We seem to have some problems with the DNS settings of the game. Until they’re solved, you can access the server at this ip address.

Update: problem should be fixed, but it will take 1-2 days for the DNS to propagate again. You can access the server in the meantime by using the IP address above.

Well, Mars worked his ass off and did the game’s history. Unfortunately the blog’s theme messed up the way it looks, so it’s a bit hard to read. Anyway, if you want to give it a shot, the game history is here.

And now for the updates uploaded to the server today, fixed bugs and improvements:

• Latest battles and scout reports from the alliance now showed in the Battles tab of the alliance.
• You can now cancel an army attack or reinforcement, in the first 5 minutes of travel. After that the troops can’t be recalled.
• Trading now has a 2 to 1 limit. So you can ask for half the number of resources you’re offering, or double. Not more, not less. The NPC trading remains the same, 4 to 1.
• In the simulator, you don’t have to manually insert the first defender anymore, it’s inserted automatically, as it was normal.
• You can send messages to multiple recipients at the same time, by inserting the ; sign between the names. So a message sent to 3 people at the same time would have this at the recipient:  User1; User2; User3
• On the front page of the alliance, you can now see the long name of the alliance as well, not just the short one.
• The Events tab in the Alliance should now work properly and display news of interest about the alliance.
• The Alliance Forum link can now only be seen by the members of the alliance.
• Where you can see a name of a player or an alliance, those should be clickable links now, going to the player or alliance profile. If we missed any, let us know.
• Uploading the alliance banner should work every time now.
• The Player and Alliance Search in the statistics area is modified to show only those that contain the searched string.

That’s it I think. Great work from the programmers today.

Well, one week (and 14 hours) has passed since we launched the game, and we have 850 registered players now.

Here are a few things that were fixed/added today in the game:

1. You can leave an alliance now. You can find the button in the Consulate building.
2. Sent messages should be saved automatically from now on in the Sent tab from the Messages area.
3. You can now see the list of members of other alliances, even if you’re not a member.
4. Sitters can be logged in at the same time as the main user, or as the other sitter. Previously, you could only log in as a sitter if the main user wasn’t logged in.

Mars worked a bit on an article about the history of the game, since we started talking about it, and I’ll post it as soon as I translate it to English (in 12 hours or so).

Until we manage to put all this data in the manual, you can download below the excel file with the production of the resource fields at each level and the costs.

Resources (Excel file)

Also, I’ll try to explain today how the battle works in general. It will be up in the manual in the next few hours.

Update: you can see the war page of the manual here.

Well, it’s 61 hours now since Imperial Ages was launched as a beta and we’ve had high points, and low points, but in the end we’re satisfied of the beginning.

Number of registered players right now: 559

First of all, if you use the unit details excel file, you should download it again. I accidentally uploaded an older version, so it wasn’t the same as the units on the server. Only a few units were different.

And don’t think we’ve been sitting on our behinds these last 2 1/2 days. Here are some of the bugs that were fixed:

• changes in the player profile and village name weren’t saved
• when replying to a message, the receiver got an empty message
• text entered in the alliance and profile description fields were all in the same paragraph. Should be a bit more easy to arrange now.
• a message appearing in the trade office that looked something like "Nan nana na" .. well .. it’s fixed
• not being able to cancel an invitation to join an alliance
• the soldiers gold consume wasn’t included in the total village consume

Deleting the account and the password recovery aren’t fixed yet, but they will be in the next few days.

Remember, if you like the game, let your friends know about it. The more people play it, the more fun it is.

Suggestions and questions can go either on the forums or by email at contact@imperialages.com

Yes, the moment we’ve been waiting for the last 18 months is finally here. Imperial Ages is launched and can be played at www.imperialages.net.

Play The Game

What is Imperial Ages all about?

It’s a free strategy browser game, set in the medieval ages, that allows you to build an empire, train armies, wage war or trade resources with other players.

You start with one small village, and gradually you grow it to the empire status, either by building it up peacefully, or through wars of conquest. Every 4 months or so, you’re able to get your civilization to the next age, which means that most of the troops are upgraded to new ones, you get new buildings and new features that allow you to better manage your empire and give you new options in war.

3 Ages, 4 civilizations, 120 military units, A Quest For Glory.

Read The Story or Play The Game

Some screenshots can be seen here.

What should you do in these first few days? Probably get your resource production up and prepare for the end of the protection period (7 days from the date you started on).

And a few words about the 4 civilizations, so you know which one you should pick:

Papal State - powerful units, but expensive. Good wall protection. Offensive civilization.

Hanseatic League - powerful units, but expensive. Good wall protection. Defensive civilization.

Mongols - weaker units, but cheap. Offensive civilization.

Valachia - weaker units, but cheap. Defensive civilization.

One final word here. Please tell your friends about the game. The more players we get from the beginning, the better the experience will be from the start.

You can follow the latest news on the blog, or you can ask for help or information in the forums.

Raywall gave me the OK, so the official launch is tomorrow morning at 10 AM Server Time (GMT+2). Below is the time in a few other time zones.

GMT time is 8 AM, March 26.

Countdown clock to the launch here (click)

More at the time of the launch.

Hi guys. Unfortunately we got a bit of a problem with one of the options players will have at registration, in which corner of the map they will be able to register. It wasn’t in the Alpha, so it wasn’t tested. Right now, we’re looking at a day of tests and fixing tomorrow, and the official launch on Wednesday (hopefully). I’ll post again tomorrow and let you know more precisely.

Sorry for the delay again, Raywall is doing everything he can to make sure the game will go as smoothly as possible once we launch.

Just wanted to remind everyone that the alpha test of Imperial Ages will end tomorrow, so we have a few days to get everything ready for the official launch Monday, March 24. We’re comfortable enough with the current version of the game and the major bugs that are solved to call it a Beta version.

If you log in right now you can see the improved upper part of the page that will be part of the beta. The building queue has also been implemented and you can see what you are currently building in the left sidebar. You can build a resource and a normal building at the same time.

The ingame alliance forums are also up, but will go through a major redesign in the near future, probably after the beta is launched. I’m talking about graphics and functionality.

The VIP system will not be in place when we launch the beta, but it will be finished in the coming weeks, and those that will want to use the comfort features of the VIP package will be able to pay for a 3 month subscription through PayPal. We’re looking at something like $7.99 right now for the 3 month VIP package. The game can be played easily even without the VIP, this is a free game after all, but the VIP will give you some options like no ads, the ability to have a logo or banner in the player profile, an extra building in the queue and so on. We’re hoping to make it well worth those few dollars if you decide to pay and support the game.

I for one will work on the game manual in the next few days and hopefully have it finished by Monday, though the Easter feast, drinking and recovery period will make it a bit hard.

We had a meeting today, me (Alex), Mars and Raywall (he came to our city) and decided that after 18 months of development, Imperial Ages will finally be launched on March 24, 2008.

The current Alpha round will end Friday, March 21, most probably, and we’ll have 2 days to prepare for the launch of the Beta round.

The Beta round will be the official launch of the game, and it will last for 12 months until the game is restarted again. Normal speed, 3 ages, new military units every 4 months and new buildings. There will be a lot of improvements and features added along the way and probably some bugs that will be fixed.

One thing that it’s not going to be ready for the official launch is the VIP system - the part where people get some cosmetic and comfort related bonuses in game in exchange for a few dollars a month.

That’s about it folks. We’re really excited to be so close to launch and can’t wait to see it happen.

If you haven’t already, please subscribe by email or RSS to the blog so you can get the latest updates on the game. You can find both options in the blog’s sidebar.