Lithmeria has been our effort to work with the community and, starting from scratch, create the RP/PvP MUD that we have always wanted to play. Drawing on decades of experience in both MUDing and graphical gaming, we strove to create a game which combines the best features from as many different fields as possible. We are ever cognizant of the fact that the MUDing community is finite, and that a game must appeal broadly in order to survive as anything other than a niche corner for a select clique. To that end we have examined every aspect of MUDing and attempted to re-imagine it with an injection of fun, user friendliness and depth.
This post will be in two parts. - The first section will introduce Lithmeria as a game. - The second section will introduce Lithmerias unique MXP based building system and explain how you can get involved
***************************************
Lithmeria, The Endless Siege
Overview Lithmeria is a game that's been in open development for a year and a half, though the lead coder had been developing the code base well before that. It has been created entirely by a team of volunteers working with the head coder and manager, Selkrener. From the very beginning, the team set out to create something truly unique and ground breaking. The feature list below is just a sample of what Lithmeria brings to the table.
Playable Races: 6 Classes: 8 Class Specializations: 22
PvP Lithmeria uses a 'balance' and 'equilibrium' combat system that may be familiar to many of you. Most offensive actions put one off balance or equilibrium and require that you have balance or equilibrium to use. This means that all combat is in real-time and there is no concept of 'auto-attacking' or 'kill mode.'
Lithmeria comes with a fully functional war system. The two factions must seize strategic nodes from their foes and hack a path toward the twin capitals of the enemy. Nodes are captured through unique PvP mini-games that range from king-of-the-hill style take and hold missions to tests of speed and coordination involving rapidly shifting capture points and obstacles.
There are hundreds of afflictions in Lithmeria that one must cure in the heat of battle to avoid falling. The affliction system is simple enough that a rudimentary level of curing can be done with two macros or a simple script. At the same time, it is deep and versatile enough that even highly experienced 'system' coders have conceded that creating a flawless healing system would be a truly long term project. Further, none of the afflictions in Lithmeria disable a character utterly, instead having progressive effects such as reducing balance time, causing periodic damage, preventing the curing of other afflictions and so on and so forth.
The classes and specializations have been balanced around both team combat and 1v1. Each class has access to abilities that make them invaluable to a team while also possessing more than enough power to stand toe to toe in a 1v1 situation. An ability available to all classes is "Positioning" which greatly reduces the damage and affliction rate of attackers against a single target beyond the second. This means that the most effective teams will not be the most numerous or the ones which focus fire on a single target, but those that cleverly split their assaults so as to maximise their effectiveness.
Lore: It is set in a unique and brutal fantasy world and revolves in large part around the conflict between two continent spanning nations, the Aspalarian Sovereignty in the west and the Accord of Teladir to the East. As of this posting, Lithmeria has approximately 200 lore files covering every significant event, personage and area. In total, more than 200,000 words of Lore have been written already, with more to come before release.
Not content to let us developers have all the fun, Lithmeria allows players to supply historical vignettes for consideration by the lore team. If a piece of writing is deemed to be of sufficient quality and within the law, it is appended to existing lore files, creating an ever expanding volume of lore.
PvE: Lithmerian mobiles or NPC enemies are far more than walking money depositories. Complex and powerful AI's ensure that each monster you fight will attack you with its own set of skills and according to logical patterns. Much like a human player they will strive to stick afflictions, build up bleeding and lower resistances so as to maximize their offensive power.
Humanoid NPC's even fight with player skills, utilizing all the attacks a player of that same class has access to.
Monsters, mobiles and NPC's are also fully afflictable and vulnerable to every attack a player has in his or her arsenal. Taking down a mobile will require one employs much the same tactic as one would in PvP.
The power of the Lithmerian building engine has allowed our builders to create hunting areas that resemble Dungeons and Dragons adventures far more than traditional grind spots. Many areas are designed to be tackled only in a well balanced party, with tanks to hold the attention of monsters, DPS to burn them down and healers to keep the party standing. Intricate boss fights that involve positioning, timing and coordination as well as split second decision making are all waiting to challenge (and horribly mutilate) players.
