Dene Carter, the co-creator of the Fable and Dungeon Keeper series, has given a new update on the status of the game Moonring. Moonring is an RPG that is a tribute to classic CRPGs like the early Ultima games and is available completely for free on Steam.
Hi folks,
I feel I have to start every one of these with ‘thanks for playing’ but at some point that’s going to seem a little odd. But I can’t stop. Not yet.I’m writing this because I’ve seen some trepidation around a couple of the peripheral aspects of this game, so I thought I’d take a moment to address them.
1)
Why the EULA?Honestly, this is my first time making a STEAM game and the process was pretty *specific* about what it wanted. When I got the ‘Please fill in a EULA’ bit I just went… ‘Uh… okay, where can I find a boilerplate EULA? I guess I need one!’ I’ve never made one before, so just take it as a sign of my naiveté on this platform. It’s nothing more odious. That said, there are a lot of people in the world who will be convinced that Moonring caused them to lick their dog or something, so… HA! YOU CAN’T TOUCH ME, DOG-LICKER! That’s what the EULA means, right? Right?!
2)
Why free? Are you secret malware?I’ve been making this game for 4.5 years. When my little community began on Discord I announced the game was going to be free. Right from the outset. I never planned to sell this. I didn’t think there was a market for it, and as time went on that did not change. The game has been up on itch.io FOR YEARS (in a far worse state, of course). I’d occasionally wonder if I *should* charge, but swiftly reminded myself that the friends who contributed their time or art or music would probably not appreciate me saying: ‘Surprise, suckers! I’m going full-capitalist! See you!’ With the pandemic, began the Great Sucking, and that just reinforced my decision.
Please enjoy the game for free knowing that was how it was always intended. And now, you are making the game better by finding (so many) bugs and ruining my life. Thanks. Thanks a lot.
3)
What next?Good question. With an easy answer. I’m going to be fixing Moonring. For a while, apparently. I’m not abandoning it, charging for it or anything else. At some point folks will get bored or indifferent to the game. Or die. Or fall down big holes. Or be abducted by aliens. I hear these things happen, and then folks stop playing, or at least caring about Caldera. At that point, I’ll probably be only halfway through the bug list… but I’ll keep going while the game breaks. After? I’d like to make it play better on Steam Deck, and ensure the bits that are still a little sucky suck less.
Oh, and a cloth map, damnit. I have the design. And maybe a Caldera World Tour T-shirt. I just need to find a printer in the in-between-seconds that sit between the seconds where I’m debugging. Those are a thing, right?
As a final note on this subject, I’ve been encouraged to make a Switch version, which means I get to develop with someone I’m very keen to develop with again… but that’s another story.
I hope that addresses any fears you may have had. And if not… cut down on the coffee, damnit. You know why you poop so much? PUT THE MUG DOWN.
– Dene
Please: all thank my lovely wife, Kara, for putting up with me spending so much time doing this for zero income. Without her bringing in an income I’d probably not have made this game.
A description of the game can be seen below
A free game by the co-creator of the XBox’s Fable series.
Five hundred years ago, the land of Caldera was plunged into endless darkness. Decades later, five moons rose in the sky, bringing light to the world and strange Gods with it. With them came the Dreams: calls to Devotion promising supernatural Gifts.
Thus, the new Calderan civilisation was born; a world of Devotion and Dreamers, Gods and Gifts, with a Dreamless Archon acting as the Gods’ mortal representative. But Archons are not eternal, and a successor must be found.
You are Dreamless: free to choose your own destiny, to ask questions others dare not, or even become Archon yourself.
What will you do, Dreamless one?
Moonring is a retro-inspired open-world, turn-based, tile RPG in the style of the classic Ultima games, but created from the ground up with modern design sensibilities.The world’s geography is hand-designed, but the deadly dungeons beneath the surface reconfigure each time you leave… or die.
Travel, trade, sneak, fight and sail the world of Caldera. Speak with the townsfolk, learn Caldera’s secrets, and challenge the Archon for his throne… or even overthrow the Gods themselves!
Features:
– Large, hand-designed open world
– An infinite supply of dungeons generated using your character name
– Over 100 varied enemy types, from fodder to bosses
– 35 unique Gifts from the Gods, their usage changing with the moon phases
– Sailing, ship-to-ship combat and boarding
– A Dungeon Synth OST with over 50 tracks, all made using retro Mod Trackers!
– A hidden magic system and many other mysteries
A note from the creator:Hi folks. I’ve loved RPGs since the early 1980s, and grew up playing games like Lord British’s ‘Ultima’ series and early Roguelikes. This is my love-letter to a style of gaming that has largely fallen out of fashion: with its vivid, bright sprites overlaid on stark black backgrounds, true open-world gameplay, and lack of handholding. The days I spent playing these games were spent in joyful exploration and discovery, venturing into the dark unknown, a co-author of the experience, filling in the gaps left by the primitive art with my imagination. For those of you who did the same, I hope Moonring recaptures some of the spirit of those days for you. For those who did not, I hope that the more modern conveniences you find in this game allow you to catch a glimpse of what we did 40 years ago.
My heartfelt thanks to all who spared even a moment to play this. Please be kind to my mistakes. I will fix them. 🙂
– Dene
We will have a review of the game up shortly
