Tactics Arena
Online (sometimes referred to
as TAO) is a
turn-based strategy
(TBS)
multiplayer online game
which pushes the limits of
Flash MX.
TAO is home to over 300 thousand players over two
websites and several different
servers
History
Vito Sze, the author of TAO, who
goes by the online game handle of 'Seed', was an active
Flash Artist before TAO, creating a single-player game much
like TAO called Tactics Core. Tactics Arena was a huge
success, and gave Seed to will to make an Online version of
the game.
On October 29th 2003, Seed launched
Tactics Arena Online. Within days of it's launch, Seed was
forced to make numerous updates to help handle the sudden
influx of players. Due to its success, in late November Seed
was offered by a company called Flash Player Studios to sell
them certain rights to the game. Seed agreed, and he now
gets a share of the profits[citation needed].
3 years, 11 more units, and
numerous amounts of bugfixes and new features later, Seed's
small-time game has turned into a big-time source of
entertainment for hundreds of thousands of people.
Game Services
TAO servers operate on a two-tiered
account system, one called "gray" and the other "gold,". The
two types of accounts can be distinguished by the color of
the font their name is displayed in. The gray, or free,
accounts are limited in the units they can make use of, and
also disconnect from the server at the conclusion of every
match. On Legends server, gray accounts are kept if a player
uses them more than once a month. The commercial TAO servers
regularly delete all the gray accounts in a server wipe to
help reduce lag on the servers (as several hundred thousand
accounts are created every month).
For a fee (again varying depending
on "Legends" or the TAO servers) you may upgrade your
account to gold status. This grants you access to all the
unit types in the game, no limitations to your chat speed,
no disconnects after matches, and immunity from the regular
server wipes (For Commercial Servers).
The Legends server fee is a
one-time payment of US$10 or US$20. US$10 upgrades are
called Single Gold Account, and US$20 upgrades are called
Double Gold accounts. Double Gold accounts give you access
to even more units. Being a member of Legends grants you
first time access to new units and features, a one time
payment, and a smaller and closer knit community.
The commercialized TAO servers has
a fee of US$5 a month. This allows immunity against server
wipes, upgraded forum status and priority access to customer
service.
Review
Tactics Arena Online is an
excellently balance turn based strategy game that takes the
game of chess innovates it and made it better! Want to
relive the medevial period with a twist? Want to devastate
your opponents weakly made formation with your own superior
one? Want to join clans to make friends or be a lone wolf
and have non while making a name for yourself? Then this
game is for you!
Still not convinced? Ok let me try
again. 19 units and 3 races to chose from, each with
different strengths and weaknesses, mix and match them
together to form your invincible army! Divide and conquer!
Claim your bragging rights! And best of all its
an international online game! Play people from all over the
world! And what's more even the slowest of computers can run
this game! Play TAO now and experience quality gaming at its
simplest form! Finally the best part, the game is
absolutely FREE,
no messy emails required, just a log in name and a password!
Too good to be true? Don't take my word for it try
it out today and prove me right!
-Review done by
jowisu a TAO addict
|
