Global Agenda

2011 was an odd duck of a year for MMO news. A huge chunk of the year felt devoid of significant releases, but that was mitigated somewhat by the major launches of RIFT and Star Wars: The Old Republic. Titles got shoved back to 2012 or beyond, MMOs that we thought never would go free-to-play did, and the industry continually surprised us with revelations, ideas, and controversy.

So in my last Perfect Ten of 2011, I put together the 10 most significant MMO stories of the year. Ten seems like an awfully small number for such a great big field, so I had the rest of the staff members chime in with their nominations just to make sure I wasn't too off-base with any of these.

It was a whopper of a year, and Massively was there for all of it -- the ups, the downs, the queues, and the QQs. It's time to wrap it up with a pretty bow and dedicate it to the history museum!

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OK, so you've heard about this whole Global Agenda thing, and you've talked yourself into giving it a shot. It's completely free-to-play from start to finish these days, and the Unreal graphics, sci-fi setting, and strange mixture of hyper-competitive PvP and ultra-accessible PvE have always held a certain appeal.

You're not sure, but you think it's kind of an MMO, given that it has persistent territory control, lots of quests, and plenty of progression-based gameplay. Maybe you're a pro skillz baller, or maybe the extent of your shooter knowledge is which end of the gun gets pointed at the bad guys.

Either way, you'll likely have a good time in Hi-Rez's spy-fi action title, and you'll have an even better time if you understand a few key points about the game prior to diving in.

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Hello shooter fans, and welcome back to Massively's Firing Line. Last week's inaugural column hit the ground running with a visit to Hi-Rez Studios and a preview of the company's new Tribes: Ascend title. This week I'd like to pull back a little bit and lay the groundwork for some of the things we'll be talking about over time.

When I talk about MMO shooters with friends and colleagues, one of the first things mentioned is the definition of the term. Everyone knows what a shooter is (or at least what he thinks it is), and everyone knows what an MMO is (although thanks to MOBAs and the social networking explosion, the definition of the latter grows murkier by the day).

Can we all agree on the definition of an MMO shooter, though? Probably not, and to be honest, that's perfectly OK.

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Global Agenda's Recursive Colony expansion has been up and running for a few weeks now, and if you didn't get in right away, you might think it's too late to catch up.

In the spirit of "it's never too late," we've partnered with Hi-Rez Studios to offer you just the thing to bring you up to speed: booster codes! When applied to your account, booster codes give you double XP, tokens, and credits as well as apply 2,000 tokens to your account every day. Booster codes can be purchased in the Global Agenda store, but we've got some free three-day codes here.

[Update: To apply your code, type "/claimpromotion" in-game rather than applying the code on the Global Agenda site.]

Fans of games that tread the line between MMORPG and FPS will be pleased at this news: Today brings the launch of Global Agenda's Recursive Colony expansion, a free update and the "largest content update in the history" of the game, according to Hi-Rez Studios' official website. Chief among the new additions is a new mid- to high-level open zone with a storyline and quests meant to provide an alternate leveling experience for more RPG-minded players. The expansion also includes new daily repeatable quests, a new PvP map called Push Dust, new tutorials, quality-of-life enhancements, crafting tweaks, and a slew of pets, dyes, and other fluff.

To kick off patch day and show off the highlights of the update, Hi-Rez has released a brand-new trailer with a satisfying blend of explosions, robots, and yellowy post-apocalyptic zones. Find it after the cut!

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Today's One Shots comes from the high-tech world of Global Agenda. Reader Aeronca says:

I don't really go in for ugly armor, but I will say that Global Agenda offers some truly hideous dyes and garish "flair" head pieces that are always a hit with the silly crowd. Case in point is my minotaur helm here. I can't remember how or when I got it, but I think it might have been during one of those week-long special events that Hi-Rez likes to run.

They've also given out quite a bit of Christmas, New Year's, and other holiday-related headgear that can be mixed and matched with otherwise slick-looking sci-fi armor for some really atrocious fashion faux pas.

It's ugly armor week all week on One Shots, so whether you have an eye-searing color scheme, a set of armor pieces that clash like crazy, or something that you just put together for a laugh, we want to see.

Next week we'll be revisiting starting zones, so if you want to get a jump on things, grab a screenshot of your favorite starting zone and send it in to oneshots@massively.com and we'll feature it in next week's One Shots!

What can be said about PAX Prime in Seattle, Washington that hasn't been said already? Everyone knows that it is the largest public gaming event in North America. Attendance totaled 67,600 last year, not including press and exhibitors. And this year, even more gamers will descend on the Washington State Convention and Trade Center. The latest and greatest games -- released and unreleased -- will be available for public consumption. Developers will mill around the showroom floor, answering your questions. Not to mention that no one will look at you funny because you play video games!

This year, MMORPGs really stand out in the crowd. Seattle native NCsoft has a huge presence at the convention, borrowing a theater just to showcase its games. BioWare comes armed with its heavy-hitter, Star Wars: The Old Republic. And free-to-play titles like Firefall, Lord of the Rings Online, and Wakfu promise to strut their stuff at this year's PAX.

Punch past the break as Massively outlines the must-see booths for MMO fans. And don't forget the panels, including a couple of MMO spotlights for PAX Dev, the gathering of fans and developers at Sheraton Seattle Hotel on the 24th and 25th.

