Nexus: The Kingdom of the Winds, which is also known as Nexus TK and simply Nexus, is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game which takes place in a medieval-type fantasy environment.
Nexon Inc. started developing the game in 1994 in Korea's KAIST computer lab, where it was known as 바람의 나라 (Baramue Nara or Baram). The game's source code was based on a MUD Jake Song had developed earlier in the Objective-C programming language. Nexus was launched commercially in April 1996. The game then reached the United States market that year as a beta version and went commercial in 1998. Due to its origin, the game environment is greatly influenced by Korean culture.
In April 2005, the US division of Nexon Inc. split from the head branch. They renamed their new company Kru Interactive, and still own and operate the NexusTK, Dark Ages, and Shattered Galaxy games.
The game itself takes place in a fictional world based on the Three Kingdoms of Korea. The game mostly takes place in the kingdoms of Koguryo and Buyeo (Buya), and also in Nagnang, which is a province of Han (China).
The player chooses his or her character's appearance and eventually chooses one of many paths (classes): Warrior, Mage, Rogue or Poet, once the fifth level is reached. Unlike a lot of other games, a character's progress isn't limited to a certain number of levels. After the character reaches level 99 in Nexus, players still have an almost infinite amount of progress that can be made. They can trade their experience points for additional hit-points, magic-points, might, will, and grace. Eventually players will gain ranks like Wasabi, Enchanted and Super Wasabi. Players can also partake on challenging quests to gain significant "marks," such as Il san, Ee san and Sam san (based on the Sino-Korean numbers and then the word "san," which means "mark" in Korean). These "marks" allow players to break a ceiling on their characters' advancement, provide the player with unique items, and much more.
Players will encounter a number of quests throughout the game, such as the Armor quests (Star, Moon, and Sun), the White Moon Axe quest, the Staff of the Elements quest, and the Nagnang Shield quests. There are also quests set by the player-run subpaths (see below) for special awards and legend marks, and special GM-run events also typically feature quests for rewards of legend marks and items.
Subpaths
Along the character's life, he or she may join any of four subpaths available to their path -- one non-player controlled subpath, and three player-controlled subpaths, often referred to as NPC and PC, respectively. To join one of the NPC subpaths, the character must sacrifice experience and items. To join one of the PC subpaths, the character must get accepted by a guide (a player holding a significant position within said subpath, assigned by the "Elder," or leader), who will teach the character who seeks to "walk" their path the ways of that path. Players are then typically required to complete many tests assigned by that guide for the "walker" (applicant) to complete.
PC subpaths are entirely maintained by the players who are part of that subpath. Each month, subpaths are required to hold a number of events and provide game content as a condition of retaining their Circles (subpath meeting rooms), spells, subpath-specific items, and their subpath itself.
These requirements were instituted by the GM a number of years ago, becoming what is known to Nexus players as "the "Quota". The Quota required the roleplaying subpaths to have a minimum number of players active in their subpath at all times, a number that started out at roughly triple the current membership of the subpath and was increased, step by step, to a mandatory 10% of all characters of that path. (that is, at least 10% of all rogues had to be in the Spy subpath, etc.) Many of the people who had created and built the subpaths and their roleplay were upset by this, claiming that opening the roleplaying subpaths to virtually anyone who wanted their items and spells would ruin the subpath roleplay. Most notably, the Shadow Elder refused to comply with the Quota and instead disbanded the Shadow subpath. Shortly afterwards, the new Ranger subpath was created to replace now-defunct Shadows.
There is still, years later, much controversy over the Quota and whether or not it has harmed the roleplaying environment of Nexus. Since it is entangled with the many other factors which have contributed to a decline in roleplaying, such as the shifting demographics of the players, competition from other games, support or lack thereof by the GM, etc., it may be impossible to ever accurately determine what damage, if any, the Quota actually caused.
