Make My MMO: Star Citizen is hosting parties for space whales (October 7, 2017)

This week in MMO crowdfunding, I hope you’ve got your special black Star Citizen VIP card because CIG has invited concierge-level backers — sorry, space whales — to what it’s calling the first of many “pop-up parties” this coming Tuesday near its LA, Austin, Frankfurt, Wilmslow, and Derby bases. The studio’s also issued its monthly report, which coincides with the latest Around the Verse, during which it was revealed that the long-delayed alpha 3.0 is finally in the hands of the Evocati player testers. (Thanks Josh!)

Meanwhile, Valiance Online confirmed sidekicking, Crowfall discussed its soft launch checklist, Dual Universe hit pre-alpha, The Exiled extended its free-to-play trial, and Shroud of the Avatar delayed its launch.

Stay tuned for more from FrontierExpo as MOP’s MJ is there checking out Elite Dangerous!

Read on for more on what’s up with MMO crowdfunding over the last week and the regular roundup of all the crowdfunded MMOs we’re following.

Elite Dangerous

Recent MMO crowdfunding news

Star Citizen debuts Origin X1 racer concept ship for sale - If you need a break from counting down the time until Star Citizen alpha 3.0 is here, you could always just go buy a new concept ship. The new Origin X1…

Camelot Unchained fleshes out character creation backgrounds, animations, and UI - This week's Camelot Unchained update is a top 10 list with 17 items, which is the sort of thing our own Perfect Ten writers would do, so we've got to…

Star Citizen’s alpha 3.0 is finally in the hands of (some) player testers - Get your "it's happening" gifs out: Star Citizen's alpha 3.0 is here. Kind of. Sort of. It's here if you're a member the 800-member Evocati group, who are generally high-dollar-amount…

Crowfall devs on why they don’t make their soft launch production checklist public - Happy October: It's time for another Crowfall Q&A. ArtCraft's Thomas Blair and Mark Halash and sit down to answer questions from high-end Crowfall backers. Of note, they cover multiple skill…

The Thargoids are adapting to player tactics in Elite: Dangerous - First, the player debate in Elite: Dangerous was whether or not players would have to fight the Thargoids. Then, it was over how to fight the Thargoids. Then it was…

Valiance Online confirms sidekicking, talks visual effects upgrades - One of City of Heroes' best features is going to be making a reappearance in its spiritual successor. Valiance Online confirmed to Massively OP that a sidekicking system is in…

Shroud of the Avatar pops out a free October trial, runs a Halloween contest - You can't turn around in this genre these days without Shroud of the Avatar leaping out at you with another free trial. And so it is for October, as the…

Indie space sandbox MMO Dual Universe launches pre-alpha with a fresh trailer - Happy pre-alpha, Dual Universe! The ambitious indie space sandbox MMORPG kicked off the pre-alpha over the weekend, bringing 2500 backers in to test. You'll recall that it was the alpha…

The Exiled lets players in for unlimited free-to-play trial play - So, how did The Exiled's Survival Mode experiment work out? Not well enough, according to the latest update from the developers. It was interesting, but not good enough. So the…

Crowfall goes over the history and perks of Humans and Elves - Even Crowfall, as progressive as it is with its racial choices, must bow to the ironclad law of MMOs that state, "Every fantasy game must contain, at the bare minimum,…

Wild Buster runs limited alpha test while continuing to raise funds - We've been covering Wild Buster with a mixture of interest and amusement, as this patchwork MMO is a little too weird and inexplicable to ignore. Now you can play it,…

Catch up with Legends of Aria’s final alpha with a town hall Q&A and a fresh start guide - The word "final" certainly attracts the attention, which is perhaps why there's this excited buzz around Legends of Aria's final alpha. The test kicked off last week with a slew…

Elite: Dangerous players are at war with one another over war with the Thargoids - Players of Elite: Dangerous have spent quite a while anticipating the arrival of the Thargoids. There were hopeful skirmishes against the aliens soon after their full arrival, and players have…

Shroud of the Avatar is not launching this year, but it will have a launch date this year - There's a lot still to be done in the development of Shroud of the Avatar. Even with the most recent major patch for the game having just been released, the…

Path of Exile patches in new language support with 3.0.2 - [AL:POE]It is entirely possible that you speak English but don't really have that as your primary language. Yes, you can read English texts, but in your heard you feel far…

Ship of Heroes puts out an alert for the Yekus Mercenary Clan - Even though we are quite a ways out from playing Ship of Heroes for real, it is not too early to start becoming familiar with the different enemy groups that…

