Meridian 59 Offers Free Trial

Psychochild writes "I'm the owner of the online RPG Meridian 59. We've been working hard on updating the game since relaunching it in 2002, rewriting the rendering engine to take advantage of 3D hardware acceleration, adding modern features like mouselook and rebindable keys, fixing bugs, and adding new content. We're currently offering a free trial of Meridian 59 for those interested in learning more about the game and the independent developers now running it."

Comments

Early Everquest people

[ru-486]

Alot of the Everquest beta people came from Meridian 59 from what I remember. I haven't gotten around to trying it out at the time, this seems like a good opportunity to check it out.

Re:Early Everquest people

[Austerity Empowers]

Just keep in mind m59 is almost entirely about PvP. I played for almost a year prior to EQ, the game can get kind of rough, but hopelessly addicting.

At least when I was playing, PvP didn't seem very balanced. Plus new people, at least back then, were eyed with suspicion. New characters were more often that not latent PKers who were just waiting to knife someone in the back (literally), so they weren't trusted.

It can be rough, but if you stick it out it's fun. Definitely comparing it to EQ and that ilk is not a good idea, they're totally diffrent games.

Free advertising

[Anonymous Coward]

You have got to be kidding me. A MMORPG with like 10 players gets on Slashdot by posting what is basically an ad here? There are a dozen TEXT MUDS more popular than this game. What is it doing on Slashdot with a blatant advertisement?

Re:Free advertising

[Allaran]

Ok...so maybe it's an advertisement of sorts, but you can't blame the guy. First, he clearly stated that he is the owner rather than trying to disguise himself as a random player. He's got a product that is clearly suffering compared to the big guns (EQ, SWG, WOW). He's mentioning an opportunity to play at no cost. And most importantly, he just wrote the post...Slashdot made the decision to put it out there.

I worked on a great puzzle game called Rich Diamond for a couple years that has never made any real money. It doesn't seem wrong for me to mention it here, and yet it's technically more of an advertisement than Psychochild's post. Mine is guaranteed to be visible at least until I get modded down.

Re:Free advertising

[UltimaL337Star]

trust me, people don't just play m59 for the graphics.

Re:Free advertising

[Nova1313]

The game is what spawned everquest. It took alot of it's memebers and used them as game testers when it started. If I recall correctly this game was the first 3d mmorpg to *I think*. I played it years ago and then again when a german server ran it. It's a great game. Really worth a shot... So don't knock it yet.

Re:Free advertising

[Psychochild]

It's not an ad, it's marketing. It's funny how people get bent out of shape when an independent developer mentions his or her game, but when a story is just a copy and paste of a press release no one cares. Yeah, I posted up about the free trial, but that's because we don't pay a marketing department several million dollars to market the game less obviously.

For example, look at the Ilovebees.com stories lately. People know that this is marketing for Halo 2, but I didn't see as much outrage when Slashdot posted news about that site. That's because Ilovebees.com is an interesting, free game. Well, the M59 trial is an interesting free game that just happens to be marketing for the commercial servers. :)

Realistically, what am I going to get out of this? Not much. I willingly labeled my post as a Games section, and even after several hours of being posted, there's less than two dozen replies to the thread. Perhaps I should have had one of my events people role-play a sexist bastard so we could have gotten on the front page like A Tale in the Desert did?

Anyway, you can check my posting history to see that I usually write insightful posts, mostly in the Games section. It's not like I'm coming around astroturfing. I actually contribute to the community. At the very least I try to spend my moderator points modding up posts in the games section.

Anyway, Allaran, I'll have to check out your games. I'm a big believer in independent developers. Marketing is a very important aspect of getting people to notice your game. We independents can't spend millions of dollars on big magazine 2-page ads and TV spots. We've spent our money on developing our game, and if we don't pimp our own games no one is going to know about them. Don't let the people tell you otherwise. Wish I could have modded you up instead of having to reply to people here.

Have fun,

Re:Free advertising

[Psychochild]

If I recall correctly this game was the first 3d mmorpg to *I think*.

There's some disagreement about who did what first. Meridian 59 uses a first-person 2.5D engine (similar to DOOM); now it has an engine that uses 3D hardware acceleration and adds in neat things like dynamic lighting. It can reasonably make the claim to be the first modern online RPG to use 3D.

M59 was the first game to offer a box in retail and it established the current subscription-based business model. The game also had terrible marketing at the hands of 3DO, creating shameful ads that probably scared off more people than they attracted. This is one reason why it languished under the shadow of other games while often presenting a more technically accomplished and interesting game.

Anyway, the game is still around and going strong. We've worked hard to update the game, and we've added a lot of new features, notably the new rendering engine. It looks very nice, if I say so myself. :)

Have fun,

Good stuff

[mistersooreams]

I've been a "59er" for some time now, and you have to give it up for these guys. They work tirelessly to add new features to this great game. A small round of applause please.

chance for alternative operating systems?

[Apreche]

Meridian 59 is soo old. It was a 3d MMORPG back when I had a 486 and a video card with 1MB of RAM. Only 16MB of system ram. At this point they are probably so far behind the game compared to EQ and others. They should totally work on getting their game out on Linux and Mac. It would definitely get them some of the $ they need without worrying about too much competition in those departments.

