devtrackers.gg
It is mid July in 202X about 23:00. The sun just went under about an hour ago and you are sitting in front of your PC. Shorts and TShirt chatting in discord. Its the school break and your boss gave you two weeks of paid leave. There are a bunch of people with you in the voice channel. You know them differently. Some of them more personal. Some of them you don't even know their first name. But everyone makes jokes like they are old friends.
It is warm but there is a slight breeze coming through the window and if you take of your headset you can hear the typical night sounds of summer.
In front of you are two monitors. On one your browser and discord and on the other the Ashes of Creation Client. V1.0.0a. You are logged in but you cannot play yet. For the past two hours you have created your first character that is likely going to follow you for years to come. But on the play button is just a countdown visible. You can create characters but the server is locked.
You crack a joke and everyone laughs. Then suddenly discord makes a noise. Someone wrote you a PM. Its an old friend you haven't spoken in years. Another contact from a game you haven't played in years. Your old friend says he wants to get into AoC and asks for the server. You send them your referal code, the discord link and tell them your server name. This is like the third time this happened in the last 2 weeks.
The countdown goes to 45 minutes and you hold still for a moment and take a deep breath. You have waited years for this moment. AoC has been in the Gaming News for the last 6 months almost nonstop. The pressure is immense. The hype is real. But you are not scared. You've been there. During the Alphas. Played the Beta. Gave feedback.
Steve didn't budge. After the first BETA everyone saw the game was buggy and glitchy. Feature complete and fun. But full of bugs. So Steve did let BETA run for over a year, time and time again emphasizing that there will be character wipes during and after the BETA.
The last time you played AoC was about two months ago. Steve didn't budge.
And now your preparations are working out. You gathered the gang. The plan is set. You woke up about 3 hours ago. The energy drinks are ready. The pizza is in your stomach. Real Life can wait.
Next scheduled sleep time in..... about 24 hours.
This is just a bit of hopium feel good story. Just a fiction.
My body is ready.