THE CITY OF SAN PARO
APB will support player encounters akin to Counter-Strike, set in a persistent hybrid-MMO city, San Paro, featuring support for up to 10,000 players, and with more than 1000’s of non-player civilians to interact with. The full extent of the environment and just how much players will be able to interact with it is still unknown. San Paro itself is currently divided into two distinct districts, each about 40 city blocks, with more planned for expansion. The two districts are the Financial District, with its multiple skyscrapers and back alleys, and the Waterfront District, where you'll find wider roads and ferries.
From there, players can enter a number of “game play districts” (or instances), comprised of 100-player “action” districts or 300-player “social” districts. Players choose which district they want to enter, and can see if rival clans/guilds, or in APB’s terms squads or gangs, are present in order to increase your chance of encountering them through the unique and very dynamic matchmaking system.
Players will also have the option of entering in to two different types of districts with vastly different governing societal rules.
The first is the normal rule set. Here, you cannot shoot at players unless you're matched with them. This will prevent outside players from interfering with your game. This rule set is similar to what one would expect in most online/matchmaking games. In order to prevent one group of players from consistently preying upon or being matched against another group, there seems to be a balancing mechanic at work where if a gang gets busted too much by a particular squad or group of squads, there will come a point at which those Enforcers will not be issued an APB to stop that gang's crimes. This will allow certain skilled players from preying on weaker teams or new players simply to unlock game features or items, while allowing for weaker players to learn the ropes with more ease.
The other rule set is the chaos rule set where anything goes. If you want to join in on or interfere with another APB, attack a rival gang, or constantly go after a particular group of players, you will be able to do so. Just beware of any griefers out there. This is a true Player vs. Player environment.
THE MATCHMAKING SYSTEM
The matchmaking system in APB is truly dynamic, innovative, and asymmetric. As a player moves through city and engages in various activities, the game is constantly monitoring and preparing just when to throw you into a match against the opposition based on your skill, history, and reputation through this matchmaking system. Everything exists within the matchmaking. If you steal a car without being seen, the matchmaking might not kick in for a while, however, if you kill an innocent civilian in broad daylight you might raise a few alarms. The anticipation of being matched is as intense as actually being matched.
The matchmaking system will put equally balanced players head-to-head for action, or allow “metagroups” to form as well. Metagroups are formed by combining multiple groups of players through the matchmaking system to try to counter a single, smaller group of players that have been on a winning streak. It is possible to have 5 players matched against 15 other players, or even the entire district if they are good enough. This is a unique system to APB.
The district system also displays various leaderboards and leagues for the many different activities that a player can partake in within APB. So if your gang wants to be the number one in terms of stealing vehicles, there’s a league for that, or if your squad wants to have be the number one for non-lethal criminal arrests, there is another league for that. There are multiple ways players or clans can be number one, and multiple ways they can gain renown for doing a certain thing, or having a certain thing done to them.
When not in a match, players can create their own open-world fun in the social districts, or take on missions given out by the NPC organizations. By completing these missions and other player matches, you'll earn money to buy better weapons, customization options, and unlock the set of more than 30 cars. It is important to note that even missions assigned by NPC’s will match you against other players. There is no true Player vs. Environment in APB. The overall direction of the city and the gameplay is almost all driven by player actions and decisions.
