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Make My MMO: Crowdfunding January 12 - 25, 2014
After a sleepy holiday season, the crowdfunding crowd has woken up and gotten down to business. And amidst that new bustle of activity, Make My MMO's ranks are altering a bit. Two games leave our listing, but each for different reasons; the cross-platform space sim Space Unfolding folded after missing its goal, and Face of Mankind moved along to Betawatch to join the ranks of the games in testing. And now that War of Omens' campaign has wrapped up, it moves into the fully funded category. Some campaigns have really kicked into high gear. Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen joined the crowdfunding race and has delivered a slew of nearly daily news. Novus AEterno has nearly tripled its goal and is closing in on yet another stretch goal these final days of its campaign, while The Repopulation has also blown away its initial goal and is aiming for its eigth stretch goal (not to mention revealed plenty of juicy new bits). A smaller title, Tales From The Strange Universe, is more than halfway to its modest goal with a week left. And newcomer Star Rider also jumps on the Kickstarter bandwagon. Unfortunately, others aren't faring as well. Things aren't looking promising for Antilia or Universe Rush, whose campaigns end soon and are still over $85K and $98K short of their respective goals. Want more details on these stories or an update on all the already-funded projects? We've got the round-up right here.
Pathfinder's on track for an April alpha
Heyo, it's time for the latest Pathfinder Online dev blog. GoblinWorks bigwig Ryan Dancey says that last Monday marked the end of the firm's Q4 2013 development period. The milestone was capped by an internal team playtest today, with another scheduled for Paizo luminaries this Friday. Dancey lists each of the team's Q4 goals -- including Wizard, Rogue, Cleric, and Fighter classes, all at fourth level and all with "at least one weapon with a full set of attacks -- before stating that "we met the experience goals we set for ourselves." There are some qualifying statements in terms of "moving pieces [that] still have to fit together," but Dancey concludes with optimism and mentions that alpha testing will likely start in April. "It is increasingly likely that this crazy plan to make an MMO on a fraction of the budget and a sliver of the timeline that has become the norm is going to work," he says. [Thanks Chrysillis!]
Make My MMO: Crowdfunding December 29, 2013 - January 11, 2014
Was 2013 the year of Kickstarter? Whatever you think personally about the funding model, you can't argue with the fact that over $480 million was pledged through the crowdfunding platform in the last calendar year. That's definitely one hunk of change! But whether or not that figure translates into a tidal wave of awesome games has yet to be seen; the jury will remain out until even more funded games actually release and players get to experience what they backed. As for specific MMO news this past fortnight, the bulk of it involves new titles vying for a slice of 2014's crowdfunding pie. The CCG War of Omens has already grabbed a piece; it met its goal and has moved on to stretch goals for the last couple of days. Other hopefuls include more two space strategy games. Learn more about all of these, as well as the news from the funded front, right here in Make My MMO.
Forbes: ESO's subscription model is just 'a compounding factor' to risk
Forbes is firing back at Pathfinder Online CEO Ryan Dancey, rebutting his faith in the subscription model by observing, "The general, obvious trend is that games are moving to microtransactions or optional subscriptions at best." Forbes contributor Paul Tassi casts doubt on the subscription chart estimates provided by Dancey, saying that they leave out costs and other factors and are mere guesses to boot. The article points out that virtually all newer MMOs have either launched with a hybrid or mictrotransaction model or have moved to free-to-play in recent years. "With rumors of a massive budget, indicators that the game itself isn't anything phenomenal, and the insistence of the subscription model across all platforms, I stand by my assertion that Elder Scrolls Online has the potential to be a huge miss for ZeniMax and Bethesda," the article concludes. "Honestly, even a free-to-play ESO would have seemed incredibly risky by itself, and the subscription fee is just a compounding factor."
