Jagged Alliance Online - released, lol!

[primetide]

Now this is just a small teaser to hopefully bring up fond memories and show a little bit about the game.

Remember: we have a small budget...this is NOT your Blizzard or Bioware budget. This is us doing that on the side while developing the game....


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2kDnKWx48w

start flaming now...

 

[sgc_meltdown]

Tell me about the microtransaction models for your product.

 

[primetide]

Of course if you ask so nicely
We sell premium weapons, armor and ammo as well as health and AP boosters. Now all this can also be bought for ingame money, but premium items will have a better quality at a lower level of availability.
We also sell perma mercs (so you don't need to pay in game money for their contracts continously). We may sell resources to upgrade your HQ facilities.
Basically most of those are accelerators - get results quicker or be more sure of success. No one will be able to buy their way into "winning", as you still need to train your mercs, level them up etc. It will however make your life easier (if you do want easy).

 

[felipepepe]

Did the narrator completly changed his accent throught the trailer?

 

[sgc_meltdown]

Did the narrator completly changed his accent throught the trailer?

You doubt Ivan? Ivan is master of languages, even ugly language like english.

 

[primetide]

Did the narrator completly changed his accent throught the trailer?

nah, it is actually two people- it is "Shadow" initilally and then it changes to Ivan.
but I guess that didn't work too well

we just wanted two people from the past

 

[felipepepe]

Did the narrator completly changed his accent throught the trailer?

nah, it is actually two people- it is "Shadow" initilally and then it changes to Ivan.
but I guess that didn't work too well

we just wanted two people from the past

Yeah, now I see that, it's just that the tone of the voices are too similar.

 

[J_C]

Looks great. Is this still turn based? How do you make that work in an MMO?

 

[primetide]

Looks great. Is this still turn based? How do you make that work in an MMO?

Yes it is. We will limit turns by a timer in PvP and Co-op with a positive reward for moving quicker.

 

[Sordid Jester]

It didn't meet my expectations in the slightest bit.

Probably a good thing as I wasn't expecting genuine turn-based gameplay, pleasant graphics and an endearingly goofy set-up / narration. It's not repulsive! Even though the mere idea of 'Jagged Alliance Online' - 'Browser Based MMOG' strings together a horrible image in my head, it actually does look interesting.

So, yeah.

(Off-topic)

I also caught a side-glance at Dungeon Empires: http://youtu.be/5V0SFXJK17Q - Turn-based, Dungeon Keeper-esque MMO-ish game? Cute, and also not hideous. What's going on!?

Never realized Gamigo had so many games.

 

[Darth Roxor]

Not really interested in this in the slightest, but I suppose it doesn't look as horribly retarded as Back in Buttaction.

also:

teaser trailer for jagged alliance online is...online

you forgot:

 

[primetide]

It didn't meet my expectations in the slightest bit.

Probably a good thing as I wasn't expecting genuine turn-based gameplay, pleasant graphics and an endearingly goofy set-up / narration. It's not repulsive! Even though the mere idea of 'Jagged Alliance Online' - 'Browser Based MMOG' strings together a horrible image in my head, it actually does look interesting.

So, yeah.
..snip...

Ah well, low expectations can lead to pleasant surprises

I think it is safe to say that the MMO part is probably not in the foreground of the game. You can likely play it as a single player or multiplayer game (PvP or co-op) and never ever care about how massivley or not it is.
And as I keep telling people: Browser has come a loooong way in the recent year. You can actually make real games now

 

[Shannow]

Looks quite interesting. I'd have to know more to say...well...more

Jagged Alliance Online
Shadowrun Online (soonish)
Deadlands Online (or so we hope)

What's up with those trademarks? At least JA is getting that reboot. Won't there be conflict?

 

[Excidium]

Looks good. Just a shame it isn't a single player game...

