In-Development Indie MMORPSs

francisbaud

Junior Member
Oct 8, 2016
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It takes years to develop a great video game, and a lot longer for a AAA MMORPG. When the studio chooses the route of open-development (devs engage with the community, create testing environments, etc.) the development time can easily reach 8 to 10 years. The following independent, open-development MMOs games are expected to release in the coming years.


Dual Universe [Beta]
Setting: Science-Fiction || Focus: PvP || Budget: ~$25M* || Engine: Unigine 2
  • Single shard persistent universe shared by all the players
  • Voxel-based universe: player-made cities, stations and warships
  • Space warfare: pirate ships, coordinated attacks, skirmishes
  • Player-controlled global economy: mine, craft, build, optimize, barter and trade

Crowfall [Beta]
Setting: Medieval Fantasy || Focus: PvP || Budget: $38M || Engine: Unity 5
  • Spiritual successor to Shadowbane
  • Player-created worlds with parcels of terrain and pre-fab building pieces
  • GvG/RvR campaigns that guilds or factions can win
  • Deep crafting system inspired by Star Wars: Galaxies

Camelot Unchained [Beta]
Setting: Medieval Fantasy || Focus: RvR || Budget: ~$20M || Engine: Unchained
  • Spiritual successor to Dark Age of Camelot
  • Large-scale RvR battles and sieges with more than a thousand players
  • Open world with islands that players can move to strategically reshape the world
  • Block-by-block construction with server-side stability and destruction

Gloria Victis [Beta]
Setting: Medieval Realistic || Focus: PvP || Budget: ~$4M* || Engine: Unity 5
  • Skill-based combat mechanics à la Mount and Blade
  • Class-less system with diversified equipment
  • Open world with housing, territory control and sieges
  • Complex crafting system: leatherworking, armorsmithing, weapon forging

Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen [Pre-Alpha]
Setting: Medieval Fantasy || Focus: PvE || Budget: $? || Engine: Unity 5
  • Spiritual successor to EverQuest
  • Deeply social: dungeons require teamwork and group strategy
  • Thrilling climbing system
  • Perception system: the world reveals its secrets through the environment

Ashes of Creation [Alpha]
Setting: Medieval Fantasy || Focus: PvP || Budget: ~$30M* || Engine: Unreal 4
  • Nodes system: player participation influences the type of content in the surrounding areas
  • Open world housing: players have the ability to survey and develop land anywhere in the world
  • Castle sieges with hundreds of players with many moving parts
  • Harsh, unforgiving and stunning environment

Star Citizen [Alpha]
Setting: Science-Fiction || Focus: PvP || Budget: $348M || Engine: Lumberyard
  • Spiritual successor to Freelancer
  • Procedurally generated and handcrafted stunning worlds
  • Open world PvP with high speed dog fights with multi-crew ships or intense FPS warfare
  • Exploration: hidden outpost, abandoned ships and beautiful sunsets

Project Gorgon [Beta]
Setting: Medieval Fantasy || Focus: PvE || Budget: +$1M || Engine: Unity 5
  • Exploration: many hidden secrets awaiting discovery
  • Ambitious skill-based leveling system allowing the player to combine skills
  • Old-school MMO with innovative ideas, such as morphing into animals
  • 16 combat skills, 71 trade skills, 11 beasts skills

Mortal Online 2 [Beta]
Setting: Medieval Fantasy || Focus: PvP || Budget: $? || Engine: Unreal 4
  • Open and realistic sandbox world
  • True, real-time combat where outcomes are decided by skill rather than levels or gear
  • Legendary crafters trading across the globe, famous warriors studying the art of combat
  • Individual reputation: people will recognize you by the impact you've made on the world

Rise Online [Alpha]
Setting: Medieval Fantasy || Focus PvP/PvE || Budget: $? || Engine: Unreal 4
  • Spiritual successor to Knight Online
  • Full PvP-based maps and events
  • PvE content like missions, creatures and bosses that take several groups to defeat
  • An endless war between two kingdoms

Cross post. *Personal estimate, may be inaccurate
Feel free to suggest improvements to this post!
 
