Global Agenda Catch-all

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I did some searching but we don't seem to have a catch-all for this yet. So making one now.

http://www.globalagendagame.com/

To start it off. Where the heck did this game come from? I heard the name "global agenda" every now and then from various sources. But until I walked past the booth at PAX and stopped in at a demo PC I had no idea what the game was about. Here are my impressions from playing a couple rounds in the Expo hall:

The game seems to be a mixture of TF2, Tribes and Planetside. Players receive a pool of points which function a lot like certs from Planetside. The pool is limited and you can use them to improve various aspects of your character. The PAXer sitting at the computer was kind enough to explain all this this to me before he left. In this case my heavily endowed infiltrator (think scout, sniper and spy combined) was specialized for melee and stealth, with a little sniping on the side. The abilities trees seemed to have a good amount of diversity. No doubt there will always be "pro" builds, but there is a lot of room for tweaking. The other classes which I didn't get a chance to try are a more general soldier. A well armoured TF2 esque heavy. And finally an engineer "robotics" class that looks rather a lot like a 40k Techmarine.

I got into a round and started mashing buttons in lieu of a tutorial. Button 1 was this giant sword. Melee combat is fairly simple, LMB to slash, RMB to block. Blocked hits are reflected back and hurt you instead. But melee shields do not affect guns, so if anyone turtles just back up a step and blast em. Button 2 was a rifle. Unscoped it is a fairly damaging autogun, but nowhere near damaging enough to take on enemy heavies. Scoped in it performs as a fairly inaccurate sniper rifle. Though to be fair all my cert points were spent elsewhere. I forget the order of the rest of the items, but they included a TF2-esque spy cloak plus sprint, a jetpack, and the classic remote detonating "c4".

Getting into combat was quick and easy. The gamemode we had going was the typical area capture plus team spawn tickets model that a lot of games use. My character felt a bit gimped at first, until I got into melee. With a lot of cert points into swords and melee damage I could take down enemies in about 4 hits. Enemy heavies required a bit more dancing.

One thing I didn't like about the game is that each piece of gear can only be used ONE at a time. That means to use the jetpack you must put away all weapons and press LMB to fly. Cloak is the same way, hold down LMB for invisibility. Gear is all energy dependant and every item shares the same pool in lieu of ammo or charges.

Gear customization is varied and apparently crafting based. There are PVE missions you complete to gain money and crafting parts, though they were not in the PAX demo. Somehow the player before me had managed to give my female infiltrator a Santa beard of all things AND a wizard hat. Lots of differently shaped and coloured armour plates on show, thought the overall look of a character never changes so much you can't identify class at a glance.

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So thats about it. Ask a question and I might remember some more of it. I will certainly keep my eye on this one. This is the kind of persistent team FPS I have been craving ever since planetside when downhill.

Tamren wrote:

To start it off. Where the heck did this game come from? I heard the name "global agenda" every now and then from various sources. But until I walked past the booth at PAX and stopped in at a demo PC I had no idea what the game was about.

I recall hearing about how this game is basically almost completely funded by some bored, extremely rich guy who wanted to form a game studio. He doesn't even care if they don't break even on the project.

It will be interesting to see if it catches on. I wonder if the market just isn't into this sort of thing, though. There seems to be at least a half dozen "persistent shooters" that have been released or are going to be soon and the only thing they have in common is that the press seems to give them no attention at all.

I think this is in the MMO forums, but yeah, from what I've seen, this looks like a real interesting game. The game videos show a lot of potential.

Grubber788 wrote:

I think this is in the MMO forums, but yeah, from what I've seen, this looks like a real interesting game. The game videos show a lot of potential.

Yea we've discussed this in the MMO forums. Not sure if it had its own thread or not, but some of us have been keeping an eye on this and trying to get into beta.

kuddles wrote:

It will be interesting to see if it catches on. I wonder if the market just isn't into this sort of thing, though. There seems to be at least a half dozen "persistent shooters" that have been released or are going to be soon and the only thing they have in common is that the press seems to give them no attention at all.

What are some others? The lack of press annoys me because I just never ever hear about them.

Tamren wrote:
kuddles wrote:

It will be interesting to see if it catches on. I wonder if the market just isn't into this sort of thing, though. There seems to be at least a half dozen "persistent shooters" that have been released or are going to be soon and the only thing they have in common is that the press seems to give them no attention at all.

