Houston, we have a problem.

Sorry folks, but it appears the Aenea server is having a hard drive issue. I'm removing it and having it checked, but for the time being the PW is offline until I can get the hard drive fixed, replaced, or I pick up a cheap/free computer (my dad.'s company often gives used PCs to employees that want them, and he knows I was thinking of one to replace Aenea server anyway).

For those who might be curious just what kind of system has been running the PW, I think it's been rather impressive:
Dell Optiplex GX520 (manufactured Nov. 2005)
running Aenea 24/7 almost nonstop since Jan. 2009

Old Faithful is finally showing its age.

Let us know if you need any support.

Indeed, Dave!  I'm ready to provide support also.

Caldor

I'll do my best to help, too - count me in if y'all needs be!

Aloha, ! Just wondering if there was any word on the state of the drive? Inquiring minds, and all that ...

Having donated to Ol' Faithful originally.. I'm sad to hear she is finally getting burned out. What an impressive machine. I know I completely lack the ability to play NWN right now but if help is needed to restore/buy a new machine please let me know if I can help.

My life is slowly falling back together and I would love nothing more than to have a good ol' time in Aenea once more.
On that note it also looks like the Beamdog NWN:EE might be my route back to NWN... if I were to purchase that would I still be able to conect to Aenea?

I know life has taken me down different paths and I no longer can stop by as often as I would like, but I have very fond memories of this place, those adventures and more importantly ALL of you people. Always in my thoughts.

RustyDios wrote:Having donated to Ol' Faithful originally.. I'm sad to hear she is finally getting burned out. What an impressive machine. I know I completely lack the ability to play NWN right now but if help is needed to restore/buy a new machine please let me know if I can help.

My life is slowly falling back together and I would love nothing more than to have a good ol' time in Aenea once more.
On that note it also looks like the Beamdog NWN:EE might be my route back to NWN... if I were to purchase that would I still be able to conect to Aenea?

I know life has taken me down different paths and I no longer can stop by as often as I would like, but I have very fond memories of this place, those adventures and more importantly ALL of you people. Always in my thoughts.

Huzzah Rusty! Looking back, this place and this playerbase has been an important influence on my life in a time where other events in my life offered little in the way of positive experiences.

, what are we looking at to get the game running again? Do you have a line on a PC or do we need to work on a donation drive? Do you have your eye on any particular system specs and price tag?

I'm with you as far as Aenea being an important influence on my life, Dave!  You know the old saying "timing is everything"?  I laid the Harley Sportster down on July 11, but almost went through withdrawals without Aenea during my convalescence.

That said, computer hardware problems are unavoidable and it's great the server hard drive has lasted this long!  I'm still recovering, though, so I will pledge money along with whatever my Aenean compatriots can provide to see the server hard drive, or the entire server, replaced.

I'd gladly make this pledge even if I hadn't wiped out on the bike!  

A. D. please let us know what you need in terms of funds!

Jon (Caldor)

I should also mention this might be a good time to look into a cheap hosting service, rather than buying a new server.

So, has there been any world on what's going on with the server? I am getting a rig up and running, and would love nothing more than to walk the Vale once more!

And I second, third, fourth, all of the things that everyone said in the above posts. Aenea has been one of the greatest online communities i've ever had the opportunity to be a part of - i have more friends here than i have ever had in the real world. Thank you all for that, and thank you, , for giving us the opportunity to play!

(Out of curiosity - , did you have backups of everything [module, server vault, etc.]?)

Eric of Atrophy wrote:So, has there been any world on what's going on with the server?  I am getting a rig up and running, and would love nothing more than to walk the Vale once more!

And I second, third, fourth, all of the things that everyone said in the above posts.  Aenea has been one of the greatest online communities i've ever had the opportunity to be a part of - i have more friends here than i have ever had in the real world.  Thank you all for that, and thank you, , for giving us the opportunity to play!

(Out of curiosity - , did you have backups of everything [module, server vault, etc.]?)

I am like 99.9 % certain he has everything backed up. And yeah, thanks for giving us this place to explore and enjoy. When time permits, please let us know how we can contribute.

Any news on the status of the server? I just came back after a long hiatus a few months before the server went down as am looking forward to getting back in there and getting a few of my new voucher items finished.

No status news yet. Still looking into picking up a free computer that will properly run the server software and extensions (from my dad's work source, which replaces office PCs that are a couple years old every few months).

Thank you for the update, A. D.!

Another option to consider... a fully-managed Virtual Private Windows Server.

