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City of Steam fans treated to dev humiliation video for reaching goal
Whether it was out of love for the game or just a wicked sense of humor, City of Steam fans banded together and supported the steampunk browser game enough to earn their first special dev humiliation reward on the Steam-o-Meter. So what type of public humiliation were the devs subjected to? How about FemGab and AndrewYunk starring in a live-action trailer of the beta itself! Check out the humorous -- yet eerily accurate -- depictions of character creation, the tutorial, looting, and PvP in the video after the break! And if you want to see how well the devs have lived this humiliation down, then tune in to Massively TV this Friday, December 28th, at 9:00 p.m. EST for a dev-filled stream spectacular. [Source: Mechanist Games press release]
City of Steam double feature: A beta trailer and a Steam Greenlight campaign
If you've been wanting to get a look at the upcoming steampunk MMO City of Steam but haven't been able to procure a closed beta spot, there are still two days until the Autumnwane testing round. However, if you can't wait that long, Mechanist Games has a new trailer showing off the game to tide you over. On top of that, the studio has announced that City of Steam has kicked off its Greenlight campaign on Steam. What does this mean for fans? It means that if the game gets enough votes, it will be made available on Steam, which will in turn add a number of new features to the game, including pets, new dungeon types, new steambikes, extra character customization options, and more! To get your City of Steam fix, be sure to watch the creatively done trailer after the break, and then don't forget to watch Massively TV this Friday night, December 14th, at 9:00 p.m. EST to see the game live! [Source: Mechanist Games press release]
City of Steam hits support goal, revamps hotbars
The fanbase has rallied around City of Steam, sending its "Steam-o-Meter" shooting straight to the top. Mechanist Games announced that the community topped the meter with four million points, which means that the company is making good on its promise to include more content for the developing title. The new content that's coming to the game includes a Marshpuggle pet, a steampunk motorcycle, the Dwarf race, and an as-of-yet-unspecified way of shaming developers. There are pictures for several of these, including a couple teasing a special reward. The team also overhauled the game's hotbar, saying that while the old design was functional and aesthetically pleasing, the devs thought they could do better. The new hotbar not only has more of that gear-happy look but has a convenient button for emotes.
City of Steam beta coming to the Middle East, Turkey, and North Africa
If you're looking for a steampunk-flavored browser MMO, look no further than Mechanist Games' City of Steam. If you're looking for a steampunk-flavored browser MMO localized in both Arabic and Turkish, well, we'll point you toward CoS yet again. Mechanist's latest press release trumpets the game's closed beta, which is coming to the Middle East, North Africa, and Turkey in the first quarter of 2013. To join the beta and take part in what Mechanist dubs "MMORPG history," head to the game's official website and sign up. [Source: Mechanist Games press release]
City of Steam shows player collaborations
As part of its pre-launch fundraising efforts, Mechanist Games continues to offer players the chance to design their own in-game item for City of Steam if they kick in $500. It turns out at least four players have done so, and the devs whipped up a new blog post to show the journey from concept to completion for each of these items. The items include a Darth Vader-style mask with cool steampunk goggles, a "Swiss Army Knife" of one-handed swords, a skull-adorned sword with an engine powering it, and a pair of sleek firearms. Mechanist Games says that there are plenty of additional player items being designed and implemented. If you're thinking about making a mark on this upcoming game, you might want to move fast: donors will only have access to the design-an-item perk until December 5th. If you're curious about City of Steam, check out Massively's recent hands-on with the title!
Browser beauty: Hands-on with City of Steam
Browser games aren't supposed to be like this. Browser games are supposed to be Flash-based trifles and social "gaming" money printers. They're supposed to have simple graphics, shallow gameplay and zero narrative. Put simply, browser-based games are supposed to be bad. City of Steam, a free-to-play, browser-based MMO developed by Mechanist Games, isn't content to live in this world of assumed browser-based inferiority. In fact, the game almost feels like a challenge to the industry: If this is what browsers can do, why isn't everyone doing it? City of Steam has the potential to shake the foundation of the MMO world by proving that full, engaging game experiences can be delivered instantly and on-demand, as long as its final execution lives up to its current promise. From what's been revealed so far, Mechanist appears to be on the right track.
City of Steam posts beta schedule
The time is neigh to gear up and test the heck out of City of Steam! Mechanist Games' steampunk MMO is nearing its closed beta phase and has posted a schedule for testing through the remainder of the year. The team breaks down the closed beta cycle into four "seasons": Springtide (November 16th to the 20th), Summercrest (November 30th to the December 4th), Autumnwane (December 14th to the 18th), and Winter Festival (December 23rd to the 28th). For those of you looking for a way to guarantee a beta invite or would like to support the game, the devs also announced several beta collaborator packs to purchase. Each pack includes a beta key, name reservation, and other goodies. Mechanist Games is also posting a "Steam-o-Meter" that will trigger additional development on the game once certain support goals are met.
