Soma really was such an under appreciated game imo.
Leveling system in it can't be compared to anything else on the market.
Hey Karl! Some of my fondest Soma memories were had on the Alpha Omega server that you and badgerr developed. Good times. Soma was a large part of my teenage years. I started in beta back in 2002. I remember playing Soma with friends everyday after school and LANing it with friends every weekend. I still remember all my friends being mad that I stayed home from school to get enough axe skill to equip the great battle axe
. As Xragon said, the community even on the European server was never massive. It never really got past 1000 users online (I remember seeing 800 online), but it didn't really need to. There was only one server to choose from and the game itself (map sizes etc) is pretty small. The small community gave it a very unique feel that I haven't experienced in another mmorpg. It felt like everyone knew who everyone was in the community. It was very easy to make a name for yourself (good or bad).
If you've ever played Soma in the past, you owe it to yourself to check out the Somadev server when it launches on August 31st. This is the closest thing to an official server that we'll ever have. Finito and iSylver have been developing this server for years. It doesn't use the standard Soma server files that are out there. They have implemented a bunch of new features such as the rested experience system, a dueling system, sacred stone event, and a new constitution system (mix INT and STR levels with no effect on HP, you can do CON at any level without negative effects on HP). You are no longer limited to 800x600 resolution. You can now set custom resolutions as high as 1920x1080.
Advertising will begin in the next few weeks, with banners going up on various forums and mass emails being sent out. The Chinese and Korean Soma communities have also been recruited for launch.
And if you've never played Soma, but you're a fan of Isometric graphics and open world PVP then give it a shot. Soma is all about the PVP.