Time to release the forums from the ferry of the damned!

  • KnifeLife
    Commander
    Insider
    Founder

    Hello darrrghh! Fo-Rum-ites...

    Firstly this is going to be a long one, there’s a TLDR at the bottom so scroll down if you prefer. :)

    It’s that time again. Time where we all try to band together to make our voices heard. Time to ask the developers to release the forums from the ferry of the damned and actually use them again. Time to return these ancient waters to there greatness instead of leaving them like Atlantis, full of myth, questions and wonder. Time to get back on board, grab some planks and equip there buckets and rejoin the crew.

    For some newer members, or even those who have been with us for a while now but not long enough to know what a few of us old timers speak. These ancient isles used to be the centre of the Sea Of Thieves. The first port of call for all things Sea Of Thieves related, the Thieves Haven If you would. A place of life, wonder, mystery, great companionship, camaraderie and of course... Developers.

    Back before the launch of the game we had the TA (Technical Alpha) and with that we had the insider program. (Yes the one where you have to fight a kraken to get a verification email) I know it actually had a use at one point!
    Through it the developers would release all manner of information on the game and dev team. Things like:

    • Interviews
    • Upcoming features/Riddles/Hints
    • Competitions
    • #SeaOfTeases
    • Joes unintentional Leaks
    • Memes
    • Feedback threads
    • Monthly insider reports

    And many other things I know I’m forgetting but will add when I remember or am reminded. A place, like I said above was the center of the universe for SoT, the community was unheard of in kindness and compassion and the developers where just as active as members of the community. You got the sense that they where genuinely interested in you and your views and opinions on the game. You could have long conversations about anything, be it about the game, the aspects of there job role, gaming in general or... well basically anything. Like us they are human...I think 🤔 :P

    However as the game launched the ship took a new direction, there was some backlash over aspects of the game and the developers went silent. Which was to be expected, they was hard at work sorting out the launch issues and had there heads down working hard and planning for the future of the game.
    The community grew a lot and with a lot of new members, most joined to show there displeasure or complain the forums took a sour turn for a while. But through all that there was still the old timers and epic members standing strong, staying vigilant and trying to keep the name we had all built for the place alive. That name still stands true today for me.

    But we where told that the community had grown to much for the developers to be using the media’s now. A response what wasn’t nice to hear, but one was accepted at the time.
    However that, unfortunately was not the case at all. Rumours and screen grabs started appearing of the developers actively engaging in new communities. (Reddit, Twitter Ect)
    We where told they was not allowed to respond or interact because of how big the community had become and there words would be a twisted and misconstrued. Yet all evidence pointed to the opposite of that, the developers had all left the forums and had taken residence in new waters, with new communities and marooned the long and faithful crew on the ferry never to return it would seem.

    And with that the decline kicked in, what was once a bustling haven for all walks of life and characters started to decay. The lack of interaction from the developers on these shores left us all confused and wondering why? Questions never got answered, so members made up there own responses. Thoughts and opinions didn’t feel like they where being heard so people started making there own views on what certain aspects of the game should be and what they believed the developers thought.

    Old time members, deckhands and many other fair and good folk left these shores as they saw no reason to stay, the captains abandoned ship and left the crew to fight for power amongst themselves. The old ways where gone and we lost many good pirates. It felt like the English had come to Nassau and the goldenage of piracy was drawing to an end.

    Not all hope was lost though, since then through a lot of hard work from a lot of great members and albeit a lot of positivity and restraint. Old legends who remained and even new ones who have forged there name around these parts have fought hard to keep this ship sailing! To go above and beyond to help, debate and encourage conversations, answer questions and keep the lifeblood of these forums alive with there stories and great personalities. (A few that spring to mind who are old and new legends alike: @Skulliah @Erinom3 @Murkrage @NoFears-Fun @king-deka @x-crowheart-x @Sshteeve @thor-Von-blitz @a-cranky-Eskimo @PirateCraggy @Clumsy-George @Genuine-Heather @stacky-a @sgt-palooggoo @tre-oni @xCALYPT0x VHombre @ClosingHare208 @LucianSanchez82 @JE0RGIE-P0RGIE @JetOrchidee97 @mr-dragon-raaar ) And even then, I know I’ve missed so many awesome members, those where litrally names that popped to my head so I’m so sorry if you are not there! It probably wasn’t the greatest idea to list people but alas it be done now! I tip my hat and raise a grog to those above and beyond! Your the true legends of these parts!
    Pirates who are named and unnamed have kept this ship sailing in times of dark and held there lanterns high to help and guide us.

