EVE No Longer Supported/Staff Change

[Tbone]

Sorry buddy. You should check out Rust with us!

[Da6onet]

It's ok Yuri, EVE is better as a mistress mmo. That said, 5 more days to large blaster specialization complete :-)

[likwidtek]

WTF

http://youtu.be/dP_CCdimCDQ

[Tbone]

Welcome to three days ago, Likwid...lol. That was one of the videos posted on our front page, along with a recruitment video for the Brave people.

[NoCry]

Likwid is my favourite;)

[likwidtek]

I blame the flu.  But honestly I must have not seen that when it was posted previously.

*cough*  *weeeze*  *snot*

I'll go back to bed now. 

[YuriVi]

Ok..so how do I check out rust? where's the site?

Sorry buddy. You should check out Rust with us!

[Strod]

That video really pisses me off.

I understand it was intended as a joke, but god dammit why the fuck was this ever made.

It boils my blood to see FA regarded in such a disrespectful, meh kind of way.

God dammit that video fucking pisses me off.

/endrant

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go commit atrocities in Titanfall to many enemy faces in order to calm myself.

[Sared]

That video really pisses me off.

I understand it was intended as a joke, but god dammit why the fuck was this ever made.

It boils my blood to see FA regarded in such a disrespectful, meh kind of way.

God dammit that video fucking pisses me off.

/endrant

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go commit atrocities in Titanfall to many enemy faces in order to calm myself.

[Manic Velocity]

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.

[Tbone]

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.

I agree with this. It can be frustrating to be working hard to create/develop/foster something new and potentially great while everyone else checks out and says "let me know when it's awesome." That's my frustration, but it's also my cross to bear.

The greater issue is basically two types of people joined FA back in the day (and I'm sure a combination of both). One group saw FA and said "Wow, these guys are awesome - I want to be a part of that!". Another group saw FA and said "Wow, if I'm a part of FA, people will see me as awesome!". There's a difference.

One of the problems is that 9 years ago, we were IT. I've never seen a guild be more influential in any game I've run across since FA in MxO. So many people played that game simply because they saw our videos, read articles about us, and wanted to capture that same lighting in a bottle. I was young and in college and had plenty of time to devote to it, and most of our members were young adults as well. As life marches forward and things change, people change, games change - we have to adjust. The chances of us catching that lightning in a bottle again are slim to none - it was a once in a lifetime thing, really - we just hit right on the consciousness of those wanting to play MxO. Every other game we've played has been us trying to fit our style into a different kind of game, and that's not easy.

Regardless, most of the people who have stuck around have stuck around because they developed friendships. They found a tight-knit group of players who they game well with and don't care what we do as long as we do it together. They'll never leave, even when things aren't as active. They've found their home.

But there are people who just want that feeling of being awesome. They want to be the best, and if they don't think FA is the best anymore, they want to find whatever group will make them feel good about themselves again. It's not a matter of community and friendship. It's a matter of pwnatude and how they can use the group to achieve their personal goals.

Like I said, I'm sure many of us have a combination of both - a desire to be the best while also having a strict devotion to our friends and the community at large. Some people can't balance the two and don't know who to blame. "FA should be this. FA should be that." - If we don't fit into an individual's idea of who they think we should be, they get pissy and eventually leave. It's like a bad relationship where you're constantly trying to make the other person change instead of accepting them for who they are, warts and all.

What has kept FA going for 10 years is our ability to change with the times as well as the devotion of our core member base. Virtual reality with the Oculus Rift is the future of gaming, and I think it brings us right back to our Matrix roots. It's something we all get and love. It's where we shine. I've generated a decent buzz about us in the VR community and left a lot of good impressions with my beta testing.

If there's anything I want people to get from this, it's that you get what you put in. Don't wait for something to change. Don't wait for something to become awesome. You're all awesome because you're here, and you all have something to give - to contribute. Those who remember my ORIGINAL website challenge will know how crude a project is when I'm working on it by myself! FA was able to achieve the success it had because everyone contributed - everyone was excited about the possibilities. There is this feeling of "meh, wake me up when the Rift is here". When we were waiting for MxO, we were on the edge of our seats. Half of the fun was the WAITING - the convos in TS, the beta rumors, the development.

That's the stage we are at with the Oculus Rift. I'm just as excited about it as I was MxO back in the day. I'd love for more people to get involved and help take us to new heights. How?

