After having a few days to really think all this through, I’d like to say a few more things and hopefully explain myself a bit better.  Some of this feels redundant, but I need to get it out there for my own peace of mind.  Then I’ll be on my way.

I am sorry that I made some of you angry, or worse, disappointed.  Likwidtek especially.  Likwid, I have to disagree with some of your comments, but I have the utmost respect for you and I hope you know that. 

I like you guys.  Some of you have been known to drive me up the wall a bit, but you’re all genuinely good people.  While it’s no secret that I have been unhappy with the state of FA for a long time now, some part of me would always hold out hope that things would get better.  Unfortunately that part of me has gotten smaller and smaller as the years went on.

I thought things would get better with Darkfall, but they didn’t.

I thought things would get better with The Agency, but they didn’t.  (Or didn’t have the chance to.)

I thought things would get better with APB, but they didn’t.

I thought things would get better with The Old Republic, but they didn’t.

I thought things would get better with The Secret World, but they didn’t.

I thought I could make things better with EVE, but I couldn't.

It was year after year after year of seeing hope and anticipation crushed by disappointment.  It was exhausting.  Clearly many of you are better equipped at dealing with that than I am.  Now there is a lot of hope and anticipation surrounding the Oculus Rift.  But if history is any indication, I have little reason to believe that the Rift will truly re-ignite this community into something that I could have had real pride in being part of. 

And that’s really all I’ve ever wanted.  Pride in whatever community I was part of.  I was proud to call myself a Furious Angel back when we were rocking the face of The Matrix Online, but I simply have not felt the same way since.  And I know that I am not alone in this.

I know from many private conversations over the last few years that there are a number of people here, veterans and non-veterans alike, who feel similar to how I’ve felt.  That the “Furious Angels” name carries little weight anymore outside of an historical context, and the social structure of this community is built in such a way that makes it very difficult to enact any needed change.  There are multiple reasons for this, and no one person in particular is to blame.  But there are FA members here right now who are absolutely not happy with the way things are.  And they are hesitant to openly voice their concerns or their ideas for change because they know from history that, though leadership may listen to those concerns and ideas, leadership will not adequately act on those concerns and ideas.

To those of you who are happy, or are at least content with the way things have been and the way they are going, by all means, stay the course.  I don’t think FA will see the surge of new recruitment and activity on the level that Tbone is expecting upon the launch of the Rift.  But if that is to happen it will require the overwhelming support and enthusiasm of everyone here, and it needs to start sooner rather than later.

To any new members who might be reading this weeks, months, or even years down the line, don’t let these words deter you from being here.  It’s entirely possible that The Furious Angels has since become a major pillar of the VR community, in which case you are in good hands.

And to those of you who I’ve spoken with who are not happy with the state of FA, make the simple decision to either stay or leave.  Leaving doesn’t have to mean severing the friendships you’ve made here, because we live in a world where the internet exists.  There is absolutely nothing keeping Angels and former-Angels from gaming together, except for maybe ego.  At any rate, don’t wait for the situation to improve.  Take whatever steps you feel are necessary to improve it.

I’m happier now than I’ve been in a long time.  Even my wife has said she’s noticed a distinct improvement in my attitude since I was removed from FA, and we’re having better sex than we’ve had in weeks.  Seriously, this has been good for me.  And I think it will prove to be good for this community as well.  So thank you.

Maybe look me up in EVE: Valkyrie when it launches.  I’d be honored to be on the receiving end of the FA Pain Train for once. 

If anyone would like to keep in touch: manicv@gmail.com

Take care.

Somebody requested that I make this: Broin and Fuse in a "buddy cop" film.

It was me.  I found the base completely by chance.  I didn’t even know it was the FA base when I found it.

I had spent the last few days recording segments for a video in which I walked the entire perimeter of the island.  The idea for the video started when I successfully raided a much smaller base where I found crates of food.  Enough to last me several Rust-days if I was careful.  So I grabbed what I could carry and started walking towards the water.

I turned on Netflix to keep from getting bored, and set up a camp fire when I needed it.  I was making daily video journals of my travels.  I planned to walk until I either ran out of food, or found myself back where I started. 