    And of course your probably wondering hang on a minute Knife, your forgetting some people...
    Of course not only do we have the user legends above maintaining the ship but the biggest applause (Or hook clanking) obviously has to go to our @Deckhands and @Quartermasters who not only are awesome community members but have in my opinion one of the hardest jobs you could ever want! Maintaining and guiding our motley crew without letting emotion or biased views get in there way. There is no harder job in my eyes then one of a position of power. Yet, these brave men and women go above and beyond to guide, help and steer us all in a friendly and civilised manner without losing there tempers, while I’m sure getting a whole load rubbish thrown there way! It’s a job you couldn’t pay me to do, the biggest irony is THEY DONT EVEN GET PAID! (And I thought I was one of the nutters around here! 😂)
    But truly through all the good times and bad they have been here for everyone doing, at times I would guess, a soul destroying job, yet they push through it always and still log on everyday because of there passion for not only this game, but the community to. And while we may be bailing the water as members it’s the these guys and gals who are the nails keeping the ship together in the first place.

    TL:DR

    So to wrap up before I break my fingers and touch screen, this is a call to get the developers back to this great ship which they once launched and have unfortunately left. They started this community and have brought all these amazing people together and them not being here anymore is not only a big loss for us, but in my honest opinion it is an even bigger loss for them.

    So my idea is, recently we had the hashtag from the developers #SoTandMe we all shared stories about how the game has helped, changed and done different things for us. What I want us to do is make a new one.

    #TheForumsAndMe

    If you have any stories from these parts, memories or friendships made, legends forged. Write them below, show the developers the power of this place and what it means to you. Remind them why this place is unique and why you choose to log back in, maybe this time we can make the diffrence

    Even if we don’t it would still be awesome to hear your stories and maybe forge new ones. You are all legends in my eyes and for me this will still only be the place I come to for my SoT Fix! Remember to #BeMorePirate!

    Have an awesome day and keep being the amazing people you are and I hope we have many more great adventures and memories on these shores for a long time to come!

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  • ClosingHare208
    Marauder
    Insider

    @knifelife aye mate

  • Sgt Paloogoo
    Commander
    Insider

    Aye!

    It's time the devs came back to man their ship!

  • Sshteeve
    Captain
    Insider
    Boatswain

    Yup, the @boatswain have been lamenting this for a while... :'(

  • KnifeLife
    Commander
    Insider
    Founder

    @closinghare208 Oh god, how did I not put you on the list! I’ll be changing that right now! :)

    I will also be writing my post for the hashtag soon, I just need to give my hands time to rest after all that typing! Even my phone feels like it’s on fire 😂

  • Sshteeve
    Captain
    Insider
    Boatswain

    @knifelife There are a lot of them there already, but most, if not all Boatswain are still here and we all talk regularly about the forum and things we have spotted, jumping in where we feel necessary to enlighten, calm, or report... :)

  • vorondil1394
    Ship Mate
    Insider

    @knifelife thanks for the post, very well said! I sadly joined the forums after the Great Exodus, and I don't even know how good it was! Here's to hoping some change comes soon and I can find out!

  • KnifeLife
    Commander
    Insider
    Founder

    @sshteeve I have seen quite a few already, I just thought it might be nice to get them condensed in one thread so that if the developers do happen to stumble across it they can have a read through the different experiences.

    Like the old threads it probably won’t work, this is like my third thread on the matter in the past year of so but nothing will change if you sit idle so I’ll keep on going haha

  • Sshteeve
    Captain
    Insider
    Boatswain

    @knifelife We need the tag system on posts to work correctly as well. It is too hard to add them at present; especially on mobile devices. But I digress and I am derailing the thread so I'll shut up!

  • PirateCraggy
    Legend
    Insider

    @knifelife

    Aye Sir!
    There's no abandoning this ship from me :)
    I love this forum, it's members old & new.

    Rare brought me to SoT... the community has made my stay epic.
    I want to be involved, to be able to contribute in anyway I can.
    Welcome new members, forge new friendships along my journey, and help out were I can.

    thankyou btw... @KnifeLife for the mention.
    We are individual cogs in a greater machine, collectively it's all of us that make this place work.

