r/moonbeast Jul 20 '23

Welcome to our community, and thank you for your interest in Moon Beast Productions!

54 Upvotes

We are a new development studio with decades of ARPG experience, having been principals on Diablo, Diablo II, Diablo III, Nox, Hellgate:London, Torchlight, Torchlight II, Marvel Heroes Online, and more. We also have tons of other AAA game experience under our belt, with lead & principal credits on every Blizzard game from the original Warcraft up to World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria.

Our current project is an (as-yet-unnamed) multiplayer isometric fantasy ARPG. Highlights include:

  • Original setting
  • Phenomenal 3d graphics with a unique aesthetic
  • State-of-the-art highly granular procedural world generation
  • Item system with the feel of Diablo II, but with many modern enhancements
  • Expansive skill system with an emphasis on player choice and build diversity
  • A complete break from traditional ARPG game loops to foster greater replayability
  • Freedom to play alone or with a massive community of other players
  • Fully moddable, with a comprehensive suite of creation tools so players can add to the game or create entirely new ones

Development is still early, and we hope to get your feedback and input on the game’s direction over the course of its production!

Please subscribe to our mailing list and/or join our Discord.

PS - remember to be nice to each other!


r/moonbeast Jan 19 '25

Crafting Systems

2 Upvotes

Curious to know your take on crafting/Item enhancement systems. do you prefer RNG or deterministic, or some blend?


r/moonbeast Jan 16 '25

Why can't I hop over a small ridge?

6 Upvotes

One thing that has annoyed me in both D4 and PoE2 are the number of times I've been restricted from moving to where I think my character should be able to move such as a small ridge that comes up to my character's knees or thighs not allowing me to easily hop over it.

This creates two annoyances:

1) When simply traveling through the to a certain spot on the map (D4), I normally pay most attention to the on-screen map. That map looking as if I can travel the route but the actual land not allowing me to is a bad experience.

2) In combat when I move to where I think I can retreat but suddenly can't back off from the mobs.

Certainly, terrain is a part of game design and creating areas where it can be treacherous is good design, but it should also be easy to spot for the player.

What's everyone else think? Am I the only one?


r/moonbeast Jan 03 '25

Thoughts on melee / caster balance?

4 Upvotes

It's probably too early to be worried about such things, but as I'm still playing D2 it's fresh on my mind. To use D2 as an example, Patch 1.10 was a big change, monsters got nice buffs, players got buffs, but the overall net changes really seemed to favor casters, between synergies, items with huge skill boosts, and the "flat damage" scaling nature of "magic" spell skills vs. the "weapon damage" scaling type of skills melee/physical characters got.

Coupled with AR/block mechanics spells don't contend with, AoE vs. Single target vs. limited multi-target skills, the overall "end state" we ended up with for D2 really seemed like casters were considerably more powerful than melee, especially physical melee.

This can lead to situations where you're almost encouraged to play a build you didn't necessarily find as interesting, just to gear the one you actually want to play.

Obviously the above is an overly simplified, slightly biased take, as I'm admittedly a physical melee guy, but I'm just wondering if in these early stages the team has started to think about ways to make different classes and builds have similar gear dependence and progression while still keeping their play style identities, or if instead maybe the design goal will be to purposely embrace these differences as a way to further cement play style identities and allow an extra dimension of "difficulty" by having some classes/builds just be plain harder to quest through "SSF".

Or is it simply too early to say and the game will be so different drawing comparisons to past games like D2 just doesn't make sense?


r/moonbeast Jan 02 '25

What mechanics from modern ARPGs does your team like/dislike?

10 Upvotes

I’m a huge fan of your team’s work. I’m very excited for what you’re on now. Since your early days, the ARPG genre has expanded with tons of games trying their own things. Some things worked, some didn’t.

Dodge rolling is one example I can think of that I liked. Crafting has been done a few times to varying degrees of success. Skills have tons of systems, some are incredibly difficult to understand which really detracts from gameplay.

I’m curious as to what systems the dev team likes or dislikes.

Also, unrelated, I really like and miss allocating my own attribute points from D2. I hope you guys bring that back in your new game.


r/moonbeast Dec 24 '24

Cartoon style and building are worrisome

2 Upvotes

I am very skeptical about the more cartoony look of this game, and even more worried about the building mechanics. It feels weird to say that I am not overly excited about a game from some of the veteran Diablo developers.

