PREVIEWS

Part 2: Siege Warfare Makes its Comeback

There have been a slew of attempts to capture that Dark Age of Camelot feeling in games. Few that have tried have succeeded. In 2017 we have many contenders throwing their gauntlet into the arena. Here are some of our top picks for 2017.


 Chronicles of Elyria

Soulbound Studios, LLC.

One of our favorites we’ve seen grow from small beginnings to epic scale, Chronicles of Elyria is to bring a new spin to MMO gaming. In Chronicles of Elyria you don’t play a single character. You play the life of a family. Your character will age and eventually die leaving their legacy to their next of kin, which can be you, or you can opt to play a orphan. Each generation wields the successes and failures of its past generations learning from experiences and growing their wealth through years of commerce.

Additionally this game has a unique spin on death, where players are required to find their way back to their bodies from the spirit realm to be able to continue with their lifespan. Players can even experience permadeath if they do not find their body in time. The length of time can also be offset by character age, the number of loved ones near your fallen body, and your status in the world. Kings will be much more likely to permanently die than that of the common folk.

This game has a lot of ambition and it’s hard to tell what will become of this title. It’s either going to be a smash hit that changes the shape of MMO gaming or it will be a tragic failure. Regardless, I think this is one game that we all must experience. There are so many really neat ingenious new features that I suspect we’ll see popping up in MMOs for years to come.

Learn More at:
https://chroniclesofelyria.com/


 Crowfall

ArtCraft Entertainment

The ambitions are set on high with Crowfall, who are creating the ultimate throne war simulator. If you were a fan of Shadowbane you’re going to want to keep a close eye on this one.

Crowfall features a wealth of PvP opportunities from open field fights to siege warfare. Each unique campaign has a lifespan and eventually will die. The way I like to think of crowfall is it’s like playing each individual unit in a RTS game. Where the match lasts months on end. Players fight for resources, siege strongholds, and change the shape of the world until eventually it ends.
There is even a detailed kingdom creation tool that allows your imagination to be unleashed. Create castles, rivers and the landscape of your kingdom. Then invite your friends and guildmates. The guild system is actually quite massive. You can create your own nation with your friends with their own hierarchy and coat of arms.

There’s a lot going for Crowfall and it’s been one we’ve watched grow over the years. We are definitely looking forward to this one.

Learn more at:
http://www.crowfall.com/


Camelot Unchained

City State Entertainment

Years ago Camelot Unchained’s Founder & CEO Mark Jacobs created Mythic Entertainment and the breakthrough MMORPG Dark Age of Camelot. Since then he’s moved on and formed his own company, City State Entertainment. Now he seeks to take the best parts of Dark Age of Camelot and forge a new innovative approach toward the siege war.

Camelot Unchained is entirely focused on PvP and Siege Warfare with a secondary focus in crafting. While there will be plenty of creatures to slay, these creatures will be used for farming resources that are used in crafting and upgrading fortifications. Characters level entirely from player vs player combat and crafting.
Now while this format is a huge risk, and not many have tried this formula, Mark is confident that it will be a MMO for a smaller tight knit community that absolutely love siege warfare. When we spoke with him, he would rather have a smaller focused playerbase than trying to please a larger scattered player base.

It will be really interesting to see how this works out. If he can capture that Thidranki magic, lord knows I’ll be first in line.

Learn More at:
http://www.camelotunchained.com/


Bless

Neowiz Bless Studio

About 4 years ago, I learned about Bless from a fellow Gaiscioch member from South Africa by the name of Wolvain. He stormed into my RaidCall room at the time and ranted and raved about this game like a child who just got what he always wanted for Christmas. Usually when members come to me with such admiration and conviction I take the time to look into things.

Wolvain’s tellings were true. This does appear to be a major player coming from the east. It has depth to it’s PvE content as well as a siege war. Early tests brought a lot of criticism. So much that the developers delayed the release to rebuild the combat mechanic to be more inline with the experience they wanted.

Bless is a beautiful game with a huge world to explore and many really neat innovative features. Eastern games haven’t fared well with our community, which is likely due to them being built with a 17-25 demographic in mind and the vast majority of our community being over 35. This is the last of the Eastern MMORPGs that are on our watch list and we wait in anticipation to see if this one will sink or swim. With so many others promising much and delivering few, we hope Bless can live up to it’s potential.

Regardless, we are keeping a close eye on this one and will be sure to keep you updated on news and developments.

 
 
Published: December 29th, 2016   |  6,180 Reads

About the Author

Benjamin "Foghladha" Foley
Managing Editor

Benjamin founded the Gaiscioch Social Gaming Community in 2001 and has since been the founder & activities director for this well known community. His role has gone beyond just running the Gaming Community and now includes running the Athletics Program in Portland, Oregon, as well as acting as the Managing Editor of the Gaiscioch Magazine, and is the Lead Producer on the Gaiscioch Livestream Productions. Additionally he networks with game developers to form relationships between Gaiscioch and development studios.

His experience in publishing dates back to helping his Grandparents who operated a printing press for over 40 years. In high school and college Benjamin excelled in journalism and played an active part in the school newspaper. Benjamin currently works full time as the director of technology for a franchise trade publication & education company.

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