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City of Steam is merging EU servers on December 22nd
If you've played City of Steam in the EU and thought to yourself, "Man, there are just too many servers for this game right now," the developers agree with you, which is why the server list is being consolidated down to a single server as of December 22nd. Characters will be automatically transferred, with character names getting server tags to make sure naming issues sorted out before they arise. Players on the current EU3 server will be receiving a compensation package that includes a 90-day subscription and a variety of other materials for character advancement. The five-characters-per-server limit will be enforced with prejudice; the staff is simply deleting the oldest or least-played characters on an account if the merge puts someone over five characters on the final server. So take care of that issue before it arises on the 22nd.
City of Steam is merging US servers on October 21st
City of Steam's US servers are coming back together. On October 21st, the US servers for the game will be merged into a single server for everyone in the US. Players on the US2 and US3 servers affected by the merges will be getting a bit of an extra benefit out of this change; not only will they get to play with a larger population, but a consolation package is being offered to players for the delay in starting the other servers in the first place. The packages consist of subscription time, Metal, Alloy, Revamp Gems, Vehicle Parts, and Lucky Scrolls; US3 characters get more of these things, but the core contents are identical. There's also an offer to European players to obtain a similar package by emailing the support department, as those servers are already merged. Read up on the details, and get ready for the world to become a bit smaller but more populated.
City of Steam previews its 2.7 update
City of Steam has another update in the works, and it's going to make you look good. How, you ask? Well, partly by adding a new and expanded wardrobe system that will improve categories and free up storage space for your cosmetic outfits. The interface is still rough, but it's also a step toward giving players more options and power when it comes to character appearance. What else is coming? There's a new Lucky Wheel option in the works, allowing players a chance to spin and win all sorts of great prizes whether they're playing for free or not. The Mercenary system is also being revised, with appearances being improved, new mercenaries being added, and an improved interface for organizing and managing the soldiers of fortune. You can check out the full patch preview, which sadly for players does not yet include a targeted release date more specific than "soon."
City of Steam preparing to overhaul crafting
City of Steam is, well, full steam ahead for its upcoming 2.6.1 patch. Mechanist Games said that the big focus of the patch will be an overhaul to the crafting system to make it easier to understand. The studio will be converting catalysts into a "valuable" substitute and will replace the Spiremarks currency with Bound Electrum when the update lands. Currently, the game has finished its first cross-server PvP bout and is challenging its playerbase to the aptly named Tower of Peril dungeon.
City of Steam teases patch 2.6 improvements
While its initial launch had some definite issues, City of Steam seems to be doing quite well for itself with new servers, new platforms, and a new patch on the way. That new patch shows off some of its new features in a recent development blog, starting with inter-server PvP between the top 20 players on each server. Yes, that means you'll need to muscle your way to the head of the pack in PvP before you get a shot at competing, but getting there means fantastic prizes. Patch 2.6 will also bring with it the Tower of Peril, rewarding players for how far they can climb and generally challenging any high-level high-intensity players. There will also be numerous improvements to in-game text, bugs, and the like. If that sounds like just what you want to see, you can take a look at the blog post for a few more details and then jump in and start playing right from there.
City of Steam opens new US, Euro servers
City of Steam has officially opened two new servers, one for eastern U.S. players and another in Europe. Mechanist Games says that it is "trying to bring in as broad a gaming demographic as possible" by presenting its steampunk MMO on Kongregate, Armor Games, and Steam. "More platforms will come in soon," the firm states. There are in-game events underway to help celebrate the additional shards. Check out all the details on the official City of Steam website.
City of Steam getting new US and EU servers
Mechanist Games has announced that its steampunk browser MMO City of Steam is on the cusp of delivering a long-awaited European server. There's no firm launch date just yet, and Mechanist also notes that EU players who have been biding their time on the existing US servers will not be able to transfer their characters to the new EU shard. Electrum will be transferable, though, so there's that. The devs also said that a new east coast US server is in the works.
City of Steam patch optimizes and improves across the board
It's the big patch day that you've been waiting for! City of Steam: Arkadia has updated to version 2.5, and with it comes a slew of quality-of-life improvements for the game as a whole. In patch 2.5, City of Steam has added tutorial quests, included more offerings in the in-game store, refined elements of the interface, and optimized the quest tracking system. There are also new challenges and heroic dungeons for high-level players as well as a team-up boss raid. Check out all of the changes, additions, and bug fixes in the patch notes.