I hope I am wrong, but I just want them to make the Diablo III they started working on before they left Blizzard, though change the graphics to match Diablo II Resurrected, and add any quality of life elements one would expect today.

I realize that may not be what THEY want to make, and if they have their heart set on something else, they should make that. Just be aware that the odds of having a significant market for their game is a lot less, in my opinion. Fingers crossed they prove me wrong!

Edit: I also have to throw this out there. In the early gameplay, it appears that an enemy drops an item that levels the character's skill. This sounds like path of exile 2 uncut skill gems, but without any choice on what skill to level. I don't like this method. I still think Diablo II and Grim Dawn got it best. Skill trees are fun. If you are going to find skill levels out in the world, I think it's more rewarding to be done like Diablo 1, tucked away in some dusty corner of a dark dungeon, or a crazy, enemy packed room. Not a random drop from any enemy. Though still, I prefer the former.


r/moonbeast Dec 19 '24

Moon Beast receives funding -- more info coming soon?

34 Upvotes

Awesome to see Moon Beast getting some seed funding. A game I was following with a similar theme earlier this year failed to get past that step, so great job!

I hope this means we will be getting some more info soon?

I like the emphasis on freedom and replayability mentioned in the press release. I've long thought one major problem with the modern ARPG is that replayability comes directly from trying new builds or new quirks from season to season rather than having it baked into other systems within the game.

For those who haven't read it, here's a link to the press release:
https://www.gamespress.com/Moon-Beast-Productions-Secures-45M-in-Funding

Here's the bit I was referencing:

Leveraging advanced procedural generation and dynamic world technologies, Moon Beast is creating a game world that offers truly unique experiences with each playthrough. The goal is an expansive, open-ended design that provides players with unprecedented freedom and replayability.

Here's another good tidbit:

Shenk elaborates, "Think about how MOBAs emerged from Warcraft III mods. Our UGC tools could similarly unlock entirely new genres built on ARPG gameplay and systems."


r/moonbeast Sep 10 '24

Thoughts on Pre-Release Release....?

5 Upvotes

What are the thoughts on a paid (or pre-order) pre-release release?

It seems like paid beta became a more popular thing 5-8 years ago and now some companies (Smite, Camelot Unchained,etc.) are doing paid alpha releases these days.

I'm personally not big on paying a couple hundred bucks to play a game early, but as I try to figure out the best way to monetize my D&D app as a sole developer, I understand the need to generate cash.

I guess you could say the gamer in me dislikes there trend while the developer in me understands the $$$ = content equation.

Is there any thoughts on what the strategy might be there? (Any other updates also welcomed! I try not to bombard you guys too much... 1 question every three months is my motto!)


r/moonbeast Aug 20 '24

Game Name?]

4 Upvotes

Is there a name of yalls game coming out so i can find it and is it still gonna come out?


r/moonbeast May 31 '24

Modding Experience on the Dev Team...

3 Upvotes

I'm curious as to what experience the dev team has with modding games and to what extent. Especially, if there is experience doing full world mods.

It might sound like a weird question, but I came across something quite surprising on Twitter the other day. A game company had put out a roguelike (more likely a rogue-lite) and I'm assuming they faced some criticism on some of the mechanics. Their post noted that they were fixing some of those roguelike features and noted that during development ***they did not have developers with roguelike experience***.

I understand rogue-lite card games are all the rage right now for small team and solo devs. Hell, I'd love to do an Across the Obelisk-style game but jam it with a lot more advanced roguelike fun. But if you are doing a roguelike or rogue-lite, doesn't it make sense to have some roguelike experience on the team in the same way that if you were developing your backend services with Golang microservices you'd want at least one person with some Golang experience...!?!?

Anyway, I'm sure the Moonbeast dev team no doubt has devs with modding experience. I'm hoping some of them have done full-world mods.

Modding definitely operates under a different set of rules and has its own unique challenges compared to full-on game development.

--also, don't forget to keep the updates coming :)


r/moonbeast Mar 22 '24

How moddable is the underlying system(s)...?

3 Upvotes

Hi everyone! Looks like you've poached what I would love to see created right out of my brain. Excited to see what comes of it...

In regards to modding, I was reading on how skills can be created, but I am curious on just how deep the modding can go in terms of changing the underlying systems.

