Around 12:00 midnight PST (about 08:00 GMT) the team started the conversion progress. We expect the full conversion process for people that held permanent weapons prior to June 28 to take up to 24 hours, so if you are expecting a converted gun, please be mindful that there is some delay, and it also means it may not show up in your account until June 29.
New Account-Wide Permanent Weapons (AW-PW) vs Character-Bound Permanent Weapons (CB-PW):
The new account-bound weapons are available for purchase right away from the Armas Marketplace (go check them out). Going forward the price difference between Character Bound Permanent Weapons and Account Wide Permanent Weapons is around 20% (give or take a tad based on exactly which weapon it is).
In other words; if you have an active premium membership, an Account Wide Perma Weapon will cost you the same as it would have cost a non-premium player to buy a Character Bound Perma Weapon
AW-PW Pricing Tiers:
The pricing is now in three simple tiers; 1799 / 2899 / 3999 credits based on the gun, with an additional 20% discount for active Premium players, PLUS any potential future additional discounts and time based sales that our Designers and Producers may engage in for certain events.
That's a pretty decent value for money, given that in theory you can have up to 100 characters on one account (!). Not sure you'd want that many, but IF you did, you would also have yourself 100 permanent guns if you made one AW-PW purchase...
This means the lowest priced Account Wide Permanent (non-sale or "MSRP") at 1799 G1 credits gets you for example an NTEC PR-1. On the high-end, the most expensive Account-Wide Perma Guns (for example the pair of OCA-626 guns) will run 3999 G1 credits.
Translating those prices to "Real World Currencies":
For those not familiar with G1 Credits, this means...
NTEC-PR1 AW-PW will cost $22.49 USD / 17.99 EUR / 14.50 GBP if you are a non-Premium player, and $17.49 / 13.99 EUR / 11.25 GBP as an active Premium player.
OCA-626 AW-PW models will cost $49.99 USD / 39.99 EUR / 32.75 GBP as a non-Premium player, and $39.99 / 31.99 EUR / 25.75 GBP as an active Premium player.
Hopefully the above explains the new (and terribly simplified) CB-PW and AW-PW pricing schemes that are in effect as of right now.
Remember to "Try Before You Buy":
We always encourage you to first take advantage of the free trial-periods to try out all the guns in the game before you spring for any purchases. This way you can decide for yourself if any of the Armas guns are to your liking, or if in fact you like one of the non-Armas guns instead.
And yes, our games are free2play, and you WILL be competitive without buying these guns, though the style of gun (each with its own specialization) will truly allow you to pick a completely different playing style.
As we have pointed out many times before (and as is supported by those who actually play APB, and not just read about it), these guns are not OP, they are simply specializations catering to specific play styles. And yes - if you want a gun that fits your exact play style (think of it as an Armani suit, tailored to your specifications), you will in some cases have to pay for it. And of course, when you do, you also join thousands of other gamers in showing your direct support for the Development Team, as it continues on the very long and ardouous quest to create a bigger, better and more optimized APB...
That kind of support is greatly appreciated by the whole team. For example, last week we were able to hire a fantastic new UI and UX artist to tackle the conversion to Scaleform, and all those things that will make navigating the UI better, more intuitive and more efficient. That kind of improvement was directly funded by the ongoing support from gamers like yourself!
Thanks all, and see you in San Paro!
/TechMech
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Saturday, June 23, 2012
New Breed Part 2 - 1.9.0 Preview
(Post by Qwentle, Lead Designer of APB)
Hot off the 1.8.0. release and Weapon Skin improvements, we wanted to get back to the New Breed series of patches.
Next up, APB version 1.9.0 where we'll introduce Ophelia and Wilde, our resident Joker Distribution representatives. Situated in what was previously the Star Screen Cinema complex in Social, Ophelia and Wilde stock weapons, vehicles, clothing, car kits, titles and other goodies that players can purchase through the use of a new type of "award/currency" called Joker Tickets.
With the first release of 1.9.0 you will be able to start earning Joker Tickets when you win Fight Club challenges. Over time we will also start adding Joker Ticket Awards to Mission Districts as well.
When you win a Fight Club challenge, you will receive a stack of Joker Tickets giving you access to exclusive items from our new contacts. While some of these will be short-cuts to in-game rewards or items unique to Joker Distribution, we will also be allowing players to use these tickets to access items previously only accessible through Armas. Items available through this system include several Car Kits, Clothing Assets, Vehicles, and a number of previously Armas-only weapons. This gives players a path to earn some of these exclusive items purely from in-game activities.
