09-19-2007, 03:21 AM
WAYNE is enthralled by this challenging, multi-faceted, online RPG...
I HAD ALWAYS been a fan of hand-moderated sword and sorcery PBMs like Saturnalia, as well as tactical and strategy computer/mixed moderated games like Quest and Crack of Doom, but what I saw in Asheron's Call eclipsed them all. Surprisingly enough, it wasn't the differences between PBM and Asheron's Call: Dark Majesty (ACDM) that appealed to me, it was the similarities - they made me feel right at home from the start ...
Character creation
ACDM is a single-character sword and sorcery RPG, in which you create a fantasy character in a similar vein to most fantasy PBMs. All you have to do is pick a race, gender, appearance and then allocate points to Strength, Endurance, Coordination, Quickness, Focus and Self. The latter two are similar to wisdom and intellect in most table-top RPGs and determine a character's magical ability. You can put as many or as few points in any attribute you like, just like most PBMs.
These main attributes affect your secondary attributes, which determine your character class. For example, Strength and Coordination influence your combat skills, while Focus and Self influence your magic skills. You get points to spend on these secondary skills (which you can specialize in, train or leave untrained - the specialised skills being more effective and more costly).
Creating a character is an art-form in itself and I have deliberately left things a bit vague because there is much debate on what characters are most useful in the game or most enjoyable to play. In reality, there are four types of character you can play - a fighter, a magic user, an archer or a hybrid of any combination of the three aforementioned characters. But there are hundreds of sub groups within these basic three templates and the choices are almost unlimited. Some people aim to create an 'uber' template - characters which can do most things and become very powerful in the quickest amount of time - but on the other hand some people (like me) like to create a 'gimp' character that has certain weaknesses, making it more interesting and challenging to play.
Initially, if you don't want to waste time creating a thought-out character, there are in-game templates that you can select, such as Bow Hunter and Swashbuckler. These create a character instantaneously, so you can get involved in the game straight away.
That said, if you are looking for some good templates that do not come with the game, follow some of the links given below for some really good ideas and character classes. It must be said that you can also play character classes such as Cooks, Alchemists, Fletchers and Tinkers (people that apply magic abilities to weapons/amour/clothes and items), but without having these people supported by a Warrior/Archer/Mage of some sort they are somewhat unviable to play.
ACDM is played based on eight worlds (eight different computer servers), each of which is a duplicate of the others. You can create up to five characters per world - that means that you have forty actual characters spread over eight worlds. You should note that the world/server on which you create your character will be the place where your character will live for ever - you cannot move your character from one world/server to the other.
And whatever you do, do not start your first-ever character on the Darktide world - more on this later ...
The game world
Again like most PBMs, the game worlds have a storyline running through them which you can investigate at your leisure or leave well alone. In addition, quests abound, dungeons await, and out in the wilds many a monster lurks in its territory to slay you. Some quests are linked to the ongoing storyline, whereas others will grant you magical artefacts or furniture for your home.
Yes, that's right. In ACDM, you can buy your own home or rent a flat and decorate it how you see fit - but some furniture is only available by completing certain quests. A home gives you a place to store your equipment and is the base of operations for your character.
In common with most PBMs, how you play ACDM is up to you: there is no one right way. Some people live for quests, while others just sit and chat in town; some trade artefacts they have found while adventuring, while others run solo through areas populated with monsters to test out their combat skills. Some people really get into roleplaying their characters and spend hours doing just that. Others explore the wild lands for new challenges, whilst some turn their hand to creating Monarchies....
Monarchies - comrades in arms
Although you can play ACDM without ever interacting with anyone, you can also talk and interact with many of the thousands of players online. If you do, you will probably find some people that you get on with - who may be based anywhere in the world in real life - and that you may want to adventure with on a regular basis. If that is the case, you can swear to them and they will become your patron, while you become their vassal.
If your patron has a patron - who also has a patron and so on - your monarch is the person at the top of the 'chain' who does not have a patron. A patron can have up to 12 vassals and each vassal can himself become a patron and have 12 vassals - this way monarchies of thousands of people are formed. The monarchy I am in, Legends, has about 1,500 vassals coming down from our monarch, Altec, as both patrons/vassals.
Monarchies come in all shapes and sizes to suit all tastes:
Legends: A large and helpful clan, with high standards of chivalry set by the monarch who expects all his vassals to do likewise. Run by Altec.
EpiK: Another large monarchy who live honourably with a no-griefing policy (griefing = play that deliberately upsets other players). Run by Hellhawk.
