You're still here???

[yeahchris]

Hey Chucklefucks. I'm not dead.

I thoroughly expect that about 98% of you people probably don't know who the fuck I am. You would probably have to meander over to the old forums to find much of a trace of me -- Discord wasn't even released until 2015.

History lesson time!

During the bronze age of 2013 two old fucks named Skull and yeahchris ended up (by pure random chance) inheriting control an SS13 server. This fledgling server had popped into existence due to the failure and dissolution of another heavy RP server named 'Apollo Station' with which they had both been involved, but had not been staff.

Apollo had crumbled in the same way that so many things of this nature do: infighting, weird schisms, ineffective and egotistical leadership, and uncertain direction.

Aurora was a server boasting an average of maybe 5-20 players a night, mostly engaging in chair-RP or ERP. It was using a map copy+pasted from another server. The situation really wasn't great.

Skull and yeahchris were both junior staff -- a dev and an admin respectively. Everyone who had attempted to lead Aurora washed out for one reason or another; mostly that they had no clear goal in mind. Eventually we were the only ones left.

Miraculously, Skull and yeahchris found that they both had very similar thoughts on what was needed to make the server successful. They both believed that:

• disruption and dynamism is necessary to ensure quality RP, that without it storytelling will stagnate and become completely uninteresting to everyone except for the 6-8 individuals currently logged in and emoting about fondling spessman tiddies.
•  That conflict must exist in storytelling in order for the story to be fully formed. The conflict can be physical, it can be emotional, it can be political. But it has to exist. Otherwise, there is no challenge to overcome. There are no stakes.

We started putting policies in place to make the server more palatable to the masses while still keeping it Heavy-RP. During our time at the helm the server went from being an average of 5-20 players a night to 100-150 players a night during summertime. We had to add an entry checkpoint to keep the greytiders out. We veered, dangerously at times, towards medium-RP -- but we always self-corrected.

We had to hide the server on the BYOND hub for special weekend events. The banhammer was swung wide and it was swung frequently.

Skull assumed the mantle of Head Developer, handling the technical aspects of both enhancing the code, the map, and the physical (and later virtual -- I hope) appliance that was hosting. He also took part in guiding the minutiae of the lore. I assumed the role of Head Administrator, where I was responsible for trying to build, guide, and maintain server culture, organize events, build narratives that fit within the lore. I was also the creator and final arbiter of the server rules.

The server rules you see today are a modified version of what I wrote back in 2011-2012 the dark ages. I know they're too long, I'm sorry. If you ask nicely I'll tell you which Neverwinter Nights server I stole Rule 1 from.

I left abruptly in 2014 citing some vague personal reasons, all the while maintaining my desire to stay involved with the server. But I never came back.

The reality was this:

My father was getting old and was no longer able to effectively provide for his own welfare. I moved 3000 miles so that I could be near to him, understanding that I would eventually be his sole caregiver, and that, eventually, he would die while under my care.

During the last 10 years I built a career for myself out of nothing so that I could provide for him. I ended up taking care of my dad part-time, providing financial assistance, running errands, etc. For the last several years he was living with me full-time under my care. This month he passed away.

While it brings me great joy to see hundreds of people still enjoying some stupid thing I had a small part in helping to build more than a decade ago, mostly I'm glad for every hour that I spent with my father in the last 10 years.

At the risk of committing great blasphemy -- I would like to urge you to late join. Hell, skip a round if you have to.

Go hold your loved-one's hand. Tell them you love them. You wont always be able to.

Also, I've been playing amongst you. *Actual* Z-levels? What the fuck is this sorcery?

Edited February 8, 2023 by yeahchris

[Scheveningen]

considering the literal horror that has been the last 2 weeks reading these forums it is an incredibly pleasant surprise to see you posting again. This is a quadruple dose of nostalgia, though. Can't believe it's been almost 10 years. 

I'm so sorry for your father, I had no idea that's why you haven't been around for so long.

The good news is the server is still around, and still maintains its HRP label. Everything's gotten more complicated since 2012-ish SS13 era, though. Hope you enjoy your time here.

[yeahchris]

4 minutes ago, Scheveningen said:

considering the literal horror that has been the last 2 weeks reading these forums it is an incredibly pleasant surprise to see you posting again. This is a quadruple dose of nostalgia, though. Can't believe it's been almost 10 years. 

I'm so sorry for your father, I had no idea that's why you haven't been around for so long.

The good news is the server is still around, and still maintains its HRP label. Everything's gotten more complicated since 2012-ish SS13 era, though. Hope you enjoy your time here.

