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Global Agenda

Platform(s): PC
Genre: Online Multiplayer
Publisher: Iceberg Interactive
Developer: Hi-Rez Studios
Release Date: Feb. 1, 2010 (US), Sept. 10, 2010 (EU)

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'Global Agenda' v1.2 Update Coming Tomorrow, Fixes Bugs, Adds New Features, And More

by Rainier on March 15, 2010 @ 9:46 a.m. PDT

A departure from the traditional online settings of high fantasy, outer space, or military, Global Agenda, powered by the Unreal Engine 3, is set on 22nd century Earth. An invisible war is fought not with armies, but with elite teams of highly trained and well-equipped special agents, where technology is a race, knowledge is power, and everyone has an agenda.

In the wake of severe global disaster, the political face of 22nd century earth has changed. Player created factions scheme against each other for power while simultaneously opposing a totalitarian world government bent on domination. Traditional full-scale wars a thing of the past, factions must rely on covert agencies, teams of elite special operatives able to seize and defend key facilities. The future of humanity is their battleground, where knowledge is power, technology is a race, and everyone has an agenda.

The players are truly in control of Global Agenda, forging alliances with their peers and executing lightning strikes against their enemies. They determine which factions to aid and which to oppose, while the only thing that stands in their way is other agencies.

Players will be able to experience the major features of the game after a one time purchase via digital download or box sale, with no monthly subscription required.  An optional subscription package called  Global Agenda: Conquest will be available for those players who wish to participate in the persistent Alliance vs. Alliance territory control game-play.

Gamers that play Global Agenda may earn experience points, in-game credits, achievements, upgrades and loot through either player-vs-player (PvP) or player-vs-environment (PvE) missions. Reinforcing the game's team-based gameplay, PvE missions feature teams of four player agents infiltrating Commonwealth facilities and working cooperatively to defeat an end boss.

Players inside the virtual world of Global Agenda will be able to use features such as in-game voice chat to communicate with teammates during play and enjoy in-game news broadcasts describing key victories and events associated with Global Agenda's persistent territory control gameplay. In addition, monthly subscribers to the game will be able to use out-of-game player voice chat to talk with other Global Agenda players while playing other games or simply browsing the web. Players can use a variety of access methods including the Vivox Web Voice within the toolbar controls, Vivox Voice on Facebook, or calling into a specified chat channel from their phone.

Global Agenda Version 1.2 introduces a variety of enhancements and improvements to the game's Alliance vs Alliance (AvA) gameplay, including Theft missions, Defense Facilities, a No-Facility Mission Type, as well as a variety of map adjustments and rule modifications.

In addition, the patch brings a 4v4 Arena Queue, in which pre-made teams of four battle each other for supremacy and reward.

Additional information on the Version 1.2 patch, including screenshots and more descriptive information on the new features, is found on the Official 1.2 Announcement blog posting under Blog on the Global Agenda Website.

NEW FEATURES:

New items and features in this patch include:

