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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.
Elite Dangerous newsletter focuses on algorithmic space stations
Elite Dangerous' 11th newsletter likely hit your inbox this afternoon. In case it didn't, or in case it tripped over your spam filter, allow me to summarize. Much of the focus is on the sci-fi sandbox title's space stations. The dev team at Frontier is keen on variation, of course, so Elite "will be using procedural algorithms to to construct stations out of a range of modular assets." This approach will also allow players to see stations change over time "in response to player-driven events." There are also plans for game-driven station construction via the event system, which would generate missions for players, "allowing you to help or hinder the progress of a station." Frontier currently has plans for different station types (mining bases, shipyards, pirate bases, etc.), as well as numerous sub-modules that make up each type. There's a lot more to the letter, so be sure and give it a read via the links below.
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.
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.
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.
Frontier teases first Elite: Dangerous screenshots
Frontier has released the first batch of work-in-progress screenshots for Elite: Dangerous. Senior producer Michael Brookes posted them on Frontier's forums earlier today, though the shots initially found their way to Elite Kickstarter backers via an email blast. Elite: Dangerous raked in over £1.5 million during its fundraising drive that began in November, 2012 and ended in early January, 2013. The game is scheduled to release on PC and Mac platforms next year, and it is the latest iteration of the venerable space trading sim first published in 1984.
Elite: Dangerous studio Frontier Developments set to go public
Frontier Developments, known around these parts as the studio behind crowdfunding success story Elite: Dangerous, is about to enter a different brave new world: that of the London Stock Exchange. The company is set to launch its IPO on July 15th with around £4 million ($5.9 million) in shares. Elite: Dangerous's Kickstarter campaign raised £1.6 million and Frontier snagged an additional £2.8 in provate funding. The studio has about £7.2 million in the bank. A statement from founder and studio head David Braben accompanied the announcement, outlining his excitement to list Frontier at "a time of such strong momentum in the business and the sector." He also noted that the IPO "gives us the necessary financial impetus to continue operating at the forefront of the continually evolving and expanding global games market."
Some Assembly Required: Your guide to MMO sandboxes in 2013 and beyond
Welcome to Massively's guide to MMO sandboxes in 2013 and beyond. I've collected the essential details on all the major sandbox titles releasing this year and in the near future in one easy-to-reference article. If you're wondering whether ArcheAge forces you to PvP, or if you can't tell The Repopulation from Origins of Malu, this is your post. I'll be updating it as game features are added, removed, or revealed, so be sure to use the comments to let me know if I've overlooked a particularly noteworthy item. Finally, I want to point out that this isn't an exhaustive list because of the sheer number of sandbox projects ongoing. For now, I'm choosing to focus on the ones that will be playable in 2013/2014 as well as the projects that have a big-name developer attached.
2012: The year of the MMO Kickstarter
Kickstarter is perhaps the biggest story in the world of gaming since the birth of the home video console or the integration of online components into consumer entertainment. No new product, innovation, or invention has carried with it such immense potential for shifting the way the industry plans, builds, and delivers its products. And with projects covering everything from hardware to companion apps, it's almost impossible now to imagine a gaming world without Kickstarter, even though it was our reality just a few short months ago. The legacy of Kickstarter is one that we're witnessing in real-time. Most of the major successful projects are slated for late 2013/early 2014 releases, giving us plenty of time to speculate on what may or may not go wrong with the crowd-funding model and the products it bears. Over the next year, games will either make it to market or they won't. Developers will squander their budgets or release on time. It's all up in the air. With that in mind, we thought now would be a good time to look back on some of the biggest MMO Kickstarter projects of 2012. The fate of some of these titles is inexorably tied to the fate of Kickstarter as a viable game-creating platform -- and maybe even crowd-sourcing as a whole.
Elite: Dangerous is well and truly Kickstarted
Elite: Dangerous fans can breathe easy -- the game has hit its £1,250,000 goal with more than two days to spare. While that's excellent news for the folks at Frontier Developments, they're not resting on their laurels. There are two stretch goals, at £1.4 and £1.5 million, that could feasibly be hit in the last 51-ish hours of the project's Kickstarter window. Those stretch goals will add in a Mac version of the game (within three months of the Windows launch) and an extra ten playable ships, respectively. In case some people are still on the fence about throwing money at the project, the team has added in a new £25 reward tier that'll give backers a digital copy of the game and 500 credits. Everyone already pledged at a higher tier will also receive those 500 credits.
Elite: Dangerous developer lays off 14 staffers
Elite: Dangerous developer Frontier handed out lumps of Christmas coal to several staffers last week according to a report at Eurogamer. "Frontier regretfully has given a total of 14 people (from a staff of 233) notice that their roles are redundant, across art (nine), animation (three), and audio (two) disciplines. This is due to the changing mix of skills requirements for our current and future projects -- it is not a reflection on the company's prospects, which remain healthy," said company managing director David Walsh. Frontier was founded by Elite co-creator David Braben in 1994. The company's Kickstarter project has raised nearly £800,000 against its £1,250,000 goal with 18 days left to go.
Elite: Dangerous dev diary talks about plans for development
Elite: Dangerous is about halfway to its Kickstarter goal with 21 days left, and it's indubitably time for another dev diary! Frontier Developments founder David Braben took to YouTube to talk about the long-term development plan for Elite: Dangerous. The team has a handful of goals for the game. These aren't features that will be making it in for launch but instead are are being planned for now so that they integrate seamlessly and enhance the play experience. For example, landing on planets will eventually be a possibility, but not until those planets are stocked with flora, fauna, and sprawling cityscapes. There are also plans for players to experience the ships' interiors, to see incoming fire and lost cargo from the perspective of the ship's crew. Skip below the cut to let Braben speak for himself. [Thanks to intrepid explorer Mattias for the tip!]
