Time Travelling: 15 years of Tibia!Fifteen years. For many people, something this old is still youth. And the best part of it is that the youth is a great thing: We are productive, active, we have the possibility of meeting new people and it is a shiny period. However, when it comes to a game, this concept might be a little different and we might think that 15 means oldness. But with Tibia things are not like that. Even after 15 years, Tibia can still be considered youth, because it let people have great moment, meet new people and make great friends and also grant us thrilling moments during amazing hunts and quests. And, of course, it is still changing often.
If we want to understand better about its history and learn more about this amazing world, we will have to travel… to the past. Now, you are going to see notable facts of Tibian history as well as how it developed through the years.
The beginning:The year is 1995 and it is a warm spring. Stephan Börzsönyi, Stephan Vogler and Ulrich Schlott are coming up with something new, something challenging… something that would change their life in a way that they would never expect. Creating an RPG game different from most games due to the possibility of exploring the graphical interface, that is what they had in their minds. After many plans, efforts, sweating and programming, their creation finally came alive on January 7th, 1997, the day when a permanent game server was launched at the University of Regensburg (the server’s “address” was rrws27.uni-regensburg.de). Their small creation, Tibia, was ready to catch people’s attention.
(Tibia’s first version. This is certainly one of the most famous pictures of Tibia’s past)The first brave hero of that world was called Alge and the incredible Sam was the its first merchant, while spiders, trolls and cyclopses were the first threats. Some time passed and people mastered the art of dueling against each other, known as player killing. Also, after many efforts and researches, inhabitants from that world created something amazing called “Automap” and that would guide them through the whole world. The version Alpha 3.0 was launched on 10/28/1997 and many new evil creatures showed. New citizens like Frodo also decided to settle in Tibian lands to start a new life, serving the community with their services and products.
Such incredible world certainly teased people’s mind and many fansites were created. If you think that fansites were something new, you are wrong! Back in 1997 there already were people gathering information and discussing with their peers about everything that went on Tibia. Yorin was the fansites’ pioneer. Over the years inhabitants of the Tibian lands learned new ways to create more sophisticated websites and since their knowledge was constantly increasing more and more of the so called “fansites” were created. The creators (gods) appreciated their job and the fansite program was created in order support their great and wise followers. These sites are extremely important because they offer people information in many different languages and also offer different kinds of information, not only news. Some of them, for instance, explain quests and bring detailed information about creatures meanwhile some other fansites have forums and grant players tutorials, information about books and also promote contests. Adventurers from all over the world can talk about their experiences and they can share their knowledge, solving riddles and getting more and more power.
(Tibia’s 2.0 Alpha version, 1997)After some time, humans learned more and more about magic that they even managed to create a new system. Those who used physical strength to fight developed and improve their
skills. Also, people that were worried about those who lived far from each other managed to create a magic and efficient postal service that is called
“Royal Tibian Mail”. Such changes were officially registered and accept by the creators on 05/20/1998, when they decided to make different tests (beta version) to make sure that these creations worked as intended.
The world’s population was growing in an amazing rate, more and more heroes and adventurers were born. As a result, the Tibian lands could not handle so many people so that the creators had a brilliant idea: They decided to create a replica of the original world and then they could split the population avoiding overpopulation. 07/02/1998 was the day they created the very first replica. (ps: A replica is known as “server” by tibians).
Mantus, King Crimson, Elleshar, Ralgar, Knightmare, Conaria, Wastl, Lomaxx and Apoc were notable humans that helped in the world’s development and expansion. These brave warriors explored new areas and discovered new dungeons and creatures. They were so courageous that they were constantly finding new places and challenges, bringing them to other people’s eyes.
In 1999, the creators noticed that Guido Lübke was special. Something about him was just... different. It did not take too long until Guido figured out that he had the spirit of a fourth creator that, for some reason, was not known by humans and even by the other creators. Obviously, his powers and virtues would not be wasted so that he joined the other 3 gods.
On 11/03/2000 people named their era “Tibia 6.0 Beta Version”.
On 11/11/2000 it was possible to establish a new limit of humans that could be active (logged in) at once: the number was increased to 300, which nowadays might looks like nothing when compared to the current limit of 1000. However, back in the past, this number was something astonishing and was a real proof that Tibia and its creators was becoming more and more strong and skilled!
The Constant Evolution:2000November and DecemberAs said above, there were already fansites in the past and it resulted in the creation of the fansite program that developed and became what we know today. However, many other things that are common were created long ago.
The “Who is Online?” page was improved by the creators. It was necessary that they could easily see who was active and the community itself had to be able to access such information. The population “boom”, however, forced the creators to improve their ways to control online people. This change was announced on 11/14.
The “Voting System” (currently known as “polls”) was implemented on 11/26. The creators had in mind that it was of utmost importance to know what the humans thought and needed. This system let them get this information in a easy way. You know, such strong and important beings cannot show up in Tibian lands without being “harassed” by mortals.
There also used to be a banished player’s list (nowadays constantly required by the community), but it was removed after some years. The creators knew that order should prevail in the lands and this list was a way to show that rules not only had, but were being followed.
