Apparently I am not the only one with a craving for action-packed, massively-multiplayer online space combat. According to Codemasters, more than 250,000 individuals have signed up for a chance to test out NetDevil's baby, with more flocking to the website to register every day. Needless to say, the developer is extremely excited.

"Our players' enthusiasm continues to exceed our expectations at every milestone and we are extremely excited to achieve such fantastic support," said Scott Brown, President of NetDevil. "We have thoroughly enjoyed obtaining some valuable feedback from the people in our Friends & Family test, helping us to take the next major step towards launch."

See? I didn't need to say it.

Of course, more folks signing up means less chance of you getting in, but look on the bright side...okay, I got nothing.

Don't you wish you could just play a game trailer instead of the actual game? I mean, I enjoyed my hands-on time with Jumpgate multiplayer during the show, but it wasn't nearly as epic as the E3 trailer for the game. Hell, it even ends with "your destiny awaits", which is a phrase that has sadly fallen out of everyday use this day, just like "as foretold by prophecy" and "as is my birthright". We need to bring those back. It is our destiny.

What Is It?
What do you mean, what is it? It's Jumpgate Evolution, the massively multiplayer online space shooter that's so thick and rich you can play it with a joystick. Rather than sticking to a strict leveling system with higher level players far overpowering newbs, the game's combat is about skill...if you can hit the ship, eventually you'll kill your opponent, as long as they don't get you first.

What We Saw
I got to play through a couple of rounds of multiplayer in a completely enclosed space station map appropriately called "The Descent" on a rather lovely triple-monitor set up.

How Far Along Is It?
The game looks highly polished, but of course that's only half the battle in an MMO game. Beta should be coming up soonishly, with a planned release sometime this year.

What Needs Improvement?
Skill Balance: Right now there really isn't any method in place to separate the novice players from the more advanced ones, and in a skill-based game that can lead to some frustrating situations. NetDevil has no plans to fix this at the moment, so it might be a matter of just ganging up on the more skilled player until he or she gives up.

Control Tweaking: The ship I was flying had dampers on that were supposed to make it easier to navigate for a novice player, but I just couldn't quite get the hang of it. Once I took off the dampers, however, I was flying around like a seasoned Descent veteran. This might just be a problem of personal experience - one just feels more natural than the other.

What Should Stay The Same?
Interior Battlegrounds: Fighting in space is nice, but you can only do so much in space. Battling in a confined area with huge space ships adds a welcome bit of variety to the game's multiplayer. The Descent level I played through was quite true to its namesake, with round tunnels and twisting passages leaving the skilled triumphant and the uncoordinated hopelessly bumping into walls. I fell somewhere in-between.

Space Magic: Every time I think we've done all we could with computer graphics in space, some developer comes along and proves me wrong. Jumpgate is gorgeous, utilizing some interesting tricks and alien technology to keep something as bland and empty as space colorful and full of life.

It's In The Way That You Use It: While the skill-based game play has its down side, it also has its upside. No matter how far a player has progressed through the game, they can still be taken out. They might have access to tougher ships or better equipment, but that means nothing if you can out-fly them. It gives players a chance to shine without having to invest all of their time in the game, which is still relatively rare in MMO-space.

Final Thoughts
This was my first time actually playing Jumpgate after watching others play for a year, and damn if it wasn't worth the wait. If the adventure and excitement of the multiplayer game play carries over to the player-versus-environment sections, this could be exactly what fans of Wing Commander, Privateer, and Decent could want in a massively multiplayer game.

Discovered by a curious reader via a product listing at UK retailer Game's website, the Special Edition of Jumpgate: Evolution is packed with exactly the sort of things you'd expect to find in the special edition of a massively multiplayer online game. Galactic map? Check. Art book? Check. Official soundtrack? Check. It's one of the most by-the-book MMO special editions we've seen, right down to the 5 buddy postcards and the 2 in-game items, the experience enhancing Stella Ensign and Stella Citation.

No word yet on whether or not this £39.99 special edition will be coming to the states. I'm sure NetDevil will let us know if and when they're good and ready.

