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Reakktor Media has released the first trailer for its upcoming next-generation Space Action MMO Black Prophecy. The movie gives you a glimpse of Black Prophecy's fast paced real-time combat action within the dark universe created by the award-winning Sci-Fi author Michael Marrak (http://www.michaelmarrak.de/). Black Prophecy will be published by 10Tacle Studios in Q1 2009

It looks cool, although it does look a lot like EvE, the guy I was talking to from Reaktor insists it plays completely differently. More like X-Wing v Tie Fighter the MMO apparently. Beta signups are up now too but it will be a while before the beta actually starts.

That'd be lovely if true, although it's quite a claim.  Where's a gameplay trailer when ya need one?  :-)

I need to put my dxdiag on my USB drive.

Oooooh. I won't get excited till they reveal something more substantive than pretty renders, though.

Do we know those were renders?

Neocron had issues, but it was still playable and fun for a bit.

From the linked beta page, I have a question: What's a "Closed Beta Subscription"? Bad choice of words? "Subscribe" as in subscribe to get more info when it's available? Or "subscribe" as in "pay to beta"?

I need to put my dxdiag on my USB drive.

Hmmmmmmmmmmmm. :oh_i_see:

I guess I can see why CCP is scrambling to get Ambulation going this year.

As far as graphics go, in the overall picture, Black Prophecy looks better. But we'll see what happens when EVE gets new backdrops and planet renderers.

They still wont be twitch. Thats what.  :drill:

I'm intrigued. Nothing substantive to say, but the interest of this aging TIE Fighter/Wing Commander/FreeSpace jockey is definitely piqued.

I do not like the anime nature of the Blackstar project

I like the stylings of all three...  and I really liked the concept art for Blackstar.

You keep saying that, but I don't see it. As someone that watches a lot of anime, it disturbs me that I can't make the connection. It looks more like the newer western (lets be more like anime but get it wrong) cartoons like "Ben Ten" and "Teen Titans". With a touch of BRATZ thrown in.

not much to go with... but a sci fi mmo would be great (not an eve fan).

Blackstar is my main interest in regards to upcoming mmos (unless kotor is true) so who knows.

Reakktor Media has released the first trailer for its upcoming next-generation Space Action MMO Black Prophecy. The movie gives you a glimpse of Black Prophecy's fast paced real-time combat action within the dark universe created by the award-winning Sci-Fi author Michael Marrak (http://www.michaelmarrak.de/). Black Prophecy will be published by 10Tacle Studios in Q1 2009

10Tacle declares insolvency

10Tacle Studios AG has claimed insolvency, according to reports from the German website for the Wall Street Journal.
It is believed that the EUR 6.2 million in funding the developer announced just last week fell through, causing the company to declare insolvency last night

A better question is, why would they even need or want a publisher? 

To pay the development costs without having to resort to huge bank loans that you probably can't even get now?

To run the customer service, to pay for the servers, to promote the game to a wide audience, etc etc?

What a publisher does from game to game can vary, but in general the smaller the developer, the more the publisher needs to do for them.

Agreed.  With PotBS the lead dev. had the benefit of millions gained from working with Microsoft.  And yes, this publisher may just be doing a lot more than usual, dependant on the developer(s) coin moreso than size.

Hopefully, Reakktor bets on their own product and runs their own ship.  Keep it simple to start until they prove their design and then let the money flow in.  Negotiating another publisher is a sucky idea.

Making an MMO is one thing. Having the hardware to support a few thousand concurrent players is another. You can build an MMO on a few computers with three guys. But unless you only plan to have their closest friends playing, you're going to be getting into the land of ongoing costs that eventually dry up the triple mortgage home equity line of bank credit you've been Taco Bell'ing on for howevermany years.

Any word on this thing?

New Trailer with awesome voice over. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUnJ4r8ognw)

New Trailer with awesome voice over. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUnJ4r8ognw)

They should have hired Randy Savage for the voice over. 

Gameplay video. (http://blackprophecy-game.com/index.php?id=5)

Once you got past the menus, the actual gameplay looks really friggin cool.

Honestly, these guys are kickin Net Devil's arses.

Why are you setting the bar so low? :(

My moment of  :ye_gods: was when he had to drag and drop his group members into the mission sheet.

