
The Last Survivors of Meridian 59 (2014) - bpierre
http://www.newyorker.com/tech/elements/the-last-survivors-of-meridian-59
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Daenks
Hi!

I've been heavily involved in this project in the past. It's still going
strong!

openmeridian.org and meridiannext.com are the most active open source servers.

~~~
TrollInBob
Ohmigosh you're still at it? Please visit the official site or Gilroy's forums
for info. This guy is a known scammer and cheat.

The only thing more amazing than the game living this long, and it IS a great
game, is that our bad actors in the community have been so dedicated.

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foreverclown
Thanks for the love. I'm the administrator of the game's 2 remaining official
US servers, which are owned by the two original programmers who developed the
code (blakod, Andrew and Chris Kirmse. The two brothers took the game over
again in 2010, from the company Near Death Studios - which had been charging
players from 2003-2010, 9.95 a month. The brothers released the game for free,
keeping all the characters from 2003 still alive (unwiped servers), allowing
for an unprecedented social aspect wherein players from a decade (or longer,
now) ago can step back into the boots of their old avatars.

The game's source code was released in 2011 and is available on github for old
fans and new to create new worlds and game experiences.
[https://github.com/Meridian59/Meridian59](https://github.com/Meridian59/Meridian59)

The population is not what it once was (it tends to come and go with the
seasons, one player makes a huge impact in its world) - but it's worth
checking out, historically.

There are now a couple, fan-run open source servers that have been doing a TON
of work on the game, some offering more PvE, some more PvP based. Old fans may
enjoy checking out some of the changes on these servers...or they may enjoy
seeing something a little closer to home. Either way, the game is still alive,
thanks to the fans. Users are still getting involved in their old
relationships or making news ones, with some incredible stories due to the
game being out for a virtual lifetime.

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bussiere
I've played this game in the end of the 90'S woooo i'am old ...

~~~
rabbyte
I was in the beta. playing and hacking that game changed my life. it's always
been a tragedy so many people didn't experience it before Asherons Call,
Underlight, and EverQuest came along.

~~~
tibbon
Ultima Online's alpha/beta era was pretty amazing and chaotic. I miss it.

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rosser
As much as this world sounds like a treasure, and deserves an audience, might
putting it on Steam not be a bit Endless September?

~~~
foreverclown
Interesting reference, seeing that the game was 'born' when the original
programmers and producers discussed the concept on usenet.

Being on Steam would be a great way to introduce it to new fans and it already
has a 'workshop' with new servers and other mods via its open source
community. I know many would appreciate it being on there - the more, the
merrier. I think after 20 years, the impact such a boon could have is more
positive.

['Netiquette' was definitely a part of the game's set of skills, with players
policing their own servers and taking social justice into their own hands when
members of the community were 'unruly'. In the years since, the social
landscape of the game changed along with our internet culture, for better or
worse.]

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DamionS
Interested parties may enjoy this GDC postmortem of the game. Note: Sound at
the beginning is REALLY jacked for about 3 minutes, turn your volume down a
little before launching.

[http://www.gdcvault.com/play/1016637/Classic-Game-
Postmortem...](http://www.gdcvault.com/play/1016637/Classic-Game-Postmortem-
Meridian)

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buserror
There is also ClanLord[1] that is still going, more or less also with a
fraction of the players that used to be there.

I used to be a GM on it, more than 15 years ago (!) -- it was one of the rare
game on Mac as well, at the time when Mac weren't trendy at all..

[1]: [https://deltatao.com/clanlord/](https://deltatao.com/clanlord/)

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Harimwakairi
"...Meridian 59, the first computer game that allowed people from around the
world to gather and quest together via the Internet."

Have these people never heard of a MUD?

~~~
loarake
I wish MUDs were featured more prominently in online gaming history. They
basically defined my childhood, and I learned how to code by writing vendor
bots on a MUD. Dealing with edge cases (customers trying to buy invisible
items without being able to see invisible!) and people trying to scam my bots
taught me some valuable programming lessons that stick with me to this day.

