Info On Upcoming XBox MMOFPS

Via eToychest, an interview at TeamXbox with Kijong Kang, executive producer of the upcoming Xbox Live enabled MMOFPS game Huxley. The game will exist within a persistent world which draws inspiration from several game genres, and is slated to use the Unreal 3 engine to bring the shiny. From the article: "Compared with Planet Side, there are some common features such as MMO, PW, and FPS. However, the biggest difference is the level of action. Planet Side is an enjoyable game, but it is a strategy-focused FPS game rather than an action-focused FPS game. With outstanding features, Huxley is an absolute action game such as Quake or Unreal."

Comments

Looks good.

[Sheetrock]

I'm quite impressed with the rendering quality of the XBox vs. its contenders, at least with regards to the pictures in this article. If they manage a reasonable fps with online MMOFPSing I will seriously consider picking this up.

There are a few ways they could improve on the formula of Planetside however. For one thing, I wish that there was a way to bring in your own maps and limit a particular arena to a certain number of players. For another, having any sort of information tied to your longterm performance such as a level, new abilities or score creates a disincentive to stick your neck out -- if they'd just let you join and play and wipe all your stats out at the end of the hour it'd be a lot more fun! It'd also be nice to have a single-player mode where you could get experience in the gaming world by battling monsters through a series of levels.

Regardless, for restrained multiplayer mayhem I will be investigating this title further.

Re:Looks good.

[C0rinthian]

So basically, you want to turn a MMOFPS back into a traditional FPS...

Re:Looks good.

[netfool]

I think about this from time to time. Developers/creators etc really must struggle with the level of control they grant their customers.

On one hand the developers are trying to portray or share an idea while giving the customer a good time.
On the other hand, the customer wants to make the game into what they want (they want more control over it) if they don't like the original idea.
I'm sure a lot of developers realize, if you grant the customer too much control, you're potentially sacrificing the essence of what you were trying to share with others.
In our system, the answer is always "YES, give the customer what they want."
But personally, I really dislike putting my blood sweat and tears into something, try and share it with people, & suddenly have it turned into something it wasn't meant to be.

Anyways, it's an interesting read. I still didn't quite get the game though. The article get's a bit vague on any real details.

Re:Looks good.

[netfool]

Damn. That should read:

"...get the game though. The article get's a bit vague on any real details."

Re:Looks good.

[jericho4.0]

I thought the statements made were pretty indicative of an awesome gaming experience. 5000 person battles in a persistant universe? Cool! The Unreal 3 demo vids show the seamless loading of gargantuan maps (vid #4), check that out, and then imagine 5000 players in that map.

Re:Looks good.

[drxray]

"I'm quite impressed with the rendering quality of the XBox vs. its contenders, at least with regards to the pictures in this article."

Towards the end of the article they start talking about Xbox 2... I think that's what Huxley is coming out for and they just don't clearly state it. They say "next generation" several times.
I'd be pretty surprised if a current-gen console could do the lighting in those shots (though Doom 3 is getting ported so maybe I'm wrong).

Anyway, who needs Huxley? Quake 2 supported 128(+?) players. 128 is enough for anyone! :)

Re:Looks good.

[cgenman]

Most of the worries around player control doesn't come from the artistic side of things. People have a way of wanting to do things that will destroy the experience for them. If you let FPS players create their own weapons, they would create the "kill everyone but me in one flash" gun. If you let the players choose all of the parameters of the game, they frequently choose settings that are boring, not fun, etc... like 5-square mile maps in a 2-person combat game. If you give MMPORPG players the ability to advance their level by walking 20 feet to the left, digging radishes for an hour, and walking 20 feet to the right to the store, they will do it, and complain that your game is boring as hell.

The artistic side of things comes into play, as if the player destroys the artisttic side of the game then they're probably also ruining the aesthetic experience. But in general practical needs of play outweigh any sort of personal thing the developer is attempting to communicate.

I'm not saying don't expose the game parameters, I'm saying you have to be careful when you do. It's not as simple as just letting the player make the perfect game for you... It's your responsibility to make sure they have a good time, not theirs.

Re:Looks good.

[Anonymous Coward]

Imagine 250 teamkilling assholes ruining it for the other 4750...

Huxley?

[MyDixieWrecked]

Darwin must be rolling in his grave.

Re:Huxley?

[Anonymous Coward]

and screaming 'Huuzaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!' at the top of his lungs.

*falls over laughing*

[Dragoon412]

Compared with Planet Side, there are some common features such as MMO, PW, and FPS. However, the biggest difference is the level of action. Planet Side is an enjoyable game, but it is a strategy-focused FPS game rather than an action-focused FPS game.

I have to ask the submitter - have you ever played Planetside? This comment leads me to believe you have not.

Re:*falls over laughing*

[C0rinthian]

Dude, the submitter simply quoted that text from the article.

http://www.rif.com/

Re:*falls over laughing*

[C0rinthian]

Crap, ignore that link. It doesn't go where I thought it did. (Reading is Fundamental)

Thats what I get for not checking my links. Sorry.

Re:*falls over laughing*

[aztektum]

Secondly it raises the question: Why not just play Halo2?

If this game is all about balls out action, what the hell is the point of standing around in an "immersive" world chatting?

Re:*falls over laughing*

[The Evil Couch]

I donno. There's a good deal of strategy involved in Planetside. In order to make any progress as far as taking over facilities, zerg tactics will only get you so far. A more intelligent commander that can get his forces to outmanuver the other can usually force his opponent into a corner where they get ground to a pulp.

Of course, that was when I had last played. I've been in Iraq for the past 8 months and haven't played PS in about a year. I'm sure things have changed. I hope they haven't changed so much that strategy's no longer a factor.

Re:*falls over laughing*

[Dragoon412]

I last played about 6 months ago, and it's nothing but zerging. Especially since the introduction of stat tracking. People are so overwhelmingly concerned with their kill count that all you saw were Reavers rocket-spamming infantry, and infantry using HA/RExoshield setups.

Stat tracking destroyed any semblance of tactics left in that game. I mean, sure, theoretically a semi-organized zerg would win against a disorganized zerg, but honestly, have you ever seen that? No one listens to the commanders, and considering command experience is a derrivative of your kill count, it's no wonder. The "commanders" aren't leaders of knowledgeable, they've just been the squad leader when a few bases got capped. ...besides, who the hell wants to run support these days, like driving an AMS, when everyone and his bloody dog has an orbital strike and stealthers practically outnumber regular infantry. The average lifespan of an AMS on the battlefield these days is measured in seconds.

I'm just pretty bummed by Planetside. It could've been a brilliant niche game. Instead, it tried to turn into MMO Quake. The last vestiages of tactical consideration in Planetside are just paying lip service to what the game should've been.

its not just Xbox

[Zeussy]

its coming out on the PC as well, inless M$ stops them.

We are developing a PC version of Huxley. We are also considering the possibility of allowing Xbox 2 and PC gamers to play together.

Console vs PC gamers argument is really going to have something to chew over now! Ill just stand in the corner, watching and sniggering.

I was under the impression...

[Wanj00n]

that the Unreal 3 engine was for next-generation games only?

Re:I was under the impression...

[AaronBrethorst]

Which might explain why Huxley's coming out in Summer 2006... By then Xenon should've been on the shelf for at least 7 or 8 months, if not more.