Ages of Athiria Newsletter, Volume 2

Ages of Athiria Newsletter - Volume 2

hank you to all for the support you guys have given us over the past month. Our discussions with you on the AoA discussion forums have led us to re-release the entire Player vs. Player FAQ on our website. Be sure to check it out!

While you are there, you will also want to sign up for (or log into) MyAoA. Chibbell has created the first official desktop wallpaper with an Athirian theme and you can only see it if you have a MyAoA account name and password. If you look close, you can even see Athiria's two suns!

Expect our next newsletter to be released before Game Developer's Conference in March. We hope to see some of you there!

Yours in Athiria,
Tom DeSanctis
a.k.a. Noonway
Ages of Athiria Development Team
http://www.agesofathiria.com

Player-run Cities - A Developer Review

A Developer Review
by Derek "Kressilac" Licciardi

n our last newsletter, we released information about our concept of player run cities (PRCs). This article will explain how a PRC is established in Athiria, and how a player can become a citizen. This isn’t intended to be a complete description of the entire system, but will give you a feel for the direction we are taking with PRCs in Athiria. Future newsletters will discuss topics such as defending and taking over a PRC.

stablishing a PRC is a major event in Ages of Athiria. It requires the leaders of at least three guilds to be present. Each of the three or more founding guilds must have purchased a guild house and built them all relatively close to one another. A spokesperson from one of the founding guilds will enter the “Create City” command and the remaining guild leaders will get a chance, via a dialog box, to approve the settings before the PRC is actually created. The settings that are required for PRC creation are selection of: 1) a capital building (or “city hall”), and 2) a government type. Various capital buildings will be available, each varying in size and cost. The lower-cost capital buildings can be upgraded at a later date, but all will have their own vault. The initial setting of government type is important because the city will be run by these rules until it is either taken over or disbanded. There are four government types in the game, Democracy, Republic, Socialist, and Monarchy. The following list describes each type of government.

emocracy – This form of government prides itself in its egalitarian approach to managing city resources. Every citizen in this type of government has the right to vote on referendums submitted to the city for execution. Every citizen has the right to submit a referendum as well. Referendums represent actions that the citizens wish the leadership to carry out. Setting tax rates, setting justice requirements, building a military, going to war, signing a peace treaty, voting for leaders, and building public works are all examples of what referendums can accomplish. All city decisions need to be voted upon and a simple majority rule is enough to pass any referendum. The populace votes leaders into positions; election results are made known to all citizens via in game broadcast and email. Using the web or in-game dialogs, the citizens can elect new leaders to a term setup by the cities founders. Once the founders set the initial city settings, no setting can be changed without the majority approval of its citizens. This is the purest form of democracy available in the game. Leaders in this government cannot perform actions without a citizen-approved referendum allowing that action to happen.

epublic – A republic is established when the demands of a democracy on its citizenship are deemed as too expensive from a management standpoint. A republic is no different from a democracy when it comes to voting leaders into positions of authority. The major difference is that a republic has an added management layer in its structure. These positions are filled from the citizenship by vote and are given the authority to vote on all citizen submitted referendums. Citizens of a republic lose their right to vote for every referendum, as is the case in a democracy. In exchange for this right, they hope that the task of managing the city is not as large for all of its citizens. Each citizen does have the right to inquire about the representative that they voted for and see that player’s track record of votes on a per referendum basis. This allows citizens to hold representatives in check by voting them out of office should they not stick to the platforms that had them elected in the first place. As with a democracy, once the founders set the initial city settings, no setting can be changed without the majority approval of its representatives. Leaders in this government cannot perform actions without a citizen-approved referendum allowing that action to happen.

onarchy – A monarchy is the simplest form of government in Athiria. The person that enters the “Create City” command is appointed by the game as the city’s initial Monarch. That person is free to set and change any setting for that city, whenever it fits that person’s fancy. They can hand the monarchy down to an heir or they can give the monarchy to another citizen. Today’s games typically have this form of government in their guild structures, so while it may seem like it is too powerful; it has been proven that this type of government can exist in a game. Unlike the real world, the citizens of this city can choose to change citizenship should the monarch act without regard towards his/her citizens. It is also possible for the monarch to setup a government that mimics the others, though the structure and organization of that government are not supported by the game while the city remains a monarchy. This allows a monarch to setup an English style House of Lords and House of Commons type government, though all of the power ultimately lies in the monarch’s hands. Citizens of this government do not retain the right to vote, nor do they retain any right to submit any referendum. This does not mean the citizen is without recourse as they can use social pressures to get things accomplished without explicitly having to be able to have the power to do so themselves.

