SpeedSkateR [10106] —
Original article
One of Torn's earliest players tells the story of how it used to be, and what it feels like to return to the city after more than a decade of inactivity.
When you come across someone with an ID lower than 2 million, you know they've been here a while - five or so years, give or take. Drop that figure below 1 million, and you're talking more than a decade. And when you delve into six-digit territory, you know you're dealing with a veteran.
But these accounts with old ages aren't always what they seem. I'm SpeedSkateR, and my ID of 10106 makes my account more than sixteen years old. But for most of that time, I haven't been active on Torn, with my return to the city in 2020 coming after eleven years of inactivity.
Anyone Still Here?
I returned to Torn after doing some Spring cleaning. I found a notebook where I had handwritten a faction newsletter. Back in the mid-2000s, my whole Torn existence circled almost entirely around my faction. I was fiercely loyal and took it very seriously.
Pictured: The notebooks can be seen close-up here, here, and here.
The first thing I did when I logged back in was train and do some crimes. From there, I began to search around to see who was still playing from the olden days. Unfortunately, a lot can happen over eleven years, and I discovered that my mentor in the game, Rock [1017], had passed away, which was really sad. It's incredible the friendships you can build in this game, and I wish I could have reconnected with him at some point.
Rock was just a very smart and calming presence. When I first started playing, I was a fiery teenager, and in the end, he utilized that as a strength and taught me how to be a good leader. He didn't want the glory for himself; he constantly put people into leadership positions while molding a really strong faction. He was one of those who cared how you were doing outside of the game - Rock never hesitated to ask me how I was doing or how school was.
Pictured: Rock, a.k.a. The-ROCK-Pile
Thankfully, I did recognize some active players upon my return, including PrincessJulie, who got in touch as soon as she saw me online. DMs didn't exist the last time I played, so it took me by surprise when she sent me a message, and then it was a ripple effect from there. I immediately reconnected with Icebluefire, Temp, Titan, and Wollongong on day one. There are so many more in addition to that. I am still running into people who have restarted their accounts that I used to play with some 10+ years ago!
My timing was good as I noticed quite a lot of old Torn players had returned to the City during the pandemic. Many people appear to have found themselves with more free time due to Covid, and I've enjoyed taking advantage of this, as I'm able to have nostalgic moments with some of my old friends while learning the game all over again.
Faction Attraction
Old habits die hard, and before long, I had fully immersed myself back into the faction playstyle once more. I joined Savage Plague immediately, a faction that housed many oldies like Vimes, mrtowelhead, Raewyn, pimpchu, munchielord, and others. Ironically, most of the SP oldies were ex-Engineered Plague members, a faction that was one of SUN's biggest rivalries.
Pictured: The good old days.
SUN was my first ever faction, and I joined when they were "unofficial." We just had our own separate forum, and we wore a "SUN-" in front of our username. The one thing about being away for so long is that your memories are so fragmented, but still, something that remains very clear in my memory is our allies and our enemies.
SUN (Secret Underground Nation) and 39th VS. SS (Secret Service) and EP (Engineered Plague). I know at one point we had Crystal Dragons and BK (BlitzKrieg) in our court as well. I recall I had so much disdain towards PT and HT during those days. I'm sure they kicked our asses too, but I still have many events saved from those wars. And some memes too!
Changes Never Change
It was towards the end of my first stint in Torn that drugs were introduced - yes, there was a time before them. Suddenly, there was this spike of rich, strong n00bs. It seemed to happen so quickly, and not everyone was happy.
Pictured: A meme I posted at the time to express my feelings towards drugs.
As you can see from my sassy comment towards Chedburn, some things never change. My entire playstyle at the time was centered around faction warfare, and the introduction of drugs changed things massively. In my opinion, drugs being introduced was the first step in making money actually relevant. I had survived very well until that point without much money, and drugs suddenly put me on the back foot. I went from having the advantage of having played longer and thus having more stats to suddenly and very quickly being passed by younger, wealthier players.
The players were thrown for a loop with this update; at the time, we were promised that drugs would one day have major ramifications. History repeats itself in this respect, as the reviving changes caught many off guard. My inclination is to let Ched sort things, see where they fall, and adapt. Changes happen regardless, especially with a game this old. You can either keep up to date or wait for a different outcome and be left behind. Personally, I feel reviving is a playstyle and absolutely should have varying levels of success, just like drugs and the possibility of OD and losing e.
