Space-Themed MMO Jumpgate Reconstructed With Major Update
Approaching its sixth year of operation, NetDevil's space-based MMO Jumpgate will soon be receiving a major update.
"The game has undergone a complete graphics overhaul and has been vastly expanded to offer more weapons, and greater focus on PvE targets, making roles more refined in the process," said NetDevil president Scott Brown. "Advanced social aspects of the MMO are available as well, including player-owned stations, complete with controllable economy, updated player statistics and rankings, and the ability for players to create squads with customizable web pages for each."
The original Jumpgate was launched in September 2001 by developer NetDevil. Players of Jumpgate can participate in trade, mining, or combat, the latter of which boasts a physics-based, skill-dependent flight model. Lauded for its scope, but faulted for its bland presentation, the update seems intended to elevate the property into competition with space-themed MMO alternatives such as EVE Online.
"We saw a unique opportunity to expand the existing IP and integrate vast technical and gameplay improvements to breathe new life into the game," said Jumpgate lead producer Hermann Peterscheck. "AI controlled cargo haulers can now respond to station supply requests and pirates can actively plunder these ships while being hunted by computer controlled defenders. All these interactions create a series of unpredictable episodes so that players stay completely engaged, immersed, and entertained."
NetDevil also released a few screenshots of Jumpgate Evolution. Those looking to try out the game early can sign up for a beta slot at the Jumpgate website.
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Arcanum
replyHas anyone played this? How's the gameplay?
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I played it back in the day. It had a very active community and was actually a lot of fun. One of the major differences between it and EVE was that it was player skill based. You really had to be able to fly your ship to do anything in the game. Dock, fly missions, kill the invading aliens, etc. Which made it a hard sell to anyone who is more used to the idea that your PC's skill is based on in game rewards.
But I loved it. Total blast, great community and a neat idea. But it was undermarketed, hard entry and learning curve and the original publishers sorta abandoned it which hurt NetDevil a lot. The developers have been really great and supportive over the years and they really made a point to work with the community to learn what they wanted. -
I played it back in the day, and it was alright. The economy and equipment had quite a bit of depth and community was fun, but the flight model was really painful. It was a Newtonian simulator with really heavy ships and absolutely no lateral thrusters. Without lateral thrust you couldn't pull off any of the interesting strafing manuvers that you would expect in a Newtonian simulator and with such heavy ships turning was a slow process, so combat was pretty uninspiring.
If they improve the flight model in the reconstruction, the game will probably be a blast. Especially given the lack of new space flight sims these days.
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