I was asked in discord about where the server was at by a player who had obviously been afk for some time. This was my response, I think it's important that you know.
Back in 2023? I transferred my ownership due to my personal life needing more of me there. I ran out of time. Rogue took it over and ran with it for a bit. He had some struggles of his own that caused him to be more absent than he had planned for. (I imagine). I came out of retirement last May 2024 with an idea to revive the server from its current status. There were usually 15-30 people on during "peak" times, sometimes a little higher, sometimes a little lower. I facilitated the wipe of the server so that everyone could start fresh and on the same level per se. It was a hail mary shot, and it landed, for a while. The developers at that time, and current owners were @ObiWoki , @Fitz, @Mitch(not to be confused with me). The devs pulled some long nights to try and get the server ready for it. The wipe launched and went from the 15-30 players to over 110 players. The server was alive and there was a breath of fresh air for a month or so.
After the wipe, it was the plan that the functions and features that were removed in preparation for the wipe would be reworked where needed and added back during weekly updates following the wipe. Seeing that the server was hopefully headed in a better direction, I removed myself from whatever position I had moved into and went back to focusing on my life. Over the following 3 months, the named above devs were AFK. They did not do any releases and essentially were on a work stoppage. Some insiders speculate that the devs put Rogue on ice with their development to force the sale of the server to them.
Their alleged plan looked to come true and they purchased the rights to the server from Rogue.
Once they took over ownership, I believe they thought the title of owner alone would generate players to return to the server. In addition to their new titles, they attempted to blame the entire server's downfall on the wipe.
Through their post on the forums, they blamed the wipe on the status of the server and vowed to undo it. So they launched a new version of Asylum. They "merged" the two databases. Pre/post wipe and added them together essentially. They added a few meager features and thought that it would bring the server back to life.
The shocker? It didn’t.
They learned that no one cared about the blame they laid on others. The coattails they tried to ride were no longer viable and they needed to get down to the brass tacks of the issue. So, they went AFK again. However, this time Fitz stayed somewhat active and tried to hold it together. We now had 1 of 3 owners who was around to be seen. It wasn’t without its issues though. Fitz lacks general leadership abilities in an online community. They all lacked climbing through the ranks to understand how the community works, and the legwork it requires to maintain. Fitz stopped communicating with a large majority of the staff, and instead, kept it to a small circle of people.
This left everyone searching for answers.
In private, Fitz designed a plan to switch maps. He had @zdeat and @Luke working on the new map. Both public and private conversations were had about this change. It was supported and opposed by a lot of people.
Due to the pressure, the owners decided they would not go on with the planned map change. The shitty part? They left the two guys working on it in the dark. They did not want Luke or Zdeat to stop the work, or to run off to another community with it. So they let them run their course and they got the final copy from the map designers. Then, they publicly made the decision to pull the plug on the project.
So now, we are all here just waiting to see what happens next. It’s not for the lack of effort by anyone still here that the server has failed. It’s a lack of leadership, accountability, or care. They might not realize it yet, but they were handed the ultimate responsibility to keep the server alive, and they failed. They failed everyone that comes here to connect with old friends.
I’ve said it time and time again. Asylum wasn’t alive for the breaking edge gameplay of a 2013 game, it was alive because of the friends who made it great.
A user stated the following in discord
I responded with
Let's dive into that.
I am not defending my decision to do that. It was an option, not the only option. Prior to that effort, Fitz was the most contributing dev at the time. However, he kept throwing countless pieces of content at the wall in the hopes to find something that stuck. He wanted the server to do well just like the rest of us. The problem? Fitz had some troubles coding and frequently released features that were half cooked and not ready for releases. It was a mix between incompetence and the lack of testing that caused this. This caused the other developers to spend their free time unfucking what fitz had pushed. Due to these issues, Fitz had his rights to push patches revoked to stem the countless issues.
The problem remained though, the servers population was a 5th of what it used to be. A hail mary might have worked, might have not. I along with many others held our breath as it was released, and I was extremely surprised to see the positive response to it. It's been years since I experienced that level of fun on the server as I did when it was a fresh wipe. It was truly alive, and we saw people across the map using the server as it was intended. I wish I could find the old screen shots from that time.
The hail mary did work, but the sustainment after it failed. We went over 3 months without a content patch after the wipe. Any hail mary would have failed without the proper follow through. You can't blame the idea for the failure. A nascar race isn't won by just the car. It's the car and pit stop crew that see it across the finish line. The devs ran out of gas, and they thought buying the server would refill their tank.
they got it wrong.
I'm sorry that you have been failed. By biggest fear of giving up my position has come true. I am responsible.
Another user asked
This is what I had to say.
Take a screenshot in your head from the fun times you have had here. And ride on into the sunset when you're ready. It's not worth fighting with a group of people that clearly lack the care to have attention for what this place was and has become for many.
I know there are a lot of you searching for answers and wondering what is happening. I have remained silent long enough and the owners have had the chance to speak up. They didn't, so I am.
Feel free to ask any questions if they were not answered by the above. I am retired, so this is my account, my statement. this is not the reflection of what the current owners are saying.
New owners legitimately expected the server to fill up simply on the basis that the old owner was gone. Yet they have done nothing different.
Releasing a roadmap that was simply a list of ideas with no timeframe attached didn't help. Many of the owners aren't willing to put in the effort to contribute to real updates, and the one who is can hardly code without breaking the entire server, and doesn't take criticism or the opinions of others into account and just does as he sees fit.
Lack of good updates and kept promises was a trend with previous ownership, and the new ones are continuing it. There is no future for asylum, there was an opportunity with the wipe with a full server and excited playerbase, yet the developers (current owners) failed to capitalize on this with additional updates. Drastic changes were needed but with 10 players on after a wipe and then also a revamp, I don't see much opportunity for a comeback anymore.
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