One of Pathfinder's 'core philosophies' is socialization
The first Pathfinder dev blog of 2014 concerns itself with points of interest and outposts. In a broader sense, GoblinWorks uses the piece to speak about one of the primary design objectives for its fantasy sandbox. That objective is socialization. Or, as GoblinWorks says, "one of our core philosophies is to maximize meaningful human interaction." A major example of said philosophy is the firm's plan to create "a hierarchy of social structures so that many people have a chance to try their hand at leadership and management." This hierarchy starts with outposts, which are the "heart of the in-game economy" and connected to the aforemention POIs. Click through the links below to learn more!
Pathfinder Online CEO defends Elder Scrolls Online's subs
The Elder Scrolls Online's subscription-only business model has had an unlikely ally step up to defend it: Goblinworks CEO Ryan Dancey. The Pathfinder Online head chief claimed that subscriptions were still responsible for upward of an estimated $100 million a month in revenues in the Western market with a much smaller amount being gained by cash shops. "It's even harder to estimate how much revenue is being generated from microtransactions but it is extremely difficult to imagine that the revenue even approaches 50% of the amount being paid as subscription fees," he wrote. Dancey also commented that initial box sales will be incredibly important for ZeniMax: "This may be the internal justification ZeniMax is using to benchmark its budget for Elder Scrolls Online. Skyrim, the most recent single-player entry in the Elder Scrolls franchise, is reported to have sold approximately seven million units, which we can impute translates to something like $210 million in revenue. If the MMORPG can carry that kind of weight, its budget becomes suddenly very rational." Incidentally, Dancey said that Pathfinder Online will launch with a subscription-only model as well, although he predicts that will change over time.
Some Assembly Required: Virtual world roundup for 2014 and beyond
Just over two years ago there was a great disturbance, as if millions (or so) of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced. Yes, something terrible had happened: a beloved virtual world was destroyed. And that left a number of sandbox refugees looking for a new place to call home. At that time, Some Assembly Required offered a roundup of the then available virtual worlds that could possibly offer accommodation, depending on what qualities players most desired in their games. But as things are wont to, they changed; a lot can happen in the MMOverse in 24 months, from additional features in existing games to new games to the loss of more worlds. So it's time to update this list of virtual worlds to reflect 2014 and beyond. Take a look and see what titles or titles-to-be have the sandbox features that best make a game a home for you.
Perfect Ten: New MMOs to watch in 2014
Out with the old desk calendars that you didn't use past February 2013 and in with the new, I always say! It's a brand-new year, and while we don't know all of the twists and turns that we'll travel in MMO news in 2014, I dare say it promises to be a fascinating ride. Last January I gave my list of 10 new MMOs to watch for that year, and I'm a sucker for traditions. With 2014 a mostly blank slate right now, I want to lay out the up-and-coming class of games that at least have a shot at releasing by December. There are the big names, of course, but several other titles that could be sleeper hits if all goes right. Which will succeed, which will flop, and which won't even get out of the door? I don't claim to know all, but I know all, so here are my prognostications for 2014!
Make My MMO: Crowdfunding December 15 - 28, 2013
'Tis the season... but not for news! With minds focused on the holidays, it looks as if not much happened in the realm of crowdfunding since our last Make My MMO update. Just how slow was it? It was so slow that Star Citizen did not announce earning another $2 million. A few tidbits did, however, did trickle out. Novus AEterno met its goal within 102 hours and still has a month of funding ahead. On the other hand, Empires of Tahn followed what seems to be the new norm: cancel the project before getting the dreaded "unsuccessful" label. And one title that is already strong in its development has jumped back into the crowdfunding realm; The Repopulation aims to incorporate even more features into the sandbox. There are also a couple dev blogs to speak of and a few odds and ends, all of which you will find rounded up for you below.
