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GamersFirst kicks off APB's second open beta
In case you missed it, APB Reloaded's second beta phase kicked off yesterday. The version 1.5.2 update "contains the biggest changes to missions, matchmaking, skill rating, and district recommendation to date," according to the latest GamersFirst dev blog. Bjorn Book-Larsson has a few words of wisdom for residents of San Paro in terms of 15-minute patching-related disconnects. GamersFirst is working "round-the-clock" to isolate issues and come to terms with bugaboos that don't necessarily crop up prior to a large-scale player influx. The latest Reloaded dev diary also contains detailed info relative to all the matchmaking and threat level changes, as well as a bit about cheating statistics and upcoming Nvidia support. Finally, there's a blurb about future servers, and gamers in Russia, Hong Kong, and Australia can look forward to dedicated shards before long.
APB shoots down rumors of retail releases
APB has not had an easy ride, launching and shutting down in record time. But the relaunch at the hands of GamersFirst has proven quite successful for the game, which gives rise to certain rumors. Case in point, the rumor that had swirled earlier today about the game seeing a retail re-release at the hands of IGS. It was certainly a nice rumor, but according to Rahul Sandil, it's nothing more than that. In a statement released earlier today by Mr. Sandil, GamersFirst has been approached by a number of potential retail partners due to the runaway success of APB Reloaded. However, the company is still evaluating its options, and as a result they are not yet ready to announce any partnerships. Mr. Sandil also stressed that any retail partnership would not change the fact that the company is committed to free-to-play as a business model, which is doubtlessly good news for fans now enjoying the urban shooter free-for-all.
Kill 100 players, win an APB pistol this weekend only
Feeling bloodthirsty this weekend? If so, GamersFirst has an APB Reloaded contest for you. The 1.5.2 patch is coming soon, and as a result the servers are in need of stress testing. If you can manage to kill 100 unique players between July 8th and July 11th, you'll be the proud new owner of a (virtual) Joker RFP-9 handgun. Notice we said unique players, so banish all thoughts of grabbing a buddy and scoring yourselves a pair of pistols by killing one another over and over. GamersFirst is also giving away a cowboy hat to the first 100 folks who manage to kill 100 unique players, so log in to San Paro and get busy on your murdering rampage before it's too late!
All Points Bulletin: Reloaded dev blog discusses patch 1.5.2
Citizens of San Paro, listen up, because TechMech has a new blog post to share with you lot and it's got a pretty solid amount of information for your perusal. The first point of discussion is the upcoming 1.5.2, which sees quite a few new items added to All Points Bulletin: Reloaded's development roadmap. The most important of these features are the new district recommendation system and skill-rating based matchmaking, which should make it much simpler for APB players to find a challenge suitable for their personal skills and character levels. Other items of note include "meta-grouping for better PuG-ing, action grouping relaxation (fancy way of saying you will be able to shoot right as you stop sprinting instead of being blocked from shooting), 70+ different mission fixes, new clothing, new items and a boat-load of various bug fixes and improvements." The post goes on to explain why this big honkin' patch is going to miss the scheduled mark of June 30th, and then it outlines some of the current build's known issues (and possible fixes). For the full post, head on over to the APB dev blog.
GamersFirst welcomes World of Warcraft to 'the free-to-play revolution'
Sarcastic, genuine, or merely self-promoting? An open letter from GamersFirst's Joshua Hong to Activision-Blizzard's Bobby Kotick following World of Warcraft's surprise move to an indefinite free trial could be all three. "I wanted to congratulate you on taking your first big step to join the Free2Play® revolution," Hong writes. He certainly isn't shy in expressing what he sees as GamersFirst's great accomplishments in the market: "Having created this market in the western hemisphere, it's very encouraging for us to see the last bastion of the subscription-only online gaming business joining the Free2Play movement... Given our recent success in reviving APB Reloaded, which launched as a subscription-based game we transitioned to Free2Play, we know that the first steps are often the hardest. But the proof is in the metrics, as APB now has more than three times the active player base than when it initially launched as a subscription product. We also plan to repeat this success with Fallen Earth." Hong continues the letter by "extending [his] friendship and support" to Blizzard, inviting Kotick to the free-to-play party at Gamescom, and hoping that the company's entire library will be made free in the future.
