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Battlestar Galactica Online inches toward 10M players, hands out swag for anniversary
Battlestar Galactica Online has quietly but surely expanded its reach across the cosmos, netting nearly 10 million registered players as the title hits its first anniversary. To celebrate the dual achievement, Bigpoint is dishing out goodies to all of its players over the next week. From today through May 6th, Bigpoint is handing out in-game gifts and bonuses to players. Players need to log in each day to grab these prizes, however. In addition to distributing freebies, BSGO is increasing the daily merit cap and offering special deals for its item shop. Bigpoint CEO Heiko Hubertz sees Battlestar Galactica Online's first year as both a success and the beginning of a great run: "We are thrilled with the tremendous growth of BSGO and how the game has performed over the past year. We're excited to move forward with this momentum, celebrate our achievements, and reward all of our players in the community who helped us get to this point." [Source: Bigpoint press release]
Bigpoint surpasses 250 million registered users
The folks at Bigpoint must be feeling quite nice about themselves about now, as a new press release from the company has announced that the studio's games now have a total of 250 million registered users worldwide. Heiko Hubertz, CEO and founder of the browser-focused MMORPG developer, is quite pleased with the development, claiming that "since 2002, [Bigpoint has] strived to bring high-quality games and experiences to the widest possible audience... and we're not done." The press release goes on to make the bold claims that "Bigpoint introduced the concept of F2P games" and that "over the past decade, Bigpoint has radically improved the quality of... online games." The statement conclues that "the company is planning a series of new launches in 2012, including new titles that leverage world-class Hollywood intellectual property." We already know that Bigpoint is the studio behind the upcoming MMOs based on A Game of Thrones and The Mummy, but what else does the studio have up its sleeve? We'll just have to wait to find out. [Source: Bigpoint press release]
Win a life-size Cylon statue from Bigpoint and Battlestar Galactica Online
Bigpoint's in the news again this week, and for once the company is steering clear of microtransaction controversies. It seems as if there's a giveaway afoot, and Battlestar Galactica Online fans will be pleased to note that they have a chance to win a life-size Cylon statue (settle down guys, it's a Centurion, not a Number Six). The browser-based sci-fi MMO also features 15 new paint jobs for Cylon and Colonial ships, each of which may be purchased with real money or in-game credits. Bigpoint says more color schemes are on the way, and oh yeah, if you want a chance at the statue, you'll need to log in at least five times during the month of December. Head to the official BSGO forums for the official contest rules.
MV Guide: December 5-11, 2011
MV Guide is a weekly rundown of the MMO gaming events planned on Massively TV. Every week, the Massively staff logs in to play various MMOs live and in person, and we'd love for you to drop by the channel and visit. We have a combination of regular weekly games and new surprises, so you'll find a variety of titles to take a look at. During our streamed events, you can participate in the live chat, ask questions to learn about the game, and simply spend some time with Massively staff and readers. (Of course, streaming is subject to the whims of outside forces like server-side gremlins once in a while.) Follow along after the jump to see what's on this week's schedule!
Battlestar Galactica Online adding new ships this month, surpasses 5M registered players
Bigpoint just can't seem to stay out of the news today, and whether its the incendiary pay-to-win remarks of an executive or an update to its Battlestar Galactica browser MMO, there's a lot of interesting buzz swirling around the company of late. The devs are adding a new line of fleet recon ships to Battlestar Galactica Online, and the craft will enable both Colonial and Cylon players to jump directly to their targets while "in proximity of an erupting battle." The ships will debut in mid-September and are modeled on the Raptor and Heavy Raider craft from the beloved Syfy television series. Bigpoint's latest press release also mentions that the Brimir-class carrier will be "available this fall, though its size, complexity, and impact on game balance must be optimized before its general release." Finally, the company is trumpeting some new metrics, and the release says that BSGO has surpassed the five million registered player mark. [Source: Bigpoint press release]
Battlestar Galactica Online unveils new Brimir Class Carrier
Bigpoint Games has announced that Battlestar Galactica Online will be welcoming a new addition to its fleet of ships this fall. The new arrival comes in the form of the Brimir Class Carrier, a rather hefty tier 4 ship. The ship is a relic of earlier Colonial designs, most of which were eventually replaced by Battlestars. The Carrier, however, brings its own unique surprises to the table. Its heavy armor allows the Brimir Class Carrier to survive enemy onslaughts while it deploys squadrons of strike craft to overwhelm opposing ships. Whether these strike craft will be controlled by AI or players is to be determined, but players will be able to send their strike craft after specific targets. The novel fleet support vessel will be available for purchase with cubits (in-game currency that can be earned via gameplay or bought with cash) coming this fall.
