New Tildruin site unveils!

[Kingston]

www.tildruin.com

The game is not out yet.

That's right folks, this game you never heard about has a new site! Let us all rejoice!

Anyways, Tildruin is a free mmorpg project that I got involved in about a year ago, but the original developers have been working on it for years. The forums are pretty dead nowadays, so we're hoping the new site will get people posting.

Tildruin, Giants Hill, is an online free role-playing game staged in an original fantasy setting.

These words might make sense to you, or maybe not, but we are about to explain their relevance to this project. There are many things that set Tildruin apart from other games in the genre and we would like to recommend that everyone, novices and veterans alike, keep reading.

Tildruin is foremost a role-playing game
You might have stumbled across games like Diablo, Everquest, Dungeon Siege and Asheron's Call and still have meager experience of true role-playing. There are many games that claim to be role-playing games, but a fantasy setting and character-building element is not enough.

We believe that it is not only the game, but also the players, that have to prepare themselves for the occasion. In Tildruin you are expected to assume the role of the character you are playing and act accordingly. The key to intriguing role-playing is to have a well-established character or risks are large that you will end up playing a stereotypical Conan or Xena act-alike. To avoid the problem of underdeveloped personas, all registered characters will have approved character names and background stories.

Tildruin features an original fantasy setting
Many fantasy writers inspire the world of Tildruin and it would be a shame not to credit J.R.R. Tolkien. However Tildruin is not Middle-Earth and perhaps more importantly not a D&D setting, such as Ravenloft or Forgotten Realms. The game does not feature vampires, beholders, mummies, zombies or werewolves.

Tildruin is not meant to be realistic in all aspects, but definitely is meant to be credible. Magic is sparse, in the sense that it cannot be bought at the local bakery and it can also be very subtle in its manifestation. Unpredictable things may occur and when they do they are meant to be extra-ordinary.

The world of Tildruin has been designed to acknowledge many shades of gray. The game lacks a main plot involving an ongoing battle between the forces of good and evil. All such things have been left alone, so that you can invent them yourself from your character's point of view. Do you worship a deity? Is magic for real? Are trolls truly evil? What happens when you die? Is the Giant beneath the streets of Tildruin truly dead? The game offers many answers, but none are held to be true. You must decide for yourself.

Many games allow you to start off as a hero or heroine, but we like to say that Tildruin boasts few heroes and many commoners. Life in Tildruin will be tough and those that accomplish fame well deserve it. You will become a hero the day your fellow players acknowledge you as one, perhaps in a song spun by a bard. The majority will toil along in life, content with their lot, as smiths, shopkeepers, explorers, tanners and friends.

. . .

Unfortunately, we were forced to convert our lovely 2d graphics into a 3d format, simply because there is no reasonable way we could ever get the 2d graphics completed in a reasonable timeframe.

 

[Kingston]

Added a few screenshots.

If you have any questions you can ask them here.

 

[Cthulhugoat]

A MMOG with a text parser (roguelike influences?) and civilized orcs? I'm liking it.

The inevitable: turn-based combat or real-time?

Also, how does one communicates with the other players?

 

[Kingston]

The inevitable answer; Real-time. Turn based just won't work in an mmo environment. I'd love if it could be implemented, but currently the design is that it will be real-time with rounds (a bit like baldur's gate without pause).

Communication will predominantly be done through talking (surprise, surprise!). But the great thing is that there are several languages, one for each race and also a common tongue. Common tongue will be known around the major cities, but when you wonder off to further areas you will require other languages to get by. If your language skills are poor, you'll only make out certain phrases and letters.

We have some screenies demonstrating the language system somewhere, I'll try and dig em up.

On the text parser, the game's text interface is very powerful and the idea is that you should be able to play the game in MUD-mode, so to speak.

 

[Kingston]

Alright, I found the screenshots.

