JumpGate

Well, it finally happened! Muffy believes JumpGate is worth pimping after years of slagging the game’s many faults as a sci-fi space-sim MMOG.

JumpGate-- “a MMORPG that launched smoothly, breaks from fantasy character setting, emphasizes PvP, and is the first persistent world space simulator that nobody talks about.” ~Scorch

TRAILER: http://www.mightygames.com/videos/Jumpgate_high.wmv

Since most of you have either played it and hated it, or never played it and haven’t a bloody clue, here’s the skinny about why Muffy likes JumpGate (instead of loving to hate it)[ul][li]Decent, distinct and well thought out graphics. Very minimalistic, but a hell of a lot more imagination put into simple things than many games out there with more generic “eye candy.”[]No point and click movement interface once you leave a space station (yes, pilots/squads can build and maintain their own) …it’s just you and your hand-eye coordination. There’s no “pilot skill purchasing/macroing” to be had, but plain old fashioned RL experience/understanding of a semi-newtonian physics engine.[]The missions available that give efficient experience (so you can buy bigger ships/gear) are varied and alot more forgiving towards new players than ever before. A friendly help channel that isn’t a chat spam booth; levelling options more varied than what meets the eye; Artificial Intelligence “monsters” that make the game interesting instead of intimidating; A mature community that’s past it’s 3rd anniversary (insofar as major concept changes during betatesting)[]There are ‘Factions’ and ‘Squads’ and ‘PvP’ in the game in abundance along with ‘Rebels’ and ‘GM npcs’ plus a few attempting to play ‘Pirates’…The game is so imbued with the ability to pull one’s trigger that PvP is taken for granted, unlike alot of Point&Click games. Thing is, there’s not much to be gained from being a griefer in this game unless you’re really good at abusing the game engine’s loopholes. The point is that reputation in JumpGate’s community counts more than all the “factions”, “storylines” and plots combined. (though, there are roleplaying opportunities if one has enough guts to pull it off with style and realize it’s all just sandcastle building; btw, i like building sandcastles)[]Ship & Gear choices have improved by leaps and bounds. The game is actually becoming more than “one ship; one gear choice” – optimal is replaced by preference…and the levelling treadmill, of course.[*]Alot of the main bugs people have complained about have been removed (including the “nix hit box” bug of olde, and missile size constraints on ship hardpoints added)…Unfortunately, the developers have only one guy working on the game making patches (but the nice thing is he was a former player that got hired later. which means he’s not going to think, “hey! let’s nerf this and see what happens” that alot of MMOGs get stuck with, especially Eve-online) [/ul]download these things:
[/li]ftp://ftp.mightygames.com/jumpgate/Jumpgatelight_eng.exe (EU server software)
http://umec.oesm.org/phpBB/docs/controls.bin (place that in the main jumpgate directory; cust config for mouse/keyboard)[ul] [/ul] http://www.slopey.com/ (market tracker and more; pick the EU server)
http://www.jumpgateweb.com/dls/huds/dysonhud.zip (very nice HUD layout)
http://www.myrotacol.net/html/jgrot.php (location tracker and more; pick the EU server)

register here at the EU server:
[ul]oh, you’ll have to choose between one of three ‘Factions’ (races; basically: ship choices you get locked into) see here for additional info that isn’t marketing BS: http://umec.oesm.org/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=1264 [/ul]for tips and general reading see here:
http://umec.oesm.org/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=1408
the websites for the game can be found through this fan site:
http://www.jumpgateweb.com
If you want to actually purchase month to month you have two choices: [ol][li]play on the EU server ( www.mightygames.co.uk ) using a credit card (alternate payment options will be available in the future according to this)[*]play on the US server ( www.jossh.com ) using a credit card for a per month charge or alternative payment options via www.paybycash.com (i use a canadian saving bank account and route it via paypal for ~$50 canadian for 3 months)[/ol]
[/li]animations:

MOVIES OF ROID BEING DRAINED FROM FRESH TO BLUE
Ice Roid
Precious Roid
Semiflux Roid
Radioactive Roid
(remember each of these roids aren’t going to give pure ore but a mix of ore types which, when sold to market, get transformed into commodities)[ul]completely useless data that’s safe to ignore:
dunno about the current conversion from Roid—>Ore—>Commodity since i’ve been retired for quite some time now, but i’ve heard things have improved “somewhat” from a useless, hellish endeavour to a “really happy and great/wonderful sucking noise dynamic logistic macrosystem”…I’m also not sure if the 2unit refreshed per roid per hour (server time) has improved, though i’m sure the units per roid have increased. blah blah blah[/ul]NICE INTRO MOVIE FOR JG
DrumDummy’s old flyby
sorry, it requires winRAR, k? =p

DOCKING WHEN CARRYING LOAD
Reverse thrusting movie (no sound, sorry)
it’s a winzip file containing a mpg that i used TMPGEnc.exe to compress.