We can use Firebox as recruitment. Please download it and take a look at the site I've been creating. Even if you don't have a Rift, you can walk around in the virtual world. Our site is one of the default bookmarks because we're awesome, so it's easy to find. I'd eventually like to make a cool recruitment tool out of it.

We can use VRChat for meetings and interviews. Again, download it and take a look. Just yesterday Revalis, Zero, and I managed to import a custom FA avatar into the program to use!

A few of us are on TS all the time. Just come say hi! I really think we should start thinking about recruitment soon, even though there isn't a specific game we are calling home yet. Most VR enthusiasts want to get their hands on ANY compatible game, and the killer social online experience will become apparent sooner rather than later I'm sure.

As far as I know, we're the ONLY guild currently designing ourselves for VR gaming. That's HUGE! I'm meeting and talking with people that I'm fairly certain will go down in history as the pioneers in virtual reality, and we can be a part of that history! If that doesn't get you excited for what's around the corner for FA, I don't know what will!

[Sared]

Thank you Manic for expressing some of my own thoughts on the matter.

Thank you Tbone for being able to keep all these plates spinning for the last decade.

I think part of the problem that has bugged Manic (and myself) for sometime is the pervasive elitism still lingering from the MxO days, something that I think T addressed well in the post above.

This community became very tight-knit under the conditions of MxO if only because we were dealing with a hostile player base. This was before 'doxxing' became a term, and trust was more valuable than $info. This caused many people to play their cards much closer to their chest, and in my opinion only added to the levels of mistrust and paranoia of outsiders. This all comes together to reinforce a groupthink mentality that cannot positively serve a healthy and growing community in the long run.

I am a member of the Furious Angels.

I play Eve Online.

I consider myself a friend to both Manic Velocity and Fuse, and still try to keep in contact with both of them.

I do not consider any of these mutually exclusive, and I hope that others can manage to do the same.

Again, keep at it T. You've been doing this for the majority of your adult life and that takes some serious fucking dedication. We're all still trying to figure out what the future holds and as long as we can healthily discuss our different opinions in an respectful, adult manner, then we're already a step ahead of the curve.

[Strod]

Regardless, most of the people who have stuck around have stuck around because they developed friendships. They found a tight-knit group of players who they game well with and don't care what we do as long as we do it together. They'll never leave, even when things aren't as active. They've found their home.

+1

[likwidtek]

/thread.


Awesome job guys. 

Manic, we love you man.  Tbone, seriously you built something awesome.  Warts and all.  I have full intentions of talking to you guys via my wetware teamspeak implant 40 years from now in my rocking chair, drinking my ensure.

[Phienyx]

I know I'm am a pretty non-vocal member most of the time.  I tend to observe quietly from the shadows, if you will and speak up only occasionally. 

I came on-board during recruitment for MxO and I can tell you what convinced me that this was the group I wanted to participate with, was the dedication, enthusiasm and commitment to the RP worlds within which FA participated.  I genuinely enjoy(ed) interacting both in-game and out of game on these forums with such a diverse group of gamers.  With so many different personalities there are bound to be a few bumps and a bit of turbulence, but the ability of the group to weather these times as a whole speaks volumes.  Many of the members I became most familiar with during MxO and DarkFall have parted ways with FA over the years, but I honestly don't think any of them will experience the same camaraderie with another group as they have with FA......I may be wrong, but I doubt it. 

Although I don't have the time to game like I used to (though circumstances have allowed me to play more now than I have in the previous couple years) and though I haven't always been thrilled with the choice of games out there for us to play, I know that there is a great group of fellow gamers out there with whom I share a gaming history and to which I can relate.  If they happen to be playing a game that interests me, I know I am welcome to join and be a part of the effort.  I appreciate and value that. 

In short, regardless of all the drama that surfaces sometimes, I hold no hard feeling toward anyone on a personal level. I only hope that regardless of what happens that there can still be a mutual respect for each other and for what FA represents.  I have and will continue to miss the participation of those who's names I have come to think of as synonymous with FA, but will also respect that things and people change over time.  Regardless of where our virtual paths take us, I think in the end, we all want the same thing: which is to enjoy a quality gaming experience with people we know and respect while working toward a common goal.   I will not presume to tell anyone what decisions they should make for themselves, but don't let opportunity control your loyalty.  Contrary to popular belief, lightening has been known to strike the same place twice.

That is my lengthy two cents.

P.S. : I still think we could kick ass in APB.  Hehe...