shroud-of-the-avatar
Latest
Shroud of the Avatar has raised $3.7 million to date
Shroud of the Avatar hasn't launched yet, but Portalarium is celebrating its anniversary nonetheless. The studio pointed out that next monday, April 7th, is the title's one-year mark since it concluded its $2 million Kickstarter campaign. Portalarium is throwing several promotions for the anniversary, one in particular being a last chance to get or upgrade to the founder level at the original Kickstarter prices. Other anniversary events include developer hangouts, special access to Release 4, and prize giveaways. Shroud of the Avatar has gathered more than $3.7 million in crowdfunding to date and is eyeballing a late 2014 launch window. [Source: Portalarium press release]
Shroud of the Avatar's Release 4 starts today, combat added
Shroud of the Avatar backers, don't forget that Release 4 access begins today at 11:30 a.m. EDT. Portalarium producer Starr Long says that the dev team is "going to deliver almost every single Release 4 item and a few extras," and he provides an extensive list including the first pass at combat, resource gathering, and persistent player housing. Read all about it at the official SotA website.
Shroud of the Avatar celebrates one-year Kickstarter anniversary with giveaways and events
Shroud of the Avatar is bearing down on its one-year anniversary since the title was successfully funded on Kickstarter, and Portalarium has several giveaways and events planned for the occasion. The events planned include several hour-long developer hangouts, an all-day hangout telethon on April 7th, and access to Release 4 for backers on the 7th as well. The studio will be giving away an Alienware gaming laptop, a trip to Austin to visit with the team, Founder adventure pledges, and weekend passes for Release 5. Portalarium also announced that it's creating a fourth housing lot size to fit castles for Lords of the Manor. It's a four-fold increase in size over city lots and even comes with a moat -- because why have player housing if you're not able to drown your visiting friends?
Shroud of the Avatar eyeing PvP balance while placating its 'large segment' of PvEers
The 63rd edition of Shroud of the Avatar's Update of the Avatar is a biggun. It covers topics ranging from upcoming events to the latest chapter of the Blade of the Avatar novel to current dev thinking on various game mechanics. One of those mechanics is PvP, and executive producer Starr Long's treatise touches on the fact that the team wants to a) have PvP, b) have PvP that isn't segregated via dedicated servers, and c) avoid forcing PvP on the "large segment of the community" that doesn't want it. Some of his proposals include PvP zones, duels, and guild warfare. Click through the links below to read more details.
Make My MMO: Crowdfunding February 23 - March 1, 2014
This week's Make My MMO adds Trials of Ascension's Light the Forge campaign, which is Chaos Forge's company-specific (i.e., non-Kickstarter) bid to raise $40,000. The fantasy sandbox canceled its initial Kickstarter campaign because it "failed in showing its true potential," according to a news posting on the ToA website. If the Light the Forge drive is successful, the devs will use the $40,000 to finish the game's demo and return to Kickstarter in the hopes of attracting additional funding. Head past the cut for a breakdown of other crowdfunded MMO projects for the week ending March 1st, 2014.
Make My MMO: Crowdfunding February 9 - 22, 2014
In the world of MMOs, no news is not necessarily good news -- especially when it comes to crowdfunding. Silence often denotes a lack of progress on a game, and that can certainly make investors nervous. Thankfully, many games provide players with updates that we, in turn, provide for you here. If no news is bad, then news is good, right? Unfortunately, this doesn't hold true. In the case of Star Rider and Hot Rod Hustle, the news is that neither met its funding goals. So we say farewell to these two games from Make My MMO. And Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen's campaign was chock-full of news, but in the end, its Kickstarter didn't succeed either; Pantheon, however, is continuing the fundraising effort on its official site. At least some news is good! War of Omens also leaves this round up, but for different reasons: Players can hop in and play the game! Likewise, HEX: Shards of Fate and StarCraft Universe move on now that both have moved into testing. Another sandbox, Terrayn, also joins the Kickstarter ranks. To hear other good news, keep reading.