Needless to say, constant changes were also part of that incredible world since always. New creatures and areas are constantly found and it is great because it avoids boredom and also give humans opportunity to get stronger. Also, developing and studying new spells and techniques is always interesting and welcomed as well as quests, which give a unique sense of thrilling and mystery to Tibia!
On December 12th brave adventurers announced that an Orc Fortress was found and the creators decided that a revamp of Rookgaard (yet called “newbie island”) was necessary. Some other places also came to public knowledge. The poison also became more effective and took longer until its effect “wore off”. After all, it was necessary to control the population.
Also, did you know that during this time the murdering was not allowed due to Christmas? Yes! Believe or not, murdering would lead to banishment since humans should keep the peaceful spirit of Christmas. Check out the announcement:
” As Christmas is a peaceful time, we have temporarily abolished player killing. This means that you cannot attack other players directly or with magic missiles. Understand that it is forbidden to kill other players in general until 1st January. Player killing will be punished with banishments. Also, it is no longer possible to push other players into magic fields or down a hole. Next year, we will have a poll about keeping this state or returning (partly) to the old one.”
2001Some humans had special abilities and could develop their magic spells and skills faster and more efficiently than some other people. “The Big Four” (gods) could not predict and control the mighty and merciless Ferumbras. This fiendish sorcerer showed unbelievable magical abilities and strength and spread terror. It’s said that his mind used to be controlled by someone somehow connected to the creators. Moments of this day were frozen by Durin so that he would keep it as a memory. This day was January 31st.
(Ferumbras’ attacking players in the past)Not only creatures and dungeons are part of Tibia. People’s safety had been also very important since the beginning. On 03/11 a new security tool would prevent people from getting active for five minutes if their attempts had failed five times in a row. Probably many people had already passed through this, but did you know that when it happened, you would receive the message “Your player is banished” instead of any other message. It used to happen because the environment was unable to tell the difference between banishment and an account’s locking out. It probably used to scare many people, don’t you think? Imagine what they thought when they heard that they were banished… they probably thought that the gods’ rage were striking them.
In April, a poll concerning Payment Methods for Tibia was created. 40% of the community was will to pay a small fee to keep their advertures and it was a signal that the Premium Account era would start soon. The “Premium Account” is known as “Divine Gift” among tibians.
On 05/22, Gameloft – one of the creator’s ally -, that used to control Tibia replicas, cut their help and obviously the replicas had to be kept safe in some other way. It was decided, then, that the creators would control the replica server instead of giving this task to someone else.
The time passes and more areas are discovered! In October, many new great and famous places were announced to the public, like the Green Claw Swamp, the Ice Islands, Femor Hills, Fields of Glory, Ab’dendriel and Ghostlands. It was an extremely important announcement not only due to the great number of new areas, but also because these areas’ importance. Until today they are very famous and often visited by many people and also hold many quests and mysteries!
(Old Ab’dendriel’s Clanhall)In March, more records were broken. On 07/03/ Tibia’s forum got more than 10.000 threads and the mark of 600 humans active simultaneously was reached. Tibia was definitely counting on a more active community and growing faster and faster.
On 07/21, an extremely important step was given: Humans would need an account to stay alive and active. This account was like a register, which help creators to control people’s data and grant them even more safety. From this day on, tibians would get an account number (nowadays known as “account name”) and a password, both secrets. Trading account was already against the rules by then and only one character could be active at once per account. Fortunately not many humans found a way to deceive the creators and enchant their souls to become undetectable so that they could be active in many different bodies at once with this new system.
Maps are of utmost importance for explorers. The map section was added to Tibian Library in the last day of July and it is a very interesting section until today. People can see the whole Tibia’s Map and also read interesting information about cities and islands. This Library became a famous place among brave adventurers.
Tibia Version 6.3 became available on 09/24 and brought changes related to the rule enforcement specially. Within this update, the Criminal Record was added as well as the “Counsellor” position (nowadays extinct) and the “Complain” button for the criminal record. Counsellors used to help the Rule Keeper Minions (Gamemasters) and were appointed by them too. They used to help GMs by investigating and reporting rule violations and they would also help children by answering their questions.
In the middle of October, using macros – illegal and unknown kind of powers- was finally declared as illegal by Cipsoft (Creators’ and their followers alliance). Check their official announcement:
” From now on the use of macros is forbidden in Tibia. Using tools to automatically do or repeat certain actions in Tibia is considered a violation of the Tibia Rules and may lead to temporarily or permanent banishments from the game. Please play the game as it is meant to be played: by yourself.”
On this very date, the “namelock” punishment for illegal names was also added. It is easy to see that the rule enforcement is already growing up and become stricter, punishing more people and controlling unfair and offensive situations. Respect is something that should be considered of utmost importance in Tibia.
It was on 11/02, in the version 6.4, that Edron was finally created. Knightmare (one of the creators’ ally) was the big responsible for creating this area that holds incredible hunting places, houses, guildhouses and, of course, mysteries. Houses, by the way, were also created in this very day. Needless to say it was important that people owe a big thanks for these changes since they gave them a chance to live the streets and have a cozy and warm place to sleep and keep their items as well as receive friends and visits! Only three days later people were already able to get a Divine Gift by helping the creators so that they could enjoy Edron.
