It seems the unattainable achievements have been removed from Steam! Never again will Master Miner taunt me.
Honestly, that alone happening so quickly has already given me a favorable view of this acquisition. All we're really missing now is an "undecorated window" checkbox so I don't need to guide people through using extra.txt to run the game in Not Full Screen mode.
Sadly, a whole bunch of Steam achievements also lost their timestamps in the process. So much for being able to see when I first reached the rescue camp.
Roarmulus Twins achievement is the only boss one with the timestamp still attached. Consistency would have been nice.
I'm still able to see my Steam achievement timestamps
http://steamcommunity.com/id/Ultimaximus/stats/SpiralKnights?tab=achievements
What can we expect as new content for the far future? Now that this game is free from Sega, that's got to mean a lot less pressure for updates, lore continuity, and no more costume box stagnation, right?
Its been a long time. I cant wait for the new content.
Im comin home
Will the game's credits be updated in-game & on the Wiki? I took a look in the credits page in the Wiki & noticed it's outdated. Hope you, Hera, or Clotho can take time to update it to reflect the updated credits list.
Will we see more Expansion Missions soon? It's been long since we've had a new one.
Will we see new additions to Blast Network? We haven't seen some new maps, power-ups or new options & such. Hope GH can take time to even make some new additions to that mode.
Oh. Just a bit off-topic on this, but... SEGA just announced today they're shutting down their mobile game, Sonic Runners, in 2 months from now.
So I have 3 questions.
1) Will unique battle sprite reskins have a reskin to their abilities.
2) Will permanent gremlin disguise be introduced at some point. (I really need it and so does my gun pup :/)
3) Are promos going to be reintroduced in more friendly way other than just pure money demanding boxes (or cr demanding boxes in AH), like throw them as a seriously rare items in the casino wheels, a very rare outcome.
I didn't expect this. I haven't been on this forum, or even this game in a long, long time, and was just stopping by after finding the music from the game in my library. If they are coming back and adding content, I might have to jump back in.
I am superbly glad to see Spiral Knights will live on, it's one of my favorite games.
I apologize for necroing this, but Hera closed some threads without answering the relevant questions.
http://forums.spiralknights.com/en/node/115044
http://forums.spiralknights.com/en/node/115107
Perhaps she would like to answer these questions, now that they are in the preferred location?
Wasnt Grey Haven's purpose to keep OOO games up and running?
If so i dont think we need further clarification "No-More-Starlight".
Im also quite sure that Grey Havens does indeed own the IP.
I think that the original posters would like an official response and that you can't actually answer these questions.
No answers. Told us to post in this thread SIX days after one of those two threads were created.
Well, i guess they are trying to cut down on the number of threads due to the high activity of these foru- oh wait. Nevermind.
We have advised before in announcements that Spiral Knights is now under the control of Grey Havens - see the announcement thread here. There are no plans to close the game down, and Cronus also posted in this thread that we do have staff actively working on the game here. We have also recently replaced the old logos in the forums and elsewhere with our new Grey Havens logo to reflect the changeover. I hope that reassures everyone, but do please also remember we are a small team so we can't always respond as swiftly as we would like.
Nothing new here. Now, when someone repeats these questions in one week, please dont make a fuss about it again okay?
- There are no plans to close the game down
Ty
EDIT: Oh and I've also hit the spending limit apparently. Still waiting for a reply on raising it :x
@Veridiandynamics I created that thread, well, because no other thread touched this issue?
@Hera thanks for clearing this up!
This could be great news but all depends on what the team is wiling to put in it. This game has always had potential; but it's possible that the last team who was running the show just didn't see it and therefor had no positive vision for it - moreover clearly the case! You guys understand, listening to the players is not the key to making this game great (again?). I think I have seen this game go in a lot of different directions that made it "odd" to play, the theam was changing - way. too. much. I think if the game was focused on being more serious instead of jacking around with cupcakes, pillows, mittens, cooking utensles, squirt guns and "summer fun" I and friends could start playing it again. For instance: PVP with a little touch ups would be the best thing ever; the boss fighter were also very good, and things like the the Grasping Plateau, solstice, katclysmic, etc. etc. However the "plunging into summer with squirt guns", and things like selebrating spiral knights anniversary with cupcakes really flops everything. You can't be apart of a worldwhere one day your fighting Mr. Evil Cupcake and the next you running through the grasping plateau. Getting the picture yet??. Those events are childish and truly take away from spiral Knights - you cannot take a game with serious competition when your hitting players with pillows, squirting the king of ashes with a water gun, fighting enemy's with things you dad grills with on Sunday's, and wearing cupcakes on your head. Those things make me want to quit, but the only thing that keeps me going are the boss fights and pvp. DONT GET ME WRONG, I'm all for the gelly theam and borderline the Santa gelly, but if this game continues to dumb down gameplay and fails for bring in older players AGAIN, the game will flop once and for all. That's just the reality of it folks.
