nerd-kingdom
Latest
TUG's multiplayer has arrived
The team behind TUG is about to let you play in the sandbox with your friends. The most recent update on the game's Kickstarter page includes multiplayer support so that you can built shelters with all of your friends. Moreover, this update adds in non-blocky voxel support. You won't just build houses out of dirt blocks; you'll build smooth, sprawling mansions! Out of, um, dirt. That part needs a bit of an update. You can check out the video just past the break for a comprehensive look at all of the features being added with this next patch to the alpha client. There are also several bug fixes and usability improvements for the client, including tweaks to rid the game of issues with small rocks and seed growth and improvements to tool use factors. If you're an alpha tester, the game you're playing will be that much better after the patch.
PAX South 2015: The Untitled Game is whatever you want it to be
The Untitled Game, better known as TUG, is one of the many recent titles that have earned a small crowdfunding fortune by shouting the word "sandbox" as loud as the internet will allow. The game's initial Kickstarter campaign raised $293,000; launching on Steam's Early Access marketplace helped Nerd Kingdom rake in an unspecified amount of additional dollars. The studio had a bold plan for an open-world, innovative crafting MMORPG, and it appeared as though players were ready to pay for it. Things haven't gone so swimmingly since then. Funding issues in late 2014 forced the studio to lay off around half of its staff. Many MMO industry followers have been wondering whether the project will ever be released or it's just another crowdfunded pipe dream. I took a look at TUG on the show floor at PAX South 2015 and talked to COO Brennan Priest about crowdfunding, layoffs, and killing things with axes. The one thing I can say for sure is that there is definitely a game here, and it seems as if it could be a good one.
TUG's multiplayer goes live
Yesterday, the first stage of TUG's multiplayer went online with its 0.8.1 alpha patch. Players can now bump into each other in both survival and creative modes. But wait -- there's more! The patch also sports a brand-new terrain engine, a new UI, better mod capabilities, additional AI characters, and a handy return stone. The TUG team will be at booth #1483 at PAX South this weekend and will be selling access to the game at a discount for the duration of the convention. Massively will be reporting on TUG from the show floor, so stay tuned!
TUG is pushing out multiplayer updates
The multiplayer lifestyle will be all the rage in TUG in the coming weeks, as the devs have said that they're preparing to push updates out to get more people playing together. Survival and creative modes will both be getting multiplayer love, although the team has asked for players to help spot and report bugs during this testing cycle. The team did warn that these builds will start small: "Multiplayer in this iteration is still fairly early, so don't expect crazy furry parties just yet. With more time and more tech, the experience and player count will improve. As to what that count is, we still cannot say."
TUG's investment deal goes through
After all the stress that TUG went through with a series of layoffs and funding issues, it almost seemed like too much to hope that Nerd Kingdom would actually secure the investors they were looking for. But good news does come around this time of year. The game has its additional funding secure, which means that it's out of the woods, at least for now. The multiplayer portion of the game continues in heavy development (there's a preview video just past the break) and supporters are implored to really go to town and help find bugs in that build. Players are also encouraged to check out the Nerd Kingdom booth at the upcoming PAX South. It's good news for fans of what the game is now and what it could eventually become, so keep your eyes peeled and breathe a sigh of relief that the money from the sky actually came through.
Nerd Kingdom is hopeful about an investor for TUG
Developer Nerd Kingdom has been fairly quiet since its announcement in September that half of its team was being let go in order to keep development moving on TUG. The good news is that the needed investors might be right around the corner. An update on the game's Kickstarter page notes that the team is entering what appear to be final talks with a potential investor, ensuring that the team has enough money to finish the game. The update stresses the fact that said investor is not looking to alter the development process or compromise the team's vision for the title. in terms of actual development, the game's multiplayer mode is coming together. It's also going to be increasing in price soon to $19.99, so if you'd been holding off on buying the game but really want to pick it up for only $10, your time is running out, although given recent events, you may want to hold off a little bit until the investment is a sure thing.
TUG cuts its staff in half to keep moving forward
There are certain announcements that never inspire confidence, like saying that you've had to remove half of the team working on a project. That's the announcement that TUG's developers recently dropped on the community. An investor that the team had been counting on provided terms that would have meant losing control of the project, so Nerd Kingdom chose to decline the funding. This might have been a great choice from a moral stance perspective, but it also meant that the team had to be pruned to keep the project financially viable. For fans, the immediate downside is that the game will be running a bit later with its Kickstarter rollouts than previously scheduled. The game is still humming along in development, though, and this reduction should be enough to keep the lights on. You can read the full update on the Kickstarter page, which also details a few potential unnamed spots of hope on the horizon.
