Post by Loendal on Jan 17, 2012 1:17:16 GMT -5
TomeNET - Combining Roguelike Gameplay and MMO Features
Home page: www.tomenet.net/
Roguelikes have been around for a while; ever since UNIX first crept into university campuses everywhere, Rogue has existed in some form or another. I'm sure I'm not the only one who's said at one point or another as you've slaughtered the last of those evil little white w's in the corner "I wish I could play this with someone else!" Well, now you can!
TomeNET has been around for a while now; I can't seem to find it's official starting date anywhere in the documentation though. I have found a little information that suggests it's been around since at least 2007; so it's well established. However, as if being a Roguelike weren't niche enough, they are also one of very few Multiplayer Roguelikes. Add into that, of the very few Multiplayer Roguelikes, this is one that I've found that actually has a consistent playerbase. It's not unusual to find 5 to 10 people online on TomeNET at any given time (Though I will admit, my own window of opportunity falls into the Overnight / 3rd shift range (EST) ). There is a Roleplaying server, but I never see anyone on it and I'm sure the addition of (Not for Beginners) on the server listing probably scares some folks over to the main server.
Another point that makes TomeNET stand out is that it's not turn based like the single player variants are. This thing moves in real time. If you stand still, the world moves around you. Combat is automatic unless you instruct it otherwise. If something comes near you, you try to chop it's face off. The game is set inside Tolkien's master work, though I can't vouch for the authenticity of the characters and creatures the game has. I have never read Tolkien's books (Yes, you may facepalm and shame me now
)
The community is very friendly, and willing to help with questions. Being both Real-time AND a pretty advanced Roguelike game, questions won't be hard to come up with. There are 13 Classes and 17 Races to choose from, including some rather unusual variations such as Runemasters and Mindcrafters for classes and everything from Goblins to Vampires as a Race Selection. I have tried my traditional Dwarf Paladin a few times over now (I'm up to Grambly V now, the great great grandson of the original ) and have done fairly well. Recently started working with a Dark Elf Rogue too, and that's working out ok.
Another deviation from the traditional Roguelike is the multiple options for how to handle death and dying. There are six modes to choose from, as shown below. You can do things the good old fashioned way (my personal preference) and have one life to live or you can play with three lives or even infinite lives (Though for the eternal characters, they can never enter the high score list). There are also two options that make things even more difficult if you're truly a glutton for punishment. I am not, but I am a bit of a traditionalist and I play with the Unworldly (1 life) mode. I like the challenge and risk of permadeath inside a Roguelike setting. When you've accomplished something big, you really feel as if you've earned it and the reward is a great feeling of accomplishment. I think I've lost somewhere in the vicinity of 8 characters so far; one of which was all the way up to Level 15 and starting to find and wield artifacts
(Hey, I never said I was very GOOD at Roguelikes, I just enjoy them! 
)
Being multiplayer, you can party up with your fellow @'s and go stomping on the bad guys and share the XP (There is even a small bonus to the base XP when killing monsters in a party). I haven't been in too many parties though, so I don't know exactly how often this occurs. When looking at the player list, it shows what party people belong to so there must be a few people out there who travel together. There is also guild functionality and message boards that can also be limited access (i.e. Guild only or Party only). It looks like they've strived to create all the MMO features within the Roguelike environment.
Personally, I think they've done well at meshing online, multiplayer gameplay with the Roguelike niche and I have yet to find any glaringly obvious bugs in the program. It works well on both broadband and dialup alike due to the innate time delay on movements and actions inside the game client. There is no "lag" to cause disturbances and I've never had the server drop out from under me yet. There is also the ability to host one's own server if one were so inclined, you only have to go and download the server software.
If you're a fan of Roguelikes and MMO's both this could work well for you. Be advised that there is a bit of a learning curve; as in most Roguelikes. There are alot of things out there that just won't make sense right away. Ask, they will answer your questions. I've yet to feel I was getting smart-talked or talked down to in there. And if you happen to see a Dwarf named Grambly with some roman numeral after his name or a Rogue by the name of Aerik DeMarc slinking past you, let me know you're from Far Journeys and I'll do what I can to help
www.tomenet.net/
Home page: www.tomenet.net/
Roguelikes have been around for a while; ever since UNIX first crept into university campuses everywhere, Rogue has existed in some form or another. I'm sure I'm not the only one who's said at one point or another as you've slaughtered the last of those evil little white w's in the corner "I wish I could play this with someone else!" Well, now you can!
