Marvel Universe MMO F2P

[metallicorphan]

I am guessing this isn't the same Marvel MMO that was cancelled by Microsoft

http://www.pcgamer.com/2011/04/29/first-marvel-universe-details-revealed-you-play-as-marvel-characters-its-free-to-play-and-more/

What we know for sure:

    * Marvel Universe will be free-to-play, and was planned that way from its inception.
    * It’s being developed by Secret Identity, a sub-group of Gazillion that was formed in late 2009 specifically to build Marvel Universe.
    * You can play as Marvel characters, and other players can be the same hero as you at the same time, which the devs believe creates “lots of problems and lots of opportunities.”
    * You won’t have to choose only one character, but will be able to play as all of them.
    * Some of the characters you will play as are: Captain America, Iron Man, Wolverine, Hulk, Thor, Spiderman, Nova, and Squirrel Girl.
    * Doctor Doom will be the game’s main villain (at least at launch).
    * Brian Michael Bendis is writing for the game
    * According to Brian, “no corner of the Marvel Universe will be left unturned,” although he was likely referring to over the game’s lifetime, not necessarily all at launch.
    * You will play through existing stories that are told in the comic books.
    * The game world exists within the canon Marvel Universe–this is not an alternate reality scenario.
    * Marvel Universe is being made primarily for adults (as opposed to Gazillion’s other kid-focused Marvel MMO, Marvel Superhero Squad). They want to target core gamers first, and also make it accessible for everyone else.

 
What we suspect (not confirmed, but hinted at):

    * There has to be lots of content that isn’t based on existing comic book stories.
    * It will likely be released on consoles after it’s on PC. When asked about a console release, one of the developers said that it would come to PC first, but that they want as many people as possible to play it and other platform releases were “TBD, no wait, TBA!” That he felt the urge to clarify it was going to be announced, not decided, makes me think it will be coming to consoles.
    * The game should have some open world environments: references were made to “hundreds of Wolverines” running around, which the developers feel is less of a problem than no one getting to play as recognizable characters.
    * When asked if it would be browser-based, the developers insisted that accessibility was a crucial part of their game design, but they also stressed that they would be delivering a AAA-quality game. We’ll have to wait to find out this one for sure.

 
What we will rampantly speculate on (not even close to confirmed; pure guesses):

    * You might be able to play as a villain. It’s true that Doctor Doom was described as “the main villain” for the game’s main story–not just for heroes–but it’s possible that he’s gone rogue, and both sides have reasons for wanting to stop him. (confidence in prediction: 50%)
    * It seems like the best way to keep the whole “everyone can be Wolverine” problem contained is to provide a heavily-instanced experience. I would not be surprised if they follow a similar route to Guild Wars, and Gazillion’s own Marvel Superhero Squad: centralized hubs for chatting/hanging/crafting and instanced missions. (confidence: 60%)
    * If it is a browser game, they’re likely using the Unity engine. No other engine that we know of could come close to providing the experience they want to deliver in a browser. They would not confirm if they’re building a new engine or using an existing one, but it seems likely that they’re using an existing one since the game has only been in development for a little over a year. (confidence: 20%)
    * A major form of monetization in Gazillion’s Marvel Superhero Squad is purchasing new heroes to play as. In Marvel Universe, you might have to buy/earn the many heroes that you want to play as and to experience their stories. (confidence: 60%)
    * I’d be surprised if you could “swap” between Marvel heroes on the fly like you do in Gazillion’s other Marvel MMO, Marvel Superhero Squad, that would feel very weird in story-driven missions where you’re playing out a specific character’s story from the comic books. (confidence: 30%)
    * I’d guess that the game should be in open beta in mid-to-late 2012. It was specifically said that the game is “still a ways out,” but open betas usually come quickly for free-to-play games. (confidence: 50%)

[CeeKay]

it'll probably suck, but at least it'll suck for free.  yes, I'm looking at you DC, you two bit whore.

[rittchard]

I honestly can't tell what kind of game this is intended to be, or what the heck they are thinking with some of it.

WTF news:

    * You can play as Marvel characters, and other players can be the same hero as you at the same time, which the devs believe creates “lots of problems and lots of opportunities.”
    * You won’t have to choose only one character, but will be able to play as all of them.

Honestly this sounds like a train wreck to me.  Why do developers continue to insist on creating MMO games where it flat out makes no sense to do so?  I can't see any situation where 25 Wolverines and 17 Spidermans running around a city is going to seem appealing, free or not.

Huh?  news:

    * Some of the characters you will play as are: Captain America, Iron Man, Wolverine, Hulk, Thor, Spiderman, Nova, and Squirrel Girl.