Jumpgate Special Edition [Game - Thanks CrowGoblin!]

When you spend the majority of your time looking at the rear end of a space ship, you're going to want an attractive rear end to look at. Looking through these screenshots and concept art of the ships in Jumpgate Evolution, it seems that NetDevil has included attractive backsides in all shapes and sizes for players to stare at for hours on end. They're not quite up to female wood elf levels of goodness, but then female wood elves don't have rocket boosters.

Is that some special, dramatic way of asking who I am going to shoot? I only ask because both the trailer and the accompanying screen shots only serve to remind me that, despite an on again, off again stint with EVE Online, I have no shot anything in space in a good long time. I am relatively sure that, as a gamer, I am required to shoot a certain number of things in space each year, or they revoke my card and I lose my Quiznos discount.

So when darkness falls, I'll be the guy shooting those other guys in space. Thanks for asking!

The big drag, though, was the shortage of Nerf guns. Codemasters had ordered them special for the event and apparently, only 2/3 of their shipment showed up at the venue. I was lucky enough to get one, but I feel bad for those that had to go home with only the T-shirt and the day planner.

(Not pictured: Jumpgate medal – I suspect my cat has wandered off with it.)

Check out all the Codemaster's coverage here:

Assets
Overlord II, Dark Legends and Minion Screens and Trailers

DiRT 2 Displays High Level Of Polish

FUEL Looking Awfully Confined

Previews:
What's New in Overlord II

Overlord Wii Lacks Wee

Overlord Does the DS

Jumpgate: Eve on Fast Forward

Damnation: Forget Playing the Game, I Just Like Saying It

Still, Eve is a very particular kind of MMO. The generous would say "thinking man's," which is a nice way of saying it bores you to tears. Hard to imagine that space firefights with rival corporation ships could be dull – but at least it leaves room for Jumpgate: Evolution to do Eve one better.

What Is It?
Jumpgate: Evolution is the sequel to 2001's MMO, Jumpgate: The Reconstructive Initiative. It features new assets, a new graphics engine and an action-oriented gameplay system that's supposedly more accessible than its predecessor.

What We Saw
I spent 30 very comfortable minutes with the game, which was enough time for two quests and to run my ship into half a dozen asteroids before my shields gave out and I exploded.

How Far Along Is it?
Evolution is gearing up for a closed beta and will likely open it up to the public sometime before the June 2009 release window.

What Needs Improvement?
It's STILL an MMO: A fetch-quest in space is the same as a fetch-quest in Azeroth; kill so many X, and bring me this many Y. I understand there's a need for basic monotonous quests to grind with in order to upgrade ships, characters, mounts, etc. But couldn't the "why I need you to bring me rat-butts" expository text be more interesting? Maybe then I'll actually read it before clicking through it with that glazed look in my eye.

Character Design: All characters appear as a thumbnail image of a guy or a girl and none of the options are terribly attractive. The big issues, though, is that that's all you see of your character – you spend the whole game inside your space ship. Because the image doesn't change no matter what quests you complete or what factions you're a part of and because characters aren't given extensive back-story or witty dialog, it's hard to form an attachment to your character – even when you blow them up repeatedly.

What Should Stay The Same?
The controls: It is not at all complicated to fly, shoot or dock your ship in Jumpgate. W, A, S, and D propels the ship in different directions, moving the mouse steers, the shift key is your afterburner and spacebar is the brakes. Once you master these controls, mash down on the left mouse button to spray death from your lasers and you're set to recreate Galaga in 3D.

The combat: It's simple, it's action-y; and it's a whole lot of fun. You fly after ships that try to fly away from you. They shoot at you, you shoot at them – whoever's shields give first is the guy that gets exploded.

Friendly specs: More and more developers have caught onto the idea that if an MMO doesn't require a major graphics card upgrade or a total overhaul of your PC more people are likely to play it. The joke around developer NetDevil's office is: "You can't play Jumpgate on a calculator. But you can play it on two calculators."

"Non-consensual PvP": I actually don't think I'd enjoy being on the receiving end of this, but the term itself is hilarious.

