camelot-unchained
Latest
Camelot Unchained producer's letter talks new race, development progress
Tyler Rockwell recently joined the crew of City State Entertainment as producer for Camelot Unchained, and recently took a few thousand words to introduce himself to Kickstarter backers and CU fans via producer's letter. The update covers Rockwell's design history, introduction to the games industry, and recent migration to CSE's Virginia studios, in addition to a few developmental points regarding Camelot Unchained. According to Rockwell, he is working to learn everything he can about the game and its community while simultaneously unrolling new task-tracking software and getting up to speed on what CU's team is doing. Current projects include updates to the internal patcher, further development of the game's networking system, polish on the engine's character importer, the creation of a brand-new race, and the synchronization of team animators and designers working on a variety of tasks. Rockwell said he considers himself the member of the team that's there to help everyone get the job done, similar to a Battlefield sniper or League of Legends healer. He also included a bit of concept art as "a not-too-subtle hint of what [CSE's] modeler is working on right now," which you can see after the jump.
Make My MMO: Crowdfunding August 25 - September 7, 2013
If you build it, they will come. While that adage hold true for baseball diamonds in cornfields, it's a little bit different for MMOs. If you're set on developing a new virtual playground, you get them to come so you can build it! That's the philosophy behind crowdfunding, anyway, and many are latching onto it. So how fare the fields of crowdfunding lately? New projects (Alteil Horizons, Epic Space) sprouted up, one took root and grew stronger (Divergence), and others (Project Snowstorm, Realms of Creation, Enspira Online) withered away from lack of nourishment. See how your favorite projects are growing right here in Make My MMO.
Camelot Unchained contemplates a Berserker race
Would the Beserkers make a better race than a class? That's the big question that City State Entertainment's Mark Jacobs is mulling over in today's Camelot Unchained update. The CEO delivers a rundown of what the team's accomplished recently and what the team has next on the list, but he quickly transitions into a story about the Viking warriors and asks the community if they might be better served as a race. "I've always loved these guys and initial plan was to have them as a melee class within the game," Jacobs writes. "However, it might be a heck of a lot of fun if they were their own race. I thought about it and I decided that the idea of a Berserker Mage or Berserker Healer was just way too much fun." Jacobs is soliciting feedback from the community on the topic and wrapped up the update post with an early look at the Dvergr model.
Make My MMO: Crowdfunding August 11 - 24, 2013
Just when you think it will be a quiet couple of weeks on the crowdfunding scene... it isn't. Crowdfunding hopefuls seem to be following the advice of The Gambler this week: Know when to hold them, when to fold them, when to walk away, and even when to run! The funded crowd is holding steady with only a few bits of news, but two projects are on the brink of folding as they are both far short of their goals. Legends of Firestorm, on the other hand, didn't just walk away -- it high-tailed it out of Kickstarter without a word of explanation. In the meantime, thwo new projects (StarCraft Universe and Enspira Online) have joined the scene, and another project resurfaced. Check out the details right here.
Camelot Unchained update talks Cait Sith race
CityState head honcho Mark Jacobs is back for another Friday afternoon update regarding Camelot Unchained. This time the topic du jour is a "possible Arthurian race" called the Cait Sith. Jacobs says that CityState's Cait Sith interpretation will avoid the well-worn anthropomorphic path trod by the Thundercats and untold numbers of fantasy video games. Instead, CU's cats must be "badass," and "must look like the meanest, scariest, top of the food chain beings in the Realm." Unfortunately there's no concept art on display as of yet, but Jacobs says that CityState is working on it. Other potential racial attributes include shapeshifting abilities and a uniquely feline society. Finally, there's an extensive bit of Cait Sith lore. Read all about it by clicking through to the links below.
Make My MMO: Crowdfunding July 28 - August 10, 2013
Ah, the joys of bringing more games into the fold. Sadly, we don't know whether this will be just a brief passing in the night or a more permanent stay; that all depends on how newcomers Project Snowstorm and Legends of Firestorm do on their respective Kickstarter campaigns. Will the community help them make their MMOs? We'll keep watch and keep you informed. Speaking of keeping informed, a few of the funded projects found themselves in the news lately -- and we mean more than just crowdfunding king Star Citizen! And we've got it all rounded up right here for your perusing pleasure.
Camelot Unchained status update outlines weekly progress
Mark Jacobs has posted a new update to Camelot Unchained's Kickstarter page. It's quite an epic wall of text, but thankfully he's also included some new environmental concept art and a couple of shots from CityState's UI/web interface. There's also a bit of lore regarding the Stormriders and of course a status report to catch us up on last week's road map. Click through the links below to see all that the dev team has accomplished in recent days.
