New and Improved APB Entering Beta Next Month

[Logan Westbrook]

New and Improved APB Entering Beta Next Month

Revamped and reworked MMO will soon start accepting applications for beta testers

The rise and very rapid fall of crime-MMO APB has been pretty well documented [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/issues/issue_278/8273-The-Rise-and-Fall-of-Realtime-Worlds], but the ailing game was thrown a lifeline when Free2Play publisher GamersFirst snapped up the rights. Now, after what appears to be a flurry of activity on the new owner's part, the game may soon take its first faltering steps in its new F2P guise.

Posting on the official APB Reloaded - as the game is now called - Twitter feed, GamersFirst said [http://twitter.com/#!/apb_reloaded/status/21899250900144128] that as long as everything went to plan, a closed beta would begin in late February. In a later tweet, the company said [http://twitter.com/#!/apb_reloaded/status/22215696809205760] that it would announce details of how people could apply to be testers later this week. GamersFirst has also implied [http://twitter.com/#!/apb_reloaded/status/21682606424719361] that former APB subscribers would get invites, although that hasn't been confirmed.

Reloaded looks like it will be a subtly different game to its previous incarnation, with the possibility of a more involved [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/106356-APB-Might-Get-More-Story-Game-Modes] story and single-player mode, and tweaks to make it easier to run as a F2P game, like putting limits [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/105746-Premium-APB-Subscribers-Will-Get-More-Customization] on the complexity of customizations on the part of free players. There will also be balance changes [http://apbreloaded.blogspot.com/2010/11/end-of-week-1-update-crazy-cat-lady-of.html] to reflect the difference in premium and free accounts, and the weapons that players will be able to lease.

Source: Game Informer [http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2011/01/03/apb-reloaded-in-beta-form-next-month.aspx]


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[Trucken]

Since I bought a new computer to play APB (but folded before I bought it) I'll definitely give this a chance.

 

[lasherman]

Awesome. I've never played APB, but I'm glad to see it getting a second chance. We need more MMOs that aren't all set in the exact same "standard fantasy setting" of elves, dwarves, and dragons.

 

[The Lunatic]

And the weapons that players will be able to lease.

Uh oh.

That doesn't sound good.

 

[Woodsey]

Awesome. I've never played APB, but I'm glad to see it getting a second chance. We need more MMOs that aren't all set in the exact same "standard fantasy setting" of elves, dwarves, and dragons.

If you'd have played APB, you'd be begging for that standard fantasy setting.

I played it in it's original beta tests, and my understanding is they didn't change anything in the final product.

 

[Lawnmooer]

The single player mode could be good, I did play APB in it's beta and shortly after release but the lack of progression when solo (Since I couldn't really do the pvp since the matchmaker hated me) made me get bored.

 

[Fensfield]

I think I'll try this... so long as they haven't totally crippled the character customisation.

 

[WrongSprite]

Just let it die guys...if this is a success, I'll eat my hat.

 

[Epictank of Wintown]

As someone who was in the beta testing for APB, I have to say I hope these guys actually LISTEN to their beta community. We tried to tell RTW that the game was bound for failure in its current state (at the time), and that they needed to make changes.

They didn't listen. The game failed. Miserably.

Learn from their mistakes, APB Reloaded. If your testers are screaming that the game is lacking content and is horribly balanced, it's lacking content and is horribly balanced.

 

[Virgil]

And the weapons that players will be able to lease.

That doesn't sound good.

As far as I can tell, it's pretty common in free-to-play games for most equipment to only last for a certain length of time before you need to re-purchase it. Since APB didn't really have any good gameplay progression (that is, the gameplay is pretty much just repeating PvP matches) introducing some sort of item wear is probably the easiest way for them to encourage upgrades.

 

[Korten12]

And the weapons that players will be able to lease.

That doesn't sound good.

As far as I can tell, it's pretty common in free-to-play games for most equipment to only last for a certain length of time before you need to re-purchase it. Since APB didn't really have any good gameplay progression (that is, the gameplay is pretty much just repeating PvP matches) introducing some sort of item wear is probably the easiest way for them to encourage upgrades.

Thats usually in MMOFPS, like Combat Arms, which is really annoying becuase most of them are Over powered.

 

[lvl9000_woot]

Awesome. I've never played APB, but I'm glad to see it getting a second chance. We need more MMOs that aren't all set in the exact same "standard fantasy setting" of elves, dwarves, and dragons.

If you want to play an MMO with no elves, go play Global Agenda

 

[Mechsoap]

Just let it die guys...if this is a success, I'll eat my hat.

That golden hat your wearing, sir?

OT: good to see they went with making it free when it comes out... free to play that is!

 

[The Lunatic]

As far as I can tell, it's pretty common in free-to-play games for most equipment to only last for a certain length of time before you need to re-purchase it. Since APB didn't really have any good gameplay progression (that is, the gameplay is pretty much just repeating PvP matches) introducing some sort of item wear is probably the easiest way for them to encourage upgrades.

True, it's used in quite a few Free shooters, however, the problem if you translate it to APB, is that, APB had the weapon slot system, wherein you weapons could be equipped with upgrades, the better the weapon, the more slots it had, up to three.

The best weapon, with the best upgrade, could have things such as, 30% More damage, 30% More accuracy and 30% Faster Fire Rate.

Added to that, players could get upgrades for their characters which could increase their health, decrease the damage done to them and other such stuff.

Needless to say, using a stock weapon against these kinds of things, you'd get rolled pretty badly.

So, if weapons and upgrades like these are available for rental for anyone with the right pocket, it may be somewhat problematic...

 

[Paularius]

As far as I can tell, it's pretty common in free-to-play games for most equipment to only last for a certain length of time before you need to re-purchase it. Since APB didn't really have any good gameplay progression (that is, the gameplay is pretty much just repeating PvP matches) introducing some sort of item wear is probably the easiest way for them to encourage upgrades.

True, it's used in quite a few Free shooters, however, the problem if you translate it to APB, is that, APB had the weapon slot system, wherein you weapons could be equipped with upgrades, the better the weapon, the more slots it had, up to three.

The best weapon, with the best upgrade, could have things such as, 30% More damage, 30% More accuracy and 30% Faster Fire Rate.

Added to that, players could get upgrades for their characters which could increase their health, decrease the damage done to them and other such stuff.

Needless to say, using a stock weapon against these kinds of things, you'd get rolled pretty badly.

So, if weapons and upgrades like these are available for rental for anyone with the right pocket, it may be somewhat problematic...

Also hated that in APB. Upgrade balancing was one of there main problems for me.

Thankfully there releasing skilled districts where all those upgrades are disabled and its just down to stock weapons and cars.