Monsters & Memories - An Old School Indie MMO

[PlanetMans12345]

this game owns

[One Tin Soldier]

I can't believe I'm actually starting to feel excited about this game. I didn't think that was still possible for me.

I watched those videos. Glad to see swimming in and the water looks good. The bioluminescence in that cave was really nice. I think I'll probably try to get in on the next test.

I do have a question; what is "hardcore" mode that you can put your character in? Is that just PvP enabled or is it some kind of permadeath option for a character? If it is a permadeath mode I'd like to know more about it.

[Topgunben]

Where are we at with development on M&M?

[Zukan]

I can't believe I'm actually starting to feel excited about this game. I didn't think that was still possible for me.

I watched those videos. Glad to see swimming in and the water looks good. The bioluminescence in that cave was really nice. I think I'll probably try to get in on the next test.

I do have a question; what is "hardcore" mode that you can put your character in? Is that just PvP enabled or is it some kind of permadeath option for a character? If it is a permadeath mode I'd like to know more about it.

I'm glad there is something there you can get excited about!

Hardcore mode is a mode you can turn on per character by talking to an NPC. When a hardcore character dies that character is gone. It's not PvP, just one life. We also have Solo Only and Self Found modes. You can activate all modes or just one mode. It's just an optional extra for those that want it. :)

Where are we at with development on M&M?

We are in the building proof of concept phase currently.

[Homesteaded]

When is the december stress/test session? Hopefully not middle of the day on a weekend. Bad time for Dad.

[Zendir]

When is the december stress/test session? Hopefully not middle of the day on a weekend. Bad time for Dad.

next weekend, starts sat 1pm est, ends sunday 11pm est

[One Tin Soldier]

I'm glad there is something there you can get excited about!

Hardcore mode is a mode you can turn on per character by talking to an NPC. When a hardcore character dies that character is gone. It's not PvP, just one life. We also have Solo Only and Self Found modes. You can activate all modes or just one mode. It's just an optional extra for those that want it. :)



We are in the building proof of concept phase currently.

Ok, thanks. I probably should have already known that but I'm really out of touch with this stuff. It's been ages since I played a MMO but I think I'm ready to release my inner nerd once more.

[Zukan]

When is the december stress/test session? Hopefully not middle of the day on a weekend. Bad time for Dad.
next weekend, starts sat 1pm est, ends sunday 11pm est

Yup! Just made a little youtube short with the dates/times too. Feel free the share. :) Also in case anyone cares I'll post the full track from that, it's the latest zone music by our sound guy.

YeE9ZTnoCMM
cgrGFO8fNa8

[Homesteaded]

Can anyone who's actually participated in these stress test respond. Is this game enjoyable in the stress tests?

[magnetaress]

Can anyone who's actually participated in these stress test respond. Is this game enjoyable in the stress tests?

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a lot more youtube videos out there on the ticker from their discord:

https://discord.com/channels/847846851478945802/934226749921837118

[Zukan]

Test starts tomorrow! Hope some folks will come check it out. I think I'm going to roll an Inquisitor myself this time. But anyone who was in the last test(s) your characters from the previous tests will still be there too.


-4KcsWKY6Lo

[Homesteaded]

I'm not sure if this has been asked but will this game be solved via API hooks and turned into WoW? Or do you guys have ways to keep some magic and mystery in the world?

[Kolthek]

Had a blast this past weekend, looking forward to seeing this game progress and get fleshed out. Felt like EQ for real. INQ was a beastly tank, and MNK was real fun too

[Zukan]

Had a blast this past weekend, looking forward to seeing this game progress and get fleshed out. Felt like EQ for real. INQ was a beastly tank, and MNK was real fun too

It was a lot of fun! I went through like 4 hardcore characters. With shorter and shorter life spans as time went on. Not the type of thing you can afford to get careless with. :D

[Meneldor]

When are you opening up testing?

I have pretty extensive full development QA experience in the gaming industry and this looks like a fun project.

[Toxigen]

how close is this to EQ? any big differences up front?

giving this a little looksie

[magnetaress]

The biggest difference I can see is it is more group focused and less raid focused.

There will be camps, and spawns and grinding. And other things of that nature like dungeons where you will time spawns and look out for patrols and stuff. Classes are very similar, slightly adjusted and rebalanced towards the EQ versions. Stuff like inquisitor is new and unique. However the SK and Necro look a lot like EQ style ones.

[Zukan]

A new update has been posted. It contains work from November and December so there is loads of info and art. Some stuff maybe people saw during the test and some new changes as a result of the test. :)

https://monstersandmemories.com/updates/update-38-nov-amp-dec-2023

[magnetaress]

It was fun being around for some of all that.


M&M getting quite serious! Stay cool tho! Ya'lls game launching one day is one of those things I am looking forward too. And looking forward to supporting.

[Lifebar]

M&M is what will bring me back into MMOs.

[Zukan]

Hey all, I made an animated desktop background for Monsters & Memroies, you can use with Wallpaper Engine for those that have it. Here's a link to grab it for free: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3141753920

[Zukan]

Just wanted to share some sneaky peakies. The enviornment guys have been noodling on non-desert places. :)
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/921362436345446410/1199418112416682014/image.png?ex=65c2782a&is=65b0032a&hm=552d1fb39ada17bc4495f5725e7da8ad117e64c4cb6de64 f05b791ff314fb68f&
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/921362436345446410/1199418112794185839/image.png?ex=65c2782a&is=65b0032a&hm=8462a9e020cfe48773e60169105bbf0b10f713b001ac35a 7f10552843470d013&
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/921362436345446410/1200141239631216801/image.png?ex=65c519a1&is=65b2a4a1&hm=d6a2cada3265376b5e14e78ecd0f8ebc1ce0d1d5a8f936e c9578612de2a39229&
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/921362436345446410/1200142739329785866/LavaBiomeGif.gif?ex=65c51b06&is=65b2a606&hm=40d2270b91302a59b6b1bc1a5e50bc925321f052aedbfc2 93f6680e4960db02c&

[Lune]

It's over Anakin, I have the high roll!

Awesome

[Zukan]

Not sure how to embed Twitch VODs but here's a link to ALovingRobot's twitch vod from today where he shows off more of the biome stuff we worked on this month if you don't want to wait until the monthly update to drop. :)

https://www.twitch.tv/videos/2048266600

[Zukan]

Here is the full update including data from the tests: https://monstersandmemories.com/updates/update-39-january-2024

[Patriam1066]

Cool stuff man

[Castle2.0]

Gnomes out here looking like mini versions of Dr. James Tour https://www.youtube.com/@DrJamesTour

If their intelligence is equally high, I will certainly roll one for my wizard.

[Zukan]

H6sdEDIpJeE

[Zukan]

Here's a gameplay stream I did on Friday

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[Iron Chob]

Awesome sauce, subbed to the mailing list :)

[Zukan]

Feb and March combo undate just dropped. It's a big one. https://monstersandmemories.com/updates/update-40-feb-amp-march

Monsters & Memories will enter Early Access in January 2026.

[Pulgasari]

2026 typo?

[Zukan]

not a typo

[Pulgasari]

That's 21 months?

[Zukan]

The January 2026 date will contain the core gameplay elements and a handful of playable races and areas. There is more to do to complete the remaining world, races, and zones for them to live in.

Check out the Early Access FAQ here (https://monstersandmemories.com/early-access-faq) for the specifics. But feel free to ask questions and I'll do my best to answer them. :)

[Swish]

That's 21 months?

Still ahead of Pantheon.

[Tormac]

I won't hold you guys to that timeline, but that is exciting news!

[One Tin Soldier]

Dang, I really do want to play your game. I couldn't get in on the test but I watched several videos of other people playing. Based on that and the info in your FAQ this is like the game I've been dreaming of since I quit EQ.

The only mild concerns I have are that you might make enchanters overpowered (specifically charm spells) and that hybrid classes might be kind of crappy like in EQ.

Sorry, I couldn't resist giving my 2 cents on those things. But whatever, I'll probably be playing a Troll Necro like all right thinking people.