Final Thoughts
Evolution wants to blend parts of "Elite, X-wing Vs Tie-fighter and Privateer" into a cohesive persistent world. I don't know if such a thing is possible, and I didn't play enough of the game to get any feel for the depth of the lore or the extent of the PvP space battles. But if they manage to pull it off, they will have succeeded where I feel like Eve fails in creating a not-boring space MMO.

‘We are pleased to announce this exciting landmark for Jumpgate Evolution,” commented Edward Relf, Director, Marketing, Codemasters Online. “Since the commencement of the BETA signup program three months ago, we have seen overwhelming support for the game and look forward to inviting players into the BETA in the coming months. We encourage everyone looking to get into BETA to sign up as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.”

Great news for the developers, not so great for those of us eager to get into the beta test. With numbers rapidly growing (and I suppose this post doesn't help), the odds of snagging a beta spot by signing up over at www.jumpgateevolution.com are getting worse by the minute. Closed beta should be going live soon, so if you are so inclined I strongly suggest jumping on it.

Jumpgate Evolution Blasts Beyond 150k BETA Signup Milestone

Upcoming Elite Space Combat MMO Gains Momentum as BETA Approaches

(Warwickshire, UK) – 10th November, 2008, 2pm GMT – Codemasters Online & NetDevil today announced that BETA signups for the highly anticipated elite space combat MMO, Jumpgate Evolution have now exceeded 150,000 with numbers climbing rapidly! Gamers can continue signing up for the chance to participate in the upcoming BETA at www.jumpgateevolution.com

‘We are pleased to announce this exciting landmark for Jumpgate Evolution,” commented Edward Relf, Director, Marketing, Codemasters Online. “Since the commencement of the BETA signup program three months ago, we have seen overwhelming support for the game and look forward to inviting players into the BETA in the coming months. We encourage everyone looking to get into BETA to sign up as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.”

Jumpgate Evolution is the definitive elite space combat MMO published by Codemasters Online and developed by the US-based NetDevil. This unique new title will allow players to choose from one of three playable Nations and engage in an intense action experience featuring ship-to-ship combat in a persistent online universe. Gamers can embark on an immersive and accessible space adventure where they can trade valuable commodities, take part in dangerous large-scale intergalactic battles, meet and play with friends and live out the dream to become an elite space hero. Jumpgate Evolution features both a rich and varied universe to explore and has been designed for experienced and novice MMO players alike.

Jumpgate is set for release in 2009 with closed BETA due to go live soon. For more information on Jumpgate Evolution or to sign up for BETA visit: www.jumpgateevolution.com

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Hands On With Jumpgate Evolution

In the coming weeks (blame TGS) we'll be posting some in-game videos, hands-on impressions, interviews and tour videos on the site. While LEGO Universe isn't quite playable(by me) yet, producer Ryan Seabury took some time to talk to us about where the game was headed and what we could expect to see. He also showed off his totally kick-ass real-world Starcraft LEGO diorama. Look for that one a bit later today.

In the meantime amuse yourself at my expense:

The game will be fully playable at the show on Alienware laptops.

“We are ecstatic that NetDevil will be taking Jumpgate to this year’s Penny Arcade Expo. This is an amazing opportunity for visitors to come and try the game still early in its development. We look forward to the game’s showcase at the event and look forward to the hearing the players’ feedback first-hand. We know they will love it!” said Edward Relf, Director, Marketing, Codemasters Online.

I'd be sure to check it out when I'm there. I can't wait to see how much it has improved since my last time with it.

Don't forget to let me know if you want to drive along with me next week on my trek to the show.

We've received a number of tips that the NetDevil folks have put out the word that they are looking for some folks to help beta test the game. They've also sent out feelers about which box art best suits the sprawling space combat massively multiplayer online game. I think I like the first one. Fahey says his favorite is the middle. What's yours?

