Jamyskis

I recently discovered the joys of Daimonin, a MMORPG released under the GPL for Linux, Windows and any other OS you care to port the source to. While it’s relatively stable (0.9.7), it’s not found it’s way into the Ubuntu repositories which means for many Linux gamers this little gem may remain undiscovered.

Now, while most people would think World of Warcraft, Final Fantasy 11 or such like when I say MMORPG, this is a much more simple affair. Not in terms of gameplay complexity, but in presentation. There are enough stats, quests and areas to explore to keep most RPG fans busy, and the multiplayer element of the whole thing is done extremely well. Some of the earliest quests won’t be able to be done without asking for the assistance of a more experienced player, and I’ve found that many of them are often more than willing to oblige (yep, Fog, I’m talking about you - thanks again!)

Daimonin is actually a fork of Crossfire, which is also an MMORPG. Crossfire boasts considerably fewer bells and whistles than its prodigal project, which as I gather was part of the reason for Daimonin’s being. The graphics in Daimonin (and the music too!) remind me of the classic RPGs of the 1990s on the Commodore Amiga and Atari ST. It really is quite a nostalgic feeling and works very well. The simplistic graphics and atmosphere allow for gaming on the most modest of machines and keep bandwidth usage to a minimum, so people with more limited connections may be able to partake. Nonetheless, even on my 2 Megabit connection, I found there was a bit of lag at times, and looking at the chat window I wasn’t the only one experiencing this. Still it wasn’t unbearable.

Anyway, I encourage you all actively to take part in the game and keep an eye out for me (jamyskis) - should you need a hand with the early quests, give me a shout!