Hey all!

Another update for Abyssal Realms and our custom game engine Cartographer. This one's all about water, wading, and our very first enemy (that I probably spent way too much time on the cute little thing!).

The big one is coasts. Waves used to just slide up onto the beach. Now they build as they come in, tip over, and break into foam that spreads out and fades. They also break in pieces instead of one long white line, so the shoreline finally feels alive. The shaders are still a work in progress, but I think we're finally in the right direction (I'll post a previous shot of what it looked like before). Out on open water the sea is choppier and messier, closer to the real thing, and we made small passes on water shading, lighting and the shape of the waves.

You can also walk into the water now. Players and creatures will be able to walk in up to about waist deep, and anything moving through water leaves a little foam wake behind it. The engine works out where you can walk from the water level, the ground underneath and how tall a body is, and the server decides all of it. Past that depth it's swimming. We have a first test of it running, with characters bobbing on the same waves as the boats, but if I'm being frank, it looks silly with no animation supporting that yet :p

Last up meet the Shore Crab, our first enemy(or it will be anyways)! The clips show our viewer and animation tools, where we pose and animate the bone rig directly. Every one of the crab's moves is its own animation clip we can tweak in the editor.

More soon, and thanks for following along!

Hey everyone! Whispered Scrolls is my recently released browser MMO. At it's core, it's a scapelike with skill-based action combat, up to 5 player parties, 21 dungeons, 20 skills to master, and deep character progression. I'm excited to announce that as of today, our first seasonal event is live. I made a short teaser for it: https://youtu.be/99Csf0E5Y9s (same video shown above)

What's in the event:

• At night, cursed Jack-o'-Lanterns fill the fields around every town. By day, Hollow Scarecrows climb down from their posts and wander the farms.
• Both drop Harvest Tokens. Trade them at the Harvest Fair in Hearthmoor's Exchange Square for the Harvest Scarf, Mantle, Hood or an exclusive Cloak.
• Two rare drops to hunt: the Jack-o'-Lantern Headpiece from the Jacks and the Straw Scarecrow Hat from the Scarecrows. Both are tradeable.
• After dusk the Headless Horseman rides out along the Lamp Road. The Headless Horseman is a dangerous world boss, so bring friends or team up withwhoever is on. Bring it down before dawn and everyone who fought gets its burning skeletal horse as `a mount, plus the title Horseman's Bane. The halter is tradeable too! Keep it, or put it on the market!

The Horseman is the biggest fight I've built so far and I'm still tuning it. I'd love to hear how it goes for you, whether it felt too hard, too easy, or just confusing. How we're the rewards? The same goes for the rest of the game. Tell me what you enjoyed and what made you want to log off.

Play free: https://whisperedscrolls.com

Discord: https://discord.gg/ERJmmVutFa (come find a Horseman group)

A few things to know:

• The game runs in a desktop browser. Chrome does work best, and in my opinion it plays best in fullscreen (F11). There's also a dedicated Windows client if you'd rather use that!
• It's in early alpha. While I have worked dilligently to provide a polished product with hundreds of hours of content, you may still encounter some rough edges. If so, Press F8 in game to send me a bug report with a screenshot.
• No pay-to-win, ever.

The event runs until the end of November 3. Keep to the lamplight!

I play a lot of scapelike and idle games so thought i'd take a few days last week to review a few of them and show off the major mechanics so people can skip through them or listen to learn how the games fundementally work without having to play them an hour to get the vibe of the game themselves.

Let me know if this is something people would be interested in, or what changes to this format I could make if I end up making more. It did take a fair bit of time to record them all and obviously these were games I already had spent quite a bit of time playing, so I will only cover more if there is positive feedback from the community requesting more.

Here's the scapelikes I covered so far (alphabetical order, all are playable now):

The Black Grimoire: Cursebreaker

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06IC7EigtGE

Evertrail Idle (AI Web Game)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTKWyppdLps

Guinea Isles
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EILur7IwlCc

Idle Journey (Web Game)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbYkQZp6tFs

Kaironia

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zR4JJ7aG5q0

We are just over 2 weeks into the public release of Fallen Marches. For those who don't know, FM is a free, browser-based, old-school style MMO that I’m building solo.

Today’s update is a big one: the game now runs on Android phones.

Playing on Android

• Open fallenmarches.com in Chrome on your phone and sign in as normal.
• Tap to walk or interact. Press and hold to open the menu, drag a finger to turn the camera and pinch to zoom.
• On a phone, the dashboard offers to install the game as an app. It then sits on your home screen and opens full screen.
• There’s a new Graphics Quality setting. Phones start on Low for a lighter load, and you can switch to High if your phone copes. Each device remembers its own setting.
• It’s the same account and the same character on every device, so you can carry on from your PC on your phone.

