Hellgate: London Returning! (F2P)

[NotGreyheim]

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/Hel...blo,12778.html

After a two year absence, Flagship's demon-infested action RPG is finally returning to North America under the RedBana label.

Thursday HanbitSoft, Redbana and T3 Entertainment announced that Hellgate (sans the "London" extension) is finally returning to North America later this year. The game will initially launch as a free-to-play MMO in closed beta from June 3rd to June 5th.

"Players are invited to return to Hellgate this June to fight for the survival of the human race," reads the official PR. "Join a party online to fight against evil with a team or play solo if you’re brave enough. Choose your character from six different unique class types and prepare for battle against creatures from hell. Arm yourself with a wide variety of weapons and armor and dismantle the ones you don’t need to obtain rare scrap metals. Enhance your weapons with upgrades and relics to have the best chance of survival."

Hellgate was originally developed by Flagship Studios and launched back in October 2007. After the studio went bankrupt, development halted and the IP was seized as collateral by Comerica Bank. Prolonging the game's eventual death, Namco Bandai provided free US/EU server support until January 31 2009 when the servers were taken offline. HanbitSoft finally swooped in, acquired the Hellgate properties and launched the game in Korea after a controvercial legal dispute with the defunct developer. The company then secured the US/EU territory rights in 2010.

Flagship Studios was founded by former Diablo veterans including Bill Roper, Max Schaefer, Erich Schaefer and David Brevik. The studio was working on two titles when the employees were fired and the doors closed: Hellgate: London and the Diablo-like Mythos. HanbitSoft claimed that it offered the studio several methods in keeping the doors open for business prior to the lay-offs, even previously sank large amounts of investments into the studio. But Flagship kept replying to the offers with "ridiculous" counter-offers.

The negotiations between the two parties ultimately went sour and eventually led to the lay-offs of all Flagship employees. “Flagship not only lacked effort, but were only looking for personal gain," HanbitSoft stated in an interview. "Firing all of the Flagship employees in order to protect the personal interests of its founding members only shows how selfish and irresponsible they are."

Now, years later, the legal dust has settled and Hellgate is finally returning to North America through the Redbana publishing arm, the same branch that currently has Flagship's Mythos up and running in closed beta. For the uninitiated, Hellgate is an action RPG in a first-person or third-person perspective set 27 years into the future. The gates of hell have been thrown open and demons have overrun the world of man, doing what demons do best: roam, destroy, pillage and kill.

"With the world above ground abandoned, dark and burnt to hellfire, humans are forced into hiding to protect what remains of their race while making plans to take back a world that was once theirs," reads the description. "In the game, mankind escapes to the underground system under the sprawling metropolis of London. Prepare for a struggle for survival in a world that has become hell."

Fans can follow Hellgate on on Facebook, Twitter and Youtube. Those who wish to check out Mythos outside the local closed beta can actually play the game via the European service-- there's an English-based server up and running.

[NotGreyheim]

I would probably say this is my favorite of all the MMOs I've played (no small list, mind you). After playing the beta, I shelled out the bucks for a founders subscription (and subsequently felt like a schmuck during the shitstorm that developed), and was crushed to see the game go under the way it did. Not sure how I feel about the whole Premium Store aspect, but I suppose they've got to keep the servers running somehow.

[Charismatic]

lol @ the way the guy runs in the gameplay vid. never looked at this game much before so that is new to me... does it always look so silly?

[NotGreyheim]

lol @ the way the guy runs in the gameplay vid. never looked at this game much before so that is new to me... does it always look so silly?

Yeah, it is kind of goofy. I think it's just that way for blade-wielding classes (Blademaster, Paladin iirc), though. I don't remember it being that goofy with the shootan/magic classes.

[Insanecyclone]

I wanted to play this game badly back then. My old computer couldn't run it and it pissed me off when I struggled to play it, when they did a small open beta before release. I hope it's not pay to win.

[Kiarax]

Always wanted to play this but wow that video looks pretty awful. I'll probably give it a shot at some point if it's not IP blocked though, can't hurt to try...

[Foxer]

I hope it's not pay to win.

Hehe..