@insurgent
The problem is, this is a kids game. The updates and culture reflect that. Cupcakes? Fork weapons? There you go little kiddy kiddies, play with your food. Also, the fact that GMs ban people for nonsense like bad language and "widdle hurtful insults that could make u frowny for a day" is pretty weak. It is also probably why they kept AT in the game. The only people who need AT in a 2D game are kids who are still learning the controls.
Kinda strange that they focus more on banning people for bad words and reskin updates for the kiddies, while the adults who like the game are the ones with the money....hmmm....
That's a great angle also, if the game would cater to the people who had money rather then the kid's PARENTS money the game would survive. And this game could easily achieve such goal, but one thing that must be done is for PVP being a pryority and use new missions to reshape the game. Old missions would also need an edit of course. Oh, and one other thing please NO MORE RESKINS!
Many of us play this game specifically because of the cute, childish, "chibi" style of the artwork. You don't have to give that up, to make a good game. The problem with the Deadly Candy Poker and similar weapons is not that it's child-like, but rather that it's a reskin.
I've never understood why players complain about profanity and obscenity being forbidden. I'm probably the most vulgar person among my real-life friends. I swear all the time. But I have no problem avoiding vulgarity in this game. It's just not that hard.
I personally like the style of the game, even though it seems childish it is a very unique childish style which is what I love about it. Yes the only people who NEED AT are people still learning controls but if they are the only ones that need AT then why do half the people who play LD use AT?
To me those silly weapons are nice to have, I think it is funny to hit players with pillows that kill in like 4 hits and killing vanna with a water gun and even wearing a cupcake on your head. Those are things that I really like in the game aside from the story line(wish they would finish it) and all the things you can do with your knight.
for me I like the game just like it is.
I will never understand the "it looks like a kids game THEREFORE it must be a kids' game!" logic. The reasons kids play this is because it's a game, not because it's marketed towards them. To me it feels like people who pull out this argument are 15-19 years old who haven't had a job yet and think that "being an adult" is some huge thing they have to prepare for by "shedding their childhood". I assure you all, it's not. The only thing that changes is you can make all the bad decisions you want plus taxes, and you're responsible for both.
We have "fork" weapons and a cupcake-themed event because they're fun. Fork is a silly reskin, but if someone stabbing a devilite with a fork ruins your game then that's more on your end. Plenty of games utilize a skin system or silly reskin system (prime example: TF2). This isn't something unique to Spiral Knights. Also, pointing to literally one promo and saying "i don't like THOSE reskins" is pretty poor argument for a negative when you point to several other actually game-affecting pieces of content and say "and THESE are how you do it right".
Next we have swearing - yes it is allowed in the game but players who don't want to see it can filter it out. Forums can't filter that, hence, swear is banned on the forums. It's not some huge stretch of logic. While I personally have no problem with it being used in common speech, the people who complain about swears being filtered or disabled are typically the ones using them in malicious ways, and I really don't want to see people dropping swears every seven seconds because their vocabulary is so tiny. Insulting players with swears or without swears is not cool either way, but simply saying "no swearing" cuts off most people from quick insults because the same people aren't creative and won't think up of a proper replacement that can be laughed off by both parties.
Lastly, AT is not a child's tool. In fact, a large number of games have an "auto aim" or "aim assist" function. I don't know about you but I wouldn't call Killing Floor 2 a child's game because it has aim assist for controllers. Auto Target is a tool used to assist players who need it, aide players who want to use it, or halter players who don't want it. Personally I use it since my connection isn't the best, however I still am constantly toggling it when need be because I'm a tactical player at heart. It also tremendously helps with arrow key controls and trackpad usage
"You can't be apart of a worldwhere one day your fighting Mr. Evil Cupcake and the next you running through the grasping plateau."
