Why I might not play Stick Online 3

[crozier]

You know- I remember a good amount of my dreams at night. Some good- some bad. But there's a reoccurring theme that I have had over the last 10 years. And that is Stick Online. I must have had a dozen dreams about being in the game fighting monsters and running around the map. Now- it's not exactly like Stick Online- the enemies are different, there is sound, and everything is just a little big more lifelike, but it when I wake up, I know they were about this game. This has been going on throughout the last dozen years, but over time, it's been getting less and less common. I still think about the game, and I miss playing it, but I just don't dream about it any more.

The game was a huge part of my childhood. It was the first MMORPG that I played, and will probably be the last. Sure, SO didn't have the technical specs that other games had, the graphics were pretty crappy, the game revolved around grinding, but I made friends when playing. I have fond memories of battling the best-of-the-bests, and beating bosses as a team, and just talking with normal kids [like me]. It was a really great community that all played a average game. 11clock and I went on to make a few indie games together, and _food introduced me to stoner artist forum that he created (that I still post on regularly). Jmac, petro, igufed, Dan, and so many others were all great friends to me. I kind of miss it.

Seifer was probably one of my best friends on this game. He introduced me to this MMORPG Ashen Empires, which was in a similar shape to SO. The game was slightly going down-hill, seeing that the game was released years before I started playing it. I played a LOT of that game. Seifer allowed me to play on one of his high level accounts, so I could do boss runs with our guild. I eventually got my account to a mid-high level, and was able to go with them on my own account. I stopped playing that game after seifer died. According to one of the guild-leaders, he left his accounts to me. But I never really played the game again, to enjoy playing on those high-level accounts. I missed playing the game with a friend. I don't even really like MMOs, I just liked playing computer games with friends.

That's kind of how I feel with Stick Online. A significant portion of the community has left, so I stopped playing. There's been, like, 10 forum posts in the last 6 months. A lot of people have moved on, with university and jobs, which is good for them. That's the way life is. A lot of my IRL friends moved away after high-school, and I had to make new friends. But- you know- I miss them. But they didn't really miss me enough to ever contact me after we graduated over 2 years ago. I had to be the one to contact them, even though it was kind of hard to do (I'm a little shy in real life). Really, none of them contacted me. They knew I was a quiet kid, too. So out of my 20 close high school friends, I only still talk to 3 of them. And that's because of my own initiative. I've made new friends, but I kind of feel like none of them value their friendship with me, as I do with them.

I don't think I will play Stick Online 3 (if there ever is one) if nobody from the original community plays it. I know a few of you are still around, but I really don't feel like "a few" is good enough. So many people have left the community, and don't care about the game or the people anymore. I still care. SO3 might just be one of the best games of all time, and might attract a lot of new players (like middle-school-me), but I don't have the time to make new friends. I'd rather be with the old SO community. Does that make sense?

I don't know if SO will have a strong future, but I hope that the community returns to it's old state. Cause that's always what the games been about. Anyway, here's my question, does SO2 (and SO3) have a future?

[ToxicDuck]

I understand what you mean. I still feel that when/if v3 is released, a large portion of the original community would return. They most likely won't play a lot like when they first started playing v2, as most of us started out playing this game as kids, and have real life obligations now. Stick online has always been a very social game, the majority of the fun came from it's relatively small community being able to become friends and talk to each other in a manner that isn't like other online games, the grind and idleish nature of s.o made it easy to talk to people on it, I mean, what else are you going to do while your hp regenerates right?

I think v2 is dead, but I don't think stick online is dead. A lot of us have spent an incredible amount of time being involved in this game, most of us since we were children, and it's likely that most of us probably won't ever fully forget about it, I think when/if v3 is released, enough of the old community will play to get the ball rolling, whether it's for most of us to say, or to establish a new community.

If v3 is released, even if we're all gone, there will be kids who will find the game just as we did, then in the future they'll be in the same boat, but until then they'll probably have some great memories of the game just as we do with v2.

It's late and I'm not really sure where I'm going with this, but oh well, that's my piece :P.

[Jmac]

I'm still around, and I totally understand where you're coming from. This game, and more specifically, this community, was a large part of my "social" life for years. It was always a joy hanging out with everyone and just talking about pretty much anything that came to mind. Now, as you mentioned, many of us have jobs, university, and multitudes of other things to occupy our time, which is understandable. However, I believe that some day in the future, when v3 is finally released, many community members will return, most not just for the game, but to see their old friends. At least, I can only hope that will be the case; but I must remain faithful.

