I’m a big fan of Puzzle Pirates. I was a beta tester and really enjoyed the game, even though I chose not to renew my subscription. They have a different payment model available now for some servers, where you get to play for free, but you need to purchase in-game currency to play certain “pay for” portions, or for items. I know that several of my friends have played Puzzle Pirates before, including Jeremy who’s currently playing. The developer, Three Rings Design, has been working on another game called Bang!Howdy.
Bang!Howdy is fast paced tactical strategy fun in a wacky Wild West world.
When I first heard about this, I thought about giving it a try. It looks like the beta is now available.
From Evil Avatar:
Bang! Howdy Beta Opens
Three Rings, developers of Puzzle Pirates, opened the Bang! Howdy beta to the public yesterday. Players face off in the steam-powered Wild West, using traditional strategy game mechanics in a variety of gameplay modes like Claim Jumping, Cattle Herding and Steam Mustang Hockey!
Quote:
Introducing a hybrid between turn-based and realtime strategy gameplay, Bang! Howdy is played in short fast-paced rounds. The players use winnings earned as they play, along with a microcurrency system, to purchase and customize persistent Big Shot units, which influence their play-style and strategies in future games. As the player progresses through five unique Wild West settings, new units, gameplay scenarios, arenas, customizations and game features are introduced.”We’re happier than a coyote in the chuckwagon to let y’all know what we’ve been working on back at the ranch,” said Michael Bayne, project lead for Bang! and Three Rings’ CTO. “We think strategy fans will appreciate our fresh perspective on the genre and plumb everybody will enjoy our fun and accessible Wild West antics.” Bang! Howdy will be distributed online and free to play, with optional purchase of micro-currency to obtain upgrades and additional content. “The ‘free to play, pay for items’ business model has proven very successful in the Korean market with games like Kart Rider, and is already offered as an alternative to subscription for Puzzle Pirates players on ‘Doubloon’ servers,” said Daniel James, Three Rings’ CEO. Mosey on down to http://www.banghowdy.com for more information and sign up to hear more as development progresses.