City of Steam

The game actually looks pretty cool. However, I have a few questions about some of the discussions going on here. Forgive me for being programming illiterate.

What is a "browser" game? What makes it different than any other game? Are there any real advantages/disadvantages to it? If I can play CoH, will my graphics card be able to handle CoS (I am on the lower settings in CoH)?

With the fall of CoH, I had decided that I might be done with MMO's. It just sucks that all the time spent with my characters will be erased. The only other MMO I have ever played was Auto Assault which was...less than good.

City of Steam actually looks really fun, so I don't know. Maybe.

It looks interesting, and if it's browser-based then that means it'll be more or less independent of OS.

But since it doesn't appear to actually be open yet, for me it's just something to keep in mind for the future, rather than something to get excited about now.

As far as specs go, if you can run CoH you can run CoS. I'm not sure any official ones have been released yet. But I do know that each map is directly put on your computer, makes for almost no loading times after the first time you visit a zone. And the game was designed specifically so older machines and those with little hard drive space can play them. Sadly, no, you can't jump but there is a good reason for that. Making it so shadows can change makes maps bigger makes the game less accessible. This is also why time doesn't change while you're in a zone. But as soon as you do zone time will catch up to the daylight setting it should be at.

If anyone has any questions about this game I have a ton of experience with it and got a dev guided tour. I'm happy to answer all I can. And ask my dev friend the questions I can't answer.

Greetings to Paragon City from Nexus, the City of Steam,

First off, let me introduce myself. My username may not be familiar to you, but my CoH global is @tamlaeyn. I am a long time loyal player on the Virtue Server (since 2006), one of the founding members of the Cerulean Legion, a friend to the Gods of the Golden Age, leader of many a BAF & Peregrine Island Mission Team runs, and loyal player … when I have had the time.

I am also one of the narrative content designers on the new MMORPG City of Steam.

What is City of Steam?
"A full-featured, browser-based 3D MMORPG, that transports players to Nexus, an industrial metropolis that has fallen from grace. Emerging from the ashes of ages past, heroes versed in swordplay, divine harmonies, and the arcane arts seek their fortune in a world beset by countless foes, from dangerous factions to mechanical horrors. This is a world where wondrous feats of industry and technology are front and center."

Start your informational tour by being introduced to the World Machine: http://www.cityofsteam.com/world/world-machine

I then invite you all to explore our website, explore the lore of the universe, dive into the forums, and sign up for the CoS newsletter.

Signing up also gives you a great chance to come into our Closed Beta in November leading into our Open Beta in December.

All the best!
See you soon!
CoS_Danielmc

PS: Please feel free to post here or start a thread on our forums to build up a community.
Our newsletter is the best way to get the latest on factions, races, gameplay updates, and much more.

LOL I hadn't opened this thread yet because I assumed it was a discussion about using Steam to make CoH more visible to gamers who have never played it, and I'd already read about that topic in other threads.

I'll have to check this out when the beta is live.

Hey there! Do you have any past Cryptic/Paragon Studios over there helping with this title?

Thanks a million for the heads up danielMC.

Good to know there is a presence here at CoH from CoS.

Messages from the Devs waiting to welcome you to City if Steam if you are so inclined to give it a look ...

http://forum.cityofsteam.com/index.php?topic=2091.0

Wow!

That looks pretty cool. I'm a superhero at heart, and much less invested in steampunk, but I'll have to give this a shot when it comes out.

I'll echo the sentiment that browser based games have come along heaps. Technologies like Unity mean that you're not running that much far behind from a native client, and can take advantage of hardware acceleration and so on in a browser.

"Browser" is no longer synonymous with "simple Flash game".

It certainly looks interesting. Not just from the website, but also the almost hour and a half video from TotalBiscuit. Based on all the information available:

Pros
—I love all things Steampunk
—Dungeon crawls are fun on occasion
—The world and its narrative are richly detailed
—Decent graphics

Cons
—A little heavy on the fantasy, but mostly towards player races (elves and goblinoids)
—Very limited customization, but with promises of "more to come"
—No travel powers (yet™)

There are other neutral (for me) factors involved. I could go either way on instances. The automatic travel is a neat feature, but nothing that makes the game or breaks it. It looks to have elements that appeal both to the hack 'n slashers and the role players, and I like to do both in equal measure.

But unfortunately, the pros don't outweigh the cons enough for me to make me really want closed beta access. I can wait to dink around on the open beta and according to the devs it'll be F2P with a purely cosmetic cash shop. And I'll admit that the cosmetics (or the lack thereof) is the biggest turn-off. With only a grand total of 36 class/race combinations, even with cosmetic accessories, very soon you'll have hundreds of people who pretty much look the same. Maybe they'll improve on that. I hope they do. Yes, CoX has spoiled me that way. I make no apologies for this. :P

Short version, the game looks okay but I seriously doubt it'll become my new major passtime.

I hadn't seen that Total Biscuit vid until today. It would have sold me on CoS just as much as the mmohuts.com shorter coverage of the game. Anyway, thanks for the great welcomes by the crew and cast over on CoS.

well i bought my pack so i cant wait to try out CoS when the CB starts.
kinda looking forward to playing something different for once. lol

Good stuff DT. Will see you in CB. Supporter packs with keys only available till September 23.

Got mine

I came in here to say that it shouldn't be called black friday, but Brass Friday.