Pathfinder's latest dev blog outlines reputation, alignment
If you missed this week's Pathfinder dev blog, well, go read it! It features an update/intro penned by GoblinWorks CEO Ryan Dancey, while the meat and potatoes concerning the fantasy sandbox's alignment and reputation systems are brought to you by designer Lee Hammock. "Reputation is our system for measuring how a player behaves in game," Hammock writes. "We want to provide a means by which a player can judge the aggressiveness of other players at a glance." Pathfinder's rep "has no bearing on your interactions with NPCs, quests, escalation cycles, or other PvE content." Alignment features two components. One, the player's core alignment, is chosen at creation and "is the intended alignment of the character." Active alignment, on the other hand, "begins at core alignment values but changes based on player action." Specific examples and much more detail are available via the links below. [Thanks Chrysillis!]
Make My MMO: Crowdfunding December 1 - 14, 2013
If it seems as if crowdfunding's gone into a turkey coma lately, you aren't just imagining things -- at least as far as funded games are concerned. News on that front has seemed scarce compared to the deluge of some other two-week spans, but the current campaigns are trying to make up for it. Life is Feudal canceled its Indiegogo campaign, but devs vowed to "survive according to Plan 'B'," so we'll keep an eye out to see whether it moves into personal funding as other games have done. (That route is working for Neo's Land, whose donations keep creeping higher.) Similarly, Novus AEterno scrapped its second Kickstarter campaign, but in a twist, it's already restarted another with a lower goal. Outer Worlds Online, however, just didn't make the funding cut. On the successful side, manners and dinner parties will be coming to an MMO near you; Ever, Jane got an invitation to join the funded club. A few other funded titles also saw some progress, and still others joined (or re-joined) the race for your support. And topping all that, we also bid farewell to Elite: Dangerous, who leaves Make My MMO for Betawatch now that its alpha has started. You can catch all the updates below.
New Spellcasting Pathfinder dev blog declares game 'half done'
In the most recent dev blog for Pathfinder Online, CEO Ryan Dancey announced that the game is half done, stating,"We're a little bit past the halfway point of development before Early Enrollment." Luckily for those eager to hear specifics about said progress, the blog goes into more detail -- a lot of details! These details, provided by Designer Stephen Cheney, focuses on changes to the spellcasting system. After bumping into difficulties with the system as first proposed, devs came up with some solutions to address concerns. The new system includes a new class of weapon that produces expendable effects (called spells for casters and maneuvers for non-casters) and alterations to the Refresh system. The expendables are also dropped as loot and treated like learned feats, which also prompted a few changes in active feats. You can read up on all the details in the blog post. [Thanks to Crysillis for the tip]
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.
Pathfinder Online explains role features
The latest dev blog from Pathfinder Online's team has been released this week, including news on the various character type mechanics, new hires to the Goblinworks team, and more. Of special note is the introduction of the "role feature" that allows characters to take on specific class roles. The role features are set active outside of combat, but can be switched around as you would with traditional alt characters. So, for instance, a Fighter role feature is a weapon specialization role that allows you to play as a fighter with a variety of melee weapons. A Rogue role feature focuses on stealth, evades, and sneak attacks, as you might expect. Read more about the Fighter and Rogue specialties and feats in this week's dev blog. [Thanks to Chris for the tip!]
Pathfinder's Q3 milestone video now viewable
Remember that Pathfinder update we posted last week that featured snippets of in-game video alongside soundbytes from GoblinWorks CEO Ryan Dancey's GamesBeat 2013 speech? Well, today GoblinWorks has released the full video to the public. No, not the speech video, the in-game video! It's basically an update on the dev team's progress toward its third quarter milestone, and you'll find all three minutes and twenty-six seconds of it after the break.
