Massively

Newest version of GTA mod brings us one step closer to a GTA MMO

Shawn Schuster — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 22:00:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Crime, Miscellaneous

If you're a fan of the classic Grand Theft Auto games (the popular ones, not the older ones that nobody played), then we may have some good news for you as an MMO player. A new update has been released for the Multi Theft Auto mod (v1.3) that introduces voice chat, bringing us that much closer to a true GTA MMO.

The wildly popular mod for GTA: San Andreas adds multiplayer functionality to the original Rockstar game, which was released just over seven years ago. It also includes a full map editor, dedicated Windows server package, and everything else you need to rat-a-tat-tat your friends in a simulated Dr. Dre album setting.

Sound like a good time? Check out a video sample after the jump, and head over to the official website for more info.

Continue reading Newest version of GTA mod brings us one step closer to a GTA MMO

Newest version of GTA mod brings us one step closer to a GTA MMO originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 25 Jan 2012 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aussies denied APB

Justin Olivetti — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: MMO industry, All Points Bulletin, Crime

The Land Down Under has always been notorious about creating obstacles between perceived violent video games and Australian gamers, but for once, a game title that's denied to the populace has nothing to do with its love of beatdowns.

Kotaku Australia is reporting that All Points Bulletin won't see the light of day in Crocodile Dundee's backyard when it launches elsewhere in July. Apparently, because of its fast-paced gameplay, APB needs local servers to facilitate low latency -- and Realtime Worlds has no plan to open an Australian server. No server, no release. Crikey!

Considering all of the positive buzz swirling about this GTA-like game, it's a shame to see a good chunk of game fanatics denied the basic right of life, liberty and the pursuit of all suspects. Aussies can buy an overseas copy and attempt to play on those servers, but as you might imagine, the ping will make that a frustrating experience.

Aussies denied APB originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 11 Jun 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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All Points Bulletin beta kicks off

Kyle Horner — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Betas, New titles, News items, All Points Bulletin, Crime

It's been a while since beta sign-ups opened late last year, but All Points Bulletin is finally moving into closed beta, it would seem. Several people are receiving emails welcoming them into Realtime Worlds' persistent online world that's a cross between GTA and the ultimate set of customization tools for characters, cars and music seen, well, probably ever.

Between video podcasts, interviews here on Massively and plenty of wishful thinking, it's been a considerably long wait. Our best guess is that the initial wave of invites is a fairly low number, as it usually is, so don't feel too distraught if you weren't invited. These things have a way of expanding over time, after all.

All Points Bulletin beta kicks off originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 12 Mar 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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All Points Bulletin chaos to balance out with Criminal and Enforcer dynamic

James Egan — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: Interviews, New titles, All Points Bulletin, Crime

The upcoming criminals-vs.-vigilantes game All Points Bulletin holds the promise of being an absolutely chaotic rampage, where a hundred players lay waste to a sprawling urban environment. While that *seems* like it would be fun, for a while anyway, even the most destructive gamer incarnate of Jack Thompson's personal antichrist will ultimately grow tired of blowing stuff up. Fortunately, that's not what APB is going to be all about.

In fact, a closer look at this game can makes us wonder: Is it really possible to compare the unbridled carnage and hot coffee of Grand Theft Auto with the gameplay of ABP? Not really, according to Realtime Worlds creative director Dave Jones, who spoke about APB with Chris Kohler from Wired's GameLife blog. Jones told Wired, "There's nothing to compare it to, but that's kind of what we try to do with our games."

Continue reading All Points Bulletin chaos to balance out with Criminal and Enforcer dynamic

All Points Bulletin chaos to balance out with Criminal and Enforcer dynamic originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 21 Jun 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Vivox to provide voice solutions for urban crime MMO All Points Bulletin

James Egan — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: MMO industry, New titles, News items, All Points Bulletin, Crime

If you're a fan of GTA-style urban crime games, you might be interested in what Realtime Worlds is cooking up for the MMO space: All Points Bulletin, which could very well prove to be the online evolution of single-player games like Grand Theft Auto and Crackdown. While new details on this title are still light, Vivox announced today that they'll be providing voice solutions for APB.

The integration of Vivox with the All Points Bulletin client will include voice fonts, where players will be able to alter their voices to better fit their character. Vivox has already established its presence in EVE Online and Second Life, and recently announced plans to extend gaming VOIP to web browsers as well. There could be interesting times ahead with this agreement between Vivox and Realtime Worlds in All Points Bulletin.

Vivox to provide voice solutions for urban crime MMO All Points Bulletin originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 24 Mar 2009 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Take-Two Interactive considering subs and microtransactions for top titles

James Egan — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 16:00:00 EST

Filed under: Business models, Expansions, MMO industry, News items

Subscriptions have been the bread and butter of MMOs since the days of Ultima Online, but subs may be coming to some popular standalone PC titles from Take-Two Interactive, presumably the Grand Theft Auto franchise and BioShock. Brian Crecente of Kotaku reports that "at the BMO Capital Markets conference, Take-Two head honcho Strauss Zelnick seemed very up on the idea of downloadable content, micro-transactions and even... subscriptions."