[Zukan]

Dang, I really do want to play your game. I couldn't get in on the test but I watched several videos of other people playing. Based on that and the info in your FAQ this is like the game I've been dreaming of since I quit EQ.

The only mild concerns I have are that you might make enchanters overpowered (specifically charm spells) and that hybrid classes might be kind of crappy like in EQ.

Sorry, I couldn't resist giving my 2 cents on those things. But whatever, I'll probably be playing a Troll Necro like all right thinking people.

Hey sorry you weren't able to try it out yet, but there will be more open tests in the future so hopeflly you'll be able to join in on one of them. No dates set for those yet but keep an eye on the discord.

We were talking a lot about the enchanter in our last internal play test. There is concerns about charm by some internally also. We'll see where things land. We're still shuffling things around and trying to come up with good solutions for problem areas.

Feel free to continue sharing the 2 cents, we read comments. :)

[One Tin Soldier]

Feel free to continue sharing the 2 cents, we read comments. :)

You really shouldn't encourage me. I'm just chock full of stupid ideas.

For example: For paladins I would suggest playing up the self-sacrificing angle. It really fits with the psychology of people who want to play paladin from a Role Play perspective.

So maybe some ability with a long cool down that could be used when a group wipe looks likely. It would condem the paladin to certain death but give the others a chance to escape. Like a mega taunt that draws all agro to the paly and gives him major damage mitigation for a brief time but also roots him in place. Simultaneously it gives the other group members a brief invulnerability so they can try to run but also prevents them from attacking or casting spells.

Or...on a less dramatic note, give paladins a new type of buff which can be cast only on one other group member. It would redirect some percentage of incoming damage from that player to the paladin. It wouldn't compete with the buffs other classes have because it's not a hitpoint buff or a AC buff or a damage mitigator or absorber it is a damage redirecter.

Geez, see what you made me do. Ok I'll shut up now.

[One Tin Soldier]

Hmm, sorry. My inner nerd broke completely loose for a while yesterday. I beat him up and gave him a wedgie and he slunk back down into the basement of my mind.

Back to lurker mode.

[spoil]

Enchanters are 'overpowered' yet I see a lot more solo necromancers and shamans than solo enchanters. I think enchanter is properly powered if a lot of players avoid the class because it's challenging with little margin for error.

Knowing how gamers operate, any truly overpowered class would be ubiquitous, like mages on Quarm. When the ability to press "/pet attack" makes you the most sought after class for groups, that's overpowered.

[magnetaress]

Playing a mage on Quarm is like doin time for ur pixels. G-d bless.

[Iron Chob]

Hey sorry you weren't able to try it out yet, but there will be more open tests in the future so hopeflly you'll be able to join in on one of them. No dates set for those yet but keep an eye on the discord.

We were talking a lot about the enchanter in our last internal play test. There is concerns about charm by some internally also. We'll see where things land. We're still shuffling things around and trying to come up with good solutions for problem areas.

Feel free to continue sharing the 2 cents, we read comments. :)

As regards to charm, perhaps one solution is to have a sliding scale of mana cost relative to the health bar of the target....if target is on full health, the charm will cost more than the remaining health of the target to be successful. Buffs on mobs could be allocated a "hitpoint" value, which thus adds to the difficulty of charming - this then ensures re-charming a previously charmed and buffed mob, even at low health, adds to the cost. It would also increase the difficulty of charming a fully enemy-buffed mob from a static start (spawn) point.

Magic resist and level of target relative to the caster similarly remain in play.

Another idea would be to have charm have an ongoing mana cost. Should the caster have zero mana remaining, the charm will automatically break.

[spoil]

Playing a mage on Quarm is like doin time for ur pixels. G-d bless.

It's exactly like picking the strongest class that takes the least amount of effort. That combination is what makes it overpowered. People can talk about enchanters all they want, player behavior reveals what they actually perceive to be optimal strategies. There are very good reasons that people choose not to play enchanter, we all know this.

[enjchanter]

Yeah cuz their monitors are turned off and they're dual wielding left hands

[Zukan]

Here's a cool video someone put together which is a great over view of the project.

q2jGo0kRNK0

[Tormac]

Thanks for the update Zukan.
January 2026 cannot get here soon enough.

[Zukan]

TAeNdRiyiBo

Hey all, we just put out our April 2024 update! I'll hit yall with some fun foot notes but worth checking out here:

https://monstersandmemories.com/updates/update-41-april-2024


Four new team members join
Another free public playtest slated for end of June (plus additional spontanious stress tests leading up to it)
Began concepting animated 3D class icons
Various art updates
Class design tweaks
Created new Thunderclap and Rolling Thunder sound events
Lots of tech fixes
Tons of UI work being done

[Pulgasari]

Thanks for the update Zukan.
January 2026 cannot get here soon enough.

Is it only me that thinks 2926 release is a joke?

[Zukan]

Is it only me that thinks 2926 release is a joke?

It's no joke our intent is to go into Early Access January 2026. I'm sensing some concerns.

[Trexller]

jan 2026 is completely realistic

some trolling seems to have leaked from other threads into this one

[magnetaress]

Asteroid will only be 3 years away at that point !

No rush. No pressure.

[Zukan]

Asteroid will only be 3 years away at that point !


Can't wait! I hope it lands right on me, I'm not built for post apocalyptic survival.

[magnetaress]

Can't wait! I hope it lands right on me, I'm not built for post apocalyptic survival.

I'm the same way. I want to be playing M&M though when it hits.

[deathusurper]

The June 1st tress test is almost here. Still can't wait to explore.

[magnetaress]

honorary bump this should rly be pinned tho :D

[TheIrateTurk]

I played the stress test yesterday.

Differences from P99

My monk had FD at level 1. I hear that Clerics will be able to rez from like level 8 or 9.

There was also an interesting change whereby the vendors will not indiscriminately buy whatever it is you are trying to sell to them (and the ones that do give you worse prices?). So if you want to sell your cracked staff or whatever you have to find the guy who wants to buy it.

They did not have sense heading or /loc in the game. Not sure if either will make it to the final game (perhaps someone who knows more than I do can chime in?) I think some people have said there will be a compass which sounds good. I would feel lost without Loc but at the same time, it is not very immersive to have a game spit out some coordinates at you. And I would probably adapt to it.

Are these changes a a good thing? Maybe!? The best thing a dev can do is make what they believe to be a great game without listening (too much) to the little people. We are mainly imbeciles who don't know what we want. You can't create something good by committee.

It's difficult to know if the departures from EQ that were in the stress test yesterday will pan out or not, and it's also probably incorrect to judge them in a vacuum. We have to remember that there is a whole game being made and balanced, and there is a lot that I (and others) are not privy to.

The challenge here is to create a spiritual successor to EQ and the only way to do this is to consider the things that Blizzard got very right and very wrong with vanilla Wow, replicate what they got right, and try not to repeat the mistakes they made. Wow improved a few things about EQ, but also completely ruined many other things by watering the experience down. They added Blizzard polish to the game so that the combat/ raiding was a lot smoother and was more interesting, but they removed things like exp penalty on death, naked corpse runs, added a minimap, introduced fast travel into the world. The reason EQ feels so good is because the scale of the world is massive.

It's also a good thing that the game is grueling because when you finally complete something it feels like it was worthwhile, as though you have achieved something. There is a half-amiable half-selfish solidarity in the EQ experience. People know what a ballache it is to die three times in a row four zones over, so they will help you. As Yogi Berra said "Always go to other people's funerals, otherwise they won't come to yours."

The social aspect of EQ is unparalleled. If you look at what they did with Wow, the levelling is absolutely atrocious because they made it so that you can pretty much solo the game. And the quest system is terrible. It's too much spoon-feeding and handholding. Hemet Nesingwary wants you to collect 10 bear asses. This isn't good game design. Oh you've finished all the quests in Goldshire? Please deliver this barrel of milk to some dude in Westfall so he can tell you to do more mundane gathering quests there, brave adventurer!

