Apparently I am not the only one with a craving for action-packed, massively-multiplayer online space combat. According to Codemasters, more than 250,000 individuals have signed up for a chance to test out NetDevil’s baby, with more flocking to the website to register every day. Needless to say, the developer is extremely excited.

“Our players’ enthusiasm continues to exceed our expectations at every milestone and we are extremely excited to achieve such fantastic support,” said Scott Brown, President of NetDevil. “We have thoroughly enjoyed obtaining some valuable feedback from the people in our Friends & Family test, helping us to take the next major step towards launch.”

See? I didn’t need to say it.

Of course, more folks signing up means less chance of you getting in, but look on the bright side… okay, I got nothing.

This is a time for heroes…for champions…for men with deep voices and British accents to herald the coming of NetDevil’s Jumpgate Evolution.

Don’t you wish you could just play a game trailer instead of the actual game? I mean, I enjoyed my hands-on time with Jumpgate multiplayer during the show, but it wasn’t nearly as epic as the E3 trailer for the game. Hell, it even ends with “your destiny awaits”, which is a phrase that has sadly fallen out of everyday use this day, just like “as foretold by prophecy” and “as is my birthright”. We need to bring those back. It is our destiny.

What Is It?
What do you mean, what is it? It’s Jumpgate Evolution, the massively multiplayer online space shooter that’s so thick and rich you can play it with a joystick. Rather than sticking to a strict leveling system with higher level players far overpowering newbs, the game’s combat is about skill…if you can hit the ship, eventually you’ll kill your opponent, as long as they don’t get you first.

What We Saw
I got to play through a couple of rounds of multiplayer in a completely enclosed space station map appropriately called “The Descent” on a rather lovely triple-monitor set up.

How Far Along Is It?
The game looks highly polished, but of course that’s only half the battle in an MMO game. Beta should be coming up soonishly, with a planned release sometime this year.

What Needs Improvement?
Skill Balance: Right now there really isn’t any method in place to separate the novice players from the more advanced ones, and in a skill-based game that can lead to some frustrating situations. NetDevil has no plans to fix this at the moment, so it might be a matter of just ganging up on the more skilled player until he or she gives up.

Control Tweaking: The ship I was flying had dampers on that were supposed to make it easier to navigate for a novice player, but I just couldn’t quite get the hang of it. Once I took off the dampers, however, I was flying around like a seasoned Descent veteran. This might just be a problem of personal experience – one just feels more natural than the other.

What Should Stay The Same?
Interior Battlegrounds: Fighting in space is nice, but you can only do so much in space. Battling in a confined area with huge space ships adds a welcome bit of variety to the game’s multiplayer. The Descent level I played through was quite true to its namesake, with round tunnels and twisting passages leaving the skilled triumphant and the uncoordinated hopelessly bumping into walls. I fell somewhere in-between.

Space Magic: Every time I think we’ve done all we could with computer graphics in space, some developer comes along and proves me wrong. Jumpgate is gorgeous, utilizing some interesting tricks and alien technology to keep something as bland and empty as space colorful and full of life.

It’s In The Way That You Use It: While the skill-based game play has its down side, it also has its upside. No matter how far a player has progressed through the game, they can still be taken out. They might have access to tougher ships or better equipment, but that means nothing if you can out-fly them. It gives players a chance to shine without having to invest all of their time in the game, which is still relatively rare in MMO-space.

Final Thoughts
This was my first time actually playing Jumpgate after watching others play for a year, and damn if it wasn’t worth the wait. If the adventure and excitement of the multiplayer game play carries over to the player-versus-environment sections, this could be exactly what fans of Wing Commander, Privateer, and Decent could want in a massively multiplayer game.

Discovered by a curious reader via a product listing at UK retailer Game’s website, the Special Edition of Jumpgate: Evolution is packed with exactly the sort of things you’d expect to find in the special edition of a massively multiplayer online game. Galactic map? Check. Art book? Check. Official soundtrack? Check. It’s one of the most by-the-book MMO special editions we’ve seen, right down to the 5 buddy postcards and the 2 in-game items, the experience enhancing Stella Ensign and Stella Citation.

