My project was a 3d in-browser escape velocity clone (think Endless Sky.) It ended up with an impressive feature set, mediocre graphics, not nearly enough world, no real game loop, and no players:
http://flythrough.spaceMy mistake was building it totally in secret for most of its life. I worked on it for years focusing on adding features that maybe nobody wanted without validating the product/market fit or generating any buzz. By the time I was "ready" someone had gained way more steam on their own EV remake, even getting the author of Override to endorse it, so the fact that I had a working prototype didn't really matter, the community that I thought would be receptive wasn't interested.
I learned that you need to build something worth playing first, including some kind of game loop, before you try to get people to play it. Turns out noodling around with a hacky prototype isn't something people find exciting even if the whole community is centered around noodling around with mods and hacking. People won't mod a game they don't love in the first place.
Since this project, I've committed to building smaller prototypes and validating concepts before I go all-in on building something polished and content rich, and thought I haven't shipped anything this big since, I have met my personal goals.
Full retrospective: http://blog.eamonnmr.com/2020/08/flythrough-space-retrospect...
The conclusion: http://blog.eamonnmr.com/2020/04/dont-remake-an-old-game/