MAG

[Cornsnake]

I prefer the faction owned territory concept. In Interdiction, both factions are fighting on a huge neutral map.

The vehicles are nice and I can get more points than Acquisition. I think they should give us more new weapons soon. The fightings are more concentrated. I get to revive and kill *a lot*.

The map is simplified (like Sabotage), so newbies should have an easier time to jump in. I kinda missed all the different military assets in Acquisition though (More finesse ! ).

Yeah, I agree. It doesn't allow you to be a diverse as you can be in Acquisition or Domination. There is a greater focus on driving, AT mines and RPG's, which is nice. But things like stealth and repairing are far less important. And with only the 2 mortar batteries next to the 3 primary objectives, strategy hardly comes into play. It's basically everyone attack this, then everyone attack that, ect.

 

[patsu]

Yo Cornsnake and JPT, I turned up the volume last night. Realized that sometimes (while in Sabotage), I can hear soft clicking/beeping noises while scouting an area. What is that ?

 

[Cornsnake]

My guess would be that it's the noise from a teammates motionsensor. It makes a bleeping sound when an enemy is near. Although not what it exactly sounds like because I haven't used it myself.

Unsurprisingly Interdiction is just about dead. Only at the busiest hours of the day can you find a game if your lucky. And it's only going to get worse. There are people on the MAG forums demanding a refund for a gamemode they haven't been able to play. It's not looking good for any future paid for DLC if they keep this up.

 

[patsu]

Thanks, didn't know a motion sensor can help teammates.

I'm still playing Sabotage and Acquisition too. Interdiction doesn't feel like a team objective game. More like a deathmatch.

 

[minimoke]

Unsurprisingly Interdiction is just about dead. Only at the busiest hours of the day can you find a game if your lucky. And it's only going to get worse. There are people on the MAG forums demanding a refund for a gamemode they haven't been able to play. It's not looking good for any future paid for DLC if they keep this up.

Yeah, I've only played 3 or 4 games of Interdiction. There are not enough players in the Australian timezone to get into a game!

Not sure how Zipper are going to address this but I don't think that people asking for a refund is going to help inspire Zipper to develop any more DLC. Maybe a try before buy or pay-per-play model might work.

 

[patsu]

Be part of PS+ !

Still need a way to hand hold beginners though.

 

[Cornsnake]

Yeah, I've only played 3 or 4 games of Interdiction. There are not enough players in the Australian timezone to get into a game!

Not sure how Zipper are going to address this but I don't think that people asking for a refund is going to help inspire Zipper to develop any more DLC. Maybe a try before buy or pay-per-play model might work.

If you hear the developers talk on their podcast it seems MAG is build on the idea of ever expanding it with DLC. They are probably well underway of developing more DLC. We know there is a gamemode coming that allows all 3 PMC's to play on the same map. Clanwars are coming, and the last podcast confirmed 9 new weapons in one of the upcoming patches. If all of that depends on a steady income from selling DLC, then they've got themselves a real problem.

The community manager said on the MAG forums that they are looking at way to increase the player numbers in Interdiction in the future. Without making it free. And that you can guess how they are going to do that.... PS+ seems like the logical choice.

Again I don't think that'll be enough to get the player numbers back where they should be for long. MAG's problem is simply this, they never sold enough copies to begin with to keep the community active enough to support DLC. They can barely support the current gamemodes.

They only franchise I can think of that sold enough copies to keep it alive with DLC map packs, in turn keeps the DLC map packs alive, is CoD. The rest with just see their DLC map packs die off quickly.

 

[patsu]

I was secretly hoping that they make MAG part of PS+ to keep the servers and userbase going and going.

 

[minimoke]

I was secretly hoping that they make MAG part of PS+ to keep the servers and userbase going and going.

Me too, I think the userbase is quite loyal but they only seem to play Sabotage and Domination.

Regarding the DLC, how do studios/publishers make money out of new maps etc. if the majority of the userbase does not purchase them? Surely studios must know the demand that exists and be able to predict the number of people that will purchase the DLC in order to invest money in their development in the first place.

 

[patsu]

Me too, I think the userbase is quite loyal but they only seem to play Sabotage and Domination.

I play Acquisition first, if available, and then Sabotage. I found out that more people play Acquisition on weekends too ! ^_^

The enemy teams are much more vicious these days. Had one match where they pushed us all the way back to spawn point A in Sabotage. Objective A was in their hands for most of the game. They hid all around spawn point A to ambush us. A few of us had to sneak out from the path to Objective C (all the way), and then reroute to Objective A to claim back our objective. Finally managed to disperse them when we surprised them from front and rear. Still gave them 2 minutes to attack Objective C, when they finally retook Objective A and B together. That was a close one.

