Threshold (online game)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Threshold RPG is an online text-based role-playing game using a MUD style interface. The game opened to the public in 1996 and is now owned by Frogdice, Inc. It is based in the United States, but it draws players from all around the world. In its ten-year history, the game has won a great many awards.
Threshold RPG has been in continual operation, development, and expansion since 1994 and is best known for its enforced role playing. It is the oldest enforced role playing MU*/Massively multiplayer online game. Threshold RPG runs on a dedicated server and is coded in LPC, a versatile language derivative of C.
At its peak in the early 2000s, Threshold had between 110 to 120 players online at peak times (between 6:00 pm and 9:30 pm EST). Currently, Threshold averages between 70-90 players at its peak times with a great deal of fluctuation. Usage tends to climb higher when new areas are introduced or administration-run events are occurring.
Its lead developer, Michael A. Hartman, (known on Threshold by the screen name "Aristotle"), already has two successful online games to his credit, and a third in development (Primordiax). The game was plagued by controversy in the early 90s. It has, since then, retired to a more quiet atmosphere usually attributed to long-time games. Few games have sparked as much passion as Threshold RPG, both negative and positive as indicated by Computer Games Magazine's Massively Multiplayer Issue. Page 79:
"Michael 'Aristotle' Hartman's Threshold might be an old-fashioned text-based MUD, but it emphasizes roleplaying and story and boasts some fervent players. How fervent? Some of the web sites dedicated to in-game alter egos are a tad scary."
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[edit] Geography
Threshold is based around three landmasses known as Sable, Thrace, and Qetesh's Rock, with a few cities and villages on the first two. A recent addition to the game introduces a set of volcanic islands that exist off of the southeastern coast of Thrace called the Akanee Isle. The first of these islands is known as the Isle of Eros and is reputed to be the new home of one of Threshold's most powerful characters.
Major settlements include:
- Androctonus (racial village for Scorpiens)
- Banyee (Village)
- Kelnore (Village)
- Sable City
- Thrace City
- Triskele (Rumored)
- Morrigan's Horn (Currently closed to players)
- Isle of Eros (newly introduced)
[edit] Guilds
Guilds in Threshold are equivalent to character classes in other fantasy RPGs that are similar to Dungeons & Dragons. Those in Threshold are:
- Bards
- Clerics
- Fighters
- Mages
- Necromancers
- Paladins
- Psions
- Rangers
- Rogues
- Sorcerers
- Templars
- Thieves
- Warriors
[edit] Races
Threshold is home to several traditional fantasy races, but it also boasts several of its own unique races.
- Human
- Elf
- Dryad
- Kestrel (u)
- Dwarf
- Salamae (u)
- Scorpien (u)
- Catfolk
- Canis
- Gnome
(u) Designates races unique to Threshold RPG.
[edit] Religions
The religion system is one of the most dominant features of the game. It has a Greco-Roman style to its mythology, and the meddlesome and competitive nature of the deities is further evidence of this.
[edit] Gods of the Day
- Vishnu (Mercy, Truth, Goodness, and the Sun)
- Erosia (Love, Fertility, and Protection)
- Herastia (Home, Hearth, and Invention)
- Tempest (War, Storms, and Thunder)
- Silvanus (Nature, Weather, and the Sea)
[edit] Gods of Twilight
- Bilanx (Balance, Justice, and Neutrality)
- Mortis (Life, Death, and the Underworld)
[edit] Gods of Night
- Loviatar (Vengeance, Wisdom, and Pain)
- Belphegore (Battle, Rage, and Fire)
- Bast (Lust, Vice, and Greed)
- Gethsemane (Freedom, Guile, Disguise, and Mischief)
- Set (Evil, Disease, Night, and the Moon)
[edit] Gods of Ages Past
- Calypso
- Chronos
- Vivoria
- Kylamane
[edit] Clans
Clans are a voluntary player-founded and run system. There can be large differences in the purpose, members, operating style, etc. from clan to clan. Clans can compete amongst themselves in various ways for honor and rank. Some clans operate in secret and are known only by their members. Some of the most prominent clans in the history of Threshold include the following:
- Agathos
- Black Hand
- Black Rose
- CPC
- College of Argentine
- Kindred
- Knights Anvilar
- Koyaanu
- Louts
- Nemia
- Obsidian Rose Brotherhood
- Phalanx
- Pride of Praxis
- Rising Tails
- Sanctus
- Saradia
- Shiva
- Taliesin
- Vincere
[edit] Awards
- Featured in Computer Games Magazine's Massively Multiplayer Issue. Page 79: "Michael 'Aristotle' Hartman's Threshold might be an old-fashioned text-based MUD, but it emphasizes roleplaying and story and boasts some fervent players. How fervent? Some of the web sites dedicated to in-game alter egos are a tad scary."
- #1 Role-Playing MUD at TopMudSites, multiple years from 2000 onward.
- #1 Role Playing MUD at The Mud Journal, 1998, 1999, 2000. Also "Best Game of the Year" and "Best Role Playing Game of the Year" in 1998 (winning games were ineligible for subsequent years).
- Featured on CNet's "The Buzz": "Threshold is absolutely amazing. I expect to be playing this for a long time to come."
