Global Agenda - Now Subscription less, GW model.

[Mrbloodworth]

Global Agenda Review - mmorpg.com

[statisticalfool]

AvA

I mean, a lot of that sounds quite neat, but it also sounds like a game of numbers. If they have 20 people on and you have 10, then they can just pick off hexes left and right that you can't get to, and furthermore, the agency that has 20 gets the "reward" of having 10 of their people play a game with no opponents? Or is the CPU defense interesting enough to actually make that fun the times you took their hexes without opposition?

add: Also, how long do you have to hold stuff for it to be useful/win? It seems like you'd need even more bodies to really hold a zone day to day.

[Mrbloodworth]

AvA

I mean, a lot of that sounds quite neat, but it also sounds like a game of numbers. If they have 20 people on and you have 10, then they can just pick off hexes left and right that you can't get to, and furthermore, the agency that has 20 gets the "reward" of having 10 of their people play a game with no opponents? Or is the CPU defense interesting enough to actually make that fun the times you took their hexes without opposition?

Let me see if I can touch this with my personal understanding.

A zone has many hexes in it. Each zone is only open for 3 hours at set real world times. So, you can work it so that all of your AvA activities are done with in a window of time that aligns with when people in your agency are online. Now, top that off with the alliance concept, and alliance is many agencies under one name. Any alliance agency can respond to any other alliance alerts. In practice this makes your friend/guild/player base larger.

Ok, so thats some high level stuff that I just wanted to make clear before going on.

We are a small alliance with many small agency with in it. While those that cant field many strike forces are at a disadvantage on the zone level, on the hex level they are not, due to match limits. It is about numbers to a point, and i would suspect that it would adventitious for an alliance and agency to not bite off more than they can chew, or hold during the window. So in a way, yes, you are right. But I would think, this is true in other territory games such as EvE as well. However, they way they have done it, at least minimizes how often it could happen.

If you read what I wrote, you would notice that tactics and strategies on the conquest level matter, for one, WE gained the advantage that the hex owners we were attacking were otherwise occupied, but this bit us in the ass, and it was purely due to our bad planning. Had we looked at the map, we would have seen they had 3 strike teams active.

But we got greedy, we were on a roll, glory tainted our minds. We got pawnd. We had a lot of 20/20 discussions after it all, lol. We even started contacting other alliances to set up non aggression pacts, something that may, or may not work.

As far as the CPU defenses, we didn't encounter any, but I could see spots where it looked like it would go, the lack is I suspect is just logistics of that agency funding and manufacturing the items, or whatever. I am not sure, but I also think there is a limit to how many strike teams one alliance can have active at a time. So there is that too.

So, yeah its a bit of a numbers game, but I don't think thats outrageous, or pointless. A level one can take out a 40. So, its also a skill issue too. We currently have 5 agencies in the alliance, and each is growing the numbers.

If that helps.

add: Also, how long do you have to hold stuff for it to be useful/win? It seems like you'd need even more bodies to really hold a zone day to day.

3 hour window. I suppose one could attack a hex just before zone closing as well, but that may make some one VERY angry the next night 

[Malakili]

AvA

I mean, a lot of that sounds quite neat, but it also sounds like a game of numbers. If they have 20 people on and you have 10, then they can just pick off hexes left and right that you can't get to, and furthermore, the agency that has 20 gets the "reward" of having 10 of their people play a game with no opponents? Or is the CPU defense interesting enough to actually make that fun the times you took their hexes without opposition?

add: Also, how long do you have to hold stuff for it to be useful/win? It seems like you'd need even more bodies to really hold a zone day to day.

I've never really understood the problem with this sort of thing.  You can only control what you have the people/time to control. *shrugs*   It seems like they've done a lot by saying there are 3 hours a day where the hexes are vulnerable, so you should at least people able to get your players on for that window if you are serious enough about it to care about losing them in the first place.   I mean, if another clan has more players, it stands to reason that they can control more space than you, but that doesn't mean that you can't control the space that you can defend.

 My point being, that it seems like given = skill, any given number of clans should be able to hold a number of hexes proportional to their number of players. (granted, give equal skill is a huge assumption to make).  