Shroud of the Avatar adds multiplayer features for release 3
If you backed Shroud of the Avatar chiefly to play around with its semi-online functionality, the newest release of the game should make you happy. The third test release features several of the multiplayer functions of the game, including chat, emotes, and friend lists. Combine that with the addition of a crafting system and new merchants, and the whole thing is closer than ever to being a fully featured online-but-not experience. The third test session will also feature a village, Braemor, expanding the amount of land that players have to explore and work within. Obviously, this test will be available only to backers of the game, but you can still jump on that through the game's official site if it sounds like something you want to play. For more details on the improvements as well as how to get into the game if you are a backer, take a look at the full release notes. [Source: Portalarium press release]
Make My MMO: Crowdfunding January 26 - February 8, 2014
The crowdfunding train just keeps rolling right along, with passengers always coming and going. New passengers hop aboard while others hop off at their desired destination. Sadly, some have to disembark early -- such is the case with Universe Rush and Antilia. Although the Kickstarter campaign fell far short of its goal, Antilia does plan to continue development on its own. On the brighter side of things, some passengers reached their stop; Tales From The Strange Universe reached its goal, and both it and Novus AEterno (which brought in over 3.5 times its initial goal) will now take their places in the funded category. The Repopulation, earning over 175K during this latest Kickstarter run, disembarks at Betawatch station thanks to its ongoing alpha testing. Catch up on all the news for all these titles as they journey through crowdfunding here in Make My MMO.
Brad McQuaid on Pantheon's partnership with Shroud of the Avatar
If today's Pantheon Elf reveal and the news that the Kickstarter-hopeful Pantheon MMO has formed an alliance with Richard Garriott's Shroud of the Avatar for some cross-promotional goodies aren't enough for you, perhaps you'd like to hear some of the details from Visionary Realms' CCO Brad McQuaid himself. He provides a bit of insight on the decision to partner with SOTA, offers hints about what players can expect from the promotion besides the special cloak announced this morning, and touches on the impact of Vanguard's sunset on his fledgling MMO. Read on!
McQuaid and Garriott collaboration starts with cross-game cloak for backers
If you've supported the crowdfunding efforts of either Richard Garriott's Shroud of the Avatar or Brad McQuaid's Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen, the devs have an offer for you: back both games and get a special cross-game reward. Starting today, fans will see the cross-promotion pledge tiers for both games, Pantheon's on its Kickstarter and SoA's on its website. The reward is a cloak in each game emblazoned with the symbol of the other game. The cloak reward -- which symbolizes community between players, developers, and even games -- is just the beginning of the collaboration between Visionary Realms and Portalarium. McQuaid stated, "The evolution of how MMOs are made is happening right now. We're getting back to having the gaming community deeply involved in how the games are not only funded, but designed. A collaboration like this one only makes sense to further strengthen that growing community that involves not just the players and backers, but the developers as well." [Source: Visionary Realms press release]
Make My MMO: Crowdfunding January 12 - 25, 2014
After a sleepy holiday season, the crowdfunding crowd has woken up and gotten down to business. And amidst that new bustle of activity, Make My MMO's ranks are altering a bit. Two games leave our listing, but each for different reasons; the cross-platform space sim Space Unfolding folded after missing its goal, and Face of Mankind moved along to Betawatch to join the ranks of the games in testing. And now that War of Omens' campaign has wrapped up, it moves into the fully funded category. Some campaigns have really kicked into high gear. Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen joined the crowdfunding race and has delivered a slew of nearly daily news. Novus AEterno has nearly tripled its goal and is closing in on yet another stretch goal these final days of its campaign, while The Repopulation has also blown away its initial goal and is aiming for its eigth stretch goal (not to mention revealed plenty of juicy new bits). A smaller title, Tales From The Strange Universe, is more than halfway to its modest goal with a week left. And newcomer Star Rider also jumps on the Kickstarter bandwagon. Unfortunately, others aren't faring as well. Things aren't looking promising for Antilia or Universe Rush, whose campaigns end soon and are still over $85K and $98K short of their respective goals. Want more details on these stories or an update on all the already-funded projects? We've got the round-up right here.
