Posts Tagged ‘conquest’

A letter from Todd Harris, Executive Producer of Global Agenda

Dear Global Agenda players and fans:

At Hi-Rez Studios, we have a mission: To provide the most fun per dollar (or Euro or Pound, etc) in all of PC gaming. We want to earn your money and are here to prove it as part of our quest to become a dominant and permanent force in the industry.

That’s why:

• We are now offering one of the most generous and action-packed free trials available today. If you do nothing but play our free trial, you can experience a multi-player shooter with award-winning gameplay and reasonably few limitations for up to 8 characters through Level 15 (and, currently, there are no time restrictions!). We’ll put just our free trial toe-to-toe with many fully priced multi-player shooters. And starting today, you can download the free trial direct from Steam with one-click, making it easier than ever to give Global Agenda a try!

• For a single one-time purchase, you can upgrade your free trial and play the core multi-player shooter components of the game forever, no subscription required ever. All the while, you play on Developer-maintained servers and receive occasional content updates and upgrades. Playing the one-time purchase game, you have a path to obtain all the weapons in the game and can enjoy 100’s of hours of top-notch PvP and PvE gameplay.
• With the release of our upcoming major content expansion (named “Sandstorm”), we plan to start offering an optional subscription package, called Conquest, that will unlock premium content and awards, as well as give you access to frequent content updates and expansions. Parts of Conquest are available free of charge today to those that buy the single-purchase version, until Sandstorm is released.

Today, I wanted to provided additional information on when our optional Conquest subscriptions will start, what the pricing is expected to be, and what features will be included in the subscription.

In short:

• Even as a non-subscriber who has purchased the game one-time, you’ll be able to enjoy occasional content updates and expansions without a subscription. For example, with our upcoming Sandstorm expansion, all players will enjoy access to our new Sonoran Desert PvE Zone, gain access to a huge selection of new devices and weapons, and more.  Those who choose to subscribe can additionally experience our Commonwealth City PvE Zone, the Alliance vs Alliance battles, PvP Warzones and more (see chart below).
• Subscriptions will not start until after our first major expansion, named Sandstorm, is released.  We will be working with our community and using the Public Test Servers to determine when Sandstorm is ready to release. We’ll provide a lot more information about Sandstorm in the coming weeks. In the meantime, you can get an update on Sandstorm’s progress on our forums, as well as enjoy the teaser screenshots below. While a full-scale expansion pack, Sandstorm will not cost an extra one-time fee.
• We initially announced that pricing for the Conquest subscription would be $12.99 a month, lower than the average MMO.  In an effort to further reinforce our commitment to being the best value in gaming, we are lowering our subscription price to $9.95 a month (€7.95 Euro, ₤6.95 GBP)!
• With the release of Sandstorm, the amount of content and character progression in Global Agenda will expand significantly — including Open PvE Zones, a PvP Warzone for larger-scale battles, a wide array of new devices and armor, and a higher level cap. We’re also adjusting our Alliance vs Alliance format to make it more accessible and rewarding (as well as making a bunch of other great changes).
• If you purchase the game prior to the release of Sandstorm, you can play the full game without a subscription until Sandstorm is released. In addition, you will have the opportunity to play the Subscription content for 30 days free once Sandstorm releases. (Must pre-subscribe to receive the 30 days; your pre-subscription can be cancelled at any time.)

The following chart helps illustrate differences between our Free Trial, the One-Time Purchase Game, and the Optional Subscription content. (Note that you must first purchase the one-time version prior to subscribing to Conquest).

Getting excited about Sandstorm? Us too. Here are some screenshots of our new Sonoran Desert PvE zone to tease you:

Here’s some answers to other questions you might have:

How is Global Agenda priced?

Global Agenda is a unique hybrid game with a unique hybrid pricing model.

The major Multi-player Shooter aspects of the game, including our award-winning Mercenary PvP gameplay and the Sonoran Desert PvE Zone, can be played forever with a one-time purchase only — no subscription required ever. With the one-time purchase, you can fully progress up to 8 characters to max level, unlocking a wide array of devices, skills and armor.

