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Thinking of shutting down or reducing this site

Posted: Fri Feb 14, 2014 7:57 pm
by Arokhs Twin
It's been 12 years now since this web site launched and I think it has had a good run. There's virtually no interest in Drakan anymore and the traffic the site gets is getting smaller each year. I have tried to get more interest and discussions going in the general forums e.g the Skyrim topics but weeks have gone by and there has been absolutley no replies. These points and other problems are making me wonder whether this site is still worth my time and money - the advertising pays for the domain fees but not server costs. There are constant spam attacks on the server which takes up a lot of my time patching and banning IP's etc.

There is still interest in the other game though, Severance: Blade of Darkness which had a fan site under this domain but has been reduced to a sub forum only.

I significantly reduced server operating costs a year or so back when we switched from a Windows 2003 based web server to a CentOS Linux server but despite this I still feel that the cost of the server is too much considering the amount of traffic and interest the site gets. The site really could do with another major overhaul to bring it up to modern standards and I simply don't have the time or motivation to do it right now.

So my plans are to close down the site and move the forum to my personal webspace so at least Severance and Drakan discussions won't be lost. Ill also be adding some static info pages such as tech support docs etc. I might look at seeing if I can host the website at home from my NAS server and if so then this will allow me to keep the site running for a good number of years.

The domains expire in July so opinions / comments / suggestions please before then.

Re: Thinking of shutting down or reducing this site

Posted: Mon Feb 17, 2014 2:52 pm
by AXE
I completely see your point. It is sad but no-one comes around regularily other than a few of us.

I have a game server that no-one plays on, and if it wasn't hosted from home, it would not be running.

I tried quite a few years ago, with the BB to get a new game involved for the clan, but it never prospered. I had hopes for a multiplayer game called Dungeon Siege, but it went nowhere. If we could find a game that would fill this void, even to change forum name for it, then it would attrack more players towards seeing the small section for Drakan!

Question is, which game?

Skyrim, CoD, etc.

Even Drakan.co.nr has had very little activity in the past 4 mths, comes July I can understand going to a free domain name, and server. 8)

Re: Thinking of shutting down or reducing this site

Posted: Mon Feb 17, 2014 3:08 pm
by Arokhs Twin
I thought about Skyrim but there's a lot of forums out there for that game, COD also. If I can find a way of running the site without any or reduced costs then Ill keep it going.

I'm seeing if I can get the site running on my NAS box; its Linux based but it's not an x86 compatible CPU (it uses a PowerPC CPU) and therefore hard to install applications onto it. For example SQL server required for the forum and main site.

Re: Thinking of shutting down or reducing this site

Posted: Tue Feb 18, 2014 1:12 am
by AXE
http://ca.ign.com/games/elder-scrolls-o ... c-14216012

This might be my next game to get into! 8)

Re: Thinking of shutting down or reducing this site

Posted: Tue Feb 18, 2014 4:19 pm
by Arokhs Twin
Yeah, I've been looking at that but I don't have the time to be able to get the best out of the game or value for money from the subscription fee. I don't play MMO's for this reason but ESO might be the one to try if I can find the time when I'm not working.

Re: Thinking of shutting down or reducing this site

Posted: Sat Apr 05, 2014 8:29 pm
by GrullFaerieWitch
Don't shut it down, I just got here! D:

Re: Thinking of shutting down or reducing this site

Posted: Mon Apr 14, 2014 1:06 am
by Smile
Hello I just wanted to say before this site was shut down thank you so much for keeping this site running. I discovered Drakan TAG about 10 years ago and instantly was hooked to the game a few years latter I discovered Drakan (PC) and once again I was hooked. A few years ago I discovered this website and was once again thrown back into the world of Drakan. The stories and levels that you all created made me dig out my copy of both of the games and replay them all over again and still playing them into 2014! So I just wanted to say thank you for all of the effort and time that you guys put into this website, the mods, pictures and stories that made me smile as I remembered the games that they where based on. So for fear of rambling on Ill keep this short. Thank you for this amazing fan site its made me smile over the years.

Re: Thinking of shutting down or reducing this site

Posted: Mon Apr 14, 2014 5:56 pm
by Arokhs Twin
Thanks for your comments, although not many post here any more its good to know that people are reading the site and still getting enjoyment out of the games.