Shroud of the Avatar enters Release 2 of early access
Last month, Portalarium's upcoming crowd-funded title, Shroud of the Avatar, entered the first phase of early access for backers of the game. Now the game is winding up for Release 2 of its early access program, and players will find that a number of new features have been added since Release 1 launched in December. Included among these features are the new municipality of Kingsport, which players can explore as they please, and a bevy of quality-of-life features like a "list inventory," improved character customization, and jumping. But perhaps the most-anticipated feature of Release 2 is the introduction of crafting. The press release notes that this release includes only "the very first stages" of the game's crafting system, focusing on "refining and production for smithing, tailoring, and carpentry." Players will be able to find "more than 100 recipes" alongside chests full of crafting resources scattered throughout the game world. Other facets of the crafting system, such as resource gathering, item repair, and equipment enhancement, will be rolled out in subsequent releases. For now, though, Shroud of the Avatar backers can jump into New Britannia to check it all out for themselves while the rest of us watch and wait. [Source: Portalarium press release]
Shroud of the Avatar raises $3 million in crowdfunding and prepares for Release 2
Shroud of the Avatar has hit a significant fundraising milestone and is throwing a party to celebrate. Richard Garriott announced that the title has crossed the $3 million mark and he will be hosting a late-night video hangout on Thursday, January 23rd to mark the occasion. In other Shroud of the Avatar news, the game will roll out Release 2 next week for select backers. Details of the release will be, erm, released on Wednesday the 22nd. If you haven't backed the game and want to experience Release 2, it will cost you $45. Portalarium also showed off the Founder Edelmann Village Waterfront Cabana, founder starter weapons, and the incredible cooking pot of prosperity.
The Soapbox: Enough with selling alpha tests already!
The dam has burst, restraint has been cast off, and caution has been thrown to the wind. Seemingly overnight, game studios all over the place have thrown the doors open to the general public to get in on alpha testing, usually as a reward for loyalty and financing. Steam has an entire Early Access section that's dominating the sales charts, offering players a chance to hop right into an anticipated game while it's still in the middle of development. Kickstarter games routinely offer alpha and beta access to their financers as part of their reward structure. Trove, Elite: Dangerous, Shroud of the Avatar, Star Citizen, and EverQuest Next Landmark are among the vanguard of upcoming MMOs that have promised alpha or early access to players willing to shell out a few bucks right now. It's not enough to covet and chase after a beta key these days; all of the cool kids are in the alpha, apparently. The willingness of developers to wield alpha access as a reward and the enthusiastic acceptance by gamers to literally buy into it has me very concerned that this could poison the industry, the community, and the future of our games.
Make My MMO: Crowdfunding December 29, 2013 - January 11, 2014
Was 2013 the year of Kickstarter? Whatever you think personally about the funding model, you can't argue with the fact that over $480 million was pledged through the crowdfunding platform in the last calendar year. That's definitely one hunk of change! But whether or not that figure translates into a tidal wave of awesome games has yet to be seen; the jury will remain out until even more funded games actually release and players get to experience what they backed. As for specific MMO news this past fortnight, the bulk of it involves new titles vying for a slice of 2014's crowdfunding pie. The CCG War of Omens has already grabbed a piece; it met its goal and has moved on to stretch goals for the last couple of days. Other hopefuls include more two space strategy games. Learn more about all of these, as well as the news from the funded front, right here in Make My MMO.