Oh? Surely you can, else we couldn't possibly have done so in-game.
There is nothing wrong with seriousness and silliness co-existing side by side. Should you actually take a look at reality, you will realize that it is already the case; a fact that is naturally reflected in the fiction we humans create.
I don't know how old you are, but that could be the explanation. Spiral Knights will continue to fail until they cater to older gamers who can actually appreciate organized and quality gameplay with diversity and uniqueness between players. During the early year SK was great. Now, it's just a big bunch of randomness that is very annoying. There are games for randomness but I'm convinced this is not one of them... The reason I'm saying this is because I really DID like this game and want to AGAIN.
During the early year SK was great. Now, it's just a big bunch of randomness that is very annoying.
Players generally overestimate the "good old days" and how different they are from today. Spiral Knights was pretty "random" even in 2011. The Royal Jelly was comical and Vanaduke was scary. We had wizard clothes (Magic), ninja weapons named after Greek mythology (Acheron), cowboy clothes (Gunslinger), and references to San Francisco cops (Callahan). It's always been a crazy mishmash.
Spiral Knights will continue to fail until they cater to older gamers who can actually appreciate organized and quality gameplay with diversity and uniqueness between players.
Please notice that I am not disagreeing with this part of your post.
I don't know about you, but Spiral Knight's old school legend of zelda-esk combat that is easy to pick up but hard to master is pretty old-school catering.
I personally do believe that Spiral Knights has quality gameplay (lag is something we have to deal with but other than that game function is wonderful), and no amount of silly and desirable cosmetics changes that gameplay. Diversity and uniqueness amongst players is actually increased by opening the demographic and not focusing on nitty gritty or silly willy.
Only thing that upsets me is when cosmetics trump gameplay, as seen by mixmaster, which is quite obviously a "reskin" weapon despite being the only type of gun that works the way it does. As such, this complaint will be dropped the moment we have a craftable alternative.
I also agree with Bopp - players often get nostalgic about the "old days", however the game's core hasn't changed since day one. The things that have changed are level progression and time management - cosmetics have been their own thing since day 1.
The old days are overrated. The game came a long way and has far more to offer now; perhaps the only element that really didn't deserve to disappear was the gate mineral system. Everything else is still available should you decide to ignore missions and go for a good ol' arcade run.
Hall of heroes restricts the get-it-as-you-go feel the old game had, however should you reach end-game (5*) then there's really no reason to continue missions beyond mission rewards and access to Dreams and Nightmares.
"I don't know how old you are, but that could be the explanation."
I'm 20 years old at the moment, but does that really explain anything? To dismiss ideas on the basis of age is a logical fallacy. Even under the assumption that they lack experience behind them, they are still ideas produced through logical thought and thus are valid to be argued accordingly.
"Spiral Knights will continue to fail until they cater to older gamers who can actually appreciate organized and quality gameplay with diversity and uniqueness between players."
And in all honesty? It already does. I myself am across three different knights: a tactical literal handgun specialist posing as a special forces operator, a bomb-tossing mass-destruction-loving madman, and a cutter/shooter with too much GunZ K-Style influence and misplaced Puzzle Pirates nostalgia; all created with the intent of using Battle Sprites to their maximum efficiency.
If that isn't an appreciation of organized and quality gameplay with diversity and uniqueness between players, then I don't know what is.
There are quite a few things I genuinely think were better back in the old days.
Party reviving and pill sharing made the game more fun in parties.
The gate crafting system was a unique mechanic.
Mist energy kept us logging in and crafting was more fun.
The old GUI looked cuter and had more style.
Pre-buffed chaos and no BKC.
Leveling gear without the hassle of leaving your runs, heat amps were useful.
Shared loot was less tedious.
Recipe hunting was cool and encouraged active trading.
I wish they would've kept all that stuff and worked on other content. Not that they haven't made good updates mind you. I liked the map, sprites, dashing and bashing, the guild halls, the latest missions, and the gunner update (kind of, could've been better if they'd made new guns and less armours).
The game is still fun and if I discovered it today I'd still probably play it but I definitely miss all the above goodness that SK had back when I started playing.
