Thankyou and goodbye

Hello,

I just saw the notice on FF and it felt sad. Not sad that the games is ending, but it is ending on a sour note. The game ending is sad, but the way the developers handled it is worse. They even stole parts of the game sunset notice from another game that I had been working on ( GIJOE Battleground, it shut down this Jan).

So a little heartfelt goodbye and thankyou to all the players that supported this game and the people that ran this great forum.

As many of you know this was my first game that I worked on as a professional artist. And it had been a great learning experience. I loved every minute of it, and then moved on to working for the parent company DeNA. ( My company has since June has let go of, most of the employees , including me.) That is not the story I want to delve on, but that and FF's sunset notice has made me want to get a few things off my chest.

Two years ago, when I joined DeNA after leaving Gameview, I was still checking the forums. I saw the Franks thread, and decided with my former colleagues that I wanted to help. We could do a character just for him. I did a few sketches and concepts and went back and forth. But things never went further, I got busy with my new job, and adjusting to life in a new city and country.  Then the sad and inevitable thing happened and Frank passed away. You forget that some people have less time than you, and sometimes you wasting yours can have some serious consequences. Then all my ex-colleagues at Dakota got let go too. So this just went into some forgotten folder in a hard drive.

So, this is in addition a farewell and  thanks, also an apology into the ether to Frank, and all the loyal players of FF.  So sorry about being a lazy ass and I wish I could have done right by Frank and all the loyal FF fans.

So, I am also posting some of the sketches and concepts, that would have been Frankbot.



This was the image that I was working on towards the final.


I will try to also post more artwork, before the game sunsets and maybe even try to get CXB and Marcus to say goodbyes. It has been a long and interesting journey, but hopefully  it had come fun parts.

Thanks
Atomic Hermit.

That would have been cool. Although I didn't post a lot on thr forum, I did keep up with the everything here as it was always a good read. I didn't know Frank well but did have the pleasure of speaking with him a couple of times. It was great seeing the community rally around him for his L run.
I really hate to see the game die but would like to thank you for a great game and being my ally way back when (integradragon was my ign). Thanks for all the hard work you did and some of my best gaming memories will be from FF! It was a blast while it lasted, just wish there was a way to save it.

Thanks, and nice to hear from an old ally. All the best !

Well said dragon.

Hermit, we will all miss your artistry and craft. Look forward to hearing of your new projects one day soon. Not sure how long the forum will remain a viable channel for us to use.

And I thought the double gun commando had a striking semblance to Frank's baseball card visage he posted so long ago.

Anyone still got that image available?

Hermit,

thank you so much for that really touching and sincere message. I had gotten to know Frank quite well in the end well as well as anyone can through digital means and social gaming apps.after his passing his wife Wendy passed control of his accounts on to me. I had hoped to do a silent auction for the mercs he had in order to raise some money for Wendy and Franks family as there were still a mountain of bills to pay that did not depart when Frank left us. Unfortunately most of Franks mercs were agility based and like many suffered greatly in value as the great nerf happened just before he passed away. i instead decided to keep his accounts intact as a memorial to the man whom i had such an immense amount of admiration for. With one exception of his epic ice golem. It was his first great merc aquisition and something we often joked about and since i never got one i didnt think hed mind me using it. I couldnt help but think of him every single time i saw it in battle, i never loaned it out to anyone else and never traded it off until i left the game in July when i sold my entire account. It helped me to feel as though it was still going out there a silent warrior fighting in franks memory.

I will always believe in my heart that Franks arrival in the game truly saved it. He was so open and genuine and just plain good spirited it was hard not to like the guy. that summer seemed to be the summer of discontent on the forums. there was so much anger and fighting between clans and players on here, couple with the accussations and out right verbal attacks over shady game playing that it felt like the FF community which had just really started to come together was tearing itself apart from the inside out.

The devs were showing an increased indifference to player issues a trend that would continue through most of the games timeline, and the changes being made were causing a mass exodus of the core faithful to the game itself. And then along came Frank. His commentary was often so plain and matter of fact that it made them even funnier than they would have normally been. When it came to light that he was terminal with cancer i noticed a stark change in the atmosphere here. Often if there was a heated thread going on all that was needed was for Frank to chime in as he did and there was an instant calming effect to it, like he was a reminder that none of that bullshit was important. It was just a game, there were far worse things in life to be upset about, and even those as Franks so perfectly demonstrated through his positive demeanor in the face of a quickly approaching departure from life wasnt something to spend too much time stressing about. Its hard to continue to argue about stupid things in a mobile game in the presence of such grace.