Oh, I know. Been playing for a bit.

The changes, both in terms of the code and the lore, are wild. Love some, so-so on others.

Overall, remarkably pleased that it seems to be doing so well. Whether that resiliency speaks to the server's foundation, Skull's efforts afterwards, or its current staff, I have no idea.

My money's on Skull though.

Also remarkably pleased that forum toxicity is no longer my problem to address. I weep for the unpaid babysitter who that now falls upon.

[Garnascus]

Hello yeahchris. I am Garn! I have the distinct honor of being one of two current headmins for Aurora and i have done so for many years now (Oh god im getting old). I joined the team back when skype was still used for staff coordination and for some reason I stuck around. I heard your name mentioned many times by skull at the time. Whenever we would consider a particular point of administration or have a topic for discussion your name would get cited a lot. Generally in a "This is what was intended do we still want to do it this way?" kind of way. We've ported to a brand new map with ship controls, fancy artillery, away sites and ancillary ships roaming around space. Our server is pretty stable nowadays thanks to our excellent team. 

Skipping rounds when needed is sound advice. Over the years i have observed many unfortunate cases where people use aurora as their SOLE source of social interaction. The server ends up becoming a replacement for the support structures all of us have in real life. I do not think that is healthy and i do think some of us ought try to spend more time with loved ones. 

[Girdio]

Holy shit! Yeahchris! Honestly never expected to see your name around again.

 

I don't remember if you remember VoltageHero from super old Aurora, but that's me.

 

I had actually mentioned you a few weeks ago when talking about some of the really early admins, and partially the fact that we had two Chris admins back to back, which was pretty funny.

I'm sure you remember F_Sphere but I'm almost certain I've seen him brought up in passing as well, recently.

Edited February 7, 2023 by Girdio

[Skull132]

Holy fucking shit, it's Yeahchris.

I do think I 'member you mentioning moving to help your father. And I'm both sorry for your loss, and glad that you feel like it paid off. It took me another 8 years and a second organizational leadership position to effectively learn the same priorities. (And a bit of depression :^) ) But I'm glad that I did and I'm glad that you pursued something similar as well.

It's been. A wild ride here. I've actually been both officially and practically retired for 1.5 years now, believe it or not. But Aurora has indeed grown a lot. And has been built up to, hopefully, be quite sustainable. Not only thanks to me, but thanks to a lot of the staff that have been here since 2015 or so. We've survived funky dramas, 80% of the mod team quitting on us at one point, overall SS13 related shenanigans, etc. Made crazy technological advancements. The SS13 community itself has changed a lot as well. Believe it or not, there's now a fully functional common ground discord, where hosts and leadership of almost all large servers hang around in, communicate in!

And all the while I've graduated uni twice, and now lead a tech team in the aviation sector!

If you at all wanna chat, find me on Discord. Been a lot that's happened since!

[Skull132]

also, holy fucking shit it's voltage.

[Scheveningen]

Wait, Girdio is fucking voltage? I never knew.

[F_sphere]

2 hours ago, Girdio said:

Holy shit! Yeahchris! Honestly never expected to see your name around again.

 

I don't remember if you remember VoltageHero from super old Aurora, but that's me.

 

I had actually mentioned you a few weeks ago when talking about some of the really early admins, and partially the fact that we had two Chris admins back to back, which was pretty funny.

I'm sure you remember F_Sphere but I'm almost certain I've seen him brought up in passing as well, recently.

I have been summoned from retirement to join this gathering of old men

 

I’ve popped in and out of Aurora a few times over the years and I’m constantly amazed at the work this community has done to produce an active, engaging, and shockingly polished version of something we struggled to envision almost a decade ago now! No community is without its issues but never in my life did I expect this child of Apollo discontent to last until now, and so strong.

Edited February 7, 2023 by F_sphere

[Chaznoodles]

48 minutes ago, F_sphere said:

I have been summoned from retirement to join this gathering of old men

 

I’ve popped in and out of Aurora a few times over the years and I’m constantly amazed at the work this community has done to produce an active, engaging, and shockingly polished version of something we struggled to envision almost a decade ago now! No community is without its issues but never in my life did I expect this child of Apollo discontent to last until now, and so strong.

Sphere dragged me out of the e-retirement home to say hello and give the usual 'back in my day' speech

My condolences about your father, I hope you're as good as can be considering the circumstances.

 

It's odd but good to see something Sphere, Tool, Subdigital and I started over a decade ago still going, past the point of me handing hosting over to Sphere at the end of 2013! I hope it's still in capable hands and gives people a good time! I'll dig out Aurora's original barebones mission statement so you can all see how far the server's come, while I'm here. I hope everyone is having a good time!

