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The initial closed beta test of Shadows Over Sol just came to an end, and our first open beta test is scheduled to begin in the next few days.

For those of you who do not know, Shadows Over Sol is our upcoming sci-fi horror roleplaying game. It uses the next evolution of Saga Machine as its core system—the same system we used in Against the Dark Yogi! Here is the blurb:

Two hundred years from now what should be the shining beacon of the future is instead cloaked in conspiracy and dread. Mankind has expanded throughout the solar system, and there discovered mysteries older than humanity. But the real mysteries have always come from mankind itself. The culture has shattered into myriad subcultures; nation-states are the hollow shells of what they once were. Corporations and other groups wage small-scale wars in the streets, and in space. Bio-engineered horrors left over from these conflicts stalk the hulls of ruined stations and colonies. But always there's profit to be made.

The closed beta shed a lot of light on how the game is coming together. Overall, things looks pretty good, and we will be excited to get the game out there for others to play and provide feedback on. A variety of issues that were discovered in the closed beta—for example, an issue with the skill system and one with the phases in combat rounds—were tweaked, and hopefully completely fixed. Those wanting to see a list of what we’ve tweaked going into the open beta can find it here.

We’re planning somewhere between three and hour phases to the open beta. This will work much like our open beta process for Against the Dark Yogi. To sign up for the open beta one will simply need to provide us with an email, and then their download of the beta documents will begin.

We’ll update the playtest documents once per phase, sending out an email when that happens. These emails will also contain a link to a feedback survey for giving feedback about the game. Of course, we also have our forums as well.

We don’t want to spam people, so the total number of emails through the whole process shouldn’t be more than 3 or 4 total—one per phase of the playtest. We expect the playtest itself to last until late next spring or early next summer.

We'll get everyone the documents soon!