When you win a Fight Club challenge, you will receive a stack of Joker Tickets giving you access to exclusive items from our new contacts. While some of these will be short-cuts to in-game rewards or items unique to Joker Distribution, we will also be allowing players to use these tickets to access items previously only accessible through Armas. Items available through this system include several Car Kits, Clothing Assets, Vehicles, and a number of previously Armas-only weapons. This gives players a path to earn some of these exclusive items purely from in-game activities.
Oh, I also mentioned Titles up there. As part of 1.9.0. we will add the ability to show a preferred title as part of your name, for that extra little bit of customisation. By default this is your rank, but you can choose from a number of options based on how you've progressed through the game, what achievements you have unlocked, and various other activities. This is a totally opt-in activity however, and it's something you can choose to disable if it's something you'd not like to broadcast yourself, or see on others.
There are also various optimization and security enhancements planned for 1.9 (and later versions) as we continue working toward improving the game in all areas.
/Qwentle
A note from Tech Mech:
Sometime in the "near-ish" future we are going to start sharing info on some REALLY BIG items being worked on by our "special" internal teams. Most of these items are still a long ways out before they are even remotely complete, but we hope to start talking about our long-term plans publicly sometime in the near future.
Some of these new things may blow your mind when we can finally share more info... but until them - have fun in 1.8, and we are all looking forward to seeing you in 1.9 when we release this version sometime in mid-July.
/TechMech
There are also various optimization and security enhancements planned for 1.9 (and later versions) as we continue working toward improving the game in all areas.
/Qwentle
A note from Tech Mech:
Sometime in the "near-ish" future we are going to start sharing info on some REALLY BIG items being worked on by our "special" internal teams. Most of these items are still a long ways out before they are even remotely complete, but we hope to start talking about our long-term plans publicly sometime in the near future.
Some of these new things may blow your mind when we can finally share more info... but until them - have fun in 1.8, and we are all looking forward to seeing you in 1.9 when we release this version sometime in mid-July.
/TechMech
Crazy Vegas Weekend!
It all began with a fun little event called the 1.8.0 Challenge. At the end of it 10 lucky winners per world server were awarded the never before released Vegas G24 (4-Slot customizable vehicle) and the Vegas Hot Rod Kit.
Those 50 players were hailed the exclusive owners of the Vegas G24 and Hot Rod Kit with bragging rights included...until now!
Today we have launched three new products in the Armas Marketplace:
Vegas Uber Bundle
Spring Sale Price: 3119 G1C
w/Premium Price: 2495 G1C
Vegas Uber Bundle includes:
Vegas Kit MEGA Pack
Spring Sale Price: 1949 G1C
w/Premium Price: 1559 G1C
Vegas Kit MEGA Pack includes:
Hot Rod Kit
Spring Sale Price: 969 G1C
w/Premium Price: 775 G1C
Vegas Hot Rod Kit includes:
LET IT RIDE" VEGAS CUSTOMIZATION CONTEST:
In celebration of this NEW edition to the Vehicles family - check out the “Let It Ride” Vegas Customization Contest for your chance to show off your customization skills, win Power Joker Boxes, and have your talent displayed in full glory in the Armas Marketplace!
Contest Rules Prizes:
Those 50 players were hailed the exclusive owners of the Vegas G24 and Hot Rod Kit with bragging rights included...until now!
