MAG

Who is getting it?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MAG_(video_game)

The game will utilize a new server architecture[7] to support online battles with up to 256 players, with users divided into 8-player squads, with 4 squads forming a platoon, and 4 platoons forming a company.[8][9] Each squad will be led by a player who has advanced through the game's ranking system.[8] Character statistics and development will also increase with frequent gameplay.[10] The players most advanced in rank will be able to either direct the battle or participate directly in combat.[4]

Basic battles will take place within ongoing, faction-based campaigns to encourage the player to actively play.[8][11] The game's E3 unveiling trailer featured large landscapes, tactics such as air strikes and parachuting, and a variety of vehicles, from tanks and APCs to airplanes.[8][11]

Players will be able to customize the face, voice, and armor of their characters, as well as what weapons and kit they carry into battle.[12] The game will be a first-person shooter.[13]

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My kids have been playing the "beta". Doesn't look like my cup of tea, the action seemed too chaotic to me, not much strategy.

When I played the Beta everyone was in formations and what not one guy was giving orders and people actually listened and took it serious. So I guess it depends on who you play with.. To be a leader you need a certain amount of level/experience.

Maybe it was too early in it's release then.... everyone was running around nuts while I was watching but that's good to know.

Going to be a blast with a well formed team.


It's a wild world out there when it comes to multiplayer gaming, especially on the consoles. The PlayStation 3 exclusive MAG will bring up to 256 players together to fight in massive battles, with players leveling up and being given the ability to lead their own troops into battle. But still, won't that simply devolve into madness as everyone goes off and does their own thing?

"We wanted to ensure we took every logical step to deter player griefing," Ben Jones, a designer at Zipper Interactive, told Ars. "Features like protected spawn areas, vote-kick and auto-kick at a certain team kill threshold help to preserve the ideal gameplay experience. You'll also receive negative experience points for TKing, and in a game where XP is vital to progressing your character, we feel that's a solid deterrent."

In fact, experience points will help give the battle focus. To level up and gain the best equipment—in MAG you're given loadouts, not classes to determine what you can and can't do—you need to be a team player. "In looking at other objective-based games we knew that we couldn't just throw any goal at players and expect them to follow our guidelines," Jones explained. "That led us to take a 'carrot' approach and incentivize players to follow gameplay progression by giving them bonus XP. True, you can play the game however you want and we encourage that, but to level up quickly and get access to all the goodies, you're advised to work with your squad, follow orders, and stick together."

Those orders will be given by leaders that have also leveled up far enough to earn the ability to lead large numbers of troops, making sure no rookies take the reins and lead the team into chaos. Gamers overwhelmed by the beta will also be happy to learn that the full game will offer an easier path to get into the experience. "Unlike the public beta, the release version of the game will introduce each player to our least complex gametypes (Training and Suppression) and gradually ramp them up to the intensity of 256-player Domination matches."

Sony released some information on the one-week beta that shows the community's hunger for the game: over one million downloads of the client, with only a hardy few hitting the level cap. "Of the 619,000+ people who gained at least one point of experience, 52,846 of them qualified for Squad Leader, 10,249 people qualified for Platoon Leader, 3,181 warriors made it all the way to OIC, and a mere 143 diehard soldiers made it to the level 60 experience cap," the official stats show.

We're also promised a text-based system to communicate, so even team-members without headsets will be able to participate. While organizing large numbers of gamers has never been an easy task, it's certainly a good thing when a developer tackles the problem head-on and shoots for the stars. MAG is coming to the PlayStation 3 on January 26.

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2010/01/mag.ars

143 reached level 60 in a week... Must play WoW a lot :lol:... That's just fucking sad ahaha.

Getting mines tomorrow

heard this game wasnt all that...

battlefield bad company 2 is what im looking forward too

I'm with you. I played the shit out of the last bad company and I am sure that the next will be worlds better. The level layouts and size coupled with vehicles and most importantly destructible environments equals a good time.

applemonkey said:

heard this game wasnt all that...

battlefield bad company 2 is what im looking forward too

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I just got mine charging up my controller then gonna play.

PSN : SlidinCoupe

128 Players :lol:

This game is fun as hell. You have to have atleast a couple of people in your squad that can play. But the confusion is really not there. you are givin orders and go destroy whatever your told. Pretty cool.

DO NOT like the button layout.

NO LAG

and the battles go on what seems like foreverIts like playing on a map the size of a GTA world. :thumbsup::thumbsup:

sorry but this looks retarded as hell.

That's not the actual game play... They all rounded up in one spot.. It's not really like that.. All 128 players are spread out over a massive map.

looks like fun madness