Persistent multiplayer a possibility?

[Valvar]

Would player-run persistent multiplayer servers be a possibility? I'm not asking at all that you do any work at all on this, but there are examples of other games, like Skyrim, where players created the tools and ground that was needed.
I'm thinking a bit along the freeshard-track here.... How difficult would the network development aspect be to implement? I already read that LAN was a planned (but not confirmed) feature... How far is it from there to have dedicated servers with custom settings?

 

[Nightrise]

I'd like to further Valvar's point here - this could be a huge incentive for many people, especially given the total absence of a game of this type right now. The last player-editable game with a custom toolset and a multiplayer component was Neverwinter Nights 2 (Obsidian). Those who know the community also know that a mind-boggling amount of content was created by amateurs and professionals alike for NWN1 (Bioware) and NWN2 and is currently hosted on ign (http://nwvault.com).

From what I've seen of Sui Generis, its procedurally generated environment and what looks like a fantastic toolset (much better than NWN2's editor, and that did quite well) lends itself quite well to that sort of model.

I know you gentlemen have limited resources, and that's exactly why I would urge you to consider empowering the community, and perhaps adding some reward tiers which offer an early access to a toolkit of some sort. Once you allow your community to work for you, the sky is the limit!