The Fate of the Imperia

[Sirian]

In winter 2004, I invested significant energy in to spawning an MOO1 revival. I launched a site, wrote a tutorial, genned up interest in a tournament, launched the tournament, and provided a home for fellow fans to actually play the game together.

Then, just as suddenly, support from me dried up later in the spring. Why?

Sometimes we have to make choices. Many times, I have worked at things involving games that would benefit dozens or maybe hundreds of my fellow gamers. The Imperia and the MOO1 revival were one of these occasions. I still love the game. I'm glad that I helped spark renewed interest in it and that many of you had a good time with it. I had the opportunity, however, to choose to invest my time in to a game in a way that would affect hundreds of thousands of my fellow gamers. The opportunity came unexpectedly, and it required my full attention.

I made the choice to abandon my MOO1 activities and commitments, and I also chose not to reveal that I was doing this or to explain why. I feel I owe some of you an apology for not explaining, and for not making a move to let someone else have the chance to take the leadership reins for RBMoo.

I am willing to do that now, though. If one of you wants to revive the tournament in the near future, we can talk it over with Griselda and see what we can arrange. If all of you are going to give Civ4 a try, then we will likely shut down the Imperia -- they've been shut down de facto for more than a year anyway.

Who knows. Perhaps at some point I will be in position to help make a new Master of Orion game, or a game that embodies some of its best gameplay elements.

Thanks to everybody who joined in on my all too brief MOO1 revival.

Now I'm off to give my full attention to RBCiv.


- Sirian

[Zed-F]

We're not quite dead yet. It looks like we might even have another SG soon.

OTOH, I don't see the Imperia coming back anytime soon, what with Civ4 coming. So, while I won't be there right at the starting gate, I expect to rejoin you guys over on that side of the playing field sooner or later.

[Maniac Marshall]

I would like to see us hold off on burrying the Imperia.

I knew full well why you left Sirian. It wasn't hard at all to connect the dots. My intention at the time was to try to keep it alive until work on Civ 4 was complete, and then I hoped you would have at least some time to devote to moo.

Well, life had other plans for me as well. My apartment building burned down while I was at work, and suddenly, games weren't a life priority of mine.

I've not been wholy without moo, as my gf had my labtop, so I could play a game here and there when she was up a few times this summer or I was down there for a weekend.

It's true that I'll be getting Civ 4 and do look forward to playing that, but I had hoped we could keep the Imperia alive, with perhaps a game every 2-3 months or so.

I'm sure that Civ 4 will rock. Totally, unimaginably rock most likely, but I'd rather hoped there'd still be a place for this game as well.

Civ III rocked once too. For about the first 500 games or so, till burnout set in. The funny thing about moo is, as long as I've had it, I've never burnt out on it to the degree I have with Civ games.

In moo I saw both a game to play other than Civ, hoping to prolong the life of interest in Civ, and a place to return to when the eventual burnout set in.

With the holidays fast approaching, it isn't the best time to attempt a revival imho. How about we see what we can accomplish with SG's the next few weeks with an eye toward reviving it for the new year if there is interest?

- Manaic

[Sirian]

MOO SGs for a while, then re-evaluate next year, is OK by me. Good luck dealing with the Psilons!

- Sirian

[Maniac Marshall]

Thanks Sirian.

And since I haven't said so yet, congrats on your "independant contractorship" with firaxis. I've a feeling that at least some of elements of civ 4 might seem mooesque, but we'll see for ourselves over the next few days.

- Maniac