FAQ
From Illapedia
Contents |
[edit] 1 The game and the setting
[edit] 1.1 I just started playing and don't know what to do!
You're free to do whatever you like. You could become a proud knight, an industrious crafter, or a mysterious mage. The Newbieguide holds valuable information for new players. It is also a good idea to read the manual (like in every game ;)). You can view the manual with Adobe Reader by pressing "F1" while logged in the game.
[edit] 1.2 How can I attack and kill somebody?
You can either right click on a character and choose "Attack", or you can hold down CTRL and left click the character. Please respect that it is only allowed to attack other characters when there is a valid roleplay reason to do so. Running around town massacring everything and everyone you see is very unwise, especially for a new character. It is customary to give your target the chance to interact before and during a fight. Emotes that show your character drawing his or her weapon, or moving in an intimidating fashion to another character are appreciated, if not expected. Please remember that there are two fictitious computer graphics fighting each other, not the players behind the screens. Stay cool in fights, interrupt them for a few seconds, to shout something to the other character instead of feasting yourself with the fake graphic blood.
[edit] 1.3 How do I pick up items?
Right click on an item and choose "Pickup Item". Alternatively you may move the item by "Dragging and Dropping" it to a free place in your inventory. This process is similar to the way icons are moved on Windows/Linux/MacOS-desktops. Your inventory is composed of your character's clothing, which is the spaces on top of the image of a man, the belt, which is the six spaces under your character's clothing and armor, and of a bag, which must be worn and can be opened. If you want to open the bag of your character, right click on the bag and choose "Open" or click on it with the middle mouse button, if your mouse has one.
[edit] 1.4 How do I use or equip items?
To equip an item, move the item you want to equip to a free slot in your inventory (the 'man' at the right of the screen). If you hold your mouse over a slot it shows you what you can put here. The slot has to be free to put something new in it. To do this, move the previous item somewhere else (e.g in the bag of your character). This works for weapons, armour, or anything you wear. If you want to use an item (e.g. eating an apple), right click and choose "Use". Alternatively you can hold SHIFT and click the item and release.
[edit] 1.5 I equipped an item but my character doesn't show it!
Paperdolling isn't yet featured in Illarion. To know what someone else looks like (or for them to know what you look like), you must click on the character to get a short description of what he looks like, and what items he has visible. Right-clicking will allow you an option to view him carefully. This sends a message to the player (so don't do it too frequently, or it looks suspicious), but allows you to view most of the items he's wearing.
[edit] 1.6 Why do they all talk so funny?
(Not translated yet)
[edit] 1.7 Illarion? Is that near Australia?
(Not translated yet)
[edit] 2 Game concepts
[edit] 2.1 Every one keeps talking of RPG and Role playing. What is that?
Role playing games (RPG) are a popular genre of games, players immerse themselves completely into the life of their character. You cease to be yourself and instead take on the role of a fictional character by feeling, saying, and thinking what he or she would. In the case of Illarion, the world is a medieval realm filled with fantasy elements such as orcs, dwarves, magic and monsters. Your character could be a renowned warrior, a potent mage, a rich craftsman, or even a poor beggar groveling in the gutter. The choice is up to you. An important aspect of role playing is the character interaction that is bound to happen. Whether you are a merchant offering his wares, a pompous baron oppressing the peasants, or a warrior seeking to prove his worth, become your character. You must speak, think, and act as he or she would. If you are a peasant, speak with a crude accent. If you are grand mage, make yourself appear mystical and eerie. If you immerse yourself completely in your character, you will truly become him, feeling his highs and lows. Who knows, your character might even fall in love and marry. Another source of role playing is the rpg and guild boards on the Illarion forum. Here you can organize or participate in virtually anything. The other players will be more than happy to help you, whether you wish to go on a quest to find your estranged parents, or if you want to organize your own wedding. Let them interact and influence your character's life, and attempt to play a part in their story. There are virtually no limits to what you can do! A rule to observe though: Keep the posts on the RPG and guild boards IC (in character), that is, speak as you would in the game (as your character does). OOC (out of character (i.e. how you, the person behind the screen of your PC, would speak) is allowed on the other boards. All this is to promote role playing. Many other games that call themselves RPGs, do not actually feature any role playing. If this concept does not interest you, then Illarion is probably not the game for you.
[edit] 2.2 How do I know the precise weapon strengths?