ocialist – A socialist government is formed when the citizens want to enjoy the centrally managed benefits of a monarchy, while removing some of the power from the actual monarch. In this government type, the guild leaders of the city elect a group of representatives to run the government as if it were a republic. Once these representatives are in positions, the leader of the city no longer retains the right to change city settings without the approval of the representatives. The leader and the city’s representatives are the only people that can enter a referendum for the city to act on. Citizens in this government type are identical to a monarchy citizen. They retain no right to vote nor can they enter referendums.

fter the PRC is created, the “Key to the City” is placed into the inventory of the person that executed the ‘Create City’ command, and the PRC is free to grow and thrive. The founding guilds’ members are all made citizens of the new PRC, its faction is registered within the game, and the remaining PRC configuration dialogs become available for use. A newly formed PRC has much to do in order to get established properly. It needs to create walls, add military, engage in alliances, and promote trade. As a PRC collects donations, grants or taxes, it increases its ability to grow and accommodate more citizens. Before you know it, your PRC is now a bustling center for trade or a fertile training ground for war. All this is left in the player’s hands to craft to one degree or another.

s your PRC grows, you will no doubt have many other players or guilds that want to share in its future. A process will be in place to allow a single player or a guild to petition a PRC for citizenship. PRC leaders will be able to use whatever citizenship criteria they desire, not the least of which is the applicant’s social reputation.

tay tuned for future discussion regarding defending or taking over a PRC, and the importance of the “Key to the City”.

Featured Artwork

This month we get some more goodies from Michael "Chibbell" Sigler, our resident concept artist. Click on the thumbnails to see a larger version. Would you like to see more artwork?

The Races of Athiria - The High Elf

Starting with this newsletter we will begin releasing the history and descriptions of each of the races that inhabits Athiria. You can also read about the history of the planet of Athiria on our website.

Not a single orc was left standing after the Battle of Tuviel. Though it pained me to see such ferocity from my brethren, when I looked upon the waste of our fair city I understood the pain burning deep inside them. It burned inside of me as well.

I crossed the temple grounds, trying my best to close out the sounds of war still echoing in the distance. I looked up to see my brother pull his sword from one of the foul ones, a look of both pain and satisfaction on his face, his armor reflecting the flames that engulfed the cathedral.

I nodded to him as I bent down to a wounded warrior, pushing back her hair and doing what little I could to take the pain away. She tried to tell me something pointing back to the necklace she was wearing. She grasped it in her hands, her mouth struggling to form the words she wanted to say. I glanced down at the large red gem and threw a hand over my eyes as it began to glow as bright as the fires behind me. She died there in my arms, without me ever knowing what she had meant.

– General Echelon, Commander of the Tuviel Legionnaires, an excerpt from “The Battle of Tuviel”

long the banks of the Valalu River, in the shade of the vast Halla mountain range lies a magnificent city. This is Tuviel, the high elven city. It is the first and greatest of all the elven cities. Situated far in the north, the high elven folk reside peacefully and secluded from the rest of the world. They prefer it that way. They are wary of the other races on the planet and so far have traded and communicated only minimally with them. The high elves rely heavily upon their ancestry and knowledge of Calarite in their daily lives. They often lock themselves in their towers and temples for months at a time researching and experimenting with the mystical mineral that flows through the very fabric of the planet. Tradition is strong within the race. Each year the entire race gathers at the great city to celebrate the “Aukum,” a festival honoring the Queen of Tuviel. The orcs are the nemesis of the high elves and have been in constant conflict with them since the Battle of Tuviel more than four thousand years ago.

igh elves are tall, thin, agile beings. Their physical beauty is unmatched by the other races of Athiria. They have sharp facial features, large bright eyes, and silky flowing hair. Having great intelligence and an equal capacity in will, the high elven race is often found researching the great secrets of the planet. Countless years of experimentation with the mystical mineral Calarite has given their skin an almost iridescent glow. They have long, sharp ears that are conducive to hunting and perception. The high elves are a proud race. They are often referred to as the “High Ones” because of their arrogance and tendency to look down upon the other races of Athiria.