I think the menus were frakkin COOL.  That's SCI-FI bytch!  Lots of menus and beep and clicks 'n stuff.  Not supposed to be simple.  And really, those menus denoted some real depth to the game.

So far: 
Black Prophecy - 1
JGE - 0

Honestly, these guys are kickin Net Devil's arses.  They've shown WAY more to their game then Net Devil has for JGE.  Not to mention the ability to play cap. ships, etc.  The whole thing just looks more compelling to me than JGE does by far.  And in reality, the Infinity Engine has had more time under development than Net Devil's proprietary blend - which is why it looks so damned good.

As stupid as it sounds, but EVE kind of set the bar to me on how a space MMO should play. Not the core gameplay, but varied things you can do. Black Prophecy looks like a simple MMO space pew pew with mostly text-based menu system.

This is the same company who made Neocron.  Which looks awesome.  Until you log in and start playing.

Endgame and PVP were fun. They had a nice implant system as well. Very cool atmosphere. It had some glaring holes but I still enjoyed it a lot.

Just sayin'.

Gameplay and Cinematic trailers are up. They are showing some good progress.

http://blackprophecy-game.com/index.php?id=5 (http://blackprophecy-game.com/index.php?id=5)

I'm really tired of the no publisher thing. What's the problem with just getting on Steam, GamersGate, etc. and just spending a bit more money on a few decent marketing folks. >_>

Really, it just boils down to greed.  They're trying to spread the risk around as much as possible so they dont take as much of a hit if/when the game bombs. 

I just read somewhere that the developers are ready for beta, but since they've still got no pubby deal, they cant move forward.  (sigh)  I'm so tired of seeing this happen over and over.  They had a shot to get an early beta jump on JGE but now cant due to moneygrubbers.  And of course, it pushes the entire dev-cycle later and later.

Honestly though, if ever there should be a self-published MMO this game sure fits that bill.  How/why they'd try to bring in a 3rd party is beyond be, unless they're SO strapped for cash that the 3rd party is basically an investor.

I'm curious, what is it do you think that publishers do?

I'm curious, what is it do you think that publishers do?

This is a dead title unless they can at least get their beta together (and it's a good one) before JGE releases.

Dug these up:  cockpit views (http://forum.blackprophecy-game.com/showthread.php?t=485)
I like the Genide cockpit and cant wait to plug my TrackIR into this game.

Do you also complain about having to look around to find your mark?

Cockpit views are worthless, UNLESS they are functional (ala privateer and such), part of my love for that series was getting accustomed to the cockpits and what all the shiny things do.

New trailer. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZfuuEB9uso)

The, what I can only assume, interior shots, intrigue me, however I have a feeling those are only eve like docks. You will of course want to hit the HD option.

New trailer. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZfuuEB9uso)

I dislike cockpit views in flight sims. "We're going to replace 50% your viewing area with a UI! Oh wait, did I say UI? Almost none of that is functional UI. Most of its just a static bitmap we expect you to look at for the sake of 'immersion.'"

There's a reason real warplanes use HUDs.

There are no English subtitles.
EDIT: found it, upper-right

I didn't see it either.  He wasn't saying much of anything interesting though.

Blah blah "here's how you make a character; look at the sliders!" blah blah "you can buy shit for your ship" blah blah "these buttons are related to PvX activity" blah.  Maybe the other two were more interesting, but I couldn't be bothered after ten minutes of "here are the amazing things every other MMO in existance has!"

You have to use the link in a separate browser-window, not the embedded version from the forum.  Then, most likely in the upper-right or left you'll have another link or widget that says "change."

Maybe you heard it from someone who watched the end of the trailer you linked?  :grin:

Did I just see avatars?

No.  "Wishful seeing."  You may have seen the 3D player character representation you get when making one, upgrading, etc.  But in the game all characters are 2D portraits.
Really, if they get the dynamic stations working the way I'd like, I really wont care much about the lack of avatars.

0 Keys Are Left

Just got a key 30 seconds ago...

Thanks Ghambit!

I'm sitting on a beta key, so I guess ill have to check it out.

It launched in Europe today.

Heard it was butt. Confirm?

I don't know about that, but I can confirm it shipped, unlike poor JGE.

If it were truly Wing Commander Online wouldnt this thread be 10 times longer?

Q: I am from North America region. Why can't i log in?

