GamersFirst CTO and COO Bjorn "TechMech" Book-Larsson's latest APB: Reloaded blog entry is short and to the point. He answers two questions that were posted on his blog by players:

• The goal is to let you keep all the customizations you created in the original All Points Bulletin game.
• GamersFirst is working on purposeful end-game content and PvP, but don't expect to see it in closed beta.

If that's not enough APB: Reloaded news for you, Producer Jon-Enee Merriex recently answered some frequently asked questions on the forums. He says that GamersFirst currently plans to launch the game in the first half of 2011, but it may slip into August. He covers a lot of topics, so be sure to check out the entire Q&A after the jump.

PLEASE NOTE: The answers below are subject to change. We're still deep in the development process and things can and do change regularly!

When will APB: Reloaded launch?

Currently we have our eyes dead set for the first half of 2011. It is possible we may slip into August. We’re excited to begin receiving real feedback from players playing the game so we can make adjustments. Overall, we plan to launch once we think the game is ready for it.

Will we get to keep our characters?

There is a LOT of talk about this right now. We intend that you will get something from you old characters back in the new version. Specifically name, symbols and costumes appear extremely likely. Avatars, weapons, vehicles and upgrades are still being discussed. We know that progression, APB$, Action Time and RTW Points will not be restored for various reasons. Mostly we want this to be a fairly new experience for all involved, including those who had experienced the game before.

How much will a Premium Subscriptions Cost?

We’re still talking about this. At the moment we don’t have enough details to really give any kind of answer about it.

What will be included in Premiums?

Needless to say we want Premiums to be a compelling option for those that choose it. However, we don’t want it to become a requirement to play the game. It is a hard balancing trick to pull off. Right now, we know that customization will play a major role in Premium. Free2Play players will be limited in how many layers they can place on gear. Premium players will have a much higher limit.

Additionally we are looking at offering some APB$ possibly as well as some Premium perks. While nothing is final some things we are considering are: allowing Premium players to sprint faster outside of combat (this is a highly complicated addition though); allowing Premium players to earn more rep and APB$ when completing missions and killing players; allowing Premium players to have a greater chance at receiving a “bonus” item for completing missions and more. As we get closer to launch we’ll talk about more specifics, but those are what is currently on the board.

How will item sales work? What items are you planning to sell? Are they going to be Pay2Win?

Pay2Win just doesn’t work. We’ve seen this time and time again. We can offer compelling gear without making it game breaking. For the most part, we have not truly discussed item sales. Our big concern so far is making needed changes to the game and getting the servers live. We have discussed is offering fun alternatives, maybe sell and Ice Cream Truck players can use as their vehicle or something silly like that. We also thought of a few cool weapons and upgrades that we can sell, but they would need to be balanced heavily.

In general we’re thinking of getting these out the door for testing and balance during Open Beta. Closed Beta will be more focused on Premium and working out the kinks of the current changes and new network. Balance is in the eye of the beholder so, it is not always enough for us to say “this item is balanced”, we’ll need our community’s input as well.

When is Chaos District coming?

Every time someone asks about the Chaos District we delay its release by a week… JK

Seriously though, we are talking about this. We have a feeling that this will not be as exciting as players make it out to be. However, if the work load isn’t too difficult (and right now it appears that it is) we may push it live sometime during the beta. Overall, we really want to put effort into things that will have a lasting effect on game play. We’re not convinced that Chaos District will, but if it doesn’t take too long to do, there is no reason not to do it.

Will we be getting Criminal Isle?

It is still early in development for it, but yes it is on our plan to flesh out and put live. This would be a different type of District, mostly because there are few vehicles. But that may be a fun experience too. Unlike the Chaos District we can definitely see a long line of crazy fun things to do with a smaller District. So, yea, we’re going to do it sometime in the near future. This isn’t a trivial update though. So it will take time to implement.

What changes are you making to the game?

I recommend reading the patch notes when we release them. I don’t think there is a way for us to detail all the changes in a Q&A. So far we have made adjustments to progression, achievements, weapon balance and a few other things (like accuracy while moving in Marksmen mode).

Why Free2Play?

I’m taking this right from our corporate page because I think it explains it best.

"Our Free2Play model empowers gamers by giving them the opportunity to play our games totally free of charge. Unlike the traditional retail model where gamers have to take the full up front risk of purchasing, or committing to a monthly subscription fee, before playing, Free2Play gaming allows users to try before they buy."

Will there be a beta?

Yes, starting in late February.

How can I get into beta?

Step 1: Go to www.gamersfirst.com/apb and enter your email address.
Step 2: ???
Step 3: Profit!!!

When might G1 begin a more general hiring phase for interested parties?

Right now we are in the final phases are determining the formal location for our UK office. After that we’ll start a more expansive hiring process. We have contracted a number of the old developers from RTW and we will add more once we have the location down.

When can we expect to see APB:R not just be the sum of its original parts, where and when can we expect to see brand new stuff (clothing, weapons, vehicles, districts et al.)?

In my opinion this will begin happening closer to commercial launch. In beta we are expecting to make a number of adjustments based on feedback. The changes we’ll be developing through beta will be focused on converting to Free2Play, fixing broken mechanics, balance issues, progression and bugs. Toward the end of Open Beta we’ll be releasing new content. Once we are live we’ll be focused on churning out new content on a regular basis.