A Tale in the Desert Beta Report

Beta 3, part 1

Val Sucher, 2002-12-10

Introduction
I first found out about A Tale in the Desert (ATITD) while reading some posts in RPGDot's general forum for MMORPGs. Admittedly, I've never played a MMORPG. This is my fist and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone else looking to get a feel for this genre. I was intrigued by the concept that this game presented. A game with no combat. In some ways this game resembles old favorites like Civilization where you research and use new technologies to grow but instead of being at a God level controlling a faction you are at grunt level. You grow the crops, you construct the buildings, you travel to the schools and universities to learn and increase your individual skills, you form alliances with other players to form communities and guilds. In fact, this game openly encourages players to work together to accomplish goals. If you aren't a team player, you might want to look elsewhere. A person can advance in the game on their own, however it will be difficult for them to complete some training because sometimes it requires two people working together to train in certain skills and effectively run a camp.

The beginning
ATITD is set in ancient Egypt. You can choose among various areas to play in. I started in the Seven Lakes area. With rich resources, it was easy to grow a small community with friends. The game is very easy to jump into and start progressing with your character. Resources are simple to gather. Manufacturing these materials into goods gets more and more complex as you learn new skills but stays relatively easy to understand. ATITD is, thankfully, very newbie friendly. There is a mentoring ability where an experienced player will teach you the basic skills you will need to grow. Your mentor will also teach you about using the interface, schools and joining or making your own Guilds. If you liked your mentor enough, then you can build a shrine in their honor to show your appreciation. A mentor gets rewarded for certain numbers of shrines that are built in their honor and they can progress in the discipline of leadership.

The community
If you are nice to other players, then they are often willing to help you. In this game the old saying truly applies, you'll catch more flies with honey than you will with vinegar. Alliances and trade agreements are very important for attaining your goals. Often other players will have badly needed supplies that you'll wish to trade for. If they don't like you, then they can increase what they want in return for their goods or flat-out deny your request. So it certainly pays to be courteous. There is often a sense of community in the game. While traveling through areas I'd stop and say hello to those I passed by. It's enjoyable to simply chat with other players and see how they are progressing. You can often find out things you would never have known or share a valuable piece of information with another. I was impressed by the honesty and friendliness of many of the players. Although not everyone is friendly and there are those of a criminal bent in the game. For instance, there was one player that joined the BES Guild. He destroyed and stole property from them. So you shouldn't trust everyone you meet.

The controls
I found the interface easy to use, the gameplay smooth, and very little lag. The only thing really missing with the interface are hotkeys. This game sorely needs them. As it stands the main thing you use your keyboard for is chatting with other players or typing game related messages. Everything else is mouse driven with a point and click scheme. The graphics are dated looking, but there are very nice vistas you can see and the water effects are also nice if you're looking for some eye-candy. One must acknowledge that this game is a work in progress currently. From what I've seen so far, the developers look to improve things even more.
The developers I met in-game were very player oriented. They listen to what people like and don't like. One can even propose "laws" that change game features and the "law" is voted on by the players.

As I stated before, the game runs incredibly smooth. I rarely noticed any slowdowns or problems. The game crashed only once for me. I'd say that's VERY respectable for a game that is in beta testing. The implemented features that did have bugs were fixed quickly by the developers when the bugs were reported. This speaks well for the future stability and play-ability of the game also well as the support and dedication of the developers.
Beta 3 testing has not yet ended and I'll be bringing you more updates on this great new MMORPG as testing continues. If you decide to join the fun, come say hello, you'll find me at the Sandy Beach Resort.