Introduction
Hi everyone! I'm Sol, the sole developer of Solaxia Online, a free-to-play 2D pixel art MMORPG. I come from a web development background so while I have plenty of experience programming, this is my first serious game project.
I started this game with the goal of creating my dream game. I wanted to create a game that I would love to play, one that would be fun to make, and one that would challenge me as a developer to build.
I grew up playing games like MapleStory and Diablo, and I wanted to create a game that combined the best elements of those games while also adding my own unique twist.
About Solaxia Online
First, a little about the game. As mentioned before, Solaxia Online is a free-to-play 2D pixel art MMORPG. The game is set in a vibrant and colorful world filled with unique characters, monsters, items, and quests. Players can chart their own path, find and craft powerful loot, explore the world, complete quests, and battle monsters.
It is set in a fantasy and medieval world with a focus on exploration, adventure, and community.
The game features four main classes:
- Warriors (strong and durable)
- Archers (ranged and agile)
- Mages (powerful and versatile)
- Rogues (evasive and stealthy)
History
Development of Solaxia Online kicked off in September 2024, so we're soon approaching 2 years since I started working on it. Since then, I have been working on it pretty consistently, and I have made a lot of progress.
As you might already know, I've posted weekly video updates of the game for months on our Discord server and YouTube channel. I also posted the updates on Bluesky and X.
The video updates were intended to give you a behind-the-scenes look at the development process and to keep you informed about the latest features and improvements. They also served as a great way to keep myself accountable and to track my progress over time, not to mention involve the community in the development process.
State of the Game
The game is in a great state right now. All of the major features that I wanted to include before any testers got their hands on the game are in place and stable. Let's take a look at what's been done so far and what you can expect to see in the game.
Combat
Solaxia Online has a fully-functional combat system. It is action-based and movement isn't on a grid, so both you and the enemies can move freely throughout the world. This also means that some skills will require aiming, adding a bit of skill to the combat.
Item Drops
There is a comprehensive item drop system in place. When you kill a mob, they will drop items according to their drop table and your personal drop rate. In addition to the items they drop, they will also drop Gold, which is the main currency in the game.
Use Gold to purchase items from shops, craft items, trade with other players, and more.
Skills and Buffs
Every class has a unique set of skills. This helps differentiate the classes and adds an additional layer of depth to the gameplay. When you level up, you will be awarded a skill point to spend on your skills, increasing their power and effectiveness.
Take a look at all the skills currently available in the game:
Equipment System
Equipment in an incredibly important part of this game. Equips and their stats have been painstakingly mathematically designed to allow for both maximum customization and build variety. There are equip levels, rarities, perfect rolls, tempers, and much more, each system contributing to making a specific equip unique.
If you have a particularly strong piece of equipment, it has real value because it is unlikely to be exactly duplicated by other players.
Here is an example of an inventory full of random items and equips in it, just to give you an idea of the variety of items and equips that are available.
Shops
Shops play a crucial role in the game's economy. In addition to being able to buy items directly from them, you can also sell items to them. Shops are one of the main ways to make money since you can sell equips and other items you find from mobs to them in exchange for Gold.
An interesting fact about shops is that not all of them accept Gold. There are shops that only accept other currencies, meaning you will need to figure out how to obtain the other currencies if you are interested in their riches.
Salvage
While selling your equips to shops is a great way to make money, but you can also salvage those equips at the Blacksmith to get some material back. This is a great way to recycle your equipment and get potentially more valuable items back. When you salvage an equip, you will also receive a random quantity of fragments, which can be used to craft new and more powerful equipment.
Quests
Quests have been designed to be both rewarding and deep. Solaxia Online is a living world where characters experience real hardships and difficulties. Through quests, you can learn stories about the world, engage in meaningful missions, and get rewarded greatly for your efforts. You can also repeat quests to get repeatable rewards and experience.
Crafting
The crafting system is great way to take individual resources and ingredients and turn them into more valuable and powerful items. Through the crafting system, you can craft consumables, food, potions, equipment, and much more.
Talk to the Blacksmith to get started.
Storage
When you run out of space in your inventory, you can store your items by talking to the Storage NPC. The Storage is a free service that allows you to safely store items and Gold in a separate location from your inventory.
Trade
With an active economy being such a huge part of the game, it was paramount for there to be a way to directly and safely trade items and Gold with other players.
There is a fully-functional trade system where you can trade up to 9 items at a time, plus Gold, safely and easily with other players.
To get started, simply right-click on another player and select "Trade".
Weather
The game already supports weather effects on maps, with the first two effects being fog and rain. More weather effects will be added in the future when the environments demand them.
Rain falls from the sky and adds an atmospheric sound effect to the map. Fog is a more subtle effect, but it really helps make you feel like you're in a dense, misty area.
Closed Alpha
This is probably the section most of you are interested in. In this light, while I still cannot give out a specific date for the start of the closed alpha, what I can say is that the game itself is in great shape. This means that all the details on the closed alpha are being worked on right now and will be finalized in the next month or so, culminating in a new blog post dedicated entirely to the closed alpha.
In the meantime, the game will be tested by a small group of players, just so I can rule out any major bugs or issues that may have slipped through the cracks.
If you've been following the development of this game for a long time, and especially if you've made it to the end of this post, I deeply appreciate your patience and support.