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Pantheon removes its web store
If you were waiting to grab something from the website store for Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen, you are now officially too late. A forum post this week states that after internal developer discussion, the devs made the decision to remove the store in prep for a redesign of the interface and a re-evaluation of the various items up for sale. Any orders already placed via the store will still be honored, so you don't need to worry if you had purchased something just before the shutdown. The post also makes note that if the store is brought back, no items with any sort of statistics or concrete advantages will be sold there, although there are no hard and fast decisions about when or whether it will be brought back. Of course, it's probably a little early to be worrying about that anyhow, but points for thinking ahead.
Pantheon dev roundtable promises a public Vision
You know how the other day we reported on how Pantheon's maiden podcast was teasing an upcoming developer roundtable? Well, that roundtable has arrived indeed, and you can listen to the full hour-and-a-half discussion with the team after the break. One of the topics was over the team's "foundational principles," which players say they were promised over a year ago. Brad McQuaid apologized for not having posted those tenets yet and said that they would be forthcoming on the website before too long. "The Vision of Pantheon as a whole has not changed," he assured listeners.
Pantheon podcast promises that the game is getting made
As part of a communications initiative for 2015, Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen has launched an official podcast devoted to bringing fans up to speed on the project and the game's various systems. Creative Director Chris Perkins took the mic for the first episode and reassured fans that even with a smaller team, Pantheon is still being made. "We are really developing a game, and there is going to be a game that comes out of this when all is said and done," he begins. Perkins goes on to talk about various studio promotions, the upcoming dev rountable discussion, and the philosophy behind Pantheon's achievement system. You can hear the 15-minute podcast after the break.
Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen previews an upcoming dungeon
The volunteer team behind Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen is apparently hard at work following the release of the game's most recent update video. A new dungeon preview is available on the game's Facebook page, showing off a single in-progress screenshot and discussing the design principles behind Amberfaet, the Kingdom Underneath. It's not mentioned exactly what it's underneath, which leads to the inevitable conclusion that it lies buried deep below the ancient drive-in movie theater. Or some surface ruins; who knows. Amberfaet is proudly held up as a sprawling dungeon containing content for mid-level players all the way to max-level raids, with a great deal of time within dedicated simply to navigating the crumbling ruins up and down. OSHA compliance is apparently not a standard feature in the Kingdom Underneath. There's a bit more information on the official preview, if you're so inclined. Pantheon began collecting donations through Patreon in November following the collapse of its initial funding and paid development team last spring.
Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen is now taking donations through Patreon
Brad McQuaid has apparently started a new Patreon to fund Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen, the third crowdfunding source that the game has employed. Let's recap: The game was first announced by the former Vanguard lead with a Kickstarter campaign that failed to meet its target goal. That was followed by an on-site fundraising campaign that abruptly ended when McQuaid admitted (against a backdrop of worrisome rumors) that there was no more money to pay the studio employees, at which point he told fans that development was starting again with an all-volunteer team. So what do you get for backing the game's development? Videos. The current funding goals are $1,000 increments for monthly development videos through January; they'll show the volunteer team's progress on the game. Those who donate large amounts of money will also be granted exclusive screenshots of the in-development version of the game (so far those we've seen include placeholder assets) and a spot in the credits of a development video. The page claims that any and all funds raised will fund the team as well as defray hardware and server costs.
Make My MMO: November 9 - November 15, 2014
This week in MMO crowdfunding news, Shards Online returned to Kickstarter seeking $50,000 and a coat of polish for its player-driven multiverse sandbox. Citadel Studios developers also visited the Massively comment section to answer questions about the upcoming title, which is well over halfway to its goal with 27 days remaining. Elsewhere, Star Citizen continued to roll around in piles of money, while Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen stirred from its slumber to offer up some early development screenshots. Click past the cut for the rest of this week's MMO crowdfunding news.
Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen shows off early development screenshots
It's been a little while since Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen shifted over to an entirely volunteer-based development team, which has nevertheless resulted in further development, albeit slowly. A new set of teaser images have gone live on the game's Facebook page, showing off some of the sample areas and interface elements of the game as a preview ahead of an expected video footage release. Needless to say, some of the models (including the player avatar displayed) are still using placeholder assets rather than final versions, but there are enough screenshots to get a sense of where the game's development currently is at. You can take a look at the pictures yourself and decide if the game is coming along well despite its troubles or looks rough even for early demonstrations.