Roleplay When released, Lithmeria will be a 'public roleplay enforced' MUD in that some level of roleplay will be mandatory in all public places and across all public channels. Luckily Lithmeria comes with a powerful array of roleplay features such as flexible emoting and communication, recordable player performances and a high degree of versatility in how one communicates.
Sailing Lithmeria has if not the most comprehensive implementation of sailing and naval warfare in the MUD community than certainly one of the most. Fully customizable ships, constructed from a variety of materials, armed with highly customizable weaponry, firing custom ammo.
Take to the high seas to do battle with pirates, sea monsters and the ships of other players. Pepper their ships with ballista bolts, hurl rocks at them with on-board catapults or move in closer and board in an attempt to seize their vessel for your own.
Much much more… - Manage a spy network reminiscent of Masters of the Orion through 'Espionage'. - Join the army and train, arm and command your own squad of NPC soldiers. - Build your commercial empire with player owned shops and stalls - Become a Quartermaster and align yourself with a merchant house, working to bring them to ascendancy so that you may reap the profits - Join one of the religious faiths, rise through the ranks and wield powerful miracles. Proselytize to convert NPC's into your faith, securing more power for your God. Alternatively, gather your allies and create an entire new faith, with Gods being born out of your collective faith alone. - Marry the partner of your choosing and begin a family line or be adopted into an existing one. - Join the Rangers and alter the flow of rewards through the various hunting grounds… tune the profitability of your own areas up and those of the enemy downward. - Become a crafter and create works of beauty and power. Build unique ships, smith mighty weapons, brew powerful potions, cook delicious and potentially beneficial foods, construct a home for yourself or another and fashion clothing… all this is within your grasp.
********************** Building
One of the things we're proudest of in Lithmeria is the power, accessibility and flexibility of the system our builders use to create areas. We realize that building is one of the hardest aspects of a hobby that is already not for everyone. To that end, we have worked to create a system that takes all the nonsense out of the process. These tutorial videos demonstrate how it all works:
We are aiming to release Lithmeria with a huge amount of unique content and are thus always in the process of seeking new builders to join our team. We require nothing beyond a good grasp of the English language, a positive attitude and the understanding that building is a long and arduous process that even the best of building engines cannot streamline completely. Prior experience with building is not necessary, but we will obviously welcome experienced builders with open arms.
If this sounds like something you might be interested in, please join us at our Forums and send a forum message to "Cally" indicating your desire to build and including as many samples of your writing as you can.
Getting involved
Lithmeria is largely a volounteer project that's been deliberately designed to be as open to input from the community as possible. Many of our most innovative ideas such as wardcracking (our unique take on lockpicking) have come after vigorous and intensive discussions on our Forums.
We hope to see you there and we hope you'll monitor our progress and provide your input as we head toward release,
Our building interface requires a certain level of MXP support.
Mudlet currently does not offer that support, and my understanding is that Vadi has made it clear that in the short term if we want it… we have to write it into Mudlet ourselves.
Zmud offers full MXP support, which is why I was using it in that video.
The version of Cmud that was out at the time I made the video offered MXP support, but had a weird quirk where it would color all MXP stuff the same. That made it impossible to tell whether one of our red/green toggles was on or off and made our maps ugly. That quirk has since been fixed and the latest (beta) version of Cmud works fine as far as MXP and our building stuff is concerned.
I don't use any other clients, but I just did a quick survey of our people and they say that MUSHclient seems fine but mm2k doesn't work all that well.
I've looked over the website, but I haven't found some general notes about geography (other than the sketchy world map). How does a prospective builder get an idea of the environments you're looking for?
I've looked over the website, but I haven't found some general notes about geography (other than the sketchy world map). How does a prospective builder get an idea of the environments you're looking for?
That's an oversight on our part, though something of a deliberate one. We have a system in place that links the in-game help files to the website, but we're keeping it deactivated until we're closer to release. When that system goes live, visitors to the website will be able to read the help files on every single area in the game right from the website which will hopefully answer questions.
