Notice The end of a decade...

So there we are.

The end of 2019 is coming. Not only is this another year that ends, but it's also the end of a decade. A decade that was for me more than half spend on MapleLegends...


24-01-2015 - MapleLegends Open Beta

Sometimes it's hard to believe for me that this project started in August of 2014, after being dissatisfied with the current servers available at the time. Before that, I've played multiple nostalgic and 'gms-like' servers. However, even though those servers claimed to be GMS-like or nostalgic, they always had over the top custom things that skipped gameplay. For Example, Horntail books purchasable without beating Horntail, which was very unappealing to me at the time, and still is.

Even without skippable gameplay those servers usually suffered problems that caused these servers to just never grow. They were usually stuck with 20~ online and even though developers would spend time on those servers, they felt stuck in a non-growing state. Sure this caused a very close tight community, but I wanted more, and more importantly a more authentic server.


26-01-2015 - One of the very first public LPQ's

Another option was to join the biggest v0.62 server, but looking at multiple things in that server at the time there were some things I did disagree with when it comes to the balance, as well as the management of the server itself. So even though they were the biggest, I didn't really want to join them and unresolve the problem of there being no authentic Old School Server with no custom content such as droppable Cash Items and alternated stats that break difficulty and balance. Back then pretty much every single server had maple weapons dropping by default, including the biggest v0.62 server. Even only Maple Weapons dropping all the time already heavily alters the way early and the middle game is played, and completely break Warriors (which is why we had the accuracy changed since day 1).


21-07-2015

There were not many other options left but to start my own server together with a friend of mine at the time, being Navi. Navi was a developer and already played around with MapleStory Emulators in the past. We also played here and there on the servers I did play in before.

Navi had a similar vision as mine and it was the goal of emulating the most authentic GMS-like server, authorizing all the packets that the GMS client uses. This task was incredibly difficult due to the lack of research and love for v0.62. While there were much more v0.62 servers around compared to now, most releases and research were even back than already for v0.83. This means Navi had to decode packets and reverse engineer the game client by himself. This alone was an extremely tedious process, and we were spending months alone trying to remove exploit after exploit in the public emulator of choice, and the other months being spent on decoding packets and coding stuff, where I usually tested the changes and report back to Navi for months. Navi is a god, and it's no surprise he got burned out from this shortly after release. However, without Navi's extremely hard work through 2014~2015 to early 2016 MapleLegends wouldn't have existed.


03-08-2015

MapleLegends went through many phrases and generations. You can almost see the server as GMS at this point. Some prefer this generation of MapleLegends, and some prefer the other one. Whenever it's 2015, 2016, or current generation, each timeline of MapleLegends was an important time for me. Whenever it's to learn from mistakes or to learn from things that are a cool idea in a book but in reality is pretty flawed. Each generation of MapleLegends had it's good and bad, and I think that's how it should be. Nothing can ever be perfect.


21-08-2015

It's without a doubt however, that I never knew I would reach together with the staff what we have reached with MapleLegends. It started as a small project to provide some friends that really wanted Old School gameplay to one of the biggest and long-lasting servers out there. MapleLegends, while stuck with a problem of being very old and unable to fix some of the more 'modern' problems such as HP washing, Leeching, and other things that are now seen as problems compared to 2014 remains having a very dedicated community that created countless friendships, hours of fun, or even relationships and meetups. A community I am very proud to have.


30-09-2015 - Islander meetup

Before MapleLegends the only project I've ever Administrated in was GunBound. When it comes to GunBound and MapleStory they are two completely different things with an even different community. While I had managing experience with GunBound, it was completely different and in my opinion harder task to tackle MapleStory. GunBound is just a PVP game that needs minimal moderation, where MapleStory you actually interact directly with everyone.

While it's harder, it's also much more fun. You feel a much closer connection to the users compared to just being there in a room-to-room game such as GunBound. Also, MapleStory was very fortunate to have majorly of its users being able to speak English. Unfortunately, this was a problem in GunBound since 2007 and even now. Users that briefly played GunBound Origins definitely noticed this especially.


