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PAX South 2015: Life is Feudal revives the good ol' MMO feel
When the assignment for Life Is Feudal came to me, I questioned why I was covering a game that really didn't seem to be an MMORPG in my eyes because of its separate servers and the survival feel of the setting. It felt to me initially that I was covering another DayZ, one set in a medieval era and no zombies. But as I found out at this year's PAX South, I was completely wrong. Interestingly, I didn't find out what kind of mistake I made from the head honcho of Bitbox, Vladimir Piskunov. I found out from someone who has been playing for a long time and was invited to play at the Life Is Feudal booth. His name is Bill, and he's the "superfan" who demoed the game for me. He explained the ins and outs of the mechanics until I started having Ultima Online flashbacks. We discussed the skill system and trekked around the world, and then reminded me that LiF will eventually be an MMORPG. And I could certainly see how. If sandboxes are your thing as they are mine, then maybe this game is up our alley.
Life is Feudal unveils its 2015 roadmap
So what will the next year bring for Life is Feudal? Lots of things, since the game is still in its early access phase. But you don't have to take our vague and noncommittal words for it; you can just take a look at the game's official 2015 roadmap. The page outlines what will be coming to the game each month from here until September, along with progress bars to give hopeful players an idea of how far along the team has gotten on these features. The team is going to be taking a break on all of this during their first trip to a convention, though; the staff from Bitbox will be in-person at PAX South, displaying at Booth 1261 for fans and those who have never heard of the game before. In other words, it should be a pretty busy 2015 for the game. [Thanks to Saxxon for the tip!]
The Stream Team: Living it up in Life is Feudal: Your Own
Life is Feudal: Your Own is a sandbox game of brutal combat and artisan crafting set back in medieval times. And it is now on Steam! With so many things to do -- including hunting, taming wild animals, mining, logging, building a house, waging war, and so much more -- Massively's MJ will have no trouble filling her time. The tricky part will be deciding on what to do (and figuring out how to do it)! Join us live at 1:00 p.m. to be a part of her adventures in this new world. Game: Life is Feudal: Your Own Host: MJ Guthrie Date: Saturday, October 25th, 2014 Time: 1:00 p.m. EDT Enjoy our Stream Team video below.
Life is Feudal reports 100,000 copies sold in the first month
After a month of availability on Steam and via its own website, Life is Feudal has apparently sold 100,000 copies. Bitbox has clarified to Massively that the current build of the game "is a 64-player version" and that the "thousands of servers [...] are all persistent." Producer and project lead Vladimir Piskunov attributes the early success of the title to the freedom allowed for players to build while emphasizing that these sales will help fund the development of the game's full MMO experience. No specific target date for the game's MMO incarnation has been set. [Source: Bitbox Ltd. press release]
Life is Feudal sells 65,000 copies on Steam early access
Things are going swimmingly for Life is Feudal if Steam early access sales are any indication. Indie studio Bitbox Ltd says that it's moved 65,000 units of its flagship title since September 19th. If you're a fan of fantasy MMOs and sandboxes, you might want to take a look at the game's latest promo trailer that we've embedded just past the cut. [Source: Bitbox Ltd.]
Perfect Ten: Terrible, terrible MMO names
A catchy, vivid title is essential to getting your game noticed and establishing a strong brand. Yes, we as gamers will get used to pretty much any dumb name (unless it's Daikatana), but a great one allows us to mention it in polite society without getting spat on or rejected for dates. The best MMO names in my opinion are single words that sound cool or conjure up a strong association. I'm less fond of ALL CAPS ACRONYMS and any game that can't be more inventive with its title than to put "Online" after it. For the most part, MMOs play it safe and boring with titles, with only a few outliers in the awesome or terrible fringes. Today, we're going to examine the latter. I want to make a couple of quick qualifiers here. I'm not judging these games by their names; an MMO can be good or bad independent of how silly its name is. And while I know that some of these names make more sense in context, I generally feel that if I have to have it explained to me, then it's a fail.
PvP sandbox Life is Feudal hits Steam early access next week
Life is Feudal is one of several indie sandbox MMOs striving to become this generation's Ultima Online, and next week, you can actually play it... if you fork over a few bucks for early access, that is. The game unlocks on Steam on September 19th; existing alpha players will be able to claim their early alpha keys on Steam and partake in the smaller-scale, non-MMO test version of the game. Billing itself as a realistic medieval sandbox, Life is Feudal includes city construction and invasion, a freeform character building system, a single seamless world, terraforming, farming, crafting skills like cooking and alchemy, and full open PvP with looting. The developers maintain a document explaining how the game is similar to and different from other MMOs with such features, however. The game failed to reach its Indiegogo goals last year.