In the interim, let me do my best to answer your question.
Long version The world of Lithmeria consists of two continents and a pair of island chains with a myriad of possible environments spread liberally across both. The eastern continent, Teladir is the cradle of human civilization and has historically been far richer in natural resources. It is also suffused with elemental magic, where as the western continent is much closer to arcane and aetherial magical forces. A century prior to the launch of the game, four of the most powerful Callers (elemental mages) on Teladir attempted a mighty ritual in an effort to give Teladir the advantage in the global conflict. The ritual unleashed energies that raged out of control and erupted in a mighty earthquake that raged world-wide and across both the material plane and the planes of magic. The ritual twisted the land and the creatures upon it, sometimes beyond recognition. A century later, much has been rebuilt, but nothing is the same.
Short version: Eastern Continent:- Rich but saturated with magic that warps and twists everything, leading to bizarre creatures and environs Wester Continent:- Dark and brutal land of impenetrable forests and high mountains… think the Transylvanian countryside without all the Vampires
All environments are possible and be fitted in somewhere on Lithmeria.
What does this mean for you as a builder? At this point, with a significant chunk of the building done already but the building process still lagging behind lore and coding, builders are being asked to work on the war system areas. In order for the game to go live with a fully functioning war system, each continent must have:
So let's say a builder, named "Bob" is accepted as a Lithmerian builder. He would approach Cally, our head of building and she would give him a choice out of the strategic points that still need to be built. Bob decides to design a fortress on Teladir. After that, the ball is almost entirely in his court. He would be issued a certain number of rooms (generally 50/100/150/200) and told roughly where his fortress would stand, in relation to other zones. He'd also be told the ground rules for fortresses in terms of what they need to have in order to fit into the war system (gate room, 2 barracks room, 3x3 Lord area etc.). After that, Bob would be in almost complete control, so long as he ran crazier ideas past more senior people.
—-
Example zone lore: PLEASE NOTE: All spelling, grammar and syntax mistakes below are a reflection of my own ineptitude and not a reflection of Lithmeria as a whole, which tends to have far better proof writing. All help files are in the 'draft' stage and still require (and will receive) extensive proof reading before the game is released.
Barrier Lake is a hunting zone:
Quote
>>================================ Barrier Lake ===============================<<
"In the heart of a temple, Atop a lake that churns, A mighty fire elemental, Great Xolphaest burns,
He burns like a furnace, He shines like the sun, If you see him grimace, Be sure to run,
If you're a menace, Or if you're not good, He'll give you a penance, He'll burn you like wood." – Teladir children's rhyme
Few places upon the face of Lithmeria can match the Barrier Lake for sheer strangeness. A vast body of water lying within a churning volcano, the Barrier Lake is at a perpetual boil. Even from a distance the furnace like heat of the Lake's surface is unpleasant to all but the hardiest of species. Up close, it is like swimming within a bubbling cauldron.
It's difficult to explain why the Lake does not simply boil away or how it can maintain such a high temperature. The most plausible theory states that the lake is fed from cooler underground rivers that constantly refill the lake even as the boiling temperature evaporates it away. This theory raises more questions than it answers, however and the full mysteries of Barrier Lake may never be uncovered.
Perhaps more bizarre than the phenomenon of the lake itself is the fact that a vast ecosystem has come to call the lake home. Far from being boiled alive, driven away or made extinct by the near unbearable water temperature, various aquatic species have thrived within the extreme conditions. Several kinds of fish, large crustaceans and even flamingos make their homes within the lake. Adapting to the extreme temperature many of the creatures that live within the Barrier Lake have grown to use blasts of incredible heat for self defence and to secure their food supply.
At the center of the lake, perpetually shrouded within the mist of eternally evaporating steam, an island can occasionally be glimpsed. Rumours abound about the inhabitants of the small temple that sits upon this island and of the beast or beasts lurking in the caverns below.
