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Global Agenda: Year one retrospective and interview
What a difference a year makes, eh? Round about February of 2010, Hi-Rez Studios was an unknown indie developer gearing up to unleash a newfangled "spy-fi" shooter on an unsuspecting populace. Fast forward 12 months and Global Agenda has morphed from a relatively standard Team Fortress-style kill-'em-all to an actual MMO. Killing is still the order of the day, as few MMOs are so completely focused on fast-paced bloodletting, but Global Agenda has added an impressive amount of bulk over the past year, with more on the way. Hi-Rez also managed to successfully change the game's business model in 2010 and ultimately ended up molding Global Agenda into one of our favorite MMOs. Suit up, grab your crescent jetpacks, and fly past the cut for a few reasons why as well as a look at the game's evolution to date. There's even an interview with Hi-Rez's Todd Harris on page two!
Global Agenda looks back at its first six months
It's been a whirlwind six months for Hi-Rez Studios. In that time frame the studio released its MMOFPS Global Agenda, converted the game to a "buy it once and play it forever" model similar to Guild Wars, released a major expansion named Sandstorm, and finally released the game in boxed format. Now, the devs have taken a moment to breathe, reflect, and answer some questions for the folks over at IGN as to what they set out to do, what lessons they've learned, and what players can expect in the upcoming months. The interview focuses on discussing the shift of payment options, what it's like to create and continue running an MMOFPS hybrid, and whether or not others may be looking in that same general direction. While short, it offers an interesting peek into the minds behind the ever-evolving Global Agenda and offers some wide-ranging discussion on the games market in general.
Play with the devs: Storm the dungeons and firefights of Global Agenda with Hi-Rez Studios
You asked for it, and we're doing it -- we're going back to Global Agenda! But this time we're not going into the game by ourselves. No, no, we're bringing out the big guns this time. We're bringing the creators, Hi-Rez Studios, along for the ride! So come join us this Wednesday, August 25th, at 7:00 p.m. EDT, to run some missions with some of the developers from Hi-Rez! All you need is a copy of Global Agenda (which can be grabbed from Steam) and a membership in our Steam Community, the Massively Mob (which is as cheap as free). Don't have a copy of the game, but still want to participate? Well lucky for you, as the game's free trial program just came back online! Why not give the game a whirl as you play alongside the creators? More information on our in-game meeting place and how we'll set things up will be available Wednesday morning here on Massively. Just keep an eye on our Steam Community, or Twitter page, or our front page for the full details!
Global Agenda's latest Sandstorm patch hits today
Hi-Rez Studios brings us word of the latest round of Sandstorm changes coming today to Global Agenda. The sci-fi MMOFPS is rolling out Sandstorm Version 1.36 to the live servers, and with it a plethora of improvements to the Agency-vs-Agency (AvA) system. Seasons will now last for two weeks, and each major geographic region (North America, Europe, etc.) will feature one open zone from Monday through Thursday. Another zone will open up on Saturday and Sunday, and each will be open for six hours per day. In addition to the timing tweaks, AvA rewards have been adjusted, token daily limits have been raised, and consumables have been removed from PvP. Be sure to view the full list of changes via the patch notes on the official Global Agenda website.
Phase 2 of the Sandstorm hits Global Agenda today
After a great deal of testing, Global Agenda players can look forward to a treat today -- the second phase of the immense Sandstorm update is going live. Part of a large-scale update that rewrites several core components of the game, the first phase was rolled out about two months ago, and this continuation drops in most of the features left out of the first. The largest addition is the persistent PvE zone in the Sonoran Desert, designed for players between levels 5 to 15. The desert will allow players to take a series of missions from area NPCs to help advance a story arc, learning more about the Desert Dweller and Recursive Colony factions as they gain both loot and experience. Players can also look forward to the addition of consumable items and the option to salvage unwanted pieces of equipment for parts, something that plays well with the updated systems that came into play during the first phase of the patch. There are also new defense raids for players past level 30 to take part in, standing tall in a difficult battle against Recursive Colony attacks. And even with the recent shift in business models for Global Agenda, the Sandstorm update is remaining free for all current and future players -- a welcome addition to the game that should provide several points of interest, as well as set the stage for future expansions to the game.
Global Agenda's newest video diary details Defense Raids
Global Agenda 's Sandstorm patch is pretty sizeable, and the Hi-Rez team recently produced a video developer blog that provided an overview. The newest video follows in that same vein, but is a bit more specific. Executive Producer Todd Harris and Lead Artist Chuk Vinson sit down to explain Defense Raids, 10-man raids in which you are tasked with the protection of your dome city. Every now and again, the city's alarms will go off to indicate that an attack by robots is imminent. High-level players can work together to prevent it from happening by trying to keep the enemy from breaching the defenses and destroying the power core. If you succeed, you get a big boss fight and big loot at the end. Follow along after the jump to see the video firsthand.
