An Update for 2022

[Snaek]

I'd like to start by expressing my appreciation to all of you who have reached out about the status of the game. I apologize for not responding to each of you directly. It's been a real struggle to find the right words for an update when things have been dormant for so long. I thought about going back to see what the last update was and how best to stay positive, but you all deserve as truthful update as I can provide.

The game is not dead. It's in a coma.

In my own life, I have been struggling to find a healthy balance between game, work, and school. When school and work both went remote, I could not find the energy to put in a 3rd online session devoted to the game. My days consisted of logging into work from home and my commute is switching laptops so I can attend classes in the evening. I really thought I'd be able to balance those along with the game, but I just couldn't do it. The last thing I want to do on the weekends or late at night is get back on the computer to do more of what I've been doing for the last 12 hours. The other staff members have had their own changes in life and they didn't have time to wait for me to get it together. I accept all the responsibility for their departures. They made the effort to stay in touch and ask about the game, but like with the rest of you, I didn't have an update to give them. Sometime during the pandemic I stopped updating Facebook and discontinued the Patreon perks. Any efforts on those fronts would have been a lie and you can only keep a project like this afloat with optimism for so long, and I am no Optimism Prime.

The sole reason I pulled the game in the first place was because of the bug that was deleting characters from the database. I just couldn't deal with rebuilding characters while also chasing down this elusive and critical bug. I solicited help last year from classmates and we were able to identify the root cause, but it required updating Java 3 different versions, something that cannot be easily done with the state of our code. The only clear path became a full rebuild from the ground up and I just didn't have the time to do that by myself. So promises of reopening the game faded as each deadline passed. All the item work done previously means nothing if the game remains unstable. Why play if you run the risk of losing your character you have invested so much time into?

This year I have been discussing the future of Shattered Isles with Austere and while I have a plan in mind, there is no timetable set for a return. I will be rebranding the game when it is relaunched, but I have not finalized what that new name will be. The Shattered Isles name and all its outlets have value which I will sell in order to cover all relaunch costs. I have moved the game to a different domain and port where I have tinkered as time allows, but no one else has access. I have 4 separate builds currently:

1. The game as it was when it was closed. All players and items remain saved and preserved.
2. A fresh version of the codebase we started with (Coffeemud)
3. The game with everything wiped (items and players). This was the project before it ended where we identified the need to update Java.
4. The future game that is a combination of 2 and 3.

There's a lot of benefits to rebuilding from the ground up. When I started this project I didn't know a damn thing about coding. Most of the bugs I've chased over the years are of my own creation. Just looking back through the code is cringeworthy and I'm not the only one who has been in there mucking it up. This new build has given me a chance to fix a lot of those early issues rather than trying to patch them. The best news of the entire project (to me) is that none of the rooms or descriptions have to be redone. They all export/import cleanly without issue.

To reiterate, I am still fully committed to relaunching the game and it will be familiar in many ways, but change is part of it. Through school my goals for this game have shifted in order to bring it to more people through mobile platforms, but the MUD will always be at the heart of it, and that MUD will ALWAYS be free. I got swept up along the way in how this game will support itself but I realize now that there are other ways to do that without tarnishing what a MUD like this is supposed to be. I understand that many of you may never give it another chance and I certainly understand. It's not easy to lose a part of you for so long, and that is exactly what these characters were. When the day comes, I still vow to rebuild your characters as much as possible so that your loss is not permanent.

The next update will likely be regarding the selling of the Shattered Isles domains and social handles, at which time I will provide more information on where you can continue to track the progress of the game.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to All,

The Artist Sometimes Known as Snaek

[Swamp Ape]

I appreciate everything you and the staff have done and when you're able to open the doors back up i'll be there waiting.

[Yiri]

I check these forums every few months hoping for an update or some news. To be honest, with Covid I've been fearing the worst. Snaek, I'm glad to see you're healthy and active.

I've played a lot of games in my life, but the MUD has been something special to me since I discovered Dragon's Gate back in the day. Shattered Isles was the first MUD since then that gave me the excitement of the old days back. Nothing beats having half the town chasing after you and calling for your imprisonment and/or death.

Please keep us updated, even if it's just to maintain contact to let us know your thoughts on how things are progressing. Whenever the game comes back up, you can bet that my little green ass will be running around causing havoc again. I miss my friends in SI and I can't wait to rob you all blind.

-KING Yiri