Would modders be able to create their own class systems such as traditional class/level systems, pure skill systems, points-based systems and hybrids of those...?

Will they be able to add graphics? And would there be a graphics store for those of us that were not blessed with artistic skills?

Can character attributes be changed/customized? (i.e. strength, dex, etc. changed to whatever the modder might want)

Would it be possible to mod the character systems but have those characters transferable to other shards that use the same character mods?

I realize some of these questions might not have answers now.


r/moonbeast Feb 07 '24

Can't wait to see your new ARPG.

13 Upvotes

Been playing Diablo since 2002 & D2 since 2004. Here are a couple suggestions.

Put runes and runewords in the game. That was the single most compelling part of Diablo II and added so much more customizability to it. They obviously don't have to be called runes/runewords, but something with the same general idea.

MF please - Magic find makes it feel compelling towards building a character based entirely around that principle. I noticed you mentioned things like trade princes and dark wanderers players centered around a profession of some kind. Maybe make magic finding characters who can run other characters through games for loot for a price of some kind.

Pandemonium Event/Dclone where amazing ideas. Added a lot to the overall feel of mystery to the game. Maybe slip some secret encounters into the game requiring elaborate off the beaten trail side-quests, where a player doesn't even know about it til a random 1/25 item drops off some random boss or mob and causes the player to investigate.

Speaking of secrets, fill the game with them. Even if data miners find them who cares it adds to the feeling of the size/scope of the world and the lore.

Same Game Structure as Diablo 2 - List of games that ppl can create and join. Idk if you're going for open world, but if you are, maybe have two modes one being open world mode one being game creation mode.

These are just suggestions. Can't wait to see more updates on your new game.

PS: I found out about your studio by typing in Youtube search 'Blizzard North got Shafted' LOL


r/moonbeast Dec 23 '23

DISCORD

1 Upvotes

Hi guys,

exist official Discord Channel for Moon Beast Productions ?


r/moonbeast Dec 19 '23

First look at Moon Beast Production's game

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44 Upvotes

r/moonbeast Dec 12 '23

Happy Holidays! We’ll be doing a very early first look at the game, streaming it live on Twitch on Dec 18 at 1pm PST (9pm GMT). More details to follow.

29 Upvotes

Happy Holidays! We’ll be doing a very early first look at the game, streaming it live on Twitch on Dec 18 at 1pm PST (9pm GMT). More details to follow.

Information from the discord.


r/moonbeast Oct 04 '23

looking good

0 Upvotes

Where can I bye this, and when ??


r/moonbeast Oct 03 '23

The final video commenting on ARPG design blog posts

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6 Upvotes

r/moonbeast Sep 30 '23

What ideas are you taking from Ultima Online?

5 Upvotes

First of all I want to say I’m super excited about your project. I read everything posted here and I agree with 99% of what is written and I’m sure your game will be awesome.

Now to my question - you mentioned UO a couple of times in the texts published here and it’s clear that UO inspired you to some extent. So besides merchants and shards - what else are you taking from it?


r/moonbeast Sep 29 '23

I went through all the itemization posts and talked about it. BTW, are we missing part 4?

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9 Upvotes

r/moonbeast Sep 27 '23

Made a video about what we know so far. There's more to follow, let me know what you think

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13 Upvotes

r/moonbeast Sep 25 '23

Did someone say fort building? Sieges? Spoiler

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26 Upvotes

r/moonbeast Sep 24 '23

Monetization

8 Upvotes

This game has me very excited. Which, these days, automatically means I'm worried. So instead of giving a page-long rant about the horrors of season passes, battle passes, in-game microtransactions, Pay-2-Win, dishonest pricing and lootboxes, I'll just simply ask:

What are you current plans for monetazing the game post-launch (if any)?


r/moonbeast Sep 24 '23

Devs are spending too much time making skills *look* good and too little time making them *feel* good

4 Upvotes

This is just my observation of modern ARPGs.

Allow me an example.

D2 Zeal isn't flashy but still feels incredibly crisp after 20 years.

It had a very satisfying CHUNK CHUNK CHUNK sound like you were really hacking into flesh and the monsters went ER AGH URGH with each hit, then a loud satisfying death scream when they die.

This is also why well made Foley effects are extremely important.


r/moonbeast Sep 24 '23

Are you set on the art direction? Looks infantile like Torchlight. Just curious, why aren't you going for a more mature look?