(Edron's in the "stone age")There is a video on youtube that was used as a teaser for Edron’s launching. You watch it
here.
Last but not least, on this date it was announced that Cipsoft was finally founded! The Big Four and their allies simply decided to formalize their union. Did they imagine how big and rewarding their efforts would become? We’d better keep on walking on this time tunnel and see what’s going to happen next so that more answers will come.
On 11/20 Carlin and Kazordoon got new GHs. It was clear that more and more houses were about to come and that the whole community had nicely accepted such a wonderful feature! On this same day, Cipsoft decided that once a replica had reached its limit of active humans at once, only those who owned a Divine Gift would be able to get activated then.
In December the “renaming” became possible in order to change names of those who had illegal names. That is another case of how interesting the destiny is: In the future, renaming characters would become something accessible for everyone who felt like changing the name! On the 19th day of this same month, the two existing replicas were named as Antica (the first one) and Nova were. Cormaya was also created.
2002:If you think that the 10th/15th anniversary events were the only commemorations related to Tibia’s anniversary, you are wrong. On 01/07, Tibia’s 5th birthday, humans earned a special reward after getting their Divine Gift (in this case, a 7-months premium account): The so famous “Shield of Honour”. Events like that are going to happen in the future, but… it is not time to talk about it yet.
(One of the owners of the Shield of Honour)Later in 2002, specifically in February, promotions and its benefits were created and so did the guild list on the official website. Promotions were also an important change in and they prevail until today, making it possible that tibians have different spells and different behaviors during hunts, wars, etc. Expecting new promotions in a close future fortunately is not far-fetched. Once again, we will have to let time tell us. On 03/26 guilds were able to have their own boards in the forum.
During this year, a great sandstorm, coming from nowhere, stroke Edron. Tibians became intrigued by that so they decided to investigate. Many ships were built and adventures threw themselves in a jorney to found the origin of this storm.
On June, a great desertic continent was found and it was called Darama. After that, sandstorms were not reported anymore. Its new hunting spots like pyramids and the desert itself offered many new creatures and brand new kind of scenario. Of course it is not necessary to say that many mysteries were also brought up. What can be hidden in the haunted ruins? What is buried on the desert? Years ago people asked themselves these same questions and… they do that until today.
(Tibia’s Global map after Darama was added)On August 28th a new client that was launched. Tibians now had a gender - Male and female -. Can you imagine when there was no difference between characters? It is not known why creators didn’t do that before. Weird, huh? Also, people developed an ability called “Utmost Immersion” (aka “Fullscreen”). With this ability, tibians could dedicate their minds to the adventure only, that is, all their strength, thoughts and intelligence could be focused on their hunts, quests and wars.
November brought something innovating to Tibia: The first Non PvP replica! This replica was named Secura. So far, it was impossible to stay 100% safe from someone else’s attacks as one could be on Secura. Also, the protection zone blocking of 60 seconds was added. No one has ever managed to explain how it is possible to protect people like that, but it is almost certain that it is due to the creators’ magic.
2002’s December was a pretty interesting month. A new kind of item was created: Magic Items. These items still exist and are helpful both for experienced and inexperienced tibians, like stealth and life rings. Since we are talking about December, it is impossible to forget that many new things are always discovered and announced by this time!
Knightmare shared his ideas with the creators, which resulted in the creation of Venore and in improvements for Rookgaard. Consequently people would get more houses and children would have a better opportunity to develop their skills at Rookgaard. The Big Four created a “death record” too, which would register people’s death and its reason. A new ability was also given to tibians: massive telepathy (known as “private chat channels”). People could chat with their friends and relatives much more easily.
2003During February, greedy summoners learned that selfishness is not interesting so that they have started sharing 50% of their experience with their summons.
On 05/20, the creators could not contain their excess of energy so they had to spill a bunch of their energy on a new creation: a mini version of Tibia. They have created a whole new universe and not a replica for this version of Tibia (Tibia ME).
In July 23rd, Cipsoft announced that a new record had been broken: 8.000 tibians were active at once and the creators wanted to raise the replicas’ limit to 1000 tibians active at once.
Like always, December was a month full of changes. The creators decided that the so famous Amulet of Life should not work anymore and then it got replaced by the famous Amulet of Loss. Also, creatures were blessed with extra intelligence since they were not being too challenging and were treated like fools by humans. Tibians who owned a Divine Gift also got new exclusive outfits as a small present from the creators, since they were bored to see so many repeated outfits.
(Old Outfits for Premium Account players)Many new tibians, many new questions, many new problems… Helpful and wise tibians from now on could also become a tutor if they fulfil basic requirements and pass a test. That was the best way creators found to help beginners and take them away from danger and traps!
2004In March, tibians finally got the “Party Mode”, which allowed them to improve their skills and make team hunts more attractive since their souls not get a mark if they killed or attacked someone else. The gods though it was also time to think about excessive player killing too, since the world was becoming too violent. Their decision was that abusive murderers would be banished from Tibia for a while to learn their lesson and leave innocent – or not – people alone.
July 15th brought something important for Tibians: The Revamped Survival Guide (known as “Manual”). It was written by Cipsoft and contained explanations about everything existing in Tibia.
