The Fallen Capsuleer Memorial: Update

on


Back in 2012 I started advocating for the establishment of an official Memorial in New Eden to honor our fallen Capsuleers. The idea sprang from the loss of Vile Rat and several other friends in the Eve Community, fellow players that could no longer log-in to the game. Unlike in the case of Sean Smith (Vile Rat) most of those that never return are unheralded, unknown, or only discovered later by word of mouth. Or rumor. Or just never heard from again.

The longer you play Eve the more this happens. It is, after all, only natural. Unlike our in-game characters, none of us reading this are going to live forever. And for a game that intends to go on forever, Eve Online may very well outlive all of us reading this article. Including your friendly neighborhood Pirate Lord. And it occurred to me back then how strange this must be for our characters inside of New Eden.

I'm certainly not the only one that has suffered loss in Eve. Player created memorial sites have popped up all over the cluster, at the Eve Gate, in Molea, and in a few other places. Often just random cans scattered around Gates with special words written in memory of a lost friend. My concept is not intended to take away from those gestures, or to lessen them. My concept is only intended to formalize that idea into a singular and official Capsuleer built in-game Memorial. Something built to honor ALL those lost and never to return, not only those that happen to be famous, or with friends willing to drop a can in their memory.

The Fallen Capsuleer Memorial
One concept for the proposed memorial, an eternal "flame" cyno
If Eve is a friendship engine, as Hilmar has wisely stated, then part of that process has to deal with the loss of those friends. I personally know of at least a dozen people that have passed away during my time playing the game, and I hate to think of those that I don't know about. Lost connections. Players who disappear never to return. It starts to add up after a decade of playing.

This is an idea that works from every angle. From a lore perspective, from an in-game perspective, and from a real world perspective. There is no viable argument to be made against it. In my opinion, eternal Capsuleers would have already constructed something official in space to honor those that have passed away. In fact, death and loss must be even more terrible for beings that consider themselves eternal. 

I know that everyone at CCP I've spoken to about this supports the concept. A few years ago it was even rumored to be part of the roadmap. And I know Hilmar himself supports the idea, he has said so in person. And he reiterated it again on Twitter yesterday. And while such things are not a high priority, and they shouldn't be, the recent unveiling of the Katia Sae statue proves such things can be done. (And should be!)

So let's get this thing done. I volunteer whatever services I can offer to help make it happen.

“Like a wind crying endlessly through the universe, Time carries away the names and the deeds of conquerors and commoners alike. And all that we were, all that remains, is in the memories of those who cared we came this way for a brief moment.” - Harlan Ellison