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EVE Evolved: Competition for EVE Online
Although the most popular MMOs of today are in the fantasy genre, a niche within the MMO market has always existed for sci-fi games. For quite some time, EVE Online has dominated this niche with a steadily growing playerbase that has now exceeded 300,000 paying subscribers. It's been noted that releases in the fantasy market tend not to affect EVE Online, showing that it's not directly competing with games in the fantasy market. Perhaps the target markets of sci-fi and fantasy MMOs have very little overlap or perhaps the gameplay in EVE is unique enough that no real alternatives exist. Whatever the reason, EVE has been blessed with a relative lack of competition since its release in 2003. But with four major sci-fi MMOs on the horizon, could the game's creators CCP be in for a rough ride?In this speculative opinion piece, I examine how EVE reacted to competition in the past and suggest how it may react to the next wave of sci-fi MMOs to hit the market.
Massively interview: Jumpgate Evolution and the art of ship design
We recently had a chance to speak with Darren Klein, NetDevil's art director for Jumpgate Evolution. He's got plenty to say about the design process that goes into creating the ships for their upcoming space shooter MMO. It's a very interesting read, too. Example: you wouldn't have guessed that it only takes about five days to design a ship from start to finish.Not only do we have an interview, we've got a couple exclusive new screens from the game to check out in our gallery. Follow the link below for the complete interview.%Gallery-18375%
Stargate Worlds studio head leaves company for Gazillion Entertainment
Dan Elggren has apparently left troubled Stargate Worlds developer Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment / Firesky for recently announced Gazillion Entertainment. This news certainly doesn't bode well for CME, who've been having financial trouble for a long while now. Dan is merely the most recent departure, although he seems to have weathered the storm longer than most.What does this mean for Stargate Worlds? Well considering all the financial issues and employee departures, it sadly points to a game that's less and less likely to ever see launch day. Frankly, it'd probably take a funding miracle to finish the project and in this currently downtrodden economy most investors probably won't be taking much risk.Moreover, what do we make of this MMO industry vacuum that is Gazillion Entertainment? They also picked up Jumpgate Evolution developer NetDevil last year while in stealth mode, and something tells us they're not done absorbing talent just yet. So much is known about the company and yet much more remains a mystery. Maybe they've got enough money to release Stargate Worlds, although they may not have the mind. Whatever ends up happening, we're sorry to see anything like this ever happen to an MMO, pre or post launch.
Jumpgate Evolution Special Edition box art revealed
We don't know about you, but some of us on the Massively staff are really looking forward to the new breed of sci-fi MMOs on the horizon, some of which have release dates just around the corner. Jumpgate Evolution, in development at NetDevil, is a prominent example and will offer gamers a different take on space-faring MMOs than what's presently available with EVE Online -- dynamic joystick-style flight control, that twitch-style play that some gamers have been waiting for. We don't have a firm release date for Jumpgate Evolution just yet, we know it's in June, but the first image of the game's Special Edition box art has surfaced on the site of a UK retailer, GAME. It lists the following contents:
Scott Brown elaborates on design philosophy behind Jumpgate Evolution
Gamasutra caught up with NetDevil president Scott Brown to play a demo of and talk about his upcoming space MMO, Jumpgate Evolution. Fans already know about the various ships, career paths, and large-scale battles from recent interviews and part one of a "making of" production video, so they decided to discuss more of the design philophy behind the game instead.Scott says his 13-person team has been trying to concoct the perfect "easy to learn, difficult to master" formula that will provide an accessible but challenging experience for players. He also believes players should be able to solo in JGE, but be encouraged to group as well. One feature he hints at is a "soft grouping" mechanic that will prevent solo players hunting in the same area from stealing each others' kills.Instead of trying to incorporate fantasy-based MMO roles like tanking, healing, and DPSing, NetDevil gained their inspiration for careers from modern air and naval combat. Scott also believes that PvE- and PvP-oriented players may not mix, so the team has been considering a special PvE PvP-only server-type. Ultimately, beta testing will determine whether or not this happens. Speaking of beta, don't miss your chance to sign up because the game is set to launch in June.
Champions Online dated for release on July 14th
During an event in the UK today, Cryptic's Bill Roper revealed that Champions Online will officially launch on July 14th 2009 in both the United State and Europe. The launch date, while a tiny bit further than expected, is probably for the better since Jumgpate Evolution is releasing in the middle of June anyhow. If both of these games hit in the same month, we'd probably lose our minds.Finally having a definitive release date is incredibly exciting and means we can now commence the tailoring of our superhero costume that we'll wear on launch day in order to celebrate. Of course, you won't be seeing that because well let's face it, we're going to be staying home waiting for Champions Online in the mail, dressed like the No Pants Man.Keep your eyes sharp, as we're sure there'll be additional information from this event sometime soon.
