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News
Update
It's been awhile since I posted due to a lot that has been going on around the team, but no worries we are all still around and pumping out new models, textures, and animations every day.
Toth and Martin F have put together some amazing work that we'll be updating the website with soon that I'm sure will make you all feel really good about the quality of material in Etherea: Dark Genesis.
We had hit a lot of bumps in the road switching game engines and we are still looking for a skilled programmer but I believe some help will be on the way soon to put us back on the road and push out an Alpha Test to the community and the game sometime this year.
I am still surprised about how many emails I still get asking about the game and support from the wonderful community we have here, thank you for that and we will continue to work hard for you.
Thank you,
Robert "Vesuvius" Lee
Posted by : Vesuvius on 12 March 2007, 14:26
End of the Year Update
The end of the year update is now published on the Etherea: Dark Genesis Development Blog, please have a look and leave any comments you'd like.
Click Here!
Posted by : Vesuvius on 14 December 2006, 18:11
My Blog
I just wanted to remind everyone to check up on my blog every now and then as I post updates and developer information on there. Everything around the team has been going well and we are looking at having some nice screenshots out this month with a content filled Alpha around Christmas. Link to the blog: Etherea Blog
Posted by : Vesuvius on 03 October 2006, 18:30
Martin F
As many of you around the forums know, Martin F is our senior character artist and does most of the organic modeling for the game.
While I was away Martin F entered into the GreenEyeGrafix low poly head modeling contest and took first place. Soon after GreenEyeGrafix conducted a small interview with Martin F that can be found here: Interview
Martin F has been one of the major developers around the team and I'd just like to take this chance to thank him.
Thank you all,
Vesuvius
Posted by : Vesuvius on 16 August 2006, 6:13
Newsletter: 7th Edition
I just sent out the 7th Edition of the newsletter, if you didn't recieve it be sure to sign up in the box to your right.
If you are still having any problems feel free to PM me on the forums with any questions you may have.
Thank you
Vesuvius
Posted by : Vesuvius on 14 August 2006, 7:33
Back
I'm in college now (Air Force Acad) but I have my laptop now and will be spending my free time working on EDG.
Everything looks great, site looks better, and there has been so much great work done by the team, I can't wait to show it off to you all.
Thanks,
Vesuvius
Posted by : Vesuvius on 08 August 2006, 15:16
Leaving for Awhile
As most of you know I'm 18 years old, which means I just graduated high school and it's time for me to go to college (university for you Europeans :p). I've been accepted into the United States Air Force Academy and tomorrow I get on the plane and head out there for Basic Training.
Basic Training will last for about 7 weeks and I will not have any contact outside of snail mail, so I'll be away from the game and team. Gelco is going to be leading up the team until I get back and keeping everything in order. He will also be mailing me letters to keep me updated on what is going on.
When I get out of Basic Training I'll be starting the college part of the school but will have access to a laptop and internet connection so I'll be back to normal.
I wish you all well and will see you in sometime in August.
Thank you,
Robert
Posted by : Vesuvius on 27 June 2006, 9:00
Etherea's Myspace!?
Yes you read it right, Etherea: Dark Genesis now has a myspace. Some of you may be screaming "WHY!"
To answer that question is simple, an indie game like Etherea: Dark Genesis' main problem will be advertising and getting into the main stream where most gamers will see it and be interested in playing. Myspace will be able to serve as a form of free advertising for the game.
So if you want to help out Etherea and you have a myspace be sure to friend us at www.myspace.com/ethereadg
Thanks!
Posted by : Vesuvius on 20 June 2006, 8:39
One Year Anniversary and a Big Surprise
One year ago today I started writing down the world of Etherea, setting up forums, and getting people onto the development team. It has been a long year but today Etherea: Dark Genesis is doing great with a strong and solid team of over twenty member and a ton of progress under the team's "belt."
In celebration of this one year anniversary of Etherea: Dark Genesis, the team has decided to move to a better gaming engine that will allow us more features and better graphics. I posted more about this in the dev announcements area of the forums and I will say more later on in a newsletter.
The changes are exciting and will allow us to provide the players with a better game, so as you can imagine the developers are just as excited as anyone else.
Best of luck!
Vesuvius
Posted by : Vesuvius on 15 June 2006, 7:23
Last Day for Alpha Applications
Today is the last day that you may apply for the June 20th Alpha Test. We've had an impressive number of applicatons so far and it'll be a tough choice to weed it down to five people for the initial test.
Not to worry though, anyone not chosen will almost more than certainly be chosen for the second or third Alpha Testing which hopefully will not be to long after the June 20th test.
Thank you for the applications and I hope to see you ingame!
Posted by : Vesuvius on 10 June 2006, 10:33
June Alpha Test
It is finally time for us to bring in a few community members to help test some of Etherea: Dark Genesis' core systems.
If you are interested in joining the test please go to the Announcements forum on our community forums (www.etherea-dg.com/forums)
Thank you!
Posted by : Vesuvius on 01 June 2006, 12:09
10,000 Forum Posts
Today the 10,000th forum post was made on the Community Forums (Public and Developer forums).
It's nice to see so many posts on the forums by the developers and community members alike and I believe it speaks a lot for what is going on in the forums.
Thank you to the community and here's to the next 10,000!
