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The Frequently Asked Questions
area lists some general questions people have asked about Kingdoms of
War. It is not meant to be a trouble shooting guide for problems you
might experience while playing the game or for getting it started. If
you have questions that are not covered by this guide, please send
them to Questions. To aid in our organization leave the
subject of your email listed as FAQ.
FAQ TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. In as few words as possible, what kind of game is
Kingdoms of War?
2. I realize that one game can last 3 months. Will
there be a monthly charge that many persistent games charge?
3. What advantages do registered players get?
4. How will I communicate with other players in
the game?
5. Speaking of Characters, how is 'KOW' like an
RPG game?
6. How do Provinces work together in a Kingdom?
7. How do Kingdoms fight wars with other Kingdoms?
8. Ok, I'm starting to understand how the game is
played but game time is confusing.
9. How long each day would I need to spend playing
KOW to be successful?
10. Is
the game difficult to learn?
11. Are the Kingdoms deleted after 3 months and start
over from scratch?
12. What is this I hear about Gambling and how
does that work?
13. What are the general rules of play?
IN AS FEW
WORDS AS POSSIBLE, WHAT KIND OF GAME IS KINGDOMS OF WAR?
In some respects KOW is like other RTS games. However, to label it as such
really puts it in a category of games that don't attempt to tackle
even half the scope that KOW is going for. It is difficult to call KOW a RTS, RPG or even an
empire building simulation because it is all of those, yet it is
more. One thing that
sets KOW apart from all other games is that the gaming world is
totally dynamic. 99% of
what goes on in the game depends on real people interacting with each
other. This creates a
unique environment that makes it impossible to master the game. Teamwork with other provinces
in your kingdom is the key to this game. Whether it is orchestrating attacks with kingdom
mates, running for one of the many political offices, gaining
prestige and power through warfare, or choosing more diplomatic
means, there are many avenues in finding your individual and/or
kingdom-wide success.
I REALIZE
THAT ONE GAME CAN LAST 3 MONTHS. WILL THERE BE A MONTHLY CHARGE THAT
MANY PERSISTENT GAMES CHARGE?
The quick and easy answer for this is no. The game is free for those
who wish to play the game at no cost. Of course, somehow we have to
raise revenue, which we do partly through advertising. Advertising
revenue will not generate a lot of income simply because not enough
people click on ads (let’s not be one of those people), so to
compensate we encourage players to register their accounts over the 3
month period for $9.95. The next section will go over all of the
personal benefits available to you as a registered player (not to
mention helping out our cause).
WHAT
ADVANTAGE IS THERE TO REGISTERING MY ACCOUNT?
For those of you who choose to support our cause with a financial
contribution, here are the awesome rewards:
Ø
Priority access to the game server. During heavy network
traffic times registered users commands will be placed in a priority
queue.
Ø
Authority to give out double daily orders to Couriers. (Courier
prepares your order, you sign it, he then delivers it to the
appropriate location).
Ø
Expanded order queues for training troops and constructing
buildings.
Ø
2 votes (rather than 1) in the Political page when electing
Province leaders.
Ø
An extra tool that that will allow Registered Players to
practice using the RTS game engine against their friends or on their
own. This will include the level editor so that they can build their
own maps as well.
These benefits will give registered
players an experience edge in playing the game. All other game
factors will remain identical for registered and unregistered
players. The idea is to keep the playing field level between people
that decide not to register and those who are willing to support our
product (through registration) by offering many conveniences that
will promote this game and our future releases.
HOW WILL I
COMMUNICATE WITH OTHER PLAYERS IN THE GAME?
There are a number of ways to communicate with players inside your
Kingdom or within the game World as a whole:
Ø
Send instant messages to players in your kingdom as well as
players in other kingdoms who are online.
Ø
Enter chatrooms within your kingdom or public chatrooms
where you can meet people from all over the world. In these chatrooms
you will be posing as your lead character and people will be able to
view your ranking and your province statistical information.
Ø
Send messages which will be delivered to their daily news
Couriers so when they log in it will show up in their Province news.
You will find a rich medium built into
the game enabling easy communication to anyone with whom you wish to
speak. There will be times
when you do not want to be hassled by everyone in the game. Simply set your chat mode to
'Do Not Disturb' or 'Hidden' and other players will not be able to
tell whether or not you are online.
SPEAKING OF CHARACTERS, HOW IS 'KOW' LIKE AN RPG GAME?
Currently, each Province may start with 8 characters in which one
character is the Province’s primary character. In the game they are referred
to as Commanders. These
characters will start with basic abilities and by using them in the
game (i.e. conscript them for leadership positions), gain experience
and abilities. You can
assign the characters to jobs ranging from Commander of your largest
armies, to field lieutenants, as well as Garrison Commander and
Training Commander. Your
Commander will actually help wage your battle within the RTS engine
part of the game when you attack someone or when you are being
attacked. This means
that they may help lead your army to victory or that they may even be
killed. At this time we
are also working on a questing engine (similar to many realtime RPG’s).
Also in development, a jousting
tournament format in which you will select your top Commander to
compete head-to-head in real, live jousting matches and/or
head-to-head, one-on-one combat.
HOW DO PROVINCES WORK TOGETHER WITHIN A KINGDOM?
First of all, each Province is teamed with 19 others within a
Kingdom. The Kingdom
functions as an autonomous authority within the world. Initially,
each Kingdom will elect their own Rulers (Kingdom Hand, Minister of War,
Minister of State, and Minister of Law). For more information about Kingdom politics see User
Guide Politics. The
Kingdom Hand is the voice of the King. The Hand wields all the authority of the King and
thus will have the ability to make day-to-day decisions. Aside from the political
posturing, Kingdoms will hold daily court where provinces can make
requests of the Kingdom for food, gold, law or protection. The court can be a powerful
tool if used appropriately by a Kingdom:
Ø
In gaining order over independently acting provinces through
fining or exiling those who don't abide by Kingdom law.
