Ironman273 Posted January 19, 2010 Share Posted January 19, 2010 MAG developer on player griefing, using XP as a "carrot"By Ben Kuchera | Last updated January 19, 2010 11:33 AM It's a wild world out there when it comes to multiplayer gaming, especially on the consoles. The PlayStation 3 exclusive MAG will bring up to 256 players together to fight in massive battles, with players leveling up and being given the ability to lead their own troops into battle. But still, won't that simply devolve into madness as everyone goes off and does their own thing? "We wanted to ensure we took every logical step to deter player griefing," Ben Jones, a designer at Zipper Interactive, told Ars. "Features like protected spawn areas, vote-kick and auto-kick at a certain team kill threshold help to preserve the ideal gameplay experience. You'll also receive negative experience points for TKing, and in a game where XP is vital to progressing your character, we feel that's a solid deterrent." In fact, experience points will help give the battle focus. To level up and gain the best equipment?in MAG you're given loadouts, not classes to determine what you can and can't do?you need to be a team player. "In looking at other objective-based games we knew that we couldn't just throw any goal at players and expect them to follow our guidelines," Jones explained. "That led us to take a 'carrot' approach and incentivize players to follow gameplay progression by giving them bonus XP. True, you can play the game however you want and we encourage that, but to level up quickly and get access to all the goodies, you're advised to work with your squad, follow orders, and stick together." Those orders will be given by leaders that have also leveled up far enough to earn the ability to lead large numbers of troops, making sure no rookies take the reins and lead the team into chaos. Gamers overwhelmed by the beta will also be happy to learn that the full game will offer an easier path to get into the experience. "Unlike the public beta, the release version of the game will introduce each player to our least complex gametypes (Training and Suppression) and gradually ramp them up to the intensity of 256-player Domination matches." Sony released some information on the one-week beta that shows the community's hunger for the game: over one million downloads of the client, with only a hardy few hitting the level cap. "Of the 619,000+ people who gained at least one point of experience, 52,846 of them qualified for Squad Leader, 10,249 people qualified for Platoon Leader, 3,181 warriors made it all the way to OIC, and a mere 143 diehard soldiers made it to the level 60 experience cap," the official stats show. We're also promised a text-based system to communicate, so even team-members without headsets will be able to participate. While organizing large numbers of gamers has never been an easy task, it's certainly a good thing when a developer tackles the problem head-on and shoots for the stars. MAG is coming to the PlayStation 3 on January 26. Source: Ars Technica Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Audioboxer Subscriber² Posted January 19, 2010 Subscriber² Share Posted January 19, 2010 We're also promised a text-based system to communicate, so even team-members without headsets will be able to participate. Thank you................... One thing I prefer in PC games is EVERYONE can normally chat even without a headset and with those PS3/360 chat pad addons it only takes a few secs to type simple inputs. Or even better on the PS3 if you have a wireless bluetooth keyboard you can quickly type some things up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael1406 Posted January 19, 2010 Share Posted January 19, 2010 I should have played the Beta when I had the chance. It sounds promising. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glassed Silver Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 I was so mislead by the title, lol. Thought it was about good old Windows XP XD Glassed Silver:win Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hedon Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 I love their XP direction, and I like that they are working on the spawns as well. They seemed focused on preventing everything that really ruins a shooter game experience when you first get it. Text controls though? Meh...I prefer voice commands hands down. I am glad it's optional for those that want it though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahhell Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 Good luck trying to command a bunch of people by using text. LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chasethebase Reporter Posted January 20, 2010 Reporter Share Posted January 20, 2010 Voice will work better for commanding, but having text chat on the console is a very good addition. This would be a must buy for me if I owned a PS3. But I don't. Shame really. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c3ntury Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 Thank you...................One thing I prefer in PC games is EVERYONE can normally chat even without a headset and with those PS3/360 chat pad addons it only takes a few secs to type simple inputs. Or even better on the PS3 if you have a wireless bluetooth keyboard you can quickly type some things up. It sucks that this game wont be released for PC though, a much, much bigger market! :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
what Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 It sucks that this game wont be released for PC though, a much, much bigger market! :D More pirates, too. And cheaters. And hardware/driver issues to contend with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sikh Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 ^ I wish it was PC Release, it would actually work then(256 players on a console, doesnt matter what console, its gonna be not as good as the beta was, and I played the beta and LOVED it). But, regardless its a great game, by great makers. I plan on trying it out, but actually buying not so much. Since I built a new pc and have been into a lot more PC Gaming I Plan on getting BF:BC2. Until then hopefully this game is wonderful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeoTrunks Posted January 22, 2010 Share Posted January 22, 2010 Would be nice if they implemented a system where once someone gets demoted to a certain level from team killing, that their attacks would no longer hurt teammates at all. The last day of the beta was just awful. There were people that would just start shooting everyone at the start of a game when people are spawning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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