Jumpgate Evolution Beta Sign Up [Jumpgate Evolution]

It sounds amazing and looks rather lovely for a game with a scalable engine, allowing it to run on computers old and new, which is why every time I write about the game I'm surprised more people aren't aware of it. Hell, when I sat in with Codemasters' Lilit Baron last week at E3, he almost seemed pleasantly surprised that I had been keeping up with the game. Codemasters is gearing up to cure the rampant ignorance over Jumpgate Evolution, and the screenshots and accompanying Q&A, which you'll find after the jump, are just the beginning.

Jumpgate Evolution

How long has Jumpgate Evolution been in development?
 
NetDevil, the experienced US based MMO developer have been working in MMOs for a number of years, and have recently turned to Jumpgate Evolution in the last two years. This is an ongoing process and the game will continue to be developed for many years to come post release.   

What makes Jumpgate unique?

Jumpgate brings together popular elements from all time classics such as Elite, X-wing Vs Tie-fighter and Privateer and combines them in a living, breathing persistent world. Gone are the days of point and click combat, Jumpgate puts the action at your fingertips with fully responsive twitch based controls like never seen in any previous massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMO).

Beyond this Jumpgate is being developed as being an accessible / intuitive game experience providing the soft comfortable learning curve of a new game along with the depth needed for hardcore gamers. Much like World of Warcraft which made fantasy MMO gaming accessible for the masses it is the expectation of Jumpgate to replicate this within the space sci-fi MMO genre.

Can you give us some information on the background lore of the game?

The lore surrounding Jumpgate is something that is constantly being worked on and evolved, as all good stories should. Without going into to much detail and ruining some of the surprises that will come up as you play the game, and a few juicy bits that will be revealed by our community team, I can tell you this much.

There are 3 nations in Jumpgate, all of whom are human and used to live in the Milky Way as one. These were war ravaged times for humanity as they fought a constant battle with the mysterious conflux who were hell bent on destruction of all life and nothing else…there was no reasoning to be had…just a unquenchable blood lust.

With humanity on the verge of annihilation the future looked bleak until there was a massive ‘shift’ and the majority of humanity were flung to the other side of the universe. Away from the Conflux they set about rebuilding themselves and fragmented into 3 differing factions adhering to their own ideals.

Once established they started to reach out further into their new territory, encountering new life amongst the wreckage of long lost alien societies. This semi-peaceful exploration was soon shattered by the re-emergence of the Conflux! Using unstable wormhole technology they started appearing sporadically through out the sector. It is in this unstable time that we join the tale…

Can you give us an overview of NetDevil and their involvement with Jumpgate?

NetDevil are the developers responsible for the creation of the Jumpgate universe, as well as its ongoing development. They are the cornerstone of the project creating the game and server code that will allow players to live out their space fantasies. The team is made of very experienced programmers, artists, technical engineers and producers who will work closely with the team at Codemasters Online to bring the game to market.

NetDevil have great pedigree as one of the few companies that have successfully launched and run an MMO. In addition to Jumpgate they are also working on the Lego MMO.

Can you give us an overview of Codemasters Online and their involvement with Jumpgate?

Codemasters Online was established 3 years ago as part of the larger Codemasters organisation focusing specifically within the area of online games; with a number of titles under its belt; including the phenomenally popular The Lord of the Rings Online in Europe.

Codemasters Online will be responsible for the publishing of Jumpgate across N.America / Europe and will also be operating the game in Europe.

When is the BETA going Live?

Commencement dates for the Jumpgate BETA are yet to be announced with full details to be announced first on the games official global portal.

Where can I get more information on the game?

For more information on Jumpgate or to sign up for the BETA visit the games official global portal at www.jumpgateevolution.com

Just head over to www.jumpgateevolution.com and use your powers of deduction to determine where to go from there. Hope to see some of you in beta!

An hour, two, a day? Try 15 minutes.

The first fifteen is all the time a developer gets to convince a gamer that what they're playing is worth the price of admission, or so believes NetDevil's Scott Brown.

Following in the footsteps of the masters of the MMO, Blizzard, NetDevil is breaking away from the norm of game development for their latest pet project, Jumpgate: Evolution. Instead of trying to sketch out a complete world and then going back and filling in the details, giving the game its luster and heart in a soul-killing, deadline-pushing crunch, NetDevil is crafting their space flight massively multiplayer game one gleaming section at a time.