What are some others? The lack of press annoys me because I just never ever hear about them.

Huxley, The Agency are the 2 main ones coming along right after GA.

I think I just found my Infantry replacement.

Infantry? Niseg and me have both played that. He still does, I can't find the time and the launcher install doesn't like me. I wonder if there are more of us.

Thats another reason I like it. Most of the gameplay is 3rd person so it has the same overhead feel as infantry. Hopefully they put in vehicles at some point.

Defib time!

I just got an email with an update on the pricing packages.

PRICING ANNOUNCED FOR GLOBAL AGENDA
Pwning Androids

ATLANTA, Oct. 20, 2009 - Global Agenda players will be able to experience the major features of the game after a one time purchase via digital download or box sale, with no monthly subscription required. An optional subscription package called Global Agenda: Conquest will be available for those players who wish to participate in the persistent Alliance vs. Alliance territory control game-play and access ongoing content updates.

"Throughout our Beta process, our fans, players and reviewers have consistently told us that Global Agenda's combat system is exceptionally fun and that they would love to play it as a multiplayer shooter" said Todd Harris, Executive Producer. "This single-purchase, non-subscription model will enable players to fully experience Global Agenda’s award-winning persistent shooter gameplay."

"At the same time, many players are seeking a deeper experience, and want to engage in large-scale campaigns between player-created groups over limited territory and resources. These players can opt for the Conquest subscription plan which includes our persistent AvA world domination gameplay, and other features typically associated with MMOs."

The specific features associated with each pricing option are as follows:

Global Agenda (one time purchase - $49.99 MSRP) includes:

* Creation of up to eight different agent characters
* Character visual customization
* Access to all combat weapons and devices
* Cooperative Player vs. Environment missions against the Commonwealth NPC faction, AI-controlled enemies, and Boss Fights
* Matchmade Player vs. Player missions with five different game types and over 20 unique maps
* Character progression through 30 levels
* Achievement and unlocks system for individual characters
* Player Inventory for suits, flair, dyes, upgrades, and loot
* Virtual Reality practice fighting area
* Vendors and accumulation of in-game currency
* Text chat with multiple channels
* Built in voice chat during missions
* Ability to join an established player-created agency
* All play is on our single-shard, hosted server environment to ensure convenient and consistent gaming experience.
* Ability to sign up for one free month of subscription at registration (credit card required, can be cancelled at any time)

Global Agenda: Conquest ($12.99 per month, $11.49/mo for 3 month, $9.99/mo for 6 month) includes:

* Access to Alliance vs. Alliance (AvA) World Domination gameplay

* A massive scale campaign between player created agencies and alliances over scarce territory and resources on a persistent world map.
* Attack and Defend Territories in zones that match your agency's schedule
* Agency and Alliance Management – Create and maintain persistent player groups and officer ranks
* Creation and Upgrading of Facilities - Control production and output
* Base Raids – involving up to 60 players per side; coordinated between 6 different strike teams within linked territory instances
* Agency Achievement System, Leveling, and Recognition

* Auction House with bidding and buyouts
* Mail System
* Upgrade Text and Voice chat to support multiple channels and strike teams
* Player Crafting with blueprints
* Additional character customization options including elite character suits, dye colors, and seasonal flair
* Ongoing Co-Op content at max character level
* Ongoing AvA content, multiplayer PvP content, and new social areas

Global Agenda is currently in closed beta testing and scheduled to be development complete by the end of this year toward a Q1 2010 release.

For more information, please reference the Pricing FAQ.

If I'm reading that right, you can play using either one or both methods of paying, with some types of gameplay being unique to that sub/product. That's quite an interesting way to do it.

I like it. Sux that the crafting is subscriber only but if i'm going to be that serious about it I wouldn't mind. The only question is getting into a good agency. Maybe GWJ/CP?

I got that notice in the mail yesterday. It's excellent news. I was worried that, much like DDO's initial launch, I wasn't going to be able to take part in a game I really enjoyed playing because I'm too polygamerous to have an committed, ongoing financial relationship with any one game. The one-time price model fits my needs perfectly.

Greetings fellow GA-focused GwJer's,

I am thrilled to find this catch-all thread. I am very excited about Global Agenda. I'm all pre-ordered, have been playing beta rounds whenever they're available, and am refocusing my old Planetside group toward this game.

There is a lot to like in Global Agenda. Like a few of you, I discovered this game during PAX 2009 and it quickly rose to the top of my "most excited about" list.

