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Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen outlines post-Kickstarter plans
With 4 days to go and about $400,000 left to raise, it doesn't appear that Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen is going to hit its goal on Kickstarter. Has this dissuaded Brad McQuaid and his team? Not in the slightest. The latest update posted to the campaign acknowledges that the project might not make it over the finish line, but there are plans in place for funding even if the game doesn't draw in quite enough before Saturday. Once the funding campaign wraps up, supporters will be able to pledge money directly to the game via PayPal, along with subscribing to the site at various tiers for more site functionality and features. No word on the costs of these subscriptions yet. So if you're deeply invested in supporting the game even if its first funding push doesn't go through, you should keep your eyes open for how to give the developers money directly after the end of the Kickstarter.
Pantheon brings back the fun of a corpse run
Is it slightly disturbing that the MMO community has integrated and accepted the phrase "corpse run" without batting an eye at this point? Corpse runs are very much on the mind of Brad McQuaid, who says that Pantheon will be bringing them back as a "consequence of death" in the game world. When a player dies in Pantheon, he or she will have the option to wait for a resurrection or to be reborn without all of that character's gear and weapons. In either event, getting back to one's corpse is of utmost importance because it will not only restore lost gear, but some of the experience lost on death as well. Oh yes, Pantheon will have XP loss on death. Other players can help out with resurrection or retrieval spells, or players may beseech their deity for help at a cost. In non-morbid news, Pantheon posted information and lore on the Sunken Sanctum, a marshland ruins that will be a formidable dungeon. [Thanks to Boinya for the tip!]
Brad McQuaid looks for 'angel investors' for Pantheon
With less than half the funds raised for Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen and only eight days to go in his Kickstarter campaign, Visionary Realms CEO Brad McQuaid appears to be looking for alternate sources of funding for the game. "If anyone knows an angel investor or other type of investor who might be interested in investing in [Visionary Realms], please let me know," McQuaid tweeted on Wednesday. Even with this plea, McQuaid said that he and his team would not abandon the project even if the Kickstarter goal isn't met: "NOT giving up on [Kickstarter]! People are super excited about Pantheon, as are we. This game is going to be developed one way or another! Whether we meet [the Kickstarter goal] or not, we will have all of the [Kickstarter] info on our site and the ability to pledge there. Pantheon has amazing momentum behind it right now, and we're going to keep it that way!"
Pantheon Kickstarter updated with info on two stretch goal races
Brad McQuaid and Visionary Realms have updated the Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen Kickstarter project. The latest post dives deeper into the lore behind the T'Jinn and the Vrilaska, both races that will be included with the game should it reach a stretch goal of $2.5 million. For reference, Pantheon is currently sitting at $382,298 raised of its $800,000 funding goal with nine days remaining. For what it's worth, the T'Jinn are magic beings composed of arcane particles who were previously bound into servitude by mages but earned freedom thanks to the efforts of a goddess. The Vrilaska are reptilian humanoids of great agility and strength who were among the first to arrive in Terminus. The Kickstarter campaign for Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen ends February 22nd, 2014. [Thanks to Josh for the tip]
Pantheon summons the spirit of the Shaman class
Each new day brings new information on Brad McQuaid's Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen in addition to pushing the game's Kickstarter campaign slightly closer to its February 22nd funding deadline. Today's update covers the Shaman, a healer/debuffer/support class that utilizes the spirits to enhance the power of his group while weakening enemies. The Shaman has two specializations from which to choose. Ritualist enables the Shaman to dance and chant in order to summon spirits that can be commanded to action, while Spirit Warden gives the Shaman the ability to buff teammates with the power of his spirit. Shaman players can choose between Ogre or Dwarf; more options may be made available if the game reaches one of several stretch goals that involve adding new races. Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen is currently at $365,667 raised of its $800,000 funding goal with 10 days remaining.
Pantheon talks 'The Gnome,' 12 days remain on Kickstarter campaign
Mysterious, diminutive creatures that love magic are standard fare for fantasy MMOs, and Brad McQuaid's Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen is no exception. Visionary Realms, which is attempting to raise $800,000 via Kickstarter to develop Pantheon, has posted an update diving deeper into the game's race of tiny "secretive sorcerers." Originating from the world of Aruska, gnomes are creatures whose mastery of magic has made them "one of the more proficient crafters of magical items and allowed them to unlock the arcane potential of even the most mundane of items." According to the lore, Pantheon's gnomes are slightly antisocial creatures with a penchant for hoarding who destroyed their magical troves after a conflict with a tribe of humans. The locations of the new troves are unknown, even to the gnomes left behind. Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen has raised $360,000 of its $800,000 funding goal with 12 days remaining. Gnomes (and halflings) will only be added if Pantheon reaches $2,000,000 in funding, which at this point is starting to look like a serious long shot.