City of Steam reveals journey from turn-based to real-time combat
The saga of City of Steam's creation continues to grow more impressive with a new behind-the-scenes story. In it, the devs tell the little-known tale about how the game used to be turn-based. This was originally due to a very limited team and budget, although the devs further justified the decision by saying that the MMO was based on a turn-based pen-and-paper game anyway. City of Steam managed to make the transition to real-time action with the help of some surprise financing prior to alpha. Over 90% of the code had to be reworked to make it happen, but the team pulled it off prior to the game's alpha and any actual players' eyes. It might be easy for us to take for granted how studios can whip up real-time combat in MMOs, but this post illustrates how incredibly complicated it can be, especially for teams with limited resources. City of Steam heads into beta next month.
City of Steam tells the tale of Halyar's Retreat
While it won't be ready for next month's beta, the area of Halyar's Retreat is the focus of a new City of Steam developer diary today. Halyar's Retreat is a middle-class suburb that gradually became the hangout for all sorts of illicit businessmen and gangs. The titular greenskin soldier consolidated power and control, keeping the peace while criminal activities continued. However, when he was killed, chaos erupted and this particular area of Nexus became a lot less safe for all living and visiting there. The team said that it originally envisioned Halyar's Retreat as being gothic architecture on top of plateaus, but it never gelled with the layout of the city. Instead, the concept was re-worked into a slightly upscale industrial suburb.
City of Steam promises November beta
Gear up and prepare to vent some pressure: City of Steam is gaining momentum for the beta! The developers announced that the steampunk MMO will be hitting the beta testing stage in November. As if that weren't enough reason to rejoice, the stressed-out team threw together one of the funniest promotional videos that you may ever see. The Massively staff is undecided as to the best line. "Take THAT, Copernicus!" and "So many Goblin babies!" are tied for first. Check it out after the break and let us know your favorite.
City of Steam dev blog talks pathfinding challenges
Did you wake up this morning and think, "Hmm, if there's one thing I'd like to know more about, it's pathfinding in City of Steam." If so, you're in luck. If not, well, too bad, because you're reading this post, which is about City of Steam pathfinding. More specifically, the folks at Mechanist Games have released a new dev diary that dives deep into the nitty gritty of the steampunk title's optimization process. As it happens, the game's movement system relies on a grid to determine what is possible or impossible as a move. This makes it challenging to present a smooth WASD input option for the player. Head to the official CoS site to see how the devs are tackling the issue.
City of Steam offers players barrels of fun before beta
Primitive human beings didn't understand many things. They didn't understand quantum physics or literary theory or fine French cooking. But they did understand one important thing: Somewhere in the world, there were barrels and crates, and smashing those barrels and crates would yield items and riches. It's that primordial instinct that the development team behind City of Steam has tapped into, and with the devs' newest development blog about the joy of smashing barrels, they're inviting you to indulge it. You see, aside from just talking about the game approaching its closed beta testing phase, this particular developer journal contains an old gem from early internal testing: a minigame built specifically to allow the team to test barrel destruction effects. And wouldn't you know that you can now play with that same tool yourself in your browser? Go ahead and read for updates on development, but stay to wipe out a room full of barrels with an exploding barrel.
City of Steam closed beta coming in November
Mechanist Games has announced a closed beta date for its upcoming City of Steam title. Well, sort of. A new post on the game's website spends three paragraphs leading up to the word November, but it doesn't mention a specific day. The post also mentions that the devs are combing through reams of alpha feedback from the recently completed testing phase, and it suggests that you keep an eye on the CoS forums and your inbox if you're itching to get into beta. City of Steam is a free-to-play browser-based MMO based on a series of steampunk-flavored RPG books.
Massively Exclusive: Gauging the pressure on the City of Steam alpha
City of Steam doesn't look good for a game in alpha; it looks good for a game in beta. And yet you can tell that the game is still in alpha testing if you read through our last tour of the game and compare it with the state of the game players will experience over the weekend. This is a game that's growing by leaps and bounds, making huge strides in development at each turn. And that's all the more impressive when you realize that it's a browser-based title from an independent studio working on what I can only assume is a shoestring budget. If you haven't heard of City of Steam before now, I invite you to take a look at our last tour through the game at the hands of the inimitable Justin Olivetti, who gives an overview of what the game is and how it played during the previous alpha test. But what about now? What's been improved and expanded? I took a brief tour with Mechanist Games' Gabriel Laforge to see the latest client and get a sense of the game for myself.