    Yes, at times, it can seem an a little empty, but the core community keeps this vessel afloat.
    Sometimes through troubled waters, but our strength is our passion for the game, and the friendship & respect we have for each other.

    Personally I would like more involvement from the Rare Team at forum level, it would be nice that our dedication was rewarded by their presence from time to time. They genuinely seem a nice bunch.

    It would be nice if they could take a more personal touch, open up, and feel more comfortable discussing the games future.
    And possibly announce new content for the game, or further developments here first, then open their proposals up for wider discussion.

    Since they appear to be opening up Pioneers ( although covered by NDA ), it's possible this is the first sign of something fresh & new in their approach.

    Here's hoping ( hoping I'm not dreaming )

    Craggy.

  • ClosingHare208
    Marauder
    Insider

    @knifelife thanks for putting me on the list mate cheers there'll be more topics from me in the future

  • Tre Oni
    Marauder
    Insider
    Founder

    Honoured I made your list. I love you too!

    The SoT forums are the longest and most active I've ever been present on a forum. It started back when @Musicmee was the first one to like my post and welcome me to the forums, and it solidified and grew from there, and here I am.

    This became one of my favourite games and the game wasn't even out yet but the community, and the dev interaction in the Tech Alpha forums, and insider forums was always amazing. I've shared threads of dreams I've had of being invited to the tech alpha and playing, because we were all so hyped. Eventually I got my invite, in about August, before the release, and even barebones the game was truly amazing, and blew me away, and I'll never forget my first experience with the game, and finishing it off by all of us drinking in the tavern together and getting struck my lightning. It was amazing, amd everyone was sharing their amazing stories, and the devs were heavily involved and invested in hearing our stories and interacting with us. And then to be there as people discover their own easter-eggs introduced into the game as it was happening! It was amazing.

    Personally, I miss the forum presence of old. I understand the games released now and its harder for the devs to have the time, but if you can post to twitter or reddit, you can copy/paste an official topic here regarding whatever it is as well.

    Lately I find myself sassier than usual around here, and seeing complaints and opinions that grate me, and that I completely disagree with (returning people complaining lack of content, rare is greedy, etc, etc list goes on) Just know to anyone on the other end, I'm not trolling.. just coming from a place of opinion solidified in following this game as hard as I did, and for as long as I did. Because this game, and the forum are my favourite game and place to be, and I'll be here for longer still, growing with the game. Maybe one day I'll be here long enough to do something awesome enough to warrant my own in game easter-egg ;)

    In the meantime, I hope we can get the forums back to how they used to be, atleast as far as Dev interaction, and if anything could do it, I feel like this thread could.

    I've had plenty of arguements and debates around here in my time here, but despite all that, I really do love you all.

    Please bring your awesome presence back to the forums so that any newcomers can feel that sense of community and "tight knit" I felt from you guys so long ago. It shapes people, their attitudes, and your game. Truly.

    #TheForumsAndMe

  • LucianSanchez82
    Legend
    Boatswain
    Founder

    @knifelife I don't particularly like any of you. But the forum is written in a nice font, and the GIFs are free, so I stick around.

  • Skulliah
    Legend
    Insider
    Boatswain
    Founder

    I think it's not just the devs, it's also the community managers! The forum has been completely abandoned since K-bot left, no one is in charge of managing the community here.

    At the moment, it's only the community (community moderators, deckhands and all the other members) that is trying to keep the forum alive and spread positive vibes.

    Moreover, the forum has not seen any updates to improve the experience, especially on mobile or notifications that are not working. It's really sad because there would be so many possibilities to expand the universe of the game here.

    The forum is not read by the community managers anymore. You have a great story to share? Only the ones on Twitter/Reddit will be highlighted now. You want a sneak peek of how the features were developed? You gotta be on Twitter or Reddit for that. Forumites all agreed on naming the little crab Scuttles but the only one highlighted by Rare was the one chosen on Twitter. And so on...

    I don't understand why they are not bringing the funny weekly challenges here such as the weekly themed pictures they framed adapting it into stories or something else. They are just excluding a part of their community at the moment.

  • Musicmee
    Vanguard
    Insider
    Moderator
    Founder
    Deckhand

    To drop in here Just dropping by here to say thanks for the mentions above, we love doing what we do here and it's for our love of the community that we do it!