Many of the players of Nexus consider Rogues and Warriors who are members of NPC subpaths to be "fighters," and Rogues and Warriors who are in PC subpaths to be "roleplayers." This erroneously suggests that only people who are in PC paths may roleplay and only people in NPC paths may fight. This view comes from the difference in the fighting abilities of Warrior and Rogue PCs and NPCs. The NPC subpaths do usually predominate among "power-hunters" -- especially the Warrior and Rogue NPC subpaths -- due to their higher killing power, and NPC subpath Mages have an edge in power and desirability in a group over PC subpath Mages (though not as high as that of the melee classes). Poets are the exception to this pattern, in that the PC subpath poets have abilities making them equal to -- and in one or two cases superior to -- the NPC subpath for groups, due to the fact that healing spells they depend on are available to all subpaths equally. It may be argued that the NPC subpath poets have an advantage in solo hunting, especially boss hunting. However, the existence of PC subpath members at the highest levels of the game shows that this is not an insurmountable difficulty.
PC subpaths have a variety of different spells and items related to their path's roleplay, though most of those spells are "special effect" spells and most of the items are simply graphics with no real battle-ready "stats" (or by design less powerful "stats" than items available to all players). The NPC subpaths have fewer spells, but all of the spells granted are for practical use; also, players in NPC subpaths are granted an exclusive weapon which is generally superior to any available to the PC subpaths. Over time, Nexon has continued to add spells and items to the different PC subpaths as an incentive for their compliance with the member quota, production of in-game events, etc.
The subpaths are:
Mage: Ju Jak (NPC); Diviner (PC); Geomancer (PC); Shaman (PC)
Poet: Hyun Moo (NPC); Druid (PC); Monk (PC); Muse (PC)
Rogue: Baekho (NPC); Merchant (PC); Ranger (PC); Spy (PC); Shadow (PC, Disbanded)
Warrior: Chung Ryong (NPC); Barbarian (PC); Chongun (PC); Do (PC)
History
The Cataclysm - July 1, 1998
The end of Beta, the free test period before the formal launch of the game, was a day known to Nexus players as the Cataclysm. As is typical at the end of such beta tests, items were wiped, item availability was changed, and in many other ways the game shifted from test mode to its full commercial format. At 2 am on June 22, Nexon took away from the players 91 different items, and all players' gold was set to 1,000. The most effective armor types: Sun, Moon and Star armor, were removed from NPC merchants. Great dragons attacked the kingdom. There was no hope. Dozens of players fell to these mighty beasts.
After the Cataclysm, the free test period was over and players had to subscribe to continue playing. Many did not wish to pay for a game they had been testing for free, and so they were never seen in the land again.
The Reckoning - November 29, 1998
Nexon added a brand new feature -- exchange. There was a bug. Money wouldn't be taken from Player A until the exchange was complete, but money would be given to player B before it was. Players were tying enormous amounts of money into the exchange box, and then hitting cancel. Their friend made money, they lost none.
Soon, trillions of coins flooded into the Nexus. The economy was in chaos.
Nexon cought on fast, but couldn't fix it.
Players awoke on the 31st to this message:
Dear Citizens of the Nexus: We sincerely apologize for the major bug that allowed players to produce a massive amount of illusive money in the game. For the last 2 days, we tried to deal with this problem, but the economy was ruined beyond repair. We've come up with a painful resolution, The Reckoning, to deal with this situation. 1. There will be no change to your attributes or xp. 2. Your items will be as of the night of November 29. 3. Your total gold will be 1000 coins of level 11 or greater and 0 coins otherwise. We accept responsibility for what has occurred and offer 2 days of free time to your account. Further explanation can be found on Dream Weaver. Again, we apologize.
Famous Celebrity Players in Nexus: Kingdom of the Winds
One of the most prominent features of NexusTK is that unlike the majority of MMORPGs, it has a small community of less than 3,500 players and there is only one game server. This has allowed "celebrity players" to emerge from the woodwork, which is something not seen as much in other MMORPGs. There are players who are idolized and deeply respected by a vast amount of the game's population, and this admiration can last well after these famous players have since left the game.
An example of a famous player was CalmWind, who was the first Warrior to reach 1 million vitality (hit) points. He was also the strongest player in the game for several years and was also a prominent crafter, and mastered many of the crafting skills.