As a priest who wanted to play a healer, I spent the first 60 levels playing in shadow spec and wanding things down to kill them on my own.

Compare the levelling experience to EQ where after you hit level 5 or whatever you go to Faydark and start killing Orcs, fighting your way to Crushbone in a group, where you actually play your class. And it's social too.

And because Crushbone is not instanced, you have glorious things like trains and you share the space with other players who may be higher level than you. It's great that you do not run the whole dungeon in one sitting. It's really good that you can sometimes catch a glimpse of Ambassador DVinn or the Emperor himself in the throne room while outside. It's very exciting.

M&M felt like P99 with improvements, even though it was incredibly laggy. Doing big damage during combat felt good/ satisfying. There was an evil looking glowing green wizard tower over off in the distance. So far everything I've seen bodes well.

https://i.gyazo.com/bf5305075399251cb54924b452966565.jpg

This is an image someone else posted on the Discord because I was too stupid to take my own screenshot.

I think these devs are trying to create something that most of us who reminisce over MMORPGs from 25 years ago and play p99 will consider authentic and fun to play. I am very grateful for them and will definitely be playing this game when it does eventually come out.

[Zukan]

Thanks to those who were able to pop on for the stress test. There was lag but we collected a lot of data from it. Hopefully some fun was had!

Also, TheIrateTurk, cool write up! I passed it along to the team.

[TheIrateTurk]

Thanks Zukan

I have interacted with various devs on the discord over the past day or so, so they are probably sick of me and my "insights". I will do a George Costanza and leave on a high note.

[Evia]

This game looks great. Sucks I missed the stress test... looking forward to trying it at some point! At least some people are trying to recreate a game similar in spirit as OG EQ!

[Trexller]

This game looks great. Sucks I missed the stress test... looking forward to trying it at some point! At least some people are trying to recreate a game similar in spirit as OG EQ!

Yeah IMO the only way to do it right would have to be a non-profit project.

Even the OG devs couldnt both make a good game, and a profitable game

They made a good game, then screwed it up by trying to appeal to wall street

[mokfarg]

I played the stress test yesterday.

Differences from P99

My monk had FD at level 1. I hear that Clerics will be able to rez from like level 8 or 9.

There was also an interesting change whereby the vendors will not indiscriminately buy whatever it is you are trying to sell to them (and the ones that do give you worse prices?). So if you want to sell your cracked staff or whatever you have to find the guy who wants to buy it.

They did not have sense heading or /loc in the game. Not sure if either will make it to the final game (perhaps someone who knows more than I do can chime in?) I think some people have said there will be a compass which sounds good. I would feel lost without Loc but at the same time, it is not very immersive to have a game spit out some coordinates at you. And I would probably adapt to it.
........



I think a compass would be the only thing needed. I have always wanted a game to use world drops as a way to obtain maps of zones. I think it would be neat to find a map of a zone, that also may have hidden secrets on them. (Maybe the map also unlocks a place in the zone to spawn a named, hidden treasure, or unlock secret cave.

[Zukan]

Hey just as a heads up:

We will be holding a Stress Test on Wednesday, June 5th, 2024 at 1pm Eastern

It will run for 4 hours, ending at 5pm Eastern.
If we run into stability issues, we'll either immediately patch the game or, if absolutely necessary, end the playtest (with the hope of running another in the coming days or weeks after)
For the beginning part of the Stress Test, only Relle (US-East-1) will be available. For this test only (and possibly other Stress Tests), it will be an EU Region server. (But not the Weekend Test.)
Early in the test, we may be limiting characters to only the Night Harbor zone, but we will bring other zones online as soon as Stress Test data is collected.
If/when we hit a specific player count on Relle, we will also open Krivea (US-East-2). This server will also be located in the EU Region for this and possibly further Stress Tests. (But not the Weekend Test.)

----
Disclaimer: This is a Technical Stress Test, and some in progress work may not be as polished as in the upcoming weekend Playtest. There is also the possibility of lag and other stability issues.
----


I know this is a weird time for most but if you're able to join it'd be cool. We want to test out some changes made based off the Saturday test. :)

[maxtorps]

I'm totally down for helping with that! I've created an account, downloaded the client and I'm ready to go! This is amazing.

[Zukan]

Hey just in case folks don't check the discord:

We will be holding a Stress Test on Friday, June 14th, 2024 at 1pm Eastern.

It will run for 4 hours, ending at 5pm Eastern.
If we run into stability issues, we'll either immediately patch the game or, if absolutely necessary, end the playtest (with the hope of running another in the coming days or weeks after)
For the beginning part of the Stress Test, only Relle (US-East-1) will be available. For this test only (and possibly other Stress Tests), it will be an EU Region server. (But not for the Weekend Test.)
Early in the test, we may be limiting characters to only the Night Harbor zone, but we will bring other zones online as soon as Stress Test data is collected.
If/when we hit a specific player count on Relle, we will also open Krivea (US-East-2). This server will also be located in the EU Region for this and possibly further Stress Tests. (But not for the Weekend Test.)


Disclaimer: This is a Technical Stress Test, and some in progress work may not be as polished as in the upcoming weekend Playtest. There is also the possibility of lag and other stability issues.

[Thulghor]

I have been messing with this as the playtests come up. It's a lot of fun!

[Zukan]

Just a reminder that our big weekend long playtest is this week. Party starts Friday, June 28th, 2024 at 1pm Eastern and will run until Sunday, June 30th at 11:59 pm Eastern.

Make an accout and download for free here: https://account.monstersandmemories.com/

[Topgunben]

Just a reminder that our big weekend long playtest is this week. Party starts Friday, June 28th, 2024 at 1pm Eastern and will run until Sunday, June 30th at 11:59 pm Eastern.

Make an accout and download for free here: https://account.monstersandmemories.com/

Sweet!!

[maxtorps]

Great! Thank you!

[magnetaress]

Going to support the game even if I can't really play it. Hopefully a lot of content creators find out about it. As I enjoy watching lets plays and lore videos these days. Or zone showcases.

[Botten]

I think the game will draw more players if they go with a cosmetic micro transaction deal or a donation method.

Not crazy about monthly fee.

[Trexller]

I think the game will draw more players if they go with a cosmetic micro transaction deal or a donation method.

Not crazy about monthly fee.

don't listen to this guy

definitely charge a monthly fee

in-game cash shops always become pay to win games, even if they don't start out that way

[Thulghor]

don't listen to this guy

definitely charge a monthly fee

in-game cash shops always become pay to win games, even if they don't start out that way

Agreed.

[magnetaress]

WoW Titan pantheon themed Star Pegasus mount grossed more revenue than Star Craft 2 lol.

I may even have one also.

[Topgunben]

don't listen to this guy

definitely charge a monthly fee

in-game cash shops always become pay to win games, even if they don't start out that way

Amen. The devs of m & m seem to be doing this more out of a love of good gaming and not $.

[TheIrateTurk]

Further to my post a few weeks back, I just finished playing a monk on the two day playtest.

I am continually blown over by how good this game is. I cannot state how enjoyable it was to play a new game where things were unknown and there was little to no hand holding. We had to figure things out for ourselves, and it was a great social and gaming experience.

M&M completely captures the spirit of EQ from the P1999 era, while updating some systems in a way which seems sensible and does not detract the authenticity of the classic MMO experience.

Changes
Monk has more buttons to press. We have a jab on a short cooldown which interrupts casting, and AOE stun which is on a 150s CD which also interrupts casting. A celestial punch which gave a buff which increased regen

Combat seems faster, there are many mobs in a zone and they have a short respawn time. We're talking 5-7 minutes. Regen is faster. Named mobs in dungeons seem to be a big deal relative to their placeholders and surrounding mobs. Yes, the Orc Trainer is higher level and harder to kill, but he is effectively just another Crushbone mob. The named ghosts which were level 8-10 in Wyrmsbane Tomb could heal, gate etc.

