Tag: All Points Bulletin

APB Closed Beta Incoming, Still No Earth Eternal


 

Adorable.

All Points Bulletin and Earth Eternal shut down around the same time last year, give or take about a month, and since then only one of the two has been getting much of any news coverage, and that tile is not Earth Eternal.

Over on the APB front, K2 Networks has been putting out regular blog updates on how the company is planning on dealing with free players, cheaters, private servers, and more. The latest blog post details hopes for a late-February launch of the APB closed beta, although any difficulties may extend that date into March. Closed beta details will be listed next week, but those of you tech-inclined folk may find some interest in the rest of the blog, detailing what K2 is currently doing to get the game back up and running.

Meanwhile, we’ve heard nothing new out of Earth Eternal. Neither the game’s Facebook or Twitter have been updated since around September, although off-site reports indicate that the game has been sold to Time Warner and will be rebooted sometime early this year. I am somewhat disappointed to see the lack of news out of Earth Eternal, especially since the buyer has never officially come out and announced themselves.

With All Points Bulletin, Earth Eternal, and hopefully Hellgate: London being brought back this year, who knows? Perhaps 2011 will be the year of MMO necromancy!

All Points Towards Spellborn: APB Will Take Five Years


New pics.

I get something of a twinge in my leg when a company somewhere either says or does something that provokes a potential customer to say “well they just saved me the cash I would have wasted checking this out,” so naturally I carry a House-like limp at all times. So when my femur fractured in three locations last week, I had a good feeling that something was up and after four or five days of investigation I came across an interview between Eurogamer and K2 Networks (also known as GamersFirst), the new owners of All Points Bulletin, to be relaunched as APB: Reloaded next year.

Currently a team of 24 people are installing a free to play, microtransaction model into All Points Bulletin, where players will be able to lease weapons in order to get into the game quicker. The game that was once promised to players by defunct studio Realtime Worlds? That is going to take a lot longer to release, in fact you’ll likely be finished with Left 4 Dead 5 by the time the fully realized APB is out. According to owner Bjorn Book-Larsson;

“Oh no [six months isn’t long enough] – we think it’ll take four or five years,”

Four or five years, so by 2015 the full incarnation of All Points Bulletin should be out. Larsson then goes on to explain that K2 Networks plans on launching APB as close to the notorious unreleased patch as possible, with the addition of leased weaponry, and a few other updates. In other words, APB is going to relaunch small to test the market, and go from there.

“After that, presuming there’s an interest in the game, we expect this to be a multi-year development process where we continue updating the game.”

Key phrase being “presuming there’s an interest.” There is still no guarantee that K2 Networks won’t shut down APB again, gut the code like a fish, and make use of its extensive customization engine. K2 has committed two years to the game, hopefully enough time to bring back old players and flesh in some new players.

It’s a good thing APB: Reloaded is launching as a free to play title. I’d hate to think my subscription money was going towards a five year long beta.

And The APB Winner Is: K2 Networks!


K2 Networks

Rev up the Wikipedia, because All Points Bulletin has a buyer…well, it always had a buyer, but now we know who that buyer is: K2 Networks. To save some of you the work, K2 Networks is the gaming company behind the Western localizations of Knight Online, WarRock, 9Dragons, among others. Given that K2 operates solely on Asian f2p grinders, the likelihood that All Points Bulletin will follow the free to play cash shop model are very high.

An official statement is coming next week. You can read the full story on Eurogamer, and I guess it’s time to stick All Points Bulletin in the Upcoming category. Bet you never thought you’d see that. But today the Realtime Worlds APB saga comes to an end.

Codemasters: APB Could Work…Just Not By Us.


It could by Hi-Rez?

Codemasters General Manager David Solari has been on MMO Fallout’s news bulletins before, with regards to Lord of the Rings Online Europe, but now I get to talk about him weighing his opinion on something not Turbine related. In an interview with Eurogamer on the topic of All Points Bulletin, Solari wanted to express his optimism that the defunct MMO could absolutely work, given the right time.

“[Realtime Worlds] made some key mistakes there, with some key stuff changed that game could be successful. I do think the game could be turned around but it would need nine months of hard work,” he added. “That game could have been successful but the cost of development and everything else was a huge thing. The money it had to make to support that was very high risk. If you could take a smaller team and make all the fixes and operate at a lower cost then it’s fairly unique: there’s not really anything else in the market out there.”

