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The Game Archaeologist: The Chronicles of Spellborn
Hey! Hey you! Yeah, you the I'm-so-bored-with-all-of-these-MMOs gamer! You've been grousing about for years how MMOs never take risks, never innovate, and are merely content to rehash the same-old fantasy tropes that were stale even when World of Warcraft launched, right? Yes, we at Massively saw your poorly spelled reddit post on that subject, thank you. Well, what if I were to tell you that there's an MMO that bucks the clichés? It's true! Imagine an MMO that exists in a post-apocalyptic fantasy setting that's unlike anything you've seen before. Imagine that combat isn't merely hotbar button mashing but tactics mixed with positioning. Imagine that you can create your character to look any way you want from the onset instead of having to collect certain pieces of gear. Imagine an immersive world that is a delight to the eyes and ears. Got all that? Want to play it? Well, you can't. That game was The Chronicles of Spellborn, and since you and pretty much everyone else on the planet ignored it, it tanked in 2010 after less than a year of operation. Yet for its lackluster run, Spellborn has been strongly mourned by those who saw tremendous potential in it and who keep creating internet petitions to bring it back. Because petitions change everything. Today we're going to take a look back at an MMO that took the path less traveled.
Free for All: Why MMOs should be kept alive forever
We generally avoid the topic of emulator servers here at Massively for various reasons. I have different reasons for not discussing them as well, mainly that I do not agree with the use of art (games are art) without the owner's permission, no matter what. I want to get that out of the way now so we can discuss today's topic without filling the comments with emulator links we'll have to delete. And that topic is this: Should we maintain dead or dying MMOs after closure? I started thinking about this idea because I am currently wrapped up in a project to collect and catalogue every major bookmark of my life until I am "caught up" to about the time I started working at Massively. As part of the project, I am looking to save old pictures, projects and music, especially ones that exist on paper. Paper rots, after all. The project has made me think much more about my long history with MMOs. Should I be concerned that some of the digital versions of myself have or will disappear as games are sunsetted? Should we do something about this? I think we should, but if not emus, then what?
Free for All: My very own top ten list of MMO pet peeves
I couldn't just sit back and let Justin Olivetti have all the fun, could I? When he published The Perfect Ten: My gaming pet peeves, I swept my fist to the sky and screamed "Sypsterrrr!" Literally a week earlier I had jotted down an idea for a similar column. I mean jotted down because I keep yellow pads around the house for late-night ideas or dog-walk eurekas. Of course his will probably end up the superior article as he is the better writer (and has a good bit of facial hair), but I'm going to present mine anyway. In fact I'll do one better by listing 11 of my MMO pet peeves because, well, I jotted down 11.
MMObility: Project Theralon puts players deep in the browser sandbox
If you're a sandbox fan who's not familiar with the browser-based sandbox called Project: Theralon, become familiar with it. For sandboxers as well as browser-based MMO fans, this game will nudge the genre up in quality and help undermine the notion that browser-based gaming is limited, linear, and boring. In Project: Theralon, players will be able to make characters how they want and can eventually become dragon-riders, powerful characters who can fly through the environment causing havoc as they go. During my interview with the game's Associate Creative Director Sven Ehrentraut and Public Relations Director Piotr Pilich, I watched live as the game was loaded in a browser and a character mounted a dragon, flew through the landscape, and hopped off into a fight. The game has been in development for only six months, but there's already plenty to get excited about. Click past the cut and I'll give you all the details!
Free for All: Zeroing in on my favorite free-to-play mains
I felt a little nostalgic this week. Heck, at my age, I feel nostalgic every time I smell chimney smoke or hear Christmas music. I suspect it will only grow more common with age. MMOs have been such a huge part of my life for well over a decade now that I feel nostalgic about many of the things that happened during that time, and for many of the characters I have grown -- and lost. I'm not overly sentimental about it, but it is interesting how we feel about the pixelated versions of ourselves, the ones we control while sitting at a keyboard or while touching a tablet. I don't want to downplay how important gaming can be for many of us, either. Once, years ago, I met a fellow player in a social game called There. She was a wonderful person who had over time lost the ability to walk. She loved the freedom that the avatar gave her. Needless to say, she was very connected to her character. I made a short list of some of my favorite characters from the years. As I think about it, this list says a lot about me as a gamer and about the types of games I love.