Camelot Unchained hires more staff, lays out roadmap
Camelot Unchained has emerged from its slumber to deliver a doozy of an update. For starters, City State Entertainment has hired three new full-time staff members for its upcoming MMO: a producer, gameplay engineer, and community manager. CEO Mark Jacobs also vowed to deliver regular roadmaps to the community regarding the current progress and upcoming goals of the team. The first such update mentions initial passes to server loops and the patching system, not to mention work on overhauling the website. The team's also beginning work on the next race: "We have two possibilities right now (both are Arthurians) and one of them is definitely a little easier than the other but we'll see. One draws heavily on a Scottish legend while the other, well, it's different and also not so different at the same time." Finally, Jacobs posted concept art for the Hamadryads after giving his team some guidance where to go with this race. "First, I told them to think of the Hamadryads in a different way than is usually seen for this type of creature," he said. "Secondly, I told them to study both Guild War 2's Sylvari and the Dark Age of Camelot's Sylvan and make sure that our Hamadryads weren't clones, or even close to, those races."
Make My MMO: Crowdfunding July 14 - 27, 2013
Another fortnight down; another MMO hopeful lost. The casualty? Story Quest Online, which didn't come close to meeting its Kickstarter goal. The newest addition to this list, Realms of Creation, is still moving toward its goal and has another 34 days left to reach it. To see more about it, check out the new video after the break. In other news, Pathfinder Online also has a new video, and Star Citizen's Chris Robert's talked at length in an exclusive Massively interview. Even controversial Greed Monger headlined with a demonstration of its house building feature. Catch all the links to these stories right here in Make My MMO.
Make My MMO: Crowdfunding June 30 - July 13, 2013
The last two weeks haven't been quiet on the crowdfunding front. While Star Citizen takes the lead with the most news (from ever-expanding coffers to just "finding ways to make the game more awesome"), other titles had their own snippets to report as well. There's also some upheaval in our ranks: We gained a new MMORTS/MMORPG mix project but lost two others from our list when both Skara: The Blade Remains and Anthym didn't meet their goals. And yet another title makes its final appearance before moving on to Betawatch! That's right, folks; TUG is saying hasta la vista to Make My MMO in favor of alpha land. Curious as to what all else has transpired? Then check out the details after the break.
Make My MMO: Crowdfunding June 16 - 29, 2013
Go ahead -- make my MMO. And here you thought this phrase only worked when interrupting a robbery! What was a unique phenomenon in the not-too-distant past has become an increasingly popular trend: crowdfunding new MMOs. Whether they're using the Kickstarter funding platform or another, more and more developers are turning to the public instead of publishers to take their designs from the drawing board and into reality. In fact, sometimes it feels like there are just too many to keep up with! Besides the new campaigns that seem to be popping up like dandelions, there are the successfully funded games to keep an eye on. So here's what we're going to do for you: We'll make it easier for you to keep tabs on both the new campaigns hitting the crowdfunding scene and the progress of those MMOs that already made their goal and have moved on in their development journeys (but haven't made beta yet). Join us past the break for the inaugural Make My MMO, a biweekly accounting of all MMOs crowdfunded. Have you heard about new campaigns that aren't listed? Send us a note and let us know!
The Soapbox: How to run a successful Kickstarter campaign
The past few years have seen an absolute revolution in the games industry, with an explosion of studios securing funding through crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter. In a time when banks worldwide are tightening their belts, Kickstarter represents a lifeline for indie developers and a way for the bigger studios to work on their own projects free from the need for outside investors or publishers. But with the growing number of projects seeking funding each year, developers are facing stiff competition and the rising challenge of running a successful campaign. Most developers don't release all of their stats or write up advice and insights following a successful crowdfunding campaign, and those who do are often lost on obscure blogs that don't appear when you Google for advice. But I'm in the unusual position of both being a games journalist and having successfully Kickstarted a small game project (unrelated to MMOs and my work on Massively). Six months ago, I ran a campaign for my new sci-fi 4X game Predestination, and in the process I learned some valuable lessons on what works and doesn't work on Kickstarter. We've since published the campaign stats and gone on to help a few other campaigns hit their goals. In this article, I run down the lessons I learned the hard way during the Predestination Kickstarter campaign and give some advice for developers hoping to get funded.
The Daily Grind: Do Kickstarter perks put you off from MMOs?
Last week, drama swirled around Chris Roberts' Star Citizen pseudo-MMO when he announced and then clarified that certain early crowdfunders will receive lifetime insurance on their ships once the game launches. Potential players rightfully worried that such a move could taint the economy and create a special class of characters with pay-to-win perks that place everyone else at a serious disadvantage. MMO players are becoming inured to the idea that Kickstarting a game might land them a poster or tattoo or title or even beta access, but non-cosmetic advantages seem to rile everyone up. It's one thing when Camelot Unchained offers special chat and another altogether when it promises big-time donors their own in-game islands. Then again, without such generous Kickstarter pledges, the games might never be made for the rest of us to play at all, so maybe the trade-off is worth it. What do you think? Does it bother you that gamers with money can buy their way into godhood before a game is even made? Are there Kickstarter perks that put you off from future MMOs? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Camelot Unchained secures an additional $3 million in funding [Updated]
Last night, Camelot Unchained surpassed its $2 million Kickstarter goal, but if you've been following the Kickstarter for the last month, you know that reaching $2 million means a lot more than reaching $2 million. As originally promised when the Kickstarter launched, the game will now receive an additional $3 million in funding, $2 million of which comes from City State co-founder and MMO industry veteran Mark Jacobs. The remainder comes courtesy of unnamed investors. "The last 30 days have been an incredible journey," Jacobs said via press release. "We believed there's an audience for a highly focused game like ours, which has now been proven. What we didn't expect was how our community would come together so quickly and avidly. Not only is our average pledge off the chart, our backers have been just as intensely supportive in other ways, from providing immense amounts of helpful feedback to translating information into four languages (German, French, Japanese and Korean), and more." Camelot Unchained will use a proprietary engine optimized for large-scale battles and already battle-tested to the tune of 200-plus frames per second while displaying 1,000 simultaneous characters rendered with 12,000 polygons. The three-faction PvP-focused fantasy MMO also boasts a building-block crafting system that will allow players to construct individual cells and larger segments before assembling them "in nearly limitless ways." [Source: City State press release] [Update: We've clarified that the additional funding was promised as a Kickstarter goal from the start.]