Solari makes a great point. During APB’s short life, I harped on a few points that the game could be fixed and turned around easily, but that Realtime Worlds would be fighting against the clock to fix the shooting and driving mechanics being lackluster in a driving and shooting game. But who exactly is going to pick up APB, Mr. Solari. You?

“We have not picked up APB,” he said, definitively. “I can answer you definitively,” he echoed, “we haven’t picked that up.”

Damn. Well there is still the possibility of Epic Games taking over. More on APB as it absolutely refuses to die.

Looking Back, Moving Forward: October '10


A BBB Month

If you woke up with a strange urge to gorge yourself on meat stuffed with other meats, it must be November…or just another Monday morning. With November coming, and the holiday season right around the corner, we take a look back on what October brought us: Halloween events, particularly in the hat trading simulator formerly known as…I believe it was called Team Forts. Yes, while we were busy killing all the demons (only to find out we were the demons), it was business as usual in the land of MMOs and the developers who create them.

Naturally the Better Business Bureau makes number one on our list. Now, most of the companies remained unchanged with their scores since July, except for Cryptic Studios who apparently took my advice and started replying to complaints. Their score now sits at an A- from its original C. The “Checking In With The BBB” will be back in January.

DC Universe Online was delayed. Sorry, Joker! Those who preorder before November 15th get guaranteed access to the beta, however. Those who didn’t preorder get jack squat. Although there is no set date, DC Universe Online is set to go live sometime in early 2011.

Square Enix announced an embargo…I mean a voluntary request that reviewers hold off for thirty days, a threat I would like to see enforced through practically every gaming website/magazine in existence losing their free swag, because the grand majority completely ignored this request. You can still send us swag, Square, we love you for your need to smother your customers, not in spite of it.

And speaking of Final Fantasy XIV, the game bombed on Amazon.jp. Final Fantasy XIV on Amazon’s Japanese website still carries a 1.5 star rating, with 137 one-star ratings to five one-star ratings. Square Enix would later reward early adopters with a free extra month of the game. My apologies to the owners of Gizzard Blendtertainment for any confusion that the article caused.

Lord of the Rings Online in Europe…what a saga. Through October, MMO Fallout brought you weekly updates on the situation regarding LOTRO’s release in Europe under Codemasters, as well as our own speculations (that turned out to be correct) on whether or not the issues were really technical. Codemasters announced that Lord of the Rings Online Europe will make the free to play transition on November 2nd.

Speaking of cash shops, Eve Online is getting one. Don’t worry, kids, it’s only vanity items. In the same interview, CCP’s own Tori Olafsson denied any claims that the developer was working on an Eve Online 2, or reboot of Eve, noting that such options had “no purpose.”

Oh don’t tell me you didn’t see this coming! With the launch of the new Everquest II Extended, Sony announced that Everquest II servers would be merging, shutting down a total of six servers.

All Points Bulletin joins the ranks of Earth Eternal in games that are dead, but not really dead because someone might be buying them, but they aren’t playable. Neither game is online, and though we know there is a buyer for Earth Eternal, and likely one for All Points Bulletin, we still don’t know who it is yet.

And finally, likely the biggest double-take of October, the announcement that Champions Online would be going free to play. Yes, Cryptic wants to take their thumb out of the pie and shove their entire fist into it as Champions Online goes partially Turbine this coming Q1 2011. More on the Champions Online transition…soon.

Looking Back, Moving Forward: October ’10


A BBB Month

If you woke up with a strange urge to gorge yourself on meat stuffed with other meats, it must be November…or just another Monday morning. With November coming, and the holiday season right around the corner, we take a look back on what October brought us: Halloween events, particularly in the hat trading simulator formerly known as…I believe it was called Team Forts. Yes, while we were busy killing all the demons (only to find out we were the demons), it was business as usual in the land of MMOs and the developers who create them.

Naturally the Better Business Bureau makes number one on our list. Now, most of the companies remained unchanged with their scores since July, except for Cryptic Studios who apparently took my advice and started replying to complaints. Their score now sits at an A- from its original C. The “Checking In With The BBB” will be back in January.

