After separating from former publisher Gamigo, taking back its old website, and announcing a data transfer, the Fractured Online team is finally getting ready to let players in again. The next opportunity to play the game will be a limited playtest beginning on June 22nd.
This will be the first time a wider audience will be able to access Fractured Online in over six months of closed development. While the team has had internal playtesters since then, helping them test new features, this will be the first wide test.
The Dynamight Studios team is careful to lay out just what to expect. This is not going to be the full relaunch back into a consistent access model just yet. It is a limited test, so there will be a full world and character wipe once the test ends. The feedback and data here, however, is what they will use to eventually determine when to come back 24/7 access and with no further wipes planned.
This playtest will run from Thursday, June 22nd until Sunday, July 2nd. The server will open at 4PM CEST / 10 AM EDT to all those who own Founder’s Packs. Those who bought the game via Steam or Gamigo’s Glyph platform will have access if they transferred their data. (Whether they will be back on Steam Early Access is to be determined, but Steam buyers will have full access to play the game.)
There are many changes and new features to test, including a top to bottom revamp of character progression. You still earn Knowledge Points, but they determine your rank (closer to a more traditional leveling system) and how many Talent Points you get. Abilities themselves also get a level system, and the team has added some new abilities too. Crafting has also been overhauled, with a promised considerable number of changes to resources and materials.
There’s a new system called the Journey System that helps guide the early experience with a mix of achievement and quests. Other overhauls include all of the tooltips (to be more informative), a number of the animations, visual effects, and a whole bunch of bug fixes and quality of life changes.
Another big change you’ll notice if you have played the game before –the continent of Myr is gone. The earliest, and for a while, largest continent was where most played, but it was the earliest edition,still rough, and it only had two biomes. The team made the decision to move most of its content to Aerhen and Terra. Some will be back on Tartaros when that comes. Oh, and they’ve added new creatures and POI on those other continents.
You can see the full list of changes as well as details on the upcoming play test over at Fractured Online.
