Shadowbane bears the battle scars of intrigue and drama that has surrounded the game over the past months. Although it emerged unscathed, the good news is it survived.

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According to his own statement, new Shadowbane designer Ashen Temper has "some big shoes to fill." This MMORPG, now being handled by Stray Bullet Games, has had some serious problems in the past, and a lot of uncertainty as its creator - the now defunct Wolfpack Studios - closed down and rumors started flying of Ubisoft discontinuing the game. Temper has some grand visions for Shadowbane. Recently, he talked about three of them.

The first involves player skill and PvP play. In most games, success seems to depend mostly on a character's skill, not necessarily the player's. Temper would like to change this. "Individuals who can identify a situation and react to it, adapting his or her tactics accordingly based on the enemy’s strengths: they’re using player skill," says Temper. He would like to see more emphasis on player tactics, not just the use of character skills.

To address these tactical situations, Temper wants to change the working of "buffs." Some need to last longer, and others should not last as long. Temper feels that buffs rob players of opportunities to make their own decisions, participating more actively in combat situations and strategies.

Finally, Temper wants to force players to pay more attention to the game screen rather than just pushing keystrokes. "Being aware of your surroundings is essential in combat," he says. "There are some current mechanics and features I consider 'crutches,' things that make auto pilot fighting too easy." Hopefully, engaging players more actively (and interactively) will discourage "botting," in which some unscrupulous (and usually bored) players use to "play" through the boring parts of games while they themselves are away from the computer.

Temper assures the community that any changes will be thoroughly tested before going live, and will not go live until they perform to expectations.

Temper says, "In the end, my goal is to make Shadowbane’s combat more interactive and fun. Some changes may seem drastic, but you have to look at them in the frame of what I am trying to accomplish...I would like to see a Shadowbane where the users with the best player skills are winning the fights, not the best typing or script skills."

Looks like all the fuss about Wolfpack Studios closing down and Shadowbane getting discontinued by Ubisoft is now reaching a turning point: The developers have announced the formation of a new company, Stray Bullet Games, which has been contracted by Ubisoft to ensure continued support for Shadowbane. So essentially, everything stays the same - only this time, Stray Bullet Games are working independently from the publisher. Players should expect a few changes, but "these changes will be transparent".

There have been no details on whether the contract merely includes keeping the game online, or also new content. Either way, Stray Bullet Games will also start work on a new, next-generation MMO title. It's not going to be a Shadowbane 2, however.

Note that the announcement from March making the title free to play will not be nullified by this (yet). So Shadowbane fans have a lot to thank for: not only is their game added to the rare occasions where the whole situation takes a turn for the better - they can also play it for free now.

In our last Shadowbane article, we left off a comment from Ubisoft's Jamie Borsai. Now, it's Shadowbane community manager Sean “Ashen Temper” Dahlberg's turn to give gamers a note.

He clarifies that even though the MMORPG's developer, Wolfpack Studios, had closed, there is still a glimmer of hope for players of the game. “...[C]ome tomorrow, Shadowbane will still be running and you'll still have Sachant and myself here to do what we do best. You will also see Jinx, who is new to the Shadowbane Team but an old member of the community itself.” Members of Wolfpack are reforming under a new group and will work with Ubisoft to usher in a new chapter in the Shadowbane saga.

Since Borsai said that “There is currently an official announcement in the works that will explain things at greater length and detail,” guess fans of the game just need to stay tuned for the latest about their favorite game. And you can surely trust QJ to keep you posted.

With the future of the MMORPG Shadowbane uncertain, there was hope today that development and support may continue.

Ubisoft's Jamie Borasi revealed yesterday that they are looking to relocate Wolfpack's employees (developers of Shadowbane) to a more central office, this way Ubisoft can concentrate more on game development where more resources are available. Although when commenting on Shadowbane itself, Borasi stated that "Shadowbane is currently free to play and will stay that way until at least May 15, 2006. Ubisoft will be sending customers more information as soon as it is available."

But the idea of Wolfpack employees moving to a central Ubisoft office does point out that Shadowbane still may have a long future ahead of itself.

Never give up, Shadowbane gamers!

The Shadowbane Emulator Project hopes to keep the MMORPG alive. Even though Wolfpack Studios (the developers of Shadowbane) is being closed down by their parent company, Ubisoft, the project website hopes to help gamers continue playing.

The site states that "we feel it's time to pick up the torch and bring Shadowbane's control into your hands! We're working to bring users a fully-functional Shadowbane server emulation program."

Still nothing official about what will happen to Shadowbane after Wolfpack closes its doors on May 15th, but rumors continue as to whether or not Ubisoft will make the game pay to play. Currently, Shadowbane is free to play.

The makers of Shadowbane have recently announced that they are bringing a new gaming world online. Her name? Braialla, the name of one of the game's "True Goddesses". I used to play a lot of this game, with the recent free gameplay and now a new server I have been scratching my head about re installing it... oh the wife would kill me.

The Shadowbane Team is proud to announce that we will bring a new world online today at 2pm EST named after the eldest of the True Goddesses.

Braialla will exist as a "clean" server: we will not allow any migration to it. Braialla will use the Vorringia mapset (the same used on Wrath and similiar to Vindication's with the exception that it will not contain the Factionholds). Braialla will follow the same guidelines and principles as the other North American and European production servers when pertaining to Mine and Siege Windows of Opportunity.

With that said, some existing server rules will seem very new on Braialla, especially to those who reside on Mourning. Braialla will be one of the first servers to fully experience the huge chessboard Throne of Oblivion added to the political and endgame in Shadowbane. Braialla, therefore, has a maximum amount of cities that can exist, and a hard limit to the number of guilds that can be a part of a Nation. Additionally, the server will be brand new: there will be no "Feature Character" gear or huge stockpiles of pre-crafting items.

Understandably, some members of the community are worried that a new server may impact other server populations. The Shadowbane Team will be keeping a watchful eye on this and will take appropriate actions if necessary. Plans involving server migrations, consolidations, and even other new servers, are being evaluated.

Ubisoft's MMORPG Shadowbane can now be played free of charge, much to the delight of players who have tried it, more so to those who want to try it but are not willing to shell out $13 per month. The move was slightly overshadowed by the manner in which the news came out. There was no official announcement but the subscription fee was scrapped from the billing statement.

 

What's the catch? Ubisoft would probably replace the income from subscription fees with in-game ads or expansion packs. In the meantime, just head on to the dark world of  Aerynth and continue with the conquest!

There is a serious error in the Shadowbane Billing System.... No wait can it be true.
Shadowbane is now completely free to play. So don't go calling tech support thinking there's error. This is not a free trail offer it is a permanent status. You can even create a new account and play for free. Just create a new ubi.com account and then Add a new subscription with that you will receive free access to Lands of Aerynth.

It almost makes you want to play again doesn't it?