Island Forge (FREE Beta, indie MMORPG)

Nyhm

Island Forge: Create Islands with Stories for Others to Explore!
http://islandforge.com

Island Forge is now Released! Play FREE for 30 Days!

• A World of Player-Created Content
• Create Islands with Stories for Others to Explore!
• The brand-new old-school MMORPG
• Single-developer indie game

Latest Feature: Upgrade with Island Points!

• Open new Character slots
• Open new Island slots
• Upgrade your Islands to large size
• More in the future, so start earning today!

Recent Feature: Now with Coinage!

• Towns now have a new Market shop
• Sell items to the Market for GP (Coinage)
• Heal, level-up, craft, and train with GP

Island Builder & Gameplay video

About us: We're a small operation (me), just starting to build a community of players, and every new sign-up is greatly appreciated.

Gameplay features classic (old-school) RPG elements, designed for (brand-new) MMO play, in a world of player-created content - Create Islands with Stories for Others to Explore!

My thanks to all the players from mmorpg.com! -- Nyhm

zerocount

U.S. residents only?

Nyhm

Hello and thank you for your feedback on that. Because we're a small operation, that is a legal necessity for our Terms of Service. (Other Internet services have similar restrictions.) Rather than hide such things in the legalese, we prefer to be open and up-front with our community of players.

Jimmac

The screenshots look totally awesome. That's always a good way to start things off right.

Nyhm

Jimmac, thanks so much for checking it out, and for your positive feedback.  I'm glad you like the screenshots.

Here's a bit more information about the gameplay features:

Gameplay takes place on islands (created by other players). Towns are shared space. Set out on solo or party expeditions to clear the fog of war, fight creatures, earn XP and resources (with which you can train your character and craft items).

An island's author can also create a story with NPCs (actors) and goals (quest tasks), in classic RPG style. The island builder is part of the game client, allowing you to design your islands, create your stories, and publish your islands to the world.

Badem

good to a see a Dev finally seeing what it is players want, Devs can only give so much time to stories etc for games, User Generated Content is sure to be a winner.

 

Cannot help but notice some similarities in your GFX engine with Haven and Hearth, were you inspired by them or is it a generic GFX engine?

Nyhm

Great to hear your comments, Obidom. I've had the ambition to create an MMORPG since before RPGs were MMO, and I've always wanted to focus on user created content. It's great to hear that others like the idea, too.

The Island Forge software (client, server, everything) is 100% original (written from scratch by myself in the Java programming language). I'll have to check out Haven and Hearth.

Thanks for checking us out!

Nyhm

Thanks to everyone in the mmorpg.com community who visited islandforge.com today, especially those that tried out the game! Several new characters have been in and out of the world all day. A new map has even been published.

We're looking forward to continued beta testing in November, with more and more players. Help us find out how much the server can handle!

DeViLzzz2007

I would have loved to help you out with your free beta but I am in Canada.

Nyhm

Originally posted by DeViLzzz2007

I would have loved to help you out with your free beta but I am in Canada.

I'm very sorry to hear that ... What I mean is, that you aren't able to help with beta. I'm not sorry about your Canadadian residency, as such, aside from beta registration restrictions.

Because we're a small operation, and cannot guarantee legal compliance in every country around the world, the residency restriction is a legal necessity for our Terms of Service. We look forward to the day when we are equipped to lift such restrictions.

Thank you for your feedback.

momodig

Simple solution, say you live in the USA - I'm canadian, and can play.

czekoskwigel

I'm currently at work, but I'll definitely be signing up tonight to give it a try.

redpins

My eyes!!! I want the 5 seconds I looked at that back. Atleast try to apply for Hero or Big World next time.

momodig

The game is kinda like guildwars light, and the crafting system really isn't that good, but so far the rest of the game is fun.

Nyhm

Thanks for the feedback on the gameplay and visuals.

We're excited to see more and more characters in the world. We'd also like to encourage players to try the island builder. There are already a few really nice stories, and we're looking forward to players expanding the world.

Worstluck

Looks pretty cool!  Unfortuantely I don't have much time at the moment for much playing, but I will be keeping my eye on this.  I like old-school rpg's   Wish you guys the best of luck.

Nyhm

Many thanks, Worstluck (and nice avatar).

By the way, to those who where playing over the last couple days, we were made aware (on our player forums) of an enemy targeting bug, which should now be fixed. Hurray beta testers!

Crunchy221

SOunds great in text, the mechainics of it all.

 

So wish this was in a 3D world.

Nyhm

Since posting this topic, Island Forge has many new players!

Help us out by playing Nov 15, 2011

We want to try to get as many players in the world at once as we can. Help us out tomorrow (Nov 15, 2011) by logging in and playing whenever you can. Ask your friends to join, as well, and log in together when possible.

Also create some new islands! We need to see how well the world operates with many more places to explore.

If you haven't yet signed up, you can still play FREE during beta. Thank you for helping us out!

http://islandforge.com

 

Nyhm

Nov 15 starts with a bang! (Actually, more of a crash.) My personal apologies to anyone who experienced the crash on startup this morning. A new version has been released, which fixes the problem.



