Joystick Required Forums - Jumpgate Evolution News http://joystickrequired.com/forums The latest news, info and events on Jumpgate Evolution at Joystick Required. en Wed, 14 May 2008 01:29:15 GMT vBulletin 60 http://joystickrequired.com/forums/images/jsr_2007/misc/rss.jpg Joystick Required Forums - Jumpgate Evolution News http://joystickrequired.com/forums Contest: Joystick Required is giving away two beta keys to Jumpgate Evolution http://joystickrequired.com/forums/f103/joystick-required-giving-away-two-beta-keys-jumpgate-evolution-4304.html Wed, 30 Apr 2008 20:36:29 GMT > vBulletin Modification Discussions (http://joystickrequired.com/forums/usercp.php) Have fun and please keep all comments/questions/bug reports in this thread or the appropriate forum. The contest thread in the contest forum will be for users to declare their entry. Thanks and have fun. Oh, it's your page so make it you. EDIT: Entry thread to declare your participation is here. >> http://joystickrequired.com/forums/f100/may-contest-jumpgate-evolution-beta-key-entry-thread-4305.html EDIT: First and second get a beta key. First place also gets a Genuine PLUSHY FLUX hand made made by Hornets Mom.]]> Want a guarantee that you will get into the closed beta? Well now is your chance to secure the golden ticket and at the same time practice your master design skillz. Who knows, you may find your true talent.

What hoops do I have to jump through you may ask. Well it's simple and there are only a few rules so pay attention.

JSR has gone through a lot of updates in the last week and with these updates come new offerings. So to kick start some of those new features, this contest will be tied into your usage of them.


Updated Member pages: We have new member pages that are customizable in your user control panel. You must customize your member page as qualification for this contest. I will pick the best 5 that I like and they will go into Poll. The top two vote getters will get the beta keys.

What's the catch you ask? Well, yes there is always a catch. To qualify your user page for the contest you must meet the following requirements.

  1. You do not posses a beta key already.
  2. Your profile page must generate at least 5 comments from unique members who are not yourself or second accounts.
  3. Your profile page must contain at least 1 (non interface - more on that later) topical photo album with at least 5 topical photos that you have a right to display. SFW please.
  4. You must generate at least 5 friends listed on your page that are not your own second accounts. The friends themselves must be unique and not second accounts of each other.
  5. You must start a new Social Group and generate at least 3 members and 5 posts. (Social groups are a new type of topical/customizable thread that can be private or public)
  6. None of the above can be intentionally stupid just to fulfill the requirement. I will be the judge on what constitutes intentionally stupid.
  7. You must post in the thread I will create in the contest forum that you are entering the contest to be considered. (no way for me to know you have updated your profile without this)
  8. You must be an active member here. Meaning you have made 3 legitimate non spam posts. Simple
  9. You may not enter more than one page no matter how many accounts you have. Pick the one you want to use and that's it.
  10. Have fun and don't be afraid to experiment.

So pretty simple and we get to test out our new features and find any possible bugs. And best of all is the possibility of a closed beta key. Good luck.

Now things you should know:

The contest will run through May 20 and no entries will be judged till then. The community poll will run from the 20th till the end of the month.

I just re-did all the url structures for member pages which broke all old links. Don't panic, they should now be redirected to the new links.

You can use images on your page for backgrounds as well as table headers and such. But first you must create a special photo album that is designated for that and upload the images to that album. Then you just choose them from there. Pretty simple and when you create an album there is a selection for designating the album for profile images.

The settings for the new options are in your user control panel (which also just got a face lift for the menus) which is located here. >> vBulletin Modification Discussions

Have fun and please keep all comments/questions/bug reports in this thread or the appropriate forum. The contest thread in the contest forum will be for users to declare their entry.

Thanks and have fun.

Oh, it's your page so make it you.

EDIT: Entry thread to declare your participation is here. >> http://joystickrequired.com/forums/f...read-4305.html

EDIT: First and second get a beta key. First place also gets a Genuine PLUSHY FLUX hand made made by Hornets Mom. ]]> Jumpgate Evolution News Jump http://joystickrequired.com/forums/f103/joystick-required-giving-away-two-beta-keys-jumpgate-evolution-4304.html Jumpgate Evolution Webring http://joystickrequired.com/forums/f103/jumpgate-evolution-webring-4277.html Mon, 21 Apr 2008 07:00:26 GMT Since so many Jumpgate Evolution sites are popping up I cleaned up our old webring code and updated it for Jumpgate Evolution. Feel free to register your site and add the code to your pages. This ring has been up for 4 years now and has had varied activity but has slowed since Jumpgate Classic has faded. Maybe it will get active again with Jumpgate Evolution and all the new sites.