    But, to give @S0nicbob his dues, he has been putting in an excellent show around the forum in recent days and weeks. I hope it continues and is a sign of good things to come.

  • Sgt Paloogoo
    Commander
    Insider

    Oh, I almost forgot, Thanks for the mention @KnifeLife!

    I remember when I first arrived here on these forums, it was 3 weeks after launch.
    Hehe... I didn't even know how to post pictures at the time, so I made a thread where I asked the Community on how to post pictures, and sure enough I got alot of people showing me how.

    Fast forward a year and I'm a SoT photographer!
    alt text

    And a Sea of Thieves speculation expert! (In my own mind anyways)

    So that's what I've gotten out of the forums, and I'm not going anywhere I love all the sailors here!

  • KnifeLife
    Commander
    Insider
    Founder

    For me this was the first forums I have ever signed up to, and personally it will probably be the last.

    I first saw the game on an E3 trailer (2016?) and it had my curiosity peeked since then. When I heard about the TA I clambered to the forums in hopes of getting to play the game myself and experience the uniqueness of the design and world.

    I signed up to the forums and and found out you had to wait to be invited into the TA, they usually did monthly invites and I believe I joined two days after the last wave. I was itching to play the game and had no idea how I was going to wait so long to have a chance. So I spent a bit of time lurking in the back ground of the forums. It didn’t take long before I was in awe of the community that had been established here! There was no arguments or even condescending comments, litrally everyone was extremely nice, open and welcoming and just enjoyed sharing there passion for the game and pirates lore in general.

    It was then I took a big lunge for me. I was in a very dark place and fighting hard against a social anxiety disorder. Which unfortunately still followed me to the internet so even talking to strangers online was pretty horrifying.
    But I was so surprised that a place like this could actually exist on the internet I had to write a thread about how it suprised me and I couldn’t believe such a place existed.

    Much like @Tre-Oni my first commenter and upvote was no other than @musicmee welcoming me to the forums and thanking me for my words.

    From that I slowly started building confidence and getting involved in various topics and doing what most new members do, make threads what I’m sure most people had seen one hundred times before. Yet people always got involved, added and shared there opinions and ideas and through that got me through the wait and helped me become more confident in myself online.
    They showed me maybe people might actually want to hear what I have to say and that I could have conversations with people which we may not agree on things but still stay civil and friendly afterwards.

    I also had never seen a development team in all my time gaming who had an active role on there community. If it wasn’t for the Rare badge they had on there accounts you would have assumed they where just normal members like everyone else, they got involved in all manner of topics about the game and even the ones not about it. They knew the different personalities of the members and would even share and make memes.
    You could always go to them for a conversation about the game or even life in general as there was so many diverse members of there team who had so many talents and experiences you could just chew there ears of all day. (Which I did on a few occasions)

    For me the community members and Rare team helped give me a small nudge in my life to get me on a path of trying to sort my life out. I truly believe they had a ripple effect which had helped steer me on the path I am now and I will always remember and be thankful to this place for that.
    When I think of things which contributed to the turning point in my life these forums always pop up.

    And it still contributes today! One example I was in a college lesson a couple of weeks ago and started feeling the early effects of a panic attack. So I made my way to the rest rooms to start to control my breathing and pulled my phone out and loaded up the forums, I spent a good 20 minutes just browsing through some threads and taking my mind somewhere else so I didn’t lose control.
    Because of that I was able to zone my thoughts, calm myself down and proceed back to my lesson.
    In reality that could have gone a very horrible different way where I could have started freaking out, felt like I made a fool of myself and set myself back weeks if not months. Yet through the forums it helped me divert it, calm myself and get on with my day.

    So for me the forums will always be an amazing and magical place and I truly hope the developers decide to rejoin us all one day and come back and get involved, because I’m not sure if they realise the effects they have had in people through the crew-munity they have created here.

    Just to wrap it up, and I’ve said it 100 times today but you are all amazing people and I look forward the new memories and experiences we can all forge together in the future.

    #TheForumsAndMe

  • KnifeLife
    Commander
    Insider
    Founder

    @musicmee Yes you are very correct there he does and there’s a couple more who I have seen, but for certain reasons which I’m sure you can guess I didn’t know if it was something I was allowed to mention so I figured it would better to be safe than sorry. :)

    Also as an edit! I’m so sorry @JetOrchidee97 and @LucianSanchez82 I knew if I made I list I would forget awesome pirates! I’m litrally kicking myself right now!!!!! Adding you both!

