Jumpgate silence broken.

[Mrbloodworth]

The other thread is extremely old so I thought a new thread was warranted.

OK, in the spirit of some form of information here is at least a few of the things we are working on/thinking about now. All subject to change, insert standard disclaimer here.

-"Battlespace" returning to more of its simulator roots from Classic, really a place to practice not advance. I know this will make some of you happy in that advancing will only happen in "real" space not instant action type playing. I still hope to have some achievements/leader board materials form here but not likely to have any equipment or pilot advancing type effects.

-Lots of work on missions. With the new design team map layouts, mission stories, the types of things you do in missions, etc is all MUCH more interesting and varied than ever before. The kinds of things we can now do is very advanced.

-Better faction definition. The stories in the game really tell all about your faction and why you are at war with the others. The story is also darker than before with many of the missions you fly feeling more gray than the typical black and white always doing the good thing type story.

-PvP. Lots and lots of work on systems for PvP, new maps, new game play, new forms of advancement, player built battle stations, capturing sectors, etc. The scope and feel of the massive space battles you will be taking part in against other players will be, IMHO, what really sets us apart.

-AI functionality. Tons of work on making the AI both the right difficulty (it was way to easy before) and also varied in behavior.

Once we have more solid information we'll share it.

Link

[01101010]

The other thread is extremely old so I thought a new thread was warranted.

OK, in the spirit of some form of information here is at least a few of the things we are working on/thinking about now. All subject to change, insert standard disclaimer here.

-"Battlespace" returning to more of its simulator roots from Classic, really a place to practice not advance. I know this will make some of you happy in that advancing will only happen in "real" space not instant action type playing. I still hope to have some achievements/leader board materials form here but not likely to have any equipment or pilot advancing type effects.

-Lots of work on missions. With the new design team map layouts, mission stories, the types of things you do in missions, etc is all MUCH more interesting and varied than ever before. The kinds of things we can now do is very advanced.

-Better faction definition. The stories in the game really tell all about your faction and why you are at war with the others. The story is also darker than before with many of the missions you fly feeling more gray than the typical black and white always doing the good thing type story.

-PvP. Lots and lots of work on systems for PvP, new maps, new game play, new forms of advancement, player built battle stations, capturing sectors, etc. The scope and feel of the massive space battles you will be taking part in against other players will be, IMHO, what really sets us apart.

-AI functionality. Tons of work on making the AI both the right difficulty (it was way to easy before) and also varied in behavior.

Once we have more solid information we'll share it.

Link

Soooo...2013 release now? 

[stu]

I think they tired of locking all the "When is this game getting released? Gamestop site says April!!" threads. This is probly their way of saying it won't be out till much later.

[Draegan]

Yup.  Basically some "no shit" statements to make people feel good about the game.  Nothing new here.

[Ghambit]

How is this any different from the crap info. posts they've put up in the past?  Not worthy of a new thread by any stretch.
And there's a distinct possibility "Black Prophecy" (which releases sooner) will make this title the vapourware it aspires to be.  I'd say if JGE wanted to salvage their game, the delays they're planning better be to add more of the original design back into the game, rather than going with their simplified one.

[Draegan]

How is this any different from the crap info. posts they've put up in the past?  Not worthy of a new thread by any stretch.
And there's a distinct possibility "Black Prophecy" (which releases sooner) will make this title the vapourware it aspires to be.  I'd say if JGE wanted to salvage their game, the delays they're planning better be to add more of the original design back into the game, rather than going with their simplified one.

JGE is far from vapourware but it is getting ridiculous.  From what I've read, Black Prophecy seems heavily instanced.

[Ghambit]

How is this any different from the crap info. posts they've put up in the past?  Not worthy of a new thread by any stretch.
And there's a distinct possibility "Black Prophecy" (which releases sooner) will make this title the vapourware it aspires to be.  I'd say if JGE wanted to salvage their game, the delays they're planning better be to add more of the original design back into the game, rather than going with their simplified one.

JGE is far from vapourware but it is getting ridiculous.  From what I've read, Black Prophecy seems heavily instanced.

Arent both games heavily instanced?  Plus, BP is free.  Also, the missions are instanced heavily in BP because they're purported to be dynamic in nature and different for every faction, even though they all share similar space.
Neither game seems to be the cat's meow at this point though.  Has there been any talk on JGE's pricing model?

[Draegan]

I don't think JGE, from what I've read, will be as instanced as BP.  No information has been released for a payment model as far as I know.

[bhodi]

Give it up, this game is dead.

Dead.

What you posted above is their first communication in 6 months and they haven't said a word since.

[taolurker]

Give it up, this game is dead.

Dead.

What you posted above is their first communication in 6 months and they haven't said a word since.

NetDevil does actually have 2 MMOs they're working on... J:E and LEGO.

Not that this in any way eliminates the possibility of it being DOA.

[Ghambit]

Might be a Gods&Heroes/STO situation brewing here.
Hopefully they can trim the fat and just release JGE regardless.

[Samprimary]

Give it up, this game is dead.

Dead.

