The f.l.o.a.t. abandonment.
A while back, some of you asked me on IRC what my last signature was all about. Unfortunately, I'm only here to tell you what it was /supposed/ to be all about - f.l.o.a.t. has sunk. Welcome to j.e.t.s.a.m., the abandonment.
Originally, f.l.o.a.t. was to be a new Solis Team mappack: For Lack Of A Title. It was going to be a big episodic undertaking, akin to Twilight, but even better; epigone and I were several years older and wiser, and we had new blood in Riobe and heatwave. New frontiers were coming into view, and I was in the crow's nest shouting, "Land! Land ho!" I was excited. But the project fell through. Twice, actually.
There were no whisperings the first time; we simply agreed that no one had the time to work on it, and that someday we'd have the chance to get it done. I had a few maps stored up then, but they trickled onto NUMA with little fanfare. So it goes.
I tried to get the project going again earlier this summer, but a team effort just wasn't in the cards. So I tried shouldering the project myself. Several months and seven maps later, here I am. I just don't think I can do it anymore. I'm out of inspiration and, what's worse, out of interest. I don't feel compelled to map anymore. If, someday, the mood strikes and I open Ned and - here's the hard part - I produce something I'm actually pleased with, you'll hear about it. I'm much too attached to this place to pretend I'm all-out retiring any time soon.
Still, the fact remains that I /am/ fading. You've already been seeing less and less of me; I don't post that much, I'm rarely on IRC, and so on and so forth. My fifth anniversary on the forums was almost two weeks ago, and I had completely forgotten about it until I sat down to write this post. I think that illustrates my point pretty well.
At this point - to revisit and completely confuse my previous metaphor - I'm itching to get back out to sea, to get back in that crow's nest, and to find new lands to get excited about. My stay in Port Metanet has been wonderful, to say the least, and you can be sure I'll be back if I ever tire of the wind and waves of the real world. Gosh, now it sounds like I'm actually leaving. Am I? I feel like I don't even know. But the ship is ready. Untie the moorings! Hoist the sails!
Bring me that horizon.
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Like I said, seven maps. Oh, and j.e.t.s.a.m.? Justifying Efforts Through Some Abandoned Maps. Enjoy, guys.