The gameplay and quality could be a lot better. The past year and a half of SK has been about making quick, crappy, and messy content - not exactly all of it, but most, so that they could milk our pockets. Instead of focusing on endless reskins and such, why not spend ALL of that time making genuine new content and balancing/different weapons, etc. etc. The reason is because SK is failing because 7-12 year old allowances does not cover the cost. A lot of the older and more serious players don't care that much about skins - they want well-thought-out story missions, well-thought-out boss fights, and even a growing PVP experience.
I forgot to clarify this when I made my post because I was in a hurry.
I am fine with all the changes they have made with the game accept for the reving system, the pill sharing, and the forge system.
I am fine with them making more reskins of weapons as long as they put out new stuff like missions and completely new weapons not just cosmetics and stuff that won't really effect the game to much
I also don't see why you have such a problem with swearing being banned on the forums, it isn't that hard just to get over the fact you can't swear and use the forums like they are supposed to be used for. One of the main reasons that I think swearing is banned on the forums is like Fangel said is that the GMs and most people on the forums don't want people offending each other and then have the forums be a place to get mad at each other instead of it being a place to talk about the game, in my opinion if the GMs tell you not to do something like swearing on the forums then you just don't argue and listen to them. Simple as that
There's implications of death in SK. Sometimes, you're sent on a mission to find missing knights, and you find them laying motionless at the end of the level.
I noticed that the Steam Summer Sale had a Featured F2P section for games with DLCs that were recently released. I think just having more marketing would be powerful for SK, it'd be great to see SK included among those games. Once people remember "Oh yeah, SK exists... and it's actually in active development now?", they'll start coming back, not to mention the players who've never heard of SK, given that most marketing and public awareness was made years ago.
i know i'm super late-
but holy cow
i'm really fucking excited for the future
Lol I never realized three rings is a LOTR reference, I remember seeing the grey havens logo for the first time and saying: "Kinda reminds me of LOTR"
Hm? Something new in SK?
Interesting...
I guess I'm going to check this game if i have time...
Seriously.... I miss this game....
I love this game, really....
even BGM's xD love it...
But...
tnx to internet connection on my current place plus the unreliable Pc... i guess won't be able to this much.... but i can deal with that...
but i hope Grey Havens will ummm..... do something about the upgrading process of the gears?
1 piece of equipment takes a lot of time just to upgrade it to the higher level...
Very frustrating...
If this game would become colorful and lively again
My cousin would love to play this game again... and me xD
Well anyway...
Tnx....
Who had said that it was so brilliant as that?
lol 2 years and nothing has changed besides sleep (something that already existed) being reintroduced.
simply epic
Yup, nothing besides Golden Slime Casino, Hardcore Mode, Lockdown Maps, Iron Guild Hall update, Style Kit, New Animations on costumes, and many Bugfixes and work on the back end of the game. There are probably a couple of things that I am missing that I couldn't think of off of the top of my head as well.
For a game that many of us thought was going to get zero extra content and probably even die out, this is more than we could ask for. Especially for such a small team working on a buggy game built on Java. AFAIK, they never even promised to update the game, only to keep the servers alive.
I appreciate all the efforts of the team keeping this wonderful game alive. To be able to revisit this game that I too have spent years into is a wonder.
However, I feel the main issue why it's difficult to return is that there doesn't seem to be an actual goal past getting a full 5 star kit and doing missions. Whilst this won't be quick if going pure f2p, it still reaches a point where you ask, ' well, what now?'
I think that a good way of keeping people going past this point is something like a leaderboard system. Rewards are given to players from a variety of categories (like no. of boss runs, cr earned, levels completed). This is somewhat similar to the player feed about friends activity but in a more formal fashion. To allow chances to newer players, there are separate tables for each tier, of which matches the tier you would, for example, queue for Lockdown. Implementing this, I feel that there's more draw to play each day/week/month and this acts as a good stepping stone for future updates. It also encourages more competitive spirit.
Further to this point, I think introducing a Player Records sort of system would be quite valuable. This would include things like fastest clear of a level, for both individual and top records ever set with public announcement whenever these top records are broken. This would help to draw away some of the tedium one has grinding the same level repeatedly yet not change anything about the level itself. This further adds more interest and repeatability on all of the levels out there, not just boss levels. Guilds can use the number of records they hold to further stand out and possibly attract more members.
