The last time I talked about All Points Bulletin, I believe I said something along the lines of…
“…if Realtime Worlds wants to bill itself as a competitive online shooter, then the shooting and driving mechanics need to be overhauled yesterday.”
-Omali, MMO Fallout, On All Points Bulletin
That’s it. Dave Jones of Realtime Worlds has already said he expected All Points Bulletin to receive bad reviews, and his prediction came true almost immediately after the game launched. The major points that the reviews and critics of the game focused on were the driving and shooting mechanics. For a game that bills itself around driving and shooting, driving a car was a test of patience, and shooting was a matter of who had the better gun or the best camping spot.
In a recent announcement on the website, Realtime Worlds put out an article titled “The Road Ahead.” In the article, Neil Castle announces plans to overhaul the driving system, allowing for the same old drifting while also increasing handling and giving the vehicles less of a sloppy feel. In addition, all aspects of the shooting and weapons systems are being looked at and balanced.
These are just two updates coming in a major overhaul to All Points Bulletin, that will change the way missions are structured, how cheaters are dealt with, players camping in certain areas, and more. Hopefully this will bring just the upgrade All Points Bulletin needs to become the driving, shooting game that people might actually want to play for the driving and shooting aspects (and not just the character creator).
All Points Bulletin is in the middle of an identity crisis, as it would seem, where the developers need to pick a side and stick with it, as to whether or not the game is an MMO or a competitive shooter.
A'ridin on a pony
Realtime World’s Dave Jones predicted that reviewers would not be so lenient on All Points Bulletin, and he was right. So far, the reviews have been around the middle (average 5’s to 6’s out of 10), with the negative comments mainly focused on the idea that, for a driving and shooting game, the driving and shooting mechanics need quite a bit of tuning. A lot of good has been noted towards the customization features and the character creator.
All Points Bulletin is in the middle of an identity crisis, as it would seem, where the developers need to pick a side and stick with it, as to whether or not the game is an MMO or a competitive shooter.
If All Points Bulletin is an MMO, Realtime Worlds needs to flesh out the world which, as of right now, is quite two dimensional. I’m not asking for anything huge, like the epic quests in Lord of the Rings Online, but Realtime Worlds could definitely spruce up the world by hosting live story-driven events that allow both sides to be involved. They could run an overall story arc with developer presence akin to The Matrix Online, for example starting with the criminals attempting to blow up a building and steal secret files inside (not in that order). Whoever wins moves the story arc in a variety of areas.
On the other hand, if Realtime Worlds wants to bill itself as a competitive online shooter, then the shooting and driving mechanics need to be overhauled yesterday. In a game where chase missions are often and plenty, having driving being as painful as it is in All Points Bulletin is very off-putting, feeling as if you are behind the wheel of a consistently intoxicated driver. As many have also said, the shooting feels unresponsive and you don’t feel as if you are shooting a weapon when the person you are pumping a full clip into barely flinches.
On another note, if Realtime Worlds wants to bill APB as a shoot-em-up and not an MMO, you will likely see that subscription go out the door faster than with Global Agenda, and Global Agenda’s subscription portion was eons closer to the traditional MMO formula than All Points Bulletin is.
I like All Points Bulletin, and I did pre-order, and I have played several hours. I do admit, however, that the game appears to be torn between two genres, and may be trying to move in two directions at once in a “jack of all trades, master of none” situation.
I have decided to retire the Month In Review sessions in replacement for what I call “Looking Back, Moving Forward,” essentially a recap of the month and a look forward into the coming month.
June, like any decent bridging sequel, brought more questions to the table than it did answers…
My favorite picture of the month.
I have decided to retire the Month In Review sessions in replacement for what I call “Looking Back, Moving Forward,” essentially a recap of the month’s highlights.
June, like any decent bridging sequel, brought more questions to the table than it did answers. There was plenty of recaps to be had, such as this one! All in all, June was an excellent month for information regarding previously low-key MMOs. We received a lot of information on Warhammer 40k, the new Star Wars MMO, an upcoming Mummy MMO, Jumpgate, Lego Universe, Project V13, among others.
Foremost, happy birthday to some of our old geezers who are still running around.
WWII Online: Battleground Europe (2001-Present)
Anarchy Online (2001-Present)
Star Wars Galaxies (2003-Present)
Sony kicked off the month with the “official” announcement of Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures. Intending to offer players an experience more akin to Free Realms (and built on the same engine), Clone Wars will follow a similar pricing format, with a multitude of mini-games, activities, pets, and houses for players to engage in. Aimed at a slightly lower age group than your Star Wars Galaxies or The Old Republic, Clone Wars is aiming to hit the net sometime later this year.
Lord of the Rings Online and Global Agenda are getting a lot more accessible, with the announcement of both games changing subscription models. Lord of the Rings Online will be taking on a freemium model, with the original game offered for free with bonuses, expansions, and more content available in one time purchases, or for a subscription fee. Global Agenda, on the other hand, is going the Guild Wars route, offering the entire game after purchase for no subscription fee.
