Music for reading:
A Journey to Boundless
Day Zero - 27 Feb 2019, thanks to the FreeWeekend, I can download and try this game for the first time, since I have sniped it since it was on Early Access in 2017. I have to admit that the negative reviews pushed me back from buying the game back then. The game granted me a Oortian Citizen body - which looks ridiculous, and chose me Lasaina for first planet. Standing on the Sanctume, I tried to look for a crowed place on the planet for serveral minutes, and then a yellow capital dot appeared so I spawn right there - Sydney here I come. After learning how to play the game via the tutorial, I spent an hour looking for a great spot to settle down. The spot I chose located on a elevated geometry, has a great view of Sydney. I named it Cliffside Home made of whatever I found - which are just rocks and woods.
Day One, there were some smoking beacons around my home, I had no idea what that means at that time so I just ignore it and continue my adventure. I ran toward Sydney to explore the settlement. What I saw is a dead place with no one around, the build wasnt nice neither, and then I pumped into @econodog - the very first player I ever encounter. Looking at the black tall body with large and long horns, I knew I have encountered an endgame player. I kept myself standing behind him silently, and then he turned around and see me. As a friendly player would do, he /wave at me, but I had no idea how to wave back to him. I didnt even know if the player could use English, so we just standing and staring at each other. “New player?” he spoke, oh cool! So he knows English! I asked him where everyone is, “no many people here at Sydney, other player are in hiatus”. There are other planets in the universe beside Lasaina? How cool is that!? End of our encounter, he gave me some copper and iron tools for free. At that moment, Hope is given to me - proof that there are nice people in this game, which is the only thing that makes me stay. With that hope, I continue building my first home and progress further into the game.
Day Three, someone’s house next to my home expired and half regened, I discovered the game’s greatest punishment, and realized that I would be trapped in this game forever with this system - If I dont want to lose my stuffs. I discovered strange blocks called portals at Sydney. With curious, I entered one, it led me to a strange place which I had no idea. Another portal at that place, and so on. As I travel, I had no idea how to back track to where I came from, its a portal maze with no end or turning back, Im lost. Gotta use sanctume to get back to my house. Freeweekend gonna end tomorrow, and there is someone’s beacon smoking near me, so I decided to buy to game LOL.
Day Four, I prepared and ready to explore that maze once again. I kept running toward every portal I could find, and kept going, and going. I discovered so many awesome build across the journey, yet saw any player beside myself. Given up exploring without seeing any sight of active players, I looked up youtube for videos about Boundless, there was a video of a newbie who was streaming Boundless, and he was at a super big and awesome place called Ultima Empire. Oh man, look at that size of buildings! Look at that enormous yellow enterprise with many portal inside! (you know what Im talking about, @DKPuncherello). And look at that R2D2 2D art! I WANT TO GET THERE! I want to see everything with my own eyes, beside the youtube video. But I had no idea how to get there … and I had no one to ask for. So I rewind that video again and again, tried to find how the streamer got there at the first place. But his starting planet was not Lasaina, so I ended up stuck. That night, I deteminded myself of trying everything to get there once!
Day Five, I went into the portal maze once again and try to find that place. Somehow I stepped right into one of the streamer’s track to get to the place. Following the backtrack video, I discovered The Future on Refgar which one of the most best modern black-white mall I have ever seen. And then finally, Im there - Ultima Empire. I spent hours and hours wandering around the biggest city of the game, many people running around, the place looked so lively and active. Im lost again LOL. I had no idea where to go next, then a player passed in front of me. “Im lost anyway, so why shouldnt I follow that guy, eh?”. And then I silently follow that player thru the portal maze. He stopped at his place , and noticed I was after him the whole time. We started to chat, he showed me around his town, everything he built so far. He called it - Ajax Assimilation, home of APEX Anomaly Guild, Warden AjaxSavge.
He showed his most prouded and awesome minigame - the Jump of Dead (or whatever its called). It was super awesome!
After we had some fun, I asked to move here and play with the golden heart Ajax. He offered me free portal and guided me to move my stuffs to there. Being a newbie, I didnt have enough plots to build 2 houses, so i decided to tear my first house down. Good bye and farewell Sydney, Ajax here I come!
I wanted a spot that as near his portal hub as possible, but the spots around are all taken. So I had to build on the small 1x4 plots gap between the hub and someone’s else building LOL. He told me to get on Discord for better communicating. I have never used Discord before, worth a try anyway hehe. I met awesome neighbors there also, everything was so fun and simple, just as I always wanted. A guild member gave me perms for using fully coiled machines at the guild factory, AWESOME!!!