Edited February 7, 2023 by Chaznoodles

[mrimatool]

Yooo, I mean I’m pretty sure we made the server in September 2013 and then I left Q4 but other than that cracking job fellas - still makes me happy to see you guys doing well 

[mrimatool]

4 hours ago, Girdio said:

Holy shit! Yeahchris! Honestly never expected to see your name around again.

 

I don't remember if you remember VoltageHero from super old Aurora, but that's me.

 

I had actually mentioned you a few weeks ago when talking about some of the really early admins, and partially the fact that we had two Chris admins back to back, which was pretty funny.

I'm sure you remember F_Sphere but I'm almost certain I've seen him brought up in passing as well, recently.

Fucking Voltage 

[mrimatool]

4 hours ago, Skull132 said:

also, holy fucking shit it's voltage.

That’s what I’m saying!? 

[Promanguy1223]

Hey yeahchris, its nice to meet you! I am Promanguy1223, been playing since 2014 on and off. I probably got on around the time you left, I feel like I heard your name once or twice, but don't really remember much of back then. Wanted to say, I thank you for what you and Skull here created and has given me plenty of enjoyment over the years, when I was really bored. I created some fantastic characters that I continue to develop even now, these characters are some of my prized and most thought out possessions. I even cosplayed one in my profile picture.  I love the Aurora server, and its community with every fiber in my heart. 

Its sad to see such things happen to you or anyone for that matter. I worry for my own loved ones all the time, considering they are getting much older, and my mother hasn't had the best of life could offer. I continue to struggle sometimes when I think about the future, and how I'm going to have to take care of my mother or father, when they can no longer care for themselves. 

Thank you for the message, yeahchris. Its an honor to meet you. 

[yeahchris]

4 hours ago, mrimatool said:

Yooo, I mean I’m pretty sure we made the server in September 2013 and then I left Q4 but other than that cracking job fellas - still makes me happy to see you guys doing well 

Too long. Don't remember. And likewise!

Edited February 8, 2023 by yeahchris

[yeahchris]

12 hours ago, Garnascus said:

Hello yeahchris. I am Garn! I have the distinct honor of being one of two current headmins for Aurora and i have done so for many years now (Oh god im getting old). I joined the team back when skype was still used for staff coordination and for some reason I stuck around. I heard your name mentioned many times by skull at the time. Whenever we would consider a particular point of administration or have a topic for discussion your name would get cited a lot. Generally in a "This is what was intended do we still want to do it this way?" kind of way. We've ported to a brand new map with ship controls, fancy artillery, away sites and ancillary ships roaming around space. Our server is pretty stable nowadays thanks to our excellent team. 

Skipping rounds when needed is sound advice. Over the years i have observed many unfortunate cases where people use aurora as their SOLE source of social interaction. The server ends up becoming a replacement for the support structures all of us have in real life. I do not think that is healthy and i do think some of us ought try to spend more time with loved ones. 

Oh I know! Don't mean to boast, but I've proven a fairly capable engineer on your custom map. It puts our modified exodus map of yore to shame.

 

I believe I was the person who originally inserted production-line-esque conveyor belt thingy into the Roboticist station when we started really customizing the map, much to everyone's confusion and dismay at the time. Everyone rightly pointed out that it serves no functional purpose whatsoever and complained about the increased time taken to get manufactured parts. But it's cool, goddamn it.

 

It tickles me for some reason that that particular feature seems to have persisted in various ways. Though I believe it was more pronounced on your last map.

 

Also, someone should make the supermatter heat exchanger pipes visible again. The radiator is borderline impossible to fix if damaged because you can't see where the pipes are nor which direction they are facing.

Edited February 8, 2023 by yeahchris

[Subdigital]

Wow talk about fucking memories man. Glad to see this place is still rocking and kicking.

[Gollee]

Damn, how did I miss this thread? 

 

It's good to hear from you again, Chris. My condolences for your father, it hurts like a stab in the gut.

 

I'm still lurking around, always a bit too busy to play, I'm a teacher now, which is interesting. 

 

For anyone who doesn't know me, I was either the first or second head developer, working under Tool, but I very quickly passed it over to Skull, who was far more competent in that area than I. I mostly worked in the lore team as the lead before Jack boot, and I helped set up CCIA. I was also a general admin for a little bit. 

[Zyrus]

For what it is, this server is pretty good. Even with my issues with the way the AI was effectively ruined for me, the staff here do a good job of maintaining things generally. Nice to meet you.