June 9th saw the launch of Mortal Online, after a number of delays on the part of Star Vault, with issues of desynchronization, among others, plaguing the servers. Server stability is still an issue with Mortal Online, with a form of compensation on its way from Star Vault.
All Points Bulletin launched this month, with lead designer EJ Moreland taking a shot at the MMOs opening cash shops, by claiming that APB would not feature a cash shop, ever, before quickly retracting on his statement and saying that Realtime Worlds would only consider cashing in if the community asked for it. Given the response to other cash shop inclusions, expect a cash shop coming to a police department near you.
Darkfall still loves you, and here at MMO Fallout we love us some Darkfall. Since the title launched last year, Aventurine has been working around the clock trying to bring in new players, and keep them. Those changes have removed the $50 paywall and introduced initially a paid, now free limited time trial. New players will find themselves offered extra protection during their first days of game time, as well as the game constantly being balanced to lower the time it takes for players to become competent in PvP combat.
And while we’re on the subject of tweaking content to balance gameplay, how about removing a chunk of content for the sake of balance? Such is the case when Flying Lab Software announced that the higher end ships will be removed from Pirates of the Burning Sea for the sake of balancing the lower tiers of ships.
Not all was great on the western front, however, as this month marked the grand server merger in Everquest, leaving just fourteen of the original servers remaining. With what may just turn 2010 into a year for mergers, Sony later announced mergers for Vanguard, with NCsoft announcing Aion server mergers, both game’s mergers to occur in July.
There is plenty more that occurred in June, and you can read all about it in the MMO Fallout archives. Until next time, this is Looking Back, Moving Forward.
Gentlemen, start your pitchforks. A detail savvy player on the All Points Bulletin forums has discovered that, in addition to requiring players to pay a subscription (be it in hourly increments or in monthly flat fees), Realtime Worlds has also decided to place advertisements in the game’s VOIP feature. And what could be better than getting advertisements in a paid game? Paying an addition fee to not hear them. RTW is offering 30, 90, and 180 day specials to not hear advertisements.
According to Community Officer Toxico, who was quick to respond, the advertisements only play every three hours, while loading a district. The prices are pretty cheap, starting at about one dollar for 30 days (40 rtw points). People naturally don’t like advertisements, but if one ad every three hours is enough to ensure RTW won’t be charging for VOIP, I think the APB players will survive. You always have that mute button when entering a district.
A lot of professional gaming publications have a you-scratch-my-back, I’ll-scratch-yours relationship with developers. The publication promises that it will give the review a fair score, and the developers often send them exclusives and swag (have you ever seen the desk of some of these writers? Covered!). Of course, the publications get their copies of the games long before we do, generally with an agreement that they will do short previews, followed by a set universal date for when the review can be published. The intent is well, as developers want to allow as much time as possible for the publication to actually play the game before reviewing it. It is to be said that even with these time allowances, some publications still make it out the door with unprofessional, rushed reviews of games that the reviewer did not play (I’m looking at you, Eurogamer) that result in low scores, and of course the review itself being removed.
Your average Joe, on the other hand, does not abide by these restrictions. He does not have any incentive to hold off or formulate his opinions in a thoughtful, or calm manner. He might, on a regular review website, but on a public forum he will type as his heart directs him: Right over to the surplus sale on expletives. A publication may understand the differences between beta and release, but Average Joe does not, and neither does the person who is reading the review based on his closed/open beta experience.
What is accepted, almost universally, is that when a game hits open beta, it should be in an virtually finished state. Aside from stress testing the servers, MMO developers should not be using the open beta period prior to release as a method of gauging incomplete features or mechanics, and the game itself should not drastically change on the day of release. Despite this, it still happens, as I have said before:
“Abilities get tweaked, some features get buffed, and yes some features get nerfed. MMOs are never a final product, and big changes should always be expected.”
-Omali, MMO Fallout, on something likely unimportant
In an email sent out with keys to the city, Realtime Worlds noted:
Before finalising reviews, we want you to experience the full, rich experience of APB as it is meant to be seen. We want you to see wild customer customisations, player progression and clans making an impact on the living breathing city of San Paro. This key code also therefore grants you, along with our pre-order customers, VIP early access before the official launch day. June 26th in North America and June 28th in Europe.
It makes sense, but for the wrong reasons that sets a bad precedent for Realtime Worlds. Now that the news of this embargo is being reported on, when the game does come out and widely reported issues with shooting and driving become even more publicly available, people may assume the worst: That the embargo was an effort to stifle critique.