 

[Nedrah]

I'm definitely interested, although I have no idea if/how the whole parser thing is going to work in a live situation. There do however clearly be some nice basics for a roleplay heavy mmo in place - something that's direly missing in most other games out there. I don't even get how people are "roleplaying" within the limits and direction of an engine like WoW.

I'd love to see a bit more about the possibilitys the game offers compared to Ultima Online.
Does it have at least the same amount of possibilitys?

 

[Kingston]

The text parser should hopefully work quite well. All descriptions etc. are shown there, and you can use it to play the game through text commands. You can obviously play with point and click.

Also, the game isn't fast-paced, and definately not focused primarily on combat. If you want to be a farmer, baker, blacksmith, architect etc. you should be able to.

Could you expand on what you mean by "possibilities"?

 

[Fez]

It's almost a shame that it is online considering how promising it looks. My experience with online RPGs has been universally poor.

 

[Kingston]

Due to that fact, we are only accepting players who write good character backgrounds and role-play accordingly. If someone is constantly OOC, we will most likely take action to keep the player in-character.

Also, it is unlikely that Tildruin will be populated by thousands of players. Would be great if we could get so many role-players, but most likely the player count will be in the several hundreds.


Also, I found this super-old and huge faq:

http://www.tildruin-mindseye.co.uk/

(Just click tildruin and then faq)

 

[Fez]

Ah, you'll be screening players, weeding out the worst idiots and moderating it more than the big boys then?

Now it sounds a bit more interesting.

 

[Nedrah]

There do however clearly be

Wow, didn't notice that.
I wonder what I was going to type in the first place.

erm.



So, is the game going to be limited to your own server or will other partys be able to use your engine, too?
I'm thinking of localized freeshards, for example.

 

[Kingston]

Yes. If we find people using leet speak in a town bank we won't be all that happy.

 

[Kingston]

On other servers, I have no idea. I'll ask around later.

 

[Nedrah]

I'd love to see an opportunity for localized versions.
While I might make a somewhat ok'ish roleplayer (in the larp sense that online roleplaying requires) on an english shard, I know that I can do pretty good when using my actual native language.

Edit:

Holy Shit.
From the FAQ:

Will there be player-killing?

Yes and no. Player-killing (PK) will be limited. You will be able to challenge another player character to a duel, but you cannot force her to accept. Since combat is but one of the features of Tildruin, an eventual PK system will be restricted to those who wish to partake in such activities.

Oh come the fuck on.
This doesn't work in a real RP enviroment.
Yes, you can have a decent rp background as a prerequisit for PVP - and have players who are reported for engaging in random pvp punished accordingly.
But"You can't attack me as long as I don't say so LOL" doesn't work for a believable RP world - you are moving into WOW territory there.

 

[Fez]

Will there be the horrible grind and mind-numbing farming and work that that is involved in many other MMORPGs?

 

[Kingston]

I understand fully. Still, Tildruin is largely based on its community, and we'd hate to see it split up. Perhaps in time official servers with different languages could be made. Its all in the open.

Good thing about administrating is that we have our own race dedicated to it

 

[Hazelnut]

Looks interesting. I don't play online games much since I hung up my FPS spurs, but I used to play MUDs a bit 15 years ago. My main question is probably: why are you making it - what's the motivation?

 

[Kingston]

Will you people stop posting just before I post?

I don't think skills develop very fast, but our goal is to make it so that you don't feel the need to grind. I'll explain it better later.

Nedrah, nothing is set in stone. PK has had heated debates in the past, and will surely have some in the future. Remember though, balancing is incredibly hard in pk. Plus once you get gank squads it gets hard to enjoy the game.

Again, we might even get a special pk server (as if we had the money to actually set em all up )

 

[Kingston]

What's the motivation? You'd have to ask the original trio (I think it was a trio anyways) Shaileijron, Ailashaar and Ilshadjiir for a full answer.

What's the general motivation to make a game? Money is an obvious one, but since Tildruin will be free we can concentrate on what people want, not what sells. But really, we love MUD's, we love rpg's, and there isn't a game like this around so lets just make it ourselves.

