Recently we were given the opportunity to sit down with Nicole "Awen" Hamlett, Community Manager for Jumpgate Evolution to talk about the games past, present and future. During the Interview we touched on PvP, the differences between the three playable nations as well as the ins & outs of character progression.

Allakhazam: Hello Nicole! Thank you for sitting down with us to talk about Jumpgate Evolution. The game looks absolutely amazing!

Nicole Hamlett: Thank you! The team is working very hard to ensure that not only does it look gorgeous, but that it also functions well. I'm glad that you like what you see so far. I definitely can't wait for all of you to get into the game and see more.

Allakhazam: Jumpgate has long been an innovator for space-themed MMOs. Can you give us some background information about the franchise?

Nicole: Development for what we're calling Jumpgate Classic started in 1997 in Scott Brown's basement. If you've read anything, you may have heard that the original server sat over Ryan Seabury’s laundry room sink held together with some duct tape. It's amazing what a few guys with the desire to create a game will do to make that happen.  Jumpgate: The Reconstruction Initiative launched in 2001 as the first space combat / simulation MMO. 

The story, art and framework was all done by a very small team lead by Scott Brown, Peter Grundy and Ryan Seabury who are still the leading force of NetDevil today.  Eleven years later, the Jumpgate franchise is still going strong. 

In 2006 it was decided to create a new game with the resources now available. This would include a graphical update, new storyline, exciting new features and with a small compact agile team.  This developed into the Jumpgate Evolution that you see today.

I can't wait to get our community into the game and show off what this amazing company has accomplished. I’m really proud, looking at this team and seeing what they've done with the time frame and the resources. We are striving to make a great game and I think that goal is getting accomplished. Oh gosh I got mushy there didn't I?

Allakhazam: Space-themed MMOs are usually bigger on action than storyline. With the JGE storyline finally taking shape - what can you tell us about it?

Nicole: I can definitely say that we're working very hard on making sure that we create a story that engages the community of Jumpgate Evolution.  We have Keith Baker working on the back-story as well as our very own Steve Hartmeyer. What is happening here is that a very well developed and rich universe is coming into shape.

As a gamer myself, the different nation stories are pulling me in and keeping me guessing at where we’re going to end up or what could possibly happen next. It's very cool and it’s our hope that the players feel the same way when they’re doing missions based on our story arcs.

Allakhazam: How big is the Jumpgate Evolution universe? Can you put the size into perspective for us?

Nicole: Hah! It's very big. There are many sectors planned out and the team has just started working on some new areas. I can’t pinpoint how many sectors that we'll have at launch yet, but I can say that there will definitely be many places to explore and some very cool sights to see.

Allakhazam:What are some of the major differences between the three playable factions?

Nicole: The differences between the nations, Octavius, Solrain and Quantar are mostly through their fiction. The team has made sure that through design and iteration that none of them have a military or trade advantage over the other although there may be some differences.

Fictionally, the Octavians are more militaristic and structured. They are the types of pilots who will pick a good fight just for the sake of honor.  Solrains, on the other hand are more materialistic. Their primary concern is the bottom line and they will fight for the profit. Quantar pilots are more spiritual. They are in tune with their surroundings and believe in the concept that nobody owns space beyond Hamalzah and they will fight to protect that belief.

Personally I find them all very fascinating and our writer Keith Baker has done a terrific job of giving each nation a personality that is compelling and meaningful.

Allakhazam: The game play video that was shown at PAX this year was jaw dropping. Will there be areas set aside for PvP combat or will the entire galaxy be subject to a potential royal rumble?

Nicole: The idea is that we'll have sectors that are on the Edge. The Edge is essentially a no man's land. This is where you'll find the scariest monsters, the most heated territorial battles and some serious potential for exploration.

PvP combat will take place in those sectors as well as other contested areas within the core sectors as well.  We’re still working out the kinks in our PvP design, but you can expect that there will be areas that are PvP space and areas that are PvE.

There is a plan in the works to implement a server that is free for all PvP. In that case, you’ll be able to have player vs player combat anywhere on that server. 

I think that it is all a matter of preference really and we want to give our players the ability to play to their individual styles.

Allakhazam: Jumpgate promises epic, real-time, large scale battles with thousands of people at a time. The question: Seriously??

Nicole: Seriously.

Allakhazam: Share the juicy details?

Nicole: We certainly are aiming for massive battles. It's something that we look for as gamers, those epic battles.  We haven't tested for that many at one time yet, but we're going to try to fit as many players as possible in one sector battling it out with as little lag as we can swing.

In my mind, I envision these wicked BSG-like wars between nations and even with Conflux AI.  I seriously cannot wait.

Allakhazam:  "Leveling up" sounds very different in JGE than it does in other MMOs. Could you please explain how it works and if there will be a cap of some sort?

Nicole: Actually it works very similarly to other games. You gain experience doing missions and combat and level up based on that experience.

Something that we've added into the mix to change it up a bit is our licensing system.  This is something that allows you gain advancements in different things like combat fighting so that you can purchase more advanced ships, or mining, so you can mine more advanced nodes. The list is becoming quite extensive. 

The beauty of this system is that instead of waiting for a pre-determined period of time, this advancement increases as you use it. If you're flying around in your ship and shooting down hundreds of conflux, it will reflect in your license. It is the same for mining as well. The more you mine, the more advanced mining licenses become available for purchase. In essence, it’s what you DO that matters.

Allakhazam: What kind of balance between "solo" content and "group" content can players expect?

Nicole:This is an issue that is really important us and we’re in the process of making sure our design is well thought out and that we’re capable of implementing it to our quality standards. 

When we have some really definitive information to pass on, we’ll certainly do so because again, it’s something that is imperative to great and fun gameplay.

Allakhazam: Any chance on getting an update on a release date? We’re not going to see it on store shelves until at least spring 2009, correct?

Nicole: That's the time frame that they're telling me Andrew.  It’s hard to nail down a solid date with MMOs in particular because we are so focused as a team and as a development studio on making sure that the game is great. You can create schedules and certainly estimate when you'll finish building and implementing, but, with the agile way that we're developing, there is a lot of iterative processing that happens. 

When the iterations of our design are great, then they get to go into the game. How long does it take to make sure that it’s fun and great? That's the tough question.  We definitely are working as hard as we can to get it out to our players sooner rather than later.  As soon as we have a solid date, though, we'll definitely let you guys know.

Allakhazam: I’m not going to waste your time with the "when is beta" question because I know that it will be announced when you're ready for it to start. Instead, I’d like to know what your favorite type of cheese is?

Nicole: Wow that is actually a tougher question than when is beta.  I love cheese. It is super hard to just choose one, but I would have to say that my favorite is probably Longhorn Colby. It is full of cheesy goodness. Haha.

Allakhazam: Damn! I figured that might confuse you, single handedly tricking you into accidently giving me the beta start date. Oh well! Thank you again for sitting down with us; it’s been a true pleasure.

Nicole: Haha how about I tell you that it's certainly on the horizon? It's been a pleasure and thank YOU for taking the time and for your interest in our game. We’re really proud of it so far and we can't wait to share more with you.

Andrew "Tamat" Beegle
Editor-in-Chief
ZAM.com