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[Misty]

URL here http://www.samugames.com/artifact

Artifact is actually a pretty old game, having opened to the public in 1999, with testing having started in 1998. There are indeed some players that drop in that have been there since 1998.  Some years ago, the original owners sold the game to a player.  The game has been player owned ever since.  We are trying to bring new life into this old game, which has never been shut down. This screenshot is from 6/7/2014.  We are still working on making improvements to the game so that it will be compatible with apple and mobile devices. For now it only works on windows PC's, and is compatible with systems running versions as old as Windows 98, as well as with newer versions of Windows.  It is somewhat like Age of Empires from that era, but it runs entirely online.  It is free to play, with some "Donator" levels available but by no means necessary.  If you want a citizenship on the game, all you need to do is ask.  If you decide to try it out, please let us know where you found us, as most new players are really people who just haven't played in a while.  We do have a fun fighting system with youtube video here http://youtu.be/2W6SmNrAfrg

[Sergarr]

I don't think we should play games where the part of valid assault tactic is to, and I quote from that video, "wall spamming".

Really. Spamming walls. In an RTS game.

[Misty]

Geez, you don't even play the game and you truly made me LOL,

I have to admit, wall spamming has mixed popularity.  The purpose of wall spamming is to get a wall to stick around long enough to improve after a wall is destroyed by their defense.  Wall spamming does not occur in slow games, where people normally do not use catapults in attacks (populations are very low, and walls take a long time to build). fights like these are often done in teams with 1 person spamming to try and get a wall up, while the other person uses the troops to try to advance.

The game, while it does involve a great deal of strategy, it also involves a great deal of live action.  It draws people that often don't traditionally play strategy games.

[Misty]

I should note.. unlike other RTS games, there is no "research", no real troop upgrades, etc.

The tools  you start with are pretty basic. Few facility types. Few troop types. No heroes. Of course, real time, so no turns, although there are "cycles".  The longest set of cycles is in the slow game, where your population increases once per hour, and a facility takes a minute to build, and a minute to improve by 25%.  Troop  refresh rates are faster.  Combat is a large part of the game, and it is more about skill, tactics, and knowledge than it is about repeating steps over and over again. 

[Urist McScoopbeard]

Hey guys, let me just point out: I used to be an avid player and I gotta say, it's a really fun game!

I'm gettin' back in to it now, and anyone who's a fan of CIV or other 4Xs will get some enjoyment out of it. It's also quite a bit different from most RTSes.

@Sergarr: If you think wall spamming is embarrassing you should go play LOTR:BFME II and then you can tell me about wall spamming bro.

[Mattk50]

I remember this game, played it quite a long time ago and all people did were spam these huge max size circle cities and i got bored and stopped.

wow that video where the catapaults spam back and fourth and you spam build walls does not make me want to try this again. That looks like some of the worst gameplay i've seen out of a game like this. wth.

[BigD145]

I remember this when it came out. It only seemed to be really interesting if your opponent wasn't on or else there was a lot of stuff they could do to mess with you and you end up just wasting time.

[Mictlantecuhtli]

wow that video where the catapaults spam back and fourth and you spam build walls does not make me want to try this again. That looks like some of the worst gameplay i've seen out of a game like this. wth.

^

[Misty]

Well, thank you for the feedback! I am forwarding this to the rest of the development team.  Do not forget though, we do also have games where "wall spamming" does not usually come into play due to the game settings.

I do have to say though.. we don't have people coming back for 16 years because it is the worst gameplay ever...

[choppy]

I saw this, installed this and found out it wants a lot of information about you, and then uninstalled this

[Misty]

You mean name, address, phone number, email? This isn't spyware or anything.  There are no lists that get sold or shared and no adware is included. For anything you don't want to share, you aren't obligated to put factual information in, though it could make account recovery awkward and you may not be able to prove ownership of your account...  I strongly recommend using your actual email address, though.

[Urist McScoopbeard]

Honestly, i'm very perplexed at the way bay12 has responded to this game. has anyone actually tried it yet?

(Also sorry Misty, I guess people on this forum aren't as interested as I thought they might be! D:)

[Misty]

Urist McScoopbeard, Could you kindly remind me who you are on Artifact?

[Urist McScoopbeard]

Scoopdjm!

[Misty]

The game is so old that kids used to buy citizenships by mailing in a money order.  I can't say exactly why the owners asked for such extensive signup information because those that put that on the signup form no longer own the game.  That information WAS, however, used to verify account ownership.  When a player lost access to their account (or in some cases gave it away, which is not recognized by Samu Games?), they could email support and use their personal information in order to prove ownership of their account and get it back.  They could use the info they signed up with. The email is the most important one.  The current owners are working on a new client and it is a long process.  I will see how they manage the signup.