We experienced approximately one hour of extreme intermittent lag for about an hour today due to connection issues with our server’s internet service provider. It appears the problem has been resolved. Sorry for this inconvenience!
Mark’s birthday is March 2nd, my birthday is March 7th and Reign’s birthday is April 9th. To prepare for Reign’s birthday, we’ve pooled our birthday cash and bought Reign a server!
Since 2004, Reign has been hosted on a leased server. We started with iPower. As Reign grew, we upgraded our iPower server, eventually migrating to Media Temple. While MT provided good service and quality, we didn’t have enough brain for the buck, so we quickly switched to Aplus and have been there since. Now, finally, we are proud to announce that Reign’s server belongs to us, completely.
Built by Mark’s bare epic hands, Reign’s first server is ALIVE! In fact, you’re on it right now! To celebrate the launch, we’ve tossed up a new design for Reign’s parent company, Ataya. You can check it out at Ataya’s main page, http://www.atayacreative.com.
Just in case any of you guys are wondering what Ataya is, here’s a quick explanation. Reign is a product of Fortyeight, a web-based game development business. Fortyeight is an entity owned by Ataya Creative, a web services company. Now, while that may seem corporatey or even impressivish, allow me to note that all of this nonsense is just a nerdy way of Mark and I pretending we’re important businessmen and not two broke programmers.
We’re still working out the kinks with this new server. How’s the speed so far? Let us know! We’ll be running tests and optimizing things over the next few weeks.
Before I crash, let me make a serious statement. Reign’s progression through the years wouldn’t be possible without the support we receive every month from players like you. I want to thank every single Reign Plus player. I wish I could give you more. I’m going to talk to my girlfriend, Mai, about Reign t-shirts. I’m hoping we can make some slim-fit, sort of “vintage” style Reign tees and give them out to show thanks to large contributing donors, similar to how SomaFM does (an awesome company by the way).
One more thing. Mark and I are pulled in a lot of directions these days. He’s been preoccupied with work, taxes and other mature, reasonable things. I’ve been preoccupied with more abstract things, such as, er, creating highly elaborate and well designed todo list template theories and, uh, searching for inspiration by way of .. extensive sleep and .. conspiracy theory youtube videos! But, in our spare moments, we’re both putting in a considerable amount of time towards two specific products of Fortyeight that are very distinct and specifically designed to bring you a very different form of web-based game to enjoy. We’re still obsessed with the whole web-based game thing, basically. Just be patient! 
Now, sit back, relax and build your nation into the skies. Enjoy!
Pacts are released as of today! They allow organization of people and distribution of money and oil. There will be more news on this as we add new features or alter the pacts system.
Some changes were also made to the attack system so you’ll get 10% of used or free land (used land captures a single/multiple buildings of at least 10%). This should result in slightly better wars for people and slightly better results.
P.s.: The hardware for the server will ship tomorrow first thing.
Hello Reigners,
We’ve finally concluded finding the hardware, ensuring it’s in Reign’s best interest, and buying the hardware.
Technical Information: The new server hardware will have 4GB(!) of DDR2 800 memory (with room for 8GB: 64bit baby), two SATA 3Gb/s HDD (hardware RAID1 with room for 6 drives), and a 2.66GHz Intel Core2 Duo (we were looking at getting a Core2 Quad, but Reign’s code is very optimized). The operating system will be a 64bit if we do not have any issues with the software that we need installed so we can utilize over 4GB of memory in the future (if it creates a bottleneck).
We’re set on making Reign more fun to you, your friends, and your enemies. How can you help us? Spread the word and spread it far. Please leave feedback on the game in the forums, on the blog, or anywhere you want (including messaging us!). We expect to have the server operational by next Monday.
Thanks and have fun playing Reign!
Hello Reigners,
Ty Kauffman and myself have been quite busy, despite not being consistently on Reign 2 before last week. We’ve been working on a new game (some of you have seen the website for it). We’ve also been planning on how to make Reign more fun for you. (Pacts anyone?) Your time means a lot to us, and if you enjoy our work it means even more. You’re all great!
One other big thing I’d like to announce is that we’re working on negotiations to get a new upgraded server (we’re going to put some money together to buy the hardware and get hosting) from what we currently have. This means pages will load faster, battles will process sooner, and you’ll get some amazing performance. If you’ve never upgraded to paid before, now is the time if you were thinking about it. We appreciate every dollar we receive, and if you want more paid features (that are fair), or wish so-and-so from Reign 1 was included with paid then just tell us on here. (Hey, if you want a paid feature for Reign 1 even, speak up!)
