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GamersFirst states All Points Bulletin had huge future plans
By now, we are all familiar with the sad story of All Points Bulletin by Realtime Worlds. RTW's closing down shop ended not just APB as it was but also the future plans for the game as well. According to GamersFirst, which picked up and relaunched the failed title, Realtime Worlds had ambitious plans for the future of the game that ultimately lead to design issues. As GamersFirst Public Relations Manager Darek Connole stated to VideoGamer.com: I can't give you too much detail because I'm not a coder. But as I understand it they were looking to make APB the entry level to this whole series of games. So like you'd go into the APB district, and the social district would take you to other games and from my world you could take your APB car and drive it into my world and shoot things. They had all these crazy cool ideas that was just very ambitious. But don't get excited just yet. Connole also stated that GamerFirst would not be pursuing that content. However, because APB: Reloaded does not have the extraneous code, the developers can make a smooth, more streamlined game.
GamersFirst opening studio in Scotland
The GamersFirst team is feeling pretty confident about the work put into APB: Reloaded -- so much so that the company is planning another studio in Edinburgh, Scotland. The studio will employ at least 22 people at first with an eye toward expansion later, says Bjorn Book-Larsson: "Our hope is to expand the Scottish presence and increase the size of the team over time as we add more creative game projects as part of our global MMO development efforts." Michael Boniface, former IT director for Realtime Worlds, has been hired as the general manager for the new studio and will be handling recruitment and overseeing development. APB: Reloaded is currently preparing for open beta.
GDCO 2010: APB's Executive Producer talks about what went wrong
It may feel like the dead horse has been beaten enough, but APB's Executive Producer Josh Howard sat down with Gamebreaker at GDC Online this week to talk about the game's failure. Josh's perspective feels like that of both a player and an insider, which gives him the ability to explain what the developer and publisher each wanted -- and why it didn't work. The interview is almost 45 minutes long, and Josh is very open about how it all went, why he left, and much more. The interview was streamed live, but a recorded version is available for those interested in a detailed "post-mortem."
One Shots: Taking a parting shot
Will it live again? Will it remain shut down? At this point, it is anyone's guess as to precisely what the future holds for All Points Bulletin. But whatever occurs, there was still a group of players who were sad to see it go, such as this group above. Today's All Points Bulletin shutdown party image comes to us from Super Judge, who writes in to give us the specifics: "It's been a while since I've seen an APB district so full. It was pretty chaotic -- and a lot of fun. At one point we all headed over to the cruise ship in the Waterfront District to take a group picture, but decided it was too dark indoors and moved the whole affair outdoors in front of this statue. Despite its many flaws, APB was a wild ride at times, and it will be missed. Anyway, here's a nice group photo to remember some of the looneys on the LaRocha server. Thanks everyone!" One Shots is all about the reader experience, but without submissions, we're left to dig through our own screenshot folders. If you'd like to help out, then send your images in to us here at oneshots@massively.com along with your name, the name of the game, and a brief description. Your screenshot could be one of the next ones we feature! %Gallery-85937%
One Shots: No mo' power rangers
While we knew Realtime Worlds was in trouble, we're not entirely sure even the company's remaining employees were expecting All Points Bulletin to go offline quite this fast. That's why, despite this screenshot not technically being big enough for a normal One Shots, we simply couldn't resist running it anyway, as it is the lone, last All Points Bulletin image in our One Shots mailbox, showing off yet another example of the crazy costuming people pulled off in the game. This image comes to us from KCG, who writes in: "[This is] me (green ranger) and my criminal bros decked out in ranger gear causing crimes in the Waterfront District. GO GO POWER RANGERS!" If you've got any hours left (as some of our staff members do), you'd best get in-game and burn 'em quick. Perhaps you'll see these three rangers there. If you're playing an MMO -- or played, in the case of sunsetted games -- we'd love to see screenshots from you. Gather up some of your favorites and email them in to us here at oneshots@massively.com along with your name, the name of the game, and a description of what we're seeing. We'll post your images out here and give you the credit. %Gallery-85937%
This week on the MMO Report
We can't always get the warm security of the familiar, and this week the MMO Report drives that home with a special guest host. Yes, Casey Schreiner is off for the week, which leaves Blair Herter to fill in on a summary of the week's important MMO news. And going into a weekend with two major conventions that promises to be filled with news, it's probably for the best that you have a roundup of what you should be angry about before it happens. This week's edition covers the newest information to come out of The Secret World, the massive brouhaha that Final Fantasy XIV stirred up with the open beta and fatigue system, and ongoing woes of Realtime Worlds. There's also the Guild Wars 2 necromancer reveal, the announcement of The Bible Online, and the usual dip inside of the mailbag. If you can steel yourself against separation anxiety, you can find the newest episode with its guest host past the cut. As always, stay tuned for a new installment each week from G4tv and Massively.com.