Elite: Dangerous video dev diary discusses roles, demonstrates dogfight
Last month, we learned that David Braben, founder of Frontier Developments, launched a Kickstarter campaign for the development of Elite: Dangerous, a successor to the deep sci-fi sandboxes Elite and Frontier: Elite II. Over the last five weeks, new concept art and videos have been released showing off various aspects of the multiplayer space sim. Now, Braben treats fans to a third video dev diary in which he discussed player roles while a dogfight with other devs plays out across the screen. In the video, Braben and the devs demonstrate the variety of roles in Elite: Dangerous. Players can earn their funds in-game from such activities as mining, shipping, pirating, and bounty hunting. Roles are also fluid: A player who normally protects convoys can be flagged as a pirate when attacking one, and the folks defending said convey can take on on the additional role of bounty hunter and collect the bounty on the pirate. To keep roles balanced in game, the team is dedicated to ensuring that no one particular role is the ultimate way to generate cash. Braben stated, "If you get very good at a particular role, it shouldn't be massively better than if you get very good at some other role." To hear more about the roles (and see the first live footage of the Anaconda), watch the video after the break.
Elite: Dangerous developer diary details evolving galaxy
Elite: Dangerous, the Kickstarter project by Frontier Developments, has a new developer diary video from Founder David Braben discussing the ways in which the game's galaxy evolves over time. In the video, Braben describes the development of planets and the various contracts that players complete in the game, including the transportation dignitaries that may have bounties on their heads.The Kickstarter project is at the half-way point of its nearly $2 million funding goal with 33 days left before its January 4, 2013 deadline. Providing the goal is met, Elite: Dangerous is set to launch on PC in March 2014.
Frontier adds new Elite: Dangerous pledge options, multiplayer ship video
Elite: Dangerous still has a goofy name, but now it's got a smidgeon of game footage to go along with it thanks to a newly released multiplayer dogfight video. Well, technically the clip features some gun camera footage of the game's lead programmer chasing David Braben's ship through an asteroid field. It's not quite a dogfight, but it's closer than many a fledgling Kickstarter project has managed. There's no sound, so Braben spends all of the clip's five-minute running time talking about various and sundry Elite: Dangerous possibilities. He touches on the inevitable griefing that comes with free-form sandbox games, too, saying that Frontier has "lots of strategies" for dealing with undesirables. Finally, the game's Kickstarter page has introduced new pledge options including the Writer's Pack (which enables aspiring fanfic authors to pay a chunk of change and get their stories in the game) and a couple of boxed editions. Click past the cut for the dev diary video.
Elite: Dangerous Kickstarter page updates with early procedural footage
Elite: Dangerous has updated its Kickstarter page with another video featuring creator David Braben. Normally this would be exciting news, but since the game is little more than theory at this point, the video is little more than seven minutes of Braben talking about how awesome it's going to be. There is a wee bit of footage featuring procedurally generated rocks, stars, and clouds (all of which look, well, early), but it seems as if we're a long ways from proper gameplay footage and feature sets. The good news is that Braben is quite enthusiastic and that the project is about halfway to its fund-raising goal with 49 days to go. You can view the video in its entirety after the break.
Elite: Dangerous Kickstarter gets video and concept art
Frontier Developments updated its Kickstarter page for Elite: Dangerous with a few pieces of concept art and a video. The video shows Elite co-creator and Founder of Frontier Developments David Braben discussing the history of the series and his vision for Dangerous.The Kickstarter project is about a third of the way to its nearly $2 million goal with over 50 days to go in its funding cycle. %Gallery-170654%
Elite: Dangerous Kickstarter page updated with video, concept art
What is it with super-cool space sim reboots and their gooftastic titles? First it was Star Citizen, and now there's Elite: Dangerous, which, with a name like that, should probably feature a soundtrack by Kenny Loggins. In any event, Frontier's Kickstarter page has updated with some concept images and a new video. This is quite a step up from last Tuesday's announcement that was heavy on nostalgia and light on everything else. The video is mostly David Braben talking, though to be fair, he does chat up some cool stuff including procedural generation and adding do-anything-you-can-imagine multiplayer to Elite's vast universe. Head to the official Elite Kickstarter page for further info, and have a look at Braben's video after the break.
David Braben is kickstarting a new multiplayer Elite sequel
Elite and its sequel Frontier: Elite II were arguably two of the most influential early space games ever made. They dropped the player into an immense sci-fi sandbox with just a tiny ship and a handful of credits. You could work your way up to larger and larger hauling ships, fight off pirates intent on taking your loot, travel the stars in search of lucrative deals or just wormhole into deep space. If that sounds familiar, it's because Elite was part of the inspiration for sci-fi MMO EVE Online. Space in Frontier was especially deep, with a full-scale galaxy containing 100 billion stars and several empires with their own legal systems and trading outposts. Players could choose to raid other ships or play it straight, mining moons, scooping fuel from gas giants, and landing on planets to survey them for materials. The magic that made this colossal universe possible was procedural generation and some incredibly good programming by developer David Braben. Today David took to Kickstarter to launch possibly the most anticipated sequel in the history of sci-fi sandbox games. Elite: Dangerous promises a Frontier-style sandbox with modern 3D graphics, a ton more content, and a seamless peer-to-peer multiplayer experience with no lobbies. Whether this will qualify as an MMO or not remains to be seen, but the project promises to blur the line between what is and isn't massively multiplayer.