Battlestar Galactica Online sheds "beta" tag
Bigpoint announced today that its game Battlestar Galactica Online has dropped its "beta" tag and is now wearing the big-boy pants of a fully launched game. Since its open beta release less than five months ago, the game has garnered over three million registered users, so it's probably safe to say the game is indeed ready to move out of beta. What does this mean for the future of the game? Well, it's simple really: It means that the BSGO team is shifting its focus away from optimization and patches and will instead be zeroing in on adding new content and features to the game. For more information about Battlestar Galactica Online, or to sign up to give the game a go for yourself, head on over to the official site.
Battlestar Galactica Online launches private 1v1 battles
Bigpoint broke all the conventional rules when creating Battlestar Galactica Online as a browser-based MMO. Now, the developers are continuing to improve on this unique title by giving players the ability to challenge other players in PvP matches. These instanced matches can be 1v1 duels or ranked dogfights with members of the same or opposite faction, adding a little bit more excitement in the search for Earth. If you're into PvP for the pure sport of it, you can duel any consenting player of any faction, rating, ship size, or class in a private 1v1 match. However, if your into the rewards or you want to prove that you are indeed the best, join in the ranked matches. The game's matchmaking system pairs up players of similar arena rating, ship size, and class in their own private portion of space for a battle to the death. The top 100 on the Top Gun Leaderboard will be recognized with a special icon above the pilot and ship name. And when you're playing BSGO with the three million other registered players, check out the two new star systems in the Veil Sector: Nilfhel and Muspell. These two areas contain high-level NPCs for you and your allies to conquer. For more information, visit the official website, or better yet, just play the game. It's free!
The MMO Report: Casey says frak edition
This week's MMO Report is all about Casey's ego. Not one shred of MMO news bullied its way onto the show this week, unless you count a story about Battlestar Galactica Online reaching two million subscribers as news. OK, maybe you can count Age of Conan going free-to-play, or maybe the newest Minecraft update is technically news. Perhaps Perfect World Entertainment buying Cryptic Studios would be considered news, too. But let's not forget: The MMO Report is really about Uncle Casey's Mail Bag. So that is exactly what will fill the rest of this post. The Mail Bag this week is all about love, love, and memes. Fans share their love for each other, love for Casey, and love for Morgan Webb. Yes, she's been gone for two weeks, but apparently Casey's manly smell has not ousted the memory of the time Morgan hosted the MMO Report. One fan has not forgotten; he was so inspired that he created a meme about it just to show how much he cared. Jump past the break if you are interested in catching a glimpse of Casey Schreiner's ego. We have the full video ready to go. Maybe you will catch the news that we missed while staring at Casey's incredible beard.
Bigpoint announces two million player mark for Battlestar Galactica Online
Bigpoint announced today that its sci-fi MMOG Battlestar Galactica Online, based on the immensely popular Syfy series of the same name, has reached two million registered players in its first three months of service. The free-to-play game has been under constant construction since its launch, with the addition of new ships for both the Colonial and Cylon factions, the introduction of the Merit system (which "enables the purchase of high-value items like nuclear missiles"), and even the ability for players to pilot their factions' trademark capital ships. What's next for BSGO? Rob Ollett, managing director at Bigpoint International, has this to say: "With BSGO continuing to achieve new benchmarks and receive such a strong positive response from the fans, we're excited to take its development to the next level. At just three-months in we're at a point now where we can shift the majority of our attention to adding new content and addressing the community's wish list." To join the exciting, paranoia-fueled (ohgodohgodohgod who's a Cylon!?) universe of Battlestar Galactica Online, head on over to the official site.