It is widely believed that a being of pure flame named Xolphaest resides within the temple and several ancient prophesies warn of doom should Xolphaest be disturbed or distracted from his work. Other rumors speak of Xolphaest's companion, a Touched who is said to be able to swim within the boiling lake with no ill effects. This seems highly unlikely and is often dismissed by learned scholars as the fanciful musings of ill informed peasants.
——
The Nekata Plantation is a farming strategic point in Aspalaria:
"Look out over the fields my love, it is through our labour that an entire continent does not know hunger." – Gianne Nekata addressing her son, Shavo
The Nekata Plantation is one of the largest and most efficiently run farming communities upon Lithmeria. Encompassing a huge tract of farmable field, the plantation yields a staggering amount of rice every year to feed the near insatiable hunger of the Sovereignty. Nestled near the Nekata forests, the plantation is relatively isolated, though in recent years the Aspalarian Highway has been extended to allow easier access.
Consisting of a large manor house, rice fields, labourers village and several outbuildings, the plantation is largely self sufficient. The vast quantities of water required to facilitate the farming of rice are provided by a river that flows along the western edge of the fields. In a perpetual state of partial flood, the river turns the fields into mud and allows for the cultivation of the thirsty crop.
The Nekata Manor at the northern end of the plantation complex is an elegant one story manor, complete with adjacent temple and guest house. Richly yet tastefully decorated, the Manor is exactly what one might expect from an old and influential family. Those interested in studying the genealogies of Aspalarian families could do worse than a tour of the Manor, where every wall bears the portraits of patriarchs and matriarchs long dead.
Though the Nekatas are fair and relatively generous taskmasters, the strain of rice production has taken a steep toll on the labourers who work the plantation. The constantly damp and difficult working conditions make for a tough life and gradually chip away at health and well being. Still, while unfortunate, the plight of those at the very lowest end of the Sovereignty meritocracy is seen as a necessity for the continued prosperity of the continent as a whole.
——
Ikthor Jungle is another hunting ground, filled with giant insects and what not:
'Quiet you daft old fool! I have faced Towerguards and Arcanists, what could I possibly have to fear from a few insects?' – Caller Stephron Haroon, (missing in Ikthor Jungle, presumed devoured)
Generally when left untended and undisturbed, nature settles into the singularly harmonic balance of a well developed ecosystem. The dark, steamy jungle of Ikthor mocks this paradigm with every inch of its wild, overgrown interior. In Ikthor Jungle, nature has waged war on reason and emerged triumphant.
The jungle itself is impressive in sheer scope. The jungle floor is dense, hundreds of baoba trees rising endlessly into the sky, hungry for the light. Explorers report that the jungle floor has been stripped almost bare. A ravaging horde of insatiable scavengers having stripped the bark off the trees. Those who have returned speak of ants the size of the largest hounds, emerging from their colony somewhere below and streaming over the jungle floor in an inexorable tide of death.
Climbing upward into the middle canopy only exposes a new brand of terror. A jungle full of enlarged workers has bred predators of a size to match. Silken webs cover the tree branches in thick, cloying layers. Everywhere, the scant remains of devoured prey can be seen trapped within the webbing, a grisly forecast of the careless traveller's fate. Moving among these webs are spiders as large as a knight's helm, and far more ominous. Deadly predators, explorers suggest that these spiders have been known to drown the unwary within an endless sea of webbing before devouring them, piece by piece.
Even higher, among the treetops of the upper canopy lies the domain of the hive. Hundreds of large, Ikthorian bees weave their way around the tattered remains of walkways and rope bridges constructed by sentients long forgotten. With a deadly singularity of purpose and powerful toxins, the bees that patrol this area for their queen are not to be underestimated. It may never be revealed just how many bloated, swollen corpses have tumbled from the upper canopy to be caught in the webs of the spiders or stripped bare by the swarming ants on the jungle floor.
