Official News

If you have been waiting to buy Global Agenda, now may be the chance you’ve been waiting for. Patch 1.2 launched this week with cool new features, following just a couple weeks behind Patch 1.1 as Hi-Rez continues to aggressively expand the game.

And now the game is available on Steam for $39.99 USD (29,99€ EUR).

Still not sure? Read IGN’s latest review here (8.4 – Impressive).

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Roughly a week after the live release of Global Agenda Patch 1.1, Hi-Rez Studios has made Patch 1.2 available on the Global Agenda Public Test Server, in anticipation of release to the Live servers soon.

VERSION 1.2 DETAILS

Version 1.2 introduces a variety of enhancements and improvements to the Alliance vs Alliance gameplay, including Theft missions, Defense Facilities, a No-Facility Mission Type, and a variety of map adjustments and rule modifications. In addition, the patch brings a 4v4 Arena Queue, in which pre-made teams of four battle each other for supremacy and reward.

 

Alliance vs Alliance (AvA) Changes and Additions:

Patch 1.2 is the first major AvA content update; featuring new rules, missions, and maps that attempt to address some of the key issues we’ve heard from the community. These changes are just a first phase of improvement, and additional AvA enhancements are planned for future releases.

Theft Missions

One of the major new features in AvA is the ability to launch theft missions against production facilities. Theft missions are launched just like capture missions, through a new option available on the bid window. Winning a theft mission grants an immediate reward to the attacking strike force, and shuts down operation of the facility for 15min (during which time the facility is also in lockdown).

• Alternative to Expansion: Theft missions provide an alternative to capturing more territory. When you feel like you have as much territory as you can defend, and don’t wish to expand, you can start stealing from others and hurting enemy production rates.
• Something for Non-Territory Holders: Theft missions provide a great option for groups that do not hold territory in a given Zone, but still wish to run missions to help their Agency.
• Lower Consequence: Political ramifications aside, a theft mission does not carry the same consequence or weight that a capture mission does.
• New AvA Game Types and Maps: The initial theft missions are of the Payload type, offering something different than the normal Breech found in AvA. In future updates we will be introducing additional unique game types to Theft.

What you steal is dependent upon the tech level and type of the facility you are raiding. Higher tech facility’s offer better rewards. On average, owning and operating a facility offers more value than theft missions; so owning territory is still greatly preferable to raiding, assuming you can defend that territory. It’s also worth noting that there are some items that cannot be stolen, and can only be produced by owning territory.

Tech I Defense Facilities

Defense facilities represent the first phase of a larger lattice system being introduced into AvA. New facility types will be released in future patches that build upon this.

How they Work:

A Tech I Defense Facility allows you to SHIELD any two adjacent territories of your choice. These shields operate just like those made available from a base - they prevent all attacks on the shielded territory unless tactical missiles are used to break through the shield (from a Missile Complex in range). Unlike base shields, however, the shields provided by Defense Facilities can be removed by attacking the defense facility directly.

• Defense Facilities may shield any two adjacent territories.
• A defense facility itself may never be shielded (it’s power output creates to much electrical interference to be shielded).
• A successful theft mission will shut down the shields projected by a Defense Facility for 15min.
• A successful capture mission will, of course, shut down the shields of a Defense Facility, as well as grant ownership to the attackers.
• Tech 1 Defense Facilities are available at credit cost from the Facility Vendor in dome city.
• Improved Strike Force Coverage: With a defense facility, a single strike force can protect up to three territories. Two strike forces can safely protect up to six territories.
• Multi-Stage Defense: Defense Facilities help to provide important territories more protection, by forcing attackers to successfully complete multiple missions before they can threaten key assets. If you have a territory or facility you really want defended, having multiple defense facilities around it gives you more chances to hold on to it.
• Bottleneck "Zergs": Defense facilities help to funnel major offensives into a smaller number of initial strikes.
• Trade off for production: Deploying a defense facility is a trade off for having production in a territory, as the defense facility produces nothing on it’s own.
• Unique Mission & Map: A defense facility plays a "defensive control" mission and not the standard Breech mission type currently in AvA.

Defense facilities offer a 3 to 1 ratio of "safe" territory ownership to the number of strike forces you can field. It’s worth noting that most current large territory owners in Global Agenda are far exceeding 3 to 1. As such, this is seen as more of a benefit to current small and medium sized territory owners.

In future patches, we’re looking to add additional defensive features that are "in mission" as opposed to at the higher strategic level. We’ll also be expanding and improving the lattice options available from facilities, encouraging networks to be built and maintained.