Through that summer as Frank started to really mature in the game, and rapidly all under his own effort which was increidble to witness, the issues on here became less and less important and suddenly the forum was less a war zone and more like watching an amazing olympian performance. As Frank geared up for his first official L run the players began to rally around him. Im very proud that Frank joined my clan F3(known at that time as FFF) to make that run, a few other allstars from the game joined us for the event at Franks request and so began what i will always view as the biggest moment of player unity in FFs history. No one even cared or watched who was leading or by how many points it seemed. The only thing that mattered on this forum for those 7 days was how Frank was doing and if he was gonna get double Ls in the end. That event and more to the point Franks presence here was truly a turning point in the attitude in the game and if it hadnt been for Him finding his way here i just think the infighting and bitterness would have continued and the game would have truly fallen apart shortly after that, especially with the great nerf that happened at the end of that summer...

in the end it was a blessing for both the game and for Frank that he came to play with us. frank was able to find one last challenge in life very unexpectedly as he told me that he could conquer and achieve something worthy of cheering about. It was something that he was perfectly suited to do in his condition and yet something that he never expected to have happen again in his life.

Frank had said he was going to make arrangements to have his accounts/mercs passed aling to players he wanted to have them. Unfortunately. His time grew shorter than even he imagined and he never got the chance to tell Wendy what those wishes were. On his final day she said several times he made reference to being cold or freezing and mtioned for a pen as if to write something but was u able to do it. When i spoke to her after his passing and asked what his wishes were to do with his mercs and offered to help make sure they got passed along to the player he wanted to have them she told me he never wrote those wishes out. When i spoke to her about the value of some of the mercs and my idea about a silent auction i mentioned ice golem as one of them. In an "ah-ha" moment she realized what he had been trying to tell here that final day, he wanted to make out his merc will before he passed. ice golem was his first great and she knew from his mentioning it earlier that it was his favorite! Suddenly the comments about cold and freezing made sense to her, he was talking about golem and the rest of his mercs! Of course by the time i had spoken with Wendy the great nerf had just happened and when i finally got access to his account most everything that had been valuable was no longer. As Frank would so often say here "poop!", and those were my thoughts exactly at that moment.

i was the 13th player to ever sign up for this forum. i started playing during the 2nd ever raid event, the cyber lorac event and i played faithfully through continuously til July of this year, I guess that might make me the longest playing player in the history of FF. During my time i saw many highs and lows, i lead a clan that was barely still a clan of 5 players when i took over leadership all the way to the top of the game with over 30 players in the end, the oldest running clan in the game and the one with the most L wins combined ever i. The games history. in fact there was only one event in the over 2 years F3 was in existence that we didnt win at least one L. im proud to say I lead the coalition of the top clans in the event boycott to try to get the devs to consider changes that would benefit the players the devs and ultimately the game itself. Even though the devs chose to ignore our requests ive never before in any game seen unity among the top players to try to catalyze change for the good of the game on that scale. It also had the added bonus of creating much better relations between the formerly bitter rivalries among the clans through the use of the clan leaders chat room which i created for the boycott and suggested remain in use as a place to discuss issues and resolutions between clans through civilized conversations between the players who lead the clans. Im proud of these accomplishments and im glad to have played FF.

there were of course low points and in the end heartbreak as some of the most trusted member in my clan betrayed me under the guise of flimsy excuses because they disagreed with my stance on co-piloting accounts during events in order to win at all costs. F3 was never about cheating and we made it to the too without having to do so. Its unfortunate that the need to win clouded some of my my trusted clan members judgements and caused them to secretly turn on me becuase they viewed me as an obstacle to their desire to play the game unethically rather than as the good friend i viewed them as for the past 2 years that i lead them. And so in the end they stole the clan i had built and invited them into and took to the top of the game right out from under me, but thats ok. Its just a game and people reap what they sow.

Overall FF sure has been an interesting and enjoyable ride. Id like to say thanks to all those who helped me along the way and let you all know that being part of this and by proxy part of my life made it that much more enriching for me. For those who I may not have done right by please accept my apologies and know whatever it was i can honestly say it was not done intentionally or with malice. And finally to those who did me wrong, ive really only got one thing to say and even its more than what you deserve, but here it is....poop.

thanks lastly to those who created and maintained the wiki and especially this forum. It helped soooo many in the game and was the first place our community gathered. Im so fortunate i stumbled upon so many years ago, especially since it was the reason my clan even came into existence. I wish you all well and much success and happiness in your journeys.

