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Rumor: Capcom Korea making Monster Hunter Frontier Online 2 (PC/PS4, UE4, 2016)

duckroll

Member
Rumour of the day: Capcom working on a Monster Hunter game for PS4 and PC........... yeah, Monster Hunter Frontier. Looks like something for Korea (that's where the rumour comes from anyway).

The rumor is that Capcom Korea is developing Monster Hunter Frontier Online 2 for PC and PS4 on Unreal Engine 4. I think some of that is based on job listings and stuff in South Korea, but I can't read Korean so I can only tell what Japanese blogs are reporting. Apparently Capcom Korea has recruited a substantial number of ex-NCSoft staff, and they've been recruiting client/server programmers for "the next Monster Hunter project". The Korean rumor source also claims that MHFO2 is one of two projects Capcom Korea is working on at the moment. It is supposedly planned for release in 2016, and the only region it's definitely launching in is Japan.
 

Nirolak

Mrgrgr
I'm cloning this out as a separate thread because after discussing it with duck for a while, it feels plausible for the following reasons:

1.) Monster Hunter Online has never been announced for international release outside of China by anyone except Crytek, which was two years ago, which suggests that they intend to leave it in China. This makes sense as Tencent developed the game and presumably gets a significant portion of the earnings, whereas Capcom would get all of the money with Monster Hunter Frontier 2.

2.) Capcom Korea has been hiring for a Monster Hunter game since June 2014.

3.) Capcom Online Games is a rather big part of Capcom's corporate strategy, and this would fit in their purview.

4.) Capcom has continued to push Monster Hunter Frontier as a notable game, implying they're interested in the sub-brand.

5.) Ex-NCSoft staff would be most comfortable working with Unreal Engine 4 given that they all worked with the engine and/or UE3 at NCSoft Korea.

6.) The platform choices are logical for an Unreal Engine 4 MMO and consistent with what Capcom has been doing recently. Having only Japan as a guaranteed release territory also fits with Capcom's recent statements and strategy around online games.

7.) Nothing about this rumor jumps out as patently implausible, and this isn't the kind of rumor where someone would likely be hyped for the game. "Capcom is making an MMO that's a sequel to a not great game and it's not even going to release in my country." is not exactly a fan's dream.

Feel free to throw stones at me instead of duck though if it turns out false.
 
I kept hearing that Frontier was not very good.

What was so different then what could already be found in the mainline series?
 

Escalario

Banned
"Capcom Korea"
"Frontier 2"
So basically we can expect monthly subs, microtransactions up the ass, and IP lock. Goddamnit Capcom.
 
Interesting but didn't that other Monster Hunter project from Korea not get localized?

Then again, this has the Frontier name so there's a chance.

Edit: Oh.

The Korean rumor source also claims that MHFO2 is one of two projects Capcom Korea is working on at the moment. It is supposedly planned for release in 2016, and the only region it's definitely launching in is Japan
 

KoopaTheCasual

Junior Member
Would they actually use the name "Frontier"? I thought Frontier sold poorly and had really really shitty reviews? Wouldn't it be wiser to scrap that brand name and just name it Monster Hunter ______?
 

Metallix87

Member
Hopefully this will be a better game than the first.

Can we eventually expect to see this ported to every platform under the sun, too?
 

Alrus

Member
I kept hearing that Frontier was not very good.

What was so different then what could already be found in the mainline series?

From what I remember, it's subscription based with additional microtransactions for a lot of things. It's also much much much grindier than the regular series. MHF also uses outdated animations and hitboxes iirc (unless this was changed in more recent releases?)

Also if Capcom follows the same business model as the first one, it's never going to get localized ever.
 

Mugaaz

Member
Why would they make another Frontier for Korea region when the first failed? MHO for China region makes some sense, but Frontier 2 really doesn't. Frontier is only successful in Japan market right now, and as far as I can tell it still is.
 

Nirolak

Mrgrgr
Why would they make another Frontier for Korea region when the first failed? MHO for China region makes some sense, but Frontier 2 really doesn't. Frontier is only successful in Japan market right now, and as far as I can tell it still is.

It's not for Korea. It's just developed by Capcom Korea.

Note:

"The Korean rumor source also claims that MHFO2 is one of two projects Capcom Korea is working on at the moment. It is supposedly planned for release in 2016, and the only region it's definitely launching in is Japan."
 

V_Ben

Banned
A new Frontier would be interesting. I was under the impression that the first one was kind of a weird beast cobbled together out of parts of other MH games.

If this one is all new? Very interested.
 

Mugaaz

Member
It's not for Korea. It's just developed by Capcom Korea.

Ok, fair enough. However, I don't see the point of Frontier 2 right now as a business decision unless they play to expand to the West. I really don't think that's happening because the major reason this never happened was due to lack of any infrastructure for COG in the West. Frontier is doing fine in Japan by all accounts, people seem to like Frontier G and when I played recently the servers were as full as ever. I could buy a new engine for Frontier, or another Frontier G type expansion. Frontier 2 doesn't make any sense for the same reason WoW2 doesn't make any sense, at least right now.
 

Percy

Banned
Betting it's just renamed to "Monster Hunter Online" and released in the West this time. MH4 did great so they'll probably try to capitalise on that... for better or worse.

Hopefully it'll mean Dragon's Dogma Online makes it here too.

Hopefully this will be a better game than the first.

