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Hello.
My name is Durel and my team will be doing a sneak peek of the upcoming MMOFPS, Global Agenda. I am looking for what the community wants and what they want to know about the game,
I have made a post on ::
http://barngamerz.com/what-questions-do-you-have-for-the-global-agenda-team
..looking for the community to ask the questions and to give suggestions of the game. Later this month we will be going to Atlanta, Georgia Hi-Re Studios for interviews and questions/suggestions talk.
Complaints, rage, suggestions and in-depth questions are very welcome. Leave a question and yours may be cited in the interview next week.
Comments
YES!
Please ask:
"Will Global Agenda be available through Steam?"
And if the anwser to that question is "yes" (and I suspect it will be) then please also ask:
"Will Global Agenda be available WITHOUT Steam?"
I have serious doubts about this issue.
The History of the Order of The Golden Shields
"can i have a beta key please?"
It's on steam, I can even see my friends playing in the beta on steam. It makes me jealous.
Currently restarting World of Warcraft
Yeah, I saw it on Steam too. Thats why I'm asking the question. I'm pretty sure the anwser to the first question has already been decided. But its the second question I really want to know the anwser to. I really like the way this game is going, but if its Steam only then I won't be playing because I refuse to use Steam.
The History of the Order of The Golden Shields
I feel ya. I hate steam too, but no other way to play TF2/Garry's Mod, so I'm stuck with it.
Currently restarting World of Warcraft
Pardon me for not being 'up to speed' on steam. What issues does steam have(honestly please)? As far as im aware, GA will be similar to any mainstream MMO. It will have its own stand-alone client and you'll launch it as you would WoW, EQ2, Planetside, and any other title out there. Steam appears like a base-station for server launching into valve titles such as TF2, Half-Life/2, L4D, and shooters(CoD4,BF2,and so on). Signing up tonight, it seems like a multi-use site with roots from Xfire/Fileplanet/Direct2Drive/Yahoo Groups and others. Am I way off? lol
I really do not have any questions. Ive been following since Mid January. Hi-Rez has been incredible with its community building efforts as well as communicating better than any studio ive experienced in MMO's for 10+yrs. Plus, anything id really want to know wouldnt likely be shared till after NDA drops later this year. Cannot wait for this to launch.
One question: Where the hell is my beta invite?
Steam is a carefully disguised form of DRM (Digital Rights Management). Yes, it has a few nice (but totally unnessary) features, but its still DRM.
For online games (such as "Left 4 Dead" or Team Fortress for example) I don't have a major beef with it. And if it were limited to online games I might even be okay with it.
But Valve doesn't limit the use of Steam to their online games. Its mandatory for ALL of their games. For single player games it makes no sense that I'm forced to log onto the internet just to reassure Valve that I am the legal owner of a game I have already paid for. Thats just plain abuse of the customer. And this is the major problem with ALL DRM. It does nothing to stop software pirates because they can simply remove the DRM from the game (which often leaves them with a superior version of the game that runs faster and better without the DRM using system resources). Meanwhile customers who did legally pay for and obtain their copy of the game are burdened down with the inconvenience of having to put up with totally pointless DRM. It makes no sense.
Steam also makes no sense for Global Agenda. Its already an online game, so we can only play if we have paid our subscription fee. So why use Steam as a third party to distribute the game? Steam would be nothing but an unnessary middle man between the players and the real owners of the game. I have nothing aginst a digital download version of the game, but I neither need nor want Steam to be a part of the deal. Just let me pay my subscription and purcahse fees directly to the developer and I'll download the game from their website.
And as you pointed out, even if I wanted the other "features" of Steam (which I don't), there are already many other services out there such as XFire which offer those features.
The History of the Order of The Golden Shields
Ive never seen Steam even ONCE try and Hide or Claim its not DRM... Where the heck would you even get the Idea it wasent?
You really thing anyone is going to let them publish their games on Steam w/o some kinda DRM? "Hey let me barrow your account key, Im gana Download all your games"
If ye love wealth greater than liberty, the tranquility of servitude; greater than the animating contest for freedom, go home from us in peace. We seek not your counsel, nor your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you; May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen.
Samuel Adams
Ive never seen Steam even ONCE try and Hide or Claim its not DRM... Where the heck would you even get the Idea it wasent?
You really thing anyone is going to let them publish their games on Steam w/o some kinda DRM? "Hey let me barrow your account key, Im gana Download all your games"
Is english your first language?