Additional AvA features in 1.2 include:

• TRADING AND ABANDONING TERRITORIES: Agencies will be able to trade or abandon territories! Both options are handled from the Agency Screen. For trading territory, you must offer the territory to a player who is currently online, and has permission to manage Agency Facilities for the Agency they are in. No more ghosting needed.
• LOCKDOWN TIMERS INCREASED: All lockdown timers for defending a territory will be increased to 15min.
• TERRITORY TAX CHANGE: Territory not connected to your Agency HQ will count as double towards calculating territory tax in a zone. This means crossing a river, or owning territory in an additional zone, is going to become increasingly more expensive. If you are expanding around your HQ, you will not be affected by this tax change. (Note for large Alliances: We suggest making use of the new trading territories feature also in the content patch to better group your agency holdings).
• BIDDING CHANGE - PERSONAL CURRENCY: All bidding for attacks now comes from PERSONAL INVENTORY rather than AGENCY INVENTORY. This will allow more players to lead strike forces, and it also helps fight some of the griefing we’ve seen in allowing a large number of players access to Agency funds. Agency members with the correct permissions can still withdraw any Agency funds they need prior to bidding.
• MAXIMUM PLAYER TAX CAP: The maximum tax rate an Agency can set for it’s members is now capped at 50%. Agencies needing to get more funds from their players can always ask for donations (anyone can donate to the Agency bank!)
• REQUIREMENT TO FORM A STRIKE FORCE: Agencies with fewer than ten members can no longer form strike forces.
• MAP ADJUSTMENTS: Bases now only shield the six hexes immediately around them. We recognise this change will affect a number of groups, but felt it was necessary with the implementation of Defense Facilities. Bases still offer better defense - as they require missiles to break - and we’ll be adding on to what bases provide in the near future. We’ve also made some ADDITIONS to resource bonus areas. No resources have been removed.
• NEW NO-FACILITY: Battles in a territory where the facility is destroyed now play in a new map, with a new mission type (Pictured Below).

The next major focus for AvA is on improving the rewards for participating, as well as create near-term and long term goals for Agencies to achieve. We recognize the current "win" conditions and rewards for AvA need improvement.

  4v4 Arena Queue

The 4v4 Arena Queue is for pre-made teams of four players only, and offers two new maps built specifically for 4v4 combat. Aside from offering a gametype that allows you to compete solely in pre-made groups, the 4v4 Arena features combat that has a more intimate feel than a standard 10v10 match.

For this initial release, the 4v4 queue is not ranked and is intended to allow players to enjoy something different while running PvP missions. Players earn xp and credits just like any other queue. In the future, a ranking and ladder system will be added to the queue, offering unique incentives for competing in 4v4 over regular match made. We’ll also be adding new arenas.

  City Chat Channel

Version 1.2 introduces a City Chat channel, which spans all public instances (Dome City and VR Arena). This is useful for looking for group communications. By default, the City Channel appears only under your "ALL" tab, but remember that you can configure your tabs using SETTINGS | CHAT.

 

PvE Improvements

Version 1.2 does not introduce any new PvE content, but it does include a variety of improvements and bug fixes to improve the PvE experience (animation and AI improvements, etc).

 

PATCH 1.3 – MORE IS ON THE WAY…

While Patch 1.2 concentrates primarily on enhancing the existing Global Agenda Conquest gameplay, we are actively working on a Patch 1.3 to be released soon that introduces Mission-based PvE and PvP zones, in addition to even more AvA enhancements.

• With the introduction of Open Zones you will be able to step outside of Dome City into the Desert as a solo player or in teams as large as 10 people
• While in the Open Zone you will see and interact with many other teams; each team pursuing an assigned mission goal within that same, very large environment area.
• Our first themed Open Zone is set in the Sonoran Desert.  You will interact with the brutish Desert Dweller element of the Commonwealth; and encounter robotic enemies manufactured by the nearby Recursive Colony.
• Update 1.3 will include both a safe PvE zone and an entirely different PvP oriented zone.  We are pretty excited about both!

 

ACCESSING THE PUBLIC TEST SERVER

All players of Global Agenda are able to download the Public Test Client and login to the test server using the Tools menu on Steam (see article on How to Use the Public Test Server).

Additional patches are being worked on for release in the upcoming weeks that will continue to introduce significant additional content to the game (including a new Open Zone game mode that takes you outside the doors of Dome City).

The Public Test Server should be on and available for login at most times during the day but may be subject to occasional downtime. Follow GATestSvrStatus on Twitter for latest status of the Public Test Server.  Provide test feedback in the Public Test Forums.

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Global Agenda Dev Chat - March 3, 2010

On Wednesday, March 3, 2010, Hi-Rez Studios held a Developer Chat using Vivox Voice on Facebook. The chat was just over an hour and covered questions submitted by members of the Global Agenda community. It features Todd Harris, Executive Producer; Stew Chisam, VP of Game Operations; and Michal Adam, Public Relations Specialist.

Topics covered include: Reflections on the launch, the recently released Patch 1.1, and upcoming features coming into the game soon.

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This weekend, March 5-8, fill your friends list! Global Agenda is available at a reduced price on the Global Agenda webstore with additional discounts for multi-pack purchases. Tell your friends, team up and get in the game now!

Limit: 4 keys total per purchase.

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Back by popular request, Hi-Rez Studios will host another Global Agenda dev chat using Vivox Voice for Facebook on Wednesday March 3 at 9pm US Eastern, 6pm US Pacific (02:00 GMT on Thursday, March 4).

One month after the launch of Global Agenda, Hi-Rez will discuss the State of The Game, highlight upcoming additions, and respond to your questions.

Some important details:

GET IN EARLY

Facebook chat rooms max out at around 100 seats — so space is limited!!! Join the chat room early to reserve your seat.

