Electronic Arts and Realtime Worlds have announced that “All Points Bulletin” will be released in early 2010.
APB is arguably one of the largest and most ambitious independent game projects in development worldwide and I am so looking forward to this one…

APB (All Points Bulletin) is an MMORPG, as well as the latest creation from David Jones and Realtime Worlds, the developer of the well-received Crackdown. Set in a modern, urban city, the game pits law enforcement against gangs, as they both aim to wipe each other out. According to the developer, this will be the first MMORPG in which the player’s skill, not the amount of time invested, would be the main factor in character progression. There have been several rumors surrounding the game, including the main one that Rockstar games was planning on purchasing the software in order to create a GTA MMORPG.

APB is set to release in Spring 2010 on the PC. The game is also being developed for Xbox 360 and there was also an indication that a PlayStation 3 version could be on the table. At GamesCom 2009 it was made known that they are releasing the PC version of APB first, then focusing on the console versions afterward.

The game was originally thought to have been following in the steps of many other MMO’s and charge a monthly fee to play but according to the games website FAQ it will not have any subscription fees to play. It is yet unknown if they will seek other types of income from micro transactions or some other form of payments.

The game is set in the huge metropolis of San-Palo, where all the missions will be started with triggers. Other situations will start inside the game world. For instance, the police would have to escort a van carrying money and all the criminals could attack it in order to get the money. If the police manage to protect it, they will get a reward as well. The quests given by NPCs will be more focused on the PvP aspect of the game.

The main game designer John Morlend says that for example, in other MMOs, players are asked to get 10 bat wings. In APB, you will have to kill other players to get whatever the NPC requires. The police force will be required to protect the average NPCs (citizens), patrol the streets, and catch the more wanted criminals.

The city of San-Palo is going to be made up of 2 large districts: Havalynd (the commercial part of town) and Waterfront (the tourist entertainment part), where each will be the size of a square kilometer and will have 40 blocks, and each block is the size of an average map in an online shooter.

The developers are saying that they won’t just release addons like all average MMOs, but will instead work together with the players to decide on certain things. For example, they could add new blocks, which would be made for a specific event (street racing, capture the flag, etc.)

The amount of weapons a character will be able to carry will be strictly limited, as well as the interface (there will only be a life bar), so the only difference between players will be based on their skill. The main thing characters will be trying to fight for in APB will be reputation; the more famous players will even have statues set up on the streets to honor them.

The developers are saying that jobs in this game will be very different from normal MMOs. For example, a person may get money in APB by designing new clothes and selling these designs at the auction house. This customization will also apply to cars, where various vinyls and other such things will be available for design. The number of people per server will only be limited to 100 people, since the Unreal Engine 3 (on which the game is created) simply wouldn’t handle any more people.

The game will also calculate what kind of opponents to set up against players. If 1 group of bandits is constantly successful, the game might add more cops to chase it or if 1 player is highly skilled, it could throw 3 rookies at him. However, if a police player will, for example, deny the request to chase the band, his reputation will fall, until he would only be able to do the most simple missions. The bandits will also be able to fight other gangs, along with the police.

Finally, the service Last.fm will be available in APB, so players could choose to add any song they like to their car radio and drive around listening to whatever they want.

[Source via GiantBomb]