MAG may be massive but it is an action shooter at its core. You can run around and shoot enemies, throw grenades, and drive vehicles just like any other shooter except with MAG you’ll do it with up to 256 players. The team at Zipper was one of the pioneers of online gaming on consoles with the SOCOM franchise and they’ve used this knowledge to create a brand new server architecture to make an original game like MAG possible.

MAG v1.02 has a consistent theme — Medical Support. After taking your feedback into consideration and playing countless games ourselves, we’ve made a number of Field Support adjustments that should help you steer through the battlefield more effectively. These fixes will also clean things up for players of other classes who don’t have a need to see who is hurt and who isn’t.

To be specific, we’ve eliminated the onscreen medic icon from anyone who has a Medical Kit and have instead changed it so that only those who have the Resuscitation Kit sport the cross. Moreover, we’ve also hidden “incapacitated” icons for downed players from everyone but those who can help them — cleaning up the screen quite considerably — and have added in some distance counters so that you know how far you have to travel before arriving at the injured.

The patch will automatically download on February 17, 2010 at 1am Pacific/ 4am Eastern/ 9am GMT and weigh in at about 40MB for the initial patch installer, with an additional 55MB for the patch itself.

MAG Patch v1.02

• Gameplay
  • Fixed issue where water-submerged players could not be resuscitated.
• Interface
  • Restricted Medic icon for downed players will only show up to those with the “Resuscitation” Support Skill Equipped.
  • Incapacitated player icons are now hidden from teammates who can’t resuscitate them.
  • Added distance indicator for incapacitated teammates (meters).
  • Added distance display for “Anti-Personnel” and “Anti-Tank” Mines for both teammates and enemies equipped with the “Explosives Detector.”
  • Localization changes for language in the Armory screen.
• Technical
  • Fixed XP requirements for Level 36 (moved from 23,686 to 21,999) and Level 37 (moved from 23,803 to 23,083).
  • Statistical changes to support eventual integration into MAG.com website.
• Server
  • Improved server performance to reduce instances of lag in population-heavy games.
  • Groups cannot enter match if one of its members is banned from the game.
  • Regional server hosting IDs adjusted in North American locations.

The year is 2025. The optimism and harmony of the 2010s were completely eradicated by 2020. A global crisis loomed. Food shortages sparked riots, currencies plummeted, fuel reserves dwindled, and oil-producing nations began to ration what remained. It is a dark future. Governments earmarked money for humanitarian efforts, overseas security, and intelligence services which, over time, found its way the coffers of a small group of Private Military Corporations (PMCs). These three private armies (Valor, Raven, and S.V.E.R.) then began to recruit aggressively. Soldiers without a country, the contractors fight wars that never happened. This is the nature of the Shadow War.

From the award-winning developer, Zipper Interactive, comes the next evolution in gaming – MAG. A first-person, online-only shooter, MAG lets you experience battles with up to 256 real people across a global battlefield. Players join one of three PMCs fighting each other in a shadow war and can either become skilled operatives or rank up to eventually command their private army to victory. Featuring unprecedented online action of a scale never before devised with player controlled strategic assets such as calling in air strikes, mortar barrages and parachute insertions; the persistent Shadow War in MAG keeps players coming back for more.

Utilizing a sophisticated ranking system and chain of command model, MAG manages the large number of players by breaking them down into squads of eight players. Players climb their way up the chain of command to take control of their 8-person squad, then 32-person platoon, and ultimately a 128-person army.

KEY FEATURES

• Unprecedented Action – For the first time ever, fight 256 real player battles in hi-def online combat for contracts around the world.
• Command Structure – Rise through the chain of command, earning the right to lead an eight-man squad, 32-man platoon, and even command a full 128-man army.
• Persistent Shadow War – Each battle victory or loss contributes to your PMCs world standing, moving them on the offensive or pulling them back to the defensive.
• Choose an army – Three distinct PMCs from which to choose from, each with their own history, personality, and style.
• Customization – Customize your character and begin to pursue a wide variety of combat specialties.