So I’m a bit of an older player from way back before the game was changed up and was acquired by another company and all that other stuff that happened.

I was planning to play the game again from scratch (since I probably wouldn’t remember my old account info) but I was curious about what the state of the game is currently. I checked reviews and feedback on steam and it seems like the game has a huge community divide over which versions are better and how the game is messed up in all sorts of ways.

So I wanted to know which version (between retail and classic), or private server, would be the best fit for the original playstyle and gameplay? I don’t want to play the game if it means a “dead” playerbase or like anything too mundane that doesn’t feel like the old days. I would prefer to be on an active server or version if possible.