This is the first phone release, so I'll be listening for feedback on how things are running. iPhone isn’t supported yet, but I intend to look at that later.

Also in this update

• Steordale Forest has expanded north, and new mobs, Raiders and Raider Bowmen ,are hiding in the ruins.
• A new miniboss, the Alpha Wolf, lives in a den beneath the cliffs.
• There’s a new story-driven quest for players with 10 Renown.
• Reach level 100 in a skill and you can buy that skill’s cloak.
• The Writhen Staff has a new special attack, Writhen Snare, and there’s a new spell, Retrieve Arrows.
• Cookery has two new stews, and the Cirenvale mill now offers a milling service.
• The mining, woodcutting, sickle and melee animations have been updated.
• Arrow tiers matter more now.
• XP is now recorded past level 100 and counts on the leaderboards.
• Frame pacing is smoother, and performance is better in busy areas.
• The website has a new Roadmap page showing what’s planned.

Full patch notes are at fallenmarches.com/news

YouTube preview: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/2kaF07tzBMo

See you in game.

Greetings! I’m Gabriel, the solo dev behind Soulstonia, a cozy idle RPG where your Summoners have minds of their own.

Every Summoner in your party has their own skills, traits, inventory, equipment, and progression. You can directly control one whenever you want, or give them idle goals and let them gather resources, craft items, fight, and explore independently.

Play hands-on. Play idle. Switch whenever.

The demo includes all five regions for exploration, 20+ skills (each trainable to level 99), no playtime or progression cap, and the first act of the quest campaign in the Grasslands.

Also, Demo saves will automatically carry forward into Early Access!

Soulstonia on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/4432150/Soulstonia/

Please feel free to leave feedback in the comments here or in the Steam Discussions. Idle goals (mechanics and UI) are definitely a big focus of the game, so getting feedback on that system in particular would be super helpful.

The game will be free when it launches into Early Access, with a couple paid DLC available to expand character customization, save slots, and shared bank space. All the game content will be free, including the ability to recruit up to 5 Summoners in your party by completing quests.

Your cozy adventure awaits...

Hi all! Back again with another neat update for my Cartographer (has an official name now) game engine!

This time it's cutscenes. I wanted camera sequences that feel directed and alive, not the stiff snap to angle, pause, snap to next angle cutscenes a lot of older MMOs (looking at you runescape) have. So I built a camera sequencer right into the editor.

This allows me to streamline future cutscene development in a cohesive way that is easy for myself (and future developers) to create these scenes with ease.

In the demo, this is a example of me creating an arrival scene in the Cartographer engine tool and playing the sequence directly in the editor as a preview followed by a live in game (albeit no content game :p) trigger of it.

How this works is scene points are created, as a demo'd in the video, that live in a 3d space and saved as sequence timings on the client. These scenes are then basically cache packed (bundled) with the client and the server can trigger them with the stir system (which is just an alternative nomenclature to unreal engines cue system) so the client already knows what to play and where to play it with the packet structure sent from the server side.

This system is entirely different from runescapes. From what I can tell (from open source private servers and projects), runescape doesn't store the cutscene sequences on the client, they're sent via their own packet opcode that holds values that lock and direct the camera.

Anyways, feel free to ask any questions! Or if you'd like to hop in my current discord that's just general hangout spot for friends atm, I'm usually in VC as Greyfield.

https://discord.gg/fe3VxBBw6

Edit: Btw, the video is lower FPS than real time because of compression rate. This is running at a steady 360 FPS.

Hey scapelikes! Big news first: Aldermere Online just launched in the browser. Go to the site, click Play, and you’re in. No download, no install, and it’s free. You can still grab the Windows or Linux client if you’d rather, but you don’t have to. (Although the graphics are much nicer in the native clients)

For anyone who hasn’t seen it: Aldermere is a classless, click-to-move MMORPG in the old-school tradition. You pick up a pickaxe or a sword or a fishing rod, train whatever you like, and earn every level the slow way. It’s in open alpha, and the latest patch just landed, so here’s what’s new.

0.5.0

• Slayer is in. Edric Thorne in Alderwic gives you a task, you go kill the thing, you earn points and spend them on things like a third task choice or boss tasks. Points never buy XP or items, so it can’t be skipped.
• The Crystal Depths is a new dungeon under the Crystal Mine, with a boss called the Snuffer at the bottom. He puts out the lamps you fight by, so you have to relight them and stay in the light. He was fun to build and I’m very curious how people find him.
• Gear quality: crafted gear can come out Fine, Superior or Masterwork, and gear now wears down with use. It never breaks mid-fight, don’t worry.
• New spells (Bound Blade, Bound Armour, Resurrect), and glaives are here.