During August, adventurers published semestral newspaper with their new histories and knowledge: This time, they had crossed the southern mountains of Darashia and another huge desert was found. After exploring it, they found a great city full of pyramids ruled by a Pharaoh called Arkothep. This new desert also hid tombs and many new undead creatures like Djinns.
Since the beginning, some people were talking so much that they were making annoyed and dizzy, which resulted in the creation of an instant-muting-system. What a relief for our ears!
Another revamp on the Voting System was made. The first thing Gods wanted to hear was what name people would prefer for the new upcoming coin (worth 100 platinum coins). As you know, “Crystal Coin” was the final choice.
In December, many new items got a new look and with the growing population of Ankrahmun, more and more dungeons were found around it. In addition to that, some creatures were prepared to cause panic during random raids, so it was important to pay attention and be careful all the time.
Hello, world!
2005The time has come! On 01/28 Ston Abia was born. This new tibian did not know many things and he was also unaware of the official fansite. He did not know how he could regenerate his life after being hurt by a rat, he did not know how to climb a ladder or how to communicate with merchants and priests. After some time, he got enough experience and became a Knight.
(Ston Abia in the middle of a slaughter)After he learned many new things, he decided that PvP replicas would not please him so that he got the gods’ permission and split his soul. The second part of his soul was called Abiston and he made his live on Pacera. Meanwhile, the Supported Fansite list on tibia.com was finally created.
When he found out about Tibia.com’s existence, Update Teasers showing Tiquanda were being revealed. Since he was still a child, he did not know what an “Update”. Then he searched for the apes and elephants and but he found nothing.
In August 9th, he finally understood what was going on and he felt thrilled to explore Tiquanda and Dark Cathedral and try out the new Soul Points system. Only on 09/04, though, he would make his first hunt at the Dark Cathedral. A few days later, Senior Tutors were introduced to the helpers’ community. After that hunt, he kept training his fishing and gained another skill point!
(Abiston’s first hunt at Dark Cathedral)October 17th was when Abiston got his first Divine Gift from the gods! They promised him it would last for 180 days. The very first place he visited was Darashia and he was taken aback with how intense and thrilling this very first trip was!
(First 180 days of Premium Account!)
(Abiston's first visit to Darashia)Like always, December promised changes. And this time, there were severe changes! Gods created rods and wands and enchanted them with special powers in order to make druids and sorcerers a bit stronger. The mana regeneration was also changed as well as the necessary mana to cast different spells and make runes. Also, the way the world looked like drastically changed: Water, mountains, trees, grass, rocks… everything got a better look.
(Buying the promotion!)2006Its firsts months were calm, nothing too shocking or great happened. However, lil’ Abiston was becoming stronger and had already passed level 40.
(Abiston hunting scarabs in the old style with 2 summoned demons skeletons)
(The Postman Quest – Completed)In May, Senior Tutors gained the ability to report impolite humans that said something offensive or that broke a rule and the partial-mind-block (known as white/ignore list), to avoid telepathy with some people, was granted to everyone. In this same month our little hero also made a notable hunt: Giant Spiders! Ah… old times…
(After a funny hunt at Blood Herb's Giant Spider Respaw)A breath taking archipelago was revealed to the world’s eyes and a brand new city was founded: Liberty Bay. Although a wonderful looking place, the archipelago held many new threats like pirates, a new home for Ferumbras and, for the first time, an underwater place full of quaras. Humans also gained the ability of swift-hand: They could use items in much faster than they were used to (items in hotkeys is how we call it). However, this ability demanded a lot of stamina, which became limited to 56 hours. Last but not least, tibians were gifted with a bunch of new – some old but reworked - outfits and addons in order to give them some more fun and break the always-similar-outfits situation.
The October of 2006 meant a house for Abiston! For the first time, he owned his own house after leaving his small shop.
(Abiston's first little house)Danger… fear… hell… treasures… the Pits of Inferno were opened
in December. Would tibians be strong enough to defeat these fiendish creatures? Which treasures were now obtainable? What would be the consequences for failing?
Among all that fear and worries, good news followed: The community was getting richer and depots were becoming a mess with all that money – something that could call thieves’ attention. Fortunately, some trustable people created banks to take care of all that money. Meanwhile, the elvish magic was enhanced and Ab’dendriel got many new trees and an outstanding new look!
2007Ten years had passed since Tibia’s creation. Not only Cipsoft but tibians also had a lot to commemorate. A thousand Divine Gifts were given to some lucky mortals and many creatures got presents. Obliviously, most of these presents ended up in the hands of humans, who could get something nice. Unfortunately, on 01/30 the commemorations were over.
(Tibia’s 10th anniversary commemorational raid)Love was finally recognized by Cipsoft in February and girls created a heart shaped cake as well as lovely cards. In the following month, Ferumbras finally made his triumphal back to spread horror on the replica of Harmonia; however, he was defeated. On the following days, an inhabitant of Harmonia (Mateusz Dragon Wielki) would reach level 300 for the first time in history. Meanwhile, Abiston had reached level 70.
Now let’s skip to June: It was almost July when fantastic ice islands were discovered. Thanks to the new technologies and spells that allowed flying carpets and ships become more resistant and could now explore such hostile areas. From now on, Magic Level turned into the most import factor in spells and runes strength and paladins could also learn new spells like ethereal spear or enchanting their own spears.
