Skylords Reborn FAQ

[MrXLink 593]

So you've come across Skylords Reborn, and you may wonder what's up with this project, how it works, and you may have some further in-depth questions for us. Well, you're not the only one! For your convenience, here is a list of frequently asked questions about Skylords Reborn. Please carefully read through this before asking what has already been asked and answered, maybe you'll find your answers over here! 

When is the game/beta/alpha/etc's Release Date?
How can I play this game?
There is no set release date for the project. All other dates will be stated and announced clearly. If you do not clearly see any date stated for any game stage, it does not exist and you will have to be patient. Do not trust any release dates given out by anyone other than staff, or release dates that link to official statements that are still up and running on facebook and the forums. There are a lot of people joking and trolling about release dates here, but if we don't say there's an estimated release date yet, there isn't. Unless you get into closed beta, you can not play the game. You can get into closed beta through giveaways, contests and exceptional contribution.

What is Skylords Reborn?
Skylords Reborn is a project which started off as a 2-man team working on allowing the community to play BattleForge again. BattleForge was a Real-Time Strategy Collectible Card PC game (not a MOBA) made by EA Phenomic that got closed down approximately 2 years ago, disappointing many players. The ever-growing Skylords Reborn team is working hard to make BattleForge playable and accessible for its still large community and new players once more!

Sounds cool! Does this mean EA is bringing the game back?
No. We are in no way related to EA, we are a team of former community members participating in this project out of love and commitment to the game in our spare time.

What is Ardent Peak?
Ardent Peak is the company that the Skylords Reborn Team now is a part of. Thanks to Ardent Peak, we have been given permission by EA to alter the client and host the game. They are a mobile app, web design and development company based in New York City, USA. For more info about Ardent Peak in itself, check https://www.ardentpeak.com/

Have you asked EA for help with the project?
Unfortunately, that is not how the project works and we sincerely doubt EA is interested in the funding of the project nor rebooting the game. We do not expect any help from EA. We have, however, been given permission to alter the existing client and make this project a thing until further notice is provided. Former BF staff are under NDA as well, disallowing them to help us in the first place.

Are you Legacy ReForge?
Are you rebuilding the game from scratch?
No. Legacy Reforge is a completely different project which is rebuilding the entire game from scratch inspired by the original game. We are not Legacy Reforge, we are bringing the actual old game back with some minor changes. We will edit as little within the original client as possible for now.

When can we play BattleForge again?
We can't say this for sure, as we have no idea how long the development is still going to take. There might be several obstacles still coming our way, and time may have to be used up differently in our personal lives as well. We simply don't know how much time and work is left and when we can fulfil this. One thing is for sure though; the team is working on this project as hard as humanly possible and we're making sure to get you all back into the game as soon as possible, so please have patience!

(When) will there be an Alpha version of this project?
The game's Alpha stage has passed.

(When) will there be a Beta version of this project?
The game's Beta stage is currently in progress. It's currently in a closed state, in which people will be invited and randomly picked. An Open Beta will be released eventually, in which people can join the beta test the server as they wish, and enter in waves to stress-test the project. 

Who will enter the Beta?
Can I please get Beta access?
Can I please play the game?
I have an amazing excuse. Give me beta please?
Beta spots will be limited. Winning contests can get you into the Beta, or being an exceptional contributing member. NO EXCEPTIONS WILL BE MADE. Beta access will be given away through contests and streaming and random discord rolls, and eventually be accessible to more people at once in our open beta stage.

PLEASE RELEASE THE GAME/BETA NOW!
Whoah there, hold your horses! We understand that due to seeing stream gameplay, we might as well release everything to everyone, right? Well, that sounds like an awful idea. We won't release the game or open beta just yet. There's many reasons for this, including bugs and server stability. Things can get pretty harsh and we wouldn't want the server to break or the same bugs being reported thousands of times. There is a thread made by Alpha & Beta Tester @Kiwi describing this perfectly, please check it out:

How does the game work? I've never played it/I forgot/I'm new here!
Welcome (back) to the game and/or its community! BattleForge is an RTS in which you use collected cards to spawn your units, structures or spells into the game, control them and fight against other players or the AI in a wide variety of environments. You can find out a lot about the game's systems and mechanics in the wiki over here: http://skylords-reborn.wikia.com/wiki/Skylords_Reborn

Will this game cost me money?
How do we earn BFP?
Nope! Skylords Reborn will be completely free to play, and you will be able to earn your BFP through daily quests and playtime. You will of course gain more BFP than the original 2 you would receive from the original game.

Where can I buy BFP?
You know what's a good idea? A quest/mission system!
Since the game will be completely free to play, there is no place you can purchase any in-game content with real money. We are working on creating a quest/mission system to earn your BFP through completing tasks and spending time online.

Can I use the old BattleForge client?
No. A new client will be available once we reach a stage where we will be able to accept players into the servers.

Where can I download the new client?
As we don't have a new client yet and the project has not been completed to a stage where the game is playable for everyone yet. Therefore you cannot download a new client yet.

Will I be able to use my old account?
No. As we are not EA we do not have access to your old accounts and most likely never will, so you will have to create a new one and start from scratch. We know this is annoying but there is no way for us to retrieve account information. At least you can play the game again though!

If this project is completely non-profit, how will you keep servers up?
We have created a donation pool. If you feel like donating to the project and help us keep the BattleForge servers up in the future, you can donate funds to the Skylords Reborn team. Any donated money will be spent on server upkeep, development and a lot will be saved up for future server upkeep. No money whatsoever will go into our own pockets, and must we have a lot of excess money (beyond our savings for future upkeep), we will make sure this excess money will go to charity. Check the donate page here: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=H95U9S9CSZKXQ If the donation website is down, check back at a later point in time, as we might not be accepting at that moment for internal reasons. We may also be able to sell merchandise at some point.

