Global Agenda - Now Subscription less, GW model.

[Mrbloodworth]

Well, i'm just holding onto it for now in case someone wants some of it back from taxes, I felt it only fair as everyone pitched into it.

This move was done for a few reasons, one KAAOS is active, and good people, and two, the alliance now has a free slot to invite another large active agency. Last night while playing after the merge, I went on 4 different AvA missions, so its already showing good signs. Across the alliance, each agency has picked two nights a week (new rules mean its only a 2 hour commitment due to zone time frames) I believe ours is Monday and Thursday nights (I think) for AvA duty of defending hexes and expanding or thieving materials and such.

We still need bodies, but this way we have increased the amount of people we can play with, so hopefully this will be good for all and no one wants for someone to play with. It also removes my needs to be online all the time to manage, but however, as part of the deal i am an officer for reasons of banking, strike force leading and money things.

As a bonus we get to use there really nice team speak server, and KAAOS's leadership and event organizing. Team speak three is amazing by the way, really impressed how they have turned that app around.

So, I hope anyone that was active in our agency, no matter what time frame or frequency you play at, joins up using the in game application system so we can stick together.

[01101010]

So, I hope anyone that was active in our agency, no matter what time frame or frequency you play at, joins up using the in game application system so we can stick together.

All three of us. 

I've only seen Vaunt on in the past week or two - evenings East Coast time.

[Morfiend]

So, I hope anyone that was active in our agency, no matter what time frame or frequency you play at, joins up using the in game application system so we can stick together.

All three of us. 

I've only seen Vaunt on in the past week or two - evenings East Coast time.

Thats me. But I left the agency. Ill probably try to get in on the KAAOS thing. Hell, some of my WoW guildies might even be there.

[Mrbloodworth]

We have lurkers, odd hour players and some new people from here that I just invited, then disbanded the agency on. :)

[01101010]

I gotta wonder why Euros do so well at this game (pve mostly) and US are complete fucktards. Playing my medic and I see this more and more now. Wait... I really don't need an answer.

[Morfiend]

In Queue for Match:

Assault: 4
Medic: 2
Recon: 29
Robotics: 20

 

I wish I was kidding.

[Draegan]

Medics are dangerous, not sure why people don't play more of them.

[01101010]

Medics are dangerous, not sure why people don't play more of them.

Hit 20 on mine last night. I'll wait till I get to 30 before commenting on the danger factor - I am specc'd super agent atm with 1 point in heal beam to reduce the power consumption. But I can say poison grenade is nice enough.

[Mrbloodworth]

Starting, Sunday, March 28, a new Zone Schedule goes into effect. The Overlord zone will take the place of Citadel. Obelisk, Echelon, Sovereign, Overlord and Warlord will be played on Mondays through Thursdays. And Anvil and Dauntless will be played on Saturdays and Sundays. These changes were requested by the Global Agenda player community.

So, there are now Weekend only zones. Kinda cool. I know i'm a bit late of this change, heh.

[Cadaverine]

One of these days, I'll get around to playing again.  Once tax season is over, probably.  I'll have more patience for stupidity, even if it is my own.

[Falconeer]

Global Agenda expands to Asia.

ATLANTA, April 9, 2010 — Today, Hi-Rez Studios launched additional server capacity for Global Agenda, based in Singapore, to provide the Pacific Rim market optimal game performance while still competing inside a single game world.

Players from the Pacific Rim region, and around the world, are encouraged to try Global Agenda’s FREE TRIAL today. The generous free trial currently allows unlimited play, although players are capped at Level 15 and have some restrictions on game features.

Global Agenda’s unique single-shard design allows all players worldwide to compete inside the same game universe, able to interact with and compete against all other players inside the game regardless of geography. When joining a mission, however, players can choose a region to compete in, allowing them to choose between optimizing their game performance or competing against those in other geographies.

“We are excited to launch servers in the Pacific Rim market and to make Global Agenda truly global, as one of the first games to bring players from throughout the world together while still offering the performance expected from a fast-action, multi-player shooter,” said Stewart Chisam, Vice President of Game Operations. “We look forward to continued expansion and growth in the game, and continue to invest heavily in improving and expanding the game as well, as evidenced by our Sandstorm release (Version 1.3), which is coming later this spring and adds significant new content and character progression inside the game.”

