Dominus

[Morreion]

DAoC in space? It sounds like it!

Prime Battle for Dominus official site

The game FAQ:

What kind of game is Prime Battle For Dominus?

Prime Battle For Dominus is a science fiction Massively Multiplayer Online Role-playing Game.
How is Prime Battle For Dominus different from other MMORPGs?

Prime Battle For Dominus is a science fiction MMO with three different factions. Each homeworld is safe from attack, but the rest of the galaxy is open to all for exploration and battle.

We offer a real reason for player versus player combat: Control of Dominus, the only planet in the galaxy with the element (Prime) necessary for technological advancement, weapons of war, and defense. Players in control of Dominus harvest Prime - and invent/create uses for it as well.

Later this summer, we'll have a lot to say about player driven content, the bounty system, player inventions, story events conducted by employees, and more.
Who do I play as?

One of Three factions. Human or the alien Salent or Rodon.
When will Prime Battle For Dominus launch?

Prime Battle for Dominus is currently in closed beta. We will be making an official announcement in the near future, but we estimate Q2, 2012.
What are the minimum system requirements?

MINIMUM SYSTEM SPECS:
Windows XP SP3 / Vista / 7
Intel Core 2 Duo / AMD Athlon X2
2GB RAM
NVIDIA GeForce 9600 512MB+ / ATI Radeon HD 2900 512MB+
10GB HDD Space
Broadband connection
Who is PitchBlack Games?

PitchBlack Games is a new developer in Phoenix, Arizona and our first release is Prime Battle For Dominus. Our staff is comprised of industry veterans that worked on titles such as Guild Wars, D&D online, Warhammer, and SWTOR to name a few.
Will Prime Battle For Dominus be a "free to play" title?

No.
How much will it cost?

Pricing will be announced closer to the game's launch.
What is the game rated?

It has not been rated but is targeting a "Teen" rating on the ESRB scale.
Will Prime Battle For Dominus run on Mac?

No.
What languages does Prime Battle For Dominus support?

English.
Where are the servers located?

Phoenix, Arizona
Are there guilds in Prime Battle For Dominus?

Yes.
Can you describe the class/ability system in a nutshell?

There are 18 classes, six per faction. They are not "mirrored (meaning that a Salent tank - a warrior archetype - has the same skills as a Rodon or Human tank). While all three factions have the same archetypes, and the archetypes do share some skills, they also possess unique skills.

You will choose your class during character creation, and enter the world with five skills. Other skills will unlock as you gain skill points, until you have a total of fifteen. Each skill has ten levels, and there are no limits as to when you can max out the skill, except the number of skill points you have.

There are a total of 1000 skill points to be earned. They are earned one at a time, by filling up an experience bar. Fill the bar, get a point. Everything you can do in Prime Battle For Dominus grants experience. Some encounters are tuned to grant multiple skill points if you complete them when you have relatively few points to your name.

Because each new skill level requires more points than the level before it, you will not be able to maximize all of your skills. Maximized skills often carry important bonuses, such as the ability to have the skill affect your entire group.

The ability to reallocate your skill points (known as a respec, short for respecialization) will not be difficult. You will not be able to respec during a battle, or even in the middle of a battlefield. You will have to return to a trainer in order to respec. (Costs, if any, are undetermined at this time.)


Prime: Battle for Dominus content page at MMORPG.com

Prime Battle for Dominus: Classes Q&A
Prime: Battle for Dominus is setting itself up as a unique three-faction MMO that has landed on a lot of folks' radar recently. Yesterday it was announced that Prime would feature three factions, each with six classes for a total of eighteen classes! MMORPG.com Managing Editor Bill Murphy managed to corner Prime's Sanya Weathers for an exclusive Q&A all about the classes. Check it out and then let us know what you think!

Sanya Weathers:

I am not sure why there hasn't been another three faction game since 2001. There ought to be half a dozen MMOs for us to be compared with by now! We certainly hope to meet the need people still have for fun, competitive PVP without the "eating your own young" aspect that tends to make PVP games into flash-in-the-pan products. Three factions with protected homeworlds, dangerous border worlds, and an OWPVP central planet is a good map design. Restrictions in the form of hardcoded factions, no communication, and the aforementioned protected homeworlds have introduced thousands of people to the joys of PVP, and we're excited to bring that into a new decade.

