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Why The Repopulation will be one of the best sandbox MMOs...

13

Comments

  • LoktofeitLoktofeit Member RarePosts: 14,247
    Originally posted by KaylettaJade

    There's actually a ton of information for people to salivate over, but it's on the Repop boards.

    If it's on the Repop boards, you're doing yourself a disservice because it's not reaching people outside the existing circle. Most people will never read the forums for an MMO. Even of the invested players and dedicated fans, only about 10-20% of them will be reading your boards. Even less will be posting there. Your forums are a great place for the core players to get their information but the worst possible place to relay any information that you want the outside world to read.

    On a similar topic:

     

    If you are a gaming website and wish to link or publish any of our content we give permission to post any content posted with the news and do any editorial modifications as you see fit.  If you wish to be contacted by us whenever we do a news posting or have questions or like to do an interview with us please email us at [email protected] with information about your company/website and any information or questions you might have.

    Source: http://www.therepopulation.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=199&Itemid=462

     

    The gaming press has dozens of news items to pick from each week, if not daily. Don't wait for press to ask you for news or to even ask to be included in your news list. Most won't unless they have nothing else to report on, which rarely happens. A news blast once a month with the latest updates (include an image or photo!) will go a long way toward increasing the game's exposure and reach.

    There isn't a "right" or "wrong" way to play, if you want to use a screwdriver to put nails into wood, have at it, simply don't complain when the guy next to you with the hammer is doing it much better and easier. - Allein
    "Graphics are often supplied by Engines that (some) MMORPG's are built in" - Spuffyre

  • KaylettaJadeKaylettaJade Member UncommonPosts: 144
    Originally posted by Loktofeit
    Originally posted by KaylettaJade

    There's actually a ton of information for people to salivate over, but it's on the Repop boards.

    If it's on the Repop boards, you're doing yourself a disservice because it's not reaching people outside the existing circle. Most people will never read the forums for an MMO. Even of the invested players and dedicated fans, only about 10-20% of them will be reading your boards. Even less will be posting there. Your forums are a great place for the core players to get their information but the worst possible place to relay any information that you want the outside world to read.

    On a similar topic:

     

    If you are a gaming website and wish to link or publish any of our content we give permission to post any content posted with the news and do any editorial modifications as you see fit.  If you wish to be contacted by us whenever we do a news posting or have questions or like to do an interview with us please email us at [email protected] with information about your company/website and any information or questions you might have.

    Source: http://www.therepopulation.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=199&Itemid=462

     

    The gaming press has dozens of news items to pick from each week, if not daily. Don't wait for press to ask you for news or to even ask to be included in your news list. Most won't unless they have nothing else to report on, which rarely happens. A news blast once a month with the latest updates (include an image or photo!) will go a long way toward increasing the game's exposure and reach.

    I realize most people who have noticed this game haven't read the main forums thoroughly. That's the main reason I come over here - to dessiminate the information to a wider audience. I do recommend people who are interested go to the main forums. There's so much information available there for people who have questions. And on top of that the devs, staff, and members of the community answer questions all the time.

    As far as the gaming press goes, I believe the devs send out all of our news updates to the main sites (I'll admit I don't do it, so I don't know who all gets the updates, but I know it gets done). A few sites pick them up regularly, a few others inconsistently. We do try to get them out there, but they don't always publish it. We already do major monthly updates on the game that include most of the change notes and informative pieces on certain features as we get deep enough in to the development to say "This is how it will be". I think that blurb is mostly for the smaller sites/start-ups/blogs and sites interested in doing interviews.

  • WonderweissMWonderweissM Member UncommonPosts: 127
    Idk if this means anything, but only like 1-2k people like it on facebook, and it only got 50k on kickstarter. My question is: Will this game have a good playerbase. By that I mean will I be walking, riding around and not see anyone for good amounts of time? Thanks.
  • OnomasOnomas Member UncommonPosts: 1,147
    Originally posted by WonderweissM
    Idk if this means anything, but only like 1-2k people like it on facebook, and it only got 50k on kickstarter. My question is: Will this game have a good playerbase. By that I mean will I be walking, riding around and not see anyone for good amounts of time? Thanks.

