the-repopulation
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The Repopulation's PvP explained
Curious about PvP in The Repopulation? Look no further than the latest dev blog by developer Joshua Halls. While the sci-fi sandbox features a significant amount of both PvE and non-combat gameplay systems, there's also "a lot in the way of PvP gameplay," according to the blog. The post delves into the game's nation system, it touches on sieging and contested regions, and there are some bits about PvP-specific roles. Halls also talks about The Repopulation's flexible combat system, which offers the ability to toggle between "simulated FPS-style combat" or a traditional RPG hotbar mode. Finally, The Repopulation will feature two distinct server rulesets. The specifics are still being finalized, but the "hardcore" version will remove safe areas and allow non-consensual PvP.
The Repopulation's June recap talks revamped tutorial
Above & Beyond Technologies has posted its monthly Repopulation development recap. The list of changes, additions, and fixes is typically lengthy, and June of 2013 was especially noteworthy due to the introduction of a new tutorial system for the sci-fi sandbox. The new system is designed for higher interactivity as opposed to the massive info dump that was the previous incarnation. The devs also improved some of The Repopulation's cinematic camera options and added ability-based goals for missions as well as a command alias system. The full list of June accomplishments can be found on the game's website.
The Repopulation gives much love to Rogues
The Repopulation transitioned into its second alpha test last month, and the team has a quite detailed report about all of the tweaks and features that it added to the game during that period. While there's a lot of everything in the patch notes, Rogues got a big piece of the attention pie. Above and Beyond Technologies reported that it improved the quality of life for Rogue characters through a number of changes. The thievery mechanic got an upgrade, pick-pocketing got several missions, and containers got stubbornly locked. As an aside, there are six stealthed Rogues in the above picture. See if you can spot them! Other changes to the game for the second alpha test include mission chains, random missions, 70 new crafting recipes, two new generic den types, and an overhaul of the reputation system.
New Repopulation dev blog gets down and dirty with harvesting details
You may remember that earlier this month, the folks behind upcoming sci-fi sandbox The Repopulation released a dev-blog that detailed part of the game's resource-gathering system which involved the ever-so-charming extraction of precious resources from your enemies' still-warm corpses. Thanks to the game's newest dev blog, we're now able to get some insight on the other half of the resource-gathering experience: harvesting. While extraction involves pilfering goodies from dead baddies, harvesting is the more uh... humane method of gathering resources from nodes such as ore deposits, trees, and so forth. Harvesting resources from a single node works in the same way as extracting resources from a corpse does, but harvestable resources are also available from rarely occurring resource clusters. These clusters "contain a larger stash of a single resource and [have] a better chance of yielding higher quality results." Up to four players can place a harvester at any given cluster, which will run dry after 2-4 hours, at which point the players can return to the cluster and pick up their share of the goods. This system, the diary mentions, encourages players to gather in groups or share the wealth with their hired help. If you can't wait to get your hands dirty and rob nature of her delicious bounty, you can find out all the details over at the game's official site.
Cutting to the heart of extraction in The Repopulation
If you want to craft items in The Repopulation, you're not going to go down to the science fiction equivalent of Ikea and buy the Martin Plasma Rifle. You're going to get out into the wild and get the resources you need. There are two systems for gathering items in The Repopulation, and the newest development blog for the game discusses one of the ways to grab those resources: Extraction, also known as "digging useful components out of corpses." Since the game doesn't feature levels, there's a more organic system to gathering these resources. Players first decide how difficult the extraction should be, with higher difficulties resulting in higher-grade resources. More difficult extractions take longer, however, and as a result, players have a higher chance to fail unless they've practiced harvesting a particular species. For more details on the specifics, check out the full development blog on the official site.
The Repopulation adds gore, stampedes, turrets, and more
The Repopulation's end-of-the-month progress report is here, and judging by the sheer length of the thing, April was one for the books. The new update takes a high-level view of development and it states that since the majority of The Repopulation's features are complete, the dev team is now focusing on content creation and an enjoyable new player experience. Highlights from April's patch cycle include the new harvester system, player turrets, AI tweaks, stampedes, and gore options. Of course, that's just the tip of the iceberg, so be sure and read the full post for all the details. [Thanks J.C.!]