The full notes are here if you want the details: Aldemere Patch Notes 0.5.0

If you want to jump in, play in your browser here: https://aldermere.online?via=reddit

It’s an alpha, so things are rough in places, and I’d love to hear what you think. The Discord is the easiest place to find me: https://discord.gg/X9jqMwNwKk

Thanks for reading!

I'm making a simple 2d style scapelike, I am using AI i know a sin. But I've always dreamed of making a game like this but I built for trade work not brain work so it was always out of grasp.

I know its impossible for games like these to get any kind of traction but if one person spent their time getting a skill to level 20 it would all be worth it. Regardless if anyone plays it ill continue to work on it and play it myself.

But if you have suggestions id love to hear them, what Is your favorite part of a scapelike? Is it world lore? The grind? Rare drops?

Im far away from an online release, but i enjoy world lore so thats always on my mind while im editing the map for towns and the world and will continue to do so.

Hey everyone!

A while back I was working on a 2D pixel art MMORPG called Lumora which was turning into a ScapeLike game but unfortunately it failed because of how capital intensive it was to get 2D assets and spritesheets done for the game.

One of my friends recently showed me something really cool with how AI can generate 3D models really well and I decided to give it a try. This is my attempt at rebuilding the game from the ground up as a 3D game in Godot instead of a 2D browser game. All of this was created using AI (Opus 5.5 + some local models).

It's only been about a week that I've been working on this. Tried my best to make it engaging and add some storyline into the game. I'm planning on making it somewhat of a hybrid between RS and New World.

It's not out to play yet, still got quite a long way to go before it's playtest ready. If you're interested in following along with the progress, feel free to join the Discord: https://discord.gg/TGQuBcptWH

Would love to hear what you all think, thanks!

Hi there!

I’m working on a project called Avenfell in UE5 and thought I’d see if any artists here would be interested in joining me.

A couple of screenshots of where it’s at:

• Haunted swamp biome
• Starting town
• Combat Video

I’m handling the programming and server side. There’s already a world and gameplay systems underway, but I could use someone to help with models, textures and animations as I fill things out.

Mainly looking for help with creatures, equipment and environment props. I’m using existing assets for some things, including characters and outfits, so there’s a style to work from. Rigging and animation experience would be a big plus.

It would be nice to work with someone who plays OSRS and wants to contribute ideas too. We could start with something small and see how we get along.

This would be unpaid for now, but I’m open to discussing revenue share. We can work at a pace that fits around other commitments.

If you’re interested, send me a message with some of your work and what you’d enjoy making. Happy to answer questions here too!

Sharing another high potential sleeper upcoming MMORPG for OSRS enjoyers - Devs are ultra active and game has an active discord

Anyone have any offline mobile Scapelike game recommendations. I’m out of service quite a bit and want a game to keep the grind going!!!

Seems like every day a new game is posted, only for it to use AI for the coding / art / music / etc.

What's a list of CONFIRMED non-AI using games?

I have the following so far CONFIRMED to not use AI:

-Kaetram

-Bloobs Idle Adventure

I have the following so far UNCONFIRMED on if they use AI. No disclosures given, but nothing stands out to me that there IS AI use:

-Eternals Online

-Idle Clans

Hi! Idle Journey dev here

Here's the obligatory link to the game: https://idle-journey.com/play
Discord: https://discord.gg/pNc4CFRjvk

Idle Journey has 100+ hours of F2P before you hit a 10$ single time purchase - you only pay if you like it.

Well, we shipped an virtually infinite mode to test your theorycrafting skills. You can now enter the coliseum and finally test your character limits!!!1

There's also a new boss with streaking mechanics The Undrowned (telos says hi). I wont spoil the fight, but it favors single target DPS.

There's a dozen of new items. a new quest. cool stuff in general.

Hey everyone 👋

I've played RuneScape since 2003, and for the past several months I've been vibe coding my own take on the feeling that kept me coming back. It's called Crafted Realm.

I'm aiming for something between RuneScape Classic and 2007scape: skill-based progression, questing, combat, exploration, and a cozy medieval world to hang out in. The long-term goal is a full-scale game with a proper quest list and plenty to discover. For now, this is an early beta.

I want it to feel less focused on maximizing XP per hour and more on adventuring, skilling, and spending time with friends.