If you can’t make the session, it will be recorded and post as a podcast you can download. Become a fan of Global Agenda on Facebook to get updates.

SUBMIT YOUR QUESTIONS IN ADVANCE

The session will be held in "auditorium mode", meaning that after the event begins only Hi-Rez folks will be speaking. Questions can be submitted via text-chat during the event but submission in advance makes it more likely that your question will be addressed.

To submit your question, POST ON OUR FORUMS!

The voice channel will be open for up to 5 minutes prior and open again afterwards, so listeners will have a chance to interact, just not during the event’s main program.

PRO TIP

The channel is open all the time for people to camp out or chat.

To participate, download the Vivox Voice app here then join us here(http://bit.ly/TC4Hy)

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Global Agenda Patch 1.1 has been released to the Global Agenda Public Test Server, in anticipation of release to the Live servers early next week. All players of Global Agenda are able to download the Public Test Client and login to the test server using the Tools menu on Steam (see article on How to Use the Public Test Server).

Global Agenda Patch 1.1 introduces several commonly requested new features, including a friends list, two new Conquest Zones, the ability to repair upgrades, additional player choice when queuing, and more. The patch also fixes a variety of bugs and annoyances.

Additional patches are being worked on for release in the upcoming weeks that will introduce significant additional content to the game (new gameplay types and maps, etc).

The Public Test Server should be on and available for login at most times during the day but may be subject to occasional downtime. Follow GATestSvrStatus on Twitter for latest status of the Public Test Server.  Provide test feedback in the Public Test Forums.

A structured Play Test will occur on Wednesday, February 24 from 6PM to 9PM US Eastern Standard Time (23:00 GMT to 02:00 GMT, 3PM to 6PM US Pacific). Players interested in helping improve Global Agenda are encouraged to join members of the Global Agenda development team in running Player-vs-Player matches and testing the new queuing mechanisms during this time.

New Features

New items and features in this patch include:

• Friends List: A Friends and Ignore list has been added (More…)
• Mission Screen: When joining the Mercenary PvP queue, players have checkboxes to select the Map Types to queue for (Control, Breach, Demolition, Payload, Scramble).
• Mission Screen: When joining a PvE queue, players have the ability to "Only join a balanced team." If this option is chosen, it may take longer to get a match, but you will be ensured of having one player from each class on your team.
• Upgrades: Upgrades can now be repaired using Repair Kits that can be crafted using blueprints purchased in the Prototyping Center in Dome City.
• All upgrades now have 35 durability to coincide with the addition of repair kits. This is to ensure that all upgrades have the same relative upkeep cost based on the initial cost of the item.  (More…)
• Crafting: Additional rare and epic blueprint options have been added.
• Crafting: There are now specific uncommon blueprints, so it is no longer necessary to craft random.  Existing random blueprints have been converted to match the new scheme. To accommodate this:
• • All existing uncommon blueprints were removed from the game and your credits have been refunded.
  • There are now separate armor and weapon blueprint vendors in the crafting area. Each vendor sells 42 blueprints that craft a specific item (rather than the random chance at a stat as prior).
  • All upgrades and blueprints have been renamed to make them esier to identify. (Example: No longer do you have to wade through hundreds of Alpha Analysers to find one with a ranged damaged bonus. Now you can search on Ranged Analyser and see all of them with that particular stat).
• Crafting: Item names are now more representative of the enhancements they provide.
• Conquest: Two new Conquest Zones have been added — Tradewind has times convenient for Oceanic players, and Anvil has a start time convenient to many European players.  (More…)
• Conquest: New tabs have been added to the CONQUEST MAP screen for "Combat Log" and "Alliance". These allow you to get a fuller picture of the recent activity and current state of a given Zone.
• Conquest: Improved support for the Zone Win Condition has been added.
• Conquest: Equipment brought into an AvA match that is not destroyed by the opposing team is no longer destroyed by the system if your team loses (this would happen a % of the time previously, by design).
• Conquest: If you lose an AvA match, your dropship is now always destroyed.
• Conquest: When a strike-force leader withdraws from a hex, a chat message is now sent to notify the entire strike force.
• Conquest: Multiple maps rotated for each type and level of facility (before there was one map for each facility level). Any given hex with a given facility type will always play the same map.
• VOIP: Players with multiple speaker/microphone devices on their PC, may now choose which devices to use for in-game voice. Visit the SOUND tab on the SETTINGS menu.
• VOIP: Options have been added to disable Instance Voice, Team Voice or all Voice. Visit the SOUND tab on the SETTINGS menu.
• VOIP: A variety of changes intended to improve stability and performance have been implemented.
• Settings: An option to enable mouse smoothing has been enabled. Visit the GENERAL tab on the SETTINGS menu.
• Settings: An option has been added under Video Settings for a "borderless" window. This is most useful for fast alt-tabbing while running at your monitor’s native resolution.
• Abuse Reports: Use chat command /report to report players for suspected cheating, griefing or harrassment. Use form "/report <name> <reason>". (More…)
• Auction House: Several improvements to searching, filtering and sorting.
• Agency Management: Your Agency’s Message of the Day is displayed in chat when you login to the game, or when an Agency member with permissions modifies it.
• Agency Management: An option exists under SETTINGS | CHAT to be notified in chat each time an Agency member logs logs into or out of the game.
• Agency Management: Level now shows on the Agency screen (for online characters only).
• Agency Directory: The Agency Directory now offers the option to filter by Conquest HQ Zone.
• PVP: No more than 4 players of the same class will be match-made into a mission on the same side.
• PVP: Overtime is now limited to a maximum of 3 minutes. If the attackers do not capture the objective during this time, the Defenders win.
• PVP: The game-type (Breach, Control, etc) is now visible on the loading screen for each PvP map.
• Equip Screen: Improved tooltips for level/skill/seasonal requirements.
• Human Resources: Dye Vendor #3 has gone off strike and is now back at work.
• Miscellaneous: Various map cleanups and improvements.
• Miscellaneous: Various audio/sound effects improvements.
• Miscellaneous: Various animation cleanups and improvements.
• Miscellaneous: Visual elements on combo boxes modified.
• Miscellaneous: Paging support has been improved/added on several screens throughout the game.
• Miscellaneous: F3 now launches the Friends list instead of Network Stats. Use "/stat net" in chat or F8 to show network stats.
• Miscellaneous: The radar is now disabled in Dome City.
• Miscellaneous: You can now rotate your character in the equip screen and vendor preview screen by left-clicking and dragging the mouse (same as character select screen).

