Merek at 06:53, 2 December 2011

2011-12-02T06:53:59Z

T5 Import: Moved from front page

2010-10-05T15:19:10Z

Moved from front page

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<b>A Tale in the Desert V - Launches Saturday</b><br>
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Citizens of Egypt,

As I write this, we're days away from the release of A Tale in the Desert V. We'll go live:

Saturday, August 7, 2010 at 12:00 Noon EDT (GMT-0400)

Last Saturday, as ATITD IV concluded, we learned that Sami won the majority of citizens' votes, and ascended as Pharaoh. In electing Sami over Wahim, players voted to falsify the two monuments that were completed, and instead implore the scientists in Tale V to create seven new technologies. The following player-designed skills and technologies will be released during A Tale in the Desert V:

Foraging - The ability to memorize correct foraging techniques after 7 consecutive correct attempts
Preservation - Allows one to wrap up a fresh cooked meal that can be eaten on the road
Advanced Silkworm Farming - Allows changing silkworm diets by use of fresh leaves
Aquaculture - Ability to grow papyrus in camp
Herbology - Accurate prediction of aqueduct towers locations that will aid growth of herb seeds
Fertilization - Production of a one-dose-needed, slow-acting fertilizer
Molecular Balance - Comparison of the genetic weights of two plant genomes

I've made a bunch of other changes for Tale 5: I'm particularly proud of the mining system, which I've written about before, and which has undergone some evolution during our beta. I'll describe how mining iron works, though each kind of ore has somewhat different rules.

You'll be presented with a field of 7 different orestones. Some are red, some yellow, some green. (There is a colorblind-compatible mode available) Also, some of the orestones are covered by spikey crystals, some with cube-shaped, and some long and thin. The goal is to find three stones which:

All 3 are identically colored, or all 3 differently colored
All have the same crystal shapes, or all differently shaped

It takes some concentration - it feels hard at first. But when you find a set of three - known as a workload - it's worth about 100 ore. Sometimes it will be worth much more than that - several hundred, or occasionally even a thousand. When you do find one of these huge workloads, you can call over friends who can also harvest the same workload for an equally large amount.

Furthermore, there are bonuses for finding multiple workloads in one field, and for finding rare 4 stone workloads, and all of these bonus amounts can be stacked. This description doesn't do it justice - it's taken an aspect of the game that has always been tedious, and made it into something entirely addictive.

The fishing system has also been totally replaced. It's irritated me for some time that ATITD, with perhaps the most complex tradeskill system of any online game had such a rudimentary fishing system. No more: there are now 49 species of fish. You'll notice that some fish have preferences for certain bait, or certain geographical habitats, seasons, times of day, and other peculiarities. In addition to the 49 kinds of meat, each from a different fish, fish may contain roe, or scales in many colors (there's an entire science to this), or other by-products that you may discover a use for.

In addition to fishing itself being a multi-level practice-based skill, there's a whole skill devoted to fly tying itself. Another new skill, Arthropodology, will help you discover the really rare insects on which your flies are based. And finally, you can learn the filleting skill - also multi-level - to increase usable meat when a kitchen isn't handy.

There's plenty more to discover, and I'm looking forward to the most fascinating Tale yet. See everyone Saturday!