TUG introduces the magic of alchemy
An early version of TUG's alchemy system has made it into the game. "Sacrifice your energy for the love of magic and bring forth some new surprises," Nerd Kingdom teased. Players can now get their hands on recipes to help them whip up useful items, mine crystals in the world, and transmute items at a cost. The team also announced that it has made "a lot of progress" on better multiplayer network code and improved terrain generation.
Latest TUG alpha video shows off Bronze Age update
Farewell, Stone Age; TUG is advancing to the Bronze. With update 0.6.5's introduction of new ores and the metallurgy equipment to smelt and shape them, players can forge more powerful bronze weapons and tools to help them better survive in their adventures. Of course, before you can use the ore you first have to find and mine it; ores will generate from certain rock materials and players find them by deleting rocks with their building too. And thanks to the addition of a larger 2x2x2 building cube, mining (and building) is made easier. To switch between the cube sizes, scroll the mouse wheel while holding Shift. Get a glimpse of all these shiny new tools in the video below.
TUG updates metallurgy and multiplayer capabilities
TUG is about to get a lot more metal. It's about to be so metal that you won't be able to handle all of the metal. At least, you'll need to be skilled with forging to handle all of the metal, as the game's initial implementation for metallurgy is coming to a test client near your desktop. The game has posted an update for backers explaining that the first pass is nearly complete, and the next game update will allow players to build a forge, make simple bronze age tools, and mine for important minerals. But what's it all worth if you can't show off to your friends? Multiplayer support is currently high on the priority list, with no specific ETA provided beyond a promise of another update in the near future. For more details on the developing features, check out the full update on Kickstarter.
Yogventures gives Landmark keys as additional consolation gifts
Supporters of Yogventures have another consolation gift to go in take the edge off of the loss of their dream game: a key for Landmark. Massively readers might remember that Yogventures was a Kickstarter campaign that over-funded, was mismanaged, and then imploded, taking over almost $570,000 from 13,000 backers with it. Owner Yogcast then partnered itself with TUG, providing free TUG Steam keys for those backers and transferring all Yogventures assets to Nerd Kingdom. It looks as though Landmark has some sort of alliance with Yogcast, as the official site encourages gamers to play with the Yogcast crew. Further compensation for Yogventures backers may be forthcoming.
TUG update talks predators, apothecary, alchemy, and terrain tweaks
TUG is prepping some "major content and engine updates," according to a blurb on its Kickstarter page. New goodies include performance enhancements, predators, alchemy, apothecary functionality, and a new terrain system. The KS update also features TUG's latest In The Works video diaries which cover the aforementioned potion-making, predator, and terrain tweaks. View all four clips just past the cut.
Nerd Kingdom on Yogventures!'s implosion and the future of TUG
Yesterday, Massively reported on the impending bankruptcy filing and cancellation of Kickstarted Winterkewl/Yogscast game Yogventures! and the alleged transfer of its assets over to TUG, a sandbox game by Nerd Kingdom that we've written about since its reveal last year. Journalists and gamers have suggested that in spite its claims to the contrary, Yogscast itself might be liable for refunds, as would any beneficiary of assets entangled in a future bankruptcy filing. We spoke to TUG's Peter "Ino" Salinas to shed light on the situation and its implications for TUG. Massively: Yogscast has distanced itself from Winterkewl, the studio making Yogventures!, but statements made by Winterkewl seem to suggest that Yogscast is simply transferring its support for Winterkewl's game to your pre-existing game, TUG, causing Yogventures to go bankrupt and disavowing any obligation to underwrite the spent half million in Kickstarter funds. Is that your understanding of the situation? Can you clarify it for our readers? Nerd Kingdom's Peter Salinas: There are a lot of details to the discussions that Yogs and Winterkewl had before we started to develop our friendship with the Yogscast. We were also honestly wary of the situation ourselves at first, having been aware of Yogventures! around the time we did our own Kickstarter campaign. The reality of the situation was this: A young and ambitious developer overscoped a project... this would not be the first time that happened; it's just a total bummer that it had to happen with a massive community involved. And during that time, the Yogscast group, knowing little enough about development, agreed to let them use their likeness in their own project. Yogs knew that Yogscast itself was not equipped to manage the project, so they let Winterkewl use their brand and a community to build on. Sadly in that process, all the milestones that were set by Winterkewl, which would have allowed the Yogscast to promote the project, never were hit. How can you promote or make an experience with nothing to share? Even we had our own time to put in before we were able to demonstrate anything reasonable.
