OK, a small update on Huxley.

Huxley is still in the closed beta stage. There have already been 2 CBT’s (Closed Beta Tests) in Korea. During these CBT’s, they have tested the overall feel of the game, the damage of weapons, the leveling-system, etc.

In the coming weeks, there will run a Frontier test. This test takes place every weekend  for a duration of 8 hours. During these 8 hours, a specific aspect of the game will be tested. For example, last weekend they tested a new map and a specific gametype for PvP-battles. This test is also Korean only.

The release for Korea is estimated in Q2 of 2008 and US/European will follow after that, possibly in the summer of 2008.

The release for Korea is estimated in Q2 of 2008 and US/European will follow after that, possibly in the summer of 2008.

Why is this going to be a great game?

Well, I don’t even know if it is going to be a great game. But the things I have read so far, sound promising. Although the succes of this game will be almost entirely depending on how the game feels and plays.

I will try to give you a sort insight in the new information I have gathered so far:

Huxley is a MMOFPS, meaning it is a FPS-game in a Massive Multiplayer Online enviroment. Or in simple words: Play in a giant world with a lot of other players. Think World of Warcraft, but instead of fighting based on stats, you fight based on skills.

Races

The player has to choose a side. Currently there are 2 known playable races, Sapiens and Alternatives. Both races have two sub-races. The races differ in appearance and probably have racial traits. Although not much is known about this.

Classes

The player can choose from 3 different classes to suit their gamestyle. When a player levels up, he can learn special abilities in the form of skills. A player can only have a limited number of skills, so you have to make choices that fit your gamestyle.

Enforcer

There is 1 class for close combat, called the Enforcer. This class will be able to use weapons like a shotgun and has skills that suit the close combat style.

Known skills:

 Fast dash : Provides a quick burst to run faster.

 Head Shot Defense : For a period of time, you have increased defense against headshots

 No Damage : Protected from all physical damage for a period of time

 Armor Recovery : Armor is recovered over certain amount of time

 Tackle : Tackle near by enemies in front of you, causing a great deal of damage.

Avenger

The avenger is the jack-of-all-trades. Depending on the skills and weapons, this class can do close combat or medium to long range combat.

Known skills:

 Double Air Jump : This allows you to jump once, then jump again while in the air.

 Entice Rocket : Allows you to attract all rockets to a certain location.

 Increased Precision : You weapon has dramatically increased accuracy for amount of time.

 Infrared Vision : This ability allows you to see heat signals, such as other players and NPC's.

 Matched HP : You match the HP (Health Points) of your nearby enemy.

 Teleport Forward : Teleport a certain distance in front of you.

Phantom

The phantom is the long distance sniper class. Although you can use thiss class for closer combat as well. This class looks a lot like the Special Ops class from Battlefield.

Known skills:

 Auto Shield : Automatically when attacked, a shield will be activated.

 Cloak : Become almost invisible to others, valuable to a snipers position.

 Hologram : Make a clone, 3D Dummy image of yourself, to trick other players.

 Powerful Regulator Shot : Increased damage with Regulators

 Powerful Sniper Shot : Increased damage with Snipers

 Rear Alarm : You will be warned when a enemy is approaching you from behind.

 Speed Increase : Your overall speed is increased in this mode.

Unlike existing FPS games Huxley's Armor plays a very special role. In order to use `right` skills the necessary items are needed. Skills to set a socket in the selected armor piece. For example; if you wish to have added armor or health you may place this in your chest piece. If you wish to have a sprint ability, the socket would then be placed in the players boots.
Their are three (3) types of armor classes, and they go according to your character class.

Heavy : May only be used by Enforcer class, very heavy therefore slower but increased health, and armor over over the other classes.
Medium : May only be used by the Avenger class, lighter than the Heavy armor yet decreased health and armor to compensate.
Light : May only be used by the Phantom class, the lightest of all the armors allowing quick speed over your opponents. But at a cost of having the lowest health and armor of the three armor classes.

Their are five (5) types of armor for each class, your rank corresponds with what armor level you can use.

PvP and PvE

Player vs Player and Player vs Environment.

The latest rumours about PvP point in the direction of instanced battles of 4v4 up to 8v8. These fights take place on a map where you have to reach an objective. For example: 50 kills or an objective like UT2004-Domination (hold a location for 30 seconds).

Think about PvP as using the City for arranging wars just like you use clanbase to arrange wars for UT2004. The game is rumoured to have over 50 battlegrounds for PvP purposes.

In the beginning there were big stories about 100 vs 100 battles on massive battlegrounds. It looks like they have dropped this idea and focused on the smaller battles.

PvE is like most MMO's. You can team up and complete quests. These quest are mostly in dungeons surrounding the big cities. Here you fight against hybrids. These hybrids get more intelligent and are able to carry weapons in the higher levelranges. You also have to fight the HLO (Hybrid Liberation Organisation) during these quests.

By winning wars and completing quests, you level up. Besides this, you have the ability to aquire licenses. With these licenses you can do a variety of things. For example crafting your own weapons or getting a drivers license so you can buy your own vehicle. This way you dont have to travel by public transport in the cities anymore.

My thoughts

I like the idea of progress.It is essentialy the addictive component of all MMO's. But in this FPS-setting, is sounds even better.

4vs4 battles with special abilities is just great. Think about TAM with adrenaline. You all start the same, but you can use your special ability to turn the tide (resurrect, booster, invis). But after you win a war, you actually achieve something. You can buy new weapons, new armor or are able to explore new dungeons.