Analysis: What happened to Realtime Worlds?
While still very much an ongoing concern for the parties involved, the events surrounding Realtime Worlds and APB are beginning to die down for the rest of the MMO community. Many people are beginning to look at the overall situation to try and figure out what happened. APB was a very promising game, and there was more than a little surprise when things began to go south. Kris Graft at GameSetWatch.com published a detailed editorial exploring RTW's past, as well as some of the company's goals and thoughts, and how it all led to the current situation. It's a must-read for anyone who's been following the company over the past few months.
Realtime Worlds re-hires 23 MyWorld employees
The saga of Realtime Worlds continues, this time with a happy ending for 23 employees of the MyWorld project that were laid off earlier this month. In a press release from business restructuring firm Begbies Traynor, administrator Ken Pattullo lays out the details. "As a smaller entity, MyWorld is attracting considerable interest from potential buyers and 23 members of the team who had been working on the project clearly add value to it as a standalone business," Patullo said. In addition to MyWorld, a platform for creating social games announced earlier this summer, Realtime Worlds will continue to operate All Points Bulletin even as it looks to finish restructuring with an eye towards creating a company that can support the urban crime MMOFPS.
Realtime Worlds continues working toward recovery
News surrounding Realtime Worlds is coming at a rapid-fire pace these days, in a sometimes-confusing mix of dire and hopeful. Develop-Online reported a rumor earlier this week that RTW's North American office was closing, citing a "variety" of unnamed sources, but other events point to a potentially brighter outlook. Earlier this week we brought you the news that Realtime Worlds has entered administration, spurring Activision to send a recruitment team to Dundee. The good news in this is that the administration process will keep RTW on its feet -- and APB up and running -- until the company completes restructuring and finds a buyer for the game. APB's upcoming Patch 1.4.1 is another potential bright spot. The patch notes include a promise that "this isn't just another set of bug fixes; this is the beginning of some of the most fundamental changes to date." The patch brings new content and some gameplay changes, and also addresses several issues that were causing players a fair amount of grief. Will these efforts mean good things for Realtime Worlds? Keep an eye on Massively for future updates.
APB needs partner to make console version, but willing
The idea of console MMOs is nothing new. After all, EverQuest Online Adventures, Final Fantasy XI, and the Phantasy Star titles have managed to successfully publish on consoles. With that said, it seems as if there's been a trend with recent MMOs to say they were going to console like Age of Conan and Champions Online, only to change their minds later. That's why we weren't surprised to see that David Jones, Creative Director of Realtime Worlds, sat down with Eurogamer and discussed the potential of a console port for his company's recent release, All Points Bulletin. What we did find interesting was that, despite knowledge of consoles from working on the first two Grand Theft Auto titles and Realtime Worlds being partnered with EA for distribution, there has been no discussion between the two companies regarding porting All Points Bulletin to consoles. Jones notes that the team at Realtime Worlds will remain focused on working on the PC version, as opposed to shifting into trying to build a console version, or trying to "shop around" for a partner. That said, he certainly sounds willing to discuss a deal if the right distribution partner for consoles were willing to contact them. Be sure to pop over to Eurogamer if you're wondering what else Jones may have in mind for All Points Bulletin.
Take over the streets of San Paro in APB with a key from Massively!
Ever since the "City Security Act" was passed, the streets of San Paro have become a war-zone between self-righteous Enforcers and violent Criminals. The city has been submerged under a sea of bullets and blood. So where exactly do you stand? Are you a Criminal, looking to prey on the innocents of San Paro as you vandalize, steal, and destroy? Or are you an Enforcer, a person who will do anything in their power to stop the lawbreaking offenders, even if it means sacrificing a few innocents in the process? Well, it's now your time to find out! Realtime Worlds has provided us here at Massively with 10,000 keys to All Points Bulletin, so you can take a ride around the streets of San Paro in its pre-launch state! Follow us after the break to learn more about the game, and grab a key for yourself! %Gallery-89311%
XP Mode is ready, will be a free download on October 22
Microsoft Download Center, October 22 -- add that to your already-busy Windows 7 release party itinerary. That'll be the quickest and most painless way to enrich your hot new OS with the now finalized code for XP Mode, a virtualized Windows XP environment for those who just can't let go of their legacy software. The solitary hitch is that you'll need to have purchased a copy of Windows 7 Professional or higher to get in on the fun, but you already knew that, right? Oh, and you might also want to check that your hardware manufacturer hasn't disabled virtualization as part of some overzealous security / party-pooping measure. [Via Ars Technica; Thanks, Eugen]