Can we eventually expect to see this ported to every platform under the sun, too?

Can't think of any other platforms it would realistically make sense to port to... well... not unless they released a DQX style streaming version for 3DS or something maybe.
 

Ridley327

Member
A new Frontier would be interesting. I was under the impression that the first one was kind of a weird beast cobbled together out of parts of other MH games.

If this one is all new? Very interested.

The best way to describe it is if second gen never ended, but still got some of the newer monster types from gen 3 and covered them in shards of gems and metal.

They did recently add in a totally brand new weapon that isn't in the mainline series (tonfas for two-fisted blunt action), so they might be looking to do a bigger shakeup this time around.
 

Lanrutcon

Member
Won't be hard to fuck up, Make an online version of the 3DS game, with high res assets and bits.

So obviously Capcom will fuck it up.
 

BadWolf

Member
I'll continue hoping for Dragon's Dogma Online to not suck and make it to the west.

Find it difficult to get excited for an MHO considering what I heard about the business model they used for the first game, micro transactions up the wazoo.
 

entremet

Member
What's the difference between the Frontier and mainline games?

Seems MH enthusiasts aren't fans of the Frontier games.
 

kinoki

Illness is the doctor to whom we pay most heed; to kindness, to knowledge, we make promise only; pain we obey.
Deep Down, Dragon's Dogma and now Monster Hunter. How many of "these" games does Capcom need?
 

Tom_Cody

Member
This is great news for Monster Hunter fans.

That said, Monster Hunter Online for China (in beta since 2013 I think) developed by Tencent using CryEngine looks absolutely incredible.

PC Benchmark - 1080p60:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJ_8SuIn2y0
I'm having the time of my life with MH4U right now and it is essentially running with early/mid 2000s visuals.

It will be really interesting to see what hardware the next mainline title runs on and what visual level they decide to hit. The future of Monster Hunter is bright.
 

studyguy

Member
Man, I played MHFO when it was being pushed under Hangame till it shut down. Korean service was fucking awful compared to the MHFO JP in terms of monetization. Also the grind... North American players aren't ready for this kind of grind. It's real. It's like grindtastic Asian MMO style real.
 

Mupod

Member
I can't wait to see the dark and edgy Frontier subspecies of Seregios. I've always wondered what a monster completely made out of black/red spikes would look like.

But seriously as dumb as Frontier is I think the concept would be fine if done right. And a sequel is a chance to start over with a modern engine and better game design in general. But if they put the C team on it and infest it with the worst parts of F2P games again then no thanks.

If done right though, I think they'd be confident enough to bring it to NA at this point and it could do well. I know they wanted to bring Frontier over but nobody in their right mind would play that and think it had an audience in NA outside of MH fanatics.
 

studyguy

Member
I can't wait to see the dark and edgy Frontier subspecies of Seregios. I've always wondered what a monster completely made out of black/red spikes would look like.

But seriously as dumb as Frontier is I think the concept would be fine if done right. And a sequel is a chance to start over with a modern engine and better game design in general. But if they put the C team on it and infest it with the worst parts of F2P games again then no thanks.

If done right though, I think they'd be confident enough to bring it to NA at this point and it could do well. I know they wanted to bring Frontier over but nobody in their right mind would play that and think it had an audience in NA outside of MH fanatics.

Akura Jebia & Vashimu are still the coolest monsters to have never made it to the mainline series. Their armor was absolute and utter garbage looking, but they were a cool as fight. Vashimu in particular with it's color mechanics. There are a ton more I liked, but the basic concepts of Vashimu seemed so novel compared to the slew of other recolors.

FrontierGen-Akura_Vashimu_Render_001.png
 

Ridley327

Member
ah ok, so its not actua gameplay related but stupid grind related.

Well, that's not entirely true, since the game is still based on second gen mechanics, so it hasn't had any of the big advances that have been implemented since then, like the substantially more accurate hitboxes on monsters, as well as the continuing emphasis on using uneven terrain to further augment both player movesets as well as the monsters.

I'm sure there's some out there that prefer their Plesioth hipchecks to be building-sized, but it's really hard to go back.
 

Mupod

Member
Akura Jebia & Vashimu are still the coolest monsters to have never made it to the mainline series. Their armor was absolute and utter garbage looking, but they were a cool as fight. Vashimu in particular with it's color mechanics. There are a ton more I liked, but the basic concepts of Vashimu seemed so novel compared to the slew of other recolors.

Yeah back then I always wanted to see more arachnid/insect monsters like that in the main series and I was super jelly of Vashimu. Definitely got my wish though because Seltas Queen and Nerscylla are way cooler. Frontier has had some interesting monster concepts like the twin wolves, and of course a couple even made it over to mainline...briefly. Lavasioth and Hypnoc haven't been seen in a while.

If there's one thing I want from Frontier it's those April Fools quests.

https://youtu.be/3MNtYr56WYA
 
Well, that's not entirely true, since the game is still based on second gen mechanics, so it hasn't had any of the big advances that have been implemented since then, like the substantially more accurate hitboxes on monsters, as well as the continuing emphasis on using uneven terrain to further augment both player movesets as well as the monsters.

I'm sure there's some out there that prefer their Plesioth hipchecks to be building-sized, but it's really hard to go back.

Hopefully they atleast update the hitboxes for the 2nd release of Frontier.

Don't even mention old Plesioth man. Good lord.
 
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