Ashen Empires

Last updated
Ashen Empires
Ashen Empires Cover.jpg
Developer(s) Doug Gesler (Zarquon), David Reese, Jeremy Mappus, Bill Money (OneEye), Denis Loubet
Publisher(s) Pixel Mine(current), Iron Will Games (former), Asylumsoft Inc. (original), TKO Software (former)
Platform(s) Microsoft Windows
ReleaseMarch 10, 2003
Genre(s) Massively multiplayer online role-playing game
Mode(s) Multiplayer

Ashen Empires is a two-dimensional massively multiplayer online role-playing game created by American developer Jason "Lothgar" Ely and now owned by Iron Will Games. It was released for a free, open beta in 2002 and later officially released in 2003.

Contents

Origins

The original Dransik game, now known as Dransik Classic, was built in honor of Ultima V by Jason Ely, one of the U8 developers and Doug Gesler.[ citation needed ] Its graphics resemble the tileset used in that game, but in SVGA. [1] Dransik Classic is still available for play using the Pixel Mine launcher. The modern game was originally known as Dransik, and was an upgraded version of the original Dransik game, which utilized an older graphics engine. The game was first launched through an open, free beta in September, 2002, by its original publisher, Asylumsoft Inc.. [2] After the beta-testing stage was complete, the game started following a pay-to-play model on March 10, 2003. Dec 16, 2003 Asylumsoft sold the assets of the game to TKO Software and the game was renamed to Ashen Empires. 2004 TKO Software Sold the multiplayer rights back to Iron Will Games. [3]

At that time, a monthly subscription fee was required to play (a business model seen in many MMORPG's, including World of Warcraft and EverQuest). Iron Will Games later decided to allow users to play for free, but with a limited experience. Until early 2008, players could only receive 10% of all experience gained, were limited in tradeskills they can use and couldn't perform certain tasks such as using the party system, trade table, pickup and drop objects/items to the ground or loot certain mobs. In early 2008, these restrictions were relaxed so that: non-subscribing players now receive 50% of all experience gained; can party with other non-subscribers; can table trade freely with other non-subscribers; can table trade with subscribers but only to receive, not give items.

In 2009, subscriptions were ended and the game became free to play, but added a pay system to earn in-game bonuses. In June 2020 an update added a Questlog to the Game. [4]

In Sept 2022 Ashen Empires and Dransik Release on Steam. [5]

Character creation

Accounts on Ashen Empires are able to contain up to four characters per server. When creating a character, the player can choose one of three races: human, night elf (also known as Astari), or Orc. [6]

There is a total of seventy-one skills in the game; these skills include armed and unarmed combat, magery (spellcasting), and trade skills. Specific examples include Mining, Iron Forging, Baking, Planting, Harvesting, and Large Blades. [7]

Reception

In a 2006 review, Blair Morris of OMGN praised the game, "Ashen Empires is a high quality game that every MMORPG fan should try." [8] Among the praise was the world, the gameplay and the welcoming community. [8]

A 2011 review by Beau Hindman further noted the aged system and the complex and confusing aspects of the game. [9] Ashen Empires has no quest tracking function; and requires the player to keep track of the quests and information manually. [9]

Related Research Articles

<i>EverQuest</i> 1999 video game

EverQuest is a 3D fantasy-themed massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) originally developed by Verant Interactive and 989 Studios for Windows PCs. It was released by Sony Online Entertainment in March 1999 in North America, and by Ubisoft in Europe in April 2000. A dedicated version for Mac OS X was released in June 2003, which operated for ten years before being shut down in November 2013. In June 2000, Verant Interactive was absorbed into Sony Online Entertainment, who took over full development and publishing duties of the title. Later, in February 2015, SOE's parent corporation, Sony Computer Entertainment, sold the studio to investment company Columbus Nova and it was rebranded as Daybreak Game Company, which continues to develop and publish EverQuest.

A massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) is a video game that combines aspects of a role-playing video game and a massively multiplayer online game.

<i>Ultima Online</i> 1997 video game

Ultima Online (UO) is a fantasy massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) released on September 24, 1997 by Origin Systems.