Currently, Global Agenda offers regions for North America (servers in Atlanta), Europe (servers in London) and the Pacific Rim (servers in Singapore).  Any player anywhere can join missions in any of the regions simply using an option on the Mission select screen.

In addition, the Tradewind Territory Zone inside the game’s Alliance vs Alliance framework for persistent territory control will now run from the Pacific Rim servers, operating Monday through Thursday from 10:30 to 12:30 GMT (18:30 to 20:30 in Singapore). Other zones run from the North American and European regional servers and can also be competed for by players from the Pacific Rim region.

Behind the scenes, the release of the Pacific Rim servers marks the launch of a new cloud-based computing architecture for Global Agenda, which will allow additional servers to be added more seamlessly and easily to the game universe in the future whenever and whereever as needed.

 

[Amarr HM]

Just downloaded the demo and created an account, but after I kill the stealth assassin (second boss during the trial) game crashes while loading. Game looks good though, just wondering though what class is the best to pick? I'm currently playing as a Recon my first rollout was a Robotics guy.

[Furiously]

If you want to do AvA - I'd give some serious look to assault or medic. Robo is a fun class too... Recon is hard to play because its the most played and generally the worst played class.

[Amarr HM]

Odd I figured medic or assault would be the most common. Can you switch class or restart as a different class? Also you guys recruiting?

[Draegan]

Recons are a dime a dozen, but only a few play them the way they're supposed to be played.
Medics are great, and can bust some ass too.
Assaults are awesome if you find one not using a rocket launcher.
Robos are amazing too, but again you have to play them right and be smart.  Drone Robo's can wreck some havoc.  But I'm not sure how they change in AvA.

[Furiously]

Recons are a dime a dozen, but only a few play them the way they're supposed to be played.
Medics are great, and can bust some ass too.
Assaults are awesome if you find one not using a rocket launcher.
Robos are amazing too, but again you have to play them right and be smart.  Drone Robo's can wreck some havoc.  But I'm not sure how they change in AvA.

Problem with Robo's in AvA is the Assault ability to go invuln and wreck their stuff.

[Mrbloodworth]

Recons are a dime a dozen, but only a few play them the way they're supposed to be played.
Medics are great, and can bust some ass too.
Assaults are awesome if you find one not using a rocket launcher.
Robos are amazing too, but again you have to play them right and be smart.  Drone Robo's can wreck some havoc.  But I'm not sure how they change in AvA.

Problem with Robo's in AvA is the Assault ability to go invuln and wreck their stuff.

Can be Negated by Medics if the cert right, I also believe robos have a way to drop the various shields too.

[Amarr HM]

Recon seems to work for me for right now, good way to get to know the maps.

This game is like Unreal tournament with classes and strategy taken from TF2. Favourite thing so far is the lack of instakill and the (somewhat) ability to escape midfight, which makes it a lot like my other favourite fps QuakeWars. Also there's little or no lag even on the American servers despite my ping being 190 odd, quite impressed.

[Mrbloodworth]

Recon seems to work for me for right now, good way to get to know the maps.

This game is like Unreal tournament with classes and strategy taken from TF2. Favourite thing so far is the lack of instakill and the (somewhat) ability to escape midfight, which makes it a lot like my other favourite fps QuakeWars. Also there's little or no lag even on the American servers despite my ping being 190 odd, quite impressed.

Yeah, the game is very solid from start to finish, I hope they can keep it up. I assume the world still doesn't have the tech for a server side massive FPS game, so this is a good compromise, I look forward to the open world stuff.

[01101010]

Yeah, the game is very solid from start to finish, I hope they can keep it up. I assume the world still doesn't have the tech for a server side massive FPS game, so this is a good compromise, I look forward to the open world stuff.

LoLs.

In other news, I should have everything to 30 by the time the jesus patch goes live.

[Gets]

The gameplay is very solid. While not on the scale of Planetside and not as smooth as TF2 it's definitely unique enough to be an enjoyable quick fix of gaming with rewards of shiney if you crave for them or not. The trial offered is enough to keep you busy for a long time and is one of the few that actually reinforced my desire to buy the box. It also has the nice feature of supplying plenty of fodder for PvP matches.

