Missing Introduction: just adding it now

[mike57 5]

I am a male and I was born 1957 and my real name is Michael - thus you have anything that you can derive from my username explained.

I was a professional programmer (for host with language COBOL and for an insurance company). I was a gamer right from the start when PCs were introduced. The job was ended - I'm retired now, but I will never retire from gaming.

As a German I was introduced to my first Multiplayer game via Sacred, Sacred+ and Sacred Underworld. I joined a community that was called RAD community. The abbreviation is a "bike" in German. But it was shorthand for "rüstige alternative Daddler" (spry alternative gamer). Some of our members had good connections with Ascaron people and our website was hosting patches for some time. We joined for dragon hunting online in some multiplayer games while that was still possible. Sacred 2 came late, a bit late for the survival of that game company. But the connection to some of the people survived. Now that website seems to be down for months.

Some time ago I found the current game versions on GOG (among several dozens of old, but very interesting games). The DRM were off and it was adjusted to current OS - which is fine by me. So I bought Sacred again. And recently I caught the Sacred flu again and I needed to play some more of it, to get rid of my itching - I suspect that that itching won't be going away. I loved the game years ago and I still love it today. I knew that GOG is open to patches but does not serve them. (I guess it has to do with mony, rights and such boring topics - but those are the rules we have to accept.

I'm playing on GOG and if somebody wants to find me there? I'm Michael1957 there.

Another game I'm doing there is Grim Dawn - another of the Diablo family branch (or similar games). Currently I don't like Blizzard, thus I turn more to my GOG games.

Outside of GOG I'm playing SWTOR, Star Trek Online and some Guild Wars 1. Some other games are tried. As my interest is fluctuating up and down, I switch to other games often. I've got time. I'm in no rush. I like good games with interesting stories. I'm not so much into endgame of current games. That looks like work, but I want fun (SWTOR will be finished as soon as I finish chapter 3 of each character - currently 3 of 8 are done.).

I guess you got my complete story on gaming. Now I'll add just a little bit of private information: divorced, 3 kids. Still living in my hometown at the banks of the river Rhine. It's the area where people get absolutely crazy in spring by dressing as fools and doing stupid things on purpose. Beside gaming I read a lot of books and surf the web for fun and information. --- Well that's all of me! Now, let's have fun and go back to gaming.

Edited October 21, 2019 by mike57

[Flix 5,116]

Glad to have you here, Mike. I hope you enjoy your time on the boards and playing the wonderful Sacred games.

I am also a big fan of Grim Dawn - very much the current "king" IMO of the old school isometric action RPG's.

[lujate 574]

Welcome aboard!

[gogoblender 3,068]

On 10/21/2019 at 4:27 PM, mike57 said:

I am a male and I was born 1957 and my real name is Michael - thus you have anything that you can derive from my username explained.

I was a professional programmer (for host with language COBOL and for an insurance company). I was a gamer right from the start when PCs were introduced. The job was ended - I'm retired now, but I will never retire from gaming.

As a German I was introduced to my first Multiplayer game via Sacred, Sacred+ and Sacred Underworld. I joined a community that was called RAD community. The abbreviation is a "bike" in German. But it was shorthand for "rüstige alternative Daddler" (spry alternative gamer). Some of our members had good connections with Ascaron people and our website was hosting patches for some time. We joined for dragon hunting online in some multiplayer games while that was still possible. Sacred 2 came late, a bit late for the survival of that game company. But the connection to some of the people survived. Now that website seems to be down for months.

Some time ago I found the current game versions on GOG (among several dozens of old, but very interesting games). The DRM were off and it was adjusted to current OS - which is fine by me. So I bought Sacred again. And recently I caught the Sacred flu again and I needed to play some more of it, to get rid of my itching - I suspect that that itching won't be going away. I loved the game years ago and I still love it today. I knew that GOG is open to patches but does not serve them. (I guess it has to do with money, rights and such boring topics - but those are the rules we have to accept.

I'm playing on GOG and if somebody wants to find me there? I'm Michael1957 there.

Another game I'm doing there is Grim Dawn - another of the Diablo family branch (or similar games). Currently I don't like Blizzard, thus I turn more to my GOG games.

Outside of GOG I'm playing SWTOR, Star Trek Online and some Guild Wars 1. Some other games are tried. As my interest is fluctuating up and down, I switch to other games often. I've got time. I'm in no rush. I like good games with interesting stories. I'm not so much into endgame of current games. That looks like work, but I want fun (SWTOR will be finished as soon as I finish chapter 3 of each character - currently 3 of 8 are done.).

I guess you got my complete story on gaming. Now I'll add just a little bit of private information: divorced, 3 kids. Still living in my hometown at the banks of the river Rhine. It's the area where people get absolutely crazy in spring by dressing as fools and doing stupid things on purpose. Beside gaming I read a lot of books and surf the web for fun and information. --- Well that's all of me! Now, let's have fun and go back to gaming.

