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.
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.
MMO Fallout 