Gloria Victis has announced today that it is in the process of transferring to Unity 5. Transferring to Unity 5 will allow players to have improved FPS, movement fluency, performance, and graphics quality while reducing hardware requirements.
The development team also expects to boost server performance, improve collision checks and the AI system. They are also working on increasing the map past the home island, introducing the sailing system, and reworking existing systems to a new UI.
CityState Games releases their first detailed in-game demo of the alpha state of Camelot Unchained, including character customization, siege warfare, and general UI!
Some of you may remember Greed Monger from a few years ago. It was one of the earlier Kickstarter MMO projects to be funded. Perhaps it was during the Golden Age of Kickstarter – where anyone with a silver tongue and an idea could get funding for their game project without much scrutiny. Jason M. Appleton, someone who has experience in the business world, was able to get his dream MMO Kickstarted with lots of sugary words and a dream, a dream of a real money economy MMO where land was purchased with cash and had meaning because of it; almost in the same vein as Project Entropia but with a fantasy setting. Things are different now, and perhaps Greed Monger can be considered a good example of why.
Yesterday, on April 5th, it was announced via the Greed Monger forum andKickstarter Page that Jason M. Appleton, the original creator and owner of the project, that “Papers have been signed.” This was in reference to Greed Monger being handed over to James Proctor and Joel Hager. For those following the project, it could be argued that the project had been in James’ hands since day one. Jason had no experience with game development and relied heavily on James’ help and knowledge to get the game development going.
Greed Monger has been something I’ve had an eye on since I stumbled upon its Kickstarter page when the funding was still in full swing. I even had one of the earlier Q&A’s with Jason. Perhaps I should have been more critical in my questioning, asking how he could possibly get a project of this scale up-and-running with so little experience with any form of game development. Heck, if you’ve ever been to any game development forum, newbies are constantly told, “Do NOT start with an MMO!” because, unless you’re using one of those “MMO Creators,” it’s just too hard for a newbie.
In the statement that was released, Jason explains some of the issues with the game. One of the problems he mentioned was the pressure from various gaming communities. On our Friendly Competitor Website (Which perhaps shall not be named?), which may or may not be infamous for a community that likes to dish out all they can on various games and/or persons, Greed Monger has been a favored target for as much negativity as can be generated on the Internet. Right from the gate, they (and various other online communities) had formed a witch-hunt of sorts to track down and figure out exactly who Jason M. Appleton was and do their best to discredit him. Anyone would wither under those conditions.
Throughout the statement, Jason praises James for all his hard work and dedication. He re-affirms that it was really all of James’ effort that allowed Greed Monger to get this far. He also admits that he got in over his head with trying to create an MMO with just $100,000, while not having the ability to monitor everyone on the team in person, and such little experience. To me, this shows great character and a willingness to admit when you’re wrong and to do your best to do right by those who put their faith in you. But he also makes it clear that James and Joel will be taking full responsibility of the project, “as well as liability for the Kickstarter and website backers and will be committed to honoring all of your pledges.”
This may have a few people worried. Is it legal – or just right – to do such a thing? Create a Kickstarter and then throw it on the shoulders of someone else, liability and all? Jason is, from what I’ve been able to see and read, much more business-savvy that James. Joel apparently has experience in business and PR. Some might worry that problems may arise due to this change in ownership from the original Kickstarter creator to the former (and now co-owner) Lead Developer. Perhaps it won’t be an issue – James is definitely loved within the Greed Monger community, and I haven’t seen much hate thrown his way from anyone. He’s a genuinely nice, maybe dedicated, possibly not capable of developing an mmo, guy. Needless to say, I have my worries.
And perhaps you’re wondering what sparked this, from our point of view, sudden change in ownership. Jason simply mentioned this in the statement: “After 3 years of working with James Proctor, the ups and downs, learning, trials and errors, he decided to leave the game in a very abrupt way that shocked me and everyone else.” A bit of digging would lead you to this thread where the Community Manager (known as Derium) posts about an apparent “meltdown” by Jason which resulted in the banning of James from the Greed Monger forums. Darium continues on, saying that there are no devs currently working on the project and the project has failed to meet any obligations. He pleads with backers to do “what is right” and make some noise about what was happening. This post was made on 4/04/2015, one day prior to the “Papers” being signed.
Apparently James wanted to leave the project for quite some time. Two years prior, actually. But he claims Jason threatened him with lawsuit if he did. Perhaps the banning was due to James announcement that he was finally free of Greed Monger and would be starting his own project. The outcry from the community may have pressured Jason into signing over the project to James. And since James accepted, it seems that he gets to be the boss, just as he said he was glad to be in his announcement of separation. Truth be told, there’s a lot of back-and-forth and we can’t be sure who is to blame – Jason claims James promised him he could do things and then fell through and James claims that Jason was a major issue with the game and its stifled development. If you’re interested, it’s not hard to find some facebook and forum messages that help lay out the story. Youtuber The Argent Argument (AKA Derium) does a great job of laying it all out:
In the end, I think we can agree that these past three years have been a bit of a mess. Over six-hundred backers (perhaps more via the Greed Monger website crowdfunding) have waited three years for certain goals to be met and so far they’ve been left high and dry. Who knows who is to blame. Perhaps it was a culmination of dream-smoke, hope, and wonderful speeches mixed with inexperience. Personally, I don’t think there was any attempt to “steal the Kickstarter money” on Jason’s behalf, because he often likes to mention how much of his own money he’s put into the project, and I have no reason to doubt that he has. I believe it’s an issue of inexperience and a small team equivalent to a modding project that never gets quite finished. Either way, perhaps now Greed Monger can finally get somewhere in its development. Perhaps it won’t.
