Tibia is one of the oldest MMORPGs ever. Now, the developers announced a new feature that is typically a standard in most games: sound.
What kind of MMORPG is this? Tibia is an online role-playing game developed by the studio CipSoft from Regensburg. It was released in 1997, and early 2022 marked its 25th anniversary.
To this day, the game still has a loyal player base – primarily abroad. Among others, there are plenty of Tibia fans in Brazil, Venezuela, Poland, Sweden, and Mexico. Brazil was described by Stephan Vogler, one of the studio founders, in an interview with MeinMMO as by far the most important market for the game.
Now, 25 years after its release, fans of the game can certainly expect a remarkable change in gameplay – no matter where they come from. Because soon, for the first time, sound will resonate in Tibia.
Tibia speaks of ‘quite a step that is worth it’
What kind of update is this? The sound update is supposed to be available from Tuesday, September 27, 2022.
In a statement on the Tibia homepage, the community management team explains what players can expect. The entire game is set to be enriched with sound. Players are to discover “a new and fresh side of a world they know inside and out.”
The team says the new soundscapes are indeed “quite a step, but a step that is worth it.” Players are meant to see the new sounds as an adventure of their own that they can uncover.
At the same time, the system is also supposed to be customizable: “For us, it was important to give you the choice, to give you different options to shape your own sound experience, to decide which sounds you want to hear and which you might want to mute,” the announcement states (via tibia.com).
Both music and sound effects can also be muted again if one is not a fan of them.
What effects and sounds are being added will be announced shortly before the release. However, it is already clear that it will not involve voice lines and spoken dialogues – the team explained this earlier on the Tibia forum (via tibia.com). A voice chat will not be included either.
However, the Tibia team announced a premiere for September 26 on YouTube: There, the new Tibia anthem, which is supposed to embody 25 years of gaming history, will be heard for the first time.
By the way: More about the background of Tibia and why MMORPGs used to be more exciting can be found in the MeinMMO podcast:
What do players say? In the Tibia forum, players are already discussing the announcement, and they seem particularly curious about what effect the new element will have on the gaming experience.
They are curious about new music, boss sounds, or the “Chomp” sound when consuming something. It is sometimes about small details: “I can hardly wait to hear the sounds of eating, especially the ‘smacking’ of cheese,” writes the user “Kleyder Assesin.”
Tibia is not the only older MMORPG that still has active fan communities:
However, some also emphasize that they will probably turn off the feature after the first listen: “I can’t believe it’s actually here and I can hardly wait to try it,” writes user “Lord Andarer Mensch” (via Tibia Forum): “Even though I belong to those who think I will turn it off at some point, I believe it will be great for new and occasional players to fall in love with the game.”
What do you think of the new feature? Do you have memories or experiences with Tibia? Do you think the sound will improve the game? Tell us in the comments.
Additionally, the studio behind Tibia is working on a new project called “Persist Online”.
