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The Digital Continuum: Reign of the shooters
This year, a bleating signal is ringing out from all corners of the MMO industry. It calls to our attention a new order on the horizon: the order of shooter MMOs.Can it be coincidence that everywhere you look at this year's E3, most of the exciting upcoming MMOs are shooters in one way or another? I'm looking forward to Final Fantasy XIV as much as the next fan, but there's only one or two traditional looking concepts that have my interest.Moving through my mental list of must-play MMOs reveals a very obvious pattern. Jumpgate Evolution, All Points Bulletin, CrimeCraft and even aspects of Star Wars: The Old Republic are looking shooter-like. I mean, come on, cover mechanics for the Smuggler class? Now you're just teasing me into a squelching geek heat, BioWare.
New Jumpgate Evolution screens show fighters in action
Massively recently took a look at Jumpgate Evolution at E3 2009, and we liked what we saw, which would be clear to anyone who listened to the latest Massively Speaking podcast. We put up some of the new screenshots for you to accompany our most recent feature story on Jumpgate Evolution, but the team at NetDevil released 14 new screenshots today. We've added them to our core Jumpgate Evolution gallery, so have a look through our images below for the latest shots of the Quantar and Solrain fighters in action.%Gallery-18375%
E3 2009: The evolution of Jumpgate Evolution
The last time I personally saw anything about Jumpgate Evolution (Netdevil's re-imagining of the the very early space MMO) was almost two years ago when I spoke with the executive producer. At that time, we had little more than a few screenshots and concept art. Massively has spoken with Peterscheck and covered the game multiple times since then, but when I stepped into Netdevil's little booth at E3 (so little, in fact, that it didn't even have their name on it -- it was labeled with Gazillion Entertainment, their publisher), I didn't have any idea what to expect.What I found was both surprising and impressive. Way back in that first interview, Peterscheck told me that they were trying to make a space shooter MMO that depended on skill rather than stats, that offered up a fully realized universe for players to explore, and gave some new options for PvP and space combat that we hadn't seen before. Sitting in their booth watching the game get played on three big screens, I saw all that and more. Hit the jump (gate) below for impressions and even a gameplay video from last week's show.%Gallery-65380%
E3 2009: Jumpgate Evolution's E3 trailer evokes that space opera drama
When attempting to entice potential players with your game it never hurts to remind them of that television show or movie they love so very much, and how that it's possible to live out their fantasies of said other property in your own. This rule of thumb is why the E3 2009 trailer for Jumpgate Evolution over at G4TV's website is so very good. The trailer is quite successful in making us want to pop in our Battlestar Galactica reboot DVDs and watch them all over again.Release day may no longer be in June -- or any month for that matter -- but our hopes are set in beta expanding sometime soon. You can find the full trailer after the break, in all its evocative and dramatic glory. Massively is on the ground in Los Angeles this week and covering all the latest E3 MMO news coming from the convention. Check out our breaking coverage (or all the Joystiq network E3 reporting) and keep your eye on Massively's front page for the latest developments.
The Digital Continuum: Summertime MMO alternatives
You, much like myself, may have had summer MMO plans a month or so ago. But like many things in life, circumstances changed and both Champions Online and Jumpgate Evolution were met with delays in their schedules -- making any plans to play them over the summer null.It's a bummer, but not all is lost. Another thing I'm certain we all share is our love of gaming in general. I've been thinking of a list of games I plan to play through this summer in lieu of shiny new MMOs to delve into, with an emphasis on filling the void left by a lack Cryptic's and NetDevil's still forthcoming titles. I'm sure I'll play more than just three, but these are the ones I'll definitely play the most of overall.
The Daily Grind: Delay or play?
Delays are synonymous with MMOs, so while we never like to hear them announced we're usually all too surprised. Every new year brings both new MMOs and new delays, and 2009 is no exception. First it was Champions Online not too long ago, and then most recently Jumpgate Evolution was pushed from June until, well, sometime in the future.Sometimes two or three months of more development time makes all the difference, and most would agree that such a choice is desirable in that case. Then again, some games are delayed too much. There is such a thing as overdeveloping, and sometimes a game's direction can get derailed with numerous delays.So what's it worth? More than one reason exists for an MMO delay, but ultimately the game has to be released.
Jumpgate Evolution jumps back into development, won't make June release
Jumpgate Evolution will not be making its scheduled June release. What, you've nova heard of a delay before? Anyway, following three years of development, NetDevil noted on its forums that the game is going back into the darkness of development to emerge at some point in the future. The company doesn't even plan on announcing a new release date until it has "established [its] road map for the next few months."The delay was caused after response during the "Friends & Family" phase of testing brought up a lot of feedback. Considering how competitive the MMO market is now, the company is probably taking the wise approach by polishing the "feature complete" title to a shine before release. MMOs don't get a second chance to make a first impression anymore.
