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Astronaut MMO may finally launch (pun intended)
Just when Astronaut: Moon, Mars, and Beyond was about to be written off as vaporware, NASA has popped back on the scene to announce some commercial backing for the project from developers Project Whitecard, Wisdom Tools, and Virtual Heroes. According to the first announcement over two years ago, the MMO aims for a demographic of players age 5 to 24, setting them up as astronauts who are training to explore deep into Earth's star system in the year 2035. Imagine Space Camp... but actually in space. To assist in funding the project, the developers of the upcoming MMO have created a Kickstarter page that includes a four-minute video explaining what the game is about. CEO for Wisdom Tools Dr. Sonny Kirkley explains in the video that the game is meant to be fun, but at the same time the designers "want the learning to be authentic." To that end, NASA has granted the developers full access to the rich history of the space program so that a true sense of realism can be achieved. The game has been developed with the Unreal Engine 3 to work on PC, iPad, and some yet-to-be-announced consoles. Look for the beta testing to start in December of 2012, and watch the full Kickstarter video after the break.
Massively Mobile: Pocket Legends evolves
Every two weeks, Massively Mobile brings you the latest news, guides and analysis about MMOs on mobile devices. Covering iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad platforms, we're on the lookout for the next generation of MMOs. Much has changed with Spacetime Studio's free-to-play, mobile, 3D MMO Pocket Legends since we posted our first impressions of the game last month. Since then, it has seen a number of updates, content patches, refinements and improvements. It has evolved from a multiplayer Diablo-esque dungeon runner to sporting the kinds of bells and whistles one expects to find in an MMO. In this inaugural Massively Mobile column, I catch up with the game that's blazing the trail for mobile MMOs. Before I jump into the big patch that came out this week, I want to touch on a particular small improvement that was patched in recently. They restricted loot distribution and experience gains to only those within range of the monster kills. This prevents people from having their friends go /afk at the dungeon instance. But, for me, the main benefit is that it will hopefully stop parties from splitting up at intersections in dungeons. Seriously, people, it's a simple rule: follow the tank. Divided parties are dead parties. Ok, grumpy healer frustration vented. On with the show.
