Hello, fellow players and MMO fanatics!
After month of teasing, we’re thrilled to announce that Fractured On-line is being taken over by a brand new studio: Completely happy Cauldron Video games (HCG)!
For those who’ve adopted our updates this final couple of months, you’ll know already that in December we needed to let go of the entire group, whereas me and the opposite two founders continued working unpaid.
Because the three of us had truly been working full-time unpaid for the final 2 years (as a result of we earned barely sufficient to pay our staff), you’ll perceive how the scenario was now not sustainable for us on a private stage.
Properly, when all hope appeared misplaced… the sport was saved!
Outdated Staff, New Staff
Me and the opposite two co-founders of Dynamight Studios (and even some former group members!) shall be becoming a member of HCG as staff, guaranteeing continuity and experience because the venture strikes ahead.
Alongside us, new hires will bolster the group, together with an skilled group supervisor who will work to enhance communication and engagement with our gamers—an exercise the place we’ve critically underdelivered in these previous couple of months.
We all know how a lot you’ve been asking for this, and so I’m certain you’ll be glad to listen to it’s lastly being delivered!
Meet The Purchaser
HCG is led by Duncan Davis, a reputation a few of you may already be conversant in—his nickname on our Discord server is TaNaHaRa. And no, no—he didn’t purchase Fractured On-line to show it right into a crypto rip-off. I’m you, commenters on MMO web sites! 😉
Duncan is a passionate Fractured On-line participant who genuinely believes within the recreation’s imaginative and prescient and needs to boost each its gameplay and know-how. In contrast to a recreation writer, he isn’t searching for fast monetization however is as an alternative centered on long-term enhancements.
His ardour for the sport and dedication to its evolution make him the proper match to take Fractured On-line to the following stage.
Upcoming Modifications
Let’s deal with the elephant within the room: the group at Dynamight Studios has all the time been very small for such an formidable recreation, and the scenario worsened on the finish of 2022 after the break-up with our writer.
Due to this, we’ve needed to make a number of robust decisions throughout improvement—some options had been reduce solely, others had been simplified, and a few had been launched in a half-finished state to be improved in a while (and by no means truly accomplished). Each time we needed to make such a choice, it was with nice wrestle, however all the time out of necessity.
Now, with correct monetary backing, now we have the chance to revisit a lot of these choices. Some options shall be “simply” improved, whereas others may see a whole overhaul—however all the time with the identical objective in thoughts: delivering the sandbox MMORPG that PvE and PvP gamers alike can name dwelling.
That being mentioned, main enhancements don’t occur in a single day. The truth is, we’re embarking on one of many largest technical challenges but: switching to a brand new backend engine. Which means that whereas the longer term is shiny, (loads of) endurance shall be required.
A New Engine
On the finish of January, we formally began porting Fractured On-line to a brand new backend engine / internet hosting platform: Coherence. Coherence is an revolutionary multiplayer know-how that may enable us to create new content material extra simply, significantly relating to instanced content material like dungeons—one thing that was almost inconceivable with our earlier tech.
Please bear in mind that our previous backend engine, very like Coherence, was deeply embedded within the recreation’s codebase. Whereas this change isn’t as drastic as, say, shifting from Unity to Unreal, it nonetheless requires rewriting a big portion of the sport’s code—a course of that may take months of arduous work.
We didn’t make this transition ultimately of 2022 as a result of Coherence (the one actually viable resolution) wasn’t mature sufficient again then, and on account of our ordinary lack of assets. Now, with the correct backing, we will make it occur—and, I promise you, it’s going to do SO a lot good for the sport!
The Highway Forward
Within the coming days, HCG will take over all our official communication channels. A brand new channel shall be created on Discord to doc the porting course of step-by-step, offering transparency and perception into our progress. Moreover, we’re contemplating a public board or timeline to trace improvement in a extra analytical approach.
As for the present model of Fractured On-line, HCG will quickly share an official assertion outlining the following steps. Keep tuned!
It is a big milestone for Fractured On-line, and we’re extremely enthusiastic about what the longer term holds. Thanks for sticking with us on this journey—as soon as once more, when many thought this have to be the tip, there’s truly far more to return!