Bug Fixes

• Some crash conditions have been fixed.
• Agency Recruiting screen not updating under some conditions
• Search and filtering on the Agency Directory improved.
• Several fixes to Auction House search
• Several fixes to Strikeforce Inventory management.
• The Agency field now populates on the PvE Matchmaking box (previously blank).
• Condition in which mouse was not properly locked during map load when in windowed mode has been fixed.
• Various spelling failures corrected.
• Death animations have been added to the Think Tank boss.
• The proper key binding now shows on the ESC menu for AGENCY.
• A condition that would cause some clients to lose text chat sporadically has been fixed.
• Agency tax rate no longer displays in chat with lots of digits after the decimal point.
• Fixed bug in which sniper projectile was not visible at long distances.
• Damage messages now show correctly when damaged by an AvA deployable.

Device Changes

• The Drone Duration and Super Drones skills under the Robotics tree now function as intended.
• Neutralize Wave: The base recharge time on all Neutralize Wave ranks is now 60 seconds (times had been inconsistent across ranks).
• Damage on the AvA Mini-nuke has been increased to ensure it fully wipes out AvA Turrets within its range.
• AvA Turret deploy time increased from 5 to 20.
• AvA Turret collision improved
• Armored Beacon I Class 1 Ore Requirement reduced from 25 to 20
• Production Cost reduced to 350 on all Tech II Buildings, and Missile Complex, making them take less time to manufacture.
• Research time on Tech II Mine and Tech II Factory Blueprints reduced to 330.
• Resource requirement for Tech II Foundation blueprint reduced to 3000 Class 1 Ore, 300 Class 2 Ore.
• Ununpentum requirement for Tech II Mine, Factory and Lab Blueprint reduced to 90.
• Android Squad: Reduced Class 1 Ore requirement. Reduced production time. Reduced research cost.

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Greetings to everyone who joined us in launching Global Agenda over the past couple weeks, and many thanks to the thousands of people that helped us alpha and beta test the game ahead of launch.

Because of your involvement and positive word of mouth, we’ve had a great launch, and seen much stronger than expected initial Global Agenda sales.

In fact, last week we were the #2 best selling game on Steam and the only game in the Steam Weekly Top Ten based on original/non-sequel IP. Thanks for supporting independent game development and battling sequel-itis! Thanks also for your patience with initial server tuning and Conquest adjustments.

MARCHING FORWARD

We view the release of Global Agenda as the start of the journey and we are already working hard to continue delivering improvements, new features, and new content based on your feedback.

To prove it to you, we are going to extend the free-play period for Global Agenda Conquest while continuing to deliver features and content enhancements.

We feel this is the best way to prove to you the value of a Global Agenda Conquest subscription, while also ensuring that as many people as possible are exposed to our unique and innovative Conquest gameplay.

All players will continue to be able to play the Conquest features for the rest of February and March without a monthly subscription fee.

In the very near future, here are some additional enhancements and improvements you can expect:

BY THE END OF FEBRUARY -

We will deliver a set of enhancements ASAP based on fairly unanimous community input. We currently plan to have the following items in production by the end of February:

• Friend List/Ignore List - Steam has a Friends List, and we offer Agency Management as an alternate way to find your friends, but an in-game Friends List (and Ignore List) was a high requested feature that is being added.
• Player Choice on PvP Queues - For initial release we consolidated gametypes within a single PvP queue. With no guarantee around number of players we would have, our top priority was to ensure the players got into matches quickly and to make sure our matchmaking system had a sufficiently large population to balance out sides. That said, we’ve heard how much players want to specify, or eliminate, certain match types. And we do have the population to support this request. So, we will be implementing player selections per PvP gametype so you can exclude or include each type as you wish.
• Repair Kits - Non-visual Upgrades (of the Armor or Weapon variety) do increase stats for your character. And by the time you collect 16 of them they make a big difference. They also take time to craft and/or buy and, after all that time invested, having them wear away without any recourse was frustrating. Repair Kits are a new item type that will be available in-game and restore your Upgrades to full durability.
• Additional AvA zones and AvA Reporting - We are introducing new AvA zones to support play during hours more convenient for those in other locales. We are adding:
• • Zone 6 - Oceania/Australia - 19:00 to 21:30 in Sydney, 16:00 to 18:30p in Singapore (3a to 5:30a US Eastern, Midnight to 2:30 US Pacific) [NOTE: Initially, will run on servers hosted in the US but be geared toward an Oceanic audience, or for night owls on the US West Coast].

