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Games => General Gaming => Topic started by: MysterD on Tuesday, November 07, 2006, 05:27:17 PM

Title: Hellgate: London - 2018 Update: Coming to Steam (Reply 61)
Post by: MysterD on Tuesday, November 07, 2006, 05:27:17 PM
UPDATE - 10-24-2018:
Steam Store - Hellgate: London to re-launch on Steam...as a Single Player Game. (https://store.steampowered.com/app/939520/HELLGATE_London/)


ORIGINAL POST:
EA to co-publish Hellgate: London (http://ve3d.ign.com/articles/744/744519p1.html)

Quote
EA Snags Hellgate London
November 07, 2006 - EA has signed a deal to co-publish Flagship's upcoming FPS/RPG, Hellgate London.

"Hellgate: London is more than just a highly-anticipated PC game. It is the cornerstone of a franchise and that requires a different approach than the average product," said Makoto Iwai, Senior Vice President of the Development Group at NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc. "With an industry-leading marketing and sales network, our co-publisher EA brings expert knowledge and resources to our partnership that will ensure this AAA title will reach the largest market possible."

"We are thrilled that NAMCO BANDAI chose EA as its partner on this highly-anticipated game," said David DeMartini, Vice President & General Manager, EA Partners. "We are very excited to be involved with Flagship Studios' first title. The talent at Flagship Studios and NAMCO BANDAI, combined with EA's marketing expertise and publishing resources sets the stage for a blockbuster worldwide launch."

"This partnership assures the best possible outcome for Hellgate: London from both a development and customer-reach standpoint." said Bill Roper, CEO of Flagship Studios. "By working with both companies in their undisputable areas of strength and expertise, we can bring the game to as many people as possible while maintaining our development focus and schedule at Flagship Studios."

-- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
Title: Re: Hellgate: London enters (co-publishing) Hell -- EA to co-publish it
Post by: Quemaqua on Tuesday, November 07, 2006, 07:23:25 PM
Eh.  At least they're only co-publishing and coming into the whole thing late in the game.  But still... fucking hell.  Why won't EA just fucking die?
Title: Re: Hellgate: London enters (co-publishing) Hell -- EA to co-publish it
Post by: MysterD on Sunday, December 10, 2006, 05:26:48 AM
Lots of new screenies on IGN (http://media.pc.ign.com/media/737/737992/imgs_1.html)

Here's a few screenies...
(http://pcmedia.ign.com/pc/image/article/744/744626/hellgate-london-20061107034347872.jpg)

(http://pcmedia.ign.com/pc/image/article/750/750182/hellgate-london-20061208040626100.jpg)

(http://pcmedia.ign.com/pc/image/article/750/750182/hellgate-london-20061208040619084.jpg)

(http://pcmedia.ign.com/pc/image/article/750/750182/hellgate-london-20061208040604584.jpg)

(http://pcmedia.ign.com/pc/image/article/750/750182/hellgate-london-20061208040606006.jpg)

(http://pcmedia.ign.com/pc/image/article/744/744626/hellgate-london-20061107034400856.jpg)
Title: Re: Hellgate: London Thread
Post by: Pugnate on Sunday, December 10, 2006, 06:09:15 AM
What engine are they using? Proprietary?
Title: Re: Hellgate: London Thread
Post by: MysterD on Monday, January 08, 2007, 02:35:41 PM
What engine are they using? Proprietary?
Yeah, I think so.

I think there is also some Middleware being used, like Havok Physics.
Title: Re: Hellgate: London Thread
Post by: MysterD on Monday, January 08, 2007, 02:39:20 PM
Release date set for 2007 (http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=22062)

Quote
PRESS RELEASE: EA AND NAMCO BANDAI GAMES AMERICA ANNOUNCE SUMMER 2007 SHIP WINDOW FOR HELLGATE: LONDON
Press release supplied by Games Press 15:00 08/01/2007

Electronic Arts, Chertsey UK. – January 8, 2007 – Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) and NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc. today announced a summer 2007 worldwide ship window for the highly-anticipated online action RPG Hellgate: London™, the first original PC title from premier developer Flagship Studios.

“We are all committed to making Hellgate: London absolutely the best game possible,” said Bill Roper, CEO of Flagship Studios. “The anticipation surrounding the game is immense and we are looking forward to its launch being a truly worldwide event.”

Hellgate: London combines the depth of role-playing games and the action of first-person shooter titles, while offering infinite playability with dynamically generated levels, items, enemies and events. The player creates a heroic character, completes quests, and battles through innumerable hordes of demons to advance through experience levels and branching skill paths. A robust, flexible skill and spell system, highly customizable appearances, and a massive variety of randomly generated equipment allow players to create their own unique hero.

Hellgate: London is currently being featured on the show floor of the 2007 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas from January 8-11 in Central Hall at the Microsoft booth (#7145) and Intel booth (# 7153) and in South Hall at the Dell booth (Level 3, #30363).

For more information about the game, log onto www.hellgatelondon.com
Title: Re: Hellgate: London Thread
Post by: Pugnate on Monday, January 08, 2007, 03:06:11 PM
Its the guys who made Diablo. So by 2007 they actually mean 2037.
Title: Re: Hellgate: London Thread
Post by: MysterD on Monday, January 08, 2007, 04:01:55 PM
Its the guys who made Diablo. So by 2007 they actually mean 2037.

But unlike Duke Nukem Forever, Diablo actually got RELEASED. :P
Title: Re: Hellgate: London Thread
Post by: Quemaqua on Monday, January 08, 2007, 07:10:07 PM
I hate it when they give year dates.  Who fucking cares?  Don't even bother saying anything until you've got something at least *relatively* concrete.  Annoying.  Anyway, still looking forward to it, still pissed at EA's involvement.  I want to boycott, but I can't.  I want Flagship to do well and I'm not going to punish them in an attempt to get around EA.
Title: Re: Hellgate: London Thread
Post by: idolminds on Tuesday, January 09, 2007, 07:09:59 PM
Get ready for a huge buzz kill: pay to play multiplayer (http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/45282).

Quote
In addition to yesterday's announcement that Hellgate: London will be shipping in Summer 2007, developer Flagship Studios revealed this week that the game's multiplayer component is a subscription-based MMO. Speaking to Shacknews at CES in Las Vegas, CEO Bill Roper noted that the game is a full scale massively multiplayer game, with genre trappings such as guilds, continually developed content, a full social system, and raid-type gameplay.