A player can gain a well known reputation in ways that do not involve power-hunting, however. The individuals who founded the player-controlled subpaths are regarded as legendary heroes by many, such as MaDog of the Chonguns and Greta of the Monks. Even those Elders who have succeeded the original founders of the subpaths have gained grand reputations for the manner in which they lead their roleplaying organizations and aid the community. Some examples are the Monk Elder Devion and the Merchant Elder Paladino.
Some players have also gained a legendary status by fighting for the rights of other players whom they feel are being treated unfairly. One of these individuals was the warrior DarkMaverick, who petitioned Nexon GMs for years to give Warrior characters a better version of the "Whirlwind" spell, which many felt had unfair penalties associated with it. Eventually, this request was granted.
Another example would be Worldwalker, who is well-known for her Community Board lectures towards "grief players" who enjoyed harassing new players to the game. She is noted for having actually "reformed" some of these griefers into prominent and constructive players, who in turn became famous in their own right.
A character known as Genji has plagued the company with his unique brand of service to the players. He would reveal identities of secret characters, write up scandals, draw adult images about the game; all which caused embarassment (or annoyance) to the company and to its players. This individual had caused so much trouble to both company and players that his name is both feared and admired.
Others gain fame for their wealth, expecially when it comes to those who possess the handful of rare items. A prime example is the rogue Tiffy, who owns the sole Chaos blade, the strongest level 99 weapon in the game.
Finally, others became cult heroes for their remarkable player-killing skills in the team player-killing tournaments known as Carnages, which are held several times daily in NexusTK. Some examples are the mage DzastaM, Nitehawk, Chica, Chongun, Mountie and Hance.
This is hardly a complete list of worthwhile players to mention, but these are some which stand out in my mind for different spectacular things they did in the game world. Due to the actions of many famous players, however, NexusTK has an extrodinary depth to the history of its world which is largely constructed by the actions of hundreds of influential players who have worked hard to build a true virtual community in cyber-space.
NexusTK Under Kru Games
In late 2004, Sang-Baek "Scott" Lee (known within the game as "Wony") -- the original manager of Nexon US when the game was first released -- formed his own independent company and bought the assets of the US division of Nexon Inc. from Nexon. In April 2005, he announced the name of the new company as Kru Interactive. Kru Interactive owns and operates the NexusTK, Dark Ages, and Shattered Galaxy game servers. This announcement brought stability at the end of a period of concern after the sudden dismissal of the previous Nexus GM, who went by the in-game name Eldridge. Before Eldridge signed off for the last time, he made a series of announcements and message board posts claiming that the game would receive no further updates and would be left to die of attrition. Mr. Lee almost immediately logged in on his avatar, introduced himself to the players, and removed the posts made by Eldridge. Eldridge's predictions were proven to be invalid when the game was updated with a Jewelry craft, the completion of the "Staff of the Elements" player quest, and the release of a new event launching a war with a shapeshifting race; in addition, an entire new release of the game client is forthcoming.
Wony is assisted as Game Master by Marama, a longtime player filling the role of head Archon (or assistant GM), and several other Archons. It is important to point out that all Archons are in fact players who volunteer to help with administration activities inside the game, much like Assistant GMs in other MMORPG games; as volunteers, they are not paid for their services. They manage the subpaths and clans, make and enforce the rules of conduct for the community, run special events, and act as a conduit for information to and from the GM and the company. The identities of the players granted these "immortal" (Archon) characters are by game law anonymous in order to give them the freedom to make impartial decisions and allow them to play their "mortals" (normal characters) without being constantly pestered with questions and requests about matters their Archons are in charge of. Archons can be compared to the various types of assistant admins in MUDs, though lacking the powers to create and modify game content themselves that MUD wizards generally have.
External links
- Nexus: The Kingdom of the Winds official website
- Kru Games website
- Nexus atlas, the largest Nexus fansite
- NTK, a Nexus news site
- [1] Just-RPG Review of Nexus: The Kingdom of the Winds