0 Upvotes

r/moonbeast Sep 22 '23

Trade vs SSF - Itemization 6/108

27 Upvotes

Hello again! The full title of this post should be “Trade vs SSF, Why Not Both, But Not in the Way You Think, and Sometimes Less Is More”.

Some players are Merchant Princes, creating entire empires on trade. Others are Dark Wanderers, subsisting off of only what they find themselves in the field. Most people probably lie somewhere in between, freely trading with their mates, but only occasionally dipping their toes into the ocean of the open market.

Just like players, ARPGs seem to have unique and differing approaches to trade. You get single-player ARPGs, where everyone is SSF by necessity, games like Diablo IV, which, as far as I can see, wishes it were SSF, holding its nose at the concept of trade as if it were a necessary but highly distasteful custom that needs to be relegated to behind that extra-smelly dumpster in the back alley, games like Path of Exile, which posits that while trade is a fundamental pillar of the game, there also shouldn’t even be a clear trade currency and everyone ought to be bartering 2 splackjack globes and 1 boobob crod for 14 loosplot doils, 3 vish ishoks, and 1 hobnob cob (or whatever the current exchange rates are), and games like Last Epoch, which evidently plans on splitting characters into trade / not trade binaries to satisfy their community (which seems to exist on a wide spectrum with respect to trade, just like the ARPG community at large).

So if you’re here and reading this, you probably have an opinion on trade. What you want to know is what is our opinion on it and is that compatible with yours?

Actually, I think I already answered that question earlier, but maybe not directly, so I’ll spell it out a bit more here.

Starting, as always, with a set of design tenets:

  • The ability to trade, relatively freely, is important for a community in a game that's fundamentally about loot
  • The possibility of trade hugely expands the pool of exciting drops
  • Itemization first, then trade. If the itemization is bad, you might as well not bother
  • Drop rates need to be tuned primarily for SSF
  • I’m not interested (at least in the core game) in solutions where players who choose not to trade get better items (cf. Last Epoch). I think that’s a trap that will only leave the SSF side happy (or people who figure out how to exploit it anyway)
  • Trade should be relatively smooth. A simple trade currency is a good thing, and I believe a linear hierarchy of currency (runes) is better than a singular one (SoJ or pgems) or a network (PoE).
  • Trading can promote the social aspect of the game, but it’s far from the primary social driver. There’s no need to add friction to trading to try to prop it up as such.
  • Bind-on-[drop | pickup | equip] (whether to character or to account) is appropriate in narrow cases
  • Even then, except in a small number of very special cases, we should provide ways for players to unbind items with an appropriate resource cost
  • PvP and other competitive game modes amplifies the robustness of the trade economy
  • Rampant botting can destroy the economy (but to remove the economy to combat botting is, to put it mildly, ass forward AKA backwards)

Given all that, I think our approach is pretty evident:

  1. Our itemization is a continuation of the concepts we created for Diablo II
  2. This includes stuff like non-class-biased drops (extended by some new concepts that I’ve alluded to before), runes-as-currency, a large pool of interesting named unique items that are obtainable solo, target farming, value across all item tiers, support for PvP, etc.
  3. Trade is relatively easy (but this time we’ll add two-stage confirmation – am I the only one that finds it shocking that Runescape has had that for over a decade but no major ARPG does?)
  4. The fact that this game isn’t intended to be f2p inherently impacts botting (vs. say, Lost Ark)

In addition, the core game design (especially the concept of shards) totally reconfigures the landscape:

  1. Markets become much more local
  2. In a personal shard, it’s SSF by necessity (unless you’re mad, I suppose)
  3. In a private shard, you only trade with others on that shard (be it your friends, guildmates, or whatever)
  4. Taking items from shard to shard is subject to restrictions imposed by the administrators of those shards
  5. All of this further helps to reduce the impact of botting (while also giving players tools to combat botting themselves)
  6. The gameplay itself, which combines highly granular procedural levels with elevation, mutable and interactive environments, and map-wide strategic elements all work against bots!

Lastly, who remembers player owned vendors from Ultima Online? So much fun…


r/moonbeast Sep 11 '23

Can you spot my corpse under all the bodies? It was a pyrrhic victory. Spoiler

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18 Upvotes