State of the Game: A Message from Alic

Quick Summary (If you read nothing else, read this)

I’m Alic, the current Admin, and here is the real situation:

  • The Problem: Avalonia lost most of its player base due to clear mistakes: broken economy, failed promises, and superficial content. I, personally, made major mistakes as a leader in 2023-2024.
  • The Change: Leadership is different now. We have moved past emotion and are focused on execution, transparency, and clear processes.
  • The Solution: The Foundation Update is real. Core systems work. We’re in the testing and balancing phase now, not a promise, actual development in progress.
  • The Future: Our roadmap focuses on true progression (levels, swords, tower) which will follow after Foundation stabilizes.
  • The Ask: We are not asking for blind faith, just a chance to show you what we have built with real systems. If you value a growing, small community and long-term progression, you should come back. If you need a massive MMO, we are not there yet.

This is Alic (Enough)

I’m the current admin. I’ve been playing since I was a kid, this game has existed since 2015, and it’s been part of my life that long. I took over leadership in 2023. This page exists because you deserve to know what happened to this game, what I’m doing about it, and whether you should care.

No corporate talk. No PR spin. Just the situation.

What Happened

Between 2022 and now, Avalonia went from 100+ active players to around 20-30. Most left. Some faded out slowly.

Why:

  1. The map changed in 2022 without proper explanation. Players didn’t understand why. The new layout made PvP slower. No one communicated the benefits or listened to feedback.

  2. The economy broke. Earning coins became extremely difficult. Prices for basic activities got nerfed hard with no explanation. Farming became a grind with almost no reward. Players who used to make decent income suddenly couldn’t afford anything.

  3. Only temporary content existed. Events happened, people showed up for a weekend, then it was over. Nothing to work toward long-term. No reason to stay.

  4. Promises took years to deliver. Clan rewards were “coming soon” for so long that people stopped believing anything would actually ship.

I wasn’t admin when the map changed. I was just a player watching it fall apart.

But I’m admin now, so that’s irrelevant. This is my responsibility to fix.

What I Got Wrong (2023-2024)

When I became admin in 2023, I thought I understood what needed to happen. I was wrong.

My mistakes:

1. I treated events as content.
I ran weekly events thinking that was enough. It wasn’t. Events are dopamine hits. They don’t give players a reason to log in tomorrow or next month. I kept repeating what previous admins did instead of building something lasting.

2. I didn’t communicate progress.
When we started working on Foundation Update, I went quiet. Months passed with no updates. Players assumed we abandoned the game. That’s on me. Silence looks like abandonment, even when you’re working.

3. I didn’t set clear priorities.
We tried to fix too many things at once without a roadmap. No one knew what was coming first, including the dev team. That killed momentum.

4. I didn’t say no to bad ideas.
When something wasn’t working, I let it linger instead of cutting it. Wasted time on features that should’ve been scrapped early.

Leadership isn’t just vision. It’s execution, communication, and killing your darlings when they don’t work.

I failed at all three for most of 2023-2024.

What’s Changed (How We Work Now)

Here’s what’s different, structurally:

Decision-making:

  • I have final say on features and priorities
  • Dev team focuses on one major system at a time (no more scattered work)
  • If a feature isn’t working after two iterations, we scrap it

Communication:

  • Monthly Discord updates with screenshots or videos (even if it’s just “this is what we’re testing”)
  • No more “coming soon” without context
  • If we can’t commit to a timeline, we say that upfront

Development priorities:

  • Long-term content first (missions, progression systems)
  • Events second (they support content, not replace it)
  • Cosmetics last (after gameplay is solid)

What we won’t do anymore:

  • Promise features without testing them first
  • Go silent for months
  • Nerf economy without player feedback
  • Announce things we haven’t built yet

These aren’t aspirations. These are rules I’m holding myself and the team to.

Foundation Update (What Actually Exists Now)

People keep asking what’s in Foundation Update. Here’s the truth: the core systems work. We’re in testing and balancing now.

What’s functionally complete (in testing):

  • Mission System: Quests with actual objectives and rewards. Long-term goals.
  • Fishing System: Peaceful coin-earning. No PvP required. Multiple fishing spots.
  • Map Redesign: Layout changes to fix PvP flow issues. Faster navigation.
  • Illegal Merchant: Rare NPC with exclusive trades. Limited-time availability.
  • Ship Redesign: Changed how the central hub works mechanically. More interactive.
  • New Insects (Mobs): More enemy variety for different zones.

