The DRC's Cancellation of the Restoration of D'ni

This notice was posted on February 4th, 2004, on the DRC web site. I am copying it here in full.
As you know, I am not a man of many words and so I will be both direct and brief today. The restoration effort is canceled. While the DRC came to this conclusion some time ago, we have held off on a public announcement, in hope that our early conclusions were not necessarily true and alternatives could be found. They were not. Dr. Watson has still not returned, funding has dried up, and we are left with no choice.

As a result, the cavern will be closed to all visitors within a week. The DRC will continue to maintain a small presence while we close the restoration site down and remove what equipment we can. We never intended on making such an announcement and all of us at the DRC are as disappointed as we assume you are.

I am not going to make an attempt to counter such news with spin or contrived good news, but I will say this, though I never thought I would: many of you have already met the woman who calls herself Yeesha. You have seen her powers - abilities that are far beyond our own. Perhaps, there is more that she has for us. Perhaps there are still ways some of you may be able to see D'ni. Perhaps she can do what we could not. Perhaps there is hope.

Thank you all for your patience and support. We are extremely saddened that we could not reward such faith with a restored and prosperous D'ni.

Sincerely,

Dr. Ikuro Kodama


Cyan's Cancellation of Uru Live

This notice was posted on February 4th, 2004, on Cyan's web site. I am copying it here in full.
Uru Live fans and friends,

Thank you so much for your continued support of the worlds that are Myst and Uru. It has truly been wonderful immersing ourselves along with you in the ongoing adventure, following your comments - good and bad - as you explored Uru Live.

I have some good news and some bad news.

First, the bad news...

Uru Live is being put to bed.

Even with all of the time, money, resources, code, people, sweat, and heart that were poured into Uru Live, we needed a certain number of subscribers to pay the bills. We didn't get there. Uru Live is innovative and unique; its online universe is one of the most beautiful and complex ever built, anywhere. The idea of ongoing content was dramatic and forward-looking, but it required a substantial continuing effort to sustain. We were just not able to sign up the number of subscribers (even for free) necessary to pay for that effort.

Now for the good news...

The soul of Uru Live will live larger.

The soul of Uru Live came in two parts: the community and the content. Both will live on. Nothing can kill the community - it has a life of its own. The Call and the Gathering of the community will continue. And the content - what can I say? We have it, large amounts of it, ready to expand the world of Uru. In the past weeks we've been hard at work packaging that content in a different, more inclusive form - expansion packs - the first of which will be available in a month or two. Even better, the first expansion pack, To D'ni, is free. And there's more good news on inclusivity. I'm pleased to officially announce that the Mac version of Uru is finally under way.

It would be easy to focus on the negative aspects of this announcement. But we've grieved our loss, and with clearer minds we see things in a different light. The fact is that the continuing Uru adventure is amazing. The story and places it reaches are spectacular. And in the long run, we want as many people as possible to experience and explore these new worlds. The closing of Uru Live actually gives us the opportunity to open these expanding worlds to a larger audience, including those people without broadband. Only a small portion of the people who played Uru ever made it to D'ni in Uru Live. Now everyone can get to D'ni - and beyond.

Again, perhaps the ending has not yet been written.

Shorah,

Rand and the Cyan Worlds Team


Last updated February 4, 2004.

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