These are just suggestions but I hope my point is clear. I don't think this kind of update is as intensive as a full blown new map or mini game so I believe that it wouldn't be too pressing on the Grey Havens team should they decide to explore into this idea. Would this be possible?
Anyway, thanks for reading and feel free to correct me if I'm wrong somewhere.
The game's running on an old engine and seems to be barely holding itself together. Personally, I'm not expecting anything major to come before the game just drops dead. The team should consider a reboot at this point with a new engine in mind, but that's just my opinion.
@Calyos
You say that, but GH is showing small signs of life. They confirmed/implied during the Aerodynamic's Box that there was a lot of behind-the-scenes fiddling that they had to do when the game moved companies, so I'll give GH a pass for the lack of changes. Furthermore, the box itself had a series of animation tweaks that we have never seen before: Chaff Packs adding sparks to dashes, helms that lower their visor when blocking, and the Airbraker Shield which animated out when blocking. I suspect they still have a few more levers they can tweak for additions.
I'm very curious about the next few changes. Either the game will continue to stagnate, or we might see a second wind. That said, I don't expect it to drop dead any time soon. SK has been "about to drop dead" for like 5 years now, and I'm not expecting that to change.
Since the team seem to be still active in implementing changes here and there, what are the main limitations for GH when considering new bigger updates? Is it a case of funds, small crew or something else?
In the case of money, it may be an idea to use a kickstarter or similar fundraising to both drum up money and a new interest. Additionally, having good content will naturally lead people to want to pay at some point.
In the case of staff, surely that just limits how quickly they can progress, rather than if it's doable at all? People have offered to help several times it seems if they would accept that.
Thing is SK has declined but we've reached a minimum point that is still enough to sustain the servers. I don't see it dying any time soon.
Flipping the perspective, you could say the situation is more ideal for a small group to develop as there isn't a corporate giant dictating targets (ahem Sega) and having a smaller player pool means more direct coordination with the players.
Also, another idea I had is to develop the Core, being the final floor and heart of the Clockworks.
As is, you reach the end and it says '[you've reached the end]' and you stare at the core before going back to Haven. This ties back to my earlier point on how there's nothing left to do past full kit and full mission completion. If there was a cinematic reaching the core for the first time as well as another of the recording capsules you get after beating the bosses, it helps to reinforce the story of SK which seems to have been lost into the Clockworks....
Even leaving the map itself the same and not giving rewards, giving some story related relevance and significance makes it all the more interesting to reach that point.
My main point here is that a lot of what may have drawn in players to begin with are lost within the grind of materials and boss runs; stuff like the background story. The missions, when they were introduced, greatly fleshed out more of a story which was great. However they slowly felt like the next task you had to do rather than the next chapter in a story. SK still has lots of potential for a game, even at this point. From the context, battle mechanics to social events within the community which many old players most notably remember the game for, I believe that it could still rise again if not to the same levels at its peak.
Good statement at the end there. Step up and be a part of what makes the game alive! Some of us produce youtube/twitch content, there are people on the forums with quick and instant responses to genuine questions, Krakob and Fangel manage the SK Discord where there is constant activity. Players like Manlet are having giveaways to help lift the spirits of the game. I have some good things planned on my end, just gota find the time to execute. Stay tuned :).
Be a part of what makes it great. It makes it more enjoyable for everyone
I have over 700hours of playtime in this game, and I remember from YEARS ago I've always looked to this game for serenity and fun. I was even a beta player but I lost my old steam account :( . Anyways, I remember all of the changes, they were huge but not always good. I lost so many friends, so many forgotten memories, so much sadness and loss. I remember how it used to be. A vibrant community of fun, trading, excitement in every day. Then the big changes happened, the Missions, the new Guild halls, the excessive grinding for loot. Many people became rich. But it wasn't fun anymore. I would always come on from time to time hoping there would have been great change, there would be none. Months passed, no change. I was only one of the few veterans of SK who still held onto the past and the greatness of the old SK world. It brought me great sadness, but now, there is a new hope for SK. And I really hope that SK can be vibrant again, and all I can say is, my dream has finally been answered, or at least now seems possible. It may take a lot to bring SK back. But I have great hope for the future.
-Rez