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A Tale in the Desert
Sandy99 writes "A Tale in the Desert is a massively multiplayer online roleplaying game (mmorpg) that has been in development for 4 1/2 years and goes live tomorrow. There is no killing in this game. It is all about cooperation to unlock the knowledge of Egypt. A basic overview is at
the official site.
Discussion forums are at atitd.net. Maps of Egypt and construction knowledge are at
atitdmaps.com. Everything has been produced by a handful of independent developers and a bunch of volunteers. This is also the first mmorpg to debut with both
windows and linux clients."
boring
It'll be interesting to see if the game can attract the blood thirsty gamers aroud today. It seems that death and chaos are often one of the more amusing parts of games, as sick as it may be to say. GTA seems to demonstrate this quite clearly.
-dave
http://millionnumbers.com/ - own the number of your dreams
If I wasn't already backed up until sometime after the third apocolypse with my game playing. The only answer is for me to quit my job.
I clicked on the linux client link of the main site and after displaying one page of script IE just hosed itself. I guess IE tried to interpret the .run file as something and failed. I hope it didn't nuke anyting on my machine....
"Not knowing when the dawn will come, I open every door." - Emily Dickinson
I'm thinking The Sims Online has beat them to the non-killing MMORPG market. This game looks utterly bizarre, and since when did Ancient Egyptions have genetically modified crops complete with mutagen agents?
I'm thinking I must have missed a few Discovery channel episodes. It probably would have been easier for them to reskin The Sims Online and release that..
I'm not seeing the importance or significance here, they are basing their engine off Cal3d and are releasing the source for their engine, which roughly looks like shit. Parsec just released their source, which is incredibly cool, and their engine looks good.
For $13.95 a month, I think I'd be pretty pissed off if this is what I got.
Dacels Jewelers can't be trusted.
.. I hope it at least includes sex, drugs and rock & roll.
Looks great... im tired of sprite games
Vir's Odyssey is being made. It will have a Linux client before it has a windows client.
If my wife finds out about this, I'll never get to use my computer. She freaks over this kind of game... I guess I'll have to think up some other hobby. Is sword-swallowing hard?
-- ignoring AC's since... well, always --
God-damned dog. Tail's just at the same height as the coffee table my ice cream's sitting on. I think he does it on purpose.
include $sig;
1;
and I think that the only problem with it is that it will be limiting. The thing about MMORPGs that are sucessful, they appeal to most gamers. Most people who play games can understand that you have to go an kill 50,000 wombats to get a level and collect the shinys. It's as old as video games. The hard core few who spend all their waking days and nights to play those games can because that's the way they are designed. This game doesn't seem to have a limitless supply of things to do as eventuatly you will run out of fun stuff to do.
Also, MMORPGs give you the feeling of accomplishment even if you are not really doing anything. Even if all you do is kill one or two wombats, you earn a FEW XP and it looks like you are advancing. I don't know exactly how htis game is setup, but if I think that if the players don't feel as though they are always moving forward (like in EQ) then many will not play.
Also I heard that some of the goals are strange, like you have to get like a hundred (or however many) people to an area and they all have to pray for a certain amount of time or something. And that's a goal. Strange stuff like that. So it could be interisting, I just don't think that it will be as big as many of the other games.
Wouldn't it be cool if the players failed miserably, and it all turned into a desert? oh...wait a minute....
*ahem* Maybe this will be a haven from all the rabid player killas we have all grown to hate in online games. It's nice to see someone trying to create something constructive, instead of completely destructive. The destructive games make me think our culture is perpetually stuck in adolescent mode...heh, well, I guess it's that in combination with everything else ^^
I can't wait the first Katz story about the rash of young males who, after playing this game, are now running around in the desert digging for stuff. Oh. The humanity.
Should be a hit in france then!
Killing, no killing.. whatever. EverQuest is as successful as it is because of the interaction of the players and other design factors - not because many of use like killing creatures.
If these people managed to incorporate good, involved game play - then i'll put down GTA3:VC and try it out.
Also, if it costs and arm-and-a-leg, then see ya (a la XBox live- only $10 month.. Ha!).
Moderators need an additional choice: "Karma Whore" for people who cut-and-paste articles as their comments!
Shows the developers know nothing about what motivated explorers. Early egyptology was a cutthroat business, funded by people with huge egos (not to unlike how much of North America was explored by botonists seeking to bring back exciting new specimens for their patrons in the old world.)
A well. Should be fun, after all, you can have lots of fun with Settlers of Catan and it doesn't involve (much) killing.
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
Can I be a pimp in the game?
A Tale in the Desert, formerly known as Sovereign.
I have played a number of MMORPGs, work on the WorldForge project, and have been playing Tale on an off for well over a year now, and I have found it an absolutely facinating game. Above all else this game is about politics. The tasks that need to be done in order to make progress in the lang of egypt quickly get beyond the abilities of single players, and guilds become essential to achieve anything, and this is where the fun starts. True leadership is required to get a guild functioning effectively, and a guild can be made or broken by the effectiveness of its key members. The democtratic system in the game, which mean that the players can vote to implement almost any rule also leads to some interesting outcomes.
The various betas ran under wine long before the Linux game came out, so many friends who only play games under Linux have also been joining in. The arrival of the Linux client is most welcome though. I will almost certainly maintain a subscription to this game, and play it when I can, although free time is so hard to come by.
Not to sound like the blood thirsty American that I am, but what the hell is the point? If I can't bash in the head of another person, virtually of course, then I don't want to play this MMORPG.