A: Newly registered accounts from North American players are currently not able to login. However, players who participated in the closed beta will be able to play on the EU servers. Playing on both regions will be possible for all users once the EU and the North American versions are live. However, we are not going to offer any transfer service for the upcoming North American servers. If you decide to start playing on the EU servers you will have to re-roll your characters on the North American servers again.

So you can do it at your own risk, but you can't do it.  :oh_i_see:

The login screen was nice.

"One of the top ten login screens of the year, I'd say." - IGN.com

US beta

Not sure where everyone is having problems. I got into the US beta yesterday. I downloaded the client in 15 minutes. It installed fine.

I fired it up and the server had a low population. I made a character and entered the game. I did have to sit through some video that I couldn't skip, which sucked, but then I was controlling a capital ship turret or something, blasting bad guys. I'm not sure what UI challenges you had - you move the little X cursor over bad guys and you left click. Fuck, that was difficult to figure out.

Then I was able to skip a few more videos and I was in a ship that had WASD controls and mouse aiming plus left click to shoot. Again - I'm having trouble seeing the UI challenges here.

Neat game.

Not sure where everyone is having problems. I got into the US beta yesterday. I downloaded the client in 15 minutes. It installed fine.

I fired it up and the server had a low population. I made a character and entered the game. I did have to sit through some video that I couldn't skip, which sucked, but then I was controlling a capital ship turret or something, blasting bad guys. I'm not sure what UI challenges you had - you move the little X cursor over bad guys and you left click. Fuck, that was difficult to figure out.

Then I was able to skip a few more videos and I was in a ship that had WASD controls and mouse aiming plus left click to shoot. Again - I'm having trouble seeing the UI challenges here.

Neat game.

Every shooter in the freaking world has "move little cursor over bad guys and left click." Somehow they still manage to make good and bad ones. BP did not leave a good impression, not with a mouse, not with a gamepad. But like I said, I will try again.

 

Be a part of Black Prophecy's closed beta test with our key giveaway! (http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/03/25/be-a-part-of-black-prophecys-closed-beta-test-with-our-key-give/)


Back to downloading for me.  :grin:

Looks like the clients don't care what server you link to.

I ended up turning it off after I docked but couldn't find the guy who was supposed to give a mission.

Wait, a 25 minute crafting combine that you can't walk away from?

What the shit, that's got to be against the Geneva conventions.

Interesting intro (really how many games start by saying war is good :) ) , down the line cutscenes seem overused though  - instead of showing your ship flying and shooting better let player do it

Pretty good graphics and combat is good as far as I can tell.

Downsides - could not for the life of me register forum account ,  gamigo blows monkey balls in general. Then I also playing on "eu " servers since its only selection I got despite being invited to US beta. No idea how to fix this

I had originally signed up for the EU beta, however, i can simply log into the US client with no issue. So, if you were playing any other version of the game, try just logging in.

Whats the microtransactions model looking like?  Is the game going to feel like a pain to play without buying things?  I see the crafting thing above that gives me pause, but given that I played EVE for a long time, 25 minutes of AFK doesn't scare me too much  :awesome_for_real:

Modding can fail and when it does the modslot will be destroyed forcing you to use a mod-repair item from the premium-shop - if you want to use the slot again. Materials used by the process will also be destroyed.

And without the carrot of getting different ships (or at least if there is some other ship types down the road they don't make it apparent)

You start out in the neutral "Sapiens" ship, then get a ship from One or the other faction when you join them. There is a detailed customization system allows players the ability to customize both their pilot and their ship in a number of variations with different kinds of modules.

Hey, a little less than $3.00 gets me a goatee.  Win.

The idea that failing a mod not only loses your time and materials, but also $13.00, is pretty shitty. 

I have too much lag to play this anyways - prime time has been terrible for me, pretty hard to shoot stuff that is warping around.

Ok seriously, what is so hard about putting out this sort of game?

Copy X3, make it multiplayer, write good server code that keeps latency down, profit. It's really as simple as that.

I've been looking at Infinity for a long time but it looks like they are going to just try to sell their engine and slowly make their game. Infinity has been in development for ages unfortunately.

How can you fail a game so hard like this? There are dozens of examples of good space games with good gameplay you can directly copy.... ugh.

X3 is pretty much the definitive modern space shooter at this point.  It's close enough to perfect.

