Chaos Pirates
Chaos Pirates is two products working together: a downloadable 3D MMORPG — the Tales of Pirates II (PKO 2.0) client and maps, running on a low-level C/C++ game server with Lua-scripted content — and a TypeScript web hub that surrounds it. Players download the client to play, then use the site for everything around the game: a community forum, a searchable Knowledge Center that documents every item, monster, and map fed straight from live server data, rankings and character lookup, account and cash-shop management, and news and events.
Challenge
Classic MMORPGs like Tales of Pirates II survive through private servers that are usually fragile, opaque, and abandoned. Reviving one means more than a website: the C++ game server, client, and Lua game logic all have to be stabilized and extended, then backed by transparent, non-pay-to-win infrastructure rather than a hobby setup and a forum thread.
Solution
Operated and extended the full game stack across client, server, and web. Client and engine: maintained a C++ DirectX 9 engine (MindPower3D), ported the entire 32-bit client and four-daemon server cluster to native 64-bit, built a working modern renderer on bgfx that runs the game end-to-end on Direct3D 12 and Vulkan alongside the shipping DirectX 9 client, and rebuilt the legacy in-game UI — NPC dialogue and vendors, blacksmith and forge, player trade, party and social systems, chat, and the cash shop — onto a modern RmlUi component system. Server: a C/C++ game server with Lua-scripted content (new end-game zones, world bosses, a non-pay-to-win economy, and GM tooling), transaction-atomic item moves and a DB-outage circuit breaker, plus a security pass that removed an inherited unauthenticated remote-code-execution backdoor and parameterized the SQL-injection surface. Web: a TypeScript and Next.js hub with a Knowledge Center that ingests live server data into a searchable, cross-linked archive (6,400+ items, 400+ monsters, with NPCs, maps, and quests following), a community forum, live rankings and character lookup, account and cash-shop management, and a news and events system.
Results
Relaunched a beloved 3D MMORPG as a credible live service rather than a hobby server: a downloadable game with a real product website around it. The searchable database, rankings, forum, and account tools give players a single modern hub to find any info and manage their accounts, while the balanced economy, custom content, and active events keep a returning crew engaged.