Pretty sure this year's COD is set in stone already. I expect campaign, competitive, zombies and BR. Next year's game might still be enough in flux for changes.
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Apex Legends Now at 10 Million Players After 72 Hours, 1 Million Concurrent
- Thread starter ManaByte
- Start date
Pretty sure this year's COD is set in stone already. I expect campaign, competitive, zombies and BR. Next year's game might still be enough in flux for changes.
Right now I just want them to do two more things: add Solo and to make future classes free. I do not like having (gameplay altering, and do not tell me best boi Mirage is not gameplay altering!) classes behind a payment. I'm sure they'll be doing enough with the cosmetics and season passes.
I think this game has a good shot at eating a large portion of the BR market if not outright killing some of the smaller names in the genre.
There are a handful of standout things about it, but there's two specific things I want to highlight:
1) No building mechanic like Fortnite.
—I think Fortnite's building mechanic is actually a weakness in a lot of ways, and more of a remnant of its development origins as a sort of tower defense type game than an actual "good" addition to the genre to the extent that it exists in Fortnite.
2) Surprise release with 0 pre-launch marketing.
—For this game in the current environment this was absolutely the right move. Avoids all smear potential that would happen from any sort of pre-launch info and lets the quite polished game speak for itself.
—Additionally (and perhaps more importantly), kept key design differentiations a secret from competitors until the simultaneous reveal and release, disallowing them from adopting the innovations before the game had a significant foothold in mind and marketshare.
If Respawn keeps up with GaaS continuous development, they will absolutely crush numbers with this.
Another thing to mention quick is that while the visual style is still colorful and less serious than something like PUBG, it's less whimsical than Fortnite, and will definitely have a broad appeal because of that, especially to those turned off by the visual style of the other two games.
There are a handful of standout things about it, but there's two specific things I want to highlight:
1) No building mechanic like Fortnite.
—I think Fortnite's building mechanic is actually a weakness in a lot of ways, and more of a remnant of its development origins as a sort of tower defense type game than an actual "good" addition to the genre to the extent that it exists in Fortnite.
2) Surprise release with 0 pre-launch marketing.
—For this game in the current environment this was absolutely the right move. Avoids all smear potential that would happen from any sort of pre-launch info and lets the quite polished game speak for itself.
—Additionally (and perhaps more importantly), kept key design differentiations a secret from competitors until the simultaneous reveal and release, disallowing them from adopting the innovations before the game had a significant foothold in mind and marketshare.
If Respawn keeps up with GaaS continuous development, they will absolutely crush numbers with this.
Another thing to mention quick is that while the visual style is still colorful and less serious than something like PUBG, it's less whimsical than Fortnite, and will definitely have a broad appeal because of that, especially to those turned off by the visual style of the other two games.
But he is free, you can unlock him by just playing the game.
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I consider every game with a stream of content GaaS, and I'm willing to bet I'm not the only one.
You are speaking strictly multiplayer.
So what are we predicting total player count to look like by the end of this weekend? 15m? 20m? 2 mill concurrent?
(then we can have solo and 5's playlist? - Im just guessing 5's, 4 is too close to 3, and 2 is also too close to 3).
(then we can have solo and 5's playlist? - Im just guessing 5's, 4 is too close to 3, and 2 is also too close to 3).
I hope the monetization model is fair. I'm hoping but doubting that EA/Respawn will use a model like Fortnite where you could feasibly pay for a single battle pass and roll that purchase into free battle passes going forward with in-game currency as long as you put the time in to play through the objectives of the battle pass. I think that model is great because it can keep long term costs low for some players and it can help keep the population of the game healthy and relevant as players need to continue playing if they want to maintain a free battle pass status.
However, I'm banking on EA/Respawn going with a monetization model more in line with a game like Destiny where players must continually pay $10-$15 every 3 months to participate in all of the new goodies. I think that type of monetization would be ultimately destructive to Apex's player population in the long run as people determine they aren't willing to essentially pay a subscription fee to keep playing the game if they want any sort of meaningful progression for their time spent with the game.
