City of Steam (In-Development Browser MMO)

[CoS_Ethan]

(First of all, my personal thanks go out to Zavon, without his approval, I wouldn't have created this post)

Hello all, I'm Ethan and I work for an indie games developer, Mechanist Games. We're working on our debut title, City of Steam, a browser-based MMO featuring a mix of industrial fantasy and steampunk elements.

If you've known of City of Steam and been following the game since it went public, be sure to sign up for our newsletter and keep an eye on the dev journals for latest game development update.

To those that don't know what City of Steam is (unsurprisingly, we're an indie developer, so getting widespread recognition is relatively harder for us). It's an industrial fantasy/steampunk MMORPG, lightweight enough to play smoothly on even non-gaming computers and accessible straight from your browser. Even then, thanks to Unity 3D and a lot of in-house tools, we've managed to still make it look quite impressive,and all stored in but a few megabytes, and you won't believe it's a browser game after hitting the fullscreen button.

City of Steam evokes an industrial age fantasy set in a mechanical world during an industrial revolution where the boundaries between science and magic have begun to blur, where humanoid steamtoilers patrol the streets and levianthan airships float just above the rooftops. City of Steam is set on the World Machine, a vast and ancient system of interlocking gears powered by unfathomable energies. Current civilizations are built upon these, and the industrial aspects have always been part of the world's history and daily life; races such as humans and elves do exist, but they live alongside dwarves that are part-machine, robotic toilers that roam the land, and both magical and mechanical monstrosities that threaten their existence. Visit the World Machine page to take a better look at this animated world.



For a better picture of the game, check our latest Closed Beta Trailer, a lot has changed and improved since then, but it can still give a good idea for what we plan to make of our game:



Edit:

Hey guys, City of Steam is now open and ready to play! All of you can join the game just by registering. Go here and start your journey into Nexus right now!

Thanks to your continuous support of our game, City of Steam has finally been approved on Valve's Greenlight approval system. We are thankful for everyone who voted for us and who spread the word! If you want to know more, you can find the full announcement here: http://cos.r2games.com/news/view/?id=1731

Also, we wrote up a dev journal (though delayed!), along with a video, about the showcase of City of Steam at PAX East and GDC 2013. The video itself is here:



We may be small, but we're very receptive to player feedback too, and strive to openly discuss the development process. Feel free to drop me a line and I'll respond to any questions you may have!

[CoS_Ethan]

Regrettably but gratefully, we decided (deliberation) that it’s time to bid a farewell to the limited Alpha Collaborator Packs; they will officially come to a close on September 23rd. Yes, you can still help us out afterwards through the merchandise store, Paypal donation, etc. But to those that want some exclusive supporter swag at the same time, be sure to seize your opportunity before that date arrives!

[CoS_Ethan]

We just put up some new dev journals, here's your chance to get a closer look at some cool Ratling animations in Unity, backstories of the charming but manipulative Rivens and a wrapup for all available classes in City of Steam now.

[Ziel]

Man, I feel bad about the lack of replies in here.

The classes/combat dynamics look like pretty standard fair, but I'm not aware of an MMO dungeon crawler having been done before, so that's very cool.

[CoS_Ethan]

Man, I feel bad about the lack of replies in here.

The classes/combat dynamics look like pretty standard fair, but I'm not aware of an MMO dungeon crawler having been done before, so that's very cool.

Thanks for the kind response, it's always not easy to spread the word out. But I'll try my best and keep updating the post here to let you guys know progress of this game. Looking forward to meeting you this November!

[CoS_Ethan]

Last chance for supporting City of Steam guys! The closing date of all Alpha Supporter Packs is pretty close now; to those who've been keeping track of City of Steam, don't miss the chance of being an honorable supporter for this game while receiving some amazing CoS swag at the same time!

[CoS_Ethan]

Hi guys, we’ve released some new dev journals recently, if you are interested in getting to know more about CoS classes and races, don’t miss out on the wrap-ups for them. Also, feel free to share your thoughts on the most recent design and coding (it includes a mini game) journals.

[Ziel]

I don't suppose you've tried doing an AMA in the gaming sub-reddit?

[CoS_Ethan]

I don't suppose you've tried doing an AMA in the gaming sub-reddit?

Maybe one day if we are big enough, we can do a proper AMA, but now, like I said in the OP, we do that on external sites and our own community all the time, so if people really want to ask us questions, they can just ask us directly.

