It’s been a while since we talked about Starmourn here on Massively OP, but if you squint back into 2016, you’ll remember that it was announced as a new roleplay-centric, sci-fi massively multiplayer MUD by developer Iron Realms, which itself has been around for decades pumping out and maintaining high-quality text-based MMOs. The game features extreme customization, crafting, player economy, 50 alien races, PvP combat, starships, creative death mechanics – the works.
As MOP tipster Avaera reminded us, the game is now set for the launch of its “first playable release” this year and has been rolling up game information at a steady pace over the last couple of years. This summer, for example, Iron Realms has covered the game world’s core government, complete with lore, as well as its unique combat.
“Starting from a relatively clean slate with Starmourn has allowed us to work on some of the pipedreams and ‘wouldn’t it be nice if we could…’ bucket list items that would be a nightmare to try and retrofit into an established game,” Iron Realms Producer Justin Walsh wrote earlier this year. “One example that is exciting is blurring the lines between players and NPCs in terms of interaction and combat – there’s very little in the way of ‘this ability only works to/against players’ or ‘this interaction only works against NPCs’, which is a refreshing change.”
That same interview also covers the game’s player-killing rules (yes, there’s ganking, but there are consequences – “it’s not a free-for-all gankfest”), and yes, the game will have the equivalent of a cash shop for funding purposes (that’s been common in MUDs for longer than MMOs have been around), but don’t expect to see pay-to-win.
Just another reminder that for sandbox MMORPG fans, a lot of the real genre innovation may not be happening in the graphical realm at all.