Make My MMO: Crowdfunding October 20 - November 2, 2013
The news meter for crowdfunding keeps right on ticking. The last two weeks have seen a score of changes in the realm of community funding initiatives, with some titles experiencing success, others not meeting their goals, and even more joining the ranks. One big name in gaming, Brad McQuaid, is even planning on launching a campaign in the near future. The zombie-centric The Living was unsuccessful, and Story Quest Online failed for a second time. Mixmaster Online removed itself from the field and canceled its campaign. On the other hand, 8BitMMO met its first stretch goal, ensuring that a Mac edition of that game will be available for players. And then there's City of Titans, which is climbing closer to doubling its goal with only two days left. Finally, there are all the progress updates for those already-funded campaigns, conveniently rounded up right here for you in Make My MMO.
Pathfinder's Dancey on the 'broken AAA themepark financial model'
GoblinWorks CEO Ryan Dancey gave a presentation earlier today at GamesBeat 2013 focused around Pathfinder Online's approach to solving the "two fundamental problems of MMO development." These problems are the "broken AAA themepark financial model" and the customer desire for a game that "persistently reflects the cumulative effects of their actions." The sandbox paradigm is the solution to both problems, Dancey explained, as is a community-driven initiative that GoblinWorks calls crowdforging. Crowdforging revolves around feature implementation that is heavily influenced by the game's community. Pathfinder "maximizes meaningful human interaction, and a minimum viable product allows us to build our game with a small, agile team," he explains, before citing a few of the project's Kickstarter numbers. Dancey also shows off in-game footage from the game's most recent milestone. Finally, Dancey says that Pathfinder monetization will begin following an alpha in early 2014. The monetization will take the form of an early enrollment system akin to Gmail's beta. "We're on schedule, on budget, and ready to change forever how MMOs are made," Dancey concludes. We've embedded a lengthy GamesBeat video stream after the break. The Pathfinder presentation starts around the 03:23:00 mark. [Thanks Chris!]
Pathfinder Online dev blog explores outpost raiding
Goblinworks celebrated its third major Pathfinder Online milestone with a detailed blog centered on the game's PvP raiding system. While the company was careful to note that raids are still in deep development and may change in scope and design, the blog dives into the rewards and risks of raiding along with the consequences to other players. Raids are short, small skirmishes initiated against player outposts. Since every outpost produces goods, there is always something worth stealing at any given outpost. To challenge an outpost, raiders must kill NPC guards in addition to any defending players. Raiders can stock up on an outpost's goods after its defenders have been bested. According to Goblinworks, NPC guards for outposts are "few and far between." Stealing items from outposts disrupts supply chains to local settlements. If raiders hold an outpost for over 10 minutes, they can then strip mine it. Strip mining increases the output of goods but deals damage to the outpost until it is destroyed. You can read more about raiding, strip mining, and how each affects your hostility rating over on the official post.
Make My MMO: Crowdfunding October 6 - 19, 2013
This was quite a fortnight in the realm of crowdfunding, and for once we don't mean just Star Citizen news! More than one game met its funding goals, with one title proving that fans can be a very passionate lot: City of Titans reached its lofty goal within days. On top of that, two other games joined the fight for funding. Conversely, Alteil Horizons pulled its campaign at literally the last minute to avoid the stigma of an unsuccessful stamp and plans to launch again. Want the scoop on all these stories and many more? Learn the latest right here in Make My MMO.
New Pathfinder dev blog details salvaging, harvesting, and more
So what about Pathfinder's non-combat gameplay? I'm thinking specifically here about salvaging, harvesting, and gathering. What's that, you say? GoblinWorks has just posted a dev blog on these very topics? Well, I'll be! It seems as if salvaging has been simplified a bit since the last the time the devs talked it up. Oh, and harvesting spots are generated procedurally, so you won't necessarily be able to map out iron and tree nodes like you can in more typical MMOs. Gathering nodes have also been tweaked. More specifically they're now tied to the supply of harvestable resources in a particular hex, and GoblinWorks is currently going with a system of exclusive discovery rights to prevent claim-jumping. Finally, today's dev blog touches on the game's outposts, which are semi-permanent structures in wilderness areas that produce a steady supply of bulk goods by the hour. Hit the links below to learn more.