Anyway, it's free and it's been running a long time without fail. Give it a try.

http://joystickrequired.com/jg_webring/ ]]> Jumpgate Evolution News Jump http://joystickrequired.com/forums/f103/jumpgate-evolution-webring-4277.html Jumpgate Evolution Battle Station Under Attack! http://joystickrequired.com/forums/f103/jumpgate-evolution-battle-station-under-attack-4171.html Wed, 02 Apr 2008 16:34:45 GMT Well JSR finally launched it's own Battle Station for Jumpgate Evolution and wouldn't you know it. Some little hot shot in a Halcyon has to start trying to blow it up. Someone tell GrimGriz to man the turrets before it's too late. Looks like he is going for the power core.



Click the image to get to our gallery where you can find a larger image. Enjoy ]]> Jumpgate Evolution News Jump http://joystickrequired.com/forums/f103/jumpgate-evolution-battle-station-under-attack-4171.html Jumpgate Evolution: Some Observations of The Meet and Greet at GDC 2008. http://joystickrequired.com/forums/f103/jumpgate-evolution-some-observations-meet-greet-gdc-2008-a-3821.html Mon, 25 Feb 2008 05:40:50 GMT Several years ago I met up with a few Jumpgate vets at Downtown Disney while on a family trip to Disneyland. So I have experience with the feelings one gets when you first meet up with strangers whom you know real well. I remember how odd I felt when I was walking over to meet them. You get to know people in online games and websites and sometimes you become great friends. But there is always that one missing ingredient with the fact that you have never really met face to face. You have never looked into their eyes, shaken their hands or embraced them with the hug that many long time friends do when they get together. Meeting other Jumpgate players, especially the old timers and the ones you played with, is a wonderful time every time. And this time was no different. I encourage everyone to do this at every opportunity. Breaking bread and a few drinks with friends is what has cemented the bonds of friendship since time began.

We have seen many reviews from players that have met up with the NetDevil staff in Australia, Las Vegas and at their own offices in Colorado. All of which were very well laid out and precise. They have all added their unique brush strokes to the portrait of this game we have been waiting eight years for. Don't expect all that grace and style from me though. I prefer the detailed and unforgiving world of code. Textual communication is just too messy for me. It displays on screen even if it's full of error and lacks good logic. Not so with code. But I will do my best and hopefully you will find some useful tidbit and my own vision will be added to this community portrait of Jumpgate Evolution.

I say work of art because that is what it is. We have all read countless reviews by now. Many have proclaimed it as a beautiful game that words cannot describe. And I must helplessly repeat that sentiment. Until you see this thing with your own eyes, there are no words that convey what the eyes see and the heart feels when you glance at this game for the first time. I was mesmerized at first sight and if I was eagerly awaiting its release before, I am desperate for it now. I have played and beta tested a lot of space games in my time and I have never seen anything quite like this. It's even more astonishing knowing it was displayed on a laptop that was running both client and server. EVE is a pretty game but it is just that, a pretty game. If I had to choose a couple words or coin a phrase to describe what I saw in Jumpgate Evolution then I would have to say it was visual immersion. It's not just another pretty face in the space game genre.

We walked into Jillian's and it was filled with the noise of a staff preparing for a lunch rush. After a quick conversation with an employee we wandered into the pool hall section in the back. There is something about the clicks and clacks of pool balls that draws one in that direction. There they were sitting with their backs to us. We could see the laptop screen from the entry way. We were a few minutes early and they were in a meeting. It was probably meeting number 500 for them at this conference so we didn't interrupt them too much. At first glance from the doorway it was like looking through a magic portal into another universe. Scott Brown's laptop had somehow transformed itself into a Jumpgate and I wanted to go through it right then and there. Luckily for him Awen escorted us over to the table she had for us before I could make my leap.

We were presented with a Jumpgate Evolution T-Shirt and later on Grace brought us a packet with a nice print in it. That one is going on the wall. People started arriving and we had to have tables added and it overflowed into side booths. I wish I could name all the people we met but there were too many. Awen was busy coordinating it all. She seemed to be in her element at that task. At noon the noise level at Jillian's rose tremendously and the conversations became more localized as we strained to hear those around us. To my left was Shelby Cardoza from Curse.com, then Awen. Scorch was across from me. To my right was Hurricane's better half Hcs_Cutie, then Hurricane. Newtron, Herman, skipjack, Josh, and several others filled out the rest of that table. There was much conversation on many topics, too much to ever post here. But I will convey what I can, or what interested me at least.