Jumpgate Evolution delayed: No new launch date in sight
As we quickly approach June and the time limit for MMOs launching in Q2 09, we get word from NetDevil that Jumpgate Evolution won't quite make it for the deadline. In fact, according to a forum post at the official JGE forums, Scott Brown says there is no definite date for the game's release at all."Our passion for this game means we want to release it in a state that is complete." Scott says. "You have raised the bar for us and we feel a great responsibility to reach that bar and exceed it. The only thing worse than waiting is being rewarded with a product that does not live up to its potential." Luckily, JGE looks to be an promising game so far, and the forum members and potential players are remaining optimistic about what seems to be a wise choice on NetDevil's part. We'll be sure to keep you up-to-date on any developing news regarding Jumpgate's progress.
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%
Gazillion Entertainment Names Stuart Moulder as VP
Gazillion Entertainment have announced that their expansion into the MMO market continues with hiring Stuart Moulder as their new Vice President of Studios, with responsibility for game development across all of their studios. Gazillion recently announced that they had purchased Netdevil, who are developing Jumpgate Evolution and LEGO Universe. They also announced that they are developing two games based on the Marvel superhero licence.Moulder has most recently worked as Senior Vice President at Screenlife where he was responsible for bringing the Scene It? license to games as helping with the sale of the company to Paramount Digital. He also spent eight years at Microsoft where he was responsible for acquiring and managing companies such as Halo developer Bungie, Age of Empires and Halo Wars developer Ensemble Studios and veteran developers FASA of Mechwarrior and Shadowrun fame, although since he has left Microsoft we have seen Ensemble Studios and FASA shut down and Bungie has become independent.
Jumpgate Evolution interview explains UI customization and emphasis on story
Attendees of the LOGIN Conference last week had a chance to see NetDevil's demonstration of Jumpgate Evolution. The writers at ZAM were among the gaming press attendees and came away from the demo with some positive impressions, but some questions as well. They caught up with NetDevil president Scott Brown who discussed the inspiration for creating the original Jumpgate and how Jumpgate Evolution will live up to its name.The interview specifically touches on how Jumpgate Evolution aims to engage players in ways the original wasn't able to. In that context of how the follow-up title compares to the original, Brown says, "We have a much stronger story now, with help from Keith Baker (the creator of Eberron for D&D) and we have significantly more focused PvP so players have even more reason to fight the other nations."
NetDevil producer Hermann Peterscheck on Jumpgate Evolution's ship design
Fast, dynamic, joystick-style space combat is coming to MMOs soon with Jumpgate Evolution from NetDevil. Jumpgate Evolution producer Hermann Peterscheck has written a dev blog for MMORPG.com titled "Iteration on Ship Design", which focuses on a crucial aspect of creating the game -- defining the roles that ships should fill and how they should handle in performing these tasks. He explains how NetDevil went from having 'a multitude' of ships with different capabilities but with minor differences between them, to a more complete system where ships have clearly defined roles, but don't lock a player into that role, as a class-based system would. However, this clearer separation between ships entailed scrapping some of the designs they'd created.
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 preview looks at PvE combat basics as well as PvP
Jumpgate Evolution is a title that some of us on the Massively staff are excited about, particularly since its (expected) June release date is right around the corner. But why does this game interest us? Simply stated, it will inject aggressive manual control and 'dogfighting' style combat into the space MMO genre, something we think a number of gamers out there will appreciate. We've taken a look at Jumpgate Evolution at some of the major gaming events in the past and spoken with NetDevil quite a bit about the title, but as that release date creeps closer there's always more info coming out. Case in point: NowGamer received an invitation to a press event at the Codemasters HQ in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, where they were given a hands-on with Jumpgate Evolution. This gave Ben Biggs from NowGamer the opportunity to put Jumpgate Evolution through its paces and write about how it turned out.
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.
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%
The Digital Continuum: Evolving past the Diku design
I never played any of the numerous MUDs -- let alone DikuMUD -- back in the early nineties, and it's probably for the best, as my then youthful mind wouldn't have spared more than a few minutes to learn how they worked, let alone spend the necessary time to play them. We're talking pre-teen here, just to be clear, and I was really interested in stuff like point and click adventure games. Oh, and also Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.Even though I wasn't around for the progenitors that would eventually lead to things like Ultima Online, EverQuest, Dark Age of Camelot and World of Warcraft, it's not hard for me to see in the wake of all those titles the line of ideas and creativity that connects all of them. Hell, you can trace it back to the original release of Dungeons and Dragons if you really wanted to, but let's focus on the future for today.
NetDevil president discusses company's origins and risks taken along the way
A lot of interviews we read about the MMO industry deal with the specifics of a forthcoming title, but it's great when someone gives us a peek into an aspect of the industry we haven't seen before. The MMO Gamer recently had a chance to sit down with NetDevil president Scott Brown and discuss how the company came to be. The MMO Gamer piece by Steven Crews is titled "Making MMOs on a Shoestring: The NetDevil Story with Scott Brown."It's a fairly in-depth look at the origins of NetDevil. Brown talks about how he got his start in the gaming industry and how NetDevil stuck to those core principles they brought to the table as gamers. Brown says, "We make the games we desperately want to play that for some reason no one else is making." The interview also discusses the risks that NetDevil has taken thus far, and Brown reflects on the risks that didn't pay off in the end. "Making MMOs on a Shoestring" is a candid look at the NetDevil story and you can read it over at The MMO Gamer.
