hello legends If you want to submit a game for me to play in future videos. Best way is to dm my twitter (twitter.com/RyeGamess) Or join the discord and put it in the submission channel. enjoy the video
That russian kid was singing Viktor Tsoi's Kukushka, one of the most influential soviet era singer. I am so surprised to see that people still listen to Kino, his band, after all this time. Their songs about freedom and man's struggle in life are still relevant to this day, especially with what's been happening in that part of the world for the past few years. Those kids have great taste in music and they were so wholesome!
Yeah obviously. Kino was literally the most popular band back in the day. That would be equivalent to saying you're surprised people still listen to Queen
A kid singing Kukushka in a 20 year old dead game is something I'll never anticipate before watching this. Along with a deer crashing through my window right now. The odds are just very minuscule.
Those two kids teaching you was so funny, good kids. Love to see friendship built off a game without even speaking the same language. It’s deeper than just a game, video games bring everyone so much closer together it’s beautiful!
Those kids singing "Everything is going according to plan" melted my heart. They're probably scaping all the stuff that's going on by playing an old game in a probably not so good computer, and they took the time to teach you everything. Awesome.
5:18 Grajdanskaya Oborona - Vsyo Idyot Po Planu (Civil Defense - All Goes According to Plan) 5:42 Kino - Kukushka (Cinema - Cuckoo) 5:55 Король и Шут - Прыгну со Скалы (Korol I Shut (tran: King and Jester) - I Will Jump Off Of Cliff) Google this songs and their translation. Classic Russian rock. Now is considered as doomer music.
Damn i am empressed by his skills in his (young?) age i am 19y.o, only starting to learn the guitar, having medium level of English and having a good taste in music, and he have all of this)
I highly recommend Empires Mod! The community is not dead, just very small. If you like big battles, class perks, and vehicle customization, it's definitely worth checking out.
Hi just a note for Ricochet The reason you weren't able to turn around using mouse is some weird glitch that is present in a lot of old valve games. The way you fix this is by doing the following: Options > mouse > Raw Mouse Input (tick it) Don't know if you'll read this comment but there you go
There's something so harrowing about that Active Worlds memorial wall. Each one of those people had hopes and dreams, lived somewhere on this planet, maybe had kids or parents or siblings that missed them. It makes me think of all the people we meet in online games years ago who we never see anymore.
Reminds me of a Guy named mewto Something i Played Minecraft with him for one night told him i get Back in at noone the day Bit never came i will never See him again :(
@@timo4463 it happens, had a online friend call me when i was busy once and then a few hours later his dad texted me that he was in a hit and run with a collapsed lung. he's dead now, but life continues as normal
That depends on what you're trying to do. I was finishing up some multiplayer achievements in older Halo and Assassin's Creed titles with a like-minded group many years after release and almost invariably there would be 1 or 2 weirdos haunting the otherwise dead servers who would interfere with our attempts despite us explaining why we were there. They were like holdouts still fighting a war that had ended years before.
Active worlds is an amazing, and sad story. Some of those people playing it have probably known each other for decades. Theyve probably lost a ton of friends over that time.
you could say similar about any online game that didn't die the year of it's release. Over the span of nearly a decade in FFXI i "lost" several dozen friends (who quit the game) including several who actually died irl for one or another reason. But there aren't many "games" that allow players to freely build memorials to make those losses visible to others.
@@orztaku Mhm. One thing we often never think about in online communities is when those we call friends lose their lives. Growing up in AW, I experienced this stuff first hand, and while I don't think of it often, when I do, I'm often brought back to the countless memorial sites.
I'm so used to the screaming russian goblin child archetype, it was really refreshing seeing those two kids patiently coach you on the game and sing to you.
the russian kids singing and playing while teaching you how to play the game was one of the coolest things I ever saw on the internet lol. and he got a great music taste, too
@@partytor11 one time I wanted to learn a Kino song (This Is Not Love from the album of the same name) so I searched it up on YT thinking maybe there would be like one or two decent covers I could learn from and the page just filled up with great covers - Russians REALLY love Kino!
just what comes to my mind first but i play a lot of dayz, there's a half dozen crosses placed around the game in a few player's favorite spots after they passed away, the devs really appreciate their crowd and it makes me happy to see and explore those, i assume in years when it's completely abandoned it'll have the same vibe
Another virtual world I'll call Kalypso Projectz had added a memorial island back in 2003 and it had some people mentioned too. But greedy corporate changes and all that was pretty much removed by 2009, there's now just a blank gazebo and a couple stone looking blocks on island but that's it. The game itself is still around but its a pale ghost of what it used to be with new devs turning it into a mission based first person shooter hunting game.
"Defeat the Dragon" has a memorial in it, the games based upon the experience a couple had of their kid fighting cancer (the dragon) and sadly he lost. The game was their way of re-telling the story and helping express how they felt. At one point you walk through a hallway, lined with cards hanging on ropes... Each card is a person who died while their child was in treatment at the same time. Theres also a few games I can't remember the titles of, where there are hidden memorials in maps in places. These represent either someone who died during production in the team, or a player who was renowned in the community and passed in alpha or beta testing stages. I remember Markiplier playing it, and he said he honestly couldn't read them all, he found the entire experience upsetting. He died of cancer so to him, the game just hit home. His father also has a tribute in Doom Eternal on a bookshelf.
Damn, thoes russian kids were just legends. The very old game was also pretty wholesome taking by it's history and the last game, wow like people keep up such a comunity and the servers are still up for them it's just wholesome, this whole video is so wholesome so confy and honestly you're such a legend for giving light to such epic comunities. Honestly if the comunity is welcoming then you're going to have a blast with the game
Growing up in a small town in Kyrgyzstan, I used to go to internet cafes as a kid and was spending hours and hours in the early 2000s just watching other people playing the games (Counter-Strike, GTA Vice City, Need For Speed, Sims, Call of Duty etc....). I remember when I saved up from my pocket money just enough to pay for an hour in that internet cafe, it was a truly remarkable experience that I'll never forget! It really amazes me that such old games still have few people playing them after so many years... Later on, I did not have the best PC, Internet, or a wide variety of games. I remember when I started playing Counter-Strike 1.5 & 1.6 Online for the first time and discovered one server from the neighboring country: Kazakhstan and on that server were mostly the same people playing every night. Everybody knew each other and we became a short community and it was a great fun time until the server was shut down... Almost 15 years later, I still remember the nicknames of those guys & girls... Ehhh what a times, what a times. Thanks for your flashback video!
@@karlwithak. Video games are why I have nieces and nephews idk what to tell you. People meet in all sorts of ways. I'm kinda surprised you're able to operate youtube comments if you're that much of an atavist. So you sought out a video about dead games, found a nice comment about an old community, and commented on it because you hate video games? Dude why are you watching a video about shit you hate. That is a terrible use of your private time and if you wanted something to hate about gamers this is basically the most innocuous video online. You're not even good at hating shit. Take some multivitamins and come up with a better way to spend your breakfast times.
in mid early 2000s i used to go to internet cafes to play cod 2 lan or cs 1,6 then cuz im in balkans,a lot of ppl including me started selling weed and other drugs at internet cafes cause they were the hot spot of the time ahahahahaa the bestt thing smoking weed and playing cod 2 or gta sa feeling like cj
Tbh seeing that memorial in alphaworlds is both very sweet but also somber, it's incredible a virtual world can live so long for the userbase to age out like that and for the community to be so consistent to want to recognize their presence in game.
Especially when i think about the fact, that some of them (and that are not so few as some may thought) are also dead already in real life. U could see for example one person who was from 1937. The possibility that she is still living is probably not so high.
@@ATypiclaNPC She probably isn't. There was a period of time in the 1990s and the sort that those who were in their 50s and 60s were interested in interacting with modern tech much like we do. As someone who was in AW (Hell, I was in the photo he showed of the Anniversary, just below Lazysuzy, someone I remember as one of the Gatekeepers (a community help volunteer team governed by AWI). There are quite a few people I remember from my time who were probably thrice or four times my age (for comparison, my active years on AW were from around 7-15), who were genuinely nice and friendly. If you've ever played Hypnospace Outlaw, and seen the Oldtime Country section of Hypnospace, that is what a sizable chunk of Activeworlds' userbase was like back then. Between them and the younger users who tended to be in AWTeen or the sort, that is what AW's population amounted to in the 2000s, before its' userbase started to either pass away from old age, or flock to sunnier shores in Second Life. I wasn't around for quite of the few who passed, but those who I was there to be with, I will always remember them and AW fondly.
Every time Active Worlds is talked about, I feel this massive sense of extinctual dread. Seeing something that at one point was so important to so many people, and knowing that those people were just like me, truly puts the impermanence of life into full view.
