Category: Player Spotlight

This month’s Player Spotlight focuses on Durc, familiar orc-ish voice in global chat and leader of the new alliance The Cave. We all appreciate the perspective and positive attitude that Durc brings to the Illy global chat and game as a whole. Learn more about the Player Spotlight program at our website and nominate players by sending an email to community@illyriad.co.uk. 

GM Luna

What brought you to Illyriad and how long have you been playing?

I was playing a game called Luvina and a couple of the players told me about Illyriad. To be honest, I went to the website and thought that it looked like just another city building game so I did not give it a try then. About a year later I was making a rare visit to Facebook and came across Illyriad again. I decided, what the heck … I will give it a try. That was about 7 months ago and I have been having a blast ever since.

Have you played many other online games or been active in other online communities?

I have played MANY online games and been very active in online communities. I have even been a MOD before. My online history goes back to the days of the 300 baud modems and bulletins boards up to present day. So that spans over 30 years.

Any hidden talents or interesting hobbies outside of gaming?

I have 3 wonderful, hilarious dogs. I also enjoy reading, archery, cooking, music, the arts, photography, gardening, oh and gaming. I hope to return to college next year to complete my degree in Crime Scene Investigation Technologies.

What keeps you playing Illyriad?

First of all, the community is wonderful. Global Chat here is actually tolerable. While some people may feel a bit constrained by the monitoring, I find it to be refreshing. We all should remember that people of all ages and backgrounds play here. This is the first game in well over 7 years that I actually keep global chat open on.

Outside of the community, the option to have a choice of paths in the game is what keeps me here. I admit I was getting a little bored but then the new crafting was released. I thoroughly enjoy making all kinds of things.

I also love roleplaying my Orc character. I sprinkle in a little of the Black Speech in GC from time to time and of course I don’t have to follow proper grammatical rules. I am an Orc after all 😉

Additionally I like that this is not a “coiners” game. The playing ground is pretty level between those that spend and those that cannot. This is rare thing in online games today.

What’s your favorite aspect of the game?

I would have to say the complexity of the game. This is NOT a cookie cutter empire building game. And at my age, I MUST have choices. There is something for everyone. I enjoy discussing or watching discussions of all the aspects of the game. I think the DEVS have created an environment that can be tailored by each player as he or she wishes and this feeds into the wonderful community that Illyriad has.

What’s your proudest achievement in game so far?

Well having not been in game very long, establishing The Cave alliance is what I am most proud of. Also, I almost have my first Legendary City.

What are you most looking forward to for the future of Illyriad?

I am looking forward to the new magic whatever form that my take. I have all these pieces and parts of animals, odd herbs and minerals all of which have very enticing descriptions.

What area of the game do you think needs the most improvement?

I would like to see a recall function for the harvesters like we have for troops and diplomats. I have, more often than I care to admit, sent cotters to a square realizing I was in the wrong town. All I could do was sigh heavily as I watched them embark on a 3 day journey.

Having some more choices in the markets would be nice. Things such as alliance trade only would be great. What would go hand in hand with that nicely would be more trade options based on your alliance’s diplomatic relationships.

I would also like to see more chat options, such as private chat or a private group chat. I think this would be a great way to have discussions that might be a bit out of band for GC in general.

What advice would you give a new player in Illyriad?

First and foremost, relax and have fun!!!! Illyriad is a game that requires patience. Ask questions in Global Chat. You will find the player community here to be the most helpful of any to be found.

This month’s Player Spotlight focuses on Tallica, helpful global chatter, creator of new player guides and fiction writer in our Traveler’s Tale forum.  Tallica’s fellow players as well as the GMs appreciate his contribution to the Illyriad community. Learn more about the Player Spotlight program at our website and nominate players by sending an email to community@illyriad.co.uk. 

GM Luna

 

I am Tallica, that is my online name and yes it’s short from Metallica and yes I created it when I was in high school. I live in Seattle, WA with my wonderful wife (she’d probably kill me if she knew I was putting her picture here too!) and my odd dog Pearl. I like to think of myself as a down-to-earth, logically thinking type of person and I hope that shows through whenever and wherever you encounter me. I am a very helpful person, but I also like to joke around (sometimes too much :P). Now on with the interview:

What brought you to Illyriad and how long have you been playing?