    They need to advertise this game, and no it doesnt cost millions to do so. In todays gaming community, word of mouth means nothing like it did years ago.

  • TweFojuTweFoju Member UncommonPosts: 1,235
    Originally posted by WonderweissM
    Idk if this means anything, but only like 1-2k people like it on facebook, and it only got 50k on kickstarter. My question is: Will this game have a good playerbase. By that I mean will I be walking, riding around and not see anyone for good amounts of time? Thanks.

    social media likes doesn't mean anything nowadays, and you cant expect a 50k mmo production budget to be compared to million dollar mmo production

    plus, this kind of MMO is dependant on the player base to survive ( since it will be f2p with item malls ), and i believe as long as the players keep buying the items, they should keep running

    and i just hope that this isn't another Earthrise, if you heard of Earthrise, they had so much more budget than Repop and they still close down within months

     

    i guess the player base who will be playing Repop are mostly the ex SWG, Earthrise players who always look for sandbox, but GW2, SWTOR etc players will not even look at this

    So What Now?

  • MumboJumboMumboJumbo Member UncommonPosts: 3,219

    A lot to like about this game. Looks like it has a lot going for it.

    Where/what is the best source for the latest info/vids?? Thanks in advance.

  • KaylettaJadeKaylettaJade Member UncommonPosts: 144
    Originally posted by MumboJumbo

    A lot to like about this game. Looks like it has a lot going for it.

    Where/what is the best source for the latest info/vids?? Thanks in advance.

    The best source is the website: http://www.therepopulation.com

    Tons of information on the forums as well.

  • MindTriggerMindTrigger Member Posts: 2,596

    Prior to their Kickstarter campaign I spent some time looking into the game and checking out the developer interactions with their community, on the forums, via montly dev updates (which are huge), and even sometimes out in the wild such as here on the MMORPG.com forums.  I was very happy with what I saw of the game and the developers so I ended up intitially backing them for $50, then did another $30 upgrade and finally purchased a $10 "special" perk.  This adds up to $90 which is not only more than I have ever paid for a single game, but is also the most I have backed a game project on Kickstarter.  I feel good about the money I have given them.

    I'm well aware that Kickstarter is a bit of a gamble, having backed other projects there including non-games, but I also wanted my money spent on The Repopulation to be a show of support for Indy devs who are willing to think outside the MMO box and bring us something other than another theme park.  I'm looking forward to trying the game out and contributing in beta, and playing it in 2013.

    A sure sign that you are in an old, dying paradigm/mindset, is when you are scared of new ideas and new technology. Don't feel bad. The world is moving on without you, and you are welcome to yell "Get Off My Lawn!" all you want while it happens. You cannot, however, stop an idea whose time has come.

  • azzamasinazzamasin Member UncommonPosts: 3,105
    Originally posted by ragnarok635

    The Repopulation may be the science fiction sandbox MMORPG that we've all been waiting for.

    That's a very grandiose statement to make, I know. Hear me out, though, and you'll see why this may just beStar Wars: Galaxies 2.


    First, a little background on the team behind this upcoming MMORPG. The company Above and Beyond Technologies is headed up by Joshua Halls and J.C. Smith. Joshua Halls seems to be a relative newcomer to professional game development, but J.C. Smith has been involved with Nintendo for several years. The rest of the team is an amalgamation of professionals and amateurs with aims to become professionals, and the quality of the game even in its alpha state is testament to their collective skill. Regardless of what happens with Repopulation, I see great things in store for this team.

    Back in June, A&B ran a Kickstarter for The Repopulation that asked for the very modest sum of $25,000 to finish the game by mid 2013. Considering that Star Citizen earned itself seven million dollars through crowdfunding, and that The Repopulation itself earned just over $50,000 in its Kickstarter, I think they were selling themselves a little short. They would have been better served by paying more attention to their Kickstarter campaign at this time. That said, the influx of cash certainly has added a lot of polish to an already-polished game.