Posted by : Vesuvius on 12 May 2006, 12:14
Newsletter #4 and Model Shots
Etherea: Dark Genesis Newsletter #4 was sent out a few days ago and to anyone who missed it you may find it in the Etherea Information forum in the community forums.
Also please notice there is a new section on the website named "Model Shots." In this section there are a few of the many models we have completed and are ready for input into the game.
Hope you all will enjoy them!
Posted by : Vesuvius on 07 May 2006, 13:20
My Blog
I figured it was time for me to start up a blog like most other game developers.
The blog has some information about me and I'll try to update it often with information about the game development side that the readers don't get to see, more updates and the like which will leave the news section for more NEWS related articles.
The link is http://ethereadg.blogspot.com
Feel free to check it out and pass the link on.
Vesuvius
Posted by : Vesuvius on 28 April 2006, 20:06
Update
It's been awhile since I've posted an update or sent out a newsletter so I figured that I would tell you all that a newsletter is being built and will be sent out in a few days.
The team's been very busy creating monsters, texturing, animating, etc. Huge progress has been made these last few months and things are looking great around the team...we are still aiming for, and on track for, the Alpha Testing in May-June.
The newsletter that will be coming in a few days should include some more information as well as some more wallpapers and art for Etherea fans. If you haven't signed up yet for the newsletter be sure to do so to the right of this news article.
Thank you,
Vesuvius
Posted by : Vesuvius on 15 April 2006, 10:00
Interview with OGrank.com
For awhile now I've been working close with OGrank.com on an interview about the game and development team behind Etherea: Dark Genesis.
I'm please to announce that they have published the interview along with another wallpaper that will be available soon and some concept art of one of the monsters, Kobold, in Etherea.
Thank you to OGrank.com for the chance to participate in the interview and here is the link to the interview.
Full Interview
Posted by : Vesuvius on 09 March 2006, 12:24
Interview with BetaDogs.com
I just finished an interview with BetaDog from www.BetaDogs.com and they have published it on their site.
The picture from the interview will later be on the site as a downloadable wallpaper. I just want to thank BetaDog and the community for the fine interview and I hope everyone finds it to have some good information about the game.
Link to the Interview
Also the full interview can be found in the Etherea Information forum.
Thank you!
Posted by : Vesuvius on 08 March 2006, 12:22
Happy Valentine's Day!
First of all I would like to wish you all a Happy Valentine's Day!
It has come to my attention through page view counts and the amount of people signing up to the newsletter that the Etherea: Dark Genesis community is growing. In the spirit of Valentine's Day I'd like to "share the love" and give the community some information about some of the features advertised for Etherea: Dark Genesis.
I asked "Gelco", the lead programmer, to write up some information for the community to read and here is what he has to say:
"Guilds and Guild Wars:
All players have the opportunity to make or join a guild. To make the guild you must have a guild hall as well as fulfilling several other requirements. Guild halls are the center of the guild. They allow you to manage your guild and act as a battleground for guild wars. Crafting guilds can use them as a safe place and base for their crafting operations.
Guild wars are encouraged in Etherea. Two guilds can declare war on each other and certain rules will be introduced to allow voluntary pvp between the two sides. Guilds can set victory conditions or none at all. Either both sides can sign a peace treaty or one guild can win to end the guild war. Wars offer different bonuses and excitement for players and guild halls will have upgradeable defences and npc patrols to keep your hall safe from minor attacks.
Houses and Shopping:
All players are allowed a house in the main towns. These are designed as safe places to log out in, decorate if you wish, and host small gatherings. Shopping centers are also available in towns to allow crafting players a place to put a vendor up and sell their goods to the people of the town.
Player Events:
One of the major things I look for in a game is player events. We hope to provide the tools to encourage people’s imagination to run wild. Items such as event stones will be available (event stones are given to players and at a certain time when activated will take you directly to the event).
Player Cities:
Although a lot of the details haven’t been fully worked out for player cities we would like to include them. Player cities will be designed for powerful guilds or groups of guilds to come together and form a display of their wealth and power. Several unique structures will be available to city builders including buildings purely designed for player events. Please note though that like guild halls player cities are considered a war zone and can be attacked.
Plans for the future:
Currently the game is coming along nicely. With the recent additions to the team we are getting faster at building things up. I would like to get some beta testers on board within a few months so keep you eyes out for information on that. We also intend to keep updating the website, manual and forums with current information and hopefully soon a few in game screenshots.
- Gelco"
Well that's all for now, I hope you all enjoy your Valentine's Day and have a great week!
Posted by : Vesuvius on 14 February 2006, 16:31
New Concept Art Up
In the concept art section there are now three new concept art pieces:
The Human
The colored version of the Panterran
A Demon
Check them out and I hope you all enjoy ^_^
Posted by : Vesuvius on 29 January 2006, 9:24
Updated Site and Info
As you have noticed we have a new site layout and more information posted on the website. You can now find concept art, more features, and more information about the game and the four races.
Soon we'll be updating the site even more to include screenshots of the game as well as more information and a new layout for the community forums.
Please keep checking back as we hope to have a ton of great things out from the Etherea: Dark Genesis team for the month of February.