One Shots: Battlestar Galactica Online
Today's One Shots illustrates something that the MMO world is learning pretty quickly: You can find great-looking games right in your browser window. Dezmo has been enjoying Battlestar Galactica Online: Dezmo here, checking in from the Beta Antini System. If you haven't had a chance to check out Bigpoint's browser based space game, it would be a great idea if you did. Behind me is a human outpost ship, one of the many moons and the blazing light from a star. My Rhino is in the foreground. It's quite a hearty little ship. Off to make some Cylons pay! Sci-fi week continues tomorrow: Are you loving Perpetuum? Immersed in Battlestar Galactica Online? Beta testing Black Prophecy? Let your favorite sci-fi game strut its stuff this week by sending a great screenshot to us at oneshots@massively.com. Include your your name, the name of the game, and a description of what we're seeing, and we'll post it up and give you the thanks! %Gallery-112285%
Battlestar Galactia Online gets a face-lift and more
Battlestar Galactica Online has already made headway in the MMO community because of its quality, yet it is completely playable in-browser. In an announcement today, the team at Bigpoint decided to give the players a taste of what is to come in the next update -- and it's all about rewards. First up, the developers apologized for taking so long with the update; the delay is due to their upgrades to the Unity engine. In the update blog released today, they said, "This was a big step forwards for the game, and Battlestar Galactica Online is now better looking, smoother and more stable than ever before." Unfortunately, as a result of all the time spent on upgrades, not all the big bugs have been addressed, but the team promises to get right on those. So what was implemented? Merits are the PvP currency for BSGO, and with them you can buy either the Viper Mk VII or the Cylon War Raider. You can also gain the much-desired ability to command a Battlestar or Basestar. Secondly, you may now exchange water for cubits. The team is certain this one will be a hit among players. Lastly, rewards such as XP and loot have been scaled according to player level: higher-level players will now receive fewer rewards for low-level "easy" kills. For the full story, jump to the developer update on the official website.
Bigpoint's Battlestar Galactica Online just the beginning of its master plan
In the Battlestar Galactica TV reimagining, the Cylons were infamous for having an overarching plan for their domination of the galaxy. Likewise, Bigpoint's plan for the newly-launched Battlestar Galactica Online is far more than it might first appear. For starters, the SyFy channel -- which is hosting the game on its website -- plans to aggressively run commercials promoting BSGO to the public. According to Gamasutra, Bigpoint itself is in a state of rapid growth with the recent acquisition of the former employees of Planet Moon for its relatively new San Francisco office. This newly combined workforce numbers over 80, and CEO Heiko Hubertz has them all mostly working on two major IPs: "We didn't acquire the company; we just took over the employees. So almost 40 of them are now working for us, and they're working mainly on Battlestar and The Mummy." Bigpoint's plan to tackle the North American market diverges from its European strategy by focusing on high-quality, multi-million dollar budget browser titles -- and so far, it's paid off, as the company is in the black. Hubertz thinks this was a smart move: "It was very quick -- the decision, 'Okay, if we want to be successful in the U.S., we have to change our thinking about this industry.' And that's the reason why we developed games here in the U.S., that's the reason why we picked a technology like Unity to develop games of high quality." You can read up on Bigpoint's plan over at Gamasutra, and don't forget to check out our first impressions of Battlestar Galactica Online.
The MMO Report: Newstastic edition
Welcome back! This week on The MMO Report, Casey Schreiner and the team at G4TV are serving up a heaping helping of highlights, as the news has been crazy busy during the last week. Up first, Casey points out the sales numbers for DC Universe Online, which has been flying off shelves. From there, it's on to Bigpoint Games' upcoming free-to-play browser-based Battlestar Galactica Online, which will either enthrall space-drama fiends, or just give people a reason to say "frak" a lot. Zipping along, it's on to Eskil Steenberg's LOVE, which went through an upgrade while narrowly avoiding a random Craigslist hookup. Also included are tidbits on an upcoming short documentary on the making of Minecraft, as well as an interesting piece on the MMORPGRTS alphabet soup of Reverie World Studios' upcoming game Dawn of Fantasy. Finally, this week ends out, as most weeks do, with Casey rifling through the best (or worst; we're not quite sure) to be found in Uncle Casey's Mailbag. For all the excitement and more, you can check out this week's episode of The MMO Report embedded for your ocular and aural pleasure behind the break, or catch it every Thursday on G4TV.
Battlestar Galactica fires up its FTLs for an in-game trailer
In December of 2003, the SciFi Network (now Syfy) launched a hugely successful re-imagining of the '70s space-opera Battlestar Galactica. Early last year, Bigpoint announced it had procured the license to make a browser-based MMOG set in the same re-imagined universe. Today, we have the first-ever in-game trailer for Battlestar Galactica Online. The press release states that this game is "one of the most ambitious browser-games ever developed," and the trailer features the in-game footage of Cylon Raiders and Colonial Vipers facing off against the Galactica and Basestars. We also get a taste of what actual combat will feel like, with Bear McCreary's musical score as a emotional backdrop. Catch the full, exciting trailer after the break. Beta applications are being accepted on the game's website, open beta begins sometime soon in Q1, and launch will be shortly after that. When the game launches in the United States, it will be available only through Syfy.com. Stay tuned here for more information. So say we all!
