Disruptor Beam, the company that brings together fan communities and games, has announced today its plans to produce a new Star Trek strategy roleplaying game (SRPG). Under license by CBS Consumer Products, Star Trek Timelines is a story-driven social game in which millions of fans will build their ultimate starship and crew, while exploring the vast Star Trek multiverse along with their favorite characters from across all eras. Currently in development, Star Trek Timelines will be released across mobile and web platforms in the future.
“We want to create a new generation of strategy game for tablet and mobile devices and one that is as large and deep as the Star Trek universe itself,” said Jon Radoff, CEO of Disruptor Beam. “I grew up watching the franchise and have always felt that the best episodes were those that went beyond the coolness of the technology or vastness of space; the ones which told the story of characters making important decisions that had an impact on others, on civilizations, planets, and technology. Star Trek Timelines will encompass all of these concepts, allowing you to explore the vastness of space along with your friends—letting you live out the ‘where no man has gone before’ mantra we all love—but will also allow you to make decisions that impact your future, your friends and even the fate of the Galaxy.”
Star Trek Timelines will immerse players through a story-driven journey across the vast Star Trek multiverse including content and characters from Star Trek: The Original Series, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, and Star Trek: Enterprise. Players will explore the Galaxy alongside their friends, build their dream crew and go on missions with Captain Kirk, Spock, Captain Picard, Data, and many other beloved (and some infamous) characters. Throughout their journey, players will explore numerous galaxies, planets and distant lands, while interacting with a plethora of technologies, cultures and races. Players will resolve problems through combat, diplomacy and science while building their own resources and creating the ultimate starship! The game will feature all original artwork and 3D graphics throughout.
Disruptor Beam has built a name for itself as a developer which has mastered the strategy roleplaying game genre for mobile and web platforms. The company’s hit Game of Thrones Ascent was first released in spring of 2013 to critical acclaim and the game’s fanbase continues to grow with over 3 million players. Disruptor Beam will exhibit at the upcoming Penny Arcade Expo East (PAX East) in Boston April 11th – 13th.
For more info, visit http://www.disruptorbeam.com/
OnRPG has partnered with Game321 to bring you a powerful beta pack to begin your rise to power in their newest browser MMO, Age of Civilization!
Age of Civilization is set in the European Middle Ages, with events and quests loosely based on historical and mythical events. Age of Civilization packs dazzling 3D rendered visuals, an advanced strategy-based battle system, and a stunning array of options for players to develop castles into powerful strongholds to use against one another.
Mikedot: Hello there! My name is Michael Sagoe, but you can call me Mikedot. Now before we begin, would you care to introduce yourself for our readers?
8-Bit: Hello there! This is Pablo Rodríguez – Founder and Creative Director of Skara, and I´m César Ortega – CFO and co-Founder of Skara. Pablo and I grew up together playing videogames more than 20 years ago, and now we are creating our own one.
Mikedot: So for anyone that does not already know, could you tell us what Skara all about?
8-Bit:Skara pioneers a new gaming genre, MOV—Multiplayer Online Versus, where up to 16 people can play a versus-style game together online. The game is free to play, though players can purchase customized features like equipment and even special moves to make their experience unique.
The game takes place on a planet after its sun has ruptured, causing dramatic climate shifts and other disasters that impact the world’s five races. Already used to battling each other, these races engage in a frantic struggle to survive. Players can choose a race and band together into unions, or factions, to see who can dominate what’s left of the world. Individual and group successes are tracked and rewarded as the game continues to evolve.
Mikedot: Tell us a little bit more about the development team at 8-bit studios and how everyone came together to create this game.
8-Bit:We have put together an incredible, international team with a lot of experience developing games in big companies such as Ubisoft, Eurocom, Tequila Works, Ankama and more…
The studio has been growing fast since last year and right now we work as a well-oiled machine, something proven with the amazing results we got in just eight months of development with Unreal 4.
Mikedot: Tell us more about the playable races.
8-Bit:In the world of Skara, there are 5 races – Khärn, Durno, Tamvaasa, Shinse, and Celea – with unique characteristics, abilities, and aesthetics. We have put a lot of effort into making them unique, with their own story, literacy, calligraphy and music, creating a background that players will be able to enrich and modify, adding their own personal stories to fill in more details.
Each one of the races are defined by their weapons and combat style. This way we have the Durno, knights that fight using sword and shield; The Khärn, fierce and big warriors who love to smash their enemies with huge clubs; The Shinse, quick and agile warriors carrying two deadly katanas; the Tamvaasa, northern warriors covered in animal skins who carry big axes onto the battlefield; and the Celea, the Sons of Fire, deadly with their long bows and long spears.