First went with the Recon. The lone-wolf schtick is there, but I'm personally not very fond of it and the sniper aspect isn't as smooth and enjoyable as in most other games. I found the Medic to be loads of fun and I felt contributing even as a low level, which was good. In a hectic situation you can always just whip out your Bio Feedback gun, spray someone for mutual health increase and try and hold on for dear life. I first thought the Assault class was pretty bland, but that's not the case. You really need to get used to the idea of your own explosives damaging you but not your teammates. I got over the idea of rocket launchers and had a second go with grenade launchers and it's a big difference. Recons hassle you less, it seems, and you contribute way more defensively. I'm enjoying it for now, even though I did not like playing Demo in TF2.

Have not tried Robosexuality yet, but have heard good things.

It seems very much is riding on the 1.3 patch. Many core players have burned themselves out with the beta and need a reason to come back. Lower security PvE could use more content, which in time can also be said for PvP maps. Personally I wish the melee combat could be more responsive instead of swinging madly through a bunch of spacesuits on amphetamines. My biggest gripe out of an admittedly short one is clipping even when the Lag'o'Meter is green. Either the ping isn't giving an accurate reading or the rendering isn't seamless enough when creating new character models to display. It's pretty noticable during jetpack flight, so I'll reserve my stink-eye for lag for now. It's not really Hi-Rez's fault that their European server is devoid of people.

If you want easier use of your jetpack I recommend fiddling a bit with your keybindings, like so. That way you only have to click the button of your choice to instantly take off and the fire button to stop and return to your previous selection. It's great.

[Amarr HM]

like so. That way you only have to click the button of your choice to instantly take off and the fire button to stop and return to your previous selection. It's great.

That looks pretty awesome I'll definitely bind that when I start playing with another class, my recon guy can practically run as fast as a jetpack with my +30% speed from implants and skills. Only shit thing is I can't reach the upper levels too well and using jetpacks is pretty awesome.

My current tactic is to camp their respawn or the objective and just plant mines everywhere while picking off easy targets or taking out turrets and stations, working quite well right now. Bit miffed about return and enter being locked to the chat window, being lefthanded these are prime real estate.

[Mrbloodworth]

MMORPG.com:   

Global Agenda is going into its 3rd month of official release, and already you've put out two sizeable updates to the game. How about we start by talking a bit about the changes that have been made to the game since Open Beta, for those who haven't been following Global Agenda since launch?

Todd Harris:   

Sure. I think we've been as busy post-launch as we were pre-launch. Some studios ramp down post-release. But strong sales have allowed us to keep our entire studio focused on enhancing Global Agenda, and we're actually continuing to add new developers.

With that team in place, we've been able to introduce 2 major updates in 2 months. Those updates introduced new PvP and AvA (Agency vs. Agency) game-types, seven new playable maps, runtime performance enhancements as well as a bunch of features. Just last week we introduced a Trial version of the game for those who want to sample it to level 15 for free.

And next on our plate is our first real major expansion called Sandstorm.


MMORPG.com:

Version 1.3, Sandstorm, is the next big update and is being called the biggest milestone in the game's short existence. What is Sandstorm and for those who aren't up to speed, why is it such a big deal?

Todd Harris:   

Well, we're often categorized as a hybrid between a third-person action game and an MMO. But with our next release we continue to grow in the MMO direction. Sandstorm takes our existing class-based action gameplay and extends many of the MMO aspects. We're increasing the character level cap, adding new player devices associated with that progression, adding device variation and more loot, enhancing the AvA territory gameplay, and introducing a few new areas called Open Zones that will each support a larger number of players and host mission content.

It is a very big expansion for us that involves new game features, new content development, and new server code to support a larger player count.

MMORPG.com:   

The decision to move the game a little closer to an Open World experience with 1.3 couldn't have been an easy one. What were the driving factors to take the game in this direction?

Todd Harris:   

One main driving factor - feedback from our customers!

What we've heard is: the combat is fun and generally balanced and a nice alternative to the typical tab-targeting MMO, but more content is needed and there's a desire for some of that content to be in larger, open areas. Sandstorm is our response to that feedback.