Thank you for your time, donations, and other form of contributions to Reign. You are all the Reigners that make Reign an enjoyable, fun place to be around. We’ll keep you updated on what hardware we buy, when the transfer takes place, and any new features we release in the upcoming weeks.
The region Leader can rename the Region once every 7 days. If a region is renamed on Tuesday, and a new leader is elected on Friday, that leader must be re-elected on Monday and wait until Tuesday to rename the region. The Leader may also create, modify and destroy region programs, financed by the region tax, which is dictated by him or her. The leader is also responsible for looking after the region’s interests, pursuing tax policy that is agreeable to the region, helping regionmates and defending the nations within the region. However, in the end, a Leader is empowered by the region nations. If your region leader performs poorly, he or she will loose political influence and eventually be defeated in an election.
Reign is more than a war game. You must work together with the powerful nations both abroad and close by. It is in your nation’s best interest to actively be involved in the political process of your region. Every nation within a region is given 1 vote per election. Elections are processed every Monday and Friday night around midnight. You may cast your vote for anyone in your region, including yourself. You may change your vote at any time. Leadership will be instantly transfered to whoever has the highest number of votes. If the region is split and there is no winner (a tie), no one wins, and consequently the current leader remains the leader until the next election night.
GENERAL TODO LIST
[x] Allow Region rename every 7 days
[x] Allow voting
[x] Add check mark by person who has your vote
[ ] Investigate white land in chat for paid users’ messages on mac saf (?!?!)
[ ] New div “View Programs”
[ ] Leader can adjust sliders on “View Programs”
`PROCESSED NIGHTY` TODO LIST
[ ] If nation is idle for 36 HR (129600 seconds), remove from Region* and set regionid to 0
[ ] If nation is idle for 5 days (432000), remove from Region* and delete his nation
[ ] Process election at midnight every night
We have created a Region pane, which displays your region name, your region leader, your region tax rate and a list of all your regionmates within the region. Leaders may now rename the region by clicking the (rename) link beside the region name. Once a region is renamed, it cannot be renamed for 7 days. Soon we will be adding an Elect feature, that will allow nations the right to vote for their region leader! We will also be finishing the Region Tax system.
Region Tax
Your region leader has the authority to modify the region tax rate. This rate may be as low as 0% and as high as 15%. The higher the tax rate, the more powerful Region Programs the leader can have.
Region Programs
Your region leader also has the authority to create region programs, such as an Energy program to reduce energy consumption, an Expansion program to reduce the cost of land or an Education program to increase the research rate. The higher the region tax rate, the more powerful benefits will come from these programs. Nations in favor of region programs will vote for a candidate that supports high taxes. Nations that do not like region tax will support candidates that promise low taxes, or none at all.
Today we launched R2’s first mini-round, namely `Test Round 1`. TR1 will last exactly 1 week. The purpose of this round is to live-test the Region system as we develop it. What is the Region system? To help explain Regions, we are making public a Developer Proposal written last month: RPS 1.1.1. This proposal discusses the future of Reign politics, including Regions, Morale, Cities and Pacts. If you’re in a rush, here’s a summary of Regions:
After naming your nation and selecting a world to colonize, you will be dropped into a region. Reign will drop you into the region with the fewest number of active players to keep all regions as balanced as possible. A region serves two purposes: (1) Natural alliance and (2) Geographical system. Below I will explain both purposes briefly.
Regions: The Natural Alliance
From the very beginning of your nation’s existence, you will be able to trade and collaborate with your neighbors within your region. In most cases, regions will work together to protect themselves from outside invasion. Ultimately, however, it’s up to you if you are friendly or hostile with your neighbors.
Regions: Geographical System
Regions create a quasi-geographical system that enables us to do a lot of cool things in the future. One example is the creation of a Reign World Map. We may also give each Region a fixed amount of land such as 200 land, permitting the purchase of land until land runs out within the region. Another idea is allowing mobilization and occupation of regions, each with varying travel time based on the distances between the regions. The possibilities are endless. Regions is the foundation for all of these ideas.
More info coming later. Enjoy R2’s first test round! As always, bring bug spray. ;}