Corpse Runs are harder. Casters need their spellbooks to mem their spells and without this they are unable to cast anything. I heard the devs talking about buying a second spellbook and keeping it in your bank, or asking a rogue to drag the corpses for you. We were quite deep in Wyrmsbane Tomb and I was having to flop my way while dragging four corpses on a macro, and mending the damage I'd taken. Took about 30 minutes.

They have added a campfire system which from what I could tell, gave the group breeze as well as being a large light source. This is a profession of sorts, so any class could gather wood and build a campfire which gives the group vision and also MP5. There will probably be better campfires which provide different buffs etc.

Vision is really important. It's dark in the dungeons. Torches and candles and firebeetle eyes all have fuel which expires, so you have to use them sparingly.

NPCs do not give you quest breadcrumbs [like this]. They speak without square brackets, and you have to figure out what they want you to say if you want to progress a quest. There is a quest Journal which seems to capture any important conversations so you can remember what you have to do.

My initial thoughts of vendors who won't indiscriminately buy your gear was that it could be bad, but having played with the system for a bit, it really was not a problem at all. You quickly figure out who the Rusty Weapon merchant is and everyone was close together.

There is a navigation trainer/ skill but this was not working AFAIK so not sure what the system would involve.

All in all, this game is shaping up to be something special which I know fans of P99 would love.

[One Tin Soldier]

I've tried to play in the last four tests and most of the time I can't even get into the game. The one time I did get in the lag was so bad I couldn't do anything. Admittedly I'm trying to run it on older PCs (two different ones). A friend of mine has had a similar experience.

Given the low end graphics (which I like so don't take that the wrong way) it seems like you shouldn't need a brand new, high end PC to play it.

I know it's still very early in the testing phase but it seems like something they might want to think about.

It may not matter for me in the long run though. If they stick to making the game as described in their FAQ I will be willing to buy a new PC just for this game. But not yet. After years of disappointment I have developed this nasty suspicious part of my mind that I can't quash entirely and it makes me worry that they might pull some kind of bait and switch trick. They seem like regular, down to earth guys so probably not but that suspicion still lurks in my mind.

Still, the more people who can run the game the more potential customers so, again, it might make sense to think about that.

[maxtorps]

I tried it fro a few hours over the weekend and thought it was great! To me, it really captures the essence of a game with no hand holding. Even dying was a delight as I floated above my cold, dead corpse before hitting the loading screen!

It was good to see a quest journal, interesting there's no compass so you rely on the position of the sun and moon for directions. There's also other clues like "North Gate" for example as well as various signposts in the city, but it's not simple to navigate. It's just the right amount of awkward vs obvious.

Spells, gems, casting and abilities are very similar so you can get started right away. I spent about an hour killing rats and could afford three new L1 spells, once I'd found a shady peddlar that buys literally anything but at knockdown prices. Other merchants specialise and give you more of a reward. (Thanks to the player Bardarossa who led me to them).

Overall, I found it an enjoyable experience and will feature it more in my podcast as more access is given. On that note, my Twitch channel has some clips (https://www.twitch.tv/richardsonsrubicon) if you want to see, there's also an excellent channel run by one of the devs "ALovingRobot", definately worth a follow.

On saying all of that, P99 is still my current fave...

[GardylooGubbins]

Played for a few hours this weekend. Looks quite promising. Interesting Zones, no hand holding, and actual player interaction as people were trying to figure things out. Played a beastlord, and it was fun. Made some money, got my spells/abilities, and slowly figured out where stuff was.

Night blindness was no joke though.

[Topgunben]

Played for a few hours this weekend. Looks quite promising. Interesting Zones, no hand holding, and actual player interaction as people were trying to figure things out. Played a beastlord, and it was fun. Made some money, got my spells/abilities, and slowly figured out where stuff was.

Night blindness was no joke though.

Ya I noticed there was a lot of player interaction as well. I really like feeling like all of my answers to questions can be found in game, either through personal exploration or asking someone.

TBH the P99 wiki is a little immersion breaking because I don’t even need to ask people in game how or where or what something is.

Oh last thing. I made a necro in M&M and got my ass kicked by a beetle that was an even con. Strangely, It’s a good feeling to get ragdolled like that.

[wycca]

I've tried to play in the last four tests and most of the time I can't even get into the game. The one time I did get in the lag was so bad I couldn't do anything. Admittedly I'm trying to run it on older PCs (two different ones). A friend of mine has had a similar experience.

Given the low end graphics (which I like so don't take that the wrong way) it seems like you shouldn't need a brand new, high end PC to play it.

I know it's still very early in the testing phase but it seems like something they might want to think about.

It may not matter for me in the long run though. If they stick to making the game as described in their FAQ I will be willing to buy a new PC just for this game. But not yet. After years of disappointment I have developed this nasty suspicious part of my mind that I can't quash entirely and it makes me worry that they might pull some kind of bait and switch trick. They seem like regular, down to earth guys so probably not but that suspicion still lurks in my mind.

Still, the more people who can run the game the more potential customers so, again, it might make sense to think about that.

I agree and performance is on our mind for sure.

It is low poly - yes. Model poly counts range from around P99 EQ up to actually pretty similar to WoW Vanilla. Most of our player models come in at around 800-900ish as a base, with attachments like ears, hair, belt, cloak, pouches, shoulders, backpack, held items, etc pushing them up to around 1100-1400ish, just depending on the mix/items. I think our npc models range from 60 (the wisp) to a special one (dragon) that's around 9000ish (they average closer to player models).

Despite all of that low poly stuff, there's some more modern things going on under the hood. Our textures are mostly authored at 2k (we display at 512). Our player gear visuals and mixing of them is handled on the models by shaders (pushing the limit of the api in fact). Much of the stuff behind the low poly & hand-painted textures is fairly advanced though in terms of lighting/shadows, water, etc. We have pretty much infinite draw distances - which looks great with some of our huge zones and we give you peeks at neighboring zones in our facades - such as a castle on a mountain that is 4 zone lines away. We have technical challenges few games face with some things - 100 lights in a scene may be a ton for many games - we've got to think about 1000 lights. Old EQ zones could handle 200-400 npcs roughly if I recall (depending on expansion in early EQ) - we have around 2500 and counting in a zone. Networking for player counts of a MMO-size is also not something many games have to deal with. Obviously that one is a particular focus right now. So low poly - yes. Low tech everywhere else - not necessarily like many might expect based on the poly count.

Some of the inspiration for our graphical mix described above can be found in some threads on this forum. Starting with some older render images (/wave toddfx), continuing through the various HQ texture packs and now all of those cool Unreal/Unity EQ takes. The team liked the feel of those sort of mixes, and we think it really brings to life the fantastic realism (our term) art style we're trying to capture.

So back to PC specs. Currently, the game is playable on both my ~2017-era laptop with an i5 (7th gen kaby lake) running at like ~3ghz boosted and a Geforce 1060 (75watts) at 1080p. I get around 20-55fps in an empty Night Harbor right now, depending where at in the city. I actually used it during this last weekend to help monitor CSR stuff on one server (I was logged in on multiple servers on different machines). I get 20-35fps on my M1 Macbook Air testbed laptop running the game via Crossover. All fairly low-spec nowadays and playable for a slower MMO. I have also dropped the resolution majorly on my i7 (12th gen) in my other laptop when I test run it on integrated graphics - its decently playable at a lower resolution at around 15-25fps in NH. GPU vram is around 2.6gb for our performance option vs about 3.1gb for our recommended option. Those with 3gb vram on cards are going to see a big drop in performance if they run above 1080p/performance for example.

There's some tweaks you can do to help improve fps right now - I put together a list which I have/can share via our discord. It depends a bit on your system, but basically on older machines, some of the easiest things are a couple of our settings, hiding corpses, watching what is eating cpu in the background, then adjusting resolution, etc. Longer-term, we hope to have more graphics options to help turn some stuff down, but it just isn't a major focus yet as we focus on building the game. We hope to eventually run better on integrated graphics, and even various handhelds (including Android).

