Hi everyone, Abbey here.
I bring some unfortunate news: Equiverse will no longer be receiving development time.
I hope to clarify everything in this post, but if there are any questions, I will try to answer them in the comments.
This may not be a surprise to some of you, but others may be blindsided - and for that I'm sorry. Equiverse has seen a several year decline of activity and revenue, and it is no longer financially viable for development to continue. I personally no longer have the time to work on it as a passion project.
Equiverse will stay online - as is - for as long as it can afford its hosting and domain fees. Assuming it can continue to bring enough revenue to support this, it will remain running as it currently is. If it cannot make the revenue to keep itself hosted, it will be closed. I will try to give warning ahead of time if this happens.
How We're Leaving Things
I will be coding an automated news posting system that posts the event news when each event rolls around. I believe there is also a recurrent issue with "ghost" backgrounds and items getting stuck on deceased horses - I will be making the tool to fix this available for member use.
Moderation
River will no longer be admin of the game. The moderators have been asked whether they would like to stay moderating, and there has been a mixed response so far - we will see what happens.
I don't wish to put any pressure on the mods, it's truly their decision - but just to inform: if they were to choose to step down from moderating, then I would be closing the forums, private messages, and any other place in which a player could post rule-breaking content. Even if activity truly dwindles, I don't want any player feeling harassed or uncomfortable on the game.
Support
Support for the game will mostly cease. Any bugs that are discovered will be left unfixed, any items or horses that get stuck in trades or shows will not be able to be released.
If a player tries to return to the game but is unable to retrieve their login details, they will instead be encouraged to create a new account. If account activation is unsuccessful, they will be encouraged to try a different email address, but ultimately there will be no further support for account loss and sign up.
Support *will* continue for EV Credit purchases as I have a legal requirement to ensure that paying customers are able to access their purchased goods - or receive a refund.
The Future and Other Projects
I am not planning to sell Equiverse because there is the potential that some time, far in the future, I will revisit it in a different format. This is not a promise - I don't want to ignite any false hope - but it's something that has been briefly considered. For that purpose, it would be useful to maintain copyright holder of the assets and systems in place, particularly the game's art.
Some of you may be aware of the other games that I have created with friends and colleagues, but if not, then allow me to introduce you to Lioden and it's sister game, Wolvden.
End of an Era
Equiverse was my first sim game. It began as "Winners", and then had a rename to the much more palatable "Equiverse". The game was first launched in 2006 - nearly 18 years ago!
We've had a lot of ups and downs, a couple of recodes, multiple iterations of breed art, many different showing systems, and plenty more that has changed significantly since we first launched. It's been a truly wonderful journey all the way through.
I would like to thank River for stepping up as admin over the past few years, and for continuing to push for development on the game in that time.
I would also like to thank the moderators that have continued to remain active over the course of the past few years - and indeed Equiverse's lifetime itself.
Finally, I'd like to extend thanks to the players who are still continuing to come and play, who have taken the time to suggest ideas, and stuck around for improvements. I am very grateful for each and every one of you.
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Abbey
Posted on
2023-10-07 13:21:17
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Abbey
