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f13.net  |  f13.net General Forums  |  The Gaming Graveyard  |  MMOG Discussion  |  Topic: Asheron's Call 1+2 going into maintenance mode, F2P + player-run servers 0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.
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Author Topic: Asheron's Call 1+2 going into maintenance mode, F2P + player-run servers  (Read 44962 times)
Scold
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on: February 25, 2014, 01:03:18 PM

https://www.asheronscall.com/en/forums/showthread.php?&postid=712139

TLDR version:

-The game's February patch, which adds a lot of end-of-endgame content, will be the game's last monthly content patch, ending a nearly 15 year run.

-The only future patches will be minor bug-fixes and balance corrections as needed.

-AC1 and AC2 will be made free to play for anyone who has an active account with Turbine, and continue on in perpetuity that way, as a gift to its subscribers and a continuation of the company's legacy.

-Turbine has plans to release tools to allow dedicated players to host their own servers and perhaps even build new content. These tools will not be for the faint of heart; they'll be the same archaic tools the devs have been using. But nobody will have to reinvent the wheel by making an Asheron's Call emulator from scratch. Doing this will not require Turbine to divulge the game's source code.

Interesting to see this happening with one of the original "Big Three," especially given the recent UO/DAOC announcements.
Bhazrak
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Reply #1 on: February 25, 2014, 01:53:39 PM

Guess this is the beginning of the end. I'm still amazed they've kept it up for this long, let alone continuing to update it rather frequently. Sadly I'd always hoped something else would have come out of it.

Wonder how long they'll be able to keep it going in that state. From the sounds of it there's only 1 or 2 people working on it now.
Stormwaltz
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Reply #2 on: February 25, 2014, 02:42:03 PM

I wonder if I'll finally be able to finish those half-built dungeons I abandoned back in 2002. :/

Nothing in this post represents the views of my current or previous employers.

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MournelitheCalix
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Reply #3 on: February 25, 2014, 03:37:40 PM


-AC1 and AC2 will be made free to play for anyone who has an active account with Turbine, and continue on in perpetuity that way, as a gift to its subscribers and a continuation of the company's legacy.


Wow, I had no idea AC2 was in existence again...

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palmer_eldritch
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Reply #4 on: February 25, 2014, 03:40:15 PM


-AC1 and AC2 will be made free to play for anyone who has an active account with Turbine, and continue on in perpetuity that way, as a gift to its subscribers and a continuation of the company's legacy.


Wow, I had no idea AC2 was in existence again...

Nor me. Anyone know if it's worth trying?
Nevermore
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Reply #5 on: February 25, 2014, 04:00:42 PM

See, now that's the way to wind down a game.  Unlike what those pricks at NCSoft did with City of Heroes.

Over and out.
Soulflame
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Reply #6 on: February 25, 2014, 04:06:37 PM

What is an active Turbine account?  Someone who's currently paying?  Or anyone who ever played?
Bhazrak
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Reply #7 on: February 25, 2014, 04:29:56 PM


-AC1 and AC2 will be made free to play for anyone who has an active account with Turbine, and continue on in perpetuity that way, as a gift to its subscribers and a continuation of the company's legacy.


Wow, I had no idea AC2 was in existence again...

Nor me. Anyone know if it's worth trying?

I enjoyed it, but I was just wanting a massive nostalgia kick when I played it and didn't stick around. Not sure what, if anything, has changed since December 2012, but it was very stable at the time and seemed to have no real issues other than it being a 10 year old MMO. Didn't look half bad either. Still think it has some of the best ambient sound/music out there. I wandered around exploring mostly, doing the vaults and random quests I stumbled upon. It seemed to be exactly like it used to be.

I believe you need an active subscription with AC1 to try it out right now though, so it might be best to wait.
Cadaverine
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Reply #8 on: February 25, 2014, 04:42:30 PM

Wow, I still have my AC2 shirt signed by the devs that I got back in beta, but I had no idea that they'd started an AC2 server.

It will be interesting to see how it looks some 10 years later.


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Nebu
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Reply #9 on: February 25, 2014, 06:20:38 PM

Does this mean that they finally fixed beekepers?

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Flood
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Reply #10 on: February 25, 2014, 08:10:13 PM

AC1 is far and away my favorite MMO.  The some of the best gaming I've ever had has been playing AC1.  I'm sure a lot of that has to do with my age at the time, and the newness of MMO's, and the age of the internet overall as a gaming medium but still.  Good on them for ending it in a classy way.

