This is the main page for the Archipelago on line roleplaying game. The game is a part time hobbyist system in the early stages of development. It is intended to focus on supporting roleplaying of characters in an online world; while there will be provision for character advancement goals, such goals will not be as strongly emphasized as in most of the current commercial games. The emphasis will be on roleplaying on on the ability of the player characters to affect the world and vice versa.
If you would like to try the game or help test it, the client can be downloaded here or at the link at the bottom of the page.
The client is a Java executable; on some platforms it can be run by double clicking on it (some versions of Macintosh and Windows?) while on others you will need to bring up a command line window and type the following command:
java -jar ArchipelagoClientDebug.jar
If you'd like to explore the current character scripting capabilities - which are probably the only interesting thing at the moment - you can download the sample script at the bottom of the page to help you get started. If there is a character named "Sword Vendor" logged on, he will normally be running the sample script if you want to see how it works.
If the client fails to connect properly, the server has probably been updated and you'll need to download a matching client when it is available. I try to keep the current client up, but sometimes it's delayed when I'm actively debugging the server, and occasionally I might forget. Feel free to email me at psychohist at aol dot com to remind me.
Be aware that it is unlikely that any one will be on with the exception of some Monday evenings. You can still play around with the scripting capabilities, though, and usually at least one character will be running unattended, and I generally check the logs later.
Also be aware, as mentioned above, that the game is in the early stages of development and progresses quite slowly. In the following list, the items in bold have been implemented, but the items not in bold are yet to be done:
- Speech (in character and out of character)
- Scripting
- Movement
- Combat
- Terrain
- Artwork
- Persistence
- User accounts and other administrative stuff
Link to Archipelago client current debug version
Link to Sample script
Last updated 2008.07.13