hello will of the ancienters,
It’s weird but, for me, this website and its forums have been a kind of ‘constant’ on the internet, where other sites have come and gone. I come here pretty rarely, from often as once every two months to once every half a year, but every time I come back I’m glad it’s still around. It’s not a bookmark, the url isn’t saved anywhere and I don’t have any content on the site but the url just pops up in my mind every so often. Meanwhile, all the sites I used to visit have vanished or turned into something quite different or unrecognisable. It might be seen as an indication of the staying power of the series, that they inhere that curiosity in people in the long term. i prefer to see it as a testament to that part of us we find mirrored in Panzer Dragoon; that love of the desolate, that value and intrigue of something even when - in fact because - it’s become ancient and surreal. (Obviously, it’s odd to say this since the games were mostly action shooters with lasers firing all over the screen every 10 seconds, but I’d be preaching to the choir to point out that even during the shooters there was a sense that Lagi was a blip, burning bright for a few short moments, making a change, then vanishing forever. Even the Empire were dwarfed by the world, seeming to have no more insight into the Ancient’s mysteries than the player or anyone else. Correct me if I’m wrong on that one.)
Anyway, what i am saying is that the site, with its sparse but satisfying updates, minimalist design and small forum usage somehow evokes the spirit of panzer dragoon itself. What’s more is I think it’s one of a handful of such sites left, other webmasters preferring to save that monthly charge, cynically cutting off any venture that isn’t netting them money or big-time attention or getting them on digg or whatever.
Anyway, just wanted to say that I appreciate that the site is still around even though I’m silent on these boards. I’m sure there are other silent appreciators out there. This is the kind of thing someone would post in a ‘closing down’ thread but it sucks to only be sentimental when something’s about to go, doesn’t it?
Thanks, Will of the Ancients!
Thanks for your kind words, Atolmazel. They meant, perhaps, more than you realised.
I’d like to think that Panzer Dragoon has a long lasting appeal too. While the Panzer community may not be as active as it once was, the interest is still there amongst a few hardcore fans. However, from the broader perspective, the interest in Sega creating a new Panzer hasn’t disappeared from gamer’s thoughts entirely. You only have to search for “panzer dragoon” on Twitter to see that the number of comments from people trying the games for the first time, or wishing that Sega would release a sequel or remake of Panzer Dragoon Saga.
yes thanks WOTA, this really is the only forum thats gone unchanged/unclosed to speak of since i started checking for forums(and since i heard of Panzer Dragoon). 
Thanks link1987.
When you guys talk about “unchanged”, what do you mean specifically? Other sites may change the layout or update the content, but this is often for the better (or meant to be). Yet in this case, it sounds like the word change is being used in an undesired sense.
i mean change as in removing large pieces of data or closing down, a new look or improvement is fine (though theres a nostalgia to keeping the origional, you could do whats usually done and keep an archive/locked version for reading)
Ah okay, makes sense.
What about content that is outdated or needs updating? If the quality of the content is questionable, I can relate to the view that removing the content might be a better option than leaving it online (if the option to update it isn’t there). But there’s always the chance that someone will miss it.
Hey, an example of what I had in mind was this great comedy site called pointlesswasteoftime.com It was made and written by one guy and his friend and it had some of the funniest stuff i have ever seen it. I don’t even know how to explain the kind of humour - kind of satire that didn’t try to be clever, just funny. This guy pretty much tirelessly updated his site, even before he had any readers. it was awesome.
Then he got a job doing what he loves (which is also awesome), where he’s currently maintaining cracked.com. Most of the articles on there are user-submitted, vetted and edited by him (you can see his tone come through in nearly everything on there) Problem is, it’s basically him watered down. It’s a series of almost-funny articles (almost always lists) that seem to miss the spirit of the original kind of funny. To boot, lots of the original articles have been imported over but there are many gone that, while loose and fragmentary and not perfect from a structural standpoint, were nonetheless hilarious.
It’s kinda like the stuff in your ‘miscellaneous’ folder as you clean it out that you want to keep but can’t find a place for so you delete anyway. Web 1.0 allows for that messiness, 2.0 seems to demand order and rigidity (see also somethingawful’s redesign). That’s great for maximising hits and streamlining ads but something goes missing in the process. I dunno, can anyone else identify with this view? As for fan sites, fan sites of anything are now just blogs or forums or gone and it seems a bit of a shame. Maybe I’m just being nostalgic but PD.net just seems like it’s crafted, and maintained, purely by love of the series. I just wish there was a fansite equivilant of this for Deus Ex.
I recommend reading this blog post which points out that there’s a point at which people look at pageviews and stop seeing ‘new readers’ and start seeing ‘more ad revenue’. I’d say that’s partly the trend I’m talking about.
edit: oh yeah, and that twitter comment feed is actually kind of encouraging, thanks for the link
I visit this site regularly, but I just don’t log in unless there’s something that I want to comment on.
I think it boils down to the fact that there’s a place that you know the same people are usually going to be, and that they have an appreciation for games and the media that hasn’t been reduced by time.
Plus, I won’t lie, the mini-flame wars in between two people are always fun to read. 
Thanks for keeping this site up! I always fear that I’ll go here and there will be an update stating that the site is going down. Luckily that’s not the case.