-May the best of your past be the worst of your future...

-EverydayNYC

Everydaynyc wrote:

Hermit,

 thank you so much for that really touching and sincere message.  I had gotten to know Frank quite well in the end well as well as anyone can through digital means and social gaming apps.after his passing his wife Wendy passed control of his accounts on to me.  I had hoped to do a silent auction for the mercs he had in order to raise some money for Wendy and Franks family as there were still a mountain of bills to pay that did not depart when Frank left us.  Unfortunately most of Franks mercs were agility based and like many suffered greatly in value as the great nerf happened just before he passed away.  i instead decided to keep his accounts intact as a memorial to the man whom i had such an immense amount of admiration for. With one exception of his epic ice golem.   It was his first great merc aquisition and something we often joked about and since i never got one i didnt think hed mind me using it.  I couldnt help but think of him every single time i saw it in battle,  i never loaned it out to anyone else and never traded it off until i left the game in July when i sold my entire account.  It helped me to feel as though it was still going out there a silent warrior fighting in franks memory.

I will always believe in my heart that Franks arrival in the game truly saved it.  He was so open and genuine and just plain good spirited it was hard not to like the guy.  that summer seemed to be the summer of discontent on the forums.   there was so much anger and fighting between clans and players on here, couple with the accussations and out right verbal attacks over shady game playing that it felt like the FF community which had just really started to come together was tearing itself apart from the inside out.

The devs were showing an increased indifference to player issues a trend that would continue through most of the games timeline, and the changes being made were causing a mass exodus of the core faithful to the game itself.  And then along came Frank.   His commentary was often so plain and matter of fact that it made them even funnier than they would have normally been.  When it came to light that he was terminal with cancer i noticed a stark change in the atmosphere here.  Often if there was a heated thread going on all that was needed was for Frank to chime in as he did and there was an instant calming effect to it, like he was a reminder that none of that bullshit was important.  It was just a game,  there were far worse things in life to be upset about, and even those as Franks so perfectly demonstrated through his positive demeanor in the face of a quickly approaching departure from life wasnt something to spend too much time stressing about.  Its hard to continue to argue about stupid things in a mobile game in the presence of such grace.

Through that summer as Frank started to really mature in the game, and rapidly all under his own effort which was increidble to witness, the issues on here became less and less important and suddenly the forum was less a war zone and more like watching an amazing olympian performance.  As Frank geared up for his first official L run the players began to rally around him.  Im very proud that Frank joined my clan F3(known at that time as FFF) to make that run,  a few other allstars from the game joined us for the event at Franks request and so began what i will always view as the biggest moment of player unity in FFs history.  No one even cared or watched who was leading or by how many points it seemed.   The only thing that mattered on this forum for those 7 days was how Frank was doing and if he was gonna get double Ls in the end.  That event and more to the point Franks presence here was truly a turning point in the attitude in the game and if it hadnt been for Him finding his way here i just think the infighting and bitterness would have continued and the game would have truly fallen apart shortly after that, especially with the great nerf that happened at the end of that summer...

in the end it was a blessing for both the game and for Frank that he came to play with us.  frank was able to find one last challenge in life very unexpectedly as he told me that he could conquer and achieve something worthy of cheering about.  It was something that he was perfectly suited to do in his condition and yet something that he never expected to have happen again in his life.  

Frank had said he was going to make arrangements to have his accounts/mercs passed aling to players he wanted to have them.  Unfortunately. His time grew shorter than even he imagined and he never got the chance to tell Wendy what those wishes were.  On his final day she said several times he made reference to being cold or freezing and mtioned for a pen as if to write something but was u able to do it.  When i spoke to her after his passing and asked what his wishes were to do with his mercs and offered to help make sure they got passed along to the player he wanted to have them she told me he never wrote those wishes out.  When i spoke to her about the value of some of the mercs and my idea about a silent auction i mentioned ice golem as one of them.  In an "ah-ha" moment she realized what he had been trying to tell here that final day, he wanted to make out his merc will before he passed.  ice golem was his first great and she knew from his mentioning it earlier that it was his favorite!  Suddenly the comments about cold and freezing made sense to her,  he was talking about golem and the rest of his mercs!  Of course by the time i had spoken with Wendy the great nerf had just happened and when i finally got access to his account most everything that had been valuable was no longer.  As Frank would so often say here "poop!", and those were my thoughts exactly at that moment.

