"We want to earn your subscription."
Those are the words spoken by Todd Harris in today's Global Agenda newsletter just before he revealed the upcoming features and additions being made to the action-based MMORTS shooter... game... hybrid... thing.
To show their commitment, the studio will be extending their free subscription period from the end of February all the way to the end of March while they make more tweaks and enhancements to the game. By the end of February players will have the ability to select the PvP match types they want to play from the mission select feature (as it was in Closed Beta,) and Hi-Rez Studios will be introducing an in-game friends/ignore list -- one of the game's most requested features. More AvA zones will also be added, giving Oceanic players and European players some territory to fight over during their prime play times.
Beyond just adding a few tweaks here and there, players can look forward to larger additions to the game. Things like open area missions set outside of Dome City (deviating from the game's linear dungeon design), a 4v4 PvP match type, a PvP match type for 10 man pre-made strike teams, and more mission types being added to AvA. Conquest players will be seeing a 2-point control type match being added to the rotation for areas that have no facility built on them, and a special payload type "move the cart" match for agency resource raids.
Crafting will also see improvements as well, with new item types, new loot types, more prestige items for your character, and, most importantly, the addition of repair kits to repair weapon/armor parts. There was nothing worse than spending time crafting enhancements for your armor and weapon, just to have them break a few matches later. Now you can repair your parts instead of watching their durability wither down to nothing.
All in all, an impressive set of features are coming to Global Agenda. They want to earn your subscription.
Reader Comments (40)
Posted: Feb 11th 2010 10:41PM remover said
Much needed improvements.
It may be too little/too late, and the game is still a bit pricey for what you get but perhaps there's some hope.
The extension of free time is an important move as well.
It may be too little/too late, and the game is still a bit pricey for what you get but perhaps there's some hope.
The extension of free time is an important move as well.
Posted: Feb 11th 2010 10:45PM (Unverified) said
It was pretty obvious to anyone but the biggest of fanboys that this game needs something. Will these things be enough? I'm not sure. It was a fun little game for about a week, but interest faded pretty quickly after I realized how limited in scope the game actually is. I didn't find any real MMO features at all in this product. That leaves it just as a first person shooter, where it isn't anywhere near current game levels or even games from the past. (Tribes comes to mind, which was 1000xs better then this game.)
Posted: Feb 11th 2010 10:47PM blix2006 said
so instead of just reducing the sub fee they think they can justify it?its not possible with the current foundation.i think they are doing this out of fear.they see that over 80%of people are not gonna sub at the end of feb so now they are doing anything they can without having to resort to reducing the sub fee.
Posted: Feb 11th 2010 10:47PM hmmdar said
I really hope they can pull off what sounds like impressive changes.
I have been really enjoying the game over the past week. While there have been a few annoying bugs. Nothing much has jumped out at me so far as game breaking. But, it can get boring quick, due to the limited space to play in.
Open world pvp would be amazing, but I don't think that is the path Hi-Rez is looking to go down, ever. I really just want my Planetside successor soooo bad!
I have been really enjoying the game over the past week. While there have been a few annoying bugs. Nothing much has jumped out at me so far as game breaking. But, it can get boring quick, due to the limited space to play in.
Open world pvp would be amazing, but I don't think that is the path Hi-Rez is looking to go down, ever. I really just want my Planetside successor soooo bad!
Posted: Feb 11th 2010 11:18PM (Unverified) said
I think a lot of us bought this having played Planetside, and looking for a spiritual replacement for it. Sadly, GA is not that game. Even with these upcoming added features, it will be too shallow to justify a payment each month like they want.
$5? Ok, I'm cool with that. Standard MMO subscription rate? No thanks, Blizzard gives me 100x more content each month for the money.
$5? Ok, I'm cool with that. Standard MMO subscription rate? No thanks, Blizzard gives me 100x more content each month for the money.
Posted: Feb 11th 2010 11:30PM truthlesshero said
Props to them for extending the free time another month, but sadely, I also don't think it will be worth it at the end of next month to go with the sub at it's current price. It's too much. Lower it to about $5 and you'll have me interested. That said, I am still very much enjoying this game.
