Hello Everyone. This is my first post to the new board, I hope you will listen to it with the rationality I know you all have.

Now, I first admit I was shocked, even speechless when Andrew told me what was going to happen. But I was never angry. Never. Why? Its very simple. Because we owe everything to him. We owe the sites to him, we owe the boards to him (for he did pick Jos after all, right?) and we owe the game itself to him. I hear a lot of you are angry. I don't see why. Why are you angry? Because AW is getting rid of the boards? Because AW is getting rid of the site?

What? Are we forgetting that they're his. Are we forgetting that AW has provided these things to us, even after a half a decade has gone by since the release? Doesn't he have the right to take them away? Its his money after all. He's paid for it. When you pay for the game, where does it say you are given the right to a site and a board? It doesn't. Yet AW made it.

And look, we do have a board. Some might say its worse, some might say its better. Give me reasons why this board is worse and i'll listen, and refute if I need to.

And AW himself is going to work with me to make a better site, a full site. A site that is updated more often. More links, more plugs, more info. What more do you need?

Yes, this is a change, but you must be patient to see the full effects. Lets give this a chance. You might be suprised to see things work out.

Criticism is always accepted, flames and whines are not. Try to show a little respect.

Mark
CS

Well, listen. I realize that Ambrosia owns all this, and that it is their right to do what they want with it. Overall I don't really have a problem with that, on the contrary I'm all for an official EV/EVO site which is updated a lot more often. That would be great if that were to happen.

However, I really wish that the discussion board hadn't been ditched, and I'd be lying if I told you I wasn't a bit annoyed. Quite frankly, our former discussion board had the best layout, best script, best everything. It was the greatest discussion board I had ever seen anywhere, and that's a fact. Our former boards had no equal. By contrast, you have this board. Now while it isn't a bad board, it isn't exactly a good one either. There's no HTML permitted, the layout is rather confusing and difficult to get used to (it took me 10 minutes to figure out how and where to register my nick), and other small things which I won't waste time getting into.

By moving to this board and ditching the old one so suddenly without warning, a lot of people have been angered, like Regulus and such. While I understand why Ambrosia is re-doing the site, I think they could have done this without trashing the old board, and just letting someone else host the exact same thing.
That was the point I tried to make 3 times on the EV/EVO boards, when someone kept deleting my posts for some strange reason coughs and looks at CS. I don't think my idea was that unreasonable, certaintly not cause for deletion. You did it to Regulus' post too....

But anyway, that's somewhat off the point. Here's the point I really want to get accross.

The site change might be for the best, but our old discussion board was a unique place. A lot of different people went there, and the boards were always frequently visited. However, with this change, I fear that many long-time visitors to the boards just won't follow along, similar to Regulus. I'm not even sure I'll post here that often. I'll probably monitor things and answer people's EV/EVO questions....I don't know. Anyway, if this becomes the case and many members of the EV/EVO communtiy cease to come to this board, this community is going to lose a lot of its flare, and that'll be a damn shame.

The real point of my post is this. I think by putting up an unofficial board like the old one, we'd keep the respected members of the community around, and I don't think it'd hurt anything. I mean, what's wrong with a 2nd EV/EVO board? Its not a new idea or anything, and it'd help keep the spark of the EV/EVO community going.

My 2 cents.

UE Crusader

So let me get this straight. Andrew killed escape-velocity.com and instead moved the board to this location? intresting. my only complaint - now EV and EVO is mixed and we know that will be a problem ( i have a "?" too - are graphic sigs still possible? wait i look to the side and i guess not!

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Life is a dream. When we are born, our dream begins. When a momentous event occurs, we have rolled. When we die, we mearly awaken. Do not fear death for it is only the begining of a pause till our next life.

So let me get this straight. Andrew killed escape-velocity.com and instead
moved the board to this location? intresting. my only complaint - now EV
and EVO is mixed and we know that will be a problem ( i have a "?" too -
are graphic sigs still possible? wait i look to the side and i guess not!

No, I did not kill escape-velocity.com -- the site still exists, and over the next few weeks, it will be getting a major facelift to make it even better, with the help of Ambrosia.

