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City of Steam (Upcoming Industrial Fantasy Browser MMO)
CoS_Ethan
GamerRegistered User regular
GamerRegistered User regular
Hello all, I’m Ethan and I work for an indie game developer, Mechanist Games. We are working on our debut title, City of Steam, a browser-based MMO in an industrial setting with steampunk elements.
If you've known of City of Steam and been keeping an eye on it since the game went public, be sure to sign up for our newsletter and have an eye on our dev journals for up-to-date game development.
To those that don't know what City of Steam is (no surprise, we're an indie developer, so getting widespread recognition is relatively harder for us). It's a browser-based MMORPG featuring a mix of industrial fantasy and steampunk elements, lightweight enough to play smoothly on even non-gaming computers and accessible straight from your browser. Even then, thanks to Unity 3D and a lot of in-house tools, we've managed to still make it look quite impressive,and all stored in but a few megabytes.
City of Steam evokes an industrial age fantasy set in a mechanical world during an industrial revolution where the boundaries between science and magic have begun to blur, where humanoid steamtoilers patrol the streets and levianthan airships float just above the rooftops. City of Steam is set on the World Machine, a vast and ancient system of interlocking gears powered by unfathomable energies. Current civilizations are built upon these, and the industrial aspects have always been part of the world's history and daily life; races such as humans and elves do exist, but they live alongside dwarves that are part-machine, robotic toilers that roam the land, and both magical and mechanical monstrosities that threaten their existence. Visit the World Machine page to take a better look at this animated world.
For a better picture of the game, check our latest Closed Beta Trailer, a lot has changed and improved since then, but it can still give a good idea for what we plan to make of our game:
http://youtu.be/ynmn3DjIDqA
Edit:
Hey everyone, we've opened gates of Nexus again, Beta is now launched and ready to play. Visit the link below if you don't have an account yet and start your journey in just minutes!
http://cos.r2games.com/signup
Thanks to your continuous support of our game, City of Steam has finally been approved on Valve's Greenlight approval system. We are thankful for everyone who voted for us and who spread the word! If you want to know more, you can find the full announcement here: http://cos.r2games.com/news/view/?id=1731
Also, we wrote up a dev journal (though delayed!), along with a video, about the showcase of City of Steam at PAX East and GDC 2013. The video itself is here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhX8U14XarI
We may be small, but we’re very receptive to player feedback too, and strive to openly discuss the development process. Feel free to share your thoughts, and I’ll respond to any questions you may have.
If you've known of City of Steam and been keeping an eye on it since the game went public, be sure to sign up for our newsletter and have an eye on our dev journals for up-to-date game development.
To those that don't know what City of Steam is (no surprise, we're an indie developer, so getting widespread recognition is relatively harder for us). It's a browser-based MMORPG featuring a mix of industrial fantasy and steampunk elements, lightweight enough to play smoothly on even non-gaming computers and accessible straight from your browser. Even then, thanks to Unity 3D and a lot of in-house tools, we've managed to still make it look quite impressive,and all stored in but a few megabytes.
City of Steam evokes an industrial age fantasy set in a mechanical world during an industrial revolution where the boundaries between science and magic have begun to blur, where humanoid steamtoilers patrol the streets and levianthan airships float just above the rooftops. City of Steam is set on the World Machine, a vast and ancient system of interlocking gears powered by unfathomable energies. Current civilizations are built upon these, and the industrial aspects have always been part of the world's history and daily life; races such as humans and elves do exist, but they live alongside dwarves that are part-machine, robotic toilers that roam the land, and both magical and mechanical monstrosities that threaten their existence. Visit the World Machine page to take a better look at this animated world.