Rise and Shiny recap: Faxion Online
I've been following Faxion Online for quite a while. Aww, I remember when it was just a cute little game in development, back when I visited the UTV True Games studio for a tour during GDC Online last year. The team was very passionate about its product, and there was obviously a lot of talent at work behind the scenes. One of the comments I made then (and that I will always remember) is that the devs all seemed like a bunch of gamers -- they appeared to have a love for what they were doing and truly seemed to believe in the game. They also talked about how a lot of MMO development took several years and the budget of a small country. I agreed with them on that. So they wanted to create their game in a much shorter time period yet have it still feature free-to-play accessibility along with old-school PvP. It was a tall order, especially considering the time frame they were looking at. Again, though, the team seemed capable of pulling it off. But did it? I spent half a week (I will explain later) in the game, and my impressions are right past the cut.
Ask Massively: New Mega Man games edition
I'm really happy to see that we're getting two new Mega Man games at long last. Mega Man Universe looks like it's going to be pretty awesome, even if it should really be taking cues from later installments, and Mega Man Legends 3 is a game that I've been waiting to see for... yeah, just about 10 years. Unfortunately, that does mean that I'm going to have to purchase another platform for the game, but that's all right by me. I already have a few dozen systems in my house; one more isn't going to hurt. But we're not here to talk about my pet causes -- we're here for the latest edition of Ask Massively. This week's questions were all about Chronicles of Spellborn and administrative details, so click on past the cut for our answers, and send your questions in to ask@massively.com! Or just leave them right here in the comments, makes no nevermind to us.
Chronicles of Spellborn servers have one last hurrah
The Chronicles of Spellborn fans have had a confusing week. On August 10th, an announcement was posted on Acclaim's TCoS forums, letting players know that the game would come to an end on August 25th. The announcement warned players to spend all unused Acclaim coins by that time and offered a customer support email address for players with questions. However, the servers were taken offline almost immediately with no word from Acclaim, and after a week of silence from the developers, fans concluded that the game was gone for good. Not so, it seems. A post entitled "The game is up!" appeared on the forums, sending a handful of players rushing to reinstall and enjoy a little more playtime. Unfortunately, there is still no announcement or explanation from the TCoS team, so there is no official word on what happened or how long it will last. For the time being, fans of The Chronicles of Spellborn can enjoy one last chance to play. [Thanks to CowMooFlage for the tip!]
A look back at year one of The Chronicles of Spellborn
The Chronicles of Spellborn is a game that I have long had a love affair with. I followed it through development and beta, and have played since the very beginning. Immediately its unique atmosphere and wonderful art style drew me in and had me hoping that this game would be one of the games to break the MMORPG mold. I downloaded screenshots, read the lore that I could find and waited with baited breath as the release date drew closer. Now, here we are a year after release. What happened within that year that resulted in two empty servers and a (seemingly) dwindling population? We haven't learned much through the usual channels, and the players that remain are left wondering. The last word given talked about a re-release, a "Spellborn 2" complete with a cash shop to aid adventurers, but the recent closing of the game in Japan and silence on the forums still have us a little confused.
Free for All: A look into The Chronicles of Spellborn
I have always wondered what happened to one of my favorite free-to-play games, The Chronicles of Spellborn. It's still a great game, don't get me wrong, and is completely free to play. A new version is even supposed to come out at some point, essentially the same game but with a cash-shop that features different travel items and armors. But why didn't The Chronicles of Spellborn do as good as it could have? I enjoyed it from the beginning but did find some flaws, namely in travel time. Of course, I am the world's biggest fan of realistic travel. I think it builds "character," but only having the option to walk while on land is, to say the least, a little tiring. Still, the game continues to captivate me. Perhaps the combat system was too out-of-sync with today's gamer, or maybe the quest text and wonderful lore were not enough to stop some players from getting bored? The stat-less armor and weapons might have had the most to do with it, being that players felt short-changed without being able to be recognized as something powerful just from the look of their avatar?
Spellborn dropping out of the Japanese market
The somewhat European inspired fantasy MMO The Chronicles of Spellborn is shutting down its Japanese service, causing a stir of worry and discussion about the title's future in other territories within the community at large. To make matters worse, the one person who could've cleared up any confusion, TheHistorian, is no longer with publisher Acclaim as community manager for the game. Given that he was the sole link between the community and developers, it's no wonder people are feeling a bit unsettled by the whole affair. While the closure of The Chronicles of Spellborn Japan isn't a good thing, it doesn't necessarily spell out a dark future for the title. A business deal could've gone sour, or perhaps the audience in Japan just wasn't strong enough to maintain the title. Just in cast something does happen, however, we'll be keeping an eye out for any further development.