What you posted above is their first communication in 6 months and they haven't said a word since.

Weird.

You guys have piqued my interest.

[Sir T]

They need to release the game. I would be part of their potential customer base but I've lost interest in the stupid delays.

[Samprimary]

After poking around, i totally don't think you guys are looking at vaporware. I will be sure to be the good company shill and tell you as soon as there's more released about the game.

[Hawkbit]

They need to release the game. I would be part of their potential customer base but I've lost interest in the stupid delays.

It seems like its been a very long time since the announcement of this game.  Entirely too long for the average game, iirc.  The fact that they're still laying down game features a month from the time it was supposed to launch doesn't bode well. 

I have also stopped following it because of how long the game is taking to launch.  Sad, really.  The potential of this game was one of the reasons I never got into EVE... Why put the time into EVE only to head into JE?  Seems like I should have stuck with EVE overall.

[Stormwaltz]

What you posted above is their first communication in 6 months and they haven't said a word since.

The company I work for hasn't announced anything beyond "We're making an MMG" back in 2007. That does not mean the game is dead.

The silence could mean that NetDevil did some testing, realized gameplay needed some fundamental redesign, then shut up, put their heads down, and did it. We've often expressed irritation about extended hype trains. Maybe they're keeping quiet until they're ready to start the hype train again. Marketing is expensive, and JGE -- from what I read -- was intended to be faster, cheaper, better. (Insert the usual caveat of "pick two" and we get the current situation.)

At least, I hope that's what it is. I want to play this game.

[kondratti]

The silence could mean that NetDevil did some testing, realized gameplay needed some fundamental redesign, then shut up, put their heads down, and did it. We've often expressed irritation about extended hype trains. Maybe they're keeping quiet until they're ready to start the hype train again. Marketing is expensive, and JGE -- from what I read -- was intended to be faster, cheaper, better. (Insert the usual caveat of "pick two" and we get the current situation.)

At least, I hope that's what it is. I want to play this game.

During F & F beta they realised the game was crap.  Instead of releasing it anyway, they decided it needed lots of work.  I would rather they do this than release another shitpile MMO for us to play.

[UnSub]

Might be a Gods&Heroes/STO situation brewing here.
Hopefully they can trim the fat and just release JGE regardless.

So... Jumpgate Evolution is going to be a Cryptic title?

The silence could mean that NetDevil did some testing, realized gameplay needed some fundamental redesign, then shut up, put their heads down, and did it. We've often expressed irritation about extended hype trains. Maybe they're keeping quiet until they're ready to start the hype train again. Marketing is expensive, and JGE -- from what I read -- was intended to be faster, cheaper, better. (Insert the usual caveat of "pick two" and we get the current situation.)

I think the issue is of expectation management. When NetDevil announced Jumpgate Evolution, it was a title that was 'nearly ready' and 'going into testing soon'. Since then it has been fairly barren in terms of info released.

Of course, things aren't helped by NetDevil having signed up with Codemasters to get J:E published, then selling out to Gazillion who want that Lego MMO out the door right now. Internally the focus is probably on what the new masters want, with the idea that Codemasters can wait on making that next milestone payment. Or NetDevil is waiting for Codemasters to give up and sell their J:E rights out to Gazillion.

[Ghambit]

I think they should just sell the game outright to another studio and let them properly dev. the game as NetDevil has a monster on its hands in Lego:Universe. 
I really dont see how they can offer quality in both titles, especially since LU looks to be a VERY cust.serv. oriented MMO.  That's why I said it was a GnH/STO situation, wherein they either dump JE altogether to concentrate on LU  or, let someone else take a crack.  Perp. ended up tanking on both titles but obviously that's prob. not gonna happen here.  LU will get released no matter what.

[Mrbloodworth]

I think they may be just fine on the course they have set.

[Lantyssa]

I'm sure the teams are different.  Releasing a game to another studio which doesn't know any of the tech, code, or design decisions up to this point will not suddenly turn it into an amazing game.  You know how you were so down on it?  That move would pretty much guarantee every fear you've expressed during the course of this thread.  And then some.

[Ghambit]

I'm sure the teams are different.  Releasing a game to another studio which doesn't know any of the tech, code, or design decisions up to this point will not suddenly turn it into an amazing game.  You know how you were so down on it?  That move would pretty much guarantee every fear you've expressed during the course of this thread.  And then some.

Well, what they seem to be doing now is pretty much a confirmation on why I was so down on it in the other JGE thread (the design was way too bland for a box-purchase aaa sub.-based mmo; just like BP and just like STO became).  I'm glad they're retracing some steps, dont get me wrong, but man...  to handle both these games in a respectable manner has got to be tough, especially after what we saw with Cryptic and STO.  Maybe a straight up sale of the entire team, game, etc. would be better, I dunno.  Jobs are so tough to come by right now I seriously doubt the people there would jump ship under a new banner.

I agree though, just "releasing the game" to another studio would be catastrophic.  And in any case, we all want the game to do well.  But obviously, leaving things as they lie wasnt going to work - the game WAS supposed to release last Spring remember? 