For a better picture of the game, check our latest Closed Beta Trailer, a lot has changed and improved since then, but it can still give a good idea for what we plan to make of our game:
http://youtu.be/ynmn3DjIDqAEdit:
Hey everyone, we've opened gates of Nexus again, Beta is now launched and ready to play. Visit the link below if you don't have an account yet and start your journey in just minutes!
http://cos.r2games.com/signup
Thanks to your continuous support of our game, City of Steam has finally been approved on Valve's Greenlight approval system. We are thankful for everyone who voted for us and who spread the word! If you want to know more, you can find the full announcement here: http://cos.r2games.com/news/view/?id=1731
Also, we wrote up a dev journal (though delayed!), along with a video, about the showcase of City of Steam at PAX East and GDC 2013. The video itself is here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhX8U14XarIWe may be small, but we’re very receptive to player feedback too, and strive to openly discuss the development process. Feel free to share your thoughts, and I’ll respond to any questions you may have.
City of Steam - Fight in a land of belching furnaces, clockwork marvels, and ancient evils. Visit City of Steam on Facebook for screenshots, dev diaries, and news updates!
CoS_Ethan on
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I've been involved with the project for 6 years as it began from a series of RPG books(The New Epoch) David Lindsay, the co-founder/lead designer/GM wrote. I've even seen plenty of changes to them as well!
Okay, back to your question, why did we go with browser-based? Well we wanted to toy with the boundaries of what is possible in a browser. We also started using the Unity 3D engine the day it came out for PC and have grown as it has grown. We do expect people will look down on it at first because it is "browser-based" but as soon as one sees what we've packed in... well we're quite proud of that. The screenshots of Gardenworks and Beryl's Folly up there can shed some light on the matter. Gardenworks represents a 2.3 mb one-off download to players, even with all that detail, atmosphere, sound effects, etc. Beryl's Folly is only 1.8mb.
The browser allows us to reduce the barrier of entry to the City of Steam world to near zero and the amount of time we've spent optimizing this is... uncountable. The assets are streamed only when a player needs them (enters a new area/dungeon) and are mere MBs.
We're currently working on a new trailer to show off some of the major changes we've made in the last few months and we'll post it as soon as it is done. In the meantime check out the other video links posted above, keeping in mind they are a little dated and we'd love to hear what people think, even at this early stage. Videos not your fancy? We're looking forward to getting people in to the alpha test in mid-July too.
Well it plays in browser at the set resolution of 1280x720 but there is a full-screen option that adds to the immersion. I've played it on a number of different screen sizes and found it to be good.
Okay, what will players be doing? Well, we have always put a heavy emphasis on the story and the quest-lines. Very much story-emphasized quests. Of course you'll get your "go kill X and come back" but the quests tease of a larger world. Each player gets to push forward and to uncover their pasts, secret societies and family. In terms of features, City of Steam doesn't disappoint as it delivers a full-game experience, with the social side that everyone has learned to expect but not the huge 30 Gig client, so that you'll be able to play nearly anywhere.
I wouldn't say it is a WoW at all, if I were to say it was close to anything at all... Neverwinter Nights meets Diablo with industrial themes (Steampunk)... WoW is boring... Quite a few people have said it is a call-back to Arcanum and Baldur's Gate but I wouldn't say we've cloned anything as it has been an evolving experience to get to where it is today.
I hope that answers your question, if not touches on it a little.
While I know that this may still be in flux, what style of grouping do you envision for the game? Small groups? Larger raids? Will solo play be an option?
Exactly! We imagine people will share it around and say "Hey, check this out: www.cityofsteam.com " <--- done (well... when we release of course) We're talking a just over 2mb download to start up the selection screen. We even did some early tests a couple months ago while at an airport waiting, with a test server in the States -- I connected wirelessly through my iPhone then 3G and a the Great Firewall of China - the game ran fine and wait times were very short. We're always talking 1MB here 2MB there, so really not much on even the slowest of connections.
We envision City of Steam can be one of those games that you can jump into and play a couple dungeons solo when not in the mood to be social, so we have plenty of quests to push in that direction. So solo will definitely be an option. We also have it set so that you can call in friends for support and set up some group raids as well. Perhaps in the near future we'll be able to implement massive raids but for now 2-8 is more of the recommended groups.
