Hi everyone. Merchant Seas is a 2d MMO that I've been working on while finishing college. I've finally come far enough for a public test release.

Summary:
The current focus of the game is to buy and sell trade goods between ports to make a profit and upgrade your ship. Good trades will earn you experience, which in turn makes better ships available to you.

You can use your wealth to invest in ports and convince them to ally with your country (either Spain, Italy, or Turkey presently). Trading with allied ports gets you better deals.

Merchant Seas isn't high-budget or high-tech, but if you're in the mood for something retro and a little different, you might be interested in checking it out. I've received positive feedback from those who've played so far.

You can create a new account here:
Create Account

And then download the client here (just unzip the files and run setup.exe):
Download Client

There's a quick-and-dirty introduction here:
Introduction

Screenshots: (click for full-size)

You can see more screenshots and details at MerchantSeas.com

The game should be functional, stable, and (hopefully) enjoyable, though there are some features still not implemented - most notably combat. The server is currently located in the United States (New York, specifically). I'm not sure how problematic the latency will be for those of you outside of North America, but I'd like to hear feedback on that as well. You can send any feedback to mike@merchantseas.com

Credits:
The world graphics are from RPG Palace. The rest were created for me by freelance artists.

HAHAHAAHAHAHA X"D

Originally posted by zehsebas

HAHAHAAHAHAHA X"D

I challange you to make a beta game.  this guy made this game all by himself.  As a game developer myself, I can tell you he spent a lot of time making this.  he clearly states it's just a game he is looking for feedback from, probably to add to his portfolio to get a job in the games industry.  Which is a great idea and will surely land him the job of his choice.  The only thing you're doing by laughing is admiting your lack of knowledge.

To the OP, great job and keep up the good work.  Follow your dreams man, if you're dedicated they will come true.

And people are wondering why there is a post count discrimination on these forums ...

(not targeted towards the OP)

Originally posted by merchantseas

Hi everyone. Merchant Seas is a 2d MMO that I've been working on while finishing college. I've finally come far enough for a public test release.

Summary:
The current focus of the game is to buy and sell trade goods between ports to make a profit and upgrade your ship. Good trades will earn you experience, which in turn makes better ships available to you.

You can use your wealth to invest in ports and convince them to ally with your country (either Spain, Italy, or Turkey presently). Trading with allied ports gets you better deals.

Merchant Seas isn't high-budget or high-tech, but if you're in the mood for something retro and a little different, you might be interested in checking it out. I've received positive feedback from those who've played so far.

You can create a new account here:
Create Account

And then download the client here (just unzip the files and run setup.exe):
Download Client

There's a quick-and-dirty introduction here:
Introduction

Screenshots: (click for full-size)

You can see more screenshots and details at MerchantSeas.com

The game should be functional, stable, and (hopefully) enjoyable, though there are some features still not implemented - most notably combat. The server is currently located in the United States (New York, specifically). I'm not sure how problematic the latency will be for those of you outside of North America, but I'd like to hear feedback on that as well. You can send any feedback to mike@merchantseas.com

Credits:
The world graphics are from RPG Palace. The rest were created for me by freelance artists.

The game looks good. It's not my cup of tea, but I think I'll give it a try just for the sake of it. Grats on your work.

Not bad, Merchantseas contact Funcom in Norway they could use some help.

Great job dude, wish i could make my own game =)

Dude, you should seriously consider turning this into an iphone app or something. A phone-based MMORPG. Sell it for 0.99 a copy or so.

Grats, dude.

Originally posted by spankybus

Dude, you should seriously consider turning this into an iphone app or something. A phone-based MMORPG. Sell it for 0.99 a copy or so.

Yes, don't forget us forsaken Android users too...

Thanks for the comments guys, I really appreciate them.  Working alone, it's definitely hard to make something to compete with the huge batch of free MMOs out there right now.  But as gauge guessed, I'm also hoping to use it as a portfolio piece.  Even so, I've done my best to make something enjoyable and polished.  I hope some of you get a chance to try it out, but I definitely understand if it's not what you're looking for.

Look intresting and polished :) downloading game now :P

 Not my cup of tea but it was obviously created with care. I hope it takes you places, whether it be financial or career success.

 Try to contact Indie blogs, these people love games like your one!

