Some of you have been waiting weeks, others months, and some for nearly a year. After a prolonged beta and many all-nighters, I'm pleased to announce Decadence is finally ready for release! If you just can't wait to play you can download the game files which are already available on the hub page, but if you have a minute stick around and I'll tell you a little about the game.
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The release build has everything seen in the beta along with some extra stuff nobody has got to use yet. Decadence being a multiplayer-only game, you'll notice there's no free-roaming mode or anything like that. Rather than playing by yourself you'll have the option to host a game or find a server to play on. People hosting their own game will be able to customize their server to use whatever particular ruleset they want. Hosts are able to adjust the scores to win, change how often game types cycle, and so on. Matches require two players to begin and (at least for now) there's a hardcoded 16 player limit, though I've never played with more than 10 so it's up to you to choose what's best for your server.
If you don't want to host there's a very nifty in-game server browser. Clicking Find Server will bring you to a menu with all available servers listed. From there you can sort the servers by name, map, game type, or player count. Double-clicking a server will connect you to it. Be advised jumping from one server to another may sometimes fail for various reasons, so if you get a black screen you'll have to restart the game. Aside from that the listings are updated about every 30 seconds so always be sure to hit refresh before you decide which server to join. These server listings are maintained off-site and will remain online regardless of the BYOND hub status.
There are two maps and three game modes to play on. Capture The Flag is a team-based objective game where you must grab the enemy flag and bring it back to your base. Team Deathmatch is a team-based slayer match where you score points for killing enemies. Deathmatch is another slayer match type, but this time it's a free-for-all bloodbath where armor colors mean nothing and everyone is on their own. It's also the only mode where you actually get to pick what color you want to be!
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As a developer I'll always see Decadence as unfinished and want to add more, but I figure the most important thing to do right now is just release it. The game is completely playable in its current form and to delay it any longer would just be falling into the endless cycle of feature creep. I know a lot of BYONDers are always asking for more original games, or more polished games to show off what BYOND is capable of, and I hope they can think of Decadence as being one of those games filling that role. I've spent a lot of time (and money!) on this project and would like to have it at least sustain itself. If you like the game, or if you just want to show your support for original creations here on BYOND, please purchase a subscription. Right now subscribers get a fancy name color when logging in and preferred treatment when it comes to available server slots, but I've also got many other features, game modes, weapons, and maps already in the works. As a special thank you gift to people who subscribe before the end of November I'm going to add a one-time-only bonus item to let people show off their support for the game.
I'd like to thank all the who helped work on the game, as well as everyone who played the beta. Baka laid down most of the pixel art groundwork, MdNight was devoted enough to keep drawing even while college coursework piled up, AmonR would take a lousy description and turn it into a professional piece of artwork, Lord Raven practically designed the Subway Station map all by himself, and D4RK3 54B3R was able to lend his assistance with parts of the HUD as well as being a great person to bounce ideas off of. Dutchface from ScrewAttack actually booked time in a sound booth to record the announcer clips, and Wulfon, another g1, was able to put together the music. Crashed, Airjoe, and even Mikau all lent a hand in order to keep the beta sessions hosted. I'd also like to thank Tom, Lummox JR and the rest of the BYOND staff for making such a terrific set of development tools. I didn't make the game alone, without these guys it wouldn't even exist!