I met a traveller from an antique land, Who said-“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone Stand in the desert. . . . Near them, on the sand, Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown, And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command, Tell that its sculptor well those passions read Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things, The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed; And on the pedestal, these words appear: My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings; Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair! Nothing beside remains. Round the decay Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare The lone and level sands stretch far away.” Ozymandias, Percy Bysshe Shelley, 1818
I spent a good while searching about ActiveWorld and the great Mauz. I wasn't even alive in the 1990s but man, seeing everything and the passion that players had warmed my heart and made me feel like I was there with them. Definitely going to check out ActiveWorld now. RIP Mauz and all other players
Yeah, its kinda just something people go to at late nights to just play around. I can imagine the places being so crowded. It is just a place of memories, of what people used to enjoy, in a sand box style. In the future this may be what we would look like in our abandoned sandbox games or anything online that can be archived
I am sad the Active Worlds europe servers are offline. I've spent a good chunk of my childhood in that game and it's sad to never be able to play these worlds again
It’s still kinda funny seeing videos like this. I joined Active Worlds a few months after it launch in 95, when I was very young, and went on actively for about ten years. It was super taboo to call it a ‘game’ back then, because it wasn’t structured as such. It was a virtual community, that had a much more robust build system than Minecraft that came many years later.
@@scottwaggoner223 damn, sounds nice to have been able to witness the rise of the internet and the fast growth of technology. As a kid I took these for granted, and only thing I have as some kind of nostalgia that is dead is Flash games. Even half life is still alive
The two russian kids trying to help you then play music for you it's relaly wholesome. And his skill at singiong is also nice, there's just something nice in hearing a russian play a simple guittar and sing
@@geronimo5537 They sounded pretty familiar! the songs. I highly suggest listening to Kino or Molchat Doma, first one is an old russian rock band and the second is a belarusian band with a similar style of music. A russian person will be better at explaining what are the songs about that the kid played, but funny enough most are about love, hard life, freedom and not wanting to fight in wars.
The absolute legends you meet and the friendships you make are 100% the reason i would forever watch this series. That kid on the guitar was amazing and brought such a smile to my face during a very trying week. KEEP ON ROCKING DUDE
Gospel of Jesus Christ John 3:16 For God So loved the world that he gave his only Begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not Perish but have Everlasting Life. Jesus Christ Died for the sin of the World, If you believe in ur heart God risen Jesus from the dead and confess him with ur mouth to people you shall be saved. Jesus said I Am The only way to heaven there is no other way! Repent of urs sins (Repent means Change ur Mind turning away from sinful things and being truly sorry for it.) trust Jesus and give ur life to him He Loves you cares about you more than anyone ever will! we are saved By Grace Trough Faith!,this is sin: Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death but the gift of eternal life in our Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 3:23 For all have sined and felt short of the Glory of God. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. Romans 1:18-21, 23 KJV Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 REPENT OR YOU WILL PERISH REPENT AND BELIEVE THE GOSPEL GET RIGHT WITH GOD LORD JESUS CHRIST.
The amazing thing about Active Worlds isn't how long ago the stuff was built, it's the fact that it's still online and accessible. The internet in the 90's was a hoppin' place, but almost all of it is gone now. Cool to have just a teeny bit left for future generations to explore.
Even though I was viewing it through a screen, I could imagine how great the game was. I could sense a feeling of hidden nostalgia, and even how hard it must have been to see these people pass away as time slowly went on. And im honestly proud of the people that would still play the game, and honor the legacy of all the old gamers that used to play it. Makes me wish I had been born a long time ago, to experience the whole thing.
I was on dial-up internet back then, so i never could have played it. But it is crazy to think that it was 20 years ago. Makes me wonder if one day people will look back at something I done on a game 20 years later. It's a strange thought
The memorials made me start sobbing. The kids, the memorials, all of this is just terrifyingly beautiful. All of these people were real and I'm not sure any of them were thinking about dying when they were starting out. The internet is such a fucking place. There's so much love buried in these nooks and crannies.
I wonder, though, if those memorials are intended to honour actual deaths or players who permanently left and therefore "died" for the community. Also some of those dates make little sense, unless that game was routinely played by seventy-year-olds in the nineties.
@@fallingwater Fair enough, I just honestly think the internet is a pretty little place. It feels like a mall next to a graveyard, lmao. Graveyards are beautiful monuments to human kindness and memorials have always made me feel a certain kind of happiness. Kids randomly playing an old game, memorials in old mmo's, all of it is just hauntingly kind, hah.
@@nonameanonymous3633 Agreed on that - I feel the same way about them. One way or another, people who frequent memorials are usually moved by wholesome feelings.
@@fallingwater When I started playing Ultima Online in 2000 there were players I knew who were in their 60s and 70s. I'm still in touch with some of the people from back then via discord and there are fewer of us each year, every few months I get to hear that someone else from that old community has died. So some of those memorials could well be to actual deaths.
Man this two kids, made me remember about just how games long time ago were about having fun and meeting people, nothing more than that. A lot of memories
I like how dead games have more wholesome people than big games with millions of players playing Man your videos are really dope, love these type of videos
I find it fascinating to go back to old games, posts or even forums that are 20-25 years old, just to see and read what people wrote or did. Its a bit like stumbling on a ghost town and going into people's abandoned houses. I suppose its because of a sense of nostalgia, it reminds me of back in the days when I'd look up any info on the hoaxes of Zelda Ocarina of Time, trying to find places I didn't knew or getting answers for details I noticed and couldn't explain. I have to say that the stumbling on graveyards and memorial on Active Worlds was something, it almost got an eerie feel to it, we get to see players who were loved and are gone memorialized there.
game 4 was so fucking surreal to me I was born a few years before it came out and just seeing those tombstones and creation dates just made me feel a way i can't explain that was both somber and in deep thought. Just the idea of a game from 1995, just 3 years after I was born, is still played online by a handfull of people who are holding memorials for people who have played and passed on over the past 25 years is so mind boggling to me.
Gospel of Jesus Christ John 3:16 For God So loved the world that he gave his only Begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not Perish but have Everlasting Life. Jesus Christ Died for the sin of the World, If you believe in ur heart God risen Jesus from the dead and confess him with ur mouth to people you shall be saved. Jesus said I Am The only way to heaven there is no other way! Repent of urs sins (Repent means Change ur Mind turning away from sinful things and being truly sorry for it.) trust Jesus and give ur life to him He Loves you cares about you more than anyone ever will! we are saved By Grace Trough Faith!,this is sin: Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death but the gift of eternal life in our Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 3:23 For all have sined and felt short of the Glory of God. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. Romans 1:18-21, 23 KJV Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 REPENT OR YOU WILL PERISH REPENT AND BELIEVE THE GOSPEL GET RIGHT WITH GOD LORD JESUS CHRIST.
@@GalacticFoxCat I don´t think there will be any game like that anymore. The thing is, the Internet back then was a complete other then today. Especially because not everyone was in it like today.
Interesting fact about Cuisine Royal is that it is actually made by the developers of Enlisted (Darkflow Software) and started its life as an April Fools joke beta test to test out the Enlisted engine back when the game was still in development. The idea proved popular and it eventually turned into a standalone game and the money made from it was also used to fund Enlisted's development. Enlisted itself is a free to play fps WW2 shooter where the player commands an entire squad rather than one soldier. And it's also a game I've been hopelessly addicted too for a few years now. It's also nowhere near as pay to win as Cuisine so maybe the entire idea behind Cuisine was to just make as much money as possible for the development of Enlisted which was actually something I heard rumored in the past. I never played Cuisine Royal but it's really interesting to see just how similar the two games are or at least were as Enlisted has changed a lot since it's initial release. Yet many things still remain the same in other regards.
Yea no man, I seen cursed FOAD and immediately clicked it because I knew it was one of Gijins entertainments property’s and damm all the visuals and hud elements is just enlisteds. It just felt weird seeing it.
Enlisted: I’m a good and well made popular free to play WW2 shooter game! War Thunder: I’m one of the most popular war games in history! Enlisted Cusine: I’m Fortnite but with dudes in underwear.
This is wholesome; maybe the game is already dead with a lack of player, but their heart to warm the community will never die. An immense respect to HoneyBadger3 and his friends!
When covid hit I had just broken up with my girlfriend of almost 7 years and things were looking bleak. I had a well paying job but I was miserable. The only thing that kept me sane was PUBG mobile. Me and my brother with our friends started playing the game. That was my only comfort. We were in different countries and time zones but there was always atleast one team mate to login with you. Now almost 3 years later, most of us have moved on with our lives. But we will always remember the brotherhood we had created.
I absolutely adore this series! It's so fascinating to interact with games that have been left behind by their developers and community. Dead games almost feel like time capsules that you can immerse yourself in.
Gospel of Jesus Christ John 3:16 For God So loved the world that he gave his only Begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not Perish but have Everlasting Life. Jesus Christ Died for the sin of the World, If you believe in ur heart God risen Jesus from the dead and confess him with ur mouth to people you shall be saved. Jesus said I Am The only way to heaven there is no other way! Repent of urs sins (Repent means Change ur Mind turning away from sinful things and being truly sorry for it.) trust Jesus and give ur life to him He Loves you cares about you more than anyone ever will! we are saved By Grace Trough Faith!,this is sin: Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death but the gift of eternal life in our Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 3:23 For all have sined and felt short of the Glory of God. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. Romans 1:18-21, 23 KJV Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 REPENT OR YOU WILL PERISH REPENT AND BELIEVE THE GOSPEL GET RIGHT WITH GOD LORD JESUS CHRIST.
