Meridian 59: ShardsAbout
About Meridian 59: Shards
The Meridian I always wanted, updated for the modern world, and a love letter to one of my favourite games of all time.
Who am I?
My name is James, but I go by Betamaxx online.
I've been playing Meridian 59 off and on for the last 30 years. I played it in beta, and I was online the day the beta ended.
I used to play with my brother and our neighbour all the time. I would sneak downstairs to play on the family computer at night when everyone else was asleep… but my brother would often sneak down first!
I've been involved with Meridian 59's open source development off and on since the game first went open source. My contributions in the past have been very small, but I've been watching the community for a long time.
Recently I wanted to get back into Meridian, but I've played the game so many times that it had begun to feel stale. I wanted to go back to a new Meridian, updated for the modern world.
What is Meridian 59: Shards?
It started off as a simple project to see if I could make a browser-based client for Server 104. I wanted to port the old client to a modern stack that could run on any operating system, or even be played in the browser. At first it was just a curiosity, but then things started working way too well. I made rapid progress, and I really enjoyed the process and the results.
Once I'd reached parity with the old client, I wondered how much further we could go just by updating the client, without touching the servers. I started on a more modern interface, enhanced visuals and weather effects. I built an ambient life system so the world felt more alive. I added pets.
Eventually I reached the point where, if I really wanted to make big changes to the game, I'd have to run my own server as well. So I did. I forked the Server 104 repository on GitHub, set up my own server, and started making really big changes, such as:
- a brand new questing engine;
- overhauled factions;
- overhauled guilds;
- overhauled spells and magic weapons;
- a real tutorial, which takes a new player from 20 to 40 hit points, and which you can skip;
- fast travel between the cities;
- achievements;
- beards!
I also ended up making a room editor in the same TypeScript stack, to make the maps easier to edit.
Why “Shards”?
At first it was just a working name, from the idea of breaking off from the original and from the other open source servers: another shard. But the more I used it, the more I liked it. It ties into Meridian 59's original story, where Meridian 59 is the 59th shard of a greater Meridian.
Back then, “shards” was also what the different Meridian servers were called.
Why make it at all?
To be honest, I made this game mostly for me. I'm making the Meridian that I always wanted.
But I think a lot of other people might like it too, especially new and returning players! I really hope you enjoy this love letter to one of my favourite games of all time.