New Frontier

New Frontier is a emergent systems-driven, open world, Wild West-themed action MMO built from the ground up for PC and featuring world exploration, resource gathering, PvP combat, PvE missions and much, much more.

Your actions decide if you’ll be a hero, a villain or something else entirely in this R-Rated adult’s playground, where you choose if you want to follow the law of the land or throw the good book out the window. But dig deeper and you might start to suspect there’s more going on here than just lawmakers and lawbreakers – underneath the surface this west is even wilder than meets the eye.

We at 612 Games are huge fans of the Western genre. We love the real life history and legends, the documentaries, novels and memorabilia, and of course the shows and movies. The John Ford classics, Sergio Leone’s spaghetti westerns, modern deconstructions like Unforgiven and Django Unchained, series like Deadwood or Westworld, to name but a few. We also love the games: Outlaws, Gun, Call of Juarez and of course, Red Dead Redemption. In fact we’ve been waiting for that franchise to be confirmed for PC since the original. Slightly over a year ago we decided to stop waiting and start doing. We had access to technology that would allow us to create vast, intricate open-worlds populated with live players and NPCs. We have great relationships with a pool of top-tier local development talent happy to offer their services. Why not start building the game that we wanted to play.

This is a crucial moment for us. For the first time we’re sharing our plans and vision with the public, and we need your feedback to a) prove that this is something that PC gamers want to play, and b) to help us mold the experience into something that you would want to keep playing.

Who do you want to be?
In New Frontier YOU choose your path. How you play the game and how you interact with other players is up to you. WWO's many and diverse dynamic gameplay systems will accommodate a variety of different play styles and moral dispositions.

Do you want to be a prospector and mine for gold? Mine away! But be ready to fend off those who would rather let you do all the hard work then try to steal your claim. Of course, if you're a little wet behind the ears in a gunfight, you could always hire other players to protect you.

Do you want to lie, cheat, rob, murder and generally carouse your way across the West. You bet you do, outlaw! But watch your back, some players will choose to stay on the right side of the law and become Deputies and Bounty Hunters. These men (and women) are charged with hunting down the likes of you, and bringing you in, dead or alive.

Play alone or form a posse with your friends. Join one of the many bandit clans or create your own and recruit others to fight for control over contested territories.

Your actions in this world WILL affect your reputation, which will define how other players and NPCs view and treat you. Murder someone in town without justification and you'll be marked as a bandit/outlaw for a period of time. Keep it up you may even get a price on your head. In these scenarios you may want to think twice before heading into civilization or getting to close to any lawmen or bounty hunters. Don't worry though, there are plenty of outlaw hideouts that provide all the same services a town. They’re just a little more dangerous.

Or maybe you prefer to live a simpler life, buy a deed to a farm, customize it to your liking and live off the land. Sell produce to other players and General Stores in towns. Or just buy or rent one of the cabins around the world to be your safe house, where you can rest up, recuperate, stash your loot, customize your character or fast travel to other destinations accessible to you.

Maybe you want to be an explorer, discover uncharted realms, find hidden treasures, piece together ancient stories and become known as a trailblazer this the brave new world? You can do that too!

The word of WWO
We will launch WWO with a large map featuring wilderness, settler encampments, lone farms, small settlements, large towns, train stations, gang hideouts, landmarks – and bizarre uncharted places of an "unknown nature" that curious explorers will be drawn to seek out.

WWO features a dynamic Day/Night cycle – so shoot straight by the light of day, then hunker up somewhere at sundown. That or use the cloak of darkness to your advantage! With several biomes (world regions) available at launch, you'll sure to find “your favorite hangout” in this dusty, dirty new world.

And there’s plenty of places to visit. Hit up one of the many traditional Saloons in the world, drink some whiskey (it’ll heal you, but don't overdo it!), play some games of chance and enjoy other social activities. Or head to a local Tailors to get a new custom outfit. Don’t forget to pay a visit to the Stables where you can buy and secure your trusty steed and everything you’ll need for him or her. Of course, Gunsmiths are everywhere, and for a price will provide you with both stock and individually customized versions of some of the most famous guns from the Old West era.