Hurricane asked Scorch if there would be any penalty for death. His reply was that there would be less than there is now. However, he quickly tempered that statement by telling us that if beta testing demonstrated that it wasn't enough then it would be raised. I got the feeling that the new game engine would allow this parameter to be easily adjusted. After talking to Scorch I am pretty satisfied that this will be decided by beta testing. It's clear they understand that death must have some form of meaning, and it's clear that we will have a voice in the matter. It's more a question of finding the right balance that will satisfy all types of players. It's really up to you and how well you state your opinion when you are in beta. I don't think we can base that opinion on anything from the current Jumpgate. The game play of Jumpgate Evolution, as stated to us, will be far more complex than it's predecessor. So formulas that worked in the past may not apply now. Still, I feel that it is critical to balance the penalty for those that die in combat and those that die in economic endeavors. To be successful Jumpgate Evolution will need to get this right.

Much of the conversation centered on the many paths that players will be able to choose in Jumpgate Evolution. For example, for me as a Solrain. I can please many Solrain groups with my actions, but I will not be able to make them all like me. While pleasing one faction within the Solrain Nation, I may piss off another. The same goes for my relationship with other factions. While much of another Nation might want to have my head on a platter, there will be factions within that nation that want good relations and wish to deal with me. It sounded very engaging and it was clear that my character will have to make good decisions about it's dealings and behavior in this new universe. I walked away realizing I am going to have to put much more thought into any missions I accept or refuse. I found it all very intriguing. Shall I take the dark path, or strive for Solrain Supremacy? Only time will tell

We sat and talked with Scorch for some time. Another question was asked of Scorch that is important to those of us that made a career out of hauling goods. The question was asked again by Hurricane who was on a roll by then. “Will I be able to haul equipment from one faction station to another for profit?” Scorch's answer came quick and it was “No, there is no equipment to haul”. At first I was kind of stunned by the answer. He went on to explain that we will have to make equipment and sell it. Which is very cool and ads a lot of interaction to the game. So is that the end of the cargo squad? We'll see, I am sure we will come up with something. Faction stations have a different purpose in this new game. Perhaps the old cargo squad will evolve into a crafting and delivery enterprise. I am not going to look at it as something removed that I liked to do. More things have been added that I always wanted to do.

It was about then that the whole group seemed to shift around. I had finished my lunch and my beer so I got up as well. I made my way over to the huddle behind Hermann who was sitting at an adjacent booth. I don't think I moved more than a few feet from that spot until we left to go home. Looking at that game just draws me in. The rocks are incredible. I have never seen rocks rendered that well in any space game I have played. I was mesmerized to the point that I even considered changing my citizenship to Quantar. They are absolutely beautiful as Herman maneuvered the little Halcyon back and forth between the rocks. I later asked Scorch how the mining would be handled and he made it apparent that it would be nothing like the current mining in Jumpgate. Asteroids will have veins of ore and you will have to find those veins and mine them out of the rock. And no, the rocks will not turn purple. I was glad to hear that mining would be more realistic than what we have now. I think the days of afk mining are over in Jumpgate. I just hope I don't have to do to much of it. I'm Solrain to the bone.

It would have been nice if they had something more than a starter ship implemented for the demo. But the Halcyon did ok for it's size. We watched Herman shoot up some stuff. The best part was when he attacked the Battle Station. There are some cool new features with that behemoth. It had turrets that did their best to ruin his conquest goals. Obviously this was a demo setup so no, Liet didn't launch from the station and turn his ship into a cloud of debris. He only had the turrets to contend with but it was a good demonstration of the new AI. He explained that they are experimenting with varied degrees of skill for the turrets. They seem to hone in on you as you linger too long. So they may not get good hits in when you first attack but if you take too long they will begin to pick away at you with greater accuracy. And they will also start hitting you in tandem. That will leave a mark I'm sure. It's all still experimental so what we saw may evolve far more by the time it's released. I'm sure beta will hash a lot of it out. It will be a whole different story with Nazgul on your ass. But without such defenders Herman went straight for the turrets. Maneuvering around trying to avoid their shots while picking away at their armor. They were taken out one by one in a ball of flame. Once he took out all the turrets he went after the shield array and then the power plant. And when the power plant went the whole thing went. Now this wasn't just a big boom and flash, even though it had that and it looked spectacular. There was also a cascade of explosions as various parts of the station ended in violence. That was quite a climactic finish to the battle. When the game is live and there are glorious fur balls fighting to protect or destroy a battle station, there will be no doubt when the attackers have won.

As the cascade of explosions from the dieing station dissipated into the cold vacuum of space, loot appeared in their place on the HUD. There were a lot of little green squares to pick from. Don't get all semantic with me when you read this. You can call it loot, debris, spoils of war, cow patties, call it what you want, it's not important. There was a lot of it so bring your haulers. Loot objects can be fun as long as their acquisition is not to complicated. If I have to target it, hit the L button then “alt ctrl t” while holding my breath to grab each one then that would be a bit much for my taste. He seemed to click on them and get some sort of pop up with the item. It wasn't too clear as I was in a discussion with someone as I glanced at the monitor. I would hope that a loot button will open a pop up with a list of all loot within range and you pick as much as you can contain. It wasn't really clear other than the fact that there would be spoils of war. That's another thing I am sure will be worked out in beta. It was encouraging to see that not only can you win a battle but you could profit from it. I don't think the PVP'ers are going to have any problem earning a living in this game.