Dual Universe

Campaigns and crowdfunded MMOs we’re watching

3001SQ (Société des Mondes Virtuels) – Kickstarter unsuccessful. Work continues.
AdventureQuest 3D (Artix Entertainment) – Raised 368k; beta began Oct 2016.
Albion Online (Sandbox) – Launched July 2017.
Antraxx (Team Antraxx) – Kickstarter canceled.
Ascent: The Space Game (Fluffy Kitten Studios) – Successful KS. Fully launched 2016.
Ashes of Creation (Intrepid Studios) – Successful KS.
Broke Protocol (Cylinder) – Unsuccessful KS. In free early access.
Camelot Unchained (City State) – Kickstarter successful; open donations/packages.
Caribbean Conquest (Invenio) – First KS canceled, second ended unsuccessfully.
Contested Space (Zon)
Crowfall (ArtCraft) – Kickstarter win, open packages, Indiegogo crowdfunding ongoing.
Chronicles of Elyria (Soulbound) – Kickstarter successful, open packages.
Citadel of Sorcery (MMO Magic, Inc.) – Open donations.
City of Titans (Missing Worlds Media) – Successful KS; launch planned for fall 2018.
Descent Underground (Descendent Studios) – Successful KS.
Divergence Online (Stained Glass Llama) – Three campaigns; now in KS early access.
Dogma: Eternal Night (Prelude Games Factory): Kickstarter over, donor preorder packs.
Dragon of Legends (Thrive Games) – Successful Kickstarter.
Dual Universe (Novaquark) – Kickstarter funded, now has donor platform. Pre-alpha.
Eco (Strange Loop Games) – Funded, now in alpha.
Edengrad (Huckleberry Games) – Kickstarter funded; in early access.
Elite: Dangerous (Frontier Developments) – Funded and launched.
Empyrion Online (Eleon) – Kickstarter canceled; launched on Steam early access.
Epic Space (EpicSpace.net)
Ever, Jane (3 Turn Productions) – Now in open beta.
Global Adventures (SubaGames) – Kickstarter funded.
Gloria Victis (Black Eye Games) – Open donations, no end date; in early access.
Greed Monger (Greed Monger) – Abandoned, multiple times now.
Grim Dawn (Crate Entertainment) – Funded and launched.
Guardians of Ember (Runewaker) – Funded and launched.
Guns of Icarus (Muse) – Funded and launched.
Hero’s Song (Pixelmage) – KS canceled; Indiegogo. Canceled w/ refunds.
Infinity: Battlescape (I-Novae Studios)
HEX (HEX Entertainment) – Funded and launched.
Legends of Aria (Citadel Studios) – Kickstarted as Shards Online. Currently in alpha.
Life is Feudal (Bitbox): Indiegogo ended. Currently in beta.
LUX (Chimera) – Kickstarter canceled.
Maestros of the Anthymn (String Theory) – Kickstarter canceled.
Mekria (Infinity Online Studios) – Kickstarter canceled.
Midair (Archetype Studios) – Kickstarter successful.
Nebula Online (Mizar Games) Kickstarter canceled; launched in November.
Neo’s Land (NeoJac Entertainment) – Open donations, no end date.
Novus AEterno (Taitale Studios)
OrbusVR (Ad Alternum) – KS funded March 2017.
Overpower (Hydrant Games) – Kickstarter unfunded; heading to early access.
Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen (Visionary Realms) – Open donations, no end date.
Pathfinder Online (GoblinWorks) – Doom, mostly.
Planet Nomads (Craneballs) – Kickstarted, early access launched sans multiplayer.
Pixel Starships (SavySoda)
Project Gorgon (Elder Game) – Kickstarted in three tries + Indiegogo. In alpha.
Pumpkin Online (Monique) – Downgrading from MMORPG.
The Exiled (Fairytale Distillery) – fka Das Tal; 2015 KS unsuccesful. In Steam early access.
The Realm: Reawakened (Stephen Nichols) – Ongoing GoFundMe.
The Repopulation (Idea Fabrik) – Kickstarted twice by A&B. Back in alpha
ROKH (Darewise) – Kickstarter canceled; now in early access.
RUiN (Tarhead Studio) – Kickstarter successful.
The Stomping Land (Alex Fundora) – Abandoned.
Sacrament (Ferocity Unbound) – Kickstarter failed; Patreon ongoing.
Shadow’s Kiss (Clockwork Throne) – Ongoing Patreon.
Shroud of the Avatar (Portalarium) – Successful KS. Soft launch July 2016.
Star Citizen (Cloud Imperium) – Ongoing donations/packages.
TUG (Nerd Kingdom) – In middle of year-long revamp after funding surge.
Vigor Roads (NeuronHaze) – Kickstarter unsuccessful; early access planned for 2017.

Legends of Aria