I came to Illyriad from a game ad banner posted….somewhere (I think on Kongregate Games, but I could be wrong), back in April 2011, so I’ve been playing for a year and a half (though half of it I was on vacation).

 

Have you played many other online games or been active in other online communities?

My first experience with online gaming was playing Diablo 2, my first actual online game was Nodiatis (an interesting game that is now broken, don’t get me started). I play here and there and everywhere, but Illy has been my longest online game.

 

Any hidden talents or interesting hobbies outside of gaming?

Outside of gaming? Well, I have a quite large (yeah, I’m being modest) collection of movies, I play tennis irregularly with my wife, have a quirky dog, and really love the city I live in (Seattle).

 

What keeps you playing Illyriad?

So many things, the community, the dev team, the game, the tourneys, the updates… I love how deep and involved Illy is and I’m hungry for more!

 

What’s your favorite aspect of the game?

That’s a really hard question. There is so much that really sets Illy apart from games of it’s type (are there REALLY any other games of this type?). If Illy had turned out to be another newbie farming game, I wouldn’t have stayed. The community and the game mechanics really make it so that isn’t possible, and makes Illy so great.

 

What’s your proudest achievement in game so far?

My Spider Slayer Award 😛 (see my profile), that was me getting revenge for GM TC. Aside from that, making so many friends in the game.

 

What are you most looking forward to for the future of Illyriad?

Probably the day that the devs implement one of my suggestions! Group mailing? Sequential research queues? Specialized chat rooms? GM Tallica? need I go on?

 

What area of the game do you think needs the most improvement?

Currently, I would say that having pathfinding will be a major improvement, it’s kind of silly that troops can freely cross oceans and such. Also, the factions have been around forever and have very little to do with anything. I know, I know, it’s coming soon.

 

What advice would you give a new player in Illyriad?

Have you read my newbie guides?

This month’s Player Spotlight focuses on Eaque, active Illy player and add-on developer. Nominated by his fellow players, the GMs agree that we all appreciate Eaque’s contribution to the game and community. Learn more about the Player Spotlight program at our website and nominate players by sending an email to community@illyriad.co.uk. Now on with the interview!

GM Luna

What brought you to Illyriad and how long have you been playing?

I discovered Illyriad through the Chrome Web Store, about a year ago and have been playing since. I’m not quite sure what made me sign up as I usually don’t play games, but I’m very happy I did. It was actually my first Illyversary 20 days ago (thanks Vibs for thinking of it).

 

Have you played many other online games or been active in other online communities?

Being a web developer, computers and Internet are a big part of my life, but oddly enough I’ve never been much of a gamer. Illyriad is the first online game I’ve ever played but I’m part of a few online communities regarding technology and programming.

 

Any hidden talents or interesting hobbies outside of gaming?

I play tennis in competition, and regularly other sports: beach volley, squash, surf, cycling etc. I love fantasy litterature… Abercrombie, Rothfuss, Feist, Tolkien are among my favourite authors.

I also play a game every thursday with friends, called “Werewolves and Villagers” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mafia_(party_game)). I definitely sound like a nerd when I mention it, but it’s a great social game, you should give it a go. Gather a group of friends and start playing, you won’t regret it (rules here: https://www.brenbarn.net/werewolf/rules.html). Even the big shots in the Silicon Valley play it (https://www.wired.co.uk/magazine/archive/2010/03/features/werewolf?page=all)

 

What keeps you playing Illyriad?

I keep playing Illyriad because if offers me a great deal of fun and a playground to use my programming skills, all at the same time.

I especially like:

– the depth of the game. I’m quite amazed at the level of complexity existing in Illyriad. It’s also quite well balanced in terms of rules, like the bonus/penalty brought by a new building etc… Kudos to you GMs, must be hell to keep it balanced!

– the dynamic of the community. People are really nice, encouraging, happy to be here and eager to share. I made good friends here and I’m really glad for that.

– the third party tool policy. I just love your position on user-developed tools. You are encouraging developers within the community to create their own addons around Illyriad. This is quite rare and deserves to be praised.

 

What’s your favorite aspect of the game?

Tough question… Probably the evolving nature of the game, and the fact that you can’t buy your way in.

 

What’s your proudest achievement in game so far?