There's something stunningly beautiful about two people trying to teach you how to play a dead game via Google translate. That's gaming at its best. No meta. No tier lists or power leveling or bots. Just a few humans trying to muck through a digital landscape together.
Maybe its me and my recent close losses - but those memorials absolutely destroyed me. Genuinely broke my heart. Such is life, but somehow ill never be comfortable with it. And thank you for documenting these games. There is genuine social hostory here - and unlike physical history, this stuff can easily just be forgotten without any physical teminders for future. I'm not even a gamer really. Very casual. But just like the victorian mills around my city - these things are part of pur social favric - and you are preserving it whether you intend to or not. Good video ting bossman
Something about Active Worlds is crazy to me. Seeing things that people tried in late 90s to early and mid 2000s and still there is wild. Like its a relic and amazing one.
This video feels extremely special, all these ancient games I have never played and yet they gave me a feeling of nostalgia. They really feel like empty and extinct worlds of a bygone era
Active World is fascinating. Some of the players in the memorial are straight up from the Silent Generation, and it really struck me at just how age-universal video games are, even back then.
Found this video after our usual weekend Empires games were suddenly so populated that the main server was full! The community is extremely niche but very dedicated. Another game you might find 'dead' with a insanely niche weekend community is Microsoft Allegiance (2000) which was released on Steam in 2017 and made free to play. It's also pretty different from anything that you've featured before!
As a new sub, rye has to be one of the most wholesome dudes on this site. always so nice to the strangers in these dead games. Getting active with his community to try them. Good shit.
That active worlds game blows my mind some of those builds are as old as me, truely amazing that they are still up and saved for us to look at. Found your content recently and have been loving a look into all these games, even found one new to me that I’m loving, thanks dude.
A big SPASIBO to those two Russian legends who helped you and sang songs! That's EXACTLY what gaming is all about and what we need more of in these times! Really wholesome and made my day!
The part about Active Worlds made my jaw drop. The fact that some of these objects were placed in the 90s, and are still there, is stunning to me. It's amazing, and yet sad, to know that so many people came together at these points in time, and have since moved on to who knows where, or are even deceased. It also makes me wonder how some of today's game might end up the same way someday.
Empires Mod was one of my most played games back in the day, and I still hop on at the weekends occasionally when I see the invites blasted out by all the regulars. It was literally an RTS and FPS combined and it worked so well, a genre many still wish for to this day... Each commander has a tech tree they can research, and it completely changes every match. Sometimes artillery is rushed and it just turns into mad artillery spam. And other times they have like nuke ammo tech, and the tanks just go crazy. It was such a good hectic game back in the day, and tbh still is.
Seeing a couple of what im assuming are either pre-teens or teens, playing a 20 year old game and willing teaching somebody how to play it instead of being the typical obnoxious internet twat is honestly quite refreshing. Hats off to them.
Thank you for this video. It makes me want to try out some of these games. Also, Active Worlds... it looks so old. But in a charming way. And it's great to see those people that played and have since passed away are still remembered.
I actually played active worlds when I was a kid using our dialup internet. It took a long time for the world's to load in and basically all of the player avatars were restricted behind paywalls. There was some way to load up worlds you'd previously visited in an offline mode and you could use any avatar you wanted without paying. I used to download some worlds and then switch to the seagull avatar and you could actually free fly while using it, was pretty cool.
Pretty weird and interesting to see that Cursed, or Cuisine Royale despite being dead, became the foundation for Enlisted, same maps and same guns and even mechanics
From what i recall, they made Cuisine Royale as a sort of beta for the engine and mechanics/gameplay of Enlisted, so that was always the plan. I quess good for them, but as someone who really enjoyed Cuisine Royale, i am sad at the state its in.
@@B0redZer0 As someone who used to play, yeah, they built Cuisine Royale as an April Fools thing to act as a testbed for Enlisted, and the beginning really leaned into that aspect. Purely the WWII weapons and kitchen themed armor/health items. Miss that time tbh
I used to play Empires mod back in the day (12+ years ago) and I loved that game so much. There wasn't anything just like it. When I played it there were multiple servers that had 50+ players almost always. Sadly it started slowly dying and servers got to a state where you had to come in at specific times to be able to play with about 20 people :-( But I am happy to see the community is still there.
@@A_Stereotypical_Heretic you are right, my friend. I just humbly wanted to add the actual meaning of his nickname. Maybe i had to start with something like "on a side note: ....". My mistake 😇Thank you for your warning.
I used to play empires mod so much as a teenager I loved it so much. The FPS/RTS gente is sorely underutilised. It doesn't show it in this video but the commander plays an RTS style game placing buildings like barracks, war factories, base defences, as well as researching technologies for the highly customisable vehicles to the point where you can select how much armour you want on each side of your tank. Absolutely fantastic game and never found anything quite like it. Will definitely look into those game nights.
This genuinely breaks my heart in the worst ways, seeing these dwindling communities of people who grew up together playing games that for one reason or another end up losing players over time (usually due to developers trying to monetize them, though I can understand that as running servers isn't free). Happy to know that there's still people playing some of these classics.
There are many players in community who would be happy to host though, and having your game in that fashion where player's hosted servers are integrated can basically defeat the issue of not free servers.
Recent subscriber to the channel & don't know if you've done it yet but one that would fit this series would be Post Scriptum. Sadly a few months ago the devs pretty much have abandoned it and its now only one person. Which it's a shame because it's honestly one of the best games i've played in the past 10 years easily. Only a couple hundred that play it now and its playerbase is sadly dwindling by the day.
The community is still active and mainly peak on weekends, even recently there's been 100 player server with even a couple of weeks ago a clan tested and set up a 120 player server
Post Scriptum was absolutely fantastic, but sadly, compared to Hell Let Loose, the devs weren't half as invested in upkeep to keep their playerbase, and it shows. I played so much PS during its peak, I switched to playing mainly HLL a little over a year ago, and I see many players I met in PS running around, so I'm guessing that's where they all went.
Me and my buddy love squad we tried he’ll let loose and felt like it was too casual and encouraged too many people to play it like cod so we found post scriptum and thought it was awesome every so often my buddy brings up how sad it is that it’s a dead game
That kid with the git box was awesome. Also it's great to see you're still doing this series. You have turned me on to a couple of games over the last few years and wanted to let you know that I appreciate what you do.
Loved the kids in Soldner. That was wholesome af. I used to play this when it just got out. Or tried to. Our internet was not the fastest. Lots of lagging while playing. But that game had so much weapons and vehicles, crazy. It also had a lot of mechanics that no other games had I think. That took me back.
please play released on March 19, 1999 Recoil is a vehicular combat tank-based Microsoft Windows video game. It involves the player piloting an experimental tank known as the "BFT" (Battle Force Tank) through various missions. There is a heavy influence on collecting various weapons for the BFT throughout the game. It was developed by Zipper Interactive, a subsidiary of its parent publisher, Electronic Arts, and uses the same game engine as MechWarrior 3.
There's something really wholesome about a game from 1995 still having active players, some of whom played it from the very beginning, while also being somewhat bittersweet due to some of them having died since then but being memorialized in the game so that they're never going to be forgotten. The fact that they would've experienced the relatively early days of the internet is cool to me, but I'm also a sucker for early 90s internet stuff since I grew up with tons of computers in the 90s and early 2000s. Old Mac OS/OS X and all that.
There is something so wholesome about seeking out games hanging by a thread and finding comradery with the few people who play it. I hope you continue to keep making this series
If you go into mouse settings and enable "Raw Mouse Input" it should let you use your mouse to look around in Ricochet. (I think all gold source games are like this)
@@Nanachi_FLUFFI believe that and have met some really cool Russians but obviously attacking other countries does not put Russia in a good light. I wish we could all just get along and live in harmony.
As an OG World of Warcraft player seeing a completely empty server where you're the only guy is honestly liberating, not depressing. Because for once you get to step away from the goal of the game and begin to start taking in the intricate details of what made that game so great besides the gameplay. Some games are a work of art and playing in an empty server is one way to weed out those kinds of games.
The active worlds part gave me such a weird feeling it’s so depressing seeing that time has gone by so fast and all those people probably have and memories they will never forget but it’s all lost to time
On the contrary. It's immortalised. A memorial of their memories stands, now, decades later, for us to stumble across. It's beautiful to see a game go through so many generations, but as it's expected of such a generational game, a lot of the people who build these monuments of memories, are no longer able to relive them.
I remember half life 1’s 25th anniversary and the half life death match source numbers went up, and that was nice to see playing it bringing back memories from so long ago.
This has quickly become one of my favorite channels. I love the casual approach that Rye brings to every game he plays, it makes the experience much more wholesome and hilarious 😂
This feels like traveling to the least populated cities from a country and finding either no signs of people or a few wholesome people happy to meet someone new
I played empiresmod a lot during its heyday. Theres a very high skill ceiling. A skilled squad could win the match completely by themselves. Its a hybrid rts/fps. In the classic maps, commanders can research vehicle upgrades that let you build better vehicles. It was really one of the best games I ever played.