    @Skulliah Completly agree, the forums used to be the centre of the world for all that and as soon as the game launched it was pushed aside for the other mediums. I personally don’t have Twitter, Reddit or Discord. For me SoT Is the forums and game so it is truly a shame to feel forgotten about.
    And to be honest I would say it goes even further back then K-Bot for a long time if felt like she was the only one who did get involved minus the very Rare exception or if there was a lot of complaints like the Barrel UI ect..

    The developers need to remember it’s the little things that make the big diffrences, small things like when @khaleesibot would make a thread just to ask how everyone is doing when she had an hour between meetings etc..

  • Musicmee
    Vanguard
    Insider
    Moderator
    Founder
    Deckhand

    @knifelife Yeah, I know what you mean :) I broke it to give Drew a pat on the back!

  • Qui3tCool
    Master
    Insider

    @KnifeLife

    Thank you for the mention! I am very honored to be counted among all these very fine examples of pirates here. Sad that some are no longer with us. Excellent post my friend! Everyone here and a few others that have stayed sailing with us here on the forums have done our best to keep this ship on course after Rare pretty much abandoned ship. We have been here weathering the storm as well as sailing under brighter skies.

    It is a real shame. A captain usually goes down with the ship. I would think the Rare team should have stuck around here until the last man left. The community here is the crew and family that grabbed the helm to keep the ship sailing and stop it all from sinking. It is high time that they return to this ship and sail along with us again.

    Come on back Rare. We are still here and the voyage ahead from our perspective on the forums looks brighter than ever. Please come share this space with us. Help us breath new life back into these hallow stomping grounds of all us pirates, loyal and a bit shifty, as you get ready to do so with the game with the mega update and beyond. There is no time better than now to jump back on board. We shall say together!

  • JetOrchidee97
    Vanguard
    Insider
    Founder

    @knifelife a dit dans Time to release the forums from the ferry of the damned! :

    Also as an edit! I’m so sorry @JetOrchidee97 and @LucianSanchez82 I knew if I made I list I would forget awesome pirates! I’m litrally kicking myself right now!!!!! Adding you both!

    Haha don't worry matey :) but thank you very much! You are definitely one of those who inspired and still inspires me today. You're not afraid to hold your ground against the tide, in a very polite and clever way. You've been a blessing to me at times where I was quite frustrated with how debates had been going on this forum.
    I can't count how many times I've upvoted you, I often found in your writings what I would like to say but in a better way.

    This forum is like Tortuga to me, it's the before and after SoT (and even while sailing long distances lol).

    Here's to the crew!

  • Thor von Blitz
    Vanguard
    Insider
    Boatswain
    Founder

    @skulliah said in Time to release the forums from the ferry of the damned!:

    [...] no one is in charge of managing the community here.

    Wrong, as far as i understand @OpticalMatrix has taken over that role.

    [...]
    The forum is not read by the community managers anymore.[...]

    That's an exaggeration.
    They do still read here.
    I'm actually pretty sure that the forums are read as much as reddit and twitter.

    I can agree that it feels like the direct interaction has gone down here, but maybe we are/were just spoiled before the game launched.

    There was not an awful lot to talk about on reddit and twitter before the game launched - aside from the occasional speculations.
    And the forum was the only place for people that were/are part of the Insider Programme to share their stories and thoughts due to the NDA - of course there was more traffic and interatcion here.

    Now, with the game being released and no NDA in place, people are buzzing about their stories sharing clips and screenshots on twitter and reddit on a daily basis.
    Of course traffic shifted.

    I doubt that we will ever get back to the level of familiarity we had prior to launch.
    We were a lot smaller more familiar group of people (i'm sure plenty of our names still ring all sorts of bells if mentioned in the Rare HQ).

    Things are different now.
    There are hundreds upon hundreds more people now that demand attention from Rare.

    If i look at the Pioneers Section of the Forums, the level of interaction with Rare Staff (@S0nicbob, @C3DPO 👋) feels about the same as before.

  • Skulliah
    Legend
    Insider
    Boatswain
    Founder

    And now, here's my #TheForumsAndMe post!

