Returning after a 5+ year break?

[Nile]

It's been a long time but I might finally be in a position again to dedicate some time to Armageddon. The problem is I feel like I am completely out of the loop with the game's historical movements, geographical/demographic changes, updates etc. What's the best resource to check out apart from all of it? Anyone brief me real quick?

For those that were around back then (started playing around 2005 - 2012) you might have encountered some of my characters, although none were of note. Spent a fair bit of time in The Guild under leaders like Shorty, Gin and another ignominious, macabre figure I won't mention the name of. Also had a two year run with the Red Fang and was the only survivor of the Sun Runner's ridiculous attack on our camp. That was BS btw.

Thanks in advance.

[Riev]

Just to be the voice of bad news:

The game is not like it was back then. In those times, you had Red Fang raiders with good leadership, Gin/Quick leading the Guild had it in its most famous and lauded times since Serpent.

I'm not going to tell you if the game is good, or bad. Just brace for the fact that things have changed in how the game is run, and who is running it, since those times.

[evilcabbage]

tuluk is closed, the volcano is in the north, the gypsies are gone, morin's rest is much bigger now, but beyond that i would say there were not very many geographical/demographical changes.

allanak is the main focus of the game.

[Akaramu]

Just to be the voice of bad news:

The game is not like it was back then. In those times, you had Red Fang raiders with good leadership, Gin/Quick leading the Guild had it in its most famous and lauded times since Serpent.

I'm not going to tell you if the game is good, or bad. Just brace for the fact that things have changed in how the game is run, and who is running it, since those times.

This. So much agreed.

Oh, and magickers are mundane swordslingers with a small handful of spells now.

[Molten Heart]

.

[Armaddict]

Sorry, but the Gin/Quick era was -not- a good era.  Serpent era was pretty cool though.

[Nile]

Thanks for the responses. Much appreciated.

And the Gin/Quick era had its pros and cons, mainly depending on whether you were in the Guild or not. The amount of PK that occurred was insane though.

[Armaddict]

Thanks for the responses. Much appreciated.

And the Gin/Quick era had its pros and cons, mainly depending on whether you were in the Guild or not. The amount of PK that occurred was insane though.

I love PK.  PK makes emotions run high in the game, makes personal plots everywhere, and takes away all sense of 'general safety'.  It was about the sheer amount of people ignoring documentation pretty blatantly.  Not to say everyone of that era of particular clans, but enough to call it rampant.

Modification:  I know that's kind of a derail, but I wasn't sure if that was being spoken of with a sense of nostalgia or not.  I'd really prefer people not think that whole deal was a great accomplishment.  That was bad.  As far as your return to the game, I'm glad to have you back regardless.  Things have definitely changed in how the game world is run, but I'm confident you'll still find your fun.

[FamousAmos]

Also, elementalist guilds are now subguilds. Drovians and Nilazi are no longer available. The Karma system has changed.

On the upside: Allanak is booming, tons of storylines are going on right now. We have gladiators! The Atrium is back, the Arboretum had an awesome change, some changes in the Rinth which you have find out in game. Different (more) critters in the Vrun Driath, hmmm... what else... oh yeah, Templarate system has changed a bit but again, find out IG. Some coded improvements such as knowing when a container is empty before having to look into it, which PC the mount is attached to, etc.

Dive in and explore!

[seidhr]

I dunno I started playing in the mid 90s and I think back then the whole point of the game felt like everyone was trying to murder everyone else, the closest you had to allies was your clan.

As staff, one "perk" is seeing how everyone dies.  There's not a ton of PK these days but it still happens a fair amount, usually kind of streaky.  Some days ginka is hungry, other days it is not. 

[Arabian Nights]

I first played back in '98 (Edit: Actually upon further thought I think it was '96)  then returned to the game a few years later and stayed on for quite some time. After taking a break for a few years, I find myself coming back to look over the GDB and considering returning. However, from what I am reading the game has changed so drastically it sounds like, I find myself changing my mind each time. I think it has been at least 5 years since I last really put any time in and played a character. The truth is, changes to the game at the time were already contributing to my waning interest. Thoughts?
Is the game better, worse, or about the same as it was five or more years ago?
What all has changed in this time, with the game world, mechanics, etc?

[DustMight]

Hey, I feel so much less alone now. Your time frame of play pretty much matches mine. Just got my character in game. See you in the sands.

[Grapes]

I first played back in '98 (Edit: Actually upon further thought I think it was '96)  then returned to the game a few years later and stayed on for quite some time. After taking a break for a few years, I find myself coming back to look over the GDB and considering returning. However, from what I am reading the game has changed so drastically it sounds like, I find myself changing my mind each time. I think it has been at least 5 years since I last really put any time in and played a character. The truth is, changes to the game at the time were already contributing to my waning interest. Thoughts?
Is the game better, worse, or about the same as it was five or more years ago?
What all has changed in this time, with the game world, mechanics, etc?