Man, I used to play Empires Mod like 10 years ago, it was amazing and I'm happy to learn it's still somewhat active because it definitely deserves it. Another mod I sued to play that is dead these days is Eternal Silence, a science fiction mod with both fps combat and space flight.
15:49 I'm actually in that photo from one of the AW Anniversary group photos, right below Lazysuzy (The o was used as a signifier of being 'married' to another citizen). As someone who wasn't able to join SL for a period of time due to my age, I have quite fond memories of Activeworlds, and many of the people in it. I remember playing AW on 56k dialup and when I couldn't connect to the internet due to other family needing to use the phone, I could access the worlds in an offline mode. I had quite a few names on there, including Aelita and Rei (I was young and very unimaginative.. still kind of am.), but as much as I love Second Life these days, Activeworlds holds a special place in my heart. Activeworlds as far as I am aware did, yes, paywall AW for a time, but they always offered a Tourist option, which I used for the longest time. The reason people left AW wasn't because of the paywalling - at the time Second Life (around 2003-2006) was pay to play (IIRC), requiring you to have a membership, until they rolled out SL Premium and allowed residents to play for free if they wished. The draw to SL was primarily two fold - the aging population of AW was starting to decay as it wouldn't be a year with four digits if it didn't have at least one of our older citizens passing away. I've been to and witnessed many in-world memorial builds, many of which dedicated to people who at least, lived long, happy lives, both in Activeworlds and IRL. Secondly, and most importantly, Linden Lab, Second Life's creators, were outpacing Activeworlds in terms of capabilities - custom avatars that weren't dependent on the world (think like a game server) object path (essentially an FTP server that hosts the world's content) and/or commissioning a 3d artist to make a PAV (Personal Avatar), wouldn't come until the early 2010s, well after Second Life's rennaissance started to die off and it entered the state of normalcy it has now. Activeworlds' engine (which implements Renderware, a rendering engine that drove quite a few PS2-era games) is about as old, if not older, than the NetImmerse engine, which is at the core of Bethesda's latest Creation Engine 2, which drives Starfield. The difference is that Rick Noll, CEO of AWI, failed to adapt and compete with Linden Lab, IMVU, and the various others who were following in their footsteps of building the metaverse following Worlds.com's failure and AWI's sizable success (for the time, keep in mind, this is before social media, period, and on the tail end of when BBSes were mainstream) and him and ChrisPeg, AWI's lead developer, were left to watch as AW withered away. Could AW have avoided this fate? Probably not. It would have taken a lot of money and resources to keep AW competitive, and would even require changes to how AW worked to keep with the times - something that even if Rick had found investors or capital to engage in such an endeavor, probably wouldn't have gone over well with citizens. Today Activeworlds is kept alive by a small, passionate community that maintains the platform in tandem with what remains of the more or less dormant AWI, Chrispeg included. Preserving Activeworlds is difficult, as it, much like websites of the era, relied on hotlinking to media outside of the AW servers, meaning that a lot of the content that was part of AW is gone, through no fault of AWI's. If you wish to explore Activeworlds, I highly implore you to do so. It's a genuinely beautiful thing to experience a time capsule of the 90s and 2000s, even if it's not in perfect condition. Also, fun fact - Metatropolis (World Name COFMETA (COF, being Circle of Fire Studios, AWI's former name)) was based on Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash, which serves as one of the big inspirations behind many of the virtual worlds people are in today, from AW, all the way to VRChat and media like Ready Player One.
hello legends
If you want to submit a game for me to play in future videos. Best way is to dm my twitter (twitter.com/RyeGamess)
Or join the discord and put it in the submission channel. enjoy the video
will you ever play Raft again tho 😮
i love this entire series.
Love you man, amazing video again. Hope everything's good on your end💙
did you not put Empires discord link in the description?
Yo bro i think you should chang ethe thumbnails a bit more between videos they all seem like the same video being reposted again and again wrongfully
The fact 2 russian kids taught u the game then sang to you is so wholesome
it really is. Especially given whats going on in the world, they needed that
Yeah fr it was awesome
@@PongoDaMandon’t associate civilians with the foul play their government is doing.
They weren’t singing
@@professionalhater3929 they were playing *guitar* AND singing
That kid playing guitar and singing for you was very sweet, I wasn't expecting a wholesome moment like that 😭
@@tgs-45They are not war songs lol, it is Letov, Viktor Tsoy and KiSh band.
@@tgs-45War songs? First time I heard anybody say that about Kino. Anti war, yes, but propaganda? You sure you got your hearing right?
@@cycomiles4225 Yes absolutely I think i overstated, they were just songs about war. And I didnt mention anything about propoganda.
fr fr!
Such a incredible moment in history. So wholesome.
That depression hits different when you're the only person on a server of what once was a booming, bustling community... Those memories are timeless.
I remember loving the hell out of Quake Wars on PC🎉😢 and also Warhawk on PS3
This, theres thousands of games like this too
@@Michael-vm4bbWarhawk was amazing
Good thing that i hop from game to the game only a few games can hold me for hundreds or thousands of hours
@CPTCHRIS1 yes and how unfair Starhawk had an even shorter life span.
That russian kid was singing Viktor Tsoi's Kukushka, one of the most influential soviet era singer. I am so surprised to see that people still listen to Kino, his band, after all this time. Their songs about freedom and man's struggle in life are still relevant to this day, especially with what's been happening in that part of the world for the past few years. Those kids have great taste in music and they were so wholesome!
there are videos of russian troops playing his music in ukraine. He is immensely popular still
took kyiv yet?@@udittlamba
Please let's not talk conflict here@@zmvrcv
Yeah obviously. Kino was literally the most popular band back in the day. That would be equivalent to saying you're surprised people still listen to Queen
i was amazed as well but yeah, people still listen to his music which makes me happy, ive known ab his music for 4 years now.
Man, it was a pleasure playing with you guys 😅
Thanks for shining a light on what I do on my weekends Rye ❤
The game looks pretty cool, if i knew that in 2008 i would have played it! :)
Man it's so fun to see this game still being played, I remember playing it a lot with some friends back in like 2011. Good times!
@coeus4733 you’re a legend man, keep doing what you love
I never heard of this game but I think I'm going to pick it up and play it next weekend, it seems really fun
A kid singing Kukushka in a 20 year old dead game is something I'll never anticipate before watching this. Along with a deer crashing through my window right now. The odds are just very minuscule.
With a guitar too! And consider the odds of rye playing at that time and him being online. Fated encounter perhaps?
@@sergeantjoe6802 The deer had a guitar?
A deer crashed through your window? Are you both okay? What floor do you live on?
That was such a vibe. I felt very 90s Russia in that moment 😂. Wholesome indeed.
A WHAT?!?
Those two kids teaching you was so funny, good kids. Love to see friendship built off a game without even speaking the same language.
It’s deeper than just a game, video games bring everyone so much closer together it’s beautiful!
Damn straight brother, hehheh, getter done
Those kids singing "Everything is going according to plan" melted my heart. They're probably scaping all the stuff that's going on by playing an old game in a probably not so good computer, and they took the time to teach you everything. Awesome.
link to the song?
Other 2 songs that kid sang - Кино - Кукушка and Король и Шут - Разбежавшись прыгну со скалы
@@Eysc There was 3:
1. Кино - Кукушка
2. Егор Летов - Всё идёт по плану
3. Король и Шут - Прыгну со скалы
just paste them in google or youtube
thanks 😁
@@Eysc copy+paste Гражданская Оборона - Всё идёт по плану
Classic siberian punk, little known outside Russia
It's like a digital trip to unknown empty lands. Beautiful video.
With An sound of electric guitar ,😂😂
Digital Zombies
Liminal games
5:18 Grajdanskaya Oborona - Vsyo Idyot Po Planu (Civil Defense - All Goes According to Plan)
5:42 Kino - Kukushka (Cinema - Cuckoo)
5:55 Король и Шут - Прыгну со Скалы (Korol I Shut (tran: King and Jester) - I Will Jump Off Of Cliff)
Google this songs and their translation. Classic Russian rock. Now is considered as doomer music.
Damn i am empressed by his skills in his (young?) age i am 19y.o, only starting to learn the guitar, having medium level of English and having a good taste in music, and he have all of this)
thanks dude
@@nickem6556 like how his voice sound i can say he from 12 to 15 yo
Oh shit they sang Kino
@@nickem6556I mean that taste is just normal in Russia tbf
I highly recommend Empires Mod! The community is not dead, just very small. If you like big battles, class perks, and vehicle customization, it's definitely worth checking out.
Those two kids are the kind of people gaming needs. ❤
cringe
You are!!! @@shantyclips6358
Agree with you, friend!!! Unfortunately we see only biiiip-heads in mmorpg and shoot-hem-up videogames, today...
@@shantyclips6358go on fatherless kid
@@shantyclips6358cringe your ass
Hi just a note for Ricochet
The reason you weren't able to turn around using mouse is some weird glitch that is present in a lot of old valve games.
The way you fix this is by doing the following:
Options > mouse > Raw Mouse Input (tick it)
Don't know if you'll read this comment but there you go
This happened to me playing Opposing Force and I fixed it exactly like you said
@@Rorschach_Tattoo Happy to hear!
