Novus Opiate
A frontier road winds past a broken signpost, a burned wagon and a cairn of discarded armour toward a golden-lit fortress city under a storm sky.

The New Era · Systems

The machinery

Fast into the fight. Fair once you are there. Rules everyone can read.

Design goals

What we are building toward

  1. Goal

    Fast into the fight

    A short road to a competitive character, and far less preparation before every fight.

    Ten minutes of buffs, 2000: the Darktide record behind “Fast into the fight”

  2. Goal

    Protection for fresh characters

    Grace periods and level brackets, so a newcomer learns before being hunted.

    The level-50 dungeon, 2004: the Darktide record behind “Protection for fresh characters”

  3. Goal

    Something to fight for, early

    Keeps, ladders and seasonal titles from the start.

    Keeps came in 2008: the Darktide record behind “Something to fight for, early”

  4. Goal

    A published trading policy

    Account trading and real-money trading, decided and published before closed test.

    Accounts changed hands from 2000: the Darktide record behind “A published trading policy”

  5. Goal

    Clear rules on automation

    Bots, macros and multiple accounts, ruled on in public.

    Unattended chains, until 2004: the Darktide record behind “Clear rules on automation”

  6. Goal

    Moderation, not silence

    Tools that deal with abuse and keep the world talking.

    Darktide lost its channels: the Darktide record behind “Moderation, not silence”

  7. Goal

    A code for the staff

    A published code of conduct for the people running the world.

    Inconsistent rulings, 2004: the Darktide record behind “A code for the staff”