Thank you,
Vesuvius
Posted by : Vesuvius on 28 January 2006, 13:22
Site Update
Soon we will be updating the website with a new template, that looks much better than the current, with updated FAQ's, Features, and more.
The website will also have some basic screenshots that will show off some of the terrain and areas, but not character models at this time...sorry guys.
Also, we've had a few new people join the team that will help to speed up the game making progress. That means that we are not only on track but moving with good speed in the game's production!
I'll let you guys know more when I do, wish you all well...
Vesuvius
Posted by : Vesuvius on 15 January 2006, 10:34
Happy New Year!
Happy New Year everybody! I hope the year brings good fortune for all of you and that you all of you remain safe.
Etherea: Dark Gensis will be launching beta later this year and invites will given out via the mailing list (so be sure you are signed up). Other than that I hope to have screenshots of some of the places around the Etherea world as well as more information for you later this month.
Thank you all and again, Happy New Year!
Posted by : Vesuvius on 31 December 2005, 22:55
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas everybody from the Etherea: Dark Genesis team. We will all be back around the forums and in full swing come the first of the year.
Until then everyone have a great Christmas, happy holidays, and Happy New Years!
Posted by : Vesuvius on 25 December 2005, 16:43
What are your top ten questions about Etherea: Dark Genesis?
Do you have some questions concerning Etherea: Dark Genesis?
If so be sure to head over to the general chat forums and post your top ten questions in the appropriate thread.
Before you post your questions be sure to read the FAQ and the interview about Etherea: Dark Genesis that was conducted by gameogre.com to avoid repeat questions. You may find this interview on the Etherea Information forum.
When a good list of questions is established I will go through and prepare the answers to be released to the community.
Thank you for your time and be sure to get your questions answered!
Happy Holidays,
Vesuvius
Posted by : Vesuvius on 06 December 2005, 9:41
Meet the team #1
I wanted to write to the community about one of the members on the Etherea: Dark Genesis team so I could tell you about his webcomic, but he gave me such a great idea that I'd like to turn it into a sort of theme and let the community meet our whole team.
So at random times, whenever I get the material and think it's enough, I'm going to write about one of our team members and tell about him, his contributions so far, and anything he has going on the side.
This week I'll be introducing Okram, our crafting developer. He's been on the team since the beginning and has been a great help.
So far Okram has given us many great ideas on the crafting side of the game and even written up the documentation for our economy. (He plans to help program it as well when we reach that stage of development.)
Some of you all may remember Okram from SWG, he was Armorsmith Corrospondent. I do say "was" because in a fit of anger against the lack of communication and understanding between the developers and the players he asked the players to mass message the developers and tell them how they felt before the developers ruined the game. Upon doing so Okram was "released" from the corrospondent program against the wanting of just about every SWG player. (For the record the game went downhill after that with the CU and then the NGE but we won't bash the game.)
As I mentioned before, Okram is also the creator of a webcomic in his spare time called "Roomies-The Webcomic"
While the art is not the best in the world (there's a reason okram is a crafting developer and not an art developer) he does a pretty good job telling a joke, and has recently managed to hit the 100 comic mark.
The comic is pretty hillarious and shows a lot of potential so whenever you can head on over there at http://www.roomiescomic.com
That ends this times "Meet the team"
Thank you for tuning in and have a great weekend!
Posted by : Vesuvius on 26 November 2005, 20:05
Happy Turkey Day!!
Just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving and I hope that you all have a safe journey to and from where you are going. According to the server it won't be Thanksgiving for another hour but it's 12:04am where I live so it counts.
(Be sure to eat lots of pie ^_^)
Happy Thanksgiving from the Etherea: Dark Genesis Staff!!!
Posted by : Vesuvius on 23 November 2005, 23:02
Tuesday Teaser #5
Today's Tuesday Teaser will be the last for awhile, this is a choice that I made based on the content of future "teasers." I would like for all of the teasers to be not only fun but informative and while we are still very early in development I would like to back off on a weekly teaser. However, I will post updates as well as random bits of information and pictures to keep the community on their toes.
That being said let's get on to this week's Tuesday Teaser!
This week's Tuesday Teaser is a major one since it will be the last for awhile, I am going to release one of the races that is not known yet. So far the Elf and Human have been released to the public and two remained a secret to let suspense build. Well...here it is:
The Minotaur
The Minotaur is a beast of legend in Greek mythology that originated when the queen of Minos, Pasiphaë, was forced into falling in love with a prized white bull of the king by the god Poseidan after the king had angered him. What came from the love between the queen and the bull was the Minotaur.
In Greek Mythology there was only this one Minotaur that existed and it was a male, never was a female minotaur even though of.
However, since this game is not only a Fantasy but a Myth based game the developers have decided to make the Minotaurs one of the player races. For obvious reasons we are making it so that in the Etherea world there are not only multiple Minotaurs, but female Minotaurs as well.
Since there is no pictures of what a female Minotaur would have looked like our concept artists are working on what the female Minotaur will look like in the Etherea world. Even though it is subject to change, here is what they have so far: Female Minotaur
The obvious debate right now is if the female Minotaur should look more "bovine" to fit the look or if she should look a little more humanistic like in the picture so that the female players will find them appealing enough to play.
Again, the female Minotaur is subject to change.