Maybe buy a mouse with a tracking ball?
It happened to me in Fortnite recently (before last update). It's an Epic game though.
I came here to say the same thing. Also, how is Ricochet dead? I love it but never play it, is that how? 😂
There's something so harrowing about that Active Worlds memorial wall. Each one of those people had hopes and dreams, lived somewhere on this planet, maybe had kids or parents or siblings that missed them. It makes me think of all the people we meet in online games years ago who we never see anymore.
Reminds me of a Guy named mewto Something i Played Minecraft with him for one night told him i get Back in at noone the day Bit never came i will never See him again :(
@@timo4463maybe send them a friend request?
@@timo4463 it happens, had a online friend call me when i was busy once and then a few hours later his dad texted me that he was in a hit and run with a collapsed lung. he's dead now, but life continues as normal
crazy, people born in the 19fucking30s were on there
last online 8 years ago 😞
There's something heartwarming about finding groups of survivors in dead games still carrying on something they enjoy
I saw that interview with some guy who plays on a dead wow server, just so crazy lol. Till the day that server dies!!!
That depends on what you're trying to do. I was finishing up some multiplayer achievements in older Halo and Assassin's Creed titles with a like-minded group many years after release and almost invariably there would be 1 or 2 weirdos haunting the otherwise dead servers who would interfere with our attempts despite us explaining why we were there. They were like holdouts still fighting a war that had ended years before.
The idea that the creator of the maze still occasionally checks in to update the board is weirdly heartwarming.
That's a real passion project
I would like to Congratulate them for checking up on their world and updating it hope they live a long and fruitful life
That song he sang would slap around a campfire
That singing was absolutely legendary! Wonder if he'll pop up in other dead games later down the road?
we can only hope my friend , legendary
That would be cool.
hes probs now on the front line lets be honest..
@@BuggzZ1823wth are you talking about lmao, russia ins't conscripting 12 year old kids to fight in the army
@@fish5671 its a joke mate chill
Active worlds is an amazing, and sad story. Some of those people playing it have probably known each other for decades. Theyve probably lost a ton of friends over that time.
Yes, especially the Goreans of AW
you could say similar about any online game that didn't die the year of it's release. Over the span of nearly a decade in FFXI i "lost" several dozen friends (who quit the game) including several who actually died irl for one or another reason. But there aren't many "games" that allow players to freely build memorials to make those losses visible to others.
@@orztaku Mhm. One thing we often never think about in online communities is when those we call friends lose their lives. Growing up in AW, I experienced this stuff first hand, and while I don't think of it often, when I do, I'm often brought back to the countless memorial sites.
@@NodokaHanamura😅😮😅😅😮😅😮😅😅😮😅😅😮😮😅
Can you play on ios?
I'm so used to the screaming russian goblin child archetype, it was really refreshing seeing those two kids patiently coach you on the game and sing to you.
большинство школьников слушают цоя и т.д, только потому что цоя слушали их отцы, ну или я не знаю
the russian kids singing and playing while teaching you how to play the game was one of the coolest things I ever saw on the internet lol. and he got a great music taste, too
Listening to those guys sing and play guitar was so wholesome. You are such a great guy.
They have great taste in music too! Kino is fantastic
@@partytor11 one time I wanted to learn a Kino song (This Is Not Love from the album of the same name) so I searched it up on YT thinking maybe there would be like one or two decent covers I could learn from and the page just filled up with great covers - Russians REALLY love Kino!
@@partytor11ikr, it surprised me so much
The memorials in active worlds were fascinating, didn't expect to see something like that in a game
just what comes to my mind first but i play a lot of dayz, there's a half dozen crosses placed around the game in a few player's favorite spots after they passed away, the devs really appreciate their crowd and it makes me happy to see and explore those, i assume in years when it's completely abandoned it'll have the same vibe
you should check one the one in Eve online
@@searchiemusicyeah man this 100% true, so cool that they did that. Nothing compares to the DayZ atmosphere
Another virtual world I'll call Kalypso Projectz had added a memorial island back in 2003 and it had some people mentioned too. But greedy corporate changes and all that was pretty much removed by 2009, there's now just a blank gazebo and a couple stone looking blocks on island but that's it. The game itself is still around but its a pale ghost of what it used to be with new devs turning it into a mission based first person shooter hunting game.
"Defeat the Dragon" has a memorial in it, the games based upon the experience a couple had of their kid fighting cancer (the dragon) and sadly he lost. The game was their way of re-telling the story and helping express how they felt.
At one point you walk through a hallway, lined with cards hanging on ropes... Each card is a person who died while their child was in treatment at the same time. Theres also a few games I can't remember the titles of, where there are hidden memorials in maps in places. These represent either someone who died during production in the team, or a player who was renowned in the community and passed in alpha or beta testing stages.
I remember Markiplier playing it, and he said he honestly couldn't read them all, he found the entire experience upsetting. He died of cancer so to him, the game just hit home. His father also has a tribute in Doom Eternal on a bookshelf.
Damn, thoes russian kids were just legends. The very old game was also pretty wholesome taking by it's history and the last game, wow like people keep up such a comunity and the servers are still up for them it's just wholesome, this whole video is so wholesome so confy and honestly you're such a legend for giving light to such epic comunities. Honestly if the comunity is welcoming then you're going to have a blast with the game
Growing up in a small town in Kyrgyzstan, I used to go to internet cafes as a kid and was spending hours and hours in the early 2000s just watching other people playing the games (Counter-Strike, GTA Vice City, Need For Speed, Sims, Call of Duty etc....). I remember when I saved up from my pocket money just enough to pay for an hour in that internet cafe, it was a truly remarkable experience that I'll never forget! It really amazes me that such old games still have few people playing them after so many years... Later on, I did not have the best PC, Internet, or a wide variety of games. I remember when I started playing Counter-Strike 1.5 & 1.6 Online for the first time and discovered one server from the neighboring country: Kazakhstan and on that server were mostly the same people playing every night. Everybody knew each other and we became a short community and it was a great fun time until the server was shut down... Almost 15 years later, I still remember the nicknames of those guys & girls... Ehhh what a times, what a times. Thanks for your flashback video!
@@karlwithak.🤓
@@karlwithak.and you wasting your life commenting on videos just like all of us :)
@@karlwithak. Video games are why I have nieces and nephews idk what to tell you. People meet in all sorts of ways. I'm kinda surprised you're able to operate youtube comments if you're that much of an atavist. So you sought out a video about dead games, found a nice comment about an old community, and commented on it because you hate video games? Dude why are you watching a video about shit you hate. That is a terrible use of your private time and if you wanted something to hate about gamers this is basically the most innocuous video online. You're not even good at hating shit. Take some multivitamins and come up with a better way to spend your breakfast times.
you're not alone, same here
in mid early 2000s i used to go to internet cafes to play cod 2 lan or cs 1,6 then cuz im in balkans,a lot of ppl including me started selling weed and other drugs at internet cafes cause they were the hot spot of the time ahahahahaa the bestt thing smoking weed and playing cod 2 or gta sa feeling like cj
Tbh seeing that memorial in alphaworlds is both very sweet but also somber, it's incredible a virtual world can live so long for the userbase to age out like that and for the community to be so consistent to want to recognize their presence in game.
Especially when i think about the fact, that some of them (and that are not so few as some may thought) are also dead already in real life. U could see for example one person who was from 1937. The possibility that she is still living is probably not so high.
@@ATypiclaNPCyup it will happen with us too
@@ATypiclaNPC She probably isn't. There was a period of time in the 1990s and the sort that those who were in their 50s and 60s were interested in interacting with modern tech much like we do. As someone who was in AW (Hell, I was in the photo he showed of the Anniversary, just below Lazysuzy, someone I remember as one of the Gatekeepers (a community help volunteer team governed by AWI). There are quite a few people I remember from my time who were probably thrice or four times my age (for comparison, my active years on AW were from around 7-15), who were genuinely nice and friendly.
If you've ever played Hypnospace Outlaw, and seen the Oldtime Country section of Hypnospace, that is what a sizable chunk of Activeworlds' userbase was like back then. Between them and the younger users who tended to be in AWTeen or the sort, that is what AW's population amounted to in the 2000s, before its' userbase started to either pass away from old age, or flock to sunnier shores in Second Life.
I wasn't around for quite of the few who passed, but those who I was there to be with, I will always remember them and AW fondly.
0:33 Ricochet
3:33 Söldner: Secret Wars
8:22 CRSED: F.O.A.D.
12:45 Active Worlds
16:46 Half-Life Deathmatch: Source
19:44 Empires Mod
23:44
Ham
@@JeremyBaconThe1st Bone
@@Bsebt You are godamn right
it is so wholesome seeing players of dead games help you play the game it is really fun to see this!
Every time Active Worlds is talked about, I feel this massive sense of extinctual dread. Seeing something that at one point was so important to so many people, and knowing that those people were just like me, truly puts the impermanence of life into full view.
I met a traveller from an antique land,
Who said-“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. . . . Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed;
And on the pedestal, these words appear:
My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.”