What I’m most proud of is my add-on Illytools (https://www.illytools.net/site/page?view=about). I’m always so happy when I receive ingame mails from players telling me how Illytools is useful to them. And SweetSpot probably saved half the players from blindness when looking for a place to settle a new town 🙂

 

What are you most looking forward to for the future of Illyriad?

I would love to see new continents interconnecting with Elgea. I’m also looking forward to the Faction AI going live, I think it will shake things a bit. (And if possible, more tech blog posts from GMTC explaining the inner workings of Illyriad.)

 

What area of the game do you think needs the most improvement?

Magic could be improved and expanded to be worth specializing in. Terraforming would be really cool, as all the natural good spots are now taken in Elgea.

 

What advice would you give a new player in Illyriad?

I’d say “Be patient, Illyriad unfolds as you grow, don’t expect to have everything right away”. And also “Highly addictive game, there’s a good chance you start waking up at night to send vans out”. 🙂

 

And a big thanks to the community for choosing me for this month’s player spotlight!

This month’s Player Spotlight focuses on Bonaparta, active forum participant and global chatter, player tournament enthusiast and orc-ish roleplayer. Her fellow players, as well as the GMs of Illy appreciate the spirit and enthusiasm that Bonaparta brings to the game. Learn more about the Player Spotlight program at our website and nominate players by sending an email to community@illyriad.co.uk. Now on with the interview!

GM Luna

What brought you to Illyriad and how long have you been playing?

I started playing in October 2011. My boyfriend, who also plays Illyriad, introduced it to me and I liked the complexity and slow pace. The community was a nice experience, so I stuck to the game. I also come from a country that used to be called Illyria province and then kingdom of Illyria. The name of the game seemed somehow fitting. It is also nice that boyfriend and me have the same hobby.

Have you played many other online games or been active in other online communities?

I haven’t been playing any games for more than 2 years before, because all my free time was consumed by me finishing my doctorate. The last game I played before Illyriad was Glory of Fellowland. It is nice game, but a bit too simple for my taste. I also won the first realm I played so not enough challenge there… Before that I’ve been playing games since I was 7 when my father bought me and my brothers a Commodore 64. I always liked strategy and especially strategy combined with fantasy creatures and magic. I just love games like Heroes of Might and Magic, Master of Magic, Dominions and Age of Wonders.

Any hidden talents or interesting hobbies outside of gaming?

I have a dog, 6 years old 55 kg black-brown Hovawart. I like recreational sports like skiing, squash, table tennis, cycling, climbing, skydiving and I like to run. I’m part of a group that has been pen and paper roleplaying for more than 10 years, mostly Dungeons and Dragons. In the lab I was once required to make HDR photography of a sample. I liked the results so I’m now a self-educated HDR photography maniac. Wherever I travel I make hundreds of HDR photos. I also like to photograph the night sky with help of my refracting telescope and this year I bought a waterproof camera case so I can take pictures when I dive. My family also owns quite big vineyard. I help there sometimes and I like to sample the products too.

What keeps you playing Illyriad?

Me and my boyfriend have a lot of fun. We discuss the different aspects of the game and try to excel at them. The game has the right amount of complexity. Once you reach certain size, whole new different strategies open up. The orc female character in the game is also my character in pen and paper roleplaying. I like to roleplay. Community is nice.

What’s your favorite aspect of the game?

I’m not sure I can pick a single aspect of the game that I like the most. I like the whole package. From building, trading, fighting and socializing.

What’s your proudest achievement in game so far?

Hm. Yesterday I built my 10th town, I’m proud of that. My alliance won in a quite difficult war few months back. I’m sure that I’m the toughest orcess in the game since I have 700 scrawny wolves 🙂

What are you most looking forward to for the future of Illyriad?

Hard to say. I really don’t know what the future of Illyriad will be. Even without changing any programmable aspect of the game, the community can make changes in our behaviour. It really is we players that make this game. Community can decide to play as Farmville or Evian, it’s up to us.

What area of the game do you think needs the most improvement?

Diplomatic units just don’t do anything much in the game. Combat system for diplomatic units is too simplistic and unrealistic. You can succeed or lose all units, there should be more degrees of complexity here. Thieving is fun, but now everyone will just store their valuables in faction hubs. Assassins could do more damage, saboteurs are completely useless.