Thank you for the kind introduction! This section was created by and old Admin who used to frequent here and was a huge heart force in the beginning of DarkMatters.. Erialc insisted that we have an introduction section, and I was kind of against it...thinking it was kind of "lame"  and would quickly go the way of the land of grey moribund, with only wanting to create areas for the actual gaming. 

More than a decade later this section has become my favorite section and I adore reading and connecting to members who want to brave it out and make an old style intro.  There is nothing wrong with being kinder and that extension of a hand and hullo is where community starts.  

And...I remember RAD! 

PowerPyx and many others from German Community, who helped us all with Sacred's hidden game mechanics, translation for the message boards, and just good ole friendship is what has shaped this community here today.   ... plus of course Grim Dawn was a another big draw for players of ARPG with it being discussed on these boards as a favorite go-to game during the years after Sacred 2's release.

Thanks for this nostalgia hit, MIke, very happy you've found this little fansite for the Sacred Gem

Welcome to DarkMatters!

 

gogo

[Dax 481]

Arr! I´ve nearly forgotten to answer. Please look it over.
It´s good that you´re here, mike57!

[mike57 5]

On 10/28/2019 at 2:43 PM, gogoblender said:

...

And...I remember RAD! 

PowerPyx and many others from German Community, ...

PowerPyx was running the RAD website. I was there - not very often, but every now and then. We spread to other games as well: Guild Wars, Rappelz - just a lot of different games. Some were to be explorers in the world of gaming and they introduced us to that games or commented on it. Often we created our own guilds in those games. But many moved on and that seems to have happened to this website as well. I was defaulted to be leader of our Guild Wars 1 guild because of game mechanics and because of other members not showing up for years. --- Life happens.

Well, I'm single and retired. Beside my real world projects to meet with real people, I've got plenty of time to play. My philosophy is that I can play as long as my eyes, my mind and hands are working. If I get or have some problem (like the flu), gaming is still possible. Others may use a phone or TV, I use PC, games and the web to stay in touch with like-minded people. I was considered a "nerd" before that term was invented. I never cared. I know RL is important and I always did what had to be done. Now I'm free of that, but I still prefer real people. I'm a human and I need that.

But when playing I prefer fun. I don't like to work hard. Puzzles or the jumping tasks in Guild Wars 2 are not the things I'm fond of. Endgame content to collect special items for exchange into uber-items --- just not my way of playing. Function is more than fashion. But if I am playing I prefer to look at a female (just remember I'm a guy). In fact it does not make any difference - within the games I'm playing any female is dressed decently. (In Grim Dawn there is almost no difference between male or female chars.)

Games like Sacred 1 + 2, Grim Dawn, Star Trek Online, Star Wars the Old Republic or the Lord of the Rings take a long time to play for me. I like to play any class, race, anyway through every story. Usually I run them at about the same level and area in order to make conclusions about which char or abilities are fitting me best. And of course I switch between gaming, reading or RL - often my taste is changing. Getting back into games with special keys will be a bit more difficult (SWTOR had an update 2 weeks ago and they have a lot of keys and actions to memorize). Sacred is not using standard keys either: I for inventory is not in Sacred.

All of that was important for me and I found a lot of that at RAD. I'm sad I lost it, but I wasn't there every day either, thus I don't complain. Just a feeling of loss about something that I was proud to be a part of. Not in any leading capacity, but just in participating with like minded people. We were of different backgrounds and different age or gender, but we met for gaming and Sacred was the starting point of all that. Remember, I did not have ANY multiplayer experience but those people dragged me along and I had a lot of fun. I remember those times and people very fondly. Most of us were in their 30s or 40s and I already belonged to the eldest age group, but we all stayed young while playing. I hope I will continue to stay young as long as possible. I'll try and I'll game on.

[mike57 5]

Real Life has kept me from gaming for some time and a crash of my eldest PC. Which means I've got to start all over with my Sacred 2 tests.

Well, :eek: happens. But I'm back now and the global situation will give me lots of time for doing things. As I am retired my suffering is smaller than those that have to work and earn a living.

Now to everybody here: stay healthy and have as much fun as you can get!

[chattius 2,520]

6 hours ago, mike57 said:

Real Life has kept me from gaming for some time and a crash of my eldest PC. Which means I've got to start all over with my Sacred 2 tests.

Well, happens. But I'm back now and the global situation will give me lots of time for doing things. As I am retired my suffering is smaller than those that have to work and earn a living.

Now to everybody here: stay healthy and have as much fun as you can get!

Missed your introduction.

Quite the opposite here: covid19 is eating a lot of time. Home schooling, making the praxis rooms of my wife covid safe, work splitted into two groups without contacts because producing medical relevant things, being village mayor, chief of volunteer firefighters,..

Read about coding COBOL, did only a quick lesson in it. Another oldtimer language is more suited to the mathematical stuff I have to code from time to time: FORTRAN.