Camelot Unchained meets Kickstarter goal
Oh ye of little faith. Of course Camelot Unchained got funded. Niche MMOs with die-hard fanbases never say die, even when they're up against an 11th hour Kickstarter goal that looked mighty challenging just yesterday. And that's pretty much all we have to tell you at the moment. Other than the fact that Massively's Kickstarter watchers can officially get back to work. We'll bring you more details about the newly greenlit project as soon as they become available.
Massively exclusive: Jacobs on Camelot Unchained's Kickstarter home stretch
Camelot Unchained's Kickstarter odyssey is almost complete, and as of press time there's a little over a day remaining. City State's fantasy RvR sandbox stands at just over $1.82 million out of its $2 million goal, so Mark Jacobs has penned a dev diary designed to push the game's funding over the top. He outlines the many challenges inherent in managing both a Kickstarter campaign and an ambitious MMORPG project, and he hits the highlights of the former which include three faction RvR, Minecraft-style building options, and a custom engine that has easily handled hundreds of simultaneous players at well over 200 frames per second. Finally, Jacobs thanks CU's current backers, whom he says have given unprecedented support to the tune of a $160 average pledge. Jacobs' full diary is readable after the cut.
Amazon's payment systems go kaput, taking Kickstarter with it
Were you planning to be the brave soul to bring Camelot Unchained's Kickstarter project to its goal? You might have missed your chance. Amazon Payments, the system which Kickstarter uses to accept pledges from browsers, started having trouble earlier today, meaning that several Kickstarter projects have run into trouble attracting more pledges or processing pledges for otherwise successful funding. That's bad news for anyone looking to make the last few dollars on a project before the project ticks over the last deadline. There's currently no ETA on service restoration; quite notably, the payment service is currently the only Amazon service listed as having difficulties. Camelot Unchained is put into a particular pickle with this development, as the project is still more than $200,000 away from its goal with less than two days remaining. Hopefully the service errors will be cleared up before several projects start to feel the sting. [Thanks to Mark for the tip!]
Camelot Unchained unveils new video, Mark Jacobs visits Reddit for AMA
The Camelot Unchained information deluge continues with the release of a new video and a Reddit AMA by Mark Jacobs himself. The video is a half-hour-long affair in which Jacobs provides fans (and prospective Kickstarter pledgers) with an in-depth look at the lore of Camelot Unchained and the myriad features that the game is bringing to the table. Also, as it happens, you can check it out after the cut. Meanwhile, on Reddit, Jacobs stopped by /r/IAmA to answer questions from the communit. Suffice it to say, questions range from the standard, "tell us about the progression system" to details on server structure, maximum player population, and much much more. Surprisingly, however, horse-sized ducks don't appear to be mentioned even once. To check the full Q&A session out for yourself, head on through the source link below.
Camelot Unchained explains stealth
There are five days left for Camelot Unchained's Kickstarter program, and it's less than $600,000 away from its lofty $2,000,000 goal. The developers figured that this was a fine time to explain not only how stealth will work in CU but also how stealth failed in past games. Mark Jacobs explained in the latest update blog that being killed by a stealther generates the most rage and angry email from players. But with Jacob's "bat-s**t crazy" idea regarding stealth, most of the frustration should be alleviated. The idea revolves around the concept of the Veil, which in simple terms is another dimension that exists alongside our own. Players can become VeilWalkers, moving in and out of the Veil and traversing over and through objects undetected by most players. But VeilWalking comes with consequences of its own in the form of VeilStalkers, players who cannot enter the Veil but can pull Walkers out of it by using skills and placing traps. Jacobs explained, "The Veil holds mysteries and power, but it comes with a price." What do you think? Is he bat-s**t crazy?
Camelot Unchained reveals building system demo
With just a little over one week and $600k left in the Kickstarter campaign, City State Entertainment's Camelot Unchained is consistently pumping out the updates for all fans of the project. Today's update goes into detail on the game's building system, including a video demo with programmer Tim Mills showing a quick prototype of what you can expect in the game. Mark Jacobs also teases tomorrow's tonight's update where he'll reveal the main lore of Camelot Unchained, including some early concept art and another video.