Dawn on the Nile,
Teppy

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-			<b>A Tale in the Desert V - Launches Saturday</b><br>
+			<b>This Saturday: A Tale in the Desert 6 (and a word about our next game)‏</b><br>
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 Citizens of Egypt,
-As I write this, we're days away from the release of A Tale in the Desert V. We'll go live:
+In case you haven't seen it, The Game Archaeologist recently covered A Tale in the Desert. It's official - we're now "a classic:"
-You'll be presented with a field of 7 different orestones. Some are red, some yellow, some green. (There is a colorblind-compatible mode available) Also, some of the orestones are covered by spikey crystals, some with cube-shaped, and some long and thin. The goal is to find three stones which:
+http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/09/13/the-game-archaeologist-spins-a-tale-in-the-desert-the-highlight/
-    All 3 are identically colored, or all 3 differently colored
+I'm writing to announce the grand opening of A Tale in the Desert VI. Our first Tale launched in February of 2003, and since that time we've become known for a unique mix of crafting and competitive-social gameplay that - almost nine years later - still hasn't been duplicated by any other online game.
-    All have the same crystal shapes, or all differently shaped
+We'll start our next Tale:
-It takes some concentration - it feels hard at first. But when you find a set of three - known as a workload - it's worth about 100 ore. Sometimes it will be worth much more than that - several hundred, or occasionally even a thousand. When you do find one of these huge workloads, you can call over friends who can also harvest the same workload for an equally large amount.
+Saturday, Dec 3, 2011 at Noon EST (GMT-0500)
-Furthermore, there are bonuses for finding multiple workloads in one field, and for finding rare 4 stone workloads, and all of these bonus amounts can be stacked. This description doesn't do it justice - it's taken an aspect of the game that has always been tedious, and made it into something entirely addictive.
+If you've never experienced the beginning of a Tale - don't miss this chance. Early Tales are always fast-paced, as new technologies get unlocked, and new social groups form.<br>
-The fishing system has also been totally replaced. It's irritated me for some time that ATITD, with perhaps the most complex tradeskill system of any online game had such a rudimentary fishing system. No more: there are now 49 species of fish. You'll notice that some fish have preferences for certain bait, or certain geographical habitats, seasons, times of day, and other peculiarities. In addition to the 49 kinds of meat, each from a different fish, fish may contain roe, or scales in many colors (there's an entire science to this), or other by-products that you may discover a use for.
+Four Monuments were completed in A Tale in the Desert V, so in addition to new Technologies, we'll have four Tests designed by our Oracles. The Test of Isis's Bounty will challenge you to explore Egypt's shores and waterways in boats. In the Throne of the Pharaoh you'll be working in teams to produce elaborate decorative thrones, showing off Egypt's craftsmanship. The Test of the Messanger is a cooperative puzzle in the Discipline of Worship. And finally, in Harmony's Test of Promotion you'll be figuring out which of your fellow Egyptians will soon advance in their Disciplines.<br>
-In addition to fishing itself being a multi-level practice-based skill, there's a whole skill devoted to fly tying itself. Another new skill, Arthropodology, will help you discover the really rare insects on which your flies are based. And finally, you can learn the filleting skill - also multi-level - to increase usable meat when a kitchen isn't handy.
+A few other odds and ends before I return to coding last-minute touches: As many of you know, New York University is studying A Tale in the Desert to learn about "Trust and Collaboration in Online Games." Many of you have helped out with the research by filling out surveys, and as a thank-you, an extra cornerstone was given. Those cornerstones will carry over into Tale VI. If you didn't get a chance to fill out a survey but would like to, see me in-game after launch and I'll make that happen.<br>
-There's plenty more to discover, and I'm looking forward to the most fascinating Tale yet. See everyone Saturday!
+Finally, a word about our next game, "Dragon's Tale," which is in Alpha testing. When I started designing A Tale in the Desert back in 2000, the big question in my mind was "what would a competitive MMORPG look like if there was no combat?" A Tale in the Desert was the result, and though our community is small, the game is known by nearly every game designer because we tried something so radical. Dragon's Tale brings radical game design to real-money gambling. It's the first online casino presented as an MMORPG. You won't find Craps, Blackjack or Roulette in Dragon's Tale, but you'll find 43 novel games, both luck-based and skill-based. I'll have more to say about Dragon's Tale in a future newsletter, and we'll have a special preview for ATITD players.
 Dawn on the Nile,
-Teppy
+Teppy (Pharaoh)
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Tale 5 Launch - Revision history

Merek at 06:53, 2 December 2011

T5 Import: Moved from front page