The tragic thing about Three Ring's Bang! Howdy is, not only did I find out about it too late, but people have systematically stopped playing it. The reason for this is because the game just isn't being updated....and the promised expansions have yet to materialize.
What IS Bang! Howdy you ask? According to Wikipedia: Bang! Howdy is a free online strategy game with a "Wild West" theme (Personally I would have stated it has a "WEIRD West theme.....but then I'm biased) The setting mixes elements from a variety of related genres, such as Steampunk or Native American myth. Several of the players' available units are entirely mechanical, including artillery and a "steam gunman", a robot boasting large wagon wheels for movement while wearing a cowboy hat. Other, more conventional units include cavalry and gunslingers.
I'll have to admit, I've only played the game for a small amount of time but I like the graphic style, which is very cartoony but brings out the Steam-Western elements of the game nicely. I also like the music, which has a sort of Hip-Hop/Western fusion sound to it.
Currently there are only 2 Towns, a Frontier Town (a very classic Western town that you start the game in) and the Indian Trading Post. More have been promised including a Boom Town which is supposed to focus on the Steamier elements of the game and a Ghost Town which will focus on the "Weirder" elements with spooks and haunts. However those were promised years ago, and have yet to develop. Only time will tell whether the game continues to grow.
Its too bad really, because Bang! Howdy is BIG among its fans....how many games do you know that have endless videos on Youtube, OR its own Wiki called Howdypedia?
As for game play....I can't really say. I only played for about an hour a few weeks ago to get a feel for the game and most of that time was spent doing tutorials. While I've been meaning to go back and devour it, time hasn't permitted just yet. Don't let that depress you, though, this is the PERFECT opportunity for you to find out what all the Hubbub is about yourself! All your questions can be answered at Howdypedia and all of your game play itches can be scratched at the game's Main Page Who knows, now that the rush has died down, maybe it'll be time for the rest of us to take a crack.
Until you start playing, here is the main site's official preview to give you a taste of what the whole thing is about:
6 comments:
It looks pretty cool! I too had not heard of it, not that it's my type of game to play, but still interesting. Have you tried Damnation yet? An underylying Steampunk theme with a western flair was a common thread in the design.
Ive seen a few things on Damnation....but I'm having trouble seeing the Weird West-ness in it.....it certainly has LOTS of Steampunk, but even some of that feels more Dieselpunk-y. I've also heard it isn't very good :/
Have you played it?
I have not played it yet. and really the only reason i knew about it was because of the amazing Steampunk PC Mod that was a giveaway to announce the game. It got really bad reviews anyway.
I like the new banner by the way! It might look nice superimposed over some old wooden planks too.
I was trying to figure out what the big deal about Damnation was... It seemed to me to be one of the perfect examples of how "Steampunk" has gotten so dilapidated that it just means anything that looks dirty, ugly and mechanical, in goggles. And preferably with a fetish girl.
A lot of that dilapidation, I think, comes from its ahistoricity... When excuses of it being alternate history are used to cover an ignorance of actual history, including which rules to break and events to change to make it interesting, that results in sort of a tepid, flavourless gruel of nothing. I heard a rumour that Damnation was supposed to take place after an alternate Civil War or something. Really? Howso? Because the developers said so?
/rant ^_^
So I'm a mid-20-something girl and I say Bang!Howdy was a great game. I loved it and payed it for about a year when it was new, but like you said, people stopped playing. Then it was no fun anymore. So we move on! Too bad because they had a good thing going.
I agree, Cory - I really does feel like Steampunk in the loosest sense of the term....add some pipes, grime, and a vaguely industrial look and you have it! Then add a Cowboy hat and Presto, Weird West! Its like they had a whole other look planned out for the game and decided that, with Steampunk being the "new hip thing" that they could capitalize on it, and tried to crowbar some stuff into what they already had...Hopefully some better authentically Steamy games will be coming our way in the near future...
Yeah, Anonymous, They had a good thing going its too bad they don't seem to be creating new content they are loosing all their fans because its taking them so long :/
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