I never said Steam "hides" I said it is "Disguised" which is a word with a totally different meaning. It would be hidden if it were a rootkit that installs without your knowledge or premission, like SecuROM. In this case it is disguised behind a whole slew of seemingly useful "features" so that people will have the reaction that we saw from DeamonShark: "Whats wrong with steam? Its just like Xfire isn't it??"
And... Do I think that anyone is going to let "them" publish "their" games on Steam without some kind of DRM...? ...What? Steam IS DRM, I thought we already agreed to that. So no, I guess I don't think that anyone is going to let "them" publish "their" games on Steam without DRM, because Steam itself is DRM which means that anything published on Steam has DRM by merit of the fact that Steam itself is DRM thus everything on Steam has DRM... which if you will recall is exactly my problem with Steam in the first place.
Now maybe the point you were trying to make was that you think all DIGITAL DOWNLOADS need DRM to prevent people from simply sharing them with their friends. That arguement actually has some merit behind it. But that was never my complaint with Steam. My complaint with steam has nothing to do with Digital Downloads. My complaint is that even if I go to the store and buy a BOXED COPY of a SINGLE PLAYER GAME made by VALVE, I will STILL have to log into STEAM to play it. THAT is nothing but an inconvenience for me and since I already paid for my boxed copy of the game using Steam as a form of DRM is unnessary.
My point with Global Agenda and Steam is also similar: I can only play the game if I have paid my monthly subscription fee so there is no need for DRM. That means there is no need for Steam either. Just let me buy a boxed copy of the game and I'll log directly into the servers for the game. Steam would be nothing but an annoying middle man.
The History of the Order of The Golden Shields
Ive never seen Steam even ONCE try and Hide or Claim its not DRM... Where the heck would you even get the Idea it wasent?
You really thing anyone is going to let them publish their games on Steam w/o some kinda DRM? "Hey let me barrow your account key, Im gana Download all your games"
Is english your first language? Im wondering if its yours...
I never said Steam "hides" I said it is "Disguised" which is a word with a totally different meaning. It would be hidden if it were a rootkit that installs without your knowledge or premission, like SecuROM. In this case it is disguised behind a whole slew of seemingly useful "features" so that people will have the reaction that we saw from DeamonShark: "Whats wrong with steam? Its just like Xfire isn't it??" So theres a Problem with X-Fire now? Why bring it up?
And... Do I think that anyone is going to let "them" publish "their" games on Steam without some kind of DRM...? ...What? Steam IS DRM, I thought we already agreed to that. So no, I guess I don't think that anyone is going to let "them" publish "their" games on Steam without DRM, because Steam itself is DRM which means that anything published on Steam has DRM by merit of the fact that Steam itself is DRM thus everything on Steam has DRM... which if you will recall is exactly my problem with Steam in the first place. Whats wrong with Drm? The publisher is protectng their product from you?
Now maybe the point you were trying to make was that you think all DIGITAL DOWNLOADS need DRM to prevent people from simply sharing them with their friends. That arguement actually has some merit behind it. But that was never my complaint with Steam. My complaint with steam has nothing to do with Digital Downloads. My complaint is that even if I go to the store and buy a BOXED COPY of a SINGLE PLAYER GAME made by VALVE, I will STILL have to log into STEAM to play it. THAT is nothing but an inconvenience for me and since I already paid for my boxed copy of the game using Steam as a form of DRM is unnessary. Its Their game. If they want it to use their software then it Should. and theres always offline mode.
My point with Global Agenda and Steam is also similar: I can only play the game if I have paid my monthly subscription fee so there is no need for DRM. That means there is no need for Steam either. Just let me buy a boxed copy of the game and I'll log directly into the servers for the game. Steam would be nothing but an annoying middle man. If the game is Designed from the ground up to use Steam then why wouldent they use it? They probably Dont wana deal with Content servers and the bandwith they eat up. (Rember it aint cheap)
If ye love wealth greater than liberty, the tranquility of servitude; greater than the animating contest for freedom, go home from us in peace. We seek not your counsel, nor your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you; May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen.
Samuel Adams
There is no problem with Xfire. I think you need to re-read this ENTIRE thread from the start again, slowly this time. My comment about Xfire was in refrence to a post by "DemonShark" who was under the false impression that Steam was just another service like Xfire. The difference between Steam and Xfire is that Xfire is not installed without my premission when I buy a game from Valve and it does not limit my ability to use software I legally own and paid for if I don't have an internet connection.
