Folks,
As you know, Eutopia has been running on the Paradox forums for almost four years.
That ends today.
Those of you who were with us for the Eutopia 4 transition (and that’s most of you) will recall the almost universal agreement that the greatest difficulty Eutopia 3 faced was a lack of players. We were pleased to see the expected influx when Eutopia 4 began – but it proved much smaller, and much more temporary, than we had hoped. Indeed, very few of those newcomers remain today. While we usually get a few new players at each election, experience has shown that very few of these stick around. Further, it is no secret that election season has been right around the corner for weeks, but no new blood has been attracted. This is not an encouraging sign.
Much thought and electronic ink has gone into contemplating why online projects like Eutopia constantly bleed players, and how to combat it. But the theory is less important than the reality, which is that we have only a dozen players left, not all of whom are widely active. We have lost many of our most active players this term, such that we’ve had to replace the President thrice for inactivity. The ministries and GA debates are clearly suffering, as well. The latest citizen registry was the final nail in the coffin, proving the losses which we had long suspected.
We do not do this lightly. Eutopia has been a constant part of this forum, and a part of our lives, for a long time now. But inactivity breeds inactivity, and we have progressed too far down that spiral to sustain the game. Better a dignified burial now, ourselves, than have the Powers That Be force the matter because of a lack of activity, as has happened on these forums before.
With no desire to let the universe of Eutopia vanish into the ether in toto, we have taken the liberty of squirreling away much of the background data, maps, and the like. We urge anyone who wishes to save anything to act now, as we fully expect that it will be gone soon.
To our veterans, it was an honor and a privilege to play and GM alongside you. To our newcomers, we apologize for our inability to recreate the richness of earlier incarnations of Eutopia.
To all our players: the subject of shutting the game down is not a new one among the GMs. It is your dedication to Eutopia, and your ability to make this an enjoyable place, that has sustained it for so long. Thank you all, best of luck, and farewell.
-The_Hawk and von Streusser
As you know, Eutopia has been running on the Paradox forums for almost four years.
That ends today.
Those of you who were with us for the Eutopia 4 transition (and that’s most of you) will recall the almost universal agreement that the greatest difficulty Eutopia 3 faced was a lack of players. We were pleased to see the expected influx when Eutopia 4 began – but it proved much smaller, and much more temporary, than we had hoped. Indeed, very few of those newcomers remain today. While we usually get a few new players at each election, experience has shown that very few of these stick around. Further, it is no secret that election season has been right around the corner for weeks, but no new blood has been attracted. This is not an encouraging sign.
Much thought and electronic ink has gone into contemplating why online projects like Eutopia constantly bleed players, and how to combat it. But the theory is less important than the reality, which is that we have only a dozen players left, not all of whom are widely active. We have lost many of our most active players this term, such that we’ve had to replace the President thrice for inactivity. The ministries and GA debates are clearly suffering, as well. The latest citizen registry was the final nail in the coffin, proving the losses which we had long suspected.
We do not do this lightly. Eutopia has been a constant part of this forum, and a part of our lives, for a long time now. But inactivity breeds inactivity, and we have progressed too far down that spiral to sustain the game. Better a dignified burial now, ourselves, than have the Powers That Be force the matter because of a lack of activity, as has happened on these forums before.
With no desire to let the universe of Eutopia vanish into the ether in toto, we have taken the liberty of squirreling away much of the background data, maps, and the like. We urge anyone who wishes to save anything to act now, as we fully expect that it will be gone soon.
To our veterans, it was an honor and a privilege to play and GM alongside you. To our newcomers, we apologize for our inability to recreate the richness of earlier incarnations of Eutopia.
To all our players: the subject of shutting the game down is not a new one among the GMs. It is your dedication to Eutopia, and your ability to make this an enjoyable place, that has sustained it for so long. Thank you all, best of luck, and farewell.
-The_Hawk and von Streusser