Re:chance for alternative operating systems?

[Psychochild]

Meridian 59 is soo old.

Which isn't an issue if you really thing about it. First of all, the game has a lot of content. There's secrets in the game that people that have played for 8 years still are finding. Look at EQ and see how much more content has been added since they launched. Of course, in EQ you would have had to buy expansions, whereas in M59 we have free content patches on a regular basis. Meridian 59 has a lot of depth of gameplay. It's also amazingly stable, too, since we've worked out the bugs in the game a long time ago. So, being "old" means we have a lot of content and we have a stable game. Oh no!

Admittedly, the game isn't packed full of eye candy like newer games are. But, the graphics are "good enough" and the gameplay is very fun. No other game offers the blend of open PvP, player skill-based gameplay, and game balance that M59 offers. If you like PvP combat, this is the game to check out. And, now we're offering a month long free trial to check it out.

As for alternative OSes, we're looking to see if there is a demand. Since M59 has had a lot of content added to it, especially the recent upgrades on the client side such as the new rendering engine, porting is a non-trivial effort. We're an indie game developer, which means we have limited resources. Sitting down and writing a port to another OS means that we're taking away time from adding new content to the game and keeping existing players happy.

Have fun,

The silence of the Orcs

[Poseidon88]

A guy I shared an apartment with in College got hooked on M59 when it was first released. He would play at all hours of the night and day. I can still hear the screams of whatever monsters he was killing reverberating through the thin wall separating our bedrooms. He eventually fell into the trap of skipping classes to play, and flunked out. Stupid freshmen.

I'd play this game

[Razman]

I'd play, but billing and account support has been so terrible.
I signed up on the re-release by the new developers... took a break, and was still billed by their billing company they use... took like 3 months of extra billing to finally have them stop!
Now, I attempt to return to the game, where they never remove accounts, and cannot get a response on getting my account info back.

to bad...

Hardly dead, Troll

[Psychochild]

Troll in BOB! (Old M59 humor.)

Anyway, the game didn't "fail". In fact, for a while it had a large number of people paying nearly $30/month per account to play. How many people do you think would play other games if they tried to charge $30/month? Obviously there's something to the game that keeps people interested in it.

The game is alive and thriving, really. We have a core of fans that enjoy the game and are happy to pay a lot less than $30/month to play the game. The game has been changing and improving through our work. Our latest free expansion includes a rather nice graphical client upgrade as well as a lot of nice UI improvements.

No, it's not as pretty as other games and it doesn't have as many subscribers, but it's still a great game. McDonald's sells lots of hamburgers in brightly colored paper wrappers, too, but that doesn't mean it's the best possible food you can eat.

Have fun,

Re:Hardly dead, Troll

[Anonymous Custard]

This probably isn't the best place for newbie feedback, but hey, anything goes :-)

I tried playing for a few minutes, and after SWG I must admit the low-end graphics did bug me a bit. I realize graphics aren't the main course but an upgrade sure would help catch a new user's eye.

I was disappointed by the character creation... in the sense that I had no idea whether I was going to create a useless character, a limited character, an uber character... It just didn't feel personal. It was almost a little too open-ended, too customizable, so I was afraid of making too much of a mixed character. Then I was also afraid of creating too specific a character. Maybe I should have just tried a few different ones to get started; but I do think some pre-configured templates would be very useful to a new player.

The initial gameplay feel was a cross between Spear Of Destiny and Aethra's Chronicles. Aethra, btw, had character classes you could choose from, but you could also mix and match a bit, and choose which skills to develop :-) I gave up after a few minutes of roaming around, not knowing how to find something to fight so I could use my acid hands on it.

The one thing that did catch me was that nearly as soon as I logged on, an admin offered his assistance (he could tell I was new... maybe the way I kept strafing left and right or bumping into doors game me away?). I didn't meet many people, but the people I did meet were very friendly and helpful.

So I won't make a final jugement; I really didn't give it enough play time tonite.

I'll probably try again before the month is up :-)

Re:Hardly dead, Troll

[Psychochild]

Eh, good a place as any to give comments. Allow me to respond....

I realize graphics aren't the main course but an upgrade sure would help catch a new user's eye.

Funny enough, we did give the game a pretty major upgrade. Take a look at these screenshots and you'll see what the game was like before the most recent upgrade. It's an improvement, but we know we're not going to compete in terms of eye candy with the other games coming out. We did the rendering engine update in order to not look quite so hopelessly outdated.

But, honestly, we've focused on making the game fun to play. M59 might not be better than sex, but it is a quite fun game to play. And, if a game isn't fun what's the point? Good graphics doesn't make up for a boring game.

I was disappointed by the character creation... in the sense that I had no idea whether I was going to create a useless character, a limited character, an uber character...

