Well, it's officially over now...

[ukebec]

I'm glad I'm not the only one, Sarah. No, I didn't bid Orinda a fond farewell. She were always a fearsome homely, timid wench, and never a favorite of mine.

But I did feel the need to sail to world's end.



A perverse aside - I always thought it would be funny as heck if, when you sailed to the world's edge, you'd find a big, neon Mickey Mouse sign, with a waving mechanical arm, next to an equally gaudy neon sign that said "Eat at Joe's" with an arrow. Just my weird thinking.

After that I sailed back to that sweet spot - midway between Port Royal, Tortuga and Devil's Anvil and just watched the new game day unfold. I saw brave ships out there plundering until the very end.

I'll give Disney one thing - they rendered a sky like nobody's business.



Sarah - I saw you, and Sven O'Smythe (Svenny!), and Kat O'Hara and Frank Hardy and others online there towards the end. I was torn. I kind of wanted to shout out to all of you but I also just wanted to experience it alone. I went the selfish route and just stayed at the wheel of my ship until it was over.

But I've got to give it up to those pirates on Abassa - in the final minutes that server was still full. There must have been some kind of party going on there. Way to go out, me fellow swashbucklers! They were partying like, well, pirates over there!



It was beautiful. I've taken more screenshots in the last week than I'd taken in my entire 6 years playing the game.

I don't know whether to curse Disney or bless them. What a great experience, but how bitter to have it slip away.

[Sven Osymthe]

Originally Posted by ukebec

Sarah - I saw you, and Sven O'Smythe (Svenny!), and Kat O'Hara and Frank Hardy and others online there towards the end. I was torn. I kind of wanted to shout out to all of you but I also just wanted to experience it alone. I went the selfish route and just stayed at the wheel of my ship until it was over.

I wouldn't call it selfish.. the game meant so much to so many people over the years, it's only appropriate that you spent the last moments how you wanted to.

It felt strange logging in over the last two weeks. I had strayed from the game long ago, but after hearing of its closing I just had to return for one last adventure. It was sad to see my guild and friends list plagued by inactivity, just a bitter reminder of why (partly) I left in the first place, but the last day truly was special. I personally saw my list of online friends go from a maximum of six the previous two weeks, to a grand total of seventeen in the final hours. So many people I never imagined I would see again wound up returning to see the game off.

I personally spent my final hours visiting places that held meaning to me. The day before closing I went to Tormenta, the home of so many glows. I then spent the night before at the back beach of Padres, fighting the General with a few friends. On the day of closing, I spent quite a while at Kingshead, the location I first mastered a weapon, and the home of the once infamous empty Kingshead glitch. Afterwards I went on a boss battle with Char and Char (), and we rescued the Pearl one last time. We then spent our final moments dancing away on the docks of Port Royal, only to be joined by many of our guildmates and friends.. as well as a large group of strangers who had gathered for the cancelled invasion.


I'll post my pictures later.. they're pending approval