For a worn-out administrator of many years ElseMU*, TI: Legacy has been a breath of fresh air in every possible capacity. I spent probably six weeks searching in a last ditch effort for someplace to relax and be a player again, needing an environment judged worthy from an all too critical 'Well it's not MY game, so it can't be as comfortable as home would be' perspective. TI: Legacy has become so quickly a home that I've found myself scheduling in administrative duties ElseMU* around it, just to make sure I get the chance to regularly play.

Like any game it has positive and negative points, though I should note the positive so greatly outweigh the negative it's hardly even worth mentioning points from both sides. I'll try to do so for the sake of neutrality!

Biggest Praises:

- Community/RP: The great majority of players are fantastic roleplayers (we can toss the mask of 'roleplay' out and just label them writers). The creativity In Character, in crafting, in scenes, has never failed to compel me to keep logging in. From the very first scene I stumbled into by accident with a peg-legged butcher to my eighty-seventh (I do keep track; no idea why) with the Poet Laudate of the Troubadours last night, every encounter has been an absolute treat.

- Staff: Though at times they come across as slightly overworked (at no fault of their own; they're simply invested in the game and it's visible) I'm literally envious of the Staff on TI. I couldn't find a fault with a group of such infinitely polite, neutral, hands-off, discreet and productive people if I tried.

- Theme: Excellent. Flawlessly designed and just as flawlessly demonstrated. Every culture (of which there are many) seems alive, every continent in the Kingdom seems real. The capital's conflicts are your own personal conflicts--no matter who you are, you will be affected in some way, often, by the flux and flow of the world around you. That Order vs. Mages isn't a black and white demonstration of good vs. evil (perspective is of vital importance) is another nod to TI: Legacy's theme. Providing guidelines without making them so rigid you can't breathe is quite a feat. TI accomplishes it.

- Grid: Gorgeous room descriptions in all public or semi-public areas.

- Combat, music, acting, singing and all else is done in the moment and written as you would a pose/emote. Really amazing for immersion and personalization.

- Newbie friendly. I can't stress that enough.

Biggest Gripes:

- The movement system kinda drives me nuts. Walking from one room to another takes a few seconds, which doesn't sound like much until you're doing it. You can choose to move quicker but have to eat or drink a great deal to do it for long. A stroll down a couple blocks even at a full-out run probably shouldn't require a couple loaves of bread to be gobbled down in order to crawl a little further. You'd end up with a population of immensely chubby people! Comes down to function vs. realism, of course, and I think in this instance there's a focus on function. You can mend the problem somewhat by purchasing a horse and mounting/dismounting (two-tick command strings per mount or dismount), but they tend to be very expensive and not viable for many without making it a long-term investment.

- Daily (sometimes more frequent, sometimes less) crashes. Usually the game pops right back up again and nothing is lost, so no big deal. Crashes tend to be one of the natural side-effects of a game in constant development. Sometimes it can be a little sucky, though - For example I lost a few hundred silver (not a small amount!) retooling, which is basically customizing, furniture items for my main character's home, organized everything just so ver the course of hours, logged out for the night and when I came back the next day there had been a crash and roll-back. My pfile was saved so the money was still gone, but all the things I'd used it on had vanished. I can't stress enough how minor an issue the crashes are 9.999/10 times. I'm really just stretching to find criticism in hopes of coming off as neutral as I can.

Summary:

Give TI a shot if you haven't before. You're almost guaranteed to find your niche.