EDIT: I think if they implement a buddy system (pair up newbies and experienced players together in-game), it would help to flatten the learning curve also.

 

[JPT]

I bought the DLC for MAG, but have not played it yet. But they tie it into PSN+, then fine, I'll get PSN+ to.

 

[minimoke]

Sabotage Goes Faction-Neutral Starting… Now!

http://blog.mag.com/blog/2010/07/sabotage-faction-neutral-now/

Nice, but it will just encourage more people to play Sabotage!

 

[patsu]

Ha ha, should have done that for all maps then.

Let dedicated players filter the maps based on their faction.

 

[patsu]

1.07 coming in August:
http://blog.eu.playstation.com/2010/07/27/mag-v1-07-available-early-august/

A new “Happy Hour” Double XP bonus that’s applied to the first hour of any player’s gameplay session in a 24-hour period.

Suppression will join Sabotage as a “Faction Neutral” gameplay mode, allowing any PMC to battle each other on any Suppression map.

Faster download and patching code that allows us to update MAG with more content and bigger file sizes in a speedier way.

Redesigned versions of the Flores Basin (Raven) and Alyeska Terminus (Valor) Domination maps that include new obstacles and repaired exploits.

New lighting effects for more attractive and realistic environments.

Various fixes to address bugs or glitches to improve MAG’s overall performance.

 

[minimoke]

New lighting effects for more attractive and realistic environments.

This sounds interesting, I've always thought that MAG was a bit dark - especially the SVER maps.

 

[RenegadeRocks]

Sabotage Goes Faction-Neutral Starting… Now!

http://blog.mag.com/blog/2010/07/sabotage-faction-neutral-now/

Nice, but it will just encourage more people to play Sabotage!

I don't understand! Are you no more tied to one PMC character that you create? How will the XP and upgrades count if I play as VALOR while I had playing as RAVEN uptill now?

 

[Shifty Geezer]

I believe you remain part of your faction, but can be attacking or defending on any map, such as VALOR defending SVER, or even VALOR attacking RAVEN on the Alaskan VALOR maps. This elliminates any map-specific advantages, and gives those who have remained in a single PMC the chance to experience maps from another perspective - effectively a very cheap to make map pack!

 

[Dregun]

I like it and don't like it!!

First I'm glad they made the maps neutral as it removes all and any complaints about one PMC having an advantage over another because the map was easier to defend. However for those like me who have vetted to all the PMC's (sometimes more then once) it took away an advantage we had over players who never vetted. I knew the best ways to attack and defend each map because I spent 120 levels in each faction defending and attacking them. Now Joe Shmoe has the same knowledge as me so I no longer have that advantage.

With that said I'm happier that the maps are neutral then having an advantage! Just finished my 2nd tour of SVER and went back to Valor and am now wondering if that was a mistake as ever since I've come back to Valor we just cant seem to pull a W!

 

[patsu]

Is there a sharp decline in Acquisition user base since Domination and Sabotage are neutral now ?

Also, do you know if patch 1.07 support PS Home game launching ?
http://blog.us.playstation.com/2010...-mag-personal-space-community-theater-update/

Come Thursday, July 29th, soldiers from the Raven faction will be able to assemble their clans and plan the next course of attack in PlayStation Home’s new Raven personal space. Releasing alongside a slew of Raven furniture items, the Raven personal space is a strategic outpost situated in the heart of the jungle — dedicated to Raven Industries military operations...

 

[patsu]

http://blog.mag.com/blog/2010/08/mag-moves-plus-our-new-beta-program/

But PlayStation Move support isn’t all we’re working on. Because our upcoming content is so important to the game and its future, we want your assistance to make sure we get it right! With that notion in mind we’re pleased to announce that, one week from today on August 24, we’re inviting existing MAG owners to take part in the all-new MAG Beta program!

What are you going to play and test, you ask? How about the oft-demanded “Clan Deploy” feature that allows clan leaders to choose any game type and queue up to 128 clan members for matches as a team? Sure, that’s a great start but we’re also bringing in a brand-new Skill tree system that improves how our character customization system works — complete with new skills and new abilities. What’s more is that we’re introducing an in-game economy system that allows users to earn “Credit Points” by completing objectives, finishing missions, and killing enemies. They can then spend those points to purchase new weapons and gear.

MAG Beta testers will also have the opportunity to try out our upcoming DLC game-type, “Escalation,” well before it becomes available.

To participate in the new MAG beta, all you have to do is download the client software from the PlayStation Store when it becomes available next week, insert your MAG disc into the PlayStation 3, sign-in to the beta client and… BOOM! You’re good to go. Reminder: You must have the MAG disc in your PS3 in order for the new beta client to work.