City of Steam's final alpha weekend begins
City of Steam is waving goodbye to its adolescent phase and preparing for adulthood, as the steampunk MMO heads into its final alpha test weekend. This fourth alpha weekend begins tonight at 10:00 p.m. EDT. Mechanist Games said that its priority for the weekend is to stress test the game, so the team wants as many players as possible to dive in and give it a whirl. You can sign up for testing on the game's website. For this final alpha test, Mechanist Games has spotlighted Orcs in its most recent racial dev journal. The Orcs are former barbarians who are trying hard to integrate into this increasingly civilized world. Massively has a new hands-on tour of City of Steam coming to you shortly, but in the meanwhile, you can check out our pre-alpha visit to this industrial fantasy playground. [Source: Mechanist Games press release]
City of Steam begins third alpha weekend tonight
The Human and Elven races have already flocked to the declining metropolis of Nexus in City of Steam's first two alpha weekends. Tonight, the steampunk MMORPG kicks off its third alpha weekend at 10:00 p.m. EDT. Regrettably, not all of the greenskin races will be available in this alpha weekend as previously planned. On the plus side, the Goblins, one of the most anticipated races, will be featured. If you were really looking forward to either the Orcs or the Hobbes, take heart: The studio has announced there will be a fourth alpha weekend, which will include all nine races, more daily quests, and even more content. Supporter packs are still available on the official site for those wanting priority admittance to the alpha. [Source: Mechanist Games press release]
Latest City of Steam dev journal highlights the Ostenians
Although the people of Ostenia aren't getting much attention from City of Steam's alpha players at the moment, developers have shined a spotlight on the fun-loving, romantic Ostenians in the game's latest dev journal. So what sets these folks apart from other people on the Mechanism? Perhaps most notably, the Holy Kingdom of Ostenia is strongly influenced by the Church. The people are seen by outsiders as zealous and preachy, but not just about their religion. In fact, Ostenians are highly opinionated and considered preachy on any subject, even mundane topics like cooking. But the religious distinction is just one part of Ostenia. The kingdom is home to one of the richest and most diverse cultures on the Mechanism due to the fact that the nation is actually created from the uneasy alliance of two distinctly different lands: Ancien Royaume, an inland feudal kingdom, and Nuovo Regno, sacred church-run lands on the coast. If our summary piques your interest in the people, be sure to check them out during City of Steam's alpha weekends.
City of Steam schedules debut of a new playable race each alpha weekend
Players anticipating alpha testing City of Steam have only a few more days to wait before diving into the steampunk world as this weekend begins the first of three alpha testing weekends. Each weekend will focus on different aspects of the game and will debut a new bundle of playable races: July 20th through 22nd will introduce four types of humans, July 27th through 29th will bring two types of elves, and August 3rd through 5th will have the three greenskin races. Fans who do not yet have an alpha key but want to participate need to sign up for the City of Steam newsletter on the official site. The keys are limited, so the sooner you sign up, the better your chance. The developers are also offering a guaranteed way to obtain a key by purchasing collaborator packs filled with City of Steam swag.
Massively Exclusive: Seeing the sights in City of Steam
I can't recall the last indie MMO that was making any waves while still being in the pre-alpha stage, but that's the strange power that Mechanist Games' City of Steam has. Word-of-mouth and a clever setting have made this a must-see title, and we were pleased to join Editor Gabriel Laforge for a developer tour of the game in its current state. City of Steam is an indie MMO, but don't let that put you off; the team is substantially larger than you'd expect and brimming with talent. The steampunk title loads extremely quickly in your browser, thanks to the Unity web player and a ridiculously small client size. In its current state, City of Steam has four large overworld zones and around 80 instanced dungeons, and yet the total size is -- get this -- 70 megabytes. It's so tiny that some of the dungeons are only a few hundred kilobytes apiece. With the repeated caveat that this was all still pre-alpha and subject to change, Laforge let me log in and explore to my heart's delight. What follows is raw and shocking footage from that journey.
City of Steam offers personalized alpha tour via contest
Have you ever wanted to stroll through a game before anyone else, taking the first steps in an untouched world and exploring areas unknown to other gamers? The devs at City of Steam are offering just that chance with an exclusive personalized tour of the fantasy steampunk game during these early stages of development. Unlike many contests where you just submit your name for a random drawing, this contest asks tour hopefuls to post why they believe the tour should be given to them. Preference will be given to active community members, so be sure to jump in and start taking part in discussions on the forums to increase your chances! The lucky winner will then get to invite two friends along to peek into new aspects of the game, all while chatting with the tour guide developers. So brush up on those writing skills and dazzle the judges or just check out the other entries. In the meantime, tell us: If you were the winner, would you prefer to tour the game as a Goblin or a Draug?
