I swore to myself that I would never create one of these threads, but in light of recent events, I felt it was necessary to at least say a few things that I think merited mentioning.
I stopped playing MxO on a regular basis months ago. While I kept my account active to say hello every once in a while to the few people who have stuck around for this long, that's pretty much where my involvement in the game and the community would stop. The only times I felt like jacking in for more than a few minutes would be if it were a patch day, in which case I would check out what kind of entertainment six week's worth of development would provide, which frequently was fully experienced and exhausted within the span of no more than a couple hours.
However, as I see more and more of the people I know or once knew leave, and watch things as they change for the worse -- or as is often the case in MxO, remain the same, I no longer wish to be a part of what little is left behind. For over two years now, my $15 a month has gone into WB's, and eventually SOE's hands, in hopes that one day such a unique and extraordinary project would get the attention and respect it deserved, but that hasn't happened and never will happen. It is something that was flawed from the start, and has issues that will never be resolved in its current environment.
The only thing that keeps it alive is its small, yet dedicated community. As the overwhelming amount of applications went in to LESIG 2.0 -- mine being one of them -- showed, there are still lots of people who wish to see this game become something better than what it is. But soon after many of us found out that we would not be a part of such a thing, many of us realized that LESIG is not for the community, but for SOE. Those in LESIG are not keeping the game alive for the community, but keeping it going for SOE as unpaid employees. To me, not getting accepted was a relief, and by now I bet a lot of you who didn't get in now also feel relieved that all your hard work to date still belongs to you and not to a corporation that probably wouldn't even know nor care what your real name was if it weren't written on your credit card.
It was the final catalyst that encouraged me to finally cancel my account. That all options to breathe some interest into the game were exhausted, and I could move on to other, much better things. I know quite a lot, now, in the past, and probably in the future, feel the same way and have done the same thing. They are all better for it, for having been a part of something special, having left their mark, and having moved on to the next great thing.
There are some absolutely wonderful people who were or still are pillars of this community. If you're still a part of it, I hope you continue enjoying it as much as you possibly can. You are the game's last best hope.
I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings by naming individuals whom have been such great friends and supporters these past couple of years, but two groups especially worth mentioning are, of course, the Dept. of Energy, and even moreso, The Kings of Never. They are both factions full of wonderful, intelligent, creative, and supportive people who I have been proud to be a part of. Time and time again, they have shown what it means to be successful as both a faction and individuals. The DoE and KoN, as factions and as players, have won more events than any other group or single person I know, and I believe the reason is because they play fair, they play smart, and they never cheat to win. And that, I believe, is where true enjoyment of the game still comes from.
I want to wish everyone who's still here the best. I hope you continue to find something enjoyable that makes MxO worth playing, and that when it comes time to quit for one reason or another, you look back at everything you did and feel proud about it.
I know I do.
- Symmetric
I stopped playing MxO on a regular basis months ago. While I kept my account active to say hello every once in a while to the few people who have stuck around for this long, that's pretty much where my involvement in the game and the community would stop. The only times I felt like jacking in for more than a few minutes would be if it were a patch day, in which case I would check out what kind of entertainment six week's worth of development would provide, which frequently was fully experienced and exhausted within the span of no more than a couple hours.
However, as I see more and more of the people I know or once knew leave, and watch things as they change for the worse -- or as is often the case in MxO, remain the same, I no longer wish to be a part of what little is left behind. For over two years now, my $15 a month has gone into WB's, and eventually SOE's hands, in hopes that one day such a unique and extraordinary project would get the attention and respect it deserved, but that hasn't happened and never will happen. It is something that was flawed from the start, and has issues that will never be resolved in its current environment.
The only thing that keeps it alive is its small, yet dedicated community. As the overwhelming amount of applications went in to LESIG 2.0 -- mine being one of them -- showed, there are still lots of people who wish to see this game become something better than what it is. But soon after many of us found out that we would not be a part of such a thing, many of us realized that LESIG is not for the community, but for SOE. Those in LESIG are not keeping the game alive for the community, but keeping it going for SOE as unpaid employees. To me, not getting accepted was a relief, and by now I bet a lot of you who didn't get in now also feel relieved that all your hard work to date still belongs to you and not to a corporation that probably wouldn't even know nor care what your real name was if it weren't written on your credit card.
It was the final catalyst that encouraged me to finally cancel my account. That all options to breathe some interest into the game were exhausted, and I could move on to other, much better things. I know quite a lot, now, in the past, and probably in the future, feel the same way and have done the same thing. They are all better for it, for having been a part of something special, having left their mark, and having moved on to the next great thing.
There are some absolutely wonderful people who were or still are pillars of this community. If you're still a part of it, I hope you continue enjoying it as much as you possibly can. You are the game's last best hope.
I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings by naming individuals whom have been such great friends and supporters these past couple of years, but two groups especially worth mentioning are, of course, the Dept. of Energy, and even moreso, The Kings of Never. They are both factions full of wonderful, intelligent, creative, and supportive people who I have been proud to be a part of. Time and time again, they have shown what it means to be successful as both a faction and individuals. The DoE and KoN, as factions and as players, have won more events than any other group or single person I know, and I believe the reason is because they play fair, they play smart, and they never cheat to win. And that, I believe, is where true enjoyment of the game still comes from.
I want to wish everyone who's still here the best. I hope you continue to find something enjoyable that makes MxO worth playing, and that when it comes time to quit for one reason or another, you look back at everything you did and feel proud about it.
I know I do.
- Symmetric