Actually now that you mention it, these Last four years don't really seem like that long ago although you could fit a decade of life events into them.
I remember when I first downloaded the demo and said to myself, and I quote "God damn this is the game I have been looking for for years."
I can still remember going to bed each night dreaming of the day that I could play past the 100 turn limit of the demo and build fleets of dreadnoughts to take out the EEE and the purple dudes. I can still remember how I felt when the game was pushed back for release and when I first came to Shrapnel to post. I could have sworn it was in Nov 2000, but the forum says I registered in Dec 2000. I know I posted before then, but the mind does play tricks on us old people.
A lot has happened in the Last four years, a hell of a lot, but one thing has remained a constant stable source during those turbulant times, well two things really, SE IV and these forums. Thanks Shrapnel for keeping the place open and the lights always on.
You don't know how much it has meant to use poor game addicts, evil rules, and hopeless loosers.