[Speedy Cerviche]

The biggest flaw of this game seems to be that the core FPS combat is kind of stale. If they could pull off a FPS game that was as deep, good & interesting as classics like team fortress, tribes, battlefield, it could do a better job of drawing FPS. But it's not, it's just a pretty rudimentry TF2 clone but with less interesting combat. Also they probably made a mistake going so deep into sci-fi, lots of FPS players don't like games that are too heavy on energy weapon effects, it's an annoyingly distracting light show that doesn't add anything over good old bullets. As others have suggested, should've gone with a cyberpunk/syndicate/blade runner theme.

So they're not going to gain much traction with the traditional multiplayer FPS crowd, leaving them to compete for people who are more inclined to MMOFPS style, people who maybe whet their appetite on planetside years ago. In that area, the game kind of falls flat. The MMO elements are mostly a shallow shell that are inferior depthwise to Darkfall which has fluid cities and territories to fight over, with massive sized fights, not just 10v10 instances. Also the FPS mechanics of darkfall are very good, challenging, and deep...So Global Agenda doesn't offer much there besides to people who really really just want to quickly find 10v10 arenas and actually dislike the more dynamic and deep MMO elements.

Overall, a mediocre FPS game with shallow MMO elements charging a monthly subscription. Won't attract many freeplay FPS gamers who are content to blast away in superior TF2 or Battlefield games. The Planetside/Darkfall crowd won't be too happy with the FPS mechanics either, and probably won't be too impressed either by the shallow MMO elements & 10v10 arenas. Some people in my Darkfall guild went to try it, they're all back in Darkfall a week later.

Well hopefully these guys who made the game will be making some money, they have good ideas and are willing to try stuff. Room for long term improvement.

[Mrbloodworth]

The biggest flaw of this game seems to be that the core FPS combat is kind of stale.

I'm going to respectfully disagree. Its has flaws, but lack of a fun, solid combat system isn't one of them.

[01101010]

The MMO elements are mostly a shallow shell that are inferior depthwise to Darkfall which has fluid cities and territories to fight over, with massive sized fights, not just 10v10 instances.

 

[Mrbloodworth]

I was being respectful.

[DLRiley]

When a friend described global I figured it sounded like tf2 and after playing it I quickly discovered they missed the mark on that boat by a mile and a half. That and the game doesn't like my computer so I'll probably right up a different review once I get above 20 frames and try a few AvA matches...

Anyway global as a fps works. Covers matters (sorta) and you do need  a certain amount of aim. Unfortunately the weapons themselves especially in the beginning are uninspiring to say the least. And due to the nature of certain objects I often felt like I was spamming in a particular direction rather than taking carefully aimed shots. The advancement of weapons are sorta lateral but they can due to make more options available in the beginning. Because the game is free, I think many people will simply cry bullshit and touch it occasionally or never be bothered with conquest mode because of the weapon choices don't allow a player to find his play style as quickly as possible. Taking a page from mmo design that doesn't work too well in a classed based shooter is the fact that you are locked to a particular class when playing in an actual match. This is stone aged for reasons I shouldn't have to explain.

As a mmo global is...lacking. Coming from Guild Wars, when I do a quest it is usually to advance the story. This is not the case with Global. Instead it features repeatable randomized dungeons that has you blow through various pve monsters. Now if you played  mmo's all your life than this will be the most challenging and indepth 15 minutes of your career. Because it does have the gameplay depth of a single player game (no running off alone, no bounding around the corner (even as a group), no stand and shoot, and most importantly mini bosses that can team wipe you) than this will be refreshing and challenging for hours to come.

Personally I see it as a way to grind levels since if your not to hot at pvp (most people aren't) the alternative to gaining levels and money quickly and painlessly as possible is to grind these missions. Also the missions contain certain components that are craft able for upgrades that improve your character in minor way (though its the sum of all your parts equation, 1 part being not too impressive but 10 parts and now your at a advantage). Again potentially hours of play. But it really comes down to running one dungeon (you don't have choices in difficulty) repeatedly. I actually yawned a few times while playing.

You get new options as you level, however the when you get these options is not made clear at all in game. You get 1 skill point for every 2 levels beyond level 5. As I grow older I become more allergic to these types of systems hence my nausea and annoyance with the game grew (if the lag wasn't already pissing me off).  By level 11 I've managed to unlock one new gun and another choice in offhand abilities.

Now having uninstalled the game until I've found a solution to my lag issues I have to say I give this game 6/10. This game should really be priced for 20-30 dollars and not 50 dollars since it simply not worth it (it feels like I'm paid for a 1/3rd of a game). However I think that a lot of mmo leaning players will take a jump at AvA and will play this along with EvE or WoW. FPS players will get nausea and the ones that don't will probably not pay the sub. Not because its a scfi "lazers are every where" shooter but because its more pray and spray and less aim and shoot, which scfi shooters tend to play like sadly.