[One Tin Soldier]

There's some tweaks you can do to help improve fps right now - I put together a list which I have/can share via our discord. It depends a bit on your system, but basically on older machines, some of the easiest things are a couple of our settings, hiding corpses, watching what is eating cpu in the background, then adjusting resolution, etc.

I saw that list on discord and adjusted the settings. As for the hardware side of things I will freely admit that I'm a dumbass with this stuff. In my day to day life it's not necessary for me to know about it. Like I said I'll probably buy a new computer when MnM gets closer to release. It's just that it's been ages since I had any reason to care about this sort of thing.

Anyway, good luck to you guys.

[Topgunben]

I saw that list on discord and adjusted the settings. As for the hardware side of things I will freely admit that I'm a dumbass with this stuff. In my day to day life it's not necessary for me to know about it. Like I said I'll probably buy a new computer when MnM gets closer to release. It's just that it's been ages since I had any reason to care about this sort of thing.

Anyway, good luck to you guys.

Hopefully by 2026 they have optimized a little better and computer performance / cost is more favorable.

I’m currently running a ryzen 5 5600 cpu with a xfx 6700xt video card and it seemed to run flawlessly. My machine isn’t any where close to top of the line - for gaming desktops I’d say it’s middle of the road.

But I’ll tell you, the older I get, the harder it is for me to get on my desktop to play (maybe it’s because I’m sitting at a desk for work 8 hours a day already). I’d prefer a laptop where I can play for an hour at night before I go to bed. Like I said above, hopefully laptops in 2026 are much cheaper and more powerful.

As a side note, One thing I’m impressed with after all these years is how well WOW was optimized in its early days.

[wycca]

Hopefully by 2026 they have optimized a little better and computer performance / cost is more favorable.

I’m currently running a ryzen 5 5600 cpu with a xfx 6700xt video card and it seemed to run flawlessly. My machine isn’t any where close to top of the line - for gaming desktops I’d say it’s middle of the road.

But I’ll tell you, the older I get, the harder it is for me to get on my desktop to play (maybe it’s because I’m sitting at a desk for work 8 hours a day already). I’d prefer a laptop where I can play for an hour at night before I go to bed. Like I said above, hopefully laptops in 2026 are much cheaper and more powerful.

As a side note, One thing I’m impressed with after all these years is how well WOW was optimized in its early days.

There's a ton about WoW technically that is impressive as hell. If you want to know how something is able to be done efficiently/well in terms of tech in a MMO, it's hard to go wrong with looking at how WoW addressed the problem, even today.

Gaming laptops are pretty great honestly - I just found I need a lap pad to use them when not on a solid surface usually. They tend to stay warm even with the dgpu shut off. AMD came out with a pretty nice apu this year that is actually pretty solid at 1080p gaming. It's been super popular - it's in all of those windows handhelds that have launched pretty much. The next few years should see more releases and competition from intel with their arc-based APUs. So...that should be pretty nice IMO. Alternatively, ARM might be viable in the near future - already is IMO if you're on Mac, we'll see about Qualcomm.

[Topgunben]

There's a ton about WoW technically that is impressive as hell. If you want to know how something is able to be done efficiently/well in terms of tech in a MMO, it's hard to go wrong with looking at how WoW addressed the problem, even today.

Gaming laptops are pretty great honestly - I just found I need a lap pad to use them when not on a solid surface usually. They tend to stay warm even with the dgpu shut off. AMD came out with a pretty nice apu this year that is actually pretty solid at 1080p gaming. It's been super popular - it's in all of those windows handhelds that have launched pretty much. The next few years should see more releases and competition from intel with their arc-based APUs. So...that should be pretty nice IMO. Alternatively, ARM might be viable in the near future - already is IMO if you're on Mac, we'll see about Qualcomm.

So true. Love or hate wow, the way they were able to optimize that game is nothing but a masterclass.

Ill have to start looking at gaming laptops. Im currently running a $300 acer laptop that I picked up for the kids, and it worked so well I bought 2 more for myself and the family. It does just fine for p99 and other classic games like stalker, gothic, wow etc. I need to figure out a good mouse setup for the bed haha. I dont really want to bring in mouse pad everytime i get in, so what i end up using is a book of sorts.

[Wakanda]

One thing about modern WoW is that it's optimized terribly. I remember when I played the game for like 15 years on e-machines and it ran at high FPS on ultra settings. Now I struggle to run the game on medium settings. I remember when I upgraded to a 3080ti I thought my problems would be over.... it didn't change anything :eek: there are some zones like Winterspring where I'm literally playing at like 10-15 FPS anytime there's a fight, which is like.... the entire time you're in that BG. Super annoying.

They've also added a lot of load screens to WoW, which is super annoying since one of the biggest and most groundbreaking things about WoW was that you didn't have to load every time you went into a new zone.

[Zukan]

Hey all, the latest update just dropped! It's a two-month worth update so there is a lot of stuff:

https://monstersandmemories.com/updates/update-42-may-amp-june-2024

https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/603cb2299959d83fcdc26265/1720361842762-PKYO7DLGYFALU6I5BK7Y/OgrevsHalflingcover.png?format=2500w

[magnetaress]

This game is gonna be huge. I wish I could buy stock lol.

[Wakanda]

I hope this is accurate^ I actually found out about it through friends who don't even knwo what EQ is. They said they like the weird old school art style.

[Zukan]

Hey gang, just wanted to drop a heads up that we are looking into doing another Stress Test in the near future. We are still trying to figure out exactly what day and time so keep an eye on the #mnm-playtest-info channel in discord!

here's the discord link again for convenience - https://discord.com/invite/jvdKKc3CqW

[Zukan]

Monsters & Memories Stress Test (August 10th, 2024)

We will be holding a Stress Test on Saturday, August 10th, 2024 at 1pm Eastern.


We'll all cram into one server to start the test.
If and when we get the data we need, we will open up the rest of the servers for an extended playtest. (Estimated 12-24 hours)
The sooner we get the data we need, the sooner the other servers will come up, so please participate in the Stress Test phase!
If we run into stability issues, we may patch the game or, if absolutely necessary, end the playtest (with the hope of running another in the coming days or weeks after)

Disclaimer: This is a Technical Stress Test, and there is lots of in progress work that may be unpolished, imbalanced, or broken. There is also the possibility of lag and other stability issues.


How To Register/Download Client

Register an account and log in at https://account.monstersandmemories.com/
(If you already made an account in previous tests, just log in)
Download the Patcher
Make sure you're patched on the day of the test
(Optional) Read up how to play on the Quick Start Guide https://monstersandmemories.com/quick-start-guide


We look forward to seeing you there!

[Zukan]

Monsters & Memories Stress Test (August 31st, 2024)

We will be holding a Stress Test on Saturday, August 31st, 2024 at 1pm Eastern.


We want to test our netcode, which should be highly optimized compared to the previous Stress Tests!
We'll all cram into one server to start the test.
After we get the data we need, we will open up the rest of the servers for an extended playtest.
The sooner we get the data we need, the sooner the other servers will come up, so please participate in the Stress Test phase!
The Matswar and Sorophal servers are merged into Relle
The Trimminax server is merged into Krivea
If we run into stability issues, we may patch the game or, if absolutely necessary, end the playtest (with the hope of running another in the coming days or weeks after)


Disclaimer: This is a Technical Stress Test, and there is lots of in progress work that may be unpolished, imbalanced, or broken. There is also the possibility of lag and other stability issues.