  • Zone 8 - Europe - 14:00 to 16:30 GMT (9a to 11:30a Eastern)

We are also adding a few new Conquest screens to give Agencies reporting of historical combat events. And, we will continue to publish our game stats externally via web APIs so community sites can access the data and develop custom reports. And deliver a variety of bug fixes and other improvements.

BEYOND FEBRUARY -

Generally speaking, we intend to earn your subscription. Our entire Studio is focused on continued feature and content development for Conquest gameplay, including:

• More PvP Content - New maps around a 4v4 arena gamestyle as well as a 10v10 pre-made queue.
• More PvE Content - We’ve been pleased by the positive reception to our ‘dungeon-crawl’ style Infiltration PvE missions. That said, we want to offer additional variety both in setting and mission type. Imagine being able to step outside of the doors of Dome City and assist Bancroft by doing missions within a large open area, with additional loot available in that location. We are working toward delivering this content.
• More AvA Content - New facility types and new game-styles for Conquest. Specifically we are developing a new ‘No Facility’ map based on Control style, a new Defensive Facility that grants protection to adjacent territories, and Resource Raid Missions based on Payload style. We also recognize that some of the game-board rules need to be looked at; we will continue to monitor those to ensure that AvA maintains the right balance between accessibility and significance.
• Improved Crafting, Loot and Prestige Items

We thank you for support and look forward to building the Global Agenda world together.

Todd Harris
Global Agenda, Executive Producer

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February 1, 2010

Our vision for Global Agenda was to combine elements from our favorite genres:  the combat of a team-based shooter, accessible character progression of an RPG, and emergent conflict, production, and politics between player-formed groups competing for limited territory and resources like a giant strategy game.  Plus jetpacks, because who doesn’t like jetpacks?!

Like our game, our pricing model is a hybrid, designed to offer players maximum flexibility:

- With a one-time purchase players can enjoy the game casually with features comparable to other multiplayer online shooters.

- And players that opt for the monthly subscription have access to ongoing content updates and premium features including ‘Conquest’ - the strategy meta-game that enables groups to compete over specific, persistent territory locations on the world map.

As an independent studio, we’ve had the luxury of developing a title that can be hard to categorize, but aims for ‘fun and engaging’ above all else.  We hope you enjoy the game.

Todd Harris
Global Agenda, Executive Producer

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In the lead up to the launch of Global Agenda on Feb. 1, 2010, Hi-Rez Studios is thrilled to provide details on events surrounding the game’s opening.

Tuesday, January 26 - Last Day of Beta!!

Tues., Jan. 26, is the last day of Global Agenda’s beta. To celebrate, Hi-Rez employees will be randomly entering certain match-made PvP Missions, spawning bots that are normally reserved for Conquest (Alliance vs Alliance) gameplay and/or for PvE missions.

Want to crew a vehicle or bot and take on the enemy? Or see how you fair against 10 real players plus the Viking Boss (pictured below)? Tuesday night is your chance to find out.

 

Wednesday, January 27 (End of Day) – Game Available for Download.  Name Reserve Begins.

Global Agenda is currently expected to be available for download on Steam by end of day on Wednesday, January 27.

Watch GAServerStatus on Twitter on Wednesday for the announcement of when the game is live on Steam.

Once the game is active on Steam, players may install it ahead of the Early Start on Friday. Following installation, players will be prompted to activate the game on the Global Agenda website (NOTE: You need to do this even if you’ve already registered a beta account). To do so, simply follow the prompts after installation.

If you miss the prompt following installation, you may activate your "Live Key" by simply right clicking on the Global Agenda Live game in Steam and selecting MANAGE GAME ACCOUNT. After you choose this, you will be directed to the Global Agenda website. Follow the prompts.

REMEMBER: YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO LINK YOUR “LIVE” ACCOUNT ON THE GLOBAL AGENDA WEBSITE UNTIL THE LIVE GAME UNLOCKS ON STEAM ON WEDNESDAY, AND YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO PLAY UNTIL THE EARLY START BEGINS ON FRIDAY JANUARY 29.

After you link your "Live Key" to your Global Agenda account, you will be prompted to claim your name. Current Beta players will have the option to keep their current name or choose a new name.

If you were the owner of an Agency in the Beta that had at least 3 players in it, you automatically will be assigned to an Agency of that name in the Live game (as long as you link your Live key by Feb. 1), but you will be the only player associated with that Agency. If you wish to keep the Agency, simply do so and start inviting people to it. If you wish to disband the Agency, you may, and then create or join another.