For all the terrifying power of nature within Ikthor, civilization, of a sort still maintains a foothold. Craving solitude and waging an endless war on the expansionism of Ikthor's unchecked insect hordes, Sornai the Hermit has made his home in the upper canopy of the jungle. Those seeking to test their blades, sorcery or piety against the insectoid denizens of Ikthor would be well served to seek him out. If only to have someone remember them when they are no more than nutrients, fuelling the spread of nature's deadly foot soldiers.
—-
Lamaar Bay Fortress is a fortress (shocking!) in Teladir:
Quote
>>================================ Lamaar Bay Fortress ===============================<<
"Sails on the horizon means blood on the walls…" – Contemporary proverb
The fortress that overlooks Lamaar Bay is a squat, two story construction carved into the walls of the mountains that surround it. Guarding the tactically pivotal bay beneath it, the Lamaar Bay Fortress is a point of the highest strategic significance to both factions. With the original structure dating back centuries, the contemporary keep is actually the result of generations of modifications, renovations and improvements at the hands of dozens of different artisans and tacticians.
To reach the fortress from the beach, one must traverse a narrow path wedged between the cliffs. Approaching the gates of keep, attackers find themselves trapped between two sheltered ballista platforms carved into the stone of the mountains. The gates and corridors beyond are deliberately narrow, allowing defenders to funnel their attackers and limit any numerical advantage. A series of hidden, one way doors have also been carved into the walls of the mountain above the path approaching the fortress gates, allowing defenders to sally forth into the rear of the besieging force.
The ground floor of the keep houses the central barracks, sally tunnel, kennels and the stairs leading to the top floor and the basement stores. The storehouse below the keep contains all manner of foodstuffs, supplies and sundries that allow the castle to survive even the lengthiest of sieges in relative comfort. The top floor of the keep houses the central hall, where stands the throne of the Lord or Lady of Lamaar Fortress, their bedroom, the armoury, servant's quarters and an additional barracks.
The Lamaar Bay Fortress was the scene of the very first direct confrontation between Sovereignty forces and the Teladiri. Since then, it has seen dozens of sieges both successful and unsuccessful as the factions vie for control of the vital bay. The Fortress has changed has so many times that there are now several administrators within which simply work for whomever happens to be in control of the fortress at the time. So low is the life expectancy of a partisan administrator and so highly valued is their expertise in the day to day running of the fortress that both factions have accepted this arrangement.
—–
Hope that goes some way toward answering your question. If you have any others or would like me to clarify or expand or anything, I'll do my best!
Drawing on decades of experience in both MUDing and graphical gaming, we strove to create a game which combines the best features from as many different fields as possible.
Emphasis mine. When looking at your OLC, the first thing that came to mind was "Nice use of MXP, but I bet that would be easier to use with proper graphics, particularly the big clickable ASCII map".
Are you planning to provide a graphical interface at some point?
Drawing on decades of experience in both MUDing and graphical gaming, we strove to create a game which combines the best features from as many different fields as possible.
Emphasis mine. When looking at your OLC, the first thing that came to mind was "Nice use of MXP, but I bet that would be easier to use with proper graphics, particularly the big clickable ASCII map".
Are you planning to provide a graphical interface at some point?
I believe the plan at this point is to stick to strictly text, MXP and ASCII. Some of our coders have spoken about creating custom downloadable packages that would do things like replace forest rooms on the ASCII map with little trees, mountains with little mountains and so on and so forth. Those are side projects however and will not be part of Lithmeria's official core.
I'll speak to the lead coder today and get double confirmation on this point, but I'm almost certain that the above is correct.
P.S Thanks Idealiad, I'm glad I answered your question to your satisfaction.
30 Jul, 2010, Greywhind wrote in the 16th comment:
Votes: 0
Hi there. I'm a beta tester for Lithmeria, and I would like to thank you guys for stickying this thread. It's really great to see the hard work, professionalism, and great ideas of the Lithmeria team paying off in interest from others.
