Well team, here is to my first real state of the ship. Last year’s post of mine by the same title was more of an eye opener then a legitimate SoTS, Mike and Travis style. In true fashion, this is meant to be an account of ourselves addressed to everyone, members and non-CT’s included. It’s time to take a look at what we’ve done in the past year, goals we’ve accomplished, and very importantly what lies ahead. That is a key component of the Cut Throats; while we may take the time to relish in the past, we have always and continue to plan for the future.
This year our group transformed back into something we haven’t been in a long time: a clan. Though the fire did eventually die out, we managed to organize more scheduled matches in the first half of the year than ever before. It’s hard to imagine that one group could revive a game to so many people, in such a short amount of time. We gained many friends in the greater and dying Battlefield: 1942 community in the process. Anyone notice a dramatic increase in 1942 clans hosting Pirates nights this year? It’s not out of the question to think that our games with Wake, GUN and others had something to do with that.
That being said, this year also did mark the true death of BFPirates 1. All of our old rivals are gone, faded away into history and/or assimilated into ourselves. We saw the closure of the Drunken Elite, the Scurvy Dog’s reluctance to stick with the game, the Bilge Rats eventual inactivity. Our old allies and enemies, Swords Crossed and the Black Buccaneers, are long gone. We couldn’t keep ourselves entertained playing 1942 regulars without some true competition to fuel the fire, and thus, in hindsight it was unrealistic to think that BFP1 could be fully revived. A limited number of us even fought in this year’s massive campaign for BFP2, and that proved to be exactly what we thought it would be; not even close to the same.
Yes, BFP is dead. Even while we keep our servers running mostly out of principle, a game of BFP is simply a novelty now, no longer a breeding ground for competition. All the feuds we had, the countless hours of staying up late to plunder late into the night, the matches we planned and practiced for. All of those are memories and screenshots now. Now a year after we set out to revive the game and in turn ourselves, we stand victorious on one-and-a-half of our goals. The game enjoyed a brief period of revival, only to die out for good this time, and we successfully revived our clan. So what now?
So now, let’s look towards the future, again.
Many of the Cut Throats who used to play Pirates relentlessly after high school are now chest-high in college studies. Sometimes I forget how long many of us have known each other, and been able to keep track of each other’s lives and achievements. It seems we’re all growing up in a natural and outstanding fashion, even those of us who are already grown up. Not to say that this year has been rosy for everyone, as 2009 also showed us tragedies of unthinkable proportions, within and outside the Cut Throats. Amongst our personal victories and losses we continue to demonstrate our innate ability to both triumph and cope as a family, even though most of us have never met each other face to face. We were a clan for a short while again this year, but we’ve always remained a family, to share and encourage each other’s merit.
Early this year, a small group within the Cut Throats decided it was time to demonstrate our ability to produce something amazing and discover our true potential as game developers. I’m not talking about making a mod or map pack, but something tangible and unique that could both launch our careers and bring closure to each of our most sought after personal goals. Most importantly we set out to make something real; to go through all the motions necessary to see a project from conception to completion. We are not yet in a position to directly reveal anything major about the project, as honestly, it’s just not ready to show at this moment. Trust in the fact that 2010 will bring upon something that we’ve all been waiting to see for a long, long time. In the meantime, keep an eye out for visual clues – the CT site will be receiving several hints in the coming days / weeks / months. This has consumed us in the form of hundreds of hours of personal investment, and let me tell you with so much on the line, this is the real deal.
Still, are you tired of waiting for something to magically appear for us to play together? Here’s to encouraging all CT’s and non-CT’s to get signed up on Xfire and Steam. We are there. Any night of the week you can game with a Cut Throat, though I will say your chances will improve greatly by purchasing TF2. We are still here, alive and well, and killing. The day we stop killing will be the day we truly fizzle out into boredom, so I encourage you all: if you are discouraged by the fall of BFP, our lack of organized competition or even a real community to belong to but our own, come kill with us. It will make you feel so much better. The competition is out there, and the team is right here, where we can easily be found, usually obliterating someone as a unit. Get online, find out what everyone is doing, and join in, and you too can continue to experience what CT is all about. After all, we are a gaming community on top of just being incredibly awesome, remember?
Our past is there to remind us of who we are, and what we have become. The future is here, waiting for us to kick its ass.
Happy new years, everyone!
