State of the Game Announcement

[initiates]

In the wake of the closure of apps and moderator apps, we’re here today to bring you some heavy news: we have made the decision to close Exsilium. Unfortunately there were no moderator sign-ups, and as indicated previously, we’re therefore unable to keep the game running. The current mod team has decided that instead of seeing the game struggle or start to burn out, we would rather put our all into creating some memorable final events, and end on a high note. End game events will tie the plot together and will take us through to the very start of March, after which Exsilium will be closed.

A few of the changes we’ll see in game include the following:

• The January AC will require a check in to express interest in remaining for the end game. There will be no AC in February.
  
• Applications will be open continuously from January 12th through the first week of February. As of February 7th, 2014, applications will be permanently closed.
  
• For the duration of end game events, Betsy will be stepping up and assisting Liz as a head mod.

The events will be explained in greater detail as they near, but here is a summary of what you can expect:

• Within the next week, the Cloning & Genetics missions will wrap up, and the snow will let up in Exsilium.
  
• In late January, Transports will discover the origin of the United Earth AI, and implant the Transport AI into its newly designed programming.
  
• Shortly afterward, Transports will attend World Unification Day, a historic celebration of the birth of the United Earth. The timeline begins to warp while they’re there, and the mood of the celebrations begin to trend toward rioting instead.
  
• As February begins, a series of coded transmissions will start broadcasting regularly to Exsilium. Transports will find they’re the only ones equipped to handle the encoding, and may also find some strange elements intruding on their dreams… including sharing dream landscapes with other Transports.
  
• Mid February, the Transports will find themselves starring in a present-day remake of Groundhog’s Day, as reality continues to break down, and the space-time continuum loses coherency.
  
• By late February, reality will be moving close to the brink of collapsing, with numerous other worlds leaking into Exsilium. Transports must kick off a final confrontation with the UE, destroying their world-hopping technology and center of power.
  
• In the final week of Exsilium, Transports will be given a choice: stay in this world (now without either Initiative or a strong United Earth presence) and help rebuild; leave for their own world and retain all, some, or none of the memories of their time here; or follow someone else into another world.
  
• The final deactivation of the Transport Pad will be on March 7th, 3314/2014.

I, Liz, speak for the entire mod team (past and present) when I say that running Exsilium has been a pleasure, and I’ve been incredibly proud to watch it turn into the game it has become today. With everyone’s help, I hope that we can make the ending of Exsilium as enjoyable as its duration has been!

Comments

[thebutt]

In the time we've been discussing this plan, we had considered the possibility that people may want to step to be a mod after hearing how dire the situation was. However, there was mutual agreement across the mod team that we would rather not have anyone taking control who was doing it only to save the game. The amount of work that goes into running and plotting for this game is immense and incredibly time-consuming, and the right frame of mind to have for it is not "I have to do this or it will close." It should be someone stepping up who genuinely was interested in having a hand in the moderatorship of the game and thought they would do a good job, not someone who felt they had no other option.

I do appreciate the drive to save a game that so many people have come to love, and I'm touched by the offers and reactions I've seen both here and on plurk, but the decision here is final.

[senseandcecilbility]

I really, really wish the game could be saved. And I'd offer to do any work that was not directly mod related, since my schedule and timezone would not allow much else, but I understand your decision. Please, know that this was the best game I have ever seen in my entire rp life. You guys did an excellent job.

[redheadcarrier]

I think this is the best decision you guys could make, all things considered.

Thanks for the work and thanks for the game.