Drawing similarities to ArenaNet's Guild Wars, the Hellgate MMO is heavily instanced. Group and solo PvE is the game's main focus; PvP will exist in a small scale form, but is not a major element of the initial launch. It will also feature a Hardcore mode similar to that found in Blizzard's Diablo II, a game on which many members of the Hellgate team worked. Hellgate's MMO will contain all of the missions and story from the single-player aspect of the game, as well as exclusive gameplay modes and content. Like the single-player game, the MMO will be comprised of dynamically generated areas and items. Further content will be continually added over time by a dedicated Flagship team.

Flagship expects to launch an open beta prior to the launch of the game. Pricing details have not yet been determined, though Roper noted that there will be some kind of trial or free play system for those looking to get a taste of the game without commitment.

"I think that just as Diablo and Diablo II started this religious argument over whether they're RPGs or not, I think that Hellgate will spark that same debate over whether it's an MMO or not," commented Roper, who added that the game has been designed as an MMO from day one. Check back this week for an extensive interview with Roper, delving more comprehensively into the online aspects of Hellgate: London.

If its like $5 a month and offers something substantial, I'd probably still go for it. But...fuck, I already have Guild Wars for online instanced semi-MMO playing and it doesn't have a monthly fee. What will Hellgate offer on top of that to make it worthwhile?

*EDIT*

Heh...his little Q&A will be major damage control. Nearly everyone went from "I want this game!" to "Fuck that game!"

If they are smart, they will do this: regular MMO junk with a fee. You know, towns full of people, guilds, whatever (just forget Guild Wars has that for free...). However, you can simply host a game where you and a group of friends can go kill stuff free of charge. You don't get some of those extra things, but you don't really need them either. Who needs to form a guild when you play with the same handful of people anyway?

We'll see how this pans out. It was a dick move to just drop this on people now. This kind of thing you need to say from the first announcement.

Foil hat theory: EA publishing saw a path to easy money.
Title: Re: Hellgate: London Thread
Post by: MysterD on Tuesday, January 09, 2007, 07:43:29 PM
Hellgate: London to have a MP fee? Bummer for MP news.

I will still want to play the SP, though.
Title: Re: Hellgate: London Thread
Post by: Quemaqua on Tuesday, January 09, 2007, 10:11:11 PM
I agree that this was a dick move.  I'm pretty disappointed because suddenly however cool the SP stuff is going to be, it seems like nothing more than a shadow to what'll be offered online.  And that sucks balls.  Not to mention it isn't something I'm willing to pay for because, like idol, my needs in that area are currently fulfilled and I see little reason to go anywhere.  Besides, at this point I can't even pay for the game currently fulfilling my needs, so... wtf?  This is crap.
Title: Re: Hellgate: London Thread
Post by: Pugnate on Tuesday, January 09, 2007, 11:33:44 PM
That is FUCKING BULLSHIT FUCKING HELL RAT BASTARDS!

Quote
"I think that just as Diablo and Diablo II started this religious argument over whether they're RPGs or not, I think that Hellgate will spark that same debate over whether it's an MMO or not," commented Roper

That's because you are calling it an MMO just to fucking justify your fucking bullshit fees. I've been following this game since forever, and not once do I remember anyone from your team calling it an MMO, so fuck you. And fuck you for sleeping with the devil.

I bet it was EA's damn idea.

edit:

I love how on shacknews the previous articles on Hellgate had on average 10 comments, and this has 140.
Title: Re: Hellgate: London Thread
Post by: idolminds on Wednesday, January 10, 2007, 07:00:22 AM
Its such an odd comment as well. Guild Wars people debate if its really an MMO. You go into towns and there are lots of other people to meet, group with, trade with, etc. It "feels" like an MMO, but theres no fee. So is it? The world is instanced so...maybe it isnt. Hmmmm....

But as soon as you charge a monthly fee, its an MMO. Or at least, it freaking better be if you're charging us.
Title: Re: Hellgate: London Thread
Post by: MysterD on Wednesday, January 10, 2007, 02:41:12 PM
Its such an odd comment as well. Guild Wars people debate if its really an MMO. You go into towns and there are lots of other people to meet, group with, trade with, etc. It "feels" like an MMO, but theres no fee. So is it? The world is instanced so...maybe it isnt. Hmmmm....
MMO = Massive Multi-player Online.

I think the core element for a MMO is that the game has a CENTRAL server ran by ONE corporation that you can hop on at any given time pretty much. NCSoft runs all the servers for GW; no players run the server. For WoW, Blizzard runs all the servers; not the players. 

But, GW is kind of an old duck -- b/c you don't run around w/ 7,000,000 other players all in the same area; y'all are cut off to only bringing so many w/ you per a "District"; in which this often just feels like a Co-Op MP game. Though, there are PvP elements, too....

NWN2 is a weird one, as you can play MP on NUMEROUS different servers ran by numerous players; hell, you can even keep playing over a CENTRAL SERVER that someone has set-up for a Persistent World like say an MMO.

Title: Re: Hellgate: London Thread
Post by: MysterD on Wednesday, January 10, 2007, 02:46:59 PM
I agree that this was a dick move.  I'm pretty disappointed because suddenly however cool the SP stuff is going to be, it seems like nothing more than a shadow to what'll be offered online.  And that sucks balls.
Exactly.

Quote
Not to mention it isn't something I'm willing to pay for because, like idol, my needs in that area are currently fulfilled and I see little reason to go anywhere.  Besides, at this point I can't even pay for the game currently fulfilling my needs, so... wtf?  This is crap.
The game can be played either ONLINE (MP style) or OFFLINE (SP style), so this really begs the next question -- is Hellgate even an MMO???

At least w/ GW, you know it has the MMO element b/c it cannot be played offline.
Title: Re: Hellgate: London Thread
Post by: MysterD on Wednesday, January 10, 2007, 04:21:28 PM
More on the ordeal of Hellgate: London having a monthly fee or not.

Looks like it is not final yet on if the MP part of Hellgate will be subscription free based per month, FREE, or who knows what....

...We'll have to wait, for more info on their final decision, I guess.... (http://www.hellgateguru.com/forum/showthread.php?p=54894#post54894)

Quote from: Scraper-X
We have a short interview with Ivan Sulic, Flagship Studios' community manager of Hellgate: London concerning the recent hubbub that's been going around the gaming media concerning the online subscription fees for the game.


    Scaper-X
    You folks are the talk of the internet.

    Ivan
    Lots of hubbub over some Bill quote or misquote. I haven't even been able to follow up on just what he said yet. The directors still have not finalized what exactly our online component will be. So Moses didn't have the good lord blast a $500 a month price tag into stone or whatever.

    Scaper-X
    The phrase being quoted most of all is, "I think that just as Diablo and Diablo II started this religious argument over whether they're RPGs or not, I think that Hellgate willspark that same debate over whether it's an MMO or not."