I want blood, gore, violence, sex, weapons, and some interaction with other people of like mind. If I want to live a violent free life, I would interact with real people in the real world.
Yes, the real world is not that violent.
Linux O Muerte!
Games like this need to be played on a card table not a comp.
FragHARD or don't frag at all
"Cooking
The long awaited cooking comes to ATITD. Food created can increase, or decrease stats."
People have been waiting for a cooking module? Cooking? COOKING?
Well, if anything, you know it's going to be better than "A Tail in the Dessert". That game just grossed me out.
the FreeBSD and Mac OS clients?
From the game:Human Body: The test of the Bedouin. You must travel the land in search of the most remote, the most strange and unheard-of locales. In these places you will find altars, and you must anoint these altars with exotic spices and essences.
:D
So just like all the other MMORPG's out there, I must sit in front of my computer for hours while my character walks and walks and walks and walks.
Actually though, the game does seem kinda cool. There's some sort of fireworks system where you can create your own particle effects. You have to make wine to increase your "Perception"
Instead of PVP, you manage your resources until you can build landmarks (Pyramids of Giza anyone?)
Sort of like Freeciv with a FPS view and massively multiplayer.
I see this game stealing many hours of my essense
There is no killing in this game.
Interesting. Even more if they succeed. I like video games myself, and it's just insane how many times you utter the word "kill" while talking about games lately.
Someone in another post spoke about the "Sims" game being without kills. I have to disagree, since (I'm not making this up) I know at least one person who made her sims starve to death to have some fun and get some ghosts around in the house.
However, killing is so hyped nowadays that I doubt a game about Egypt and Knowledge will attract many players... Mostly older and world-aware players I guess. Can they make a buck with, say, the US market ?
Wait and see.
Karma cannot be described by words alone.
I know graphics don't make the game but... they can certianly help. This game looks like it was released 10 years ago.
We NEED more games to be developed for Linux. Aren't you tired of rebooting to play a fucking game?? I am. Someone releases a Linux clent of their game along with Winodws and all I hear is a bunch of bitching and whining, no blood, no fun..morons. Write your own fucking Linux game if you want blood and gore. To the people who released this game, thank you for having the courage to release a Linux client along with a Windows client. As you can see, the behavior of some these children is why many companies don't take Linux seriously. We are not all teenage brats.
I'm an adult. I'm a gamer. I'm a person that has, not-so-recently, come to the point that the violence in video games has become so terribly overdone that I'm bored with it. This isn't just to say, "Oh, it's everywhere and it's getting played out." I'm distressed that violence has become boring to me. Noticing this brought to my attention that I have become so numb to it that I view all these games as just the same storyline and different characters. I know it isn't that way but the adage regarding some of the more graphic anime there's-only-so-many-ways-a-demon-can-rape-a-lady is spreading to the [M]ature game market.
For me to find a non-violent game I had to play either [E]veryone or [T]een games (and some of the latter titles are questionable). I'm not trying to imply that the worlds problems fall on the doorstep of companies that make violent games. I just think that there should be more games targeted towards adults that have a mature theme and storyline that doesn't involve overt violence and / or sexuality.
I want to make this perfectly clear; I'm not trying to rid the gaming market of violence and sex. But as we all know, there is a time and a place for everything. An I'm glad that some people have decided to buck the tide and try out something "new."
"From of old, there are not lacking things that have attained Oneness." - Lao Tzu
Wasn't there a p2p MMPORG that apppeared on /. last year some time? IIRC, it was not looking good.
p2p could mean a free MMPORG; perhaps you pay for updates with new features, items goals and such. All players would have to have the same version to play.
I thought that Thief would make a pretty sweet MMPORG - Sneaking into someones house and stealing their gold pieces/objects duh art. Fencing them to the highest bidder. Slitting the throats of uppity noblemen. Plenty of room for all manner of characters. Guards, thieves, nobles,
hehehe - just like what already goes on in many MMPORGs but purposely part of the game.
You can kill brain cells!
After I posted this article I realized I hadn't filled in the email field. If you want to reach me I'm sandy@sandydesert.com . I'm not connected with egenesis - the Tale in the Desert people except I love this game.
This is a quote from the FAQ of the game site about what the game is like.
The game is a blend between city-building games and games of guile like Diplomacy and Illuminati. There's no combat - you must win by smart management and sharp-witted negotiation, not by weapons. The game has a plot that unfolds in response to player actions, and when the story is over, the game ends.
Illuminati eh?
I've got to give this game a look solely based on the creators being influnced by this game. I didn't think that anyone played this awesome game. Here's the link to the main Illuminati site. Illuminati is, wihtout a doubt, one of the best and most original games ever made.
IMO, ATITD's biggest problem will come from groups like this who band together to solve or easily master games such as this.
Dolemite
Save the World! Use a Quote!
I used to be hooked to Unreal Tournament and Tactical OPs and CounterStrike and Command and Conquer and Myth.
I stopped all of that. Phew.
Life seems a little empty now, but I am sure that it will pick up.
Right ??!!!!
Right ??!!!
Anyways you guys are all suckers to play those and you are wasting your life and what not.
BAD GEEKS BAD!
Ok... so what's behind the little door in the pyramid?
Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
But 13.95 is just too steap to try and see if its a good game. Considering how many other time drains (read: video games) I'm currently playing, while also trying to work a job.
m3g@k!LL: You cheater ...
BrainPower: What? How did I cheat?
m3g@k!LL: Howd you kill me so fast!!?!