Pantheon reveals class/race combos
If you're pulling for Pantheon, then you might be daydreaming about what class/race combination you'd want to play if the game is made. Visionary Realms hears you (it's inside of your head), and it released a chart showing the classes available for each race. Some of Pantheon's races are at an obvious disadvantage when it comes to the total number of available classes at the moment, as Humans have six while Dwarves and Ogres have three apiece. However, Ogres do get an exclusive class -- the Shaman -- and can use that to boost self-esteem if needed. The Kickstarter project also revealed a new stretch goal: the Halfling race. Halflings will be added to the game alongside Gnomes if Pantheon races $2 million or more. [Thanks to Josh for the tip!]
Make My MMO: Crowdfunding January 26 - February 8, 2014
The crowdfunding train just keeps rolling right along, with passengers always coming and going. New passengers hop aboard while others hop off at their desired destination. Sadly, some have to disembark early -- such is the case with Universe Rush and Antilia. Although the Kickstarter campaign fell far short of its goal, Antilia does plan to continue development on its own. On the brighter side of things, some passengers reached their stop; Tales From The Strange Universe reached its goal, and both it and Novus AEterno (which brought in over 3.5 times its initial goal) will now take their places in the funded category. The Repopulation, earning over 175K during this latest Kickstarter run, disembarks at Betawatch station thanks to its ongoing alpha testing. Catch up on all the news for all these titles as they journey through crowdfunding here in Make My MMO.
Pantheon explains how a wizard does it
The sad reality is that with each passing year it is less likely that a very large man will enter your life to inform you that you are, in fact, a wizard, Harry. Even more so if your name isn't Harry. So perhaps you can console yourself by playing a wizard in Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen, slinging destructive spells left and right and holding on to the last remnants of your dwindling sanity as you do so. Or perhaps not holding on to those remnants, as one of the class specialties, Frenzy, is specifically for casters who have let themselves go completely bonkers and derive power from that madness. The other specialty, Aspect, allows the wizard to maintain sanity through martial perfection, creating shrouds of mana and summoning duplicates for various functions. Take a look at the full reveal for more details on the lore and mechanics of these casters.
Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen reveals the mind-blowing Enchanter
We regret to inform you that the Enchanter in Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen will literally blow your mind. Yes, we know, literally can now be used to mean figuratively, but we're using the classic definition here. Your mind will swell and burst. It will be messy and presumably uncomfortable. Well, all right, the class probably can't do that unless you're in the game, but if you do somehow occupy the game world, this class can totally do that. Assuming for a minute that you want to do something other than just make heads explode around you all day long, the Enchanter is set up to have a few more tricks. Enchanters can specialize as a Beguiler or a Phantasmist, with the former focusing on charms, stuns, and debuffs whilst the latter hypnotizes groups and uses them as a private army. Check out more details on the official class reveal page if you can't get enough of mind tricks. Or if you just want to know more about the head-explosion thing.
Brad McQuaid on Pantheon's partnership with Shroud of the Avatar
If today's Pantheon Elf reveal and the news that the Kickstarter-hopeful Pantheon MMO has formed an alliance with Richard Garriott's Shroud of the Avatar for some cross-promotional goodies aren't enough for you, perhaps you'd like to hear some of the details from Visionary Realms' CCO Brad McQuaid himself. He provides a bit of insight on the decision to partner with SOTA, offers hints about what players can expect from the promotion besides the special cloak announced this morning, and touches on the impact of Vanguard's sunset on his fledgling MMO. Read on!
McQuaid and Garriott collaboration starts with cross-game cloak for backers
If you've supported the crowdfunding efforts of either Richard Garriott's Shroud of the Avatar or Brad McQuaid's Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen, the devs have an offer for you: back both games and get a special cross-game reward. Starting today, fans will see the cross-promotion pledge tiers for both games, Pantheon's on its Kickstarter and SoA's on its website. The reward is a cloak in each game emblazoned with the symbol of the other game. The cloak reward -- which symbolizes community between players, developers, and even games -- is just the beginning of the collaboration between Visionary Realms and Portalarium. McQuaid stated, "The evolution of how MMOs are made is happening right now. We're getting back to having the gaming community deeply involved in how the games are not only funded, but designed. A collaboration like this one only makes sense to further strengthen that growing community that involves not just the players and backers, but the developers as well." [Source: Visionary Realms press release]
Pantheon posts Dwarf reveal, new pledge addons, McQuaid AMA [Updated]
With the imminent closure of Vanguard after seven years, there are a lot of eyes on Brad McQuaid's Kickstarter project for Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen. With 23 days to go on the project, McQuaid took to Reddit to answer a variety of fan questions about the game's design goals and his feelings about Vanguard's closure. He's sad to see his previous game close down, but he also states that he's happy it had seven years of life before it went. As for the design goals, if you had any doubt remaining that the game would be a very group-centric venture, McQuaid puts that theory to bed. He stresses again that the game is inheriting a variety of traditions from the original EverQuest, including corpse runs and uncapped raids for immense numbers of people. It's a throwback to an earlier time in MMO history, even if McQuaid does emphasize that the game should be playable in 1-2 hour increments. [Update: Pantheon's Kickstarter page has also just posted the Dwarf reveal and new pledge addons.]
