MAG details
 

M.A.G. (Massive Action Game) has been on everyone's radar lately, mainly due to it's claim to support 256-player online gameplay on a console. Some information regarding the title has been leaked, and here it is:

- 2 to 256 Players
- 'hopes' for 30FPS when all the action is going down at all times
- Dedicated servers with new network architectures to help reduce lag
- Streamline matches to reduce need to wait.
- All audio cues (planes flying by, air raid sirens) are actual players causing it or player triggered actions. This can happen in other regions and you can hear in distance.
- PunkBuster quality cheating detection. System tests for things like rate of fire/movement/damage to keep things in check
- First Person view only
- Set 20 years in future, 3 major PMCs bid for war. The power struggle of these 3 dubbed Shadow War
3 Factions, only 2 announced now: Raven(high tech weapons, most trained soldiers on planet. Will appeal to Halo/Resistances fans). Sver(fierce fighters from middle east/central Asia area. Battle harden warriors)
- 256-player Domination mode. Attackers and defenders. Outer layer of defense and inner layer. Once through the outer layer 'hell breaks loose'. Anti-aircraft and radar are vulnerable. If your faction wins alot it gets the contract for that game mode and gets XP bonuses and perks.
- 3 other game modes: Acquisition(128 player escort-style mode. Steal 2 prototype armored transports and bring to extraction zone). Sabotage(64player, control 2 points for X time then a demolition objective is revealed which must be destroyed). Suppression(64 player team deathmatch)
- Customize face, voice, armor.
- No soldier class system, but has a free-form kit creation. Can save 3 different load-outs. Depending on your choice of weapons, it can be told by looking at you so others can tell. Change your load-out to match how the battle is going.
- Snipers can get more than normal XP for killing people in designated areas of importance
- Ranking up gives access to new weapons/perks/leadership positions.
- Recognizes issues with large scale maps and the traveling.
- 8 players in a squad, 4 squads in a platoon, 4 platoons in a company (US Military)
- Certain goals for each squad/platoon etc. Have secondary goals like blowing bridges.
- Veteran ranks can enlist into leadership roles, give orders to their squad, then platoon, then their company(OIC)
- Officer only communication channel to help organize the battle
- Want to be approachable to casual yet have alot of features for the hardcore.
- Developers have been running 256 player tests since Nov. 08 and plans to have closed/open betas.

3-4 modes, made by Zipper, servers by Sony. Do we need to even talk about this any more? lol...

Yea I think socom was bad enough.

Whatever do you mean "servers by Sony"? lmao

Yea, lol its very adventurous and an interesting concept, but its all going to be in the execution. Zipper was never one for listening to player feedback or concerns and Sony obviously only does what is financially beneficial to them regardless of its consumer base. Unfortunate.


Also the only game that has ever done 64 player rooms WELL was the Battlefield series and i highly doubt that MAG can compare to the Battlefields, any of them actually. My 2 cents.

I so want to get my hopes up for this game, but everything about it is telling me to keep those hopes low, it has the potential to be a great game, but I just hope that can pull it off and everything works great (BIG WISH I KNOW)

I am sure you will be able to get online and kill the opposing 128 or so players with 128 of your own.

I would say rent before buy, but I have never done that.

Hopefully they have a demo.. I would like to feel the large scale scenario. Would be fun, but not tactical.

So what are you guys pursuing on 360 these days and the days to come this year ?

This game is just going to be a huge clusterf**k. It would be incredibly frustrating to play publicly. But I can see TONS of potential in it, kinda like what Chenzo and I came up with one night when he was drunk and I was feeding off of his drunkdeas. If there were factions of clans, allies, vs, other factions of clans it could really be a pretty fantastic war. There would be one clan working together as a company fighting to take objectives helping out other clans, clan leaders would collaborate and form coordinated attacks.... who am I kidding that's way too organized for the average gamer, it would never catch on.

We're currently playing CODW@W and looking forward to MW2. How bout you guys?

We are primarily on Socom Constipation but, have a few guys on WAW and KZ2..Leaning towards Fat Princess, perhaps COD Modern 2 or MAG but undecided next move...not looking to promissing other than Fat Princess & Ghostbusters .

I personally just don't see MAG working. Its a great concept but, if other online shooters have so many issues theres bound to be lots of headaches especiALly since we are talking 256 players at once too.

Bugs, Lag, Glitches you name it ...FAIL ?

Im interested in MAG but I really have no clue how it will work in a public setting, people cant even get along without TKing on an 8 man team...

I'm sure they'll have contingency plans for all of that stuff, but let's put it into perspective. Zippers last few games had isses with 8v8, and 16v16 and i dont know how many confrontation has 16v16 i think, but that doesnt work well either from what i'veheard and thats due to sonys servers. Who knows, they may dummy up some cash for servers to make MAG work, but honestly, i dont think the developer has enough if ANY following any more after what happened with Socom that enough people will get into it to warrant the servers from Sony.

Either way, its a wait and see. interesting concept but again, NO ONE has done an FPS with more than 16 players that's worked well since the Battlefield series on the PC which was 64 max and fantastic.

Amen.