    Ivan
    Well, that quote is more about the content. Since we're instance based and revolve predominantly on party gameplay and we're not technically a persistent state game. EA contacted Shack news? What'd they say?

    Scaper-X
    "Update: Since posting our original news item on the matter, Shacknews has been contacted by Electronic Arts, which is co-publishing the game along with Namco Bandai. EA noted that there has not in fact been any final decision made as to Hellgate: London's online pricing model, be it subscription-based or otherwise. We respect this situation, while maintaining that have reported fairly on statements we received. A full interview is forthcoming."

    Ivan
    Yeah, we haven't made a final decision. Seriously, the directors debate about this quite a bit. Basically, we want to do ongoing content. We don't want it to be like Diablo where we had a patch and an expansion and that's that. We really want to do ongoing content. So the directors have to just figure out how the hell we're going to pay for that. Could be anything. Really.

    Scaper-X
    Are continuing expansion packs still on the table in lieu of monthly fees?

    Ivan
    Could be the bonus dvd does it or subscription or real money transactions or auctions or micro purchases or lots of smaller expansions. Could seriously be anything. Which is why they still debate some. So... Until the reach a decision, whatever that is, and then print it across the web in a release, it's all going to be speculation and misunderstandings and odd quotes

    Scaper-X
    How's HG:L being received at the event, out of curiosity?

    Ivan
    People love it. But, its Consumer Electronics...so everyone wants to know about the machines first. Then they're like, oh yeah, the game looks good, too

    Scaper-X
    Heh. Ooh, that reminds me, you can snuff a rumor that rose out of the ashes of an old interview: will the game play properly on a dual core system? Supposedly someone found an interview from March 06 that said it would not.

    Ivan
    It will for sure. We're showing at intel right now on Core 2 Duo, Quad and Extreme around the show floor. We have specific optimizations going in, too

    Scaper-X
    Perfect. And is the game capable of utilizing hyperthreading?

    Ivan
    Yes. Yes it is

    Scaper-X
    Fantastic.

So there you have it. Monthly fees are not confirmed.
-- Scaper-X
Title: Re: Hellgate: London Thread
Post by: Quemaqua on Wednesday, January 10, 2007, 06:43:03 PM
It makes me feel a little better... because this at least demonstrates that their main focus is just to keep new content coming down the pipeline, and it's a lot harder to fault them for that.  I have no issue paying for something worthwhile.  Paying for the right to play online?  Hell no.  Paying for new content?  Sure!  If the game is good, that's just great.  I wouldn't mind having had a little extra Diablo 2 to play back in the day when I was at it hardcore.   But I'm not digging the subscription idea, and I do wish they'd been a bit more up front about some of this.  I mean, we knew there was going to be an MP focus, we just didn't know they were pushing so much for a pipeline of new content.  Hopefully it isn't as bad as it sounded initially.
Title: Re: Hellgate: London Thread
Post by: MysterD on Thursday, January 11, 2007, 02:47:05 PM
More on Hellgate from Shacknews, in an interview w/ Bill Roper (http://www.shacknews.com/extras/2007/011007_roper_hellgate_1.x)

Quote
Bill Roper on Hellgate: London Online
-- January 10, 2007 by: Chris Remo
In news that is either quite a surprise or somewhat expected, given how closely you've been following interviews given by Flagship Studios recently, company CEO and former Blizzard executive Bill Roper revealed that the company's debut title Hellgate: London is to feature a massively multiplayer component as its online side. Roper spoke extensively with Shacknews at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas about some of the current plans and ideas the studio has for the online component of Flagship's spiritual successor to the Diablo franchise, which was developed by many of those on the Hellgate team.

(Note: Since posting our original news item on the matter, Shacknews has been contacted by Electronic Arts, which is co-publishing the game along with Namco Bandai. EA noted that there has not in fact been any final decision made as to Hellgate: London's online pricing model--meaning that it may not even end up a paid subscription based service at all. In the interest of presenting to our readers as complete a picture of the situation as we had, below are Roper's opening comments given when asked about the model behind Hellgate: London's multiplayer mode.)
Okay.

Quote from: Roper
"We'll probably have some kind of detail in the next month or two as to our pricing model, but the design is both a standalone as well as an MMO, so we want to be able to hit both markets just like we did with the Diablo titles.
Okay.

Quote from: Roper
"There are a lot of people that in some instances actually can't get online, and there are also people who are online but for gaming they aren't sure if they want to make that commitment to pay the monthly fee and go online. They can get the game and play the standalone, and get 30 or 40 hours' worth of gameplay."
30 to 40 hours for SP sounds good to me. :)

Quote from: Roper
"If they like that, they can go online and we'll have a good ramp of some kind for them to go online and check out some of the services. Exactly how we handle that, whether it'll be a trial or whether they can check out some of the game for free, we're still hammering out the final details. Then beyond that it will be pay to play, and again we're about a month out from announcing more on that. But what you're getting with that service is you're getting 24/7 customer service, secure servers, databases, and the biggest thing is that you're getting continuing content. We'll have a full dev team that's on the project from day one. Actually, right when you buy the game, when it launches there will already be content available that you can't get in the single-player--additional monsters, areas, all the community and economy things, you'll be able to form guilds, auction houses, all those things you expect from MMOs."
Interesting.

I wonder if they will add content to the SP for this game, as well.

Quote
Update: Today, Shacknews followed up with Roper, who clarified his comments and stated that the monthly fee subscription model is only one option currently under evaluation by the studio and its publishers Electronic Arts and Namco Bandai Games, and that his comments were intended in a theoretical context. For more on the matter, see our latest report. (http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/45306)

Quote
MMO or not?

Drawing from games such as Guild Wars and of course Diablo II, Roper admits Hellgate: London's online component doesn't necessarily neatly slide into the MMO genre. So is it an MMO? "I think that just as Diablo and Diablo II started this religious argument over whether they're RPGs or not," he mused, "Hellgate will spark that same debate over whether it's an MMO or not." But what does Bill Roper think? "It's really an MMO," he said confidently.
Okay.

Quote
In many ways, the Diablo series and particularly Diablo II serve as a touchstone for Hellgate. Many of those looking forward to the game were massive fans of Blizzard's action RPG series, and Roper himself frequently refers to the franchise when talking about his game. The multiplayer concept, which revolves around individuals or groups trawling through legions of enemies in a heavily instanced world, is evocative of Diablo II's. "There's even Hardcore mode [available online], like in D2 where you get one life and that's it," he added. "Hardcore mode was very popular to a very vocal group of people who took a huge amount of pride in having a high level guy who's never died. You tend to play the game very differently."
Okay.