It may sound pretty lame, but this community holds a special place in my heart for all the years we spent on SO. Thanks for being awesome! :)

[Meiun]

If it helps any, I have planned on having a system that allows you to link your V2 account to your V3 account. Players who have linked a V2 account (created prior to V3) would have access to a special area in V3 that no other players can access. It would serve as an easy way for old community members to meet up, hang out, and find each other again. As well as possibly offer some other perks.

I'm sure that a large chunk of the old community may not return, but I would try to reach out and ensure as many of them as possible were at least aware of V3 when it eventually comes about.

[crozier]

Thanks guys for responding. I play a lot of video games, but I don't think any of them have been really important in my heart like SO was. The others were all just, kinda, just video games. And it's just a shame  seeing SO in this state.

But I'm really fortunate that the server went up for donors and [later] registration opened up, after SO2 shut down. I had a level 50something with a GS and a hammer, but that wasn't even much time spent playing. After I donated for an account, That's where most of my time went in. I'm glad SO2 just didn't shut down permanently. Because post-server blackout was where I logged in the hundreds of hours of playing.

And thanks Meiun. That sounds great! I know you won't get everyone back, but I know a lot of people do have a soft spot for the game. It'll be nice, and I'm looking forward to it.

[T-Rok]

I understand your worries and reason for feeling this way, but I for one do not question the resolve of our community. Most of us have been here since V1, and we're still here. Sure there are those who falter but all you have to do is look to the General forum to see how many "BOW DOWN I HAVE RETURNED!!!" topics arise. Like cockroaches or the WBC, we are resilient little buggers.

We are a close knit group of friends and have experienced wonderful and painful things together over the many years in this community. I know a vast majority of us veterans check back at least once a week if not daily like myself. And within the group of veterans we are all connected whether through Skype, League, Facebook, or another video game. The day V3 is released is the day a message will go out across all of our connections, everyone will inevitably see it, even those we have not heard from. They will flock back like moths to a light.

BY THE POWER OF MEIUN!

[Mr Pwnage]

While I can attest I am extremely busy now going into my senior year as CS in college in addition finally having an office job (programming all day), I'm sure I and many others would return when the baby in the oven finally pops out. The time I have to grind would probably be less likely, but I'd at least stop by now and then.

It's actually kinda funny how many people I'm still in close contact with from when I first played the game in middle school. I haven't really lost touch with many people, we all just play different games or do different things now. (Luci and crew on League of Legends), (Danimal and others on steam)

And the private area for the old community sounds pretty awesome too. I wouldn't fear too terribly much about losing the old playerbase, as they will likely be the first accounts to play anyways. Regardless I think it's kinda nice to hear your memories of stick online. I can honestly say the game itself was the final step in what pushed me into wanting to become a programmer. I've made many games in game maker and have now moved on to greater things all stemming from my joy of playing Stick Online and hoping I could create something like it as well. I don't think I'd ever be a game developer as my actual career, but definitely still in software (not a huge fan of doing research, will stop at masters). Here's a little showcase I finished a week ago, you'll notice some projects like "The land of lost souls" are pretty damn similar to Stick Online. http://www.benmward.com/projects.php

[Hikarikuen]

Oof! Right in the childhood. I as well can definitely attest to the fact that as soon as V3 is up I'll be back - as others have said, not nearly as much due to other responsibilities (turns out you have less free time as a junior in college than as a 6th grader!), but I check the forums pretty regularly. And although I haven't maintained contact with other players as well as a lot of you, I'd definitely try to reach out to some of the guys from the Inferno Clan/SO Elites days to make sure everyone from V2 had a chance to revisit their childhood and help ring in V3.

[Chaos]

Amusing how many older players popped up in this topic already.

I've made mention of it before, but I myself still got these forums on my bookmarks, and I check it every few days.  Likewise, I still speak with a number of people from SO on Steam, such as Lucifer and Snakeman.  I don't know how Meiun feels about it, but when SO3 does eventually come around, I still maintain my offer to recreate the Chaos Tournament Crowns in the new style for those who previously earned them, along with possibly holding further Chaos Tournaments in SO3.  Those were always pretty good at drawing a crowd.  ;)

[Meiun]

Amusing how many older players popped up in this topic already.