29-12-2015 - Christmas 2015

Of course, during this long journey, there were mistakes made. In the end, this was the first time I ever staffed a MapleStory server besides a short period of time an 'intern' somewhere else. Some mistakes were pretty severe and damaged things. Whenever it's the server itself, or relationship between staff or users. Sometimes you also just run into disagreements, where one person shares a different opinion over another. Making a decision then is more difficult than you think, especially when you want to try to keep everyone happy.


25-03-2016

Over the course of the journey, there are also periods where you just don't feel like it anymore. I am pretty sure everyone has this period, and everything just becomes extremely demotivating. The server itself is going downhill, there are conflicts to people you care about, and there's barely any positive things left. I also faced this problem during the journey, and when I was close to giving up, someone sent me a very kind PM. To this day I won't forget about that PM and I want to thank you for pushing me back into shape. You know (I think) who you are, even though you are not really around anymore. Thank you.


17-04-2016 - 1st Anniversary

In end, I am happy with what I have reached with MapleLegends. Of course, MapleLegends isn't complete without its users, staff (current and old), as well as the patience of some users and staff members. Together we do each part of what makes MapleLegends complete. Some may argue some 'roles' are more important than others, but in the end, even the small pieces are required to complete the big puzzle.


08-07-2016 - Summer Event 2016

When it comes to this year (2019) I am very happy overall how it went. I am really satisfied with pretty much everything and was very rarely upset related to this game or server. It was a very pleasing and fun experience this year, and even during very stressful long maintenances we just stayed calm and took our time. Of course, sometimes minor frustrations pop out when this code doesn't work for the 10th time, or a .wz specific error poops out into the live servers. However, that's honestly just the life of a game server and even happens in professional games.

The most important part is that you do not give up and make users sure they feel the same way. That way you'll slowly create a dedicated user base. A user base that comes back to the server from time to time because they feel this is the server they can spend time on that isn't going to be wasted. They may leave for another server for a fresh start, but they will also hop back into the main server eventually if they feel the other server is just not the same, or have other problems. They would play even with the flaws intact because their priority is the community, fun, and most importantly the charm of the server, which is very difficult for another server to replicate.


01-01-2017 - Christmas Event 2016

So what's for 2020? When it comes to me, I have no plans yet to stop anytime soon. There's no reason yet for me to stop, and I am still enjoying this quite a lot, regardless of getting older every year. Of course, users and staff alike get busier and have to move on. In end, this 2d mushroom game is getting very old, and only getting older. If something suddenly happens anyway, please remember this message that it was likely against my will.


09-04-2017 - Anniversary Event 2017

Going through these screenshots is a very nostalgic trip to me. They are screenshots from 2015 all way to 2016 and 2017. There are times I miss deeply, and also some times I miss less. Even for those things, I miss less, it's very nostalgic seeing those times again. I also got a lot of screenshots from 2018 to present, and even 2014, but I am running out of things to say.

For you guys, I am just showing 1 screenshot for each paragraph, but for me, I am browsing through my gigantic screenshot folders with over 3000+ screenshots full of memories. It's really saddening seeing those times again, and it has, without a doubt, been a huge adventure. An adventure, that is hopefully not close to an end yet. An adventure that even if it came to an I totally didn't regret taking. An adventure that made me meet many friends as well as opportunities, and will also be forever remembered with those screenshots and videos. As a person that loves to archive things, I highly recommend taking screenshots daily, especially with the new screenshot function. You will later be thankful you did, because you can remember things visually, instead of only your mind.


09-04-2017 - Demure guild meetup

For anyone, even those that are no longer playing, we hope you at least enjoyed your time at MapleLegends. If you met new friends on the server, whenever it's only 1 friend or many, I am glad the server could bring more happiness into life.

Last but totally not least this server could not be more powered than with the staff team. Every single staff member has contributed to this big adventure. A huge thank you for helping to keep MapleLegends in shape, helping me staying in shape when need, or in general just being supportive when things go wrong.

It's, without a doubt, that there were ups and downs, but in the end, the most important part is that we get through it together, which in my eyes we did.

Thanks for everything, and we'll see you in 2020.

You are all Legends ~

Spoiler: Alternative version

Created by Serin
*This post has been written all by myself without pre-proof reading from anyone. Sorry if there are any obvious mistakes
**I am aware the decade 'technically' ends in 2021. I don't care.