No word yet on whether or not this £39.99 special edition will be coming to the states. I’m sure NetDevil will let us know if and when they’re good and ready.

Jumpgate Special Edition [Game - Thanks CrowGoblin!]

Codemasters has released new screenshots and concept art featuring the true stars of NetDevil’s Jumpgate Evolution – the ships.

Massively Multiplayer Online games seem suited to space, which is probably why Eve Online is still around after all these years.

Still, Eve is a very particular kind of MMO. The generous would say “thinking man’s,” which is a nice way of saying it bores you to tears. Hard to imagine that space firefights with rival corporation ships could be dull – but at least it leaves room for Jumpgate: Evolution to do Eve one better.

What Is It?
Jumpgate: Evolution is the sequel to 2001’s MMO, Jumpgate: The Reconstructive Initiative. It features new assets, a new graphics engine and an action-oriented gameplay system that’s supposedly more accessible than its predecessor.

What We Saw
I spent 30 very comfortable minutes with the game, which was enough time for two quests and to run my ship into half a dozen asteroids before my shields gave out and I exploded.

How Far Along Is it?
Evolution is gearing up for a closed beta and will likely open it up to the public sometime before the June 2009 release window.

What Needs Improvement?
It’s STILL an MMO: A fetch-quest in space is the same as a fetch-quest in Azeroth; kill so many X, and bring me this many Y. I understand there’s a need for basic monotonous quests to grind with in order to upgrade ships, characters, mounts, etc. But couldn’t the “why I need you to bring me rat-butts” expository text be more interesting? Maybe then I’ll actually read it before clicking through it with that glazed look in my eye.

Character Design: All characters appear as a thumbnail image of a guy or a girl and none of the options are terribly attractive. The big issues, though, is that that’s all you see of your character – you spend the whole game inside your space ship. Because the image doesn’t change no matter what quests you complete or what factions you’re a part of and because characters aren’t given extensive back-story or witty dialog, it’s hard to form an attachment to your character – even when you blow them up repeatedly.

What Should Stay The Same?
The controls: It is not at all complicated to fly, shoot or dock your ship in Jumpgate. W, A, S, and D propels the ship in different directions, moving the mouse steers, the shift key is your afterburner and spacebar is the brakes. Once you master these controls, mash down on the left mouse button to spray death from your lasers and you’re set to recreate Galaga in 3D.

The combat: It’s simple, it’s action-y; and it’s a whole lot of fun. You fly after ships that try to fly away from you. They shoot at you, you shoot at them – whoever’s shields give first is the guy that gets exploded.

Friendly specs: More and more developers have caught onto the idea that if an MMO doesn’t require a major graphics card upgrade or a total overhaul of your PC more people are likely to play it. The joke around developer NetDevil’s office is: “You can’t play Jumpgate on a calculator. But you can play it on two calculators.”

“Non-consensual PvP”: I actually don’t think I’d enjoy being on the receiving end of this, but the term itself is hilarious.

Final Thoughts
Evolution wants to blend parts of “Elite, X-wing Vs Tie-fighter and Privateer” into a cohesive persistent world. I don’t know if such a thing is possible, and I didn’t play enough of the game to get any feel for the depth of the lore or the extent of the PvP space battles. But if they manage to pull it off, they will have succeeded where I feel like Eve fails in creating a not-boring space MMO.

Online multiplayer game LEGO Universe won’t be coming out this year as planned, the LEGO Group told Kotaku this morning.

“Within the company we have made a strategic decision within LEGO to make a delay of LEGO Universe. It will not be coming out in 2009,” said Mark Hansen, director of business development for the LEGO Group. “The reason is, we have a luxury right now, the business is going good. We have products launching that are not digital, the physical products, with them going so well we don’t want to take focus away from them.”

While Hansen couldn’t say if the game would come out even in 2010, he was adamant that LEGO Group remains committed to the online multiplayer game being developed by NetDevil.

