At any rate, I need to digress a bit and explain how this editor got to be stuck on 56K dial-up.\u00a0 I am one of the unlucky ones who has had to live on 56K dial-up for the past nine years – No cable and no DSL are available [period!]. I have missed out on a lot of online gaming. Of course, I live in a high-desert paradise near a major resort, so I would not give up my rural “horse property” home with acreage for an apartment and a T-3 line in any major city. However, over the years, I desperately searched for other Internet connection solutions besides 56K. For a few months I had wireless Internet broadband, but the company that set it up for my rural area, provided terrible service, constant disconnects and unacceptable down times; coupled with no service, it ended in a couple of months, and back to 56K dial-up I went. Afterward, at the end of last year, I actually did try<\/em> to play Hellgate: London<\/em> on 56K dial-up but it was impossible to play and the multiplayer game was pretty buggy anyway.<\/p>\n So, I learned to live with dial-up. And I even started to play some MMORPGs on 56k dial-up. Guild Wars<\/em> went okay and I was able to play through the beginning of it without annoying the other players that I teamed up with, but I soon lost interest and I went looking for the latest popular MMORPG games. Fast paced multiplayer games like CounterStrike<\/em> and Unreal Tourmanent<\/em> are out of the question for us 56K\u2019ers – or satellite players. I first got hooked into Lord of the Rings Online<\/em> by a friend who first encouraged me and then himself soon dropped out right after I started to play. It was unfortunate for me, as I believe Lord of the Rings<\/em> is all about fellowship and teaming up to complete quests. So I had a subscription for a few months although I rarely played it because it bored me with all the crafting and attention to little details it apparently requires; after months, my avatar was still only Level 14. So that subscription ended recently.\u00a0 I believe I am one of the true fans of the entire Toklien series devoted to Middle Earth and I would much prefer to leave that world in my imagination, undisturbed by what the LotRO<\/em> devs did to it.\u00a0 Even the three very excellent films by Peter Jackson did Lord of the Rings<\/em> very little justice, as in my opinion,\u00a0 Middle Earth is mega-rich and almost beyond comprehension of all but the most devoted readers of J.R.R. Tolkien.<\/p>\n I also ran into the Eidos reps at NVISION08 in San Jose and I asked them, half in jest, if Age of Conan<\/em> would run on 56K dial-up. They took me seriously, I guess, and they said they didn\u2019t know as they didn\u2019t test it; but evidently playing on 56K dial-up had crossed their minds. After I introduced myself as the editor of Alien Babel Tech, they gave me the game trial DVDs and asked me if I wouldn\u2019t mind trying it. For my last article [here]<\/a>, I also decided to add the venerable World of Warcraft<\/em> to a short review also as I then recently received a free 14-day trial with my ASUS 4870 from NewEgg. So I ended up comparing World of Warcraft, Lord of the Rings Online, <\/em>and Age of Conan<\/em> – all on 56K dial-up!\u00a0 Then as before, we are not looking for hardware comparisons or frame rates; but rather \u201cplayability\u201d of the mostly the single-player online experience of Hellgate: London<\/em> over 56K dial-up. It is very subjective and it largely depends on my personal experience which may differ from yours. To that end for playing Hellgate<\/em>, I chose a BFGTech GTX280\u00a0 as my test card and I ran it in DX10 mode with every detail that was possible to max, maxed out – including 4x AntiAlising and 16x Anisotropic filtering whenever possible. General performance was excellent and there were no slowdowns due to the graphics card that was used. My PC\u2019s CPU is e8600 at 3.99Ghz and 4GB PC8500; with Vista32. DX10 was used exclusively alth0ugh I also ran a 4870 1GB which would not run in DX10 at all and would crash the game.\u00a0 Single player had no such issues, just the online experience.\u00a0 So I stick with Nvidia graphics for playing Hellgate: London<\/em>.<\/p>\n Age of Conan - Real Wide-Screen - at Nvision<\/p><\/div>\n So thanks to Eidos reps, I go back into the world of MMORPG – still on 56K dial-up!\u00a0 Thankfully. Wildblue Satellite makes it tolerable for huge updates.\u00a0 Read on as we examine Hellgate: London<\/em>, bid them a sad farewell, and take a superficial look at what went wrong to cause their failure – especially from a gamers perspective.