<s>
Dark	B-Application
Sun	I-Application
Online	I-Application
:	I-Application
Crimson	I-Application
Sands	I-Application
was	O
an	O
early	O
massively	B-Protocol
multiplayer	I-Protocol
online	I-Protocol
role-playing	I-Protocol
game	I-Protocol
(	O
MMORPG	B-Protocol
)	O
that	O
was	O
developed	O
and	O
published	O
by	O
Strategic	O
Simulations	O
,	O
Inc	O
.	O
in	O
1996	O
for	O
Windows	B-Application
95	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Dark	B-Application
Sun	I-Application
Online	I-Application
was	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
licensed	O
Dark	O
Sun	O
campaign	O
setting	O
for	O
the	O
Advanced	O
Dungeons	O
&	O
Dragons	O
tabletop	O
role-playing	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
first	O
fully	O
graphical	O
MMORPGs	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Dark	B-Application
Sun	I-Application
Online	I-Application
was	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
first	O
fully	O
graphical	O
MMORPGs	B-Protocol
to	O
feature	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
features	O
popularized	O
by	O
later	O
games	O
like	O
Ultima	B-Protocol
Online	I-Protocol
,	O
such	O
as	O
nearly	O
unrestricted	O
player	O
versus	O
player	O
combat	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Dark	B-Application
Sun	I-Application
Online	I-Application
closed	O
in	O
1999	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
AT&T	O
was	O
in	O
the	O
process	O
of	O
launching	O
an	O
online	O
network	O
,	O
and	O
wanted	O
a	O
strong	O
game	O
presence	O
to	O
help	O
the	O
network	O
launch	O
,	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
success	O
of	O
Neverwinter	B-Application
Nights	I-Application
on	O
America	O
Online	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Dark	B-Application
Sun	I-Application
Online	I-Application
project	O
was	O
led	O
by	O
Andre	O
Vrignaud	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Development	O
was	O
troubled	O
;	O
Andrew	O
Park	O
of	O
GameSpot	O
noted	O
that	O
Dark	B-Application
Sun	I-Application
Online	I-Application
"	O
suffered	O
from	O
a	O
lack	O
of	O
funds	O
and	O
time	O
from	O
the	O
beginning	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
assets	O
,	O
including	O
its	O
sections	O
of	O
code	O
,	O
were	O
reused	O
from	O
Dark	B-Device
Sun	I-Device
:	I-Device
Shattered	I-Device
Lands	I-Device
and	O
Dark	B-Application
Sun	I-Application
:	I-Application
Wake	I-Application
of	I-Application
the	I-Application
Ravager	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sprites	O
and	O
sounds	O
were	O
also	O
borrowed	O
from	O
Al-Qadim	B-Application
:	I-Application
The	I-Application
Genie	I-Application
's	I-Application
Curse	I-Application
,	O
and	O
from	O
World	B-Application
of	I-Application
Aden	I-Application
:	I-Application
Thunderscape	I-Application
,	O
which	O
was	O
also	O
under	O
development	O
at	O
the	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
team	O
modified	O
the	O
codebase	O
of	O
Dark	B-Application
Sun	I-Application
:	I-Application
Wake	I-Application
of	I-Application
the	I-Application
Ravager	I-Application
to	O
serve	O
as	O
a	O
multiplayer	O
client	O
,	O
which	O
complicated	O
software	O
development	O
during	O
the	O
process	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
GameSpy	O
,	O
the	O
game	O
had	O
many	O
of	O
the	O
features	O
that	O
would	O
help	O
make	O
the	O
game	O
Ultima	B-Protocol
Online	I-Protocol
successful	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
released	O
a	O
year	O
after	O
Dark	O
Sun	O
's	O
launch	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
April	O
1997	O
,	O
Strategic	O
Simulations	O
released	O
a	O
major	O
update	O
for	O
Dark	B-Application
Sun	I-Application
Online	I-Application
that	O
separated	O
the	O
game	O
into	O
"	O
Law	O
"	O
and	O
"	O
Chaos	O
"	O
regions	O
,	O
in	O
reaction	O
to	O
trends	O
of	O
player	O
behavior	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Dark	B-Application
Sun	I-Application
Online	I-Application
reached	O
version	O
2.0	O
in	O
December	O
1997	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
July	O
1998	O
,	O
TEN	O
"	O
completed	O
"	O
Dark	B-Application
Sun	I-Application
Online	I-Application
with	O
the	O
release	O
of	O
version	O
2.5	O
,	O
which	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
producer	O
said	O
would	O
be	O
a	O
"	O
stable	O
,	O
consistent	O
environment	O
,	O
free	O
of	O
troublemakers	O
and	O
full	O
of	O
events	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
Massively	O
,	O
"	O
while	O
ultimately	O
unsuccessful	O
in	O
achieving	O
its	O
potential	O
or	O
gaining	O
a	O
large	O
audience	O
,	O
Dark	B-Application
Sun	I-Application
Online	I-Application
:	I-Application
Crimson	I-Application
Sands	I-Application
made	O
a	O
valiant	O
attempt	O
at	O
achieving	O
the	O
inevitable	O
future	O
of	O
gaming	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Interaction	O
between	O
players	O
was	O
accomplished	O
via	O
a	O
MUD-like	O
chat	O
interface	O
,	O
and	O
combat	O
was	O
turn-based	O
,	O
with	O
each	O
player	O
having	O
a	O
short	O
timer	O
on	O
their	O
turn	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
Total	O
Entertainment	O
Network	O
,	O
Dark	B-Application
Sun	I-Application
Online	I-Application
was	O
the	O
service	O
's	O
second-most-played	O
title	O
of	O
1997	O
,	O
and	O
had	O
garnered	O
"	O
close	O
to	O
one	O
million	O
player	O
hours	O
"	O
from	O
1996	O
through	O
December	O
1997	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Allen	O
Rausch	O
of	O
GameSpy	O
argued	O
that	O
Dark	B-Application
Sun	I-Application
Online	I-Application
was	O
"	O
a	O
well-intentioned	O
experiment	O
from	O
SSI	O
that	O
just	O
never	O
got	O
off	O
the	O
ground	O
the	O
way	O
it	O
could	O
have	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2000	O
,	O
Brett	O
Robinson	O
of	O
PC	O
PowerPlay	O
characterized	O
Dark	B-Application
Sun	I-Application
Online	I-Application
as	O
part	O
of	O
"	O
the	O
first	O
generation	O
of	O
MMORPGs	B-Protocol
"	O
,	O
alongside	O
titles	O
such	O
as	O
The	B-Protocol
Realm	I-Protocol
and	O
Meridian	B-Protocol
59	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
argued	O
,	O
"	O
with	O
overly	O
simple	O
graphics	O
and	O
gameplay	O
mechanics	O
,	O
these	O
died	O
quickly	O
,	O
and	O
paved	O
the	O
way	O
to	O
the	O
more	O
successful	O
second	O
generation	O
"	O
,	O
which	O
included	O
games	O
like	O
Ultima	B-Protocol
Online	I-Protocol
and	O
EverQuest	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
December	O
1997	O
,	O
Total	O
Entertainment	O
Network	O
announced	O
a	O
follow-up	O
to	O
Dark	B-Application
Sun	I-Application
Online	I-Application
entitled	O
Dark	B-Application
Sun	I-Application
Online	I-Application
:	O
The	O
Age	O
of	O
Heroes	O
.	O
</s>
