On
this page we have collected the most frequently asked questions about our project, as well
as regarding Atlantis itself. If you have a question that is not answered here,
please feel free to send it to us; we will consider
it for inclusion here. New questions are highlighted by the UPDATE:
notation.
We have arranged the questions by "category"; that is, they have been grouped
according to whether they are questions about the game-type of Dawn
of Atlantis™ (its Genre), its Setting, Characters, and so on, as
well as its anticipated release date and other General questions. See the Table of
Contents for links to your particular question.
Table of Contents
Genre
Setting
Characters
Game Play Issues
General
Atlantis
Genre
Q: What kind of game is Dawn of Atlantis?
A: This is a somewhat complicated
question. DoA is planned as
a "massively multi-player online strategy role-playing game". We realise
that sounds pretty ambitious, but for now at least, in its initial stages, it will not be
so "massive", nor is it truly an RPG, in the classic sense (see Characters).
First, the initial release is planned as a "demo" mode only: a very small part of the world, probably set in Greece (see Setting), with an online capacity for perhaps 50-or-so players, playing simultaneously over the Internet. The game will be continously expanded as our resources and clientele increase, until ideally it fulfils the vision of its creators to be capable of supporting up to 1000 players at a time. There are also plans to deliver a single-player version some time in the future as well.
If you read the Feature Highlights list on the main page, you should find the answer as to what kind of strategy components the game will involve.
UPDATE: As a PBEM (play be e-mail) game, DoA
will retain the same general concepts as above, except that it will initially
involve from six to two dozen-or-so players.
Setting
Q: Where is the setting of Dawn of Atlantis?
A: The game's setting is in our
"hypothetical" ancient world, around the Mediterranean Sea, especially in North
Africa, the Near East, Mesopotamia and Persia (present day Iraq and Iran), southern
Europe, and central Asia.
Q: "When" is the setting of Dawn of Atlantis? What (historical) time period does Dawn of Atlantis cover?
A: The game is set approximately 15-20,000 years ago, at the end of the last Ice Age. Therefore northern Europe, and almost all of the British Isles, are still covered by glacial ice sheets. Also, coastlines are much lower than they are now, creating islands where there are none, and joining others to the mainland.
While the game is not intended to depict history -- except perhaps an alternative history -- players will start as leaders of a small "tribe" or nation of primitive people, who must be nurtured and managed from barely surviving to a world power. Whether this occurs within a few centuries or whether it takes several millennia, will be for the players to decide.
Characters
Q: Will I be able to play [insert your favourite historical or mythological entity here]?
A: Yes and no. While the
plan is to introduce every major personage from ancient myth, legend, and history into the
game, we cannot guarantee that you'll be able to play, for example, Genghis Khan, if
someone else is already playing him. Also, see next question for a clarification of
the RPG aspect of Dawn of Atlantis.
Q: How can a strategy game be an RPG?
A: The RPG aspect of Dawn of Atlantis is fairly unique: At the beginning of a game, each player will take control of a particular character(s), who will either be a leader or a very important member of a given tribe or nation. However, during the course of the game, players will actually be able to "control" several characters at once, as they are recruited, etc. The problem is, other than perhaps one or two unquestionably loyal individuals, players will not necessarily know who is a loyal ally or subordinate, or who may be an NPC spy, or even which character(s) might actually be another player-character. (And who knows about another player's agenda...)
Game Play Issues
Q: Can I join an online game in progress? If so, won't I be way behind all the other players?
A: The opportunity to join (or
quit) a game at any time will be there. The game will calculate the
"average" strength of all current players and put you somewhere in the middle,
by granting you advancements, units, etc., very similar to how the single-player version
will give starting advantages over AI opponents on easier difficulty settings.
Q: What happens if I can't join a game because there are too many players?
A: If more players than one
game can handle are interested in playing, then more instances of the game will be spawned
(all will be separate, different games, however).
General
Q: When will Dawn of Atlantis be available?
A: Unfortunately we're unable to estimate a release date at this time. Keep checking back, though! :)
UPDATE: As a PBEM game, DoA
could be ready very soon, perhaps within a month or two.
Q: Where will Dawn of Atlantis be available?
A: Current plans are to make it
available online-only, probably as shareware (for the initial demo version, anyway).
UPDATE: As a PBEM game, players would be able to download the rules (from
a site to be determined); "sign up" to play by requesting by e-mail a place in
the game; receive by e-mail their starting information; submit by e-mail their turns;
receive from me by e-mail updates based on their and other player's actions; and so on.
Q: How much will Dawn of Atlantis cost me?
A: The issue of pricing is
still undecided at present, but we are sure that the first "demo" release will
be freeware or shareware. The response to this will determine where we can go with
our planned expansions.
UPDATE: The initial PBEM version of DoA
will also be free; HOWEVER, depending on the number of players and turns I, as GM, have to
handle, I may survey players as to their willingness to pay a very modest fee in
order for me to be able to keep up by taking time away from other, paying work.
Whether or not I actually do this will again depend on the number of players and
the frequency of turns that I must arbitrate, which could escalate during play as new
players join, etc.
The reason I tell you this now is so that you don't think I'm planning to get you "hooked" and then charge you money to continue to play; only if the time consumed necessitates it AND players are willing to pay would I do so (after all, if you refuse to pay, then you don't have to play...). The fee scale I'm thinking of off the top of my head would probably be only a few dollars, i.e. US$2.00-$3.00 per turn submitted. Of course how much can be accomplished "per turn" would need to be factored into this scale.
Q: Where can I sign up to beta-test Dawn of Atlantis?
A: We will post notices on this
site when we are ready to begin beta-testing.
Q: On which platforms will Dawn of Atlantis be released?
A: For now, Windows™
98 only; later on we hope to develop the game for a variety of platforms.
Atlantis
Q: Did (Does) Atlantis exist?
A: That question is better left
to another forum. While it's not our intent to duck the question, it's rather a long
and convoluted issue, which we feel is better discussed elsewhere. Thus we invite
you to peruse our links to sites devoted to the subject,
especially the Usenet group alt.legend.atlantis,
where you can post questions about it.
Q: Where was (is) Atlantis?
A: There are many theories
about where Atlantis might have existed (if it existed at all), ranging from the Aegean
Sea on the island of Akrotiri (Santorini, Callisto; now Thera), near Crete, to the
Atlantic Ocean, Bimini and the Bermuda Triangle, and even Indonesia and Antarctica.
Again, we invite you to follow up our links or alt.legend.atlantis for more information.