Quote
That said, there are major differences between the games. "The biggest differences between Diablo II online and Hellgate: London are that Hellgate: London has been built from the very beginning to be sustained online as part of the original design, whereas D2 really wasn't like that at all," he explained. "We had dreams of being able to do continuing content [in Diablo II] but it really wasn't possible at all from a code standpoint. Hellgate has been set up to do that from the beginning. The other big difference is that in Diablo II you were in a chat room. Here, it's like other MMOs: you're in a town, you are your character, you're interacting with people and getting quests. But we're also giving you that single-player experience, which World of Warcraft doesn't."
But will you be giving us some additional SP content in patches and expansion packs, as well?

Quote
Hellgate: London's main quest storyline is identical in single-player and multiplayer; players can get the full story experience either way. However, the online side will contain exclusive content and modes unavailable in single-player. These include guild-related and raid-level events, PvP arena combat, new enemies, quests, and items, and so on--all features familiar to MMO players.
Okay.

Quote
Unlike most MMOs, the primary storyline is actually finite, and can be completed even in online mode. "You complete the storyline, and get that big overarching sense of completion that you typically don't get in MMOs," said Roper. "Then what we do to continue the gameplay past that is to create all these quests you do that take into account that the world state has changed for your character. You've completed it, finished the task that was set before you. The thing that's really nice about that is that we can create all this online content that you don't get in single-player that takes into account that you did finish the storyline of the game."
Okay.

Quote
These changes can manifest them visually, so that after completing various parts of the storyline you actually see world physically differently due to events you triggered. NPCs might also react to you differently. "Depending on what you've completed in the storyline, there will be actual changes in the world that you notice. If I'm level 5 and you're level 30 and you've done a lot more stuff, your perception of the world is probably different than mine," Roper added. He explained that these are atmospheric changes rather than gameplay changes, allowing players to potentially coexist in the same virtual world even if they perceive it differently.
Ahhhh....kind of like how NPC's treat you differently when you finish Morrowind's main quest and Oblivion's main quest...

They should do stuff like this for the SP, as well....that'd be cool....
Title: Re: Hellgate: London Thread
Post by: Quemaqua on Thursday, January 11, 2007, 07:21:56 PM
See, that's what bugs me.  This isn't *really* an MMO.  He keeps saying that, but Diablo II was never anything like an MMO.  It was like joining a server with a couple buddies and having a killing romp, and this is sounding like the same thing more or less with some MMO-ish stuff thrown in for good measure.

And again, he's pissing me off because... why can't you make the same shit available for the SP stuff?  Because you want to have a pay-to-play design that squeezes more fucking money out of people.  Otherwise you'd have no reason not to include the SP stuff.  I wouldn't even mind if the stuff was made available to SP users just by paying for it.  That would be totally fine for me.  Few dollars for extra stuff in a game I love?  Sure!  But why do you have to separate it that way?  I'm fucking tired of paying to play stuff.  Why can't you just sell the stuff to everybody (people buy expansions packs, you know) and have a nice shitty MP service like battle.net where I can play for free?  I don't want to pay for customer support because I've never fucking used it in any game ever (except once in WoW to report a suspected gold farmer and a few gold farming ads), I don't care about secure servers and stuff since I play with friends, and the only other thing they're supposedly offering is content -- which they should just fucking make available to everybody!

I guess in the end it probably won't matter, though, since I'll probably end up playing this with other people here and won't want to play it SP at the same time... so maybe it's a moot point.  For some reason it's still bothering me, though.  I really don't now why.  I think I'm just entirely pissed in general these days.
Title: Re: Hellgate: London Thread
Post by: Pugnate on Thursday, January 11, 2007, 11:02:14 PM
If Diablo had been pay to play online, it would have never taken off. Diablo was about hitting the servers when the urge struck you, playing mindlessly without any pressure and then leaving.
Title: Re: Hellgate: London Thread
Post by: MysterD on Friday, January 12, 2007, 04:49:06 PM
See, that's what bugs me.  This isn't *really* an MMO.  He keeps saying that, but Diablo II was never anything like an MMO.  It was like joining a server with a couple buddies and having a killing romp, and this is sounding like the same thing more or less with some MMO-ish stuff thrown in for good measure.
It has the MMO element of "I need to connect to *THEIR* main server to play online," but it also doesn't feel like one b/c the SP campaign is pretty much the same -- well, minus a few gameplay modes.

Quote
And again, he's pissing me off because... why can't you make the same shit available for the SP stuff? Because you want to have a pay-to-play design that squeezes more fucking money out of people.
Exactly.

Quote
Otherwise you'd have no reason not to include the SP stuff.  I wouldn't even mind if the stuff was made available to SP users just by paying for it.  That would be totally fine for me.
I can understand the SP not getting the PvP mode stuff since that is MMO stuff...

...but the extra content like quests, enemies and stuff that resemble SP type of stuff -- what the hell??? Why not make some of *that* available in a patch or as a DLC like Oblivion or as a retail expansion would do?

Quote
Few dollars for extra stuff in a game I love?  Sure!  But why do you have to separate it that way?  I'm fucking tired of paying to play stuff.
Amen.

Quote
Why can't you just sell the stuff to everybody (people buy expansions packs, you know) and have a nice shitty MP service like battle.net where I can play for free?
Exactly.

I always thought the reason for expansions was to add MORE content to a game you want MORE of.

Quote
I don't want to pay for customer support because I've never fucking used it in any game ever (except once in WoW to report a suspected gold farmer and a few gold farming ads), I don't care about secure servers and stuff since I play with friends, and the only other thing they're supposedly offering is content -- which they should just fucking make available to everybody!
They seem to be looking for an excuse to get everybody to join their MMO portion of the game -- and pay that monthly fee, too. That's why the MMO part is getting all the "exclusive" stuff that you *could* roll into the SP portion of the game, as well.

Quote
I guess in the end it probably won't matter, though, since I'll probably end up playing this with other people here and won't want to play it SP at the same time... so maybe it's a moot point.  For some reason it's still bothering me, though.  I really don't now why.  I think I'm just entirely pissed in general these days.
I think it's that the companies are trying to find every way to milk gamers for their $$$$ -- that's why you're pissed, as is most of the gaming community w/ the news of the MMO getting all this extra junk that you likely could roll also into the SP.