It may be interesting to note that Jason originally wanted to hand the project over to an Interdiction Studios. However, that seemed to have fallen through within a 24 hour period.
How do you feel about this news? Do you feel that Jason should have signed the project (and all liability) over to James? Do you think James may have been ‘tricked’ into taking all the blame and potentially the incoming sue-storm? Do you think the project will get somewhere now? Vaporware? Scam? Tell us. To be honest, this whole issue makes me sick to my stomach.
HEX Entertainment and Gameforge recently updated with the first single-player PvE content for HEX: Shards of Fate, the world’s first digital trading card/ Massively Multiplayer Online game. This new content, called the “Frost Ring Arena” offers players the chance to duel against AI opponents, as well as bringing new PvE cards and equipment that broaden the possible number of playable troops, spells and effects. At the same time, Gameforge has announced a global online tournament coming later in 2015 with at least $100,000 up for grabs.
“We are incredible happy to present the first taste of the innovation we promised in our very successful Kickstarter campaign,” said Cory Jones, CEO of HEX Entertainment. “HEX is a huge leap forward in what digital card gaming can be, with the addition of MMO elements and brand new ways to play a TCG, HEX is unlike anything you have played before.” With the Frost Ring Arena, HEX puts a stronger focus on the story line of the world of Entrath, which was hit by the meteor HEX in ancient past. The icy showdown takes place in the high north of this world, the Hyperborean Mountains, where hardly any life can grow. Lost for generations, the Arena was discovered by Hogarth, a fallen mage, who now reigns there and challenges heroes from all over the world to test their skills against him and his legion.
The new Arena splits into four Tiers; in each tier, the players challenges four regular champions and one boss. To guarantee high replay value, the opponents are randomly generated from a pool of 20 normal champions and 6 bosses. The battles against the AI differ from normal PvP fights in that each champion and boss has their own unique play style. Some enemies specialize in a single shard or play style, while others will have specific personalities that define their strategies. As players progress through the Arena, the champions and bosses become harder as enemies begin carrying equipment of their own. Losing three rounds ends a campaign, but players get to keep all their loot even if they don’t succeed in defeating the entire Arena.
The M.C. challenge is a randomly occurring event within the Frost Ring Arena. Hogarth, the master of the Frost Ring, enters the duels and challenges players with certain tests, such as winning a fight by only using a certain type of card or taking less than 6 damage in the match. If the player manages to successfully complete this challenge, they will be awarded a bonus in the form of a buff for the next boss fight.
The new PvE cards are for use in the AI-duels only, while all existing PvP cards can be used in PvE as well. To optimize card and deck management, the update also includes an upgrade to the deck building interface, which now allows players to differentiate between their PvE and PvP decks. Additionally, the update will usher in new card interface and deck management systems, as well as a new chat, making it easier for players to stay in contact.
For those Hex players looking for more head-to-head competition, Gameforge and Hex Ent. will be running a global tournament in 2015, promising a prize pool of more than $100,000. Players registered for HEX: Shards of Fate on North American and European servers will have the ability to earn qualification points through daily tournament play for the HEX Invitational event. Earning ten points will afford automatic eligibility to participate in the Invitational Qualifiers. The invites for the HEX Invitational event will be decided during twelve online qualifier tournaments, which will be free for all qualified players. Those 12 winners will be invited by Gameforge and Hex Ent. to the Studios in Lake Forest, California to determine the HEX Invitational champion.
“HEX combines the world of traditional trading card games with digital features that have never been seen before, resulting in thrilling and challenging duels,” said Carsten van Husen, CEO at Gameforge. “This tournament is our way of both highlighting the growing competitive nature of the game and saying thank you to the community.”
HEX: Shards of Fate had a wildly successful KickStarter campaign, earning over $2.2 million in backing over 30 days. HEX: Shards of Fate was also one of the first Kickstarter projects to deliver playable code to backers and launched Alpha testing for its community of backers in October 2013. HEX is currently in beta testing and expanded its community to more than just Kickstarter backers.
Chaos Reborn, the turn-based wizard combat game with an RPG twist from XCOM creator Julian Gollop, received a major content update today which will help players gain more control over their spells and wizardly abilities. Additionally, the game currently in Steam Early Access is on sale for a week beginning today for the price of $14.99 USD or €14.99 euros.
Developed by the original XCOM creator and his studio, Snapshot Games, Chaos Reborn is the spiritual successor to 1985’s Chaos: The Battle of Wizards. The game involves battling wizards, casting spells and summoning creatures to defeat AI enemies or other players online. Chaos Reborn currently has a robust battle system, and the new update will elevate gameplay by giving players more tools to vanquish opponents with.
This update includes:
The addition of gold and experience points that can be earned in battle to then be spent on additional staffs, bodygear and talismans in order to level up your wizard and equipment.
Hundreds of procedurally generated staffs and bodygear that help players level up and optimize their battle strategy.
A variety of magical artifacts called Talismans, which can be plugged into staffs and bodygear to give unique powers and abilities. Some abilities are:
Telemount – Teleport instantly to summoned mounts, such as a Pegasus, Unicorn, Elephant or Manticore.
Dodge – Dodge any blow by retreating – as long as there is a space to retreat
Dark Side – Become invulnerable to non-magical attacks, also known as the ‘undead’ attribute.
Blobify – Turn magic trees / shadow woods into gooey blobs