The Gathering of Developers was originally the publisher of the game, but had since dropped Wolfpack Studios' upcoming MassMOG, Shadowbane. It was a somewhat lame discontinuance, in my opinion, as the first public signs of the situation was when G.O.D.'s 2001 E3 lineup didn't include Shadowbane. It wasn't really official public knowledge for some time, and I'm still not sure what happened with that -- admittedly, I didn't look too far into it all.
However, things are looking up for Wolfpack, as Ubi Soft announced their publishing deal that will launch the game in the first half of 2002. Described as being part of an "aggressive strategy to enter the online gaming market," Ubi Soft states all manner of financial figures about MassMOGs... another nice by-product of the article that many readers of this site will likely appreciate. (Of course, figures like that in a press release like this are sure to be somewhat... well, inflated.)
I, for one, am stoked to see this come about. I spoke with a few of the Dev team at E3 and they were very optimistic at the time, telling me not to worry about them getting along fine... let's just say I'm much more comfortable now. This is not a good industry to be wandering around with a huge game like this without a publisher. If any of the team are reading this... CONGRATS!! I can't wait to play this game.
The Adventures of Gamil Zirak is the name of the March 2nd addition of the Shadowbane Beta Journals. I really like how this series is being done. IMO, they really make for entertaining reading, and help to whet my appetite to play this game. Go check it out and see if you agree with me. I'm especially intrigued by this screenshot that shows a formation that a group can form. The formations are controlled and led by the group's leader, and it provides a pretty cool method for the group to travel and stay together. Pretty interesting feature.
Oh yeah... Shadowbane actually has shadows!! Weeee! Yeah, I know that a name like that might imply this, but if you've played any of the other 3D MassMOGs out there, you may want to look under the characters/monsters to notice that they don't have shadows... it's a peave of mine. I've also noticed that very few of the new games coming up have shadow. Someday I'm gonna find out the technical issues that stopped shadows from being included into other engines. Um... sorry, enough of that diversion. =P
The folks over at Wolfpack Studios, the developers of the anticipated MassMOG Shadowbane, have posted the first entry of their new feature called The Beta Journal. The Journal will chronicle the experiences and impressions of the Shadowbane beta testers. The first entry describes the first days of a character called Beregund the Bold.
The writing is entertaining, and there are a bunch of great screen grabs showing off the character creation screens and general gameplay. Lot's of great stuff to help quench (or heighten,) the Shadowbane Thirst.
Ooooh.. things are looking good for those of us who have been looking forward to the MassMOG from WolfPack Studios, as they've officially announced that Shadowbane has entered into Phase One Beta!! Mmmmm. Unfortunately, those of us who have been wanting to play this game also enter into a new phase: "Pleeeeease, can I have a beta spot?". That's right, up until now most of us were content just sucking up any little bit of info about the game and dreaming. Now we all know that a beta is at hand and that means we have at least some chance of scoring a spot. Of course the only way to do that is to begin bugging anyone and everyone just in case it might net you a beta. Let the madness begin! =)
Ok, so it slipped through the cracks (along with tons of other news lately.. the cracks are rather large around here,) but there was a series of articles posted on the official Shadowbane Web site introducing the various races of avatars that will be available to play in this upcoming MassMORG from the folks at WolfPack Studios.
Called the Character Creation Week, they introduced a couple races each day, profiling racial backgrounds, starting attributes, specialties available for the race, and much more. Rather than make some weak attempt at reliving the whole week (which occured a couple weeks ago,) you can visit the official site and check out the Races section to get more info.
Another part of the already-posted Day 3 of the "Online RPG Week" feature, there is a new preview up at GameSpot on the upcoming MassMORG from Wolfpack Studios, Shadowbane.
Wolfpack Studios' Shadowbane is a fantasy-themed massively multiplayer role-playing game, and though it will certainly feature swords and sorcery, it'll be radically different from most other online role-playing games. Shadowbane's gameplay won't be focused on fighting against evil creatures that regularly spawn in a predetermined area for treasure and experience points. It'll be about joining forces with other adventurers to not only take on packs of monsters but also to do battle with the most wily and dangerous adversaries of all: other players. Unlike most other online role-playing games available, Shadowbane doesn't discourage player-vs.-player combat by separating PvP players on different servers or by using any sort of special player flag. In fact, Shadowbane encourages player-vs.-player combat, and it will feature a complex and strategic player-vs.-player combat system as well as an equally complex set of checks and balances to prevent abuses.
Okay.. This is really old, but I decided this would be a good place to start my coverage of the upcoming MassMORG, Shadowbane from WolfPack Studios. The following is a clip from the official press announcement about the game waaaaay back in May, 2000. It's the usual marketing glib, but it's a good start to give you an idea of what this sweet-looking game is about (or was about several months ago, at least.)
In Shadowbane, players are challenged to carve out their destiny in a world blanketed by political unrest and torn apart by storms, disease, starvation and an endless war. Brutal warlords have assumed control of the land and a dark-age has descended upon mankind. Shadowbane's design adds a large-scale warfare system to the completely functional role-playing game, allowing tens of thousands of players to simultaneously unite, form armies, build kingdoms and conquer virtual territories. This twist gives rise to a new realm of gameplay - guild politics and siege warfare.
"WolfPack's Shadowbane will offer a next-generation, massively multiplayer gaming experience that appeals to a wide range of online gamers and strategists," said Harry Miller, president of Gathering of Developers. "The potential of having the players' control and dictate the internal politics of this virtual world is enormous, not to mention that the emphasis on guilds, team work, and insanely large group interaction are definitely elements for success. Our development board was really impressed with Shadowbane and we believe it's the perfect entry for Gathering into the massively multiplayer online gaming arena."
