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At approximately 8pm EST on Feb 15, 1997 I started playing Subspace for the first time. My session lasted for only 1 hour, but from the very first time I played I got hooked.
I started in Subspace version 1.21. Back then, the fact that the terrier existed was still a novelty. SS only had 6 ships (the Shark existed, although it was just the picture you got for having the most points in the arena, not an actual ship with actual settings) back then, and only a handful of zones. The player base of the entire game could probably fit into Trench Wars today. It was only after 2 1/2 years that I first entered Trench Wars, but I never left after that.
It's pretty amazing that something that I first started playing when I was 15, is still around. At that time internet gaming had yet to enter the mainstream. Most of us were still playing games over the modem, and in fact I was still connecting with my 14.4 baud modem to the internet. The first major MMORPG was just released. Diablo probably wouldn't even be considered a MMORPG today with it's 4 player maximum, but I can still remember the novelty of meeting people from all over the world. While Diablo was basically North American, Subspace was truly worldwide. In a few months, my vocabulary expanded to include such words as 'jee' and 'vittu' as I really met people from all over the world.
Back when I first started, Google was still non-existant. Yahoo had barely shed it's status as a porn portal, and Internet Explorer was still very second fiddle to Netscape. MSN still did not exist yet, and ICQ was still in it's infancy. People were still using terms like the 'information superhighway', and AllAdvantage offered money to all who would view ads. Back in 1997, everything was still completely new with the internet, and the possiblities were endless.
With internet gaming picking up everywhere and with the introduction of GL Quake, the first actually good looking 3d shooter, the idea that 'leagues' could actually happen for online games was something foreign to all but the most hardcore Subspace player. Back in 1997 the 'end of Subspace' was in sight, as rumours of SS going pay was going to end everything.
Back then in 1997, I was still in high school 9/11 was 4 years away, Princess Diana was still alive, and George Bush was remembered as a decent president who hated brocoli.
Today the entire world is different. Subspace is now Continuum, and the game is probably in the beginning of the end (or is it?). I wonder if 10 years from now Subspace will still be around. I wonder if I will still be playing games let alone this game 10 years from now. What will happen in another 10 years? At my peak I played up to 6 hours a day of Subspace, back in those summers with nothing to do in high school. Now I'm lucky if I can get 6 hours within a month. I've met over 40 people I know from this game in real life, and maybe there are a few more I have yet to meet.
It's hard to predict the future, but it's been a fun 10 years. In the last 10 years everything in the world has changed, but sometimes with all of it's changes, it's still nice to see that this game at it's heart is still around, still allowing me to meet people from all over the world and learn words I never would have heard of otherwise.
I started in Subspace version 1.21. Back then, the fact that the terrier existed was still a novelty. SS only had 6 ships (the Shark existed, although it was just the picture you got for having the most points in the arena, not an actual ship with actual settings) back then, and only a handful of zones. The player base of the entire game could probably fit into Trench Wars today. It was only after 2 1/2 years that I first entered Trench Wars, but I never left after that.
It's pretty amazing that something that I first started playing when I was 15, is still around. At that time internet gaming had yet to enter the mainstream. Most of us were still playing games over the modem, and in fact I was still connecting with my 14.4 baud modem to the internet. The first major MMORPG was just released. Diablo probably wouldn't even be considered a MMORPG today with it's 4 player maximum, but I can still remember the novelty of meeting people from all over the world. While Diablo was basically North American, Subspace was truly worldwide. In a few months, my vocabulary expanded to include such words as 'jee' and 'vittu' as I really met people from all over the world.
Back when I first started, Google was still non-existant. Yahoo had barely shed it's status as a porn portal, and Internet Explorer was still very second fiddle to Netscape. MSN still did not exist yet, and ICQ was still in it's infancy. People were still using terms like the 'information superhighway', and AllAdvantage offered money to all who would view ads. Back in 1997, everything was still completely new with the internet, and the possiblities were endless.
With internet gaming picking up everywhere and with the introduction of GL Quake, the first actually good looking 3d shooter, the idea that 'leagues' could actually happen for online games was something foreign to all but the most hardcore Subspace player. Back in 1997 the 'end of Subspace' was in sight, as rumours of SS going pay was going to end everything.
Back then in 1997, I was still in high school 9/11 was 4 years away, Princess Diana was still alive, and George Bush was remembered as a decent president who hated brocoli.
Today the entire world is different. Subspace is now Continuum, and the game is probably in the beginning of the end (or is it?). I wonder if 10 years from now Subspace will still be around. I wonder if I will still be playing games let alone this game 10 years from now. What will happen in another 10 years? At my peak I played up to 6 hours a day of Subspace, back in those summers with nothing to do in high school. Now I'm lucky if I can get 6 hours within a month. I've met over 40 people I know from this game in real life, and maybe there are a few more I have yet to meet.
It's hard to predict the future, but it's been a fun 10 years. In the last 10 years everything in the world has changed, but sometimes with all of it's changes, it's still nice to see that this game at it's heart is still around, still allowing me to meet people from all over the world and learn words I never would have heard of otherwise.
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