Ikariam (Free Browser Based Online Civillization Game)

[SinbadEV]

http://ikariam.org

Just wanted to point this out to anyone who hasn't found it yet... everyone at work started playing it and I signed up and have been really enjoying it so far.

Basically you are given a Town Hall and a bunch plots of land and can construct new buildings. Each island has a forest and a luxury resource so their are 5 resources + Gold (Building Material, Sulfur, Marble, Wine and Glass)... Gold is gained by having citizens who aren't otherwise occupied harvesting material or doing research. You use these resources to build new buildings and improve your town or to upgrade the island's 2 resource collecting buildings.

Because each island only has one luxury resource you will need to trade with other islands (or pillage them) in order to get the resources you need to build advanced structures.

You also have a research system and the ability to colonize other islands after a bit of development so you don't have to trade for the resources found at the new colony (though you need to develop that colony enough to ship the product back to the main one still).

All this stuff is "real time" so if I want to ship a load of marble to a buyer on another island it takes a couple of hours, to build a palace takes another couple hours, to upgrade your city walls it takes a few hours, training troops takes about half an hour, sending an attack fleet against another city takes a few hours, gaining the resources to build a new structure could take a couple hours of harvesting or trading and shipping.

The thing is you don't need to sit and play the game so much as check up on it every once in a while, it's kind-of low impact so you can just come back to it.

Some Features that Springers will like:

- Nothing to install or run or waste system resources so you can keep it open in the background when you are playing spring
- Low maintenance but you can always fine something to do (adjust production sliders, look for a good deal or trade, train some new units) so you can play it between Spring games while idling in the lobby
- Good Strategy and Diplomacy aspects
- Can be played from school or work when you are waiting for other people to post in the spring forums without really impacting your ability to abuse n00bs and people with new ideas for mods
- Form alliances with your Spring clan if you convince them to join
- Whine in the forums because the game is still in development to some extent while still being entirely playable... just like spring!

[Comp1337]

I thought you were one of those spambots.. This game is all over every damn sidebar of the internet it seems

[SinbadEV]

What am I? One of those long-con spambots who joins a community, makes a name for himself, contributes to the community, becomes a trusted member and a Wiki Admin and Forum Admin and even produces some documentation and an example mod back when we were trying to figure out how to make s3o models and all just so that at some future date my corporate masters advise me to make an insinuation that someone would like a given game...

Seriously, there are people out there like that and get payed to do so... sadly I am not one of those lucky few.

Can you think of a subject that would be just as accurate while not looking like I'm a spambot?

[Comp1337]

I mean before i saw it was you .p

[Erom]

I had initially ignored this game because I was tired of ancient Rome/Greece tropes, but I'll take a look now. Something to do at work is always welcome.

Imna start a char. on Kappa, I guess.

[SinbadEV]

Yay, I'm on Kappa, Maybe we can trade or something.

[Imperium]

I joined on Kappa last night and have started to play about with it, seems like a good time waster.

[imbaczek]

games like this one are fail, just wait till they start asking for money for the possibility of QUEUING orders (something that spring players love too, right?) check out ogame for a prime example.

[manored]

I find browser games boring, so I aint playing :)

[Caydr]

Any relation to Ikari Warriors? Probably not, I guess. The name just seems very similar.

[Erom]

Man, I started on an island with vinyards. The luxury good, it does nothing! Trying to TEK TO NUKE^H^H^H^H PALACE so I can build a colony near a quarry.

[Imperium]

I started on one with a quarry, hurrah! Things are going well I think... Though not that sure really what I'm meant to be building up.

[SinbadEV]

I'd say there are 2 roads to success

Marble> Glass> Wine
or
Sulfur> Attack everyone and take their resources.

[Erom]

Yes, that's what I've been finding as well. If you get stuck with glass, at least you can build up the tech tree quickly. Wine is just... worthless. Since without marble you can't even upgrade your tavern enough to use all those grapes.

[Imperium]

Why is glass so goooood?

[CarRepairer]

(Building Material, Sulfur, Marble, Wine and Glass)...

These are even weird than the resources of Catan's settlers. Glass tree?

What am I? One of those long-con spambots who joins a community, makes a name for himself, contributes to the community, becomes a trusted member and a Wiki Admin and Forum Admin and even produces some documentation and an example mod back when we were trying to figure out how to make s3o models and all just so that at some future date my corporate masters advise me to make an insinuation that someone would like a given game...

I KNEW IT! Sleeper cell!

Any relation to Ikari Warriors? Probably not, I guess. The name just seems very similar.

That's the first thing I thought of too.

[jcnossen]

How far does multiplayer go? Can you see and attack others, or just trade with some name in a listbox?

[Vadi]

Yeah, it looks like the company behind the (gameforge) is spamming everybody - even in emails about the game.

Just got an invitation email to another one of their games...

[SinbadEV]

How far does multiplayer go? Can you see and attack others, or just trade with some name in a listbox?

You can steal stuff from them and you can blockade their harbor so they can't trade and intercept trade vessels cargo. There are also a number of co-operative aspects too.

Sorry... I didn't realize they were spamming subscribers... I guess they have to pay for development somehow without advertising.

[Vadi]

No worries. I played Ikariam myself; the forced diplomacy was fun. Then read what the company did here (http://www.virtualcitizenship.org/forum ... 10b3c6a1e1), remembered that I got an email out of the blue to join the game, and... decided their practices aren't for me