[Draegan]

I kinda wrote this game off.  Seems interesting.

[Mrbloodworth]

That and the game doesn't like my computer so I'll probably right up a different review once I get above 20 frames and try a few AvA matches...

Turn off the post process stuff. I hear it helps.

Unfortunately the weapons themselves especially in the beginning are uninspiring to say the least. And due to the nature of certain objects I often felt like I was spamming in a particular direction rather than taking carefully aimed shots. 

Moving, crouching, and right clicking all affect the cone of fire.

The advancement of weapons are sorta lateral but they can due to make more options available in the beginning.

Its open rather quickly.

Instead it features repeatable randomized dungeons that has you blow through various pve monsters.

They also scale depending on group make up, and level. I'm not just talking about Low/med/high i mean with in that. Everything from sub-boss placement, to droid AI, to enemy type, to level obstacles like fields, scans, and other level pitfalls.

Personally I see it as a way to grind levels since if your not to hot at pvp (most people aren't) the alternative to gaining levels and money quickly and painlessly as possible is to grind these missions.

PvP, even on a loss, pays more, and grants more XP. PvE supplies achievements, materials and blueprints and XP.

But it really comes down to running one dungeon (you don't have choices in difficulty) repeatedly. I actually yawned a few times while playing.

See scaling comment.

You get new options as you level, however the when you get these options is not made clear at all in game.

It tells you everything you unlock, every time, on screen and in chat spam. It will even, if you gain a skill point, place a follow the lights path to the reprogramming shop (skill/talents).

[Draegan]

Can you describe, or link me something that does, the equipment in this game and how it makes you appear?  Is there a stat system?  Is there cool loot to go after or build?  I like getting shinys.  How often does that happen?

[Mrbloodworth]

Can you describe, or link me something that does, the equipment in this game and how it makes you appear?  Is there a stat system?  Is there cool loot to go after or build?  I like getting shinys.  How often does that happen?

Stats are not part of armor. Armor, is purchased from NPC shops, and some is level gated. You do not have to buy them in order. You can switch at any time, but they are class locked. Each suit/helm/weapon has a primary, secondary and emission(glowy bits) dye slot,  There are...tons, of colors and dyes. Tons. Going from the bleak (unsaturated), to the eye burning (saturated) and also different camos.

Loot, and stat adjustment outside of AvA comes in the form of blueprints drops, and material drops from PvE (High level AvA also grants sort of a different mix of loot, some siege equipments and I hear rumors of armor suit looks). Tier one blueprints are sold by NPC's, and have minor adjustments. I think you have some 20 or so "slots" that accept different "upgrades". Upgrades are the stat adjustment, and while allows a good deal of play style customizations (Things like healing output, healing receiving, poison adjustments, all sorts of resists, off hand recharge times, power recharge..ETC...) but nothing over powering, there is no +100 shot gun for instance.

Gear window:

"Armor" There has to be well over 30 or so looks per class, if not more.


EDIT: I do want to say that crafting is a bit wonky right now, really low drop rates, and hard to come by materials, however I think this has something to do with upgrades not destroying when they reach 0/35, also the lack of a repair system. I think they have intentionally gimped the upgrade crafting system in order to work on it more. That is my theory anyway.

[DLRiley]

There is a stat system and an enhancement system. The stat system is basically allows you to put points into masteries, these masteries can be redistributed at any time (if not I would have uninstalled and demanded my money back thx). The enhancement system allows you to upgrade your armor in sections.

Mrbloodworth do you mind telling me where can i turn off the post processing stuff, yes i know this isn't tech support. As far as your other points;

I know how the cone of fire works. However being zoomed in and crouching is only a great idea at a super long distance and there are only a few weapons effective at that range. Because you have control point and kill the robot matches you DO spend most of your time pointing your mouse at the blob of red names and pressing shoot while weaving in and out of enemy fire. Because the game is medic+engy+assault dependent AND the fact that the objectives are based on cramming as many people into an area or stopping a person your almost guaranteed a kill if you spam your "damage" at the point or where the enemy is defending. There is "aim" but if you lack the ability to follow a target you won't be heavily penalized in this game.