Five ways to survive the future: Global Agenda has a new video
Haven't had a chance to look over Global Agenda's Sandstorm patch? Hi-Rez has an overview for you in its latest video. The video contains exclusive footage from Sandstorm, and highlights several different features from the game: skills, weaponry, grouping, combat, and territory. Each segment shows gameplay footage of everything from character creation to PvP, and the video wraps up with a nod to Global Agenda's new no-monthly-fee pricing structure. The current patch notes for Sandstorm are available on the game's developer blog, so check them out and follow along after the jump for a look at the newest video from Global Agenda.
Global Agenda rolls out the next phase of Sandstorm to the test servers
To call the huge 1.3 patch to Global Agenda ambitious would almost be an understatement, considering how much of the game's basic structure was rewritten. It was so ambitious, in fact, that there were several features that wound up being slightly delayed from the initial release. And while the focus of late has been on the game's shift in subscription model (namely to the complete absence of one), several of the remaining features have just been deployed to the game's test servers in time for the holiday weekend. One of the bigger additions is the persistent PvE zone being added, the Sonoran Desert, aimed at players between level 5 and 15. On top of that, the team is adding in the option to Salvage unwanted equipment for parts, a persistent defense raid for players past level 30, and the addition of consumable items. While the holiday weekend is set to be the first testing weekend of several, it's the ideal time to get a feel for the next major addition to the game. Global Agenda players are encouraged to check the changes out, and new players would be well-served to remember that the game is on sale right through July 4th on Steam.
E3 2010: Erez Goren talks to Massively about Global Agenda's future, part 2
It seems some people are worried that Global Agenda has low player activity and may be on its last legs. When asked about that, Erez gave some useful statistics from the deployment of Sandstorm Phase 1 that suggest they're definitely on the right track. "We're only starting our marketing now," Erez told us, adding that "It was better to start early, work through with our user base about what people want to see and how and then market it and push it out." Not deterred by doom-sayers, he suggested that "as long as there's enough people to play with, it's OK" and affirmed his belief that Global Agenda couldn't drop below that level.
E3 2010: Erez Goren talks to Massively about Global Agenda's future
Sci-fi MMOFPS Global Agenda took last year's E3 Expo by storm, securing awards and impressing attendees. Launching earlier this year, the game has been rapidly updated and evolved based on player feedback. The Sandstorm Phase 1 patch recently overhauled huge areas of gameplay and delivered a lot of new content. The Global Agenda team are back at E3 this year, hoping to impress with a look at their up-coming Sandstorm Phase 2 patch. We sent our very own E3 reporter Sera Brennan to get the details from Erez Goren, founder and CEO of Hi-Rez Studios. In this bumper two-part feature, we get to grips with Global Agenda's new open zones, warzones and game-mode updates. We tackle the issues you asked for as we quiz Erez Goren on whether the game may be on its last legs, the game's shift in focus to PvE and what new game mechanics the team have up their sleeves.
Global Agenda's Sandstorm goes live with phase one
It's time for some changes over in Global Agenda... big, persistent ones. Hi-Rez Studios has been hard at work on their latest large content addition for the game, and its been in testing for nearly a month. Now the much-awaited event -- phase one of the Sandstorm patch -- drops to the live servers today. It's quite the overhaul, changing everything from the setup of weapons in the game to the persistence of the world map. For those feeling a bit overwhelmed by the scope, we've written our share of coverage including an analysis of the upcoming changes and a chat with Todd Harris about the patch. In brief, the changes are aimed at making Global Agenda closer in scope and feel to a classic MMO while retaining its skill-based and energetic combat system. How they'll actually play out remains to be seen, but thus far the developers seem to know what they're doing. Brush up on the changes and the scope, or just jump in game and start exploring them for yourself.
Global Agenda on sale at Steam just in time for Sandstorm patch
Hi-Rez Studios has been busy since the launch of Global Agenda -- and they've been even busier preparing the Sandstorm patch. Patch 1.3 is being released in stages, and if the buzz surrounding it was enough to get you interested, then this is the perfect time to buy. Hi-Rez has announced a sale on Global Agenda in anticipation of the patch: The first phase of Global Agenda's major new Sandstorm patch arrives shortly. Get prepared by buying the game on Steam for 25% off (that's $29.99/₤18.74/€22.49). The sale is listed as this week only, so you've got several more days to pick the game up for yourself and convince your friends to join you!