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Scold
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Reply #11 on: February 25, 2014, 09:19:09 PM

I wonder if I'll finally be able to finish those half-built dungeons I abandoned back in 2002. :/

My limited understanding is that all sorts of old content got used as the basis for later-on content additions. So perhaps your dungeons were used at some point!
Stokowski
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Reply #12 on: February 26, 2014, 11:54:36 AM

There will never be another live dev chat rounded off with a Devilmouse stream-of-consciousness ramble.  Cry

And Thistledown will never again be the only server to resist B'Z's wicked temptations such that it took live dev interaction to put the server back on stort-line track. Cry Cry

So much history. So many memories.
« Last Edit: February 26, 2014, 11:57:47 AM by Stokowski »
Xuri
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Reply #13 on: February 26, 2014, 12:16:13 PM

-Turbine has plans to release tools to allow dedicated players to host their own servers and perhaps even build new content. These tools will not be for the faint of heart; they'll be the same archaic tools the devs have been using. But nobody will have to reinvent the wheel by making an Asheron's Call emulator from scratch. Doing this will not require Turbine to divulge the game's source code.
Source code or not, this will make it easier to make emulators, which might still be in "demand" for fixes/feature-additions that are not possible with the official tools.

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Reply #14 on: February 26, 2014, 12:34:53 PM

Had no idea AC2 was still running - I actually fondly remember my brief time playing with the beta and doing spinning swan dives into a lake.

Kind of wish I had been able to play AC1 in it's prime; unfortunately, I was a bit young and had enough trouble getting the parents to cough up the sub fee for EQ.

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sigil
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Reply #15 on: February 26, 2014, 03:29:37 PM

I resubbed and loaded the client. It's.... not quite as playmobil as it used to be, but man, has that game changed in the past seven years.

I logged in to about 60 levels of vassal xp. It looks entertaining enough for me to give it an occasional go when I'm not doing degree work or the job.
Soukyan
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Reply #16 on: February 26, 2014, 08:51:01 PM

Classy and an awesome way to keep a game alive. There should be enough community around to get player-run servers going and those may last for years to come. I suppose as long as the cost of running the servers is within reason, Turbine can just let them run along until nobody even remembers what they were there for. I'm glad they are going free-to-play, and lucky too since I have an active account just to maintain access to the resurrected AC2 server. :)

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Scold
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Reply #17 on: March 04, 2014, 06:02:33 PM

Oh man, the feels:

Ulgrim the Unpleasant tells you, "I found, hidden away, an old bottle of scotch I had forgotten about."
Ulgrim the Unpleasant tells you, "It was 14, almost 15 years old."
Ulgrim the Unpleasant tells you, "I thought "What the hell?" and opened it. Good stuff. It's been a good 14 years."
Ulgrim the Unpleasant tells you, "We've had a good run."
SurfD
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Reply #18 on: March 04, 2014, 11:13:14 PM

Man.  Wonder if my account from WAYYYYYYY back when still exists.  God, I cant even remember if i ever did change it over to whatever new login system turbine set up when they decupled the thing from the Microsoft Gameing Zone.   I vaguely remember having an AC2 beta account, but even that would be going on 10 years old or more.

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Stormwaltz
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Reply #19 on: March 05, 2014, 01:06:25 AM

Ulgrim the Unpleasant tells you, "I found, hidden away, an old bottle of scotch I had forgotten about."
Ulgrim the Unpleasant tells you, "It was 14, almost 15 years old."
Ulgrim the Unpleasant tells you, "I thought "What the hell?" and opened it. Good stuff. It's been a good 14 years."
Ulgrim the Unpleasant tells you, "We've had a good run."

Aw, damn.

Nothing in this post represents the views of my current or previous employers.

"Isn't that just like an elf? Brings a spell to a gun fight."

"Sci-Fi writers don't invent the future, they market it."
- Henry Cobb
Hutch
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Reply #20 on: March 05, 2014, 12:17:25 PM

A former guildmate, who still plays, pinged me about this the other day.

I loved AC1. It was my first MMO, close to my first internet game, and I played the hell out of it from January 2000 until well into 2002.

I felt a lot of nostalgia after I finally quit for good, and there are some things about the game that I'll always miss. But I could never go back to AC1.

A game in the same vein, the same IP, and the same setting, but with modern graphics, UI and gameplay features, would get my interest. I don't see how that happens though.

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Daeven
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Reply #21 on: March 05, 2014, 12:41:31 PM

See, now that's the way to wind down a game.  Unlike what those pricks at NCSoft did with City of Heroes.


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Scold
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Reply #22 on: March 05, 2014, 01:42:56 PM

A former guildmate, who still plays, pinged me about this the other day.

I loved AC1. It was my first MMO, close to my first internet game, and I played the hell out of it from January 2000 until well into 2002.

I felt a lot of nostalgia after I finally quit for good, and there are some things about the game that I'll always miss. But I could never go back to AC1.

A game in the same vein, the same IP, and the same setting, but with modern graphics, UI and gameplay features, would get my interest. I don't see how that happens though.