Prime: Battle for Dominus gets professional with new crafting details (Massively)

In order to create an item, players require schematics, which can be acquired in one of a few ways. Schematics can be learned from trainers, or they can be gained by reverse-engineering an item to discover what makes it tick. If you're the sneaky, saboteur type, you can even steal schematics from other factions and turn the enemy's own tools against them.

[Morreion]

Dominus reveals its bounty hunting mechanics (Massively)

In a nutshell, players are able to place bounties on four of their enemies at a time, and the only other consideration is the amount of money you're willing to put toward your revenge.

Hunting a bounty involves accepting a contract via an NPC, and you'll be alerted as to your target's zone location if he's online. After you make the kill, you'll be paid on the spot, and any other players who accepted the same bounty contract will find it removed from their mission log. There's more, but you'll need to head to the Dominus website to read it.

Now that would have been a cool mechanic!

Dominus jetpacking to the top of my ‘gimme now’ list (Keen & Graev)

Pitch Black Games held another one of their live chats. My schedule doesn’t allow me to watch their videos live (stupid classes), so I’m stuck playing catch-up the day after. I just watched January 27th’s chat and my mind was blown. They’ve updated their engine (Hero Engine, same engine SWTOR uses) and given the game a huge visual overall from the last preview I saw. I think in the video, correct me if I’m wrong, one of the guys said there isn’t a part of the game that hasn’t received some update. The game looks graphically amazing, and in my opinion better than SWTOR (again, same engine so I’m making comparisons.)

[Breaking News] Dominus Closing Down (Keen & Graev)

"It is with a heavy heart that I have to say goodbye, or at least goodbye for now. We simply cannot deliver the game you deserve with the resources we have. We never quit trying, even when hope faded, because you – our community – kept us inspired."

I am extremely sad to read this news today. On the heels of such an awesome experience with Guild Wars 2′s three faction PvP… losing an upcoming game that was going to create an even more sandbox and all-encompassing “RvR” experience than what we’ve had in years is extremely disappointing.

Pitchblack Games' Dominus abruptly shutting down (Massively)

We hate to be the bearers of bad news, but sometimes it's just unavoidable. Sanya Weathers, Director of Community for Pitchblack Games' in-development sandbox title, Dominus, posted on the forums today to inform players that, effective immediately, Dominus is no more.

Weathers states that the team "simply cannot deliver the game [players] deserve with the resources [the studio has]." She goes on to apologize vehemently, adding that the forum is now read-only, though the game's Facebook page will remain open long enough for players to say their last goodbyes. Sanya signs off by thanking the players for proving that "there is a market for a game like [Dominus]." She concludes, "I will miss you all, and I know we'll meet again." Here's to hoping. Best of luck to the folks over at Pitchblack; we look forward to your next endeavor.

But While I’m Between Jobs (Sanya Weathers Blog)

Unfortunately for my more gossip-oriented readers, there aren’t really any really juicy details worth sharing. It came down to bad planning, inexperience, and bad luck.

Here are some general things that apply to lots of companies.

- If I’m going to be one of the most experienced people on the team, and the investors don’t think they need to meet with me before I’m hired, and after I’m hired they don’t ask what I think of the budget or the schedule, I’m going to need to know what their background in games is.

- No, really, “played lots of games” is not an asset in any role except design, and even then, it’s an asset, not a sine qua non.

- You’d think I’d know this one by now, being as it has now bitten me in the unspeakables four times, but… if anyone tells me that I’m not allowed to talk to the Extremely Sensitive [major figure], there are shenanigans afoot and it’s going to end in tears. My tears.

- Third party tools are for prototyping and demo building. Not MMO production. Anyone claiming otherwise needs to show me a shipped product or an entire team of programmers. Preferably both.

- Hard work isn’t enough unless it’s focused by an experienced project manager with solid goals and a long range view.

[Regolyth]

Sanya's blog post was interesting. Her bullet points seemed like no-brainers. It's amazing to see such a large project get underway with those things there/not there.

[Morreion]

It ALWAYS amazes me when this happens in allegedly serious efforts at creating MMOs. For example, Vanguard and Project: Copernicus are 2 big budget AAA efforts that had huge management issues. Not sure how that happens when you get to the Big League level. At least 38 Studios was a newbie outfit...

[Regolyth]

It's funny to be, because we often complain about similar things here at work. We say that "this is not how they operate in the (gaming) industry;" that "they have better project management than this." Then I read an article like that, and see how someone in the "big leagues" falls due to mismanagement of one sort or the other.

[Morreion]

The majority of business are unsuccessful- I'm guessing management problems are high on the list of reasons why.