City of Steam heads to Steam with a fresh new server [Updated]
Steampunk browser MMO City of Steam is landing on, er, Steam today, bringing with it a brand-new server. Says developer Mechanist Games, Coupled with the latest game version 2.4 ([which] will also be available on the established server), the new server will provide improved team-up function, restructured tourney events, new level content (lvl 50-60), and of course exciting new server event. This time, new server events will become goal-based so that they are capable of benefiting as many players as possible. The studio tweeted that the Steam launch might be slightly delayed but that developers are "talking with Valve to make the launch ASAP." Massively alum Matt Daniel dived into City of Steam in December to scope out last year's Arkadia relaunch. [Update: Mechanist has postponed the Steam launch thanks to "critical issues (discovered) when testing (the) live server on the Steam version." The studio promises an update during local business hours.]
Second Wind: City of Steam: Arkadia
I've been rooting for City of Steam ever since it was first announced, mostly due to my sheer love of the steampunk genre. We've got high fantasy and gritty sci-fi games galore, but steampunk has been largely neglected in the realm of gaming. That's why it was so disheartening to hear that City of Steam's first incarnation (of which I spoke rather highly when I saw it at PAX East in early 2013) would be shutting down after only about five months of opening its doors to players. It was a bold move for Mechanist Games to make the jump to self-publishing, and when I saw the game featured on Kongregate, I decided I'd check and see how the troubled title was holding up in its new form. The question is, does City of Steam: Arkadia manage to stoke the fires or is it just a bunch of hot air?
City of Steam: Arkadia launching December 4th
The death and subsequent rebirth of City of Steam has been an odd thing to watch, but you'll soon be able to actively participate instead of just watching. City of Steam: Arkadia is launching on December 4th, just a little more than a week from today, enough time that you might not even get to feel any sorrow at the original version's untimely and unexpected demise. Of course, you may not have mourned the original version. Rest assured that the relaunch is not meant to simply be the same game with a new subtitle. According to the official announcement, the new version contains a variety of new systems as well as a revamp of both dungeons and game mechanics. Mechanist Games states that the developers have paid attention to player feedback from the Chinese version and will be releasing a game that should have a much wider appeal. You'll be able to gauge that for yourself very shortly one way or the other.
City of Steam: Arkadia offers first screenshots and update
Since it bought back the rights to publish City of Steam in English, Mechanist Games has been toiling away at getting the re-christened Arkadia ready for its re-launch. To give players a peek at how things are changing in more than name only, the devs have released a few screenshots showing off the burning house in the Delton intro. Also included in this week's update was news that forum avatars and titles will be restored on the new forums and that CoS: Arkadia would be available as an all-browser gaming experience or via a easy-to-download micro-client that's "just megabytes."
City of Steam: Arkadia outlines compensation package
Last week, Mechanist Games assured that returning City of Steam players would be compensated as the company worked to restore fans' faith in the title. Today, the studio released the details of that compensation. For early supporters, the in-game currency will be refunded using the scheme that was utilized in alpha and beta: money's worth plus extra percent bonus. And for all players -- paid or not -- who reached at least level 30, the company is offering two tiers of welcome back packs, one for levels 30 through 37 and one for players who made it to level 38. Both packs include a large supply of vehicle parts, revamp kits, transmuter orbs, key bundles, cardiotonic, transmuter coolant, spiremarks, and more. Both packs also offer a Santa cap, and the level 38 pack includes an "awesome mega super dooper mystery item." Each account can claim one pack by contacting support. Full instructions and the contact information are available in the announcement.
Mechanist Games working to restore faith with City of Steam's community
Mechanist Games will be taking actions to "restore faith" by those affected from City of Steam's impending shutdown and rebirth as City of Steam: Arkadia. The studio announced three initiatives to draw back players. First, it will be recharging alpha and beta supporters' Electrum, although it doesn't look like refunds are in the cards. Second, it will be compensating returning players who will need to start fresh on a new server. And third, Mechanist is opening up a new English-speaking forums on the website for the community to use. The exact nature of the compensation for affected players was not revealed, as the studio said it has yet to finalize details in that regard. Mechanist paid to reclaim the English publishing rights for City of Steam and will be self-publishing the title going forward. Other language editions of the game will continue to be operated as is. [Source: Mechanist Games' press release]
City of Steam powering down, switching to new name and ownership [Updated]
It's the end of the line for the free-to-play steampunk game City of Steam -- at least on R2Games servers. The publisher has announced that doors will be closing at 2:59 a.m. EDT on November 22nd. Even with what are probably the most impressive graphics in a browser-based game, CoS apparently couldn't keep enough players to remain viable. With the closure, the in-game currency Electrum can no longer be acquired, but all previously bought Electrum can be spent on store items throughout the month. Does this mean that CoS is powering down for good? Not according to developer Mechanist Games, which has announced that it plans on releasing a new version of the game the same month: Circumstances have contributed to a significant loss of players and we've decided to cease the current game operations for the Global English version and take City of Steam back. This is a decision we have taken months to reach, and are confident that it's best for the health of the players, the community and the game itself. City of Steam is not shutting it down. We at Mechanist Games will improve and self-publish the game, and endeavor to make it available to as many of the original fans as possible by cooperating with popular English language browser-gaming platforms (to be announced). City of Steam will be upgraded during the time it is offline to better suit the player demographics of the new browser-gaming platforms publishing the game; new content, new features, new systems, massive change to the economy and statistics, new equipment and cosmetics, new quests and an overhaul of most of the level art and main quests. Some features will be removed. There will also be a massive flying fortress for characters of any level to congregate in. Because of these numerous and sizeable changes, the game will be re-launched in November under the title City of Steam: Arkadia. [Updated with the statement from the press release from Mechanist!]
