[PS3] MAG (Massive Action Game, not Mo0 Ate Gamingforce) Multiplayer Thread

Hey, gang!

Did anyone pick this up, by chance? I got a S.V.E.R. preorder code from Gamestop for anyone who'd like to join me in that faction.

PSN ID/Character Name: Palaiologos

How ya doing, buddy?

Did you name this thread, GB, or has Skills gotten to it already?

There's nowhere I can't reach.

I had nothing to do with this one, giant-chan.

That said, I really found the beta for this underwhelming. It feels disconnected and while I like the XP gain and stuff, I felt like the actual combat was lacking. Plus my experiences with the beta gave me long bouts of nothing to do, does that still occur?

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

While the game certainly hasn't gone from "bad" to "good" just because it came out of beta, it does play a bit better. For one, no lag in my 64-player matches, and I was queued for no more than 10 seconds before getting into a battle. The official blog came up with a list of all the differences between the beta and the final build:

Quote:

January 26 is just one day away with MAG arriving on store shelves worldwide tomorrow and throughout the week. Before you delve into your first “official” match between Raven, S.V.E.R., and Valor, though, we wanted to make sure that you knew two things:

1. What the differences between the Beta 5.0 and the final version are.
2. How we implemented your feedback from the beta to affect the retail game on day one.

First, let’s talk about the differences between the final game and the beta you tried out a few weeks ago – the most obvious of which is the mode and map count. Whereas before, the Beta version of MAG only offered six maps and two modes, the retail version has a full five modes with 15 maps to play. The final game also includes a handy offline training mode, unique armors, new cinematics, art galleries, trophies, and the always-popular Veteran Mode that lets you start all over again with a permanent XP bonus and the ability to switch your faction after hitting the level cap. Of course, graphical and audio improvements are in there too.

But our “out of the box” distinctions aren’t all there is to talk about. We’ve also addressed a number of topics that were brought to our attention when you were testing MAG earlier this month, and will deliver them to you the moment you boot MAG up with a small in-game patch (roughly 60-80 MB depending on your region).

Among these upgrades is the oft-asked-for ability to knife an enemy while you’re reloading your weapon — in addition to a pretty significant framerate increase during player-heavy games and noticeable differences in the effectiveness of every weapon and piece of armor. Moreover, we’ve gone back and added all-new light settings for every environment and increased the amount of time you can sprint before getting tired.

For a full catalog of additions, fixes and tweaks, check out our complete list of patch notes below. See you again tomorrow and happy gaming!

MAG Patch v1.01

The latest patch notes can always be found on the official MAG Blog.

Gameplay
· Added ability for player to use knife during a reload animation.
· Applied significant tuning adjustments for all weapons and armor.
· Increased sprint duration before tiring by 30%.
· Lowered XP requirements for levels 2 thru 4.
· Lowered level-entry restrictions for Sabotage from Level 3 to Level 2.
· Lowered level-entry restrictions for Acquisition from Level 5 to Level 4.
· Lowered level-entry restrictions for Domination from Level 10 to Level 8.
· Enabled proper level requirements for unlocking headgear, facegear, and uniforms.
· Fixed problem with recoil/firing animation that kept playing for a few seconds after the player fires an automatic gun and uses knife swipe simultaneously.

Interface
· Fixed bug where incapacitated players’ nametags would occasionally disappear.
· Repositioned onscreen weapons for improved field of view.
· Armory items (facegear/ headgear/ uniforms) reordered.
· Removed helmets from “Loadout 3” for all factions.

Graphics
· Made significant increase in framerate during player-heavy games.
· Changed light settings for all environments.
· Polished recoil effect for better realism.
· Fixed offset muzzle flash effect.
· Tuned camera to shake more realistically when hit by bullets.
· Adjusted “blur” effect for both normal sights and iron sights.
· Added alternate reload animation.
· New “light scatter” treatment for all skies.
· Repaired various “weapon clipping” issues.
· Enacted several particle fogging adjustments.

Audio
· Switched first-person weapon sounds to true stereo.
· Moved first-person character interactions and weapon switches to true stereo.
· Tweaked sounds effects relating to landing on surfaces.

Technical
· Added error display and queue panel updates to notify player when they’ve encountered a “join game” failure.
· Made various server stability fixes and tweaks.

Of course, many of these "changes" are simply fixes for things that needed to be fixed, but some of them weren't necessary and are welcome.

It's far from a revolutionary shooter, but it's entertaining. And I'm a sucker for experience points and levels in these kinds of games.

Originally Posted by Merv Buffet

Did you name this thread, GB, or has Skills gotten to it already?

I'm sorry Mo0, that was me. The joke was there and I figured if it wasn't me, it'd be Skills. I apologize.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

I ran across this Kotaku article where one of their staff drops a blurb on what he's doing (sensibly, I think) as preparation for writing a review. What especially caught my attention, is this comment:

Originally Posted by code34@kotaku.com

MAG has turned into more than just a game. It's hard to explain, but those who have played it know what I'm talking about. The social aspect of it has taken hold and everyone has (at least I do) legitimate loyalty to their selected faction in game. This sets it apart from other FPS titles out there.

Sure, MW2 may look better and some aspects of the gameplay are smoother, but outside of clan tags what sense of unity is there? You're thrust into a match with the faction you're playing as randomly selected for you.

Take a look at the MAG forums and see what I'm talking about. There is a sense of pride being shown by players of the different factions. MAG is as much a social experiment as it is a FPS in my opinion. I've played hours longer than I anticipated just to see Valor gain a contract. Because I "care" about it. As a whole the game reminds me of the Horde players from WoW. How many times have you heard someone actually say "for the Horde!" outside of the game? I can count quite a few. Maybe I'm crazy, but this game has so much promise it isn't even funny. Zipper did a fantastic job (even if they didn't mean to) of creating an atmosphere about the game that breeds competition. They need to stick with it, add some DLC (maybe another faction?) and stick with the formula.

ps - A friend of mine just rerolled to Raven, the bastard. I'll make sure to join any match he's in against Valor just to frag him. :)

I was speaking idiomatically.

Plenty of games have had gamers attach that kind of loyalty to the different factions. It tends to come with the territory when you have to choose a side. There's no reason not to be loyal; you pick a faction and stick with it unless you want to start all over, and there's no method of backstabbing a faction, so really what other choice is there?

This cements why I don't read Kotaku, incidentally

Additional Spam:

Originally Posted by GB

I'm sorry Mo0, that was me. The joke was there and I figured if it wasn't me, it'd be Skills. I apologize.

No need to apologize, I was asking mostly to see if Skills had somehow set a land speed record for fat joke thread renaming.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Yeah, Mo0's right. Being separated into factions simply makes people choose a favorite and stick with it. Shattered Galaxy, a game that depended on constant warring between factions, bred some of the staunchest nationalism I've seen.

I chose SVER just because I like the concept of a ragtag mercenary team competing against the better-experienced (Valor) and better-funded (Raven).

What I will praise Zipper on is how lucrative they made it for people to become battlefield medics. I find it far more satisfying to run around the field, using my Resuscitate skill to revive downed allies than to charge into the fray blindly and get my head popped off by a sniper.

FELIPE NO