    Spiritual Successor to Galaxies

    Even just watching the few videos on Youtube that A&B has released will get you excited about the game if you're a fan of SWG. While the crafting system is certainly different from how SOE did it, preferring to use an overall grading system ranging from F0 to A9 instead of Galaxies' 1-1000 resource attribute system, the feel is similarly complex. Your skill at crafting improves on a per-recipe basis, not just a per-category one, as with SWG. You may be fantastic at producing light weapon components but abysmal at medium weapon components. This kind of system provides for a lot of variety in crafted items, and bodes well for a player economy.

    Also, The Repopulation has a unique item decay system. Items have a Minor and Major condition, which decrease over usage. They can be increased by repairing an item, but repairing reduces the item's durability. Eventually, you will either wear out or repair your item into oblivion, requiring a replacement in much the same fashion as SWG had.

    The Fittings System

    Interestingly, The Repopulation has an item customization system which completely separates visuals from mechanics. You choose the appearance of items using molds, and then you can give the items stats by adding various Fittings. Fittings wear out just like items, and come in the same F0 to A9 grades. There's a lot of complexity here, and a lot of opportunity for customization. Now, that does mean that inevitably there will appear Flavor of the Month item Fitting combinations, but no game is safe from that.

    Fittings first appeared in conceptual form in the now-defunct Hero's Journey, the very first MMORPG built on Simutronics' Hero Engine. Hero Engine, made famous by Star Wars: The Old Republic, has a special place in my heart. I worked as a world builder GM for Hero's Journey prior to its cancellation, and the engine was so easy and fun to work with that I was giddy with anticipation on what HJ would amount to. While that game never materialized, Fittings have seemed to survive through The Repopulation, which also uses Hero Engine. That makes me very happy.

    These Graphics Don't Suck

    Generally, indie games tend to fall into one of two categories - either they're artsy, or they're just bad. On rare occasions you'll find one that hits a very high-quality mark that competes with AAA titles. The Repopulation is one of those that has great visual appeal without catering to a niche audience. Some of the visual feel is comparable to Star Wars: The Old Republic, in terms of animation flow and physics determination. However, most of it has its own particular theme that suits the game's premise very well. The GUI is well presented and clean.

    In essence, The Repopulation's UI looks a lot like how I'd imagine SWG would look, if given ten years to advance. The spiritual succession remains intact there. The icons being 2D instead of 3D is a departure, but a lot of the flavor is still present.

    Creature Handlers Rejoice

    The Repopulation features a pet taming system comparable to SWG's. You find juvenile creatures and tame them, then teach them abilities they can use in combat. Also like SWG and other games since, you can harvest creatures for their parts. However, The Repopulation's creature-harvesting system is even more complex than SWG's. Like with item crafting, you gain skill in harvesting from specific types of animals, so while you might be excellent at fetching skins from the six-legged scorpion-like beasties, you might suck at getting bone from others.

    Oh, and Entertainers Too

    Yes, The Repopulation will have entertainers. And yes, they're a lot like SWG entertainers, being able to buff other players at campsites by dancing or playing music. But they're a lot more, too - they can weave stories, tell jokes, and customize buffs to a degree Galaxies players opined for.

    Nation Building: Beyond Galaxies

    In SWG, player cities were a much-anticipated and enjoyed feature. However, The Repopulation goes a step beyond even this. Not only can players build out cities using buildings, furniture, city walls, and other decorative goodies, but they can populate those cities with NPCs, manage the NPC populace, declare war or allegiance with other player nations, and command player militaries with custom ranks and titles.

    The nation system provides the third faction that SOE never got around to developing in SWG. If you choose to align yourself with a player nation instead of one of the two NPC nations, you have access to a host of customizations that are currently only touched on in EVE Online.

    The One Failure

    No game company, especially an indie company, is immune to failure. In this case, Above and Beyond's big failure is in its marketing. Only through word of mouth is hype spread about this game. While A&B does have a presence at a few major industry conventions, they have no advertising to speak of, and no marketing strategy. As a result, the player population could be devastatingly small at release for such a player-centric game. This may spell disaster for A&B unless they have help.

    So, if you're at all interested in the kind of sandbox MMORPG that Star Wars: Galaxies presented, give The Repopulation a look! I know I'll be following its development very closely over the next year. There's a lot more about the game that's similar to SWG, so head over to their website and check it out.

