Putting the 'role' back in role-playing games since 2002.
Donate to Codex
Good Old Games
  • Welcome to rpgcodex.net, a site dedicated to discussing computer based role-playing games in a free and open fashion. We're less strict than other forums, but please refer to the rules.

    "This message is awaiting moderator approval": All new users must pass through our moderation queue before they will be able to post normally. Until your account has "passed" your posts will only be visible to yourself (and moderators) until they are approved. Give us a week to get around to approving / deleting / ignoring your mundane opinion on crap before hassling us about it. Once you have passed the moderation period (think of it as a test), you will be able to post normally, just like all the other retards.

WOW !! A Tale in the Desert Devs change game code to match v

chrisbeddoes

Erudite
Joined
Oct 22, 2002
Messages
1,349
Location
RPG land
http://www.massivemultiplayer.org/cnt.php?id=233


A political system that is relevant to the game

In other MMOGs I’m sure you’ve experienced conflicts between guilds, and, in some cases, game mandated Realm Vs. Realm or Kingdom Vs. Kingdom conflict. However, all of that is relatively ephemeral, as the gains and losses made from those conflicts are only as relevant as the guilds acquiring them. In ATiTD, you can manage to get a law passed that literally changes the game. No, really: The developers change the code of the game to follow the letter of the law.(and again)
In ATiTD, you can manage to get a law passed that literally changes the game. No, really: The developers change the code of the game to follow the letter of the law.


Take, for example, a recent law that grew out of a reactionary need to identify someone immediately by their guild and rank within that guild. It seems that there were people representing themselves as members of a guild, or as ranking members of said guild (or as both), and enacting trades based on the reputation of the guild.

The law that was passed required that the game identify anyone in view by the guild and rank within that guild. It passed with a two-thirds majority after being available for a number of days at the voting booths spread across the country, with more than half of the playing public making the trip to the voting booth to cast their opinion.

Now, there are some people that feel that the mandatory rank display is unappealing (they have their reasons, hotly debated on the official forums), so they’ve drawn up a petition, and are gathering votes to make the display of one’s rank a matter of choice, rather than a requirement.


Of course that would never happen with Neversh$£$£ Nights.

Like people voting that aribeth sucks and Bioware removing her from the game in a patch.



Oh and

A Development crew that cares enough to be there

The developers are seemingly always online. The lead developer (Teppy), answers the customer service phone line when you call in with a problem or a question. Frequently, he’ll give out his cell phone number over the System-wide chat channel , just in case something happens with one of the servers while he’s out of the office.



I would like to see that happening to Always$uckez Nightz !!!

Chris Hey Dev are you there ?

N$N dev Yes our company always produces TOP REAL TIMEZ softwarez !!!


Chris . Ehh You know that char Aribeth sucks .

N$N dev . Never mind that . Let me just clue you where the FaT LeeWT is !!!!


http://www.atitd.com/
(game website)
 

chrisbeddoes

Erudite
Joined
Oct 22, 2002
Messages
1,349
Location
RPG land
Oh I forget wasnt Aribeth proven to be a Travesti Transexual at secret act 5 ????

So it should be him ....


I would like also to apologise to any travesti transexual that read's this forums for mentioning that person Aribeth as one of them . 3
 

Rosh

Erudite
Joined
Oct 22, 2002
Messages
1,775
Heh...laws or management of code to be changed by the fans' decision. I once tried that. Aside from a SHITLOAD of bitching on all sides, it leads to one hell of a clusterfuck and annoyance.
 

chrisbeddoes

Erudite
Joined
Oct 22, 2002
Messages
1,349
Location
RPG land
Spazmo said:
Listening to your fan's ideas for a game is a bad idea. That kind of thing gave us Fallout 2.


You mean fan ideas like

turn based combat.
2-D engine.
Non linear game.
Great story .
Real roleplaying.
No excessive combat .

Put empasis to other things except graphicks ?
 

Spazmo

Erudite
Joined
Nov 9, 2002
Messages
5,752
Location
Monkey Island
Fallout 2 was good, but it was by no means perfect, and most of the really bad stuff in it came from suggestions made on IPLY's FO boards.
 

chrisbeddoes

Erudite
Joined
Oct 22, 2002
Messages
1,349
Location
RPG land
Spazmo said:
Fallout 2 was good, but it was by no means perfect, and most of the really bad stuff in it came from suggestions made on IPLY's FO boards.