DC Universe Online was delayed. Sorry, Joker! Those who preorder before November 15th get guaranteed access to the beta, however. Those who didn’t preorder get jack squat. Although there is no set date, DC Universe Online is set to go live sometime in early 2011.

Square Enix announced an embargo…I mean a voluntary request that reviewers hold off for thirty days, a threat I would like to see enforced through practically every gaming website/magazine in existence losing their free swag, because the grand majority completely ignored this request. You can still send us swag, Square, we love you for your need to smother your customers, not in spite of it.

And speaking of Final Fantasy XIV, the game bombed on Amazon.jp. Final Fantasy XIV on Amazon’s Japanese website still carries a 1.5 star rating, with 137 one-star ratings to five one-star ratings. Square Enix would later reward early adopters with a free extra month of the game. My apologies to the owners of Gizzard Blendtertainment for any confusion that the article caused.

Lord of the Rings Online in Europe…what a saga. Through October, MMO Fallout brought you weekly updates on the situation regarding LOTRO’s release in Europe under Codemasters, as well as our own speculations (that turned out to be correct) on whether or not the issues were really technical. Codemasters announced that Lord of the Rings Online Europe will make the free to play transition on November 2nd.

Speaking of cash shops, Eve Online is getting one. Don’t worry, kids, it’s only vanity items. In the same interview, CCP’s own Tori Olafsson denied any claims that the developer was working on an Eve Online 2, or reboot of Eve, noting that such options had “no purpose.”

Oh don’t tell me you didn’t see this coming! With the launch of the new Everquest II Extended, Sony announced that Everquest II servers would be merging, shutting down a total of six servers.

All Points Bulletin joins the ranks of Earth Eternal in games that are dead, but not really dead because someone might be buying them, but they aren’t playable. Neither game is online, and though we know there is a buyer for Earth Eternal, and likely one for All Points Bulletin, we still don’t know who it is yet.

And finally, likely the biggest double-take of October, the announcement that Champions Online would be going free to play. Yes, Cryptic wants to take their thumb out of the pie and shove their entire fist into it as Champions Online goes partially Turbine this coming Q1 2011. More on the Champions Online transition…soon.

Buyer Found For APB: I Hope It Is Epic


adoración para bulletin

If you’re like me, you still have All Points Bulletin installed on your computer, and occasionally start up the client. For those of you who don’t, you can still read the news ticker here: The ticker is occasionally updated with news on APB and Realtime Worlds, the latter still going through the negotiation process to find a buyer for the former.

A couple days ago, the following appeared on the blog:

=== 22/10/2010 ===
It’s looking like there might be light at the end of the tunnel for APB. The end of the administration process is apparently close and there appears to be a buyer for the game.

You can find more information at the above website, or by launching your APB client. We may see APB come back by the end of the year (or early next year). Perhaps Webzen will take it on, they have something of a history picking up dead MMOs. I think this is the longest an MMO has gone postmortem still being covered here on MMO Fallout.

More on APB as it appears.

Preordered APB? Electronic Arts Has No Obligation To Help You


No dice.

Those of you who purchased APB before its demise are likely aware that Electronic Arts, as distributor, is offering out free games if you can prove that you once owned the crashed MMO. Over multiple forums, players are reporting getting everything from Bioware bucks (that can be used to buy full games), EA store credit, and full games of the player’s choosing. If you are one of those players, you might want to check yourself before you email EA about the silent promotion, especially if you preordered APB.

I found out the hard way that Electronic Arts is only allowing people who purchased APB from July 15th onward into the program, and everyone else is out of luck. As the customer service rep put it:

I understand your frustration over this issue but there are a few things to remember. Real Time Worlds was the owner of the servers for this game, as well as the owner to the rights of the game as well, EA is simply trying to help out its customers through goodwill as we have no responsibility to refund or issue free games to customers for something out of our control.

I’ll reiterate an important lesson I brought forward in another MMO Fallout article: It is rarely a good idea to pre-order an MMO. If you just have to preorder an upcoming title, however, ensure you order it directly from the publisher, not from the developer or Steam or other platforms. This way, if the developer goes belly up two months after the game ships, and are unavailable/bankrupt, you can still go after the publisher for a chargeback I mean, compensation.