Ozymandias,
Percy Bysshe Shelley, 1818
The internet exists as a tombstone for countless souls
Never 0kayed it but i don't know why but man was that part emotional
I spent a good while searching about ActiveWorld and the great Mauz. I wasn't even alive in the 1990s but man, seeing everything and the passion that players had warmed my heart and made me feel like I was there with them.
Definitely going to check out ActiveWorld now.
RIP Mauz and all other players
Its oddly wonderful how Active Worlds is kinda like a time capsule for gaming, with its original Sims style graphics of the time
Yeah, its kinda just something people go to at late nights to just play around. I can imagine the places being so crowded. It is just a place of memories, of what people used to enjoy, in a sand box style. In the future this may be what we would look like in our abandoned sandbox games or anything online that can be archived
I am sad the Active Worlds europe servers are offline. I've spent a good chunk of my childhood in that game and it's sad to never be able to play these worlds again
It’s still kinda funny seeing videos like this. I joined Active Worlds a few months after it launch in 95, when I was very young, and went on actively for about ten years. It was super taboo to call it a ‘game’ back then, because it wasn’t structured as such. It was a virtual community, that had a much more robust build system than Minecraft that came many years later.
@@scottwaggoner223 damn, sounds nice to have been able to witness the rise of the internet and the fast growth of technology. As a kid I took these for granted, and only thing I have as some kind of nostalgia that is dead is Flash games. Even half life is still alive
Wish Sims Online and Star Wars Galaxies still existed...Player ran worlds are the best.
The two russian kids trying to help you then play music for you it's relaly wholesome. And his skill at singiong is also nice, there's just something nice in hearing a russian play a simple guittar and sing
it was a great moment and I honestly think the song. which I dont understand as an english speaker. would be a great internet meme song.
@@geronimo5537 They sounded pretty familiar! the songs. I highly suggest listening to Kino or Molchat Doma, first one is an old russian rock band and the second is a belarusian band with a similar style of music. A russian person will be better at explaining what are the songs about that the kid played, but funny enough most are about love, hard life, freedom and not wanting to fight in wars.
the kid was playing кукушка from kino btw, it's impressive that the song is recognisable at all
@@a.katyusha2667 Hahaaa called it. I knew it was familisr from somewhere. as i said. Hehehe what it means to be a kino fan.
@@unknown_karma12334best band ever
These kids really warmed my heart, I hope they watched the video
The absolute legends you meet and the friendships you make are 100% the reason i would forever watch this series. That kid on the guitar was amazing and brought such a smile to my face during a very trying week. KEEP ON ROCKING DUDE
Thanks
Gospel of Jesus Christ John 3:16 For God So loved the world that he gave his only Begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not Perish but have Everlasting Life. Jesus Christ Died for the sin of the World, If you believe in ur heart God risen Jesus from the dead and confess him with ur mouth to people you shall be saved. Jesus said I Am The only way to heaven there is no other way! Repent of urs sins (Repent means Change ur Mind turning away from sinful things and being truly sorry for it.) trust Jesus and give ur life to him He Loves you cares about you more than anyone ever will! we are saved By Grace Trough Faith!,this is sin: Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death but the gift of eternal life in our Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 3:23 For all have sined and felt short of the Glory of God. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. Romans 1:18-21, 23 KJV Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 REPENT OR YOU WILL PERISH REPENT AND BELIEVE THE GOSPEL GET RIGHT WITH GOD LORD JESUS CHRIST.
The amazing thing about Active Worlds isn't how long ago the stuff was built, it's the fact that it's still online and accessible. The internet in the 90's was a hoppin' place, but almost all of it is gone now. Cool to have just a teeny bit left for future generations to explore.
there's another similar virtual reality world I used to play called There, more specifically MTV virtual reality worlds in the mid 2000's
I'm shocked at the lack of penis monuments... those original players were def classy.
@@Shiznit304 I remember there, Is it still around?
Even though I was viewing it through a screen, I could imagine how great the game was.
I could sense a feeling of hidden nostalgia, and even how hard it must have been to see these people pass away as time slowly went on. And im honestly proud of the people that would still play the game, and honor the legacy of all the old gamers that used to play it.
Makes me wish I had been born a long time ago, to experience the whole thing.
I was on dial-up internet back then, so i never could have played it. But it is crazy to think that it was 20 years ago. Makes me wonder if one day people will look back at something I done on a game 20 years later. It's a strange thought
The memorials made me start sobbing. The kids, the memorials, all of this is just terrifyingly beautiful. All of these people were real and I'm not sure any of them were thinking about dying when they were starting out. The internet is such a fucking place. There's so much love buried in these nooks and crannies.
I wonder, though, if those memorials are intended to honour actual deaths or players who permanently left and therefore "died" for the community. Also some of those dates make little sense, unless that game was routinely played by seventy-year-olds in the nineties.
@@fallingwater Fair enough, I just honestly think the internet is a pretty little place. It feels like a mall next to a graveyard, lmao. Graveyards are beautiful monuments to human kindness and memorials have always made me feel a certain kind of happiness. Kids randomly playing an old game, memorials in old mmo's, all of it is just hauntingly kind, hah.
@@nonameanonymous3633 Agreed on that - I feel the same way about them. One way or another, people who frequent memorials are usually moved by wholesome feelings.
@@fallingwater When I started playing Ultima Online in 2000 there were players I knew who were in their 60s and 70s. I'm still in touch with some of the people from back then via discord and there are fewer of us each year, every few months I get to hear that someone else from that old community has died. So some of those memorials could well be to actual deaths.
@@misterthegeoff9767oh man..when I saw some built
is 23 years old I started to cry..That is just an "empty" game..
Spooky the bot was probably a place holder so they don't close server. Loved the video.
ahhhh that makes sense!
that memorial hit me in the feels those are foot prints of people who where once alive who enjoyed the game with their friends
Yeah same.... more than one emotion from that segment.
Man this two kids, made me remember about just how games long time ago were about having fun and meeting people, nothing more than that. A lot of memories
I like how dead games have more wholesome people than big games with millions of players playing
Man your videos are really dope, love these type of videos
I find it fascinating to go back to old games, posts or even forums that are 20-25 years old, just to see and read what people wrote or did. Its a bit like stumbling on a ghost town and going into people's abandoned houses. I suppose its because of a sense of nostalgia, it reminds me of back in the days when I'd look up any info on the hoaxes of Zelda Ocarina of Time, trying to find places I didn't knew or getting answers for details I noticed and couldn't explain.
I have to say that the stumbling on graveyards and memorial on Active Worlds was something, it almost got an eerie feel to it, we get to see players who were loved and are gone memorialized there.
game 4 was so fucking surreal to me
I was born a few years before it came out and just seeing those tombstones and creation dates just made me feel a way i can't explain that was both somber and in deep thought. Just the idea of a game from 1995, just 3 years after I was born, is still played online by a handfull of people who are holding memorials for people who have played and passed on over the past 25 years is so mind boggling to me.
sounds cool to me
@@GalacticFoxCat good, VR chat is a cesspit
Gospel of Jesus Christ John 3:16 For God So loved the world that he gave his only Begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not Perish but have Everlasting Life. Jesus Christ Died for the sin of the World, If you believe in ur heart God risen Jesus from the dead and confess him with ur mouth to people you shall be saved. Jesus said I Am The only way to heaven there is no other way! Repent of urs sins (Repent means Change ur Mind turning away from sinful things and being truly sorry for it.) trust Jesus and give ur life to him He Loves you cares about you more than anyone ever will! we are saved By Grace Trough Faith!,this is sin: Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death but the gift of eternal life in our Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 3:23 For all have sined and felt short of the Glory of God. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. Romans 1:18-21, 23 KJV Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 REPENT OR YOU WILL PERISH REPENT AND BELIEVE THE GOSPEL GET RIGHT WITH GOD LORD JESUS CHRIST.
@@GalacticFoxCat I don´t think there will be any game like that anymore. The thing is, the Internet back then was a complete other then today. Especially because not everyone was in it like today.
@@Motolmangeven if it dies, its players will still exist ☹️
I love how you give the kid his moment. He’s been waiting on that server for a guy like you to show up ❤😂
Interesting fact about Cuisine Royal is that it is actually made by the developers of Enlisted (Darkflow Software) and started its life as an April Fools joke beta test to test out the Enlisted engine back when the game was still in development. The idea proved popular and it eventually turned into a standalone game and the money made from it was also used to fund Enlisted's development. Enlisted itself is a free to play fps WW2 shooter where the player commands an entire squad rather than one soldier. And it's also a game I've been hopelessly addicted too for a few years now. It's also nowhere near as pay to win as Cuisine so maybe the entire idea behind Cuisine was to just make as much money as possible for the development of Enlisted which was actually something I heard rumored in the past.
I never played Cuisine Royal but it's really interesting to see just how similar the two games are or at least were as Enlisted has changed a lot since it's initial release. Yet many things still remain the same in other regards.
Yea no man, I seen cursed FOAD and immediately clicked it because I knew it was one of Gijins entertainments property’s and damm all the visuals and hud elements is just enlisteds. It just felt weird seeing it.
