Imperator Preview

Built in a day

Imperator is an Alternate Earth Massively Multiplayer Online Role-playing Game, one set in a future world where Ancient Rome never fell. Small changes at crucial moments in Roman history create an entirely new timeline for Earth, leading to a star-spanning Roman Respublica and thousands of years of interstellar Pax Romana. The Republic is home to many planets, each containing wildly different flora, fauna, creatures, culture, and climate. As the game begins, new threats to the Republic have sprung up internally and from beyond its borders, making the galaxy more dangerous and the Republic itself less stable - an exhilarating setting for an online gamer. Over the last few decades, many themes of classical Roman history have found their way into modern science fiction and fantasy. In Imperator the architecture, beauty, nobility, and even the savagery of Rome are the heart of the game.

O LORD GENERAL SAVE US

In the sandles of a Roman soldier, you are warming your hands for your first assignment.

Along with a group of your best buddies, you are sent to the resort planet Terranova for what will be two weeks of sun, sand and water. Unfortunately, your picnic party plans are soon ruined when the Mayans invade.

The Mayans imperialistic ways have caused the Romans much grief by attacking the Roman Empire’s kitty of planets. Terranova is one place where the booze is cheap and another step closer to reaching the cherry called Earth.

Placed in such a desperate situation, you pick up your arsenal of assorted weapons hidden below the basket. Over the course of 100 levels, you show them who is daddy, while getting the chance to interact with different hubs and belting it out to a variety of civilizations. Going by the name, you will eventually end up being a hero, dubbed the Imperator by your comrades, with a glorious cut scene which celebrates your noteworthy achievements. But this being an MMO, you will keep returning to the immensely immersive world to wage further battles and win fame to offset the social imbalance wreaked by your weakened personality.

Class Wars

There will be four base classes, which at level 10 branch out into three sub classes. The first three are: melee, ranged, and tech. Some classes will even be able to control robots. Mythic is currently trying to make classes interdependent as well as being potently independent.

There will be around 15 factions a player can interact with, not all of them Roman, and at least four playable races. Humans will be the standard, though may come from distinct sub-races. Artificial intelligence forms will also be available, as will the Ingenii (elves), a race bred by humans to be smart. Rounding out the four are the Tigris (half tiger, half man), also bread by humans, this time to be stronger. The three inhuman races were originally slaves, but in the time period in which the game occurs, they have all won their freedom.

Scheduled for release in winter of 2005, Mythic is currently developing Imperator in addition to Dark Age of Camelot expansions.