Crysis multiplayer to feature 10-hour matches, multiple day/night cycles
by James Ransom-Wiley 
{ Aug 22nd 2006 at 2:55PM }
inCrysis.com has posted a detailed summary of the multiplayer modes featured in Crytek's upcoming FPS Crysis. The basic outline looks bland: 6-8 maps, 32-player support, 4 game modes, weapons, armor, vehicles, blah, blah, blah ... but digging deeper into the game's multiplayer, specifically 'Power Struggle' mode, one discovers that Crytek is working hard to right the wrongs of FarCry's multiplayer component.Power Struggle's general concept isn't innovative. You begin the game as a grunt, with just a pistol and basic armor. You'll gain ranks and earn credits, which can be used to purchase upgraded equipment, by fragging your opponents and completing other tasks (e.g. securing capture points). The end goal is to help your team overthrow the opponent's base. Now here's where Power Struggle gets interesting ...
To successfully destroy the other team's HQ, you'll have to harness the power of alien technology. Randomly generated throughout each map are various crash sites where players can scavenge for alien cores. These energy sources can be used to transform your team's arsenal into weapons capable of achieving victory. However, you'll first have to build up that arsenal by capturing structures that manufacture basic weapons and vehicles -- and you'll also have to provide the manufacturing materials.
Apparently, it can take up to 10 hours to launch an attack capable of winning a Power Struggle match. In-game, this feels like days, as one full day/night cycle is completed in two hours. Which means, yes, Crysis' multiplayer will feature dynamic light cycles as the icing on the cake.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Dr.Swiss @ Aug 22nd 2006 3:00PM
Why did I keep thinking "StarCraft" while reading this?
gman @ Aug 22nd 2006 3:00PM
PC next-gen is looking better every day
uhh @ Aug 22nd 2006 3:03PM
Because you're "special"?
Ninja Dust @ Aug 22nd 2006 3:03PM
10 hours? What happened to good old gettin' on Halo 2 for a nice 9 minute Rumble match?
I guess it will please the Internet Losers (PC gamers) though, No life losers, stop wasting my oxygen you dweebs!
Conrad @ Aug 22nd 2006 3:03PM
Sounds very much like Giants. FPS-based base building combined with shooting.
OOOOPs @ Aug 22nd 2006 3:05PM
Dont people have jobs? School? Girlfriends? Who has time to play an online game for 10 hours?
Jason W @ Aug 22nd 2006 3:08PM
Screw that. No game is worth 10 hours a round.
Pabjvar @ Aug 22nd 2006 3:10PM
Good point of view. Number 6. 10 Hours... Wow... I get tired after masturbating... hos people can stay 10 hours with a mouse on their hands.
Zach @ Aug 22nd 2006 3:11PM
LOL 10 HOURS? I play for maybe 1 hour bursts, nevermind wasting away my life, playing with people that you'll probably never see in another years time anyway.
Go get a girlfriend guys, they will seriously bring more pleasure than 10 hour round of PC gaming.
icantdrawanime @ Aug 22nd 2006 3:12PM
And I thought there were problems with people disconnecting in civ3/4...
"Sorry guys, I gotta go"
"We've only been playing for 5 hours..."
"We Were about to WIN!WTFBBQGRASS!1!!!1"
Chris @ Aug 22nd 2006 3:18PM
This would mostly be targetedat clans. Hopefully there will be a way to make the game mode not last as long. Even if it was 10 hours thats great. I'd give it a go.
Matt @ Aug 22nd 2006 3:19PM
I can't imagine sitting at home and playing a game for 10 hours or more straight... Potential for LAN gaming events on something like this is huge, though.
Hunting_Phoenix @ Aug 22nd 2006 3:19PM
I expect the idea will be to drop in and out, not to play 10h straight. I could be wrong though.
This reminds me of Mechassault 2. It had that conquest mode or whatever it was called. It seemed cool, so when I got the game (a few months after it was released) there was NO ONE playing that mode. It was really sad. Needless to say, I don't have MA2 anymore.
gman @ Aug 22nd 2006 3:19PM
I'm guessing it will be an ongoing struggle...you join and leave as you please...the teams would end up being very fluid that way i guess.
I think it would be pretty badass joining up at the 8 hour mark or so, when shit's going downnnnn not a bad idea, just dont sit in the same game for all 10 hours
Tom @ Aug 22nd 2006 3:22PM
you whiners do realise that you dont HAVE to play for the 10 hours right? Im sure its a persistant would and the game continues weather or not your there. Play for your hour then move on.Sheesh
Bombsy @ Aug 22nd 2006 3:34PM
You guys make it sound like it will last ten hours minimum.
"It can take up to 10 hours to launch an attack capable of winning a Power Struggle match."
Up to. I feel that sounds like the same "up to" developers use to make their games sound longer. You know, up to 15 hours for a game like Max Payne when you could in fact beat the game much, much quicker than that. Still, it does seem as if not many would dedicate even five hours to a "pick up" game.
Bonus points for Crytek if they could somehow get these long games to save, though.
nalgae @ Aug 22nd 2006 3:38PM
It's not going to be that different from a game like Day of Defeat. Each round lasts X minutes and is composed of a few matches. Now make it one round, one match, up to ten hours. People will be joining and dropping all the time. As long as you have a good, populated server, this will not be a problem.
Houp @ Aug 22nd 2006 3:51PM
For those of you who are saying "Get a Girlfriend" obviously have not, or are not married. Because if you were you'd be glad to spend those 10 hours on a game instead. :-p
uh_oh @ Aug 22nd 2006 3:59PM
I want this game!!