We watched Herman blow the thing up twice as various people sat down with him to view the game up close. Then we watched Scorch do it again when Herman went to do an interview. It did not grow tiring watching that thing go boom. I was sitting right next to Scott Brown as he crashed into every roid and got owned by a C-1. Just kidding. You could tell that they had been playing this game a lot by how well they handled that little Halcyon. No point an click, it was all pilot controlled. Just the way I like it.

I witnessed a docking at the Oct station. While it was beautiful and impressive, there was no skill involved at all. I wasn't to impressed with the game play of docking. Hopefully this will only be the case in learning sectors and pilots won't be able to run and hide in their battle station quite so easy. I could easily imagine the lameness that would spoil the fun with easy dock to avoid a battle death. I hope they think this one through and let us beta test that feature. I don't think it's a good idea for a combat oriented game.

I want to touch on something sensitive here. I know a lot of people have been attacking Hermann because of his wow statements and the many interviewers that have made statements in his interviews. While I don't want wow in space, I think we need to take all these reviews, including this one, with a grain of salt. I specifically asked Herman about features I have seen in other space combat games I have played and am playing. And each time he blurted out what game that was from. While he may have played wow, like many of you, he has also done his homework on this genre. So give the guy a break will ya? He is very much in to Jumpgate Evolution as a space combat oriented game and so far, he has a masterpiece in the making. At least that was my impression, take it or leave it but I think it's dangerous for us to read to much into the silence and various quotes on the Internet. He seemed like a pretty sharp guy to me.

There was just so much that crossed our eyes in that 2 ½ hours we spent with NetDevil and the horde that flowed over from the convention. My mind is still trying to take it all in and I haven't covered much of it. I'm sure the others that were there with me will fill in the gaps or give their own views of what we saw. As more and more of us Jumpgate alumni see this game unfold we will paint a more complete portrait of what this game is and what it will mean to the Jumpgate community. We have waited and fought long and hard to keep Jumpgate from drifting into space with the hope of a new game with new life. Don't give up now just because it's taking time or because you heard this quote or that statement. This game is progressing, you do have a voice and they are committed to the beta feedback process. That's what I saw, that's what I heard, and that's how I feel.

I would like to thank Scott Brown and the folks at NetDevil for taking time out of that hectic convention and devoting it to Jumpgate fans. To me that speaks louder than any quote or interview. And thanks for picking up the tab Scorch. I was looking for my bill and found out that Scott had grabbed them all up. It wasn't expected of you but it was much appreciated. Of course, had I known, I may have had a few more beers.

I would also like to say how excited I was to meet Hurricane and Hcs_Cutie. We have talked about meeting up since the early days of -=MACK=-. I hope it doesn't take that long till the next time. It was also great to meet skipjack who only lives a few blocks from me. Newtron who lives on that cool houseboat not too far from us and of course Pyrophred, a fellow -=MACK=- alumni. It was great meeting you all and I hope to again someday. It was nice to meet all the folks from NetDevil and others I had never heard of before. I now have faces to go with names which is cool in my opinion. Meet and greets are a good thing. ]]> Jumpgate Evolution News Jump http://joystickrequired.com/forums/f103/jumpgate-evolution-some-observations-meet-greet-gdc-2008-a-3821.html Jumpgate Evolutions Octavius Light Fighter to be called Talon http://joystickrequired.com/forums/f103/jumpgate-evolutions-octavius-light-fighter-called-talon-3753.html Wed, 20 Feb 2008 01:05:50 GMT [table]
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[/td][td] [div]You heard it hear first, Talon is the name of this little baby eater. The lucky winner is Luke who entered the name Talon in our contest to name this ship. That is the US player Luke not the EU player Luke. I am not sure what Luke is going by on the Jumpgate Evolution site since that name was taken by the EU Luke. Oh it's all so confusing now isn't it. :D Whatever name or names you may call him, he will be receiving a signed concept art of this ship from NetDevil. If it looks as good as the Sol Starter ship that Winkkin won then it's going to look nice on his wall.[/div][div]Congratulations on the win Luke. So will you be flying it or shooting it down? :D[/div][div]From what I hear it was a close contest with Teeleton's Gryphon submission. But in the end, Talon won out. I would have liked to have been a fly on the wall during that debate at NetDevil. :naughty2:[/div][div]I think this calls for some live action screen shots. Everyone start chanting "screen shots, screen shots".[/div][/td][/tr][/table] ]]> Jumpgate Evolution News Jump http://joystickrequired.com/forums/f103/jumpgate-evolutions-octavius-light-fighter-called-talon-3753.html Viva Las Vegas...JG Style http://joystickrequired.com/forums/f103/viva-las-vegas-jumpgate-style-3705.html Wed, 13 Feb 2008 02:52:24 GMT It had been at least 2 years since I last strapped into a Phoenix and played Jumpgate, so what the hell was I doing in Las Vegas, the City of Sin, in search of the next great Jumpgate experience? NetDevil and Scorch decided to throw a meet and greet at the Bellagio Hotel for any players (ex in my case) wanting to come by to check out the game. I had a free weekend in Vegas scheduled already, so moving the timetable to accommodate seeing Jumpgate Evolution was a no brainer. Fellow old school pilot Injustice was going to be there as well, so I could find no better reason other than to go slam a few beers with a fellow Octavian.