A novel complaint. I, on the other hand, personally hate class-based systems because they are too restrictive. Perhaps you're too battered down by other games where it's easy to make a lame character. We've worked to make the current M59 system into something you can really make nearly any type of character with without much fear of making a "gimp" character. Decide what you want to do and learn it! The only thing I don't particularly like about M59's system is that you have to pick your stats at character creation and they're relatively inflexible. Unfortunately, that was a design decision made before I started working on the game. After learning the system (which is what the trial is for, right?), it's easy to make a wide variety of characters. Make a character that fits your playstyle and ability, instead of making a character that is pigeonholed into a specific role.

The one thing that did catch me was that nearly as soon as I logged on, an admin offered his assistance (he could tell I was new... maybe the way I kept strafing left and right or bumping into doors game me away?). I didn't meet many people, but the people I did meet were very friendly and helpful.

We've been making sure people feel welcomed into the game. The server's only been up a few days, and we're trying to get the word out best we can, but things will be thin the first few days. But, I enjoy talking to players so I'll often greet newbies on the regular servers as well.

One thing to keep in mind is that M59 focuses a lot more on a smaller, tighter community. You'll get to know most of the people that play on your server, and you'll know many people by reputation. This is really a cool aspect of the game that often gets lost in other "massive" games. I like being known for my actions, even though it makes it harder for me to play an "unknown" mortal character. :)

Anyway, the server will be around for a month. It's a fun game if you give it a chance. It's not initially pretty and we aren't a clone of other games, so often people overlook the game. But, if you give it a real chance, you might find something you've been missing.

Have fun,

Don't knock it

[Anonymous Coward]

Meridian's got the best PvP of any game out there... don't believe me? give it a shot.

The game came out commercially in '96 and is still running with a loyal fan base (cultist as it bay be.)

It's a free trial tho, give it a shot... the new graphics are a good thing for those out there who need that kinda stuff, but this game's character generation, PvP, and skill advancement systems go deeper than anyone can hope to explore in less than a few years; not to mention the story.

Shame...

[Shufly]

The people who are making negitive comments are very ignorant. This game was great for it's time, it was the only game like it for it's time, and it is still one of the best MMORPG's out there as far as I am concerned. This game got PvP right on the first try, the quests were always fun, and I definatly spent more time playing this game than others like it. I can't wait to get home and start downloading the client. Also, I think it is a shame that anyone would attack an independant developer. These guys work their asses off for very little, if any, cash return, and then they have to deal with pricks who think they know everything bashing their work. I bet you guys like to beat up cripple kids as well? If you don't like the game, fine, but don't shit on good people who are trying to do something nice for everyone and have no sinister agenda...

Re:Shame...

[Anonymous Coward]

Really folks, stop whining.

M59 has lots of memories for us older gamers who were in the beta long before EQ was even conceived. Yup, I can still remember getting my first mana-node, hidden in the back of an equipment room at work with a 486 and a 14.4. Or the time my brother and I crashed an in-game wedding and laid a bit of Heat Armor and Earthquake lovin on the zone. I think (hope)we made people cry irl, that is the power of Qor.

This is a gaming site, if stories that refer to games bother you, then read a different forum.

graphics are a shame.

[ehmdjii]

he says the game was initially released in 2002, but if you ask me the graphics look like from the early 90s.

But the game is *fun*.

[Psychochild]

We relaunched the game in 2002. The game was originally launched in 1996. So, yeah, the graphics aren't super-modern. However, the game is fun. Would you rather have a pretty game that's boring or a plain game that's fun? A game is meant to entertain and no amount of good graphics is going to make up for a game that isn't fun.

We still have thousands of players that play the game despite the graphics. That should tell you how fun the game really is.

Have fun,

Re:But the game is *fun*.

[ehmdjii]

thousands of players? yesterday when i tried it out, i typed "who" and it said there were only 3 people online. for the graphics: well, i am a computergraphics student and yes i would prefer a game thats pretty. ;-)

Re:But the game is *fun*.

[Psychochild]

Thousands of players on the live servers. This is a (now) 4-day old demo server, so of course things are going to be a bit slow. You must have logged on at a strange time, because there were about 20 people logged on most of the time I was online yesterday. There's even more today. We already have nearly 1,000 signups. Not bad for a smaller game with this article as the main marketing.

Anyway, the game is still fun. Thousands of people think so, regardless of the graphics.

Have fun,

Problem with EULA

[Anonymous Coward]

"End User agrees to allow NDS to "auto-update" the downloadable version of the Game Software at any time, and to auto-install on End User's computer all updates and revisions of the Game Software, when End User logs onto the NDS Meridian 59 game server."

I got partway through the install and then hit that show-stopper. Alas, I cannot agree to forfeit my right to decline software installs. I understand that NDS is all good and that modifications to the software would always be game-related and so on, but I have a problem with giving up my legal right to control what does or does not go on my machine.

Re:Problem with EULA

[Psychochild]

Er, a late reply to an AC.... But, just in case someone else comes along and sees this.

You can choose to decline an auto-update if you want. But, that means your client will be out-of-sync with the game server and you won't be able to connect.

Sorry your tinfoil hate prevented you from enjoying a great gaming experience. But, the defining feature of an online game is that it's regularly updated, and that means downloading things to your computer.

Have fun,