Emperor ROTMK site

May 3rd, 2002 - Cambridge, MA - Impressions and Breakaway Games Launch New Website for Emperor: Rise of the Middle Kingdom Applications Now Being Taken to Beta Test Multiplayer Components, a First in the City Building Genre Impressions and Breakaway Games today unveiled a new website for the upcoming city-building game Emperor: Rise of the Middle Kingdom. The site is packed with new information, screenshots, and background material. In addition, the site serves as the host for beta-test applications, also open today for immediate sign-up. Starting in mid-May, several hundred gamers will be enrolled to get a sneak peek at the game and put Emperor: Rise of the Middle Kingdom through extensive single- and multi-player testing. The beta test, which will run through July, will focus on balancing the game's new and revolutionary multi-player mode, including competitive and co-operative play. "Beta participants will also be asked to take a look at the single-player missions and help us with compatibility testing," said Jon Payne, producer for Emperor: Rise of the Middle Kingdom. Emperor: Rise of the Middle Kingdom offers gamers their first opportunity to play a city building game with their friends, online via the Internet. A great variety of both collaborative and competitive multiplayer games will be offered. Players may need to collaborate in building one of China's engineering marvels, or they may share a common goal to attain a certain level of affluence. In competitive multiplay, players take sides - or may be a side unto themselves - and fight for sole power over China. "We're looking for a broad range of people and systems so everyone should feel free to apply," said Payne. "Both expert and novice players are welcome." According to Payne, selection for the beta test is based on a variety of criteria: system specs, experience with other Impressions Games products, and skill in documenting suggestions and communicating them clearly. Emperor: Rise of the Middle Kingdom brings city builders inside the Great Wall of China. Leaving the Mediterranean behind, the city-building series makes its first foray into Asia and immerses the player in brand new surroundings. China has existed for over 4,000 years, but its 4,000 year history has been marked with new technologies and ideas replacing - or enhancing - the old. This is the world in which the player will take the reigns of leadership and take their cities through the twists and turns of Chinese history. Game Features: New exotic setting: » Build imperial Chinese cities through three thousand years of Chinese history. Start with the Xia dynasty in 2100 B.C. and progress through the Shang, Zhou, Qin, Han, Sui/Tang, and Song dynasties. » Produce exotic new commodities never seen in earlier city building games: rice, bean curd, millet, lacquer, bronzeware, tea, silk, hemp, paper and jade. » Learn the ways of four different Oriental philosophies (ancestor worship, Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism) to induce heroes to visit and bless your city. » Construct majestic monuments including temple complexes, pagodas, palaces, tumuli, the Great Wall and the tomb with the terra-cotta army. » Pick a zodiac animal at the start of each game session, and hold New Year's Festivals during its years to receive special city benefits. Multiplayer play: » Send emissaries to other players to conduct diplomacy and establish trade. » Hire spies to infiltrate other cities to gather information or conduct sabotage. » Team with other players to complete great works of engineering such as China's Great Wall, and the 1,200-mile Grand Canal from Beijing to Hangzhou. » Raise troops to travel to other cities on raids or full-scale assaults. Enhanced game engine: » Combat enemies with the enhanced combat engine that includes siege weapons, collateral damage, and torching of buildings. » Enjoy the new graphics engine that adds 25% more detail to all graphics within the game. » Manipulate export prices to compete in trade wars with the improved trading system. » Feed your people well using the customizable farming and food system, which includes "Today's Special" at the Food Shops.