Fans of the sandbox MMORPG The Repopulation are shocked and saddened, but Above & Beyond Technologies have had to announce the temporary shutdown of the alpha servers with a heavy heart.
The MMO, which is considered to be the unofficial successor to Star Wars Galaxies and Ultima Online, has gone through a difficult time for which the developers bear no responsibility. The developers of the underlying Hero Engine are struggling with financial issues, and this directly impacts the ongoing development of The Repopulation, since the Hero Engine is used in this game. Without further updates to the engine, it is not possible to implement new features and changes into the game.
The End of The Repopulation?
The further development of the game has also been halted. Until the issues with the Hero Engine developer Idea Fabrik can be resolved. Additionally, it was necessary to stop the sales of the game, and since the servers incur ongoing costs that can no longer be covered, they have had to be taken offline. Above & Beyond Technologies explain that this does not mean the end of The Repopulation. However, they also do not expect the problems with Idea Fabrik to be resolved anytime soon. Therefore, fans of the MMORPG should prepare for an extended downtime.
Developers Considering Contingency Plans
The developers are currently considering a solution themselves and want to negotiate with other developers. Could this mean that they are already contemplating an engine switch internally? However, this would result in further and quite lengthy delays regarding the release of The Repopulation. However, the current situation with the Hero Engine is more than unsatisfactory. For both the developers and the players. For now, they need to save money, which is being achieved by shutting down the alpha servers. Hopefully, more information about this situation will be available soon.