I digress. At the end of the day, it wasn't the introduction of drugs that caused me to play less or any other in-game changes, for that matter. The reason I left was that SUN began to decline into a retirement-type faction. I was also in college at that point with my first glimpse of being an adult. I moved away from home, and I believe I just found other ways to occupy my time.
11 Years Later
When I returned to Torn, I spent a few months stumbling along, trying to get to grips with the place. My biggest challenge was coming back with no job and only ten education courses completed. To be competitive, I had to focus on completing my first degree only a few months before I even had blood bags unlocked.
Pictured: Starting from the bottom.
I am pretty certain I maxed my med cooldown within days of returning (I don't even think max med cooldown was a thing back in the day), and competitions such as Elimination were really challenging. I've only just been able to use bloodbags a few months ago. I will only have my second degree completed soon, too, that being Sports Science. Despite making what I feel are huge gains since returning, this is definitely something that holds me back.
I've now moved to Natural Selection II, and not being able to stack boosters or use needles in such a competitive faction is not an ideal situation. But with most things, I laugh it off as being a n00b. I've always said that I'm practically a restart account with the small benefit of oldie friends and a very small stat head start (I came back to 261m total battle stats). I also get the "very cool" five-digit ID.
Pictured: My stat increases since my return to Torn.
Now that I'm fully entrenched in the faction lifestyle once more, I've noticed a major difference in modern players' attitudes. I feel that being a faction fighter was a lot more spiteful and personal back in the day. There wasn't anything like farming or walls or territories, just strict warring your enemies kind of business.
I was so confused when I took part in my first chain last year! I didn't have a chaining list of targets, and I stole a bonus and used it on an ally - I didn't even know bonuses existed! There are now extra levels of complexity that didn't exist the last time I played. It's more about logistics and a systematic approach than in my day, and less "balls to the wall" warring.
Perhaps the addition of ranked warring will bring back those intense rivalries and a desire to act on them. I think we recently saw a glimpse of the chaos that can unfold with the breakout of wars that led up to Valentine's this year. I'm hoping to see a much more blood-thirsty Torn with these much-anticipated changes and perhaps the awakening of a sleeping giant or two. Torn really thrived on the brother/sisterhood of factions and their vendettas in the old days. I was 100% all-in, even at the expense of my own personal gains.
Diversifying Torn
Even though faction warring was a huge part of my old playstyle, I soon decided to play differently this time around. Andyman's diversity rankings were a big part of that, and I felt a keen desire to participate in all aspects of the game. I never had a display case before, so I started a collection. I never raced before, so I bought a license. I never participated in any of the attacking-type events (most of the current ones didn't exist), so I did all of those as well.
Pictured: I received a mention in last year's Dog Tags article too!
That doesn't mean I was splurging e and cash left, right, and center, though. In fact, the idea of wasting energy doesn't sit well with me at all, so I made sure that all of the attacks I made during events and competitions were geared towards earning several merits simultaneously. If an attack doesn't work towards a minimum of three merits, I take a can to replenish myself and train that energy.
I've really enjoyed chasing merits and using strategy to determine the best way to get them in the shortest amount of time. As of March 14th, 2021, I am up 231 awards since returning on May 26th, 2020 (from 159 awards to 390). And since my return, I've also managed to hit 1bn total stats, OD on Cannabis after taking just 10, win the Dollar Lotto twice in 4 days, increase my networth from $600m to $10bn (initially with no muggings or casino), become a top 5% hitter in my first ever Elimination, and earn the full 10 tokens in my first Dog Tag event!
The Future
My next goals are to hit the SE range in dexterity, place in a Community Event, and earn the Globetrotter and Racing merits. Of course, none of this would've been possible if I hadn't stuck around when I logged back in last year. You might've noticed that I actually returned briefly in 2018, but I found it really challenging to go from the old days where I was surrounded by many friends to 2018, where all the main posters in the forums were people I didn't know.
I immediately felt like an outcast. I am a really social person and believe in the importance of having a good social game in Torn. Fortunately, this time around, I was able to reconnect with old friends - although I still had my struggles to "fit in." I remember very early on getting 10 x $1m bounties (which also didn't exist last time I played) from a conversation I had in Global. It became very clear that people may need some time to warm up to my personality, which can sometimes come off a bit strong.
All that being said, it appears some people did remember me when I returned properly last year. In 2009, I came second in the Miss Torn competition, and upon logging in, I noticed I still had my $100m winnings banked from that event. To my shock (and embarrassment), it was my sticky note outfit that several people remembered me for.
