Chronicles of Spellborn shutting down
At the end of the month.
Playdom will close massively multiplayer game The Chronicles of Spellborn at the end of the month, according to a report.
The Chronicles of Spellborn
Key events
12th January 2009
5th December 2008
27th November 2008
Spellborn MMO to go free-to-play
"Re-development" for relaunch in 2010.
The Chronicles of Spellborn, an independently-developed MMO which launched late last year, is to be re-developed as a free-to-play game supported by micro-transactions.
Spellborn's 09 update plans revealed
First patch coming this month.
The developer of European MMO The Chronicles of Spellborn has announced its plans for updating the game in its first year, starting with the first major content update at the end of January.
By that time Spellborn should have launched in the UK and US, under the auspices of publisher Acclaim
The update will introduce a tutorial to better explain some of the game's stranger concepts, like its rotating skill deck. There will also be a new dungeon called Exarchyon for level 20 to 25 players, unique monsters called Menaces, some new quests and big fixes.
Humble origins.
The Chronicles of Spellborn is at its weakest when it lapses into the familiar. Level-up dings replete with swirly animation and several minutes spent contemplating where to spend points. Courier quests. With a shoestring budget and no significant publishing muscle behind it, it's an MMO that can ill-afford comparisons to WOW and WAR. Fortunately, this sort of thing is relatively uncommon. It may be guilty of reaching back into established convention for support, but for the most part Spellborn strides out into unknown territory.
Set in a wholly original fantasy world, the game casts you as a novice militia member in the city of Hawksmouth, a medieval metropolis that sits on one of a large number of floating shards that make up the game-world. Once, this was a single planet, but when the game's races - humans and oddly-jointed Daevi, the differences being purely visual from a gameplay perspective - rebelled against their demon overlords, the world was shattered.
The result is an art style wildly different to other MMOs. The shards are enclosed worlds; when you look up, you see the roof of a stone cavern far overhead, with light streaming through holes in the firmament. Huge slabs of stone, tossed about casually in the Sundering, erupt from the landscape, while shards of glowing crystal provide ghostly illumination for the many forest glades. Combined with the truly lovely environmental art, the unique setting makes for a game that's a joy to explore. Soft edges and diffuse lighting abound, with beautifully composed incidental music and background sound giving the whole game an evocative twilight feel. On occasion, Spellborn tries to wow you with spectacle - the epic home buildings of the High Houses being a perfect example - but it's usually more interested in a delicately woven atmosphere, and it's all the better for it.
Chronicles of Spellborn launches - sort of
UK won't get the Euro MMO until January.
The intriguing independent MMO Chronicles of Spellborn is released today - if you happen to live in Germany, Austria or Switzerland.
Other European countries will need to wait until next week to get a copy, with the exception of the UK, which will be twiddling its thumbs until January.
In a bizarre move, developer Spellborn International has bundled publishing rights for the UK in with North America, Australia, New Zealand and South America, and licensed the lot to US operator Acclaim.
A dodgy new MMO. In a good way.
There's a fatalistic sense of Daniel and the lion about what Spellborn International is set to do. World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King to one side, Warhammer Online to the other, and a compelling line-up of single-player games flooding the shops, and The Chronicles of Spellborn is out on 27th November. Actually, it's like watching those YouTube videos where a curious mouse runs around a glass tank, but you know there's a tarantula in that hollow log.
Spellborn to have free starter zone
After that, it's subscription-only.
Spellborn International, Dutch developer of the fantasy MMO Chronicles of Spellborn, has confirmed that the game will have a free-to-play starting zone, but that you will need to pay a subscription if you want to explore the entire game.
Dutch MMO hot on the Lich King's heels.
Frogster Interactive has announced a European release date for its offbeat European fantasy MMORPG, The Chronicles of Spellborn. The game will be released for PC on 27th November in English, French and German versions.
Chronicles of Spellborn delayed
But US release looking more likely.
Not much more than a month after it was scheduled for a spring 2008 release, Dutch fantasy MMO Chronicles of Spellborn has been delayed to the autumn.
Chronicles of Spellborn due in spring
Open beta testing to begin soon.
Fantasy MMO The Chronicles of Spellborn is to be released in the "second quarter of 2008", according to developers Spellborn International.