Tales of Tamar

Tales of Tamar , or ToT for short , is a turn-based massive multiplayer PBEM game . Here can to 12,000 players together in a fantasy world with the name currently up Tamar play together. All players send their moves using an installed software client (via email or TCP / IP ) to the server, which evaluates the moves centrally and then sends the results back to the players.

history

Tales of Tamar was conceived and designed in 1985. The template was the Dungeons & Dragons Expert Set, which offered certain rules for governing the empire. Since these were difficult to manage in practice as a master, a computer program was to be developed that took over the management of these realms for the master and calculates or displays things such as harvests, storms, maps, etc.

After a first version in 1986 did not work properly on a C64 , a second attempt was started in 1991 on the Amiga computer. This time first in Amiga-Basic, which was found to be too slow, then in GFA-BASIC . However, since GFA-Basic has repeatedly experienced changes in the course of its development and the actual code had to be reprogrammed, the second attempt to implement this program was also abandoned. GFA-Basic for the Amiga was discontinued in 1992. The game itself now turned into a PBEM .

The third attempt to implement the program was started in 1997 in ANSI C in order to remain compatible with the rest of the computer world. The main focus was initially still on the Amiga market, but since this was already largely dying in 1997, the PC version was also started. However, the initially three-person team had to give up after just six months because the budget was simply not enough to achieve the goals. In the second half of 1997, the author Martin Wolf continued the project on his own. In the middle of 1998 the financial situation improved again and more programmers were hired. The project itself went through a decisive change during this time. Was it originally a goal u. a. Sending plays via the so-called "mailboxes" was now more based on the Internet. Email should take over the traffic.

In 1999 the first beta version for the Amiga was released. The period between 2000 and 2003 is characterized by constant budget difficulties. The constant coming and going of semi-professional graphic designers B. to the fact that the game combines several graphic styles.

The first release for the Amiga took place in 2002, followed by the PC version in 2004. Tales of Tamar was awarded the Amiga Award at the AMIGA + Retro Computing 2002 in the “Best Amiga Game 2002” category. In 2005 and 2006 there were several appearances at the Games Convention and CeBIT and an exam for the USK (approved for all ages). In 2005, work began on a 2D HiRES card, which was completed in 2006 and today offers widescreen support and 15-32-bit support, among other things . On the one hand, Tales of Tamar runs on very old computers from a Pentium 200 up to very new computers with 2D / 3D HiRES cards. The continuous support for very slow computers should be unique, especially in the Windows world.

In 2006 Silke Porath started working on the first book on Tales of Tamar. This book essentially tells the history of Tamar, as can be seen in the intro of the game. In addition, the organization team signed a contract with the browser games label 4Players , which is still in place today.

In 2007, the first version of the 3D map, which had been worked on since 2002, was presented to the game's beta community.

Game flow and goal

Each of the players takes on the role of a ruler in this role-playing game / RPG and has to build his country from a small village to a powerful empire. Trade can be made, wars can be waged, alliances and even religions can be founded, and every other diplomatic move is available to the players. One round is played per day, which in InTime corresponds to one quarter.

Tales of Tamar has a feudal system in which one ranks by acquiring vassals (who are also human players). The official goal is to become emperor, for that you have to unite enough players in your feudal chain. But there are also players who have set themselves the goal of becoming the largest trader or a successful religious leader.

The game offers enough freedom so that the self-imposed goals of its imagined character can be achieved.

Community

In addition to a role-play relevant forum with currently more than 1000 registered users, this game also includes a chat , which takes place InTime in Als Eichenfass. There is a separate chronicle for this game , which is specially written by a chronicler. It currently has 600 years of history on Tamar. When printed out as a book, there are just over 300 pages in A4 format. In addition to the game's own chronicle, the so-called Tamar messenger appears in the Amiga-Future magazine, in which, similar to the chronicle, the story can be found written down on Tamar. In addition to numerous user pages, there is also a fan shop. There have been four LARPs based on the game so far . For this purpose, a group called “The Travelers from Tamar” has come together, which of course can also be found at other Cons. In addition, there is at least one Europe-wide weekend of players' meetings each year, with a knight's feast and a large drinking party.

Multi-platform

Tales of Tamar is cross-platform. There are no techniques such as Java or Flash is used, but each platform has its own binary (which the system requirements low holds), but each version has basically the same functionalities, the same look and participates in the same game world.

Web links

Tales of Tamar website
Interview at Softgames ( Memento from June 25, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
Report at buechereule.de