APB All Points Bulletin

[Greebo]

So how's this game going?
Am back from vacation so hopefully will be playing again sometime soon.

[BigBiker05]

Updates are slow. Game still only runs good on half the clients. Company is laying off people. And I raged until they fix my mem leak that leads to driving be very hard.

[Greebo]

http://na.apb.com/en/news/announcements ... -of-an-era

Unsurprising, but still sad to see it die.

[BigBiker05]

Yeah, what a joke and a waste of money. The game itself was great but they never fixed the little problems. Not to mention about half the people who had min specs+ couldn't even run the game.

[Boss Llama]

Don't like to see anybody or any game fail, but this was completely predictable. Second biggest waste of money I've ever spent on a game - it had amazing depth of customization and world concept, but an absolutely critical failure to to provide worthwhile gameplay and content, and to address technical issues. Result: a game that lasts less than 3 months :-/

[BETTEH]

Apparently Global Agenda is trying to give safe haven to APB players by giving a 30% off code.

An Open Letter to Shooter/MMO Fans from Hi-Rez Studios
Dear Shooter/MMO Fans:

The last few years have been rough for many fans of the Shooter/MMO genre.


Several innovative game titles with great communities have folded as they sought to bring together those of us who enjoy the fast-action, intense pace of a shooter, but also the character progression and persistence offered by MMOs.


Today, we mourn our latest fallen colleague, APB. In making APB, Realtime Worlds had a bold vision to make an MMO devoid of traditional tab-targeting, cast bars, and die-roll combat. We honor their effort and innovation, and greatly mourn the game's closing.
Sadly, the APB server shutdown leaves their entire community with nothing to shoot or blow up tonight!


So between today and Friday, September 24, 2010, we are offering refugees from APB and other Shooter/MMOs an opportunity to join Global Agenda's growing community more easily and affordably than ever.


We figure you deserve it. And you'll fit right in since you already know how to aim.
All players that purchase Global Agenda on the game's official webstore prior to September 24, 2010, using the promotion code "LongLiveShooterMMOs" will receive a 30% discount off the game. That's $20.99, £13.12 and €15.75!


This one-time purchase gives you full access to the game's content, with no monthly fees.
And, remember, you can try the game before you buy by playing the free trial, available here..


We at Hi-Rez Studios believe strongly in the Shooter/MMO genre. We celebrate and thank all developers advancing innovative Shooter/MMO concepts, as well as the fans that dedicate their time to playing and supporting these games.

Todd Harris
Executive Producer, Global Agenda

Also apparently Gamestop corporate has notified it's outlets to sell the game (APB) for 5$ to unsuspecting customers to clear stock on a game that can not even be played, and to top it off, their policy is not to accept computer games that have been opened.

[Boss Llama]

GameStop has always been pretty scummy - it doesn't surprise me in the least to hear that :-/ Shrewd move by Global Agenda, though.

The Guardian newspaper has a decent story about the demise, but far more interesting are posts in the comments section by two now-former RTW employees, under the names CodeMan and YetAnotherExRTW. http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/ga ... s-collapse Both provide a pile of background and an inside look, verifying pretty much what the whole community knew (no attention was paid to gameplay, criticism was ignored, there was no storyline, etc) but from an inside perspective.

[Greebo]

GameStop has always been pretty scummy - it doesn't surprise me in the least to hear that :-/ Shrewd move by Global Agenda, though.

The Guardian newspaper has a decent story about the demise, but far more interesting are posts in the comments section by two now-former RTW employees, under the names CodeMan and YetAnotherExRTW. http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/ga ... s-collapse Both provide a pile of background and an inside look, verifying pretty much what the whole community knew (no attention was paid to gameplay, criticism was ignored, there was no storyline, etc) but from an inside perspective.

Interesting article and even more interesting comments from the former employees.

I worked for a startup a while back that suffered from a similar lack of direction. It folded a few months after I left. Bad management can ruin anything.


Oh well.
I may go back and investigate Pirates of the Burning Seas. It came out at least 2 years ago and I enjoyed it, but it was a little unpolished. It's still around though and they're about to switch from pay-to-play subscriptions to free-to-play with micro-transactions.

[BETTEH]

They dumped in 105 million and made close to 8 million back on game sales.

[BigBiker05]

I may go back and investigate Pirates of the Burning Seas. It came out at least 2 years ago and I enjoyed it, but it was a little unpolished. It's still around though and they're about to switch from pay-to-play subscriptions to free-to-play with micro-transactions.

I love that game and I was in beta for a few years. However, late in beta there were some changes to PvP that I didn't like so I never picked up my pre-order. I do still have the sound track though. However, the biggest problem was their contract with SOE. Now most people disagree with me but I think SOE limited their success. At the time the company never had a big game and are (and still are) a small company. For them SOE supplied the bandwidth, GMs, support, and the like. Sadly though, games can't make the $15 a month the SOE charges, so the population for Burning Sea dwindled down to basically those on SOE's plan that allows all SOE titles for one price.

I've been saying for years they need a new payment plan and this might be it! I am willing to go back and play for sure if this is the case and doesn't limit the game too much.

Note: Just read that article, amazing work. Almost made me feel stupid for buying the game.

[Clay Pigeon]

This is my favorite MMO. It reminds me of the sims. It is free to play, but premium content does cost money. All you people thinking about ditching your current MMO should think about playing this:





/if you die in the game, you die for real

[BigBiker05]

Clay, it says no monthly subscriptions but I tried to play it and nearly everything costs money. Plus there are no respawns.

[Gizanked]

Clay, it says no monthly subscriptions but I tried to play it and nearly everything costs money. Plus there are no respawns.

there are micro-transaction fees, but no monthly fees just to play.

[Boss Llama]

I've found that there is, however, a monthly subscription fee not to play! If I don't pay my rent, I'm gonna be stuck outside for good!

[Stevo]

There is no outside. You are always contained by something...