of activities they desire, and, more importantly, all those activities reward you in some way, either with abilities, special awards, or experience. You could float around and destroy pirates, mine asteroids, surf auctions, manage trade routes, or engage in the game's player versus player (PvP) combat elements. Right now NetDevil is planning on having fully free-for-all and limited PvP server types available for players to dive into, which seem to be some of the central elements of the game. There'll also be instanced PvP challenges with set goals, such as tasking one team with destroying another's capital ship.

In the open servers players can band together in a squad to cut off supply routes between space stations. Items housed in different stations in JE stay there--they're not put into some kind of universal bank. So, if you're sitting at station E and want an item housed in station A, you have to call for it, at which point a ship will launch from A and try to make it to E. Along the way the vessel is vulnerable to enemy fire, so an organized squad could camp the supply line and ensure none of the packages make it through. At that point the items aren't destroyed, another vessel launches from station A carrying the same cargo, so these supply line interruptions are more of an inconvenience than anything else. A fully integrated voice chat system should help keep players all on the same page when mounting these kinds of efforts. A counter-maneuver could involve you banding together with a few others, flying to station A and actually escorting the transport vessel, which would likely culminate in a large-scale PvP battle when you run into the blockade.

Players jumping into systems will occasionally find themselves suddenly embroiled in an AI free-for-all in addition to PvP conflicts. With the various computer controlled factions players can gain or lose favor, causing them to attack or opening up new avenues of progression.
 

Link

[Hawkbit]

What does it mean that Jumpgate Evolution is part of the Gazillion Empire now? 

I mean, what possible effects does that have on the title?

[eldaec]

I never understand the 'only mmogs with elves are successful' meme.

Of the four current mmogs in the entire genre that aren't a fucking joke (maybe five if you include lotro), EVE and PS are both future based.

AO was as much of a moderate success as anything bar EQ in that era, SWG no doubt turned a profit, and Hellgate, Tabula Rasa and E&B weren't any more of an abject failure than anything else released in the last four years.

[Ratman_tf]

I never understand the 'only mmogs with elves are successful' meme.

Of the four current mmogs in the entire genre that aren't a fucking joke (maybe five if you include lotro), EVE and PS are both future based.

AO was as much of a moderate success as anything bar EQ in that era, SWG no doubt turned a profit, and Hellgate, Tabula Rasa and E&B weren't any more of an abject failure than anything else released in the last four years.

And we have plenty of flavors of failure from MMOGs that have elveses in them.

[UnSub]

What does it mean that Jumpgate Evolution is part of the Gazillion Empire now? 

I mean, what possible effects does that have on the title?

NetDevil's deal with Codemasters apparently still stands for NA and European despite Gazillion now owning NetDevil. Codemasters will operate the European version while NetDevil is running the NA version.

I never understand the 'only mmogs with elves are successful' meme.

Did you use PlanetSide as an example of a non-fantasy MMO that wasn't a joke? 

The MMO industry has had more major successes with high fantasy MMOs than any other genre. Although some non-fantasy MMOs have been successful, none of them have been money hats like EQ or WoW. And yeah, WoW is the outlier, but it seems that if you are shooting for major success then building MMOs based on sci-fi properties - even established sci-fi properties - isn't the way to go.

[Ratman_tf]

but it seems that if you are shooting for major success then building MMOs based on sci-fi properties - even established sci-fi properties - isn't the way to go.

I disagree. I'd bet monopoly money that Starcraft Online would smash it's way to #2 under WoW in short order.
Maybe SWTOR will be our big sci-fi hit. Depends on if they Failgate it or not.

[UnSub]

but it seems that if you are shooting for major success then building MMOs based on sci-fi properties - even established sci-fi properties - isn't the way to go.

I disagree. I'd bet monopoly money that Starcraft Online would smash it's way to #2 under WoW in short order.
Maybe SWTOR will be our big sci-fi hit. Depends on if they Failgate it or not.

I agree - it's a meme that exists until it is disproven. If Blizzard launches Universe of Starcraft which then gets 20 million players, things change.

Historically though, its elves, orcs and plate armour that have been the successes.

[Ghambit]

The only true Fiction is Science Fiction.  That being the case, the main problem with MMO dev. in the sci-fi genre is that they never seem to take it to the max.  There's nothing worse than weak sci-fi (like a bad sci-fi channel movie).
The most successful sci-fi MMO will be one that is totally hardcore and blows people's minds, both in gameplay and theme... that's what sci-fi is about, new ideas that force us to reinvent our thinking and challenge our comprehension.

And since MMOs tend to be reduxes (or else corporate suits would be too scared to drop coin on one), it's fail from day one. 

I know myself and others here could rail off a dozen great sci-fi themes that'd be great for an MMO, but no corporate suit is gonna pony-up the money for such a thing... because it's risky.  Remember, EVE was largely a private/personal experiment at its inception.  Even the Matrix movies were broke due to lack of funding until the 1st movie came out and people were like "wow."  We all know these themes would work and knock the world's socks off... but explaining that to the top 2% of the world's economy is another thing entirely.  Sorta like trying to get Rush Limbaugh to believe in Welfare... they're very liberal gaming ideals.

You just cant pre-sell sci-fi... it's has to be earned through shear brute force after-the-fact.  And unfortunately, JGE isnt sci-fi... it so far just looks to be a "space shooter."  It'll be a nice diversion for a month or so, but it wont have a REAL sci-fi title's lasting effect.  That's just the feeling I get from it.

The STO and SWOR game designs are both examples of weak sci-fi as well... too watered down. They're just games... and built from old ideas that TRY to incorporate the masses.   There's nothing inherently science fictional about them really, which will probably be their downfall also. 

Shyt, really I see nothing but crap on the horizon for the sci-fi gaming genre.  And that's really a shame.  I mean, I like the IPs that will be represented.  But the designs are just weak.  Real weak.

[DLRiley]

We did have TR  . Than it closed. We can all point to EvE but I'm 100% sure that that play style is a evolutionary dead end and will never to be seen again. JGE seems to be another game on the long list of new games touting twitched based combat in an mmo and is going to fail miserably once people start moving around at 10fps.

[Triforcer]

Is there any element of non-twitch at all?  AOE EM pulse effects, stuff like that? 

[Bzalthek]

We did had TR  . Than it closed. We can all point to EvE but I'm 100% sure that play style is a evolutionary dead end never to be seen again. JGE seems to be another game on the long list of new games touting twitched based combat in an mmo and is going to fail miserably once people start moving around at 10fps.

Grammar, motherfucker.  Learn it.

[Draegan]

Is there any element of non-twitch at all?  AOE EM pulse effects, stuff like that? 

All I've ever seen is missiles and pew pew.  I don't think there is anything like AOE stuff.