Pantheon spotlights Undead race
If being a civilized yet formerly rotting creature is your grandest desire in an MMO race, then Pantheon's Undead Warlords are waiting to welcome you home. A new dev blog on Pantheon's Kickstarter page today shared some of the background of these playable Revenants. Originally from the world of Terminus, Revenants are former spirits that are now bound to corpses using death magic. They're a little psychotic and mean, but the Undead have learned enough control to form the outline of a civilized society in the game. CEO Brad McQuaid also hosted a Q&A video touching on subjects such as the business model (free for the initial levels with a subscription required after that), the Unity engine, the target demographic, the current makeup of the dev team, humor in the game, and pledge rewards. You can watch the video after the break.
Pantheon interview offers glimpse of economy, housing, and more
With the imminent shut down of Vanguard: Saga of Heroes on the horizon, eyes are turning to the upcoming Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen project spearheaded by one of the earlier fantasy game's creators. Brad McQuaid, first known for his work on the original EverQuest, is looking to fill the niche for old-school games that focus on group content and slow progression. How much will Pantheon fit the bill as the go-to game for all those old-school gamers looking for a challenging new home? Before the weekend announcement caught everyone off-guard, we nabbed McQuaid and Director of Development Salim Grant to find out a few more details about the game and its economy (no bind-on-pickup!), crafting, housing, and classes and races.
Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen to livestream game development tonight, reveals the Ogre
If you've ever wanted to get an insider's look at MMO development, Visionary Realms is offering that chance. The studio will stream sessions of Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen's development from the desktop of Senior Artist Vu Nguyen live on Twitch while various team members offer commentary and answer audience questions from chat. The first show airs on the Rob and Dan Show tonight, January 27th, at 7:00 p.m. EST. Additionally, Chief Creative Officer Brad McQuaid will host a Reddit Ask-Me-Anything at 4:00 p.m. EST Wednesday, January 29th. "We've said from day one that we want the community involved every step of the way, and this is a chance to prove that we're committed to that," noted Director of Development Salim Grant. The team has also just revealed the Ogre. [Source: Visionary Realms press release]
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.
Pantheon's Crusader brings two shields to the fight
Pantheon's latest announced class, the Crusader, might have the trappings of a traditional armored tank, but he's got a few surprises up his sleeves -- such as the ability to dual-wield shields. Crusaders are front-line fighters that use heavy armor, one- and two-handed weapons, and tall shields as well as a dollop of divine power to smite foes and bless allies. Players who go down this virtuous path can specialize either as a melee-focused Cavalier or a magic-using Paladin. It sounds as though Crusaders will be very beneficial to parties with group-wide buffs and the ability to tank effectively. They'll also get a squire to help out, undead-banishing abilities, and the option to pick up two shields for both protection and offense.
Pantheon adds two pledge tiers and shows off its day/night cycle
A couple of small updates to the Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen crowdfunding campaign were pushed out today. First up is the addition of two new pledge tiers: the cartographer tier for $125 (which includes alpha and beta access, name reservation, a limited-edition cloth map, and other goodies) and a journeyman's pledge tier for $375 (which is geared toward folks looking to do serious testing of the game). Visionary Realms also released a pair of screenshots to show the difference between its day and night cycle. As of the writing of this article, Pantheon has reached 23% of its $800,000 goal with 31 days remaining in the campaign.
New class rises to join Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen
The second class revealed for Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen isn't the hero that the world of Terminus needs, but it's the one the world deserves. The Dark Knight is exactly what it sounds like on the tin: Aside from striking fear into the cowardly and superstitious lot of Terminus' monsters, it's a fusion of melee abilities and destructive spellcasting that draws upon unholy might. It's a class with plenty of toys to mix with extensive martial training, and it serves nicely as a peek at the conceptual space of Pantheon's classes. Dark Knights have access to several choices of both weapon and armor, generally focusing on heavy plate armor along with two-handed swords, shield, and axes. They also possess the ability to drain life and strength from their foes, apply diseases, summon necromantic minions, and possibly hang upside-down from gargoyles. There's a bit more lore to be found in the official reveal; keep your ears open for more classes so that you'll be properly prepared.