The only thing that has changed thus far is that the old web board has been retired in favor of a more modern web board, which has fewer bugs and more features than the old web board.

I realize that many of you were attached to the old web board interface, but I think that if you give this new board a chance, you'll see that you haven't lost anything -- and in fact you've gained some great new features.

So in summary, you still have a web board, it is still moderated by Hell Hunter and Captain Scurvy, and you still have the Escape-Velocity.com web site (which will be getting even better in the near future).

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Andrew Welch / el Presidente / Ambrosia Software, Inc.

it is still moderated by Hell Hunter and Captain Scurvy

What about Jericon? He was recently elected (though by default of EVula) and I and many others would support him if he were allowed to continue being admin.

I don't think this board is too terribly bad, I liked Jos's DiscBoard better but this is fine. I don't think I will be leaving.

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-The Fonz
http://catalyst.xs.mw/

I came to escape-velocity.com in...oh...August '98? Just after HellHunter was elected. I've alwaays been a lurker - hardly ever posting, unless it was very important. I probably didn't even make thirty posts. Yet I had a special connection to the old boards. In the bygone days of such greats as SkullLeada, who has long since forsaken the game. But gradually I drifted away from EV. Not because the community was suffering, but simply that I needed a break from EV. I'm not critisising the game, but it can get a little monotonous after a while. As do all games. I began to play a new game: X-Wing Alliance, the 3D space combat sim based on Star Wars. And the boards at xwingalliance.net had the same life and energy as the old EV boards. And there were three people who kept the boards alive: Lt. Guilo, GUNNER, and Master Lynn. In those days I would have checked the boards every day. But gradually these three drifted away, although GUNNER may still be there. New people, with personalities just as lively, and just as open and friendly took their place. But it was never the same. The sense of community was lost. Soon afterwards, SkullLeada left EV, and the community began to decline slightly. Followed by the terrible days of nash. But the community was still there, and boards were still a fun place to be. Then I left EV again for a while. And I came back to find this. When I noticed the redirection, and what had happened to the boards, I tried escape-velocity.com again and again, feeling that there must have been some mistake. I felt a part of my life was missing. Sure, the old site was never updated, but I didn't care. The old boards had a character and life which is irreplaceable, and I will always miss them.

What's the point of this nostalgic rant, I hear you say. Well, in my experience, gaming communities, Mac or PC, strategy or space combat, always suffer from major changes. Some are even completely destroyed. In my opinion, the EV community is not dead, but it will die very soon.

Don't get me wrong, Andrew gave us our community, our boards, our site, and I thank him more than I can ever say for that. But we also made the community what it is, and I feel we should be given some say in things like this.

The ever nostalgic,
Mark Henry
(temporarily without his sig, while I find it and convert it to UBB)

(This message has been edited by Mark Henry (edited 03-08-2000).)

Quote

Mark Henry wrote:
**I came to escape-velocity.com in...

(This message has been edited by Mark Henry (edited 03-08-2000).)**

The old thread board provided much more of a community feel. There, we could discuss other topics and talk about ourselves and somethings in our lives. Now its like "get in get out" feeling here where all info should be EV related.

I think the new site was a good idea, but the old threaded format was alot better IMHO. I know all the countless benefits of UBB, but I have never seen a community-like feel in a non-thread forum. The new site can now be updated and no more webmaster complaints either. The only problem is, Welch HAS to use UBB in everthing. I dont see why just one forum (Banter would be good) couldn't be non-UBB....

The community was doing just dandy after key figures left from both the EV and EVO boards (I mean, at different times there really was "different communites"), new people and new faces pop-up. The 'community' wont die soon, it is already dead. UBB doesn't allow communities because it kills spam, or rather makes it very difficult to make it. Funny how we all complained about when people used to post non-EV related stuff... little did we realize it was one of the things holding the "community" together. Using these boards is like using a cheap motel, rather than going to a fimiliar home... I feel dirty =(

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RIP THE SYSTEM!

(This message has been edited by mikee J (edited 03-08-2000).)