This was a good reminder to be careful how you choose to play the game. People will remember the things you do and say, even if your own memory fails you at times!
People have long memories in Torn City.
But these accounts with old ages aren't always what they seem. I'm SpeedSkateR, and my ID of 10106 makes my account more than sixteen years old. But for most of that time, I haven't been active on Torn, with my return to the city in 2020 coming after eleven years of inactivity.
Anyone Still Here?
I returned to Torn after doing some Spring cleaning. I found a notebook where I had handwritten a faction newsletter. Back in the mid-2000s, my whole Torn existence circled almost entirely around my faction. I was fiercely loyal and took it very seriously.
Pictured: The notebooks can be seen close-up here, here, and here.
The first thing I did when I logged back in was train and do some crimes. From there, I began to search around to see who was still playing from the olden days. Unfortunately, a lot can happen over eleven years, and I discovered that my mentor in the game, Rock [1017], had passed away, which was really sad. It's incredible the friendships you can build in this game, and I wish I could have reconnected with him at some point.
Rock was just a very smart and calming presence. When I first started playing, I was a fiery teenager, and in the end, he utilized that as a strength and taught me how to be a good leader. He didn't want the glory for himself; he constantly put people into leadership positions while molding a really strong faction. He was one of those who cared how you were doing outside of the game - Rock never hesitated to ask me how I was doing or how school was.
Pictured: Rock, a.k.a. The-ROCK-Pile
Thankfully, I did recognize some active players upon my return, including PrincessJulie, who got in touch as soon as she saw me online. DMs didn't exist the last time I played, so it took me by surprise when she sent me a message, and then it was a ripple effect from there. I immediately reconnected with Icebluefire, Temp, Titan, and Wollongong on day one. There are so many more in addition to that. I am still running into people who have restarted their accounts that I used to play with some 10+ years ago!
My timing was good as I noticed quite a lot of old Torn players had returned to the City during the pandemic. Many people appear to have found themselves with more free time due to Covid, and I've enjoyed taking advantage of this, as I'm able to have nostalgic moments with some of my old friends while learning the game all over again.
Faction Attraction
Old habits die hard, and before long, I had fully immersed myself back into the faction playstyle once more. I joined Savage Plague immediately, a faction that housed many oldies like Vimes, mrtowelhead, Raewyn, pimpchu, munchielord, and others. Ironically, most of the SP oldies were ex-Engineered Plague members, a faction that was one of SUN's biggest rivalries.
Pictured: The good old days.
SUN was my first ever faction, and I joined when they were "unofficial." We just had our own separate forum, and we wore a "SUN-" in front of our username. The one thing about being away for so long is that your memories are so fragmented, but still, something that remains very clear in my memory is our allies and our enemies.
SUN (Secret Underground Nation) and 39th VS. SS (Secret Service) and EP (Engineered Plague). I know at one point we had Crystal Dragons and BK (BlitzKrieg) in our court as well. I recall I had so much disdain towards PT and HT during those days. I'm sure they kicked our asses too, but I still have many events saved from those wars. And some memes too!
Changes Never Change
It was towards the end of my first stint in Torn that drugs were introduced - yes, there was a time before them. Suddenly, there was this spike of rich, strong n00bs. It seemed to happen so quickly, and not everyone was happy.
Pictured: A meme I posted at the time to express my feelings towards drugs.
As you can see from my sassy comment towards Chedburn, some things never change. My entire playstyle at the time was centered around faction warfare, and the introduction of drugs changed things massively. In my opinion, drugs being introduced was the first step in making money actually relevant. I had survived very well until that point without much money, and drugs suddenly put me on the back foot. I went from having the advantage of having played longer and thus having more stats to suddenly and very quickly being passed by younger, wealthier players.
The players were thrown for a loop with this update; at the time, we were promised that drugs would one day have major ramifications. History repeats itself in this respect, as the reviving changes caught many off guard. My inclination is to let Ched sort things, see where they fall, and adapt. Changes happen regardless, especially with a game this old. You can either keep up to date or wait for a different outcome and be left behind. Personally, I feel reviving is a playstyle and absolutely should have varying levels of success, just like drugs and the possibility of OD and losing e.
I digress. At the end of the day, it wasn't the introduction of drugs that caused me to play less or any other in-game changes, for that matter. The reason I left was that SUN began to decline into a retirement-type faction. I was also in college at that point with my first glimpse of being an adult. I moved away from home, and I believe I just found other ways to occupy my time.
