Brighter Shores
Brighter Shores is an adventure massively multiplayer online role-playing game developed by Fen Research and designed by Andrew Gower. Early access to it was opened on 6 November 2024[1] at 09:48[2]. It is available for Windows and macOS. The game is free-to-play, but players can access additional features and content by purchasing the Premium Pass.
Brighter Shores features an ongoing story with hundreds of hours of gameplay.[3] New content is released in the game in an episodic format. Players start their journey in Hopeport, as a member of the town guard.
System requirements
The official minimum requirements to run the game for different platforms are the following.
Windows
- OS: Windows 10/11
- Processor: Intel i3 or AMD equivalent
- Memory: 8 GB RAM
- Graphics: DirectX 11 capable graphics with at least 2GB RAM
- DirectX: Version 11
- Network: Broadband Internet connection
- Storage: 2 GB available space
- Additional Notes: Internet connection required to play
macOS
- OS: 10.13+
- Processor: Apple Silicon or Intel
- Memory: 8 GB RAM
- Graphics: Metal capable graphics
- Network: Broadband Internet connection
- Storage: 2 GB available space
- Additional Notes: Internet connection required to play
Getting started
The game can be downloaded and installed through its Steam page.
After launching the game, the player is taken to the title screen.
History
The game has been under development since September 2016, but some assets were taken from Fen Research scrapped Chasm Game[4] and was announced officially on 13 March 2024. An initial two-minute trailer was released, which depicts player characters engaging in combat, several professions, and a variety of different rooms.[5]
Part of the reason that Brighter Shores took a long time to develop is because Gower decided to create a new game engine from scratch, as opposed to using a popular engine like Unreal Engine or Unity.[6] He had previously created his own engine for his previous MMORPG RuneScape in the early 2000s, programmed in Java. The engine that Gower built is called Fenforge, and had previously been used by at least two games prior to being used for Brighter Shores. Gower has said that active development on Brighter Shores officially started in 2017.[6]
Internal alpha tests with the first two episodes occurred in March 2024. The third episode was added to the alpha test in June 2024. Participants mostly consisted of staff, with a total of 12 people having Steam keys to access it.[7]
A closed beta test occurred between the alpha test and the early access launch.
Early access to the game was opened on 6 November 2024, with the game still missing many key features such as player-versus-player combat, special attacks for epic weapons, and the fifth episode, Stonemaw Hill. Early access is planned to "maybe" last for 6 months. There won't be a save reset or price increases to Premium Pass at the end of the early access.[8]
Update history
Trivia
- The logo of Brighter Shores features Hopeport Obelisk.
- Fen Research might have first wanted Brighter Shores to be named "Wondrous Shores", judging by the trademark filings on 11 January 2024[9] and 15 January 2024[10].
- The game's early access launch was intended to be 5 November 2024, but was delayed by one day due to the 2024 United States presidential election.