Ok but in this game all the paying customers vote before any changes are accepted.

It is not like a fan makes a suggestion that he thinks is cool and the dev put it in if they think the same.
 

Rosh

Erudite
Joined
Oct 22, 2002
Messages
1,775
chrisbeddoes said:
Ok but in this game all the paying customers vote before any changes are accepted.

It is not like a fan makes a suggestion that he thinks is cool and the dev put it in if they think the same.

That's even worse. A lot of clueless people decide that something would be good, the fanbase goes into a shitload of arguing, it is voted on, the developer puts it in (quality of implementation is questionable), and then it is proven to be shit and removed a bit later.

MMORPG companies spend enough time balancing and fixing shit they don't need to be following the fanbase as they decide something and then unfuck it a while later.

Essentially, it would be just a large development pool that would be inconsistent as hell for players. At best, it would show people how NOT to do things.

Did I mention I've tried this before?
 

Chadeo

Liturgist
Joined
Dec 4, 2002
Messages
111
Location
OR, USA
I have been playing ATITD for about a month now....and I must say it is far different than any other MMORG I have ever played.

The laws need to pass a 2/3 super majority, and so far they have actually helped the game a lot. They are just one tiny aspect of the overall game though. Still they do not change game physics or anything like that, so I think some of your fears are a bit off base.

The game is not for everyone, but it has complexity, and depth, that continue to amaze me.

It’s not heavy on the RP, but it is heavy on the thinking, so I think that many of you might enjoy it if you give it a chance.

If you guys would like to know more I could make a thread all about it, and why I am so impressed by it, but if no one really cares I will just make one that links to other existing reviews of it :wink:

Still, it really is the developers who make this game awesome. There are only two main programmers, and they have given out their cell phone number in case the server crashes. They respond to bugs almost instantly, and fixes follow very quickly. Definitely not an EQ style experience (a good thing in my mind).
 

Section8

Cipher
Joined
Oct 23, 2002
Messages
4,321
Location
Wardenclyffe
Most of the votes pertain to somewhat trivial things, such as salvage rights for departed players, or less trivial things such as "what technology should we be working toward?" It's a pretty interesting game, and chasing build/tech trees is a great way of implementing user defined multifaceted quests. ie I need Canvas to build a tent. To make canvas, I need a loom, and twine. To make twine I need a flax comb, and some rotted flax. To get rotted flax I need to grow flax, tend to it and then rot it in the river, or a tub. It's pretty interesting and well worth checking out.
 

Sol Invictus

Erudite
Joined
Oct 19, 2002
Messages
9,614
Location
Pax Romana
Spazmo said:
Listening to your fan's ideas for a game is a bad idea. That kind of thing gave us Fallout 2.

Clearly, you don't get it.

A Tale in the Desert (of which I beta test) is an MMORPG that is literally alive. The world is alterable in the manner that you can construct your own buildings, art, and even (with other players) vote to turn player-made art into monuments or vote them down and cause them to be scrapped. As Chris noted, you can pretty much alter the game's politics because of the constant presence of the game developers.

You can't, however like Fallout 2, vote for hardcore sex, a Kung-Fu movie or anything like that.

Ultimately, it is a true mass multiplayer role-playing experience as you have to role-play a citizen of ancient Egypt and stick to the theme. The rest is up to you.

A Tale in the Desert is to RPGs like The Settlers is to real-time strategy.
 

Rosh

Erudite
Joined
Oct 22, 2002
Messages
1,775
Hmmm, then I do see how they have it now. Incorporating fan suggestions of game mechanics on a development scale is bad, but on a CONTENT scale, it isn't so bad and can be quite good.

I do have a feeling that such issues can also put a pressure on taking time from critical matters that arise. i've seen a fanbase that had grown so dependent upon having their monthly updates that they are usually happy with them versus real content and other major issues like bugs that have been around for many months, even in the beta that was wasted.

That's right, the morons that still love to play Asheron's Call 2 and will defend it completely. Have a good example of those who will also go against the game mechanics and will be aligned Shadow and Order to basically hold majority on the server. Runis the Asskisser, and Qabalah Attention-Whore.
 

As an Amazon Associate, rpgcodex.net earns from qualifying purchases.
Back
Top Bottom