Name this Repopulation zone, win a $100 Kickstarter pledge
Want to leave your mark on Above & Beyond Technologies' new Repopulation sandbox? You can via a contest that will allow players to name a newly created zone in the sci-fi game. Entries must be submitted via a forum thread or Twitter, and finalists will go into a pool of five from which the winner will be selected by a poll. Said winner will receive a $100 Kickstarter pledge to the game or a bump if you're already an early adopter. Full details are available at The Repopulation's official site.
Some Assembly Required: Your guide to MMO sandboxes in 2013 and beyond
Welcome to Massively's guide to MMO sandboxes in 2013 and beyond. I've collected the essential details on all the major sandbox titles releasing this year and in the near future in one easy-to-reference article. If you're wondering whether ArcheAge forces you to PvP, or if you can't tell The Repopulation from Origins of Malu, this is your post. I'll be updating it as game features are added, removed, or revealed, so be sure to use the comments to let me know if I've overlooked a particularly noteworthy item. Finally, I want to point out that this isn't an exhaustive list because of the sheer number of sandbox projects ongoing. For now, I'm choosing to focus on the ones that will be playable in 2013/2014 as well as the projects that have a big-name developer attached.
The Repopulation needs you!
The folks at Above and Beyond Technologies are done playing jokes on you for April Fools' Day and are ready to show off their for-real content update for The Repopulation. Coming off of the player feedback at PAX East, the studio aims to increase its tester base and improve communication with all alpha testers. This will help the team achieve their beta window later this spring and shoot for a better playable demo at PAX Prime in August. Be sure to check out the extensive update notes for the latest alpha build as well as more info on how to become an early adopter.
PAX East 2013: Hands-on with The Repopulation
Ever since its successful Kickstarter campaign, The Repopulation has been progressing along at an impressive pace. And if PAX East was any indication, the game shows no signs of slowing down as it approaches beta and zeroes in on a launch date. This weekend, I had a chance to speak with lead developer Joshua Halls, who took the time to walk me through the sandbox MMO and give me an update on what's new and what's still in the works.
PAX East 2013: Repopulation's crafting detailed in 21-minute video
Earlier this week The Repopulation's dev team released a combat-focused trailer on the eve of its trip to PAX East. Today, Above & Beyond Technologies has another clip to share, this one a 21-minute dive into the game's crafting mechanics. Lead dev Joshua Halls walks us through crafting events, resource attributes and refinement, and shows off the general complexity of the tradeskill mechanics. There's a brief mention of the game's crafting achievement system as well, so be sure to check out the video after the cut. If you're heading to Boston for PAX East, you can see The Repopulation at booth 581 on Friday and Saturday.
The Repopulation gets a new gameplay trailer
The team behind The Repopulation has been releasing extensive monthly updates for a while now, but it's been some time since we've seen any video footage of the sci-fi sandbox. That drought is officially over thanks to a two-minute teaser designed to drum up interest in the game as the devs head to PAX East 2013. The clip shows everything from combat vignettes to the UI in action to furniture placement inside of The Repopulation's player-made structures. There's also a brief glimpse of some sort of underwater environment. Have a look for yourself after the cut.
Some Assembly Required: Bringing the 'craft' back to crafting
A recent comment made in regard to crafting in an upcoming game gave me pause. It went something like this: If the gameplay fails, the crafting system won't matter. My first thought was that this person must have accidentally tripped over his tongue and mistakenly substituted words, meaning to insert pwnzer PvP or some such instead of gameplay. Why? Because we all understand that as a part of playing the game, crafting is inherently gameplay. But then another explanation for this wildly inaccurate statement came to me; perhaps the speaker had actually never seen -- let alone experienced -- real, meaningful crafting in a game! After all, there has been a serious dearth of deep, involved crafting systems where skill and dedication are valued for quite some time in MMOs. Crafting, if it exists at all, is often relegated to some mechanic that can be slept through that results in uniform, standardized products. It's no wonder that some folks might not realize that crafting is gameplay. But change is a-comin'! Some upcoming games are returning to the idea that robust crafting systems are a deep and engaging part of games. Heck, the whole premise behind one is crafting! Two titles, The Repopulation and Pathfinder Online, seem to have really hit the nail on the head when it comes to developing sophisticated crafting systems that have purpose and meaning. Today in Some Assembly Required, we'll take a closer look at how both are putting the "craft" back into crafting.