Yogscast's TUG partnership comes alongside a cancelled game
If you're a fan of Yogscast and TUG, you're probably happy to learn that Yogscast is going to be working closely with Nerd Kingdom to promote the game. Of course, you might not be such a fan if you were originally a backer of Yogventures!, the Yogscast-inspired game that very recently announced it was cancelled despite reaching double its Kickstarter goal in 2012. All of the Yogventures! assets and code are being transferred over as well, allowing TUG to reap the benefits of what had been done on the cancelled game. According to the Yogscast crew, the partnership with TUG and the distribution of serial codes are meant as an effort to make things right, although the official communication makes it clear that they are not on the hook for the game's cancellation (which might be legally debatable). Many of the Yogventures! backers are still very unhappy with the situation, though, as TUG is not the game they backed in the first place. Time will tell how this shakes out in the long run, as very few Kickstarter backers are likely to be fully mollified by receiving a copy of a game they never wanted.
Watch a TUG artist design a hostile predator
Mountain lion butts! That's what's in store for you in the latest TUG "In the Works" behind-the-scenes video. Nerd Kingdom "Ninja Rigger and 3-D Artist" Eric Stodolnik is featured in the brief clip as he shows viewers how one of the game's many hostile predators is modeled from start to finish. The video is included below!
TUG alpha patch allows you to hunt dumb goats
What purpose do really dumb goats serve? If they're in TUG's new 0.6.3 alpha update, it's to be hunted for their pelts and cooked over a roaring flame. In a new video, TUG shows off several of the sandbox elements that went into today's patch. Players can create and cultivate farms, or alternatively go hunting for the aforementioned "dumb goats." There is also a physics system in place for projectiles, new craftables, and the ability to have a good old-fashioned cook-out. We're not kidding around, this is one goat-tastic video. Check it out after the break!
TUG rolling out new features and blocking Proving Grounds
The latest update on TUG is both good news and bad news. The good news is that the game is getting ready to roll out a major update that will include a lot of fun stuff for players. Like what, you ask? Like hunting, and farming and all the goats you can ask for. Even if you ask for a lot of goats, you can have never have enough goats. So what's the bad news? Well, it turns out that the team kind of broke Proving Grounds on the way to adding in new features. Rather than delaying the update, the current stopgap solution is to block off Proving Grounds and simply add it back in during a later update. You can read the full update if you need some specifics; the hope is that players won't ultimately be surprised when the update goes live for everyone.
TUG videos shows off new survival mode, more explorable biomes
If you've been looking forward to testing out TUG's persistent survival mode, it's now here; alpha update 0.6.2 introduced the first phase this week. The update also includes new biomes to explore, new resources to gather, an extended hunger timer, and more. The Proving Grounds, the game's traditional arena mode, is still available to play. To get a peek at all the new biomes and other changes, watch the videos below and check the official patch notes. Nerd Kingdom's Peter Salinas also shared with Massively what players can expect in the next update. Around July 11th, TUG will add "AI, goats to hunt and harvest for foods, cooking, farming, camp fires, and throwing spears." Players can get early access to the game on Steam.
TUG team releases behind-the-scenes video for Playtest Fridays
Ahh, making video games. It's all about just playing games all day, right? Well, actually, for Nerd Kingdom, that is true for Playtest Fridays. A brand-new video was released by the TUG developer today showing off a bit of light-hearted behind-the-scenes fun during the sandbox MMO's development. The indie dev team dedicates every Friday to playtesting the game to squash bugs and focus on player feedback. The video shows a glimpse inside the studio during meetings, play sessions, and more. So if you're into secret whiteboard scratchings and hidden codes on colored sticky notes, check out the video after the cut in slow-mo. [Source: Kickstarter]
Hands-on with TUG, The Untitled Game
In my youth, my father handed me nails, wood, and a hammer and told me to build whatever I wanted. I managed to create swollen fingers and a few tangled heaps of wood and nails. Nerd Kingdom is a lot like my father, but instead of wood, the studio is handing me TUG, or as I like to call it, everything. TUG is a sandbox RPG akin to Landmark or Minecraft, but something about TUG is different. Maybe it's the development team that contains working titles like Economist or Behavioral Scientist. Or perhaps it's the data-driven design philosophy, which claims to deliver a better experience by analyzing how we play. Regardless, it's clear that Nerd Kingdom is attempting to give us more tools to create, both for the players in game and the modders outside of it. My recent demo, interview, and hands-on session showed me how TUG will unlock the creator's imagination -- with fewer swollen fingers.
