The subject line read T4C Realmud. Two words I hadn't seen in ages, yet two words I knew very well.
T4C, short for The 4th Coming, was the very first MMO I ever played - way back in 1998.
An isometric 2D Diablo-esque RPG that was every bit as addictive as its offline brethren, T4C forever changed the way I saw online games. My first online quest. My first online guild. My first level grind. This game introduced me to all of it, and it grew as I did. I played The 4th Coming on and off for nearly seven years, from 1998-2005, and in those years I experienced some of my fondest RPG moments that to this day have yet to be equaled.
However, like many smaller MMOs back in the dark ages of online gaming, things changed for the worse once the Brazilians "invaded". Where there was once serious roleplay and deep discussion, there was now only huehuehuehue.
Said invasion, coupled with the rise of big budget 3D MMOs like World of Warcraft, led T4C server providers to start dropping like flies.
Yet Dialsoft, one of the owners of the original few servers (Realmud) held fast. Its owner downsized the player base and did the only thing he could think of to keep the game going - he bought the entire franchise.
In 2006 Canadian developer/publisher Vircom officially turned all rights to T4C over to Mark "Rambone" Frega of Dialsoft so that he could keep this classic MMO alive forever, and if this email is any indication, apparently he has.
My nostalgia meter has officially gone to 11. Here I sit in 2012, staring at a letter in my inbox, unsure of how to respond. I even know the name of the GM who wrote it, I can't believe he's still there!
Dare I ask? Are there any T4C players out there who remember these dark days of MMO infancy? Are your memories as fond as mine? And like me, even after nearly a decade away, are you only a few clicks away from being hopelessly addicted all over again?
I think I'll reply to that email now. I think I'll send along a link to this article. Maybe I'll even drop by Realmud and say hi. I hope I can make it onto the server. I hope to see my friends again and PVP. I hope the mana potions are as blue as they've been in my dreams. I hope.