<img src="
http://www.obsidianshard.com/images/4th.jpg" align=left>The day has finally come and it's been 4 years this month that Obsidian left beta stages and fully opened to the public. The shard still in it's infancy was nothing where it is today yet that historic launch would lead to one the longest running Ultima Online Shards in existance! Over this course almost everything had changed sometimes for the good and others the bad. However, the two constants we're most proud of is Obsidian has never had a character wipe and the same admin who started it is still around today running it all!
I would like to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you for your part in making Obsidian as great as it is today! The staff, the players, the donators and all the pioneers who have since sadly left never to return. I would also like to specifically show my thanks and gratitude to Blinkers, Jorus, and Exodus who have been around for 2+ years and have always been there to rely on. Their work and long hours have helped keep the shard what it is today and without them the continuous growth wouldn't be possible.
To celebrate our 4th anniversary Exodus has been generous enough to do a redesign of our website which looks stunning. Both layouts were amazing however I think a facelife is necessary with the change in times. I have also updated the look of the forums to better compliment the Obsidian website and hope you all enjoy!
Finally we will be running some unique events ingame for the anniversary celebration. These are yet to be planned but should be alot of fun for everyone so keep an eye out!
I would like to take this opportunity to educate some of you on the trials and tribulations that Obsidian went through and what the staff and players endured to get to this point today! Hope you all enjoy!
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Obsidian first started back in December 1999 after many months of testing and planning. This is when DX Gaming formed thanks to the close partnership of two skilled and aspiring friends. From this point until March there were many sleepless nights of development and testing to prepare the shard for a grand opening. Being the 3rd shard run by this duo and they wanted to make sure their third attempt succeeded no matter what!
In March Obsidian launched to the masses and the popularity was that of the World of Warcraft Beta..... Fine! To be completely honest you could hear the crickets and even they were becoming bored. But fear not failure wasn't an option and soon flyers were being posted at local computer stores and businesses trying to lure the average geek into this vast yet empty world. By May 2th, things started picking up and the numbers were HUGE! Obsidian had a stunning 250 player accounts and a total of 2 guilds! Realistically this wasn't that big but for a fledging shard it was all the inspiration these admins needed to keep the fire fueled. With an average of 4 people online and peaks in the 10's Obsidian was becoming a world and many were beginning to become attached. As it seemed Obsidian was on a path to greatness and nothing could stand in it's way.
http://www.obsidianshard.com/archives
Then the first major setback hit Obsidian in June 2000. The inseperable pair that had been best friends for years did the unexpected and split apart never to utter a word to one another again. This was both unexpected and unforgiveable and the players of Obsidian were immediately affected. The shard went down as the server had to be moved and the staff immediately became halved to that of one lone GM Broadband. Why he too didn't throw in the towel is a mystery, however it is rumored that he refuses to give up on things easily and with the time he already invested in Obsidian and the appreciative players he would not abandon.
The next months were of nothing but trial and tribulations. Single handedly running an entire virtual world is tougher then you'd imagine and being the only full time staff Broadband put endless hours into supporting and growing the shard. As time went on capable players became staff and the numbers grew. Obsidian was once again rising thanks to an unbelieveable word of mouth. Nearly a year after GM Cybervic left, the accounts grew to that of 5,000 and with an average of 45 players online with peaks in the 80's Obsidian was a force to be reckoned with. The community was amazing and offered almost as much as the staff to the shard. Dedicated player run sites sprung up and Skinny Bones, later to become GM Jorus, and Vampress Eve his brother designed and maintained Obsidian Chronicles, a website dedicated to the ingame news and happenings of the shard. Once again Obsidian seemed to be an unwavering force and nothing could derail this amazing shard with these wonderful players. Staff and accounts continued to grow to almost bursting levels and then the unthinkable happened.
A nervous break down coupled with accusing players and a backstabbing GM did indeed derail Obsidian at it's peak. So much so that this virtual world plummeted to a depth so unreachable giving up was the only option. For the first time in 2 years Obsidian vanished. The only reminent remaining was a black webpage with a final explination of the truth of the situation along with a final farewell. Broadband was no longer willing to endure the $250 a month service fees to a shard noone appreciated and worse attempted to pick apart like vultures. You can still view this archived website today.
http://www.valeofshadows.com/xaiver.html
Obsidian was gone and the responsibility and stress lifted off Broadband like a godsend. No longer did he have to offer his free time and emotions to a project that did nothing more then stress him out and make him feel bad. He had been abandoned by his best friend, backstabbed by his staff and mocked and hated by his players. To him Obsidian was the closest to hell knew and without it thinks were infinately better. Obsidian was over with and good riddence!
As the months went on an intresting thing happened. I'm not quite sure if it's an addiction or a calling but Obsidian was sturring in it's grave and calling Broadband's name.
To be completely honest with 2 years of ongoing work put into the project and many homeless players who genuinely apprecated the shard Broadband began playing around with the code. A total of 4 months passed and the competing shard of the backstabbing GM was doing great, especially with more then 1/2 of Obsidian's players. But as this GM became comfortable at the throne something happened. A provoked resurrection of the very shard that he killed off. Perhaps it was like the Undertaker coming back to smite his little brother but nothing could stop this shard, not even destroyed friendships, powerhungry gm's or Broadband's nerves.
In December Obsidian resurrected with a new face, a new look and months of developmental patches. It's announcement was nonexistant however the word spread and loyal players came back in droves...finally feeling at home once again.
As 2003 went on Obsidian slowed. Broadband was too busy with his real life to fully support Obsidian however kept it running and attempted to patch things up when he had time. 2003 was a testimate to how great the programming of Obsidian was. The shard boasted weeks of continuous uptime and some select months it ran 100% unattended while Broadband was away. Unfortunately with little support and few updates to bugs Obsidian's number started to dwindle again. Many players left and some select few still saw the value in it and continued to enjoy what was being offered.
Finally at the end of 2003 at the challenge of GM Blinkers, Broadband promised the staff that if they would return in full he would turn the shard around and bring it to the highest peak it has ever been. Many laughed and Blinkers thought BB to be crazy, but the challenge had been laid and the 2nd coming was about to begin.
Many hours of work was put into Obsidian by the staff leading up to the 2nd coming. Many bugs were fixed, new features added and the entiretown of Cove was renovated with the coming of all the new players. In mid January 2004 Broadband did the unthinkable and advertised the shard like crazy. There were over 100 new players a day and within a week the peak player count jumped from 18 to 80. With the hiring of new staff and the constant patches Obsidian was truly great!
And here you are now fellow player. At the peak of Obsidian. Whether you be new or old believe me this is the best time to be here! The staff is amazing, the community is wonderful and the growth continues!
I hope everyone appreciate this history lesson and hope to see you around at the 5th anniversary!
Anyway I'm proud of ya BB and I'm glad to see ye be a wrestling fan 