July 26th was a very special date. Finally, 100.000 people had gotten Divine Gifts active and a very lucky person got a very special present. World has it that Abertt also got a Dragon Scale Legs as an even more special gifts from the gods due to the achievement that had just been earned.
September brought great news for the community. For the first time, the evil Ghazbaran was defeated (on the replica of Candia) and a total of 58.407 people were active simultaneously. In the following month, tibians’ and gods’ eyes would witness a new record being broken again: 58,718 people were active at once. It was Tibia’s heyday.
By this time, Abiston had already braved the Banuta Quest and the Scrapper Arena as well as the Ice Island Quests. Even more: Level 80 was a reality for him.
(Another interesting hunting spot in the old times: Tombs!)From November 27th to December 4th tibians received a blessing
from the gods that gave them the ability of learning much more when killing a creature. With their mind much keener, they would learn and improve their abilities much faster. This way, they earned twice more experience for every creature they hunted. Even more: November 28th was epic! 64028 people were breathing Tibia’s air simultaneously! This number was not overpast until nowadays.
If December’s first four days were filled with great news, imagine the news that would soon follow! Later this month, tibians mastered the art of enchanting weapons with enchanted gems and some elements were also mastered, like energy, fire, ice, holy , death and earth. Creatures also become stronger against some elements as well as resistant against some others. Another ability tibians got this month was the shared experience when hunting with their buddies. Last but not least, swimming became the most attractive hobby for many tibians especially on beautiful beaches and hot days.
Santa Claus also gave Abiston a great present: He let him face The Horned Fox! Abiston killed it and was taken aback when he saw the incredible nose ring and dwarven helmet among the beast’s possessions. 600k was his profit only with the nose ring! Nice present, huh?
(What a nice Christmas present!)2008January was relatively calm. On the other hand, in February a terrible demon spawned in Venore and scared many people. Rumors were that Cipsoft was mad at humans so that this demon was sent to punish them. However, some time later everything was explained: It was just Stan wearing one of his fancy costumes that would now make part of Tibia’s carnival. What a relief!
On 03/11 something called periodical-please (subscription, for players) was created by the gods. With the periodical-please, people signed a magic contract in which they assured they would do something special every month or every three months to please the creators and then get a Divine Gift.
April is the month of the fools. Last December, jesters found their way to Tibia and those who have already died picked this very month to haunt people. From now on, their haunting season would take place every year, beware with the Undead Jesters! In the end of April, an unnatural disturbance in the natured made some creatures drop twice more creature products, like fish fins and ape fur, but it did not for too long.
A colorful and hectic July marked this year. Rosemarie is a Dryad that preserves nature and would help people to grown their own amazing flowers, like Midnight Bloom. From this year on, Rosamarie would visit Tibia every July as well as her sisters, the raged dryads.
(
A player's loot after hunting some dryads)July’s winds gave Kazzan inspiration to revamp the whole city of Darashia. Not even a penny was saved in order to make his city more attractive and beautiful. Not only Darashia was changing, though. Demonic spirits broke in PoH’s surface and the so called Demon Oak made of it its deadly lair. Rookgaardians also built a brand new island for young tibians, where they could learn even more things about this magic world. More experienced beginners should head to the Isle of Destiny to continue their trainings.
(Dararashia's depot before its revamping)In addition to that, merchants developed a new trading system… you know, big cities, big community, demanding costumers… Agility and effiency were even more important now. Uff! What a turbulent month.
In order to improve their control over the world and make their job more efficient, Cipsoft members decided to enforce a difference between the Royal Messengers and Rulerkeepers (Community Managers and Costumer Support, respectively) in September.
In October, a new malign force released its curse over Darashia. The Mutated Pumpkim made its first appearance and swore that it would come back in the following years looking for vengeance.
Intelligence… technology… danger… devastation… wars… secrets… betrayals… December was not going to be calm and peaceful. Yalahar was a promise of a huge variety of challenges, quests and dangers.
(Abiston completing “In service of Yalahar” Quest)Among all that fuss, the creators concluded that humans were to detached. Something had to be done, so many measures to encourage party hunts were created and the telepathy between members of the same party was improved (party channel).
Also, hunting in groups was a great opportunity for tibians to learn and improve their skills, so that party hunts were now giving extra experience.
2009If you are wondering what happened to Abiston that nothing was said about him in 2008, the problem is that he couldn’t get any Divine Gifts since April until this year’s Janurary. He had decided he would take some months to think and live in a calmer pace for a while. His coming back, however, had to be something notable. Right on 01/29, he finally reached his so dreamed level 100!
(Abiston reaching level 100)On the very following day, the gods released their wrath over scoundrel cheaters and 4959 of them were punished for their behavior. An unfortunate war between humans and gods was beginning.
In February, Cipsoft asked humans to “confection” backpacks and send a sample of their ideas to them. The best samples would be produced in larger proportions and would become more popular.