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I chose a Nvidia BFGTech GTX280 as my test card and I ran Hellgate: London<\/em> with every detail that was possible to max, maxed out – including 4x AntiAlising and 16x Anisotropic filtering whenever possible. What a surprise!\u00a0 This time, general performance was excellent and there were no slowdowns due to the graphics card that was used OR<\/em><\/span> my NetZero 56K Internet connection.\u00a0 My PC\u2019s CPU is e8600 at 3.99Ghz and 4GB PC8500 with Vista32.\u00a0 The full disclosure is as follows:<\/p>\n Test Configuration \u2013 Hardware<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Test Configuration \u2013 Software<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Maxed-Out DX10 settings at 19x12<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n THE GAME at 56K<\/span> First of all, anyone who has 56K dial-up had better choose a good one. I picked NetZero after years of trying and using many others. It is the best bang for buck I have found for less than $10 a month with unlimited usage. It also means that your \u2018ping\u2019 needs to be low. My Wildblue satellite connection is often well over 1000 ms; its very best is ~800 ms. On the other hand, my NetZero ping is usually below 100 ms (average) to just over 300 ms (worst case). So I do not get that horrible delay over 56K that I get with satellite. MMORPG is generally a better experience over 56K than with satellite.\u00a0 As with most other MMORPGs, you must wait for Hellgate: London<\/em> to be completely patched before you can play it. And the game patches are huge even if you have the game DVD!! Worst of all, Hg:L<\/em> does not appear to have a way to save partial downloads if you are disconnected.\u00a0 Plan to download the files at a location where broadband is available if you still want to play the game before the server closes at the end of January, 2009.<\/p>\n When I was a beta tester for Hellgate <\/em>last year, I had wireless broadband and could play it although the game had plenty of server issues – even a month or so after the game launched and many many players complained on their forums about serious bugs online.\u00a0 After I gave up my broadband, I could no longer access it on 56K nor would my game update any longer.\u00a0 So I continued on in the Single Player, eventually reaching the cap at Level 50 Evoker.\u00a0 Even though I was playing the third time through on ‘Nightmare’, it was doable until the Demons continued to level past 50 and my character could not.\u00a0 So I finally gave it up.\u00a0 It was completely mindless fragging that I enjoyed against huge mobs as a way to relieve stress until I could make no further progress.<\/p>\n Last month, I got this email from Namco BANDAI Games America, Inc. that piqued my interest:<\/p>\n So I visited, http:\/\/www.hellgatelondon.com\/<\/a> and got much the same message.\u00a0 Since I already was at the place I was supposed to get information from and got nothing further, I decided to dig deeper.\u00a0 Fortunately the Hellgate<\/em> forums are still up and running:<\/p>\n http:\/\/forums.hellgatelondon.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n We put together this FAQ for our community members regarding the Hellgate: London NA and EU server closing.<\/span><\/p>\n What does this mean?<\/strong> This means on January 31, 2009 the NA and EU servers for Hellgate: London and the forums will shut down permanently. Players in these regions will no longer be able to play the online portion of Hellgate: London. The single player offline mode will remain available for everyone.<\/span><\/p>\n Can I play Hellgate: London on the SEA server?<\/strong> No, that server is only available for that region.<\/span><\/p>\n Who owns the IP for Hellgate: London?<\/strong> Hanbitsoft has the IP rights for Hellgate: London and has the rights to operate Hellgate: London in Asia excluding Japan. NAMCO BANDAI has the rights to operate Hellgate: London and its associated services in North America, Europe, and Japan.<\/span><\/p>\n Can I make my own Hellgate: London server?<\/strong> No, this is a violation of the Terms of Service to which you agreed.<\/span><\/p>\n Can you transfer my characters over to Single Player?<\/strong> No, sorry.<\/span><\/p>\n Will we get a patch, items, holiday, etc?<\/strong> No, sorry. We don\u2019t have the resources to do this.<\/span><\/p>\n Why is NAMCO BANDAI ceasing the operation of the servers then?