Each week, we scour the internet for all things indie MMO-related so you don’t have to. This week is jam-packed with news, most notably the release of two highly anticipated titles in Broken Ranks and Zenith: The Last City. Speaking of Zenith, it and several other indie titles made their way onto our list of VR MMOs to keep an eye on in 2022. Enough of the selfless plugs, though, let’s get started with this week’s Indie MMO Spotlight.
AetherStory
Thursday’s patch was delayed. The team expects that an extra week is all the time needed to finish things up, so expect to see the update towards the latter half of the week.
Rumor has it deep within the Amberfall Mines is an ancient shrine containing a new magic. Will you be able to find it and master a new spell?A new patch is coming to #AetherStory on Thursday!#pixelart #mmorpg #gamedev #indiegame #rpg Follow for more updates. #screenshotsunday pic.twitter.com/S3q2yinKwh
— Phanxgames (@phanxgames) January 23, 2022
Broken Ranks
With high demand causing server issues on launch day, developer Whitemoon Games claims they had, “a rough night.” Along with login issues, some players experienced accidental bans of their IP addresses, while others were having issues with purchases of Broken Ranks’ premium currency.
Cinderstone Online
A couple of weeks ago Codevision posted their roadmap to Open Beta. An update was posted to the Cinderstone Discord that shows two of the three systems they needed to finish before Beta are now complete. Just one more to go.
City of Titans
In a new dev post, CoT Project Lead, Chris “Warcabbit” Hare, discusses what’s in store for 2022.
Dual Universe
Novaquark pushed out some revisions to territory upkeep and mining units this week. They also posted some more information about the upcoming Panacea update. They discussed how the Vertex Precision Tool would give players more precision in building, their plan to address organization construction slots, and then ended the week with an additional post about construction slots.
Elethor
The v25 update went live on Friday, adding cosmetics, loyalty rewards, and a chat rework. You can find the full patch notes here.
Ember Sword
One the Ember Sword Discord, this week’s WIP Wednesday post showed off some of the herbs potential crafters will be gathering. There is also a cooking challenge going on, with four entrants winning a plot of Solarwood land.
??Calling all Chefs of Thanabus, it's your time to shine! Represent your nation by cooking up its signature dish. Here's how it works:- Pick 1 of the nations and cook a real dish.- Post it on Twitter with #ThanabusFood. - 4 people will win a plot of Solarwood land.?? pic.twitter.com/v1wP2BdIbq
— Ember Sword (@PlayEmberSword) January 28, 2022
Farwoods
Farwoods now has an official forum. Head on over and get the discussion started.
Fractured Online
Fractured Online will be holding its first Alpha Weekend since announcing the partnership between Dynamight Studios and publisher Gamigo. The test will run from Friday, February 4 through Sunday, February 6 and is open to any Kickstarter backers, Founder Pack owners, and anyone who registered on the FO website by Friday, January 28.
Gloria Victis
A new character development tree was added in Weekly Update 304. The new tree adds additional depth to mining. 12 abandoned mines have also been added to the world. With the reduction of overworld magnetite and siderite veins, these new event areas will be highly-contested spots to gather high-tier resources.
Mad World
Jandisoft announced the next Mad World Alpha Test with a new trailer drop earlier this week. There have been a plethora of updates and improvements ahead of the alpha, with 20+ new skills, 18 new elite monsters, and 3 new instance dungeons to name but a few.
OrbusVR
Alternum Game Studios posted their 2022 Q1-Q2 roadmap this week. Along with new missions and quests, players can expect updates to player housing, a new tutorial to help acclimate new arrivals to Highsteppe, and two new dungeons. The test will run from February 23 through February 27.
Profane
A new tweet this week to discuss mobs in Profane. The tweet covers the creative process behind the Red Manatee, an aquatic creature that players will find along the rocky beaches of Semisus.
Hello there, community!Let's talk mobs, shall we?We have been working on more creatures that will inhabit Semisus and help bring life to it during your daily adventures in our world. pic.twitter.com/UaFf4NvB8P
— Profane MMORPG (@ProfaneMMO) January 28, 2022
Prosperous Universe
Development Log #319 covers taxes, QoL updates, and marketing.
Ravendawn
Living Phoenix Entertainment addressed the question of NFTs and play-to-earn in regards to Ravendawn Online, stating they will not change the original vision by adding any P2E or P2W elements to Ravendawn. Instead, they are creating a fork in development and introducing Ravendawn Eternal. The video below details the impact this will have on the development of RO.
Scars of Honor
Want to help Beast Burst Entertainment build the perfect Assassin class for Scars of Honor? Then jump in on the discussion on the SoH forums.
Ship of Heroes
After winning MOP’s Best Indie MMORPG of 2021 Award, Heroic Games Corporation is going for a repeat in 2022. A recent newsletter outlines the team’s goals for 2022, including an updated website and a closed and open beta of the new base building feature. And assuming everything else goes well in 2022, they are also looking towards an official launch at the end of the year.
Starbase
A new post on the Starbase Steam page reports that the dev team has been able to fix 780 bugs since Starbase entered Early Access. If you want to know if the bugs affecting your gameplay have been fixed just watch the video below that lists them all.
Wild Terra 2
A post on the Wild Terra 2 Steam page teased a new update coming in the next few days. WT2 is also on sale through February 3 for 50% off!
A Township Tale
Alta scored some major funding to the tune of $12.4M this week.
World Seed 2.0
The World Seed 2.0 Kickstarter failed to reach its goal, ending with a total of 34 backers and $1475 in pledges. Ape Egg is still moving forward with plans to make World Seed available on Steam and is currently going through the Steam review process. In the meantime, players can still play World Seed Classic.
Zenith: The Last City
You may have heard this already, but Zenith: The Last City released this week. Rumor has it that it’s doing pretty well on Steam and the Quest Store. With that kind of activity, it’s no surprise that the servers were struggling to keep up with the influx of players.