The Repopulation's February recap emphasizes combat, crafting
The Repopulation dev team is gearing up for PAX East, but that didn't stop it from doing a bunch of work on its sci-fi sandbox MMO in February. The latest monthly update post features a laundry list of improvements and tweaks ranging from combat, crafting, and AI tweaks to to UI, audio, and itemization enhancements. Combat effects were emphasized in February, with particular attention paid to the game's action mode. "You can now hold your mouse button to continuously fire. You also now receive bullet splashes based on what you connected with," the team explains. "Firing into dirt will give a splash of dirt, while firing at something metal will spark. Like everything else in action mode, this is a client-side effect, and will not add to lag."
The Repopulation's crafting is serious business
See that flowchart up there? That's a recipe visualization of a single crafted item in The Repopulation. The dodge fitting that it represents is one of the most complex items in the upcoming sci-fi sandbox, and while not all of the game's craftables are equally complex, the fitting serves to illustrate that the devs are serious about a meaty crafting system and a heavily player-driven economy. In addition to gathering the necessary materials and producing all of the sub-components, crafters will also need to take into account the potential quality of the final dodge fitting, which is affected by recipe mastery, resource quality, sub-component quality, skill level, and luck. The Repopulation dev team explains it all in greater detail on the game's official website.
The Repopulation adds seven new creatures to its bestiary
When preparing to set out in a new world, it's not a bad idea to have at least some idea of what you will run into. To give players a peek at some of the wildlife in The Repopulation, seven new creatures have been added to the game's bestiary. Here, players get to learn a bit about the six-legged hokfig, a large, slow herd animal with a hornlike plate on its back, and the nacoot, a small lizard with chameleon-like properties that ambushes its prey. Other creatures include the brachura with their massive spiked claws, the cliff-scaling okolat, the annoying little birdlike t'seef, and the aptly named scavenger. But animal wildlife is not all players will encounter when venturing out of the safety of civilization: The sentient lesoo are not only intelligent, but are stronger and larger than the humans. For more details about each of these creatures, check out the official site.
Some Assembly Required: Kick(start)ing the sandbox genre
Sandbox aficionados are known to reminisce about the "good old days." You know, that time long lost in the past when the greats of open-world play like Ultima Online and Star Wars Galaxies (pre-NGE of course) enjoyed their heyday. Many a lamentation has also been heard about how things have never been the same, or how nothing has filled that void. Of course, the sandbox never died. In 2012 we started the year off with a guide to games sporting sandbox features to scratch a variety of virtual world itches and we ended with a look at some promising upcoming titles for 2013. With plenty of choices abounding, why are sandbox fans still decrying the lack of a home? It could be because they want one home for everyone to settle in together, basically one game to rule them all. But how realistic is that? Even with the plethora of offerings now, many folks want to play their ideal sandbox, and everyone has their own idea of what the perfect one would be (and conversely, what would kill it). Perhaps the answer, then, is to forget about a single universal home that accommodates the masses and actually create a number of niche games where people find exactly what they are looking for. Wait, that's already happening? Enter Kickstarter.
The Repopulation expands dev team, publishes January update
It's a new month, which means it must be time for a new end-of-the-previous-month update from the team behind The Repopulation. January saw quite a few changes made to the sci-fi sandbox, including a new GUI, a military perks system, new mission types, a stealth revamp, and more. The dev team also expanded to include a lead musician, a new character artist, and a new level designer. Full details are available on The Repopulation's website. [Thanks to J.C. for the tip!]
The Repopulation to feature instanced, open-world, and player city housing
MMO player housing usually comes in one of two varieties: instanced or open-world. The Repopulation, on the other hand, will feature both as well as a third option tied to player-owned cities. The instanced housing will be available to everyone, though players of different factions will be restricted to different housing neighborhoods. Open-world housing will be limited, of course, but players will also be able to buy and sell the plots. Player city housing will feature a similar plot system that is administered by the owner of the city in question. Above & Beyond Technologies has authored a new blog post explaining The Repopulation's housing systems in further detail. Read all about it at the game's official website.
The Repopulation's new crafting attribute system detailed
Above & Beyond Technologies has updated its website for The Repopulation with a new article focused on crafting. The dev team recently augmented the sci-fi sandbox's tradeskill mechanics with a new attribute system, so now is as good a time as any to get familiar with how the whole thing works. There are no levels in The Repopulation, and as such there are no artificial restrictions handcuffing your capabilities as a crafter. There are over 70 independent skills, though, and some of them are devoted to crafting items, fittings, vehicles, stems, and more. The new attribute system basically allows for more flexibility in the game's fitting system. There's a lot more to it, of course, and we suggest you check out the full article for all the details.