First Impressions: Battlestar Galactica Online
There's a pretty universal rule among MMORPG players, although many of them are not aware of it: "Never, ever play a human, an elf, or the 'good side' unless you have no choice. Even then, improvise." I try to follow this rule to the letter. Even when I am asked to try out, preview, or generally mess around with the greatest new game in all of history, I try to avoid playing the good guys. So when I was asked if I could take a look at Battlestar Galactice Online by Bigpoint, I knew exactly what to do. While I much prefer the older Cylon look and feel (bulkier, rounder ships), and while I did not find myself glued to the TV set to tune into the latter incarnation of the campy series, I did absolutely love how the newer writers and special-effects masters made the space dog-fighting look. It felt, well, real to me. Would I feel the same way about combat inside my browser? What about my character -- how would he feel while walking around inside a station or base? Follow me past the cut to see what I found.
GDCO 2010: Bigpoint's Alan Dunton on the next-gen of browser MMOs
Bigpoint has had a very successful run as a multi-game publisher over the last few years. If you're familiar with Seafight or Dark Orbit, then you have played some of the company's games. Of course, those titles -- plus the many others -- are just not enough for the devs at Bigpoint. They wanted to host, create and specify a game for the North American market. What they ended up with are a few titles -- The Mummy Online, Battlestar Galactica, and Ruined Online -- all crafted in the same amazing Unity browser engine. What this will do is allow for more flexibility, accessibility, and possibility. Bigpoint's background in free-to-play and microtransaction-based games will also help to monetize the titles -- a delicate science in itself. We were able to meet up with Alan Dunton, and he explained to us what Ruined Online meant for the company and for the future of Battlestar and The Mummy.
MMO to go: Panasonic designing a handheld online gaming machine
While game studios are slowly forging a path to bringing MMOs to established handheld devices like the iPhone, Panasonic is looking to flip that paradigm on its head. Eurogamer reports that the company has been developing a handheld device specifically for MMOs and is poised for a major reveal. Called "The Jungle," this clamshell unit boasts a high-resolution screen, keyboard, touchpad, directional pad and several input ports. It is rumored to run the Linux OS and could work with MMO titles such as Battlestar Galactica Online and RuneScape, according to the company. The Jungle's website is scarce on content at the moment, but on its Manifesto page the developers state: "Our mission: Create an ecosystem around online gaming. At the core is a new mobile device concept designed specifically for online gamers. We're also working with leading online game developers to create some exciting new content." Whether there is a significant demand for such a product is up in the air, but this is intriguing enough to follow for the time being.
Massively.com and GameBreaker.TV: Coming to you live from GDC Online!
GDC Online (formerly GDC Austin) is rapidly approaching, and we here at Massively.com are making sure that we're on the front lines of coverage from the event. We have plenty of interviews lined up with a huge variety of companies, and we're teaming up with our friends at GameBreaker.TV to deliver live coverage of the event via GameBreaker's live show at the Vivox booth! To get you excited for the coming conference, we've provided the list of companies we're meeting with just after the break! The list isn't fully extensive, as we'll be covering a variety of panels as well, but it will give you an idea of whom we're meeting with. Plus, keep an eye out for a link to the live GameBreaker.TV broadcast on our right-hand sidebar! Their coverage of the event will be starting on Wednesday, October 6th at 12:00 p.m. EDT!
So say we all: Battlestar Galactica Online's blueprints revealed
Whether you're a human, a Cylon, a human working for the Cylons, a Cylon working for the humans, or a slightly off-kilter Massively editor, Battlestar Galactica Online promises to appeal across a wide spectrum. Ten Ton Hammer got in the good graces of Bigpoint at Gamescom this year and smuggled out information vital to the war effort. While it's not even in the alpha stage as of yet, BSGO is reportedly looking solid, especially for a browser-based title. The primary focus of this space-shooter MMO is the PvP conflict between human and Cylon forces. Players should expect to handle ships from the series (such as the Viper), but Bigpoint is planning on creating new spacecraft unique to the game. Each ship will handle differently, forcing users to adapt on the fly or die. Although the main stage of the game is the struggle to control systems (and their precious, precious resources), you'll be able to explore areas on foot, such as the titular Galactica, although this is mostly for atmosphere and storytelling. For players worried about the game's microtransactions model, Bigpoint promises that everyone will be able to experience the game from beginning to end without being forced to spend a penny.