Today we have launched three new products in the Armas Marketplace:
Vegas Uber Bundle
Spring Sale Price: 3119 G1C
w/Premium Price: 2495 G1C
Vegas Uber Bundle includes:
- NEW! Patriot Vegas G24 (4 Slot Customizable)
- NEW! Vegas Hot Rod Kit
- Vegas G20 Mercury Kit
- Vegas G20 Rugido Kit
- Vegas G20 Wheel Kit
Vegas Kit MEGA Pack
Spring Sale Price: 1949 G1C
w/Premium Price: 1559 G1C
Vegas Kit MEGA Pack includes:
- NEW! Vegas Hot Rod Kit
- Vegas G20 Mercury Kit
- Vegas G20 Rugido Kit
- Vegas G20 Wheel Kit
Hot Rod Kit
Spring Sale Price: 969 G1C
w/Premium Price: 775 G1C
Vegas Hot Rod Kit includes:
- Vegas Hot Rod Spoiler
- Vegas Continental Spoiler
- Vegas Hot Rod Rolling Cage
- Vegas Hot Rod Skirts
- Vegas Hot Rod Hood
- Vegas Hot Rod Rear Bumper
- Vegas Hot Rod Taillights
- Vegas Hot Rod WingMirrors
- Vegas Hot Rod Headlights
- Vegas Hot Rod Front Bumper
LET IT RIDE" VEGAS CUSTOMIZATION CONTEST:
In celebration of this NEW edition to the Vehicles family - check out the “Let It Ride” Vegas Customization Contest for your chance to show off your customization skills, win Power Joker Boxes, and have your talent displayed in full glory in the Armas Marketplace!
Contest Rules Prizes:
- 10 Talented Winners will be selected for their customization skills!
- All Winners will get 3 of each Joker Mystery Box (1, 2 and 3) - Total of 9 Boxes
- If any of the winners incorporate at least 3 components of the new Hot Rod Kit in their design, they will have their Joker Mystery Boxes upgraded to the Joker Power Boxes instead of the regular Joker Mystery Boxes.
- In addition to the upgrade in boxes, those winners will have some of their screenshots published in our Armas Marketplace.
- Screenshots must be taken in the car customization window, UNALTERED - no use of Photoshop or graphics software permitted.
- All submissions must include 4 total screenshots taken from different angles that best showcase their design work.
- Please include your Character name and Server to your submission.
- Submissions must be entered within the contest period 6/22/12 - 7/1/12 11:59 UTC
- Winner will be selected, announced and awarded within a week after contest end date.
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Account Wide Permanent Weapons to launch June 28
On June 28 we plan on launching the long anticipated Account-Wide Permanent Weapons feature.
It has taken quite a bit of back-end re-engineering to support this feature, but from a player perspective it makes total sense, and this feature makes your account as a whole more valuable, and also brings more purpose and meaning to having additional character slots now that all your slots will be able to equip the same permanent gun you have purchased.
At the launch of this feature we will convert ALL CURRENT PERMANENT WEAPONS held in your account to the account-wide version of the same gun.
Therefore ANY permanent weapons you purchase between today and June 28 (at the current lower prices) will become account-wide on the day of conversion (at the ‘single permanent gun’ price).
AFTER the conversion, going forward players will have the option of buying ‘single character permanent weapons’ (at a lower price) and more expensive ‘account wide permanent weapons’ (the latter of course given to ALL your characters in an account).
Now, there are people that have purchased two of the same permanent gun for two different characters on their current account. For those players we will refund the G1 credits used for the second gun +20% bonus credits that were part of that second purchase.
In most cases though it appears people have purchased different permanent guns for their multiple characters, and for those players the change will just means that ALL their account-wide characters can now access all the guns.
We will send out more details before the change-over takes place, especially while we are performing our last minute sanity checks over the course of the next 8 days to make sure the change will not cause any other issues along the way.
Cheers,
/TechMech
It has taken quite a bit of back-end re-engineering to support this feature, but from a player perspective it makes total sense, and this feature makes your account as a whole more valuable, and also brings more purpose and meaning to having additional character slots now that all your slots will be able to equip the same permanent gun you have purchased.
At the launch of this feature we will convert ALL CURRENT PERMANENT WEAPONS held in your account to the account-wide version of the same gun.
Therefore ANY permanent weapons you purchase between today and June 28 (at the current lower prices) will become account-wide on the day of conversion (at the ‘single permanent gun’ price).
AFTER the conversion, going forward players will have the option of buying ‘single character permanent weapons’ (at a lower price) and more expensive ‘account wide permanent weapons’ (the latter of course given to ALL your characters in an account).
Now, there are people that have purchased two of the same permanent gun for two different characters on their current account. For those players we will refund the G1 credits used for the second gun +20% bonus credits that were part of that second purchase.
In most cases though it appears people have purchased different permanent guns for their multiple characters, and for those players the change will just means that ALL their account-wide characters can now access all the guns.
We will send out more details before the change-over takes place, especially while we are performing our last minute sanity checks over the course of the next 8 days to make sure the change will not cause any other issues along the way.
Cheers,
/TechMech
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