In the beginning of March, another 5163 humans were banished due to their despicable behavior of cheating. The gods also became more lenient with the deceased: They would make their sacrifice for bringing one’s life back a little more smooth. In addition to that, they decided that blessings should also protect against corpses thieves so that the more blessings one had, less thieves would try to touch their belongings after they were dead. Last but not least, tibians’ intelligence was also raised a bit for a week so that they would, once again, learn and develop their skills twice more when hunting, which would result in the gaining of twice more experience points.
A mortal being would be enchanted with amazing spells and became part of Cipsoft in April. As many people recall until nowadays, it was time to say hello to Ogrey, who had joined the Royal Messengers team.
When it comes to May, the most notable event took place on 27th, when everyone who had never had a Divine Gift before would not get a small piece of it for seven days. Needless to say that it was an awesome surprise for all!
July was time to love: Churches would finally let tibians get officially married! In adittion to that, violent citizens would not be banished anymore. From now on, their soul would be haunted by a dark symbol called “Black Skull”, which cursed their spirit and would chasten their souls if they died.
All around the world, some citizens also ask for help to bring some creatures down. Grizzly Adams, for instance, had many work to share with other people. By the way, many creatures were modified by the gods either because they were too strong or too weak.
The backpacks that most pleased the gods were finally being produced and scattered in Tibia. Additionally, a new chef would teach humans how to make delicious meal: Jean Pierre was just waiting August to make his first appearance.
And finally humans learned new ways to control their thoughts and actions that would make many situations less confusing and clearer (creation of server log). Fortunately, Queen Eloise was not able to control her mind and wishes so that she had Carlin getting a brand and incredible new look.
(Old carlin)On August 23th Abiston was about to face a challenge that made even the bravest warrior afraid: The Annihilator Quest. He could hear the demons, feel the fear and then, the lever was pushed. There were screams, fire, panic… but no reasons to give up. After some time, however, demons were claiming his dead body. Fortunately Apolinario, Abiston’s best friend, survived.
(First attempt to complete the Annihilation Quest)Out of creativity, the gods had the Royal Messengers listening to people’s suggestions and interesting tips that they could use to warn or entertain humans. The best ideas were picked and every now and then, the gods’ voices crossed the lands making people hear what they had to say (this event was known as “Create a Message of the Day”).
This year, November looked like December! Whoa, so many new events and changes! Ten Light Basins scattered through Tibia had to be kept burning in order to keep evil creatures away. It was the first time that such measures against these creatures had to be taken and, considering their strength and thirsty for destruction, it was certainly not the last time people would see them around.
The way each replica worked also changed a little. On replicas that no violence was allowed guild wars became allowed. On replicas that killing other people was allowed but restricted wars could also be official. Meanwhile, the most violent kind of replica got some restrictions since even the most brute warriors were frightened by the violence, therefore Blessings and the Amulet of Loss became available and murderers would not yield experience to anyone.
Last and no less important, humans who met some requirements and pleased gods with some services and valuable coins would get a chance to move to a different replica after this very month.
As if November hadn’t been exciting, December was out of this world. Dragons, lizards, orcs, wars, corruption, drakens, beasts, betrayals, revolution, rebellion, mysteries and many other worlds were being used endlessly. The reason was clear: The great continent of Zao was found.
Even more, the results and conclusions of many researches weres released and it was concluded that many creature pieces like an orc tooth and centipede legs could be used in magical processes so that some people like Malunga and Fiona would be interested on buying this kind of product. It meant that people would now collect many items that they did not use to, like spider’s mandibles, bunches of troll hair and vampire teeth.
By now, Abiston was level 140 and had recently reached the Magic Level 70 and had already braved the so called Zao’s Arena.
(Abiston advancing to Magic Level 70!)2010Rolling heads welcomed 2010. Gods’ wrath was unleashed on 21th and 16,598 humans had their souls banished for a month.
Meanwhile, they learned that it would never be forgotten again and their criminal record would haunt them forever with the so feared Eternal Gods’ Curse (permanent final warning).
A month later, scientists found a way to change tibians’ sex as well as modify their name. The process, however, was complex so that people would have to contribute with a small fee in order to be able to go through such changes.
Changes were about to bloom in the spring. In March people would notice that when they were well rested they could learn much more from their hunts which resulted in extra experience every time they killed something (bonus stamina). Too tired tibians would be so weak that they would not be able to get anything from creatures they killed, that is, low stamina, no loot!
Still in March, The Rule Keepers (costumer support) had developed a new way to report annoying and offensive names. Their device allowed everyone to report such names and therefore measures could be taken.
For the first time humans would be able to communicate “easily” with some of the gods. The Royal Messengers would listen to people and forward questions to the gods and the most relevant and interesting questions were, more likely it would be answered. This event was called “Chill and Grill” and took place for the first time in April. Some weeks later, the Rule Keepers had their ears and eyes improved so that to could hear everything naughty that was said and could also keep their eyes on cheaters (we use to call it botting/statement reporting system, though).
June’s first week was a memorable period for Abiston: After gathering 100 Spider Silks by himself, he finally got all the necessary items to get his full assassin outfit, something he had dreamt for years.
The shiny sun of July’s summer illuminated a new huge area in the northern Zao, including Razzachai and the Emperor’s Garden. However, something else was shining… rune emblems and jeweled backpacks, maybe?