    My view of the forums was previously very obscure and they never attracted me very much. When I enrolled during the alpha, I needed to log on the forum to understand a little more how the game worked, so I began to read the fabulous threads from the devs and the community. As English is not my native language, I finally found this practice to read something other than news articles a great opportunity to improve myself.

    Then, I decided to publish shyly my first post and introduce myself but I still had my old gamertag that I really didn't like anymore. So, I thought it was the best opportunity to pick a new one that would match the story I would give to my character. That's how Skulliah was born and I've explained where it come from in here in the thread What's in a name?. I really enjoyed reading everything shared by forums members and all the Rare employees about where their character's name comes from.

    I lurked quite a lot but I tried to participate in some thread from time to time. Tried to create mine to find out which players favourite islands or outfits are, to share their crews pictures and so on. After experiencing the Hungering Deep, I wanted to share an apocalyptic idea that would have worked as a world event where skeleton ships would take over the Sea of Thieves and force crews to work as a team to defeat them. I tried to build some stats around the achievement, tried to make some summaries of live stream...

    Feeling more confident in my english and learning every week things about the Sea of Thieves, I started to help other community members who were a bit lost and asked questions. I imagine that it has become a little habit and that is now turning to help others to know what Rare share elsewhere. The invitation to join the small group of Boatswain to thank "my awesomeness" surprised me, it gives the feeling you're part of something a bit bigger than yourself. But it saddens me that this idea was not continued while many other members deserve this title too (even elsewhere in the community and not just in the forum).

    Reading and participating in this forum has become a daily activity and I greatly appreciate being part of this community. I really like to read the little adventures of everyone, the ideas they shared and the constructive and respectful discussions on how to improve the game. Lots of things to say but to sum up, the forums made me meet awesome people to dream about our pirates lifes together :D

  • xCALYPT0x
    Master
    Insider
    Boatswain

    @knifelife The first time I ever heard about Sea of Thieves was in a PC Gamer article. They did a little write up and I think they had some screenshots or a trailer or something (which, thinking about it now, I'm not sure how because everything was under NDA). I read the article and thought to myself, "WOW. I have to play this game when it comes out." I've never been in any Betas or Alphas. I always just play games when they are out. This was probably around the time of the Alpha.

    Some time passed and Sea of Thieves had left the forefront of my mind to be replaced by life and the day-to-day. Until I opened up twitch one day after work and saw people playing the Beta (this was the first Beta). I immediately started googling furiously about how to get in, and along the way found myself registered on the forums. For two days (I think it was two...) I explored a brand new world, full of adventure, mystery, and excitement. But then the Beta ended. What was I supposed to do now? I had an itch and no way to fulfill it. And then I found solace in the forum. The only other game forum I had joined was League of Legends, and my time there was very short lived (and some Runescape private servers but that was a development forum, not player forum).

    I spent every waking hour on the forum. My mind was on SoT all day every day. There was no game to play so all I could do was talk and discuss and debate with other players about what was to come. And I loved it. I lived for it. It was such an amazing place (and I wasn't even around for what most people call the good old days. I don't even know how to describe it. There were suggestions being made here and there and everywhere, but back then they didn't seem to be repeats. Every discussion was new and full of life (and the post quality seemed a lot better but maybe that's just nostalgia). And even though I had joined after the developers seemed to have departed, I still felt like my opinion was being heard by someone (you guys). And even though the developers weren't around, they still had the Banana quest and stuff like that which were SO cool. I had gone down to my University to visit my then girlfriend (now Fiance) who was finishing her last year and she was surprised that every moment when she was in class, I was talking to strangers on an internet forum xD

    But somewhere down the line the magic left. For me it was around the time of Cursed Sails. I went on vacation and it was the first time I had been away from the forum. I was not on a lot and felt like I was missing out on all of the conversation. Before that, there was almost no news that I missed related to Sea of Thieves. When I returned, I felt out of the loop. I also realized that other media platforms were better/quicker ways to get information. I made a Twitter (I have like 0 social media) just to stop missing things. I don't like the discord as much because I feel like I miss out on conversations. When I logged into the forum, every conversation seemed to be a rehash of ones held previously (which I can't fault new members for). And to add another dagger, there seemed to be multiple people who had spent so much time here, that I had so much fun discussing with, that had been banned (hopefully I don't get in trouble for saying this). And that.... that takes the wind out of your sails.