BrainPower: Er, I didn't kill you. I was just trying to give you gold...
m3g@k!LL: awps r 4 l00z3rs dipw33d...
BrainPower: awps? I don't get it. Are you calling me names?
m3g@k!LL: no i mean awp snipers lamea$$
BrainPower: Sniper? This isn't counterstrike bozo...
m3g@k!LL: You have an aimbot
BrainPower: Er, there are no aimbots
m3g@k!LL: KILLING SPREE! I' fukin roxx!
BrainPower: ???
m3g@k!LL: This game suxxs, I cant kill. I'm goingto play unreal 3000...
BrainPower:
"Can of worms? The can is open... the worms are everywhere."
much as i'd like to believe this could succeed, .. and i doubt a "handful of :/ .. a pity, but ...
unless they imbued it with a massive amount of
depth, it won't fly
independent developers and volunteers" had the
resources to do it in such a way as to ensure any
real success
This is a game that I've been awaiting for years. It may sound similar in concept to the Sims or Everquest or Ultima Online, but this is something different. Rather than just being a community of online avatars, this is an evolving environment that empowers the participants to change the rules by popular referendum, and to construct a civilization from first principles.
Vir's Odyssey?
Is the point of the game to put people's heads on pikes and wave at them?
Never confuse feeling with thinking.
1.Brain Dead
2."My finger slipped. Yeah, that's the ticket!"
3.?????
4.Profit!
KFG
Both will go out of business quickly
Manipulate the moderator system! Mod someone as "overrated" today.
You mean that crap I get from my family and coworkers, unwanted, for free?
KFG
When/where is the OSX client? Borshki bork bork!
Gets a definite lock on "Most Boring Game of 2003". Wow, its only February and we have a winner!
Manipulate the moderator system! Mod someone as "overrated" today.
Now that you mention it, where the hell IS Katz?
We haven't seen a story posted by him since July.
Did the Katz detractors / trolls actually win?
Even Jesus hates listening to Creed.
I found another good game. Set in a more contemporary world, however, than ancient Egypt - but not as "the real world" as ths Sims. Much like this one [tale], you have to develop skills, amass wealth, interact, develop communication and leadership abilities. However there can be killing or death - albeit it is engineered so it is not abundant, nor simple. It is probably the most Massively Multiplayer of them all. Some of the features include a wide range of challenges - learning to drive one of numerous vehicles. Multiple actual language systems. Practicing a skill and honing it into a trade: like glassblowing, painting, printing, small engine repair, carpentry - and many more. You get extra experience points for travelling far and wide (which I will admit, some of the journeys can be tedious) and you can even become an ambassador for your homeland. That's right - a political system! People in this game can rise in power. As your wealth and power increase, you can influence things in the game more and more - and the laws and rules of the game are constantly in flux, completely player controlled. I almost can't go into all the immense detail that has gone into this game, which has been developed for years on end to bring us to the most massively multi-player, most rich and deep experience possible. Get more info - it's called... Life.
C'mon, guys, if you want developers to target Linux for new releases (as opposed to just long-delayed ports of Windows games, etc) you should definitely give these independents your support.
Oh, great, what's next for Slashdot once a bunch of us start playing this? "In primitive egypt, pyramids build YOU!"
The game has a plot that unfolds in response to player actions, and when the story is over, the game ends.
And then what? Everyone's account gets deleted? They close up all the servers and start developing a new game?
The players have total control over the laws of Egypt. You can create any laws that are needed to maintain order. This is necessary, because it is easy for players to interfere with each other in their quest for financial gain.
So the first person in makes it illegal for anyone besides him to make any laws. Oops.
I remain unconvinced.
Maybe there are stun guns? that's not killing. Or perhaps they did it like Super Mario Sunshine, and just give you a water gun, and you just wash away bad guys? OR maybe there are undead to 'kill', because if they're undead, THEY ARE ALREADY DEAD!!! I think if people don't get their killing out in video games, they'll be doing it in the streets. James
In fact, I've spent some time trying to unlock the secrets of ancient Egypt. I've found things called "books" and "artifacts" most useful to me in this pursuit. Even cooperation with these things called " other people" has come in handy.
This just looks like another boring "find the gem and place it on the alter" game that I grew tired of 15 years ago.
The older gamer has already done this shit to death, thank you very much. I'm going to go read now.
KFG
There may not be killing, but maybe there's nothing stopping you from asking someone to look at this great mineral you discovered and then ::whoops!:: watching them fall into a mine hole =)
But seriously. I don't like games with enforced altruism. There SHOULD be some risk of great loss (i.e. death) in these games. I want a game that demonstrates the kinds of ideas presented in this book, The Evolution of Cooperation, which shows that cooperation can evolve even in a society that starts out completely selfish. (quite an amazing book, IMHO...)
A tale in the desert and... no killing?
It must be a french game...
Yes I admit... This is a troll!
This has got me thinking. When I'm through with my book I have hankering to fire up AOE, meet some ancient Egyptians. . . and KILL them!
KFG
I went to the site and read the FAQ but didn't see any mention of whether there's some sort of fee to play or cost for the client. I can't download the client right now to check, so can someone who knows about this enlighten the rest of us?
I played ATITD for several days in beta 3, and it was an enjoyable game. I would have played longer but had to deal with RW issues and travel preventing me. After playing EQ for 2 years, and DAOC for 9 months, I kept looking for the auto-attack button, but, all in all it was interesting. Considering the number of developers involved, it is very impressive.
You're fucking welcome!