Magicians’ minds were also illuminated an innovation: Potions and runes functionally was better understood and therefore they became stackable. The mind of gods caused another change, too: They forbid creatures from carrying bags. As if not enough, even Jean Pierre’s brain was working in something new: A brand new cookbook was found in his kitchen!
A reward for different prowess of a tibian was created. A document from the gods would proof their work and efforts and they could show it for their friends and family. This was popularly known as “achievements”.
In the beginning of August, Abiston reached level 150 and sometime later he finally braved the annihilator!
(Successful Annihilation Quest!)Three days later Cipsoft announced that the so popular Rule Keeper Minions were no longer going to exist. Most people were definitely upset with such terrible news. On August 23th, the final goodbye was babbled.
(GM Heartlistener on Pacera and Abiston)The world was afraid and in danger in September. The biggest, strongest, cruelest and most monstrous creature ever was ready to destroy Tibia: Devovorga. Fortunately 71 replicas managed to kill her… at least until the next years.
Yellow leaves were falling from the trees by now. Do you know what it means? If your answer is “autumn” and consequently “patch”, then you are right! The creators decided that the wish for a revenge should last longer than the normal so that one’s revenge feeling would last 7 days after this season (that is what we now by “orange skull”). In addition to that, when a person was ambushed and trapped, s/he could receive a divine strength and push their enemies with great intensity (swap). Priests could now bless people with the “Twist of Fate” blessing too.
Last but not least, bloody-handed killers were not going to be easily forgiven. The last twenty people that participated in someone’s murder would have their souls marked. Definitely, even being careful could still be dangerous.
And once again it is snowing! But what beyond ice was about to fall from the sky?
After many researches and attempts, many items showed to interfere in creatures’ behavior in a positive way. A leather whip, for instance, could make an outstanding midnight panther obey a human! It did not take long until many other creatures were tamed.
Worried about the winter, Rottin Wood and his men worked to build new cottages and revamp old ones, completely changing Outlaw’s visual. Simultaneously, Dwarves were working to give the Colossus a new and wonderful look.
(Click on the image to see the Old x New Colossus)Considering we are talking about December, we should not be surprise about drastic changes. Magicians were publishing their latest researches and teaching new spells. However, tibians had to accept that casting spells was not so easy as it seemed and therefore they would have to wait some time to catch their breath back until cast the same spell again (cooldown).
Many rumors were also created – or were they true? -, like those that told a story about a weird island that have been spotted close to Cormaya and that a ghost ship would settle in Thais sporadically. Even more, the witches from Venore seemed worried and anxious to get some ingredients and the Combined Magical Winterberry Society was about to ask for people’s help.
To top it off, since October Abiston had been renewing his wardrobe with new clothing and accessories. Full Warrior, Shaman, Barbarian, Brotherhood of Bones and Oriental outfits were achieved during these months.
2011New year, new life, new decoration! Both Queen Eloise and King Tibianus ordered a new fancy painting to adorn their castles. After a lot of back breaking, the painter’s work was a success! Obliviously, there was more new stuff in this month. By discovering new and hidden secret codes, people could get a Divine Gift and also they would be able to communicate using only a very special and maybe not so common language using their new telepathy techniques (we call these features by “Game Code” and “English Channel”).
February was funny. Gods were teasing humans with the mystery surrounding the Serpentine Tower by quoting interesting ideas and theories. Some days later, the strange island south to Cormaya had its bridge built on some replicas and a gigantic cake was found there! Surprises were not over yet, though. Soon the gods raffled some Divine Gifts for humans who met certain requirements and the event was called Fabulous February.
(Fabulous Februay's promoting pictute)
In March, Cipsoft announced that they needed testers for their new project, which the could modify a person’s soul and mind and therefore his/her way to see and interact with the world would be drastically but positively changed (we know it as “Flash Client”). 371 humans were picked to put their souls and minds under testing right on 23th and Abiston was one of them!
Something pretty sad took place in April: on April 1st it was announced that the Royal Messenger Ogrey would leave the team.
(CM Ogrey)Fourteen days later, the final goodbye was said but soon many “hello’s” were going to welcome Tjured. Fortunately, good news would follow within the next days: A new insecticide was created by farmers and it would help to keep the infamous flamer-buggers and troll-buggers away from the forums (creation of restrictions to post with “noob” characters). Additionally, King Tibianus and Queen Eloise were about to receive their paintings while shields and weapons were adapted to fit exclusively in a specific hand each. Last but not least, after months looking for the mighty Undead Cavebear, Abiston finally tamed it!
(An expedition to the Lich Hell might hold good news...)Tears, shrill screams and demanding imps made of May an exotic month. For the first time in history, a Demon Mother had to share her maternal duties with humans. What a tough task, huh? But – a big but here -, this was not the only surprise this month. On 05/10 Abiston passed the tutor test and the tutor community got a new member!
On June 8th the creators and their helpers commemorated Cipsoft’s 10th birthday and they made 100 small present boxes fall from the sky to commemorate it. Needless to say there was a Divine Gift inside each box. Shortly after that, Cipsoft declared that their experience was finally working well enough to be tested in every single soul and mind – with some risks, of course –, so that volunteers were welcome to help them from now on (open Beta Flash Test).
