Untìl Uru

From MYSTlore

After the cancellation of the original Uru Live effort, many fans were hoping for a self-hosted alternative, without new content, but still retaining the ability to meet in-game.

This finally came to fruition in August 2004, about half a year after Uru Live had been put to bed, under the name of Untìl Uru.

Though frequently spelt Until, the Untìl actually doesn't primarily refer to the English word, but actually the two Sumerian words un (people, community) and tìl (live, keep alive): ergo, the title actually means the community keeps Uru alive^[1].

Untìl Uru consisted of:

• A modified Uru client based on the original purchasable Uru: Ages Beyond Myst client, replacing the Uru Live component.
• The registration mechanism, i.e. a one-time fee to Cyan to activate the client.
• The "auth" (authorization) server, hosted at and by Cyan Worlds, verifying the registration.
• An open-source server, representing a shard.

Several such shards were created, such as Tapestry, and the system has seen satisfying success among many fans.

[edit] D'mala

Main article: D'mala

In early 2006, the D'mala shard was launched by Cyan and the registration mechanism removed (Untìl Uru was now free).

[edit] Untìl Uru after Myst Online

Regarding Untìl Uru's future beyond Myst Online: Myst Online: Uru Live's launch, GreyDragon announced the following:

Now that we've announced Uru Live's renewal, we've been asked to clarify our position on Until Uru. After careful consideration, here it is.

Cyan is committed to and dependent on Uru Live's success, so we are putting everything we have into it. Since our resources are limited, we cannot actively support Until Uru as well. With that said, we have no intention of taking back what we've made available - we intend to maintain the auth server so existing users of Until Uru can continue to access their Until Uru shards. However, because we're moving on to Uru Live, we've decided not to issue any new Kagi keys. We encourage any new users who want a taste (albeit an imperfect one) of Uru prior to Uru Live to visit the D'mala shard.

Until Uru was carefully named to convey hope and set expectations. We're excited that the time has come for us to move on.

Le Roi est mort. Vive le Roi!

The Team at Cyan Worlds, Inc

While somewhat ambiguous, this implied that:

• Since Cyan will continue to maintain Untìl Uru's auth server, the platform itself will remain usable
• Cyan's D'mala shard will be phased out in favor of Myst Online: Uru Live, and it will once again be up entirely to third parties, such as Tapestry, to run shards.

However, it was unclear whether or how additional users could join.

A message posted to D'mala users through the KI December 19th clarified D'mala's future:

D'mala Explorers:

Thank you for all support on the D'mala shard this year. The Bahro scream that was just heard throughout all the Ages, and the subsequent simultaneous linking of every person back to Relto was a significant event. This event signals that D'mala's chapter in Uru's story has officially come to a close. The story will pick up from this moment in Uru Live.

Please note that we're leaving D'mala open for a while because, unfortunately, Uru Live is not yet available to everyone who is here on D'mala. But everything that occurs in D'mala from that event forward (including this KI-mail) should be considered OOC.

Thanks again for all your support. We hope to see you all in Uru Live soon.

Your friends at Cyan

[edit] Closure

On Janurary 31 2007, Cyan Worlds announced it would be closing Untìl Uru [2]:

Shorah,

In 2004, Cyan Worlds, Inc. released Until Uru to the Uru Live and the Myst communities. Until Uru was a way for the fans to keep the dream of Uru Live alive in the hope that it might one day receive a second chance. As most of you already know, Uru Live is being given that second chance and Myst Online: Uru Live is scheduled to launch on February 15th. And so, as the name "Until Uru" suggests, the time has come for Until Uru to fade away, so that we all (Cyan as well as the Community) can focus on the new opportunity that Uru Live has been given.

As of Monday, Feb. 5th, Until Uru and the D’mala shard will be shut down.

The shutting down of the Until Uru servers should not be perceived as a dead end for user-created content. Cyan Worlds, Inc. is actively pursuing plans so that one day users will be able to create content to be used in Myst Online: Uru Live.

On behalf of everyone at Cyan Worlds, Inc., we would again like to say thank you to the shard owners and to all the Until Uru participants who have helped to keep the Uru dream alive.

The Myst Online Team

[edit] Online resources

• Untìl Uru official website (defunct)

[edit] References