PlaneShift
Developer(s)	Atomic Blue
Engine	PlaneShift Engine Crystal Space for 3D
Platform(s)	Macintosh, Windows, Linux, BSD, Solaris
Release	Under development. Last major release on March 2, 2008.
Genre(s)	MMORPG
Mode(s)	Multiplayer

PlaneShift is a cross-platform fantasy MMORPG in development. Client software is available for Linux, Windows and Mac OS X. It is a no-budget project produced by a group of developers, founded by Luca Pancallo, and guided by the Atomic Blue non-profit organization. The server side engine code is completely written from scratch by PlaneShift team, while the 3D rendering features are based on the Crystal Space 3D engine. The game engine is released under the GNU General Public License (GPL), available to anyone for download. The content is released under a proprietary license.^[1]

The game is free to play, with no monthly fee, no premium upgrades, and no advertising on the site or in game.^[2]

The game is currently in the pre-alpha stage of development, at version 0.4, codenamed Steel Blue. The first version released February 10, 2002, 0.1, was codenamed Atomic Blue and the next version, 0.2, was codenamed Molecular Blue. The Molecular Blue server was shut down on December 16, 2004 and replaced with 0.3, Crystal Blue. The current version, Steel Blue, was released to the public on March 2, 2008.^[3]

Setting

PlaneShift is set inside a colossal stalactite named Yliakum, divided into eight levels, of which the lower two are flooded. Life is possible because a huge crystal, named The Azure Sun, draws light from the surface of the planet. PlaneShift currently has 12 playable races that all have their own homelands and characteristics^[4]. Outside of Yliakum are the Stone Labyrinths and through these the player can access even more areas, like the cave in which the stalactite hangs. In Steel Blue, the cities of Hydlaa, Gugrontid, part of Ojaveda and the Bronze Doors Fortress can be accessed. The other levels of Yliakum and the cave it hangs in are not yet accessible.^{[citation needed]}

Races

Many different races populate the world of Yliakum. Players can choose to create a character with any one of these races: Xacha or Ylian (Humans), Nolthrir or Dermorian (Elves), Stonebreaker or Hammerwielder (Dwarves), ethereal Lemurs, Kran, a type of rock creature, Diaboli, a devil-like race, Enkidukai, a race of feline humanoids, Klyros, a winged reptilian, or Ynnwn, the large offspring of an Elf and a Diaboli^[5]. All are playable, but models have not been implemented for some races.

History and politics

Yliakum's history is classified into five different epochs. The races of Yliakum were created by Talad and Laanx, the two chief deities of the setting.^[6]

Yliakum is governed by eight "Octarchs", one representing each level of Yliakum. Under them are lesser representatives, twenty in each level (160 total), called "Vigesimi". At the beginning of every year there is a meeting of all Octarchs and Vigesimi that lasts for several months, where they address issues pertinent to Yliakum's inhabitants. Ochtarchs generally remain in power for life.^[7]

The main currency is the Tria, triangle-shaped coins made of sturdy alloys, metals, or crystals. The crystal mineral can easily be found in the mines and is transparent or light green in color. Magically forging the crystals produces a perfect triangle with rounded-off edges. There are other units of currency, including Hexas (hexagon shaped coins that have a 10:1 exchange rate with the tria), Octas (octagon shaped; 50:1 exchange rate) and Circles (circular gold coins; 250:1 exchange rate).^[8]

The Death Realm

When a character dies he/she is transported into the Death Realm,^[9] a large network that the player must navigate, full of annoyances like dead-ends and perilous walkways. Upon return through the portal back to life, a temporary stat penalty occurs. The Death Realm will be expanded in future version to be very expansive and include many traps and puzzles for players to solve before returning to life.^[10]

Gameplay

Roleplay

One of the main concerns of the PlaneShift staff is roleplay. This is accomplished by extensive attention to roleplay details, background stories, books, and quests. New players are encouraged to read the guide set forth by the staff which details how to properly act in character^[11]. In the world of Yliakum are GMs who help the players stay in character, along with players who spend much time to develop the persona of the characters with which they play.

Character creation

PlaneShift features an expansive character creation tool containing two options. The first option is to choose to make a "quick" character, in which you choose a skill path and a character is randomly generated for you. Alternatively you can choose to make a character from scratch. Starting from scratch allows you to choose every aspect of your character from childhood, life events, parents, race, name, and appearance. Only after choosing all of these options are your character's stats revealed. ^[12]

Combat

Yliakum is populated by many creatures that can be fought for loot and experience, ranging from simple rats up to large creatures which may require many players to defeat. Players may also engage in duels on a voluntary basis, which requires both parties to agree to the conditions of the duel. Players may fight with bare fists, known as melee, or wield a variety of swords, axes, daggers, and hammers.

Magic

Planeshift magic comprises several distinct "Ways" (Schools): Crystal Way, Red Way, Brown Way, Azure Way, Blue Way, and Dark Way. Casting spells requires combinations of special magical items called glyphs.^[10]

Training

Characters attain Progression Points (PP) when they successfully engage in combat and uses of certain abilities. These are spent at NPC trainers to increase the power of various abilities. All characters are level-less and class-less. Role-playing is a relatively high priority in the Planeshift community^[11]; the game's mode of character training follows with this theme.

Quests

Over 200 quests have already been implemented, although some of them retain glitches. The NPC dialog system in Planeshift is similar to the one used in Tibia - player characters communicate with computer-controlled characters by typing in words and phrases rather than selecting remarks from a list. ^[9] Figuring out what must be said to NPCs to further quest plots makes the quest system challenging for many players.

License

PlaneShift uses the open source Crystal Space game engine and the Crystal Entity Layer. The source code for the client and server, that the game employs, is open source under the GNU General Public License.

All other elements like artwork, ruleset, dialog, etc. are proprietary and licensed under a custom license: the PlaneShift Content License (PCL). The PCL prevents modifications, redistributions, and assigns the copyright of accepted contributions to Atomic Blue under work for hire clauses. This license also forbids using the content for profit or for unofficial hosting. ^[13]

Security Issues

The code wasn't reviewed by security experts, and security issues can be found throughout the code.
A vulnerability in server-client communication was recently demonstrated by a proof of concept. The server fully trusts the data it receives from the client. Showing a bad design of the network code.

Notes and references

External links

• Official PlaneShift website
• Planeshift at SourceForge.net
• PlaneShift wiki