Hisba The Great: A monarchy that concentrates on Experience Points (XPs). It runs unattended characters whose actions are pre-determined by a computer script called a macro while their owners sleep, go to work or do anything except play the game, which slows the game down but gets them millions of
XPs per day. Run by Hisba.
So what are the benefits of being a patron/vassal? Well, every time your vassals go online (especially if they kill monsters) they earn you XPs. As in most RPGs, XPs allow you to progress in levels and develop your skills. As a patron, you are credited with these points when you log in and they depend upon your leadership skill and the loyalty skill of your vassals. In addition, if your character dies and you can't get your body back - more on this later - your patron and members of your monarchy should be able to help you retrieve it. It is often common practice for patrons to reward their vassals by giving them decent equipment and other useful items they have found on their journeys. Needless to say, most of your XPs will be earned by yourself, but out of the 1.5 billion XPs I have accrued, 200 million have come from my vassals, making my progression to level 93 much smoother.
A monarchy can also be helpful if you become a Player Killer. In seven of the worlds you automatically start off as a Non-Player Killer (NPK) and this means that no player can kill you and vice versa. That said, if you do certain quests, you can turn PK and this gives you the opportunity to try kill other characters who have done the same quest and are now PKs. PK'ing, as it is called, is supposed to be fun, but unfortunately due to cheating, big egos and 'ganging' - getting a bunch of PKs to kill one individual PK - PK'ing has acquired a bad reputation.
This brings me back to Darktide: this is a world where everyone starts off as a PK from level 1 and is a terrible place to start your ACDM career. If you start off here I guarantee you that you will be constantly killed as this is the place where the strong rule over the weak, where egos and cheating are at their worst. You have been warned.
PK'ing also links me nicely to death. When you die, various items picked at random are left on your body. You also lose 5% of your skills (per number of times you die, up to a maximum of 40%). You get them back with the new experience you pick up by killing monsters. Remember, though: dying twice on the trot will mean that all of your skills will be functioning at 10% less than they normally would, so certain spells may not be castable and certain armour non-wearable.
You have a certain amount of time to get back to your body and your dropped goods, otherwise your body decays and they are left there for all and sundry to pick up. If you are killed as a PK, the person who killed you gets the option to loot your body, and then anyone else can come and loot it, so you may never see some of your items ever again.
In both cases, Monarchies can help you get your body back by sending out more powerful players with you to help you kill the monster/PK who may still be hovering over your body.
Another advantage of monarchies is that they can attempt big quests that are not possible to do solo. Some quests need a range of mixed-level people - say one group of level 30-50 and another group of 60-80 - and both groups have to go to different dungeons and solve different problems, before meeting up again for the final thrust to the end of the dungeon and the challenge that contains.
Advantages
So what made me think ACDM was so good? There are many answers:
Immediacy: ACDM is available almost all the time. You can play any time you like and obtain immediate results. There is always something to do.
Graphics: ACDM has fluid, clear, detailed and colourful computer graphics.
Sounds: The howls of monsters, the dripping of water and the wind through caverns is very eerie, especially with the lights down low and the headphones on.
Communication: You can communicate with players you know instantaneously, and use third party hardware to speak to people over the internet as you play.
Strategy and tactics: ACDM can be played on a solo or team basis. You can watch your tactics fall apart in real time as you attempt to reach your goal, too!
Upgrades: Turbine upgrade the game monthly, free of charge, and add new content including monsters, quests, plot-lines and regions.
Cost: My own outlay to play with 24hour internet access is never more than £22 per month.
Third party software: There are a lot of unofficial 'plug-ins' that can make your gaming experience easier and more enjoyable.
ACDM: the downside
I am a committed ACDM fan, but I can also see its negative aspects. One problem is 'Lag', where the internet traffic slows down and you lose your connection. It means that if you are fighting a group of monsters, your character just stands there, allowing the creatures to hit it. Lag disconnections don't happen as much as they used to but they still occur and are a real pain.
The biggest problem, in my opinion, are certain types of player. As in real life, you can't get along with everyone and there are bound to be people who really annoy you, like:
The Griefer: There you are killing a bunch of monsters and this person's
character gets behind them; blows from behind do more damage and make for an easier kill; the Griefer then steals all your XP and loots all your treasure. Griefers live to wind you up - it's best to run off and leave them to their own devices.
The Cultural Bigot: ACDM is a global game and people from all walks of life and culture play it, so tolerance is the key when communicating. The Cultural Bigots will make offensive remarks about race/religion/creed/colour with no regret whatsoever. Solution: use the Squelch option and you'll never hear from them again.