However, for an optional monthly subscription fee, you can unlock additional content and features such as player crafting, large-scale PvP Warzones, additional PvE content, and our Alliance-vs-Alliance battles for on-going persistent territory control.

The best part? Getting started with Global Agenda is free. You can experience Global Agenda’s award-winning PvP and PvE gameplay free through Level 15 through our very generous Free Trial. Simply download on Steam today and begin your Global Agenda experience.

More details are in the Pricing Matrix.

When do subscriptions start?

We’ve said from the beginning that we want to earn your subscription. As such, all players that purchase the game prior to the release of our first major expansion, Sandstorm, will have an opportunity to experience the full game without restriction until 30 days after the Sandstorm release (Details to be announced, players will need to pre-subscribe to access the subscription content, can cancel at any time). Players that purchase the game after the release of Sandstorm will need to subscribe prior to accessing the premium content. So buy today to ensure your 30 days free of the full content once released, while also earning credits and experience that will be valuable when Sandstorm is released.

I’ve bought the one-time purchase game. What can I play today that I will not be able to play in the future if I don’t subscribe?

There is some subscriber-only content and features that we are allowing all players of the game to sample right now, until we start taking subscriptions. The following gameplay is enabled currently now but will be subscriber only in the future:

- Alliance vs. Alliance battles

- Special Ops Co-op PvE content against the Commonwealth

- Loot beyond Uncommon level

- Crafting beyond Uncommon level

That said, all players will receive some new content with the Sandstorm release, regardless of subscription status, including access to the new Sonoran Desert Open Zone and Special Ops content, the ability to earn new devices and rewards, and more.

I’ve bought the one-time purchase game. Are there any player items that I will not be able to acquire in the future if I don’t subscribe in the future?

If an item can be used in core PvP or PvE, there will be a path for non-subscribers to acquire that item. However, there will be prestige (aesthetic-only) items and AvA items that are only accessible to subscribers.

What is Sandstorm (Version 1.3)?

Sandstorm is the first major expansion for Global Agenda and it expands significantly on the MMO elements that our players have asked for and expect. With Sandstorm, we will raise the character level cap, introduce new devices and more device variation, expand loot, and add playable PvP and PvE content. Our content expansion includes introducing Open Zones that support many more players interacting within large outdoor areas.

We will be working closely with the community and using the Public Test Server to ensure Sandstorm meets our quality expectations before it is released.

What makes your Studio tick?

As a fully independent, well-funded private Studio, we are, at heart, gamers. And our goal is to treat our customers like we want to be treated as gamers.  That means, accessible pricing, personal service and on-going updates and content — in addition to great, award-winning gameplay.  We listen to our players and make real changes to ensure that Global Agenda is the community that you want.  Its our Community that has driven many of the improvements that came in our earlier 1.1 and 1.2 updates, and it is the Community driving many of our 1.3 (Sandstorm) improvements. We’re here to be a dominant force in gaming and this is our way of showing it!

Seraphina Brennan over at Massively.com wrote a couple of great articles about Global Agenda last week

First, his thoughts on Global Agenda: Conquest:

Global Agenda: Conquest mode is the game’s take on a real-time strategy game versus an FPS. Your alliance of agencies can take ownership of the Global Agenda world and lay claim to valuable resources to build agent modifications, weapons of mass destruction, and even more fun little tools. But you must guard your territory carefully, as other alliances will have the option to siege your land, forcing you into battles for domination of the map.

Read the whole article here!

Also, his take on how Global Agenda’s squad-based combat still creates a massive experience when you overlay the game’s unique framework for territory control:

Why is there so much ado about the nature of an MMO? Why are so many fixated on the 10 vs 10 nature of Global Agenda and not the bigger picture of what the game has to offer? Why do we scoff at the idea of 100 person instances when it was designed to give the player more flexibility?

Today, I want to play the devil’s advocate, as I do in so many of my opinion columns. I want to take on the defense of Global Agenda as an MMO title, and I think I have enough evidence to prove that it’s massive — just not in the way you normally consider MMOs to be massive. And, personally, I think this is only good news for the industry at large.

Check out Brennan’s full take on it here.