Even as just a beta tester, the administration has always listened to my suggestions, and I've been constantly impressed by their work. It's really great to see the MUD progress - there have been so many awesome new coding and building developments, from dyna-quests to espionage systems to the most surprisingly addictive fishing minigame ever. :thinking:
I really believe that Lithmeria will be something new and exciting for the MUDding community, so I hope some of you who read this thread will apply to build. It's a really huge task to make a whole world.
(Plus, don't you want to get your hands on those shiny, shiny classes before everyone else?)
Drawing on decades of experience in both MUDing and graphical gaming, we strove to create a game which combines the best features from as many different fields as possible.
Emphasis mine. When looking at your OLC, the first thing that came to mind was "Nice use of MXP, but I bet that would be easier to use with proper graphics, particularly the big clickable ASCII map".
Are you planning to provide a graphical interface at some point?
Apologies for taking so long to come back with a more comprehensive answer for you KaVir.
In the short to medium term, the answer remains 'no'. Though a graphical interface is visually pleasing, we have not found it to be truly necessary or even requested in so far as building goes. Having spoken extensively with those who have begun building for MUDs (including ours) and then stopped, the reason has uniformly been the sheer labor intensiveness of writing 50-200 room descriptions. A graphical interface would do nothing to address this problem, while requiring a significant amount of effort on the part of the coding team.
In the long term, beyond release we do have plans to add graphical elements to Lithmeria. I did not list these upcoming features above (or anywhere else for that matter) because I'm of the opinion that MUDs should be advertised based on what they have, not what they think they might one day have. With that said, the first graphical priority we have post-release is an engine that will render graphical depictions of naval battles. This form of visual logging should make for some spectacular replays. Beyond that, there are a few graphical projects being considered…
Summary: Short term: No graphical OLC Medium term: No graphical OLC Long term: No graphical OLC but some other graphical features Super long term: Possible graphical OLC but no promises
Yeah, descriptions are always a lot of work, that's one of the main reasons why I prefer generating them rather than writing them by hand.
Will you be supporting any of the out-of-band protocols? If so, and you transmit OLC data, you could leave the interface up to your builders - if they decide they want a graphical OLC, they could probably throw something simple together in a few hours if they know what they're doing.
Will you be supporting any of the out-of-band protocols? If so, and you transmit OLC data, you could leave the interface up to your builders - if they decide they want a graphical OLC, they could probably throw something simple together in a few hours if they know what they're doing.
Currently Lithmeria does not support out-of-band protocols, but this is a temporary condition. When the game goes live, we are aiming to support at least ATCP and MCCP. Obviously that doesn't help our current crop of builders, but none of them seem to really want it. Since we very much plan to have builders still working after release, they'll be able to do what you're talking about.
P.S. We came unstuck, oh noes! (But it was good while it lasted :D)
Work on building is coming along at a bristling pace, with entire areas being fully described every couple of days. This means that there are entire zones awaiting mobiles (creatures) of every kind of fill them! In order to meet this demand, we'd like to open recruitment to builders who want to help populate the world of Lithmeria with beasts of their own creation.
Who might this be right for? - If you're someone who is interested in building but put off by the notion of describing hundreds of often near identical rooms, this is for you! - If you're interested in building but would prefer to flesh out the concepts of others than come up with entire new zones, this is for you!
What's actually involved, bub? You would choose one of the many fully described areas and read its lore file. Then, after a wander about to get a feel for the zone and the kind of rooms it has, you could just straight into building creatures for it.
I bet building monsters is really hard and requires lots of coding background, right? In most other MUDs, sure! In Lithmeria, not even a little. These narrated videos explain why building monsters is as easy as pointing and clicking: - Part 1 - Part 2
Do I have to have extensive building experience? Though experienced builders are always welcome, we do not require that you have prior building experience to build for Lithmeria. Our building software is simple and accessible enough that anyone can do it. We do require that your English be of a reasonable standard and that you're dedicated and hard working when you can spare the time to be!
You never mentioned how to apply, doofus! True.
