For the past month or so, there's been a lot of talk about project Zanaris. For those who are not informed about this, you can visit
https://zanaris.runescape.com. Basically, project Zanaris is a platform for community OSRS servers, led by Jagex, where people can customize their own OSRS server, and thereby basically creating a sort of RSPS that is officially tied to OSRS, with all the OSRS content already in there.
This project opens up a big opportunity for RSPS developers to make their own sort of RSPS without having to spend weeks and months and years adding the latest OSRS content (not to mention being legal unlike RSPS now) and instead focusing all their attention on customizing the server. A lot of details are still unknown, and we're not sure how far this customization can go, but it does sound pretty exciting from a developer's point of view.
At this point, it is too early to tell whether we would like to partake in project Zanaris, but I think it is unlikely to happen as it would mean I would have less time I can spend on PkHonor. I have my heart and soul put into this game, and I want to stick to two of my promises that I had made in the past:
- PkHonor will never shut down as long as there is as much as a single person playing it
- There will never be an eco reset. If someone stops playing and come back 20 years from now, they'll find their accounts in exactly the same state in which they left them
That being said, I acknowledge that PkHonor has been lacking in updates and new content for some time. This is largely in part due to the mental health issues that both myself and Rapsey have been battling for the past years. I am now doing much better, but it's important for me to keep things in check and not burn myself out again, so I need to take things slow and pace myself.
I normally don't discuss financials with outsiders, but this one time I'll make an exception, so that you all understand the current situation. As it is, PkHonor brings in just enough money to keep our servers running (no worries, even if the donations run dry, I'll keep the server running from my own savings as I did back in 2010 if needed). However, that also means there is no money left to pay either myself or Rapsey. As a result, I have no choice but to keep taking on assignments a a freelance programmer so that I can pay my bills, and to work on PkHonor in my spare time.
Mind you, I don't care that much about not being paid for my work on this server. But it does mean that I can only do so in my spare time, purely as a hobby as I did back in the early days of the server. I really want to release the RuneLite client and all the newest OSRS content (and some cool custom endgame content of our own), but it's going to take me some time before I can do so.
On the upside, I've decided to take on very few freelance projects the next couple of months, so that I can focus more attention on PkHonor. It does mean I'll have to live off my savings for a bit, but at least I'll be able to bring some updates to this game again without burning myself out by trying to balance it with half a dozen freelance assignments, as I did in the past with all its consequences for my mental health.
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