Developer Piranha Games wants you. The company recently unveiled its latest project, the crowdsourced sci-fi MMO Transverse.
Piranha hopes to rejigger the MMO template entirely. Transverse will be a NPC-free title where players can explore, conquer and create their own destinies, governments, etc. Players will take to the stars with a roster of customizable ships and stake out their claim in the galaxy at large, often coming to blows with other players. It is the ultimate sandbox game, a game where literally anything could be possible.
Ambitious? Yes. What may be even more ambitious is the price point they're asking to make this a reality: $1 million. That is not a typo. Piranha has begun its pledge drive. Interested parties can donate in order to receive a copy of the game and specific in-game ships. The lowest donation level, $30, gets you a standard starter ship. The prices, ships and rewards vary. The most expensive at this time is $250, which gets you one of the fanciest ships and a whole bunch of Transverse swag.
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It is a hard sell, but one that may be worth it. Piranha is the studio behind MechWarrior Online, the middling MMO from a few year's back and other such titles as Die Hard: Nakatomi Plaza and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. So they're no strangers to robot and/or ship based action, but this is a whole new ballgame. I applaud them for their audacity and ambition, even if $1 million is a lot for an unknown IP from almost any company.
The company plans to release the game in modules beginning next year, with a full release of all current mods in 2016. The devs are a little cagey about whether this will be a F2P game or rely on a subscription model, but with a release this far out, they can take their time and see what the interest level is like.
"We are exploring the idea of a premium subscription model that offers additional value to those interested in that kind of concept. Will it be mandatory? No." says the devs. Curious, though.
Per the press release. "With incredibly detailed ship and station construction, massive solar-system-wide player events and real-time, physics-based combat, Transverse puts the power in the pilot's hands. A fluctuating, real-time economy fueled by industry drives trade in a dynamic resource ecosystem, and player-generated contracts and missions can shift the balance of power at any given moment. Your reputation as a pilot throughout the galaxy will be judged by how well you fly, and the decisions you make." And it is all powered by Unreal Engine 4, too.
We'll keep an eye on Transverse's progress. Big ideas deserve that much. Watch the reveal trailer below and head on over to the official site to pledge.