​Soulforged is back!

While the original Soulforged (now referred to as Soulforged: The Prelude) server was taken down, the work didn't stop. I continued to work on a new version of the game engine that tackles and solves the big problems that the original had. The previous version was only really ever intended as a small prototype or Proof-of-Concept, the fact it carried on for this long and this far was wholly unexpected. The main issues with the engine was the very inefficient way that game updates were sent to the client as well as the main game loop running on the server, creating a hard constraint on how big the game could ever grow.

Starting toward the end of 2020, I created a new version of the game engine that tackles these issues. By getting rid of the main game loop entirely in favor of event-driven architecture, switching to MongoDB as the storage mechanism and re-engineering how the server talks to the client to cut down on clutter and provide faster responses. I also decided to commit to this project working on it full-time, as previously it was just a hobby that'd work on on the side, next to my day job at the time.

Just recently the very first version (early pre-alpha) of the game was made available to the public and the initial feedback and metrics look very promising.

Pricing

There is one important change that I really need to mention, compared to the original and that's the intended monetization plan for the game. The original was completely free to play, no monetization of any kind and it stayed that was all the way till the very last day of the game server.

This new version will however have a price attached to it in a form of a subscription. I'm making a commitment that this will be the only way the game itself is monetized, so no other payments will be included.

In the meantime I'm also accepting Patreon donations, which are greatly appreciated, and which help me continue developing the game until the first full release that'll include the subscription.