Crackdown developer's new game: APB

[CptStern]

it's sounds like GTA as a MMO but without the level grind

The hook to APB then is not leveling your character up and increasing stats on a spreadsheet. Personalization drives characters, Jones believes, and so as you get good and progress in the game you look cooler. A starting player will have nothing more than jeans and a t-shirt and stand out as a chump. An experienced player, well let's just say the difference is completely obvious from the start.

To begin, you choose to play as either a member of law enforcement or a gang. Everything here is player driven -- you won't be running around taking quests and reading extended text stories from NPCs. To keep things from falling into anarchy, a few basic rules are in place. The enforcement side has law and order built into the rules. The gangs have to act like organized crime where permission to commit a crime must be obtained prior to the act. If you're playing as a gang, your job is to commit crimes and steal things. If you're playing as the enforcement, it's your job to stop them.


We were shown a video to demonstrate how the gameplay works. The gang, having decided upon a target of an armored car began moving into position. Without having committed a crime yet, the enforcement is oblivious. As soon as the gang commits the crime, an APB goes out.

Here is where APB is so clever. The servers automatically match a similarly skilled set of enforcement agents to deliver the APB to in a dynamic form of matchmaking. You'll never have a clue who you'll get matched up with. It's all done automatically based on stats.

After the APB was sent out to a clan of enforcement agents, we watched a chase scene unfold. Cop cars converged on the van. One gang member drove while two others hung out of the sides firing guns at the officers. A cop car tried to block off an alley at one point?another time one took a jump over a barrier to get closer to the criminals. The scene ended with the gang making it to the drop off point at the same time as the cops and a shootout began.


Since it is all driven by experience and skill, APB won't always match teams up with even numbers. We saw another example of four new criminals (in t-shirts and jeans) trying to steal a television. As soon as they smashed a car through the store window to get at it, an APB went out to a single enforcement agent. The new players feel like they have a chance since they have numbers while the experienced player can show his skills. This mission ended with the cop killing all four criminals with a rocket launcher.

that sounds awesome ..although I dont think I'll have much of a desire to be a cop ..unless I can be a crooked cop


the character creation thingy is one of the best I've ever seen

It looks simple to use, but the depth of what we saw was astounding. The traditional things are all customizable like skin tone, height, build, eye color and hair style. This goes much farther though. You can grow hair out all together or in pieces, scars can be added and then aged, and you can even make veins more or less pronounced.

Tattoos can be made and applied -- and they look incredibly real when laid down on the skin. You can also put those same decals on any piece of clothing or any car you own, spray paint them on a wall, trade them with friends or sell them.

Just how powerful is this character creation tool? Jones went on to show a "clan" he created specifically for GDC. He called them the Geek Squad. It consisted of Peter Molyneux with an "I heart Fable" shirt, Warren Specter, Richard Garriot and Miyamoto with a Mario t-shirt. Also, Miyamoto wasn't wearing any pants and had mushroom boxers. All of them were instantly recognizable and remarkable.

..cant wait to create MobBoss Stern and Bad Lieutenant Stern, perhaps even Black Pwer Stern or Yakuza Stern or Baseball Fury Stern ..CAN YOU DIG IT? the possibilities are endless. Seems like my kind of game



http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/854/854140p1.html

 

[Evo]

Yeah read the Rock, Paper, Shotgun preview and I was like

 

[CptStern]

this preview?

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/?p=1181

 

[Eejit]

Looks like a laugh.


Can you get a nice variety of balaclavas?

 

[Gargantou]

I can't wait, although I'd hardly think "New" is appropriate in the title seeing as the game was announced several years ago(2005 to be precise).

It's nice to finally get some actual footage though.

 

[Bad^Hat]

Sounds like it has massive potential. There were a few things that sounded a little "err..." though. For example, I'm not sure how they'd send out an APB based on stats if... there are no stats. Also, being so action-based you can only assume it's gonna be mega laggy for those of us outside of America/Europe, unless they actually give us our own damn servers.

Still, I've been waiting for someone to do a cops and robbers MMO, and it sounds like they're really running with the idea instead of turning it into another copy+paste MMO. Definitely keeping an eye on this.

 

[Ren.182]

Sounds cool. I'll keep an eye on this

 

[Shamrock]

It sounds cool, but I still want my Crackdown 2!

 

[Eejit]

Sounds like it has massive potential. There were a few things that sounded a little "err..." though. For example, I'm not sure how they'd send out an APB based on stats if... there are no stats.

I think statistics of how well you perform - like a ranking of skill, rather than statistics governing your abilities.

