Development PlanThe following development plan is a set of goals and tasks that we're going to complete in the more or less near future. Its purpose is to give you an insight into what we're working on and what future awaits Tibiantis. Please keep in mind that this development plan is by design very general and does not specify priorities or deadlines. These will be announced separately during the realization of specific tasks, because at this stage they can change due to numerous factors, sometimes beyond our control, and we need to remain flexible to account for such situations. Furthermore, the dvelopment plan is definitely not exhaustive - it includes only the improvements that you'll be able to experience. Other changes, like enhancing the anti-cheating prevention methods, developing the infrastructure, fixing bugs, or taking better care of advertising and publicity, are not included in this document, even though they are not at all less important. On the contrary, the are often the top priority and require the most time and effort.
The development plan will be updated regularly to reflect the progress accurately. New goals or tasks may also be added.
Content UpdatesWhat usually interests everyone the most is obviously the updates. We're planning to release roughly one big update per year. Last year it was Aruthang. This year it's going to be the reworked Ankrahmun. Why not more often? Primarily because preparing an update is a time-consuming process, which by the way we're planning to document and publish in a separate article to give you a better idea of what it involves. But we can already say that creating everything from scratch - the whole concept, story, lore, sprites, NPCs, monsters, and the terrain - and then balancing it all out properly takes a lot of time and effort. If we could redirect all our focus to preparing the update, it'd probably take but a few months. However, since we have a number of other no less important tasks (e.g. tracking down cheaters), the time needed to complete the update-related works increases. Another reason (however insignificant in the face of the aforementioned time issues) is that our goal is to maintain the original core and vibe, and too frequent updates would strip Tibiantis of those nostalgic aspects, especially considering that we have plans for it for a few years forward. The game does require some freshness though, and that is why one large update per year seems to be by far the most reasonable approach.
ClientOur plans for the client are limited mostly to cosmetic changes:
- putting out sprite packs from versions 7.1, 7.2 and 7.3 with an option to choose between them (besides the current 7.4 version)
- releasing a launcher that allows for saving and loading profiles (i.e. hot keys and other preferences)
- minor amenities, e.g. an option to keep guild chat open
- a new improved camplayer
You often ask about an additional side panel in the client - we even conducted initial tests for such a feature, but for now we pushed this to the background. Perhaps we will get back to it one day, not any time soon though.
WebsiteDespite the very recent launch of the new website, we still have some improvements planned:
- a notification system that will inform about any proceedings related to the particular account and other activities worth noting, e.g. new bids in an auction, a win in an auction, upcoming rent payment day, changes inside the guild or status changes thereof (e.g. becoming inactive), mentions and quotes on the forum. We also have plans to allow guild leaders to send messages or announcements to all guild memebers using our notification system. This system is now being tested, so much work has already been done, but it is not given the highest priority.
- a new improved referral system. The plan is there but we're still working on giving it the final shape. Perhaps it will somehow be integrated with the partnership programme (see below in section Others).
- new functionalities on the forum: unread posts, preview before publishing a post, search function, a guild board for each guild, and a few other conveniences
- new content: the articles section, the updates section (where you'll be able to find information about the released and upcoming updates), the events section, the manual, an extensive "about", a subpage with a screenshot gallery, and sections related to the game specifications, like a list of spells, creatures, or the world map.
- new payment methods, including more currencies
- it's also possible that the website's design will get some improvements, including a responsive layout for mobile devices
We also had some plans for a little fanstore, but unfortunately we had to put this project on hold.
Social MediaIt is definitely one of our goals to take better care of our social media. We can distinguish two main points here. Firstly, we'll be looking to increase activity on our Facebook page and YouTube channel and enhance their visibility. Secondly, we'd like to introduce some changes to our Discord space. The new features will include integrating Discord and Tibiantis accounts, trade and server-log channels integrated with the ones in the game (also a report channel, accessible only to the administration, where the reports from the game will be forwarded). The Discord server will also be boosted to handle the new functionalities.
OthersWe'd like to launch a partnership programme for streamers, fansites, tutors, and other supporters. For example, we're considering automatically granting pacc days as a benefit for active streaming from Tibiantis. The programme is in the planning phase, and - much like with the referral system - the main difficulty is deciding on its final shape. We appreciate all ideas, comments, and other forms of input on this subject, feel free to share them with us.
New WorldsFinally, the matter that - like the updates - concerns probably the majority of players. Yes, we confirm that we would love for Tibiantis to offer more worlds, and we've been open about this from the very beginning. But as we're always saying, this cannot happen at the expense of the existing one. That is why we'd like to state: settle your nerves and fear not - the original server is not going to be forgotten, it's still important and worth playing on. No other world will be launched until we can be certain that we have the capacity to manage all of them, while still providing the same high-quality service, and that the community is able to maintain a certain level of activity to all worlds. Until then, we're refraining from making any detailed plans. That is why you should not expect new worlds any time soon. However, if we were to think ahead, we'd be considering only such worlds that differ from the existing one, so that they contribute to growing the community, instead of competing. The differences that we have in mind might include the PvP system (PvP, Non-PvP, PvP-Enforced) or the location. So we're dismissing for example another PvP server for Europe. Moreover, due to balance issues, we're also excluding worlds with rates other than x1, so we're not considering for instance a x2 server. The only acceptable exception might be - we're not saying that it will - a seasonal high-rate world, that could be launched for promotion purposes as sort of teaser of the existing long-term (x1) world. Do not, however, expect permanent long-term worlds other than x1.
Most of the questions that we get about new worlds are about a server located in America, and a Non-PvP server. As for the latter, setting and enforcing a proper policy regarding blocking out other characters might pose some difficulty. Both types of servers are possible. However, as stated before, we do not have any specific plans yet.
We're awaiting your feedback. Feel free join the discussion.Last edit: removed Criminal Record from the list - done.