[magnetaress]

Bump

[Zukan]

Been a while since I checked in here. I have no real updates at the moment. We are just trucking away on things. Got lots of cool shiny new things to show off next time we have a test at least. But I'm not sure when that might be. Hopefully something in November. :)

[Zukan]

https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/603cb2299959d83fcdc26265/dcd87a74-45a1-4b36-badc-5ccc5dc6b8ce/10000.png?format=1500w

Latest update just went live (https://monstersandmemories.com/updates/update-44-sept-amp-oct-2024)! For those interested in all the words check out the link, but maybe most people just wanna see screenshots of the game so here's a few new zones in the works:

https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/603cb2299959d83fcdc26265/1730646932202-IMQRJGNZN0KKXWPA0HOG/giants2.png
https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/603cb2299959d83fcdc26265/1730647662220-GMTEDPQW0GK7FWKHLDV5/Screenshot+2024-11-02+184509.png
https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/603cb2299959d83fcdc26265/1730644313306-YKZERFVU49YCMPQO53OY/image+%282%29.png
https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/603cb2299959d83fcdc26265/1730644307093-X35ES58YWMTTUP5X6VR6/image+%283%29.png
https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/603cb2299959d83fcdc26265/1730733150457-OR0ARTHT1T3NVIG7KGKW/screenshot_2024-10-31_094324.png
https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/603cb2299959d83fcdc26265/1730725157756-Z7EMC124QHP1Y2MQK73K/image+%284%29.png

[Zukan]

Monsters & Memories Stress Test (November 30th, 2024)

We will be holding a Stress Test on Saturday, November 30th, 2024 at 1pm Eastern.


The purpose of this Stress Test will be to test netcode improvements and server stability
There will only be one East Coast PvE server available
The Stress Test will last a maximum of 4 hours (ending at 5pm Eastern)
Characters from the previous tests will not be available
If we run into stability issues, we may patch the game or, if absolutely necessary, end the playtest (with the hope of running another in the coming days or weeks after)
Disclaimer: This is a Technical Stress Test, and there is lots of in progress work that may be unpolished, imbalanced, or broken. There is also the possibility of lag and other stability issues.

RSVP Here:https://discord.com/events/847846851478945802/1306876903679983636

How To Register/Download Client

Register an account and log in at <https://account.monstersandmemories.com>
(If you already made an account in previous tests, just log in)
Download the Patcher
Make sure you're patched on the day of the test
(Optional) Read up how to play on the Quick Start Guide https://monstersandmemories.com/quick-start-guide


We look forward to seeing you there!

[Malkor]

Hopefully, I'll be able to make the November 30th stress test. It'll be my first time playing the game, so wish me luck! I'm looking forward to it!

[Zukan]

Monsters & Memories Stress Test (December 21st, 2024)

We will be holding a Stress Test on Saturday, December 21st, 2024 at 1pm Eastern.


The purpose of this Stress Test will be to test netcode improvements and server stability
There will only be one East Coast PvE server available
The Stress Test will last a maximum of 8 hours (ending at 9pm Eastern)
Characters from the previous Stress Test will be available
If we run into stability issues, we may patch the game or, if absolutely necessary, end the playtest (with the hope of running another in the coming days or weeks after)


Disclaimer: This is a Technical Stress Test, and there is lots of in progress work that may be unpolished, imbalanced, or broken. There is also the possibility of lag and other stability issues.

RSVP Here: https://discord.com/events/847846851478945802/1318812584299855892

How To Register/Download Client

Register an account and log in at https://account.monstersandmemories.com/
(If you already made an account in previous tests, just log in)
Download the Patcher
Make sure you're patched on the day of the test
(Optional) Read up how to play on the Quick Start Guide https://monstersandmemories.com/quick-start-guide


We look forward to seeing you there!

[Zukan]

Hopefully, I'll be able to make the November 30th stress test. It'll be my first time playing the game, so wish me luck! I'm looking forward to it!

I hope you were able to pop on in Nov Malkor. :) If not we have this Dec one this weekend which will be 8 hours long so more time! And probably some new stuff to see.

[Ekco]

>Monsters & Memories Stress Test (December 21st, 2024)

bump

[shovelquest]

10000??! Thats more than the numbers Ekco had for eve :gasp:

I should play a GOOD video game today. I will try.

[shovelquest]

The whole experience is great, but some ogre named Unbug sitting there holding a candle is all I need to be all in.

https://i.imgur.com/QtmaL6h.png

[Zukan]

Thanks for everyone who was able to pop on for these last two stress tests of the year. I hope everyone has a good Christmas or whatever you celebrate! Looking forward to more MnM in the new year and hopefully on to Early Access in 2026. :)

[Zukan]

Update 45: November & December 2024 was posted! Check out the full post on the site here (https://monstersandmemories.com/updates/update-45-november-amp-december-2024) because there are more images than I will post here.

https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/603cb2299959d83fcdc26265/476bf29e-7a78-4efa-838e-73efed64ac4a/Cyclops+%281%29.png?format=1500w


Hi all!

2024 has been a blur for us. Looking back, we’ve accomplished a lot and hit some fun milestones:


Our Discord hit 10,000+ members

Our YouTube channel hit 5,000+ subscribers

The channel now has over 600 VODs

Our mailing list surpassed 7,000 subscribers

The project surpassed 10,000 GitHub commits

We ran 8 public testing sessions


…and we were nominated for some awards and even won a few. Plus, we’re on at least one “most anticipated MMO” list.

Thanks again for all of the support!


With Early Access ahead of us in 2026, it’s safe to say that 2025 is going to be even busier.

On to the good stuff. This update is pretty beefy, so grab a coffee, get comfortable, and enjoy!

7-l8SICxNio



Nov & Dec Stress Tests

https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/603cb2299959d83fcdc26265/23b9244f-bb67-4904-b211-d960c841e2db/nov+stress+test.png?format=1500w

https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/603cb2299959d83fcdc26265/79875bba-4b9d-4cef-be70-d2680d07207b/dec+stress+test.png?format=1500w

UI & UI Concepts

New weapons concepted

Additional armor sets concepted

Evershade Weald (formerly Evergrove) tone, features, and props concepted

Night Harbor’s Highpoint Terrace concepted

Night Harbor’s Underdocks concepted

UI work continued (see tech section for videos)


https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/603cb2299959d83fcdc26265/1736002751822-3OZF23E4U7BU9KEZNQXX/ew3.png


Character Art

Wasp model completed

Several new player armor textures in the works

Work continues on the Myconid model

Ratman continued and updated to wear gear for more customization

New weapons created


https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/603cb2299959d83fcdc26265/1736000740631-5GN00LNIUQHWTJM1DEGE/wasp.PNG?format=2500w

Animations

Drake rig

Drake animations

Wood elf animations

Human animation updates

Wasp rig

Wasp animations started


https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/603cb2299959d83fcdc26265/1736000199675-CSRFOHNT2ISE8RFUFLTW/Drake_run.gif?format=1500w

Environment Art

Wrapped up the <undisclosed area in Night Harbor> rework

Created a caravan and placed it in the Sojourners' camp in Night Harbor

Completed a rework of Sageside

New inn added and nearby buildings modified

Granary converted into the League’s bank

New plaza layout

Additional structures added to round out the district

Developed a new shader to highlight edges and darken corners for structures

Baked edge and corner maps for all of Night Harbor’s structures

Worked on locking down our new textures (almost there)

Evershade Weald (formerly Evergrove) and Faelindral (wood elf city) continued

Calafrey civilization ruins created for use in the region

Experimented with floor fog shader

Created the base terrain for Shallow Shoals

Shallow Shoals development progressed significantly (more in the next update)

Prop work for Sungreet Strand, Shallow Shoals, and other areas


https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/603cb2299959d83fcdc26265/1736003985323-GVAARQ610KTJE8C3SHY5/faelc5.png
https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/603cb2299959d83fcdc26265/1736005676665-BAHSB6GYQ9VMQ0P8SQBN/shallowshoals6.png?format=2500w

Audio & Music

Evershade Weald now has 5 nature ambience sound layers for 5 custom-built time periods within the 24-hour cycle, replacing the default day/night states, which only had two

Water pipe & sewer sound effects

Flag fluttering sound effects

Gnome male & female swimming sounds added and footsteps repaired

Fountain & pond sound effects added in various locations

Added a “tension music region” in the basement beneath the Shaded Bloom Inn


Kg2jO1pkNdE

Design

Systems

Abilities that critically fail now properly go on cooldown, play animations, VFX, etc.

