The City of Steam dev team has given us 500 Alpha keys so you can get in on their Alpha weekends! If you want an N4Ger's perspective on the game, check out Sephris' blog: http://n4g.com/user/blogpos...
HOW TO GET A KEY:
1. Leave a comment below
2. Bonus entry if you change your avatar to something from the game and/or tweeting a link to this page with the hashtag #CityofSteam
3. Winners randomly chosen from the pool of entrants at the close of 24 hrs. Key sent via N4G PM.
HOW TO REDEEM YOUR KEY:
1. After getting your Alpha key, head to the City of Steam website here ( http://www.cityofsteam.com/ ).
2. If you would like to support the development further and get some cool swag, head to the Support Us ( http://www.cityofsteam.com/... ) sectoin of the website.
3. Enjoy!
The Alpha test will run on the weekends of July 20-22, July 27-29 and August 3-5, starting on Fridays at 19:00 PDT (22:00 EDT) and lasting until Mondays at 00:00 PDT (03:00 EDT) Keep your key in a safe place if you’ve received one early. Alpha starts soon!
Each weekend will be chock full of events and activities that will give players a chance to win cool swag and honorary titles. This is an Alpha version, so be sure to help out the developers by reporting bugs on the forum and getting into the strong community. City of Steam relies heavily on community-driven development which results from feedback from players like you!
If you would like to support the development further and get some cool swag, head to the Support Us section of the website.
Note: One account can only activate one Alpha key code.
OVERVIEW OF ALPHA EVENTS As most of you already know, the Alpha test will be spread out over 3 weekends, possibly more depending on how things go along the way. Each weekend will focus on different aspects of the game, which we will notify you of in between weekends, so be sure to keep an eye out for what to look for. We’ll also send you a questionnaire to fill out after each test weekend, so please be sure to fill them out to help us refine the game. Your feedback is needed, and very much appreciated! We’ll also be adding content each weekend. Indeed, all the more reason to keep coming back to see what’s new! New features, quests, contests to win prizes (keep an eye out for more announcements on this), and more! Probably the most notable addition will be for races, they will be added on gradually, as follows:
July 20-22nd – Human Debut We will be testing the four human races in City of Steam and making sure everything is nice and smooth. Play as an open-minded but downtrodden Heartlander, strict and patriarchal Aven, Ostenian with conflicted loyalties, or a harsh but proud Stoigmari!
July 27-29th – Elven Elite Elves enter the mix: play as a stylish and charismatic riven or a cautious and withdrawn draug!
August 3-5th – Greenskin Incursion (Saving the best for last, eh?) Finally! This alpha test weekend you’ll be able to play as any of the greenskins – meddlesome goblins, gruff hobbes and burly orcs. Bringing the total to 9 playable races! So don’t forget to come back each weekend for a very new experience and be part of the collaborative effort to make sure City of Steam is a great game that you’ll enjoy. Don’t forget to head to our forums and tell us about any problems (bugs) and/or suggestions you may have.
ABOUT CITY OF STEAM: City of Steam, a full-featured, browser-based 3D MMORPG, transports players to 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.
Key Features: While not all of these will be perfectly working during this sneak peek we hope they will be apparent for future tests and give a taste as to what’s to come. • Graphics! Sets a new audiovisual standard for browser gaming • Lightweight! Play from any computer without bulky client installation • Big World, Tiny Footprint! Intricate, immersive scenes take up mere megabytes • Gameplay! Hardcore or casual, ten minutes or ten hours • Teamwork! Go it alone or adventure with friends • Flavor! Even the smallest detail is suffused with the history of an ancient world • Customization! Augment weaponry with visible components • Abilities! Each class wields a unique array of stunning combat effects • Backgrounds! Each character has a personal history to explore • Monsters! An extensive bestiary balances raw power with intelligent tactics
Why City of Steam: A New Epoch in Browser Gaming - City of Steam brings a world of industrial age fantasy to life in your web browser with the powerful Unity3D pluginAccommodates any schedule or play style! - Knock out a quest stage in 10 minutes, adventure with friends for hours, or simply explore our richly detailed environmentsExplore the mysteries of an ancient world - City of Steam offers a deep and engaging backstory reinforced by dialogue, historical documents, and mythic enemiesVisuals that scale to any configuration - Environmental effects, real-time shadows, and positional audio sources immerse players with even modest hardware in a new world.
(History & Culture) City of Steam is set on the World Machine, a vast and ancient system of interlocking gears powered by unfathomable energies. Long ago, a race of ingenious conquerors called the Paragons sought to claim those energies for themselves, and destroyed themselves in the attempt. They left behind a shattered world and a complex legacy. Even now, millennia after the Era of Myth, that legacy continues to affect the course of history on the World Machine.. To the races that already inhabited the mechanism - humans, goblins, orcs, and hobbes - they added the charismatic riven, insular draug, and half-mechanical dwarves. Life on the Mechanism has been revolutionized by the study of the Paragons' lost technologies. Airships soar overhead, robotic steamtoilers patrol the streets, and great factories produce weapons wielded by heroes and villains alike.Four great human nations have emerged since the fall of the Paragons: the confederated city-states of the Heartlands, the allied kingdoms of Ostenia, the patriarchal Republic of Avenoss, and the harsh Empire of Stoigmar. At the site of the Paragons’ fall lay the City-State of Nexus, a once-great industrial center whose connection to the Era of Myth continues to attract attention from across the Mechanism. Rumor has it that something deep within Nexus has awakened - a secret that will change the world forever.