[Zzulo]

I bought a joystick in anticipation of this game

[Stormwaltz]

News at long last. Sounds like my guess was close to the mark.

http://us.jumpgateevolution.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3366

As we all now know, that initial round of testing exposed a hard truth about the ‘relatively simple goal’ of updating Jumpgate to become Jumpgate Evolution. While the core game experience of intense space-based combat was still solid, the reality was that as the team scaled up to let in more testers, things started to go wrong. Jumpgate Evolution’s modern ambitions exceeded Jumpgate’s old-school capabilities, and we knew we were not as close to launch as we needed to be.

That is when the team made the crucial decision to completely overhaul JGE’s game systems, while also refocusing specifically on the game play experience we wanted to make: space warfare on a massive scale.

[Shatter]

I bought a joystick in anticipation of this game

Your joystick is about to get blue balls

[CadetUmfer]

Hm "reboot" in the middle of production...hey, it totally worked for Tabula Rasa, right?

Should've just made Freelancer into a worldy MMO, guys.

[Ghambit]

I think they may be just fine on the course they have set.

 

Should've just made Freelancer into a worldy MMO, guys.

Freelancer IS an MMO. Freelancer "Discovery" I think it's called.  They typically have about 100+ users on at a time.

[LK]

It's not vaporware. I played it at PAX two years ago and saw it at PAX last year. 

It felt like they were trying to make Earth and Beyond meets WoW or something. I got a feeling that they've had an ephiany about how what they were working on wasn't going to happen the way they thought and they've had to scrap some systems or completely redesign from scratch others (like PvP).

[UnSub]

We'll wait and see. JG:E has been on the verge of launching for a long time now - one missed launch date was June 2009 - and announcements that they started again probably mean any launch is further away.

Hmm, I wonder how many ex-WAR Mythic people followed Lance Robertson to JG:E?

[koro]

Freelancer IS an MMO. Freelancer "Discovery" I think it's called.  They typically have about 100+ users on at a time.

Discovery's official servers have forced RP. It is abhorrent.

[Ghambit]

Freelancer IS an MMO. Freelancer "Discovery" I think it's called.  They typically have about 100+ users on at a time.

Discovery's official servers have forced RP. It is abhorrent.

Why abhorrent?  It's a sandbox hardcore sci-fi space-shooter game with low userbase.  Kinda HAS to be forced RP.

[koro]

Freelancer IS an MMO. Freelancer "Discovery" I think it's called.  They typically have about 100+ users on at a time.

Discovery's official servers have forced RP. It is abhorrent.

Why abhorrent?  It's a sandbox hardcore sci-fi space-shooter game with low userbase.  Kinda HAS to be forced RP.

The fact that you had to get special IC permission to do anything short of the most banal EVE-style asteroid grinding never really sat well with me. It's like those old persistent worlds for Bioware's NWN with nutso hardcore rules about resting and eating and using the bathroom at certain points in the day: I like some of the rules and I like the general world, but the other stuff just totally turns me off.

If that makes any sense at all.

[Malakili]

Freelancer IS an MMO. Freelancer "Discovery" I think it's called.  They typically have about 100+ users on at a time.

Discovery's official servers have forced RP. It is abhorrent.

Why abhorrent?  It's a sandbox hardcore sci-fi space-shooter game with low userbase.  Kinda HAS to be forced RP.

The fact that you had to get special IC permission to do anything short of the most banal EVE-style asteroid grinding never really sat well with me. It's like those old persistent worlds for Bioware's NWN with nutso hardcore rules about resting and eating and using the bathroom at certain points in the day: I like some of the rules and I like the general world, but the other stuff just totally turns me off.

If that makes any sense at all.

Those NWN persistant world servers were probbaly the best "MMO-like" gaming I've ever had.  But I never felt like I was playing an MMO, or even really an online video game, it was all about trying to replicate the pencil and paper game in a multiplayer CRPG setting.  WHen you are approaching it from that perspective and expectation, it was just unmatched.   In fact, it took me having to abandon that expectation to be able to really start enjoying MMOs.

[Ghambit]

Freelancer IS an MMO. Freelancer "Discovery" I think it's called.  They typically have about 100+ users on at a time.

Discovery's official servers have forced RP. It is abhorrent.

Why abhorrent?  It's a sandbox hardcore sci-fi space-shooter game with low userbase.  Kinda HAS to be forced RP.

The fact that you had to get special IC permission to do anything short of the most banal EVE-style asteroid grinding never really sat well with me. It's like those old persistent worlds for Bioware's NWN with nutso hardcore rules about resting and eating and using the bathroom at certain points in the day: I like some of the rules and I like the general world, but the other stuff just totally turns me off.

If that makes any sense at all.

I'm not saying it's a great game, I'm just saying it kinda has to be designed like that for it to work otherwise the game would eat itself.
Eve has the benefit of diffuse size and depth.  Discovery does not.  And in this case, RP is just a fancy word for what could be a hardcoded ruleset.

[ajax34i]

So, silence broken, but too bad it's just "mike check, mike check, 1 2 3"?