Magic at this point is extremely limited. Many players including me have millions of magic points stored, unable to use them. Perhaps new magic schools, like summoning, clairvoyance, terraforming.

I’m still trying to cope with new aspects of trade, but I’m already missing two options: Trade embargo on certain player(s) or alliance(s) – I just don’t want to sell something to my enemy or market speculator. Trade only within alliance option – I really would like to set sell price in a faction hub to 0 GP for basic resources, but only my alliance or my training alliance members can “buy” them, this would simplify resource help for new players immensely. I would also set different prices for my alliance mates then for the rest of the players.

All weapons, armours and horses have % based penalties or benefits. I would also like to see not % based equipments that have like +2 attack points or +4 to all defence points. Adds more options to all crafting system and makes even the cheapest units like kobolds worth equipping. +2 attack means much for kobold, but is very poor weapon in hands of a knight. I would also like to see my caravans equipped with better horses.

New specialist military unit for each race, that would be extremely costly to train and required a lot of rare herbs or minerals or body parts. Such unit should have extremely good qualities too.

Change training times for existing units. All units should have comparable training time per EXP point.

Terrain attack and defense bonuses and penalties should be much larger. I would say cavalry is only 5% effective on high mountains not 70%. Archers in jungle can’t really shoot anything so I would make them only 1% effective and so on. This would force players to rethink their strategy not like now where vast majority are training only cavalry and archers.

More options for relationships between alliances not just confederations and NAPs. One option should be vassalage, where certain % of alliance gold income is paid to the other alliance (like alliance tax but payed to other alliance). This can be result of peace negotiations or just paying for protection or mining rights. Trade embargo option – no direct or faction hub trading possible between members of alliances that have trade embargo between them. Economic cooperation option – military units would still kill each other, but military units would not kill harvesting units.

What advice would you give a new player in Illyriad?

Don’t rush. Pace yourself, think carefully before everything that you do and have a plan. Before you make major decisions in game read forums and consult with other players. Major decisions are: Joining alliance, moving towns and settling new towns, specializing your towns and sovereignty.

This month’s Player Spotlight focuses on Shadow, a long time Illy player, active community member and shining example of good sportsmanship in the field of competitive tournaments. Shadow’s good-natured spirit of competition are what drew his peers to nominate him for this spotlight, and we couldn’t agree more. Learn more about the Player Spotlight program at our website and nominate players by sending an email to community@illyriad.co.uk. Now on with the interview!

GM Luna

What brought you to Illyriad and how long have you been playing?

I have always enjoyed “build and conquer” type games, so when I stumbled on Illy in January of 2011, I knew I found a game that could hold my interest.

Have you played many other online games or been active in other online communities?

Never anything with an online community. This was a totally new experience for me.

Any hidden talents or interesting hobbies outside of gaming?

Hidden talents….hmmm, I’m still looking for those! I don’t know how interesting racing is to the rest of you, but it’s always been a big part of my life. I grew up racing go carts, and have been hooked ever since.

What keeps you playing Illyriad?

My friends on here, are the biggest reason. Just pure curiosity is the other. We just never know what kind of mischief those crazy geomancers from the Circle of Five are going to create!

What’s your favorite aspect of the game?

Tournaments are something I take personal interest in. My alliance was created to focus on these, as well as the mysteries that are still out there.

What’s your proudest achievement in game so far?

The alliance I have formed, of course! I couldn’t ask for a better group of players to support it. Not only are they my allies, but also people I call friends. I am also proud of what I “almost” achieved in the Undead tournament….lol. I held the lead nearly the entire tournament, and had a great time while doing it. It didn’t matter that I was taken out and lost the lead (I think I finished out of the top 20…lol). I just loved the special attention I was given by other alliances. They made it fun!

What are you most looking forward to for the future of Illyriad?

I look forward to all the new features and updates to the game. It’s why I play. The game is constantly evolving, causing the players to evolve and change their strategies. It really keeps players involved in Illy.

What area of the game do you think needs the most improvement?

Defense. Mainly encampment defense. Armies should have the ability to “dig in” and defend themselves better. At present, there’s not much you can do about a large advance cav army coming at your occupying force.

What advice would you give a new player in Illyriad?