Posted: Feb 12th 2010 12:37AM Neurasthenic said
Oh man... Did I seriously just hear someone pull the "too little too late" line?
This game has been out for like a week, give it a rest.
I agree that there's not much in there that's worth subscribing for yet. But the game has some solid foundations and is a lot of fun, if you ask me.
Hi-Rez seems to be sending out all sorts of polls with some very good answer choices. That doesn't guarantee the additions we all want, but at least we know they're considering them and collecting feedback right away.
Maybe I'm too much of an optimist but I think it'll be a lot of fun seeing what they add over the next couple of months. And if I get tired of subscribing, I'll cancel and just continue playing the bulk of the game for a while, until another update.
This game has been out for like a week, give it a rest.
I agree that there's not much in there that's worth subscribing for yet. But the game has some solid foundations and is a lot of fun, if you ask me.
Hi-Rez seems to be sending out all sorts of polls with some very good answer choices. That doesn't guarantee the additions we all want, but at least we know they're considering them and collecting feedback right away.
Maybe I'm too much of an optimist but I think it'll be a lot of fun seeing what they add over the next couple of months. And if I get tired of subscribing, I'll cancel and just continue playing the bulk of the game for a while, until another update.
Posted: Feb 12th 2010 9:02PM remover said
It's been out since Feb 1st.
It's an unfinished game. What is this "it's only been out x amount of time" excuse people keep using?
Every other game I buy is finished, or else I wouldn't buy it. Please explain to me why this is acceptable in this case.
It's an FPS game, with a little mmo-mimicking city that has about 3 things to do inside. There's no excuse.
What if you went to the car lot and pre-ordered a car with your own custom colors, paid up front, and found out when it got there that it was missing the steering wheel, engine and a couple of seats and they refused to give your money back and told you "give it time, it just came out! they'll probably patch in that stuff later!"
Farfetched but it illustrates my sentiments well enough. Stop defending badly made games, it's people like you that end up costing innocent unknowing gamers $50 at a time convincing them that the trap they're about to walk into is not a trap.
Reply
It's an unfinished game. What is this "it's only been out x amount of time" excuse people keep using?
Every other game I buy is finished, or else I wouldn't buy it. Please explain to me why this is acceptable in this case.
It's an FPS game, with a little mmo-mimicking city that has about 3 things to do inside. There's no excuse.
What if you went to the car lot and pre-ordered a car with your own custom colors, paid up front, and found out when it got there that it was missing the steering wheel, engine and a couple of seats and they refused to give your money back and told you "give it time, it just came out! they'll probably patch in that stuff later!"
Farfetched but it illustrates my sentiments well enough. Stop defending badly made games, it's people like you that end up costing innocent unknowing gamers $50 at a time convincing them that the trap they're about to walk into is not a trap.
Posted: Feb 12th 2010 12:37AM Macabre 13 said
"We want to earn your subscription."
You taking notes, Cryptic?
You taking notes, Cryptic?
Posted: Feb 12th 2010 3:44AM alucard3000 said
i would still resub to champions online before i subbed to this game
Reply
Posted: Feb 12th 2010 12:42AM Tizmah said
Hey guys, knock off the hate on Hi Rez and Global Agenda. This is the first time I've ever heard a company say that want to earn our subs in a looong while. Let's wait and see if they can put up first :)
Posted: Feb 12th 2010 12:49AM TheJackman said
Look not your daddy's game, Hey look no elf's!....
Oops did we forget to add that there is no game play at all other them all out lame pvp gun play!!??
Oops did we forget to add that there is no game play at all other them all out lame pvp gun play!!??
Posted: Feb 12th 2010 12:57AM (Unverified) said
I personally really enjoy playing the core game (TF2-alike) and find the classes well-balanced and fun.
But a 3D lobby for matchmaking (which actually isn't even required as you can simply hit a key to bring up the required matchmaking screens etc), plus a hex-map scoreboard, does not a $15 sub make. Especially when compared to the volume of content that same $15 will buy you monthly in other games.