The Art of Athiria

hibbell (a.k.a. Michael Sigler, the Texture and Concept Artist for Ages of Athiria) and I had a conversation about his artwork, style, and impressions of Athiria. Here's what he had to say:

Noonway: What is your responsibility on the Ages of Athiria Development Team?
Chibbell: Right now I take care of the concept art and the textures. When someone wants to add something new to the game they come to me and I draw it up to see what it might look like. I also create the "templates" used as a basis for the models that our 3D artist creates.

Noonway: How long have you been an artist?
Chibbell: I came out kicking and screaming with a pencil in one hand a pad of paper in the other. Art is just something I have always enjoyed.

Noonway: How would you describe your art style?
Chibbell: Wow. That's a good question. I love to draw in so many different styles. I think I get most of my influence from Frazetta, Madureira, and Lockwood. I really enjoy taking something normal and putting a little twist on it to make it different. I also like big feet and big hands though I try not to go overboard.

Noonway: How would you describe your creative process? How do you go from an idea to a model or texture?
Chibbell: I almost always carry a little notepad around with me. Just a little pocket sized one. Whenever inspiration strikes I scribble things down on it. Heck, the halfling on the page was inspired by a girl I saw walking down the street. Once I figure out the direction I want to go I then sit down and draw it out in more detail. If it's say, a character model, I then show the concept to our 3D artist and see what he thinks will and will not work in our 3D environment. After some tweaking I then draw the character from several different perspectives so that our 3D artist can use them as a guideline as he creates the model. For the textures I usually scour the net (or my closet) for a good reference. I might throw several different photos together and blend them together to get an interesting base texture and then work from their. The rest is just time and patience.

Noonway: Please tell us about your experience with RPGs and Computer Games.
Chibbell: Well my dad really got me started on the computer. I still have the original Zork disk and instruction book at home. I just toyed around with computers while I was little but really got interested in games when I first got my Nintendo Entertainment System. Heck, I still pull it out to play a little Zelda or Excitebike now and again. I really got back into RPG's when I picked up Return to Zork for my good old 486sx 26mhz machine.

Then I started playing AD&D with several of my friends. Before I knew it we had like 15 people coming to my friends house every weekend to hang out and delve into the lands that we tormented. About the same time I also really got into Ultima Online. I'll never forget all the great times I had on their. Lake Superior was a great shard to play on and there were quite a few roleplayers on the server. If memory serves me correctly, we even got a nifty plaque from Lord British for role playing excellence at what was known as Silk's Tavern. I just recently stopped playing UO though I occasionally check out what some of my old buds are doing with their own servers.

I dabbled around with EQ, AC, and most recently DAOC but just couldn't get into them as much. There was a lot there but I just didn't like the level system they had going. They've all done some pretty amazing stuff but it just wasn't my cup of tea.

As for offline RPGs, I've played anything I could get my hands on. Betrayal in Antara, Fallout 1 and 2, the Hero Quest series, the Baldur's Gate series, Planescape: Torment, Ultima 6-9, the Final Fantasy's, Eye of the Beholder, Nox, and the list could go on and on.

Noonway: What games are you currently playing?
Chibbell: When time allows I still play the new d20 Dungeons and Dragons 3rd Edition. I really enjoy the d20 system and am happy to see how much it has grown. I also play a little d20 Star Wars. I am also going through Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor. Despite all the bad hype it's been a decent game so far. Hasn't deleted my hard drive yet. Also playing Aliens vs Predator 2, Return to Castle Wolfenstein and IL-2 Sturmovik.

Noonway: So far, what do you like most about Ages of Athiria?
Chibbell: That it's something I would really want to play. I am simply amazed at how much I agree with everyone else when it comes to huge online worlds. Our mindsets are all on track yet there is enough differences that we can critique each other's ideas and have a fairly well rounded perspective of everything.

Noonway: Can you tell us what you are currently working on?
Chibbell: Well I just finished up a sketch for an Elf in full "Battle Plate" (above) as I have started referring to it. He really looks like he could kick some major ass. At least I hope he does.

Noonway: Is there anything else you would like to say to our readers?
Chibbell: Just that I appreciate all the great support we have received. I love everything, positive and negative. Keeps me on my toes. I love constructive criticism and try to keep a fairly open mind when it comes to my work. I just can't wait to show everyone what we have in store for them.

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