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Show HN: Shadowvane: A Soulslike MMO (Built in Node/Three.js) (playshadowvane.com)

3 points by bschmidt1 ↗ HN
Shadowvane is one of the biggest, most difficult projects I've ever done in JavaScript. It's a Node/Socket.io backend and Three.js front-end (custom engine).

The goal was to create a fully functional 3D MMO like World of Warcraft or Final Fantasy XIV - complete with queuing for arenas, battlegrounds, and instanced dungeons, but with the aesthetics of Bloodborne and other Soulslikes. As someone who grew up playing MMOs like Tibia, WoW, Final Fantasy 11/14, and GW2, I've always wanted to create an immersive 3D MMO.

A number of years ago I released a 2D browser MMO (who didn't) but it didn't quite scratch the itch. Just bringing this v0 to market felt like lifting a weight - something I've always wanted to do.

Building an MMO is a huge undertaking of diverse tasks: Music/sound, 3D modeling, networking, vector math, painting, UI, and more. Shadowvane still needs a little polish in some areas - so I'm calling this release "Open Alpha" until I'm able to make it truly look and feel like a AAA game.

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Shadowvane is a Soulslike MMORPG with a 1v1 PvP Arena, 5v5 Battleground, and an Open World realm where players can interact and advance their character.

Players can compete in either a 5v5 PvP match in a hellish city called Pandemonium, or a 1v1 PvP arena in The Mists.

PvE objectives are completed in Afterworld — an open world realm where players and demons alike roam free.

Build your character from a player template called a prototype. Unlock new prototypes in Afterworld to experience different play styles.

3 comments

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codingdave
This does sound cool... but the play button brings up both options to buy the game for $20, as well as download links? I think $20 is too much for an early alpha. And while I get that many MMOs are downloadable native code, you wrote it using a stack that could be web-based, so that is probably the way to go. Asking people to download and run an .exe is a non-starter for many of us. Too high-risk.
bschmidt1
Yes, like most MMOs the game client can be downloaded for free so you can play on multiple devices. It's the account that you pay for. Unlike conventional MMOs it's a one-time fee and not a monthly subscription.

> you wrote it using a stack that could be web-based

Not really because of the memory usage. This has nothing to do with the stack but the file size of the 3D assets used, which directly translates to memory used at run-time. As a desktop app you can fully take advantage of your gaming PC's available RAM and VRAM.

> Asking people to download and run an .exe

Understandable. Because of this, and that the download size is so large I should probably use a downloader/installer so it doesn't feel like just downloading an exe. Thanks for your feedback!