Acclaim CEO says Spellborn version 2.0 is on the way
If you're a fan of The Chronicles of Spellborn, Beau Turkey at Spouse Aggro found something today that will make you very happy. There have been rumors floating around lately about a restructuring of the game, and those rumors were recently confirmed on the official forums by Howard Marks, the CEO of Acclaim Games: "The rumors are true! Spellborn Version Two is on the way." Marks went on to explain that the new version has already been released in Japan to great success. They've been fine tuning it, and plans for the English version are underway. If you are a current player of The Chronicles of Spellborn, be sure you have a valid email address on file with Acclaim, because everyone playing the current version will be invited to beta test the new version via email. While details are minimal at this point, it's great news for players to know that more is on the way. You can take a look at the forum announcement here, and Beau's take from a fan point of view here.
Chronicles of Spellborn now completely free while in re-development
Did you miss out on the Chronicles of Spellborn when it initially came out? Most likely you did. If it wasn't the freemium model that confused you, it was most likely the crazy-odd "Acclaim coins" system combined with "membership" that turned you off of the game.Well, as we mentioned before, Chronicles of Spellborn is facing some issues and tough times. The game is being re-developed into a free-to-play model while one arm of the Spellborn company is facing issues of bankruptcy. But not all is doom and gloom with the game itself. In fact, now couldn't be a better time to check out Spellborn.While the game is being re-developed and eventually re-launched, the current version is now completely free. All you need to do is go on, create an account, and download the game. That's it. So if you passed up the game before and you have some time on your hands, we recommend going on over and checking out Spellborn for the low, low price of free. It's fresh and quite different from your standard MMO.
One Shots: From the front lines
We don't often get to look in on The Chronicles of Spellborn, so it's great to get a report back from a Spellborn player for One Shots. Today's beautiful-yet-almost-psychadelic screenshot comes in to us from Eric who writes in: Looking down at the docks as I venture, for the first time, to The Vaults. The first thing that drew me into the The Chronicles of Spellborn was the atmospheric scenery. The area I'm traveling to is used to further the lore of the game, and the long trek up to the top of the mountain really gave me a perspective much like a pilgrim. Really well done! If your MMO travels have taken you to a world we don't often see, why not send in some screenshots and share your journeys! Email them to oneshots AT massively DOT com along with your name, the name of the game, and a brief description. We'll post them here and give you the credit. %Gallery-9798%
One Shots: To the vault
We haven't had many looks into this world as yet here on One Shots, which is a shame. The armor artwork and texturing is really quite interesting to look at! Not sure where this lone adventurer - Rayko Silverthorn of the guild Sacred, level 14 Trickster of High House Shroud - stands? He's exploring the world of The Chronicles of Spellborn, and writes in to tell us a bit more about the scene we're seeing - and why he likes The Chronicles of Spellborn. My first trip off of Parliament led me to Atheneum, home of The Consanguineous Vaults or just The Vaults. The ever increasingly difficult Vaults are were young adventurers go to hone their skills to become the heroes of tomorrow. This game features arguably the best combat system ever, The best way to handle death via Pep levels and a refreshing theme that breaks away from the oh so common style of fantasy MMORPGs.If you're traveling in a world we don't see often - or haven't really seen at all - then we want to see some screenshots from you! Just email them to us here at oneshots AT massively DOT com along with your name, the name of the game, and a brief description - or your thoughts on why your favorite MMO is awesome! We'll post them out here and give you the nod for sending the image and note in.%Gallery-9798%
Chronicles of Spellborn raises the free to play level cap
Worst part of freemium games is really getting into the game and then running head long into the free area's level cap. You just got started, just got into getting a nice pace, and you suddenly can't go any further until you buy a new zone or pay for a subscription.Chronicles of Spellborn seems to understand that problem and have taken a step to delay the inevitable. With the last patch, "Paragraph of Timed Strike," they've raised the free to play level cap from 7.6 to 9.9. This is going to allow new players or former free to play users the ability to level further and access more quests in the starting areas of Hawksmouth and Aldenvault.Of course at level 9.9 you're still going to need a subscription if you want to continue on with Spellborn, but hey, now you have 2.3 more levels to enjoy before you need to grab some Acclaim coins.