As far as weapon advancement is concerned that spreadsheet is not available in game. If you put your mouse over the gray weapons you haven't unlocked it will not tell you when you get to unlock it. I guessed you get a new gun every 2 levels and the last new gun I got was the grenade launcher for the assault and the sniper rifle. And while it does tell me when I unlock a new skill point or level up and where to go to spend it, the important part, to me anyway, is when my weapons are unlocked and for that information to be provided in game, without hunting for it (namely it should be located when you point your mouse at the weapon).

Now concerning pvp vs pve. PVP if your doing great nets you 2k exp. PVE caps at 1.5k exp if you finish with the bonus, for a average of 1.3-2k exp for completion. PVP bottoms out at around 700 exp for a mediocre play, PVE 600 exp for a lose. PVP usually takes 10-15 minutes. A PVE game last 5-7 (rarely takes longer than 7 unless frequent wipes, afk'er, or 4 assault team...). Say for everyone 1 PVP match I finish and I rarely finish before the 10 minute mark, I could be doing 2 pve missions. If I do great at PVP my exp gain is about 2k, if I do great in pve for the same time my exp gain is 3k. If I do mediocre at PVP my EXP gain varies between 700-800 (on occasion you might get lucky and get 1k) , while mediocre play nets me 2k exp for the same amount of time in PVE. The only time PVE isn't cost effective is when you lose.

[Mrbloodworth]

Mrbloodworth do you mind telling me where can i turn off the post processing stuff, yes i know this isn't tech support.

Yes, its under settings, its not labeled as such, but bloom, ambient occlusion as the rest on the right hand column are mostly post. Other than that, I personally run at everything max, and they have yet to add DX10 back in, I run at over 60 most times.

Also, I was not debating you, I was simply informing you of things you may not have realized in your short play time. Your PvE VS. PvP stats, I think are based on low security only, and a solo getting matched with pubs.

[DLRiley]

Mrbloodworth do you mind telling me where can i turn off the post processing stuff, yes i know this isn't tech support.

Yes, its under settings, its not labeled as such, but bloom, ambient occlusion as the rest on the right hand column are mostly post. Other than that, I personally run at everything max, and they have yet to add DX10 back in, I run at over 60 most times.

Also, I was not debating you, I was simply informing you of things you may not have realized in your short play time.

Thanks for advice, just stating what I noticed. 

[Draegan]

I guess my next question is there any sort of rarity when it comes to armor or stuff that you can get that is "different"?  Or is everyone just customizing their own stuff kind of like CoH?

[caladein]

I guess my next question is there any sort of rarity when it comes to armor or stuff that you can get that is "different"?  Or is everyone just customizing their own stuff kind of like CoH?

As far as I've seen, no. The armor and dyes are simply level gated and the crafting doesn't seem to get to deal in super-rare-omg parts.

[DLRiley]

They promise improved crafting with their next patch. Probably just the introduction of super rare items. A lot of the customization in game is level gated and is pretty much unavailable to the starting player. I think the game should do its self a favor on a few things instead of borrowing from mmo"X".

[01101010]

Recons are great at sneaking behind turrets and taking them out, and picking off people on a spawn point from a distance with sniper rifles. Too often, I see recons just get into these heated Recon Vs. Recon battles out in the middle of fuck-all-ville, nowhere near the objective point.

Turrets do a LOT of fucking damage. The real problem with them is that nobody picks them off when they're setup, or make no effort to take them out. Doing an EMP grenade/nade launcher combo on my Assault, I can usually take them out before they're built, but any decent Robotic can put a turret in the most obnoxious position possible on capture points.

Sounds like spitfire turrets... now do they also have mines? 

[Nonentity]

Nah, only the Recons have mines.

They can have up to three normal mines, but there can't be enemy proximity when they are placed so they have time to arm. If you just throw it near a guy while you're fighting him, it won't do anything.

They also have some 'combat mines', that are thrown down and have a timer, and when that goes off, anyone in the radius either lights on fire or gets stunned.

[Mrbloodworth]

However, the old school Planetside cloaker maneuver of running through a group of people and placing a timed mine is used heavily.

EDIT: Also, looking foward.

To prove it to you, we are going to extend the free-play period for Global Agenda Conquest while continuing to deliver features and content enhancements.

We feel this is the best way to prove to you the value of a Global Agenda Conquest subscription, while also ensuring that as many people as possible are exposed to our unique and innovative Conquest gameplay.

All players will continue to be able to play the Conquest features for the rest of February and March without a monthly subscription fee.