To try your hand with us, send "Cally" a private message on our forums with a sample monster or three. They can be anything you like as long as you include:
- Room Description - Long Description - Dead Description - Long Dead Description - Enter Message - Exit Message
A very simple sample macaw is presented below (caw!): Room Desc: A crimson macaw is perched here, larger than life. Long Desc: Feathers a violent shade of crimson, this giant macaw stands out against the canopy. A hooked grey beak looks big enough to slice a limb clean off, whilst oddly dainty claws secure the bird to the canopy. The bright plumage is entirely red, except for a small patch of green on the tips of the wings. The bird is plump and healthy, not a feather out of place. Dead Desc: A ball of bloody feathers, a $h giant macaw lays here. Long Dead Desc: Feathers torn and plumage plundered, this once majestic macaw has been cruelly cut down by a foul assailant. Blood oozes from numerous wounds, already congealing. Enter Msg: Flapping vigorously, a crimson macaw enters from the $d. Exit Msg: Squawking incoherently, a massive macaw flaps to the $d.
Forums
Website
Lithmeria Wiki
Facebook Page
Lithmerian Logs
Lithmeria has been our effort to work with the community and, starting from scratch, create the RP/PvP MUD that we have always wanted to play. Drawing on decades of experience in both MUDing and graphical gaming, we strove to create a game which combines the best features from as many different fields as possible. We are ever cognizant of the fact that the MUDing community is finite, and that a game must appeal broadly in order to survive as anything other than a niche corner for a select clique. To that end we have examined every aspect of MUDing and attempted to re-imagine it with an injection of fun, user friendliness and depth.
This post will be in two parts.
- The first section will introduce Lithmeria as a game.
- The second section will introduce Lithmerias unique MXP based building system and explain how you can get involved
***************************************
Lithmeria, The Endless Siege
Overview
Lithmeria is a game that's been in open development for a year and a half, though the lead coder had been developing the code base well before that. It has been created entirely by a team of volunteers working with the head coder and manager, Selkrener. From the very beginning, the team set out to create something truly unique and ground breaking. The feature list below is just a sample of what Lithmeria brings to the table.
Playable Races: 6
Classes: 8
Class Specializations: 22
PvP
Lithmeria uses a 'balance' and 'equilibrium' combat system that may be familiar to many of you. Most offensive actions put one off balance or equilibrium and require that you have balance or equilibrium to use. This means that all combat is in real-time and there is no concept of 'auto-attacking' or 'kill mode.'
Lithmeria comes with a fully functional war system. The two factions must seize strategic nodes from their foes and hack a path toward the twin capitals of the enemy. Nodes are captured through unique PvP mini-games that range from king-of-the-hill style take and hold missions to tests of speed and coordination involving rapidly shifting capture points and obstacles.
There are hundreds of afflictions in Lithmeria that one must cure in the heat of battle to avoid falling. The affliction system is simple enough that a rudimentary level of curing can be done with two macros or a simple script. At the same time, it is deep and versatile enough that even highly experienced 'system' coders have conceded that creating a flawless healing system would be a truly long term project. Further, none of the afflictions in Lithmeria disable a character utterly, instead having progressive effects such as reducing balance time, causing periodic damage, preventing the curing of other afflictions and so on and so forth.
The classes and specializations have been balanced around both team combat and 1v1. Each class has access to abilities that make them invaluable to a team while also possessing more than enough power to stand toe to toe in a 1v1 situation. An ability available to all classes is "Positioning" which greatly reduces the damage and affliction rate of attackers against a single target beyond the second. This means that the most effective teams will not be the most numerous or the ones which focus fire on a single target, but those that cleverly split their assaults so as to maximise their effectiveness.
Lore:
It is set in a unique and brutal fantasy world and revolves in large part around the conflict between two continent spanning nations, the Aspalarian Sovereignty in the west and the Accord of Teladir to the East. As of this posting, Lithmeria has approximately 200 lore files covering every significant event, personage and area. In total, more than 200,000 words of Lore have been written already, with more to come before release.