The Daily Grind: Which sci-fi MMOs are you looking forward to?
Star Wars: The Old Republic, Earthrise, Fallen Earth, Star Trek Online, Jumpgate Evolution, Global Agenda, Black Prophecy, the Fallout MMO (maybe), Blackstar, Otherland, StarGate Worlds, and even more. It seems that if you're a hardcore sci-fi fan, now is a really good time to be an MMO player with all the options coming soon in terms of upcoming MMOs. You've got everything from the blended fantasy/sci-fi to favorite movie and gaming IPs to all-new concepts to dig into and enjoy. Of course, with such a large influx coming, this morning we thought we'd ask you what some of your most anticipated sci-fi MMOs are? Which ones are you trying like mad to get into the betas for? Which ones are just kind of "meh" on your radar? If you've got more than one, which one do you think might reign supreme among your choices?
Jumpgate Evolution full ship type details plus new screenshots
If you're looking forward to Jumpgate Evolution as much as we are, then you'll be happy with today's press release via Codemasters concerning player ships -- in fact, you'll be ecstatic. The reason being that below the cut you'll find information on every single ship type and it's progression within the game.We're talking Combat Fighters, Advanced Fighters, Support Gunboats, Combat Gunboats, Runners and Freighters. If all that information isn't enough, the press release also lays out the advancement paths of each ship type. The new screens are also pretty mindblowingly awesome, as well. While we're fairly certain that the world "mindblowingly" isn't actually word, for lack of a better thing to say, that will have to do.So what are you waiting for? Check it out and join us in salivating over what's looking to be one amazing space shooter MMO.%Gallery-18375%
Jumpgate Evolution gives us a dev diary sneak peek
If you've been itching for more information on the upcoming sci-fi space shoot-em-up Jumpgate Evolution, then you'll be thrilled to hear that Netdevil and Codemasters Online are rolling out a series of developer diary videos. The first video released today features Hermann Peterscheck, Lead Producer of Jumpgate Evolution, who talks about some of the inspirations that have gone into this game. Additionally, he takes some time to delve into just why they opted for a space shooter as an MMO project. As if that weren't enough, he shows off some gorgeous footage of game-play, and goes further into what the experience should be like for players in Jumpate Evolution, providing a behind-the-scenes look at the game's production ideals. Netdevil and Codemasters Online have told us that they'll be bringing out a second developer diary video soon, chock full of more tantalizing details for MMO fans to drool over. The word is that the second installment will feature Jumpgate Evolution's Art Director Darren Klein, and will take players further down into the wormhole by looking into the art - and the reasoning - as to the visual style Jumpgate Evolution is taking. If you still haven't signed up for the beta for the game, head over to their main site and get signed up! For now, enjoy the hot new dev video goodness behind the break!
New Jumpgate Evolution trailer is very definition of large scale battles
The newest trailer for Jumpgate Evolution is nearly 100% all combat, aside from the brief moments of textual drama. And with all that combat comes a pretty large sense of scale that we've really only seen in a few MMOs since the genre's inception. This and wonderful joyous action being NetDevil's specialty, it comes as no surprise.Between the announcement of the game's minimum requirements and all of these gameplay videos, we're feeling very assured in our belief that Jumpgate Evolution is shaping up to be a visually stunning title that doesn't demand the world of our hardware. And so long as there aren't any significant bugs or crashes to desktops going on once the game releases, we'll probably be able to call the game 2009's most technically and visually impressive MMO.Check out the full trailer after the break, or download the HD version directly from Big Download's super-fast file service.
Minimum specs and new screens for Jumpgate Evolution revealed
With the month of March behind us and April in full effect, June continues to creep closer and closer. This is of deep significance for anyone awaiting the release of NetDevil's Jumpgate Evolution, as is today's announcement of the game's minimum hardware requirements.If this was a game of limbo, we'd have to say that NetDevil just won this month's tournament by creating one of the most technically limber MMOs we've seen in quite some time. How will the game actually look at lower setting has yet to be seen, although space games tend to scale down pretty well. We're also interested to see what the recommended specs look like, but for now you can consider us very impressed.Check out the minimum requirements just beyond the cut.%Gallery-18375%
GDC09: Jumpgate Evolution developer video walkthrough
With its June release nearing and beta even closer than that, Jumpgate Evolution was looking pretty hot at GDC09 this week -- although that may have something to do with the game running on three monitors.Much of the information in the video isn't entirely new, aside from the discussion of open PvP which seems to involve the building and defending/attacking of space stations. Beyond that, we get a very close look at the sexy UI that NetDevil has put together. Also, have we mentioned that this game looks downright gorgeous?We're pretty sure that we've mentioned that at least five or twenty times. Check out the second half of the walkthrough after the break.