Otherwise, you can always file a complaint against Electronic Arts with the Federal Trade Commission. https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/

Global Agenda: Hey APB Players, We’re Still Up


Laughter Was Had Audibly

I apologize to any ex-Realtime Worlds employees or APB players who might be offended by the above picture, but I had to repost this. Those of you on Global Agenda’s mailing list will likely have received the above email, taking a sharp stick and poking the still-warm remains of All Points Bulletin, and inviting its players to come join up the action, with a promo code!

An Open Letter to Shooter/MMO Fans from Hi-Rez Studios

Dear Shooter/MMO Fans:

The last few years have been rough for many fans of the Shooter/MMO genre.

Several innovative game titles with great communities have folded as they sought to bring together those of us who enjoy the fast-action, intense pace of a shooter, but also the character progression and persistence offered by MMOs.

Today, we mourn our latest fallen colleague, APB. In making APB, Realtime Worlds had a bold vision to make an MMO devoid of traditional tab-targeting, cast bars, and die-roll combat. We honor their effort and innovation, and greatly mourn the game’s closing.

Sadly, the APB server shutdown leaves their entire community with nothing to shoot or blow up tonight!

So between today and Friday, September 24, 2010, we are offering refugees from APB and other Shooter/MMOs an opportunity to join Global Agenda’s growing community more easily and affordably than ever.

We figure you deserve it. And you’ll fit right in since you already know how to aim.

All players that purchase Global Agenda on the game’s official webstore prior to September 24, 2010, using the promotion code “LongLiveShooterMMOs” will receive a 30% discount off the game. That’s $20.99, £13.12 and €15.75!

This one-time purchase gives you full access to the game’s content, with no monthly fees.

And, remember, you can try the game before you buy by playing the free trial, available here..

We at Hi-Rez Studios believe strongly in the Shooter/MMO genre. We celebrate and thank all developers advancing innovative Shooter/MMO concepts, as well as the fans that dedicate their time to playing and supporting these games.

Todd Harris
Executive Producer, Global Agenda

Just wait, APB fans. If Epic Games does purchase All Points Bulletin and revitalize it, you can take this email and tell Todd Haris exactly where he can shove it.

Global Agenda: Hey APB Players, We're Still Up


Laughter Was Had Audibly

I apologize to any ex-Realtime Worlds employees or APB players who might be offended by the above picture, but I had to repost this. Those of you on Global Agenda’s mailing list will likely have received the above email, taking a sharp stick and poking the still-warm remains of All Points Bulletin, and inviting its players to come join up the action, with a promo code!

An Open Letter to Shooter/MMO Fans from Hi-Rez Studios

Dear Shooter/MMO Fans:

The last few years have been rough for many fans of the Shooter/MMO genre.

Several innovative game titles with great communities have folded as they sought to bring together those of us who enjoy the fast-action, intense pace of a shooter, but also the character progression and persistence offered by MMOs.

Today, we mourn our latest fallen colleague, APB. In making APB, Realtime Worlds had a bold vision to make an MMO devoid of traditional tab-targeting, cast bars, and die-roll combat. We honor their effort and innovation, and greatly mourn the game’s closing.

Sadly, the APB server shutdown leaves their entire community with nothing to shoot or blow up tonight!

So between today and Friday, September 24, 2010, we are offering refugees from APB and other Shooter/MMOs an opportunity to join Global Agenda’s growing community more easily and affordably than ever.

We figure you deserve it. And you’ll fit right in since you already know how to aim.

All players that purchase Global Agenda on the game’s official webstore prior to September 24, 2010, using the promotion code “LongLiveShooterMMOs” will receive a 30% discount off the game. That’s $20.99, £13.12 and €15.75!

This one-time purchase gives you full access to the game’s content, with no monthly fees.

And, remember, you can try the game before you buy by playing the free trial, available here..

We at Hi-Rez Studios believe strongly in the Shooter/MMO genre. We celebrate and thank all developers advancing innovative Shooter/MMO concepts, as well as the fans that dedicate their time to playing and supporting these games.

Todd Harris
Executive Producer, Global Agenda

Just wait, APB fans. If Epic Games does purchase All Points Bulletin and revitalize it, you can take this email and tell Todd Haris exactly where he can shove it.