‘Legacy’ server ghost in mere hours
A fan-created server, which intended to emulate WoW’s popular 2007 Burning Crusade expansion pack, has been closed within hours of going live by Blizzard Entertainment.
The server, a four year work-in-progress by creator Gummy52, was hoping to house a closed community of around 3000 players, but word had spread fast about the emulated server in recent weeks, drawing attention to its upcoming launch. Blizzard issued a cease-and-desist letter to Gummy52, five hours after of the “Felmyst” server’s opening. This is similar to an incident just last year in which fan run server “Nostalrius” was also shut down.
Gummy52, who had managed to run a previous WoW server under-the-radar before, released a statement online explaining the situation “Last year’s news of what Blizzard was doing came at the absolute worst time for me.. with so many years already invested.” They also cite a medical condition as preventing them from hosting in a different country.
“The old game was a great way to meet people and see new faces,” the statement continues. “It makes me happy, and programming makes me happy. Of course, I am sad that things didn’t turn out the way I’d hoped but I don’t think I’d change any of the decisions I made.”
This is another one of those situations, where it becomes fan passion vs.. well.. the law. Many home-grown projects are successfully shut down by their respective rights holders, but people still continue to create risky ventures out of their love for various brands.
You can appreciate the heart, drive and talent that spawns these ideas, as they usually come from a good place with no ill intent. But at the same time, there is always a shrugging inevitability of the obvious outcome, which almost always comes to pass.
It’s a shame to see a person’s dream crushed, regardless of whether you believe that dream was ill-advised or otherwise. Hopefully Gummy52 can find a more successful project to focus their talent and efforts on in the future.
Blizzard shuts down “legacy” WoW server [Ars Technica]