Enlisted: I’m a good and well made popular free to play WW2 shooter game! War Thunder: I’m one of the most popular war games in history! Enlisted Cusine: I’m Fortnite but with dudes in underwear.
YESS NOW I REMEMBER
I was watching this video, and thinking that this map looks really familiar xDD
Insanely cool video man. felt kind of weird through out the whole thing like a weird eerie feeling, I guess thats just nostalgia. Bittersweet.
Name of band`s and name of track`s :
5:28 Гражданская Оборона - Всё идёт по плану
5:46 Кино - Кукушка
6:15 Король и Шут - Прыгну со скалы
I thought that one was Kino :)
@@rydout)))
This is wholesome; maybe the game is already dead with a lack of player, but their heart to warm the community will never die. An immense respect to HoneyBadger3 and his friends!
Thanks for checking out Empires and linking the game/discord
Hope to see you in the big games
When covid hit I had just broken up with my girlfriend of almost 7 years and things were looking bleak. I had a well paying job but I was miserable. The only thing that kept me sane was PUBG mobile. Me and my brother with our friends started playing the game. That was my only comfort. We were in different countries and time zones but there was always atleast one team mate to login with you. Now almost 3 years later, most of us have moved on with our lives. But we will always remember the brotherhood we had created.
I absolutely adore this series! It's so fascinating to interact with games that have been left behind by their developers and community. Dead games almost feel like time capsules that you can immerse yourself in.
The fact that HoneyBadger was singing Kino made me respect him even more, hope he gets even better and even more recognized for his talent.
yea, for real, with trainning and Equipment, we might see a coming Singer in the next few years, :D
Gospel of Jesus Christ John 3:16 For God So loved the world that he gave his only Begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not Perish but have Everlasting Life. Jesus Christ Died for the sin of the World, If you believe in ur heart God risen Jesus from the dead and confess him with ur mouth to people you shall be saved. Jesus said I Am The only way to heaven there is no other way! Repent of urs sins (Repent means Change ur Mind turning away from sinful things and being truly sorry for it.) trust Jesus and give ur life to him He Loves you cares about you more than anyone ever will! we are saved By Grace Trough Faith!,this is sin: Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death but the gift of eternal life in our Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 3:23 For all have sined and felt short of the Glory of God. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. Romans 1:18-21, 23 KJV Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 REPENT OR YOU WILL PERISH REPENT AND BELIEVE THE GOSPEL GET RIGHT WITH GOD LORD JESUS CHRIST.
I totally thought this too! Kino is great.
There's something stunningly beautiful about two people trying to teach you how to play a dead game via Google translate. That's gaming at its best. No meta. No tier lists or power leveling or bots. Just a few humans trying to muck through a digital landscape together.
Maybe its me and my recent close losses - but those memorials absolutely destroyed me. Genuinely broke my heart. Such is life, but somehow ill never be comfortable with it.
And thank you for documenting these games. There is genuine social hostory here - and unlike physical history, this stuff can easily just be forgotten without any physical teminders for future.
I'm not even a gamer really. Very casual.
But just like the victorian mills around my city - these things are part of pur social favric - and you are preserving it whether you intend to or not.
Good video ting bossman
Something about Active Worlds is crazy to me. Seeing things that people tried in late 90s to early and mid 2000s and still there is wild. Like its a relic and amazing one.
This video feels extremely special, all these ancient games I have never played and yet they gave me a feeling of nostalgia. They really feel like empty and extinct worlds of a bygone era
Idk why but seeing those old games, old dates, and just the whole old school vibe of the 90s/begin 2000s gives a sort of nostalgic emotional feeling.
Active World is fascinating. Some of the players in the memorial are straight up from the Silent Generation, and it really struck me at just how age-universal video games are, even back then.
Silent generation?
@@unuks9731 People born between 1900-1920 or so.
@@Ottriman No those are the GI Generation, Silent Generation comes after, from ~1920 to around the war end at 1945.
@@standard-carrier-wo-chanwhat does it mean by silent and gi
@@standard-carrier-wo-chan would love to know why they are called silent?
Found this video after our usual weekend Empires games were suddenly so populated that the main server was full! The community is extremely niche but very dedicated.
Another game you might find 'dead' with a insanely niche weekend community is Microsoft Allegiance (2000) which was released on Steam in 2017 and made free to play. It's also pretty different from anything that you've featured before!
Empires Mod was fantastic back in its heyday I played it a ton.
As a new sub, rye has to be one of the most wholesome dudes on this site. always so nice to the strangers in these dead games. Getting active with his community to try them. Good shit.
That was a really wholesome moment with you in Secret Wars!
That active worlds game blows my mind some of those builds are as old as me, truely amazing that they are still up and saved for us to look at. Found your content recently and have been loving a look into all these games, even found one new to me that I’m loving, thanks dude.
Парень легенда, сидит в мёртвой игре и играет КиШа и Летова
Guy is legend, he stays on dead game and playing songs
"КиШ" = " Король и Шут" (to anybody wondering)...
A big SPASIBO to those two Russian legends who helped you and sang songs! That's EXACTLY what gaming is all about and what we need more of in these times! Really wholesome and made my day!
Good kids. ❤️
The part about Active Worlds made my jaw drop. The fact that some of these objects were placed in the 90s, and are still there, is stunning to me. It's amazing, and yet sad, to know that so many people came together at these points in time, and have since moved on to who knows where, or are even deceased. It also makes me wonder how some of today's game might end up the same way someday.
Those two Russian Kids singing to him is now gonna be one of my all time best gaming things. Truly beautiful to witness.
Ok
Empires Mod was one of my most played games back in the day, and I still hop on at the weekends occasionally when I see the invites blasted out by all the regulars. It was literally an RTS and FPS combined and it worked so well, a genre many still wish for to this day... Each commander has a tech tree they can research, and it completely changes every match. Sometimes artillery is rushed and it just turns into mad artillery spam. And other times they have like nuke ammo tech, and the tanks just go crazy. It was such a good hectic game back in the day, and tbh still is.
Seeing a couple of what im assuming are either pre-teens or teens, playing a 20 year old game and willing teaching somebody how to play it instead of being the typical obnoxious internet twat is honestly quite refreshing. Hats off to them.
Thank you for this video. It makes me want to try out some of these games. Also, Active Worlds... it looks so old. But in a charming way. And it's great to see those people that played and have since passed away are still remembered.
I could totally see this become a huge series. Keep this coming dude i got a good feeling about it.
Seeing things in Active world build in '98 made me really understand how far it was, those buildings are as old as me
Any building starting with “19” is several years older than me. And i’m 22
@@daanstrik4293 I'm born in '98, it was a realization of how old I am
I actually played active worlds when I was a kid using our dialup internet. It took a long time for the world's to load in and basically all of the player avatars were restricted behind paywalls. There was some way to load up worlds you'd previously visited in an offline mode and you could use any avatar you wanted without paying. I used to download some worlds and then switch to the seagull avatar and you could actually free fly while using it, was pretty cool.
Pretty weird and interesting to see that Cursed, or Cuisine Royale despite being dead, became the foundation for Enlisted, same maps and same guns and even mechanics
From what i recall, they made Cuisine Royale as a sort of beta for the engine and mechanics/gameplay of Enlisted, so that was always the plan.
I quess good for them, but as someone who really enjoyed Cuisine Royale, i am sad at the state its in.
@@B0redZer0 As someone who used to play, yeah, they built Cuisine Royale as an April Fools thing to act as a testbed for Enlisted, and the beginning really leaned into that aspect. Purely the WWII weapons and kitchen themed armor/health items. Miss that time tbh
thats actually wild cuz Enlisted is fun, and ive been playing it alot
i noticed that as someone who plays enlisted alot
Interesting stuff! Never heard of this game but I play enlisted and I legit thought to myself the map and scenery look just like enlisted.
I'm officially calling it, Rye Games is the most humble/wholesome gamer on the internet!
I used to play Empires mod back in the day (12+ years ago) and I loved that game so much. There wasn't anything just like it.
When I played it there were multiple servers that had 50+ players almost always.
Sadly it started slowly dying and servers got to a state where you had to come in at specific times to be able to play with about 20 people :-( But I am happy to see the community is still there.
The "spooky action at a distance" nickname is actually the reference to Einstein's remark on "quantum entanglement" phenomenon in physics. Nice one 😇
But that's not what he was talking about
@@A_Stereotypical_Hereticyou look like you talk shit to people from your hometown on public Facebook posts
@@A_Stereotypical_Heretic you are right, my friend. I just humbly wanted to add the actual meaning of his nickname. Maybe i had to start with something like "on a side note: ....". My mistake 😇Thank you for your warning.
@@ozztelorman7057 no I meant that's not what Einstein meant when he said that.
@@OwnedEpicStyle I dont have Facebook my friend
This was the first video of yours I stumbled upon in my feed, I think after watching it I'll stick around. Wonderful content, wonderful voice.
You are doing wonderful work here, breathing even just a little fresh air into old games like these. Keep it up!
I used to play empires mod so much as a teenager I loved it so much. The FPS/RTS gente is sorely underutilised. It doesn't show it in this video but the commander plays an RTS style game placing buildings like barracks, war factories, base defences, as well as researching technologies for the highly customisable vehicles to the point where you can select how much armour you want on each side of your tank. Absolutely fantastic game and never found anything quite like it. Will definitely look into those game nights.