 

[AmishSlayer]

This is the first MMO in years I actually want. I've been waiting for a game like this for a while.

 

[Krynn72]

hl2.net gang?


F*CK YEA.

 

[CptStern]

so long as you all follow MobBoss Stern there shouldnt be any problems



video

http://gamevideos.com/video/id/17692

 

[AmishSlayer]

There's a few more too.

http://gamevideos.com/video/id/17693

http://gamevideos.com/video/id/17691

http://gamevideos.com/video/id/17694

 

[Warbie]

Sweet

 

[Gargantou]

It's a shame for people with only PS3s, because this game is XB360 and PC exclusive.

 

[CptStern]

but they wouldnt know because they wouldnt have a pc to surf the internets

 

[Gargantou]

but they wouldnt know because they wouldnt have a pc to surf the internets

Well the PS3 supports LINUX operating systems, so I reckon they could use that to surf the interwebs.

 

[Rico]

PC and Xbox360? I thought it was only xbox360?

 

[Ren.182]

PC too? Sweet

Saw a few videos and it looks like it has potential. Hopefully there wont be any lag issues involved and it'll be totally open, like WoW, with everyone able to see everyone else on a single server.

 

[Gargantou]

PC too? Sweet

Saw a few videos and it looks like it has potential. Hopefully there wont be any lag issues involved and it'll be totally open, like WoW, with everyone able to see everyone else on a single server.

Well IIRC they confirmed that actual combat will only be 8 v 8 players..

Also the entire city is divided into Districts(Servers), each with a max of 100 players on'em iirc.

 

[mchammer75040]

hl2.net gang?


F*CK YEA.

Hell yes.
The only thing that bothers me is how it says there are no "quests" but you do have "missions" and if it just amounts to stealing stuff then I don't see how this will end up being all that different from every other MMO fetch quest. I know its not exactly the same, but is running around stealing shit the only thing to do? I'm still psyched to see how it turns out though.

This is the first MMO in years I actually want. I've been waiting for a game like this for a while

OFT. Planetside had a lot of potential but they ruined it, maybe huxley or this will pull something similar off better.

 

[Raziaar]

This is my kind of game.

Though the whole belief that chumps are dressed simply and practically and awesome people are decked out in dozens of tattoos, crazy hairstyles and clothing enough to make a renegade fashion designer cry in a dark corner... is pretty iffy.

But still, no big deal. hl2.net gang for sure. And if we get enough people playing, a sister gang.

 

[TwwIX]

Yeah, this Webzen game has been announced a long time ago.
I guess they were looking for a suitable developer before they continued any work on it.

 

[Bad^Hat]

The only thing that bothers me is how it says there are no "quests" but you do have "missions" and if it just amounts to stealing stuff then I don't see how this will end up being all that different from every other MMO fetch quest. I know its not exactly the same, but is running around stealing shit the only thing to do? I'm still psyched to see how it turns out though.

It says something on the wiki about unlocking new stuff by meeting 'quotas'. So like, completing a set amount of missions with a particular type of car or something. I guess it'd work more like challenges than actual missions, which I'm all for, as long as there's some good variety.

Edit - Also, I am so up for a hl2.net gang and taking over the city. We've been talking about it for long enough.

 

[i am HOLLYWOOD]

Wow, this looks wicked sick.

but the whole 8v8 actual combat size thing annoys me. . .

i want a huge riot!

 

[Bad^Hat]

It bugged me at first, and then I remembered about the potential for lag.

Eight a side is enough to have a decent skirmish, and in the instance of a chase, fill up 2 cars on each side. And you don't want one side getting too large when there's only a few officers on call to respond.

What I'm curious about is, beyond the 8v8 for combat, if anyone else in the area will actually be able to spectate or if it will be 'instanced' from the moment the APB goes out. That would kind of suck... but I guess it might be neccesary to prevent outside help (ie - cops calling in buddies to block off paths with cars).

 

[Seagull]

I'll lol if there's some super-duper player walking around in noob clothes (tshirt + jeans), then someone tries to steal his stuff/beat him up and he just dominates them D;

 

[Bad^Hat]

Having actually read the preview over at IGN now, this last paragraph excites me somehow. I think my hype for this game just went up a peg.

Jones closed out his talk by talking about the future and the development of the APB community. The testers at RealTime Worlds loved the customization tools so much they wanted to act out their own movies. A camera was put in the game to export films and we were treated to one where players dressed up (one looked like Cloud) and acted out a scene from a turn-based RPG complete with confused emotes and damage numbers floating on screen.