     

    Source: http://www.dicejockey.com/2012/12/succeeding-star-wars-galaxies.html

    Three words of wisdom:

    • Temper your expectations
    First, the game is being made by an Indie studio which is strike 1, secondly it is a Sci-Fi title which is strike 2 and thirdly it is a sandbox which is strike 3.  None of those 3 things are good for a game and only lead to niche audinces and poor gameplay.

    Sandbox means open world, non-linear gaming PERIOD!

    Subscription Gaming, especially MMO gaming is a Cash grab bigger then the most P2W cash shop!

    Bring Back Exploration and lengthy progression times. RPG's have always been about the Journey not the destination!!!

    image

  • chymoschymos Member Posts: 3
    Originally posted by TweFoju

    i guess the player base who will be playing Repop are mostly the ex SWG, Earthrise players who always look for sandbox, but GW2, SWTOR etc players will not even look at this

    I've seen a number of people who are active in Repop's forums who currently play SWTOR, GW2, and a number of other games....quite a few of which have made comments implying if not outright saying that they're primarily playing those games to pass the time until something they actually enjoy comes out, and they're eager to give Repop a try.

  • RhygarthRhygarth Member UncommonPosts: 259

    Check the video on the main site and tell me that the combat looks fun :P 

    it might be alpha but omg it looks boring as hell

  • ForumPvPForumPvP Member Posts: 871

    sandbox ,box,themebox,park,walk in the park,park at the box,themepork,bleh.

    1.reason.

    roleplaying game ,thanks in advance.

     

    Let's internet

  • Thomas2006Thomas2006 Member RarePosts: 1,152

    I cant commit on the current state of the game. As it seems it has come a very long ways since I was first in the alpha when the game was still using the Torque Game Engine. Back then you could easily see what could become a great game.

    Even though at that time the graphics where extremely rough and the limitations of the game engine could easily be seen.

    It's nice to see that the game has moved over to a more modern game engine. Even though I have fairly extensive experience with the Hero Engine (even have a on going license), I do have my doubts on what can be done with the engine. Even now the engine is still very much a huge work in progress with new additions every few months and such. It is nowhere near the polish of other engines on the market.

    All the screen shots and videos so far so a greatly improved game over the TGE Alpha version back in the day. But I will hold out any judgement on the game until it is released. Trying to say a game will be the next best thing before its even released is kind of like spitting in the wind. It generally just comes right back in your face in the end.

  • MumboJumboMumboJumbo Member UncommonPosts: 3,219
    Originally posted by Thomas2006

    I cant commit on the current state of the game. As it seems it has come a very long ways since I was first in the alpha when the game was still using the Torque Game Engine. Back then you could easily see what could become a great game.

    Even though at that time the graphics where extremely rough and the limitations of the game engine could easily be seen.

    It's nice to see that the game has moved over to a more modern game engine. Even though I have fairly extensive experience with the Hero Engine (even have a on going license), I do have my doubts on what can be done with the engine. Even now the engine is still very much a huge work in progress with new additions every few months and such. It is nowhere near the polish of other engines on the market.

    All the screen shots and videos so far so a greatly improved game over the TGE Alpha version back in the day. But I will hold out any judgement on the game until it is released. Trying to say a game will be the next best thing before its even released is kind of like spitting in the wind. It generally just comes right back in your face in the end.

    Thanks for the fb. Repopulation genuinely interests. What sort of vehicles are in the game?

    /Spitting in the wind is alright if you're travelling at 20mph and it's over your shoulder into your friend's face on a speeding quad!

  • JC-SmithJC-Smith Member UncommonPosts: 421
    Originally posted by MumboJumbo
    Thanks for the fb. Repopulation genuinely interests. What sort of vehicles are in the game?

    At the moment there are two types of transportation vehicles in game. For launch there will also be combat and siege oriented vehicles. Vehicles do support multiple passengers/gunner/etc slots and there will be a vehcle upgrade system as well.

  • darker70darker70 Member UncommonPosts: 804

    Good write up by Dice Jockey,but one or two points stick out  he says Repop is not well known,odd that as as of  today on the biggest Mo site on the net Repop sits proudly at no.2 !!