Love the shooter, but no sub from me (unless I awake one day to find that a huge open world full of quests and adventuring has materialised).
I'll just enjoy it for what is is - a fun team/class based shooter.
But a 3D lobby for matchmaking (which actually isn't even required as you can simply hit a key to bring up the required matchmaking screens etc), plus a hex-map scoreboard, does not a $15 sub make. Especially when compared to the volume of content that same $15 will buy you monthly in other games.
Love the shooter, but no sub from me (unless I awake one day to find that a huge open world full of quests and adventuring has materialised).
I'll just enjoy it for what is is - a fun team/class based shooter.
Posted: Feb 12th 2010 1:07AM (Unverified) said
I'm glad to see a company that actually asks their players what they think about the content instead of force-feeding us what they think we want. This is an indie company that doesn't have the resources that other companies have but yet they actually reach out to their community for feedback. A lot of other mmo devs could learn from this.
Will I be subbing anytime in the near future, no but that doesn't mean I have lost hope. I hope these guys listen to their community and make the changes necessary to truly make this game shine. It's a fun game and I haven't regretted spending $50 but as others have said their isn't anything here that will make me sub... yet.
Will I be subbing anytime in the near future, no but that doesn't mean I have lost hope. I hope these guys listen to their community and make the changes necessary to truly make this game shine. It's a fun game and I haven't regretted spending $50 but as others have said their isn't anything here that will make me sub... yet.
Posted: Feb 12th 2010 1:06AM (Unverified) said
LOL...good one Jack....so true.
Posted: Feb 12th 2010 1:27AM Psychotic Storm said
I think it looks promising, the core gameplay is solid and fun, but there is nothing worth of subscription for me at the moment, yes crafting, auction house and mail are good, but not worth paying for, subscription is geared for AVA and as someone who cares not for it (and I get I am not alone) there is nothing to subscribe for.
If I would speculatively put the blame somewhere it would be how they playtested the game (I haven't playtested it, so its mere speculation) but their limited sample of people might not have provided good feedback on the subscription.
Still the surveys of the last few days are suprisingly straight and to the point with good selection of questions, it looks quite promising, so good for them and for us.
If I would speculatively put the blame somewhere it would be how they playtested the game (I haven't playtested it, so its mere speculation) but their limited sample of people might not have provided good feedback on the subscription.
Still the surveys of the last few days are suprisingly straight and to the point with good selection of questions, it looks quite promising, so good for them and for us.
Posted: Feb 13th 2010 12:33PM (Unverified) said
I beta tested this game. CBT1 in fact. And I told them exactly the same thing most everyone in this thread is saying:
It's fun. It's nicely polished.
It's NOT an MMO.
It's NOT worth a subscription fee.
They carried on with their development plan, completely ignoring that feedback, apparently, while adding on a few bells and whistles along the way.
I haven't touched this game since CBT1 and by the sounds of things, it hasn't come very far at all.
Reply
It's fun. It's nicely polished.
It's NOT an MMO.
It's NOT worth a subscription fee.
They carried on with their development plan, completely ignoring that feedback, apparently, while adding on a few bells and whistles along the way.
I haven't touched this game since CBT1 and by the sounds of things, it hasn't come very far at all.
Posted: Feb 12th 2010 2:45AM Dranaerys said
Id I wanted to play team based shooters, Id fire up TF2 or Counterstrike. :p
Dunno, for me this game is missing the "Massive" from MMO. Just call it a MO and be done with it.
Dunno, for me this game is missing the "Massive" from MMO. Just call it a MO and be done with it.
Posted: Feb 12th 2010 4:50AM BubleFett said
This game reminds me of Tribes/Planetside. I would subscribe if
they had more MMO like content in the game. The game is fun,
but they need to step up the changes real quick. Massive open world
AvA for limited resources.
they had more MMO like content in the game. The game is fun,
but they need to step up the changes real quick. Massive open world
AvA for limited resources.
Posted: Feb 12th 2010 5:38AM Renko said
A shocking article, Developers admitting their game wasn't ready for launch, whatever next?










