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Dawntide development officially on hiatus
Last December we told you about Dawntide's impending beta server closure and temporary hiatus. Working as Intended was getting ready to go to work on a large-scale world revamp for the fantasy sandbox, and the firm said the open beta server would be down for a couple of months. According to an update on Dawntide's official website, that hiatus is now going to last quite a bit longer because the dev team has run out of funding. "We're still working on finding new investors, but this will take time. In the meanwhile, we have officially stopped all development," the announcement says. "We hope to be able to resume it in the not too distant future, but as of right now we cannot say when that will be or whether it indeed happen at all." [Thanks to Mersault for the tip!]
Dawntide closing beta server for massive world revamp
The curious saga of Dawntide continues, and the next chapter includes a wipe, a world revamp, and two weeks of sheer unadulterated mayhem. The fantasy sandbox has had a rough go of it in 2011, first with funding issues and then with all of the trials and gameplay tribulations that come with bringing an indie MMO project to fruition. Due to the large-scale world re-design, the title will be going dark for a couple of months beginning on December 19th. The game's open beta server will be wiped, and the devs at Working as Intended will be constructing and populating "a new, more interesting, detailed and visually appealing world." Prior to the wipe, players will enjoy skill gains at five times the normal rate as well as no-holds barred PvP in every corner of the game world save for the starting towns. WAI is also allowing players to keep their equipment upon death until wipe day, but the official website notes that these changes are only temporary and will not be returning when the server reopens in January or February.
Some Assembly Required: An early look at Dawntide
Hey folks, and welcome back to Some Assembly Required. The column's been around for a little bit now, and we've done everything from developer interviews to opinionated rants to sandbox and player-generated content feature spotlights. One thing we haven't done is an impressions piece on new sandbox titles, and I aim to fill that void today with an early look at Dawntide. The title is an open-world fantasy sandbox under development by Working as Intended, an indie outfit that calls Copenhagen, Denmark home. Dawntide has been under construction for quite a while now (we first spoke with the devs way back in the summer of 2009), and after a series of funding and development challenges, the end of the long beta journey is in sight.
New Dawntide patch due October 17th, release date announcement to follow
Hey kids, it's a Dawntide update! Yes, really. The fantasy sandbox from Working As Intended has been quiet since delaying its planned October 1st release date, but today the devs have issued a brief blurb on the game's official website that suggests a bit of hope for the future. As it turns out, the delayed release was the result of a funding shortage, but now WAI has secured a new source and the team has "reassembled to resume development." A new patch is due October 17th, and a new release date announcement should roll in before the end of the month. WAI also takes a moment to tip its collective cap to Dawntide's hearty faithful. "Thanks for sticking with us through the rough times, and we still intend to release the best sandbox MMO out there," the site says. [Thanks to Halldorr for the tip!]
Dawntide launch delayed, new date undetermined
Sandbox fans hoping to explore the world of Dawntide on October 1st are going to have to wait a little bit longer. Working as Intended has announced its plan to delay the game's official release "to a later date." No time table is forthcoming as of yet, but we suspect the delay is likely for the best, given the consensus among the game's devoted community that the fantasy title was not ready for launch. There is a silver lining, though, as you can help test Dawntide and get a preview of the game for free by signing up for the ongoing open beta. WAI also released a new trailer for the game a few weeks back, and we've got it for you after the break in case you missed it. [Thanks to Bartillo for the tip.]
Dawntide opens up Conquest design to player community
If you've ever wanted a say in the design of a sandbox MMORPG, the developers at Working as Intended have come to your rescue. The indie team behind Dawntide has opened up a forum post soliciting player submissions for a game system called Conquest. You're probably wondering: what is Conquest? Well, apparently it's up to you to help define. "Internally we have a pretty good idea of what we want Conquest to look like. However, I've been able to convince the powers [that] be that we should let the community get involved with the design/discussion before we write one piece of code. So here is the community's chance to sculpt how Conquest will work. There are no guarantees that the end product will contain all of the ideas, but we'll give it a chance," writes Ronin on the game's official forums. Check out the post, and be sure to pipe up with your ideas.
Massively exclusive interview: Dawntide's Martin "Wiz" Anward
The hype-machine for Working as Intended's incoming MMO, Dawntide, resumed at the end of May with the announcement of the start of open beta. Dawntide promises to be a skill-based, open-PvP sandbox a la Shadowbane or Darkfall, with territory to claim, castles to build, sieges to undertake, and boats to navigate waterways usually neglected in other games. And though the game isn't quite finished structurally, we have to agree that what's done is beautiful, and what's planned is ambitious. Might this be the ultra-realistic, survival-of-the-fittest sandbox you're looking for? We were fortunate to score an interview with Working as Intended's CEO, Martin Anward, who gave us an inside look at Dawntide's development and his team's plans for the future. Join us past the break as we ask him about boats, crafting, boats, death penalties, boats, ganking, boats, FOTM builds, boats, and boats!
Dawntide devs focus on open beta tweaks
Dawntide's open beta period is in full swing, and Working as Intended has a lengthy list of bug fixes, updates, and general tweaks scheduled to go under the development microscope over the next few weeks. Ronin, internal systems engineer for WAI, has updated the official forums with a look at what the team plans to focus on next. Many of the changes are run-of-the-mill and about what you'd expect from a beta client, but some are fairly interesting and bear watching, including the creation of boat routes between continents, the addition of new mining areas and crafting yield tweaks, and changes regarding food and drink effects. You can check out the full post on the official Dawntide site, and while you're at it, you can view a trailer of open beta gameplay footage as well.
Dawntide open beta delayed
Fans of the forthcoming sandbox MMORPG known as Dawntide will have to wait a bit longer to get their open beta fix, as the game's developers recently announced a delay of a few days to iron out several pesky issues. Working as Intended's Wiz, posting on the game's official forums, left fans with a brief overview of the decision. "We're having a few remaining issues with physics and crashes that we need time to sort out before we can open up the beta. As a consequense, we will be delaying the Open Beta to later in the week. We apologize for the delay and the late announcement, but we think a more stable and playable beta is worth the wait. Further announcements on new opening time will be posted in the coming couple of days," he writes. Working as Intended, an independent studio based in Copenhagen, Denmark, has been developing a feature set that includes skill-based progression, a fully explorable and conquerable world, complex crafting, and player cities. You can learn more about the game at the official website. [Thanks to all the folks who alerted us to the beta news.]
