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f13.net  |  f13.net General Forums  |  The Gaming Graveyard  |  MMOG Discussion  |  Topic: Magicbane. For those of us who just can't let go. 0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.
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Author Topic: Magicbane. For those of us who just can't let go.  (Read 6508 times)
squirrel
Contributor
Posts: 1767


on: March 20, 2014, 09:01:20 PM

So there's a Shadowbane emulator out called Magicbane being run by a fairly benevolent group of Russian developers that I've been playing and it's actually really quite good. Somehow the soul crushing lag, SB.EXE and other live game issues have been, if not eliminated, vastly reduced and pretty much all the game systems work as they should. So if you're nostalgic for the game here's how to play:

1. Get the latest patched client (Throne of Oblivion) which can be found relatively easily at all the usual haunts.
2. Create a forum account here. This will also be your game login. If you want to dual box you need a forums account for each game account.
3. Change your ArcaneIP.cfg (in the Config folder) to read:

Code:
SERVER= Grief.Magicbane.com
PORT= 6000

**NOTE: THE EMULATED SERVER IS ENDING A BETA PERIOD AND BEING WIPED FRIDAY MARCH 21. ESTIMATED UPTIME IS 1 PM PST/4 PM EST**

So don't bother really playing anything you want to keep before then.

Also, for anyone on OS X if you don't want to play in Bootcamp (The Mac client from launch is an OS 9 PPC app) this plays perfectly well in Wine. I'm playing it in a Wine wrapper and get solid FPS with very little lag. Crazy that it's faster and more stable in Wine on an Emu server but there it is.

Speaking of marketing, we're out of milk.
Soulflame
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Posts: 6486


Reply #1 on: March 21, 2014, 03:28:23 PM

For some reason, I thought this was a Nethack reference.

I'm vaguely disappointed.
Cadaverine
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Posts: 1655


Reply #2 on: March 21, 2014, 06:00:33 PM

Gave this a whirl last night. It's all the same as I remember it, sans sb.exe errors.   awesome, for real

There was still plenty of death spam at 3 AM CST, but it looked to be mostly the same people killing each other, so population could be an issue. Then again, it was 3 AM on the night before a server wipe.  We'll see how it looks tonight.

Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin to slit throats.
squirrel
Contributor
Posts: 1767


Reply #3 on: March 21, 2014, 10:08:34 PM

Gave this a whirl last night. It's all the same as I remember it, sans sb.exe errors.   awesome, for real

There was still plenty of death spam at 3 AM CST, but it looked to be mostly the same people killing each other, so population could be an issue. Then again, it was 3 AM on the night before a server wipe.  We'll see how it looks tonight.


Tonight is a gong show - 1200 people crammed onto the starter island. It wasn't pretty. Lag was horrific, although the client remained stable. It's a pretty good server from what i've seen, but yeah it's melting a bit under the Land Rush atm.

Speaking of marketing, we're out of milk.
Cadaverine
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Posts: 1655


Reply #4 on: March 22, 2014, 12:37:17 PM

Lag is still an issue, but no where near the problem that it was last night.

Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin to slit throats.
Nija
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Posts: 2136


Reply #5 on: March 22, 2014, 01:20:21 PM

Wait, you played a complete shadowbane session without a client crash?

If that alone is true that makes this emulated server/client about 20 times better than the original game.
Teleku
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Posts: 10510

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Reply #6 on: March 23, 2014, 10:19:56 AM

Oh man, so tempting.....

Think I'll wait till the rush has moved of from newbie island a bit, then give this a go.  I really appreciated everything they tried in that game, and I still managed to have fun despite the crushing technical issues.  He skill system and lore were refreshingly original.  Also liked the art direction.

Somebody needs to make a portal for all the dead emulated games out there.  The Asherons Call thread has me wanting to give that a try as well...

"My great-grandfather did not travel across four thousand miles of the Atlantic Ocean to see this nation overrun by immigrants.  He did it because he killed a man back in Ireland. That's the rumor."
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Falconeer
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Posts: 11124

a polyamorous pansexual genderqueer born and living in the wrong country


WWW
Reply #7 on: March 24, 2014, 06:46:23 AM

Shadowbane was a great game with a few (PVP) systems that haven't been tried by anyone else after that, and that's a shame. Hell, it even had friendly fire on AOE nukes. That was glorious.