The Spammer: Seeing SELLING A +9 FIRE SWORD FOR 50K OR NEAREST BEST OFFER!!!! scroll up your screen 100 times a minute is another pain. Solution: use the Squelch command again.
Furthermore, like a lot of games, ACDM can become repetitive, as it is, put in its simplest terms, a 'Kill the Monsters' game. It's up to you to find the right mix of hunting/trading/questing etc so you don't get bored. If you don't meet someone who is more experienced than you in the game, it can become boring quickly, especially if you don't know what to do or how to do it.
The worst thing about this game, though, is that it is thoroughly addictive. It's so time consuming, it eats away at your life. I have to say that I have had real-life falling outs with friends, relations and loved-ones over this game ('Yes I'd love to go out with you now, but one of my vassals is in trouble and I've just gotta help him out, I owe it to him: he is my vassal after all....' Bang - sound of front door slamming...).
I'll close on that note by saying that if you fancy something different,
give ACDM a try. It will definitely keep you entertained and enthralled for many an hour. That said, you can't really plan and scheme in the long term, you can't really mislead people and you can't command vast armies and conquer continents and ruin nations. Mmm, where did I put that old Crack of Doom start-up form? - I have some very wicked ideas taking shape....
Getting started in the game
Buy Asheron's Call: Dark Majesty and not Asheron's Call (the original game) or Asheron's Call 2: Fallen Kings. You should be able to pick it up for around £10 - £20. New purchases should come with one free months gameplay.
You need a Hotmail address and a Microsoft Passport to play - both are free of charge: http://www.hotmail.com - and a credit card for your payments to Microsoft's Gaming Zone. Playing costs about £7 per month. Some hackers try to hack ACDM accounts because certain artefacts can be sold on Ebay for real cash. Never give your password to anyone and make sure you install a good firewall program such as Zone Alarm - it's free! http://www.zonelabs.com
Monarchies
Legends: http://aclegends.com/
EpiK: http://www.epikac.net/indexa.html
Official List of Top Ten Monarchies:
http://zone.msn.com/asheronscall/hall.asp/
Resources
Turbine's ACDM intro page is good introduction:
http://zone.msn.com/asheronscall/start.asp
General Info: http://www.thejackcat.com/AC/ - a good all round guide, with spoilers, great screenshots and lots of info.
AC Vault: http://acvault.ign.com - good for everything including templates.
I HAD ALWAYS been a fan of hand-moderated sword and sorcery PBMs like Saturnalia, as well as tactical and strategy computer/mixed moderated games like Quest and Crack of Doom, but what I saw in Asheron's Call eclipsed them all. Surprisingly enough, it wasn't the differences between PBM and Asheron's Call: Dark Majesty (ACDM) that appealed to me, it was the similarities - they made me feel right at home from the start ...
Character creation
ACDM is a single-character sword and sorcery RPG, in which you create a fantasy character in a similar vein to most fantasy PBMs. All you have to do is pick a race, gender, appearance and then allocate points to Strength, Endurance, Coordination, Quickness, Focus and Self. The latter two are similar to wisdom and intellect in most table-top RPGs and determine a character's magical ability. You can put as many or as few points in any attribute you like, just like most PBMs.
These main attributes affect your secondary attributes, which determine your character class. For example, Strength and Coordination influence your combat skills, while Focus and Self influence your magic skills. You get points to spend on these secondary skills (which you can specialize in, train or leave untrained - the specialised skills being more effective and more costly).
Creating a character is an art-form in itself and I have deliberately left things a bit vague because there is much debate on what characters are most useful in the game or most enjoyable to play. In reality, there are four types of character you can play - a fighter, a magic user, an archer or a hybrid of any combination of the three aforementioned characters. But there are hundreds of sub groups within these basic three templates and the choices are almost unlimited. Some people aim to create an 'uber' template - characters which can do most things and become very powerful in the quickest amount of time - but on the other hand some people (like me) like to create a 'gimp' character that has certain weaknesses, making it more interesting and challenging to play.
Initially, if you don't want to waste time creating a thought-out character, there are in-game templates that you can select, such as Bow Hunter and Swashbuckler. These create a character instantaneously, so you can get involved in the game straight away.
That said, if you are looking for some good templates that do not come with the game, follow some of the links given below for some really good ideas and character classes. It must be said that you can also play character classes such as Cooks, Alchemists, Fletchers and Tinkers (people that apply magic abilities to weapons/amour/clothes and items), but without having these people supported by a Warrior/Archer/Mage of some sort they are somewhat unviable to play.