<i>Asherons Call</i> 1999 video game

Asheron's Call (AC) was a fantasy massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) for Microsoft Windows PCs, developed and published by Turbine Entertainment Software. Though it was developed by the Turbine team, it was published as a Microsoft title until 2004. The game was set on the island continent of Dereth and several surrounding smaller islands and archipelagos on the fictional planet of Auberean. The game was played in a large seamless 3D virtual world which could host thousands of players' characters at a time.

<i>Anarchy Online</i> Multiplayer online role-playing game

Anarchy Online is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) published and developed by Norwegian video game development company Funcom. Released in June 2001, the game was the first in the genre to include a science-fiction setting, dynamic quests, instancing, free trials, and in-game advertising. The game's ongoing storyline revolves around the fictional desert planet "Rubi-Ka", the source of a valuable mineral known as "Notum". Players assume the role of a new colonist to Rubi-Ka. With no specific objective to win Anarchy Online, the player advances the game through the improvement of a character's skills over time. After more than 20 years, Anarchy Online has become one of the oldest surviving games in the genre.

RuneScape is a fantasy massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed and published by Jagex, released in January 2001. RuneScape was originally a browser game built with the Java programming language; it was largely replaced by a standalone C++ client in 2016. The game has had over 300 million accounts created and was recognised by the Guinness World Records as the largest and most-updated free MMORPG.

<i>Asherons Call 2: Fallen Kings</i> 2002 video game

Asheron's Call 2: Fallen Kings was a fantasy massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) for Microsoft Windows which was released on November 22, 2002 and shut down on December 30, 2005 before it was relaunched as a beta for active Asheron's Call subscribers in 2012. It is a sequel to 1999's Asheron's Call, although content, graphics and gameplay dynamics differed greatly from its predecessor.

<i>World of Warcraft</i> 2004 video game

World of Warcraft (WoW) is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) released in 2004 by Blizzard Entertainment. Set in the Warcraft fantasy universe, World of Warcraft takes place within the world of Azeroth, approximately four years after the events of the previous game in the series, Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne. The game was announced in 2001, and was released for the 10th anniversary of the Warcraft franchise on November 23, 2004. Since launch, World of Warcraft has had nine major expansion packs: The Burning Crusade (2007), Wrath of the Lich King (2008), Cataclysm (2010), Mists of Pandaria (2012), Warlords of Draenor (2014), Legion (2016), Battle for Azeroth (2018), Shadowlands (2020), and Dragonflight (2022). Three further expansions, The War Within, Midnight, and The Last Titan, were announced in 2023.

A massively multiplayer online game is an online video game with a large number of players on the same server. MMOs usually feature a huge, persistent open world, although there are games that differ. These games can be found for most network-capable platforms, including the personal computer, video game console, or smartphones and other mobile devices.

Jagex Limited is a British video game developer and publisher based at the Cambridge Science Park in Cambridge, England. It is best known for RuneScape and Old School RuneScape, both free-to-play massively multiplayer online role-playing games. The company's name is derived from the company's original slogan, "Java Gaming Experts".

<i>Istaria: Chronicles of the Gifted</i> 2003 video game

Istaria: Chronicles of the Gifted is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed by American studio Virtrium and originally released by developer Artifact Entertainment and publisher Atari as Horizons: Empire of Istaria. Tulga Games, LLC acquired the game and all related assets on January 25, 2005 and sold them to EI Interactive in July 2006. On July 18, 2007, Virtrium LLC (Vi) acquired the rights to the game.

Tibia is a multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) released in 1997, developed and published by CipSoft. It is one of the earliest and longest-running MMORPGs, reaching its peak popularity in 2007. The game is free to play but players may pay to upgrade to a premium account. Tibia is a two-dimensional tile-based game set in a fantasy world with pixel art graphics and a top-down perspective.

<i>ROSE Online</i> 2005 video game

ROSE Online, or Rush On Seven Episodes Online is a Massively Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Game (MMORPG) previously published by Korean company Gravity Corporation and developed by its subsidiary, Triggersoft. The game was originally pay to play, but when Triggersoft stopped developing the game in 2007, the rights of ROSE Online were sold to several different companies which went on to develop and publish their own free-to-play versions of the game.