I've explained several times now what is wrong with DRM. To put it simply it does NOTHING to prevent piracy (there has yet to be a system of DRM that pirates could not break) but it does a LOT to inconvenience people who are the legal owners of software that they paid for. I can't dumb it down for you any more than that. Maybe you should visit defectivebydesign.org and/or Reclaim Your Game for a more detailed description of how DRM is an insult to gamers and a threat to the security of your computer.
Offline mode solves few problems with Steam. Steam will still be installed on your computer without your premission, you will still be forced to access the internet on a regular basis to "activate" your product and Steam still has to be running in the background using up system resources while you play. All of this while still doing nothing to prevent piracy.
I've seen no sign that Global Agenda is "designed from the ground up" to use Steam. If you have some evidence of this then by all means please present it to us as I would love to see it and I'm sure many others would as well.
As for the cost of running servers, thats why I'm paying a purcahse price for the game as well as a monthly subscription fee. Hell, Guild Wars is free to play and I don't hear NCsoft complaining about the cost of servers or asking Steam to run their game for them.
The History of the Order of The Golden Shields
They're using steam to get their game to a wider audience. If they just tried to sell Digital Downloads (They most likely wont have Box copies I'm thinking) they wouldn't fare as well. But since they're going with steam, more people will buy it.
Currently restarting World of Warcraft
^^This is what im aware of too. GA is exactly like any other MMO. It is an MMO. Its not just quick-launch FPS matches. Maybe that is where Raltar isnt informed of. Think next gen Planetside x 1,000 w/pve. sanders is right, more people will buy it.
I said that I wasnt 'up to speed' on Steam. Meaning that I really had no impression besides just what the site had roots from other services offered by many other sites already. Either way I appreciate you giving me your take on it Raltar. As above I really think you will not need to use Steam for GA. Good question though, I hope its a negative on Steam and you end up playing. Also you spelled my damn name wrong! No worries, I fixed it. :P
Thread back on track Questions for Hi-Rez Studios - Global Agenda!!!
I hope it is the case that they are offering Steam as simply one option to access the game and that other options will also be offerend. If that is the case I will not complain overmuch and will just be happy to order a boxed copy and play the game directly through their servers. But since I could find no information in their otherwise very complete FAQ on this issue, I would still like to see the question asked so we can get a firm anwser on this.
And sorry about the name misspelling! I hate when people do that to me so rest assured I didn't do it to you on purpose! I just glanced at your name real quick and Demon SHARK sounded like a pretty good name so I assumed that was what it was. I'll get it right next time.
The History of the Order of The Golden Shields
My question:
Why hate elves? I love them!
Hope the game pans out ok but Sci Fi gun MMO's are primarly flops...... cuss they have NO ELVES.
You can check out the studio tour and developer interview video here:
http://barngamerz.com/global-agenda-studio-tour-game-preview-and-interview/
I will be developing a Q&A to run by the devlopers every now and then to get your questions answered.
Enjoy the preview
I have to say... pretty dissapointing.
This video really reveals no new information. It feels like this video exists just to hype the game by repeating all the same stuff we have already heard before. People who know very little or nothing about Global Agenda would get a nice "overview" of what the game is about by watching this, but those of us who already have been following the game for some time will probably notice that most of the gameplay footage used in this video is recycled from previously released videos. The "questions" he was asked all seem to be from the FAQ on their site (almost as if someone said off-camera before the interview started "you can only ask things that have already been anwsered by the FAQ")!
Who exactly was that female asking the questions during the interview anyway? She seems like she must be an employee of Hi-Rez because she was wearing a T-Shirt with their name on it and he kept talking to her like she worked there (comments like "as you know" or "as you have seen yourself" ect). I didn't think she was anywhere near aggressive enough during that interview. You can't let game developers do all the talking or they will never say anything you need to know, which is exactly what happened to this video.
I also notice that my question about STEAM was not asked. How hard would it have been to get this in there: "Hey, how is the distribution for this game going to work? Will players be able to buy traditional boxed copies of this game or is it going to be a digital download through STEAM only?" Or was that not on the list of 'approved' questions that was allowed to be asked during the interview?
About the only part of this interview that actually had me interested was when he mentioned how much focus they have on keeping this game PC only. But that was another piece of information we have already seen before...
The History of the Order of The Golden Shields
I would ask " When you guys decided to go with heavy instancing, did you say to yourselves: Let's make a crappy game that really isn't a MMOG."