We met Scorch at the Cafe Bellagio after several hours debating Jumpgate over beers at the MGM Grand. Scorch brought some goodies, glossy print screen shots suitable for framing and NetDevil t-shirts. We got settled in at the back of the Cafe and he loaded up his Dell XPS laptop. After confirming that he didn't want anyone to sign a NDA, he launched several servers (game state, AI, etc) then loaded the client.

The opening video on the main website does not give the game true justice. Graphically speaking, Jumpgate has finally come of age, and in an impressive way. The ship models, lighting, and backdrops are gorgeous beyond words. He cautioned us that a lot of graphics and UI were in place as placeholders for future work before launching into real-space with a Halcyon Solrain noob ship. I always figured Scorch to be a Sol, but I let it slide since he was showing us the future of Jumpgate.

One thing that is noticeably evident is the Scale has changed in Jumpgate: Evolution. Stations are "Ginormous" in size, easily 3 times as large as the old Core stations. The Jumpgate petals (that we all have hit at least once in our Jumpgate careers) are much bigger than ships now, just to give you an idea. The effect on the shimmering Jumpgate bubble is enchanting. NetDevil should just have an animated flash on the front page of their website showing a Jumpgate, it's that cool. Fighting around structures should be infinitely fun, especially the Quantar Core area with massive asteroids and structures everywhere.

There was some concern he expressed about showing proper movement, ala the "Bricks in Space" problem that Jumpgate: Classic had. With the scale so big, it can be somewhat disorienting to really figure out how fast you are going in relation to other objects in space. There is definitely "space dust" to show the pilot which vector he is on, but Scorch still seemed concerned.

The control system seems pretty intuitive for a mouse user. While none of us flew on his laptop (I wouldn't want to anyway with a mouse), he was getting around in sector fairly easy. Of course it probably had something to do with being in devhax mode: doing 1000+ m/s just to see the sights. I couldn't really tell how the dampen affected his flight movement per say, but he did mention that all the AI ships in game use the old control/physics mode. You can still "slide" backwards in the classic sense, but he seemed to turn much faster when moving low velocity, but I am not 100% sure on that. It would have been nice to break out a MS Sidewinder Pro, but we didn't have one handy.

Skillful Speed Docking seems to be a thing of the past. The docking tubes are so large (see scale above), that all you have to do is get close to the docking area. There is also a preliminary launch sequence that takes about 5 seconds to complete before you can control your ship when launched. This is probably in place of the beloved cargo truck in Jumpgate: Classic so pilots can quickly dock and undock in comical fashion. I know some will miss the little truck, but we have to evolve sometime. The station interface is all place holder stuff at the moment, so I won't get into here.

All the ships weapons that were seen in game are of the "Ammo" type. Scorch seemed to share the opinion that beam lasers (aka instant hit weapons) for pilots are not fun, but he definitely wants to see them in capital ship engagement scenarios. The weapons we saw were all firing very high velocity / ROF rounds, so at this point there are no real differences yet. I suspect they are just placeholder weapons when PVP and dog fighting gets to the balancing phase. Missiles were also brought up, and we saw Scorch fire some sort of "pulse" energy looking missile several times, maybe a bomb of some kind, but it is all placeholder graphics right now (the weapon effects). We discussed the need for special type tactical weapons such as propulsion disruptors or shield stripping area affect missiles. NetDevil definitely wants to give pilots more tactical options this go around other than "MS MS MS circle circle circle die/kill" PVP experience of Jumpgate: Classic.

Ships will no longer be bought without engines or other sorts of equipment. Each bird will have standard "From the Factory" fitment so it is flyable. The player will be allowed to modify performance aspects to each ship by adding modifications. Additionally, the player will need to add guns, although I am sure Octavian ships will have them "From the Factory" unlike the other two factions (for new players, that last statement was a joke). The modification system is shaping up to be complex but simple to use, but alas no real details other than the overview.