We're working on also a way of 'queuing' up at a dungeon entrance so that you can go stock up on potions and items while waiting for a desired group size to form and then head in together. If you don't want to wait (and we don't expect this to be too long once playership is high enough) head in to play solo. So there will be options for both solo, small group and medium sized with larger raids potentially later.
The mods are usually pretty lenient about this stuff if you just ask ahead of time. I only mention it since you've got two prior locked threads which sorta implies you didn't much read the rules.
Can you say more about the game? You won't get far with just a setting.
Yes he did, he said so in the fourth line of his post.
Looks pretty neat, especially for something browser based.
I have to say it's impressive all-around. The music, animations and effects in the sneak peek trailer are all very well done. How many people are working on this game?
Ethan had thought it might be too much having them embedded but sure we'll do that. We're putting together another video very shortly so that should show off how much has been done since GDC 2012.
In terms of more about the game. Is there anything that you'd like further elaboration on? Even though it is browser-based, it will have what people have come to expect from client-based MMOs. Throughout development we've been really open with what we've been up to and have asked fans and followers to tell us their thoughts. Some of the features we've been adding are all covered in Development Journals (diaries) marketplace(auction house), trading, crafting, a player stash, a really awesome skill tree system and we've just posted about the upgrade system of customization that actually customizes the weapon model.
We've just posted our first Dev Vlog regarding the tools we created in-house to make levels here:
Greg had time earlier to explain it in a [url=" http://www.cityofsteam.com/category/developer-journal"]Dev Journal[/url], as well.
Indeed, sometimes we even sit back after a new stable build is done and marvel at it.
The team of 3 started 3 years ago in a 'basement' (9th floor apartment no elevator) and up until last year that hovel was all we had but last we received a small investment in order to get the game out the door. Those first versions I mentioned were put together with a total team of eventually eleven. We've since grown as we polish and get this game out the door. You know what they say about that last 10%...
If anyone wants anything elaborated on just ask!
Quick note about the music:
You can read about how Daniel Sadowski went about helping us with it. We also released it on iTunes and Amazon. I'm working on the details of getting a hardcopy up too.
I'll definitely be keeping an eye on it though.
What language was the engine written in?
I just joined the team recently, and I still find it hard to believe it's all pre-Alpha... Can't wait to see what it looks like at full release
OMG Dude I helped out with the Pre alpha test runs of their server and I have to say this isn't yesterday's browser game. This has a strong Diablo III feel to it in game graphics and surroundings. The accounts have a Blizzard kind of feel to it with Multi characters able to be made and played as well as like 4 classes and like 8 races to chose from.
This game is everything awesome about a "buy in store and pay to play" without the download or the game and game time costs.
It is "Unity" programing new game engine fresh out of the box if you know what i mean, and it is on fire hot.
This one is going to be a "keep an eye on closely" development. The company support has been awesome with first hand reports of what is happening to in forum communication not typically seen from any game developer indie or otherwise.
I'm psyched I must say...
sure, do you know any other reason to support a game other than the game is good and needs the support? It makes no difference if we joined today and support this game or joined 20 years ago but only post to support this game. It isn't like penny arcade is some new place or unknown game support place. Either way the replies are valid that we are supporting this game
As both of us did get a chance to take part in the pre alpha tests if you got any questions as to how that went at the very leaset we could answer it for you in the players point of view.
We're using the Unity 3D engine and have been since it first came out in PC. In terms of which languages, we have been writing in C# and Java for server and client-side stuff.
Any other questions regarding that?
The graphics are surprising good for a browser based game. I can't wait till this goes live
The game really does deserve 5 stars and I'm not sure about others, but I'm totally pumped for the release! Hell yeah!
To you new folks who have arrived, welcome. PLEASE read the rules thread. Unless you want your stay here to be short. For example... bigass signature pictures? Not welcome here.
It makes a huge difference to this community. As they say in the news thread: "They are rarely necessary as we have no interest in converting our user base into a marketing audience."
Even with permission, consistently bad behavior can get a thread shut down. So watch, wait, and listen to folks who have been around the block a while here.
It's browser based too. That's cool.