They did upgrade the graphics (and features) multiple times over the years. But yeah, I feel you.
Numtini
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Reply #23 on: March 06, 2014, 07:34:14 AM

I'm generally a tolkienish elves/dwarves/gnomes/etc sort of person, but I loved Dereth. Most of the time when companies try to innovate a world, we end up with something vaguely unsatisfying like Rift. Dereth felt alive and it felt unique.

If you can read this, you're on a board populated by misogynist assholes.
cironian
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Reply #24 on: March 09, 2014, 01:09:20 AM

See, now that's the way to wind down a game.  Unlike what those pricks at NCSoft did with City of Heroes.

***THIS***

Yeah. Even though I'm not planning on going back to AC, Turbine scored some major points with me by doing this. It only shows the difference in attitude between having the game controlled by a publisher and the original developer.
raydeen
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Reply #25 on: March 09, 2014, 11:12:25 AM

I bit and resubbed. Had to buy a new copy of the game but $10 plus a couple of months sub is worth it to me. I like it. It's not quite the cockpunch that I feel trying to go back to EQ and it's refreshingly hard compared to WoW. I'm still re-acclimating to it but it's definitely easier than what I remember 10+ years ago. I can see myself having fun with this for some years to come. I'd forgotten how much I hate Drudges though. Damn mewling bastards.

I was drinking when I wrote this, so sue me if it goes astray.
Bhazrak
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Reply #26 on: March 09, 2014, 02:50:15 PM

I'd forgotten how much I hate Drudges though. Damn mewling bastards.

Their death cries are great though. I miss being swarmed by lugians and not being able to hear a damn thing.
Sobelius
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Reply #27 on: March 18, 2014, 07:43:44 PM

I'm generally a tolkienish elves/dwarves/gnomes/etc sort of person, but I loved Dereth. Most of the time when companies try to innovate a world, we end up with something vaguely unsatisfying like Rift. Dereth felt alive and it felt unique.

Only game I know of where the weather changed across the world every season. First game I'd ever seen to wipe out content in the interest of story.

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Numtini
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Reply #28 on: March 19, 2014, 07:03:13 AM

Quote
Only game I know of where the weather changed across the world every season.

I remember logging in one month and it was raining blood.

If you can read this, you're on a board populated by misogynist assholes.
Stormwaltz
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Reply #29 on: March 19, 2014, 11:30:04 AM

I remember logging in one month and it was raining blood.

But did you notice Bael'Zharon looming on the northern horizon when the lightning flashed? :)

Nothing in this post represents the views of my current or previous employers.

"Isn't that just like an elf? Brings a spell to a gun fight."

"Sci-Fi writers don't invent the future, they market it."
- Henry Cobb
Scold
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Reply #30 on: March 24, 2014, 02:29:39 PM

I remember logging in one month and it was raining blood.

But did you notice Bael'Zharon looming on the northern horizon when the lightning flashed? :)

Hey, btw: now that it's all over, any particularly cool what-ifs or what-might-have-beens from your time plotting AC's future that you feel comfortable sharing?
Stormwaltz
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Reply #31 on: March 25, 2014, 01:20:29 PM

Not after so many years. At least nothing I didn't feel safe saying years ago.

I did have some pretty wacky ideas for how we could exploit the housing mechanics. I wanted to have yard-hookable cows that you could milk, and chicken coops you could get eggs from - moving the ground-level store bought cooking ingredients to make them available from a pseudo-farm.

Probably the craziest idea I ever had was turning the portal-in point on Aerlinthe into a buyable plot. People who tried to port without house permission would get bounced back to where they came from. The idea was that people could control what was then a prime levelling ground. But it would have to be something you couldn't monopolize month after month, so I thought the payment would be in dozens of Orbs of the Bunny Booty... but then people became capable of farming the White Rabbit.

It could never have worked, but it was a fun thought experiment.

Nothing in this post represents the views of my current or previous employers.

"Isn't that just like an elf? Brings a spell to a gun fight."

"Sci-Fi writers don't invent the future, they market it."
- Henry Cobb
HaemishM
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Reply #32 on: March 25, 2014, 03:09:08 PM

It could never have worked, but it was a fun thought experiment.

You've pretty much described the entirety of MMOG development history.  why so serious?

Stokowski
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Reply #33 on: March 26, 2014, 02:06:23 AM

Yes, though the difference here was the realisation came before implementation.  Oh ho ho ho. Reallllly?
Bunk
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Reply #34 on: March 26, 2014, 06:29:24 AM

That whole game wound up being an interesting thought experiment. An unlimited PVP server that actually sort of worked under a system of self policing. A player base dropping the in game currency almost completely and going to a barter system based off a rare resource that had little other value.

The game didn't have an auction hall, so players wrote bot scripts to run alts that would auto trade items based on specific trade values, and then turned a travel hub in the game in to a community market.

Best of all, the Devs never got in the way of any of this.

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