CIRCLE STRAFE MINING
Active mining movie (no sound, sorry)
it’s a winzip file containing a mpg that i used TMPGEnc.exe to compress.

FLESHING OUT NETDEVIL’S OFFICIAL “TOUR”
html archive file (using save webpage as…archive)
it’s a winzip file containing .mht pages that give an introduction to JG that fleshes out the netdevil tour.

FINDING ROIDS WITHOUT SILLY ROTACOL
good god in heaven! rotacols that expensive? looks like it’s time to splurge for the n00bs:
http://umec.oesm.org/phpBB/viewtopic.php?p=8996#8996
you can use those “starchart” maps to find roids even if you don’t even know what a rotacol looks like (mostly Quantar…mostly)[ul]after you get the hang of the maps you can practically fly there without even pausing…unlike rotacol where the method isn’t intuitive, just rote.[/ul]anyways, everything else at http://umec.oesm.org/phpBB forums have deadlinks to images and files that can be repaired to viewers simply by changing the www.mindphyre.com/UMEC/ link to razorskiss.net/archives/UMEC/ (don’t expect me to fix them now cause i have a life) =p

Let me add one thing to this thread, Point & Click requires no learning curve (or very small one), therefore allowing the casual player to be “skilled.” This promotes the game to the masses and provides more subscribers. A personal skill based game like JG becomes very frustrating to a large percentage of “noob” subscribers who are looking for something different as they can not easily and quickly enter into a game and excel. Let’s be honest a large percentage of American entertainment is 60 minutes or less and if you aren’t entertained in that amount of time, then you won’t be back.

I love the skill aspect of JG and it is what keeps me here more than anytthing except the people interaction, but it does deter a lot of would be players with a huge learning curve.
~Kelvar

In Jumpgate, I never considered my pirating, raiding or ‘griefing’ days to be evil. Rather, I saw myself as a small cog in the greater picture.

I had a purpose within the game’s universe, to ‘redistribute’ wealth to the strongest and best-suited to survive in the deep recesses of space. It was also my purpose to win the faction wars, a purpose I fulfilled on only one front before my wrath was untimely ended.

I do not consider myself ‘evil’, but I understand how people would think that. But if I were ‘evil’ (wink wink), I wouldn’t regret it for a second. Wiping out the weak and making enemies flee in panic is something I wouldn’t miss for the world. Muahhahahahahaha!
~Firelance

Thanks Muffy, I was wondering how to pimp JG, but you beat me to it. Good work. JG is my all-time favorite game, and is worth a look. ;) Give it a try, guys. You might like it. See you in space.

Brian “Veloxi” Rubin

Edit: By the way, since Muffy mentioned the European client, here’s where you can check out the U.S. client:

http://www.themis-group.com/jg/

What it will take for me to like Jumpgate:

• No goddamn levelling treadmill to follow before being allowed to pilot any goddamn ship I want to if I have the cash for it
• An actual flight engine allowing lateral and vertical thrust and that doesn’t force some ships to have maximum speeds slower than those damned aliens, not this joke of a submarine-movement sim
• More variety in the aliens, and less of them encountered; more focus on doing things involving actual players
• PvP that actually means something
• Missions that actually mean something
• Actually useful and interesting things to do
• Devs and players who don’t say “you need to define your own goals and make the game interesting”; I am paying to be entertained and to PLAY a GAME, I am NOT paying for the privilege of forcing myself to find entertainment

This game has failed, and failed miserably, for very good and sufficient reasons. Its commercial lack of success is entirely deserved.

I was like you once…uh…actually, i was that game’s worst critic. I’ve refused to pimp that game for over 4 years in other forums, but they’ve turned a new leaf (forgive the cliche)

Since you have played it and hated it i’ll address your concerns[ul][li]- http://www.themis-group.com/jumpgate/commission.phtml (effectively get to the “optimal level” faster than ever before)
[/li][li]submarine movement? that’s a nice description. Anyways, sideslipping is inherent in the game (not some “freelancer cutesy option”) and i’d rather have it than some “privateer” spaceopera that has me bumping into combatants more often than not. ANYWAYS, the light fighter class of the lower level ships do go faster…alot faster
[/li][li]“Conflux” (ai monsters) there are more of and spawns have lessened/varied from ‘Sector’ to ‘Sector’
[/li][li] “PvP that actually means something”(?) I dunno. i love counterstrike…it doesn’t “mean” anything either, though i do like the fact some people actually join Squads they find something in common with. (it’s about the community, not blowing up stations with 1337 gear and being some “hero” of a singleplayer game)
[/li][li]“Missions that actually mean something”(?) See earlier point about PvP.
[/li][li]There’s alot more ways to tread the levelling mill than before…rewards for mining rare asteroids that rival hunting “monsters”; PvP territory holding rewards of XP/cr & political status; rewarding careers that support the PvP infrastructure (gear hauling & artifact searching); There’s even cooperative mining tools & pirate tools; There’s even a scanner for the would be privateer looking to roleplay police or pirate
[/li][*]Dude, if you wanted “god-mode” then i’m afraid you tried the wrong game…You ever try “Privateer1”? What did you think of that?[/ul]