Since there's no box cost whatsoever, if you play for less than 50-60 months, it's actually the same price. There's a whole lot of ways to look at it, like: 50-60 months of game time same fee as EQ. (Even for me, a crazy 2-year beta tester of it, that's too much play time. :P)
4~ months of game time at $13.99 free.
You save even more if you buy multiple accounts, etc. Plus, remember that you get free trials for it.
... a couple of months back. While there's no combat - not even PvE (critter-whackin') - it's still a very, VERY involved game. It's the achiever's/tradeskiller's wet dream come true. I'd play it come release, if it wasn't such an addicting game. I don't *want* to be growing roots in front of my computer. :)
Don't knock it 'til you've tried it, gang. I believe there's going to be a free trial made available.
"People" using "unnecessary" quotes should be "shot".
And then what? Everyone's account gets deleted? They close up all the servers and start developing a new game?
Of course, Egypt has hung around now for something on the order fo 5000 years....
Comparing it to Windows will be a moot point, since El Dorado is going to have a 40% larger code base than XP.
Perhaps the real benefit will come when some of these MMORPG's start to go out of business and someone (not me) can pick up the code cheap and make it open source. Imagine if 1000's of people could create their own server with their own mods heck they could toss killing into this game, or implement different player killing in Everquest...endless possibilities. No more monthly fee, either.
a war on terrorism? How can we end a war on a method?
...I want my mummy.
Good to see many of you even bother to give it a chance plus a whole lot of assumptions on how it works. Anyway, I'll try to clear some things up.
First off, there really is no killing. Blah, so what. What you can do is build. The only thing in this game that isn't player built is the initial universities and schools needed to advance your skills and research. The rest is entirely player based. I saw a comment on how anyone can make a law and the first person can stop everyone else from making one. Not likely gonna happen. First, you need to visit the University of Leadership to get a petition. You write up the petition and get 20 people to read and sign it. If the petition gets 20 signatures, it can be put up for vote. The voting lasts 24 hours and anyone can vote it. The majority vote wins. It's highly unlikely that someone is gonna make it illegal for themselves to vote.
I've also noticed that many people here seem to think these people are halting all forms of conflict. Sorry but no. You can try doing any kind of devious or griefing you wish short of killing someone. I'd suggest not being stupid about it though. It is perfectly ok for a law to be passed to ban you from the game. This alone gets rid of the l33t griefers that are too dumb to come up with an original idea to make people miserable. However, the smart player might be able to get away with it.
Eventually certain players can gain the ability to ban one other character from the game too. This is power is granted by the players too so they had better choose wisely.
Last but not least is the fear of people passing laws to make the game extremely easy. The developers have already stated that any law which changes game physics will be vetoed. Pretty much anything else is fair game.
This has gotten quite long so I will finish off by saying to whoever it was that mentioned it: yes, there is a whole lot of depth to this game.
this blatant advertising (er, story) has been brought to you courtesy of your slashdot subscription fees. aren't you glad you paid up?
In case you didn't know, there is a free trial period of 24 hours online time or 30 days of real life time (which ever comes first). I must admit this game takes some getting used to (be sure and read the game guids on atitd.net), but once you learn what to do, it can get pretty addictive. One of my favorite things is the tech tree... any technologies that are unlocked, are useable by all. Of course research takes enough resources to open that most can only be opened by a group effort, which I think is pretty cool in an online game.
More than likely - it does bill itself as a 'midevil' game, as opposed to a 'highevil' or 'lowevil' game.
Siggy
Hey folks, I played during Beta 3, and anyone with a Civ fetish is going to enjoy this game. Both DH and I really enjoyed it on the last major server test last weekend, and have been waiting to sign up this weekend!
As a person who likes to just plain kill things in his video games, I've come up with several ways to kill Sims.
Try having one go use the stove, and when the sim is using it, enter build mode, and fence him in around the stove. He'll soon burst into flames and die, and there'll be a nice tombstone out front.
Another way to kill them, is to make them go swimming in a pool, and while they're doing that, enter Build Mode and remove all of the stepladders. they'll soon drown, and a shiny new tombstone will appear in the front yard. There are a couple other ways that I've figured out how to kill them, but there's two for you.
Be inventive.
Free trial - 30 days or 24 online hours, whichever comes first.
$14 sounds expensive, but consider you save $30 dollars by not having to buy a box.
It ends up being equivalent to a game that costs $12 / month that you buy at your local store for $30 and you play over a year.
AT LEAST 30. Probably around $50-60 considering modern MMO prices.
Open Source MMORPGs run without subscription is a nice idea, and one I have come across a few times before, but the facts are that there are good reasons why all the games of this kind are run on a subscription basis. It takes a serious ammount of computing power and bandwidth to host one of these games, and its beyond the means of even the most philanthropic people to provide it all for free. The most you can realistically hope to host is a server for games roughly on the same scale as Neverwinter Nights.
In addition to the running costs, the developers of MMORPGs have to recover the much larger development costs through the subscription charges, so you might be able to run a server quite a bit cheaper.
I've been enjoying your Slashdot comments for a while now. I always found you to be smart and imaginative (are you really also sexy?) I was wondering if you would date an Anonymous Coward tonight (me). You're my only hope.
Love,
AC
The game is not about *egyptology* its about *egypt*. As in, you're an egyptian trying to figure out how to build stuff.
And, as the very clueful developers will point out, just because there's no combat doesn't mean that there's no conflict
I'm looking forward to trying it out.
-Zipwow
I don't know which is more depressing, that 2/3 didn't care enough to vote, or that 1/2 of those that did are crazy.