For the alpha release players won't be able to 'dye' armor but the armor is already highly customizable as players wear 6 different parts and nothing stops one from mix and matching different types. Each piece can be upgraded as well similar to our socket system for weapons that we just posted about here
A look at that in game:
This is a look at a ridiculously uber upgraded amazing sword. Each new socket that a player adds on and gets that new component tells you more about it though, is it fast? Is it slow but damaging? Up to you.
You can see some of the modelled armors we've been working on from concepts here. For example:
Yes, there is a guild system as well as a higher-level faction system that will add a lot of high-level content so that no one is bored at the end of the bulk of content. One of the advantages we have with City of Steam and how it is delivered is that we can add things whenever we want so nobody will have to wait for that patch to install and fail.
If by this you are referring to a larger variety so that it doesn't seem so repetitive, yes we are.
Of course! City of Steam will have a quite fun PvP system that we are working to balance right now. For the Alpha release don't expect to be fighting hordes of your friends but 1v1 for sure! In the future there will definitely be Guild competitions, faction wars, etc.
Later game content! They are definitely cool.
To go between suburbs players can take the Railhauler (train) as well as Mythhubs (teleportation) as long as you've accessed that region.
We've always wanted to do player housing unfortunately we've pushed it back from the Alpha version and at this point have pretty much determined it won't be in a Beta release either because we were reaching too high. We polled our fans and players at the time and the general idea was pushing it back until we could spend real time on it and not rush it out the door was the best thing to do.
If you wanted to see what we were thinking you can check out the dev journal with the interactive Unity project in there to explore it: http://www.cityofsteam.com/design-dev-journal-2012-01-10
@ShiftyPumpkin on the Twitterings. Book the Faces at [facebook.com/PerceptivePumpkinProductions]
We definitely want to tease with the advantage of writing in Unity. We do know that the game requires far too many draw calls to DIRECTLY (without adaptation) port to iOS/Android, so for now that's off the books. We will be considering a higher-rez client download in the future but that would require working out proper patching etc. We like where we are at now, update anything and don't need to push it, the player signs in and gets the newest assets.
I'm sure you understand how frustrating Unity can be at times too! We've had to develop nearly all of the core tools and functions ourselves and that Unity's GUI! .....
Yeah, I certainly understand that. I wrote database-driven web apps for a decade until last year, and I kinda miss having the ability to publish the code to a central location and you immediately know that every user has the most current version.
Absolutely, which is why I use plugins to handle the UI instead of using the built-in components. It's almost a must for mobile development, since the Unity UI results in far too many draw calls. But although it can be frustrating, I think the benefits greatly outweigh any hassles. Being able to write a fully-3D title that runs in a browser (and COULD run on most other platforms) is pretty cool. Best of luck to you guys!
@ShiftyPumpkin on the Twitterings. Book the Faces at [facebook.com/PerceptivePumpkinProductions]
My signature isn't bigger than the maximum size allowed -.-
And I see nothing wrong with supporting a game I love, and trying to help other realize how great it is
*functional**
**adequate***
***tolerable
My son and I play Super Hero Squad Online together, which is a Unity game, and it looks great at full settings.
So in regards to CoS - when it comes to your quests, be it from the main questline or optional sidequest-y stuff...will this be co-op friendly all the way through or are there going to be a lot of forced solo parts?
My son and I play through a lot of games together, so if he and I are both playing this and we have the same quest, can I safely assume that if we go in as a group we can complete our objectives together?
It seems like a very basic question, but we've come across a few games here and there where in a simple "Go kill 10 BoringBots" scenario our kill counts don't match up if we're too far apart, or if the moon is in the wrong phase, or whatever. And of course the forced solo parts as mentioned in the question.
So, this is an even more vague question, but how "direct" does the combat feel? For instance, in WoW, you go through the motions of attacking, the monster goes through the motions of attacking, but they never really feel connected. Most MMOs have this issue, and I assume a lot of it is to make the game more lenient when it comes to latency. The video looks good, for sure!