It’s not god mode I want. It’s a game. It’s game mechanics. It’s something with a little bit more structure than “here you are, go find stuff to do” with no guidance whatsoever. The missions and squadron stuff don’t count; that’s all entirely player-initiated - you decide “ok, I’m going to do this for a while”, and then you do it. And then you’re done, and the game universe hasn’t changed. I want to be doing things, not running in circles for the sake of running in circles.

Off the top of my head, a couple examples would be things like: run three construction-type missions, and a new asteroid base for your squad gets set up somewhere. Then missions to destroy an enemy squad’s or faction’s base become available. Meanwhile they’re getting offered missions to defend their base. Destroy a couple enemy bases, place some autoturrets and a base of your own in the sector, and the mission offerings move on to the next one. Etc. Obviously it goes a lot faster with other people helping. And on the trade/econ side, different sectors provide significantly different types and quantities of raw materials, so what stuff you can easily equip your ships with depends on what sectors you hold. Etc. Fast-paced, interesting, with actual feedback on your gameplay based on what you do. Long-term, things like elongated supply lines tend to make things average out so nobody ever gains total control (not without huge effort) - I’m thinking of EGA Battletech, and the original design for Battletech 3025, as models here. Gameplay is focused on doing things, not levelling; players are given a choice between goals set by the game, not told to define their own goals from scratch. That’s what I call a game as opposed to an empty sandbox.

I did play Priv1 and loved it. Still go back to it every now and then. It’s a terrible model for a MMOG though, specifically because it is a hero-based singleplayer game. Terminus in multiplayer mode is a much better model. I’ve never tried a full story game of 8 people at once but I can see how it is balanced to kick ass and still make each and every person involved have fun and feel important, regardless of whose side is winning.

And as far as “sliding” goes, you’ve completely misunderstood the whole point of lateral thrust (and inertia, for that matter). In a real space game, as opposed to a joke like JG, Wing Commander, or Freespace, lateral thrust and inertia open up all sorts of tactical possibilities. Frex: Charge head-on towards your opponent. He’s firing a stream of whatevers at you. Hit your lateral thrust, dodge sideways, up, down, sidestep those shots, and keep your own locked on. Who’s better? Who can predict the other guy’s movements better? Good question, and lots of fun. As for inertia, there’s a billion reasons why, as you go careening by a target, strafing as you go, you DO NOT want to coast to a stop right there, you want to let yourself keep going until you’re a safe distance away again. Why the fuck does the game insist you have to? I never turned on the braking thrusters! Just because you’re retaining velocity, that’s no reason you can’t keep blasting away at him until you’re out of range - or even use your maneuvering thrusters to speed up your getting out of range, even as you lay down covering fire. Jumpgate’s combat is designed for and possibly by morons; you can’t do anything in terms of actual maneuver, you just GO. Circle-strafing (or whatever it’s called in JG) is just a very rough approximation of what lateral thrust should allow, but doesn’t, because JG ships for some unaccountable reason have all their thrusters pointing in one direction, so they have to fake it.

I could go on, I’m just ranting for the fun of it here. Bottom line, it isn’t a space game, and it isn’t a game, and as much as I keep wanting to like it, I can’t.

sure. i’d love a completely player driven economy, but you’ve got to realize the developers added the logistic part of things as an addon…they’ve learnt slowly (matured?) that the key to a real MMOG is it’s ability to be affected in the long term by players, not supported by the crutches of some arbitrary economy.

As for the newtonian physics?? sounds like you’ve tried jousting one too many times. personally, if i keep the enemy just at the side of my screen on approach that pretty much means i’m sideslipping “lateral thrust” anyways…you’re talking about one key too many really. Slam it all you want, but the game’s default IS sideslipping…fancy it up with extra keys and it’s just the same game. I’ve yet to see one game that matches the “submarine simulator” feel of JG. just doesn’t feel right any other way.

I’m not a point and click guy, and that “sideslip” just sounds like you wanna play counterstrike a bit too much. no offense, it just that the only thing going for JumpGate is it’s physics engine. (and the hint of constant danger)[ul]it’s not perfect, it’s a small community. but, damn! sure beats the point and click that is eve-online. yick! character-skill. blech[/ul]

Isn’t Jump Gate an RTS with a space sim-ish view or something?

I think that’s Far Gate. Jumpgate is an online space sim. ;)