So I recently found out about Swordsman Online. Looks good on paper (and on videos, lol). I found out that it's provided by that company that uses the bothersome "Arc" front-end, which I do not deal with, so only a private server version is feasible for me.
I searched for private server versions by going to the usual top 100 sites and seeing what was listed. I found one site that had no download link (just links that went to itself). Eventually I realized that it was one of those fake sites (sites designed to look like one kind of site but are actually systems to redirect clicks to generate revenue).
I found another private server, called SOMA or something like that (a European one) that was more real. "Real" in that one could actually download the product. A warning sign I should have heeded was that the last post on the forums was 2016. After the lengthy download, scan and install process, the game *did* run but was unable to connect. Tried three or so days in a row then realized that it was never going to connect because the server has been gone since 2016. Geeze: take the site down, people!
If there are actually any Swordsman Online private servers up and running, can someone please link me?
p.s. The fact of me posting this message probably means that there are none, but I'm posting anyway. Sometimes one does something that one *knows* will not work ... and it works.
This forum is broken. It is time to move to proboards, because they're broken.