One Shots: Everyone has pants edition
Today's One Shots image comes from the APB community with a little twist: nobody in his or her underwear! "Carnage is a criminal clan in All Points Bulletin: Reloaded. We think that we are the biggest French Canadian (Quebec) clan. We all play together to destroy those Enforcers, but we enjoy having fun with some events." Are you ready to show off your guild? Gather up your best group shots of you and your guildmates. Whether you're hanging out, enjoying guild housing, taking out a huge enemy, or throwing a party, send a screenshot of your guild in action to oneshots@massively.com along with your name and the name of the game, and tell us about your guild! %Gallery-112285%
One Shots: The sting of justice
The APB: Reloaded community continues turning out in force for One Shots! Today's image comes to us from the Enforcer side of the game: My name is Seadee, and I'm an officer in W.A.S.P. -- Warfare Activities Specialist Protection. We have been playing APB since the Realtime Worlds days; in the beta we were the number one Enforcer clan, and to this day, we remain in the spotlight in game. Everyone comes across W.A.S.P. at some point in APB, usually at the end of our STING (our crack squad of elite players). Our Hive Squads (our core playerbase) patrol day and night, bringing the crims to justice! This screenshot shows our clan doing a district takeover. We got 25 of our members all in one place, so naturally we had to take a few pictures. Are you ready to show off your guild? Gather up your best group shots of you and your guildmates. Whether you're hanging out, enjoying guild housing, taking out a huge enemy, or throwing a party, send a screenshot of your guild in action to oneshots@massively.com along with your name and the name of the game, and tell us about your guild! %Gallery-112285%
One Shots: Strutting their stuff
The APB: Reloaded playerbase may be a lot of things, but "shy and retiring" is not one of them. Today's guild week screenshot for One Shots comes to us courtesy of clan Quality Control: We are a clan in All Points Bulletin. We stream on Justin.tv all week! We are very event-oriented; this pic was taken at an event on Memorial Day! Are you ready to show off your guild? Gather up your best group shots of you and your guildmates. Whether you're hanging out, enjoying guild housing, taking out a huge enemy, or throwing a party, send a screenshot of your guild in action to oneshots@massively.com along with your name and the name of the game, and tell us about your guild! %Gallery-112285%
APB gives closed beta testers in-game appreciation packs
All Points Bulletin: Reloaded beta testers, lately you've been working hard to make San Paro a better, more bullet-riddled place. The folks at GamersFirst recognize your dedication and announced today that they would be sending out a small in-game thank-you package to show their appreciation for their closed beta testers. The Closed Beta Appreciation Package arms APB players with a shiny new JG 840 Lifetime shotgun that "will quickly rip a target apart at short range," making it a lovely gift for anyone who likes to be up in the thick of battle. Also included in the package is an additional character slot and a unique air guitar emote, so you can shred the strings while you shred your enemies. The studio also notes that it's working to give additional recognition to veterans in the future, and it will let players know when that feature is implemented.
One Shots: Standing together
Guild week begins on One Shots with an All Points Bulletin group that's been together since the game's first incarnation: I'm Drayno. We're in the clan DoA (Disciples of Anarchy) playing APB: Reloaded. We are a bunch of friends from around the U.S. who met in Realtime Worlds' original APB. Are you ready to show off your guild? Gather up your best group shots of you and your guildmates. Whether you're hanging out, enjoying guild housing, taking out a huge enemy, or throwing a party, send a screenshot of your guild in action to oneshots@massively.com along with your name and the name of the game, and tell us about your guild! %Gallery-112285%
MV Guide: June 13 - 20, 2011
MV Guide is a weekly rundown of the MMO gaming events planned on Massively's Livestream channel. 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 games to take a look at. During Livestream events, you can participate in the live chat to learn about the game, ask questions, and spend some time with Massively staff and readers. (Of course, Livestream events are subject to the whims of outside forces like server-side gremlins once in a while.) This week's schedule is on the light side as we're all still reeling from E3, but since good things come in small packages, follow along after the jump to see what's scheduled for this week!
