Digging through the digital dust. - Save Crystal Corrupted

ABOUT ME - RICKY "RYKROS" RUNYON

Rykros by Lala Landale I'm a husband, father, and full time automotive technician at BMW. I specialize in diagnostics, and over time, that mindset has carried over into my interest in tech. Whether it's tracking down a faulty coolant system sensor at the shop or figuring out why a server won't launch, I enjoy the process of identifying what's broken and quietly making it work again. I am also a quiet person by nature. I am introverted with a low social battery, and while I can be talkative in the right setting, I often prefer to work behind the scenes. It is never meant to come off as rude. I just value solitude and focused work more than conversation. That curiosity and focus are what keep this site going.

The name Rykros comes from a long time love for the Phantasy Star series by SEGA. In the original series lore, Rykros is the mysterious fourth planet of the Algo star system. It remains hidden for most of its highly elliptical orbit, only becoming visible once every 1000 years. Built as an alarm system by The Great Light, the crystalline planet's true purpose was to serve as a seal to keep the Profound Darkness imprisoned. In Phantasy Star Universe, Rykros makes another appearance as a rogue planet and the true home world of the SEED threat invading the Gurhal system.

My technical focus has shifted quite a bit. Right now, I'm confident in HTML and CSS, but my main goal is building a career in Linux administration. I spend my time working on command line operations utilizing zsh, bash, git, and automating local filesystem tasks through Termux. Everything I post here is part of that process, whether it is a working shell script, a socket server configuration, or a project that is still in progress.

I've been playing video games since I was four. The first was Superman the arcade game, then the NES landed in our house and everything changed. That love for games has stayed with me, especially when it comes to older titles and strange digital leftovers. Nowadays, I share that hobby with my son, collaborating on multiplayer sessions in games like Ocarina of Time and Dragon's Dogma Online. I run Linux full-time now on a machine named Deathegg using Debian Trixie with the Cinnamon desktop environment. I keep learning more about it by using it daily, breaking things occasionally, and fixing them when I can.

I'm always looking for work!
You call that a special technique?
Is it not?

Top

LATEST ENTRY

Expanding the Server List

July 6, 2026

There have been quite a few additions to the MMOs I've tested on Linux since last year. Eventually, I might build out separate pages for each server to dive deeper into the setup process and my thoughts on how they play. For now, this is just a running log of what actually works. Being on the list doesn't necessarily mean I play them daily, but if you are curious, my main focus right now is split between Phantasy Star Universe: Clementine and Neverwinter. I also added a link to my Discord profile in the Navigation section and changed the meme in the About Me section to a Phantasy Star IV meme.

On the Phantasy Star front, I had been playing Ephinea PSO through Wine, but a recent update involving DLL files broke my configuration and I haven't managed to fix it yet. That's ultimately what pushed me to transition over to PSOBB.io. I've also officially added Phantasy Star Universe: Clementine to the list. It is a fantastic revival of the PC version, though it is missing the original story missions. This is a casualty of SEGA shutting down the official servers years ago. If you want the narrative experience, you will have to track down the offline console versions. I also updated the Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis link to point directly to the official site instead of Steam.

For the Square Enix titles, I removed my extra setup notes from the Dragon Quest X entry since Adventurer's Abbey now provides everything you need. The official servers for both Final Fantasy XIV and Final Fantasy XI have been added as well. Both run remarkably well on Linux, though FFXI still carries its notoriously tedious installation and PlayOnline setup.

LegacyDDON is a highly ambitious Dragon's Dogma Online private server working to restore the game with a comprehensive English translation. It plays smoothly and looks excellent with the right mods applied. I also added SWG Legends, which successfully resurrects the massive, open-ended universe of Star Wars Galaxies. Finally, Asheron's Call is fully playable via ACEmulator. I spent some time on the Levistras server, and while it is playable, it is a bit finicky on Linux. I never quite got borderless windowed mode functioning properly before moving on to other projects.

City of Heroes: Homecoming makes the list with a very unique backstory. It operates as a fully sanctioned private server, officially permitted by NCSoft following the game's closure. I also included Necromancy Online, a Wizardry Online emulator. It technically functions, but it has been deep in development for years. I keep a loose eye on it in hopes it nears completion someday. On the World of Warcraft side, I added Microbot WoW. It is an intriguing vanilla server populated entirely by AI companions and simulated players to fill out the world.

Rounding out the list, Ultimate Dragon Ball Online is easily the best private server I've found for the old official Korean Dragon Ball MMO. I also threw in Flyff Universe. It is an absolute classic that has survived by pivoting to a browser-based client, though the mobile experience leaves a lot to be desired. Lastly, ROSE Online has been added. It is another vintage, free-to-play anime MMORPG that has managed to stick around and runs perfectly fine on a modern setup.

I have added my profile picture to the About Me section. It was made by Lala Landale, a prominent member of the Phantasy Star community. In a future update, I plan to add an old Python project I wrote that was inspired by her translation of the Phantasy Star: Alisa's Adventure gamebook. Furthermore, I have reorganized the buttons in the Web Links section and added links for the Internet Archive, Chrome, Camineet.net, and Yumpoplala. I am going to try to add at least one new link per update. I am sure it will eventually get to the point where I need to build a separate page just for these links, but I think that will take a while.

July 2025 Archive
Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat
		1	2	3	4	5
6	7	8	9	10	11	12
13	14	15	16	17	18	19
20	21	22	23	24	25	26
27	28	29	30	31

July 2026 Archive
Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat
			1	2	3	4
5	6	7	8	9	10	11
12	13	14	15	16	17	18
19	20	21	22	23	24	25
26	27	28	29	30	31

Top

LINUX-TESTED MMOS & PRIVATE SERVERS

A personal list of MMO private servers and official titles I've tested on Linux. Every entry runs either natively, Wine, Proton, or Steam. All are English or offer usable translation options.