What began as a feeling of despair, watching friend after friend be exiled from my first clan because they could not play enough, sparked the flame that would rise up and become Gaiscioch.
Now 24 years behind us and over 9,000 registered members strong, we have conquered the impossible, done the unimaginable, won awards, built our own magazine, streamed for thousands, and raised nearly $60,000 for children in need. We’ve slain dragons, killed the unkillable, broken records in the games we touch, and entertained the masses.
All the while being drawn together by a never-ending thirst for adventure! It’s remarkable what happens when you let people play how they want, when they want, for as long as they want, with who they want. Magic happens, and 24 years later, here we are.
Not a day goes by that I’m not proud of all of you. From distant shores to my own town, you’ve come, shared, and built this community.
The Road Ahead
For years, we have sailed the sea of MMORPGs searching for that new home. All the Islands we’ve come upon have been small and washed away into the deep blue. We saw the rise and fall of Bless, Gloria Victis Astellia, Elyon, Crowfall, Devillian, Defiance, Wildstar, Firefall, Tera, Echo of Soul, Swords of Legend, and, most recently, New World. While these games may be distant memories, we shared many great adventures within them, and for a time, we were entertained. But they all lacked that something to keep us coming back.
Game Developers have shrunk the size of guilds from Unlimited in RIFT, to 1000 in World of Warcraft, to 500 in Guild Wars 2, to 100 in Conqueror’s Blade, to 70 people in Throne & Liberty, and it’s likely this trend will continue. While the grandiose MMO of days past seems to be a distant memory, we have found ways to adapt and flourish. Through our adventures, we have continued our quest to unite people with similar passions.
Looking to our horizon, I am hopeful about our future and want to take us on yet another great adventure. The first major challenge I must face to get us there is the website we’ve used for 24 years. It has served us well, but like our games of days past, it too needs to look towards its next chapter.
Gaiscioch.com
I’ll be honest with you all. The site is in dire straits and needs to be rebuilt. It’s not going to be a fast process. When we had to make the PHP 4.5 to 7.1 jump over the course of a weekend, we glued things together the best we could, but with over 20 years of code piling up, this monster is slow and a nightmare to maintain.
With 24 years of history, this site has served us well, but it’s time to build for the future. To do that, I’m going to rip it down to the foundation and build it new.
Over the Holidays, I will be tearing it to the ground and rebuilding it. I’ve discussed what pieces we should keep with and aim to get restored asap, but other areas like the Tavern will be going away now that Discord has taken over most communication.
The core areas I plan to have online day 1 are the Event System, Leadership, and Fellowship. I also plan to rebuild how progression works in Gaiscioch. I’ve wanted to simplify the system for years, and this seems like a good chance.
I will do my absolute best to try to preserve what data I can, but we need to shrink the amount of disk space is required. If all goes well, the site should be lightning fast and not take 8+ seconds to load at times.
Gaiscioch: Year 25
This is a big year for us, and I plan to position us in a way that we can take on the next 25 in new, fun ways. The first and major change is a bit of a step back to our roots. I have decided I want to go back to the place that brought my passion for Irish Mythology to life and gave way to creating the Gaiscioch.
I plan to introduce the Gaiscioch School of Epic Adventure, which includes 5 houses, each with its own motif, theme, emblem, patron, and lore based on Irish Mythology and blended with our community’s culture. You’ll be able to participate in events from any one of the 5 houses and increase your ranks within those houses.
🔴 Warfare - Siege Warfare & Conquest
Patriarch: Lugh Lámfada
Examples: Conqueror’s Blade, Dark Age of Camelot, Warhammer Online, World of Warships, World of Sea Battle, Ashes of Creation, Camelot Unchained, Blood of Steel, Gloria Victis, Warborne Above Ashes, Anvil Empires, Albion Online
Focused on Territory Control, Siege Battles, and epic warfare.
🟢 Mysticism - Fantasy & Medieval
Patriarch: Nuada Airgetlám
Examples: Guild Wars 2, RIFT, Elder Scrolls Online, Black Desert, Soulframe, Chrono Odyssey, Aion 2, ArcheAge Chronicles, Scars of Honor, Fellowship, Blue Protocol, Throne & Liberty
Grand fantastical worlds that embrace magic, mythology, and history.
🔵 Discovery - Sci-fi & Exploration
Patriarch: Manannán mac Lir
Examples: Star Trek Online, Star Citizen, Dune Awakening, Ashfall, Jump Space, Deep Rock Galactic, Warframe, Once Human, Elite Dangerous, Warhammer 40K Darktide, Light No Fire, Secret World
Step into the unknown and brave the unexplored; these games will take you to the far reaches of the known universe.
🟡 Artisanship - Survival & Crafting
Patriarch: Goibinu the Smith
Examples: New World, Enshrouded, Valheim, Light No Fire, Rune 2, Pax Dei, Icarus, Conan Exiles, Portal Knights, Soulmask, Myth of Empires
These games tickle your creativity, encouraging you to dream and build, and touch the sky. Imagination is the limit, and together we dream big and build bigger.
🟣 Shadows - Tactics & Strategy
Matriarch: The Morrigan
Examples: Orcs Must Die, Hunters Inc, Delta Force, Caliber, Warface, Ghost Recon, Rainbow Six: Siege, Overwatch, Fortnite, Shatterline, Blood Bowl 2
Fast-paced, action-packed, sometimes requiring a little stealth, these games are focused on keeping your reflexes sharp and your instincts sharper.
Bringing it together
Overall, I wanted to infuse a little bit of lore into each style of game we play. Providing backstories and information about each of the patrons and stoking the fires of curiosity. In the end, Gaiscioch was born as a way to share a forgotten mythos with gamers, and I would really like it to return to being that platform. I was even thinking of possibly holding some storytelling events in Discord where people could come around the campfire and share their tales each week.
Each of these houses will earn you Experience by claiming events for the games within each house’s purview. This, in turn, builds your profile to show what types of games you lean towards. All of the Experience you earn will go towards your new and improved Gaiscioch rank.
Additionally, I have plans to create subsystems from each of these houses that will carry over to games outside of their particular house. At the end of the day, I plan to use this system to help tie players together by similar interests. Helping people who like to play certain kinds of games find others who enjoy the same type of games.
Year 25 Meetups!
I’m going to be looking for opportunities to celebrate our 25th year with all of you. I would like to schedule some meetups this year, so keep an eye out for where and when. If opportunity allows, we’ll make it happen!
In Closing
The road ahead is uncertain, but I am certain that we are going to have the grandest of adventures filled with laughter and joy. I look forward to sharing this adventure with all of you!
Foghladha
It will be awesome!