It's not actually a linux client, it's a linux-x86 client. It won't do you any good if you run linux-ppc, linux-alpha, linux-mips, linux-m68k, linux-sparc, linux-hppa etc., etc.
Calling it a "linux" client is like releasing a widget that only works on Fords, and calling it a "widget for cars".
Or I will curse anyone who opens this website. Dare not incur my wrath.
- from the iBook of P. Tutankhamen, Orion's Belt
It's called Kemet and it is already live.
Far from being a problem, large groups who band together and try and solve Tale are exactly how its supposed to work. The thing is there will be other large groups who have banded together who are also trying to solve it faster than you, and eGenesis are continuously rolling out new content as fast as you can master it.
The ammount of work achieved by some of the guilds during the betas was trully awesome. It would take one hell of an organised group of people with lots of free time to beat them all.
Required:
Pentium II, 400 mhz
192Mb Ram
3D Accelerator
Recommended:
Pentium II 700+
256Mb Ram
GeForce video card
A special video card is required to play? That's ridiculous. They're already limiting their userbase to active gamers that follow the daily video card upgrade circus. I was really interested in giving this a whirl until I read this.
kill iraqis in the game, and if not why?
I've downloaded the game this afternoon, and have been playing it pretty much continuously since then.
It's a killer for everyone who's bored of the FPS crap. And it's a great cooperative game, something that's been missing from most games recently (I loved Rainbow Six cooperative back when I still had windows).
One thing they did right is actually rewarding teamwork, and rewarding being nice to other people. I was in the game no 10 min. when someone volunteered to be my mentor and guide me through the first steps. A while later, I started a very productive cooperation with my neighbour at the river ("hey, I'm going to get some wood, should I fetch some for you, too?" - "sure, need any firebricks? I made more than I need right now.").
It's a great game. Got me hooked right away, and that doesn't happen often.
Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org
In obscure tribute to the great bob:
"I disagree with what you said."
Pretty much applies to most of these comments, but few will know why.
This is an innovative game. I don't much care for any game developers claiming "First ever Blah Blah" because it is usually crap, I owned an Amiga and I am damn sure most "First Ever" games have already been done on the PC already if not on the humble Amiga back in nineteen-eighty-something. So first Linux/Windows client is a shady one, but first non-killing MMORPG in 3D with the amount of playability it has is probably more worthy of a "first". I played the beta a few times, if you are one of those people who hates these new FPS shooter killer games, then this game is probably for you. It was great playing an MMORPG for free for so long with no "give me all your details, speak naught of this product" forms/contracts etc. Not the best 3D engine on the planet, but if you even think about saying "pfft, doesn't look as good as Asherons Call 2" then you're just a nerd who shouldn't even be playing Role-Playing-Games. What was the game that said "First 3D game ever?"... lol, my butt.
It's also one of the only MMORPGs that will be sold online only, no box necessary. So yes it costs $14 a month, but that's IT.
It also has a full-featured voting system, players can get laws put up for vote with enough signatures on a petition, and then get that law passed AND IMPLEMENTED by the developers (!) with enough votes. And yes, laws can have unforseen detrimental effects, or even be deliberately designed to cause problems. This game is REALLY political. ^_^
I use Windows... like a two dollar wh.. why don't I just go ahead and not finish that sentence.
its an interesting game and for the pure builder should have fun. but the total lack of combat will hobble ATITD just as much as a game with too much combat. having no combat denys the laws of nature and just like the matrix utopia ATITD risks rejection egypt at the time of the game was quite violent and to deny that fact gives the game a boring artificcial feel. some players argue that the mini games are the combat but a good game of chess just isnt the same as fighting off a lion or a band of bandits for some reason.
A story about a game called Tales of the Desert, submitted by *SANDY*99. This may be one of the secrets of ancient Egypt...
Personally, I have a blast playing quite a few violent games -- but they're also usually fast-action arcade games, requiring little thought.
Sometimes, that's what you want... a stress-reliever or some "instant action entertainment".
When you're ready to sit down and get immersed in a detailed virtual world, however, I think you expect more. Violence in role-playing and multi-player games gets old and cliche pretty quickly. To me, they all feel like "Dungeon Hack", over and over again - except with different scenery and sounds. I mean, how "immersing" is the same tired concept that you kill, collect items, and then go spend the money/gold to buy bigger and better items?
A good MMORPG should be more like reading chapters of a novel. (Only it's a novel that's being written as you go along, and there's no "last chapter" or "last page" to come across.) The fact that you can communicate with other live human players is always the "key point" to these types of games, but what makes it "good" or "bad" is how much is built around that basic premise.
Before I'd play this particular game, I'd want to know that there's some quality storyline unfolding, and lots of interesting puzzles, twists, and discoveries to make as a group effort.
One other thing I didn't like is that it automatically sends bug reports without your confirmation and it doesn't even tell you what's in the bug report.
From reading the various responses, can anyone tell me what is so thrilling about killing (or the lack thereof)? Methinks that there are some serious underlying societal and psychological issues going on.
Is it a primal instinct or a feeling of being confined within societal limits?
And no, I'm not blaming violence on games or anything like that. I'm just wondering.
Maybe it's just me, but I see enough violence happening in the real world (read: people dying or otherwise) that it makes me curious what the fascination is in playing a game where you would normally shake your head in disgust if you were to read or hear about it in the news.
Illegal Dumping
Is the hillbilly in you talkin' too loud?