E3 2011: GamersFirst talks APB Reloaded's new features and player politics
We told you earlier today about GamersFirst's involvement with Fallen Earth. The company is, of course, more renowned for its All Points Bulletin resurrection project, and we sat down with both Darek Connole and Jon-Enee Merriex at E3 this week to discuss APB Reloaded's open beta as well as the progress that's been made through the extensive closed testing process. Follow along after the cut as we find out about what's new and what's coming, including a nifty iteration on the original title's witnessing system and an interesting player political experiment that evokes comparisons to EVE Online's Council of Stellar Management.
GamersFirst releases All Points Bulletin: Reloaded development road map
Are you tired of developers telling you that the game you're anticipating will be done "soon"? Well, the folks at GamersFirst understand your pain, and as a result they have released the All Points Bulletin: Reloaded development road map for your perusal. They specifically indicate that they are doing their best not to use the World of Warcraft definition of "soon" or to lapse into "Valve-Time." The road map itself is currently in its infancy and includes only a short-term plan. This plan outlines what the development team hopes to accomplish within the next 30 days and includes latency fixes for European players, car customization kits that players can use to pimp their virtual rides, and appreciation kits for closed-beta testers. To see the full contents of the road map -- and all of its future updates -- you can head over to the official blog post. But don't stray too far from Massively because later this week we'll have some words with GamersFirst straight from E3.
One Shots: Customization is king
The APB community has turned out in force this week to show off high-tech mounts on One Shots, and those players submitting images have good reason to be proud of their vehicles. APB enthusiast John explains further: Customization is the single best thing a game can offer to keep my attention. Not since pre-CU Star Wars Galaxies have I felt the sense of ownership I get in APB. Driving, shooting and designing unique looks and rides -- what's not to love? Attached is a picture of Tha Crim Huntah, my choice ride when I am out arresting Crims. We're gearing up (pardon the pun) to move from mounts to enemies for next week's One Shots. Send the funniest, most strangely designed, or scariest enemy you've taken on in an MMO to oneshots@massively.com along with your name and the name of the game. Tell us a little about the foe and we'll share it here on One Shots! %Gallery-112285%
One Shots: Definitely not for display only
Mount week continues on One Shots with another motorized mount from the APB community. Kaul sent in an image of this carefully crafted vehicle: My mount isn't an animal, but it is the perfect one for me since I didn't just get to choose it in a list of dozens of amazing ones but actually had the opportunity to design it as I wanted. Is there any mount more awesome than the one you get to design yourself? There isn't. It's a beautiful Packer Ceresco van featuring the emblem of the E.R.I.S. Think of it as a U.N.-funded Mystery Machine. What's more, there is even a guest of international fame inside, Mahou Shojou Madoka Magica's Charlotte. That is my definition of an awesome mount. How can a griffon stand up to that? Oh sure, it can fly, but any car can fly high with APB Reloaded's physics. It sounds like Kaul has thrown down the gauntlet! Is there another mount more awesome? If you think there is, prove it by sending a screenshot to oneshots@massively.com along with your name and the name of the game, then tell us a little about what your awesome ride is and how you came by it. We'll show it off here on One Shots for everyone to admire! Finally, don't forget to get the jump on next week's One Shots theme: unusual foes. Send us the funniest, most strangely designed, or scariest enemy you've taken on in an MMO and we'll share it here on One Shots! %Gallery-112285%
One Shots: You meddling kids!