“This is something LEGO is very committed to,” Hansen said. “We see it as a major growth.”

It’s likely that LEGO Group’s annual earnings report next Monday might shed a bit more light on which project they don’t want overshadowed by LEGO Universe. It’s possible that more details about eventual timing for the game could be hinted at then as well.

The delay means that NetDevil will have more time to both work on the original concept and also potentially add new ideas to the game before it ships, Hansen said.

“There will be additions,” he said. “But we are holding exactly to the plan we had when we started game development. (NetDevil might) create more content and alignment with the products we have on the shelf.”

At least initially that won’t include the LEGO bricks that use different IP like Batman, Star Wars and Indiana Jones, Hansen said. But that’s not totally off the table. The hang-up would be getting the owners of those properties to sign off on the rights, he said. Something that’s often a difficult proposition.

Hansen said that while the game has been delayed, development is progressing nicely. In fact LEGO Group released two new pieces of art to Kotaku that were created using 100 percent game assets.

One shows pirates the other shows a robot of sorts being attacked by people with swords and spears.

“We like the results very much,” Hansen said. “The NetDevil relationship is very, very strong. The commitment to bring it out is as well.”

Here’s the post.

Thanks to the early release of some 2009 LEGO sets, we now have confirmation for at least one new LEGO video game for 2009, LEGO Racers: The Video Game! The advertisement for the game, which features preliminary box art, can be seen on the top of certain 2009 Racers sets boxes. Systems the game will be released for have not yet been announced.

Since these guys watch anything LEGO like a hawk, it sounds good to me. But the big question is, what did they see exactly? Is this going to be a console release, or is Lego teasing a Web site where you sign up, maintain your racer and play the game?

New LEGO Video Game Announced! [Brickset via GoNintendo]

‘We are pleased to announce this exciting landmark for Jumpgate Evolution,” commented Edward Relf, Director, Marketing, Codemasters Online. “Since the commencement of the BETA signup program three months ago, we have seen overwhelming support for the game and look forward to inviting players into the BETA in the coming months. We encourage everyone looking to get into BETA to sign up as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.”

Great news for the developers, not so great for those of us eager to get into the beta test. With numbers rapidly growing (and I suppose this post doesn’t help), the odds of snagging a beta spot by signing up over at www.jumpgateevolution.com are getting worse by the minute. Closed beta should be going live soon, so if you are so inclined I strongly suggest jumping on it.

Jumpgate Evolution Blasts Beyond 150k BETA Signup Milestone

Upcoming Elite Space Combat MMO Gains Momentum as BETA Approaches

(Warwickshire, UK) – 10th November, 2008, 2pm GMT – Codemasters Online & NetDevil today announced that BETA signups for the highly anticipated elite space combat MMO, Jumpgate Evolution have now exceeded 150,000 with numbers climbing rapidly! Gamers can continue signing up for the chance to participate in the upcoming BETA at www.jumpgateevolution.com

‘We are pleased to announce this exciting landmark for Jumpgate Evolution,” commented Edward Relf, Director, Marketing, Codemasters Online. “Since the commencement of the BETA signup program three months ago, we have seen overwhelming support for the game and look forward to inviting players into the BETA in the coming months. We encourage everyone looking to get into BETA to sign up as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.”

Jumpgate Evolution is the definitive elite space combat MMO published by Codemasters Online and developed by the US-based NetDevil. This unique new title will allow players to choose from one of three playable Nations and engage in an intense action experience featuring ship-to-ship combat in a persistent online universe. Gamers can embark on an immersive and accessible space adventure where they can trade valuable commodities, take part in dangerous large-scale intergalactic battles, meet and play with friends and live out the dream to become an elite space hero. Jumpgate Evolution features both a rich and varied universe to explore and has been designed for experienced and novice MMO players alike.

Jumpgate is set for release in 2009 with closed BETA due to go live soon. For more information on Jumpgate Evolution or to sign up for BETA visit: www.jumpgateevolution.com