Mikedot: Will each race cater to distinct fighting game play styles (like rush down or zoning) or will players be able to create their own play style?
8-Bit:Besides choosing the way a character looks, we want to create ways for players to be able to personalize their combat styles. Characters can unlock different movements, special attacks and even fatalities! These customizable options won´t make your character stronger or faster, but they will distinguish your character from the others.
Mikedot: What was the main inspiration for creating Skara?
8-Bit:Skara has been somewhere in our heads forever. As a lifelong lover of great stories and great games, we wanted to create something fast paced and fun. We also wanted it to be competitive, allow for collaboration in an engaging and evolving world that we weren’t totally responsible for creating—something that surprised us occasionally, that had a life of its own. These ideas gradually became Skara.
So we’re not even totally sure what will happen within Skara. The story will be written through the players’ actions and contributions, the success of their factions and races.
For example, if the Khärn factions win many battles, their tribes will expand their territories and will dominate Skara, until other factions beat them. We’re going to immortalize these movements, by naming those that achieve them Heroes and Kings, to be remembered in the future as the people who, at one time, ruled Skara. This is the way we want to reward great players: By immortalizing them as the true protagonists of the game.
That’s a game we can play ourselves—without rigging it to be the winners, of course!
Mikedot: What kind of game modes is your team planning to develop?
8-Bit:We distinguish three main branches: players will be able to perform 1v1 or 2v2 quick fights and tournaments at the Lava Coliseum. Ten minute Fast Battles for those who only want to play quick matches, in Free for All or Team Deathmatch, and Faction Battles will be the true core of Skara, allowing players to create their own factions – clans and tribes inside every race. Members of the faction will be able to describe the faction’s theme, its appearance and the background story, and invite other players to join.
Mikedot: How much of the community’s involvement has driven development for Skara (so far)?
8-Bit:Our community members help us in so many ways. We are a small indie studio and have some good ideas, but when you have thousands of fans talking about the game and telling us what they like and don’t like, amazing things start to happen, things that we wouldn’t even dream about. This is how the game has improved—by getting lots of feedback and new ideas as we go along.
That’s why the forum part of our website is so important. Committed fans can go on there and communicate with our team on a daily basis. When we are coming up with some new concept art or have a game design idea, we publish the idea in the forum and get feedback.
We anticipate the forum remaining an important part of the game even after it has been launched, but once people are playing the game, we are designing ways for them to collaborate even more.
Mikedot: Is the gameplay more tailored for casual or hardcore gamers?
8-Bit:We like to say that the combat system in Skara will be easy to learn but hard to master. It will take some commitment to be truly successful in Skara, but anyone can of course have a go.
Mikedot: So when does your team expect a more public beta test for Skara to happen?
8-Bit:It depends on so many factors, but we have already started the private alpha testing with some selected users from our forum, and they really love the game. We still have to do a lot of work to open a beta version to the public. In the next two or three months we are releasing a Steam Early Access version so we can start testing the networking and faction battles and prepare Skara for the masses.
Mikedot: Any announcements regarding how the free-to-play model will work for Skara?
8-Bit:The most important point to make about this is that we are aiming to be the perfect free-to-win experience: In Skara there is no way to buy an unstoppable character in the “pay to win” tradition. Purchasing items for your character in Skara will be both cosmetic and strategic.
All the equipment has trade-offs, and players will have to use their equipment tactically.
For example, buying some Heavy Armor will make a character more resistant to blows, but it will also slow them down. In the end, a character’s choices about equipment will depend on their combat style and the needs of their faction on the battlefield.
Teamwork will be very important in Skara: A well-coordinated and balanced team will have more chances to win a battle than a bunch of uncoordinated players. Teams will need to experiment with the equipment to ensure that they have a wide enough variety of combinations for different environments and situations.
Mikedot: Is there anything else in particular that you would like to share with our readers?
8-Bit:We would like to welcome all the players to our forums and engage them to help Skara become the perfect experience for fellow gamers. Listening to our future players and developing the game with the help and feedback of the community has always been our top priority.
Mikedot: Thank you for your time!
8-Bit:Many thanks to Mikedot for following us from the beginning of this incredible journey!
The ultimate arcade racing experience — all in the palm of your hand. New cars, new tracks, new breathtaking views and a whole new experience. With 12 new cars and more than 300 combinations, Ridge Racer Slipstream is entirely customizable. Rev your engines and drift your way to victory.
Ridge Racer Slipstream is a free to play racing experience for mobile, built on the traditions of the original arcade racing Ridge Racer franchise. Drift and slipstream past your rivals on challenging tracks.