Red Light Running
That's an American past-time!! There's nothing wrong with that.
Stalking
Now you're cooking on bottled gasoline!
Am I the only one that thought deserts were made of sand? All 4 screencaps on their front page show grass.
I'm Rick James with mod points biatch!
You can make a law to ban a person from egypt.
Can I assemble a team to excevate under the sphinx and haul out that hidden chest? Can I find a hidden chamber where if I place my staff correctly the sunlight will illuminate a path from the medallion down to the secret resting place of the Ark of Covenant?
Do you need a website upgrade?
Speaking of Settlers of Catan, there's a clone called Gnocatan which I help out a little with. It's gearing up for a new release any day now.
Those are worst graphics I have ever seen, since Pong ... the first Beta release of Pong.
It looks like the graphic design team was selected from the cast of Kindergarten Cop.
There are 49 tests in the game that are really hard to pass and some can be passed only by a few. So if you pass one of those tests you will have a feeling of accomplishment. For example there is a test of the demi-pharoah. And only 1 person can become him and get the power to ban someone from the game(you don't wanna mess with him :) ) but to get there you will need to be very known as someone who all the players trust. Another test is to build the highest obilisc in your region at beginning it's so easy but later you will again have a feeling of accomplishment when you build an obilisc.
Why do so many game makers screw up the most basic part of the game: installing and paying. I have examined there site and it is a big confused jumble of gobblygook. A lot of games sites are like this, but most of them have a box and cd that gets you to the starting line.
Where is the starting line? Oh, I can figure it out no doubt, but will I bother?
Why not have the home page for this game be nice clean graphic with a signup and install button. Sure, have some tabs to the gobblygook. But in the main as a player, I don't want to have to surf around the site for the right voodoo doll to get thing up and running.
If you get hooked be sure to not forget to sleep :) :D
I finished that test in 24 hours
But the game runs in a window so you can browse the net or chat on irc(is used like the main chat client)
Free 30day or 24hr trial? But I've got a week off school starting today. ;)
Uh oh, I'm downloading the trial.
Oh no, I've got projects to work on and midterms in a week.
Oh well only 24 hrs, what harm can that lead to.
I think you got your point across about not being against video game violence/sexuality.
Why bother.
It's pretty ironic how we are...Everybody talks about wanting to be anti-war, peace on earth, etc. Yet games and movies that don't involve killing or at least some form of destruction are not valued as much by the masses.
:)
Nothing wrong with a little blood guts now and then IMO. Humans evolved as omnivores. Therefore we have a bit of that killer instinct coded into our genes which drives these violent desires, which only makes it natural, like it or not.
"My obelisk's bigger than yours."
"Oh yeah? Whip it out!"
Has anyone here ever heard of Neopets? It's a non-killing game with massive numbers of players that's been successful enough that, even though it's free, they've been in business for literally years and I even spotted plushies at the toy store recently.
What do you do in Neopets? Try to accumlate wealth, start guilds, talk to other players, collect items (some of which can be turned into other items), buy, sell, start an advertising empire... In fact, it sounds a lot like this. And it's successful. And has an incredibly large and varied user base (I've seen people ranging from 8 - 76 years old on there).
Why is everyone so quick to knock a game that doesn't involve bloody decapitation or running over meandering civillians?
and I have to say that it bored me out of my mind. Be prepared to spend hours upon hours doing nothing but clicking on things over and over and over, and running for about 45 minutes to get to places. The whole game revolves around building things, and it takes a LONG time to get the necessary materials collected, grown, or made. That being said, there is a sense of satisfaction when you DO manage to build something impressive or complete a task.
I must admit that when I purchase a game, I expect to only pay once for it. I just can not see paying for something over and over. That is the main reason I don't like Everquest.
Regards,
jlk
If I can't TK it ain't fun. Bahahhaahhaa.
HypeLog.com If it's hype it's on Hypelog. Movies, TV, Music, SciFi,
Finally, some recognition!
I'll give it a try, at least it's FREE to download the client and about $14 to try it.
BTW, I found FULL, LEGAL, NEW IN BOX copies of Everquest on Ebay for $4.99 with free shipping.
I'm going to try it with the free 30 day trial.
If it won't run well under WINE or I don't like it I'm only out of $5 rather than spending $50 to buy a WINDOWS game that may or may not work or that I may not like...
I've read the description and it sounds relatively interesting. Too bad it doesn't contain any violence. At the very least, I think that various groups of scientists, on their mission to unlock the secrets of Egypt, should get into a big war with each other, thereby turning the game into a blood and guts shootout inside the pyramids, whereby all sorts of secret chambers are discovered (and the pyramids are nearly destroyed by all the violence). At the end of the game, the truth would be discovered--that the pyramids are used to house big huge weapons, and the game would take on a new twist, kind of like the way Doom II takes a new twist when you find the BFG-9000, except there would be MUCH more blood and guts, because the amount of guts in DOOM is not nearly enough. Of course, the violence should stay IN the game. We don't need any more of that crap in real life. (Man, I would hate to be a cop... The shit they have to deal with. One minute, you're changing a flat tire for some old lady; The next, you're in some alley blowing some drug dealer's head off.)
Geesh
Who do I have to kill around here for them to do some killing in this game???
Games this boring don't get ported. Sort of like a gamespam filter!
Beta 3 of ATITD just wrapped up about a month ago. I have been playing since early in Beta 2 and I can without a doubt say this is one of the best MMORPG's I have played. All of those who are posting 'game sucks no killing' would obviously not find the appeal in this game. It is meant for a more intelligent community as opposed to the games that cater to your average hack and slash fan. This is a damn good game, well thought out, and with friendly and responsive developers. I encourage everyone to play. Game starts Saturday the 15th at noon. '/chat quantumz' if you want to get mentored!
