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Reflection and Future Plans

Written on 05/01/2025 by Ryan

The journey continues - this is not the end of our narrative!

Our History

I started this game in 2000-2001 with some of my closest friends. Our original vision was to create a series of novels set in a Star Wars-inspired universe, initially as fan-fiction shared among friends. I hoped we might eventually evolve the lore into our own unique creation that could one day be published without copyright concerns.

Over approximately 18 years of active play (with breaks), we accomplished a great deal. Most community members began as teenagers who knew each other in real life, ranging from junior high to high school age. Like any group of teenagers, we experienced personality conflicts, moments of immaturity, and instances where our personal relationships affected our in-game narratives. This was natural for our age, and I include myself in those moments of conflict.

Unfinished Stories

Now, 25 years later, one of my deepest regrets is how many of our plots remain unfinished. I accept much of the responsibility for this. Various factors - including teenage drama, life events, health problems, time commitments, and writer's block - caused many scenarios to halt prematurely.

I still enjoy revisiting both completed and incomplete scenarios. There's exceptional work from myself and the friends who joined our community over the years—many whom I still consider friends today. When reaching an unfinished plot, I'm left unsatisfied. Not just because of the circumstances that led to its pause, but because these are genuinely compelling stories created by creative people (myself included), and I want to know what happens next!

Moving Forward

I'm announcing my intention to continue writing these stories, bringing them closure and adding them to our canonical timeline. I'll primarily undertake this project alone, posting only completed works. Some stories I'll write in full; others might be finished as plot summaries. The content may be too extensive for forum posts and might require attachments in .docx or .pdf format.

This project will take time, and I'll be using AI to help organize plots, identify unfinished storylines, and assist with my writing process. While I consider myself a decent writer, I sometimes struggle with tangents and long sentences. Health issues occasionally cause brain fog and memory problems, so AI assistance will be valuable throughout this process.

Future Plans

To be clear: we are not shutting down the game or website. On the contrary, Keshaun and I are developing plans to make everything more accessible, manageable, and enjoyable. I intend to keep the site operational for years to come, and we're planning a grand re-opening/re-launch when ready. We manage this as a personal hobby in our free time.

Current Projects

  • Terminal Access Project (IR Terminal): Replacing IRIN to become our in-character game interface. Led by Keshaun, with myself as project manager writing requirements and outlining features.
  • Wiki Development: Converting Google Docs to our Wiki and creating articles, especially for content we lost years ago.
  • Documentation Overhaul: Refining in-game laws, policies, and protocols with our improved writing skills. Some documents will receive light touch-ups; others may be rewritten. Creating previously planned but never implemented documents. All will be properly indexed and organized.
  • Artwork: Using AI to design ships, character images, vehicles, and scenery for our gallery and story visualization.
  • Codexa: Developing a custom GPT/LLM with knowledge of our lore and access to our documents, directories, character profiles, and plotlines. This AI assistant could help players ask questions, format content, structure writing, and more. Currently an alpha-model with promise despite some bugs.

Anyone interested in joining this endeavor is welcome—message me on these forums or contact me on Discord.