For hours I saw absolutely nothing of interest except for interesting quirks in the map geometry.  And I managed to summit what is probably the tallest mountain in the game.  I was so far away from everyone that I was able to safely log off many times without worrying about anyone finding my body.  I walked for about seven or eight Rust-days, just making sure to keep the water on my left side.

I was working on my last stack of beans when I saw the familiar rocky mountains that are peppered around the proper playable area.  I ran towards them, hoping to find some boars to kill so that I could survive to continue the video.  As I maneuvered through the rocks I nearly slipped down a cliff.  And that’s when I saw a large tower tucked away at the bottom.

To your guys’ credit, that base is incredibly well hidden.  And again, I had no idea this was the FA base when I saw it.  I went to investigate, hoping to find someone who might be kind enough to get me some food.  I walked around the base and called out on voice chat to see if anyone was around. 

It was getting dark, and I saw the door.  I tried a list of some common four-digit codes, not really expecting any of them to work.  On a whim I tried the code we used on the previous server, and to my shock the door unlocked.

I wandered up the many flights of stairs, using the same code on each door I came across, until I found the stash.  I took some weapons and armor, but mostly food.  That’s what I needed most.  I wanted to quietly walk out and leave no indication that anything had happened, until everyone discovered the missing loot.  I thought it would be interesting to sit back and watch the wave of confusion play out here on the forums, when people started to discover their stuff missing.

I was getting overly excited about my lucky one-man raid, so I rushed out without paying any mind to close the doors.

By the time I got outside I started hearing footsteps.  I figured it was someone else coming to raid the base and found their way inside.  (I turn off player notifications in Steam, so I didn’t know it was Broin that had logged on.)  I huddled outside in the dark, near the water, hoping to avoid the supposed raiders and escape when they were gone.

In an effort to find a suitable hiding spot, I accidentally backed off the ledge and hilariously fell to my death. 

Why oh why would anyone want to leave FA, when we have such a welcoming and mature environment?

Rust Improv: Episode 1

I'm all for the cycle of building, attacking, defending, and setting long term goals.  Compared to that other game I play, Rust is a cakewalk in every regard. 

It just seemed like the primary goal for the group was to get the gigantic base built before we even considered doing anything else.  The cycle consisted of "build, sleep, and re-build".  The base would get raided while everyone slept, and so the next day would be spent making up for whatever was lost in the raid.  Rinse, repeat. 

I like likwid's idea of keeping things smaller and manageable.  A smaller camp is more easily raided, but it's also more easily replenished. 

You can manage to build the biggest and baddest fort on the map whether you control the server or not.  But there is someone out there who will come along, take one look at your fort and say "Challenge accepted."  Everything you spend time harvesting and crafting can and eventually will be taken from you.  Whether by raiders or by a server wipe.  You're not meant to keep your stuff forever.

The only way to change that is to operate in god-mode which, as we've established, ruins the experience.

And... I'll just say it... Harvesting is not fun.  Not just in Rust, but in any game.  Constant harvesting to build a gigantic door-maze-fort that's always getting raided before it's complete is not fun.  And continuously harvesting and re-building after each subsequent raid is not fun.  It's work.  And each raid just creates more work.  Maybe you guys enjoy it?  I personally don't.

Of all the Rust gameplay videos I've watched over the last few days, there hasn't been a single one that focused primarily on a few guys chopping rocks to build an uber-base.  Nobody wants to watch that video because that video wouldn't be fun to watch.  All the fun gameplay consists of people going out and interacting with other players in weird and creative ways.  Like the two that likwid posted earlier.  I was laughing my ass off at those.

What I wasn't laughing at was manually unlocking each and every single one of the doors in our base.  In fact I couldn't wait to get out of there.  Maybe I'm in the minority, but I'm just not interested in dominating on any particular server.  Even if it's our own. 

Making some dinner with the wife, then I'm logging in. My goal tonight is to convince someone to sing "Wrecking Ball" on voicechat. I'll be frapsing.