Who says your mount has to be a living, breathing animal? Mount week continues on One Shots, and we're breaking the fantasy streak with a bang today, thanks to APB: Reloaded player Ryan: A lot of hard work went into this van from the cartoon Scooby Doo. I haven't seen another one like it -- just A-Team vans -- and it usually gets complimented. We know there are a lot of great mounts out there, but we've got to admit that an honest-to-goodness Mystery Machine is pretty awesome. Think you've got something even cooler from another game? Prove it by sending a screenshot to oneshots@massively.com along with your name and the name of the game, then tell us a little about what your awesome ride is and how you came by it. We'll show it off here on One Shots for everyone to admire! %Gallery-112285%
Ask Massively: Clearly I need more totally random pictures edition
So apparently, having a picture of a BattleMech as the header for Ask Massively makes everyone expect that there's some big news about a BattleTech MMO somewhere to be found. Sorry, folks -- I'd like it just as much as you would, although I'm not sure that it would necessarily turn out to be very good. (There's not a lot to do outside of a 'Mech and not much to do inside of one other than shoot things.) Luckily, I'm pretty sure that it will not be possible to misconstrue this week's image. I certainly hope not. Today's discussion has absolutely nothing to do with the above picture, which is usually the case. Instead, we're talking about integrated voice chat in games and the apparent immortality of Ultima Online. If you've got a question you would like answered in a future edition of Ask Massively, just drop us a line at ask@massively.com or leave your question in the comment field.
GamersFirst tweaking APB beta threat levels
The latest APB Reloaded blog entries reflect the ongoing adjustments being made to the resurrected free-to-play MMORPG as it rolls toward a summer re-release. It seems that threat level displays in the city of San Paro were in need of some tweaking, and today's update, scheduled for 5:30 p.m. EDT, looks to address the discrepancies as well as a recently identified problem with low-level matchmaking. GamersFirst's Bjorn Book-Larsson wrote extensively about the issues with threat level visuals in a post over the weekend, and he follows that up with a brief blurb that explains how the devs are tackling the problem. It's not a quick fix, though, and Book-Larsson cautions that GamersFirst is "likely to perform yet another update later this week as we continue tweaking the system."
All Points Bulletin: Reloaded open beta beginning on May 23 for reals!
After the delay of the All Points Bulletin: Reloaded open beta test last week, TechMech announced via the APB blog today that the beta-stopping bug has been fixed and open beta will go forward on May 23rd. TechMech reminds players to keep in mind that the game is still in beta, so players shouldn't expect a perfect gameplay experience simply because this bug has been fixed. He does note, however, that the folks at Gamersfirst are "confident the game will hold up technically while we work on the series of game items we need to improve on and polish." A disclaimer at the bottom of the post also states that, while TechMech is making no promises, "there is a chance we will have some super-double-secret number of accounts enabled to enter the Closed Beta during both Saturday and Sunday leading up to the beta launch, which 'might' permit access to the game for people who had previously registered an interest in the game." So if you registered previously and would like to try out the game, there's no harm in giving it a download and trying your luck. And of course you can register for the upcoming open beta on APB's official site.
All Points Bulletin: Reloaded open beta delayed
As we reported a couple of weeks back, the All Points Bulletin: Reloaded open beta test was scheduled to begin today. Unfortunately, we've got some bad news for all you wanna-be gangsters and law-enforcers out there: The game will remain in closed beta while the team rolls out a new patch this afternoon in an attempt to fix a "player disconnection issue." In the post, TechMech says, "The issue manifests itself in disconnecting some groups of players after one to two hours of gameplay, which clearly is not acceptable in Open Beta." As a thank-you for the continued efforts of all of APB's closed beta testers, the team is preparing a "goodie-pack" of in-game items for everyone who has participated in the closed beta test so far. This bag o' fun will be available to players the week after the open beta is released to the public. When will that be? "If we determine after the next patch that the issue has been resolved, we will then proceed to release the game to the public," the post explains. For further details and any updates, check the official post.