[Draegan]

I really want to try this, but I don't want to drop a 50 spot on it right now.  I should of used the beta key I got a while back.

[01101010]

However, the old school Planetside cloaker maneuver of running through a group of people and placing a timed mine is used heavily.

Ahhh the good old days of boomer whoring. I really want to drop some coins into this game but fuck all I have $0 at the moment... which might be a good thing - in the end that is.

[Mrbloodworth]

It is a very effective way of clearing a point in this game. At least for a moment.

[Mnemon]

AvA

I mean, a lot of that sounds quite neat, but it also sounds like a game of numbers. If they have 20 people on and you have 10, then they can just pick off hexes left and right that you can't get to, and furthermore, the agency that has 20 gets the "reward" of having 10 of their people play a game with no opponents? Or is the CPU defense interesting enough to actually make that fun the times you took their hexes without opposition?

add: Also, how long do you have to hold stuff for it to be useful/win? It seems like you'd need even more bodies to really hold a zone day to day.

To me though this is part of your kind of bigger picture strategy as a guild/agency - making sure you're taking and controlling zones you can actually defend. The other side of this is if you know you can hold say five zones with five exceptional teams of players, a guild with 200 people of poor quality won't be able to take it from you.

[Venkman]

Maybe it's just me, but I'm struggling to see how this differs from Huxley.

I'm curious. I don't mind the loss of the massive part of PS. But I'm hoping they have some stations of this at PAX East because at present, the next $50-ish I spent on an FPS is for BF:BC2

[Mrbloodworth]

Maybe it's just me, but I'm struggling to see how this differs from Huxley.

Game play combat type. Huxley is more Quake/unreal, this is more tribes/Planetside, and its no where near the "Realism" of your BF/MW/Halo style (Thank god, love those games, but I  always prefer more fun over realism). When I say this I refer to speed, accuracy, weapon feel and basic mobility.

[DLRiley]

Maybe it's just me, but I'm struggling to see how this differs from Huxley.

Game play combat type. Huxley is more Quake/unreal, this is more tribes/Planetside, and its no where near the "Realism" of your BF/MW/Halo style (Thank god, love those games, but I  always prefer more fun over realism). When I say this I refer to speed, accuracy, weapon feel and basic mobility.

Sounds like i should have waited for Huxley.

[Venkman]

Should [be] waiting for Huxley

Maybe it's just me, but I'm struggling to see how this differs from Huxley.

Game play combat type. Huxley is more Quake/unreal, this is more tribes/Planetside, and its no where near the "Realism" of your BF/MW/Halo style (Thank god, love those games, but I  always prefer more fun over realism). When I say this I refer to speed, accuracy, weapon feel and basic mobility.

Ok, that part I can see. Looking forward to hoping it'll be at PAX. I could go for a persistent TF2.

Although tbh, I finally got around to installing Red Faction: Guerilla and would love to see that engine used in an MMO more than anything else. Like what AA should have been.

[01101010]

Sounds like i should have waited for Huxley.

After that shit I mucked around with they called a beta, no thank you.

[DLRiley]

Sounds like i should have waited for Huxley.

After that shit I mucked around with they called a beta, no thank you.

It was that bad...

[Mrbloodworth]

Should [be] waiting for Huxley

Maybe it's just me, but I'm struggling to see how this differs from Huxley.

Game play combat type. Huxley is more Quake/unreal, this is more tribes/Planetside, and its no where near the "Realism" of your BF/MW/Halo style (Thank god, love those games, but I  always prefer more fun over realism). When I say this I refer to speed, accuracy, weapon feel and basic mobility.

Ok, that part I can see. Looking forward to hoping it'll be at PAX. I could go for a persistent TF2.

Although tbh, I finally got around to installing Red Faction: Guerilla and would love to see that engine used in an MMO more than anything else. Like what AA should have been.

Sorry, thats the best "Feel" I can describe, its hard to put to words, but if you have played those games, it should be a good point reference as to my meaning. I would have put TF2 on there, but that's rather obvious.

[Venkman]

Nah, thought you made sense. The key difference is in the feel of the UI, so instead of Quake/UT, I think of GA as TF2 classes and feel along with persistence.

[DLRiley]

The part I loath about it is that it plays nothing like tf2 but sounds like it on paper. Maybe its just me, but I cry foul when a game labels itself as one thing and baits and switches on you (or I hate when people do it and you buy the game due to their advice). I nearly dropped league of legends because it labeled itself as a RTS.