 

[primetide]

Looks good. Just a shame it isn't a single player game...

well, actually if you really don't want to play with anyone, we got over 100 single player missions for you...soit is a massively single player game as well

 

[primetide]

Looks quite interesting. I'd have to know more to say...well...more

Jagged Alliance Online
Shadowrun Online (soonish)
Deadlands Online (or so we hope)

What's up with those trademarks? At least JA is getting that reboot. Won't there be conflict?

why? we will do one after the other and if successful grow our team.
also we can use technology of one for the other games, improving all three. It is simply all games we love and we are lucky to be allowed to work on.

 

[Shannow]

Looks quite interesting. I'd have to know more to say...well...more

Jagged Alliance Online
Shadowrun Online (soonish)
Deadlands Online (or so we hope)

What's up with those trademarks? At least JA is getting that reboot. Won't there be conflict?

why? we will do one after the other and if successful grow our team.
also we can use technology of one for the other games, improving all three. It is simply all games we love and we are lucky to be allowed to work on.

I meant a conflict with whoever is holding the copyrights.

 

[primetide]

no, we actually acquired the rights to all of these

 

[J_C]

no, we actually acquired the rights to all of these

Are you funded by the mafia?

 

[Grunker]

premium items will have a better quality

Yeah, "free" games in which you get gameplay advantages for spending money don't interest me in the slightest. Everything else looks interesting, but this pretty much ruins it all.

Should've taken notes from LoL.

 

[Fens]

no, we actually acquired the rights to all of these

Are you funded by the mafia?

a single game licence limited to a browser game is not as expensive as an unlimited game licence... also i assume the licence will go back to the original owner if this should fail

video looks good... browser games have indeed come a long way since i played my first one.

i think grunker has a point with his scepticism. i don't mind cosmetic item shops but paying real money shouldn't be a requirement to be competitive (permanent mercs seem to be a huge advantage).

let's say i'm mildly interested in this. keep us updated.

 

[primetide]

The relative merits of pre-paid games versus free to play have been discussed at length, so I won't go into that here. Suffice it to say, the game can be played without buying advantages. However it is true: in a PvP with two equally able players the one paying will have an advantage.
We have certain mechanisms in place to not let that balance shift completely, but if you have fundamental problems with free to play, then that is going to be an issue for you.
My reasoning goes like that: If I play the game and I like it, I can pay for it as much as I would have had I bought it in the first place. That is my personal limit. If the game would have sucked and I had paid money for a 3 months subscription for example, I wouldn't have even gotten the same value.
If you want to never pay for the game and still be as good as the guys paying, I think it is a bit much to ask, since then you are simply destroying the developers who made the game. But your mileage may vary...

 

[SuicideBunny]

We sell premium weapons, armor and ammo as well as health and AP boosters. Now all this can also be bought for ingame money, but premium items will have a better quality at a lower level of availability.
We also sell perma mercs (so you don't need to pay in game money for their contracts continously). We may sell resources to upgrade your HQ facilities.

all of that sounds pretty friggin terrible....

 

[The_scorpion]

As repulsive as microtransaction models are, in a game like Ja:O, assuming it does stay as close to ja2 as it claims to and is reasonably balanced, it would probably be an issue primarily for PvP gameplay.

From my own experience with ja2 Multiplayer, there's indeed a breed of players that will probably buy all super-sniper-rifles of doom and power armour of immortality +1 in order to beat their opponents in PvP.

But let's see it this way: The single player and Coop-players (i count myself in that department...) will be lesser pressed to spend extra money and get cross-financed by the PvP fraction

And even then, cosmetic stuff can also work for microtransaction stuff. The way i picture the probable player, they'll like to customize their characters way beyond the borders of combat usefulness. So yeah, try microtransactions for cosmetic stuff first before impeding on PvP balancing.

Btw. primetide, what kind of coop missions do you offer in Ja:O?

(i'm working on Ja2 Multiplayer scenarios myself and want to hear what others have come up with)

 

[Fens]

please elaborate on the mechanisms you have in place to balance paying vs. free players, primetide.