Vision types slightly reworked (infravision improved)

Storage crates are now opened with left-click instead of right-click

Storage crates now properly spawn your items after a server reset

Storage crate duration increased to 6 hours, then all items inside will rot

Many NPC guards now have more aggressive aggro checks

Worked with tech to bring the Deities & Faiths: Devotion system online

Content

NPC appearance updates

Vale of Zintar population updates

NPC ability updates

Faction adjustments

Added more spawns to a low level Ashira camp in Sungreet Strand

NPCs no longer use the healer-unique line of spells (likely a temporary thing)

Sungreet Strand spawn volume adjustments

Monk newbie class quest fixes

Expanded on the Ashira faction quest

Revamped the “Bends” district within Night Harbor, where a ruthless gang war is raging, offering plenty of opportunities for adventurous souls

Design support for Shallow Shoals, Evershade Weald, and Faelindral

Itemization

Rare/named item pass

Item icon pass

Staves are now properly usable by all classes

Tradeskills

Mining nodes now have a minimum skill requirement to mine beyond the copper tier

New mining nodes added to Night Harbor

New mining nodes added to Sungreet Strand

Added a first pass of tin veins to the world

Tradeskills no longer use pattern items for recipes

Added tailoring recipes for Pouch, Satchel, and Backpack, for each tier of cloth

Added upgraded “Heavy Bandage" recipes for each tier of cloth as an additional upgrade step between each tier

Arm-slot recipes removed from game

General Abilities

“To Hit” modifier for physical melee abilities increased by 5%

Embers line AC reduction reduced by roughly half

Can now cast Feign Death while stunned

Pet size scaling now only applies to elemental pets, who have had their size reduced for all tiers

Added abilities: Camouflage and Greater Camouflage

Hit bonus for melee abilities increased from 35% to 40%

Added abilities: Dark Embrace and Sacrificial Embrace (Necromancer and Shadow Knight)

Taunt cooldown increased from 6 seconds to 8 seconds

Archer

Added ability: Scatter Shot

Bard

Screaming Vocalization cooldown increased from 6 seconds to 12 seconds

Screaming Vocalization damage changed from 2 (L1) to 5 (L4)

Fleshed out Screaming Vocalization line with abilities: Dissonant Vocalization, Cacophonic Vocalization, Wailing Vocalization, Discordant Vocalization, Chaotic Vocalization, and Thunderous Vocalization

Bard instruments now grant song modifiers

Cleric

Added ability: Holy Strike

Added abilities: Supplication, Supplication II, Supplication III, Supplication IV

Druid

Removed ability: Invisibility (now has access to Camouflage and Greater Camouflage)

Eth-ehm's Shroud moved to L55

Elementalist

Reclaim Essence now restores 25% of your pet's remaining health in mana

Fire damage shields now cause fire damage instead of physical damage

Fire pets now apply a conditional debuff when hitting a target with their Elemental Fire nuke

When using Blast of Air against a target that has the Elemental Fire debuff on them, it now creates a backdraft effect, knocking back the target and consuming the debuff

Enchanter

Enchant Metal Bar line cast time greatly reduced

Now has access to the Mana Drain line with abilities: Mana Drain, Mana Drain II, Mana Drain III, Mana Drain IV, Mana Drain V, and Mana Drain VI

Enchant Ally's Shadow Spike damage increased and now scales with level

Fleshed out the Runeskin line with abilities: Runeskin II, Runeskin III, Runeskin IV, and Runeskin V

Fixed a bug which caused all abilities in the Tranquility line to have the same mana cost as Tranquility

Enchant Ally tooltip updated

Enchant Ally now also grants a 10-25% bonus to maximum health which scales with the Enchanter's stamina

Fighter

Offensive Stance now properly gives a 10% damage increase to physical attacks; tooltip updated accordingly

Fixed a bug which required a melee weapon to activate stances

Rend damage increased from 1 (L1) to 50 (L60), to 1 (L1) to 60 (L60)

Monk

Can now block, and do so without a shield

Now have access to stances with abilities: Way of the Earth, Way of the Flame, Way of the Water, and Way of the Wind

Celestial Strike is now empowered by your active stance, with each granting it unique benefits

Way of the Wind now passively grants 10% movement speed

Necromancer

Now has access to the Health Drain line with abilities: Health Drain, Health Drain II, Health Drain III, Health Drain IV, Health Drain V, and Health Drain VI

Added abilities: Covenant of Life, Covenant of Darkness, Covenant of Shadow

Added ability: Corporeal Embrace

Ranger

Removed ability: Invisibility (now has access to Camouflage and Greater Camouflage)

Added abilities: Shroud and Greater Shroud

Rogue

Incapacitate and Sap now automatically turn off auto attack when successful

Added ability: Nimble Evasion

Vial of Smoke moved to L12

Stab front damage increased from 1 (L1) to 50 (L60), to 1 (L1) to 60 (L60)

Stab back damage increased from 3 (L1) to 90 (L60), to 3 (L1) to 100 (L60)

Spellblade

Can now purchase Root from the spell merchant

Wizard

Mark of Magic no longer has a DoT component

Mark of Magic now increases damage done by spells to the target by 1%, stacking up to 5 times

Translocate LOS requirements updated


https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/603cb2299959d83fcdc26265/1736000897396-SIVKWRUWSJ3AS2UW18W2/skellies2.png?format=2500w

Tech


Game moved to Unity 6

Made zoning much faster

Network code optimizations

Server optimizations

General code refactoring and cleanup

Refactored zoning while on a vehicle (such as boat)

Smoothed camera while on a vehicle (such as boat)

Updates to our build pipelines

Fixed point-blank AOE abilities

Fixed clicking in the chat input box and enabled highlighting

Fixed some sound colliders in Wyrmsbane that were blocking LOS

Fixed ability/inventory hot buttons not updating properly after a /reload

Fixed an issue where stealthed NPCs would become visible when moving

Fixed an issue where the player’s appearance would not update upon changing equipment

Fixed a null ref when entering a zone with the See Invisibility buff

Ghosts have regained their ghostly appearance

Underwear can now be shown under other armor textures

Client corpses are no longer automatically the Fighter class

Fixed ability and book related UIs not refreshing after client initially receives data

Fixed some issues with abilities from traded or dropped spell books

Fixed stat display when under a +stat percent buff

Fixed a camera glitch when hitting the right mouse button while holding the left mouse button

Fixed underwater filters

Fixed the order of messages and effects when dying

Finally fixed the eating and drinking priority so that it consumes items logically

Reconnecting after a disconnect is now more consistently successful

Fixed the Cauldron tradeskill item

Fixed how belts and undershirts load when wearing very complex gear

Fixed skeleton animations

Fixed skeleton ribcages

Can now interact with campfires again

Remote clients once again animate properly when swimming

Improved performance when rendering the paper doll in the inventory window

Reduced coloration in ultravision and made infravision slightly more effective

Reduced visual artifacts from screen space ambient occlusion

When using Bind Vision or Enchant Ally, you'll now get proper movement updates from the area around your target

Improved how movement of remote clients is animated

Tweaked position updates from client to server to improve fast moving clients and clients under knockback and charge effects

Added drowning sound, animation, chat, and vfx cues

Added/improved some chat commands for GMs and designers

Added more icon options to macros

Added variable player corpse decay duration based on level and contents

Added LD to the name tag for “link dead” clients

Added more resolution to corpse decay time in consider message

Added a designer option for underwear to be shown underneath other armor textures

Added martial block functionality for monks

Added support for buffs that flatly increase dodge/block/parry chance

Mana cost is now only deducted at the start of channeling an ability, not per tick

Ability effects can now fire conditionally based on a buff on the caster or target

Added support for customizing how items are attached to the character on a per-race basis

Added initial system for changing audio state when in buildings in an outdoor zone

NPCs can now swim

Bard instruments can now have an instrument bonus that improves songs that use that instrument

Created a system to make combat and level scaling formulas easier for designers to iterate on

Added shader support to reduce texture tiling

Modifier stack: all buffs, items, and skills now go through a unified character modifier stack for all types of entities, hugely simplifying the creation of complex effects

Changes to hate and threat

NPC zone spawn command to force casting

Changed how ability critical failures work

GM cross-zone corpse summoning for helping scrubs who lose their corpses

Improved posture sync (sit, stand, crouch)

Changed how buffs extend when reapplied

Adjusted campfire behavior and model

New posture: kneeling for looting

Adjusted NPC melee ranges

Adjustments to night sky

Adjustments to NPC damage range over levels

Added Shallow Shoals zone

Added Keeper's Bight zone

Additions to Plane of Meat

Ensured player corpses are properly visible

AC changes for players

Chests and campfires now properly reload their contents when the zone reloads

Water, navigation mesh, and occlusion updates for Tel Ekir, <zone name redacted>, <zone name redacted>, Night Harbor, Shaded Dunes, Vale of Zintar, and Sungreet Strand

The meat spins!