User interface was a work in progress from my point of view, and he was using the mouse during flight, which will be interesting to see if that functionally makes it to retail. Typically any "pilot" type game doesn't use the mouse in mid-flight, most players will want options to hot key and bind all functions, but we did not see that during the demo.

Beacons were discussed, and Scorch stated he wanted to see beacons become more central to PVP, where squads would not only claim a beacon, but build stationary weapon turrets and other defenses on it. Taking over a beacon will require a lot more than just tuning it by flying through with a BCU. The new beacon game play in combination with player owned Battle Stations will most likely be the focus of PVP warfare in unregulated space.

In the later stages of the demo, Scorch showed us a preliminary "Battle Station" encounter. This is the sort of thing NetDevil wants players to build and attack/defend, but there will also be PVE Battle Stations that require large amounts of pilots and coordination to destroy. I assume this is the large scale "Raids" that other MMO's have, but since I haven't played 1 hour of WoW, I have no idea. What interested me was he really wanted to see player owned Battle Stations. I asked him if any sort of Battle Station content would be in a locked off instance, and he emphatically said "no instances". Not sure if that was in the general meaning, but it was a good sign that no instances will be seen, other than the Simulator.

The last thing we saw was approximately 25 AI ships, both sector defenders and Flux battling it out near a gate. Scorch killed a few flux, but what amazed me was 25+ ships on one screen all dog fighting and I never saw a missed frame or FPS crawl. The game runs silky smooth, and if it runs that well on a Dell XPS laptop with the game state and AI server running, think how well it's going to run on your dual 8800GTX SLI setup. The only lag in Jumpgate: Evolution will be network based from the looks of it.

The C1 flux look pretty damn cool by the way, they have a sweet "skin" texture or effect that makes them look alive rather than another AI ship in space.

We didn't actually see any simulator, but we talked at length about how NetDevil wants to provide a consequence free instance simulator that was mission based. Think Jumpgate: Counter strike and you begin to get the idea. Scorch mentioned separate awards and recognition for being a great "Sim Jockey" and it is safe to say that the old Simulator system of just flying around looking for someone to duel is a thing of the past. This was a very positive development to hear confirmation on.

Capital ships were briefly discussed as being possibly player controlled, but not piloted. Sicking the OCN Fido on a random Quantar squad might be possible, but at this point no one really knows. Scorch would definitely like to see some epic battles with players in fighters between two massive capital ships trading broadsides of laser fire. How it all plays out will be interesting if they put that in before release.

One thing to note here, Scorch is very much focused on the initial game play aspect of Jumpgate: Evolution. His bread and butter of the project revolve around making the first 15 minutes super fun for new players. Injustice and I asked a TON of detailed questions about topics ranging from PVP to ship loadouts, but he simply couldn't answer anything that detailed. His enthusiasm for the game is unlimited however, and this point cannot be underlined enough. It was very evident that his love for Jumpgate is very deep, so that makes me confident the finished product will be outstanding.

Overall I was generally impressed by the Demo. The game definitely has its skeleton, and now comes the meat of the game. I got the feeling there was no real concrete content developed yet, at least not from the showing we got at the Bellagio. You would assume they have a lot of stuff under wraps.

It turned out to be a great trip, and well worth it to see the future of Jumpgate. No doubt many questions remain to be answered, but the prologue I have seen looks to be well done. Of course it was Vegas, and thinking back on it, the real Sin of the trip was not getting any good screen shots or pics. Maybe next time? ]]> Jumpgate Evolution News Karash http://joystickrequired.com/forums/f103/viva-las-vegas-jumpgate-style-3705.html <![CDATA[Las Vegas Meet & Greet: Impressions on Jumpgate Evolution]]> http://joystickrequired.com/forums/f103/las-vegas-meet-greet-impressions-jumpgate-evolution-3667.html Sat, 09 Feb 2008 04:15:46 GMT Ok, for starters, I got a couple of prizes from the goody bag for showing up. Scorch gave each of us an 8x10 glossy of the screenshot showing a 2-point POS with a bunch of AI haulers doing their thing. I also got a Netdevil Jumpgate Evolution T-shirt with the ND logo on the front and the Jumpgate Evolution logo with depictions of a ship from each player faction on the back.

So, obviously, the game looks better than the current one. But I don't think people really realize just how gorgeous this game looks. I mean, it doesn't just knock the socks off of Jumpgate Classic, it literally puts games like EvE to shame. The game is also further along than I thought from a gameplay perspective, though it's not at the player beta stage yet (especially if they want to use it as a marketing tool more than for testing).

I did asked Scorch about an East Coast presentation, and he said there isn't one planned because there are no conferrences on that side of the country. If, however, anyone knows of one, let me know and I'll nag him about it.

So what did I see? Well, I saw the three Core stations and Amananth, all of which look awesome btw. I saw AI haulers, flux, and pirates, and something new that nobody else has seen yet. According to Scorch they're calling them "battlestations" and their are supposed to be both PvE and PvP versions.