Cool, I might join you on that score.

Very nice! Let's reprise that TF2 skill... minus losing in the second round.

I'm interested in this one - persumably if you're in the beta you're under NDA so can't reveal that much?

Yeah, sadly, all I can say is that it rocks. Open beta begins on the 7th, though, at which point the whole NDA thing will be moot. I'll be happy to discuss more then.

Sweet - 1 day to go to that, i'm interested in what the performance is like (I have a AMD Phenom II/2GB Ram/8800GT Gfx)
Also just any info on the game - i'm an older gamer (40+) I enjoy games like MW2 - though not that good at it and the like - will it be too fast for me etc

Tals

docbadwrench wrote:

Open beta begins on the 7th

I will definitely be checking this out. I loved Planetside and if GA can capture some of that feel, I will be happy.

If we can get a group of goodjers together on this we could have some great fun.

jakeleg wrote:
docbadwrench wrote:

Open beta begins on the 7th

I will definitely be checking this out. I loved Planetside and if GA can capture some of that feel, I will be happy.

+1

I have 3 fears/concerns about this. Otherwise I am all in.
1. Latency, many new MMOs and MMO like games have latency problems for a while until they work out server load/ bandwidth issues.
2. Hitting what I aim at. This is partly #1 but also I get scared at random dice rolls behind the scenes when I hear RPG, FPS hybrids.
3. Weapon feel, this is not specific to this game but all sci-fi shooters, they have a tendency because of the nature of the types of ammo/weapons that they just don’t feel right.

I am still watching closely at this and will end up picking it up I am sure, but in my opinion those 3 will make or break this one.

In spite of all the abysmal updates and ugly server problems, I was a Planetside junkie for years. I quit a few times, only to return like a battered wife. It just held so much promise...

There's an NDA in effect for one more day, but I am sure I'm not violating it because I have been so effusive about my experience.

During my beta experience, I have not experienced any noticeable lag issues. When I shoot someone, they get shot. There's been no odd skiing/catchup problems so far.

Also, there are no dice rolls in this game. There is base damage and range considerations - that's it. True, characters can do things like decrease the damage they take (via spec-trees), but at no point (so far) have I been so outmatched that I am ineffective.

This is - by the way - the main reason I detest World of Warcraft. I concede that there is a deep strategy at work, but any game where one high level guy can wipe out a dozen low level guys without getting hurt is a failure. It's just not my bag.

For example, I was in a round of GA over the weekend and managed to kill one guy (LazerFace was his name) a bunch of times. After the match, I saw him in Dome City (the equivalent of Sanctuary for PS players), and he was a level 31. I was level 9. Even with all his specialization, he was not invulnerable. That made me smile.

So far as how the weapons feel, the few I have tried feel pretty good. Additional weapons become available as you level a class, but none of the ones you start with are useless. In fact, I almost never upgraded a weapon in the time I played.

I can honestly say that I have no gameplay complaints so far. I'm quite sure that there will be balance issues - every MMO has them. I hope they have the capacity to handle all the action that will happen on launch day. I'm taking the day off.

My PC is a median speed quad-core with a 9600GT and 4GB of Ram. I know nothing about relative power amongst PC's, so do with that info what you like.

I hope that helps.

I've been keeping an eye on this as I'm a fan of team-based FPS and the continuous world concept. And that I never got to play Planetside.

That being said, I'm still holding back on pre-ordering because of a few factors.
One is how the F2P options will be handled. Can anyone setup servers and play ranked games that still count towards character skill advancement? (Like Battlefield 2 and on a lesser note, Team Fortress 2)

My other worry is Lag as I'll be connecting in from outside the US.

docbadwrench wrote:

Just sold Wired on this game.

thank you sir

If any euros are interested i'm happy to host getting a 4 pack deal which works out at £23.74 (not sure if US could have my gift or not). So if you are interested in joining me let me know - all you would need to part with is the £23.74

Hey Wired, I'm glad you're sold on this! Tonight, I'm getting some decent family time in so I can jump into the public beta on Thursday without ticking off my wife.

is entry into open beta dependant on preordering the game?

Tamren wrote:

is entry into open beta dependant on preordering the game?

Yes

I'm in the pre-order crowd as well. I'm not sure if I'll be playing on Thursday, but here's to hoping.

Fan made demonstration of the classes

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zO8CX...

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