My opinion is that FreeSpace 2 still holds the title of definitive space sim in the tradition of fun, easy-to-pick-up games like TIE Fighter and Wing Commander.

Yes. Man, glad I'm not the only one. That's the pinnacle space shooers achieved. Everything since has tried to be "bigger" in different ways and end up compromising the space combat in some way. imho anyway. Can't recall trying X3, though now will. I've already reloaded Freespace 2 and grabbed the updates from the Source Code Project (http://scp.indiegames.us/).

They screwed up something in today's patch. Massive disconnects, server full at 21 characters, controls are all fubar'd (now the joystick and mouse are now the same controller). I'll check back in a few days. As much as it's fun in short spurts, I can't see myself getting into the cashshop. I used up all my pay-for-crappy-decorations care back before it became a business model :) I can't help but think that they started this with dreams of subs but got scared or lacked retailer support or something, so went down the same path others did after the fact. This looks a bit too expensive for the usual MTX offering, and not being an Eastern game. Haven't followed it much though, no idea what their early plans were. Just a feeling.

Well, remember the original Austin game studio closed and the German company picked up the assets quite a while after the fact.  I don't think the original was limited to ship combat.  I also have vague memories of space vampires.

Also, for those that care, X3 has had a MMO in the works for like....years now, and its indefinitely on hold due to funding. There is even an old, not updated website.

(Which is why I said I might be confusing it with something else, but I can't think of any other failed space shooters.)

Seriously, try Vendetta online (http://www.vendetta-online.com/). Currently, I feel they are more worthy of 10$ than Black Prophecy is.

Man this game is addictive. Its  has fun combat and pretty decent production values. I was nolifing it this weekend and run out of "concentration" - mission give u like 10 times xp less.  Game is very well made -graphics , music, even missions. It feels though like mmo (or at least cash shop part) were slapped on it at last moment though.  Almost like they took single player game and made a lobby for it.

Writing good server code is easier today then at any other time. There are tons of engines out there that have built in netcode, the capability to expand that code, and a massive volume of examples and developer support.

By Patrick Streppel, member of the executive board at gamigo AG

Three weeks have gone by since the release of Black Prophecy in Europe and we would like to present a brief update as well as some insight into what you can expect from Black Prophecy in the future.

The current state
For an MMOG of Black Prophecy’s scale, the European launch went down very smoothly; no severe technical issues occurred and the servers were, and continue to be, stable. We were also able to start North American closed beta testing and are looking forward to giving the green light for release very soon (the current performance issues are hardware-related and solving them should not take long). The translation into French has begun and further language versions such as Spanish, Russian and even Chinese are already in discussion.

But, as with any MMOG, there can be difficulties with the performance of the starting sectors (the Open World Sectors), especially so soon after the game’s launch when many new players populate the same areas for the first time. These sectors have already been optimized during beta testing and the development team will continue to improve performance as time goes by. Please stay with us on this.

Upon the announcement of the game’s launch, certain voices in the community suggested that the game was not yet “finished” and that more development time was required. We take these concerns very seriously and are happy to discuss with you what you think is missing but ask you to keep the feedback constructive. I might be getting ahead of myself here but a lot of mission content, PvP elements and other features are already on the way to fulfill the promises we made.

Some have compared Black Prophecy with an unpolished diamond. This comparison gets closer to the heart of it. The decision to release Black Prophecy at this point in time was agreed upon by both Reakktor Media and gamigo. Many obstacles have been overcome in the past few years to get this far and we are extremely happy and proud of the result. No MMOG sees the light of day completely polished and perfectly working, but be assured that all involved parties are 100% dedicated not only to perfecting the current game but to bringing so much more to it.

So in a nutshell: Is Black Prophecy “finished”? Of course not, no MMOG ever is! But we believe we are ready to leave the dry dock now and will fix any remaining issues as well as add exciting new features and mission content as we go ahead. This is the challenge we have accepted together with Reakktor Media to make the game better and also better for you. With your dedicated support, we are convinced that we will succeed.

The immediate future
While one part of the development team is responsible for the live operation and general maintenance of the game, the bigger part is busy developing planned add-ons and major game extensions. Current planning comprises a monthly update of the game that adds new content at a small scale. In the meantime minor updates will be applied to fix bugs and further optimize the balancing.