Trogdor @ Aug 22nd 2006 4:17PM
This would be the ultimate LAN game, I would love to sit in room with 20 of my buddies and battle it out all night with a case of Mountain Dew. It might get a little boring though..
Josh @ Aug 22nd 2006 4:17PM
Man, that's so freaking cool!
HaloBreaker @ Aug 22nd 2006 4:21PM
Being mostly a console populated blog; I'm still surprised that people don't know how long some people play PC games online. Counterstrike, FEAR, and almost every MMO has a cliche that just plays until they pass out.
On the other hand, the games may take up to 10 hours to complete because at 3-15 FPS games tend to move at a much slower pace =P
Joe @ Aug 22nd 2006 5:18PM
10 hours for a match? Thats pretty excessive. Hopefully people will be able to drop in and out of levels without ending the round etc. Maybe Bots to keep the player number up if almost everyone leaves? I dunno. The whole alien core thing sounds kinda dumb.
I notice it says 'upto 10 hours.' Is that in the same way that HL2 Deathmatch can go on for infinity if nobody attacks anyone else?
rockintom99 @ Aug 22nd 2006 6:00PM
For an internet game, 10 hours is over the top. I could see this going on at a lan party (if caffeine mixed with ADD didn't make them play something else in the middle, of course).
laserboyjc @ Aug 22nd 2006 6:21PM
I know that 10 hour matches are something that "could" happen and would depend on developers and gamers skills, but I get sick of the same match somewhere between 30-60 minute mark. Some say you could just join and leave as you please, but personally I would hate last minute jumpers/joiners and wouldn't want to do that to a team. If the game is great I could see myself playing different levels/maps/modes for 10 hours, over the course of a weekend....you know, taking breaks for stuff like eating, sleeping, going to the washroom, talking to people, going places, you know, things normal people do.
HaloBreaker @ Aug 22nd 2006 6:43PM
The main point I can see why this isn't such a great idea is the fact that once the losing team starts to notice that they're losing they'll all quit. Why play for 5 hours then notice you're losing and stay in the same server? You know it'll take even longer to regain a balance, chances are you'll continue to get pummled by "alien plasama sniper rifles" with you're pistol, and be gone in a second since it's not fun.
Then when people join a game and go. Oh the winning team is full, /exit
TeddyN @ Aug 22nd 2006 6:48PM
10 hour marathon battles with day/night cycles in dx10?
drool...
Why bother living in the real world when games have so much more to offer?
My only worry is that people manage to die of playing counter strike, and that has breaks while maps are loading. 10 hours is a long time without any break. Prepare the body bags.
joe @ Aug 22nd 2006 7:08PM
Doesn't Chrome Hounds have taht crazy mode online where it lasts months etc?
I've played way past 10 hours before... damn WoW.. lol. It's with other games also, such as staying up late with friends in a LAN or just a few friends beating halo etc...
If you started playing one night at around 4pm you'd go 'till 2am.. I bet more than a few people have done this before in many games.
Tom @ Aug 22nd 2006 8:14PM
"6. Dont people have jobs? School? Girlfriends? Who has time to play an online game for 10 hours?
Posted at 3:05PM on Aug 22nd 2006 by OOOOPs 0 stars
8. Good point of view. Number 6. 10 Hours... Wow... I get tired after masturbating... hos people can stay 10 hours with a mouse on their hands.
Posted at 3:10PM on Aug 22nd 2006 by Pabjvar"
Props to OOOOPs and Pabjvar for their insight... but I feel I must point out that if you're strapped for time you could just masturbate while playing the game. Or better yet, just have OOOOPs help you out. Unlike the rest of us, I hear he has a girlfriend, so maybe she can just jack you off. Then you wouldn't get so tired, and would therefore be able to dedicate more time to playing Crysis. ;)
n8dogg @ Aug 22nd 2006 10:24PM
This sounds a lot like Planetside with the powah of modern technology. Which means it'll probably be kickass.
By the way, Planetside is free to play up until rank (level) 6 until next March! Thanks Sony Online. One of the best decisions made in quite some time on your part.
Giwrgos @ Aug 23rd 2006 8:00AM
Am I the first to notice how this sounds like a first-person iteration of Bitmap Brothers' "Z" RTS title? Sounds promising, let's hope it lives up to the hype (although, admittedly, 10-hour playtimes are insane for the most of us).
yifes @ Aug 23rd 2006 2:23PM
the 10 hours thing is meant to simulate a reall life battle that might take days even weeks. Instead of playing traditional matches on many different small maps, you are playing as a part of a much larger experience, on one gigantic battle field. Imagine combining 10 or 20 halo maps together into one, and instead of the server changing maps, you let the natural flow of battle determine where you are fighting and what the objectives are. A normal player will join a fight, help complete one or two objective, and then leave. You are meant to play a small part in the overall experience, and not stay for the whole time.
devian @ Aug 25th 2006 11:20AM
Now if only I could afford that $8000 computer to run Crysis...
Pangloss @ Aug 26th 2006 9:08AM
Guys, if you have read some of the press related to the game type 'Power Struggle', you would understand that it runs on a basic economy. You do things that garner points, and these points allow you to buy items or research new technologies. The person running the server decides the pace of this economy. Right now at GC the economy is sped up to the amount that players start with Nanosuits, and someone can buy a nuke within ~10 min of playing well.
10 hour games are for the really hardcore guys out there, and Crysis will support their every ambition. That's not to say that every game will last 10 hours.