When it comes to video games involving multiplayer battles, the numbers aren’t very big. Whether you’re playing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 or Team Fortress 2, they’ll only involve 2-4 players when you’re at home. When you’re online, you’re looking at 8, 16, 32 if you’re lucky. The reasons are mostly logistical and obvious if you ever play a 16v16 match: Gamers often won’t act as a team, opting instead to run amuck for personal glory; and the map designs generally aren’t large enough or properly designed to accommodate that many players. There’s also the challenge of signal latency caused by servers and players being too distant from each other, which impacts on the experience for everyone else.
Sony’s new shooter for PlayStation 3, MAG, will be able to host 256 players on a single battlefield. Now this is something we’ve got to see. In a 128 v 128 match, each team will be divided into four 32-man platoons; and each platoon is further divided into four 8-man squads. Within each squad, players will be able to assume the role of a sniper, medic, scout or an assault operative; plus there are options to hop into vehicles, conduct assaults by parachute and order air strikes. There’s no word yet on whether a 256-player free-for-all mode will be available.Sony promises that Australia will have its own dedicated servers, which means latency should be at an absolute minimum. The question is: Will there be enough people to fill the servers?
MAG is due for release in Australia on February 11.
JOIN THE POPSCI AU FACEBOOK GROUP
Popular Science Australia - reporting on the intersection of science, technology and everyday life. Whether you want to learn about high tech gadgets, find science projects, read the latest space news or search for the best computers or best digital cameras...you'll find it at PopSci.com.au