The team, which recently topped ten people, recently wrapped up their initial goal: Building out and polishing the game's first 15 minutes of play.

It may not sound like much, but in a year's time the team had to create the user interface, settle on the look of the game, and work out the games network and artificial intelligence.

They also had to give gamers a way to create their character, ships to fly, enemies to fight and places to go.

While Jumpgate has about 15,000 serious fans, Brown says the team knows that they still have to do a much better job of convincing gamers to stick with their game.

"The original Jumpgate had less than a one percent conversion," he said.

The Evolution team had their first chance to drop the first fifteen on an audience of gamers at this year's Connect in the UK. The results, Brown says, were heartening.

"We had it set up for people to play for 30 minutes, but some people stayed and played all day," Brown said.
In a recent visit to their Louisville, Colorado studios, I got a chance to sit down with a still-in-progress version of the first fifteen, while team members sat nearby taking notes of my experience.

Logging in, I cycled through the fairly limited character choices, quickly selecting a character face and helmet design before launching into the game.

The game's intro flies me through a cloud of space wreckage while touching on the game's rather light backstory.
The game, at least what I saw of it, takes place entirely in your spaceship. I flew through and around asteroid fields, near comets, past bits of space flotsam as I searched out for space pirate's ships.

The keyboard controls were fairly straightforward that seemed to land me in-between hardcore realistic space flight and arcade space shooters.

Brown later told me that as you gain rank and cash you earn access to more complicated space rigs, ones that will include much more complicated controls. It sounds like a neat way to ease people into the mental rigors of true space flight without overwhelming gamers not used to the concept of things like drift and gravitational pull.
While my initial experience with Evolution space flight isn't quite as robust as I'd like (you can't, for instance, do a bootlegger's turn using your afterburner), they are still tweaking and I think I'd be willing to earn my way up to craft that can do some sexy maneuvering.

Targeting in on my first enemy I suddenly realize the game isn't really playing like a role-playing game anymore, I'm actually in a space dogfight.

The weapons aren't flamboyant enough for my taste, but I suspect that the higher level weapons will get quite interesting.

Shooting down enemy craft does result in loot drops, a mixture of money, weapons and minerals.
After completing my first mission, a simple one that had me gunning down a set number of pirate ships, I wing my way back to the space station, a mammoth affair that you need to fly into to dock.

Inside the space statation I find that I can upgrade quite a bit on my ship, from adding things like radar, new engines and shields, to boosting weapons or restocking missiles. I can even choose to buy more ships, if I have the cash.
A level cap prevents gamers from buying into every weapon they can afford, immediately, a bit of an annoyance, but I'd guess that has a lot to do with trying to control the learning curve. I also sell off the mineral-like commodities I collected while out in space.

I was a bit disappointed to discover I couldn't paint up the outside of my ship. Later Brown told me that was something that's come up a lot during focus tests. Something, it sounds like, they might be thinking of adding.
While I enjoyed my playtest, so much so I kept playing when it was over, I find those early missions very easy and never felt I was in danger of exploding.

Once I tried taking on a harder mission, though, I found that the danger of being blown to bits was very real.
In a still unfinished mission I took on a battle station. Once my shield was reduced to zero I didn't even have enough time to get out of range before dying.

Jumpgate looks, at least to the uninitiated, to be shaping up nicely, a game that could potentially offer a killer blend of Eve's hardcore space flight and combat delivered with a learning curve that will help attract and hook the more casual PC gamer.

Now that the first fifteen is nearing completion, the team is continuing to craft their game in baby steps: moving on to craft new maps, expanding the game's single map to five, then pushing to Alpha and eventually introducing things like an auction house, mining and, finally, more robust missions. Bucking a trend to publish first and craft later through updates, all of this will be done before the game goes live.

"We're applying the lessons learned from Auto Assault on Jumpgate: Evolution," Brown said.

As the team pushes the game to launch, piece-by-piece, we will be there, checking in on them to see how those pieces fit together and whether NetDevil will deliver the sort of game that Blizzard managed to create using the same process.