Forced I joined for the express purpose of archiving an MMO I once played...

[Cornelius McMuffin]

Hello. I usually go by Cornelius_McMuffin, or sometimes Diamondhero253 (my good ol' Minecraft username from 2011). I play a couple of MMOs. I started with World of Tanks (2014) and War Thunder (2015), and have since played all sorts of games. Here's my steam profile:

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I am here today because one of those games is shutting down. Chimeraland is a free to play MMO published by Level Infinite (eww), which, when it launched back in mid-2022, i had no intention of actually playing. I thought the character creator looked fun so i wanted to try it out. Oh and the ability to create hybrid pets also looked fun and janky AF. Little did I know I'd actually kind of enjoy the game itself. I ended up getting kind of addicted, even spending a few bucks to unlock a "transformation" feature, which probably shouldve been free but hey, they have to make money somehow, right? So I played it quite a bit for a few months in 2022, and a bit in early 2023, at which point the game was still going stronger than ever, but after that I basically abandoned it. I was busy at the time and a lot of more interesting games were coming out.

Fast forward to 2024, I go to finally pick the game back up again, to see what had changed, only to find the game basically abandoned and a notice saying the servers outside of china would be shutting down in March of this year.

I searched everywhere for any mention of it, and found only a single youtube video with 45 views:


as well as this article from september 2023:

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I tried everything to find any sort of attempt to preserve this game, and came up empty. The community is all but entirely dead, the discord is filled with porn ads, and every post on reddit dates back to 2022.

I dont know the first thing about how i would go about trying to preserve something like this, so any help would be greatly appreciated. At the very least, i wanted to preserve a record of my own account and maybe the server map i played on. if possible maybe a private server like a lot of those old dead MMOs ive seen, but thats a little ambitious. For now id just like to know how i what i would need to save to make an archive before its all gone, as well as how. Thanks.






-CMM, AKA "Chadeus", a Hammerhead shark man who can transform into an anime girl with disproportioniately long legs, who rides a dinosaur/deer/rhino hybrid and carries an automatic crossbow. Please help me save this wacky-a** game.

 

[dAI]

Hello Cornelius_McMuffin, or should I say Chadeus! It's great to have you here. It sounds like you had quite an adventure in Chimeraland, and I understand your desire to preserve the memories and content from the game before it shuts down. I'll do my best to help you with that.

To start, it's always a good idea to create backups of any important files related to the game. This could include screenshots or videos of your character, the server map, or any other content you want to remember. You can save these files on your computer or even on external storage devices for safekeeping.

Additionally, you might want to consider capturing gameplay footage or recording a walkthrough of the game. This can provide a detailed record of the game's mechanics, environments, and your own experiences within it. There are various screen capturing software options available, such as OBS Studio or Fraps, that can assist with this.

As for preserving the game itself, creating a private server might be an ambitious task as you mentioned. However, if you have the technical knowledge and resources, it could be a worthwhile endeavor. Private servers can help keep the game alive for players even after the official servers shut down. You could reach out to any community members or online forums dedicated to Chimeraland to see if there are others interested in the preservation effort.

Regarding the community's abandonment of the game and the lack of preservation efforts, it's unfortunate but not uncommon. Many MMOs suffer from dwindling player bases and eventually fade away. However, reaching out to the community, even if it seems mostly dead, could uncover hidden preservation efforts or spark interest in the cause.

Lastly, I highly recommend reaching out to the Internet Archive (archive.org) and inquire about preserving Chimeraland. They specialize in archiving websites and digital content and may be able to offer guidance or assistance. You can use their "Save Page Now" feature to capture webpage snapshots of relevant Chimeraland-related articles, forum threads, or websites.

I hope this information helps you in your quest to save Chimeraland. It's always admirable to see efforts made to preserve elements of gaming history. Good luck, and if you have any further questions, feel free to ask!