In Etherea: Dark Genesis the Minotaurs will be a very intelligent race that has a strong love for knowledge. Their thirst for knowledge and expanding their culture causes them to think poorly of lesser intelligent races, which of course causes much conflict with other races. However, the Minotaurs are a very strong society and they can be a very peaceful people, especially with the right leadership from their councils.
That concludes this week's Tuesday Teaser, I hope it was enough to entertain many of you. Thanks again!
Posted by : Vesuvius on 01 November 2005, 20:03
Tuesday Teaser #4
This week's Tuesday Teaser is more comical than anything. "H" (Hveðrungr)produced some unique sounds for the sfx department of our development team. Next week I'll have a better TT up to make up for this one, but I figured the community could use a laugh.
(Thanks "H")
Taken from H's post on the developer forums:
Yesterday, in a fit of drunken infantile playfulness, I went ahead and recorded the following. To my defence, I have to state that none of the following effects, even if they do sound like it, have anything to do with me throwing up.
These are by no means final, but I'd like some feedback here, as well as any thoughts on how they sound (except for the occasional noise and static. My equipment isn't exactly SOTA).
I used some of the lines I posted in the Class threads, and I honestly don't know what I did to the female monk recording to make it sound like it does. PCs
Female Monk
Male Monk
Male Druid
Elf agrees
Elf declines
Minotaur agrees
Wounded Minotaur
Male Ranger
Male Thief laughs
Male Thief
Male Thief
Male Thief
Male Thief
Monsters&NPRs
Dragon
Dragon
Dragon
Giant agrees
Angry Giant
Happy Giant
Giant Battlecry
Mighty Roar
Puny Roar
Female Monk
Female Monk
Troll
Troll
That's enough for this week, like I said that was meant to be comical, although some are good, and next week I'll have an extended Tuesday Teaser to actually give more game information.
Posted by : Vesuvius on 25 October 2005, 8:11
Tuesday Teaser #2
Today's Tuesday Teaser will be three concept art pictures. One was presented in the interview with gameogre.com but it was fitted to the page and didn't look that good.
So that you may see the pictures in their full sizes and quality; here are the links!
A picture of our Archer class (Yes I'm revealing that we have an archer class.)
Archeress
Our Elementalist Class (*reveals that we have an Elementalist Class*)
Elementalist
And our Paladin in full gear! (And of course we have a Paladin class!)
Paladin
That's the Tuesday Teaser for this week!
Posted by : Vesuvius on 11 October 2005, 8:00
Interview with GameOgre.com
Recently I participated in an interview with www.GameOgre.com and today they've published it.
I just want to thank GameOgre.com for the opportunity and to thank the community for continously following the game.
(As many of you forum members will recognize, they took questions from the "Top 10 Questions" thread in the General Chat ^_^)
Link to the Interview
The full interview will also be in the Etherea Infromation forum.
Thanks!
Posted by : Vesuvius on 10 October 2005, 8:35
Tuesday Teaser #1
This week Etherea: Dark Genesis will be entering Alpha, the point where the developers actually get to start building things in the game instead of on paper, and I thought it would be good to start a "Tuesday Teaser."
Every Tuesday from here on out I'll try to post something, classes will be the first things, that will offer information about the game.
This week's Tuesday Teaser is the release of the Ranger Class and some information about it:
Ranger (Overview Estimates) Offense 5/10 Defense 5/10 Crowd Control 2/10 Healing 1/10
Primary Weapon : Swords Sub Weapon : Crossbow
- the Ranger is skilled in both melee combat as well as ranged fighting. Able to use a crossbow for long ranged attacks, often the ranger chooses to pull in their opponent with a few well placed bolts from the bow only to then finish off their foe with their sword.
- the Ranger’s abilities are what separates this class from the rest. Designed to survive long amounts of time out in the harsh wilderness, the Ranger possess abilities that no other classes possess. The Ranger is able to apply Musk’s to help cover their scent from creatures, thus reducing their encounter level. They are also able to Harvest Hides, Meat’s, Bone’s and even things like Horn’s, Fangs, Talon’s and Organ’s at higher skill levels.
- The ability to Track is a skill that is, at it’s core, what a Ranger does. By using their keen senses and knowledge of their surrounding environment, the Ranger is able to Track creatures in the area. This allows the Ranger to hunt down specific creature types. However, the Ranger also possesses the knowledge of Identifying the various attributes of creatures.
ROLE OVERVIEW In general, the Ranger is a well balanced class that is of average expectations. Though designed to be a loner class, a Ranger can just as easily find a place inside of a group that is looking to hunt specific types of creatures, due to the Ranger’s Tracking and Identifying abilities. Their Musk skill allows them to not only hide their own scent, but other players as well. When exploring Etherea, make sure to take along a Ranger, or others may never find your body.
Some possible attacks: Quick Swipe - A quick swipe upwards that inflicts a small modified amount of damage but with great accuracy and speed. Higher levels may also include a swipe back down for increased damage.
Downward Spiral- An attack that can be done once knocked down. The attack not only relieves the KD status but causes a good amount of damage on the targeted opponent. If not knocked down the attack will do a normal amount of damage as the ranger strikes downwards onto the opponent. (A spin and slash)
Posted by : Vesuvius on 06 October 2005, 4:12
UpdateIt's been awhile since I posted due to a lot that has been going on around the team, but no worries we are all still around and pumping out new models, textures, and animations every day.
