The Ancients
The Ancients is a Historical Sandbox Simulation MMORPG that engages tactical turn-based combat. The initial game will begin in Italy, 200BCE.
The player creates his character and selects from a number of available locations to begin in - that being, for example, the city of Rome, which is a pre-established city, built by the game's mechanics - or a small village, the wilderness, mountains, forest, desert islands and so forth.
Thereafter the player must survive in his begotten environment. The character has needs, as do all the NPCs about him; Hunger, Thirst, Rest, Hygiene, Bladder, Sanity, Temperature. If found in the wilderness, the player must trap, hunt, fish and craft to survive. From there the player can claim the area to be a settlement, which attracts NPCs. Working alone, with friends or with strangers, the player can live as lonesome or as leaderful as he likes.
As a settlement owner, or a "Government", the player is able to form his own laws and policies. Allowing murder, banishing on trespassing, imprisonment for assault or capital punishment for theft - these are all within his grasp. Policies are such as placing taxes, mandates, bans, allowances, leniances, funding and so forth. As a settlement grows, a number of them may form coalitions, federations or even nations. Likewise, they may engage in war over land, resources and the settlements themselves.
Excuse the piping. This was experimental. Also the avatar, this is just the engine I just for tile testing purposes.
Furthermore, in a city environment, businesses such as importing skins and furs, exporting refines ores and ingots, retailing fine clothes or serving exquisite meals as a restaurant, forming guilds and engaging in completing generated tasks and gaining fame, warring in guild wars in the streets... these things are the norm.
The player is able to craft anything and everything. He can craft himself from a hunting knife to an cast iron gladius, from a wheelbarrow to a three-mast ship. The player builds his own housing, from prefabricated leather huts to tile-by-tile wooden and stone structures, allowing for seamless transition between inside and out.
If a player grows weary of his area, he need only travel to the edge of the known area to move to the next. By use of map, he can then travel to a new area - either on land or sea - and indeed can interact favourably or not with other travellers. Attack a merchant-bearing player and engage in ship-to-ship combat on a turn based scale. Fire arrows, Grapple or bombard your enemy.
Religion was an important factor in the ancient world, reflected in the Ancients. The player can worship, prey, sacrifice and ritualise to their deities of choice. Normal things of happening in the world may in fact be omens - Ravens on your doorway, coincidental happenings, comets in the sky, the green flash at twlight. All of these may reflect things about to happen, either good or bad, great or small. Furthermore, accumulated favour can reward the player with Acts of God. Hammers will not be thrown from the sky, a chest of treasure will not appear. All Acts of God are, in some way or form, explainable, regardless of the chances.