i was the 13th player to ever sign up for this forum.  i started playing during the 2nd ever raid event, the cyber lorac event and i played faithfully through continuously til July of this year,  I guess that might make me the longest playing player in the history of FF.  During my time i saw many highs and lows,  i lead a clan that was barely still a clan of 5 players when i took over leadership all the way to the top of the game with over 30 players in the end,  the oldest running clan in the game and the one with the most L wins combined ever i. The games history.  in fact there was only one event in the over 2 years F3 was in existence that we didnt win at least one L.  im proud to say I lead the coalition of the top clans in the event boycott to try to get the devs to consider changes that would benefit the players the devs and ultimately the game itself.  Even though the devs chose to ignore our requests ive never before in any game seen unity among the top players to try to catalyze change for the good of the game on that scale.  It also had the added bonus of creating much better relations between the formerly bitter rivalries among the clans through the use of the clan leaders chat room which i created for the boycott and suggested remain in use as a place to discuss issues and resolutions between clans through civilized conversations between the players who lead the clans.   Im proud of these accomplishments and im glad to have played FF.

there were of course low points and in the end heartbreak as some of the most trusted member in my clan betrayed me under the guise of flimsy excuses because they disagreed with my stance on co-piloting accounts during events in order to win at all costs.   F3 was never about cheating and we made it to the too without having to do so.  Its unfortunate that the need to win clouded some of my my trusted clan members judgements and caused them to secretly turn on me becuase they viewed me as an obstacle to their desire to play the game unethically rather than as the good friend i viewed them as for the past 2 years that i lead them.  And so in the end they stole the clan i had built and invited them into and took to the top of the game right out from under me,  but thats ok. Its just a game and people reap what they sow.  

Overall FF sure has been an interesting and enjoyable ride.  Id like to say thanks to all those who helped me along the way and let you all know that being part of this and by proxy part of my life made it that much more enriching for me.   For those who I may not have done right by please accept my apologies and know whatever it was i can honestly say it was not done intentionally or with malice.  And finally to those who did me wrong, ive really only got one thing to say and even its more than what you deserve, but here it is....poop.

thanks lastly to those who created and maintained the wiki and especially this forum.  It helped soooo many in the game and was the first place our community gathered.  Im so fortunate i stumbled upon so many years ago, especially since it was the reason my clan even came into existence.  I wish you all well and much success and happiness in your journeys.  

-May the best of your past be the worst of your future...

-EverydayNYC

Hey EverydayNYC,

Thanks for sharing something so wonderful !
It feels nice, that in some very small way, I was able to bring a little joy to a few peoples' lives. This was my first game and no matter what happens, It was always be special to me. So thank-you all !

Also, There is a small announcement that says, the game will sunset on Sept 24. So that's all folks !

That's a nice story you have about Frank's mercs there NYC.

1. We all agreed that no one would contact Wendy regarding the mercs and you did. The idea being we would wait for Wendy to reach out to the forum. If that never happened, Frank's accounts would remain intact and we would remember him by crushing tideslayer/blue bot team in PVP.

2. I believe Frank gave Arthanius the list of what Frank wanted (pretty sure frank told me this in the days leading to his passing and I confirmed this by speaking to Arthanius). So if you really wanted to, you could have sorted something out.

3. Where did Frank's mercs actually end up? You made a half - assed attempt to auction something (which we all know now to have been Frank's mercs) which failed miserably due to the negative opinion of cash trades (back then in this forum) and then no one really heard anything else about the mercs. Frank was basically good friends with the entire forum. So many of the players would have loved to have had the opportunity to have owned even a Fug Bug of Frank's.

On another note, I had a lot of fun playing this game and met a lot of great people. As a free player, I'd also like to thank all of you that spent money on the game.

My only regret is that I never won an L in tower...

@Atomic Hermit: Your art posts were always great. Also, whoever drew Katie was a genius...

TFB/Wretched for life.....

@heptathlete: http://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/fatalfrontier/images/1/13/Double_Gun_Commando_v2.png/revision/latest?cb=20130906205034

Thanks for the memories ... one and all!

Yea pretty sure that story is bullshit NYC and your one evil piece of shit. Good try though