Post by Morreion on Dec 9, 2023 13:00:04 GMT -5
Website: monstersandmemories.com/
YouTube: www.youtube.com/channel/UCKp7Os1smchzDc0R16evBdA
‘Throwback’ MMO Monsters & Memories refreshes ongoing playtest with new content (Massively)
We’ve been covering the progress of Monsters & Memories for almost two years now. Back in 2021, it was still known as Project N, a “throwback” MMO from EverQuest and DC Universe Online dev Shawn Lord. The game has come a long way since, expanding its team at Niche Worlds Cult and plotting a friends-and-family playtest. That playest is still ongoing, according to the game’s first dev blog of 2023.
“Despite the holidays, the team carried on as usual and produced plenty of new stuff for us to show off in this month’s update,” the studio writes. “They also prepped things for the launch of our Friends & Family (F&F) playtest, which is currently underway. A big part of having F&F is for us to get a feel for whether or not we’re ready to attempt larger, open playtests with our community. So far, things are looking really good. The goal with of our initial public playtests will be to get a feel for how our game operates under the stress of higher concurrent user counts. It’ll be an interesting test of our foundational tech, and help set the focus for our next steps this year. Plus, it’ll just be fun.”
The rest of the blog is an avalanche of updates to models, concept art, spell effects, new critters, environments, zones, animations, music, hotbars, and even more advanced mechanics like crafting recipes, drops, vendors, dungeons, and quests.
“Despite the holidays, the team carried on as usual and produced plenty of new stuff for us to show off in this month’s update,” the studio writes. “They also prepped things for the launch of our Friends & Family (F&F) playtest, which is currently underway. A big part of having F&F is for us to get a feel for whether or not we’re ready to attempt larger, open playtests with our community. So far, things are looking really good. The goal with of our initial public playtests will be to get a feel for how our game operates under the stress of higher concurrent user counts. It’ll be an interesting test of our foundational tech, and help set the focus for our next steps this year. Plus, it’ll just be fun.”
The rest of the blog is an avalanche of updates to models, concept art, spell effects, new critters, environments, zones, animations, music, hotbars, and even more advanced mechanics like crafting recipes, drops, vendors, dungeons, and quests.
Several thousand gamers put indie MMO Monsters & Memories to the test in April (Massively)
At the end of April, Niche Worlds Cult ran a stress test for throwback MMORPG Monsters & Memories, and the MMO community apparently came out in force with almost 3000 signups, 2156 accounts, over 1000 concurrent, and more than 7000 characters created.
“The first server’s Night Harbor zone quickly surpassed 500 people and to our delight, nothing was outright crashing,” Niche Worlds Cult’s Shawn Lord says. “[E]ssentially as the number hit roughly 1,000 players in the zone, things degraded significantly, but allowed us to understand adjustments that we’d enact in the next stress test session on Saturday. […] Folks distributed themselves pretty well, and while there were still issues with lag, overall we were really happy with the test and technical performance.”...
Monsters & Memories was first announced two years ago as Project_N, led by Lord, who was a lead content designer for multiple SOE games, including EverQuest and DC Universe Online. The game is meant to be a “classic fantasy MMO,” and its EverQuest inspirations are obvious.
“The first server’s Night Harbor zone quickly surpassed 500 people and to our delight, nothing was outright crashing,” Niche Worlds Cult’s Shawn Lord says. “[E]ssentially as the number hit roughly 1,000 players in the zone, things degraded significantly, but allowed us to understand adjustments that we’d enact in the next stress test session on Saturday. […] Folks distributed themselves pretty well, and while there were still issues with lag, overall we were really happy with the test and technical performance.”...
Monsters & Memories was first announced two years ago as Project_N, led by Lord, who was a lead content designer for multiple SOE games, including EverQuest and DC Universe Online. The game is meant to be a “classic fantasy MMO,” and its EverQuest inspirations are obvious.
Indie MMORPG Monsters & Memories says its proof of concept is 70% complete (Massively)
...Niche Worlds said that it’s gearing up for another public playtest in December along with the game’s overall progress: “Our near-term goal is to finish our Proof of Concept, which is roughly 70% complete. This is a true vertical slice of all of our core gameplay, systems, and content types. Once complete, we will focus on scaling the content using validated data rather than guesswork and promises.”
The post is a good overview of Monsters & Memories, including its 18 classes, 12 races, subscription model, and a focus on providing a “place to escape to and explore, rather than just a game to beat.” The studio said that it “wasn’t afraid to start small” and prove itself to the MMO community over time.
