Atlantica Online's closed beta resumed yesterday with some new systems in place. The stamina system in particular seems to be generating a lot of *ahem* heat on the official AO forums.

Here is the official developer explanation of the stamina system:

The Stamina system is a new addition to Atlantica being tested during the second round of the closed beta. Players are given a Stamina score when they start playing Atlantica each day, and that number declines with each battle players fight against monsters. Having to watch over this score adds another element for players to manage, bringing more depth to the game.

It also encourages players to get more involved in the greater Atlantica Online community. You can slow your Stamina loss by taking part in a Guild and the Town and Nation element of Atlantica. Being a Mentor to other players will help you build points that can deter a flagging Stamina. And being victorious in some player-versus-player battles will even replenish your Stamina.

Here are some other notable elements of the Stamina system:

• Every day at 6 a.m. Pacific Daylight Saving Time (PDT), your Stamina score will reset: to 100, for players at Level 50 and below; to 50, for players at Level 51 and above.
• Fighting a single battle reduces your Stamina by 1.
• When your Stamina runs out, you cannot gain any more Experience Points or Items.
• If fighting among a party, only the player who started the battle will lose Stamina by 1.
• Stamina is not affected during combat with Guilds or in Nation Dungeons, and therefore players can obtain Experience Points and Items even if their Stamina score is 0.
• A victory in a Free League battle will increase your Stamina by 3.
• Boost your score with a Stamina Pill, obtained from the NPC Pointry located in Rome using Mentor Points.

So test your Stamina in Atlantica. Get involved in the larger Atlantica community. Thank you for doing your part!

As said, the stamina system has generated a few thousand posts alone since noon yesterday. Here is a representative comment:

(Forum user "Warchild")Well I tried it and still hate it. The only thing I learned from trying it is that it drains alot faster than I thought it would. If the goal was to get players to pvp,mentor,guild group more you made a huge fricken mistake. Never punish or force mmo players into things they obviously dont want to do, its rediculous. If you want more participation in a particular area the way to do it is by rewarding the player, not by punishing them for not doing it. You arnt our parents or any type of authority figure for that matter.

And that's one of the nicer ones but a cursory visit will yield tons and tons of thread about the same issue. Enough so, in fact, that Atlantica GM01 responded:

Discussion of the Stamina System has gotten out of hand. There are enough threads presenting the full gamut of opinions on this manner, so please refrain from making new threads. We value your opinions, but breaking the rules does not mean we hear you more. One statement each from many people means a great deal more than many posts from one person, so try to avoid spamming please.

For the time being, we are committed to testing this system in Closed Beta 2. We've always held that we will listen to the community, and what we want to hear is your honest opinions after you've given the system a try. We're always trying to improve the game, and in order to do that we need feedback based on the game itself.

Thank you for your input. As we've said in the past, we do value the community, and your voices are being heard.

So, beta testers, what are your thoughts on the new stamina system? Let us know on the forums.