Hi all,
There is an older thread about this but it wasn't up to date. Let me know if this should be posted there instead.
What is it?A Tale in the Desert (ATITD) is a Massive Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Game (MMO) set in ancient Egypt. The game focuses on crafting and trading, mixed with strong social challenges.
Isn't it dead?It kinda was for awhile. There were some dark times where the focus of the previous development team was on an unrelated project, and A Tale in the Desert received little attention. But now a player, developer, and savior (Pluribus) purchased the rights to ATITD and has been giving it more love than has been seen in years. Some new art, UI, gameplay, challenges, and even a price drop in subscription cost are coming with the next tale.
Tale what?ATITD is unique in that the server is completely wiped at the end of each 'telling'. A telling ends when certain high level challenges are met, which can take years for the player community to accomplish. These final tests often require server-wide effort both in terms of material and participation and are quite an impressive show of teamwork.
Dates and timesTale 7 beta will begin tomorrow around noon CST (GMT -5:00). This beta will be open to anyone, however, player data will NOT be transferred over when the game goes live. Also note that geographic locations may change between the beta and launch.
Tale 7 fully begins on September 11th. The start of a telling is a bit of a gold rush as some players prefer to find their favorite spots.
Sidenote: If you want to see what the "endgame" of a telling looks like, Tale 6 is completely free right now.
Linkshttp://www.atitd.com/ is the main website where you can find news and the client download (Windows, Mac and Linux).
http://www.atitd.org/wiki/tale6/Main_Page for pretty much anything related to the game. All buildings, devices, tests, etc, can be found there. Note that some tests and items may be changing between tellings.
So now that I have the basic stuff out of the way, a bit of a narrative. This game relieves a very particular itch for gamers. There is no combat, PVE or PVP in this game. There may be certain competitions coming in Tale 7, but it probably isn't like anything you've experienced in a traditional MMO. There is a lot of emphasis on community. You can absolutely lone wolf it, although at higher levels you may need assistance from neighbors in your region to complete certain megaprojects or to pass a test (info on tests can be found on the wiki).
Players eventually vote (through public voting booths) a fellow player into the position of "Demi-Pharaoh". This position is actually quite powerful it can permanently BAN another player from the game. Choose your demi-pharaoh wisely.
Players can put forth laws that can be passed by the player population. If the law is feasible to the developers, they will code it into the game. For example, do you have seeing abandoned buildings around? Write a law that says buildings owned by players have not been active in XXX days can be demolished. If you submit and pass a law that says all players get super-soakers, Pluribus might veto however.
You do not have to be part of the community to play. For example, there is an entry-level test for architecture that requires you build the tallest obelisk in your region. That obelisk must be the tallest for a period of 24 hours. Most regions develop a sort of "queue" for this test. So they start at maybe 8 units high. The next person makes theirs at 9 units, and so on. But you could theoretically plop down your 100 unit obelisk and pass the test. However, realize that such an act will not be forgotten, and come the time for you to trade for nails you might find Egypt an unwelcoming place.
TL;DR - Crafting/challenge MMO open beta starts tomorrow; launches on September 11th. Pricing info can be found in the newsletter.
Disclaimer: I'm not involved in the development of ATITD, just a player who would enjoy seeing more folks around. 
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Topic: A Tale in the Desert | Tale 7 starts 9/11 (Read 3340 times)