I wouldn't mind paying for Hellgate some sort of small DLC type-of-fee -- kind of like BethSoft has set-up for new premium-grade SP content to Oblivion. Though, I would prefer to think companies might want to do what EgoSoft did w/ X3: Reunion -- they added new expansion content of 10 more hours w/ a FREE PATCH. :P


I think Guild Wars got it right w/ their business model for that MMO:

1. No Subscription Fees
You never pay for online subscription fees w/ this online game. Count me in.

2. New Stand-Alone Expansions To Purchase Every 6-12 Months
NCSoft will just roll a stand-alone expansion out every 6 months for you to play online that you will pay full price for. The games are expansions since content from one piece (like say in Prophecies) can be used in another (like say Nightfall). But, they stand alone b/c you don't need to own any one piece to play another -- i.e. I don't need Prophecies to play Nightfall.  And since I don't pay them online monthly/yearly subscriptions fees, sounds good to me to charge $50 for the software; ONE FLAT FEE, END OF STORY. And, since these GW games are around normally 30-40 hours per game, w/ game length alone, I think that does also warrant the usual $50 tag.
(SIDE NOTE: Oh, if that isn't enough, they seem to update the game w/ new quests and content here and there...Go NCSOFT!)
Title: Re: Hellgate: London Thread
Post by: MysterD on Friday, January 12, 2007, 04:51:26 PM
If Diablo had been pay to play online, it would have never taken off. Diablo was about hitting the servers when the urge struck you, playing mindlessly without any pressure and then leaving.
Right, I don't think that "pay to play online" concept would've worked for Diablo b/c namely the SP and MP campaign content were the same pretty much -- though, you had other players to deal w/ now in the MP, as well.....That was the major difference online....

Who'd want to pay a monthly fee to play the same game online, when you could play the same game content they could play ALONE for free?
Title: Re: Hellgate: London Thread
Post by: MysterD on Friday, January 19, 2007, 11:51:06 PM
NamcoBandai's Director of Business Developement, Zach Karlsson, mentions that we might eventually see an X360 version of Hellgate (http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4551&Itemid=2)


Quote
Big Games

This year NamcoBandai has Hellgate: London, a PC RPG cum, shooter that it is co-publishing that with EA. Given the company’s newfound penchant for cross-platform development, I ask if an Xbox 360 version is likely. Karlsson won’t confirm it, but he admits that it’s highly unlikely that such a notion is far from the company’s planning calendar.
Title: Re: Hellgate: London Thread -- UPDATE: Possible X360 Version In The Future????
Post by: Pugnate on Saturday, January 20, 2007, 12:56:43 AM
I think its a given.
Title: Re: Hellgate: London Thread -- UPDATE: Possible X360 Version In The Future????
Post by: MysterD on Saturday, January 20, 2007, 07:36:23 AM
I think its a given.

Especially w/ EA being part publisher....
Title: Re: Hellgate: London Thread -- UPDATE: Possible X360 Version In The Future????
Post by: Pugnate on Saturday, January 20, 2007, 11:35:48 AM
I think its a given.

Where have I said that before?
Title: Re: Hellgate: London Thread -- UPDATE: Possible X360 Version In The Future????
Post by: MysterD on Saturday, January 20, 2007, 11:33:00 PM
Where have I said that before?

Somewhere on here

(well..."here", as in Overwritten.net's General Gaming board....)
Title: Re: Hellgate: London Thread -- UPDATE: Possible X360 Version In The Future????
Post by: Quemaqua on Sunday, January 21, 2007, 12:05:01 AM
Pretty sure that was a rhetorical question, D.
Title: Re: Hellgate: London Thread -- UPDATE: Possible X360 Version In The Future????
Post by: Pugnate on Sunday, January 21, 2007, 06:45:01 AM
*shakes head*
Title: Re: Hellgate: London Thread -- UPDATE: Possible X360 Version In The Future????
Post by: MysterD on Sunday, January 21, 2007, 10:06:41 AM
*shakes head*

*scratches head*
Title: Re: Hellgate: London Thread -- UPDATE: Possible X360 Version In The Future????
Post by: Quemaqua on Tuesday, January 23, 2007, 07:39:24 PM
GSpot interviews Roper (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6164306.html) and he clears up some stuff.  My fears aren't entirely assuaged, but they are somewhat.
Title: Re: Hellgate: London Thread -- UPDATE: New Interview with Roper
Post by: MysterD on Thursday, February 01, 2007, 03:14:38 PM
FiringSquad interviews Mr. Roper on Hellgate: London (http://www.firingsquad.com/games/hellgate_london_interview/)


Here's some screenies
(http://www.firingsquad.com/games/hellgate_london_interview/images/09.jpg)

(http://www.firingsquad.com/games/hellgate_london_interview/images/05.jpg)

(http://www.firingsquad.com/games/hellgate_london_interview/images/07.jpg)

Title: Re: Hellgate: London Thread -- UPDATE: New Interview with Roper
Post by: MysterD on Tuesday, April 24, 2007, 07:20:31 PM
1Up has a three-page preview on this game (http://www.1up.com/do/previewPage?cId=3158946)

Title: Re: Hellgate: London Thread -- UPDATE: 1Up has a new three-page hands-on preview
Post by: Quemaqua on Tuesday, April 24, 2007, 09:28:05 PM
I just read the first tiny bit.  It was all I needed.  Man, I can't wait.
Title: Re: Hellgate: London Thread -- UPDATE: 1Up has a new three-page hands-on preview
Post by: idolminds on Saturday, April 28, 2007, 02:19:37 PM
Why stop at the preview? 1up did Hellgate for the entire week (http://www.1up.com/do/minisite?cId=3158832).
Title: Re: Hellgate: London Thread -- UPDATE: 1Up has a new three-page hands-on preview
Post by: Quemaqua on Saturday, April 28, 2007, 02:39:26 PM
That's awesome.  And did anybody notice the Electric Eel Injector gun?  Please tell me it has actual eels...
Title: Re: Hellgate: London Thread -- UPDATE: 1Up has a new three-page hands-on preview
Post by: scottws on Saturday, April 28, 2007, 08:29:23 PM
I'm getting tired of the fleecing of gamers.  I mean there is in-game advertising (and in some cases it gets data off your hard drive as well), then there is pay-to-play, pay for extra content, holding out certain features for an expansion pack, etc.

I have no interest in this game.  The graphics don't impress me and I'm not much of an online gamer, and I will never pay an MMO-type subscription fee ever.
Title: Re: Hellgate: London Thread -- UPDATE: 1Up has a new three-page hands-on preview
Post by: idolminds on Sunday, April 29, 2007, 12:06:52 AM
So I'm listening to the 1UP Yours podcast and the guy talks a little about Hellgate. Next issue of GFW magazine is going to have tons of Hellgate info, including the mutli free and not free stuff. The podcast guy gave a heads up and said this: Whatever is in the box when you buy the game. All that cool shit, the quests, monsters...thats all free to play online, just like Diablo. If you choose to subscribe then you get like new stuff.