  • 4v4 ARENA QUEUE: The 4v4 Arena Queue is for pre-made teams of four players, and offers two new maps built specifically for 4v4 combat.
  • THEFT MISSIONS(AvA): Agencies may now launch Theft Missions against enemy production facilities. Theft missions are launched just like capture missions, through a new option available on the bid window. Winning a theft mission grants an immediate reward to the attacking strike force, and shuts down operation of the facility for 15min (during which time the facility is also in lockdown). What you steal is dependent upon the tech level and type of the facility you ar raiding.
  • DEFENSE FACILITIES (AvA): A Defense Facility allows you to SHIELD any two adjacent territories of your choice. These shields operate just like those made available from a base - they prevent all attacks on the shielded territory unless tactical missiles are used to break through the shield (from a Missile Complex in range). Unlike base shields, however, the shields provided by Defense Facilities can be removed by attacking the defense facility directly.
  • TRADING AND ABANDONING TERRITORIES (AvA): Agencies will be able to trade or abandon territories! Both options are handled from the Agency Screen. For trading territory, you must offer the territory to a player who is currently online, and has permission to manage Agency Facilities for the Agency they are in. No more ghosting needed.
  • LOCKDOWN TIMERS INCREASED (AvA): All lockdown timers for defending a territory will be increased to 15min.
  • TERRITORY TAX CHANGE (AvA): Territory not connected to your Agency HQ will count as double towards calculating territory tax in a zone. This means crossing a river, or owning territory in an additional zone, is going to become increasingly more expensive. If you are expanding around your HQ, you will not be affected by this tax change. (Note for large Alliances: We suggest making use of the new trading territories feature also in the content patch to better group your agency holdings).
  • BIDDING CHANGE - PERSONAL CURRENCY (AvA): All bidding for attacks now comes from PERSONAL INVENTORY rather than AGENCY INVENTORY. This will allow more players to lead strike forces, and it also helps fight some of the griefing we've seen in allowing a large number of players access to Agency funds. Agency members with the correct permissions can still withdraw any Agency funds they need prior to bidding.
  • MAXIMUM PLAYER TAX CAP (AvA): The maximum tax rate an Agency can set for it's members is now capped at 50%. Agencies needing to get more funds from their players can always ask for donations (anyone can donate to the Agency bank!)
  • REQUIREMENT TO FORM A STRIKE FORCE (AvA): Agencies with fewer than eight (8) members can no longer form strike forces.
  • MAP ADJUSTMENTS: Bases now only shield the six hexes immediately around them. We recognize this change will affect a number of groups, but felt it was necessary with the implementation of Defense Facilities. Bases still offer better defense - as they require missiles to break - and we'll be adding on to what bases provide in the near future. We've also made some ADDITIONS to resource bonus areas. No resources have been removed.
  • NEW NO-FACILITY: Battles in a territory where the facility is destroyed now play in a new map, with a new mission type.
  • CITY CHAT CHANNEL: Version 1.2 introduces a City Chat channel, which spans all public instances (Dome City and VR Arena). This is useful for looking-for-group communications. By default, the City Channel appears only under your "ALL" tab, but remember that you can configure your tabs using SETTINGS | CHAT.

CONQUEST ZONE CHANGES

Each conquest zone is now open for 2 hours instead of 2.5 hours. Production will tick every 8 minutes instead of every 10. Zone start times have been adjusted for Daylight Savings Time (additional Daylight Savings Time adjustments will be made as Europe and Australia switch to DST later in the Spring). See article at: http://hi-rez.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/168

BUG FIXES, DEVICE MODS AND MINOR ENHANCEMENTS:

Bug fixes, device modifications and clean-ups in this patch include:
General: Added generic icons for Helmet and Armor Suits.
General: Fixed issues with the alliance invite timeout and sending notice to new agency after accepting invite.
General: Fixed queuing issue where users could get stuck in queue if a map doesn't launch correctly.
General: Fixed issue with push objectives colliding with player cameras sometimes.
General: Fixed issue with character customization slider when using "Back" button.
General: New UI sound for Level Up.
General: Fixed animation issue with player mesh not culling when camera enters it from ceiling.
General: Fixed issue where player mesh does not cull when the camera enters the pawn's collision from the ceiling.
General: Optimizations to memory use. May resolve some client-side crashes.
Device: Medic Regeneration now properly influenced by Heal Duration skills.
Device: Pain gun modified to provide buff points of 2, on top of normal damage effect. User will accumulate buff points on scoreboard from use.
Device: Fixed the Recon Stim Duration skill to increase the duration of the damage buff portion of the Visual Scanner.
AvA: Added ability to give a hex to an agency.
AvA: Fixed issue with transfer hex accept/decline box not going away when invite times out.
AvA: Transferring of territory to another agency now clears any production queue first.
AvA: Added credit reward for AvA (100 credits for every minute of a match, up to a max of 10 minutes -- so 1,000 credits max per mission).
AvA: Players can now bid with personal funds rather than agency funds.
General: Deployables and turrets now remember their health percentage correctly if they are picked up while deploying.
AvA: Fixed display issue with building a defense facility on a resource hex.
AvA: Fixed issue with steal missions going into overtime and requiring defenders to push objective all the way back to beginning.
AvA: Minor cleanups on cargo screen.
Crafting: Added paging buttons to crafting screen.
AvA: Fixed UI issue with facility production queue display not being readable.
AvA: Fixed issue where AvA turrets would color incorrectly if they just became relevant.
AvA: Transfering of territory to another agency now clears any production queue first. Resolves issue with incorrectly transferred items.
AvA: Fixed issue with deletion of strikeforce inventory stacks.
PvE: Fixed issue with Minion Ballista appearing to fire from face.
PvE: Improvements to strafing on Minion Ballista.
PVE: Improved animations on Boss Switchblade.
PvE: Boss Viking, Boss Vanguard and Support Guardian no longer shoot behind themselves.
PvE: Boss Shrike machine gun doesn't fire out of both sides.
PvE: Added AOE Stomp support to Uberwalker tree.
PVE: Improvements to Support widow tractor beam and other animations.
PvE: Fixed animation mesh issues with Boss Vanguard.
PvE: Improved death animation on bosses.
PvE: Added muzzle flashes to Boss Reaper.
PvE: Fixed animation mesh issues with Boss Switchblade.
PvE: Improved fire animations on support utility drone.
PvE: Added new lance style effect for the melee punch animation on the Boss Vanguard.
PvE: Fixed issue with Boss Viking spinning while deploying.
PvE: Fixed issue in which mesh on Support Utility Drone would go into ground slightly when idling.
Voice: Cleanup on Voice Settings menu.
Auction House: Clicking buyout properly pops up confirm box and locks out clicking in grid.
Auction House: Fixed issue with Combo Box on Auction house.
Mail: Fixed issue with mailing multiple quantities of same item.
Mail: Fixed issue where replies were sometimes not recognizing player names.

