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."

Comments

no killing

[Mantorp]

boring

Re:no killing

[Sevidrac]

Well, maybe you can have curses on buildings and kill people indirectly.

Re:no killing

[dmanny]

Of course there was no killing in Ancient Egypt either.....

Re:no killing

[SquadBoy]

I did plenty of killing in The Sims and so did many others.

http://www.geocities.com/the_simms_ca/kill.html

Re:no killing

[chimpo13]

The Sims would be worth playing if you could kill.

I'd like to be a burglar or a killer. And I'd like it if I could release hords of locusts and rats carrying bubonic plague fleas.

If it's a game based on real life, where's the fun? A blurred out visit to a hot tub with a nekkid Sim? It's the violence in real life that makes it fun.

But it's not, so I have to release hords of locusts myself.

Just doing a quick scan of crime types on google, Sims should have: Abuse of the Disabled, Aircraft Hijacking, Animal Abuse, Arson, Child Abuse, Domestic Violence, Drunk Driving, Elder Abuse, Fraud, Genocide, Graffiti, Hate Crimes, Hazing, Homicide, Illegal Dumping, Kidnapping, Modern Slavery, Money Laundering, Police Brutality, Red Light Running, Sex Crimes, Speeding, Squatting, Stalking, Terrorism, Theft, Torture, and War Crimes.

I'd love to give it a shot

[Mr. Grimm]

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.

Re:I'd love to give it a shot

[KDan]

Please do so - but tell me where you work first so I can take over!

kthxby :-)

Daniel

Re:I'd love to give it a shot

[Twirlip of the Mists]

I've given up reading the classifieds and taken to reading the obituaries instead. The way I see it, sooner or later somebody in a job I'm qualified for is bound to keel over, and when they do... bam!

Morbid, yes, but them's the breaks in our current economic climate.

(The next logical step, of course, is... well, let's just say there's a next logical step and leave it at that, okay?)

Well..

[Der Krazy Kraut]

.. I hope it at least includes sex, drugs and rock & roll.

Re:Well..

[Linknoid]

Look at the way people like to impress each other with cellphones in countries where you can't carry weapons ;)

You mean with cellphones like this?

Tail in the Dessert?

[Linux_ho]

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.

Any time now

[fobbman]

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.

No violence, eh?

[Anonymous Coward]

Should be a hit in france then!

4 1/2 years???

[silvaran]

A Tale in the Desert, formerly known as Sovereign.

Cooking?

[chrisseaton]

"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?

Re:Blood Thirsty

[ackthpt]

It'll be interesting to see if the game can attract the blood thirsty gamers aroud today.

It's all fun and games until some lamer kicks sand in the face of your mummy.

This brings to mind countless Far Side cartoons...

Review

[LongJohnStewartMill]

Well, if anything, you know it's going to be better than "A Tail in the Dessert". That game just grossed me out.

They're trying to steal my essense.

[t0qer]

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.

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 :D

Re:What's the point?

[rampant mac]

"If I want to live a violent free life, I would interact with real people in the real world."

Welcome to Earth, you must be new here.

As heard on aTintD

[stefanlasiewski]

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: ...

Re:Another MMORPG is being made

[TheNumberSix]

Vir's Odyssey?

Is the point of the game to put people's heads on pikes and wave at them?

"its about political interplay "

[kfg]

You mean that crap I get from my family and coworkers, unwanted, for free?

KFG

Re:Unlock the secrets of Egypt?

[Senjutsu]

Ok... so what's behind the little door in the pyramid?

Another even smaller door. This would go towards my theory that the Ancient Egyptians were actually a race of tiny jack-asses, who built the Pyramids as a giant practical joke on future generations.

You can kill Sims

[greygent]

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.

Dear SexyGal,

[Anonymous Coward]

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

Woah there... You are out of line

[Anonymous Coward]

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!

Re:Question

[Caedar]

It's called testosterone.

Can I...

[Whitecloud]

It is all about cooperation to unlock the knowledge of 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?

Wanted: Games with blood and guts.

[rice_burners_suck]

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.)

Experience Points?

[Mulletproof]

>>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?