[CoS_Ethan]

Check out a funny little video we made while stressed-out over getting City of Steam Beta ready. Feel free to leave us a comment, too! As always, keep an eye on our Dev Journals for latest development progress we've made, and share your thoughts. Beta should be rearing its head out sometime in November.

[alton]

Nice post. I like it. Thanks for sharing these information. Keep it up.

[CoS_Ethan]

Hi everyone, we've got plenty of great news share recently, so forgive me if this seems a bit spammy (but yeah...how else to spread the news on stuff like this..?)

First!Closed Beta Test will start on Nov. 16th (see more details via the announcement here), coupled with more content and contests;

Second! we just got a new Beta Teaser Trailer up, so please share the video with your friends and help spread the word out.;

Third! we now have brand new Beta Collaborator Packs, if you missed the Alpha packs, this is your chance to get a bunch of awesome extras for Beta!

Lastly, as we also have some goals to reach in Closed Beta, we do need your support to make them achievable. Check out the bonus content you could get in CBT on your Steam-o-Meter (it even includes developer humiliations; we may regret our enthusiasm later…).

Whew, ok, that was a lot of news, sorry for dropping so much on your guys at once… I’m glad to hear your comments on this though, so be sure to let me know what you think, or ask those questions I’m sure are crossing your mind!

[CoS_Ethan]

Let’s take a new glance at the Steam-o-Meter (http://www.cityofsteam.com/city-of-steam-o-meter) after one week of its release. The great thing is that really awesome stuff like “Powered Gauntlets” and “Challenge Dungeons” have already been unlocked and pushed to be ready for Closed Beta… and now we’re getting so close to the first Dev Humiliation ever. So everyone, keep pushing up the points and unlocking more early content (wouldn't you like to see that cute Marshpuggle?)

[CoS_Ethan]

Hi everyone, just wanted to drop by and remind you that we've just launched City of Steam Beta! If you are still interested in joining in, keep an eye on our partners, they might still have a few keys left to give out. Also, sign up for our newsletter for regular development updates and future key priority. If you grabbed one already, great! Free your schedule and swarm into The Refuge now!

[Marou]

Hi everyone, just wanted to drop by and remind you that we've just launched City of Steam Beta! If you are still interested in joining in, keep an eye on our partners, they might still have a few keys left to give out. Also, sign up for our newsletter for regular development updates and future key priority. If you grabbed one already, great! Free your schedule and swarm into The Refuge now!

Congrats on reaching beta status. Most if not all of us here on Catacombs are so jaded by Free to Play models that we won't assess the game seriously until it's been in release a few months and the pitfalls of it's RMT system are known.

[Alex Mars]

A friend and I just created accounts and are waiting for beta keys so we can try out this game.

[CoS_Ethan]

A friend and I just created accounts and are waiting for beta keys so we can try out this game.

Move on to our partners' sites, keys are still hot there! :P

[CoS_Ethan]

Springtide finally closed its gates... A million thanks to all who joined in and helped us test the game. As always, you can rest assured that we'll work on those bugs, and keep polishing up the game. We all look forward to seeing you back on Nov. 30 again to play DWARVES! Also, keep up your outstanding support for the Steam-o-Meter, we're getting closer to 3M points.

[CoS_Ethan]

Hello everyone, just try to remind you that we'll start Summercrest (CBT2) very soon! If interested, make sure to sign up for our newsletters on the website for Beta key priority; also, keep an eye on our partners, they might still have some loaded keys left. For those who received a key already, keep it safe and start a new round of adventure in just hours!

[Alex Mars]

I will be trying out your game this weekend, got my beta key. Will I be breaking NDA if I publish a review here?

[CoS_Ethan]

I will be trying out your game this weekend, got my beta key. Will I be breaking NDA if I publish a review here?

Sorry for the late response, nope, there is no NDA or anything, also we've launched CBT3 for about 2 days, so feel free to post up your review if you played our game this week.

[CoS_Ethan]

Still looking for Holiday Gifts? Our Toiler might have something you might like. Also, we've prepared all Beta testers some awesome game stuff in Winter Festival, make sure to check it out and get yours. Happy holidays and enjoy the final Closed Beta Test tomorrow!

[Alex Mars]

I'll be writing up a review after the final closed beta run.

[CoS_Ethan]

I'll be writing up a review after the final closed beta run.

Sweet, thanks, on your own blog or Catacombs? If you need more info about this game, don't hesitate to leave me a message.

[CoS_Ethan]

Still remember our Steam-o-Meter dev humiliation extras promise? Well, we just rolled out a video about it, ENJOY!