Australians may not be able to properly play All Points Bulletin when it launches, but the rest of us can rejoice. For a while now, I’ve seen a lot of complaints by players towards downloadable content (DLC) and microtransactions worming their way into various MMOs, be it the recent goggles/dog in Fallen Earth, the new mounts in Everquest 2 and World of Warcraft, Lord of the Rings Online, and the ever-growing Cryptic Store, it seems many MMOs are including a cash shop in some form or another. There are enough of us willing to tolerate it and accept it that the fad is growing, but there is a group (albeit much smaller than many of them will admit to) that does not want anything to do with any MMO that offers cash shop items in a subscription game, whether they be useful or cosmetic.
Well, there is at least one MMO holding out for the time being. Realtime Worlds lead designer EJ Moreland has announced that All Points Bulletin, the upcoming cops and robbers shoot-em-up MMO, will not feature downloadable content or microtransactions in any form whatsoever. Even better, the game won’t even feature small paid “adventure packs” (I’m looking at you, Cryptic), but will only charge when…I’ll let Moreland explain it:
“We won’t be offering items for sale for real money. We have no DLC. Any update we do throughout the cycle is free except when we do a major retail event, which will add almost a completely new game. Throughout the year, we’re going to release both content updates, which are new missions, new clothing assets, new weapons, new vehicles. Basically, new things for the players to earn, customize, or experience. Then we have much larger updates, which will come less frequently, called activity updates. [These will] introduce new gameplay, new rulesets, or new large additions to the game. Then probably once every year or so, we’ll also do a retail event, which will be an expansion.”
Supporters of no-dlc-ever should be giving respect to Realtime Worlds, even if you don’t necessarily like the game. The above was stated in a round table phone interview with EJ Moreland.
It’s always a shame to see Australia getting beaten with the short end of the stick (the end with the railroad spike) and put as much blame on the ratings board as you will, it is far more likely to see a game not released in Australia because it was banned, rather than the developer simply saying “we don’t feel like it.” Such is the case when Realtime Worlds decided that they would not be setting up local servers in Australia, meaning Electronic Arts will not be selling All Points Bulletin to the Australian market.
All Points Bulletin, the upcoming MMO by Realtime Worlds, is a fast paced game that requires fast paced servers that can deliver fast paced action at a fast pace in order to pace itself with the fast pace of the fast paced players in a fast paced world. As such, unlike certain MMOs (Eve Online, Fallen Earth, etc) where players from around the world join one clustered server, it just isn’t feasible for Australian players to connect to US or European servers.
The exact reasons are not official, but the call is likely due to the cost of hosting the servers versus how much Realtime World expected to gain from selling box copies and subscriptions.
All Points Bulletin is all about customization: The more we learn about the game, the more options for making your cop or villain unique come to light. Everything from changing the details on your car, customizing your weapons, your character, your radio, and even subscription allows you to tailor to your style of play.
But we ask: What methods can I use to taunt my opponents using the same method of customization? Well Chris Collins has the answer.
“Players can create what we call death themes, so every time that you kill a player they’re forced to listen to your music,”
Looking forward to being killed by someone and hearing “We’re no strangers to love…” or ten seconds of some teen shouting expletives through his cracking voice.
All Points Bulletin looks to take the Eastern approach to subscription, but with an option that doesn’t hurt hardcore players. Recently announced, All Points Bulletin will offer several options for players:
The west is very different than the east, in terms of our paid MMOs. A lot of people are already aware of this, but many paid MMOs in the east work on a pay-as-you-go plan, where players purchase a set number of hours, much like the cell phone plans many of you will be aware with. Over in the West, we are used to simply paying a set monthly fee, be it anywhere up to the industry standard of $15 a month. For hardcore players, this is a godsend, as they can get the most for their money. For casual players, the monthly fee may not seem worth it, down to the player who can only get online every weekend or so.
All Points Bulletin looks to take the Eastern approach to subscription, but with an option that doesn’t hurt hardcore players. Recently announced, All Points Bulletin will offer several options for players: For the casual, players can buy hours in packs of 20 hours for $6.99 (USD), or choose from a 30 day ($9.99), 90 day, or 180 day “unlimited package” with no time limit, with discounts for the two bigger packs.
But wait! There’s more! Buying APB includes 100 RTW (currency) that you can spend towards game time and other perks. In addition, APB will include a marketplace where players can trade their customizations. RWT can be turned into in-game currency or game time.
It’s good to see a game literally including the best of all worlds, in terms of subscription. Want that flat fee? You’ve got it. Don’t play much and can make that 20 hours last a long time? You’ve got it.
All Points Bulletin launches at the end of June and is currently in beta. Preorder for extra perks and more time.
Crimecraft launched today, and if there’s one thing to say about the developers, Vogster Entertainment, it is that they are very self aware. They recognize that Crimecraft is foremost a shooter, and secondly an MMO (the persistent lobby). They are stout in their belief that Crimecraft is not, as many naysayers seem to believe, a “Grand Theft Auto IV MMO” and is more focused on team play than soloing. More importantly, when asked about their upcoming competitor All Points Bulletin, Vogster has nothing to say other than bring it on.
MMO Fallout 