Ø
Providing assistance to others during times of need.
Ø
Deciding to build food stores, train Kingdom troops, set tax
rates, set trade pacts, declare war and make peace treaties.
Probably the most
important part of creating the Kingdom atmosphere is when Kingdoms
get together for meetings to discuss future targets, strategy,
finances, etc. This can
be conducted via the scrolling banner within the game menu. Kingdom leaders can leave
important messages to be read by those in their Kingdom at log-in. Also, the in-game chat not
only provides an excellent way for Kingdoms to communicate, but also
for provinces to talk with other provinces around the world. Another important aspect of
communications is the Instant Message System. Everyone is given a message
list of those in their Kingdom and each Kingdom's Leaders will have access
to the Leaders of other Kingdoms within their realm.
HOW DO
KINGDOMS FIGHT WARS WITH OTHER KINGDOMS?
Kingdoms who are looking for war targets will pick other kingdoms
that are relatively nearby so that attacks by their provinces require
less time and require less financing. They will also look for targets that appear to be
near the same size as their Kingdom in wealth, but do not appear to have
a strong defense to protect that wealth. Some such Kingdoms would be optimal targets upon
whom to declare war. War
will be fought over a 3 to 4 month period (about 3 or 4 days in
real-time). The valor
won or lost by a Kingdom as a whole will provide the measure for who
wins and who loses the war. Valor will be gained from successful attacks by the
provinces in a kingdom. It
will be lost when a province is attacked and defeated. When at war, Kingdoms must
work together to assure a victorious outcome because the loser of
each war must sign a treaty that disallows all attacks against the
victorious Kingdom for a period of 2 years (about 1 month real-time).
Each war won will result in additional Kingdom revenue of 1%. Kingdoms will find this very
useful for paying off their war debt.
OK, I'M
STARTING TO UNDERSTAND HOW THE GAME IS PLAYED BUT I STILL DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW TIME WORKS….
The game is played both when a player is online and when he/she is
offline. The game will
be played continuously for approximately 3 months in real-time or
until one Kingdom rules over the entire world. Each hour that passes in real-time
represents one day in game time. So, if you start constructing some new buildings
and they take 24 days to construct, you will have them built when you
log in the same time the following day. In the world of Jairon there are 24 days in a month,
so one real day is equivalent to one month in the game (1 real day =
1 game month). Hopefully this helps, but if it doesn't then just
remember that game time moves much faster (24x as fast) than
real-time.
HOW LONG
EACH DAY WOULD I NEED TO SPEND PLAYING KOW TO BE
SUCCESSFUL?
Of course, the more time you can invest in your Province the more
successful you could be...to a point. You can only engage in so many battles or give so
many orders before you run out of Armies or Couriers to do your
bidding. It is quite
possible to log in one time a day and give all of your new orders,
make a couple of attacks, talk with Kingdom mates and read the news
and log back off in less than a half an hour. Of course your probably
wouldn't be the top Province in the game, but not everyone will play
the game for that reason. A reasonable time investment would be 1/2 -
1 hour per day and occasionally come online for a couple of hours so
that you can develop the strong ties to your allies and Kingdom mates
that can only be accomplished through hanging out.
WILL THE GAME BE DIFFICULT TO LEARN....
As with any new game, there is will be an adjustment period required
to get truly comfortable with playing the game. There will be an extensive
in-game and online User Guide which will ensure
that any initial mistakes you make learning the game will be minimal.
While we say that the
game is fairly easy to learn given how many options each player has,
it will be impossible to master. The reason for this is that much of a player’s success
depends on other players. A lot of it will depend on the dynamics of your
kingdom. If your team
works well together, gets into the spirit of the game, and shows
respect to friends and foes alike you will do well no matter what your
skill level.
SO AFTER 3 MONTHS OUR KINGDOMS GET DELETED AND WE START
OVER FROM SCRATCH?
Yes and no. Each year
players will compete against each other in 3-month contests. At the end of each of these
contests all Kingdoms and Provinces will be reset to their initial
values but you will remain in the same kingdom in which you finished
the previous round unless you choose to switch to another kingdom. When the 4th such round (year
end) begins all players will be given the option to play one of their
previous Provinces. This
will be the Champions Round and players will again battle it out to
determine the ultimate champion. Players will be advised to select the Province
which finished strongest in one of the previous rounds. In this ultimate tournament prizes
will be awarded to the top finishers.
WHAT IS
THIS I HEAR ABOUT GAMBLING AND HOW DOES THAT WORK?
Sometime after the initial beta testing for the core game we will be
developing a gambling feature called 'No Gutz No Glory'. It will be similar to poker
but with some slight differences. Players from all across the world will be able to
play against other players with the hard earned gold their peasants
earned for them. This
will be a way for players to interact and get to know others and with
a little luck, increase their kingdom's coffers at the same time. For those who wish to keep
things simple we will probably introduce a '21' game as well. Perhaps even a high card for
those who wish to make/lose their money quickly without all the
yap-ity-yap from the fellow patrons.
WHAT ARE THE GENERAL RULES OF PLAY?
1. One Account per player.
2. One Account per computer.
3. Accounts using the same
IP address will be marked suspicious.
4. No scripting.
5. No exploiting bugs, or
overlooked coding flaws (these should be reported to bugs).
6. Abusive language in the
game or forums will not be tolerated.
Players violating any of these rules will
be handled on a case-by-case basis with the possibility of warning,
suspension or termination depending on the severity of the
infraction.
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