Features :

  • Develop your agent – Create, extensively customize, and improve your agent character over the course of your career, complimenting your FPS skills with RPG-style progression and high-tech gear.
  • Join with other agents – Engage in cooperative PvE missions to develop and refine your individual and team tactics
  • Advance your agency – Join a player-created agency, compete in technology races for advanced equipment, and capture critical locations to increase your influence in the world.
  • Compete in fast-paced PvP combat – Work with your allies to raid or capture enemy controlled facilities during objective-based missions. Equip yourself from a powerful array of weapons, armor, and strategic devices like triggered explosives, deployable turrets, stealth suits, holographic decoys, and remote control robots.
  • Experience a dynamic, player-driven world – Agency leaders navigate through a global conflict of other player-run groups, striving to reach their goals first. Territory, resources, technology, and influence are all valuable commodities, with agencies engaging in politics, intrigue, and outright deception to control them.

A comparison of the features included in the non-subscription and subscription ("Conquest") portions of the game, as well as additional pre-order information is available on the official website.

A Limited Edition Game Box is available for purchase direct from Hi-Rez Studios on the Global Agenda website and Amazon.com Marketplace. This Game Box includes a poster and a Commonwealth Art Book, in addition to the other incentives offered to those that pre-order (listed below). The art book explores the historical events leading to the creation of the single, totalitarian world government called Commonwealth, as well as the emerging resistance to the Commonwealth, and the current competition for limited resources and scarce inhabitable land that exists in the year 2155 when the player enters the world.

Players who pre-purchase Global Agenda today receive the following special benefits:

  • Gain access to Beta – Players that pre-order will gain access to Global Agenda beta events in January. Note that the beta servers are available for play only during specific play test windows, and that tests may be limited to only certain game features. To participate in the Global Agenda beta, you must register your Product Key online at the Global Agenda website following your pre-purchase. Registered beta participants will receive specific test instructions prior to each Closed Beta test event, as the events are announced.
  • In-game Items – Players that activate their Product Key on the Global Agenda website prior to February 1, 2010, will receive a special in-game helmet captured from the Commonwealth, as well as head flair honoring the Global Agenda "No Elves" marketing campaign.
  • Reserve Your Player Name and Agency Name - Gain access to Global Agenda’s pre-launch “Name Reserve” event, in which players are given the opportunity to reserve their in-game name ahead of launch day (exact dates for the Name Reserve event to be announced). Players will also be able to reserve an Agency name during the game's official launch.

In addition, all players that purchase Global Agenda have the ability to sign up for one free month of Global Agenda: Conquest at registration (credit card required, can be canceled at any time).


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