The Reincarnation

The Reincarnation is a true clone of Archmage. Created in 2003 by a group of Archmage fans it has a player base of around 4,000 and counting. It has been voted in the past as one of the top MMORPG games.

*Created: 2003
*Status: Active
*Player Base: 5,000+
*URL: http://www.the-reincarnation.com and http://www.the-reincarnation.org
*Wiki: http://wiki.the-reincarnation.org/index.php/Main_Page

History

Archmage boasted a very loyal fan base. As such, it is no surprise that many clones were created after the game's demise. The Reincarnation began life as ProjectX, created by a number of former Apprentice players, namely GTO and Apoptyma. The development team consisted of DaveMcW, Creepy, Taka and gonad, joined by Sogrom and Denom later in the project's life and more recently by Debacle.

As time has progressed the game has developed from a direct Archmage clone into a far more individual game. Many of the spells, units and items have been modified and numerous changes have been made to improve the game balance. Furthermore there was recently the addition of skills which gave each player the opportunity to gain skill points and customise their mage over the duration of a reset.

As well as these new changes, there is also a Beta server constantly running to test new developments in the game to allow changes and growth for the player base and the community.

Game Play

The Reincarnation is a turn-based strategy game which focus' on turn management, resource management and player interaction. It is a completely text-based game which is played through your various web browsers. Players reincarnate a mage and strive to become the most powerful mage in Terra. This is done through gaining net power, net power increases as a result of land, buildings, army and various other resources. Land is gained through attacking other mages or exploration, as you gain land you will need to build upon this in order to support a large and stronger army. Exploration is an ineffective way to gain land, particularly as you reach higher land levels where attacking became the key method of gaining acres. In order to effectively attack another mage it was necessary to have a strong army, armies are gained through recruitment and training of your population into fighters or through summoning units from the various spells you can learn. Other gameplay options include bidding on the black market, donating to Gods, acquiring items and heroes in order to strength your kingdom.

The Reincarnation kept a key feature of Archmage which was the ability for the players to reset the game themselves. This was done by casting a powerful enchantment called Armageddon, for seven days seals would break until finally all rules within Terra no longer applied and you had the ability to attack anyone on the server no matter how weak or strong they may be. At the end of Armageddon the ten highest ranked and most powerful mages would have their names enshrined in the Hall of Fame.

Another important feature in The Reincarnation are guilds. Guilds are groups of players that form under a name, they share common Rules of Engagement and policies on enemies. They are allowed to coordinate together in order to improve their individual ranks and the ranks of their guild, this is different from un-guilded players or non-description (ND) players who are not allowed to coordinate with anyone except their immediate allies.

ervers

There are several servers which differ in their turn rates and which spells you are able to learn. Each server has its own individual community and style of play which can often be difficult to translate to another server. As such there is a huge diversity between the various groups.

Arch Server

The Arch Server is the slowest of the four servers, the turn rate runs at one turn ever 12 minutes with a maximum of 180 turns. This means it takes 36 hours to gain full turns. Another key difference between this server and the other servers is this is the only server without the use of ultimate spells. Ultimate spells are the most powerful spells any mage can cast, they summon powerful units to your army or cast strong enchantments, without these the style of play is very different on Apprentice.

It was intended to be a beginners server but it is often argued that it is better for beginners to play on the Blitz Server which has a much faster turn rate which allows for new players to complete all their research quickly and immediately get into the game. Plus if new players were to die the research process would not be so long.

Guild Server

Guild Server has a turn rate of one turn every 10 minutes with a 180 turn maximum. This server does allow the use of ultimate spells. One of the key differences between this server and the other two servers is the heavy reliance on inter-guild diplomacy. One of the main attraction of The Reincarnation is that you get to interact with real players to discuss strategies and gameplay. This has been taken to heart on the Guild Server where players often formulate plans, ally other guilds and plot in order to achieve Hall of Fame places. This happens more so on Guild Server than any other server and the politics of the server are often considered to be very cut throat.

As of June 2007, the Guild server has a slightly increased turn rate (1 turn every 7 minutes) and now has a 200 turn maximum.

Blitz Server

The Blitz Server has the fastest turn rate gaining one turn every five minutes with a 200 turn maximum. This means that players can have full turns in just over 16 hours, the server also allows the use of ultimate spells. This server is often regarded as a ranking server because the fast turn rate and high turn cap allows for many attacks and gives you the ability to rapidly gain land.

This server often has the largest player base with a wide variety of playing styles. Many believe that this is also the best server for new players to play on as it gives them the opportunity to quickly get involved in the game and learn different styles of play.

In June 2007, this server became solo. This meant there were no guilds and no alliances allowed. It was also changed to a 1 turn every 7 minute rate with a max of 200 turns. This has since been undone with the implementation of the dedicated Solo Server.

olo Server

The Solo Server is the precise opposite of the Guild Server. It has a turn rate of 1 every 7 minutes with a 200 turn maximum and completely anonymous play. Each player is assigned a multi-digit number when they reincarnate that is the only identification to other players (though they still see their own name). This server was created for people looking for a less diplomatic play-style and as such players may not even communicate with each other on it.

Beta Server

The Beta Server is a test server with a Blitz turn-rate. All new features are tested here for several resets before they are implemented on the real servers.

The Reincarnation UBB

The UBB is the forum for The Reincarnation, it is used players to communicate with each other, make war declarations, off-topic discussion. However, it is also an invaluable resource for new players. The Hall of Sages and Hall of Sages - Newbie Style are two forums where anyone can post questions which will be answered in a variety of ways by more experienced players. This gives everyone a voice to be heard and allows players to find out more issues in greater depth.

Future Goals

The Reincarnation team hope keep progressing with the game development and making sure that the game continues to grow. With a current playerbase of around 4,000 it is hoped that this will continue to grow and flourish for the months and years to come.

External links

* [http://www.the-reincarnation.org/ The Reincarnation Portal]
* [http://ubb.the-reincarnation.com/ The Reincarnation UBB]