The Otherland MMO isn’t dead, as attempts are being made by Drago Entertainment to instill renewed interest in the long-forgotten game adaptation of the critically acclaimed novel. A move away from Steam, performance optimization, and various reworks are among the many actions being taken and implemented in the hope of saving the game once again.

And why wouldn’t they keep trying? Sure, the game has (miserably) failed to provide a satisfying gameplay experience to players so far, but the game’s world is still unique, gorgeous and huge, and it would be a real shame to see such a gigantic blend of sci-fi and fantasy artwork erased, when “all” that is needed to keep it alive is increased performance and better gameplay.
What’s more, the game may also benefit from increased exposure and interest in the coming years if Warner Bros., which acquired the film rights to the Otherland novels, finally decides to go forward with the production and release of a movie or TV series.

Move Away From Steam

Drago Entertainment announced today that it has partnered with MMORewards.com to make the game available on the latter’s DRM platform. From now on, players can download and play the game on MMORewards, instead of Steam, and earn extra in-game rewards as they complete quests hosted by MMORewards. While the game is still on Steam, the default play link on Otherland’s website is now https://mmorewards.com/game/otherlandnext/.

Performance Optimzation

Otherland: Next, as is the new impetus called, also features another significant performance improvement that is especially aimed at PCs and laptops with low and mid-level specs. Today, Drago Entertainment released a patch which aims to drastically improve the overall visual quality of the game and fix many of the potential FPS issues on 8Squared and other big maps. Players will now notice frame rate gains of 10-20 fps across the board.

New UI and HUD

The entire HUD and its components including all windows and elements like player frames and skill bars have been overhauled, “giving it a sleek look that players of other MMOs will instantly feel at home with“. Furthermore, existing mechanics like quest tracking have been improved, making navigation in the game easier and more intuitive – players will now be able to see directions and distances directly in the HUD instead of the tracker window. The patch with the big UI update is expected to go live in a few days.

And Paid Starter Packs?

Many gamers were a bit surprised today when Drago’s announcement on Steam, hastily titled “Otherland: Next getting better and better and new stuff coming”, was mostly about the release of two starter packs available exclusively on Steam at reduced prices.
While they are less than 5 and 10 dollars each, which is indeed not that high for F2P games, and while Drago Entertainment is most probably in dire need of financial support to keep working on it, players who don’t want or can’t afford to pay can actually switch to the official MMORewards.com version and farm for bigger pack rewards there.

Another way to support the game is to buy Otherland’s popular soundtrack, which Drago Entertainment is releasing separately on Amazon Music, Deezer, Google Play Music, iTunes, Spotify and other selected stores. Players will be able download or stream single tracks or the complete soundtrack starting November 30th.