The upcoming free-to-play MMORPG, City of Steam, is quickly approaching it's open beta phase. In order to set the stage for open beta, R2 Games is launching an early access beta which begins on May 10th.
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Mechanist Games can crack open a celebratory bottle this morning as their Steam Geenlight campaign was officially deemed successful.
It isn't a surprise that City of Steam corralled enough support from the Steam community to move towards a release on the ubiquitous game platform.
Mechanist Games has released the latest in what promises to be a meaty series of dev blogs surrounding their steampunk MMORPG, City of Steam. This time around, we get a look at the bestiary.
Following a successful series of closed beta events, City of Steam was recently picked up by a publisher. In order to support the game’s English launch, Indie developer Mechanist Games has teamed up with Reality Squared (R2) Games to provide platform infrastructure, marketing and customer service. We’ve explored the unique browser-based game previously in our own hands-on preview.
Announcing the deal, Mechanist CEO David Lindsay stated that “A partnership with R2Games gives us that extra boost needed to make City of Steam’s great release, an amazing one. We share a vision that this game can be the very best browser-based MMO out there.”
R2 Games has previously released English localizations of popular Chinese browser-based MMOs Crystal Saga and Wartune. Together with Arabic localizations of other games targeted at the Middle-East and African markets, the company has gained 10 million registered users. City of Steam will be the first Unity 3D-based game to launch on their platform.
Jared Psigoda, R2Games CEO said that “Mechanist Games’ approach to making a game is something we’re thrilled to be a part of. We want to make sure City of Steam gets the recognition it deserves for being the innovative game that it is.”
City of Steam, the upcoming browser based Unity engine MMO, has detailed a redesign of it's NPC guards since the last beta build. They've gone back to the drawing board with the guard design, which had previously looked like a typical fantasy, full-plate wearing character type. Now, however, they have been given Napoleonic-like coats and leather boots to go along with the game's steampunk style.
One character in particular has been given a hand-crafted look: Lieutenant Twyne, who was singled out as the "Most Talked to NPC" during a previous test. With a trimmed goatee and fancy epaulets (The dangly shoulder curtains!), he now looks the part of an officer.
Check out the full art Dev Journal for a full comparison between the old and new outfits.
You can vote to have the game on Steam through Greenlight here.
The City of Steam closed beta starts in just two days, but Mechanist Games is celebrating that milestone today with the launch of a brand-new closed beta trailer.
The 4+ minute "newspaper" video gives a pretty solid overview of what to expect in the game, and gives a great look at combat as well as some amazing visuals. Crank it up! Get it? Crank? Ahem.
There's only about three days left before City of Steam goes into its next phase of closed beta. Despite that, or perhaps because of it, the developers at Mechanist rolled out a big ol' overhaul to the game's UI.
I’m honestly surprised. I’ve seen Google Chrome pull clever stunts, like music videos rendered in 3D using HTML5, or multi-player Facebook games powered with Flash; but a full-fledged MMO? I’d argue that it couldn’t be done.
It’s taken Mechanist Games to prove me wrong. Their current endeavor, City of Steam, looks and behaves just like any other MMORPG I’ve played. Sure, the character models are a little simplistic and the color palette is a little brown, but it works. The beauty is in accessibility; I can be logged in and exploring this industrial-era fantasy world in under ten seconds.
As the introductory cinematic explained how the World Machine is built from continent-sized cogs and gears, Communications Manager Gabriel Laforge agreed to guide me through the first few stages of City of Steam’s Closed Beta.
Do you want to get in on the City of Steam beta? Of course you do! Well ZAM and Mechanist Games have got your back with our huge beta key giveaway.
City of Steam has had tongues wagging for a while with its imaginative setting and style, so we know there are a lot of you looking forward to the beginning of closed beta. Well today is the day and we're here to give you a chance to help the developers make the game ready for launch.
To enter, all you have to do is log in or register for ZAM.com, then go here to our beta key giveaway page, and click "Request Key." That's it! Good luck to everyone, but be quick as stock is limited!
Julian "Mirai" Williams
Fancy something a little different to your regular diet of sci-fi and fantasy MMOs? Possibly something involving a healthy portion of steampunk, a touch of Victoriana and a world that’s literally a cog in a machine? Browser-based MMO City of Steam fires up the first of four Closed Beta events today, with developer Mechanist Games providing 5 days of industrial-era gaming to lucky players.
We’ve been keeping an eye on City of Steam, starting with our early Alpha preview. Since then, the team has unveiled a beta teaser trailer, showing off the size of the world and including some combat gameplay footage. Mechanist have also harnessed the power of fans through their Steam-O-Meter, with Facebook likes and Twitter retweets helping to unlock further content for closed beta.
If you’re eager to dive into beta straight away, City of Steam now offers Collaborator Packs, where players can reserve their character name, pick up bundles of in-game currency and grab a range of further perks depending on the tier of pack. Each Collaborator also earns a beta key, with higher grade packs containing a bundle of keys to share with friends.
Subsequent beta events start on November 30th and December 14th, with a final ‘Winter Festival’ stretching from December 23rd to 28th. If the thought of another holiday season with family grinds your gears, this might be the ideal tool to spring an escape.
Gareth “Gazimoff” Harmer, Senior Contributing Editor
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