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.
Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen releases new screenshots
Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen's Facebook page has been updated with new screenshots of zones currently under construction in the apparently still-in-progress MMORPG. The developers reiterate that they are still working on the game: As always, please remember this is work-in-progress, and that the different areas shown are at different points in terms of being finished. So, for example, lighting and sky will look better in some shots vs. others. That said, I think it shows our world building team is NOT fooling around and we are building the world of Terminus!! Pantheon failed to meet its Kickstarter goals last February, but team lead Brad McQuaid announced the game was back in "full development mode" as of June.
Pantheon previews Halnir, promises to show more soon
Still waiting eagerly for the release of Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen? While development has been fairly quiet, the official Facebook page has just seen an update showing off the zone of Halnir in six new screenshots. They show a small hint of the game's day/night cycle, as well as a few other relevant landmarks in the zone. The post also promises that the development team is getting ready to demonstrate some major forward progress on the game. Although there's no exact time frame, the goal is before the weekend hits. Fans can take a look at the preview and keep their eyes peeled for more on the official Facebook page.
Know Your Lore, Tinfoil Hat Edition: The Titans
The World of Warcraft is an expansive universe. You're playing the game, you're fighting the bosses, you know the how -- but do you know the why? Each week, Matthew Rossi and Anne Stickney make sure you Know Your Lore by covering the history of the story behind World of Warcraft. They are enigmatic overlords of the universe as we know it, creatures of order and perfection, bent on a seemingly never-ending task of remaking worlds and creating order from the inherent chaos of the Great Dark Beyond. Titans, marvels largely beyond our comprehension, yet intrinsically tied to the creation of our world, and the unique place that Azeroth holds in the universe. Of all the worlds in all of the Great Dark Beyond, Azeroth was spared. Of all the worlds in the Great Dark Beyond, Azeroth warranted a second chance, despite being riddled with the corruption of the Old Gods. But the choice that the Titans made thousands upon thousands of years ago is something we know about. It's been covered again and again, we've found artifacts strewn all over Azeroth that attest to the planet's unique history. And certainly we've asked, time and time again, why Azeroth is so unique, what makes it so special in the universe. But maybe that's the wrong question to be asking, because there are plenty of worlds out there that have been touched by the hands of the Titans. Nearly all of them. We share things in common -- both draenei and natives of Azeroth practice working with the Light. Both Azeroth and Draenor have, at some point, been touched by the Old Gods. So maybe we should be turning that line of questioning the other way. Maybe what we should be asking is a question that never, ever gets asked -- what are the Titans? Today's Know Your Lore is a Tinfoil Hat edition. The following contains speculation based on known material. These speculations are merely theories and shouldn't be taken as fact or official lore.
McQuaid says a playable Pantheon will happen 'in a matter of months'
Brad McQuaid is back with a mammoth 3,200-word update (treatise?) on Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen, specifically to rebut misinformation about the project without returning to his former "evangelist" mode. What's most interesting is how he indicates that there will be a playable build much sooner than anticipated. Pantheon is now "truly client-server," he explains, allowing users to log in and explore the game's single zone, Halnir's Pass, while the database saves persistent information. McQuaid said that the team is revising the game lore and working on a world map. The plan is for Pantheon to have nine playable races and three starter cities when it launches. "Our goal is to make adventure, exploration, and combat working pre-alpha," McQuaid wrote. "We're going to be grouping up, exploring, and killing mobs in a matter of months, not years." [Thanks to Kirsan for the tip!]
Pantheon team posts new videos
A couple of new videos appeared on Pantheon's Facebook page last night. The clips "are not made to look spectacular, but rather to show functionality and to keep the community informed as to the measurable forward progress we are making," according to the accompanying text commentary. The videos demonstrate working client/server code via an account creation and login sequence followed by a bit of in-game scenery and player interaction.
Pantheon returns to 'full development mode'
In a post on the official site yesterday, Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen lead Brad McQuaid revealed that the project is moving ahead after some setbacks. "We are back in full development mode," McQuaid announced. He went on to say that the team is working on client/server network code, laying out the zones, and preparing to create characters to explore them. McQuaid promised weekly updates going forward and said that the studio is building up the team quickly. "We have more talented people willing to help out and dedicate themselves to the project than I would have ever imagined," he said. "We continue to be a bit overwhelmed, but this is a good problem to have." One position that he's looking for is a CEO for the studio to allow him to focus on the creative side of things.