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KMFJD

Lifer
Aug 11, 2005
29,189
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I've played a few of these,

Dual Universe i was not a fan of at all
Crowfall would be good if it was populated and wasn't a slideshow when more than 20 people show up
Camelot Unchained is still very much an alpha but there's progress...
Gloria Victus i found a bit boring, no population and not much to do, combat was different and fun from what i remember
Mortal Online 2 interests me but i will wait until their open beta later on this month before i spend any money on it
 

francisbaud

Junior Member
Oct 8, 2016
17
2
71
Yea... that pretty much sums up the state of those MMOs. GV I liked the bullet drop on the arrows, and generally the map looked good when there's decent lighting. CF lags with multiple players on screen but they're working hard on that field, Dual Universe I haven't played but the concept is solid, they just need to add a lot of stuff so it's "fun". Camelot Unchained progresses slowly but surely, hopefully they get enough funding to continue the development over the next few years.
 

KMFJD

Lifer
Aug 11, 2005
29,189
42,294
136
Some of the ships they've built in dual universe are pretty cool, saw a bunch of semi truck spaceships, an Imperial Star Destroyer, the M.Falcon, our group even built a giant black cube of death

I thought they made it a bit to slow/difficult and there was a certain element of gamers on their discord that kept trying to make the game harder and more difficult to play for some reason (realism?)
 
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KMFJD

Lifer
Aug 11, 2005
29,189
42,294
136
Fractured is another new indie MMO


not really a fan of the Diablo/Albion Online ARPG view

 

shortylickens

No Lifer
Jul 15, 2003
82,854
17,365
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Nope.

Big time sinks.
And its hard to quit because you have so much invested in them, and too many people relying on you.
 

francisbaud

Junior Member
Oct 8, 2016
17
2
71
Fractured is another new indie MMO


not really a fan of the Diablo/Albion Online ARPG view

Oh yea I had already heard about Fractured but forgot about it. Thanks!

Nope.

Big time sinks.
And its hard to quit because you have so much invested in them, and too many people relying on you.
MMORPGs take huge amount of time that's sure, it's hard to get into for someone who works / has a family. Except a few MMOs where you can reach the "end-game" pretty quickly thanks to mostly horizontal advancement (Crowfall, Camelot Unchained, etc.).
 

KMFJD

Lifer
Aug 11, 2005
29,189
42,294
136
I have been playing the Mortal Online stress test and it has potential if you liked full loot pvp mmo with worthwhile crafting/harvesting it might be worth checking out, depends on how bad the grind is, reminds me of the original Darkfall

 
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francisbaud

Junior Member
Oct 8, 2016
17
2
71
I have been playing the Mortal Online stress test and it has potential if you liked full loot pvp mmo with worthwhile crafting/harvesting it might be worth checking out, depends on how bad the grind is, reminds me of the original Darkfall

That's a really cool video. Lot of people in this large-scale battle. I think it looked epic with all the horses and combatants
 
Feb 4, 2009
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For the sand box, Dual Universe looks interesting, I might have to give that one a go.

Yeah I’m interested in that too big thing that keeps me in the No camp is PvP only.
To my understanding there will be no PvE anywhere as in there are only players.
 

Pohemi

Diamond Member
Oct 2, 2004
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Star Citizen has been in dev almost a decade now, and raked in nearly $340m in funding. I wonder if it will ever release a non-alpha.
 
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WhiteNoise

Golden Member
Jun 22, 2016
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Crowfall is ugly and boring. I did not like it at all.
Mortal Online 2 is clunky just like the first one. I have a lot of time in the first one and never thought it was good enough. MO2 looks sooooo much better but the controls seem very clunky. I could not enjoy any of my time in the stress test.

Pantheon looks pretty cool but I believe you will have to group to really enjoy it. I like to group and solo myself. Still this is the only one on my radar right now.
 

DigDog

Lifer
Jun 3, 2011
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TLDR but i'll probably check them out later. I haven't enjoyed a space sim since Space Rogue though.
 
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Feb 4, 2009
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I've replaced the old video with one from the stress test, thanks!

Mmmm monthly fee,....
While I am not against a monthly fee, I do expect the game to be
Populated
Regularly supported
Monthly fee should not be ridiculous anything over $10 is ridiculous to me
for the monthly fee. I'll wait and see what happens.

Fun Fact, I finally came out of lurking on AT to discuss Mortal Online 1 (the original version)
 
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