There have been some very positive changes, imho. Climbfollow nosaves, alerts before doing something clearly suicidal with some things, added low-tier wildlife, many bug-fixes, and a new upcoming guild system in beta testing, also, an improvement of karma aquisition and usage (not currently functioning as far as aquisition but still waiting on that).

[Nao]

Hey, I feel so much less alone now. Your time frame of play pretty much matches mine. Just got my character in game. See you in the sands.

Hey, me too. I've been back for a couple of months. So far, it's been a pretty wild ride and I'm having a blast.

[Riev]

I first played back in '98 (Edit: Actually upon further thought I think it was '96)  then returned to the game a few years later and stayed on for quite some time. After taking a break for a few years, I find myself coming back to look over the GDB and considering returning. However, from what I am reading the game has changed so drastically it sounds like, I find myself changing my mind each time. I think it has been at least 5 years since I last really put any time in and played a character. The truth is, changes to the game at the time were already contributing to my waning interest. Thoughts?
Is the game better, worse, or about the same as it was five or more years ago?
What all has changed in this time, with the game world, mechanics, etc?

The code changes come and go in waves. Ness and Nath are fucking rockstars when it comes to making changes of late, and its really great to see.

The roleplay side of things (cities, camps, things that happen to the world) are sparing and few/far between. Yes, things happen, but the chances that you're going to do something with a positive world reaction are slim. The staff attitude has shifted from facilitation to obstruction, on the belief that the more work involved, the more satisfying the payoff.

The quality of roleplay has waned significantly in the past 5-10 years, but I mainly attribute this to a lack of staff ability (despite possible interest) to police it and veteran players/roleplayers being chased off by the current administration and real life issues. The great roleplayers of the "golden age" can't play the 8 hours a day they used to, so the 'newbies' don't have anyone to learn from.

So be prepared for better quality of life in a coded fashion, and less 'accidental' deaths like Shield Wall'ing, at the expense of the amount of world building and making a lasting change that there used to be.

[Feco]

Figured I might as well share my experiences.

I've been playing since 2010, and I've really only had three majorly involved PCs: The first around 2010, the second during the Hasan era in ~2013, and the third in the past year.

2010 was great.  I had the opportunity to write a metal item.  I got to be involved in lots of player-created scheming.  That said, despite regular reports, I had very little interaction from staff (and I don't think that was a bad thing, it was just a thing).  If I remember correctly, this was sort of peak time for their hands-off, let the players do their thing policy?  That's how I remember it, at least.  Maybe it was just me that didn't see much.

2013 seemed to be boomtime.  High player numbers.  Shitloads of player-created jazz going on.  Staff were obviously very involved given the nature of the world-sized plots.  Lots of conflict.

The past year, though, has been my favorite in Armageddon.  The code changes have significantly improved quality of life (e.g., color prompts, the chase command, bugfixes out the wazoo, and on and on).  There seems to be a lot of staff initiated plots going on.  There is also a lot of widespread player-initiated conflict, none of which I think I can talk about.  Seriously, I think this is among my favorite times to be around -- there's a lot of thematic stuff going on, and it's not hard to find.  At all.

More importantly, I've seen player-initiated changes happening in the world more than I've seen in my tenure.  I fucking love the player clan system.  I've been personally involved with it, and interacted with a lot of others who are involved in it.  Not only are players and staff both responding with wild plotz and shit, I've even seen the oft-coveted changes to rooms and shit.

I've noticed a change in players, though.  It seems like there are marginally fewer, overall.  But, there are more people on during non-peak.  I rarely see who below ~20, and at peak it gets up to the 40-50 range.  But, I haven't noticed a dip in quality.  At all.

I think the trick is communication.  Staff isn't going to be able to do shit for you if you aren't very communicative.  I dunno if this is a change from the past at all, but it's certainly the truth about right now.

[chrisdcoulombe]

c.1613 (Year 73 Age 21)  Everything from here down for one.  http://armageddon.org/world/chronology.php

[satine]

Hey Nile, I just recently came back as well.

I'm enjoying the game just as much as I did back when we were all running around the rinth... so 'shrug'

[Arabian Nights]

Kinda fun looking back at the timeline. I played a Salarri Sergeant through the mantis invasion of Tuluk. Also played a Jihaen during the Copper War. Looks like I started my break at the end of the 21st age.

[RogueGunslinger]

Welcome back!

While the game and staff and some players are not the same, the heart of the game truly is, dont let Reiv tell you otherwise. It has been a couple months since I last played but when I was in the thick of things it was Arm at its best.

The code for the game, and additiions that have been made have all improved greatly in the last 5 years.

[650Booger]

There's not a ton of PK these days but it still happens a fair amount

once I figure out how to legit PK somebody inside city walls, you'll see it happen more often.  for now it still baffles me.