The v0.1 beta is live, browser-only, and free to play:

https://playcraftedrealm.com

🎥 Trailer: https://youtu.be/RO3b01d0qag

What's in the beta right now:

• 14 skills

• The first quest, The Sleepless Isle

• Duels and staking in the colosseum

• The Sewer King, plus Ashmaw, a dragon you'll want friends for

• Forums, hiscores, and a place to hangout

A mobile version may come later. I've also toyed with getting it running on my modded Xbox 360, though that's very much TBD 😄

A few honest notes: Crafted Realm is my own standalone game, not a RuneScape private server, and I have no affiliation with Jagex. The assets and music were created specifically for Crafted Realm. My intention is to keep the server running for years. Beta progress may not carry over to the stable release, but I'd like to give early players something special for being here.

If you try it, I'd especially love feedback on the first few minutes: is it clear where to go, do the controls feel comfortable, and what would make you want to come back? Bugs and rough edges are expected at this stage. There's a Report a bug button in the logout tab, and I read every report.

Stop by, pull up a seat by the bonfire, and say hello. I'd love to see you on the island 🙂

Bitiverse is a persistent pixel-art MMO in the browser, with the usual scapelike bones: gathering, crafting, trading, dungeons and bosses, corpse runs, all in one shared world I build on my own. It's listed at https://scapelikes.com/game/bitiverse.

One feature I think fits the scapelike crowd especially well: once your Carpentry hits 100 and your character reaches level 90, you can dig a dungeon out from under your own estate. Digging pays Mining xp, hauling the spoil pays Dungeoneering xp, and you only go a floor deeper once that floor is cleared, hauled and furnished. You don't clear it yourself, though - hired heroes arrive at level 100-150 and can be trained up to 250, and a hero can die down there, but only while you're standing with him.

Free in your browser, no download, and you can walk in as a guest - testers wanted, come break it: https://fortisq.itch.io/bitiverse. What's the best version of a dig-your-own-dungeon or hired-adventurer system you've played, and what made it click for you?

Hi all!

This was just a quick game we built to better learn some new technology ("streaming assets" in Unity) but is a fun little mash-up of OSRS and THPS that was a delight to work on and playtest.

It's free and in your browser and we're not selling anything or anything, but I thought this community would appreciate seeing Lumbridge from a new perspective. :)

Hey everyone!

I've been working on a sci-fi MMO called Project Waystar and figured I'd finally share some of it here.

I grew up playing Runescape and was super excited for Mechscape/Stellar Dawn back when that was being worked on. Always wondered what that game could've turned into, so I decided to take a crack at making something inspired by it.

It's still early, but I wanted to show off what I've got so far. The video shows a couple of biomes, the starting hub, mech movement and summoning, and a speeder I've been working on.

I've still got a lot planned, especially with skilling, combat, and exploring different planets. I'm working on this solo, so there's definitely a long road ahead.

Anyway, curious what you guys think! What kind of stuff would you want to see in a game like this?

Website: https://projectwaystar.com

Discord: https://discord.com/invite/xuErXFyZMW

Edit: Posting sneak peaks, behind the scenes, and answering any questions in the discord above if anyone is interested. :) I am very transparent on what this game is, how its made, and the future plans for it.

Basically title, I found this sub on a whim but it just seems like it's a place to advertise half baked games that's either AI slop or games that's in development hell.

Hey all! I just wanted to share a bit of progress on my unnamed project.

I've been spending most of my time lately working on the in-house map editor after shifting focus from some of the physics engine stuff I showed earlier this week and rebuilding the networking core of the server engine in Rust. It's basically the tooling I'm building to design the world and create the environments you see in the screenshots.

I wanted to have full control over how the world is built so I've been working on tooling for terrain sculpting, ground texturing (or painting same thing :p), coastlines, cliffs, multiple decks, object placement, and navigation visualization for navmeshes. The goal is to be able to build out an entire region in the editor and have it work exactly as expected in-game, without having to deal with a separate export process.

One of the more interesting parts has been getting the lighting to work with the world itself. The world environment itself will take place beneath a massive world tree to some capacity, so a lot of the world is covered in moonlight and shade, with certain areas opening up to natural sunlight. I've been building tools to switch between these conditions in the editor so I can see how an environment actually looks at different times of day.

The screenshots are all the same little starter island. The first two are from the editor, one in daylight and the other with the grid and navigation overlay enabled. The last is that same area running in-game at night.

There's still plenty to do, and the assets are mostly placeholders for now (still hand made!), but I'm getting to the point where I can start using these tools to build out actual regions rather than just working on the tech behind them.

Pretty happy with how the water and nighttime lighting are coming together. Hopefully I'll have more of the actual world to show soon. I post updates to my personal discord server currently every now and again, but it's not dedicated to updates on this. However, I do have plans to launch a development blog soon in addition to a separate discord server for suggestions that anyone is welcome to join.

If you interested in potentially contributing or just want to hang out and ask questions, you can definitely join the discord I currently have setup the myself and friends hang out in usually playing other games and things - https://discord.gg/fe3VxBBw6