Overview
Aetolia, the Midnight Age is the second multiplayer game released by Iron Realms, released in 2001. It was the sequel to 1996's Achaea, and in its inception, was a near perfect copy of that game, with a different pantheon of Gods. It has since branched off into its own identity, and very few aspects or world assets from Achaea remain, such as Delos or Hashan, though these have changed dramatically from their Achaean counterparts.
Originally Aetolia was a dark gothic fantasy world, with the backstory of everyone's memory having been erased (known as the Great Artifice in the game), however the game is currently transitioning to a steampunk type realm, with the introduction of technology trees (powered by ylem), the Dreikathi Empire invasion, and other technological advancements. The game features a multitude of playable races and classes, with players able to hold multiple classes.
Free to play, pay for perks
Aetolia, like Achaea and all other Iron Realms games, is completely free to play, but to gain advancement it is generally recommended that one buy credits.
Change of Producers
Unlike other Iron Realms games, Aetolia has had various producers and associate producers control the game throughout its history, which has hampered the games growth. A popular meme among the players of the game was 'Coming Soon', a propensity for the games administrators to promise something and then fail to deliver. The game's current producer, Michael Duncan, started as a player, then a volunteer, before eventually being named Associate Producer and finally Producer. Duncan has promised the playerbase through the official forums that 'Coming Soon' would be ending under his watch. Aetolia has seen a resurgence of activity since Duncan took over.
Galleus (Eric Lamy)
On September 6th, 2005, Matt Mihaly, the former CEO of Iron Realms, announced to Aetolia that the producer, Josh Olson, would no longer be suitable as the director of the game, citing numerous player complaints and dissatisfaction in polls. Aetolia was put under the administration of Jeremy Saunders, the producer of Imperian, who would later succeed Matt Mihaly as IRE CEO.
On September 22nd, 2007, Eric Lamy, the player behind Galleus, was promoted to Assistant Producer, and would later take full charge of Aetolia's direction. He continues to operate the game to this day.
On January 30th, 2012, Lamy promoted Michael Duncan, formerly the committed role of Severn, to Assistant Producer of Aetolia, in his new role as Razmael, the Synthesist.
Razmael (Michael Duncan)
On November 30th, 2012, Jeremy Saunders announced that Eric Lamy would no longer act as Aetolia's producer, promoting Duncan to the head of development. Razmael's appointment post outlines his short-term goals for the game's future, including a pledge to promote transparency from the administration.