11 Years Later
When I returned to Torn, I spent a few months stumbling along, trying to get to grips with the place. My biggest challenge was coming back with no job and only ten education courses completed. To be competitive, I had to focus on completing my first degree only a few months before I even had blood bags unlocked.
Pictured: Starting from the bottom.
I am pretty certain I maxed my med cooldown within days of returning (I don't even think max med cooldown was a thing back in the day), and competitions such as Elimination were really challenging. I've only just been able to use bloodbags a few months ago. I will only have my second degree completed soon, too, that being Sports Science. Despite making what I feel are huge gains since returning, this is definitely something that holds me back.
I've now moved to Natural Selection II, and not being able to stack boosters or use needles in such a competitive faction is not an ideal situation. But with most things, I laugh it off as being a n00b. I've always said that I'm practically a restart account with the small benefit of oldie friends and a very small stat head start (I came back to 261m total battle stats). I also get the "very cool" five-digit ID.
Pictured: My stat increases since my return to Torn.
Now that I'm fully entrenched in the faction lifestyle once more, I've noticed a major difference in modern players' attitudes. I feel that being a faction fighter was a lot more spiteful and personal back in the day. There wasn't anything like farming or walls or territories, just strict warring your enemies kind of business.
I was so confused when I took part in my first chain last year! I didn't have a chaining list of targets, and I stole a bonus and used it on an ally - I didn't even know bonuses existed! There are now extra levels of complexity that didn't exist the last time I played. It's more about logistics and a systematic approach than in my day, and less "balls to the wall" warring.
Perhaps the addition of ranked warring will bring back those intense rivalries and a desire to act on them. I think we recently saw a glimpse of the chaos that can unfold with the breakout of wars that led up to Valentine's this year. I'm hoping to see a much more blood-thirsty Torn with these much-anticipated changes and perhaps the awakening of a sleeping giant or two. Torn really thrived on the brother/sisterhood of factions and their vendettas in the old days. I was 100% all-in, even at the expense of my own personal gains.
Diversifying Torn
Even though faction warring was a huge part of my old playstyle, I soon decided to play differently this time around. Andyman's diversity rankings were a big part of that, and I felt a keen desire to participate in all aspects of the game. I never had a display case before, so I started a collection. I never raced before, so I bought a license. I never participated in any of the attacking-type events (most of the current ones didn't exist), so I did all of those as well.
Pictured: I received a mention in last year's Dog Tags article too!
That doesn't mean I was splurging e and cash left, right, and center, though. In fact, the idea of wasting energy doesn't sit well with me at all, so I made sure that all of the attacks I made during events and competitions were geared towards earning several merits simultaneously. If an attack doesn't work towards a minimum of three merits, I take a can to replenish myself and train that energy.
I've really enjoyed chasing merits and using strategy to determine the best way to get them in the shortest amount of time. As of March 14th, 2021, I am up 231 awards since returning on May 26th, 2020 (from 159 awards to 390). And since my return, I've also managed to hit 1bn total stats, OD on Cannabis after taking just 10, win the Dollar Lotto twice in 4 days, increase my networth from $600m to $10bn (initially with no muggings or casino), become a top 5% hitter in my first ever Elimination, and earn the full 10 tokens in my first Dog Tag event!
The Future
My next goals are to hit the SE range in dexterity, place in a Community Event, and earn the Globetrotter and Racing merits. Of course, none of this would've been possible if I hadn't stuck around when I logged back in last year. You might've noticed that I actually returned briefly in 2018, but I found it really challenging to go from the old days where I was surrounded by many friends to 2018, where all the main posters in the forums were people I didn't know.
I immediately felt like an outcast. I am a really social person and believe in the importance of having a good social game in Torn. Fortunately, this time around, I was able to reconnect with old friends - although I still had my struggles to "fit in." I remember very early on getting 10 x $1m bounties (which also didn't exist last time I played) from a conversation I had in Global. It became very clear that people may need some time to warm up to my personality, which can sometimes come off a bit strong.
All that being said, it appears some people did remember me when I returned properly last year. In 2009, I came second in the Miss Torn competition, and upon logging in, I noticed I still had my $100m winnings banked from that event. To my shock (and embarrassment), it was my sticky note outfit that several people remembered me for.
This was a good reminder to be careful how you choose to play the game. People will remember the things you do and say, even if your own memory fails you at times!
People have long memories in Torn City.
Original article
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