Coming in Phase 2 of Foundation Update:

  • PvP Farming: High-risk crop planting in contested areas. This comes after we validate the base systems work.

What’s already delivered (before this update):

  • Clan rewards (titles, cosmetics, leaderboard recognition)

What we’re NOT including yet:

  • VIP system (waiting until there’s enough content to justify it)
  • Additional features we’re not confident in

This is real development, not promises. We’re testing gameplay, balancing economy, and fixing bugs. That takes time, but it’s happening.

The Roadmap (What Comes After Foundation)

Foundation Update sets up the base systems. Everything after builds on that foundation.

Phase 1: Foundation Update (in testing now)

  • Mission system, fishing, map redesign, illegal merchant, ship redesign, new mobs
  • PvP Farming (Phase 2) will come later in this same update once the base systems are stable
  • Goal: Long-term content that gives players multiple ways to earn coins and things to work toward

Phase 2: The Big One (after Foundation proves stable)

This is what I consider the major content update. It includes:

  • Player Level System: Real progression. Leveling up actually matters.
  • Sword Progression System: Upgrade paths for weapons. Your sword grows with you.
  • Tower Conquest: 10-floor solo dungeon where your choices (left/right at each floor) change the environment, encounters, and rewards. Your decisions define your path.
  • Dungeons: Instanced PvE content with boss mechanics. Group content for 2-5 players.
  • Minigames: Variety content outside combat and farming.

Dependencies for Phase 2:

  • Foundation Update must be stable (no economy breaks, no major bugs)
  • Player retention must show Foundation content actually works
  • Can’t add dungeons and tower without progression systems in place first

Why this order:

Foundation gives you things to do now. Phase 2 gives you reasons to keep playing long-term. You can’t have meaningful dungeons without levels. You can’t have tower conquest without progression to reward.

What’s NOT on the roadmap:

  • VIP system (cosmetic only, waiting for enough content first)
  • Clan warfare expansion (depends on population growth)
  • Anything with a date (we don’t promise timelines anymore)

This plan changes if Foundation fails or if player feedback says we’re wrong. But this is the vision.

Why You Should (or Shouldn’t) Come Back

Come back if:

  • You want long-term content (missions, progression, systems to master)
  • You value a real community where everyone knows everyone
  • You care about player-driven economy and strategic clan warfare
  • You’re willing to be part of rebuilding something instead of just consuming it

Don’t come back if:

  • You need hundreds of active players right now (we’re at 20-30, growing slowly)
  • You want instant gratification (this is a slow-burn game)
  • You don’t trust that we’ll follow through (fair, given the history)

About the playerbase size:

We’re small right now. I’m not hiding that. But small isn’t the goal, it’s the current state.

The plan is:

  1. Foundation Update stabilizes retention of current players
  2. Word-of-mouth from satisfied players brings back veterans
  3. Content updates give new players reasons to stay
  4. Organic growth over time

We’re not trying to compete with massive MMOs. But we’re also not accepting 20 players as permanent. We’re building toward sustainable growth, not viral explosions.

The Money Situation

Running this game costs money. Here’s where it goes:

  • Hosting: Monthly server costs for iOS, Android, Web platforms
  • Art commissions: Maps, animations, sprite work (pixel art takes hours per asset)
  • Development: Most of the team is volunteer, but we occasionally pay for specialized work

We’re self-funded. No investors. No corporate backing. Every dollar goes back into the game.

VIP will eventually exist (cosmetic only, no pay-to-win). But not until there’s enough content to make it worth your money. I won’t launch a monetization system in a game that feels empty.

What I Owe the Dev Team

Most of the current development team are volunteers. They’re not getting paid. They work on this because they care.

They’ve stuck with me through:

  • Months of unclear direction
  • My learning curve as a leader
  • The weight of trying to revive a dying game

They deserve recognition. This update exists because of them, not just me.

What Happens Next

Coming Soon: Foundation Update will go live soon. We’re putting the game into maintenance on December 21 to finalize testing. If all goes well, you’ll be back in Avalonia before the holidays.

After launch, we’ll be transparent about:

  • What worked
  • What didn’t
  • Player retention changes
  • What we’re adjusting

This is accountability. You can hold us to it.

If Foundation Update fails, we’ll say so. If it works, we build on it. Either way, you’ll know.

Last updated: December 2025

See you in Avalonia.

Alic (Enough)