I haven't had much luck getting the full site to run on my server at home (the site itself runs fine, its just the forum) so I have had second thoughts. Ill renew the domain and hosting for another year then that gives me time to find a solution where I can host the site from home. That way it will just cost me 10.00 per year plus the electric costs of the server which won't be much.

If the worst comes to the worst Ill move the forum to my personal web space and have the main site running from home. This way the site will continue as-is but the forum URL will change.

Re: Thinking of shutting down or reducing this site

Posted: Tue May 06, 2014 3:45 am
by DragonRiderOmaga
please dont shut this site down i jsut found out about Drakan like a year ago and love it. please keep everything up i hate how games i love with dragons that are good and we can actually ride them no one likes anymore

Re: Thinking of shutting down or reducing this site

Posted: Sat May 17, 2014 3:27 pm
by cieply
as can be seen you want to preserve at least some part of forum/s
it seems to be inevitable and so I actually would encourage you to do whatever it takes to save what is worth and get rid of unnecessary or disturbing ballast

whatever you plan is your decision

I could only prompt something like for example domain alias (that would preserve domain) or some more efficient advertising system ( I am totally for clicking adverts as contribution for using the site (wherever it would be hosted) as I exactly know it costs and money is not only cost I speak of )

---

if you plan total shut down maybe archive.org could at least save what was already done here

anyway, don't know what to say eally... L)

Re: Thinking of shutting down or reducing this site

Posted: Fri Jan 23, 2015 1:32 pm
by TheOnlyLuca
Dear arokhslair.net!

I recently found my old original Drakan disk that i have got from our computer fixer very long time ago. I remember that i couldnt finish the game, i always failed with it, i just couldnt get to arokh (yes i couldnt finish the first level of the game, i always died)

But now, i am intrested in this game, and I find its story just perfect. It runs on windows 8.1 and i will try again my lost career to get trough this (hard ) game :)

I just want to tell you that your site is very nice, and i found very useful informations here, i have read all the stories, i liked them very much.

So again: Thank you for this site. I am so sorry that i didnt find this when its started.

Re: Thinking of shutting down or reducing this site

Posted: Fri Jan 23, 2015 5:26 pm
by Arokhs Twin
Glad you find the site useful and especially that you can get the game to work on Windows 8 - a lot of players gave up on the game because of problems on newer operating systems.

As for the site, I have managed to lower running costs further so the website will be around for a while longer. I'm still looking at moving the site to a server based at home but the amount of security I'd need to put on it and anti hacking / spam etc to keep undesirables out is putting me off. It's a lot easier to have the site running on a managed server in a datacentre somewhere and someone else does the admin of that.

I've also updated the forum software which should hopefully encourage users to stay.

Re: Thinking of shutting down or reducing this site

Posted: Sat Jan 24, 2015 7:24 pm
by TheOnlyLuca
Arokhs Twin wrote:Glad you find the site useful and especially that you can get the game to work on Windows 8 - a lot of players gave up on the game because of problems on newer operating systems.

As for the site, I have managed to lower running costs further so the website will be around for a while longer. I'm still looking at moving the site to a server based at home but the amount of security I'd need to put on it and anti hacking / spam etc to keep undesirables out is putting me off. It's a lot easier to have the site running on a managed server in a datacentre somewhere and someone else does the admin of that.

I've also updated the forum software which should hopefully encourage users to stay.
Dear Arokh's Twin!

So I started the game again, and now i am finished with the first level! (my 10 year old me would be so proud of me :D ) It will be a good adventure!
If you are searching for webhosting, i just made a website in here: http://www.hostinger.com/ or try this: http://www.000webhost.com/
All you need is to use subdomain for your site. (your choice, these are just ideas) :)

Have a nice day!

Re: Thinking of shutting down or reducing this site

Posted: Sun Jan 25, 2015 12:39 pm
by Arokhs Twin
Thanks for the suggestions but I use a webhost that is cheap and they offer a variety of services. The server allows me to install my own applications and has SQL server support - most don't or charge extra for this. The site runs on a shared server but the option is there to point the domain to my own server at home. My costs work out at about £3.75 a month which isn't bad at all.

Re: Thinking of shutting down or reducing this site

Posted: Wed Jan 28, 2015 12:29 pm
by assidragon
Whoa, this place is still around! A true blast from the past.

I run my servers at home and yeah, it's a lot of work, even when you automate the heck out of everything. That cost you mentioned doesn't sound too high - in fact, I think that's less than the double of my power costs, never mind depreciation.

Maybe we could organize a way to split the costs?