I'm not interested in giveaway as a person that might as well disappear from the community completely within weeks after the patch hits the ground, but I'd like to thank the most notable people who helped me on my path through Discovery and even stood with me outside, providing council, support and just being with me in fun and sorrow. People like @Gardarik, yourself @Darius, @Erremnart, @Ninkurra, @Prysin, @Werdackel, @vladimir26, @Aingar and many other, especially those who directly helped me since the russian invasion of Ukraine.
Special mention is for @Markam for endure and tolerate me with my rather toxic and often rude behavior and allowing me to do things I enjoy - making this mod a little bit fancier by the work I keep and kept bringing as a systems developer for over 3 years now.
So, the boy who I trained up those years back is leaving?
Oh well, you did start focusing on outcomes and influencing stuff too much, at the end of the day you have fun and stay here if you have friends who you like who like you back. So shout out to my amazing friends, you know who you are and you know I'd call it a day if you would. Fun and friends is the only thing that matters in this ancient random abandonware anyways.
P.s. gib ships, I think I helped you out with your first caps. Tau-44 mission farming, never forget. Even though you might never admit it, I know that's one of the times when you had the most fun in the game - just playing, shooting stuff, not caring about schemes and influencing others.
I would count myself as a portion of the playerbase that you believe hates you. The truth is, and this may shock you, I (and others) don't actually hate you. It's disappointment. Your ideas, creativity, and ambition has not gone unnoticed. True, you participate in troll-like behavior (I think just copying and pasting what I post and sometimes changing a few words is beneath your IQ). You have a wisdom that is frequently unused whether it's because you refuse to listen when people advise you that your course of action is detrimental or outright against server rules, or you associate yourself with people that ill-advise you. If you detach yourself from others that don't have your best interest in mind, you'll see better opportunities for personal growth and more doors open for you.
Unfortunately I have nothing else to say that hasn't been said yet about the state of the development staff. There's still a few good ones left, but I've seen and heard enough goings on to know how disorganized and detached the development staff is from the playerbase. That's a reflection on leadership which makes it no surprise that the patch was delayed. Delays are always understandable unless the team refuses to communicate to one another and refuses to consider the player base for their changes. Unfortunately until the culture is changed within the "team" or there is new leadership in the development team, we will continue to see more players leave for this reason.
As far as your personal life goes, I wish you all the best with what it is you have going on. In this community I have met some of the worst kinds of people, but I've also met some of the best kinds of people. Reach out to people if you are struggling or confused. Chances are, we've been through the same thing. Until next time, good luck and take care.
I hope that either all of us or none of us are judged by the actions of our weakest moments. But rather, by the strength we show when, and if, we're ever given a second chance.
I would like to thank Lobster, Feldspar, and the old ICMG crew from way back in the early 4.85 days with helping me get my bearings in Discovery as well as helping me immensely with my personal growth during a turbulent period. I'd like to thank Panzer and the old =CR= crew of the same time period for teaching me combat discipline, planting the seeds of my eventually becoming better than worse-than-useless in PVP which Durandal helped water and sprout.
I'd like to thank the entire Durandal-era [HF] for being an amazing, kickass faction that gave me so, so many fun memories I still think about (listening to KMFDM's album WWIII still gets me F*CKING PUMPED years later). I want to thank Jack Henderson for putting up with all my bullshit in the IMG|, Karst for always trying to keep me on the right path, and Jayce for being reliable good fun whenever I walked on the wrong one. I'd like to thank Goddess Astra for she-knows-what, Zephyranthes for the same, and Nyx, Vendetta, and the entire Auxesia crew for giving me the most fun and engaging roleplay opportunities I have ever had in my life.
I want to thank Dieter Schprockets for having a random conversation about Finnish heavy metal with me one night that ended up inadvertently changing the course of my entire life, drastically for the better. I want to thank Malaclypse (rest in peace, peace be upon him) for bringing the TAZ into something like the form we all recognize, and thus indirectly introducing me to Discordianism as a serious philosophical concept.
I also want to thank each and every one of you, the people who are still keeping this ancient random abandonware alive and churning out good times for those of us who are left.
And last, but certainly not least, special shoutouts to Jeremy Hunter and Dane Summers for all the phenomenal war stories. Every single person I've mentioned has improved my life in some way or another, and I hold fond memories of all of you. My Discord is always open for all of you, whether I've mentioned you by name or not. Keep doing what you do, because that's you and that's just wonderful.
edit: I'm absolutely kicking myself for not mentioning Ingenious, Twisp, Froztshock, Charo, Irwin, Grumblesaur, and the entire Canadians Anonymous crew. One of you dorks (not saying who) actually paid my rent those two months I straight-up lost my credit card and I cannot possibly thank you enough. I still think about all of you almost daily. Love you guys <3
I'm just glad that despite not playing Discovery anymore, I still get to meet very cool people like @Geno and @Proselyte and of course my beloved @Levenna. Discovery does attract various kinds of people, but some of them are so outstanding to me, I wouldn't want to have missed out on meeting them. It's super refreshing to sit in VC with people who know you can't talk but still like to hang out with you and play various games and have watchparties and up-to-angry arguments about this and that, even about Freelancer's lore.
I'm also super happy to see old people showing up every now and then. Like when @Arbs came back, @PKPower, @Antonio and co! It's always been a heartwarming reunion, and now my Discord is stuffed with people who provide cat pictures.
The giveaway is (almost) done. I've selected a few winners, as I did not have enough ships to give to everyone in part, and those people should have a forum notification well by now.
Unfortunately Sombra and Lemon have been left out as there are some difficulties in reaching out (cough ignore list cough) but I'm gonna try to find a way to get to those as well with the won ships.
![[Image: gamer5000.gif]](https://sig.grumpybumpers.com/host/gamer5000.gif)
![[Image: 1027673381061017711.webp]](https://cdn.discordapp.com/emojis/1027673381061017711.webp){kind=small}
