News
Metal Drift Tournament #1
June 22nd, 2010
Starting next week, we’ll be hosting the first Metal Drift community Tournament! The Metal Drift community has been refining it’s skills and tightening strategies. It’s time to formally determine who’s the best of the best! For this first tournament there are four teams competing. Our new community manager, William Scott “wiweeyum” Sheppard put together these great team logos for them…
Each team consists of four players, making 16 total. These are a mix of veteran community member and some new comers, so I’m stoked to see who wins!
ARSON:
-LittleBoyBlue
-ChampBob
-EthylPerchlorate/Weatherman
-SlamScape
Our first team “Arson” is led by “LittleBoyBlue”, one of our most dedicated, and long time veteran community managers. He’s supported by two other veterans, “ChampBob” and “SlamScape.” Rounding out the group is the skilled and deadly “EthylPerclorate!” This team will be hard to beat.
The Booth Babes:
-Drakon
-JCade/Sim47
-DRY2010ICE
-Royt1988
The second team “The Booth Babes” is led by our top community manager, “Drakon”. He is hands down the best defender in the game, consistently decimating all with his plasma cannon skills. In short, he is the drift king (DK for short). He’s backed up by “Royt1988″, the number two record holder, the prince of drift domination!! Also on board are “JCade” and “DRY2010ICE”, both of whom have layed me to waste on multiple occasions. I quake in their presence.
Beef Sandwich:
-Electronaut
-Wiweeyum
-BeefThief
-dogface57
Third is my team, led by the infamous “BeefThief”, one of our elite community managers, and frequent ass kicker. Also on our team is the creator of all the great Tournament art in this post, “Wiweeyum”. He’s new to the game, but he’s taken it on with some amazing drive and energy. He’s also the “Host” of Metal Drift TV! “Dogface57″ is our frequent match host, and skilled drifter. I’m “Electronaut”, and I’m just happy to be part of the sandwich! Can you handle the Beef Sandwich!!?
Latent Half:
-Rhylos
-Tigerhawk71
-eshin_seer
-LOC
Team “Laten Half” is our team from Down Under. They’re so bad ass, they’re taking the rest of us on with a huge ping (hence the name). I’m glad they’re joining in, it should be awesome! I’ve been wiped out by high ping players enough times to fear these guys.
The Lineup For Drift Supremacy!
“Drakon”, “Beefthief”, and “LittleBoyBlue” have put together the details for the tournament including the match lineup. See it here:
Game 1:
ARSON vs. The Booth Babes
Game 2:
Beef Sandwich vs. The Latent Half
How do I watch?!
We’ll be playing the tournament as a double elimination. The first two games will be scheduled between this Friday, June 25th. and Friday, July 2nd. Sadly, there is not a spectator mode built into the game, so watching it live isn’t possible. But each match will be recorded and hosted on on our YouTube channel Metal Drift TV! We’ll keep you posted on dates of the matches and the results of each.
Finally, every match will be announced live on Twitter, so come follow the progress! For all the official rules, come read the Tournament Thread.
Thanks to “Wiweeyum” “Drakon” “LittleBoyBlue” and “Beefthief” for organizing the event. I look forward to many more to come!
Weston (Electronaut)
Categories: Tournament Comments: 2
Momentum
February 4th, 2010
I just wanted to check in. It’s been a while since I posted anything.
So we have shipped our first game, Metal Drift, and it’s been available on Steam for a couple of months now. It feels good to finally finish that sucker. I’ve picked up a mountain of knowledge on the complete development cycle over the last two years. I’ve been making games for well over a decade, but it’s really quite different to be this involved in the process from top to bottom.
Now that the game has been exposed to the unapologetic, honest eyes of the public, I think it’s held up pretty well. Some of the issues we knew about have been clarified, but other areas we thought would be a problem turned out not to be. Given how much we have learned, I think we could really crystallize the vision into something really great on our next pass.
The challenge we currently face is building and maintaining a community. Being game developers, and not community organizers, this has been a challenge. We’re coming to realize how much work it is to get excitement going, and keep it going. We have some amazing community members who love the game as much as we do, and have really stepped up to help us get people interested. But it seems to take an army to raise an army.
I’m really looking forward to getting back to work on additions and changes. I have some exciting ideas about our next level look, and some new level design elements that should push the thrill factor. We’ve wanted to add more jumps, and speed zones to really amp up the energy levels. We’ve also got another weapon in the works, one that has already been implemented in the past, and we’re excited to bring it back. We’ve also talked about adding a new game type and possibly a 3rd person camera view. I’m hoping this stuff will manifest a resurgence in the community and extend the longevity of the project.
Stay tuned for more updates on additions and events. Hope to see you in game soon!
Weston (Electronaut)
Categories: Development Comments: 1
Metal Drift now available for Pre-Order on Steam!
October 13th, 2009
It’s finally available for purchase. Head on over here and get your copy now, 20% off for the next week or so!
Here’s the (late) press release:
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Portland, OR - Independent developer Black Jacket Studios announced their first title, “Metal Drift” is available starting today for pre-order on PC through the Steam online distribution service. The vehicular combat shooter is available for a 20% discount at $9.99. Players who pre-order will have access to the final 2 weeks of beta before the full release.
Metal Drift is a vehicular sport combat game set in a distant future. You command an agile, high powered hover tank in a futuristic sports arena. Core game play centers on intense tank-on-tank multiplayer team combat seen through an immersive, first person cockpit. Layered on this is a goal-oriented game type that allows for high level strategy and team dynamics. Players can level up to unlock new ranks, weapons, and upgrades.
Each weapon and upgrade is specifically designed and balanced to allow different styles of play. Pair up the Stealth upgrade and the Shock Cannon to uncloak behind an enemy player and unload a devastating blow before disappearing again. Or choose the Sensor upgrade to see where all the nearby players are, and the Temporal Cannon to shoot them through walls! There are 56 possible combinations – choose whichever suits your strategy.
- - Multiplayer team-based vehicular combat
- - 5 Different arenas featuring multiple levels and boost tunnels
- - Persistent leveling system – level-up to unlock new weapons and upgrades
- - Stats and Leaderboards
- - 56 Different tank configurations
- - 18 Steam Achievements, with more coming soon!
- - Unique energy management system – accumulate energy and then distribute it to weapons or use it to gain a speed boost!
Promo video link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkHAvhKgKEI
Steam page - http://store.steampowered.com/app/32200/
Official Metal Drift - http://www.metaldrift.com
Black Jacket Studios - http://www.blackjacketstudios.com