MMO Roundup: Last week on Massively
Sometimes you'd like to know that there are other MMOs out there, right? Our sister site Massively can provide you with everything you need to know about all MMOs, including WoW! Check out this roundup of the latest news from the wider MMO world. Free Realms launches todayAccording to a post on the Free Realms forums from Jason "Pex" Ryan, Community Manager, the servers will be going down this morning at approximately 8:00 AM Pacific, and will remain offline all day today while they push their final patches and run internal tests. They note that they will also be deleting all beta Free Realms characters as well. Guild Wars hits the 6 million milestoneJust in time for their fourth anniversary celebrations, ArenaNet have announced that Guild Wars has sold over six million copies. Coincidence? We think not but it's still a remarkable milestone for this popular MMO. Remember that market leader World of Warcraft has 11.5 million players worldwide and is subscription based. Guild Wars meanwhile, is free-to-play (plus box costs) and only a few months younger than WoW. LotRO two-year anniversary: Book 8 details announcedAs our LotRO 2nd anniversary coverage continues, we're pleased to bring you some of the latest news from a recent conference call we had with Turbine. This call involved Jeffrey Steefel, Executive Producer of LotRO, Harry Teasley, Art Director for LotRO and Adam Mersky, Director of Communications for Turbine to provide us with a rundown of the last two years with the game and what the future holds. Champions Online dated for release on July 14thDuring an event in the UK today, Cryptic's Bill Roper revealed that Champions Online will officially launch on July 14th 2009 in both the United State and Europe. The launch date, while a tiny bit further than expected, is probably for the better since Jumgpate Evolution is releasing in the middle of June anyhow. If both of these games hit in the same month, we'd probably lose our minds.
Spellborn launches in the US; subscriptions free for 2 weeks
Acclaim has officially launched The Chronicles of Spellborn in North America, and to mark the occasion, premium subscriptions are totally free for people registering before the 7th of May (and for existing accounts). The issue of needing "Acclaim Coins" to purchase subscriptions has been fixed in time for the launch, and when the free subscriptions run out, players will be able to keep them going using their credit cards directly.As we had confirmed for us last month, Spellborn will be using a monthly paid subscription business model, however, a small portion (three areas) of the game's content will be available for free in perpetuity. Upon reaching a certain level, all further character progression is blocked. This is really more of a free trial than an actual "free-to-play with premium for-pay bits", so to see what the full game is really like, the best option would be to try it out now while the flood gates are opened all the way. If you decide to give it a go, be sure to let us know what you think about it.
Spellborn updates for 2009 mapped out
Although the US is still waiting for The Chronicles of Spellborn to finish up its beta phases, the European version of the game has already been released. As is usually the case with an MMO launch, the developers didn't just flip the switch and then wash their hands of the project, and have been pushing out patches and hotfixes to their live servers as needed. Now we've been given an idea of where they hope to take the game over the coming year, via a post on the official forums.In the short term, a big patch is expected to be ready for the end of January, which will include some new monsters as well as a tutorial that comes in response to feedback from the community and press. A bit later in the year, the plan is to roll out the market, and an arena match-up system that will allow 2v2 and 4v4 PvP games. Longer term development goals include mounts and guild alliances, but when we're looking at this time-frame, it's highly likely that more ideas will come about. So, who is already on board with Spellborn?
What does Spellborn still need for a successful US/UK launch?
Here we are a month after the European launch of The Chronicles of Spellborn, and we find ourselves gearing up for the US and UK launches very soon. What has changed since the EU launch and what have the developers learned throughout the month after launch? MMORPG.com's Patrick S. Marshall takes a look and gives us his opinions on what the game still needs to make it in this hard-knock era for start-up MMOs."The bottom line is that the game could use some more players, especially on the international servers, which are considerably less populated than the French or German servers," Marshall says in the article. "The UK is separated from Europe publisher-wise by a territorial IP-ban (Acclaim is publishing TCoS in the US and the UK - Frogster does the rest of Europe and Asia)." For more information on The Chronicles of Spellborn and their upcoming US/UK launch, check out their main website.