Then when you’re ready head out into the wilderness to seek adventure, or speak to the right NPC to obtain an assignment of your choosing (and difficulty/morality) that will get you paid in cold, hard cash.

Thrills of the frontier
We firmly believe that a good game is ultimately more than sum of its parts. It’s not a laundry list of features or the number of variations on the same weapon. It’s a quality that is intangible, a glue that bonds disparate gameplay systems and player progress seamlessly together into a fun, deep, challenging, rewarding experience. One that keeps you up at night because you just go to do that “one last thing!” Therefore, we’ve designed the variable systems for New Frontier to essentially operate like a Lego bricks, so we can add, change or remove whatever’s currently in the game to make it more compelling, without effecting overall functionality and balance.

Below are just a glimpse at some of the systems “under the hood” so to speak. We hope you come back to the campaign during the coming days and weeks for updates that will outline more systems, and more details.

Player vs Player
The West was “wild” for a reason. Bullets will be fired. Blood will be spilled. There are going to be a LOT of shootouts and showdowns in WWO, some one on one and some that that will make the OK Corral seem like a baby shower. You can do your best to avoid trouble (if that’s your desire), but the further you travel from protected areas, the more dangerous life will become. Don’t worry, WWO is NOT designed as a “survival” experience with “permadeath” repercussions. You never *want* to die, but it also doesn’t mean starting from scratch.

Crime and punishment
Ultimately you must decide between lawful or lawless behavior. Break the law, and depending on witnesses, you’ll get a negative reputation. Here’s few examples of how you may break law in a game:

Stealing items from stores, abodes or camps. If you are witnessed by players or an NPC one “star” will be added to your “wanted” level, aka your bandit reputation.

Safe cracking. Crack a safe to get instant cash or loot. A star is once again added to your “wanted” level if you’re caught or witnessed. Of course cracking a safe in a bank is a lot worse, particularly if you're shooting security or holding up a teller!

Harming or killing other players and/or NPCs. If you harm or kill a player or NPC within a “protected area” your reputation suffers. If you do so outside of “protected areas” you may get a temporary increase depending on the circumstance (did anyone see you, do you have motive to murder, etc.)

Become too “lawless” (i.e. get too many stars) and a bounty will be placed on your head. If you visit towns as an outlaw an icon will display above your avatar informing every one of your status. Outlaws can be killed by anyone in towns, without consequence. To counteract this, outlaw hideouts are a safe haven for bandits providing the same services as towns.

Conversely a player might decide they want to stay on the right side of law. Visit the sheriff’s office and get appointed as deputy. A deputy’s duty is to safeguard all protected locations (it’s what they’re paid for) and must identify and apprehend/kill all bandits they see. However, outlaws get a special bonus for killing lawmen too. If deputy sounds too righteous maybe become a bounty hunter. Get your license, check the wanted posters then opt in for a “contract’ to hunt down criminals. The number of open contracts you can have active at any given time depends on your bounty hunting level. As a bounty hunter with open contracts you may track outlaws across the world, and you’ll be notified when your quarry is close to you.

Happy camper
With the right resources players can deploy a camp. Recuperate, start a fire and receive basic protection in proximity. Any players who are part of your group (posse) or clan (gang) can utilize these facilities. You can harm or kill anyone within the borders of your camp without repercussions. A man’s got a right to defend his property, even in the great outdoors!

PvE adventures
Not all players want to engage in PvP activities, or even interact with other players much at all. While playing alone or with your friends, you can engage in various PvE activities. These are Missions received from NPCs that send you on a quest to hunt for treasure or explore an area and report your findings. With community based servers focused on role-playing instead of PVP - the possibilities are limited only by your imagination.