Not content to let us developers have all the fun, Lithmeria allows players to supply historical vignettes for consideration by the lore team. If a piece of writing is deemed to be of sufficient quality and within the law, it is appended to existing lore files, creating an ever expanding volume of lore.
PvE:
Lithmerian mobiles or NPC enemies are far more than walking money depositories. Complex and powerful AI's ensure that each monster you fight will attack you with its own set of skills and according to logical patterns. Much like a human player they will strive to stick afflictions, build up bleeding and lower resistances so as to maximize their offensive power.
Humanoid NPC's even fight with player skills, utilizing all the attacks a player of that same class has access to.
Monsters, mobiles and NPC's are also fully afflictable and vulnerable to every attack a player has in his or her arsenal. Taking down a mobile will require one employs much the same tactic as one would in PvP.
The power of the Lithmerian building engine has allowed our builders to create hunting areas that resemble Dungeons and Dragons adventures far more than traditional grind spots. Many areas are designed to be tackled only in a well balanced party, with tanks to hold the attention of monsters, DPS to burn them down and healers to keep the party standing. Intricate boss fights that involve positioning, timing and coordination as well as split second decision making are all waiting to challenge (and horribly mutilate) players.
Roleplay
When released, Lithmeria will be a 'public roleplay enforced' MUD in that some level of roleplay will be mandatory in all public places and across all public channels. Luckily Lithmeria comes with a powerful array of roleplay features such as flexible emoting and communication, recordable player performances and a high degree of versatility in how one communicates.
Sailing
Lithmeria has if not the most comprehensive implementation of sailing and naval warfare in the MUD community than certainly one of the most. Fully customizable ships, constructed from a variety of materials, armed with highly customizable weaponry, firing custom ammo.
Take to the high seas to do battle with pirates, sea monsters and the ships of other players. Pepper their ships with ballista bolts, hurl rocks at them with on-board catapults or move in closer and board in an attempt to seize their vessel for your own.
Much much more…
- Manage a spy network reminiscent of Masters of the Orion through 'Espionage'.
- Join the army and train, arm and command your own squad of NPC soldiers.
- Build your commercial empire with player owned shops and stalls
- Become a Quartermaster and align yourself with a merchant house, working to bring them to ascendancy so that you may reap the profits
- Join one of the religious faiths, rise through the ranks and wield powerful miracles. Proselytize to convert NPC's into your faith, securing more power for your God. Alternatively, gather your allies and create an entire new faith, with Gods being born out of your collective faith alone.
- Marry the partner of your choosing and begin a family line or be adopted into an existing one.
- Join the Rangers and alter the flow of rewards through the various hunting grounds… tune the profitability of your own areas up and those of the enemy downward.
- Become a crafter and create works of beauty and power. Build unique ships, smith mighty weapons, brew powerful potions, cook delicious and potentially beneficial foods, construct a home for yourself or another and fashion clothing… all this is within your grasp.
**********************
Building
One of the things we're proudest of in Lithmeria is the power, accessibility and flexibility of the system our builders use to create areas. We realize that building is one of the hardest aspects of a hobby that is already not for everyone. To that end, we have worked to create a system that takes all the nonsense out of the process. These tutorial videos demonstrate how it all works:
We are aiming to release Lithmeria with a huge amount of unique content and are thus always in the process of seeking new builders to join our team. We require nothing beyond a good grasp of the English language, a positive attitude and the understanding that building is a long and arduous process that even the best of building engines cannot streamline completely. Prior experience with building is not necessary, but we will obviously welcome experienced builders with open arms.
If this sounds like something you might be interested in, please join us at our Forums and send a forum message to "Cally" indicating your desire to build and including as many samples of your writing as you can.
Getting involved
Lithmeria is largely a volounteer project that's been deliberately designed to be as open to input from the community as possible. Many of our most innovative ideas such as wardcracking (our unique take on lockpicking) have come after vigorous and intensive discussions on our Forums.
We hope to see you there and we hope you'll monitor our progress and provide your input as we head toward release,
- Elvarlyn
Edit by Kiasyn: Fix embedded youtube videos