Meet Pantheon's god-killer, the WarWizard
Pantheon's move to continue development via a team of all volunteers is producing results, albeit small ones. "We are having great success re-building the team, including the lore and moderator teams," Brad McQuaid posted. "One of my main next goals is to find a Unity programmer who can take over from where the project itself was left." The team posted a new piece of concept art and lore yesterday covering powerful figures known as WarWizards. WarWizards were created by external forces to help battle the god-kings of Terminus. A few talented individuals were chosen to be elevated with the ability to master both magic and weapons. In the Deicide Wars, WarWizards smacked down many god-kings and cemented their legacy in the process. WarWizards have retreated into myth and legend, although the post certainly hints that they might return if Terminus faces another great threat.
Make My MMO: May 4 - May 10, 2014
This week in MMO crowdfunding news we said hello to The Stomping Land and goodbye to Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen. The former is a PvP survival sandbox focused on taming dinosaurs, pitting the larger beasties against one another (because they're unkillable by puny player characters), and avoiding the typical gank squad behavior that's certain to manifest. The latter is of course Brad McQuaid's bid to recapture his EverQuest glory days. The latest bit of news, aside from various unsubstantiated internet rumors, involves McQuaid's decision to continue development with a volunteer dev team. Click past the cut for Massively's list of crowdfunded MMOs and their latest news updates.
Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen restarting with volunteer team
The last major update posted regarding Brad McQuaid's dream MMO, Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen, didn't leave a lot of ambiguity. The game had no prototypes to be shown off, it had failed at its Kickstarter campaign, and the funding raised by fans had completely worn out. So you'd think that would mean it was the end of the road, but instead McQuaid has posted an update on the state of the game's development, and according to the post, the team is being rebuilt and progress will be made. McQuaid explains that the new development team will be working as volunteers for three main reasons: There's no money to pay this new team, McQuaid doesn't want to go through the same stresses that were involved in putting together the last remote team, and as the team will also be remote, it will require a certain amount of adjustment and uncertainty. If you're still hoping for the game's eventual release, you should take a look at McQuaid's full update on the official site. [With thanks to Cederhill for the tip.]
McQuaid: Pantheon could launch 'in three years once we get the funding'
Visionary Realms boss Brad McQuaid says Pantheon's not dead. Earlier this month the fledgling crowdsourced fantasy MMO went on development hiatus due to a lack of funding, but last night McQuaid took to Twitter and Facebook to show off "a ton of screenshots of various builds prior to us having to slow things down." "I'd like to see it launched in three years once we get the funding," McQuaid continued. "I don't think it needs five years of development."
Pantheon slows development, cites lack of funding
After Brad McQuaid's Pantheon Kickstarter campaign fell short of its $800,000 goal in February, Visionary Realms said that development would continue. But today we've gotten word that it will slow until further funding is secured. "The downside now is that our initial resources have depleted," a post on the official site states. "Which regrettably means that development is going to slow down until finances can be secured. It's not something we want to do by any means, but as we cannot guarantee paychecks to the team, they each need to be able to spend time on other things to pay the bills." The post goes on to say that all donations at this point will be used for website maintenance and not development until a large enough investment is made to get studio space. Check out the official announcement on Pantheon's main site for more info.
The Game Archaeologist: The danger of expecting lightning to strike twice
It's no secret that many of the more successful Kickstarter projects over the past few years have heavily capitalized on player nostalgia, brand names, and former dev gods who are back for another round. The formula for drawing in the big bucks seems to be the following: Take something players hugely loved back in the day, dangle the concept of a sequel (spiritual or otherwise), and promise some measure of iterative improvement. I once wrote about how we really can't go back again to recreate a particular game experience because it was usually a confluence of several factors that were related to where the industry was then and where you were then. I'm not saying that there isn't value to retro gaming, playing classic MMOs, or involving the past in future development! But there is a danger in how we as gamers become so beholden to our nostalgia that we dare lightning to strike twice -- and we're paying big bucks to see that happen. But can we? Will it?