Toth and Martin F have put together some amazing work that we'll be updating the website with soon that I'm sure will make you all feel really good about the quality of material in Etherea: Dark Genesis.
We had hit a lot of bumps in the road switching game engines and we are still looking for a skilled programmer but I believe some help will be on the way soon to put us back on the road and push out an Alpha Test to the community and the game sometime this year.
I am still surprised about how many emails I still get asking about the game and support from the wonderful community we have here, thank you for that and we will continue to work hard for you.
Thank you,
Robert "Vesuvius" Lee
Posted by : Vesuvius on 12 March 2007, 14:26
End of the Year UpdateThe end of the year update is now published on the Etherea: Dark Genesis Development Blog, please have a look and leave any comments you'd like.
Click Here!
Posted by : Vesuvius on 14 December 2006, 18:11
My BlogI just wanted to remind everyone to check up on my blog every now and then as I post updates and developer information on there. Everything around the team has been going well and we are looking at having some nice screenshots out this month with a content filled Alpha around Christmas. Link to the blog: Etherea Blog
Posted by : Vesuvius on 03 October 2006, 18:30
Martin FAs many of you around the forums know, Martin F is our senior character artist and does most of the organic modeling for the game.
While I was away Martin F entered into the GreenEyeGrafix low poly head modeling contest and took first place. Soon after GreenEyeGrafix conducted a small interview with Martin F that can be found here: Interview
Martin F has been one of the major developers around the team and I'd just like to take this chance to thank him.
Thank you all,
Vesuvius
Posted by : Vesuvius on 16 August 2006, 6:13
Newsletter: 7th EditionI just sent out the 7th Edition of the newsletter, if you didn't recieve it be sure to sign up in the box to your right.
If you are still having any problems feel free to PM me on the forums with any questions you may have.
Thank you
Vesuvius
Posted by : Vesuvius on 14 August 2006, 7:33
BackI'm in college now (Air Force Acad) but I have my laptop now and will be spending my free time working on EDG.
Everything looks great, site looks better, and there has been so much great work done by the team, I can't wait to show it off to you all.
Thanks,
Vesuvius
Posted by : Vesuvius on 08 August 2006, 15:16
Leaving for AwhileAs most of you know I'm 18 years old, which means I just graduated high school and it's time for me to go to college (university for you Europeans :p). I've been accepted into the United States Air Force Academy and tomorrow I get on the plane and head out there for Basic Training.
Basic Training will last for about 7 weeks and I will not have any contact outside of snail mail, so I'll be away from the game and team. Gelco is going to be leading up the team until I get back and keeping everything in order. He will also be mailing me letters to keep me updated on what is going on.
When I get out of Basic Training I'll be starting the college part of the school but will have access to a laptop and internet connection so I'll be back to normal.
I wish you all well and will see you in sometime in August.
Thank you,
Robert
Posted by : Vesuvius on 27 June 2006, 9:00
Etherea's Myspace!?Yes you read it right, Etherea: Dark Genesis now has a myspace. Some of you may be screaming "WHY!"
To answer that question is simple, an indie game like Etherea: Dark Genesis' main problem will be advertising and getting into the main stream where most gamers will see it and be interested in playing. Myspace will be able to serve as a form of free advertising for the game.
So if you want to help out Etherea and you have a myspace be sure to friend us at www.myspace.com/ethereadg
Thanks!
Posted by : Vesuvius on 20 June 2006, 8:39
One Year Anniversary and a Big SurpriseOne year ago today I started writing down the world of Etherea, setting up forums, and getting people onto the development team. It has been a long year but today Etherea: Dark Genesis is doing great with a strong and solid team of over twenty member and a ton of progress under the team's "belt."
In celebration of this one year anniversary of Etherea: Dark Genesis, the team has decided to move to a better gaming engine that will allow us more features and better graphics. I posted more about this in the dev announcements area of the forums and I will say more later on in a newsletter.
The changes are exciting and will allow us to provide the players with a better game, so as you can imagine the developers are just as excited as anyone else.
Best of luck!
Vesuvius
Posted by : Vesuvius on 15 June 2006, 7:23
Last Day for Alpha ApplicationsToday is the last day that you may apply for the June 20th Alpha Test. We've had an impressive number of applicatons so far and it'll be a tough choice to weed it down to five people for the initial test.
Not to worry though, anyone not chosen will almost more than certainly be chosen for the second or third Alpha Testing which hopefully will not be to long after the June 20th test.
Thank you for the applications and I hope to see you ingame!
Posted by : Vesuvius on 10 June 2006, 10:33
June Alpha TestIt is finally time for us to bring in a few community members to help test some of Etherea: Dark Genesis' core systems.
If you are interested in joining the test please go to the Announcements forum on our community forums (www.etherea-dg.com/forums)
Thank you!
Posted by : Vesuvius on 01 June 2006, 12:09
10,000 Forum PostsToday the 10,000th forum post was made on the Community Forums (Public and Developer forums).
It's nice to see so many posts on the forums by the developers and community members alike and I believe it speaks a lot for what is going on in the forums.
Thank you to the community and here's to the next 10,000!