This falls in line with their business model of periodically offering downloadable content to either extend the storyline of a game, or to simply offer varied gameplay experiences. Downloadable content and microtransactions could solve some of the issues game publishers have with their titles being re-sold, allowing them to have a continuous revenue stream, and perhaps dissuading many consumers from reselling that game in the first place. Regular content refreshes could ensure that these games don't go stale and end up relegated to a dusty bookshelf. Zelnick implied that this business model, should it come to be, would likely only affect Take-Two's biggest titles. This implies changes to the business models for Grand Theft Auto and BioShock, although the words "Midnight Club Online" also seem apt.

But do you feel that adding the trappings of the MMO business model, namely subs and microtransactions, would enhance your experience with a standalone title, both as a gamer and as a consumer? Are more MMO-like PC games a good thing, or are you more of an MMO purist?

Take-Two Interactive considering subs and microtransactions for top titles originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 16 Nov 2008 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Why APB's customization options might be a big deal (or not)

Samuel Axon — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: Opinion, All Points Bulletin, Crime

There's a clip over at GameVideos (embedded above) that depicts All Points Bulletin's character customization system. We say "customization" instead of "creation" because we doubt all the exhibited features will be available to new players. We learned at GDC (in the very same session this video originated from, actually) that visual customization options will be among players' rewards for successful play.

Rock, Paper, Shotgun's Kieron Gillen was nevertheless impressed with all the options. He commented on the exhibit, and posited that APB has that Grand Theft Auto je ne sais quoi. The culprit: the art style, which when combined with creativity will give the game a human quality that transcends the mechanics of the game. Because of that, Gillen is looking forward to APB more than he is to any other MMO.

He took a jab at World of Warcraft, saying that because each item of clothing in WoW has critical stats tied to it, no one expresses him or herself through clothing. Stats are more important than self-expression in WoW society, right? Gillen prefers the City of Heroes approach, which he believes APB shares. But does it? We don't really know yet, do we? Maybe your clothing style affects your skills. That's something to wonder about. We'll see.

Why APB's customization options might be a big deal (or not) originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 17 Jun 2008 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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All Points Bulletin: Can drop-in PvP succeed in the MMO space?

James Egan — Sat, 31 May 2008 19:30:00 EST

Filed under: PvP, Opinion, All Points Bulletin, Crime

All Points Bulletin is one of those games that fans of Grand Theft Auto have been wanting for years. Merely saying 'want' cannot convey the unbridled desire that a number of people have expressed for an urban crime game where you're not completely isolated from other players. There is a certain person on the Massively team -- blown away by GTA: San Andreas years ago -- who would go to sleep with whispered prayers in the dark, that his deviant rampages could be shared online with his equally deviant friends around the world, day or night.

The allure of this type of game is strong, but equally strong is the likelihood of an overdose on pure chaos. One imagines a map full of amped up Criminals in desperate need of Ritalin, taking to the streets with RPG's and flattening traffic jams in backward-firing tanks, countered by a legion of overzealous Enforcers dispensing 'justice' with reckless abandon. Therein lies the problem: Part of what makes GTA so successful is that as Tommy Vercetti, or C.J. (or any of the other questionable protagonists a player becomes in the legacy title), there's no one else out there who's as badass as you. But what happens when mobs of Criminals or Enforcers of your caliber are turned loose in the city? What if they're even worse than you are? Welcome to the blender.

Continue reading All Points Bulletin: Can drop-in PvP succeed in the MMO space?

All Points Bulletin: Can drop-in PvP succeed in the MMO space? originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 31 May 2008 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Is Facebook gaming 'the next big thing'?

James Egan — Thu, 29 May 2008 08:30:00 EST

Filed under: Business models, Events, real-world, News items

Worlds in Motion recently covered events at the InterPlay Conference in San Francisco. InterPlay is devoted to social gaming, and is billed as 'the premier conference on the business of games on the Social Web.' Among the speakers at InterPlay were Charles Yong and Jing Chen, co-founders of Developer Analytics. The company offers a social networking metrics platform that provides a leaderboard of the top Facebook applications, where casual games predictably rank high. Their talk focused on the monetization of social games and the feasibility of adding greater depth to casual games, an opportunity that's drawing a 'significant surge of venture capital funding,' Worlds in Motion reports.

On the topic of generating more revenue from social games, Charles Yong said, "Social gaming is where the really great monetization is at. You can prototype with little to no money down. The whole premise of this is that marketing cost is really, really low, compared to a real game, like Grand Theft Auto IV." Before casual gamers could take offense at this statement, Yong clarified that casual gamers can be hardcore about their chosen style of play, but "they haven't seen GTA IV, they haven't seen Half-Life 2, and real money is coming out of virtual goods and currency."

Continue reading Is Facebook gaming 'the next big thing'?

Is Facebook gaming 'the next big thing'? originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 29 May 2008 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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APB gets interrogated

Eli Shayotovich — Mon, 12 May 2008 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: At a glance, Interviews, New titles, All Points Bulletin, Crime

Back at E3 2005 I had the opportunity to interview David Jones, creator of Grand Theft Auto, about their cops and robbers MMO, All Points Bulletin . Since its announcement at E3 not much has been revealed about the game... until recently. Last week rumors swirled that APB was going to turn into GTA Online, then there was the re-acquisition of the IP rights by Realtime Worlds from Webzen, and now we have an in-depth and revealing interview with Walter Kong, Senior Vice President of Business Development at Realtime.