ACDM is played based on eight worlds (eight different computer servers), each of which is a duplicate of the others. You can create up to five characters per world - that means that you have forty actual characters spread over eight worlds. You should note that the world/server on which you create your character will be the place where your character will live for ever - you cannot move your character from one world/server to the other.
And whatever you do, do not start your first-ever character on the Darktide world - more on this later ...
The game world
Again like most PBMs, the game worlds have a storyline running through them which you can investigate at your leisure or leave well alone. In addition, quests abound, dungeons await, and out in the wilds many a monster lurks in its territory to slay you. Some quests are linked to the ongoing storyline, whereas others will grant you magical artefacts or furniture for your home.
Yes, that's right. In ACDM, you can buy your own home or rent a flat and decorate it how you see fit - but some furniture is only available by completing certain quests. A home gives you a place to store your equipment and is the base of operations for your character.
In common with most PBMs, how you play ACDM is up to you: there is no one right way. Some people live for quests, while others just sit and chat in town; some trade artefacts they have found while adventuring, while others run solo through areas populated with monsters to test out their combat skills. Some people really get into roleplaying their characters and spend hours doing just that. Others explore the wild lands for new challenges, whilst some turn their hand to creating Monarchies....
Monarchies - comrades in arms
Although you can play ACDM without ever interacting with anyone, you can also talk and interact with many of the thousands of players online. If you do, you will probably find some people that you get on with - who may be based anywhere in the world in real life - and that you may want to adventure with on a regular basis. If that is the case, you can swear to them and they will become your patron, while you become their vassal.
If your patron has a patron - who also has a patron and so on - your monarch is the person at the top of the 'chain' who does not have a patron. A patron can have up to 12 vassals and each vassal can himself become a patron and have 12 vassals - this way monarchies of thousands of people are formed. The monarchy I am in, Legends, has about 1,500 vassals coming down from our monarch, Altec, as both patrons/vassals.
Monarchies come in all shapes and sizes to suit all tastes:
Legends: A large and helpful clan, with high standards of chivalry set by the monarch who expects all his vassals to do likewise. Run by Altec.
EpiK: Another large monarchy who live honourably with a no-griefing policy (griefing = play that deliberately upsets other players). Run by Hellhawk.
Hisba The Great: A monarchy that concentrates on Experience Points (XPs). It runs unattended characters whose actions are pre-determined by a computer script called a macro while their owners sleep, go to work or do anything except play the game, which slows the game down but gets them millions of
XPs per day. Run by Hisba.
So what are the benefits of being a patron/vassal? Well, every time your vassals go online (especially if they kill monsters) they earn you XPs. As in most RPGs, XPs allow you to progress in levels and develop your skills. As a patron, you are credited with these points when you log in and they depend upon your leadership skill and the loyalty skill of your vassals. In addition, if your character dies and you can't get your body back - more on this later - your patron and members of your monarchy should be able to help you retrieve it. It is often common practice for patrons to reward their vassals by giving them decent equipment and other useful items they have found on their journeys. Needless to say, most of your XPs will be earned by yourself, but out of the 1.5 billion XPs I have accrued, 200 million have come from my vassals, making my progression to level 93 much smoother.
A monarchy can also be helpful if you become a Player Killer. In seven of the worlds you automatically start off as a Non-Player Killer (NPK) and this means that no player can kill you and vice versa. That said, if you do certain quests, you can turn PK and this gives you the opportunity to try kill other characters who have done the same quest and are now PKs. PK'ing, as it is called, is supposed to be fun, but unfortunately due to cheating, big egos and 'ganging' - getting a bunch of PKs to kill one individual PK - PK'ing has acquired a bad reputation.
This brings me back to Darktide: this is a world where everyone starts off as a PK from level 1 and is a terrible place to start your ACDM career. If you start off here I guarantee you that you will be constantly killed as this is the place where the strong rule over the weak, where egos and cheating are at their worst. You have been warned.
PK'ing also links me nicely to death. When you die, various items picked at random are left on your body. You also lose 5% of your skills (per number of times you die, up to a maximum of 40%). You get them back with the new experience you pick up by killing monsters. Remember, though: dying twice on the trot will mean that all of your skills will be functioning at 10% less than they normally would, so certain spells may not be castable and certain armour non-wearable.
You have a certain amount of time to get back to your body and your dropped goods, otherwise your body decays and they are left there for all and sundry to pick up. If you are killed as a PK, the person who killed you gets the option to loot your body, and then anyone else can come and loot it, so you may never see some of your items ever again.
In both cases, Monarchies can help you get your body back by sending out more powerful players with you to help you kill the monster/PK who may still be hovering over your body.