Posted by : Vesuvius on 12 May 2006, 12:14
Newsletter #4 and Model ShotsEtherea: Dark Genesis Newsletter #4 was sent out a few days ago and to anyone who missed it you may find it in the Etherea Information forum in the community forums.
Also please notice there is a new section on the website named "Model Shots." In this section there are a few of the many models we have completed and are ready for input into the game.
Hope you all will enjoy them!
Posted by : Vesuvius on 07 May 2006, 13:20
My BlogI figured it was time for me to start up a blog like most other game developers.
The blog has some information about me and I'll try to update it often with information about the game development side that the readers don't get to see, more updates and the like which will leave the news section for more NEWS related articles.
The link is http://ethereadg.blogspot.com
Feel free to check it out and pass the link on.
Vesuvius
Posted by : Vesuvius on 28 April 2006, 20:06
UpdateIt's been awhile since I've posted an update or sent out a newsletter so I figured that I would tell you all that a newsletter is being built and will be sent out in a few days.
The team's been very busy creating monsters, texturing, animating, etc. Huge progress has been made these last few months and things are looking great around the team...we are still aiming for, and on track for, the Alpha Testing in May-June.
The newsletter that will be coming in a few days should include some more information as well as some more wallpapers and art for Etherea fans. If you haven't signed up yet for the newsletter be sure to do so to the right of this news article.
Thank you,
Vesuvius
Posted by : Vesuvius on 15 April 2006, 10:00
Interview with OGrank.comFor awhile now I've been working close with OGrank.com on an interview about the game and development team behind Etherea: Dark Genesis.
I'm please to announce that they have published the interview along with another wallpaper that will be available soon and some concept art of one of the monsters, Kobold, in Etherea.
Thank you to OGrank.com for the chance to participate in the interview and here is the link to the interview.
Full Interview
Posted by : Vesuvius on 09 March 2006, 12:24
Interview with BetaDogs.comI just finished an interview with BetaDog from www.BetaDogs.com and they have published it on their site.
The picture from the interview will later be on the site as a downloadable wallpaper. I just want to thank BetaDog and the community for the fine interview and I hope everyone finds it to have some good information about the game.
Link to the Interview
Also the full interview can be found in the Etherea Information forum.
Thank you!
Posted by : Vesuvius on 08 March 2006, 12:22
Happy Valentine's Day!First of all I would like to wish you all a Happy Valentine's Day!
It has come to my attention through page view counts and the amount of people signing up to the newsletter that the Etherea: Dark Genesis community is growing. In the spirit of Valentine's Day I'd like to "share the love" and give the community some information about some of the features advertised for Etherea: Dark Genesis.
I asked "Gelco", the lead programmer, to write up some information for the community to read and here is what he has to say:
"Guilds and Guild Wars:
All players have the opportunity to make or join a guild. To make the guild you must have a guild hall as well as fulfilling several other requirements. Guild halls are the center of the guild. They allow you to manage your guild and act as a battleground for guild wars. Crafting guilds can use them as a safe place and base for their crafting operations.
Guild wars are encouraged in Etherea. Two guilds can declare war on each other and certain rules will be introduced to allow voluntary pvp between the two sides. Guilds can set victory conditions or none at all. Either both sides can sign a peace treaty or one guild can win to end the guild war. Wars offer different bonuses and excitement for players and guild halls will have upgradeable defences and npc patrols to keep your hall safe from minor attacks.
Houses and Shopping:
All players are allowed a house in the main towns. These are designed as safe places to log out in, decorate if you wish, and host small gatherings. Shopping centers are also available in towns to allow crafting players a place to put a vendor up and sell their goods to the people of the town.
Player Events:
One of the major things I look for in a game is player events. We hope to provide the tools to encourage people’s imagination to run wild. Items such as event stones will be available (event stones are given to players and at a certain time when activated will take you directly to the event).
Player Cities:
Although a lot of the details haven’t been fully worked out for player cities we would like to include them. Player cities will be designed for powerful guilds or groups of guilds to come together and form a display of their wealth and power. Several unique structures will be available to city builders including buildings purely designed for player events. Please note though that like guild halls player cities are considered a war zone and can be attacked.
Plans for the future:
Currently the game is coming along nicely. With the recent additions to the team we are getting faster at building things up. I would like to get some beta testers on board within a few months so keep you eyes out for information on that. We also intend to keep updating the website, manual and forums with current information and hopefully soon a few in game screenshots.
- Gelco"
Well that's all for now, I hope you all enjoy your Valentine's Day and have a great week!
Posted by : Vesuvius on 14 February 2006, 16:31
New Concept Art UpIn the concept art section there are now three new concept art pieces:
The Human
The colored version of the Panterran
A Demon
Check them out and I hope you all enjoy ^_^
Posted by : Vesuvius on 29 January 2006, 9:24
Updated Site and InfoAs you have noticed we have a new site layout and more information posted on the website. You can now find concept art, more features, and more information about the game and the four races.
Soon we'll be updating the site even more to include screenshots of the game as well as more information and a new layout for the community forums.
Please keep checking back as we hope to have a ton of great things out from the Etherea: Dark Genesis team for the month of February.