You don't. We try to make Illarion as "realistic" as possible. In medieval times, you simply would not hear a weapon smith say "This sword has an attack value of 20". Instead people tried out several swords and then decided which one suited them best. Weapons do have specific values, but those are decided by many factors, (i.e. the skill of the smith) so we could not give you a numerical value anyway. Some people have complained that you should at least be able to see rough values, but this would not be right. A dagger does not inflict as much pain as a battle axe, but it is much faster. A short sword would be somewhere in between.
[edit] 2.3 Where can I see my exact skill levels and attributes?
A person cannot be reduced to a numerical value. Just imagine, you sit on a bench somewhere and overhear a conversation. A person says "I increased my running skill to level 40 yesterday, and leveled up to level 43." I am sure you would laugh pretty hard at that person. Well, the same holds in Illarion. You can see rough values in the form of a bar graph in the skill list (and you can always compare yourself roughly to other people). Also, it is very annoying to always hear someone bragging about their skills, wherever you go. Imagine this: you are sitting in the tavern, enjoying a chat with a close friend about the new politics of the elderly king. Suddenly someone behind you starts yelling that he is level 10 in carpentry, and can thus make good items for you. It does not get much more annoying than that. It would be simpler to have a precise skill system, but this game was created in the spirit of role playing. If you disagree with this, Illarion might not be the game for you.
[edit] 2.4 How do I send global chat messages?
You can't. How would you do that in medieval times anyway? There were no P.A. systems, radios, or cell phones. Such things were impossible. We might grant powerful mages a special ability to communicate by telepathy, but nothing is planned yet. If you need to spread a message, you can always hire another player as a town crier or use the RPG board to leave messages on the town walls.
[edit] 3 Technical issues
[edit] 3.1 What are the system requirements for Illarion?
- Operating system: Windows 98/ME/2000/XP/Vista, Linux, MacOS
- Graphics card: 16MB memory, driver with openGL support
- CPU: 500 MHz and better
- A Java 1.5 runtime environment or higher
Windows Vista does not support the free graphics standard openGL by default. Therefore Illarion will not run with the graphics drivers included with Vista. With a better graphics driver from your graphics card manufacturer including openGL support, everything should work.
[edit] 3.2 How do I download Illarion? How can I start the game?
Just click on the "Download /Install" button on the main page. It will now download and install Illarion automatically, you only have to choose a directory to store your character relevant data. It would be advised to store them in a folder you can easily find afterwards. To start the client, hit the "Play game" button on the main page and off you go. It may ask you if you want to open the program with java webstart (javaws), make sure to answer yes on this question.
[edit] 3.3 Downloading takes like forever!
[edit] 3.4 The game doesn't start!
That can have several reasons. Just look in the technical support board for similar problems and solutions.
[edit] 4 Contributing to Illarion
[edit] 4.1 How do I become Gamemaster?
A Gamemaster has the following duties:
- Monitor the game and make sure the rules are followed
- Process player requests and paperwork
- Moderate player conflicts and communicate the vision of Illarion
- Create content for the game (e.g. NPCs, books, quests,...)
You can apply to become a Gamemaster. Send your application to a Gamemaster of your choice. A GM has to fit the following requirements:
- Minimum age of 18
- An active account for 6 months at least
- A clean record
- Level-headedness and equitableness
- Good knowledge of the in-game world
- Outstanding roleplay skills
- Mature manners
- Knowledge of the English language
- Time and intrinsic motivation for self-reliant(!) work
Make your application focus on your reasons to become a Gamemaster and your abilities. Bribes like Italian sportscars can improve your odds ;-). Before you get appointed to become a GM, a month of mentorship is mandatory.
[edit] 4.2 How do I become developer?
As an developer you help the game, proceeding the game in the technical part. Illarion is being developed always and help is always welcome. After that, the most important areas, where you can help, except the needed technical skills.
- General qualifications
- Interested in Illarion - you should playing it for at least 3 months
- Having fun of developing a MMORPG
- An analytical brain ;-)
- An independent style of working - nobody will tell you what to do
- Enough freetime and genuine motivation
- Basic english skills (being able to understand this article is sufficient)
- Knowledge of programming can be an advantage
- Serverprogramming
- ...
[edit] 4.3 How much will you pay me?
Nothing. This project began as a student project and became a non-profit association. Nobody is and will be payed but in return nobody wont have to pay for playing Illarion. All developers and Gamemasters spend their freetime to make playing for free possible for players all over the world. If you send us material (graphics, sounds, scripts) you allow the association with that using it for Illarion, and you can't take back this permission later. Please don't send us material protected by the law, which you didn't make yourself!