Essentially what they are are POS's that have a bunch of AI turrets mounted on them, and it's destroyable, but you have to do it systematically. Blow up a few turrets, and you have to attack the shield generator. Take out the generator, and you have to go for the powerplant. "Take it all out and the battlestation goes boom" is the general idea.

Apparently they will come in different sizes, sort of like POS's, and are both pre-spawned as PvE content or buildable by players for PvP purposes.

Scorch stated they are planning to use an "auction house"-style system for the player craftable stuff, which won't be equipment, from what I understand. Actually, if I get what he was saying, there won't really be equipment at all as we know it. The ships in the game will come with all of that stuff pre-installed (except weapons). The upgrades will come in the form of "mods" which are what the player crafting and loot system are for. Istvan is the one working on that aspect of the game, along with the tag system.

He also mentioned that, while Jumpgate Evolution will have levels like Jumpgate Classic did, they won't be as stringent, and are simply a means to track character progression. Apparently the main source of equipment availability will come from licenses.

A few other things:

The power curve works different now. They did away with efficiency so it's simply a matter of what your ship can support and what it can't due to its power budget. Whether or not that means that using guns that put you into a power deficit are a no-go, wasn't really clear.

The first/third person views are seemless. They basically work the same way as EvE where you control it via your mouse wheel or whatever, and can zoom out from 1st person into close 3rd person, far 3rd person, or even way the heck out there to where your ship is just a tiny speck.

The weapons I saw used were all really fast firing ammo weapons, no instant hit lasers that I noticed. Scorch said his vision for "laser weapons" in the game were more along the lines of what you see in cap ship fights where the laser is a solid persistent beam that sort of rakes across the other cap ships hull/shields.

I noticed Scorch using lateral thrusters a lot, which he mentioned were currently too powerful since he could use them to dodge incoming fire from a standstill. I also watched him bounce off Sol Core a couple of times :jpshakehe , though according to him he was "cheating" (god mode?), so, I dunno.

Inertial dampeners didn't matter that much from what I saw. The ship still drifted along in the last direction of flight when he cut the engines. When he launched from a station and just let it drift he went on for what looked like a good 8k.

Another big change was in the afterburners. Flashfires are apparently gone, and afterburners have been cranked up a lot to compensate, however, when you use them, you can't maneuver hardly at all.

We saw some of the UI implementation as well. From the looks of it we can expect much the same of what WoW has in regards to chat functionality (i.e. seperate, customizable chat windows, and a combat log). The radar system has a drop down menu that you can use to select targets as well. All of this occupies the edges of the screen, so the center is clear of clutter.

You'll notice that I use qualifying adjectives like apparently and supposedly a lot. That's because none of this is set in stone yet. But for the most part what I got to see has me wanting a lot more. :mdr26:

I'm probably forgetting a couple of things, so I'll add it in if/when I remember them. ]]> Jumpgate Evolution News Injustice http://joystickrequired.com/forums/f103/las-vegas-meet-greet-impressions-jumpgate-evolution-3667.html Meet NetDevil and See Jumpgate Evolution in San Francisco Feb 22nd http://joystickrequired.com/forums/f103/meet-netdevil-see-jumpgate-evolution-san-francisco-feb-22nd-3635.html Tue, 05 Feb 2008 19:09:42 GMT I suppose since it's been posted on their site I can finally post it here. NetDevil will be in San Francisco on Feb 22nd at Jillians in the Metreon. Right now it's about 60-70% that I will be there. Any other JSR lurkers going?

Frome the Jumpgate Evolution website
If you happen to be in or around the San Francisco area, you are in luck! On February 22nd, we'll be having a meet & greet at Jillians in the Sony Metreon between the hours of 12pm and 2pm. So...

When - 2/22/08 12pm
Where - Jillian's at the Sony Metreon
Who - The Netdevil team and you!

Please RSVP in this forum so we can get an idea of how many to expect.
]]> Jumpgate Evolution News Jump http://joystickrequired.com/forums/f103/meet-netdevil-see-jumpgate-evolution-san-francisco-feb-22nd-3635.html Jumpgate Evolutions Octavius Light Fighter to be Named by Joystick Required. http://joystickrequired.com/forums/f103/jumpgate-evolutions-octavius-light-fighter-named-joystick-required-3575.html Fri, 01 Feb 2008 08:27:03 GMT > http://joystickrequired.com/forums/f100/contest-name-jumpgate-evolutions-octavius-light-fighter-3556.html Jump ps: Thanks NetDevil [digg][/digg]]]> [table]
[tr]
[td=vertical-align:middle;]