This genuinely breaks my heart in the worst ways, seeing these dwindling communities of people who grew up together playing games that for one reason or another end up losing players over time (usually due to developers trying to monetize them, though I can understand that as running servers isn't free). Happy to know that there's still people playing some of these classics.
There are many players in community who would be happy to host though, and having your game in that fashion where player's hosted servers are integrated can basically defeat the issue of not free servers.
really wholesome video, makes me nostalgic for things i didn't even play. :)) :3
Recent subscriber to the channel & don't know if you've done it yet but one that would fit this series would be Post Scriptum. Sadly a few months ago the devs pretty much have abandoned it and its now only one person. Which it's a shame because it's honestly one of the best games i've played in the past 10 years easily.
Only a couple hundred that play it now and its playerbase is sadly dwindling by the day.
The Medieval 2 gamer himself has commented
The community is still active and mainly peak on weekends, even recently there's been 100 player server with even a couple of weeks ago a clan tested and set up a 120 player server
It was essentially thrown into the dirt for Squad. Which sucks, but it makes sense I guess
Post Scriptum was absolutely fantastic, but sadly, compared to Hell Let Loose, the devs weren't half as invested in upkeep to keep their playerbase, and it shows. I played so much PS during its peak, I switched to playing mainly HLL a little over a year ago, and I see many players I met in PS running around, so I'm guessing that's where they all went.
Me and my buddy love squad we tried he’ll let loose and felt like it was too casual and encouraged too many people to play it like cod so we found post scriptum and thought it was awesome every so often my buddy brings up how sad it is that it’s a dead game
That kid with the git box was awesome.
Also it's great to see you're still doing this series. You have turned me on to a couple of games over the last few years and wanted to let you know that I appreciate what you do.
Loved the kids in Soldner. That was wholesome af. I used to play this when it just got out. Or tried to. Our internet was not the fastest. Lots of lagging while playing. But that game had so much weapons and vehicles, crazy. It also had a lot of mechanics that no other games had I think. That took me back.
please play
released on March 19, 1999
Recoil is a vehicular combat tank-based Microsoft Windows video game. It involves the player piloting an experimental tank known as the "BFT" (Battle Force Tank) through various missions. There is a heavy influence on collecting various weapons for the BFT throughout the game. It was developed by Zipper Interactive, a subsidiary of its parent publisher, Electronic Arts, and uses the same game engine as MechWarrior 3.
How wonderful to see empires mod, so good to see the community still playing. Convinced me to dl it again after all these years and check it out =]
There's something really wholesome about a game from 1995 still having active players, some of whom played it from the very beginning, while also being somewhat bittersweet due to some of them having died since then but being memorialized in the game so that they're never going to be forgotten. The fact that they would've experienced the relatively early days of the internet is cool to me, but I'm also a sucker for early 90s internet stuff since I grew up with tons of computers in the 90s and early 2000s. Old Mac OS/OS X and all that.
There is something so wholesome about seeking out games hanging by a thread and finding comradery with the few people who play it. I hope you continue to keep making this series
Great idea of the video,and the 2 guys were wholsome ,there are much more of those type of people
The song the kid was playing at 5:40 is named kukushka by kino, he's good at it too congrats to him
If you go into mouse settings and enable "Raw Mouse Input" it should let you use your mouse to look around in Ricochet. (I think all gold source games are like this)
not all, cs 1.6 and half life work fine out the box since theyve been updated, cant say the same bout poor old ricochet lmao
As a Russian I can confirm this boy has perfectly showed what Russians are really like
Orcs!
Да, очень хорошо детей ))
@@Nanachi_FLUFFI believe that and have met some really cool Russians but obviously attacking other countries does not put Russia in a good light. I wish we could all just get along and live in harmony.
Do you know the song?
@@Propaganda9112if you’re serious you need help
As an OG World of Warcraft player seeing a completely empty server where you're the only guy is honestly liberating, not depressing. Because for once you get to step away from the goal of the game and begin to start taking in the intricate details of what made that game so great besides the gameplay. Some games are a work of art and playing in an empty server is one way to weed out those kinds of games.
I didn’t even realize this was new😭😭😭
Same💀
It’s cause he uses very similar thumbnails for most of his videos
Those dude just hanging out inside a game is the kinda stuff community feeling/camaraderie I miss from so many games. It's so rare now
The active worlds part gave me such a weird feeling it’s so depressing seeing that time has gone by so fast and all those people probably have and memories they will never forget but it’s all lost to time
On the contrary. It's immortalised.
A memorial of their memories stands, now, decades later, for us to stumble across.
It's beautiful to see a game go through so many generations, but as it's expected of such a generational game, a lot of the people who build these monuments of memories, are no longer able to relive them.
the graveyard was creepy. bet some of these names are actually dead ppl
I remember half life 1’s 25th anniversary and the half life death match source numbers went up, and that was nice to see playing it bringing back memories from so long ago.
This video doesn't just give some love to the old games. It gives love to the small communities which still enjoy those games.
This has quickly become one of my favorite channels. I love the casual approach that Rye brings to every game he plays, it makes the experience much more wholesome and hilarious 😂
This feels like traveling to the least populated cities from a country and finding either no signs of people or a few wholesome people happy to meet someone new
A town near where my grandparents lived has, I think, 3- 5 residents.
There are maybe 25 people in maybe 9 square miles, out there
I played empiresmod a lot during its heyday. Theres a very high skill ceiling. A skilled squad could win the match completely by themselves. Its a hybrid rts/fps. In the classic maps, commanders can research vehicle upgrades that let you build better vehicles. It was really one of the best games I ever played.
Man, I used to play Empires Mod like 10 years ago, it was amazing and I'm happy to learn it's still somewhat active because it definitely deserves it. Another mod I sued to play that is dead these days is Eternal Silence, a science fiction mod with both fps combat and space flight.
15:49
I'm actually in that photo from one of the AW Anniversary group photos, right below Lazysuzy (The o was used as a signifier of being 'married' to another citizen). As someone who wasn't able to join SL for a period of time due to my age, I have quite fond memories of Activeworlds, and many of the people in it. I remember playing AW on 56k dialup and when I couldn't connect to the internet due to other family needing to use the phone, I could access the worlds in an offline mode. I had quite a few names on there, including Aelita and Rei (I was young and very unimaginative.. still kind of am.), but as much as I love Second Life these days, Activeworlds holds a special place in my heart.
Activeworlds as far as I am aware did, yes, paywall AW for a time, but they always offered a Tourist option, which I used for the longest time. The reason people left AW wasn't because of the paywalling - at the time Second Life (around 2003-2006) was pay to play (IIRC), requiring you to have a membership, until they rolled out SL Premium and allowed residents to play for free if they wished. The draw to SL was primarily two fold - the aging population of AW was starting to decay as it wouldn't be a year with four digits if it didn't have at least one of our older citizens passing away. I've been to and witnessed many in-world memorial builds, many of which dedicated to people who at least, lived long, happy lives, both in Activeworlds and IRL.
Secondly, and most importantly, Linden Lab, Second Life's creators, were outpacing Activeworlds in terms of capabilities - custom avatars that weren't dependent on the world (think like a game server) object path (essentially an FTP server that hosts the world's content) and/or commissioning a 3d artist to make a PAV (Personal Avatar), wouldn't come until the early 2010s, well after Second Life's rennaissance started to die off and it entered the state of normalcy it has now. Activeworlds' engine (which implements Renderware, a rendering engine that drove quite a few PS2-era games) is about as old, if not older, than the NetImmerse engine, which is at the core of Bethesda's latest Creation Engine 2, which drives Starfield.
The difference is that Rick Noll, CEO of AWI, failed to adapt and compete with Linden Lab, IMVU, and the various others who were following in their footsteps of building the metaverse following Worlds.com's failure and AWI's sizable success (for the time, keep in mind, this is before social media, period, and on the tail end of when BBSes were mainstream) and him and ChrisPeg, AWI's lead developer, were left to watch as AW withered away.
Could AW have avoided this fate? Probably not. It would have taken a lot of money and resources to keep AW competitive, and would even require changes to how AW worked to keep with the times - something that even if Rick had found investors or capital to engage in such an endeavor, probably wouldn't have gone over well with citizens.
Today Activeworlds is kept alive by a small, passionate community that maintains the platform in tandem with what remains of the more or less dormant AWI, Chrispeg included. Preserving Activeworlds is difficult, as it, much like websites of the era, relied on hotlinking to media outside of the AW servers, meaning that a lot of the content that was part of AW is gone, through no fault of AWI's.
If you wish to explore Activeworlds, I highly implore you to do so. It's a genuinely beautiful thing to experience a time capsule of the 90s and 2000s, even if it's not in perfect condition.
Also, fun fact - Metatropolis (World Name COFMETA (COF, being Circle of Fire Studios, AWI's former name)) was based on Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash, which serves as one of the big inspirations behind many of the virtual worlds people are in today, from AW, all the way to VRChat and media like Ready Player One.