Hang in there! Illyriad can be a bit overwhelming at first, with all the research and buildings. Take your time and don’t get discouraged. The community is very helpful, and allows new players the chance to grow, unlike some games out there. Finding a good alliance that can support new members is very helpful early on. Just be sure the alliance suits your play style. Don’t just jump into the first one that invites you. Take the time to get to know players. Other than that, have fun, and welcome to Illy!

This month our Player Spotlight focuses on Illyriad’s currently #1 top ranked player, ScottFitz. As a long time Illy player, forum participant and helpful global chatter, Scott’s positive impact on the game has been noted by his peers who nominated him for this spotlight. We all wish to congratulate Scott and thank him for his continued contributions to the culture of Illyriad. Learn more about the Player Spotlight program at our website and nominate players by sending an email to community@illyriad.co.uk. Now on with the interview!

GM Luna

What brought you to Illyriad and how long have you been playing?

I literally stumbled upon Illy two years ago in April of 2010. I had been trying out a few other games in Illy’s genre (but not in Illy’s league) and only lasted a few days, at best, with any of those, Then I happened upon Illy and fell in love. That was back before, biomes, geography, water or even NPCs, but it was still far superior to anything I had seen. And it has continued to get better. I am excitedly looking forward to the next two years, and the next two.

Have you played many other online games or been active in other online communities?

Nope. Just dabbled with a few gravely inferior predecessors to Illy, but never enough to get involved in what passes for a community there. Most online games fail to interest me beyond a few hours or days.

Any hidden talents or interesting hobbies outside of gaming?

I have been an actively DMing D&D games for the past 35 years, I am an amateur entomologist with a passion for eusocial aculeate Hymenoptera, and I have a deep interest in pre-classical anatolian and levantine history. My nerd credentials are fairly unassailable. IRL I work as a graphic artist in an ad agency so I am also a Photoshop pro and an expert on email marketing.

What keeps you playing Illyriad?

I love the underlying mechanics of the game, and by that I mean the fact that everything is delicately balanced. More is not necessarily better. Balancing tax rate, food consumption, population, army size, army composition, troop replacement rate and such are not straightforward propositions. I am constantly tweaking and fine tuning my towns and armies. Also, many of the mechanics are unclear. The glorious dearth of documentation on many of the aspects of the game foster guesswork, experimentation, reliance on intuition, and many fruitful discussions and arguments in GC, AC and on the forums.

What’s your favorite aspect of the game?

Well, naturally I love the community. We, the community, elevate an already excellently conceived and executed game into something truly spectacular, I have made real friends here and I deeply care for and respect most of my fellow players. There is a depth of interaction here that is rarely approached online, and sometimes not even out in the real world. I also love the persistent, sandbox concept. There is no endgame, no closure — I hate closure. We are all free to play as we see fit – I despise orthodoxy. I dearly love the graphic look and feel of the game. And, I actually love the pace! Everything requires patience and planning. Strategy and diplomacy win out always. It is possibly to step away for a few days or even weeks and come back to your towns intact, or relatively intact (not that I have ever put that theory to the test of course). Plus as a bonus, the slower pace helps keep trolls away; they get bored after a bit and go off to torment puppies or set things on fire, or whatever trolls do when they are not trying to rile up GC.

What’s your proudest achievement in game so far?

Mostly my interactions with the community. I like to think I have built somewhat of a reputation for credibility and integrity, and I am very proud of the role I have played in helping resolve several significant diplomatic situations. And I am very proud of my part in helping to set the tone within my alliance. It is a very comfortable cohesive place to be. Without any bias whatsoever, I can safely say that mCrow is clearly the best alliance! I also a a bit proud of getting a town back up to legendary size from exodus in just over a week (with plenty of help from my alliance)

What are you most looking forward to for the future of Illyriad?

Re-tooling all of my towns when the next update is released.

What area of the game do you think needs the most improvement?

Communications. Private chat, friend lists, other chat channels, improved alliance forums and a few more email enhancements would add the most. But beyond that, just more of the same, Illy is nearly perfect as is, and is getting more so steadily.

What advice would you give a new player in Illyriad?

Focus on economics before military. Build up a strong town before building an army. Go into global chat and ask questions and get to know people. Visit the forums and the wiki. Read the guides. Do not join an alliance in haste. If you find yourself in conflict with another player, talk first to that player, then if that does not work, talk to that player’s alliance. If there is still a problem, either move, or find an alliance to help you. Mostly have fun and take your time.