    Next the devs have a very good reputation with the Hero crowd/devs and Idea Fabrik use Repop as promotion for it's new  2.0 engine and we have a large and mature dare I say intelligent community from many walks of life which helps with any promotion albeit word of mouth as well.

    p>
  • tatbountytatbounty Member Posts: 14

    i don't log in much but i've been keeping an eye on this title for a bit now..hope it releases in good shape..really excited to play it

    happy i didn't fall into the swtor trap..god..i dodged a bullet on that one (puter broke when it realesed)  might have been divine intervention lol

    i don't know jack..but i know his sister :)

  • Crunchy222Crunchy222 Member CommonPosts: 386
    Originally posted by Rhoklaw

    At first this game seemed like a joke. I saw the list of possible skills to choose from and I thought, ya right, what a mess this would be to make. Time has gone by and I've played a few different MMO's since and The Repopulation has proven one thing. It's still here and it's still a magnificent masterpiece. Honestly, I was waiting for ArcheAge to get to the US, but The Repopulation is in my opinion a much better sandbox MMO and will actually become available quicker than I expect to see ArcheAge.

    This isn't SWG 2.0, The Repopulation is SWG 10.0!

    Arche Age isnt a sandbox, its a full fledged themepark with quest hubs.  Only thing is they added a few "rides" that would fit into a sandbox appropriately.

    Personally im not getting my hopes up for this one.  Ill play it rest assured, but i reserve strict judgment for indy sandboxes, untill i can play it, deem it an actual sandbox, and deem that its not shit slapped together witha  bugged feature list and horrible combat (like so many dead and dying indy sandbox attempts)...this game will remain a game i dont get excited for.

    Im really not feeling their faction pvp either.  Why on earth did they feel the need to script factional warfare in this game?  Why couldnt they just let the players form their own alliances ect like a normal sandbox.  This alone gives me the negs on this game.  Yeah i know you can go rouge but still...defeats making a sandbox if your going to script factions for the players to structure their pvp endgame easily.. makes me wonder what else that im not reading about the game that follow this same line of though that players need to be scripted and programmed into a certain direction.

     

    Also, to keep on track with the thread here, i still have yet to see any reason why this will be one of the best sandbox MMO's...other than the OP's post that listed kickstarter campaign ($25k? LOL)and lore and a skill list and thinks thats gonna do it...

  • KarteliKarteli Member CommonPosts: 2,646
    Originally posted by Crunchy222
    Originally posted by Rhoklaw

    At first this game seemed like a joke. I saw the list of possible skills to choose from and I thought, ya right, what a mess this would be to make. Time has gone by and I've played a few different MMO's since and The Repopulation has proven one thing. It's still here and it's still a magnificent masterpiece. Honestly, I was waiting for ArcheAge to get to the US, but The Repopulation is in my opinion a much better sandbox MMO and will actually become available quicker than I expect to see ArcheAge.

    This isn't SWG 2.0, The Repopulation is SWG 10.0!

    Arche Age isnt a sandbox, its a full fledged themepark with quest hubs.  Only thing is they added a few "rides" that would fit into a sandbox appropriately.

    Personally im not getting my hopes up for this one.  Ill play it rest assured, but i reserve strict judgment for indy sandboxes, untill i can play it, deem it an actual sandbox, and deem that its not shit slapped together witha  bugged feature list and horrible combat (like so many dead and dying indy sandbox attempts)...this game will remain a game i dont get excited for.

    Im really not feeling their faction pvp either.  Why on earth did they feel the need to script factional warfare in this game?  Why couldnt they just let the players form their own alliances ect like a normal sandbox.  This alone gives me the negs on this game.  Yeah i know you can go rouge but still...defeats making a sandbox if your going to script factions for the players to structure their pvp endgame easily.. makes me wonder what else that im not reading about the game that follow this same line of though that players need to be scripted and programmed into a certain direction.

     

    Also, to keep on track with the thread here, i still have yet to see any reason why this will be one of the best sandbox MMO's...other than the OP's post that listed kickstarter campaign ($25k? LOL)and lore and a skill list and thinks thats gonna do it...