-quantumz[HoM]
That sounds more like a bastard operator from hell story. You were locked in the tape safe with a serial killer, aka safety advisor.
this is the particular episode that I'm referring to.
You can't judge a book by the way it wears its hair.
Essentially we are talking about "Sims in the sand"?
*Fortitudo, aequitas, fidelitas.*
I downloaded this game in the morning when you could still play on the main server, and boy what a boring game. They are planning to make you pay for it and believe me idd rather pay to be flogged by a horde of rampaging monkeys. I spent 4 hours walking around, I picked up some mud and some slate. They climax was when I dropped some grass and it turned to straw.
Slashdot is a MMORPG.
>>You have entered the dark and dusty remains of King LaLa's tomb. A light breez wafts across your torch, causing it to flicker for a moment. In front of you, the path branches into three directions. Do you go STRAIT, LEFT or RIGHT?
PLAYER> RIGHT
>> As you make your way down the stone path you see something half buried in the crumbled remains of the path. It looks dangerous.
PLAYER> LOOK
>> As you crouch down to take a closer look, you are shocked to find the ancient septor of Tutu Ramen blocking your progress!
PLAYER> ATTACK
EQUIP?> CHISLE
>> 3D4 = 13[8] Hit!
>> Player does 3 points of excavation!
>> Ancient Septor appears unphased!!
PLAYER> SPELL
CAST ?> WHISK
>> Player casts WHISK! 2D4 Dust removed! Def -3, Agility -5!
>> Ancient Septor is shaken!
PLAYER> ATTACK
EQUIP?> CHISLE
>> 3D4 = 7[5] Hit!
>> Player does 2 points of excavation!
>> Ancient Septor DEFEATED!!!
>> You gained +20 Experience
>> LEVEL UP!
>> ATTACK: +1
>> DEF: +2
>> AG: +1
>> MG: +3
>> You got one ANCIENT SEPTOR!
>> 11 Gold found!
>> LEARNED NEW ATTACK! "COMPRESSED AIR"
Sounds fun. Where do I sign up for Beta?
You need a FREE iPod Nano
Carebears of the world unite!
Bah! This game is the reason I got one hour of sleep last night. I was watching bricks dry, and I was STILL glued to the screen. I even had a nice little brick psuedo-factory going but then this thing got posted on Slashdot and it was all over.
You can mod your friends, you can mod your nose, but you can't mod your friend's nose.
Yeah, because everybody knows that the first thing a game company thinks of when they're filing for bankruptcy is changing their license over to GPL. Whatever. Not gonna happen, so quit holding your breath, moron.
Don't know about wine, but it works well under WineX.
I'm totally going to find the StarGate first!
I'm totally going to gate somewhere I can steal
a g'ould mothership to fly back. Then I'll hand
out weapons and fly around in a deathglider. No
guns. Sheesh. What's this world coming too.
The most important thing any republican needs to know.
so at least someone is trying to do something new, i think this is a good idea.
when you see your mummy you better start running!
I know you are psychotic, but please make an effort.
I've definitely gotta see their game server! Their page server didn't even drop to its knees due to the slashdot effect.
I won't play another MMOG (yes, I was stupid enough to play the piece of shit games as well, guilty as charged) until it's a FPS/twitch type game that has vehicles, teamwork, and the taking over of fortresses (I have already designed the framework, and it even includes a stat-based system). Sure, you'd need broadband to play, but I don't think the people with dial-up should limit what we could do with games today.
And if you have dial-up and you want to bitch, either get a new modem or have fun playing something like BladeMistress, a game that celebrates the shittiness of MMORPGS and dial-up modems, TOGETHER! Here, read the unintentionally hilarious FAQ!
You have to be the same avatar as everyone else, you can't kill other players (which really sucks because anyone who plays that game should be killed in real life) and you STILL have to pay a monthly fee.
I still play Team Fortress Classic for HL, thank you very much. Fun game, it's only ten dollars, one time. And it's also CounterStrike, Day of Defeat, etc.
Ever played on unofficial Ultima Online shards? One shard I played on often had over 40 players, and I think it was running on a 600 MHz P3 on Windows 2K with a 384 kbps upstream that was also used for surfing. Less laggy and more stable than the official servers.
Lalala
Actually, the way it is set up, big groups advance the tech tree, but then that is automatically available to any. This is one game where being a noob doesn't mean you are going to be behind the power curve for very long.
Breath in and out slowly...
Feeling relaxed and open to new ideas?
Good, now, Repeat with me:
Not every game in the known universe has to have violence. Not even in a discuised form of splattering bugs with jelly.
Bot Assisted Blogging
If you had a Linux running on a K6, your boredom would have lasted about 0.094 seconds. That's the time the linux launcher needs to bomb out, thank you very much.
According to this thread, the thing has been compiled with i686 optimizations, and is therefore utterly useless for us older AMD users.
I'm seriously disappointed. I was looking forward to this no killing type of game. Now I feel locked out again. Kemet is using the same client, so no luck there either.
CURSE YOU, LORD BRITI... Err.. wait...
The difference between ignorance and apathy? I sure don't know, and I don't care either.
Comment removed based on user account deletion
another example of this is the situation of a firm that continues to elevate highly degreed individuals who consistently do not perform while keeping lesser degreed individuals down low even though it is those that everyone goes to for problem fixing, design ideas, etc.
