Aeon

The big shift I've seen in the MMO world is that in the past, developers build MMO titles. The incoming crop of games were designed as great worlds first, and then MMO tools were added on top. This has lead to an explosion of new types of games including MMORTS and MMOFPS experiments. In essence, MMO is a set of social tools, not a type of game. That, to my mind, is the biggest difference the post-warcraft generation has experienced.

You don't suppose... maybe 10 years of running the original Jumpgate taught NetDevil a thing or two? This was addressed in the ND community forums over two years ago.

I have to say Nikki, the SEO links in your footer are way too global to do you any good...

Other than that, I'm excited about the potential offered up on this title and the way PvP looting is being handled is a stroke of genius.

@Dread: There is a cockpit view. At GDC it was the ~ key to swap.

@Grail: Eve is based on dice rolls. It is all about fleet command. JGE is about piloting individual ships. The only thing that determines whether or not you hit a target is how well you aim. It is a completely different concept from Eve. Furthermore, the developers at NetDevil have a long history of being friends with the Eve team. After all... the original Jumpgate released before Eve back in 2000.

It wasn't a matter of the game being compelling or not... rather... it was more a matter of details.

NetDevil, like all Gazillion companies, is Agile/Scrum. The entire design process is based on iteration. What happened in F&F was more a matter of polish and game design than a failure on a platform or conceptual level. Having played the game at GDC, I can tell you that it is VERY solid from a technical standpoint.

ND is now iterating game design features like PvP and the economy, which can't be done until you have testers in. As big as JGE became, I think they realized it was going to take a lot more iterations to get the community & game design aspects right than they originally anticipated.

I can promise you this much - its' a fun game :)

Ben - you may find the following to be of interest:
http://jumpgateevo.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Capital_Ships

At best, multi-player ships will be an expansion pack later on in the life of Jumpgate Evolution. If they can't balance & tune it properly in time for release, you probably won't see it until later.

The writeup is based on a pretty standard PDF, which went out to all the major press outlets. Gamezig posted it outright.

http://gamezig.com/downloads/jge_ship_categories_document.pdf

Essentially, they have compacted the top level classes, expanded the sub-classes, and allowed a wider variety of craft to support a mining hardpoint.

Cheers,
Aeo - JGEWiki.com

This is equally effective:
http://www.jumpgatecommunity.com/chat

That will open a Mibbit directly into the correct channel.

Cheers,
Aeo
Editor, jgewiki.com

Kyle speaks like a community member... that was almost bullet for bullet JGE Wiki Editor talking points for clearing up common questions & misconceptions.

Bravo, great write up.

http://jumpgateevo.wikia.com/

You'll find much more information here folks.