Thank you,
Vesuvius
Posted by : Vesuvius on 28 January 2006, 13:22
Site UpdateSoon we will be updating the website with a new template, that looks much better than the current, with updated FAQ's, Features, and more.
The website will also have some basic screenshots that will show off some of the terrain and areas, but not character models at this time...sorry guys.
Also, we've had a few new people join the team that will help to speed up the game making progress. That means that we are not only on track but moving with good speed in the game's production!
I'll let you guys know more when I do, wish you all well...
Vesuvius
Posted by : Vesuvius on 15 January 2006, 10:34
Happy New Year!Happy New Year everybody! I hope the year brings good fortune for all of you and that you all of you remain safe.
Etherea: Dark Gensis will be launching beta later this year and invites will given out via the mailing list (so be sure you are signed up). Other than that I hope to have screenshots of some of the places around the Etherea world as well as more information for you later this month.
Thank you all and again, Happy New Year!
Posted by : Vesuvius on 31 December 2005, 22:55
Merry Christmas!Merry Christmas everybody from the Etherea: Dark Genesis team. We will all be back around the forums and in full swing come the first of the year.
Until then everyone have a great Christmas, happy holidays, and Happy New Years!
Posted by : Vesuvius on 25 December 2005, 16:43
What are your top ten questions about Etherea: Dark Genesis?Do you have some questions concerning Etherea: Dark Genesis?
If so be sure to head over to the general chat forums and post your top ten questions in the appropriate thread.
Before you post your questions be sure to read the FAQ and the interview about Etherea: Dark Genesis that was conducted by gameogre.com to avoid repeat questions. You may find this interview on the Etherea Information forum.
When a good list of questions is established I will go through and prepare the answers to be released to the community.
Thank you for your time and be sure to get your questions answered!
Happy Holidays,
Vesuvius
Posted by : Vesuvius on 06 December 2005, 9:41
Meet the team #1I wanted to write to the community about one of the members on the Etherea: Dark Genesis team so I could tell you about his webcomic, but he gave me such a great idea that I'd like to turn it into a sort of theme and let the community meet our whole team.
So at random times, whenever I get the material and think it's enough, I'm going to write about one of our team members and tell about him, his contributions so far, and anything he has going on the side.
This week I'll be introducing Okram, our crafting developer. He's been on the team since the beginning and has been a great help.
So far Okram has given us many great ideas on the crafting side of the game and even written up the documentation for our economy. (He plans to help program it as well when we reach that stage of development.)
Some of you all may remember Okram from SWG, he was Armorsmith Corrospondent. I do say "was" because in a fit of anger against the lack of communication and understanding between the developers and the players he asked the players to mass message the developers and tell them how they felt before the developers ruined the game. Upon doing so Okram was "released" from the corrospondent program against the wanting of just about every SWG player. (For the record the game went downhill after that with the CU and then the NGE but we won't bash the game.)
As I mentioned before, Okram is also the creator of a webcomic in his spare time called "Roomies-The Webcomic"
While the art is not the best in the world (there's a reason okram is a crafting developer and not an art developer) he does a pretty good job telling a joke, and has recently managed to hit the 100 comic mark.
The comic is pretty hillarious and shows a lot of potential so whenever you can head on over there at http://www.roomiescomic.com
That ends this times "Meet the team"
Thank you for tuning in and have a great weekend!
Posted by : Vesuvius on 26 November 2005, 20:05
Happy Turkey Day!!Just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving and I hope that you all have a safe journey to and from where you are going. According to the server it won't be Thanksgiving for another hour but it's 12:04am where I live so it counts.
(Be sure to eat lots of pie ^_^)
Happy Thanksgiving from the Etherea: Dark Genesis Staff!!!
Posted by : Vesuvius on 23 November 2005, 23:02
Tuesday Teaser #5Today's Tuesday Teaser will be the last for awhile, this is a choice that I made based on the content of future "teasers." I would like for all of the teasers to be not only fun but informative and while we are still very early in development I would like to back off on a weekly teaser. However, I will post updates as well as random bits of information and pictures to keep the community on their toes.
That being said let's get on to this week's Tuesday Teaser!
This week's Tuesday Teaser is a major one since it will be the last for awhile, I am going to release one of the races that is not known yet. So far the Elf and Human have been released to the public and two remained a secret to let suspense build. Well...here it is:
The Minotaur
The Minotaur is a beast of legend in Greek mythology that originated when the queen of Minos, Pasiphaë, was forced into falling in love with a prized white bull of the king by the god Poseidan after the king had angered him. What came from the love between the queen and the bull was the Minotaur.
In Greek Mythology there was only this one Minotaur that existed and it was a male, never was a female minotaur even though of.
However, since this game is not only a Fantasy but a Myth based game the developers have decided to make the Minotaurs one of the player races. For obvious reasons we are making it so that in the Etherea world there are not only multiple Minotaurs, but female Minotaurs as well.
Since there is no pictures of what a female Minotaur would have looked like our concept artists are working on what the female Minotaur will look like in the Etherea world. Even though it is subject to change, here is what they have so far: Female Minotaur
The obvious debate right now is if the female Minotaur should look more "bovine" to fit the look or if she should look a little more humanistic like in the picture so that the female players will find them appealing enough to play.
Again, the female Minotaur is subject to change.
