The Little MMORPG That Could
Two new posts in a row, woo.
As like, two of you know, I'm occasionally given to playing a little-known online game called Rubies of Eventide. RoE announced yesterday that they'll be undergoing a server consolidation, closing three of their four servers and transferring all characters to the remaining one. I sincerely hope that this doesn't signal the beginning of the end for them, not because I'll miss playing - I haven't had the spare time to play since last fall - but because I have a lot of respect for what they do over there.
Firstly, Rubies is free to play, relying on the generosity of those who do choose to donate money or maintain a subscription to get by (I bought a Gentry subscription last spring, it's either one year or lifetime, I frankly forget...it's less than the price of a new game either way). Unlike Guild Wars, where you purchase the retail box and then pay nothing more, Rubies is free to download, too. Unlike some other shareware stuff, free players in Rubies aren't gimped, although paying players get first preference with regards to server population caps, as it should be.
Secondly, the community reminds me a lot of the early GemStone III (now IV) days. By and large, the people who play RoE are a more intelligent and mature bunch than you're likely to find in other online games, or indeed, online in general. I've always maintained that the biggest problem with the internet is the tools who use it. Not you, of course. The other tools.
Thirdly, the entire thing is run by a handful of people as a labor of love. Originally a MUD of sorts, Rubies was developed by the now-defunct CyberWarrior, Inc, and has been through several incarnations. It spent four or five years in development for a graphical revamping, opening for some sort of closed beta in 1999, and proceeded to remain that way for years, finally hitting open beta in spring of 2003, and opening to little fanfare in June of that year. By November 2003, they announced the permanent shutdown and dismantling of the product, but two or three of the developers managed to raise enough cash to buy the rights and codebase to the game, and they reopened it around March 2004 (I think) as their own little company, Mnemosyne LLC, keeping the servers alive with money from their own pockets.
Convoluted!
I'm not positive about several of those dates, mind you...there's a lack of information around. One glance at Rubies will tell you that it's a dated game...the 3D models are PlayStation level or so, the gameworld is relatively small, and the population is limited but dedicated. I wouldn't have it any other way. The game has been in the same state with no patches or anything since June of 2004, running a bizarre mix of Java and C++, and the date of the next patch is either a running joke or a source of frustration over there, depending on how patient you are. Part of the server consolidation will involve getting rid of the legacy Java code, which will hopefully improve performance enough to allow four servers' worth of people to coexist in one box. Further proof that Java is teh suq, as the kids say.
Hopefully nobody at work yells at me for posting happy thoughts about the competition. Anyway, nothin' but love for ya, Rubies. Good luck. I'll be back.
As like, two of you know, I'm occasionally given to playing a little-known online game called Rubies of Eventide. RoE announced yesterday that they'll be undergoing a server consolidation, closing three of their four servers and transferring all characters to the remaining one. I sincerely hope that this doesn't signal the beginning of the end for them, not because I'll miss playing - I haven't had the spare time to play since last fall - but because I have a lot of respect for what they do over there.
Firstly, Rubies is free to play, relying on the generosity of those who do choose to donate money or maintain a subscription to get by (I bought a Gentry subscription last spring, it's either one year or lifetime, I frankly forget...it's less than the price of a new game either way). Unlike Guild Wars, where you purchase the retail box and then pay nothing more, Rubies is free to download, too. Unlike some other shareware stuff, free players in Rubies aren't gimped, although paying players get first preference with regards to server population caps, as it should be.
Secondly, the community reminds me a lot of the early GemStone III (now IV) days. By and large, the people who play RoE are a more intelligent and mature bunch than you're likely to find in other online games, or indeed, online in general. I've always maintained that the biggest problem with the internet is the tools who use it. Not you, of course. The other tools.
Thirdly, the entire thing is run by a handful of people as a labor of love. Originally a MUD of sorts, Rubies was developed by the now-defunct CyberWarrior, Inc, and has been through several incarnations. It spent four or five years in development for a graphical revamping, opening for some sort of closed beta in 1999, and proceeded to remain that way for years, finally hitting open beta in spring of 2003, and opening to little fanfare in June of that year. By November 2003, they announced the permanent shutdown and dismantling of the product, but two or three of the developers managed to raise enough cash to buy the rights and codebase to the game, and they reopened it around March 2004 (I think) as their own little company, Mnemosyne LLC, keeping the servers alive with money from their own pockets.
Convoluted!
I'm not positive about several of those dates, mind you...there's a lack of information around. One glance at Rubies will tell you that it's a dated game...the 3D models are PlayStation level or so, the gameworld is relatively small, and the population is limited but dedicated. I wouldn't have it any other way. The game has been in the same state with no patches or anything since June of 2004, running a bizarre mix of Java and C++, and the date of the next patch is either a running joke or a source of frustration over there, depending on how patient you are. Part of the server consolidation will involve getting rid of the legacy Java code, which will hopefully improve performance enough to allow four servers' worth of people to coexist in one box. Further proof that Java is teh suq, as the kids say.
Hopefully nobody at work yells at me for posting happy thoughts about the competition. Anyway, nothin' but love for ya, Rubies. Good luck. I'll be back.
1 Comments:
Nah, but you now make me feel bad for ever slighting them. THANKS, AARON.
Um, where did you say that bluegrass Bad Religion song was?
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