I'll be sure to post more details whenever the mag arrives.
Title: Re: Hellgate: London Thread -- UPDATE: 1Up has a new three-page hands-on preview
Post by: Quemaqua on Sunday, April 29, 2007, 01:15:56 AM
So they did finally decide on a subscription model?  That's kind of a bummer, but... oh well, I guess.  At least you don't have to pay it.
Title: Re: Hellgate: London Thread -- UPDATE: 1Up has a new three-page hands-on preview
Post by: MysterD on Sunday, April 29, 2007, 06:42:03 AM
So I'm listening to the 1UP Yours podcast and the guy talks a little about Hellgate. Next issue of GFW magazine is going to have tons of Hellgate info, including the mutli free and not free stuff. The podcast guy gave a heads up and said this: Whatever is in the box when you buy the game. All that cool shit, the quests, monsters...thats all free to play online, just like Diablo. If you choose to subscribe then you get like new stuff.

I'll be sure to post more details whenever the mag arrives.
Ooooh, I just started to get that mag in the mail -- I got one of them free subscriptions, when they were giving those out!!! :O)

Can't wait to read more on it.

That's crappy about the subscription model. Bah.
Title: Re: Hellgate: London Thread -- UPDATE: Roper explains why he left Blizzard
Post by: MysterD on Wednesday, July 04, 2007, 07:34:53 AM
Roper explains WHY he left Blizzard. (http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=14524)

Quote
Q: Why was Flagship Studios originally founded?

A: Our original intention back in 2003 was not to leave Blizzard. We wanted some level of participation and direct communication with Vivendi’s home office in order to offer our insight, knowledge and desires as to their plans at the time in terms of a possible sale or IPO of the games unit. The level of uncertainty back then made it extremely difficult to plan for our futures, as well as the futures of our team members.

And with no long-term compensation or employment contracts in place, we wanted to be able to interact directly with the people making the key decisions that could drastically affect our lives and workplace. In the end, Vivendi chose not to make that opportunity available and accepted our resignations over the matter.

The next day, David Brevik, Erich Schaefer, Max Schaefer and I started Flagship Studios.
Title: Re: Hellgate: London Thread -- UPDATE: Roper explains why he left Blizzard
Post by: MysterD on Sunday, July 29, 2007, 01:23:53 PM
GameSpy had time to test out a preview Alpha build of the MP portion of Hellgate: London. (http://au.pc.gamespy.com/pc/hellgate-london/808735p1.html)

And basically, they really, really like what they've played...
...despite the rough edges -- namely, framerate issues...
Title: Re: Hellgate: London Thread
Post by: MysterD on Saturday, September 08, 2007, 05:32:22 AM
Looks like if you do a Pre-Order of Hellgate, you will get an option to do a Lifetime Subscription to their Online Portion of the game. (http://www.bluesnews.com/cgi-bin/board.pl?action=viewthread&threadid=80826)

From what we know so far, looks like EB/GameStop, Best Buy, WalMart and will be doing this offer.

More info here on HellgateGuru (http://www.hellgateguru.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5756).
Title: Re: Hellgate: London Thread
Post by: idolminds on Saturday, September 08, 2007, 06:27:38 AM
Its not a free lifetime subscription. If you preorder you get the option of signing up for a lifetime subscription...which currently we don't know the price.
Title: Re: Hellgate: London Thread
Post by: MysterD on Saturday, September 08, 2007, 07:45:40 AM
Its not a free lifetime subscription. If you preorder you get the option of signing up for a lifetime subscription...which currently we don't know the price.

Thanks for the correction.

Really though -- offering a FREE Lifetime Subscription to people who Pre-Order would've really sold some units. :P
Title: Re: Hellgate: London Thread
Post by: Quemaqua on Saturday, September 08, 2007, 10:49:42 AM
No kidding.  I probably would have jumped at that.
Title: Re: Hellgate: London Thread
Post by: idolminds on Tuesday, September 11, 2007, 08:47:44 AM
Lifetime subscription = $150 (http://www.evilavatar.com/forums/showthread.php?t=35817)

Only available to people that preorder, and must upgrade to lifetime by Nov 30th (only giving you a month to decide).
Title: Re: Hellgate: London Thread
Post by: Quemaqua on Tuesday, September 11, 2007, 06:56:35 PM
Yeah, that's not gonna' happen.
Title: Re: Hellgate: London Thread
Post by: Ghandi on Tuesday, September 11, 2007, 11:24:34 PM
1 month isn't long enough to decide whether or not to spend $150 on a game, especially considering that there are going to be considerable changes in the first month of the game.

I just can't see how many people would jump on that.
Title: Re: Hellgate: London Thread
Post by: MysterD on Wednesday, September 12, 2007, 01:33:37 PM
You guys think that sometime later on, they might offer this Lifetime Plan -- but maybe at a higher price than the Pre-Order price?
Title: Re: Hellgate: London Thread
Post by: MysterD on Saturday, September 15, 2007, 09:17:07 PM
GameSpot gets an interview w/ Ivan Sulic of Flagship.

Actually, this whole interview is about the types of style of quests that are found in the game.

There's the story quests -- which pertain to the main story.
There's the template quests -- namely, these are side quests
There's the "Tasks", which are randomized quests. (http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/hellgatelondon/news.html?sid=6178797&page=1)

Quote
Hellgate: London is an action role-playing game that doesn't feature a fantasy setting, haughty elves, surly dwarves, or sassy peasants. Instead, this action RPG, which can be played from either first- or third-person perspective, is set in the gutted ruins of a future London after a dimensional portal has opened a rift that allows demons to enter the world. Your job is to kill every demon in your path as you pursue hundreds of quests and try to, hopefully, save the world. To learn more about the mission that you'll pursue, we turned to Ivan Sulic, writer for Flagship Studios. Hellgate: London will ship in late October.

GameSpot: We've heard that Hellgate: London will ship with hundreds of quests. How many are you up to currently? What's the typical quest like?

Ivan Sulic: I believe we're at about 250 quests for launch. There are essentially three primary quest types in Hellgate: London. We have story quests, template quests, and...um...tasks? The names get changed often. Apparently "task" isn't very exciting. Let's just call them, "Those grand opportunities of much astonishing fun."
Okay...

Quote
(Sulic): Anyway, story quests are entirely unique. They are coded to offer experiences that may include minigames, special scenarios and/or events, environment alterations, and scripts not found in template quests. For instance, we have a story quest that lets players control a giant robot. We even have story quests that see the player leaping into the mind of a madman, chasing demons through supernatural rifts, delving the depths of an ever-darkening crypt, assembling a gibbering monkeylike demon from various gruesome pieces, shooting down a massive airborne demon with heavy weaponry, and even participating in several minigames modeled after popular competitive multiplayer modes like king of the hill, domination, and tug of war.
Cool.