 

Friday, January 29 – Early Start Begins

Level Up Early!!

The Global Agenda Live servers are expected to be available to play LIMITED CONTENT ONLY during most hours from Friday January 29, starting at ~3PM US Eastern (Noon US Pacific, 20:00 GMT) until Sunday, January 31, ending at ~5PM US Eastern (2PM US Pacific, 22:00 GMT).

During this time, players will be able to do the following ONLY:

 

1. Create one or more characters (up to their max of
2. Play the INTRODUCTORY MISSIONS (Levels 1 to 4)
3. Play limited PvE and PvP content up until LEVEL 10. Once you reach LEVEL 10, no queues will be active.
4. Explore Dome City, create and form Agencies.

 

Monday, February 1 – Launch!

The day is here!! Players that pre-ordered and registered their Live Key on Steam ahead of this date will find their No Elves head flair and Commonwealth Helmet in their in-game mail, retrievable at the Shipping & Receiving Dock in Dome City.

Tuesday, February 2 – Conquest!

Conquest Zones are expected to unlock for all players beginning on Tues., Feb. 2. In Global Agenda Conquest, player-formed agencies compete for scarce territory, resources, and technology on a persistent world map. Create and upgrade facilities, attack and defend territories, and engage in Base Raids, production, politics and deception on your way toward world domination. Global Agenda: Conquest is expected to require a subscription to play after March 3, 2010, so buy the game early to play free!

For the game’s launch, five zones will be open, each for two-and-a-half hours a day. Taking advantage of Global Agenda’s unique “One World” server architecture, all players world-wide will participate in a single game universe and have the ability to compete against one another. But individual Conquest zones (as well as non-Conquest contest such as Mercenary PvP and PvE missions) will be primarily hosted on instances running in distributed data centers. The Obelisk and Echelon zones will run primarily on servers hosted in Europe. The Sovereign, Citadel and Warlord Zones primarily will run on servers hosted in North America.

Hi-Rez is working on additional server infrastructure, so that new zones can be hosted on Oceania servers at a later date (at times convenient to Oceania players – exact dates for server availability To Be Announced).

Stay Current

Follow GAServerStatus on Twitter to keep up to date on the latest server availability.

Our Lawyers Made Us Say It!

Launching a video game is always an exciting endeavor, but sometimes things may not go 100% as planned, or we may discover a better way to do something as we see players experience the game. The above represents our current intentions as of the day this article was written, but things could change unexpectedly. Watch the Global Agenda Forums, this blog and GAServerStatus on Twitter to stay current on the latest info!

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PC Gamer previews “The spy-fi shooter/MMO you’re about to love too”

if you’re playing as Robotics, you’ll focus on laying medical crates, missile turrets and other support structures in the field to create mini-bases to resupply and protect your allies, but you’ll be vulnerable to sneaky opponents playing as Recon, who can sabotage turrets and backstab. Medics and Assault characters are usually seen side-by-side, pushing onto capture points or other objectives with the Medic’s healing ray tethered to his minigun-toting best friend to keep the hitpoints flowing.

Pick up a copy of PC Gamer today.

Read the article, now available on GamesRadar!

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Will’s illustrations are featured in the Commonwealth art book and poster available inside the Limited Edition Game Box.

Will, tell us what you do at Hi-Rez.

I’m a Senior Artist at Hi-Rez. I spend most of my time doing concepts for the environments in Global Agenda- everything from rough paintovers to Disneyland-style maps of levels and detailed landscape and architectural renderings. I recently contributed to the illustrations for the poster and timeline book that shipped with the GA collector’s edition box. I work exclusively in Photoshop with a Wacom Cintiq digital tablet monitor.

Describe how you got into the gaming industry; how long have you worked on games and what brought you to Hi-Rez Studios?

I’ve been working full-time in the game industry since 2000, making illustrations for Vivendi Universal Games titles like Curious George and Spyro the Dragon before moving on to Hi-Rez. I heard about Hi-Rez from another illustrator named Skip Kimball, who referred me here after he went to Radical to lead the art team on “Prototype.” I originally just fell into the games industry by accident when an art school buddy who was busy with other projects passed along a job lead at an educational software company. I kept in touch with people there and one project led to another.

Describe your video game experience; when did you start playing? What really got you thinking about game development?

I’m showing my age, but I actually started playing games on the Commodore 64. I tried programming some graphics when I was about 10 and quickly realized that my talents lay elsewhere. Years later when I was in college, Myst came out. I loved the detailed environments in that game and I decided that’s what I wanted to work on. But that same year FPS games just exploded, and the requirements of frame-rate made graphics go to crap for about five years. Counter-strike got me back into PC games again, and I jumped at the first opportunity to make one.

What is your favorite Global Agenda class/character to play?

Probably Recon, but being a good one means you’re a total a-hole, so I only play that class with my alt.

What part of Global Agenda are you most excited about?

I enjoy seeing people get blown up on the environments I design.

What experience do you draw from when creating the content that you do for the game? Is there anything specific you draw from for inspiration?

