Farewell, Lusternia

For those who only read the forums:

Without beating around the bush, I must tell you that I am leaving Lusternia. As I have pledged before that I would never abandon Lusternia, please know that this is not my choice and if there were any way I could stay in any capacity, I would. My great hope would be to return one day as a creative consultant to oversee lore and story, but alas for now I must drift into the Void.

This is all the more bittersweet as fifteen years ago today Lusternia first opened its doors for beta testing. I know there are a couple of you still around who remember that time! Before then, Lusternia was nothing but a dream in my head, inspired by some past creative writing and, believe it or not, a Dungeons & Dragons campaign I had played for many years. (Indeed, the name of 'Lusternia' was homage to that campaign.) I am forever grateful to have been given the opportunity to bring this dream, this vision, this mad creative project to life as a text game. I designed every class, laid out all the quests, and wrote all the stories. I still have a huge hand-drawn map which was made up of 12 pages of graph paper scotch-taped together which laid out all the seas, roads, cities, communes and beginning areas. Along with Roark (Lusternia's co-founder and first coder), we spent a year of our lives building from the foundation up.

For fifteen years, I have helmed this ship through rocky waters and smooth, through bright times and dark, through laughter and tears. My heart breaks, as a mother's would when she must leave her child. But Lusternia is not a child anymore. I raised it for a decade and a half, imbued it with my dreams and love, and trust it to continue.

So, my friends, I shall miss you more than you can possibly know. You still may see me trying to establish a presence on YouTube, and as I said, I hope a window will open in the future where I can return as a creative consultant. For now, Lusternia will be left in the very capable hands of our resident anomalies, Orael and Ianir, who are now co-producers of Lusternia.

So now Estarra enters the Void, to contemplate the myriad wefts and warps that the Fates have woven into their tapestry.

Remember Me.


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Comments

  • Well, you don't have to look far to find the answer to that question - just look at Imperian, where not only did it also go free-to-play, but it also became co-produced by two people who are primarily coders/engineers. It's been ages since anything happened there that wasn't related to classleads.
  • Chronas said:
    Well, you don't have to look far to find the answer to that question - just look at Imperian, where not only did it also go free-to-play, but it also became co-produced by two people who are primarily coders/engineers. It's been ages since anything happened there that wasn't related to classleads.
    Imperian is running on a MUCH smaller volunteer staff, who have a different relationship to the players than ours does. I say this as the head of a sect on Imperian, one that has an entity attached.

    Czixi, the Welkin murmurs, "Fight on, My Effervescent Sylph. I will be with you as you do."

    Aian Lerit'r, Lead Schematicist exclaims to you, "A *paperwork* emergency, Chairman!

  • edited October 2019
    Chronas said:
    Well, you don't have to look far to find the answer to that question - just look at Imperian, where not only did it also go free-to-play, but it also became co-produced by two people who are primarily coders/engineers. It's been ages since anything happened there that wasn't related to classleads.
    Imperian is running on a MUCH smaller volunteer staff, who have a different relationship to the players than ours does. I say this as the head of a sect on Imperian, one that has an entity attached.
    Not sure which entity you're referring to. Neither Tonrar or Nimtiel have been active for at least 2 months.

    And at the point when it went free-to-play and the game's original creator stepped away from full-time production, there were about 5 or 6 volunteers in addition to Dec and Eoghan. Reading between the lines in this situation, it doesn't sound like the current crop of volunteers is 100% positive about their future here, which supports Xenthos' concern that in about 6-8 months we will be sitting here with some brand-new, top-heavy conflict system that no one participates in because the world has stagnated entirely.

    None of this is really relevant nor respectful of Estarra.
  • Imperian currently runs on a staff of two part time volunteers. Lusternia is not in the same boat there, nor have they ever had the dearth of volunteers that Imperian has in recent years. All of that is out of scope of this thread, though, let's keep it about @Estarra and the amazing work she's done over the last decade and a half. I'm happy to discuss Imperian on the Imperian forums or Discord.
  • EveriineEveriine Wise Old Swordsbird / Brontaur Indianapolis, IN, USA
    Kalodan said:
    Against probably better judgment, I’ve decided to come through and voice my disgust and frustration with this decision.

    Lusternia is, at its heart, Estarra. I’ve watched for years as IRE continues to make poor choices that gut its games, all in the name of “progress” and “survival”. This decision is one more in a chain of awful decisions forced upon Lusternia, and I have no qualms expressing it: Matt, Jeremy, you’ve totally screwed the pooch, and there’s no politer way to put it. I was furious when I learned how you treated the producer of Midkemia, but I am absolutely disgusted you would treat someone who has done SO MUCH for you with such absolute disregard. Estarra has handled this with grace and aplomb, much to his credit. I make no such aspirations. This is deplorable.

    That said, I will say this: I loved Lusternia, love Lusternia, and Rob. I came to this game on opening day, and until I left a few years ago to focus on my personal life, it was a constant fixture. I grew up in this game, and Rob gave me more chances than I deserved, at many points. I truly look up to him as a mentor, someone who dramatically improved the quality of my life, and the lives of those around him. I am a functional, mature human being because of him. He pushed me to aspire to be more, and to be better, and I’m going to be forever grateful for the influence he has had on my life.

    Because of Rob, I made a great many friends, people who are still in my life today. One of the Terentia and I are still close friends, whose boyfriend recommended me for my current job, in software engineering. Rob was one of my references, and I do not doubt his kind words helped seal the deal.

    I hope Rob one day comes back to help guide his baby once again, but I hope it’s on his terms, and not Iron Realms’. He deserves FAR better than this, and I hope you are ashamed, Matt and Jeremy. You damn well should be.
    Was coming here to say the same. I disagreed with many of the blatant decisions forced on Estarra by higher-ups who wanted to turn Lusternia into just another bland, mediocre, micro-transaction-laden free-to-play casual money maker (and, admittedly, took out my frustrations on her when I shouldn't have); but Estarra, you did your best to keep the once mighty-beating heart of Lusternia--its story, its lore, its atmosphere, its draw, all those things you poured your soul into--continuing to beat despite the crap clogging its arteries. This game isn't going to be the same without you. Ianir and Orael will pick up the torch as best they can, but Lusternia just lost someone it can never replace :( .
    Everiine is a man, and is very manly. This MAN before you is so manly you might as well just gender bend right now, cause he's the manliest man that you ever did see. His manly shape has spurned many women and girlyer men to boughs of fainting. He stands before you in a manly manerific typical man-like outfit which is covered in his manly motto: "I am a man!"

    Daraius said: You gotta risk it for the biscuit.

    Pony power all the way, yo. The more Brontaurs the better.
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