Today, Above and Beyond Technologies sent out their monthly newsletter to let all of us know what's been going on and what to look forward to with their sci-fi sandbox MMORPG, The Repopulation. In addition, we received a new alpha teaser trailer that comes with the newer graphics. If you haven't had a look at the game in awhile, the trailer might be of interest to you, since the game's visuals have greatly improved. The newsletter also announces that this Saturday, at 2pm ET, they will be hosting a live stream on their Twitch channel with a Q&A to follow.

The buy-in price for instant access to the current alpha has been reduced from the $150 mark down to the $100 mark. Round 2 backers will be able to have access to the game sometime next month, and all current backers who are not part of the alpha test should expect access by the end of the year. The Repopulation, unlike many games, has had not just one, but two successful Kickstarter campaigns. A new crowdfunding effort is currently in progress (not through Kickstarter), which lasts til December 31. Anyone interested in seeing what the rewards are may do so directly from The Repopulation's website.

The End of August Update not only discusses improvements to housing, player cities, PvE, and player created tournaments, we have a long page of bullet points to sift through to see exactly what the state of the game is. The largest part of the update notes is the Graphics and Animations sections. Amongst the dozens of new or improved animations in the game, both male and female character models have been upgraded. Armor fit is improved, meshes and textures updated. Animations are still being worked on and will continue to improve.

One thing I did not know about The Repopulation until reading these notes, even though I have been following the game for a few years at this point, is that the game has GM events. My interest in The Repopulation waxes and wanes as time goes on, but it is pretty rad to see that the game has GM events. Even if they aren't a huge part of the game, having GM-lead events where they can control mob difficulty and spawning will make want to play that game.

Quite a few items have been added into the game or have been updated. Another addition the game has received is the Minigame system. Minigames are temporary games you can play, which will take over your ability and stat bars while you're playing. Your normal bars will be hidden until the game ends. There's also a new fishing minigame that is an alternative to the current speargun fishing that is in the game. With the new fishing game, rare fish can be farmed from different locations, and there is even an achievement and title associated with it.

Other areas that received updates throughout August include Missions (many new, some updated), anti-bot and warping measures, NPCs (including the new species Helltyr), pets, player created tournaments, UI, crafting, skills and abilities, and PvP. Melee received a 17% buff to damage. Abilities can be enhanced, which will give them procs. Speaking of abilities, my favorite line in all of the patch notes is in this section: “You can no longer throw grenades while swimming.” I know this line probably did not have humor as its intention, but it's still pretty damn funny.

I first heard about The Repopulation around 2011, and it's been fun watching it grow through its development stages. Have you looked into the game? If so, what are your thoughts?