Quote
(Sulic): Template quests are pretty straightforward. They are built off eight basic formulas: collect, explore, escort, infestation, hunt, travel/talk-and-do, use item, and operate object. Templates allow us to create quests assigned to different non-player characters without a lot of code work. Their primary function is to give players something to do while they undertake story quests: Going to Bloomsbury because the story said so? You might as well pick up some template-driven side quests that also point to Bloomsbury. It's all pretty self-explanatory: kill stuff, get stuff, save stuff, etc.
Got cha -- basically, side quests.

Quote
(Sulic): The final type, which I'll just keep right on calling "tasks" until someone kills me with a hammer, are combinations of templates and story quests. We code each of these, but we do it in a way that allows us to drop them into the game at various parts. So, we may have a task players can stumble upon midmission, such as "Help me! I've been mauled by that thing over there. It shot purple stuff at my eyes. Most unpleasant. I'm quite sure I've got some kind of infection now. Can you do something about it? If so, you'll first need to do these other three things." Stuff like that.
That sounds cool to me.

Quote
Sulic: There aren't so many tasks in the game at present, but there are a heck of a lot of story quests and templates. Our plan for future content includes developing much more of each type but focusing a bit more heavily on the random tasks that may appear during any given quest.
Interesting.

Quote
GS: Lots of games feature template quests. For example, you usually have to go out and kill X number of a certain creature or you have to deliver an object to someone. How does Hellgate put a unique spin on them?

IS: Our randomization systems help ensure every potentially mundane activity is unique in its own way. We also try and add a lot of character to our characters. Hopefully, if players are inclined to read quest dialogs, they'll be entertained, amused, or even offended. Anything but bored will work for me.

Aside from that, we try and make sure our primary story quests are as interesting as possible from both narrative and gameplay-design perspectives. Although, we are aware that templates and tasks are only there to enhance those primary quests and give players something extra to achieve while adventuring.
Okay.

Quote
(Sulic): That being said, coding giant robots and real-time strategy minigames is a lot of work. It's just not financially viable to create an entire RPG experience off unique elements like that. And so, like most other developers (as you mentioned), we implement templates and tasks to create more activities for the player. But they also balance out leveling and loot gathering.

GS: We got a glimpse of the "real-time strategy quest" at the EA Studio Showcase. But what is the RTS quest exactly? What do you do in it?

IS: Basically, a templar lord named Maxim isn't the best of leaders. His men can be uncooperative or insubordinate. These particular soldiers have found themselves overwhelmed by a demon attack in an area they were commanded to hold, and they're now incapable of doing their jobs effectively. A nobler templar lord recognizes this and sends the player to directly command this unit of scrubs, and an RTS is born!

The Hellgate RTS mechanic is comparable to one of those Command & Conquer or Starcraft single-player levels where the player is given control of a small group of units without any base-building capabilities. In our game, players must use this small group of units and point and click their way to victory, prioritizing targets and moving troops as needed.

The RTS quest also carries a simple leadership theme. We try and break some of our quests up into themes, like leadership, which tie into the main objective of the game. That objective is to find five "truths" of man. Think of them as physical representations of qualities most in keeping with the "creator." Demons, of course, serve as opposites of those qualities. The truths are all nicely themed, too.
Sounds like the NWN: Hordes part and NWN 2 part will you basically control a whole army to try and gain a victory over the opposing army.

Quote
GS: Tell us about the "Galaga quest." (When we think Galaga, we think of the classic fixed-shooter arcade game from the 1980s.)

IS: Sounds like you're talking about a quest we call "The Big Gundown." It provides players with an opportunity to use some turrets against an enormous flying demon that's dropping tons of smaller ones on to the heads of hapless folk. Basically, you blow the holy hell out of the demon with turrets.
Okay. Sounds either like Jade Empire's flying side-missions or SW: KOTOR's "Shoot down the enemy from your ship" missions.

Quote
GS: We understand that there are also faction-specific quests that you won't see unless you play as a certain class. What can you tell us about them? Is there anything special worth calling out?

IS: Actually, we cut those. They just weren't fun. We pulled them all and are reworking them right now, so you'll likely see them in a future update. There wasn't a lot of incentive to do these faction quests we had. Players basically got faction points that were as much use as play money at a real bank. And it was confusing too.
Okay.

Quote
(Sulic): More faction stuff might come in our first or second patch. Our chief vision officer, Dave Brevik, has some great ideas in regards to improving our faction system. Since he also programs it all, I would say new faction stuff for ongoing content is a given.
Great....so, it looks like those who pay-to-play w/ get the chance to do "Faction-only quests...."

Quote
GS: In your opinion, what's the secret of good quest design? Are there any general rules of thumb when designing a quest for Hellgate?

IS: Secrets? There are none. Just use some common sense.

If you're making a Japanese RPG, for instance, perhaps you shouldn't have a story about some boy with amnesia that wakes up with his father's sword and suddenly goes on a grand adventure with a flamboyant tagalong. And if you're making a Western RPG, maybe you should cut down on the orc slaying some. Not every town needs a wizard to kill that jerk of a dragon that's been eating all those cows, you know. That's all narrative, though. In terms of mechanics, I think a good design is one that plays off the strengths of your base systems but does not rely on them.

We have a solid action RPG foundation in Hellgate that features customizable characters, deep skill use, and highly randomized environments, weapons, items, and monsters. That alone makes wandering around any given level and killing things worthwhile. What do we then do to make the entire experience more enjoyable? To make unique quests interesting? We simply create those unique experiences I mentioned above. None of them are too radical and none of them negate the base gameplay. But, all of them allow players to do something extraordinary while they're enjoying the game's core features.

GS: While the game will be free to play online, Flagship is also producing ongoing content for those who choose to subscribe. What sort of quest development can we see going forward?

IS: Everything. We're going to new places, we're doing new story, we're adding more templates, we're adding more tasks, and we're adding monsters, items, weapons, classes, features, modes, and more. Seriously, we're continuing to work on absolutely everything. Unfortunately, it'd be premature for me to elaborate on exactly where we'll take ongoing content and why.
Okay -- sounds like the MMO portion will get the special "DLC kind of treatment" the Oblivion DLC did.

Quote
GS: Finally, what's your favorite quest and why?

IS: I think I like the Mind of 314 best. It's a simple change of venue--stomp around some poor bastard's brain instead of the street he lives on--
Is this Psychonauts??
Nightmare on Elm Street???


Quote
... (Sulic): but I love our Lucious and Techsmith 314 characters. One is insane, the other is comically suicidal. I find their dialogue to be irrational and totally nonsensical, but then how often do you see that kind of thing in massively multiplayer online role-playing games or RPGs in general? Most MMO quest blocks are so boring people don't even bother to glance at them. At least with these two characters, players may chance upon the term "Taco Fort!" What's not to love? I suppose "Hold Fast" (the RTS quest) and the competitive multiplayer spins we do at the end of the game are far and away the most interesting in terms of functionality, though.