Word-of-mouth in the Reddit thread was strong, with one tester saying, “Their open tests, even in a very unfinished pre-alpha state, were an absolutely magical experience that I hadn’t felt in 20-plus years since early EQ days.” Another responded, “I’ve been following M&M for a couple years now and it’s easily my most looked forward to MMORPG by a long shot. Had a hoot during the last public playtest and can’t wait to play some more!”
An updated and revised website for the MMO arrived this past October 21st. The studio also pointed fans to the growing soundtrack that “taps into a different vibe, feeling both oddly familiar and completely new:”
The post is a good overview of Monsters & Memories, including its 18 classes, 12 races, subscription model, and a focus on providing a “place to escape to and explore, rather than just a game to beat.” The studio said that it “wasn’t afraid to start small” and prove itself to the MMO community over time.
Word-of-mouth in the Reddit thread was strong, with one tester saying, “Their open tests, even in a very unfinished pre-alpha state, were an absolutely magical experience that I hadn’t felt in 20-plus years since early EQ days.” Another responded, “I’ve been following M&M for a couple years now and it’s easily my most looked forward to MMORPG by a long shot. Had a hoot during the last public playtest and can’t wait to play some more!”
An updated and revised website for the MMO arrived this past October 21st. The studio also pointed fans to the growing soundtrack that “taps into a different vibe, feeling both oddly familiar and completely new:”
Monsters & Memories -- An Indie Take on Classic MMO Adventure (Reddit)
Classes
Archer - a ranged based damaged class, possessing situational abilities
Bard - a jack of all trades fighter, whose music supports allies and enthralls enemies
Beastmaster - a wild martial combatant, who is assisted by pets
Cleric - a plate wearing warrior priest, who excels at holy magic, healing, and buffing
Druid - a naturalist who communes with the wild to unleash powerful nature magic and heals
Elementalist - a conjurer of elemental magics, including a variety of elemental pets
Enchanter - an illusionist, mesmerist, and beguiler which makes them a strong crowd control class
Fighter - this master of weapons and melee combat is also a premiere tank class
Inquisitor - anti-mage knights who disrupt and control their enemies
Monk - a strong martial artist who hones in on the strength of their body to unleash powerful kicks and punches
Necromancer - a spellcaster who studies the art of necromancy to reanimate the dead and unleash powerful poison, disease, and corruption magic
Paladin - a knight who combines their fighting skills with faith based magic
Ranger - a fighter and archer with a druidic gift
Rogue - a thief and trickster who excels at stealth, daggers, and thievery
Shadow Knight - a knight who utilizes necromancy and other corrupt powers to augment their fighting abilities
Shaman - an alchemist who speaks with the spirits and has powerful heals and curses
Spellblade - an offense focused fighter who infuses their weapons with arcane magics
Wizard - an extremely gifted spellcaster who utilizes destructive magic to slay their foes
Player Races
Deep Dwarves
Deep Elves
Deep Gnomes
Dwarves
Gnomes
Goblins
Halflings
High Elves
Humans
Ogres
Trolls
Wood Elves
Archer - a ranged based damaged class, possessing situational abilities
Bard - a jack of all trades fighter, whose music supports allies and enthralls enemies
Beastmaster - a wild martial combatant, who is assisted by pets
Cleric - a plate wearing warrior priest, who excels at holy magic, healing, and buffing
Druid - a naturalist who communes with the wild to unleash powerful nature magic and heals
Elementalist - a conjurer of elemental magics, including a variety of elemental pets
Enchanter - an illusionist, mesmerist, and beguiler which makes them a strong crowd control class
Fighter - this master of weapons and melee combat is also a premiere tank class
Inquisitor - anti-mage knights who disrupt and control their enemies
Monk - a strong martial artist who hones in on the strength of their body to unleash powerful kicks and punches
Necromancer - a spellcaster who studies the art of necromancy to reanimate the dead and unleash powerful poison, disease, and corruption magic
Paladin - a knight who combines their fighting skills with faith based magic
Ranger - a fighter and archer with a druidic gift
Rogue - a thief and trickster who excels at stealth, daggers, and thievery
Shadow Knight - a knight who utilizes necromancy and other corrupt powers to augment their fighting abilities
Shaman - an alchemist who speaks with the spirits and has powerful heals and curses
Spellblade - an offense focused fighter who infuses their weapons with arcane magics
Wizard - an extremely gifted spellcaster who utilizes destructive magic to slay their foes
Player Races
Deep Dwarves
Deep Elves
Deep Gnomes
Dwarves
Gnomes
Goblins
Halflings
High Elves
Humans
Ogres
Trolls
Wood Elves
Putting this MMO here for those who may be interested. It has a decided Everquest look.