Features:
Customizable Racing Machines: Twelve machines with hundreds of customization possibilities let you burn rubber on the tracks.
Career and Arcade Modes: Play in the full length career mode, or take on quicker matches in the Regular, Quick, and Knockout Races in Arcade mode.
Inspiring Race Tracks: Ten tracks, twenty courses, and 108 racing competitions will let you push the limits in beautiful locations.
Real Time Multiplayer: Challenge others in 8-player multiplayer, and connect with Facebook to gain rewards and share achievements.
In just three days Hanakai Studio has surpassed their target goal of $100,000 in the Kickstarter campaign for their upcoming game Prodigy. More than 660 backers have pledged their support for Prodigy’s unique blend of tactical figurine RPG and video games, reaching the halfway mark of $50,000 in just 24 hours. The campaign total now stands at $121,000.
The French independent studio would like to thank all the backers for their overwhelming support. A new stretch goal has been introduced: if the campaign reaches $150,000, a brand new figurine called Argon Batter, the Sorcerer King Companion will be added to the game. Check out the Kickstarter page for more details.
Zombies Monsters Robots (ZMR) is an online multiplayer third-person shooter developed by Yingpei Games and published by En Masse entertainment. Set in an alternate world where the invention of portal technology has lured cross-dimensional creatures to Earth and humanity finds itself under attack, ZMR pits gamers against a bevy of hostile foes.
Features:
Intense co-op & competitive modes: For both the casual and hardcore, there’s something for everyone.
Expansive variety of maps & enemies: Tons of variety to break up repetition.
Unpredictable boss fights: Duel against creatures that will require you to switch tactics during every encounter.
Deep customization of guns & gear: Tweak your weapons and equipment with several different parts and stats until your heart’s content.
Aventurine S.A., developer of the PvP MMORPG Darkfall Unholy Wars, announces an April patch update which contains exciting changes to the game.
Territory Control Video
In our upcoming patch, Darkfall Unholy Wars takes a massive step towards the endgame via exciting new territory-control features, as we refocus on our sandbox PvP and massive-battles heritage.
Check out the new video and find out how territory control is changing the face of the game.
Territory Control
Territory ownership taps into Darkfall Unholy Wars’ strategic and political potential and will be the driving force of massive battles to gain control over highly contested areas. These sandbox features are based on the implementation of large, complex, scalable systems we will continuously expand on. Your feedback on the territory ownership features is extremely valuable to us and we are committed to reacting swiftly to your reports to make any necessary adjustments and improvements.
Following are the update’s highlights:
Areas of Influence
Essentially, this is the basis of the whole territory control system. All control points that can be captured (holdings, villages and sea fortresses) have an area attached to them and the clan that owns the control point is considered the owner of the area of influence around it as well. On its own, this system offers a visual element to the map so that anyone can have an overview of what and how many territories are owned by which clans. Its true potential lies in the features that are tied to it.
Area Bonuses
Each area offers a set of buffs to clan members and allies of the owning clan, who operate within the area of influence. These buffs have to do with prowess generation rates, rare item drop chances from harvesting and monster-killing as well as gold generation. These buffs stack in the case of connected areas, so expanding your territory by conquering neighboring ones will yield the best results.
Levy Collector
A form of taxation on generated resources in a clan’s area of influence is another feature that next week’s patch brings. . Resources generated in an area will also fill up the levy collector of that area. While this is a taxation mechanic conceptually, no resources are actually deprived from the harvester or monster-killer. Instead, there is a chance for extra resources to be generated and placed in the levy collector inventory. Normal harvesting and monster-killing, as well as village requisitioning are actions that generate these extra resources at this point. While filling up, the collector cannot be interacted with by anyone. It’s important to note here that while the Levy collector building is close to a clan holding (cities and hamlets), it does not technically belong to it. Because of this it cannot be damaged and it does not need to be built like other clan buildings. Once it is full with resources, the structure becomes available for requisitioning. The requisitioning mechanic is exactly the same as the one that is used for villages. The same rules apply and you will still need a requisitioning gauntlet as well as globules of greed. The fill progress of all levy collectors is displayed on the map for all to see but since it is player activity based, there is no timer.
Feat window and feats
We have also shared images of the new feat window. Redesigning this element is part of an ongoing process of improving our GUI elements with availability of information and intuitiveness in mind. Additionally we are introducing a first round of PvE repeatable feats to serve as daily and weekly goals for players of all experience levels.
Additionally, this patch features some loot adjustments for some of our top tier monsters, new masks and various bug fixes and tweaks.
