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Previously on MV TV: Week of January 23rd
Welcome to Previously on MV TV! Our livestreaming schedule has picked up a lot over the past few weeks, and our readers have busy lives, so we know it's impossible to watch every single streaming event live. Fortunately for you, we save all of our streams all for posterity on Massively's Twitch TV channel, so you can view them at your leisure. Even better, we've got a roundup of a few of last week's MV TV highlights from the livestream team. Follow along after the jump for the best of the best, and check out our full library of videos for the other games we've streamed last week as we begin to ramp up our streaming even more in February!
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.
APB's voice chat feature will contain advertisements
With launch day closing in, crime MMO All Points Bulletin has been getting its payment scheme in order. The game's pricing structure was revealed at the end of April, including several flexible pay-per-time and monthly subscription options. In addition, the game will have a currency called "RTW points," which can be used for character customisations or converted into game time. While looking through the payment options in his account management page early this morning, one APB forum poster spied a strange button that set off a few warning bells in his head. Marked "VOIP Premium," the option removes adverts from APB's in-game voice chat for 30, 90 or 180 days in exchange for payment. This was the first players had heard of adverts being inserted into their voice chat and speculation began to run wild in the game's pre-release forum community. Players feared the worst -- that right in the middle of their game, a radio advert would start playing over their speakers. Community Officer Toxico was quick to address concerns, explaining the exact circumstances under which the ads will be played. For an advert to play, you have to be entering a district and must not have heard an ad for the past three hours. This ensures that they'll never interrupt normal play and won't play in an irritatingly high frequency. While some forum posters are avidly opposing a premium VOIP service, most seem content with the explanation provided and the conditions under which adverts will be played. [Thanks for the tip, Kip!]
All Points Bulletin interview on the approaching release
The time leading up to launch for All Points Bulletin has been a bit rocky here and there, with hot spots of controversy regarding the game's pricing model and the review embargo set for a surprisingly late date. But still, with about a week left before the game goes live, there's plenty to be excited about. (We'd link you to our own first impressions, but you'll have to travel into the future to be allowed to read it.) Our sister site Joystiq had a chance to talk with producer Jesse Knapp about the game's state just prior to launch. There are several interesting tidbits in the interview, such as discussion about how the game allows for criminals to fight amongst themselves on the premise that the designers expected an imbalance in that faction. There's also talk about the decision to avoid a microtransaction model in favor of the currently variable spread of subscription options for players. While the developers are still a bit up in the air about the game's status as an MMO, we're sure we have more than a few readers who are anticipating All Points Bulletin and who will find some interesting tidbits in the interview.
All Points Bulletin still set for consoles, but in a different form
The longstanding search for a console MMO is ongoing, with All Points Bulletin coming up as one of the bigger hopes for the near future. It's been announced, however, that while the game is still slated for consoles, it's not going to be ported straight over from the PC version. That's the word from EJ Moreland, lead designer, who recently went on record saying that as the development of the game progressed, it became more and more obvious that the game wouldn't work as a straight port of the PC version. Before anyone throws up their hands in despair, however, the game is still planned for release on consoles. There's no specific timetable for it, as the team chose to focus on the PC version first, but it is still slated for release. As to how the game will be different, the only clue is the cryptic explanation that it will be in a form more suited to console play. What precisely that means is unclear, but every All Points Bulletin fan can only hope that the game will still hold on to its unique multiplayer experience.