    So now I log in every few days. See if there are any hot topics. Check out the patch notes. But I would give anything to have that magic back. At lunch, I will join your tweet crusade. And I will put it in the weekly dev stream chat as well!

  • C3DPO
    Marauder
    Insider

    We're still lurking guys :D

    I think there is even a post from an elusive engineer on the Pioneer forum ;) - Almost posted which update it was referring to, pheew saved myself there.

    The team is super busy preparing some of the finest updates for you all to enjoy.

    I wish I had more time to read all your fine tales and post my appreciation, but feel free to call me out / summon me and I will try respond.....

    Hope you all enjoy the game as much as enjoy working on it and playing it.

    Kindest regards

    Dean

  • Clumsy George
    Legend
    Insider
    Founder

    #The Forums and Me, Hoh , if i really have to write a story about that then i fear that this space will be way too little . The "Old" Forum was ...from outer space ( Little tribute to Mr Keith Flint ,may your Soul rest in peace). i never and probably will never see a Forum like that for the rest of my life ( * wich won't be that long if i have my chance - Sunshine, keep it civil...for once).
    This forum really helped me in a period where i was really darkminded , you cannot believe what it did to "belong" amongst others ...SOT and Piracy , stories and fantasies connected us like no other Forum could . But we grow out of borders , The Forum Legends got rewarded with ranks , ranging from the Deckhands , wich was a honor but sometimes must have felt as a curse ,because these well meaning people did tremendous hours of work , look at Mrs Truewalker who seemed 24/7 involved in the Forum , to name one , the everlasting Mr Musicmee ,who finally got rewarded by becoming Quartermaster , allthough he had to "prove" himself for more than two years…

    A bigger group called the Boatswains was formed , loyal little helpers who in their own unique way contributed to keep peace and rationality in this place , a place that frequently went over the borders sometimes as debates ended up in verbal fights more than i can remember...Alas , allthough Boatswains were promised to grow in numbers as positive members who were rewarded with the title , and deserved that title , became as quickly forgotten as it was made.

    i'm guilty too of lacking the Forum a bit , for once ,i'm not capable of reading anything anymore since too much get's written and i simply don't have the time to read it all, secondly as an old foreigner , i can't seem to find a way to speed up translating in my mind, wich is ...very frustrating sometimes...But what always caused hurt in my Heart ( * You don't have a Heart , yokel - Sunshine....You're the one that has no Heart , for no one * Shut it , Captain Tearface) is that their is always a slumbering tension that can enflame any minute if something new get's introduced…
    i really see comments that make me shake my head and wonder where the days of old have gone too…

    And this "slumbering " is responsible for my ...slow retreat...that i'm aware of...i try to fight it , be positive , write a story , wich all of a sudden isn't easy anymore , since i have to stretch out really hard to reach positivity again…

    There is no doubt in me about the game , in game ,i still meet Great Memorable figures who , if i can remember the session wich becomes more and more difficult ( * Knock knock - who's there? * Aunti Dementia hehehehe), i try to honor with a toecurling story of mine...

    You know what is hurting the most ? That i write always the words " The Forum of Old", and that the Forum of nowadays has been cut up in so many splintergroups , where everybody does their own thing in order to try to defend the dwindling borders of positivity….

  • NoFears Fun
    Master
    Insider

    @knifelife Thank you matey for putting this together. Hopefully we can get the dev team to come back to the forums. All information, all contests, and the main form of two way communication between the dev team and us should be the official forums. Sadly they have forgotten that.

    As for my #TheForumsAndMe I am not a Founder, but with the hours played I would say I am an old salt now. A great friend of mine @QueenPucci, whom I met playing Pirates of the Carribean, talked me into buying an Xbox just so we could check out this new game called Sea of Thieves. When I finally was able to get an Xbox, about two months after release, we set sail. The game was mesmerizing, but the content was lacking. So for about the first month or so we rotated games. But then we started playing more and more. I even started sailing solo for those times she was not available. Slowly but surely I found that I was addicted and there was no going back. The beauty of the game, the way anything could go sideways in a moments notice everything. Then Hungering Deep came out. And suddenly, we were making other friends, and working together. Queen and I decided we would continue to help others with Meg until the event was over, knowing many helped at first, but stopped working with others once they stopped. During the event, I made a commitment that I wanted to have PL out of the way before the next event, so I logged hours upon hours, solo, sailing with groups or out with my best mate Queen. From there, both Queen and I are now PLA10, and to this day, we still enjoy sailing around the Seas. Taking turns in different areas of the maps. Trying different playing styles. But always returning for more adventures.