I am not sure how costly the current website, domains, and the former antivirus subscriptions might have been... but for somewhere between $12 - $20 per month you can have a Windows environment to run the server which includes patching/maintenance/optimization, and also nightly backups.

Here is one possible option.

I finally get a new computer working, figure out how to get NWN Diamond to work on Windows 10, and then finally find the site again, And it's down. Sigh.
At least my luck is constant. Is there any ideal on when things will be back up?

Hope things work out for you, Thanks for all you given us over the years.

Just wondering, , if there's been any headway on this issue. Do you have plans to bring the server back online eventually, or are ya gonna let sleeping dogs lie?

Please, no sleeping dogs!  I'm messing with the download version (SQL version) of Arbor Falls, but it's a tough row to hoe! (Lots of mis-firing scripts.)

I live in hope as I'm sure we all do, but maybe it's time to make a specific offering.  I will pay one-third of the cost of a NEW PC with an i7 processor, 16GB of RAM, and as many SSDs as are required to hold Aenea!

Caldor (Jon)

Yeah, I think there are a few of us who would pitch in if that was all it would take.

Caldor wrote:Please, no sleeping dogs!  I'm messing with the download version (SQL version) of Arbor Falls, but it's a tough row to hoe! (Lots of mis-firing scripts.)

I live in hope as I'm sure we all do, but maybe it's time to make a specific offering.  I will pay one-third of the cost of a NEW PC with an i7 processor, 16GB of RAM, and as many SSDs as are required to hold Aenea!

Caldor (Jon)

$100 US from Australia. Sure we can figure out a way to pool the funds.
My kids are starting to play NWN. Aenea is as good as it gets as an introduction to the online world.
I am willing to transfer on spec if we need to get the funds prior to building a machine.

The OC seems......lacking...

cheers, Jack

Alternately, perhaps if someone localish can build a machine for , we could sponsor/buy a component, if so put me down for one of the SSD.
Someone with more exp then me in building could put together a parts list:
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/

for the specs?

Jack

If the machine buy is gonna happen, i may be able to convince my eldest daughter to co-paypal some funds for it.  She used to play (bewitchingly and Ink Splatter, I believe), and has some wonderful memories of Aenea, too!

Sorry to hear that Aenea is offline for the foreseeable future.  And apparently too little visited to make getting it up again practical.

It's the best PW out there, with the best everything.  Except for number of visitors.

Sorely disappointed that serious life issues have shanghaied me for so long.  Always had a hope that eventually I could come back into it.

Fond regards to everyone!

As usual I am late to the party, but I have 50USD I can kick in if that will help get a server running with Aenea on it. Just say the word.

Any update ? Any way we can help to get Aenea back online?

Skywatcher wrote:Any update ? Any way we can help to get Aenea back online?

Alas, it seems that Aenea is down for the count. The realm shall live on in our memories, though!

I know, Ramana, it breaks my heart.

One thing that's been lurking in the back of my mind all this time is whether A. D. would entertain a monetary offer for Aenea so that it could be hosted by someone else. Just thinking out loud here. Given the monumental amount of time and work he has put into Aenea, it would have to be a significant sum. Any thoughts?

Jon

No word from since November 2018, is everything OK on his end? Starting to worry more about and less about Aenea.

Yeah, worrisome now that you mention it, no word from him anywhere for months, even a year!

I'm sending an email to the addresses I have for :
nwn@amethyst-dragon.com
nwn.aenea@gmail.com

He's actually pretty good, just pretty busy IRL.  I know he just set up a Patreon for DnD stuff.  He's around, just not a lot electronically these days.

All rightie, thanks for that, Eric! 

I've seen  mods submitted into the Steam Workshop for NWN:EE.  I've installed his icons, gelatinous cube, and elementals, lovely to at least have some touch of his artistry back in my NWN!  (Although, currently I'm playing Tyrants of the Moonsea, and sometimes the elementals appear as his and sometimes not.)  

Looks like he's gone in different directions and is not wanting to continue Aenea.  I suppose that even if he sold Aenea, he'd still really be on call as a consultant for all his unique programming, and he likely wants to just retire from all that work.

Best wishes in your new endeavors, !

I played years ago. Life took me away from the server, but it has stayed dear to my heart. Sad to return and see it gone. Best wishes to and all of the players that crossed my path in the days of yore.

I agree with you, friend Jamie Roy, that it is very sad that the server is gone. I have taken up 10 minute scripting in NwN, and also fiddling around with RPG Maker MV in order to help deal. It's rough, but it gets better as each day passes. Thanks for stopping in, and may life be kind to you in whatever endeavors you pursue!