Anyway, for about three years before it folded the game was actually functional and sb.exe free but by that time the word of mouth was just too bad and it didn't help that graphics had already aged too much. I'd love to see a new sandboxy PvP game deal with Kingdoms, Alliances, Houses, infeudation and land control the way Shadowbane did.

tazelbain
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Posts: 6603

tazelbain


Reply #8 on: March 24, 2014, 07:37:12 AM

Shadowbane was deeply flaw regardless of technical issues. R&D cycles on Open PVP are very slow. Clearly I would love to see the next iteration cycle with lessons learned from EvE, Darkfall, and SB and a few from GW2.
« Last Edit: March 24, 2014, 08:00:25 AM by tazelbain »

"Me am play gods"
Falconeer
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Posts: 11124

a polyamorous pansexual genderqueer born and living in the wrong country


WWW
Reply #9 on: March 24, 2014, 07:56:59 AM

It goes without saying: by 2007 your city could not be wiped out overnight anymore. Attackers had to lay a (expensive) siege stone in front of your city giving you a 24 hours time window to prepare to defend. Kind of a cool concept if you ask me. Especially because it gave both factions 24 hours of real time to work diplomacy to get allies, hire mercenaries or infiltrate backstabbers. Really good stuff.

Diplomacy was one of the best things of Shadowbane. Only EVE has been able to replicate and surpass that.
« Last Edit: March 24, 2014, 07:59:20 AM by Falconeer »

Threash
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Posts: 9165


Reply #10 on: March 24, 2014, 08:31:26 AM

It goes without saying: by 2007 your city could not be wiped out overnight anymore. Attackers had to lay a (expensive) siege stone in front of your city giving you a 24 hours time window to prepare to defend. Kind of a cool concept if you ask me. Especially because it gave both factions 24 hours of real time to work diplomacy to get allies, hire mercenaries or infiltrate backstabbers. Really good stuff.

Diplomacy was one of the best things of Shadowbane. Only EVE has been able to replicate and surpass that.

That's the system they had since launch.  I still remember the very first siege in the game at desert rose, nothing but lag and crashes but you still felt part of something different and special.

I am the .00000001428%
Speedy Cerviche
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Posts: 2783


Reply #11 on: March 24, 2014, 08:42:39 AM

My main problem with Shadowbane was the crappy physics/engine.

It was developed during the late 90s so bandwidth costs were a major concern which lead to the click to move design instead of WASD or mouse hold like UO. Then they took shortcuts in physics coding so basically hills/z-axis was meaningless which lead to bad gameplay like height being almost a disadvantage since it gave worse camera angles, LOS issues, made range 'jousting' easier for lower person, city walls useless for defence too. Then you had other absurdities like no solid player models, coupled with AOEs limited to 5 effects, meant after a few months people figured out the #1 tactic was to stack 50-100, whatever people ontop of each other so focus fire was difficult to  manage while the defenders could manage healing through party windows. Basically this all resulted in a pretty crappy PvP experience. For all the flaws Darkfall had/has, it's got a REALLY good physics engine and you would have some great quake-esque smaller fights and very fiuid large battles.

Other more fixable issues didn't help SB either such as poor economy balance (supergrind, all for massive cities which lacked function and defence), or poor class balance (healing, shield equipped battle-mages). I assume that is somewhat tweaked in the emulator, but I am guessing not much can be done about those base engine flaws. Obviously the client stability issues are notorious.

At the time UO on a PvP server was better, or I'd just go to a game like battlefield 1942 to get my fix.
Rasix
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Posts: 15024

I am the harbinger of your doom!


Reply #12 on: March 24, 2014, 09:44:24 AM

Giving information to Russians on the internet.  Good luck with that.

-Rasix
squirrel
Contributor
Posts: 1767


Reply #13 on: March 24, 2014, 12:56:54 PM

Giving information to Russians on the internet.  Good luck with that.

Yeah, that throwaway email and random password they have will surely let them hack my identity!  Ohhhhh, I see.

Speaking of marketing, we're out of milk.
Scold
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Posts: 331


Reply #14 on: March 24, 2014, 02:24:14 PM

Giving information to Russians on the internet.  Good luck with that.

Yeah, that throwaway email and random password they have will surely let them hack my identity!  Ohhhhh, I see.

To be fair, building a Shadowbane emulator is easily straightest-line path for Russian criminals to target high-net-worth individuals in the West.
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