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''GemStone IV'' is a multiplayer text-based online
role-playing video game
Role-playing video games, also known as CRPG (computer/console role-playing games), comprise a broad video game genre generally defined by a detailed story and character advancement (often through increasing characters' levels or other skills) ...
(often known as a
MUD
Mud (, or Middle Dutch) is loam, silt or clay mixed with water. Mud is usually formed after rainfall or near water sources. Ancient mud deposits hardened over geological time to form sedimentary rock such as shale or mudstone (generally cal ...
) produced by
Simutronics. Players control characters in a
high fantasy
High fantasy, or epic fantasy, is a subgenre of fantasy defined by the epic nature of its setting or by the epic stature of its characters, themes, or plot. Brian Stableford, ''The A to Z of Fantasy Literature'', (p. 198), Scarecrow Pres ...
game world named "Elanthia". The first playable version of the game was known as ''GemStone ]
' and was launched in April 1988 on GEnie. It was one of the first MMORPG">GEnie.html" ;"title="' and was launched in April 1988 on GEnie">' and was launched in April 1988 on GEnie. It was one of the first MMORPGs and is one of the longest running Internet">online
In computer technology and telecommunications, online indicates a state of connectivity, and offline indicates a disconnected state. In modern terminology, this usually refers to an Internet connection, but (especially when expressed as "on lin ...
games still active. Access to the game is subscription-based (monthly fee) through its website, with three additional subscriptions levels available, "Premium", "Platinum" and "Shattered", in addition to a free-to-play model introduced in early March 2015.
Technical information
''GemStone IV'' is a text-based game built on Simutronics' proprietary engine, the IFE (Interactive Fiction Engine). This engine is capable of changing nearly any aspect of the game on the fly which allows updates without the necessity for downtime. Due to the use of the IFE, ''GemStone'' is rarely taken offline, giving a 24-hour uptime cycle aside from the occasional game Crash (computing), crash.
The ''GemStone'' interface is simply a text stream, and the game can be played with a
Telnet
Telnet (sometimes stylized TELNET) is a client-server application protocol that provides access to virtual terminals of remote systems on local area networks or the Internet. It is a protocol for bidirectional 8-bit communications. Its main ...
interface after authentication. There are several official interfaces to the game, as well as several unofficial ones. The oldest interface for
Windows
Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...
is called the "Wizard Front End" and offers several useful features such as status readouts, macros, and limited scripting abilities. The Wizard has since been superseded with the "StormFront" Front End introduced in 2003, which itself has been rebranded as "Wrayth" in 2022. Wrayth offers several additional extensions to the game, including a "point and click" interface that allows one to click on text within the game and bring up action menus applicable to that portion of text. The Java FE and a browser-based version named "eScape" are less popular alternatives. A Wizard (similar to the Windows version) also exists for
Macintosh Classic, while a Front End named "Avalon" is available for
Mac OS X
macOS, previously OS X and originally Mac OS X, is a Unix, Unix-based operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple since 2001. It is the current operating system for Apple's Mac (computer), Mac computers. With ...
. No official
Linux
Linux ( ) is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an kernel (operating system), operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically package manager, pac ...
client exists.
History
''GemStone'' was first demonstrated to GEnie in 1987 before Simutronics was officially incorporated. It was only used as a demonstration model and was never available to the general subscribers. ''GemStone ]
' was released in April 1988 to GEnie customers. However, ''GemStone '' was very short-lived, and ''GemStone III'' went into open beta testing in December 1989, officially launching on February 1, 1990. The transition from "][" to "III" maintained significant portions of the environment, but not all, and character records were not maintained over the transition, requiring all players to begin anew. ''GemStone III'' evolved into ''GemStone IV'' in November 2003, but the game world and character records were maintained over the transition. ''GemStone III'' was promoted on GEnie by promising players the opportunity to receive real-life versions of gems found in-game, something that persisted for many years.