I've made mention of it before, but I myself still got these forums on my bookmarks, and I check it every few days.  Likewise, I still speak with a number of people from SO on Steam, such as Lucifer and Snakeman.  I don't know how Meiun feels about it, but when SO3 does eventually come around, I still maintain my offer to recreate the Chaos Tournament Crowns in the new style for those who previously earned them, along with possibly holding further Chaos Tournaments in SO3.  Those were always pretty good at drawing a crowd.  ;)

I would absolutely be up for that. I would be honored to have you keep doing the full Chaos tournaments for V3 (once it comes out x_x). Those were always a lot of fun, and a great part of the game and its history.

[Zario777]

I'm more hopeful for Stick Online v3 than I am for Sonic Adventure 3 so ya got that going for ya; I still also glimpse at these forums from time to time to see who is saying what and I think I'd still be hyped for SOv3's release

[RayRay]

If it helps, I am also still around. To this day, I have been checking Stick Online forums every day. The visits are brief because there's hardly any activity. SOv2 is really boring without a big community and I have zero interest. But if we could get more to come back for SOv3 then I will have a blast in the game. I was a little late to the party for SOv2 so my level didn't get very high. Perhaps as a returning player I could get further in the game than before.

My only concern is how long our get together will last. Sure it will be a new game and a fresh breath of air, but if it's going to be based on the same grinding with friends method then I get a little worried, since new members get pushed away when they're just trying to play the game itself. You grow up with video games and you start to see what works in a game and what doesn't. Don't get me wrong; the SO veterans are obviously going to enjoy playing through the game again. Things like the Chaos tournaments definitely build on the game and make it a lot of fun. Hopefully we could plan our play sessions to maximize the fun for all of us. That will perk my interest in the game by a lot. I really look forward to SOv3; it's well worth the years of waiting.

[Supercowy]

We are still around, you know.. There is many of us still around. We are just waiting in silence.

[bubba]

I don't think I will play Stick Online 3 (if there ever is one) if nobody from the original community plays it. I know a few of you are still around, but I really don't feel like "a few" is good enough. So many people have left the community, and don't care about the game or the people anymore. I still care. SO3 might just be one of the best games of all time, and might attract a lot of new players (like middle-school-me), but I don't have the time to make new friends. I'd rather be with the old SO community. Does that make sense?

You should think about letting go of the past. I understand you've made a lot of good friends over the years but honestly they are simply stages on a journey. Some people won't keep talking to you after high school, because maybe they have greener pastures in sight and are focused. Some people won't play SO3 because perhaps there are more important avenues in life for them to venture on. A lot of people loved SO1 because it was simplistic in nature but ultimately had some small depth and a fun community (it also helps the internet was new). If you'd notice a LOT of the people who are here today are just now finishing college. Believe it or not the age demographic for SO1 was very centered around 10~16. We've all grown up pretty steadily and it's time to realize that although SO2 was a good game it was still inherently focused on that same design demographic. After all, Meiun is one person coding the game himself. Of course a lot of people grew up out of it and moved on..

I think SO3 will run its course as well. I obviously cannot say how it is but I think you will find it interesting and fun but ultimately you should move aside the past and make new friends. Chances are most people even today won't stick around for more than 100 hours into SO3. SO2 was a great game but a lot of people, myself included, moved on. Hidden8 and Nutemo were the same way (two people from the original SO1 that I still talk to now and again (though Nutemo is pretty MIA)). SO1 was TONS of fun, but we were also very young and just liked a free little game that could run on shitty computers.

Edit: Also in touch with fedor if I remember right (i think that's what his SO1 name was) he changes his steam name every other month so I forget what his original alias was.

Amusing how many older players popped up in this topic already.

I've made mention of it before, but I myself still got these forums on my bookmarks, and I check it every few days.  Likewise, I still speak with a number of people from SO on Steam, such as Lucifer and Snakeman.  I don't know how Meiun feels about it, but when SO3 does eventually come around, I still maintain my offer to recreate the Chaos Tournament Crowns in the new style for those who previously earned them, along with possibly holding further Chaos Tournaments in SO3.  Those were always pretty good at drawing a crowd.  ;)

I still have you on MSN I think but I barely log into skype.

You still living in MN? How's Jake?

[Chaos]

Added you.  I'm good, still living in MN.  Going to school again, majoring in Mathematics, ideally going for a Masters.  Jake's good too, he just got a new job as a programmer making 75k. :p