As time goes by, Ajax and his crews helped from times to times, guided and showed me the way to play the game, awesome places need to see. I grow up and expand so much. Then 2 members of the guild showed up and meet me. OH MY GOSH, they are Refgar The Future’s owners! This is so exciting! This is no random coincident, must be my fate! we made friends, best friends perhaps. Then I realized Im the only Vietnamese in this game, no other Asean players appeared ingame since. Everywhere I go, there are always nice people who willing to help others. I met @Huntsman while hunting for Gleambow Event, he is also one of greatest players in this game so far. He showed how to do it properly, and gave me free mega fast brews, grapples. My first time joining public hunts, @SePras was the only one who cares for everyone’s soul, I can never forget what he have done. A generous person @Kaplah who has been giving away free footfall beacons at his footfall slide to everyone. The game was just pure great and having the greatest community ever! Life was so simple and so much fun way back then…
A month later, Ajax got the portal token at Ultima hub - which was from PURE’s. He set up his ambition T6 Network called APEX T6 Network [CLOSED]. Bussiness was skyrocketed up as more and more players use our network, we had enough money to maintain the network.
This time was also my chances to access endgame contents. And everything I have known/experienced, is about to change. My first Diamond mining attemp was horrible, not because Im bad at mining, nor I didnt have decent AoE hammers, but its the first time I encountered bad people. They walled off diamond hotspots, making them unaccessible by any means. For a whole month long, I met 0 problem, now this. It made me so angry back then. I keep asking myself “Why in such a peacfull game like this there are self-fish people?”. I had my own anwsers for their bad acts - consumed by their own greed.
Not long after that, I heard New Leyden had problems with trolls/griefers. “WHAT? there are now trolls?” - Im shocked. What was the game become?.." Am I playing the wrong game after all? Or its just how the world is?". Adding up on top of that, Refgar The Future owners told me their story with griefers way back before I even play the game (After some more attacks, they moved to Xa Frant and rebuild everything). “It is true … I was wrong about this game… It is just like any other online games out there …”
It seems that I have explored all the game’s contents. Then its time for me to build SOMETHING, beside my 1x4 “shelter”. I really made everything out from that 1x4 spot, you know. I should have been rewarded an achievement for that! Days and nights, I kept mining to get as many levels/cubits as I could, to buy plots. I kept dreamming about what I want to build most, and I would try everything to get it done.
2 weeks later, Ajax was nowhere to be found, he got his own new company and was busy with it all the time. Guild members also quit the game since there was nothing to do more, and there was only me there, noone around anymore…
A2 (real name is hidden) showed up and joined our guild, quickly he became my new best pal. But things werent that long. Bored of the silent of our guild, he left for a new better active guild - which is uderstandable. He also showed me to his new guild - Duskmoor - the most active USE community ever! I have to admit that Duskmoor’s buildings and community are great! So I tried to meet and speak to the leader, he is a very friendly and helpfull person, one of the greatest players I have ever met back then. I waited Ajax for another month… still no sight of his return. Then the big change happened - which we never forseen it - Ultima relocate to Eresho. Since they left Finata, less and less people using our T6 network, rendered it a dead network - no footfalls means no Oort fuel to maintain. The network was closed, and still no sight of Ajax’s return. So I stepped ahead and leave APEX behind and joined Duskmoor with my best pal there. Duskmoor’s members and leaders helped me so much that I could never pay them back - they cleared a whole mountain for me to rebuild my dream build! And yes - I had to tear down my on going build at Ajax’s place to move it to DSK. But the current spot at DSK didnt make me happy, so dsk’s leaders offered me another great spot that they have to tear down someone else’s base. Thats very generous of them, and also my heavy duty. But I failed them once again… because I did not finish the build at any means… “What have I became? What have I done? A lier it seems…”. Im tired of the game and the duty I must do. I play less and less.
Friday the 13th, it was just a normal day, back home from work and turn the game on. I couldnt believe what I saw at that moment: Duskmoor central is a big mess! Holes here and there, regened stuffs were everywhere, buildings were gone, and I saw 2 formal leaders running around throwing bombs. Saved some unbeaconed lands left from them, gave perms to the guild then its too late for me to stay up, I gotta sleep for tmr’s work.
They formed a new guild fafter the last night event, we decided to rebuild everything from the ground up, somewhere else beside current location. I stayed and helped them by providing my precious materials that I saved for my dream built - as a thankyou to what they did for me back then. I hoped for a brighter tomorrow.
But everything seemed so fragille, includes friendship. A small misunderstand, my best pal there insult me as a griefer, as “harasser” and shouted at me. No matter how I tried to explain it to him, nothing helped. My heart was broken at that moment, everything I have done so far had no meaning after all, or maybe thats the punishment I deserve…
Its hurt… I left everything behind in tears… why its so hurt… I left him in tears…
Went back to where I came from, shut myself out from other people. My journey has come to an end. A vessel with no soul that tries to finish what it has started - Balamb Garden. So it can die, for good.
A Boundless Journey.