PAX East 2010: Hands-on with APB
Despite the low saturation of MMO studios at PAX East last weekend, Realtime Worlds was in full force at their booth with EA to show off the upcoming GTA-style MMO, All Points Bulletin. There were eight stations set up on each side of a large stage, each showing the game as it was live on the North American beta servers. One side showed off the Enforcers and the other, Criminals. I had a demo appointment with community manager Chris Collins for the following day, but I had to jump in early and get my hands on Massively's most anticipated game of 2010.%Gallery-89311%
The Digital Continuum: Catching that All Points Bulletin fever
I knew it would happen. GDC 2010 came and went, leaving behind a brand new trial of All Points Bulletin information that's making me want to play it more than ever before. I've written about the game a few times before, each instance knowing a little bit more about the title. This year's GDC brought us hands-on reports, interviews, the news of a North American beta and even a nine minute video presentation via shakeycam. Now my knowledge feels mostly complete and aside from actually playing the game I've got a pretty good idea of why it's potentially going to be something no videogame fan -- let alone MMO fan -- will want to miss. So, let me share a few of them with you.
All Points Bulletin beta kicks off
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.
APB video podcast Ep. 17 talks more music creator and player
The last All Points Bulletin video podcast featured a pretty in-depth look at the music creator coming with the game, but afterwords the community still had several questions. So this week, community guy extraordinaire Chris Collins presents viewers with some more answers on the music creator from the game's audio lead, Roland Peddie. Plus, we get an in-game example of how the music player functions when driving or walking around San Paro. Between creating music and playing whatever you like while cruising around the city, we suspect All Points Bulletin will garner quite the creative following, and we're very excited to hear and see what comes of the game. Next week, we should be getting the final part of this "music trilogy" of APB podcasts, complete with a community Q&A. Find the full video podcast after the break.
The Daily Grind: GDC10 predictions?
With GDC 2010 officially beginning tomorrow, March 9th, we'd like to hear your MMO predictions. And remember, the wilder the better. Although, if you've got some inside info, we're always happy to receive hints via our contact form. Here are some of our predictions, see if you can figure out the wild crazy ones: Red 5 Studios minimally reveals the name of their first title. BioWare attends, but Star Wars: The Old Republic maintains a low presence. Realtime Worlds will be there showing off something awesome about All Points Bulletin. This particular blogger will obsess over not attending and missing out on seeing the game again. Massively Editor Sera Brennan will be dared and subsequently sing a most heinously embarrassing song. She'll later regret these events, as the very performance of said song will delay, at minimum, five MMOs set to release sometime within the next 24 months. Think you can do better? We agree, but would like to see proof, mind you.
New All Points Bulletin community Q&A focuses on customization and grouping
If you're anything like us, All Points Bulletin is an MMO you're quite looking forward to playing and any information on the game is like the sweet nectar of life. That's why we'd like to point you towards this great community Q&A over on APB Evolved, a fansite easily worth checking out if you're interested in Realtime Worlds' crime-based MMO. The Q&A is brief and informative, covering topics like customization beyond character creation, group missions, raids and even whether or not All Points Bulletin has melee combat. You might find yourself surprised by the answer to that last one -- we know that we were. Keep on the lookout for more of these Q&As, as they're planned to be weekly.
The Digital Continuum: 'Meh' to MMOs?
While the MMO genre appears to be growing at a decent pace (at least for Blizzard) there's still plenty of room for growth. World of Warcraft clones can attract only so many interested players and turning to classic niche designs such as the sandbox MMO ala Fallen Earth won't do anything to pique the interest of people who otherwise have no interest in the genre. So what will appeal to someone who has never felt a desire to play a game both massively and multiplayer?
The Digital Continuum: The 'Next Big Thing' in MMOs
Is All Points Bulletin the "Next Big Thing" in MMOs? While I'm fully aware that Realtime Worlds doesn't specifically prefer to associate the game with this genre, it's very much a part of it -- but it also orbits the fringes of what we commonly refer to as a massively multiplayer online game. Guild Wars, Guild Wars 2 and All Points Bulletin come from a different school of business models. These games hinge on the idea that most people dislike coughing up 15 bucks a month to keep playing their favorite title. Just look to the success of the original Guild Wars, having a year ago passed six million copies sold. That's a pretty great start for non-subscription MMOs, and because of that success we now have GW's sequel and APB on the way.