Am I the only one still hanging around hoping Aenea comes back to life?

I'm still subscribed to this thread and a few others, just in case. But I've concluded that has moved on with his life. Considering that the playerbase had declined to only about a dozen in the last few years of its activity, and NWN:EE now has all the attention, this doesn't seem a worthwhile investment of his time anymore, or to expend a lot of headaches to revise to EE.

I still have my old NWN installation, and I still have my playerhouse and a few other areas I've made, so if I had the time I could make a tiny Aenea-like module, theoretically, but I certainly don't have the time it would take.

It was lovely while it lasted.

Yah, it's sad to see it go, and realized that it will likely never return. I like to visit here several times a week and note the passing of birthday times. I have a module that I am building that has a Memorial Chapel within it - there's going to be a Remembrance Tapestry, with player names and PCs that are lost to the winds of time. Tough work sometimes, but also fulfilling.

I also have a build of Arbor Falls that has all of the Aenea haks attached to it, so I can pop in and play. I also attached the haks to the Pretty Good Character Creator so I can tweak around stuff. But the module I'm building has no aenea content, just tributes to aenean PCs.

A fun little side note - I just started playing on an EE server, Whispers from the Abyss - a fun place, not a lot of people, reminiscent of aenea. But the coolest thing I saw, while flipping through cloak customizations, was the "Kik Me" sign that had put on a cloak. Good times!

Since I still have my original NWN installation with the last Aenea haks, I'd be interested in any module you guys make that is compatible with Aenea player areas, as I'd love to have a playable module to which I could simply tack on my own pre-built Aenea player areas.   Please drop me a PM here if you've got something like that!

Fond regards to you all, R  

Will do, Ramana! The really sad thing about the hard drive dying is that I believe that was beginning the process of converting Aenea to EE. Also, as I understand, was heavily involved with Beamdog as one of the community consultants giving guiding input for the EE. But everything went sideways when that damned drive died!

I must admit, much like Skywatcher, I still hold out secret hope that he's deep in his lab, resurrecting the drive and rebuilding Aenea. We have the technology, after all!

Thanks, Eric, let's keep in touch!

I would love nothing more, Ramana! You can always find me on these pages, as I try to hit them at least once a day! PM or post, I'll be here!

Im around and I check in occasionally. I wish there was a backup available somewhere.... or that I had succeeded in getting to use a hosted platform that would have built in recovery options.... sigh.

Hey all. I too was sad to see the server gone when I poked my nose in only a month after the crash... Had lots of (not good and also good) life stuff happen.

I would also love to get the final Aena client haks, anyone have an archive?

My best to all!

odbo255 wrote:Hey all. I too was sad to see the server gone when I poked my nose in only a month after the crash... Had lots of (not good and also good) life stuff happen.

I would also love to get the final Aena client haks, anyone have an archive?

My best to all!

Holy crap, odbo255!  Been awhile, yah?  How you been?
I poke in every day, or every other day, or once a week, to note the passing of birthdays and whatnot.

I can check and see if I have all the haks.  I have a poopton of stuff, but I think my Aenea haks are intact.  if not, are they available from aenea's main page/download page?  have to check that out.  [Edit - I just checked that out, and they downloaded just fine!  If you find any that aren't working properly, let us know! (Check here for those downloads! {They're the final ones that I know of.})]

Do you do EE?  I am building practically every night, and there's a server that I pop onto periodically (Whispers from the Abyss) - gives me the best Aenea vibes I've been able to find so far.

Also, I (and a couple others here) have farted around with wedding aenea's haks to other pw mods, most noticeably Arbor Falls and the Pretty Good Character Creator utility mod.  So there's that.

Be good, take care, and stop by every once in a while!  We'll be happy to see you!

All the best, friend Beowulf!

Eric

I would gladly buy NWN:EE if Aenea was available that way, but without Aenea, I cannot get myself interested in NWN. I have Skywatcher, and I was able to find a preascended version of Lyann that I am going to go in and modify to be current, but Velvet seems to be gone forever. I really miss Aenea, even when I would take a break just knowing it was there was enough.

I completely understand what you're saying, Skywatcher.  I have actually migrated to The Island of Thain, as suggested by Ramana Jala.  It has many of the Aenea-ish features that I needed to see in a PW.  Plus it helps that an Aeneaite is on it, too!  I don't see her ingame too often (our timezones are radically different), so we leave each other messages on discord.  I'm about 6 levels in on a bland fighter character, but I would highly recommend it!

Thain is a RPG haven, but pls be warned that if one crosses the "elite" players there, they can make playing there fairly miserable.