    I was so hooked on the game, that once Queen sent me a screen shot of an announcement for hungering deep that she had gotten through facebook. So I searched the web and found these forums. At first, I simply read what others were saying, getting an idea of the lay of the land, before finally diving in. Since then, I have had so many back and forth conversations, and on many occasions been able to see things from other viewpoints and even changed my mind on occasion. But all in all, the forums became part of the game experience for me.

    As for how the forums have impacted my game play I would say I have made soooo many friends through these forums and sailed with so many Legends that I consider myself fortunate. Yes, I have tried using the official discord, and once in a while you get lucky with a solid crew, but I only sailed with most of the people I met there once. One and done. But on the forums I have met people that I have sailed with many times such as @KnifeLife, @x-crowheart-x, @x-wolfstryder-x or @galactic-geek. And I have even more that I was only able to sail with once, but added more memories and adventures. Like the time I sailed with @KattTruewalker, @Musicmee and @lizalaroo. We ran out of cannonballs with two ships left in the DR, and still were able to finish off those last two ships, before losing our Galleon shortly after that, LOL.

    I have made friends that I believe will be lasting friendships from these forums such as you @knifelife, or @x-crowheart-x and @x-wolfstryder-x. And I know of many more that I wish to sail with some day soon such as @vorondil1, @Sshteeve, @Clumsy-George, @skulliah, @xCALYPT0x and many more that I can't even remember now.

    All of those people, through the forums.

    But even starting late on the forums, the dev team were still involved here on these forums. Interacting with others, even having a dedicated person to help keep the ship upright. But slowly, over time, they began to disappear. I think when the Skelly ships first came out, that is when the exodus started to happen. The forums were on fire then. There were so many issues introduced in the game, and the launch went so horribly sideways that Joe Neate had to make a special dev update apologizing the entire time. I still remember the beat up look on his face. And I can't help but think maybe that was part of the reason they are no longer around as much. Maybe they are scarred from that experience. If so, I hope they can heal up, and make a quick return to us, as many of us feel that part of the reason that we fell in love with the game was that interaction. Knowing that our voices/text actually was making an impact. One can only hope they come back.

    Sorry for making this so long, and sorry for anyone that I failed to mention that have helped to make these forums so special to me personally. Thank you all.....

  • xCALYPT0x
    Master
    Insider
    Boatswain

    @c3dpo I fear the pioneer section will meet the same fate once I finally (and hopefully) get in due to the opt-in.

  • NoFears Fun
    Master
    Insider

    @xcalypt0x Sorry matey, you were one of the ones I should have had in there for "hope to sail with some day". And same here, hoping to get in and maybe help make my mark in the pioneer program. Guess we will see what the opt in looks like.

  • xCALYPT0x
    Master
    Insider
    Boatswain

    @knifelife

    Didn't know your twitter handle otherwise I would have tagged you.

  • ClosingHare208
    Marauder
    Insider

    @knifelife here on the forums not man or woman or other can be made fun of and that make the forums a good safe haven for thieves and pirates like the legendary jack sparrow drink up me hearties yo ho drinks grog and rum mate the forums are Tortuga

  • ClosingHare208
    Marauder
    Insider

    @clumsy-george mate lets have a new hashtag #the sot forums and me

  • KnifeLife
    Commander
    Insider
    Founder

    @xcalypt0x Ah Wow! Thanks mate! I don’t actually have Twitter unfortunately I only really use the forums and have messenger on FB to keep in contact with some close family.

    But feel free to throw the link up, i guess if anyone did want to message me it could be done through the forums. :)

  • ClosingHare208
    Marauder
    Insider

    @knifelife true

  • xCALYPT0x
    Master
    Insider
    Boatswain

    @nofears-fun said in Time to release the forums from the ferry of the damned!:

    @xcalypt0x Sorry matey, you were one of the ones I should have had in there for "hope to sail with some day". And same here, hoping to get in and maybe help make my mark in the pioneer program. Guess we will see what the opt in looks like.

    That's alright :) And hit me up anytime you need someone to sail with :)

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