<i>Soul of the Ultimate Nation</i> 2007 video game

Soul of the Ultimate Nation was a fantasy-based massive multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) produced by Webzen, a Korean-based company. It was operated in South Korea by Webzen and in mainland China by The9. The game was launched in Taiwan on April 19, and in China on May 24, 2007 as a paid online service and closed on July 3, 2013.

The history of massively multiplayer online games spans over thirty years and hundreds of massively multiplayer online games (MMOG) titles. The origin and influence on MMO games stems from MUDs, Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) and earlier social games.

<i>The Chronicles of Spellborn</i> 2008 video game

The Chronicles of Spellborn was a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) initially released on November 27, 2008, developed by Spellborn International and distributed by Frogster Interactive, Mindscape and Acclaim Games; set in a post-apocalyptic fantasy world. Spellborn used the Unreal Engine, featured a European Art approach and contained notable contributions from Jesper Kyd. In August 2010, the game was shut down. As of 2019, the game is still played on a proprietary private server that is operated by a former developer.

<i>Ghost Online</i> Video game

Ghost Online, also known as Ghost Soul and GO, was a free fast-paced action-based sidescrolling, massively multiplayer online game that is currently released in South Korea, Japanese, Chinese, Thailand and Malaysian-English. On July 8, the Global version went into Open Beta, but was closed down on June 3, 2009. Created by Netgame, which is a division of MGame USA Inc.(Taiwan and China 搞鬼 is a free, 2D computer graphics, side-scrolling MMORPG developed by the Korean company MGame. Several versions of the game are available for specific countries or regions, and each is published by various companies such as GameFlier, Gemscool and OurGame. Although playing the game is free, many player appearances and gameplay enhancements can be purchased from the GhostShop using real currency.

<i>Atlantica Online</i> 2008 video game

Atlantica Online is a free-to-play (F2P) 3D tactical massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed by NDOORS Corporation. The game is currently published by Valofe. The game's primary setting is a fantasy-themed alternate history Earth composed of a diverse blend of historical, cultural, allegorical, and mythological elements. The game world is primarily modeled after real-world geography with accessible locations on six of the seven continents as well as the mythical floating continent of Atlantis from which the game's name is derived.

<i>Shroud of the Avatar: Forsaken Virtues</i> Fantasy role-playing video game

Shroud of the Avatar: Forsaken Virtues is a fantasy role-playing video game. Described as being a spiritual successor to the Ultima series, Shroud of the Avatar was developed by Austin, Texas-based developer Portalarium, with a team led by Richard Garriott as creative director, Starr Long as executive producer, Chris Spears as lead technical designer, and Tracy Hickman as lead story designer. It is currently maintained by Catnip Games.

<i>Swordsman Online</i> 2014 video game

Swordsman was a free-to-play massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) by Perfect World Entertainment. Closed Beta began on 16 June 2014, and was open to all users with a Closed Beta key. On 27 June 2014, the closed beta ended and the open beta began on 1 July 2014 for players with early access benefits and 3 July 2014, for all players. The game shut down on 5 June 2018.

References

  1. ↑ Ultima: The Reconstruction
  2. ↑ About IWG Archived September 26, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  3. ↑ Dransik Navy & Marines, Dransik Navy & Marines, a Dransik guild, accessed October 4, 2007
  4. ↑ "AE is Free!". Ashen Empires website. Archived from the original on 2013-04-20. Retrieved 2013-05-23.
  5. ↑ "Retro MMORPGs Dransik and Ashen Empires Release on Steam". 4 September 2022.
  6. ↑ Races Archived October 20, 2007, at the Wayback Machine , Ashen Empires, accessed October 4, 2007
  7. ↑ Skills Archived October 2, 2007, at the Wayback Machine , Ashen Empires, accessed October 4, 2007
  8. 1 2 "Ashen Empires Review Over-look no longer, Ashen Empires has everything you're looking for". OMGN. Retrieved 2013-05-23.
  9. 1 2 "Rise and Shiny recap: Ashen Empires". Archived from the original on 2013-05-11. Retrieved 2013-05-23.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.