A free text-based MMO alternative to SimCity

[ty2k]

Totally exploiting this SimCity mess to plug my free game :P Reign is a completely free browser-based text-based persistent multiplayer strategy game.

It's kind of a 'coffee break game' as you make decisions, such as what to build, and then your nation carries out your orders while you're out living life.

The game is in active development (beta) and has about 130 active players right now.

Here's the game in a nutshell: Pick a modern day nation (that another player hasn't picked yet), build power plants, build residential, manage agriculture, issue executive orders, consult your general, draft citizens into military, manage citizen morale, build factories, trade uranium in the black market, trade with other players, form alliances, war.

Again, community-run, 100% free, no ads, no bullshit. Just pure fun.

Sorry to blatantly advertise, literally no other way to get the word out with a free game like this. I hope this isn't seen as out of bounds plugging. Honestly sorry if it is. I do genuinely think it's of interest to a sizable portion of the community and, again, it's a free thing.

Anyways, check us out if you're interested. Great community, good fun. Email me your feedback: [e-mail]

Screenshots:

Mobile UI:

  - What to build next? http://i.imgur.com/4NR5vYE.png
  - Managing assets: http://i.imgur.com/kDgCsi5.png
  - World chat! Where nation leaders negotiate: http://i.imgur.com/nMAsVLc.png
  - When duty calls. Drafting an army: http://i.imgur.com/n4JzzNw.png

Desktop UI:

  - The mysterious Black Market: http://i.imgur.com/KKgpRys.png

Random ad I made but don't know what to do with: http://i.imgur.com/k8mCprV.jpg

[networked]

This reminds me more of Fallen London (formerly known as Echo Bazaar) [1] than SimCity. Fallen London was the first and only free-to-play game to get me hooked enough to pay the developers for some extras. I'd suggest anyone with an interest in either free-to-play games and/or the role of writing in video games to take a look at it.

Here's a review [2] and an analysis of the game's monetization [3].

The developers' blog has insights into their process and what they call "narrative engineering" [4]. It's best to read it oldest-to-newest.

[1] http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/

[2] http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012/03/30/impressions-falle...

[3] http://www.gamesbrief.com/2012/09/my-f2p-journey-fallen-lond...

[4] The post at http://about.failbettergames.com/2010/02/27/echo-bazaar-narr... provides a starting point for learning about the latter.

[Sujan]

Pretty rough browser game. But seems to be going since 2010/11 and have a pretty tight community, so maybe really give it a shot if you never experienced such a game before. Probably will be fun.

Still, definitely not really an alterantive to SimCity. Sorry.

[ty2k]

The original Reign was released in 2004, so it's been around :} Yeah, SimCity was a bit of a stretch I admit, but Reign players did coin the term 'simcitiers' for defensive, cultured nations :P

[Sujan]

Wow, 2004 is impressive.

[qdot76367]

This looks distressingly like a BBS door game, a la BRE.

Those ate my life in the early 90's. I can only fear for my productivity now.

(I still get TW2002 web reboots every so often that can easily eat a week.)

[seanc722]

Always online as well? ;P

[ty2k]

Yep, it's persistent!

[jonchang]

I wonder how much lacking a privacy policy / data use policy hurts signups for something like this.

[ty2k]

Oh, good point. I should look into this. We need a new homepage too, yikes. Probably should have thought about this stuff before randomly posting a link up :X If you have any advice for me, I'm all ears ([e-mail]).

[kbar13]

is reign open source? Would be fun to hack around

[the-kenny]

Captain Picard is in charge of Defense?

[ty2k]

Who else? ;}