Friday 22 November 2002

Pic of the day: Proof! A troll in the Tomb of Mithra. Picture from the well known Promise Room. (Screenshot from Dark Age of Camelot.)

DAoC co-op server 1st peek

The one thing I like the least about my favorite game is also the very heart of it: The war between the 3 human factions or "realms". Players from competing realms could not communicate or cast spells of healing or protection on each other, but were richly rewarded for killing one another. There were a fairly large protected area for each realm, but in the high-level "frontier" areas player killing was the rule and the goal.

After a year, the first non-PK server is up for test. I hurried over. On this server, players from all three realms can communicate, cooperate and compete in a friendly way. This, I thought to myself, is where the flirting will be.

OK, not on the fist day of beta test. This test population will be erased after a week, so it is hardly the time to form lasting relationships. Right now, the discussion on the new zone-wide broadcast channel was more about finding various places. But this is already a good sign ... When did you last see a man stop and ask for directions? ^_^

***

Anyway, the geography of the realms is unchanged. They are still separated by vast tracts of wilderness. The fast and easy way to get from one realm over to another is through a teleport service in the capital cities, near the vault keeper (bank). It can also be used for long-distance inland travel. You buy a medallion inscribed with your destination, then turn to a nearby teleport mage who sends you on your way.

The cost of teleportation is 10 silver each way. For most players this is a purely symbolic sum, but for the first 4 levels it is prohibitively expensive. That's OK though, because the first 4 levels are pretty much the same in all 3 realms and pass by swiftly. It is when you specialize at level 5 that differences really begin.

***

I did two things to test. I used the character copy function to import my troll shaman (/charcopy Bors Steinhellar, where Bors is the server and Steinhellar is the character name); this took several hours. Meanwhile I played an Albion fighter (imaginatively named Itland) up to level 5, became a Paladin and crossed over to Hibernia.

The crossing was not too expensive: I still had enough money left to buy studded leather armor and a shield appropriate for my level. I then went to my favorite hunting ground for that level, and killed water beetles until I hit level 7.

A problem for the first levels is that you have to return to your own realm to find a trainer. At higher levels this is less noticeable, as you level rarely and have a long way to travel home anyway. But as it was, I didn't go back until I had gained two levels, even though training makes quite a difference the first times.

Anyway, I got my prejudiced solidified. Hibernia has the best mobs for the pre-teen levels. Lazy beetles that don't attack on sight (unlike the bandits of Albion) and don't bring friends as long as you keep pulling them out of the pack one by one. And they practically always drops a leg or two, sometimes a carapace or a mandible. All of which stack, and the legs at least weigh next to nothing. I may have had a hundred of them when I finished.

***

After several hours, the character copy was finished and I took my Troll Shaman to Albion. He is level 16, a level I could hardly reach in a day or two. (Especially since my desktop computer keeps dropping DSL every 20 minutes, despite my best efforts to change it. But that's another matter. Not server related. These notes are mostly written while reconnecting, so it's good for something ...)

I took my shaman to the Tomb of Mithra. It does seem to be easier than the same level dungeon in Midgard, Nisse's Lair. This does need more study, though.

The server has zone-wide broadcast channels, and people almost immediately took to using these for relaxed banter and forming groups, asking for advice, and offering help. Several of the people were quite enthusiastic about it. But then the people who refer to it as "pussy server" are not likely to have come over for the beta test anyway. Well, I loved it too. If this is a pussy server, then meeooww! ^_^