Ask Massively: Giveaways, zombies, and capturing the spirit of Ultima Online
This week in Ask Massively, we're answering questions about eerily quiet games, giveaways, and capturing the spirit of classic sandboxes and The Walking Dead. Holden asked, "Why has Perpetuum dropped off the map? I never hear about it anymore. The only time I even remember it is when I am doing searches for (more) robot/mech desktop wallpapers. Once monoclegate blew over, it was as if Perpetuum fell of the face of the earth, but it seems that it is still around from glancing at the website." This was such a good question that we went digging for an answer before we even added it to Ask Massively. It had been a long time since we'd reported on Perpetuum because it had been a long time since Perpetuum had made a big splash in the news. Readers speculated that the game's playerbase has shrunk over the last two years, but in fact over the winter holiday, developer Avatar Creations posted a dev blog detailing plans for a newbie tutorial island intended to bolster the new player population. Hopefully Holden and other fans of the game will enjoy this "island of noobs" (Avatar's words, not mine!).
Some Assembly Required: Virtual world roundup for 2014 and beyond
Just over two years ago there was a great disturbance, as if millions (or so) of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced. Yes, something terrible had happened: a beloved virtual world was destroyed. And that left a number of sandbox refugees looking for a new place to call home. At that time, Some Assembly Required offered a roundup of the then available virtual worlds that could possibly offer accommodation, depending on what qualities players most desired in their games. But as things are wont to, they changed; a lot can happen in the MMOverse in 24 months, from additional features in existing games to new games to the loss of more worlds. So it's time to update this list of virtual worlds to reflect 2014 and beyond. Take a look and see what titles or titles-to-be have the sandbox features that best make a game a home for you.
Perfect Ten: New MMOs to watch in 2014
Out with the old desk calendars that you didn't use past February 2013 and in with the new, I always say! It's a brand-new year, and while we don't know all of the twists and turns that we'll travel in MMO news in 2014, I dare say it promises to be a fascinating ride. Last January I gave my list of 10 new MMOs to watch for that year, and I'm a sucker for traditions. With 2014 a mostly blank slate right now, I want to lay out the up-and-coming class of games that at least have a shot at releasing by December. There are the big names, of course, but several other titles that could be sleeper hits if all goes right. Which will succeed, which will flop, and which won't even get out of the door? I don't claim to know all, but I know all, so here are my prognostications for 2014!
Make My MMO: Crowdfunding December 15 - 28, 2013
'Tis the season... but not for news! With minds focused on the holidays, it looks as if not much happened in the realm of crowdfunding since our last Make My MMO update. Just how slow was it? It was so slow that Star Citizen did not announce earning another $2 million. A few tidbits did, however, did trickle out. Novus AEterno met its goal within 102 hours and still has a month of funding ahead. On the other hand, Empires of Tahn followed what seems to be the new norm: cancel the project before getting the dreaded "unsuccessful" label. And one title that is already strong in its development has jumped back into the crowdfunding realm; The Repopulation aims to incorporate even more features into the sandbox. There are also a couple dev blogs to speak of and a few odds and ends, all of which you will find rounded up for you below.
Make My MMO: Crowdfunding December 1 - 14, 2013
If it seems as if crowdfunding's gone into a turkey coma lately, you aren't just imagining things -- at least as far as funded games are concerned. News on that front has seemed scarce compared to the deluge of some other two-week spans, but the current campaigns are trying to make up for it. Life is Feudal canceled its Indiegogo campaign, but devs vowed to "survive according to Plan 'B'," so we'll keep an eye out to see whether it moves into personal funding as other games have done. (That route is working for Neo's Land, whose donations keep creeping higher.) Similarly, Novus AEterno scrapped its second Kickstarter campaign, but in a twist, it's already restarted another with a lower goal. Outer Worlds Online, however, just didn't make the funding cut. On the successful side, manners and dinner parties will be coming to an MMO near you; Ever, Jane got an invitation to join the funded club. A few other funded titles also saw some progress, and still others joined (or re-joined) the race for your support. And topping all that, we also bid farewell to Elite: Dangerous, who leaves Make My MMO for Betawatch now that its alpha has started. You can catch all the updates below.