 

[Nedrah]

I don't think skills develop very fast, but our goal is to make it so that you don't feel the need to grind. I'll explain it better later.

I like that.
Yes, you have to put some effort into building your char in games where you don't level fast.
However, I simply don't like games where I play for a year, yet some insomniac newbie can easily match my character in two weeks. This kind of game IS about accomplishments.

Nedrah, nothing is set in stone. PK has had heated debates in the past, and will surely have some in the future. Remember though, balancing is incredibly hard in pk. Plus once you get gank squads it gets hard to enjoy the game.

Again, we might even get a special pk server (as if we had the money to actually set em all up )

Well, just prohibit rpk (random player killing) - aka ganking.
But if the fight develops naturally out of a rp situation, there should be no "Ok, so you spit on my ancestors, dance on the grave of my mother and f*uck my wife - erm, may I draw my sword? Please?"

 

[Kingston]

Nedrah, generally speaking, if anyone says something like that then they're most likely looking for a fight aswell.

If you play for a year you should be quite skilled, after all a year is around 1/4 of a human character's lifespan.

 

[Fez]

Will there be a "candy land" or will it all areas be PK friendly then if you don't have separate servers?

Will new players be stuck whacking rats and other small animals for months before being able to take part in any real fun? Usually you end up with topped-out level 50 who are all but invincible as they can play in mom's basement all day and night and anyone who plays casually will never get near them or able to challenge them and they get to take part in all the fun stuff while normal people just get a slow grind that will never end and a feeling of being second class.

 

[Kingston]

The current idea on pk is what it says in the faq, that is that can only challenge other players. If others can come up with better systems we'd be glad to hear them. Besides, such things are far away. We are currently entering our last alpha (the really fun one, with basic combat, skills, 3d etc.), then we'll move onto closed betas.

Grinding rats? I don't think so. Skills are developed through use, not through experience gained from kills.

From the old and huge faq:

3) How will the experience and skill improvement work?

Shailejron answers:

In many dungeon based games you kill monsters, gain experience and spend those experience points on skills. Things will work differently in Tildruin.

Your character starts off with an initial set of skills depending on class. As the character advances within the guild he/she is taught new skills by the guildmaster. There are a lot of skills to be discovered and quested outside of the traditional guild system.

Your character will not gain any experience by killing monsters. Experience is gained by improving your characters skills. If you want to develop a skill you must use it. A skill will develop faster if it is honed against a worthy challenge.

To sum things up: Your level is based on the sum of your skills. Skills are developed through use.

11) Will one get experience from killing wild animals?

Shailejron answers:

You will not gain any experience by killing creatures. You gain experience by developing your skills. The model you mention is very common in games, but it offers few alternatives for a peaceful character to level without resorting to violence. In Tildruin you can develop your character in the manner you choose. Some will choose to live by the sword while others will be content with trades like crafting. Two characters from the same guild can have the same rank, yet have a very different focus

1) Could you give an example of skills?

Shailejron answers:

Examples of skills that be found outside of the traditional guild system:

* Languages: Elven tongue, Orc tongue etc.
* Crafting: Woodworking, Metalworking etc.
* Craft enhancement: Heraldry, Calligraphy, Runes, Gem-mounting etc.
* Lores: Elven lore, Music lore, Weapon lore etc.
* Songs: related to race and culture
* Swimming, Mining, Gambling, Mounting etc.

 

[Psilon]

Skills are developed through use, not through experience gained from kills.

So how are you supposed to train lore skills? Go around telling obscure historical facts to people? "Fandrel stutters in elven, 'i'm .enry th. .ig.th i am i a.'"

 

[Kingston]

I got an answer from Shailejron:

Say there is a knight NPC he can have lore attached to him about his order. There can be information in general just to enrich the background, and their can be information required to unlock quests. We will use the item/npc description. Either have the lore DIRECTLY in the description or just an information that there is a lore.