In Etherea: Dark Genesis the Minotaurs will be a very intelligent race that has a strong love for knowledge. Their thirst for knowledge and expanding their culture causes them to think poorly of lesser intelligent races, which of course causes much conflict with other races. However, the Minotaurs are a very strong society and they can be a very peaceful people, especially with the right leadership from their councils.
That concludes this week's Tuesday Teaser, I hope it was enough to entertain many of you. Thanks again!
Posted by : Vesuvius on 01 November 2005, 20:03
Tuesday Teaser #4This week's Tuesday Teaser is more comical than anything. "H" (Hveðrungr)produced some unique sounds for the sfx department of our development team. Next week I'll have a better TT up to make up for this one, but I figured the community could use a laugh.
(Thanks "H")
Taken from H's post on the developer forums:
Yesterday, in a fit of drunken infantile playfulness, I went ahead and recorded the following. To my defence, I have to state that none of the following effects, even if they do sound like it, have anything to do with me throwing up.
These are by no means final, but I'd like some feedback here, as well as any thoughts on how they sound (except for the occasional noise and static. My equipment isn't exactly SOTA).
I used some of the lines I posted in the Class threads, and I honestly don't know what I did to the female monk recording to make it sound like it does. PCs
Female Monk
Male Monk
Male Druid
Elf agrees
Elf declines
Minotaur agrees
Wounded Minotaur
Male Ranger
Male Thief laughs
Male Thief
Male Thief
Male Thief
Male Thief
Monsters&NPRs
Dragon
Dragon
Dragon
Giant agrees
Angry Giant
Happy Giant
Giant Battlecry
Mighty Roar
Puny Roar
Female Monk
Female Monk
Troll
Troll
That's enough for this week, like I said that was meant to be comical, although some are good, and next week I'll have an extended Tuesday Teaser to actually give more game information.
Posted by : Vesuvius on 25 October 2005, 8:11
Tuesday Teaser #2Today's Tuesday Teaser will be three concept art pictures. One was presented in the interview with gameogre.com but it was fitted to the page and didn't look that good.
So that you may see the pictures in their full sizes and quality; here are the links!
A picture of our Archer class (Yes I'm revealing that we have an archer class.)
Archeress
Our Elementalist Class (*reveals that we have an Elementalist Class*)
Elementalist
And our Paladin in full gear! (And of course we have a Paladin class!)
Paladin
That's the Tuesday Teaser for this week!
Posted by : Vesuvius on 11 October 2005, 8:00
Interview with GameOgre.comRecently I participated in an interview with www.GameOgre.com and today they've published it.
I just want to thank GameOgre.com for the opportunity and to thank the community for continously following the game.
(As many of you forum members will recognize, they took questions from the "Top 10 Questions" thread in the General Chat ^_^)
Link to the Interview
The full interview will also be in the Etherea Infromation forum.
Thanks!
Posted by : Vesuvius on 10 October 2005, 8:35
Tuesday Teaser #1This week Etherea: Dark Genesis will be entering Alpha, the point where the developers actually get to start building things in the game instead of on paper, and I thought it would be good to start a "Tuesday Teaser."
Every Tuesday from here on out I'll try to post something, classes will be the first things, that will offer information about the game.
This week's Tuesday Teaser is the release of the Ranger Class and some information about it:
Ranger (Overview Estimates) Offense 5/10 Defense 5/10 Crowd Control 2/10 Healing 1/10
Primary Weapon : Swords Sub Weapon : Crossbow
- the Ranger is skilled in both melee combat as well as ranged fighting. Able to use a crossbow for long ranged attacks, often the ranger chooses to pull in their opponent with a few well placed bolts from the bow only to then finish off their foe with their sword.
- the Ranger’s abilities are what separates this class from the rest. Designed to survive long amounts of time out in the harsh wilderness, the Ranger possess abilities that no other classes possess. The Ranger is able to apply Musk’s to help cover their scent from creatures, thus reducing their encounter level. They are also able to Harvest Hides, Meat’s, Bone’s and even things like Horn’s, Fangs, Talon’s and Organ’s at higher skill levels.
- The ability to Track is a skill that is, at it’s core, what a Ranger does. By using their keen senses and knowledge of their surrounding environment, the Ranger is able to Track creatures in the area. This allows the Ranger to hunt down specific creature types. However, the Ranger also possesses the knowledge of Identifying the various attributes of creatures.
ROLE OVERVIEW In general, the Ranger is a well balanced class that is of average expectations. Though designed to be a loner class, a Ranger can just as easily find a place inside of a group that is looking to hunt specific types of creatures, due to the Ranger’s Tracking and Identifying abilities. Their Musk skill allows them to not only hide their own scent, but other players as well. When exploring Etherea, make sure to take along a Ranger, or others may never find your body.
Some possible attacks: Quick Swipe - A quick swipe upwards that inflicts a small modified amount of damage but with great accuracy and speed. Higher levels may also include a swipe back down for increased damage.
Downward Spiral- An attack that can be done once knocked down. The attack not only relieves the KD status but causes a good amount of damage on the targeted opponent. If not knocked down the attack will do a normal amount of damage as the ranger strikes downwards onto the opponent. (A spin and slash)
Posted by : Vesuvius on 06 October 2005, 4:12