[NotGreyheim]

Always wanted to play this but wow that video looks pretty awful. I'll probably give it a shot at some point if it's not IP blocked though, can't hurt to try...

I don't really think the gameplay video they chose does it justice. It's very story-driven, with some dark but humorous parts. I had an old forum sig from one of the more hilarious parts of the game, I'll see if I can find it.

[Weltall]

That run animation is the worst I've ever seen in a videogame....what the hell ? I almost thought the gameplay video was a joke at first...

[Kaisha]

I hope it's not pay to win.

What F2P game isn't?

Most that aren't 'pay2win' are 'hope you enjoy grinding 15x as much as those who pay'.

[Insanecyclone]

What F2P game isn't?

Most that aren't 'pay2win' are 'hope you enjoy grinding 15x as much as those who pay'.

Well what I mean is weapons and such having some overpowering effect. I can deal with cosmetics, that are just for looks, than items or gear that'll ruin any sort of pvp in the game. Adventure packs are the worst, too.

[BadKarma]

Well what I mean is weapons and such having some overpowering effect. I can deal with cosmetics, that are just for looks, than items or gear that'll ruin any sort of pvp in the game. Adventure packs are the worst, too.

i missed you

[Insanecyclone]

Beta starts tomorrow

Apply here or wait for various sites to give out keys.

[Insanecyclone]

Open beta starts Thursday(30th)

[Lucavi]

I wanted to play this game badly back then. My old computer couldn't run it and it pissed me off when I struggled to play it, when they did a small open beta before release. I hope it's not pay to win.

Everything that isn't a monthly payment is pay to win. Everything.

[Insanecyclone]

WELP. It's no doubt going to die right back again with this bullshit

http://hellgate.t3fun.com/News/Notic...px?post_key=16

Greetings Hellgate players!


As Hell's eternity comes forth in just a few days,

The T3fun Team would like to reveal that Hellgate Global will be embracing the "Ticket System".

The Ticket system is one of the newest and promising additions to the game and there are two types of System that will be available:

1. Premium Item Sale (Cash Shop)

Cash shops are shops that let you access a wide variety of premium items that may boost your character's performance or enhance the quality of service you can get (buffs, modified exps, etc - depending on which premium service you did apply). Mostly the items in the cash shop
are not dropped by monsters nor sold at NPC Shops.

2. Ticket Subscription

One ticket subscription allows a player to enter a specific area and dungeon after Hellgate's Act 2 (Starting at Waterloo Bridge). It gives players the access to continue quests and experience a whole new game play. The Ticket subscription is your gateway to hell's eternity. The ticket is eternal and everlasting.

Areas that will be unlocked after ticket1 usage:
- Act 3
- Act 4
- Act 5
- 2nd Attack
- Abyss
- Stonehenge

*One ticket subscription allows for all characters from one account to enter one expansion.

Also, please be informed that due to an existing partnership between Hanbitsoft and local publishers, the IPs of the following countries will be blocked from accessing Hellgate Global:

Korea, Japan, China, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao.

If you have any questions please email [email protected]

Thank you and we look forward to seeing you in-game.


Hellgate Team

Nothing more than a fucking demo than F2P with that ticket system in place.

[NotGreyheim]

My train of thought while reading that:

Spoiler: show

> > >

Oh well, I've done well enough without it for this long I suppose

[Insanecyclone]

http://hellgate.t3fun.com/News/Notic...px?post_key=17

Hello Everyone,

We are pleased to announce that you will no longer need to download a new client to play. All you have to do is run your existing Hellgate client and let it patch automatically. Servers open on June 30, 2011 7:30PM NY Time.

Also, the Ticket will be priced at $4.00.


Thank you and see you at the gates.

Feel free to use the Mail Inquiry section in the Support Tab of the T3Fun website or send us an inquiry in our support email ([email protected]) for any concerns/questions/clarifications.


Thank you.


GM Vallafar


Hellgate GM Team

$4 is actually...not that bad. I thought it was going to be $10. First 2 acts(12 lvls) is nothing more than a fucking demo. This is really how you kill anticipation off by these last minute reveals. I'm still going to play it and ponder if the $4 ticket will be worth it.