Rise and Shiny: City of Steam
The first thing that people say when they see City of Steam is, "Wow, this is a browser game?" I've seen the comments on videos and even talked about it during my own livestream (you'll find it embedded after the cut), but in the back of my mind I know that browser-based games have looked good for a while now. Still, the game does look good. It looks darn good in many places. It's a world of oily, smoky machinery and grimy dungeons, and the graphics do their job. With the dirtier styles and dungeon crawlers, however, comes the risk of repetitive design that toes the line between neat and bland as cold porridge. City of Steam mostly wins in the graphics department but does fail occasionally. It's still fun to tell people it's a browser game. The beginning intro alone feels like a well-made MMO, while some of its staging and tutorials make the game feel as if it cost more than it did to make. The rest of the game isn't bad, either, aside from occasionally repetitive gameplay.
The Stream Team: Labor Day edition, September 2 - 8, 2013
To the youngsters, Labor Day has always always seemed misnomer since folks actually get to take time off from school and work. So a more appropriate moniker would be Play Day, amirite? But the older crowd knows that the day was meant to honor the hard work and contributions of workers. So in the spirit of honoring hard work, we pay homage to those who tireless toil to entertain us -- The Stream Team! Hats of to you, and a three-BBQ-rib salute to boot! Want to join us in this week-long celebration for our streamers? Then tune in to Massively TV and watch a live show or two and catch a few reruns as well. We've got all you need to know right here. (For the snacks, however, you're on your own.)
Jukebox Heroes Extra: A chat with City of Steam's composer
When you're called in to create a score to an off-kilter steampunk game like City of Steam, then you had better bring a unique sound that highlights the difference between this and all of the yet-another-fantasy-MMOs (YAFMMOs) that litter the field. Composer Daniel Sadowski fully invested himself in this project to make that happen, and I wanted to talk with him about the making of this interesting soundtrack (which you can purchase on iTunes and Amazon, by the way). So for this follow-up interview, Sadowski shares his soundtrack influences, how he got involved with City of Steam, and what he used to make a steampunk world come alive through music.
Jukebox Heroes: City of Steam's soundtrack
City of Steam has to be the first MMO soundtrack that I've seen sold prior to the game actually launching. I mean, it's probably happened before, but I can't recall when. In any case, I had a good listen to this steampunk-inspired score months before its launch, but its lack of a presence on YouTube kept me from writing it up. Enter Composer Daniel Sadowski, who emailed me asking why I hadn't covered his soundtrack yet. I was like, "Well, it's not on YouTube," and he was like, "Well it is now," and I was like, "I saw Ferris pass out at 31 flavors last night." True story. I'm glad he did because this is a surprisingly decent score. With many browser-based MMOs, it might be easy to dismiss the music with the same wave of the hand that some dismiss the game itself, but that would be a shame. There's a lot of passion and ingenuity at work here. Let's listen!
City of Steam's Tears of the Oracle patch hails the return of the greenskins
When City of Steam threw open its browser-based beta doors to all players, certain classes and races were noticeably missing from the soirée. But some fan-favorites have finally gotten their invitation and will be rejoining the party when the 1.3 patch Tears of the Oracle hits next week; greenskins, dwarves, and Channelers will once again be available to play. And that's not even the half of it! This next patch will also be raising the level cap, expanding questlines, and adding plenty of new things, including the Founder's Annex suburb, a PvP event, a collection system, rare mobs in dungeons, plenty of cosmetic items, and even a new crafting system. On top of that, levels one through nine can resurrect for free in dungeons and the salvage system got an overhaul. So get ready to get your goblin (or hobbe, or orc) on next week! [Source: Mechanist Games press release]