Throttled server joining to avoid mass entry situations, for example, at the start of a stress test, which can stall the server for extended periods of time

Added support for multiple pets

Removed “Link All" when looting your own corpse

Alt + left click on an item now opens the item description window

Hotbar slots expanded from 10 to 12

Pressing Enter will no longer accidentally accept party or guild invites

Alt+O now opens the Options menu (alternative to ESC)

Added profanity filter/checks while naming characters and pets

Animals can now be tamed and will be permanent pets that stay in world if you log out, though they must be stabled and fed

Implemented initial groundwork for the Devotion system, allowing for the worship of multiple faiths, as well as tithing items and currency

Added a starting location selector to character creation


https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/603cb2299959d83fcdc26265/1735995291288-6HWWFMCHEFKY2C637A7C/image+%282%29.png

Added support for multiple pets



In Closing

We’ve added a new team member over the holidays, but more on that in the next update.

Be sure to keep an eye on our Discord and Team page this year for potential open roles. You never know what we’ll need as we march towards Early Access.

Thanks again for making 2024 amazing for us and for helping us reach the milestones mentioned above!

Expect more updates and playtests this year. As always, if you want to help us out, the best way to do so is to keep spreading the word

See you in the next update!

[Zukan]

Hey does anyone want to play Monsters & Memories for 3 full days?

Monsters & Memories Weekend Playtest (April 11-13th, 2025)
As announced in our latest Update, we will be holding a Playtest starting on April 11th, 2025 at 1pm Eastern.

Details:
* Existing characters from the last few tests will be available to play on the Relle server
* At a minimum, there will be three servers, the other two being a Fresh Start PvE and Fresh Start PvP server

No purchase necessary, just download and login on the day. :)

How To Register/Download Client
* Register an account and log in at https://discord.com/channels/847846851478945802/1090188986405896194/1349107329110380625
(If you already made an account in previous tests, just log in)
* Download the Patcher
* Make sure you're patched on the day of the test
* (Optional) Read up how to play on the Quick Start Guide https://discord.com/channels/847846851478945802/1090188986405896194/1349107329110380625

[realsubtle]

Lol me and my friends have all been no-lifing every playtest and stress test. Good stuff, we can't wait for EA.

[Zukan]

Lol me and my friends have all been no-lifing every playtest and stress test. Good stuff, we can't wait for EA.

Sweet! Glad you're liking it. I decided to go hard as a player this past test as well. Streamed 17 hours on friday, wound up getting a druid to 16 or so on the fresh server. :D

[Zukan]

Update 47: March & April 2025 was posted! Check out the full post on the site here (https://monstersandmemories.com/updates/update-47-march-amp-april-2025) because there are more images than I will post here.

https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/603cb2299959d83fcdc26265/e0ebf03d-a346-4016-b195-a4067ce3141c/MnMUpdate.png?format=2500w


Hey to anyone still out there checking this thread. We just put out our latest update. I'll just summarize and if you want to check specifics the link is at the top. This being a double month update there is a bunch of stuff and also a ton of stats from the play test in April.

Summery:

Intro

Thanks to everyone for another successful play
Our first opportunity to use the new Petition system, good job Swanny
Kicked off our ongoing closed test with friends and family, per our posted roadmap
Things are moving on schedule and we’re pretty excited to see how the year continues to progress towards Early Access in 2026

April Playtest Results

[images with various detailed stats]

https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/603cb2299959d83fcdc26265/01ea071e-a3b8-4e54-8164-e9373cb73c21/playtest7.png?format=1500w

New Additions

Joseph/Runaf joined us in March as a game balance designer & programmer.
Lisava joined us in April as a quest designer.
Steve/Khad joined us in April as an environment artist.
Jesse/Encrypt128bit joined us in April as a programmer & UI designer.

Concept Art & UI

Updated the Host UI to match the new Pet UI, and made Host UI health bars non-draggable
Added bulk crafting support to both crafting UIs
[images of new upcoming NPCs and environments]

Character Art

Updates to some customization options
New NPC models and Player Armor completed
[images of new upcoming NPCs, hair, and armor]

Animations

Continued work on adding new animations and polishing old ones

https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/603cb2299959d83fcdc26265/1746178169327-UBQKQ3SLNTYJ5N99T9FR/HorseRide.gif?format=2500w

Environment Art

Continued work on Keepers Bight, Evershade Weald, and Faelindral
Started Night Harbor finalization
Lighting pass in one of the secret mini dungeons
Prop work in Vale of Zintar and Shallow Shoals
Created some tradeskill stations
Placed new harvesting nodes
Started work on an unannounced EA “expedition-focused” zone
Started work on an unannounced Module 1 dungeon
[images of many of the above notes]

Audio & Music

Fixed lots of small audio issues (SFX, positional audio, etc.)
Started work on a new epic music piece

Design

Numerous changes to Systems, Content, Traits, Tradeskills, Itemization, General Abilities, and Class Abilities

Tech

Fixed a ton of stuff
Added/Changed a ton of stuff

In Closing

We surpassed 13,000 in Discord
No sign of slowing down
Another update due at the end of May, if not we'll do another double month update in June
Thank you, see you next update

[shovelquest]

Great work! Im so jacked into THJ but still excited for the release!

[Swish]

Pantheon devs shaking rn

[Zukan]

Monsters & Memories Tentative Playtest Schedule 2025
Hey MnM community! Just wanted to share some information about our plans for upcoming Public Playtests for the rest of 2025, in the lead up to our Early Access Launch, which is currently slated for Q1 2026.

As you may know, just before the last Public Playtest, we started up our closed Friends & Family testing to a number of players. As we continue down the road to Early Access launch, we plan to get more of our community members involved in Closed Testing.

However, we also want to make sure that we are Stress Testing and getting people in from the community who haven't been selected for Closed Testing. As we move from Friends & Family, to Closed Alpha, and to Closed Beta, we are planning for a number of longer form Public Playtests that increase in duration the later we move into the year.


June Playtest: Friday, June 27th - Sunday, June 29th, 2025 (3 days)
July Playtest: Wednesday, July 23rd - Sunday, July 27th (5 days)
September Playtest: Monday, September 1st - Sunday, September 7th (7 days)
November Playtest: Saturday, November 1st - Monday, November 10th (10 days)


As a reminder, these are tentative dates, and subject to change if needed. But hopefully it gives you a rough idea of our timeline for future Playtests.

Thanks again for being a part of our community! We're excited to welcome you back in-game soon!

-The Monsters & Memories Team

link to source post in discord - https://discord.com/channels/847846851478945802/847853805449904189/1377181365799358537

[magnetaress]

Thanks for the update!

[Harris]

Game is a blast, well done.

[wuanahto]

whats the bikini armor situation like?

[Zukan]

whats the bikini armor situation like?

https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/603cb2299959d83fcdc26265/1746178169327-UBQKQ3SLNTYJ5N99T9FR/HorseRide.gif

[Zukan]

Game is a blast, well done.

Thanks! Next test is coming up soon!

-> July Playtest: Wednesday, July 23rd - Sunday, July 27th (5 days) <-