Each week, we scour the internet for all things indie MMO-related, so you don’t have to. This week, Fractured Online offers reduced pricing leading up to its Early Access return, Zenith announces a skill rework and Quest 3 plans, and Eternal Tombs shows off a gameplay demo. There's plenty of other news to catch up on, so let’s quit wasting time and get started with this week’s Indie MMO Spotlight.
Anvil Empires
After several delays, Anvil Empires’ latest Pre-Alpha test began on Friday. The test runs through the weekend. If you wish to join in on future tests, you can still apply on the Anvil Empire Steam page. Application access generally opens up 48 hours prior to an upcoming test.
BitCraft
Two new blog posts were published this week. The first post reveals that Austin Wintory and Rachel Hardy will be the composers of BitCraft’s soundtrack. The post also revealed that we should expect an Alpha release in early 2024. The second post delves into the core skills that will be available to characters, which include all of the staple MMO skills - forestry, mining, hunting, smithing, fishing, and many more. And speaking for core skills, BitCraft’s weekly Twitter post has a short video of a day in the life of a lumberjack.
Broken Ranks
Do you remember when it took weeks, even months, for a guild to take down a new raid boss? Broken Ranks remembers. It took over five months and 890 attempts, but the Winged Lady Sidraga has finally been defeated. The video of the final battle can be seen below.
Corepunk
It was announced this week that Corepunk would be holding a small first-look test (21 people) this weekend. There is a visual NDA for the test, but participants are allowed to discuss their experiences, so hopefully, we will have more to cover in a week or two. The announcement also targeted December for an early access release!
The Cycle: Frontier
So long to The Cycle: Frontier. The last day of service for the MMO was September 27th, and a short Discord post gave a parting farewell from the developers.
Dual Universe
September 27th marked the one-year anniversary of the Dual Universe launch. To celebrate, talent point acquisition speed has been doubled through October 27th. A Birthday Bash Tour has also been organized that will visit some of the best player creations throughout the universe.
Ember Sword
Ember Sword held its second live Dev Stream this week. The stream included Lead Community Manager Thor and Pia, a 3D artist for the team.
Eternal Tombs
As promised, Eternal Tombs had an official gameplay walkthrough and demo posted this week. The video showed several UI components, as well as some movement and combat. The video also featured the Tomb Master interface, Eternal Tombs’ method of adding live GM events to the world.
Fractured Online
Fractured Online has scheduled a Fall Playtest in advance of its return to Steam Early Access. The test began on Thursday and will run through Sunday, October 15th. In conjunction with the test, Founder Pack pricing has been adjusted, and you can now gain permanent access to Fractured Online for as little as $14.99.
Genfanad
Continuing their blog posts covering the upcoming TCG integration, Genfand’s latest blog post covers equipment cards.
Havenhold
Havenhold shared a video of a late-night stroll on Twitter this week.
Some late-night wandering under the moonlight. ????#gamedev #wishlistwednesday pic.twitter.com/GIbmwAcztj
— Havenhold MMO (@PlayHavenhold) September 27, 2023
Into the Echo
The Journey Across Raava is finally open to the public. The interactive site provides an introduction to the world and lore of Raava.
Loftia
Loftia’s pre-order store went live this week. If you weren’t part of the Kickstarter campaign that generated a whopping $1.271 mil, then you can purchase an Alpha Access key for $45.
Palia
Patch 0.169 is now live. The patch includes new features and QoL additions, plenty of new goodies to buy, and the end of the Maji Market event.
Prosperous Universe
Development Log #403 was posted this week. The log discusses the work on the German translation of PU, along with a brief discussion of feedback about potential changes to the map.
Realm of the Mad God
Halloween 2023 prep is underway but is not a part of Update 4.0.2.0, which went live this week. The patch did include the start of Season 8, including a new Mission Tree and The Tavern, a new mini-dungeon.
Star Sonata 2
A new server/client patch was pushed through this week.
Zenith: The Last City
A blog post outlining all of the work being done on the skill tree revamp was posted this week. The revamp is a move away from passive skill unlocks to a branching skill tree where you can manually choose your godstones.
It was also announced that Zenith: The Last City would be coming to Quest 3 on October 10th. The new platform will have a higher fidelity and allow for some new visual enhancements like dynamic grass, additional geometry, and other VFX improvements.