GS: Thank you.
Title: Re: Hellgate: London Thread
Post by: MysterD on Tuesday, October 02, 2007, 08:10:38 AM
To promote the Game (and the Collector's Ed, of course)...

...FREE SONG for download from Hellgate: London -- The Hellgate: London Theme (http://www.hellgatelondon.com/underground/sounds-heaven)
Title: Re: Hellgate: London Thread
Post by: Pugnate on Tuesday, October 02, 2007, 10:23:02 AM
I've lost a lot of excitement I've had for this game simply because of the many changes that seem to be reported daily. Other than that the developers seem so indecisive. I also get this negative vibe from them, can't say if it is valid.

edit:

Now I remember. I hate the fact that there is no LAN and that multiplayer requires a subscription fee. If I were to do that, I'd do it for World of Warcrack.
Title: Re: Hellgate: London Thread
Post by: Wetta3217 on Tuesday, October 02, 2007, 11:58:03 AM
Multiplayer is free, however if you want the newer stuff after the game goes retail then you need subscription. Subscription give you 12 character slots, as to non-sub 3 slots, bigger storage, plus a few other things.
Title: Re: Hellgate: London Thread
Post by: MysterD on Tuesday, October 02, 2007, 12:08:48 PM
Multiplayer is free, however if you want the newer stuff after the game goes retail then you need subscription. Subscription give you 12 character slots, as to non-sub 3 slots, bigger storage, plus a few other things.
Extra quests, extra items, and other extra junk will be added to the "Subscribring" MMO part, once that's out.
Title: Re: Hellgate: London Thread
Post by: Xessive on Friday, May 20, 2011, 02:16:41 AM
A resurrected thread for a soon-to-be resurrected game!

Hellgate: London Rising from Grave, Returning as Free-to-Play MMO (http://www.maximumpc.com/article/gaming/hellgate_london_rising_grave_returning_free--play_mmo)

Quote
...the game's actually been hacking and slashing among the living in South Korea for quite a while now, so with any luck, the extra development time has added a few much-needed layers of polish to the proceedings.

As for the US version, it'll be undergoing the world's shortest beta from June 3 to June 5. We were hoping to participate, but then realized that we were already scheduled to blink during that time period. The full game is set to launch later this year, though an exact date has yet to be specified.
Title: Re: Hellgate: London Thread
Post by: MysterD on Friday, May 20, 2011, 01:43:24 PM
A resurrected thread for a soon-to-be resurrected game!

Hellgate: London Rising from Grave, Returning as Free-to-Play MMO (http://www.maximumpc.com/article/gaming/hellgate_london_rising_grave_returning_free--play_mmo)


3PIC FAiL.
Tomorrow is Rapture.... :P
Title: Re: Hellgate: London Thread
Post by: idolminds on Friday, May 20, 2011, 01:46:41 PM
I'd give it a spin.
Title: Re: Hellgate: London Thread
Post by: MysterD on Friday, May 20, 2011, 01:59:02 PM
I'd give it a spin.

Me too.

Still waiting on Hellgate: World (AKA Hellgate 2).
Someone get cracking on it.
Title: Re: Hellgate: London Thread
Post by: PyroMenace on Saturday, May 21, 2011, 05:25:15 AM
It would be great if the world ended so I didn't have to hear about this shitty game again.
Title: Re: Hellgate: London Thread
Post by: MysterD on Wednesday, October 24, 2018, 05:18:00 PM
So, HELLGATE: London popped up on Steam and re-launches in about 3 weeks:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/939520/HELLGATE_London/

This is Hanbit's re-release of the game w/ the Tokyo expansion (Version 2.0).
Looks like this is just going to a be a SP game, at its re-launch on Steam.
MP support is actually not listed either.

For those who remember - way back in the day, HGL launched from Flagship w/ both SP and MP support.
MP got shut-down, when Flagship went under.
When T3 and Hanbit took it over, they did do a MMO F2P version of this.
Seems weird this version (upcoming HGL Steam re-release) doesn't have both SP and MP support.

Regardless, I'm happy w/ SP campaign and Tokyo expansion coming here.

Gonna be interesting, to see how things turn-out...
Title: Re: Hellgate: London - 2018 Update: Coming to Steam (Reply 61)
Post by: idolminds on Wednesday, October 24, 2018, 11:53:59 PM
That sorta came out of nowhere. Ill be interested to hear if its any good now.
Title: Re: Hellgate: London - 2018 Update: Coming to Steam (Reply 61)
Post by: MysterD on Thursday, October 25, 2018, 09:16:38 AM
I'm also curious if the HGL 2038 mod team (https://london2038.com/) that's working on adding MP back to the old version of HGL (old version from Flagship, before the Hanbit take-over) will support the new Steam version.
Title: Re: Hellgate: London - 2018 Update: Coming to Steam (Reply 61)
Post by: Quemaqua on Friday, October 26, 2018, 03:52:47 PM
Such a weird and random thing to bring back. I honestly don't remember almost anything about it other than it had a neat atmosphere and was sort of Diablo-y and maybe not very good? I think it had a bad launch and I think I played it after the bad launch and it still didn't seem that great. It's funny, reading the old comments here, apparently my 2007-era dumbass self was quite interested in this.
Title: Re: Hellgate: London - 2018 Update: Coming to Steam (Reply 61)
Post by: MysterD on Saturday, October 27, 2018, 10:57:55 AM
I would guess T3 and Hanbit are probably trying to tap also into the West, in our market...and maybe go further, if possible.

Why not? Why let this IP sit there, rot, and just do nothing?

With old-games getting re-releases and/or remasters; and even old games getting new expansions (i.e. TQ Anniversary Remaster got the Ragnarok expansion; BG1 got the Dragonspear expansion) - I think we might see a lot more of this.

HGL felt like, back in the day, the next progression and mix of the shooter/ARPG. Borderlands was very success - so maybe, T3 and Hanbit are also banking on fans of Borderlands and Fallout 4 (since FO4 feels less of a RPG and more or an ARPG now, for the most part) to give this one a shot.
Title: Re: Hellgate: London - 2018 Update: Coming to Steam (Reply 61)
Post by: Quemaqua on Sunday, October 28, 2018, 07:51:10 PM
People fizzled on Borderlands 2, and I don't see people clamoring for more of this. And the IP is old and feels stale, and wasn't really that popular to begin with here. Have my doubts about anyone buying in. But I'll reserve judgment ... maybe it'll be cool. Seems weird as SP-only, though. The MP seems like the thing that might have made people care.