SD Gundam Online Capsule Fighter Free2Play MMO
If you have ever been a fan of the anime Mobile Suit Gundam and all it’s series, alternate universes, and mobile suits or mechs then this is the game for you. It also is a great game for those who miss Mechwarrior or MPBT. If you have ever played games that started with the Dreamcast and PS2 game Gundam vs. Federation and its sequels, then this game will probably be very familiar to you since it is almost like that except the mobile suits are all SD sized or “super deformed”.
I finally found my way into playing the game. I knew about it for so long since I follow most Gundam stuff and knew a Korean game company, yes thank you Korea for having hardcore gaming addicts and prolific MMO developers, had created the game in 2007. It was finally released in Japan after being released in Korea, Taiwan, China, and Hong Kong. Unfortunately the Japanese servers are IP country blocked to the US so I tried the other servers.
Players start out with a GM or Zaku training suit and complete training tutorials and missions from very easy to expert levels and earn experience, G points, items, skill parts, mixing plans to build better suits, and even other mobile suits. Mobile suits can be bought with money, rented, or created from a purchased mobile suit mix plan. Mix plans require 4-5 other lower level units with one Key unit which will be retained while the rest will be consumed when using the plan to create the new unit. Usually the first key unit must also be sufficiently leveled to Custom Level 1 and sometimes the second unit must be leveled to its first level. There are unit rank levels which include C, B, A, S, and SS. C being the lowest and SS so far being the highest level super units. There are also variations of each level with R (rare) and U (unique) units such as CR and CU.
The Free2play system works by allowing players to purchase almost everything they want and also purchase special combo or event packages. Regular users have access to most items using regular G points, while certain items may only be purchased with M points which are points bought from real money. Regular users also are limited to about 4 tabs of 6 mobile suit hangar space unless they use real money to purchase more bays. This is one of the few times that I really might consider spending some money to add more space. The concept of Gachapon (pronounced more like “Gashapon”) are small toy capsule dispensers in Japan and elsewhere in Asia. Primarily for very young children, but then again, maybe all the grown men or collectors still buy them. There’s about 40+ sets of capsule machines with 6 different potential units from each machine. Each set usually has one A rank, 2 B, and 3 C units in which it obviously is much more difficult getting the A rank suit. Players use their G points to play these capsule machines and get a random unit from the set they choose. Players can also use their M points (real money) to buy coins that I think will increase the chance of obtaining the B or A rank unit when they roll. There are a few higher level capsules with all A units or B units which cost a lot more to roll on. It’s like playing slots. Fortunately you can trash the suits you don’t want and get some money back.
The game does take some skill to aim and shoot and maneuver your mobile suit. Each suit vary in abilities and are classified into Rock, Paper, and Scissors types. Rock has a 30% advantage over Scissors. Paper over Rock. Scissors over Paper. Rock units tend to be mele, Paper tend to better shooting or sniper units, and Scissors is a mix between the two. Most units have 3 weapons and one special. Transforming units (mobile armors), higher end S and SS units have 2 modes with different weapon settings and specials.
Players build up their personal rank and each mobile suit they have also has experience levels which unlock their special skills, custom points, and overcustom points. Custom points can be added to Speed, Attack, Agility, HP, Defense, and Special (Special weapon damage level). Units generally have 2-4 custom points. C units have a random 2-4 custom points. B units have a random 2-3 custom points or 3 points if they are mixed from a plan. A and S units have 2 custom points if they’re won or bought. If B, A, S, and SS units are mixed from plans they will have 3 custom points. In addition to the custom points there is an overcustom point feature which goes even further. This allows lower level units a chance against higher units if they max out one of their stats, usually attack or defense. On the flipside it also makes super units even more super. Anyhow the whole overcustom system seems to make the game go out of whack. The personal ranking should be looked at with a grain of salt since there are many players that just play PVP dive games to acquire more experience points. It also is a free2play game so experienced players may constantly make new accounts. There are also some bugs in the game which make it crash every now and then and hacking missions (CAR) in which the mission master bugs the room to have all the units to not move or shoot.
The maximum number of players in a mission is 4 and for PVP it is 8. It can get incredibly irritating trying to drop in a room when people jump in and out due to a quick room finder button which randomly sends you into a room for a drop. If you have a C or B only room set up you tend to see tons of people pop in and then immediately leave since they rather use their spanking S rank. Also the room master can set up random maps or change it from blue and red teams to random teams. People tend to play rock paper scissors in their heads and keep changing their suits in the room or upgrade to something better if the other side are in stronger units.
As far as building any friends or communicating in this game I would say it’s pretty shitty for an English speaker, or probably anyone, unless you’re in some clan or bring your friends. Not to mention that the Chinese players type in Chinese or have Chinese character names I can’t read and some don’t even use words and just use symbols and abbreviated code words. The universal two things you do learn is that F5 is to ready up and drop and kick usually combined with a few arrows left << or right >> means .. yup kick that sucker who isn’t ready. is in a wrong level suit, lagging, or just a shitty player. Call me crazy but if you see a “hi” or hello in you end up thinking that must be someone who actually is actually alive and can communicate. Not to mention the character space to chat is incredibly low. Like less than |——————->| One can’t even type a full sentence. Of course you can say a lot more with Chinese characters in that amount of space.
Where to play?
Hong Kong: http://sd.hk.9you.com/
Registration guide: http://www.onrpg.com/boards/133754.html
Taiwan: http://sd.wasabii.com.tw/
Registration guide: http://ggftw.com/forum/sdgo-guides/70629-pictorial-tw-sdgo-registration-guide.html
Korea: http://gundam.netmarble.net/
Registration guide: http://ggftw.com/forum/sd-gundam-capsule-fighter-online/44757-kr-netmarble-registration-guide.html
China: http://gd.9you.com/web_v2/index.shtml
Japan: http://www.sdgundamcfo.jp/
Forums etc.
http://www.onrpg.com/boards/133754.html
http://ggftw.com/forum/sd-gundam-capsule-fighter-online/
http://www.amecha.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=114.0
Wiki and Mobile Suit Data:
http://sdgo.wikia.com/wiki/SDGO_Wiki
http://olgame.gamedb.com.tw/sds/robot_inq.php
http://k2station.com/sd_skill.html (Skill Tables)
Custom Points and Overcustom info:
http://ggftw.com/forum/sdgo-ms-discussions/65523-suit-customisation-thread.html
Reviews:
http://gameolosophy.com/games/sports/total-club-manager/game-review-sdgo/
http://ggftw.com/reviews/sd-gundam-capsule-fighter-online-review-zgmfx09a
Obtain M points on HK Server:
http://www.onrpg.com/boards/133754-236/
http://www.offgamers.com/gameone/gameone-hk/gameone-go-card-c-5287-5288-5289.ogm
CG Intro
Gameplay
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