While the concept of APB may sound similar to Grand Theft Auto, it's not. In APB gamers can play as either cops or robbers within the three dimensional, open world. What's more, Realtime is going to use "players as content. " Basically, they are attempting to take the PvP experience and craft missions around it. Most games are either PvE or PvP; APB will bring those two very divergent styles together.

Continue reading APB gets interrogated

APB gets interrogated originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 12 May 2008 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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All Points Bulletin to become Grand Theft Auto Online?

Michael Zenke — Thu, 08 May 2008 13:15:00 EST

Filed under: Real life, All Points Bulletin, Rumors

Eurogamer is reporting on rumors of what could be the holy grail of online gaming: a Grand Theft Auto massively multiplayer game. Rumors are circulating that Realtime Worlds reaquired the publishing rights for their in-development All Points Bulletin for a very specific purpose. Originally to be published by Webzen, Realtime now hopes to sell the game to Rockstar as a framework for a GTA MMO.

According to the site, they were tipped off that a GTA transition was the rationale behind the rights re-purchase. The article goes on to report that Realtime is claiming ignorance of this rumor. They admit that they pulled back the APB rights from Webzen to "give them some options", and that they'd be open to working with other companies to see the game published. Rockstar hasn't, as yet, commented on the rumor.

Have you been enjoying GTA IV? Would you jump into a GTA MMO?

All Points Bulletin to become Grand Theft Auto Online? originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 08 May 2008 13:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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APB's Walter Kong on financial flexibility

Chris Chester — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 17:30:00 EST

Filed under: Business models, MMO industry, New titles, All Points Bulletin, Crime

In a new interview with Walter Kong, the Senior Vice President of Business Development at Realtime Worlds, explains the logic behind his team's recent reacquisition of the publishing rights for their upcoming game All Points Bulletin. Their latest round of fund-raising, which netted them a cool $50 million, gives them the a much higher degree of flexibility than they would have had under Webzen, so they took the opportunity to go independent, for a while anyway.

Kong explained that just because that just because they moved out from under Webzen doesn't mean they are necessarily looking to self-publish; they just want to keep their options open. What seems clear from the way they've handled themselves so far is that all the veteran blood, including CEO David Jones -- the brainchild of the Grand Theft Auto series, has made them shrewd in the ways of the business. Here's hoping they're as savvy at making their game as they are financing it.

APB's Walter Kong on financial flexibility originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 24 Apr 2008 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Can a crime MMO actually work?

Shawn Schuster — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: New titles, Opinion, All Points Bulletin, Crime, CrimeCraft

A crime MMO might seem like a great idea, riding on the coattails of such gaming successes as the GTA series and Max Payne, but what about in the MMO space? Would killing the mafia boss or jumping your car over a moving train be quite as fun and translate as well if it were done as an online multiplayer experience? Well, so far we have two shots at it (pun intended): All Points Bulletin and the recently-announced CrimeCraft. Will these games, and the possible onslaught of copycat games be able to recreate the success of their single-player ancestors?

In a recent article at MMOcrunch, they take a look at these possibilities and break down the genre according to what most interests us. They make a very good point about how most of the fun in these games is usually the destructive environments and generally screwing with the AI by blocking the streets with burned-out cars and downed telephone poles. This would not work quite as well in an MMO setting, unless someone at Realtime Worlds or Vogster Entertainment can prove us wrong.

Can a crime MMO actually work? originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 18 Apr 2008 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rockstar founder calls GTA MMO "the Holy Grail"

Chris Chester — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 15:45:00 EST

Filed under: Real life, Business models, Interviews, MMO industry, New titles, All Points Bulletin

In case you haven't seen it, Crispin Boyer of EGM sat down for an interview with Rockstar founder Sam Houser to talk in-depth about all things Grand Theft Auto. In addition to some tasty preview bits, Boyer raked Houser over the coals a little bit, trying to glean from him what the future of the franchise might be. In terms of multiplayer, Houser didn't shy from expressing his enthusiasm for the idea of a GTA MMO. Specifically, he said such a title, "is very, very doable and is a very, very compelling proposition." In a subsequent question he refers to a mainstream subscription-based MMO on a console as "the Holy Grail."

The problem, as Houser sees it, is in combining the GTA gameplay with the idea of a persistent world. Without the right constraints, the game might amount to little more than a city of a couple thousand players all shooting at each other with rocket launchers, instead of an interesting, compelling MMO experience. From the tenor of his comments, it doesn't seem like Houser and Rockstar currently have any specific plans for an MMO just yet, but we imagine they're going to be paying very close attention to Realtime Worlds' All Points Bulletin when it comes out later this year, as its 'cobs and robbers' gameplay is the closest to GTA we've seen yet.

Rockstar founder calls GTA MMO "the Holy Grail" originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 07 Mar 2008 15:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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