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Hi-Rez Studios has big plans for Global Agenda, and the autumn months will see the sci-fi shooter's largest expansion to date made available to everyone for free. The Recursive Colony patch (version 1.5 if you're counting at home) will include a new open zone with instanced missions, quest chains, social spaces, and mid- to high-level content. New enemies, daily repeatable quests, and further avatar customization options are also on the way.

"Players seeking a quest-driven, narrative experience post level 20 can now level up in the new open zone as an alternative to, or in addition to, our instanced missions," said Hi Rez's Todd Harris. "We've also included a new set of instanced PvE and PvP content for players at all levels."

Said PvP content takes the form of a new mercenary map (Push Dust) and a new acquisition map (Colony Caverns). Finally, if you're going to be at PAX Prime this weekend, stop by the Hi-Rez booth (number 252) and be the first to check out the new content.

If you've never been to Gamescom before, let's simply put it this way: It's big. Really, really big. Forget most any convention you've attended; this is likely to be even bigger. Billing itself as the world's largest games event, Gamescom sees well over a quarter-million fans, journalists and exhibitors crowd into the Koelnmesse in Cologne, Germany to check out hundreds of games and companies.

Due to its size and worldwide prominence, Gamescom is a significant event for anyone following the MMO genre (and video games in general). There are plenty of MMO studios gearing up to share first looks, exclusive reveals, detailed Q&A sessions, and exciting hands-on demos for attendees.

Naturally, Massively will be paying close attention to all of the news coming out of Gamescom this week. For those attending the convention or merely looking to keep abreast of all of the games, studios, and information forthcoming, we've compiled a guide to the hottest tickets at Gamescom as well as a comprehensive exhibitor list of MMO studios after the break.

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As most of readers of my column realize, I love the Star Wars franchise, and I will pretty much play any game if it has that label on it. However, I am not just a Star Wars fan, I am also a big MMO fan. Well, at least I like the idea of MMOs. Ultima Online blew my mind when it came out over a decade ago. I had been glued to my TV and Nintendo until I saw that I could play a game that simulated living in the Ultima universe. Since then I have tried out nearly every major MMO to hit the web since then -- which brings us to today.

Choose My Adventure is a chance for Massively readers to guide one member of the writing staff on an adventure in a game of the readers' choosing. For the next six weeks, I want you to choose my adventure for me. As I mentioned, I have tried nearly every major title in the last decade, but I haven't necessarily spent a lot of time in all of them. After the break, I will describe some of the games that I believe will be great for this task, and you can choose one for me via poll. Then, as a special bonus, on Friday at 6 p.m. EDT I will introduce you to each of the games on Massively's Livestream channel.

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Gamescom is just around the corner, and Hi-Rez Studios is gearing up to show off two new titles at the Cologne trade show on August 17th. The makers of Global Agenda are bringing a demo version of Tribes: Ascend to the event and will also be unveiling SMITE, a MOBA announced last April that features battles between gods from various mythologies.

Hi-Rez COO Todd Harris will also be talking up the future of Global Agenda, and senior designer Travis Brown will be answering SMITE-related questions as players get their hands on the initial demo version of the title. SMITE is built on the Unreal Engine 3, and Hi-Rez has released the first two screenshots of the game which we've got for you after the break.

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Global Agenda's 1.5 update is just around the corner, and Hi-Rez has released a teaser video to whet your appetite. The clip is pretty brief (under a minute's worth of footage to be precise) but it nonetheless sets an eerie stage for what looks to be some fun additions to the third-person shooter's Sonoran Desert PvE content.

As the teaser web page states, "Robotics agents are using drones to stream video to the domes. Is it safe for agents to enter this area of the desert?" You'll have to wait for 1.5 to find out, but in the meantime, fly your jetpack past the cut to get a look at the surveillance footage (and listen in on its creepy audio track) before heading to the official Global Agenda website for more details.

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Hi-Rez Studios is throwing a bone to Global Agenda veterans who raised concerns about the limitations on the title's Agenda Points. Agenda Points are Global Agenda's item shop currency and were introduced with the Free Agent patch as a way for players to spend real-life money on optional character items.

Agenda Points will now be distributed for free to active Booster supporters on a daily basis (to the tune of five AP per day plus an additional five for each level 50 character on an account). Theoretically players could walk away with 1,350 AP per month if they have eight max-level toons.

In other Global Agenda news, Hi-Rez's month-long player appreciation promotion is in full swing, and each successive week brings a 50% AP discount on all store items for one of the game's classes. Head to the official GA website to learn more, and don't forget to download the game!

The business model saga of Global Agenda is an interesting one, and PC Gamer recently sat down with Hi-Rez COO Todd Harris to chat about it. In a brief interview, Harris mentions his observations on free-to-play and the future of gaming as well as Global Agenda's resounding success since going to a full-featured F2P model.

"We have many, many more people creating accounts every day, many more people playing concurrently, our revenues are higher than they ever have been before which means we can develop content and put it into the game faster than ever before," he explained.

It wasn't always so, as Harris also admits to a bit of F2P bias in a previous life. With Global Agenda flying high under its new model, though, it's unlikely that Hi-Rez will be looking back. "I do think [F2P is] clearly the direction of gaming," Harris says.