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!).
Make My MMO: Crowdfunding November 17 - 30, 2013
One thing gamers can definitely be thankful for this year is crowdfunding! Thanks to this phenomenon, we have many more options opening to us than ever before. And there are definitely some good gaming prospects on the horizon, even if news about all but one is seeming a bit scarce lately. While it's true that a few funded projects tossed out a news morsel or two, two new campaigns replaced two unsuccessful ones (neither The Zodiac Project nor Omuni Online made their goals), newcomer The Mandate already made its goal, and another hopeful -- Ever, Jane -- has secured three-quarters of its goal with only a couple of days left, the majority of the spotlight has been stolen the upcoming space sim Star Citizen, which continues to blast the crowdfunding record to smithereens. If you missed any of the news, you can catch up on it all right here in Make My MMO.
Life is Feudal livestream features Q&A, two hours of gameplay
Life is Feudal is the latest indie sandbox to make waves in the MMO community, but what's the actual gameplay like? That question is at least partially answered thanks to a two-hour livestream published on YouTube earlier today. Lead developer Bobik is your guide, and he also fields a few community questions during the course of the event. The game is currently in a pre-alpha state. You can watch the livestream by clicking past the cut. [Thanks Kuroi!]
Make My MMO: Crowdfunding November 3 - 16, 2013
A quiet fortnight in the land of crowdfunding these past two weeks have not been. In fact, with the popularity of this funding model, it may never be quiet again. The past two weeks have had their share of campaigns starting, campaigns closing, and campaigns obliterating goals and funding records alike. Three new prospective games have popped on the radar (including one for those with impeccable manners!), and one has disappeared. But even that game isn't gone for good; although pledges had climbed to over $86K, Trials of Ascension canceled its campaign in order to "regroup, rework, and return." Another title, City of Titans, is taking its place among the fully funded crowd. And there there is Star Citizen, which proved that a single fortnight can't go by without the game's gathering another million or two. All that information and more can be found here in Make My MMO!
Life is Feudal is offering a look at the gameplay via livestream Friday
Show me the sandbox! If you've wanted to catch a glimpse of Life is Feudal gameplay, the recently announced medieval sandbox being developed by Bitbox, set some time aside this Friday. At 3:00 p.m. EST on November 15th, devs will be livestreaming some of the gameplay of this project they've been working on for the last three years. Will the live show highlight the terraforming, the crafting minigames, or the target-less combat (which includes aiming for ranged attacks)? And how much of the seamless world can the devs traverse in just one livestream? You'll have to watch on Friday to find out! The address for the stream will be announced later, but those who miss it can take note of the game's official YouTube channel in order to watch it afterwards. [Thanks to Kuroi for the tip!]
Life is Feudal begins Indiegogo campaign
Promising to deliver "realistic medieval" MMO, game developers from Russia are seeking crowdfunding to push hardcore sandbox Life is Feudal over the finish line. Bitbox has been working on Life is Feudal for over three years but recently decided that an Indiegogo campaign was needed to further finance the title to the tune of €200,000. "We have reached a point where additional external funding is required for us to complete the development and release our game, and we spent many nights and days weighing our options," the devs wrote on the campaign page. The project page has a good summary of this ambitious title's selling points, including a 441-square-kilometer seamless world, full terraforming, a rich crafting system, a no-target combat system, and the ability to track and hunt wild animals. We recently saw a trailer for Life is Feudal showing some of its potential. The game will be free-to-play with an alpha starting soon after the fundraising campaign if the money is raised. [Thanks to Alessio for the tip!]
Here's a trailer for promising indie sandbox Life is Feudal
Need another indie sandbox to pin your player-generated hopes and dreams upon? Life is Feudal might be up to the task if the game's latest trailer is any indication. Bitbox's brief video clip highlights features including a seamless open world, 100 percent terraforming, "flexible free building," physics-based melee and ranged combat with aiming, crafting minigames, a realistic player damage system, and a combat formation system. Bitbox's press release says that additional game-related details are coming in the future, including information on a "complex food and cooking system" as well as full loot mechanics, skill and stat caps, and weapon combos. Click past the cut for the trailer. [Source: Bitbox press release]