Originally posted by merchantseas

Thanks for the comments guys, I really appreciate them.  Working alone, it's definitely hard to make something to compete with the huge batch of free MMOs out there right now.  But as gauge guessed, I'm also hoping to use it as a portfolio piece.  Even so, I've done my best to make something enjoyable and polished.  I hope some of you get a chance to try it out, but I definitely understand if it's not what you're looking for.

Just out of curiousity, do you write a story first before you even start to develop the game or do you just make it up as you go.

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Originally posted by Teiman

Try to contact Indie blogs, these people love games like your one!

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Do you have any particular Indie sites that you'd recommend?

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Originally posted by outfctrl

Just out of curiousity, do you write a story first before you even start to develop the game or do you just make it up as you go.

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Well, Merchant Seas doesn't actually have a story...it's basically an open world where you can go where you want and do what you want without restriction.  If you're thinking more of a general design document, I actually didn't do that either.  Merchant Seas is largely inspired by an old SNES game called Uncharted Waters, so I had a pretty good idea of what features I wanted and how most things should work beforehand.  But I've also been doing game design in my free time for a long time, and past failures have helped me to figure out good design practices without doing too much planning beforehand.

 Looks great man, I hope you succede :)

the game LOOKS awesome. Haven't tried it yet though. Let's see fi I will or if I won't.

looks "retro"

i like retro!

Originally posted by merchantseas

 

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Originally posted by Teiman

 

Try to contact Indie blogs, these people love games like your one!

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Do you have any particular Indie sites that you'd recommend?  Try www.gametunnel.com

 

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Originally posted by outfctrl

 

Just out of curiousity, do you write a story first before you even start to develop the game or do you just make it up as you go.

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Well, Merchant Seas doesn't actually have a story...it's basically an open world where you can go where you want and do what you want without restriction.  If you're thinking more of a general design document, I actually didn't do that either.  Merchant Seas is largely inspired by an old SNES game called Uncharted Waters, so I had a pretty good idea of what features I wanted and how most things should work beforehand.  But I've also been doing game design in my free time for a long time, and past failures have helped me to figure out good design practices without doing too much planning beforehand.

Nice work man!  Check out this site: www.igf.com/

It's an indie games festival where students and indy devs can enter their games, get exposure, meet contacts, get their name out there, and if you win get other goodies.  You should really consider it.  Entry opened July 1st, and deadline is November 1st.  It will cost you some money, but could end up being invaluable in your near future. 

I went to school for gaming and made some small games on 6 month schedules with 5-6 man teams and I know how much you had to have put into this.  Props++.  If you are thinking of going into the game industry and get to the point where you are sending out resumes send me a message.  I know some people that might be able to put in a word depending on the studio. 

The game looks great and seems to have enough micromanagement to keep it interesting without making it tedious. Question, though:

A new player buys a load of goods and sets sail. They explore the islands to find a decent place to sell what they bought. In the process they run out of supplies, the crew dies, the cargo is lost, and they are kicked back to Valencia. They have no cargo to sell, no money to spend and no supplies to fuel the crew for travel.

What are their options at that point?

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Originally posted by Bureyku

Nice work man! Check out this site: www.igf.com/

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Thanks, I appreciate the props, especially from another developer. I'll probably start sending out resumes in about 4 or 5 months, just before I graduate. I don't know if an online MMO is well suited to something like IGF - I imagine innovative gameplay that can quickly capture someones interest in 5-10 minutes is probably the way to go. I'm gonna check out some of their past winners, though.

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Originally posted by LynxJSA

What are their options at that point? 
 

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You can beg at the supplies store and the NPC will set you up with free supplies and some gold to get you going again. I know it's pretty rough when that happens, but I feel like exploring new places is a bit more exciting when there's some risk involved.

Sounds like a reasonable solution. Going to check it out a bit more tonight. For what I've seen so far I think you've done an amazing job on this.

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Originally posted by merchantseas

 

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Originally posted by Teiman
 
Try to contact Indie blogs, these people love games like your one!

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Do you have any particular Indie sites that you'd recommend?

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If your game is good, www.rockpapershotgun. If your game is average, or curious, any random indie site will do, like www.tigsource.com.

 Nice game so far. I have 1800 gold after struggling for a bit but I think I'm getting the hang of it. Ingame name is Omera.