NetDevil acquired by Gazillion Entertainment... last July
We've got good news that also happens to be a bit strange. Remember that new publisher that's now bringing us the Marvel MMO? Well, it turns out that NetDevil was actually acquired in July 2008 by the newly revealed Gazillion Entertainment. NetDevil's Scott "Scorch" Brown says in his post on the official Jumpgate Evolution forums that the choice was made due to Gazillion's shared view on game development. Specifically, the two companies value lots of focus testing, vertical slice development, iterating until things are great and only releasing games when they are ready.The strange part is of course the announcement of an acquisition that occured over half a year ago. We're assuming the delay was due to Gazillion wanting to make a big announcement splash, but it's dark business magic like this that make us scratch our heads sometimes.Is this news and that of Codemaster's chief operating officer unexpectedly departing from the company connected? It's hard to say, but at this point it's anybody's guess as to what's really going on.
Massively speaks at length with Jumpgate Evolution's Hermann Peterscheck
With its June launch looming just a few months away, we spoke with Jumpgate Evolution's Hermann Peterscheck. Within this interview you can find information on topics such as digital distribution, beta, hardcore mode and plenty more.And if that somehow doesn't sate your thirst for information, then check out our previous interviews with Hermann, which contain all sorts of additional, informative goodies.%Gallery-18375%
Massively speaks at length with Jumpgate Evolution's Hermann Peterscheck Pt. 3
"I think it's kind of fun to be sort of a space trucker, and we're trying to do everything we can to make that role more interesting." I'm surprised at what people enjoy in terms of different experiences.
Massively speaks at length with Jumpgate Evolution's Hermann Peterscheck Pt. 2
Will the system allow for one character to eventually train in several or possibly every license? World of Warcraft Well certainly you want to facilitate interested players. WoW Even Blizzard is moving that direction with dual-specs, allowing max level characters to have two talent load-outs.
'Enter the Fray' in Jumpgate Evolution's latest trailer
NetDevil has released a new Jumpgate Evolution trailer showing off quite a bit of gameplay footage, including our first look at the much-promised capital ship battles.It'd be an understatement to say that as fans of things like space shooters, Battlestar Galactica and the original Star Wars trilogy, this trailer delivers a lot of excitement. In fact, we hope that Codemasters and NetDevil can figure out how to get stuff like this alongside any upcoming space movies or television series.June 2009 and beta can't come soon enough, but until then we'll keep updating you with the latest information and news regarding Jumpgate Evolution. Check out the video after the break.
New looks into Jumpgate Evolution
The folks over at MMORPG.com seem to have smuggled a few more screenshots out of Jumpgate Evolution for everyone's perusal. Eleven new images of the game have been added to their online gallery, each one quite gorgeous and jaw dropping. The screenshots themselves are centered around the various types of ships and starbases that can be encountered in the game, as well as some locales like jumpgates and asteroid fields.We have to keep reminding ourselves that this is a very fast paced space shooter that requires both speed and precision, but how are we suppose to be precise when we're looking at how pretty everything in the game is? We just hope they make everything into a blur, otherwise it's going to be really hard for us to pull away from the scenery to shoot down some enemies.
Join the Jumpgate Evolution developer chat this Tuesday, February 24th
If you happen to have some Jumpgate Evolution questions burning in your brain, then next Tuesday on February 24th we recommend that you join in a developer chat over on Stratics. The actual chat will be held via IRC, which you can find a handy-dandy guide to right here in case you're not overly familiar with the application. For everyone else, here's a list of equally handy, as well as dandy, servers to join: irc.glowfish.de EU - Germany 6667 6668 stratics.frws.com USA - Colorado 6667 6668 7000 stratics.afraidyet.net USA - Texas 6667 6668 irc.gamers-irc.org USA - Colorado 6667 6668 7000 We'll be following up on any transcipts that hit the net afterwords, so if for some reason you're unable to make it (or IRC boggles your mind) you can still partake in new Jumpgate Evolution information as you see fit.
The Daily Grind: What beta are you dying to get into?
With all the games in beta right now, there's a huge list going here at the Massively offices of what betas everyone wants in on. There's Jumpgate Evolution, Champions Online, Darkfall, Fallen Earth, and more coming into beta all the time - almost all of which have our interest right now. The coin-tosses in the virtual massively offices to see who lands which invites will be fast and furious, but to bring us to our question today... With so many interesting titles coming up, we know we can't be the only ones excited about all the new games coming. What beta - or betas - are you really hoping to get in to?