Can we at least watch replays?
Once we get BattleForge up and running completely, you will be able to do anything you could before in the game. In current development, yes, the replays are working. The replay system can still only replay matches from the last official EA build as always, and no older.

How far are you in development?
Our current development progress can be found on the home page, the News forums, through social media, youtube videos, on the devplatform over here: http://dev.skylords.eu and over here in particular: http://forum.skylords.eu/index.php?/topic/459-battleforge-reborn-actual-progress/

Will the game only be in English?
Seeing as the original clients contained all localization information, the game should be able to be played in all languages that were previously available. This includes German and French. However, we are mostly focusing our project around the English language, and this language is definitely supported.

Will you be adding additional content to the game?
Will you be fixing/balancing cards, maps, strategies etc?
Will you add new campaigns/maps?
Will you continue the Amii faction/Will you add Fire/Frost?
We don't know. Right now we should really focus on getting the old game as we know it up and running, then we will see whether we will be involved in any of the above.

Where will the server be located?
The server will be located somewhere in Europe.

Can my computer run the game?
You can check the system requirements for the game over here on the wiki: http://skylords-reborn.wikia.com/wiki/Basics

Will all cards be instantly available to every player?
No. Collecting cards was a vital and fun part of the game so new players will start off with a standard deck you used to get when creating a new account for BattleForge when it went free to play. Using BFP you obtain daily, you can then open boosters and use the auction hall to obtain and sell new cards. Direct trading will also be an option as usual.

How can I obtain promos?
You can get promos as an extremely rare reward in boosters, or during special events that we will host.

I have asked EA support about hosting a private BattleForge Server and they said yes! This means you can do whatever you want! Amazing, right? (and any other legal conversations)
While we have been given permission to alter the client and host the game, there are several other boundaries and situations that might appear, so please do not take anything for granted. Let's focus on getting the game up first before discussing any further improvements, permissions or boundaries.

(What if) EA might do something about [insert feature here]?
We do not know and we will have to face it. There is no need for discussing what EA can, cannot, will, and won't do. We can't and won't be able to answer this. As mentioned before, let's focus on getting the game up first.

Why did you change name?
This happened due to complications with our logo and the name "BattleForge" being claimed as our own project. Since we are not EA, we can no longer allow this. Ever since, we kept the "Reborn" and call ourselves "Skylords".

Who are the current Skylords Reborn Team Members?
You can find a team list here: http://forum.skylords.eu/index.php?/staff/ and additionally there is one with role descriptions in the Global Forum Rules (please read that through as well, if you don't want to do anything wrong over here!) http://forum.skylords.eu/index.php?/topic/460-global-forum-rules/ . Do note that (Alpha/Beta) Testers and Community Ambassadors are not part of the core team, and know very little more about the current state of progress and development than any other member.

How can I help with this project?
First of all, be sure to check the recruitment section of these forums to see if we still have some spots open for development or community management. You can apply in those forums if you want to be part of the project.
Secondly, you can all help by spreading the word. Tell your friends, family, community members you know make videos once the game is released, write articles, stay active on the forums, keep the hype up those are all things you can do that help us in more ways than you can imagine!

Do you need (help with) translation of the forums and/or game?
No, we do not. We want to keep the forums in English to keep the community together as a whole. With different languages, the community will be easily split, creating separate communities for each language (especially German), and we do not want this separation to occur. If you want to join the forums, you will have to speak and read English. It will also provide a lot more coherence and overall clarity within this website. The game will have all original languages supported and we are currently not looking into adding additional languages.

On the forums, we are discussing a lot of promising ideas for Skylords Reborn, but a developer never posts along. Is our idea being ignored? 
No! The developer and moderation team watches your threads carefully, often discussing or noting your ideas behind the scenes. The reason we don't post is because we are not 100% sure about implementing said idea, due to time, programming or idea constraints. This means we'll be keeping an eye on your discussions but don't join in just yet until a definitive decision has been made, in order to prevent confusion, false implications, false hopes, or the illusion of the team picking sides. It basically prevents a lot of unnecessary chaos. So keep posting and discussing, we are eager to hear your ideas, even though it may not seem like we are!

You guys should put this game on Steam!
Will Skylords Reborn be on Steam?
No. We can't put this project on Steam, considering we do not have the rights to BattleForge as a game. Even with permission to alter the client, putting the game on Steam is an absolute no-go, as we do not own any rights, nor do we have the required funds and authorisation to add a game to Steam.
 

When is the next Podcast coming?
We need more video updates soon!
Can you give us more info in an upcoming stream? 
The next podcast is coming whenever we have enough new material to present to you. If we have sufficient news, updates, and/or announcements, we will make a new podcast. We have absolutely no set date or schedule for podcasts. Be sure to check social media and this website though; as soon as we know we plan a podcast we will tell you. Please be patient; if it is not clearly announced anywhere there is no podcast coming soon. We will give you updates when we see fit. Development is a slow and steady process, have patience.

I am extremely hyped and want nothing more than to support the community with streams, development update news, or any other sort of additional content. Is this allowed? 
There are set regulations for streaming and updates during the game's current stage. If you are eligible of streaming, your forums should show you rules and guidelines. Any community-made updates, streams, and other similar content will have to be approved by the team first, and will have to clearly state that any information provided is unofficial, fan-made and not necessarily true whatsoever. Please inform us of what you are planning in a PM or thread in the Suggestions forum.

I have a question about the forums
Please read through the Global Forum Rules ( http://forum.skylords.eu/index.php?/topic/460-global-forum-rules/ ), most of your questions will most likely be answered there. Mind that the forum rules may apply to all platforms under our name.