[/td][td] [div]Remember when one of our members, Winkinn, named Jumpgate Evolutions Solrain Starter Ship the Halcyon? Well if you didn't win that one or chose not to participate because you hate Solrain, now is your chance. You may be the lucky winner and have your idea in the game for it's life cycle. How's that for bragging rights. And not only that, you will also receive an autographed concept art of this Oct Light Fighter.[/div][div]First off, Do NOT post your entry in this thread. You may discuss your entry here but nothing in this thread will be counted. On the other side of that coin, do NOT discuss or explain it in the contest thread. The contest thread is for entries only and anything else will be removed on sight.[/div][div]You may submit 3 entries max. Anything after 3 will be deleted. All three entries must be in the same post. So that means you need to have those entries in the post before the edit time runs out. Which is not very long. So it's best if you gather your ideas before posting. Any subsequent posted entries will not be counted. I know, rules rules rules. Well, they are important since a lot of entries would be a big job to sift out and keep track of. Thats why I have a script to do that and thats why only entries in the contest thread. [/div][/td][/tr][/table]So that's 3 entries max, in the same post, and one entry per line. Got it? Don't yell at me if you don't. Remember, I never get to win these things. ;) Also, this is open to active members with 3 posts only. Don't be spamming to get in. A simple intro in the introductions forum and a couple of good replies to an existing topic and our bot will add you to the list. Easy stuff.

Oh, one more thing. Your entries must follow an Avian theme, or things that fly to be more exact. If it don't fly, don't post it.

Anyone using multiple accounts to try and increase their odds of winning is automatically disqualified.

This will run at least two weeks but if there is demand it may run longer. I'm sure most of you will have your's in by then though.

Enjoy the contest and have fun.

The contest entry thread is here. >> http://joystickrequired.com/forums/f...hter-3556.html

Jump

ps: Thanks NetDevil

[digg][/digg] ]]> Jumpgate Evolution News Jump http://joystickrequired.com/forums/f103/jumpgate-evolutions-octavius-light-fighter-named-joystick-required-3575.html What do you think these TRI drones are for? http://joystickrequired.com/forums/f103/what-do-you-think-these-tri-drones-3296.html Wed, 09 Jan 2008 19:36:40 GMT NetDevil was kind enough to send us an exclusive screen shot from Jumpgate Evolution.

The word "drone" makes me believe it is AI of course. So what do you think their purpose is? Target practice? Illusion of TRI society? Target Practice? :D

Give us your ideas on what you think the purpose of these things are for.



Click the pic for a better view. ]]> Jumpgate Evolution News Jump http://joystickrequired.com/forums/f103/what-do-you-think-these-tri-drones-3296.html NetDevil Unveils New Jumpgate Evolution Website http://joystickrequired.com/forums/f103/netdevil-unveils-new-jumpgate-evolution-website-3183.html Wed, 19 Dec 2007 19:48:12 GMT It looks like the devs at NetDevil have been busy. Today they flipped the switch and revealed what has been hidden. A beautiful new website for Jumpgate Evolution. It's not just a beta sign-up page anymore. There is also the first in game video shots on the front page. It looks sweet!

http://www.jumpgateevolution.com

It really looks nice and you can see the beginnings of what may become the new JOSSH developing on some of the sections. Go there and reserve your name quick.

While it's nice to see that there is now a central site for fans of Jumpgate Evolution, Joystick Required will still be here as a Jumpgate Evolution fansite. So don't despair.

Now all we need is beta. ]]> Jumpgate Evolution News Jump http://joystickrequired.com/forums/f103/netdevil-unveils-new-jumpgate-evolution-website-3183.html Jumpgate Evolution Nominated for Most Anticipated MMO for 2008 http://joystickrequired.com/forums/f103/jumpgate-evolution-nominated-most-anticipated-mmo-2008-a-3130.html Mon, 10 Dec 2007 18:30:23 GMT Jumpgate Evolution has been nominated for the Most Anticipated Game for MMORPG's Reader's Choice Awards this year.
Show your support of our game and go vote!
You can vote at http://www.mmorpg.com/showFeature.cf...9/page/4/from/
Under the Most Anticipated category.
Let's spread the news about how cool Jumpgate Evolution is going to be and let's bring this award home! ]]> Jumpgate Evolution News Awen http://joystickrequired.com/forums/f103/jumpgate-evolution-nominated-most-anticipated-mmo-2008-a-3130.html Photos from Down Under http://joystickrequired.com/forums/f103/photos-down-under-3037.html Thu, 29 Nov 2007 18:24:31 GMT Recently (let's say in the last month) Scorch and Hermann went down to Australia for the Australian GDC. While they were there, they met with our Jumpgate Classic fans Toph and Dahalb. If you see yourself in these pics and weren't mentioned, then it's entirely my fault and you can throw wet noodles at me. :)



]]> Jumpgate Evolution News Awen http://joystickrequired.com/forums/f103/photos-down-under-3037.html