<s>
Astonia	B-Protocol
III	I-Protocol
was	O
a	O
fantasy	O
MMORPG	B-Protocol
video	O
game	O
that	O
was	O
initially	O
released	O
in	O
September	O
2001	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
developed	O
as	O
a	O
solo	O
project	O
by	O
German	O
programmer	O
Daniel	O
Brockhaus	O
as	O
a	O
sequel	O
to	O
his	O
earlier	O
project	O
,	O
a	O
smaller	O
MMORPG	B-Protocol
called	O
Mercenaries	O
of	O
Astonia	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
the	O
end	O
of	O
the	O
year	O
,	O
Astonia	B-Protocol
III	I-Protocol
launched	O
into	O
a	O
full	O
release	O
,	O
and	O
started	O
to	O
charge	O
players	O
a	O
monthly	O
subscription	O
fee	O
,	O
with	O
one-month	O
free	O
trial	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
December	O
1998	O
,	O
a	O
programmer	O
by	O
the	O
name	O
of	O
Daniel	O
Brockhaus	O
had	O
created	O
a	O
small	O
MMORPG	B-Protocol
titled	O
Mercenaries	O
of	O
Astonia	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Due	O
to	O
the	O
growing	O
popularity	O
and	O
Brockhaus	O
wanting	O
to	O
expand	O
,	O
he	O
decided	O
to	O
create	O
a	O
new	O
game	O
,	O
titled	O
Astonia	B-Protocol
III	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Alpha	O
testing	O
for	O
Astonia	B-Protocol
III	I-Protocol
started	O
on	O
September	O
13	O
,	O
2001	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Astonia	B-Protocol
III	I-Protocol
had	O
steadily	O
increased	O
in	O
numbers	O
throughout	O
2002	O
and	O
2003	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Both	O
versions	O
of	O
Astonia	B-Protocol
III	I-Protocol
remained	O
online	O
simultaneously	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
late	O
2014	O
,	O
Intent	O
Software	O
had	O
shut	O
down	O
the	O
official	O
servers	O
for	O
Astonia	B-Protocol
III	I-Protocol
,	O
after	O
more	O
than	O
12	O
years	O
of	O
being	O
online	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
2020s	O
,	O
two	O
revivals	O
of	O
Astonia	B-Protocol
III	I-Protocol
occurred	O
on	O
the	O
Steam	B-Application
service	I-Application
:	O
Astonia	O
:	O
The	O
Return	O
of	O
Yendor	O
(	O
later	O
renamed	O
as	O
Astonia	O
Remastered	O
)	O
and	O
Astonia	O
Resurgence	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
early	O
2023	O
,	O
Brockhaus	O
updated	O
the	O
Astonia	O
game	O
client	O
to	O
support	O
resolutions	O
up	O
to	O
4K	O
via	O
SDL2	O
and	O
released	O
it	O
on	O
GitHub	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
June	O
2002	O
,	O
IGN	O
previewed	O
the	O
game	O
,	O
and	O
had	O
stated	O
"	O
Overall	O
,	O
the	O
smaller	O
online	O
world	O
of	O
Astonia	B-Protocol
III	I-Protocol
has	O
impressed	O
me	O
with	O
its	O
large	O
amount	O
of	O
content	O
,	O
especially	O
in	O
the	O
way	O
of	O
quests	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
gave	O
the	O
game	O
three-and-a-half	O
stars	O
out	O
of	O
five	O
,	O
and	O
stated	O
"	O
It	O
looks	O
like	O
Ultima	B-Protocol
Online	I-Protocol
before	O
Ultima	B-Protocol
Online	I-Protocol
stumbled	O
its	O
way	O
into	O
3D	O
graphics	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
plays	O
like	O
Diablo	B-Application
before	O
it	O
fell	O
into	O
a	O
bottomless	O
pit	O
of	O
cheating.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
concluded	O
that	O
"	O
Astonia	B-Protocol
III	I-Protocol
shows	O
that	O
sometimes	O
the	O
old	O
ways	O
can	O
be	O
the	O
best	O
ways.	O
"	O
</s>