Such a huge and dynamic world like Tibia could not be the same day after day. Places changed, caves flooded, people needed more help and so on. In july, these changes became definitely notable. Just to give a few examples, insects sporadically attacked Greenshore’s crops and destroyed it. Different races of demon started a war and, each day, one side got advantage and firestarters could raid Shadowthorn from times to times. And as most of you probably know… horses were finally found and could be rented and even tamed! A dream was finally true for many tibians!
Another dream also concretized: Abiston reached level 200! Was that all? No! After 7 months braving the jungle, surviving to mighty hydras, violent tropical storms, monstrous behemoths and flesh-eater plants, he tamed the legendary Midnight Panther on the following day! His happiness was so intense that his other three failed attempts to tame it did not matter from that moment on!
(Burst of happiness: Level 200 and a Midnight Panther being tamed!)Do you remember when Grizzly Adams started offering new tasks for tibians for the first time back in July of 2009? After listening to many complaints that the missions were too demanding and exhausting, he concluded that changes should be done. As a result, in the end of September he finished his projects and changed the tasks. A couple of days later, the creators announced that some Divine Gifts would have a small… ok ok, a big and ferocious reward: A shadow draptor!
Tests? No, thank you! In October, Cipsoft changed the way tutors would get the tutorship. The Rule Keepers’ view and hearing were sharpened and they would constantly watch their helpers and helper-aspirants work in order to valorize the tutorship and encourage humans to be more helpful (introduction of the “Thank You!” button).
November 9th… <Klonk klonk>. His heart was beating faster. He was showing it a giant shrimp and it was hungry, it was heading to him. His move was fast and crafty and he had just managed to tame the third member of the “The Big Three”. It is about Titanica I am talking about!
(The third member of “The Big Three” being tamed)The clock ticks away and here we are, getting closer to the end of our travel through the time. If you are not up to date, I will tell you the most recent happenings: Two dangerous races are in the middle of a violent war. Both the inhabitants of The Hive, known as Hive Born and the inhabitants of the deepest waters of the ocean, known as Deeplings, want power and new territories.
December was not about Deeplings and Hive Born, though. After years and years, merchants and postmen finally finished their magnificent project: The Market. Trading became much easier and faster and the economy was in front of a new era!
Once again, changes were constantly happening all over the world. Noodles decided to spend his bundle of energy and then go out for a walk pretty often, making his owner worried. Rivers eventually flooded at Zao and Outlaw Camp as well as Wyda’s pot of boredom.
To top it off, Abiston reached the magic number of 80 magic levels!
And now, ladies and gentlemen, we are leaving the time tunnel…
2012Here we are, in 2012, commemorating with style Tibia’s 15 years, fighting bosses, getting presents, bonus experience and the most important: Having fun!
I would like to thank you for reading this article and for being part of Tibia. Hopefully, you are all enjoying the festivities of Tibia’s anniversary and everything that Tibia has to offer you.
Do not forget that it is up to us to make this game better and that we, players, are always carrying and using a pen and using it, writing and drawing the history. So let’s use it wisely!
(Abiston’s current house)The EndAuthor’s note:Most of the information I got to write the article is from Tibia.com. I used their News Archive and made this chronologic sequence of the facts. Most screenshots are mine but since some of them are not, I added their “origin” below.
I hope you liked the article and enjoyed it as much as I did. I learned many new things while writing it and I tried to make this article as dynamic and differentiated as I could, avoiding simply writing down the facts and nothing less.
I understand it is a bit too long, but after all, there are many things we cannot ignore and we are talking about 15, fifteen, years and there definitely are many facts and histories we should remind. However, I had to leave some details behing since they could be kind of repetitive or maybe were not relevant at all.
I would also like to apologize if there were typos and grammatical mistakes. Even though I reviewed the text more than once, it is common that something deceive our eyes.
Another apologize is owed due to the screenshots’ sizes. The most recent ones were way too big so that I had to display them in a much smaller size than the older ones. However, if you click on them, the original picture is going to be displayed. I hope it did not bother you too much.
Yours, Abiston.
References:
http://web.archive.org/web/200203010731 ... ic=historyhttp://forums.tibiabr.com/showthread.ph ... 04&page=62http://tibiacity.proboards.com/index.cg ... thread=483http://forum.portaltibia.com.br/index.p ... e-knights/http://www.tibia.com/news/?subtopic=newsarchive (from 01/01/2000 on)
http://www.flogao.com.br/ravoks/107325614http://forums.tibiabr.com/archive/index ... 70698.htmlhttp://www.tibiacity.org/forum/showthre ... -old-times.
http://www.tibiaspace.com/showtopic/09d ... 3.67451031http://www.tibia-alumni-society.net/http://havengar.wordpress.com/http://pt.tibiaml.com/image/48313/dryads_power/http://portaltibia.com.br/update-teaser ... uito-mais/Some pictures were also taken from tutors (Post #31940637)
<Edit I's reason: Used "enter" in two bonded paragraphs and added a small sentence in the end of the text>
<Edits II, III, IV, V and VI's reason: Added pictures>
by Devilicious Danny » Mon Jan 30, 2012 7:37 pm 
more contestants!