<\/strong> Unfortunately, there\u2019s not a lot of clarity we can offer here except to say that the extremely unfortunate closure of Flagship Studios put obligations, responsibilities, authority, and rights in a bit of a mess. We wish there were some hope to offer here, but, after careful consultation with all the relevant parties, we feel that this is the only path left.<\/span><\/p>\n We appreciate the tremendous support that this community has provided to Hellgate: London and the patience that has been graciously extended to us as we\u2019ve tried to figure out how we can support this great group of players, and now, to gracefully exit.<\/span><\/p>\n Thanks again.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n Epic Self-Sacrifice & ... destiny<\/p><\/div>\n Comradeship against hopeless odds .. ironic<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n .. and demons! This Reaper is to be Feared!!<\/p><\/div>\n So on the surface, Hellgate, London<\/em> had everything going for it.\u00a0 Set in a post-apocalyptic London in the year 2038, Hg:L<\/em> (still at time of writing) features both single-player and multiplayer components. The multiplayer allows the player to team up with other players online to battle demons, or to fight alone in single player mode. The free online part features the originally released single-player content in cooperative play and and a type of player vs. player combat. Those who subscribed, payed $9.95 a month and there was also an offer to pay a one-time fee of $149.99 for a lifetime subscription for up to 100,000 people who pre-ordered the game.\u00a0 The subscribers received additional perks, such as an increased “stash”, the ability to form a guild, and access to special areas, loot and items.\u00a0 Only one expansion, The Stonehenge Chronicles<\/em>, was later released for subscribers that moved refreshingly into a bright outdoor area for a real change. A Collector’s Edition of Hg:L<\/em> was also released, featuring additional collectibles that were not available to people who purchased the regular version.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n There were two types of multiplayer accounts when you purchased the DVD besides the single-player offline campaign (which I enjoyed best): there were free and subscription accounts; I choose the free account. Subscribers had access to ongoing content updates with more monsters, more weapons, additional item sets and special quests for ‘ultimate’ items.\u00a0 In addition, subscribers had access to a Hardcore mode, special PvP arenas and a means to bypass server queues, plus a shared storage space with room for 40 items instead of 20.\u00a0 Subscribers also had the ability to create guilds with the ability to achieve officer status in them, and promised 24-hour customer support.\u00a0 What was cool was that subscribers and non-subscribers could interact together in the game. Non-subscribers could join guilds, but not create them.\u00a0 The level cap was set to 50 and up to 24 character slots are available for all.\u00a0 However, all was not well and on March 26, 2008, it was announced that Comerica Bank would provide game funding assistance, using Hellgate: London<\/em> as collateral, for Flagship Studios so that they would be able to support ongoing development of Hellgate<\/em> and its expansions and other games.\u00a0 Sadly, as of July 2008, all subscriptions were suspended and players could neither subscribe nor unsubscribe.\u00a0 This followed news of significant layoffs at Flagship Studios.\u00a0 As someone who still has several characters and a free account from last year, I decided to investigate both the loss of Flagship and the current state of the game.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n THE HELLGATE STORY Hellgate: London<\/em> takes place in 2038, where London has been invaded by demons from Hell. Up until recently, humans has had many champions holding them back. Various real-world events are referenced in the background of the Hellgate story as historical averted demonic crossover attempts – such as the Crusades – which were really undertaken to fight back the minions of Hell, as was the burning of London in their great fire to wipe out the Plague. According to their story line, the Knights Templar were the keepers of knowledge on how to battle these demonic forces. Due to internal human struggles, the Knights Templar just survived as an organization but their numbers were severely diminished and were forced to remain in hiding to survive.