Free MMO Alganon -- Run By Derek Smart's 3000AD -- Currently Offline As It Migrates Servers

Jason Winter
By Jason Winter, News Editor Posted:
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Alganon 11

Remember Alganon? If you don't, that's no big surprise. It launched in late 2009 to little fanfare, replaced its lead designer, went free-to-play, and ... well, was mostly forgotten. The last time we wrote about it on this site was 2011, two years before even I came aboard.

Well, now it's gone. But it will be back soon, supposedly, thanks to one of MMO gaming's most infamous figures.

According to Gamasutra, Alganon has been offline since November, but a Jan. 16 post on the game's Steam discussion board by the developer says that it will be back "as soon as we are done with the on-going process" of migrating the servers. That's taking a while because many of the servers are old, dating back to 2006: "some were dead, need maintenance, running older versions of Windows Server etc."

All this would be semi-interesting enough, even given Alganon's very low player population, except that the company behind the move is 3000AD, which is operated by Derek Smart. If you're not aware, Smart is one of the most vocal critics of Star Citizen -- which is certainly a game that deserves some criticism -- but Smart's blistering attacks on the game, as well as his insistence that he could do it better and willingness to wade into comment threads to fight with gamers, have hardly endeared him, even to the anti-SC crowd.

As for his history with Alganon, he apparently convinced its previous owner to force its original designer out so he could take over. There were lawsuits, along with an Alganon press release that was almost lifted whole cloth from Star Wars: The Old Republic, and ... well, this Reddit post sums up some of the shenanigans. Warm up your popcorn.

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About the Author

Jason Winter
Jason Winter, News Editor

Jason Winter is a veteran gaming journalist, he brings a wide range of experience to MMOBomb, including two years with Beckett Media where he served as the editor of the leading gaming magazine Massive Online Gamer. He has also written professionally for several gaming websites.

More Stories by Jason Winter

Discussion (3)

Forgetme Knot 6 years ago
Derek who?

ninetenduh 6 years ago
Derek Smart, kinda a fitting game for a failed developer like him, Alganon never had anything that could be considered a player base, an average of 1-4 for a year. You might say his name is Vaporware.

rickshaw 6 years ago
I remember Derek smart he had very innovated ideas for his AD space games, they were very complex, I remember playing them, Derek has great skills, ideas & coding skills, his attempts at lone ventures was really hard to bare, with gritted teeth I tried to support his efforts as much as possible till it all vanished.
Its a shame that Derek never tried the kickstarter thing, maybe his ideas would of done well with loads of cash & community help. As in all cases, when you are lone developer its a lot better with a team and some consistent finance.
I am not a kickstarter fan but Derek Smart was one guy in the gaming world who I would of benefited incredibly by its helping hand & leg up.


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