TomeNET has been around for a while now; I can't seem to find it's official starting date anywhere in the documentation though. I have found a little information that suggests it's been around since at least 2007; so it's well established. However, as if being a Roguelike weren't niche enough, they are also one of very few Multiplayer Roguelikes. Add into that, of the very few Multiplayer Roguelikes, this is one that I've found that actually has a consistent playerbase. It's not unusual to find 5 to 10 people online on TomeNET at any given time (Though I will admit, my own window of opportunity falls into the Overnight / 3rd shift range (EST) ). There is a Roleplaying server, but I never see anyone on it and I'm sure the addition of (Not for Beginners) on the server listing probably scares some folks over to the main server.
Another point that makes TomeNET stand out is that it's not turn based like the single player variants are. This thing moves in real time. If you stand still, the world moves around you. Combat is automatic unless you instruct it otherwise. If something comes near you, you try to chop it's face off. The game is set inside Tolkien's master work, though I can't vouch for the authenticity of the characters and creatures the game has. I have never read Tolkien's books (Yes, you may facepalm and shame me now
)The community is very friendly, and willing to help with questions. Being both Real-time AND a pretty advanced Roguelike game, questions won't be hard to come up with. There are 13 Classes and 17 Races to choose from, including some rather unusual variations such as Runemasters and Mindcrafters for classes and everything from Goblins to Vampires as a Race Selection. I have tried my traditional Dwarf Paladin a few times over now (I'm up to Grambly V now, the great great grandson of the original
) and have done fairly well. Recently started working with a Dark Elf Rogue too, and that's working out ok.Another deviation from the traditional Roguelike is the multiple options for how to handle death and dying. There are six modes to choose from, as shown below. You can do things the good old fashioned way (my personal preference) and have one life to live or you can play with three lives or even infinite lives (Though for the eternal characters, they can never enter the high score list). There are also two options that make things even more difficult if you're truly a glutton for punishment. I am not, but I am a bit of a traditionalist and I play with the Unworldly (1 life) mode. I like the challenge and risk of permadeath inside a Roguelike setting. When you've accomplished something big, you really feel as if you've earned it and the reward is a great feeling of accomplishment. I think I've lost somewhere in the vicinity of 8 characters so far; one of which was all the way up to Level 15 and starting to find and wield artifacts
(Hey, I never said I was very GOOD at Roguelikes, I just enjoy them! 
)Being multiplayer, you can party up with your fellow @'s and go stomping on the bad guys and share the XP (There is even a small bonus to the base XP when killing monsters in a party). I haven't been in too many parties though, so I don't know exactly how often this occurs. When looking at the player list, it shows what party people belong to so there must be a few people out there who travel together. There is also guild functionality and message boards that can also be limited access (i.e. Guild only or Party only). It looks like they've strived to create all the MMO features within the Roguelike environment.
Personally, I think they've done well at meshing online, multiplayer gameplay with the Roguelike niche and I have yet to find any glaringly obvious bugs in the program. It works well on both broadband and dialup alike due to the innate time delay on movements and actions inside the game client. There is no "lag" to cause disturbances and I've never had the server drop out from under me yet. There is also the ability to host one's own server if one were so inclined, you only have to go and download the server software.
If you're a fan of Roguelikes and MMO's both this could work well for you. Be advised that there is a bit of a learning curve; as in most Roguelikes. There are alot of things out there that just won't make sense right away. Ask, they will answer your questions. I've yet to feel I was getting smart-talked or talked down to in there. And if you happen to see a Dwarf named Grambly with some roman numeral after his name or a Rogue by the name of Aerik DeMarc slinking past you, let me know you're from Far Journeys and I'll do what I can to help
www.tomenet.net/
