Shattered Kingdoms

Back in 2006/2007 Dulrik was making an extensive amount of code updates to respond to player ideas/complaints/suggestions. However, with the extensive level of presence there was an even greater amount of complaints and there was a ton of unjustifiable hate posts directed at Dulrik and his changes, but there were also a great deal of praises. Looking at the game as it is now, it's pretty solid with the amount of IMM builders that are available, and many of the building guidelines are followed religiously. The game as it is now has been under development for the last 15 years, so to say that the vast majority of the code needs to be continuously updated is not necessary. Minus a few adjustments and minor tweaks that get brought up now and again, it's pretty much a finished product and really only relies on the builders to expand it at this point.

I can definitely empathize with Dulrik's absence from the forums because the average thread on here that's even remotely popular can get flooded in a matter of minutes with frivolous information that's a royal pain in the rear to sift through. If you want changes and improvements to take place along with continuous updates, I would bet a small fortune that taking a less emotionally obtrusive approach would be the best way to go about it. Make logs, generate empirical, tangible evidence, present said evidence in a rational manner and be patient. I would venture that there are not a measurable fraction of the players who even have a tiny inclination as to what's going on in Dulrik's personal life and there could be lots of stuff keeping him from being a greater presence. Who knows, maybe he truly wants to have a greater presence to his core, but like all aspects of life, sometimes personal responsibility to more pressing matters of concern take greater priority.

That's like saying Princess Maker 2 has been under development for 17 years because it is still enjoyable today.

A program that has not been recompiled in nigh on two years is not under development.


In fact, a game that is not maintained by its rights-holders and is not able to be acquired from its owners is called abandonware.

The only evidence I personally have as a player that the Implementor is still interested in the game is that he is paying the bills to keep it running.


...Or is he even doing that anymore?

We can't tell.

I sometimes feel bad for the current staff when I feel like they're going to great lengths to make up for the fact that the main decision maker is absent or listless. It's like if God quit and all the angels in Heaven had to work double time to make sure no one found out in addition to what's already on their plates.

grep ur a shareware

More like malware.

Dulrik is my fb friend. I know his deal. New job, engaged, new house. He told someone (darktemplar IRL) he is feeling burnt out on SK and he knows it's going downhill.

Well, I'm sort of in the same boat... new house, new (second) job... pregnant... and I'm not online all the time, but I do make it online at least once every two days. I don't like to compare people's situations, but I do know I feel sad by Dulrik's lack of presence, and I wish he would just post on the forums or something.

Oh yeah? Well Jesus is my homeboy.

That made me laugh. Thank you. After reading ladyjennbo's post, I'm feeling rather sick to my stomach and depressed. For the creator of Shattered Kingdoms to admit that the game is going down hill, and that he's feeling burnt out on it as well, makes me wonder where it all went wrong.

My fears have grown a bit more now, and I think perhaps there needs to be some sort of precaution taken. Perhaps the torch needs to be passed? Perhaps someone else just needs to step in as Implementer for an undetermined amount of time?

I would volunteer to be on the IMM staff in a heartbeat, simply to try and pick up some of the slack. I do not know exactly what I would be capable of doing at the moment, as my knowledge and know-how is only so much, but I take orders well and I am a very determined and fast learner. I am certain there are far more qualified candidates, though.

Regardless of which, my love for this game still remains and continues to grow. I am the type of person (and my wife hates this most of the time) that never gives up hope until the very last bit embers die out and everything is irrevocably lost. I have spent the past several years getting to know this game far better than any other that I have EVER played and I am pretty damn sure that I've spent more time on Shattered Kingdoms than any other game. EVER! I will not give this game up without a fight. I hate to sound mushy and corny, but I think there has been quite a tightly knit community built through the game where people come together from all over the world to have fun. In my opinion, that is one hell of a feat. How many people can say that they were part of something like this, let alone CREATED something along those lines?

If I am alone in this, then so be it and I will quietly shrink back into the corner of the room and shut my trap. I just find it hard to believe after everything that has gone down, after all the friends people have made, after all that has been said and done and accomplished, people don't seem to really care that all of this gets tossed into the wind.

Out of all the games I have ever been addicted to, this is by the best game by far! You can keep all the Final Fantasies (even though 4 and the original Tactics on Playstation One are definitely my favorites), all the Call of Duty games including Modern Warfare 2, all the Pokemon games, everything. You can keep them all! Just leave me with Shattered Kingdoms. Please.

Wow, thanks for the concern everyone. Yes, I am alive and well. There was some miscommunication in some of the previous posts. I was not burned out so much as under a lot of time pressure the last half a year due to changing jobs, buying a house and moving. I hope most of the craziness is over now.

I have always been concerned about the game. If you could call me "depressed" it was only because I didn't have time to give SK the attention that I wanted to give it. As mentioned in another thread, I am looking to rectify the situation and devote some more time to the code now.

PS. The "wannabe Facebook site" that I work for is called Brightkite. It's a location-based social networking platform that also does free group SMS text messaging. You can use it via the web, iPhone, Android, Blackberry, Palm and Symbian. We aren't really a Facebook competitor - you can use the app to cross-post to both Facebook and Twitter. Our biggest rival is probably Foursquare.

It is so great to hear from you and see your presence.

Some of us kinda just gave up, but if you aren't calling it dead yet, we will return and support the game.

Happy to have you back~