These days, "sandbox" so often gets read as "constant PvP" that the two can almost be used interchangeably. But Working As Intended's sandbox game Dawntide is focused on the creation of societies, cities, and an entire world based solely on player input, the sort of thing that's quite attractive to a number of players. The game has been in closed beta testing for quite some time, but if the premise intrigues you, there's good news on the horizon -- on May 31st, the game is going into fully open beta testing.
As the game approaches the deadline (which is very close indeed at this point), the development team is rolling out several improvements to the game. Those include a revamped and improved UI, a number of skills being implemented, and a stretch of islands available for players to claim as their own and build up as they see fit. If truly open-world gameplay appeals to you, the upcoming holiday weekend might be best capped off with a look at Dawntide's beta.
[Thanks to Bartillo for the tip!]
Reader Comments (14)
Posted: May 27th 2010 1:26PM Wisdomandlore said
Looks interesting. I'll probably check it out.
Posted: May 27th 2010 1:58PM (Unverified) said
Presumably they have fixed the "crash on launch" feature which meant I was unable to play the game during beta. I gave up after attempting 20 times over several weeks. It has great potential though.
Posted: May 27th 2010 2:41PM Orvidos said
Reading over the site this sound like something I've been looking for for a good while. The ability to just go out in the wilderness and build a house, hunt for food and lounge about. Go into town and socialize.
I'll definitely give it a go.
I'll definitely give it a go.
Posted: May 27th 2010 2:48PM blix2006 said
ummmmmmmmm more like open alpha....i have been in the supposive beta for a few months this game is about 10 years away from being anything resembling a game..
Posted: May 27th 2010 10:28PM (Unverified) said
Agreed. I've been in the beta for a few months also and while it seems to have a lot of potential, it's barely alpha status if anything.
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Posted: May 27th 2010 3:05PM blix2006 said
orvidos...its not an opinion..its a fact,i have beta tested many many mmos and i have never seen one that considered itself a beta when its so light on everything..animations arent finished.ai is terrible,i wanna say it runs like crap but that can be one of many factors so i wont.i hope the open beta patch has ALOT of changes.this game can only hope to someday be half as good as darkfall is...and im not saying darkfall is great but its leagues ahead of this and most other sandbox games
Posted: May 27th 2010 3:17PM johnmatthais said
While I do agree that it's a long way from being ready for release, the game shows a massive amount of promise, and as Darkfall and EvE have shown us, even after a rough launch, a game can still win players back over the years with some massive changes.
My only question is - did they ever fully implement character customization?
My only question is - did they ever fully implement character customization?
Posted: May 27th 2010 3:28PM Seffrid said
Games worth playing don't usually need to "revamp and improve" the UI between closed and open beta. What exactly does "a number of skills have been implemented" mean? That a number of skills haven't been implemented or that they weren't implemented in closed beta?
I get the message that this is a sandbox game, but the article doesn't make it clear whether that means it is "constant PvP" or not. The article suggests it normally means that, but doesn't go on to clarify whether that is the case here. What exactly is the premise of the game?
The other responses from people who have actual experience of the game don't exactly fill me with confidence...
It sounds to me like Massively have passed on some information without checking it out or knowing the first thing about it. Not what I'd expect to be honest.
I get the message that this is a sandbox game, but the article doesn't make it clear whether that means it is "constant PvP" or not. The article suggests it normally means that, but doesn't go on to clarify whether that is the case here. What exactly is the premise of the game?
The other responses from people who have actual experience of the game don't exactly fill me with confidence...
It sounds to me like Massively have passed on some information without checking it out or knowing the first thing about it. Not what I'd expect to be honest.
Posted: May 27th 2010 3:31PM blix2006 said
yea i just logged in and it is still the same game it was last time i played,we will see if the patch to open beta is a miracle patch of some sort
Posted: May 27th 2010 3:31PM Seffrid said
@Blorx: "While I do agree that it's a long way from being ready for release, the game shows a massive amount of promise"
I wish you could be persuaded to give me a pound (or a dollar, your choice) for every game in or approaching open beta that was a long way from being ready for release but showed a massive amount of promise...
I wish you could be persuaded to give me a pound (or a dollar, your choice) for every game in or approaching open beta that was a long way from being ready for release but showed a massive amount of promise...
Posted: May 27th 2010 3:34PM johnmatthais said
lol, I get your point. Still, we can't always look down on said games. If Darkfall can make that kind of recovery, I'm sure any game has the potential to. Hell, Darkfall still has massive amounts of hostility towards it and they're doing fine. Not that I like Darkfall, but I have to admit that Aventurine has quite the hardcore following.
Reply
Posted: Aug 20th 2010 11:11PM Shadanwolf said
Would be nice to know if this is subscription or ftp.
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