My thanks for helping beta test!  http://islandforge.com/

Reizla

Originally posted by Nyhm

Nov 15 starts with a bang! (Actually, more of a crash.) My personal apologies to anyone who experienced the crash on startup this morning. A new version has been released, which fixes the problem.

Don't feel ashamed of the crash. Most AAA-publishers have trouble getting a clear launch. Just look at DCUO going F2P earlier this month ;-)

GL on the beta!

Nyhm

Thanks for your support, Reizla. Buggy software really bothers me, so I try to make mine as stable as I can. When there is a problem, I like to be open and professional about it.

Nyhm

Originally posted by Nyhm

Help us out by playing Nov 15, 2011

Thanks to those who stopped by yesterday - site traffic at islandforge.com was our second-highest ever, and several new players registered!



Beta is still ongoing. Next, try out the built-in editor, allowing you to create and publish your own islands and stories to the world. As always, community feedback is welcome.

DashiDMV

Lets see been playing a couple days most doing gatehouse runs. Here is some of what I found positive and negative.

 

I like the exploring idea, I like the danger of not knowing what you have face next. For those who play, you get bonuses if you explore more of the island.

What I do not like whatsoever is when I just explored an island for 45 mins having to go back and try my luck getting the materials I need. No, no, 1000 times no. In real life would you take something to a store and say "Here's my money make whatever you want even if I don't need it". I don't want to waste my time clearing things just to be at the mercy of a RNG. Add a selection menu for finished products and that should take care of itself. It's already 3xp to make a weapon if you get everything you need first time, don't add more effort on the playerside because you are too lazy to add some code in.  

I don't know how to feel about hp=xp. One one hand it does have a little bit of strategy because you can set what hp you want to be at before you explore. I make it so I am at 99 hp(100 would mean it gets converted into xp) so then I can clear an island 100% and get more rewards. On the other hand I don't remember any old school RPGs that had a system like this in place. It's not terrible but adding a more standard xp/hp system would hurt either. Nothing gamebraking though.

 

When you explore islands(So far from what I have seen) there is really no added incentive besides finding monsters to kill. How cool would it be if you found a treasure, an extra crafting item or a cave in a secluded area. I mean half the fun of exploring is the hope you actually find something.

 

Overall I like the game and if you think of islands as dungeons, it's a but of an old school crawl. Either you make it out with treasure or you die and lose it all. If you get to greedy it will be the end. I like that part of it, but still a lot of work to go. As for paying for this, that is where it will get tricky. You will have some die hards and supporters that will chip in, but as far as a regulart player or a player ona limited budget, not sure. Maybe a Runescape type model would fit this best. Free and 5 dollars for some extra things like more islands that you can create, more char slots, and a couple free items a month. If the devs expect 10-15 a month for this at it's current state, they might be hardpressed to find that. Still overall I think it is going in a positive direction.

 

Also an on/off feature wouldn't hurt. When I want to FIGHT I will click a guy and attack. When I want to RUN I click an open space towards the gatehouse. That means I don't need my guy turning around every 2 seconds to attack. Sometimes I have to run with 20 HP left and it's still not good enough.

 

 

 

 

Nyhm

DashiDMV, thank you so much for providing this feedback. We are (I am) very open to constructive feedback like this. I'll be taking note of all your comments, and considering how to improve the gameplay. Here are some of my thoughts:

The hp=xp model is the brand-new part. It's a design aspect that I think is unique to Island Forge. Thank you for describing your thoughts on it.

Regarding your request to find treasure while exploring... there is actually just such a feature (with an interesting twist) scheduled for a post-beta release. Forgive the project management talk, but maybe if enough people felt this would be critical to the success of the game, it could find its way into beta.

When trying to run away, enemies can hit you, which blocks your path (ala Dragon Warrior). I was once down to -99hp (dead in one hit) and barely escaped by casting Hinder (to slow down the enemies). That's the goal of the game design, but again, you are very insightful. I considered a Fight vs Flight switch, much as you described. However, at least for now (beta), players must be attentive to their avatar when trying to escape.

Regarding the random output when processing raw materials -- I understand your point. I have considered what you've said, and am planning to improve this feature of the gameplay. Just for the record, when it comes to code, I'm anything but lazy.

Thanks again - this is what beta is all about.

Also be sure to try the island builder: Create your own islands and stories for others to explore!

http://islandforge.com

PS: On a personal note, I'm also a fan of CCGs and board games (and I've just subscribed to your blog's feed). The game design of Island Forge is influenced by both genres in various ways. I think board/card gamers will appreciate the style of gameplay Island Forge offers.

Nyhm

FYI: I've put out a new version (Island Forge Beta v0.9.6.6) with economic adjustments inspired by DashiDMV's comments above. The new economic balance is not directly what you suggested, but does make raw resource processing free (no XP cost). For details, see the Economic Balance topic in the player forum: http://islandforge.com/forum/

Thanks for the input! Constructive community feedback is most welcome.