CrimeCraft

[kostacurtas]

CrimeCraft First Look

 

CrimeCraft may sound like an open-world crime saga, a genre that has become ever more popular and prevalent in recent years thanks to Grand Theft Auto. However, it's not. Instead, CrimeCraft is a persistent online third-person shooter with a premise that sounds a bit like Escape from New York. In an alternate universe on a world that looks quite a bit like our own, the criminals have been walled up in Sunrise City and given free run of the place. To pass the time, they engage in gun battles, and the idea is that you can join in all the fun.

 

While shooters have had multiplayer since pretty much the very beginning, the idea of a persistent online shooter is less firmly ensconced. Sony Online Entertainment took a stab at it with its ambitious PlanetSide, and various developers have been working (some for years) on delivering a MMO/shooter hybrid. It's not easy, though, but the folks at Vogster think they've figured it out.

 

Vogster is one of the new types of development houses that have sprung up in the global economy. With offices spread between Moscow, Kiev, Chicago, and New Jersey, it operates mainly with Slavic programming talent working in conjunction with Western designers.

 

The game, which is powered by the ubiquitous Unreal Engine, pops out at you with its bright colors. More importantly, the small scale battle has the fluidity of a typical shooter. Of course, that's probably because CrimeCraft isn't going for large-scale battles spread out over a gigantic area.

 

This isn't a pure MMO. Sure, there will be lobby areas where hundreds of players can lounge about and chat, barter, or shop in. You can form gangs, which are the equivalent of guilds. Then there's also quests given out by NPCs, as well as the ability to craft and trade weapons, clothes, and even designer drugs that give a boost in combat. However, there isn't going to be any kind of world exploration. When you leave the public lobby area you dive into instanced battles, where you can shoot at other human players or computer-controlled bots. Rather than large scale, Battlefield-style fracases with 64 players, the battles in CrimeCraft are geared toward a smaller, more familiar scale. We're talking two-on-two, three-on-three, up to around eight-on-eight.

 

If it's not large, then what makes CrimeCraft different from say a Call of Duty 4? That's where the persistence comes in. The character you create is a character that can develop for as long as you play. You can go up in experience level, and spend the money that you earn doing quests and participating in battles to buy better (and cooler) gear. This might come in the form of clothes, weapons, equipment, or special abilities, like being able to regenerate health or cloak yourself in an invisibility field.

 

To keep things balanced and to prevent a level 50 player from having an overwhelming advantage over a brand new player, the game features a character class system not unlike the ones found in games like Call of Duty 4. You may have an arsenal of weapons at your disposal, but you can only take three of them with you. In addition, you might also have a slew of awesome abilities, but again, you can only select three to take with you in each battle. Since there's a trade-off for every weapon and abilities, this levels the battlefield and makes CrimeCraft dependent on player skill, reflexes, and tactics.

 

The weapon upgrades keep in line with this philosophy. We're told that there will be plenty of weapons and ways to upgrade and customize them, but eventually you're making tradeoffs. For example, our demonstration giver had a sniper rifle modded for higher rates of fire. While this let him squeeze off more bullets more quickly, it took a toll on accuracy. Even abilities can also be upgraded.

 

There will be variety of mission types that will seem familiar to shooter veterans. We know of team deathmatch, a control points mode, a variant on capture the flag, and a defense mode where one team must defend an objective against the other. To add more motivation, there are quests and achievements that you can pursue. Each player might have their own quests, so one might need to kill 10 people with a pistol, another might need to finish atop the rankings of a game, while another has to rack up a certain number of kills. Voice chat is being built in the game, so you can coordinate easily with your teammates.

 

It's through persistence and role-playing character elements that Vogster hopes to build an audience for the game. The business model is being geared toward subscriptions and not toward free-to-play, in-game advertising, or microtransactions, but the developers say they could implement something like microtransactions later on. The trick is to make it so the microtransactions don't skew the game's balance toward those willing to pay. And while there's interest in putting the game on consoles, the focus right now is just on the PC version.

 

The game is currently in a closed beta, but Vogster plans to open it up in coming months, with a North American launch sometime in the second quarter of the year.

 

 

[{TDi}Dj2k..infc]

Nice αλλα άμα δεν έχει κάποιο είδος cover system δεν λέει..

[kostacurtas]

CrimeCraft Now Accepting Closed Beta Signups

 

Vogster Interactive's CrimeCraft, powered by the Unreal Engine 3, is an MMO that combines the action of a tactical shooter with the strategy of an RPG. Set in a modern world you take part in the political, economical and social life of a big city. Fans interested in participating can now sign up for the upcoming closed beta test.

[kostacurtas]

CrimeCraft - Enters Closed Beta, Gets Release Date

 

Fans interested in participating can now sign up for the upcoming closed beta test.

 

“Anticipation and acclaim continue to grow for CrimeCraft and we are excited to offer fans an exclusive chance to play the game before its release, providing feedback that will help fine-tune development,” said Matt McEnerney, Executive Producer of CrimeCraft. “Our game promises a refreshing, gritty and fast-paced alternative to the current online gaming realm. Our goal is to launch the best hybrid of twitch shooter action and RPG gaming depth, set in a persistent world environment. This closed beta is a pivotal milestone to ensure that we deliver on the high expectations that we and our fans have for CrimeCraft.”

 

Vogster Interactive's CrimeCraft is scheduled for release on August 25, 2009.

[kostacurtas]

[gt]51080[/gt]

[gt]51127[/gt]

[kostacurtas]

CrimeCraft Free Unlimited Trial, Updates & More

 

Vogster has announced an unlimited free trial, an enhanced subscription model and a major content update for CrimeCraft, its MMO shooter.

 

“The CrimeCraft community talks and we listen,” said Mario Kroll, Director of Marketing at Vogster. “We’ve been working closely with the community to find ways to enhance the content, depth and player experience to make CrimeCraft the best it can possibly be. In addition to our first major content update, at the end of this month we will offer a non-expiring, free trial that will allow gamers to experience the major features of the game without paying a subscription.”

 

Details of the free trial and subscription model changes are as follows:

• Unlimited Free Trial –New CrimeCraft players will be able to experience the major features of the game for free for as long as they want.
   
  
• Varied Subscription Options – CrimeCraft will introduce a new Standard Subscription for $4.99/month in addition to the current $9.99/month Premium Subscription option. The major differences between the subscription levels is the extent of customization, skill slots, speed of experience gain and inventory capacity. Standard and Premium subscription features will also be showcased behind “velvet rope” areas to allow players to make a fully-informed subscription decision.
   
  
• Seamless Transition – Players can seamlessly convert from a free trial to a paying account and switch between subscription levels. Features will be placed “on hold” or unlocked based on the current subscription level.
   
  
• Original Gangsters – In appreciation of our current CrimeCraft customers, everyone that purchases the game between launch and the introduction of the free trial later this month will receive a third month of Premium Subscription at no cost, and a host of in-game rewards including an “Original Gangster” tag and icon for their characters as well as priority access to future content.
  

Find out all about the upcoming content changes from the CrimeCraft site.

[Cue]

Επί της ουσίας το έχει δοκιμάσει κανείς να μας πει εντυπώσεις?

[mchls]

CrimeCraft Update comes with Steam Trading integration and Easter event this Spring