''GemStone'' originally operated with a license to use the Rolemaster game mechanics and Shadow World (role playing game), Shadow World environment from Iron Crown Enterprises (ICE). In 1995, Simutronics and ICE agreed to let the business relationship expire, necessitating the removal of all ICE intellectual property from ''GemStone''. Many of the game changes were simply renaming ICE names, such as changing the world name from
Kulthea to Elanthia, and renaming the deities while keeping their previous characteristics.
Game mechanics were greatly changed with the de-ICEing (as the period is colloquially named), which required every game character to undergo significant changes. Character racial and class choices were also changed, making any direct translation between the two systems difficult. The end result was that every character was required to "re-roll" their character with the option to change race and skills, but maintaining their old experience level, class, and equipment.
''GemStone'' became available on
AOL in September, 1995, just after the de-ICEing process. It had already become available on
CompuServe
CompuServe, Inc. (CompuServe Information Service, Inc., also known by its initialism CIS or later CSi) was an American Internet company that provided the first major commercial online service provider, online service. It opened in 1969 as a times ...
and
Prodigy before that. When AOL switched to flat-rate pricing, ''GemStone'' did over 1.4 million customer-hours in a single month and was attracting 2,000-2,500 simultaneous players. Simutronics launched a web portal in 1997, and started phasing customers off of the online services and onto the web interface, although it would take several years before the last of the online service portals were closed.
Reception
''
Computer Gaming World
''Computer Gaming World'' (CGW) was an American Video game journalism, computer game magazine that was published between 1981 and 2006. One of the few magazines of the era to survive the video game crash of 1983, it was sold to Ziff Davis in 199 ...
'' in 1991 stated that ''Gemstone III'' was a good example of the best and worst aspects of online play. The reviewer liked the game's community aspect and well-written prose, but criticized the poor parser, "surprisingly empty" game environment and—given the per-minute charge—lack of a free tutorial, and concluded that "the present incarnation of on-line games doesn't quite work for him".
In a follow-up 1993 review, the reviewer wrote that his sojourn in Kulthea was a rewarding experience. He reported receiving help from both built-in commands and other characters and the ability and opportunity for his bard character to sing. The reviewer concluded that "at last, I know why" the game was so popular.
In 1997 ''
Next Generation'' named it as number seven on their "Top 10 Online Game Picks". At its peak (1996), ''GemStone III'' had over 2,000 simultaneous users and 1 million play hours per month, large numbers for its era.
In 2020 and 2021, ''GemStone III'' inspired retrospectives by
Elizabeth Landau in
Wired
Wired may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
* ''Wired'' (Jeff Beck album), 1976
* ''Wired'' (Hugh Cornwell album), 1993
* ''Wired'' (Mallory Knox album), 2017
* "Wired", a song by Prism from their album '' Beat Street''
* "Wired ...
and
Gizmodo
''Gizmodo'' () is a design, technology, science, and science fiction website. It was originally launched as part of the Gawker Media network run by Nick Denton. ''Gizmodo'' also includes the sub-blogs ''io9'' and ''Earther'', which focus on pop ...
.
She noted its ability to facilitate human communication and its similar nature to later
MMORPG
A massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) is a video game that combines aspects of a role-playing video game and a massively multiplayer online game.
As in role-playing games (RPGs), the player assumes the role of a Player charac ...
s and
social media
Social media are interactive technologies that facilitate the Content creation, creation, information exchange, sharing and news aggregator, aggregation of Content (media), content (such as ideas, interests, and other forms of expression) amongs ...
.
*
1998
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...
Finalist, "
Online Game of the Year",
Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences
An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...
* December 1996, AOL Members' Choice Award
''GemStone IV - Shattered''
In May 2010, ''GemStone IV - Shattered'' was released by Simutronics. It allows unrestricted player-vs-player combat and has no policy against automated play.
References
External links
''GemStone IV'' website
{{MUDs
MUD games
1988 video games
Video games developed in the United States
Simutronics games