A new leak of a 2018 server build of TERA made its way to the surface recently (it’s a RageZONE exclusive courtesy of one of the RZ TERA communities main contributor, Archgeus). I just happened to check the forum a few days ago (after having spent the past year away from a lot of that stuff), and saw that he was releasing the official server binaries for EME (En Masse Entertainment) v71.03 which he had managed to get ahold of earlier (but was withholding since the server datasheets were missing). In just the last few days however, someone sent him those critical files (as the forum post says, “don’t ask”).
He also created a virtual machine with everything in place (new Web API and Steer Box components) which allows most folks to get up and running really quickly.
Patch v71.03 is before the level cap was increased to 70, and has the older Arsenal gear system (basically Guardian through Heroic Oath). It also has the older client UI. It’s also just before the aerial Guardian Legion missions were added (so it has the skywhale performing its leisurely cruise over Val Aureum before exiting out to the abyss). Yes, there are merits to getting older builds (more on that below).
While this one happens to be an older build, I look at each one of these as an archived preservation of the game (more so now that the PC version no longer operates officially). Older patches for example have game systems that were disabled/had their functionality actually removed (Crusades and Alliances being prime examples) in later builds. What I hope to see for example, are those builds (as well as the older ones with the Vanarch political system). It’s all a long shot, but some of that exists (Akeron has the Fate of Arun Russian leak while TERA CZ is a hodgepodge of this and later patches; both of these are tightly held though).
I do have to say that it’s HIGHLY unusual to see a full official server build leak out from what was the NA publisher EME which was also a Bluehole subsidiary (given that relationship, plus the usual policies and protocols that are put into place to prevent such unauthorized leaks from happening or being deployed outside the publishers server environment). Since it seems that this wasn’t a QA build (like 92.03 and 100.02), the Arbiter Server was DRM’ed (it had to be run on a specific EME system AND the year had to be 2018). That check however was patched out by another TERA RZ community member (hsdn). Sure, EME stopped operating back in 2020, but I am sure a lot of of its employees (especially ones who worked closely with the game/backend) have remained within the game industry where you just sign new NDA’s and contracts (trust is always an issue in this area so it’s not a good look for ex-employees that may have worked in this area when leaks of this this sort are out in public).
Bluehole/Krafton has kept a relatively hands off approach to this (only early on were they aggressive with the DMCA takedowns of file archives; I have a large mirror for example and would know about such actions). And none of the private servers have been taken down via a cease and desist order (there has only been a C&D that Menma’s said they received, but that hasn’t been independently validated as originating from Krafton’s legal counsel). I do know that IP stakeholders HAVE TO go through this legal process once they determine that someone else is using their IP to make money (doesn’t matter if it is under the guise of donations) since failing to do so, could result in them losing those intellectual property rights, service/trade marks, copyrights, etc.
What’s becoming somewhat clearer though is the relatively large number of leaked builds that are likely in the possession of people (most of the older pre-v50 patches seem to have come out of the old Russian publisher, Destiny Games, while the post-v88 ones have come out of the Taiwanese publisher, HappyTuk). Only the HappyTuk (v92.03 to v100.02) and now this EME build have seen wider distribution. The HappyTuk v105 QA server files remain tightly held similar to the Russian server files.
I do understand the desires of intellectual property owners not wanting that IP to be hijacked/used/profited from improperly. Me as a regular person though, likes the whole archival/preservation aspect when it comes to running the official server binaries locally (like what I’m doing), or even having the ability to clean reverse engineer them (which the DMCA exemption allowed for back in 2018). The fact that there are now three different official versions widely available, is just remarkable since it’s normally just difficult to have ONE completely functional version (case in point is nothing for Devilian or ArcheAge 3.x being in the hands of just a few people).