It is great to be in a position where the core classes and combat are solid and we can incrementally add more content on top of that foundation.


MMORPG.com:   

Are the open zones a harbinger of the end to the more match-made content in Global Agenda, or are they more of a supplemental feature to help entice players to keep playing?

Todd Harris:   

We'll continue to develop match-made content and Sandstorm does include some new match-made content. Players do enjoy the convenience, and we take pride in the fact that GA launched with the ability for a player to easily join instances that are match-made across server boundaries; Certain other large fantasy MMOs have recently evolved in that same direction.

So open zones do not replace match-made instanced content. Rather it is an alternate type of content - designed to establish a greater sense of place, host some solo missions, and support more ad-hock encounters between players.

MMORPG.com:   

These new zones that are coming with Sandstorm are more along the lines of what players of traditional MMORPGs might be used to correct? As such, are they only going to be available to subscribers and will the subscriptions finally begin with the launch of Sandstorm?

Todd Harris:   

At Hi-Rez we really do intend to earn any subscription. To date we've felt that charging a subscription would be premature based upon the features and content we've delivered. But given the current scope of this first expansion we plan to implement subscriber options associated with the launch of Sandstorm. Sandstorm is a big investment for us and is also an enabler for lots of future expansion content that will continue to be free to subscribers.

MMORPG.com:   

As I understand, there's a lot of new items and gear coming to the game with Sandstorm as well. Could you tell us a bit about the Token System that is used to earn these new weapons and items?

Todd Harris:   

Tokens are simply a secondary currency type within the game that players earn by playing and succeeding across different parts of the game. There are a maximum number of tokens that can be earned each day but these Tokens can be saved and eventually spent at a vendor for access to the new weapons and items we introduce.

MMORPG.com:   

How is the team making sure that the new additions don't sway the game too much into the realm of "gear means more than skill"? In a competitive shooter (or any game really), it's always such a hot topic.

Todd Harris:   

Because our combat is based on shooter mechanics, experienced GA players will attest to the fact that success definitely depends upon player skill. With Sandstorm we add success based rewards that continue to expand the player's options. Our character advancement is still fundamentally more about variety and prestige rather than overwhelming power discrepancy.


MMORPG.com:   

What changes are coming to Conquest with 1.3, if any? Will the Open Zones factor in somehow?

Todd Harris:   

AvA continues to be our main offering for pre-made groups who want to compete against other groups with persistent consequences. But in 1.3 we will be improving two key areas:

   1. 1. Better short-term goals and rewards associated with AvA.
   2. More flexibility for each individual player and agency group about how many hours and days they dedicate to AvA.

MMORPG.com:   

In general the community seems extremely excited about the changes coming with Sandstorm. If it is indeed received as well as you hope, can we expect more open zones in the future to go right along with the game's original match-made content?

Todd Harris:
   Definitely. With Sandstorm players will be able to choose between open zone PvE, our raid style co-op PvE, matchmade PvP, arena style PvP, battlegound style PvP with larger number of players, and territory-based AvA. Once these game types are established players can expect additional content across all these areas in future expansions.

[01101010]

That first picture you linked... fuck that. Way too many widows. OP pieces of shit... I can just see it now, 6 groups of 4 androids just one shotting people as they get picked off till there is no one left, ah la spawning security drones in the high sec and max sec boss battles. 3 groups of 4 droids wipe groups faster than they drop.

But I'll try to keep an open mind, but seeing that many sub bosses in one spot is going to make it   to play.

edit: oh and I am still thinking this jesus patch is just a myth too. 

[Amarr HM]

Is there somewhere you can look at the time schedules for the AvA worlds?

[Mrbloodworth]

Is there somewhere you can look at the time schedules for the AvA worlds?

There is the last PDF published, also they put out the times in the newsletter.

[Amarr HM]

Excellent thanks, looks like Echelon or Sovereign will suit.