    BZZT !!!

    If you want people to take you seriously, you have to have your facts down.  ArcheAge is a Sandpark  .. ie sandbox style game / hybrid.

     

    For good reason .. it's easier to get involved in a world that has a story .. a background.  You know why you are here.  Then the rest is up to you.  It's very different from a MineCraft adventure (sandbox) where you don't know anything and just make it up as you go. [minecraft is a good example of FULL SANDBOX]

     

    ArcheAge has classes.  It has levels.  It has quest hubs.  But it also has housing / decoratable housing / player factions / intense player driven crafting / guild & player inter-relation trading / tera-forming (3rd continent) .. etc.  Also on any continent you can make your house.

     

    End game is designed around players, not scripted content (although players can participate in this earlier).

    Want a nice understanding of life? Try Spirit Science: "The Human History"
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8NNHmV3QPw&feature=plcp
    Recognize the voice? Yep sounds like Penny Arcade's Extra Credits.

  • BlackUhuruBlackUhuru Member Posts: 770
    I've been watching this game for years and I'm really pulling for them. It's amazing how much work they have done in such a short time.

    I would love to see some new HE2 vids, all I've seen is old stuff, but even that old stuff looked good.

    My real main concerns are if there is going to be a single server or multiple?

    If its a single server, how will the back end handle the load?

    And also with such a small Dev team how long is it going to take? Is there an ETA for release?

    Still watching from a distance. But when they do release I will defiantly check it out.

    "It would be awesome if you could duel your companion. Then you could solo pvp".--Thanes

  • BlackUhuruBlackUhuru Member Posts: 770
    Damn iPhone app I can't edit my posts lol.

    Edit post above:

    Definitely not defiantly lol...

    "It would be awesome if you could duel your companion. Then you could solo pvp".--Thanes

  • CreepProphetCreepProphet Member Posts: 104
    Originally posted by BlackUhuru
    I've been watching this game for years and I'm really pulling for them. It's amazing how much work they have done in such a short time.

    I would love to see some new HE2 vids, all I've seen is old stuff, but even that old stuff looked good.

    My real main concerns are if there is going to be a single server or multiple?

    If its a single server, how will the back end handle the load?

    And also with such a small Dev team how long is it going to take? Is there an ETA for release?

    Still watching from a distance. But when they do release I will defiantly check it out.

    If you check out the website though you can see screenshots from the HE2 engine in the 2013 preview

    Until things change the plan is having single servers for the game, but having two servers with two rule sets. One server as a more PVE oriented server, and the other with a hardcore PvP ruleset. 

    The devs would have to talk about handling the back end, I'm not really qualified. I'm sure the guys are on it though or the wouldn't have made the decision to go single server.

    Right now, the ETA for release is Q4 2013. That is barring any big feedback they get in beta that may make them push the timeframe back. They want to make sure they get the game as right as they can on relase. 

    Feel free to check out the game forums too. :D

  • azzamasinazzamasin Member UncommonPosts: 3,105

    No thanks, jsut more of the same.

     

    Grandiose promises.  Amazing Realism.  Authentic combat.  Realistic animations.  Emergent Gameplay.

     

     

     

     

    All in an indie developers budget.  More of 1 month after release, the servers die off due to piss poor performance, failed promises and obfuscation of truths.  Seen it a million times, indie studios try to lure you into false promises and deliver you a rotten game with bugs, issues galore.

    Sandbox means open world, non-linear gaming PERIOD!

    Subscription Gaming, especially MMO gaming is a Cash grab bigger then the most P2W cash shop!

    Bring Back Exploration and lengthy progression times. RPG's have always been about the Journey not the destination!!!

    image

  • zekeofevzekeofev Member UncommonPosts: 240

    I love everything about this game except the payment model. Why does a sandbox game have to have a ftp model. Blah....

     

     

  • ReaperUkReaperUk Member UncommonPosts: 758
    Originally posted by zekeofev

    I love everything about this game except the payment model. Why does a sandbox game have to have a ftp model. Blah....

     

     

    Maybe it's because the F2P payment model has been shown to be successful for other games?

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