Where to get it

Steam

1999 · Action role-playing · Adventure

The 4th Coming

There was a time long ago when Elves wandered the world in great numbers, when their achievements outshone even the brightness of the sun, when human and dwarven civilizations were still in their infancies. There was a time of legends and heroes, of incredible accomplishments and great deeds, a time when the world knew true grandeur. That time is long gone, however, crushed under the heel of fate and decay. The Elves are gone, now, victims to their own delusions. They failed to heed the warnings of the Harbinger, the one who came to warn them...

Released: 11 May 1999
Platforms: Windows
Genres: Action role-playing Adventure Beat 'em up Dungeon crawl Hack and slash Indie MMO MMORPG Point-and-click adventure Role-playing
Developers: —
Publishers: —
Modes: Co-op Multiplayer Single-player
Perspective: Bird view / Isometric
Themes: Fantasy
Country: United States Canada
Languages: English, French, German

About

The 4th Coming (abbreviated T4C), also known in French as La Quatrième Prophétie, is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) originally produced by Vircom Interactive for Windows-based operating systems. Released on May 11, 1999, Vircom initially opened the first server for testing before releasing server licenses. There are no known release notes for versions prior to the release of version 1.0. The 4th Coming was later purchased by Dialsoft, which sells server licenses and continues to develop the game under the official project name T4C Next Chapter.

›Story

The game takes place in the fair world of Althea. Althea spans three islands: Arakas, Raven's Dust, and Stoneheim. In these islands, there is much commotion about the various evil deeds being committed. Beginning on Arakas island, players are eventually given the choice to choose their alignment - good or evil. At the end of the long path through the game lies the ultimate evil entity, the powerful lich Makrsh P'Tangh, the corrupt elven king.

Players travel through the world unlocking quests, battling monsters in real-time, making allies, etc. The stat point system allows people to create their characters as they wish. By being able to choose their alignment, players are able to experience two sides of the storyline. The game also contains many different visuals, a chat system, has huge areas, and contains a wide variety of weapons and spells.

Players say

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

Players begin by creating a human character. After choosing a name and gender, they answer a series of questions that distribute attribute points. These questions have five possible answers, where four answers increase different attributes, and one provides no benefit. Players can repeatedly "roll" attribute scores until satisfied, though maximum attribute values are influenced by their previous answers.

Players earn experience points and level up by completing tasks given by NPC characters. The game features a magic system including magic weapons and various spells, divided into elemental classes such as air and fire.

Story

The game takes place in the world of Althea, which spans three islands: Arakas, Raven's Dust, and Stoneheim. The setting is a time when a prophesied "4th coming" is to occur, which influences the storyline and the quests that players undertake.

Development

Vircom Interactive, a subdivision of Vircom, first published The 4th Coming in 1998. In May 2000, version 1.10 was released, introducing a new interface, groups, private chat rooms, and other improvements.

In June 2003, a deal was finalized between Pole, SARL of France and Vircom to give Pole exclusive operating rights for the European hosting of the game. The game was played by over 500,000 registered players in 2002.

Reception

Strana Igr gave a score of 7.0 out of 10 and said the game is easy to control but lacks originality. PC Joker gave a score of 64% and also highlighted the lack of originality. The graphics were described as poorly animated but the music and sound effects were said to be more appealing. In 2011, Jeuxvideo.com said the game stands the test of time thanks to its addictive gameplay and devoted community. The game was often compared to Ultima Online.