<\/p>\n As time passed and technology progressed, the old ways began to fade from memory and the secrets of the arcane were lost. When the demons attacked again, they found this planet unprepared. Ordinary weapons were of no use against the demons. The Templars offered their special services to the military, but the World leaders refused to believe in the Old Truth. Hell quickly took the victory from humans in the battle for Earth. “The Burn”, a decades-long process of “hell-forming” – completely assimilating our biosphere into theirs – had begun.\u00a0 However, various human groups had long been preparing for this possible occupation. Freemasons built the London Underground – the Tube System – long ago to be demon-resistant, and the stations now act as bases or “safe zones” for would-be defenders and refugees. These few remaining human defenders are armed with a fusion of modern weaponry and ancient magik such as flamethrowers that emit ‘Greek fire’ or weapons covered in plague-locusts. In the game, you play one of these defenders and have a choice of which “class” you want to develop.\u00a0 You have a choice of 6 classes and as in most similar RPGs, you increase your avatar’s skills and weapons experience by fighting successfully.\u00a0 Here is my Level 33 or 34 “Engineer” in one of the Stations.\u00a0 The little details – down to reading the posters and times on parking signs – are impressive!<\/p>\n M.Rex kicking back in the station. Awesome little details!<\/p><\/div>\n Most of the time you are running and gunning<\/p><\/div>\n Amazingly, Hellgate actually runs – and looks – better on the DX10 pathway than on DX9c!<\/p>\n Great weather and special effects with the tiniest of details<\/p><\/div>\n Although tiny, the British Museum is beautifully detailed<\/p><\/div>\n Beautifully detailed environments<\/p>\n Portals to special areas ... <\/p><\/div>\n .. portals that almost always end here<\/p><\/div>\n And endless action, Diablo<\/em>-style<\/p>\n .. or here .. if you are lucky<\/p><\/div>\n and Big Bosses. This one is an Emperor's Minion!<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n WHAT HAPPENED?<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Hellgate: London<\/em> launched to somewhat mediocre reviews and bugs galore. <\/span>The game received a Metacritic average of 71% and reader reviewers not much higher.\u00a0 I myself gave the Single player a 76\/100; much lower for the online experience.\u00a0 Positive aspects of the game commented on by reviewers include its story and the overall look of the game.\u00a0 Criticisms were mostly aimed at the level construction – which although each time it set up, it was technically “unique”, there was a “sameness” that pervaded .. with a common complaint that the devs only used 5 or 6 level designs – over and over … endlessly … ’till hell did not freeze over.<\/p>\n It seemed you were always here - every single quest!<\/p><\/div>\n A great outdoor area .. too rare in Hg:L<\/p><\/div>\n This was a nice variation<\/p><\/div>\n Quickest way to meet the Boss - Jump!<\/p><\/div>\n Your typical alleyway ... <\/p><\/div>\n ... St. Pauls your not so typical stop - The Hellgate!<\/p><\/div>\n A warm reception from the locals<\/p><\/div>\n Last stop before Stonehenge .. disappointing really<\/p><\/div>\n Other aspects of Hellgate: London<\/em> received mixed reception. For instance, combat was described as enjoyable, with varied classes, while the loot and customization aspects were praised; while other reviewers described combat as both underdeveloped and endless, with quest repetition and locked progression choices.\u00a0 Similarly, the game’s technology received mixed reviews. The multiplayer component was both praised and criticized with many bugs, slowdowns and crashes detailed.\u00a0 I gave up on the multiplayer preferring to play through the offline SP campaign well through Level 50 – almost 3 times through the game; starting the 2nd time on “Nightmare” difficulty.\u00a0 One of the worst things that Flagship did, was to release a crippled and awful demo of the game that was not only late, but boring and it probably put off a lot of potential players.<\/p>\n During the shutdown of Flagship Studios in August, 2008, as well as the loss of their intellectual property rights a couple of months later, it was announced that Hellgate: London<\/em> will be brought offline on January 31, 2009.\u00a0 Korean game company and Blizzard software distributor Hanbitsoft has bought the license and is servicing some Asian countries, including Japan and Korea. Hanbitsoft has got all the data from Flagship Studios and is trying to complete updates and expansions that Flagship Studios left behind. On Hellgatelondon.co.kr<\/a> Hanbitsoft’s advertises so as not to lose users, but evidently the number of users is continually declining.