Do we not already have enough proof from F2P games like Fortnite and Warframe or B2P games like Rainbow Six Seige that the games that give players some wiggle room to earn premium currency through game play are the most successful model for players, developers and ultimately the game itself?
However, I'm banking on EA/Respawn going with a monetization model more in line with a game like Destiny where players must continually pay $10-$15 every 3 months to participate in all of the new goodies. I think that type of monetization would be ultimately destructive to Apex's player population in the long run as people determine they aren't willing to essentially pay a subscription fee to keep playing the game if they want any sort of meaningful progression for their time spent with the game.
Do we not already have enough proof from F2P games like Fortnite and Warframe or B2P games like Rainbow Six Seige that the games that give players some wiggle room to earn premium currency through game play are the most successful model for players, developers and ultimately the game itself?
I pretty much agree with the first point wholly. I feel like the building now requires you to have such a high level skill and throws in so many different situations that it can complicate the game.
2nd point is also important. Epic adapts very very easily when it comes to Fortnite. It doesnt surprise me that they kept this a secret.
I am going to give this a try tonight on my PC. Looks solid. Just wish they had a solo mode. Teaming up with 2 different random players is meh.
It's not free. It's behind a monetary or a time (grind) payment. 750 Apex Points or 12000 tokens. That must be somewhere between 10-14 hours playing the game per class unlock. And you can't buy the exact amount of Apex points with money to buy both classes. They're using the same strategy Sony used (uses?) with store credit so you never end up with a net 0 balance.
So you are counting your time investment into a videogame as actual money? Man Final Fantasy games have been fucking expensive then getting those ultimate weapons whew.
And that's good.
Siege is a premium game and the grind is worse.
10 hrs is not bad at all. The game is free to play, and are you not enjoying your time with it? I haven't spent a dime on it and having a blast. I just spent $30 to go see a less than 2 hr movie, I'm getting tons of hours of nonstop enjoyment from Apex Legeneds and hasn't cost me anything. I'll soon have enough in game currency to get my new legend unlock.
At same time, I feel like I should be rewarding Respawn with my money for giving me entertainment
Still free. 10-15 hours is a good time to unlock. If you care enough to unlock every character, you probably play enough to unlock the characters and then some.
They'll release new characters every 3 months. If you don't play 10-15 hours in 3 months, you probably won't care about unlocking the latest characters.
Every game does it, even Siege does it. It sucks but it seems the standard moving forward.
I was about to make specific quotes but I've been quoted a lot of times, so I'll use this as a general reply:
I do not think it's fair when that (buying character classes) is on top of the Season Pass, the loot boxes and the cosmetic microtransaction. One takes way from the others.
No I do not count my time investment as money. I'm counting it as a time investment, and that is more important for me sometimes than money. The game is fun and I'll probably play it for quite a few hundred hours. I'm happy with the game. I'm not happy with game altering stuff behind payments or time commitments on top or so many other ways of monetization.
No, I do not like the Siege model of locking Operators behind a payment either. That creates unbalances too and it's my main gripe with Siege. Being Standard does not mean it's fine.
And now I'm off for the weekend. All of you have fun and enjoy the game!
I do not think it's fair when that (buying character classes) is on top of the Season Pass, the loot boxes and the cosmetic microtransaction. One takes way from the others.
No I do not count my time investment as money. I'm counting it as a time investment, and that is more important for me sometimes than money. The game is fun and I'll probably play it for quite a few hundred hours. I'm happy with the game. I'm not happy with game altering stuff behind payments or time commitments on top or so many other ways of monetization.
No, I do not like the Siege model of locking Operators behind a payment either. That creates unbalances too and it's my main gripe with Siege. Being Standard does not mean it's fine.