I was fortunate enough to spend several years designing storefronts and fixtures for flagship Disney stores. I had to work with architects and think about how my designs would actually get built, and even do plan and elevation views to scale. Now when I design for virtual environments, I still try to make them look like they could really be built, and be structurally sound. Although GA has a futuristic setting, I try to keep things plausible by researching present-day environments and then extrapolating them into the future. I do my best to avoid ripping off well-known sci-fi franchises like Star Wars and Aliens. Instead I go directly to the source. With GA, my inspiration was a mix of industrial/military technology and cutting-edge architecture by people like Frank Gehry and Norman Foster.

What advice do you have for someone who wants to break into gaming?

I can only speak to my specialty, which is environment illustration. I guess my advice to budding artists would be to spend a lot of time drawing, painting and learning perspective before you try to break into the industry. Technology changes all the time, but the fundamentals of art never do. No software will help you make great art if you don’t have the chops. Once you put in the time to learn your craft, just be persistent and your portfolio will speak for itself.

What are some of your favorite games?

Jumpman- You never get over your first game.

Counter-Strike- I’ve logged more hours in Chateau and Italy than I care to admit.

Company of Heroes- The sound of that V2 rocket coming down still gives me chills. Jawohl!

What do you do in your free time?

When I’m not playing with my kids or running, I’m in therapy trying to get over the last four Braves seasons.

What is on your iPod/MP3player?

Cannibal Corpse and ABBA.

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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.

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Check out the latest Global Agenda trailer!

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The Older Gamers send Reoh into Global Agenda’s Beta all the way from Australia. Curious about the ping time from down under?

“The results of my gameplay experience were quite surprising, I experience little lag related issues while playing the game in both PvE and PvP! I don’t know what they’ve done with the code but somehow it really didn’t matter that I was on the other side of the world.”

Read the full review here!

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GamesRadar talks about what makes Global Agenda a different kind of MMO.

At first sight it plays like an MMO. You pick your character class (Assault, Medic, Recon, Robotics), choose a look, and then make your first picks from the skill trees. The interface continues the theme: a traditional MMO tray of icons, health and power bars and unlimited ammo. So then you try the first PvE mission – perhaps you’re a sniping Recon, attempting to take out an evil robot, and you’re dying. Many times. Until the moment it clicks, your perspective zooms out, and you realize this is actually a third-person action game you’re playing. You need to run, dodge, hide, cloak, throw bombs and dive for cover.

Read the full article here

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Time Magazine featured the lovely gals of Global Agenda in their Techland blog:

Since both men and women are available as player-characters shooting guns, the developers thought it was silly to have cleavage-baring ladies with no protection. “It’s a little easier in fantasy games as it could be explained away with magic, or her ability to finesse around the other characters,” explained lead character artist Sean McBride. “It’s a little different when you put guns into the mix and think about someone not wearing body armor around their heart.”

Read more here!

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TenTonHammer talked to Todd and got some details about PvP gameplay.

“The promise of Global Agenda is an MMOG that has both the story and comfort level to convert shooter-averse MMORPG fans into territory conquering PvPers, yet has enough grit to appeal to hardcore shooter fans. While the maps mission types may seem familiar, interesting twists such as jetpacks and movable, destructible… respawn beacons may change the contours of now conventional online shooter gameplay. That Global Agenda ties all this and more into a full, persistent, large-scale PvP oriented package makes this title one to watch in early 2010.”

Read the whole article here

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Environment Artist Rick Ruiz on his past experience as an architect, previous games he worked on, and some clever use of Lego’s.

Rick, tell us a little about what you do at Hi-Rez Studios.

I am an Environment Artist.  I model and texture many of the architectural sets as well as many props and key objective structures.

How did you get into the gaming industry? How did you get to Hi-Rez Studios?

I have been in the industry for nearly ten years.  I majored in architecture when I was in college and in my free time taught myself 3D Studio Max and Photoshop.  I decided architecture was not the route I wanted to go, so I decided to pursue my hobby as a career.  I went to a school in Santa Monica, California to study computer graphics and 3D modeling, and through the school was offered and internship to work on one of the Spyro the Dragon games.  After working on a few big name titles over the years I stumbled upon Hi-Rez Studios (which was then, hiring a new team to develop an online game) while looking for a job in my hometown of Atlanta.  Turned out that one of my co-workers in California was friends with a former art lead at Hi-Rez and the rest was history.

Describe your video game experience; when did you start playing/making games?

I was pretty much raised on video games.  I remember first playing games on my Atari 2600 when I was just a few years old.  As I got older, I remember spending many late nights with my brother and cousins trying to master the latest game on the NES.  Over the years, my brother and I owned almost every console when they came out.  With the amount of time I spent playing video games as a kid it was only fitting that my career would be to make them.

What is your favorite class/character to play in Global Agenda?

Assault. I have mastered the art of using tracking rocket launcher as a sniping weapon much to the dismay of others during our internal play test. Nothing more satisfying than blasting someone from the opposite end of the map.  Sometimes I’ll switch to Recon to mix it up a bit.

What are you most excited for in Global Agenda?

I’m most excited about the release of Global Agenda after working on the game for the past few years. Also excited about the environments and how they are shaping up.