Another advantage of monarchies is that they can attempt big quests that are not possible to do solo. Some quests need a range of mixed-level people - say one group of level 30-50 and another group of 60-80 - and both groups have to go to different dungeons and solve different problems, before meeting up again for the final thrust to the end of the dungeon and the challenge that contains.
Advantages
So what made me think ACDM was so good? There are many answers:
Immediacy: ACDM is available almost all the time. You can play any time you like and obtain immediate results. There is always something to do.
Graphics: ACDM has fluid, clear, detailed and colourful computer graphics.
Sounds: The howls of monsters, the dripping of water and the wind through caverns is very eerie, especially with the lights down low and the headphones on.
Communication: You can communicate with players you know instantaneously, and use third party hardware to speak to people over the internet as you play.
Strategy and tactics: ACDM can be played on a solo or team basis. You can watch your tactics fall apart in real time as you attempt to reach your goal, too!
Upgrades: Turbine upgrade the game monthly, free of charge, and add new content including monsters, quests, plot-lines and regions.
Cost: My own outlay to play with 24hour internet access is never more than £22 per month.
Third party software: There are a lot of unofficial 'plug-ins' that can make your gaming experience easier and more enjoyable.
ACDM: the downside
I am a committed ACDM fan, but I can also see its negative aspects. One problem is 'Lag', where the internet traffic slows down and you lose your connection. It means that if you are fighting a group of monsters, your character just stands there, allowing the creatures to hit it. Lag disconnections don't happen as much as they used to but they still occur and are a real pain.
The biggest problem, in my opinion, are certain types of player. As in real life, you can't get along with everyone and there are bound to be people who really annoy you, like:
The Griefer: There you are killing a bunch of monsters and this person's
character gets behind them; blows from behind do more damage and make for an easier kill; the Griefer then steals all your XP and loots all your treasure. Griefers live to wind you up - it's best to run off and leave them to their own devices.
The Cultural Bigot: ACDM is a global game and people from all walks of life and culture play it, so tolerance is the key when communicating. The Cultural Bigots will make offensive remarks about race/religion/creed/colour with no regret whatsoever. Solution: use the Squelch option and you'll never hear from them again.
The Spammer: Seeing SELLING A +9 FIRE SWORD FOR 50K OR NEAREST BEST OFFER!!!! scroll up your screen 100 times a minute is another pain. Solution: use the Squelch command again.
Furthermore, like a lot of games, ACDM can become repetitive, as it is, put in its simplest terms, a 'Kill the Monsters' game. It's up to you to find the right mix of hunting/trading/questing etc so you don't get bored. If you don't meet someone who is more experienced than you in the game, it can become boring quickly, especially if you don't know what to do or how to do it.
The worst thing about this game, though, is that it is thoroughly addictive. It's so time consuming, it eats away at your life. I have to say that I have had real-life falling outs with friends, relations and loved-ones over this game ('Yes I'd love to go out with you now, but one of my vassals is in trouble and I've just gotta help him out, I owe it to him: he is my vassal after all....' Bang - sound of front door slamming...).
I'll close on that note by saying that if you fancy something different,
give ACDM a try. It will definitely keep you entertained and enthralled for many an hour. That said, you can't really plan and scheme in the long term, you can't really mislead people and you can't command vast armies and conquer continents and ruin nations. Mmm, where did I put that old Crack of Doom start-up form? - I have some very wicked ideas taking shape....
Getting started in the game
Buy Asheron's Call: Dark Majesty and not Asheron's Call (the original game) or Asheron's Call 2: Fallen Kings. You should be able to pick it up for around £10 - £20. New purchases should come with one free months gameplay.
You need a Hotmail address and a Microsoft Passport to play - both are free of charge: http://www.hotmail.com - and a credit card for your payments to Microsoft's Gaming Zone. Playing costs about £7 per month. Some hackers try to hack ACDM accounts because certain artefacts can be sold on Ebay for real cash. Never give your password to anyone and make sure you install a good firewall program such as Zone Alarm - it's free! http://www.zonelabs.com
Monarchies
Legends: http://aclegends.com/
EpiK: http://www.epikac.net/indexa.html
Official List of Top Ten Monarchies:
http://zone.msn.com/asheronscall/hall.asp/
Resources
Turbine's ACDM intro page is good introduction:
http://zone.msn.com/asheronscall/start.asp
General Info: http://www.thejackcat.com/AC/ - a good all round guide, with spoilers, great screenshots and lots of info.
AC Vault: http://acvault.ign.com - good for everything including templates.
Wayne
2004-10-05
2004-10-05