A couple months ago, we had a look at Das Tal, an MMO inspired by the likes of Ultima Online. It’s pvp-driven and heavily skill-based, promising both small-scale skirmishes and wide-sweeping raids meant to change the dynamics of the world you play on.
The concept was tantalizing when we first heard about it, with servers set to restart regularly giving all players, regardless of when they join, equal opportunities to succeed. Since then, Fairytale Distillery has gained $130,000 in funding to help boost work on character animation, interface design, skill effects, and sound design. More excitingly, a playable build of Das Tal is now possible and is expected to be open for public testing in July.
[youtube link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2DkAPZkS7M” width=”590″ height=”315″]
There are no safe-zones and everything is free loot. This isn’t your friendly MMO experience where the worst thing that can happen to you in town is getting verbally badgered by trolls. But far from being a complete anarchy, there are incentives to keep players on track and cooperation will bring noticeable benefits. Sharing resources will be critical if you want to make your settlement as strong as possible.
For more information on the direction of the development, check out the video above or head over to their website. A Steam Greenlight submission is on the way, but until then you can find their concept page here.
And of course, I did say they’re open for tester sign-ups, so if you’re itching to sink your teeth into what I see as a breath of fresh air amongst the usual modern approach to MMOs, click this for a chance to play before the public.