That said, I don't think I would play a game such as this yet it is interesting enough that I wouldn't mind getting a little time in through a friend's account. I prefer the killing type of environment even if I myself am not the hunter or hunted. Basically, that type of conflict can create the types of situations that every story teller creates thus said another way is exactly what most people want to be involved with. This doesn't quite work out however if you create such an artificial set of rules and constraints for the combat (i.e. EQ, DAOC, etc) that it is nothing but a quest to raise your character's level... well then you have subverted the games purpose to that of simply raising your character's level.
That last part touched on what you had said about the perception of success by the player. I personally do not like any MMORPG game (and many of those really are not RPG's but merely fantasy action with some adventure). However, I realize that many do and do not wish to bastardize what they love anymore than I wish them to bastardize what I love. I am hoping that soon there will actually be some choice in these MMOG games beyond just a change of names, setting and character animations. The cloning of all these games under different art and sound really does not do much for anyone.
In other words, I would like to see more games with purposes outside of "Cool, I raised my character 3 levels this weekend." When reading sci-fi or fantasy novels, watching a good movie or hearing an ancient tale you rarely hear about the point of it all being the advancement of the main character. Sure, there are often times where they find some legacy of their heritage whether that is a sword, powers (think Jedi) or whatever. Yet no matter how they train and advance the point of interest is how they deal with adversity and create their own form of order out of the chaos. So what if my troll berserker has reached level 50, what does that really mean? And where did all the stories go where even the bravest and best trained of warriors or wizards could be taken down by a group of simple peasants? Well in the modern self labled MMORPG you cannot even touch that person. (Yes I know of many other reasons behind it, like griefing and the like) If a point of a game is what you do and the developers claim that you will be immersed in an open ended world where interaction defines that world... then why do we see so many artificial restrictions in place for team work and cooperation?
Life is largely defined by death. Also, Egypt is not a place of peace, daisies, and cuddly friendship. It is a Middle-Eastern country just a few steps away from falling under the whims of rabid Mullahs and/or a Taliban-style leadership. There are groups there that consider the ancient treasures of Egypt to be evil and an affront to "allah". These groups seek to destroy these treasures much as the Taliban did with the standing buddhas.
There is malaria in Egypt, political intrigue, murderous and backwards religious fanatics. You are not free to simply get along and do whatever. Incorporate the REAL reality and make the game even more interesting.
In Bushworld, they struggle to keep church and state separate in Iraq as they increasingly merge the two in America.
Okay, so I read up on it on both sites, got fairly interested for me and my fiancee.
I download the client, and run it. First choice: Official server or builder server. I guess official server. I create a player, and connect. Once I do, I get "This server is for builders, GM's, and Expert mentors". Hmm. Thought thats what the builder server would be for.
Okay, fine, so I do the dance for the builder server.
This time it says its only open to Builders. Ooooooookay.. back to the official server. By this point its 11:10pm EST (2/14/02).
This time I actually get in! Yay! I see the landscape, the players, and it looks pretty cool. I ask for a mentor, and I get one: "Bellah". WooHOO!
But wait. Bellah informs me that there isnt any mentoring that night, and that the server is going down. (huh?!) She says to try again tommorow. I look around, try out the interface for a few minutes, and then, just as she said, the server goes down, and no further connection can be made.
So I sleep, and this morning I attempt to login again. I get the same "only open for Builder's, GM's, and expert mentors", only this time, its totally consistent.
This, according to their website is their launch date. Great concept, but honestly, how the hell do they expect to get, gain, and keep players when the first 12 hours after a slashdot posting you cant even SEE the game?!!?
I'd love to play it..
GPL'd web-based tradewars themed space game
$14 sounds expensive
It is expensive.
When do they make a free game sponsored by someone - "You must go on a quest to find the holy Coca Cola Vending machine in the desserts of Microsoft"
If Google really cared they would fix Android Chrome to reflow text, instead of discriminating
Though, mimicking ancient egypt to the extreme, there's truckloads of pulling-brains-out-through-the-nose and packing-the-body-cavity-with-resin-and-herbs.
Keep your packets off my GNU/Girlfriend!
You connected BEFORE the release started!!!!
well, I dont think watching bricks dry is going to captivate me. I dont watch the grass grow on my lawn, either.
Manipulate the moderator system! Mod someone as "overrated" today.
40 players is hardly massively multiplayer. I don't know much about the technology in UO, but I strongly suspect that its bandwidth requirements are far lower than that of modern MMORPGs.
How accurate is it historically?
If it's a professional history lesson wrapped up a some good fun then I'd be into it, but if it's a just a faeiry-story in the Hollywood mould, then it's thanks but no thanks. We haven't got spare $$$ to blow on a regular basis for pure fantasy how ever well done. LOTR took the pure escapism ration for a wee while.
Any body know?
It's impossible to tell from the website.
I've been playing since i saw this post and I can say that is intereseting and expansive. This is more of a co-operative game than any I have seen. There needs to be a division of laybor to advance very far. That can be fun for someone that can devote loads of time to the game, but it will probably lose to folks that can't spend much time building relationship in the game (like myself).
With that said, it hooked me all day, and I am now trying to walk to the end of the world (over an hour with no end in sight...). at around 10:00 or 11:00 the system manager signed off saying that over 2000 people signed on on the opening day, with 650 playing at once. Also, they got 275 people to sign up for billable accounts, even though the free access hasn't been cut of yet. That is a good first day.