[Mrbloodworth]

Global Agenda Set to Offer the Best Value in PC Gaming

Highlights:

• Even as a non-subscriber who has purchased the game one-time, you’ll be able to enjoy occasional content updates and expansions without a subscription
• Subscriptions will not start until after our first major expansion, named Sandstorm, is released.
• we are lowering our subscription price to $9.95 a month (€7.95 Euro, ₤6.95 GBP)!
• With the one-time purchase, you can fully progress up to 8 characters to max level, unlocking a wide array of devices, skills and armor.

[Kageru]

Having a game weekend with some RL friends so we tend to grab something that has a trial so we can give it a spin and get some co-op gaming in. Global agenda was one of the starters but I must say I can see why there's less than < 300 people online (admittedly Aus. day). The weapons fire weird and unsatisfying balloons which travel at something approaching walking pace and are range capped to roughly 50m. There's no content for other than 4 people and the low level content makes City of Hero's missions look good. Meanwhile the upgrades and levelling system is un-inspiring.

Seriously, when there are free shooters like BC2 or TF2 this stuff just isn't going to fly.

Someone is welcome to tell me the paid PvP is bustling and insane fun, but I can't see many of the trial or even purchase people sticking with this game.

(edit: Of course I spelt balloon in french for emphasis.... /fidget /fail)

[Draegan]

Global Agenda is not about PVE stuff at all.  And whats a ballon?

[Kageru]

Balloons are what the projectiles in this game look like. Large inflated, colorful and slow moving decorations. In BF:BC2 firing the weapons gives a sense of the power of the weapon. Even in TF2 most of the weapons give a feeling of threat. These are like children's toys with anemic pew pew sounds.

PvE is the senselessly dull corridors full of a handful of mob models you have to grind before you can PvP at all. And, as I understand it, the majority of the content that will make up the 1.3 "miracle patch" (Aka redesigning the game after launch). It strongly reminded me of CoH actually, except a lot less varied but at least had some aiming. Lots of instant kill bosses, which are incredibly amusing after an instant death trap.

Still, I did enough instances so I could get to the PvP. 50% of the team being jousting and grenade spewing recons and most of the rest assaults with rocket launchers. The games seemed to end up zerging the objective which is why people are using AoE weapons. The number of recons quite happy to come stab a medic easily explains why medics have a "melee damage reduction" talent. I really don't think this game is advancing PvP play. I was scratching my head trying to work out why I'd play this rather than TF2 and other than novelty I'm not coming up with anything.

The only in-game objective I could find was to finish the color scheme on the best looking armor (which was luckily the level 10 armor). Since armor is just cosmetic that's my end-game armor so after 7 hours I've beaten the game.

(edit: consistent spelling failure)

[Mrbloodworth]

I can't say I agree with much of your conclusions. But I am also not actively playing anymore.

[Amarr HM]

I got bored of this very quickly, it has a little bit of potential but not sure if the imminent patch will cut it.

[Kageru]

On my cursory reading it seems like the patch is going to have open world PvE content. With them promising a "repetitive" experience to those who aren't subscribers.

It still seems like an odd move. Trying to develop enough quality PvE content to stay ahead of the players in a live game is a really tall order. Nor does it seem like they have the player count to support that sort of investment unless they like losing money or really believe they'll spark a resurgence. It had 100 people in Australian prime-time and the asia-pacific server appeared to have zero active instances. Though I don't know if that player population includes those in instances it's still pretty sparse.

It would seem to me more valuable if they actually extend the game from the design they launched with, maybe:

1. Add AvA resources of some kind into the PvE instances so people have a reason to do them and feel they're contributing. That also makes it worth improving them and the character mechanics (they're really pretty basic).

2. The current PvP looks like its free for all. Use the same maps but have Alliance versus alliance informal maps with some of the same resources as above.

3. Extend the "free play" concept to get cannon fodder into the AvA game. Allows them to make the most of the players they have and they need to hook people on AvA since it is meant to be the core of the game.

4. Extend AvA so that it becomes more varied, deep and gives subscribers enough advanced toys and progression to play with that they feel the subscription is justified. Mind you I have no idea how well AvA is working out and don't plan on paying to find out (see point 3).

Mind you I expect that APB might well end up following the same trajectory. Fun for a while but not something with long term stickiness and certainly not when there's a subscription fee involved. Though it does have vehicles which might make gameplay a bit more varied.

[Furiously]

Does apb have jetpacks?