Squirrel girl?  Seriously?

Good news:

    * Brian Michael Bendis is writing for the game

I do like him for the most part.  Nothing great but he seems consistent and able to write in lots of characters simultaneously.

[Gryndyl]

On the plus side, if you plays as Squirrel Girl there might not be 20 more of you running around.

[Mikagami]

Site's up.

They are claiming it "plays like diablo"

http://www.marvelheroes.com/

[CeeKay]

comic-con trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UYMdouxo2g&feature=player_embedded

[faide]

Looks kind of like Marvel Ultimate Alliance.  That's a good thing  

[metallicorphan]

CVG are giving away BETA keys for this if you are interested(i'm not,but thought some of you guys may be)

the beta runs from today(Friday 19th) to Sunday(21st)

[EddieA]

They sent me a multi-use key for the beta if anyone wants to play.

[skystride]

Honestly this sounds like a train wreck to me.  

That's pretty harsh LOL.  I suppose your opinion has changed quiet a bit after 2 years.

[rittchard]

Honestly this sounds like a train wreck to me.  

That's pretty harsh LOL.  I suppose your opinion has changed quiet a bit after 2 years.

Hehe, clearly I didn't know what they were aiming for from that original description, and didn't know there would be a Diablo 2 influence.

I still stand by the weirdness of having multiple heroes in the exact same costumes running around.  I suppose you can just choose to ignore them for the most part, but then the question goes back to why make this an MMO?

[Harkonis]

Open beta for the weekend due to Iron Man 3 release.  Avengers are unlocked as playables

[Haavok]

Played about 10 different characters thru-out the testing time. Liked the premise but for me it ended up being boring. Lot of the characters seemed to play very similar. Granted i only got 3 up into the 20's and the rest in the teens. Other than the ocasional world boss didnt really see why this should be a mmo. Unless the end game is very different. Seemed like a lot of skills that were just filler and you really could skip a lot of them.

[The Grue]

For some reason when I played this past weekend, the game was very laggy.  I was trying to fight Shocker and every thing I tried to do was delayed by a couple seconds.  I had been kind of excited about this one and that really turned me off.  Good thing I didn't buy a founder's pack.  I don't have lag lije that in any other online game.

[skystride]

$200 Founders pack - Permanent Item Find Boost   5%

This doesn't seem right to me.  That is basically a major gameplay change.  I suppose you could buy consumables to do the same if you don't pay $200 but that's not the same thing and I'm guessing Founders could as well and get even higher magic find.  Imagine if Blizzard did this with Diablo 3.

[CeeKay]

this made me LOL:

    ALL Heroes and Costumes Available to Purchase at Launch

so $200 bucks gets you the ability to give them more money right away?  sure, you get $50 in store credit but I wonder how many costumes that will get you.

[Harkonis]

this made me LOL:

    ALL Heroes and Costumes Available to Purchase at Launch

so $200 bucks gets you the ability to give them more money right away?  sure, you get $50 in store credit but I wonder how many costumes that will get you.

you're reading that wrong in your haste to make fun of them.  It says you get all the costumes and heroes that are available to be purchased at launch.  So you start with everything that you can buy at launch.  It's worded that way because you don't get all the heroes that come out after launch or the stuff that you have to get as drops and can't buy.

[CeeKay]

this made me LOL:

    ALL Heroes and Costumes Available to Purchase at Launch

so $200 bucks gets you the ability to give them more money right away?  sure, you get $50 in store credit but I wonder how many costumes that will get you.

you're reading that wrong in your haste to make fun of them. 

Nope.  I read over it several times, made a cup of tea, had some scones, chatted with Rittchard about late summer/early fall fashions (seriously, Hawaiian shirts made out of cashmere?), read it again and then made fun of it.  if they didn't want confusion they should have left the words 'to purchase' out of the list.  they didn't, and the mockery will continue.

[Harkonis]

this made me LOL:

    ALL Heroes and Costumes Available to Purchase at Launch

so $200 bucks gets you the ability to give them more money right away?  sure, you get $50 in store credit but I wonder how many costumes that will get you.

you're reading that wrong in your haste to make fun of them. 

Nope.  I read over it several times, made a cup of tea, had some scones, chatted with Rittchard about late summer/early fall fashions (seriously, Hawaiian shirts made out of cashmere?), read it again and then made fun of it.  if they didn't want confusion they should have left the words 'to purchase' out of the list.  they didn't, and the mockery will continue.

'to purchase' is there so you know you don't get the things that aren't available to purchase.  Like the chase costumes that are drop only.