And now I'm off for the weekend. All of you have fun and enjoy the game!
It doesn't create unbalances. There's no reason to want the latest operators if you haven't spent your time with the currently-unlocked ones. And if you have, you'll have more than enough to unlock whomever you want.
lol no
And I say that as a massive fan of TF2 with over 200 hours in the game.
It is free. Someone like me who doesn't care about all that shit can pop in and out without spending a dime.
Just popping in to say you and the team made a kickass game and deserve all the praise/success. Congrats dude.
Why is it that some of the most successful games tend to have some of the most generic/fake video game sounding names? lol. Congrats to Respawn as they deserve all of the success in the world as Titanfall 1&2 are two of my three favorite FPS games released in the past 10 years (Doom 2016 being the third game). Unfortunately between my growing disinterest in PVP in shooters (especially class based PVP that emphasizes teamwork), the lack of some of the major things I like about the Titanfall series, and my complete and utter indifference towards battle royale... I'm just never going to touch this (based on these numbers it sounds like I very much wont be missed. lol). If I ever did get into any Battle Royale games Apex Legends certainly holds the most appeal for me personally but that style of game just really doesn't hold much appeal for me. It seems well made and I'm glad people are enjoying it but I really hope the success of this game actually will increase the chances of a Titanfall 3 eventually being made instead of almost certainly killing any chances of that game being made.
Anyway, I wonder what this means for Battle Royale games in general? PUBG maybe wasn't as white hot as Fortnite but it seemed to still be quietly very successful. It'll be interesting to see how many of the 10 million players they manage to retain (or if they blow past 10 mil). Even for someone who is not interested in this game it'll at least be interesting to see how it develops throughout the year.
Anyway, I wonder what this means for Battle Royale games in general? PUBG maybe wasn't as white hot as Fortnite but it seemed to still be quietly very successful. It'll be interesting to see how many of the 10 million players they manage to retain (or if they blow past 10 mil). Even for someone who is not interested in this game it'll at least be interesting to see how it develops throughout the year.
Congrats! Respawn makes great games so you guys deserve the praise. Apex seems very well made & it seems to be getting the love it deserves so you all should be really proud! I have no idea how development for a live game works but I really hope you all get to rest or celebrate or something. lol
I think the grind/pay for classes is okay FOR NOW.
There's only two that you have to unlock out of a total of 8 characters right now and that's not so bad.
We'll see how it stands when we're much further in the game's lifespan like R6: Siege or League of Legends and it becomes necessary to have a wider pool of options to play as. Hopefully they don't fall into the traps those games made for themselves, locking new players out without paying or grinding an absurd amount.
The Dota 2 model is preferable when it comes to new heroes/classes (all characters free, only charge is for cosmetics), especially for latecomers to a game. I can't really commit to League or Heroes of the Storm, for example, over Dota 2 at this point because the barrier to entry with most heroes locked behind a pay or grind wall is too off-putting, even if I wanted to give those games a fair shake. A rotating pool of free classes isn't the answer either.
Why would I ever switch from Dota 2, a game I have over 1000 hours in, to try something else in the genre, if the gameplay experience is going to be negatively impacted simply because I'm new to the game X years in?
As for different game mode options -- I think a solo mode or something besides just teams of 3 will have to come eventually. The team of 3 dynamic makes sense and works well with how the game was designed for the moment (the respawning stuff in particular), but it would be nice to have some option that just lets you play alone or with different sized teams, even if the mode is very different and not considered the core focus. Launching the game polished with teams of 3 in mind is perfectly fine though, especially with how good the non-verbal communication is. The ping/callout system is maybe the best I've seen in any game, except for maybe Dota 2. Enough that you can quite reasonably play with friends or randoms without ever needing to use any voice or text chat, even if you don't speak the same native language. It's quite a feat, and I'm sure took a lot of time to nail, especially with how much is contextual.
There's only two that you have to unlock out of a total of 8 characters right now and that's not so bad.
