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NS2 Officially being shut down
Topic Started: May 22 2009, 04:51:32 PM (792 Views)
Todd McCloud
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Planet Telox
This may or may not be old news (it was posted just this Wednesday), but NS2's fate is finally sealed. From the desk of Max:

Quote:
 
Jolt, developer of NationStates 2 and ex-host of this site, has announced the imminent shutdown of NationStates 2, with the game to go off the air indefinitely on July 1st, 2009.

I realize that last you heard, NationStates 2 was my baby, endorsed by me and financially supporting me and this site. So allow me to clear that up.

For months now, Jolt has been operating NationStates 2 without my authorization, profiting from my trademark, domain name, and original game design while paying me nothing. As you might expect, I've been less than thrilled about this. I haven't taken action to shut them down, though, as I didn't want NS2 players to be left in the lurch. NS2 is not my favorite game—parts of it are great, but as a whole it's a pale, deformed version of the game I designed—but some people are enjoying it, and are invested in their nations. So I've let it run, even though I feel pretty ripped about Jolt taking my work.

Now Jolt says that NS2 is closing, and "substantial work" will be performed on it, and eventually it may rise again in retooled form. I have no idea what this means, but I note that Jolt's strategy these days is all about herding players from less profitable games to more profitable ones. I was told to push players from NS1 to NS2; now NS2 players are being pushed onward to something else. The ultimate destination of this quest over burning bridges, I imagine, must surely be a game in which players compete to throw the most cash at Jolt.

I also note that Jolt's two flagship products are copies of other people's games with an unrelated brand name stuck on top: "Legends of Zork," for example, is a clone of Dragon Tavern, and has little to do with Zork, while "Utopia Kingdoms" is a rebadged Khan Wars that has little to do with Utopia. Other Jolt games, like Truckz (and, for a while, NationStates), were acquired from indy designers and Jolt's contribution has been to insert ads.

Which is fine; after all, Jolt is a business, albeit one that ignores my invoices. But this is not the kind of thing that implies a commitment to gameplay or community. So if I was a NationStates 2 player, I would not hold out much hope that this "substantial work," if it occurs, is for my benefit. I would guess it is more about developing exciting new ways to pay Jolt money. And I would not be surprised if any reworked NS2, if it does eventually emerge, turns out to be an entirely new game, copied from somewhere else, with a big brand name and no real connection to NationStates.

I've always said that if it ever became impossible for me to host NationStates, I'd release the source code for free. Because I'm not here to make money. Even when I created this game, back in 2002, I hoped it could help promote my novels, but a big reason for doing it was just because I thought it would be cool. And that's the main reason I run this site today: because we're a cool site, with a smart, quirky, sometimes prickly, and occasionally bizarre community, a style of debate and discussion you don't see anywhere else, and almost seven years of history.

We have millions of nations, and probably as many stories. Players here reminisce about regions that rose and fell, about Delegates who were betrayed, about alliances that were infiltrated, and ideological battles waged on the forum. I don't think Jolt gets that. I don't think they understand there's more to a game than its revenue—that games can become universes, and people live there. And that sincerely disappoints me, because I hoped NS2 could be something special.

NationStates—the original—is, thankfully, self-hosted these days. We have some plans, but our most important one is to not go anywhere. Thanks for sticking with us.


-Link-

Amen. Quite frankly, I hope people who jumped over to that wreck will make it back here!
"Your uniform doesn't seem to fit. You're much too alive in it."

"You must be the change you want to see in the world" - Gandhi
"The worst prison would be a closed heart." - Pope John Paul II
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Todd McCloud
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Planet Telox
I got this from someone. I found it amusing - just Jolt trying to push them on to a "new" game.

Quote:
 
Monday, 18 May, 2009 3:20 PM

Dear Rulers

As you know, NS2 launched in beta several months ago and has suffered from intermittent stability issues, mostly relating to the growing in-game economy, diplomatic networks and Alliance complexities. On July 1st, we are going to be taking the game down in order to perform substantial work on its architecture and features. This will not be a simple process and we are not able to give a definite timeline for when the game will return.

To ensure that players do not lose out because of this interruption, we will be turning off new registrations and payment options this week.

We regret having to take such extreme action but unfortunately, the underlying design of the game has several major flaws which must be addressed otherwise it will become irreversibly broken. As soon as we have new information, you'll be informed. In the meantime, perhaps we could interest you in Utopia Kingdoms? It's a game which is heavily based on the management of a kingdom and its associated economy and military. Certainly not a carbon copy of NS2 but hopefully something to get involved with until NS2 returns. This is a link just for NS2 players:

http://www.utopiakingdoms.com/?utm_source=...ampaign=NS2news

Regards

The NS2 Team
"Your uniform doesn't seem to fit. You're much too alive in it."

"You must be the change you want to see in the world" - Gandhi
"The worst prison would be a closed heart." - Pope John Paul II
Vekaiyu's Wiki Page | Ikrisia Levinile's Wiki Page | Listonia's Wiki Page
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Dyr Nasad
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Slave to the Hive Mind
lol
Everything is possible, the impossible just takes longer.
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YaM
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Jedi Master Batorr
Stupid Jolt.
Lowbrook
 
You haven't done me yet. Welcome by the way.
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Antracia
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In need of an imagination...
Agreed.
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Kandarin
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Ferret princess
I can't say I'm sorry to see this. NS2 was bungled from beginning to end and it's sad that the NS design team got dragged through it. At least we'll always have NS1, and NS1 is a better game than NS2 could ever hope to be.
"Torpored Caitiff Antediluvian"

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ClipSnap says:
Kandarin should just implode from the sheer ridiculousness of it all.
ClipSnap says:
I mean, no nation could ever sustain that many contradicting belief systems and still exist.
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Warr
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Warr
I would like to say one word. (Or internet phrase, or slang, or whatever.)

"Pwnt."
"Last Arrow in Necessities Quiver."

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Survival is victory; because the last one standing is the one who tells the tale.
The High Kingdom of Warre on NSWiki
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drakkengard
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WA Liaison
While i never gave a cent to Jolt nor will move on to Utopia kingdoms, i still think its a pity to see NS2 go down... Sure, NS1 is fun, but it´d be better if it were more complex. And NS2 could be that better game if its horde of bugs had been worked out.
And i´m shocked Jolt ripped Max like that! He should sue them.

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YaM
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Jedi Master Batorr
Good idea... Sue 'em Max!
Lowbrook
 
You haven't done me yet. Welcome by the way.
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East Malaysia
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Laugh hard. Run fast. Be kind.
Oh yay... *coughs* that's sad :( I would totally-totally have a nice court case going on.
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