(Avens Character Art) During the Sneak Peek players will be able to choose from the following classes and 4 races: Draug, Riven, Aven and Goblin that were chosen by a player vote on the City of Steam forums. In the future there will be many more races and several additional classes available.
(Ostenians Character Art) Warder: Heirs to an ancient martial tradition, Warders meet their opponents with righteous fury. They are united in a common focus on personal Duty, unflinching Leadership, and swift, punishing Judgment of enemies.
(Heartlanders Character Art) Arcanist: Armed with state-of-the-art aetheric manipulators, the Arcanist wields the fury of the elements against any enemies foolish enough to approach. A variety of Fire, Ice, and Lightning abilities provide them with a wide array of tactical options.
(Draug Character Art) Gunner: Regardless of whether they stalk individual targets with the art of Sharpshooting, conjure occult effects with Trigger Magic, or utilize the varied abilities of Support Fire, Gunners prove that modern firearms have incredible potential on the battlefield.
(Goblins Character Art) Channeler: Whether they draw from ancient Church hymnals or perform their own compositions, Channelers’ powerful melodies move the Mechanism to bring their allies into martial Harmony, restore them with Faith, and punish the unworthy with blinding Radiance.
Alan Wake, from Max Payne and Control creator Remedy, is a horror classic, prompting one player to buy 4,000 copies that don’t even work.
Kind of a goody story...
On a serious note, that is why I try activating gift cards asap. It's happened to me where the store didnt scan it right where the card was unusuable. Happened at Wally World.
Usually most of those redemption card have an expiry date on them. If they expired all buyer did was buy recycled paper. And some of those codes are country locked to certain countries. I buy a card from the States I can't use it in Canada.
UKIE published its latest Consumer Market Valuation Report, showing that the UK games market was worth £7.82 billion in 2023, a 4.4% increase compared to 2022's revised total of £7.49 billion.
Final Fantasy is a long running series at this point — it's easily one of the most storied franchises in gaming. But when you're up to the sixteenth mainline entry, you must start wondering whether fresh installments still have the power to pull new players in. Indeed, audience growth will be an important metric for the suits upstairs at Square Enix.
Pretty much. It was barely an rpg. Sorry if I like a little rpg in my final fantasy games.
I really hope this doesn’t mean they are going to continue to streamline the games even more going forward
It didn’t even have element weakness and the like during battles. A game with element based Eikons you use in combat and they didn’t include any elemental strategic tactics
I expected fire to burn grassy enemies. That didn't happen.
I also expected to see a "we have to go there!" moment in a cutscene, and have to travel there myself. FFXVI instead loaded the map to one selectable map marker and the next cutscene loaded to us there.
Disappointing as an RPG. Disappointing as even being "open area". I'll maintain that this game would've been best served as a more linear DMC-style experience than what we got, because the core of the combat and story were so great.
I'm an old fan who's played literally every FF game (excluding 2) and I *loved* FF16.
I genuinely struggle to understand the mindset of people are who get weird and territorial over JRPG franchises. I think as a whole we should be encouraging developers to try new things. We're the old guard - what we want to see in a game is going to become increasingly irrelevant with time so we gotta change the way we think about this stuff.
Classic franchises thrive on their familiarity. While they can introduce new ideas, it's crucial that these innovations stay true to the essence of the franchise. Otherwise, it might be more appropriate to develop a new franchise or spinoff.
And that's where FFXVI sort of drops the ball for many. It doesn't offer much to old Final Fantasy fans. Honestly, I loved the game, but I feel it might have worked better as a spinoff, a new franchise, or even a reimagination of another classic series like Musashi or Dewprism.
Sounds exactly what Tales did with Arise. I enjoyed FF16 more than FF13 and FF15 personally. I just hope the next mainline entry Yoshida makes is more party RPG based.
I enjoyed the game but I would like them to try making a turn based FF. It’s been too long. Even if it was a spin-off that would be fine.
For me the Bravely Default series is more Final Fantasy than current Final Fantasy. Since it started its development as a FF spinoff, it even keeps some FF stuff like magic names (Fire/Fira/Firaga etc.).
Unfortunately it doesn't sell that well and we can't be sure Square will keep making them, but I hope they do.
"This doesn’t mean that all future Final Fantasy games will take a similar direction to Final Fantasy 16,"
Here is a quote from the article to keep the XVI haters easy .
I enjoyed the game for what it was. What the team wanted to make. And i hadn't enjoyed a mainline FF game like i did XVI since X. Not counting Remake. People say it isn't an JRPG but it's pretty much Kingdom Hearts gameplay wise.
I decided to play some Arcade mode in XVI to get ready for the DLC after 220 hours of Rebirth and i still love the gameplay.
Can't wait for the DLC to hit in less than a week and see how crazy the Leviathan fight will be.
I'll take one if you could be so kind. It's not really my cup of tea but I know 1 or 2 people that would give it a try.
This game definitely looks cool, would love to try it out.
An alpha key giveaway for City of Steam on a weekend of Summer Steam Sales!?! Have ye gone mad! So. Much. To. Play. The game sounds great and Sephris blog is a good read.
Looks cool!!!
:) looks great to me