SpatialOS MMORPG sandbox Fractured has just gone live with its $116K Kickstarter

By
Bree Royce
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23

If you’ve been following Fractured and SpatialOS as long as we have, then you’re probably right on top of the game’s Kickstarter launch today. If not, then now is the time to pay attention, especially if you’re a sandbox MMORPG fan. Dynamight Studios is making its pitch:

“Fractured is the first open-world sandbox MMORPG mixing action combat with fully interactable environments, appealing equally to lovers of competitive and cooperative gameplay. Jump right into the fray from day one. Defeat your enemies through your own skill and cleverness, not equipment or level. Gather resources, craft, trade and venture into legendary travels as a solitary hero, or start a settlement with your guild and grow it into the next empire.”

The game features races with significant impact on the game, an anti-grind horizontal leveling progression system (“enjoy the freedom and level playing field of a MOBA without losing the persistence and sense of progression of a real MMO”), a knowledge system, action combat, dynamic content, player cities, and a proper trading system. Oh, and did we mention it’s sci-fantasy, so there are multiple planets and ecosystems in play.

PvP is barely mentioned in the Kickstarter pitch, but the devs explained their philosophy in detail back in March: The game will run with a karma and alignment flagging system with all kinds of rules to keep the ganking in check. Players who flag good can’t harm other good players, but players who flag neutral and evil can screw with everyone at the cost of their own karma (and good players can kill them at will). If that’s not secure enough for you, then you’ll want to head to Arboreus, which is the PvE-oriented planet; it “features large areas accessible only by Beastmen and characters with Good alignment, and a great degree of protection from hostile PvP in the rest of the world.” Stay away from the more hostile, PvP-oriented planets, in other words, and you’ll be fine.

As I type this, the Kickstarter has raised $22,000 of its $116,561 goal. Dynamight has until July 25th to meet it. The cheapest buy-in with a copy of the game will run you €25, about $29 US. Worth noting is that none of the pledge packages appears to include anything particularly unbalancing or pay-to-win. The studio says it’s already “financially stable,” having already worked on the game for a year and a half; it’s apparently in discussions with “large game publishers that have shown interest” in the game. The Kickstarter is intended to allow the company to add fresh hires, bolster features, and expand the game’s audience.

Here’s a quick look at all of our coverage to date:

Source: Kickstarter
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