About every three months a big update (add-on) is planned that will raise the current level cap and also provide all new game content in the form of new story missions to advance the main plot, new hubs and open world sectors to explore, new missions to master and, of course, more items to equip.

For example, in the first add-on (currently scheduled for June) we have taken your feedback, ideas and suggestions into consideration for the selection of these features, which include:

    New story missions to advance the main storyline
    Enzo's – the new mission hub for levels 41 to 50, complete with new NPCs and missions
    New Open World Sector set: Inferno at Tulima Superior (Level 41 to 50) with four sub-sectors
    New feature: Sector linking (players can fly to sub-sectors seamlessly)
    New dynamic missions
    A new weapon type
    A new ship module set for levels 41 to 50
    Special skills, triggered by game items, that allow you to orientate yourself offensively, defensively or supportively during combat
    An e-mail system that allows the dispatch of items
    An improved user interface

Our long-term goals
While the content described above is just what we have in store for the first add-on, we are already hard at work on future expansions. I am happy to share some of our plans here and now, but please keep in mind that some of this is subject to your feedback (together with the numbers that we analyze from the servers) and may be postponed or adapted accordingly:

    Stronger focus on PvP and Faction vs. Faction: We have always envisioned Black Prophecy deriving a lot of its long-term motivation from a PvP system that lets Genides and Tyi fight over control of certain open world sectors. This system is currently being designed for implementation in the summer of 2011.
    Clan station fights: A long-planned feature is that clans can fight over their stations, meaning they can protect their station or attack a rival station. There are, however, many questions to be answered about the rules and consequences, which has caused some delay. However, clan station fights are high on our priority list and it will not be too long for them to appear in the game.
    More exploration elements: Black Prophecy was designed as a fast-paced combat game that could be enjoyed even in small doses. However, we have heard your cries for more exploration elements, and while the game will never be a fully free-roaming experience like in Elite, we will add more elements for you to explore - and exciting stuff to find in the vastness of space. The “Sector linking” feature for Tulima Superior described above is a small first step.
    New gameplay modes: While the focus of Black Prophecy will always be on space combat (and not, say, freight runs), we are thinking about other activities in the game. More about this in another letter – you’ll be surprised!
    Station walking: We know you’d love a social space in BP where you can get out of your ship, talk to the NPCs, chat with other pilots - or even compete with them in mini-games. This is why we are working on the “station walking” expansion for release next year. However, since this is almost like an entirely new game, it requires more time to develop than the features above. Then again: Think about the possibilities for enhancing this with more and more features over time…

I hope that I was able to give you a good glimpse at what you can expect from Black Prophecy in the upcoming weeks and months. Black Prophecy is the most important project of our two companies and very close to our hearts – believe us when we say that this is just the beginning of an exciting journey!

Thanks for your time and see you in the game. (Yes, I do play BP quite often in my free time!)

Yours,

Patrick Streppel
Executive Board Member, gamigo AG

PS: We have been hearing feedback that you want more hidden elements to explore. Don’t worry - even now there are still a lot of secret things that are still undiscovered in the game.

Today we are providing a glimpse of what’s to come in the first add-on for Black Prophecy! One of the major highlights is the newest region Enzo‘s Enigmatic Emporium of Exotic Elegance, which is open to players at Level 15 and acts as the hub for new missions. It is also used by dubious dealers as a marketplace for goods of all sorts. "Inferno in Tulima" will be released in early July.

Ship loadouts and combat are about to become much more dynamic with the introduction of special abilities. New swappable Offensive, Defensive and Support abilities will allow pilots to further define their roles in each and every battle. Explosives experts can also rejoice as a valuable new weapon type will increase the flexibility and potential of the Explosives chain.

Another new feature in the Black Prophecy universe is bound sectors: Pilots play their way from one sector to the next. The passages to the next region are generally guarded by particularly strong opponents that can only be defeated by a powerful group. The Tulima sector will be the first to see this feature, with additional sectors following suit.

To improve communication between pilots, the message system has been completely revamped: Pilots can recognize their friends by their avatar and talk to them in a separate window. The new in-game e-mail system also permits sending items by cash on delivery to other players.

The epic story continues for both the Tyi and Genides as both inch ever closer to discovering the fates of their species. There are also now over 20 new missions and jobs available for pilots to improve their combat experience and immerse themselves further in Black Prophecy’s fascinating universe.