We'll see how it stands when we're much further in the game's lifespan like R6: Siege or League of Legends and it becomes necessary to have a wider pool of options to play as. Hopefully they don't fall into the traps those games made for themselves, locking new players out without paying or grinding an absurd amount.
The Dota 2 model is preferable when it comes to new heroes/classes (all characters free, only charge is for cosmetics), especially for latecomers to a game. I can't really commit to League or Heroes of the Storm, for example, over Dota 2 at this point because the barrier to entry with most heroes locked behind a pay or grind wall is too off-putting, even if I wanted to give those games a fair shake. A rotating pool of free classes isn't the answer either.
Why would I ever switch from Dota 2, a game I have over 1000 hours in, to try something else in the genre, if the gameplay experience is going to be negatively impacted simply because I'm new to the game X years in?
As for different game mode options -- I think a solo mode or something besides just teams of 3 will have to come eventually. The team of 3 dynamic makes sense and works well with how the game was designed for the moment (the respawning stuff in particular), but it would be nice to have some option that just lets you play alone or with different sized teams, even if the mode is very different and not considered the core focus. Launching the game polished with teams of 3 in mind is perfectly fine though, especially with how good the non-verbal communication is. The ping/callout system is maybe the best I've seen in any game, except for maybe Dota 2. Enough that you can quite reasonably play with friends or randoms without ever needing to use any voice or text chat, even if you don't speak the same native language. It's quite a feat, and I'm sure took a lot of time to nail, especially with how much is contextual.
Honestly, they should give a raise to the people that designed that specific ping system.
I work at a youth club and practically everyone is playing this right now. We played with two squads this afternoon and it was a blast.
I still suck at it though...
I still suck at it though...
GaaS is a new term that started this gen with Destiny. Single player games with expansions have been existing since the 90s. Or do you considered Age of Empires II a GaaS too even though it had multiplayer as well?
Pretty sure Ubisoft themselves consider the last two Assassin's Creed games GaaS and those are big single player games with expansions (among micro transactions). Square considers their treatment of FF15 as GaaS. At this point it basically means any game that plans to be supported with continuous new content for a year or more.
Yes! A single player games can be GaaS and one very distinctive reason why AC is one and Horizon, Spiderman, and BotW aren't is because AC has a revenue model that's designed for constant monetization.
No I'm not talking about single purchase story expansions. I'm talking the micro transactions present in AC that are most definitely NOT present on Horizon, Spiderman or BotW.
Dude is straight absurd at FPS games. Some of the shots he makes are unreal.
At this point it could be anyone, but it would probably be someone who's already pretty popular who just decides to stick with this game for awhile. The bunch that's biggest into BRs and the like seem to pick up shooters pretty easily anyway and move between them relatively fluidly. Some games are just easy to pick up for people with experience in the genre, while other games require a lot more time and dedication to reach higher levels of skill and/or popularity.
You should give it a go, it holds some of Titanfalls heart within in it still.
It's basically hunger games within the Titanfall universe while the world is at war.
This trailer gives a reason for the Apex Legends story
https://youtu.be/innmNewjkuk
In fairness you can unlock him without paying pretty easily. 12,000 credits. I've only played it too evenings and I've 9,000 already. I like the fact the way I'm not just leveling up for the sake of it but also to unlock cool things.
Someone here shared a clip of that guy Shroud (Or something like that) playing the game and yeah... crazy shit.
Well deserved. None of the BR games were appealing to me at all but this one looked really good. So good that it actually got me to put Origin back on my PC which I didn't think I would do for any game.
I had a lot of fun in my first few matches. The game is insanely polished and you can tell a lot of thought and care was put into this. I'm looking forward to putting in more time with it over the weekend.
I had a lot of fun in my first few matches. The game is insanely polished and you can tell a lot of thought and care was put into this. I'm looking forward to putting in more time with it over the weekend.