What experiences do you draw from when creating content for the game?

I draw a lot of my inspiration from architecture around the world.  Also much of my inspiration comes from film and art, especially science fiction.

What advice do you have for someone who wants to break into gaming?

Master one facet of the industry whether it is art, animation or programming.  Always be ready to learn new techniques and grow your skill set. Be willing to keep up with the latest technology.  As an artist, having a killer demo reel would be a great asset.

Favorite game(s)?

Many of the NES classics like Legend of Zelda, Metroid, and Kid Icarus.  Newer favorites include the Sim City series, Team Fortress 2, Rock Band, and World of Warcraft.

What do you do in your free time?

Aside from video games, I like to get creative.  I enjoy painting, but my medium of choice is Lego.  I build a lot of Lego structures in my free time.  I’m not talking about your kid’s Lego set they got for Christmas, but building realistic larger-scale structures with Lego.  I have a large collection of buildings I have made from the past 8 years which are inspired by real-world architecture including several skyscraper models that are several feet tall.

I also enjoy spending time with my wonderful wife Macy, traveling, watching football and hanging out with friends and family.

What is on your iPod/MP3player?

Everything from more popular bands like U2, Coldplay, and Moby to more obscure stuff like The Echoing Green and the Benjamin Gate.  I also have a lot of soundtracks, classical, Techno, 80’s and 90’s rock, and video game music as well.

Personal art from Rick Ruiz:

LEGO CREATIONS

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If you can imagine a world in which World of Warcraft and Team Fortress 2 had a baby (though WoW always wondered if Planetside had actually been the father instead) and then they slapped a jetpack on that baby’s back, then you’ve clearly got an overactive imagination - but you’ve also got something similar to the ambitious Global Agenda.

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  Award-winning team-based shooter-MMO available for pre-purchase today

ATLANTA, Dec. 15, 2009 — Hi-Rez Studios announced today that Global Agenda, the award winning team-based shooter-MMO, will launch on Monday, February 1, 2010. The game will be available for pre-purchase through the Global Agenda website, Steam and the Amazon.com Marketplace starting today. Players that pre-purchase will receive beta access, in-game items, and other incentives.

Global Agenda players will experience both co-op and competitive multiplayer shooter features after a one-time purchase with no subscription needed.  An optional subscription package, called "Global Agenda: Conquest" will be available for players who wish to participate in a massive-scale game of territory control on a persistent world map.  

As a special agent playing only the non-subscription features, you may fully level up to eight different agent characters, participating in both player-vs-player and cooperative player-vs-environment missions, as you fight to overturn the totalitarian one-world government, The Commonwealth, and establish yourself inside the game world.

Players in Global Agenda: Conquest form their own groups, called Agencies.  These Agencies conquer territory, construct facilities, manufacture vehicles, raid bases, and engage in formal and informal alliances and betrayals on their way toward world domination.  The Conquest gameplay will revolve around player-driven politics and emergent gameplay with each battle being resolved via squad-based combat. 

A comparison of the features included in the non-subscription and subscription ("Conquest") portions of the game, as well as additional pre-order information, is available at: http://www.globalagendagame.com/preorder.html

A Limited Edition Game Box is available for purchase direct from Hi-Rez Studios on the Global Agenda website and Amazon.com Marketplace.  This Game Box includes a poster and a Commonwealth Art Book, in addition to the other incentives offered to those that pre-order (listed below).  The art book explores the historical events leading to the creation of the single, totalitarian world government called Commonwealth, as well as the emerging resistance to the Commonwealth, and the current competition for limited resources and scarce inhabitable land that exists in the year 2155 when the player enters the world.

Players who pre-purchase Global Agenda today receive the following special benefits:

• Gain access to Beta – Players that pre-order will gain access to Global Agenda beta events in January. Note that the beta servers are available for play only during specific play test windows, and that tests may be limited to only certain game features. To participate in the Global Agenda beta, you must register your Product Key online at the Global Agenda website following your pre-purchase. Registered beta participants will receive specific test instructions prior to each Closed Beta test event, as the events are announced.
• In-game Items – Players that activate their Product Key on the Global Agenda website prior to February 1, 2010, will receive a special in-game helmet captured from the Commonwealth, as well as head flair honoring the Global Agenda "No Elves" marketing campaign.
• Reserve Your Player Name and Agency Name - Gain access to Global Agenda’s pre-launch “Name Reserve” event, in which players are given the opportunity to reserve their in-game name ahead of launch day (exact dates for the Name Reserve event to be announced). Players will also be able to reserve an Agency name during the game’s official launch.

In addition, all players that purchase Global Agenda have the ability to sign up for one free month of Global Agenda: Conquest at registration (credit card required, can be canceled at any time).

About Hi-Rez Studios

Hi-Rez Studios, Inc. was established in 2005 to create exceptional online interactive entertainment. It is located just outside of Atlanta, GA. For more information, visit www.hirezstudios.com.

Global Agenda, the Hi-Rez Studios debut title, is a fast-paced, action-oriented, massive multiplayer online game set in the Earth’s near future - a spy-fi world of advanced technology and player-driven conflict. To learn more visit: www.globalagendagame.com

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