\u00a0 I have found the servers are pretty empty compared to a year ago.\u00a0 Following the Asian website updates and their expansion pack includes new maps featuring Seoul, Korea’s and a title: The Second Invasion<\/em>.\u00a0\u00a0 We in the USA and Europe will not be able to play online after January 31st, 2008<\/p>\n <\/p>\n WHAT TO DO NOW<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Good News!\u00a0 First of all, mostly the bugs are gone in the regular part of Hellgate: London<\/em>.\u00a0 If you are one of those – like me – who dropped the multiplayer because of the bugs, they are now mostly resolved.\u00a0 It ran wonderfully for me on 56K.\u00a0 NO delays or issues or crashes! Just for a challenge, I went back to Hell and challenged the Big Guys.\u00a0 In the past, disconnects would make it damn near impossible to complete it.\u00a0 Not anymore.\u00a0 As a Level 33 Engineer, MaxR<\/em> dispatched the mini-bosses and Lords of Hell pretty effortlessly:<\/p>\n Flying critters<\/p><\/div>\n Almost endlessly respawning mobs<\/p><\/div>\n Watch the Wing! Ouch!!<\/p><\/div>\n Discord<\/p><\/div>\n Rash<\/p><\/div>\n Note the spectral essense the boss drops. Important for Stonehenge<\/p><\/div>\n Despair<\/p><\/div>\n And now we get to meet THE BOSS !<\/p><\/div>\n Disappointingly, we see that none of these are a real challenge<\/p>\n ... Same as the Old Boss<\/p><\/div>\n So .. that leaves … Start Over – perhaps on ‘Nightmare’, as I did – several times with my Engineer and my Single-Player Level 50 Evoker … or<\/p>\n … Stonehenge<\/p>\n <\/p>\n STONEHENGE EXPANSION<\/span><\/p>\n Stonehenge is an ancient site of unknown powers, and one of the few locations that has been untouched by the Demon Burn. Yet this special and sacred location has been changed since I last visited it in England – from green hills dominating the landscape, to great clefts and rifts now revealing some of the secrets Stonehenge has guarded for many centuries.<\/p>\n You used to need to be a subscriber in order to reach Stonehenge.\u00a0 Not anymore – just go for it!\u00a0 You can gain access to Stonehenge from a portal in Templar Base. There is still fresh green grass here, nature has clearly been protected by some power against the demon corruption.\u00a0 Stonehenge is the first ever released subscriber-only area of Hellgate: London<\/em>. It features non-linear quests and areas, as well as 4-8 man “raid” areas in one place called “The Wild”, where it is very difficult to hunt demons without a good team up for the challenge.\u00a0 Many times you will be backed into the entrance and just die, time-after-time, at the hands of the massed enemies there – including rare demons and mini-bosses.\u00a0 There are several other difficult areas also, including Wake Hollow<\/em> and Moloch’s Step<\/em>.<\/p>\n A new area to unlock and explore<\/p><\/div>\n Everything familiar is in Stonehenge including traders and upgrades<\/p><\/div>\n Sadly, the Stonehenge Expansion is almost as buggy as the original Hellgate: London<\/em> was .., and if you have supreme patience, you can finish it.\u00a0 You can see that my non-subscriber avatar now has formerly “subscriber only” items and some of the all-important “essences” to enter the special areas of Stonehenge that are being collected by Max now.<\/p>\n![\"100_0155_view\"](\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/12\/100_0155_view.jpg\" "\\"100_0155_view\\"")
<\/a>Exchange this<\/em> rural view from my patio for a city apartment .. and crowds?\u00a0 Never!!<\/p>\n<\/a>
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Dear $Account{AccountName},\r\n\r\nPlease be advised that NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc. will continue to support\r\ncustomers of Hellgate: London with online server support and play through January 31,\r\n2009. In a further gesture of support, we will provide this server support free of charge\r\nto all fans and players of the game up until the shut down date.\r\n\r\nAll of us at NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc. appreciate your enthusiasm for Hellgate:\r\nLondon and look forward to providing you with future entertainment products.\r\n\r\nFor questions regarding the shut down or additional information about Hellgate: London,\r\nplease visit the game\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s official website at www.hellgatelondon.com.\r\n\r\nThanks you,\r\nNamco Bandai Games America Inc.<\/span><\/pre>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n
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