other [BDay] Random's Rewind: Top 11 Memories In Tanki Online

[Person_Random 4,991]

Out of all the games I have ever played, Tanki Online has definitely been the most memorable. I haven’t spent so much time on other games, interacting with other players in the community and growing as a tanker as well as a person. I’m grateful for these moments, and for this, I thought I’d share a few of my best memories in this game.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 XI: Ranking up to Third Lieutenant

I had been looking forward to joining the lieutenant ranks since the summer of 2019. As a player back in 2017, I had aspired to become a Legend, but that dream quickly died when my parents discovered I had played an entire day of Tanki. When I had gotten back into the game in early 2018, I ranked up to Warrant Officer 1 with a few days left before the last day of school. I made it my goal to become a Third Lieutenant before the end of my summer break. Though I would never achieve that goal, it was still rewarding to see my younger self’s dream come true.

 

X: Getting into the Editorials Program in the Tanki Online Newspaper/Winning Guide Maker

My first editorial is a post I’ll never forget. Gaining Popularity In the AWS is something I had conceived after my flop in the “Write For The Tanki Online Newspaper” and perfected throughout the various weeks that I spent typing up the article. Just before I posted this topic, I had gone through a whirlwind of tough times caused by my stint in competitive writing, my own temper, and some of my undeveloped brain’s impulsive reactions. So, being able to start the year off with a major achievement was great.

The editorial was not published for a while, and my impatience began to kick in. Fortunately, there was a great contest to keep me occupied: The Ultimate Guide Maker was there to save the day. While I had come up with some sort of a crude idea, I had procrastinated and barely had a few words for the article. Within a week of the deadline though, I was able to capitalize on the superpower of procrastination, conduct a quick interview, obtain and edit all the images I needed, write all 4 711 words of the guide, and somehow fit it all in the PM without too severe forum issues (though I experienced a record number of 504 Gateway errors). At about the same time, my editorial was published.

The day the results came in, I had a sense of foreboding, thinking I had flopped. I recounted all my mistakes and tried to console myself, believing I had taken a consolation prize at best. But, Flexoo had mercy on me and declared my entry worthy of the newspaper. Between two weeks, I had two pieces in the Newspaper. How great was that?

(Indeed, Challenges Conquered... I was in the Newspaper!)

 

 IX: Yes, a whole day in Tanki Online aka my Last Supper

So, yeah, one of those days, I was on holiday and decided to use the computer to play Tanki Online. My account had been left neglected for about five or six days, and I was tired of watching my brother play Tanki Online while I desperately waited for a turn of my own, then watched in agony as it turned into another “watch-and-learn” lesson. So, I hatched a plan of my own. When my family was all gone, either at work or on vacation, I went on my dad’s PC, opened Tanki Online, grimaced through the 5 FPS CTF games, bought Isida and Firebird, upgraded some more equipment, and grinded all the way to the high rank of Staff Sergeant. I was so pleased… until I heard that garage door opening, meaning that my mom was home. Now I was in trouble. But hey, it was worth it. 

(One last Esplanade CP before I would see Tanki Online again. )

 

 VIII: Becoming a Reporter and Earning my First HoTM

After a decently long break and a very strange turn of events, your very depressed PR suddenly became extremely positive and happy. That lasted for about a month and a half. During that time, I became a writing machine. Thinking of articles that I had once just forgotten, I started writing like crazy, typing up my pieces at the speed of sound. Due to this extreme productivity commonly unseen in the Newspaper department, I won my first HoTM, which only made me write more. It was an awesome honeymoon period as a reporter, not being single, and the world's blindness to the coronavirus.

Ah, the two paints of achievement...

 

 VII: Discovering the Tanki Online Newspaper and the AWS

Finding the Newspaper was probably the best thing I ever found out about Tanki Online. At that time, as you’ll soon find out, I was writing some sort of a crude newspaper by myself, detailing the current news (a war against K-pop), sports (the current state of my physical education class), gossip columns (me spying on the kids who were goofing off in my bio class), and much more. The moment I saw the little notification with the Newspaper, I knew there was something more to this game than being a low-ranked tanker trying to make it to Warrant Officer 1.

For me, the newspaper represented a goal I wanted to achieve. I wanted to become the reporters penning kit reviews, useful guides, and hilarious opinion articles. I didn’t know where to start, but fortunately, I was somehow able to find the AWS after a while and post a first article.

No, please don't read it.... it's awful.

Though I started off my journey as a fledgling writer with a bit of a rocky start, I persisted (perhaps a bit too much so at times), put in effort (some of the time), and eventually pulled through in my year-long career in the AWS.

 

 VI: Joining the Forums and Entering Newspaper Contests

After finding out about the Newspaper, I had an urge to join the reporter team, but at the time, I was under the minimum age of 15. My next goal was to check out the contests just because I was a bit low on crystals after doling out about 8 000 of them for a Firebird Micro-Upgrade. Of course, I saw the contests and was like “Hm, I’ll go participate in them…” and then procrastinated them for about three weeks.

After some time, when the school year was winding down, I decided to get started. The night before the school year ended, I joined the forum, did some quick research on horoscopes, and entered a bit for the Tanki Horoscopes Contest. (23 May 2018) After a quick entry, I skipped over to another contest: Continue the Story. As it was late at that time, I decided to turn in and get to the story the next day. While my PE class was setting up chairs for graduation the next day, I snuck away and planned a plot for the CtS, then typed it all up during a thirty-minute lunch break. I was impressed with the fact that I even managed to win some crystals given the minimal effort I had put in. But once I had won something, I had also gained the hope that I would one day be skilled enough to write like the Reporter I am today.

 

 V: Rediscovering the game

In my previous Rewind, I do mention something about being pulled away from the game. It was almost thirteen months before I would return to Tanki Online. During that time, I went from popular to pariah, and that’s enough to explain the mental toll it did to me. I knew I needed something to keep me emotionally stable, and I invested in various other games (MKWii, for one). To torture myself, my parents suggested joining a sport, so I ran track. (Of course, I was terrible, but I couldn’t just up and quit…) Halfway through the season, I was just checking the computer before practice when I noticed that Flash (which was supposed to be nonexistent) was running one of the BTD games I had played before. BTD didn’t load, luckily, and so my brain jumped to the next option: Tanki Online. Immediately, I hopped on and relearned the game that had once captivated me. Words still cannot describe the joy I felt on that day.

(Of course, this was taken about two-and-a-half months later. Same difference.)

 

 IV: Capturing my first flag in CTF

For me, my first few games in Tanki were always carefully watched by my brother, who would take over if I made a stupid mistake and slipped a bit. After a few battles, I was careful not to make a mistake. Finally, when I convinced him to go to the kitchen, I snuck into a Cross CTF and took the flag with ease. When a team of Firebirds and a Railgun tried to stop me, I was barely able to overpower them with my Smoky and brought the flag back to the Blue Team’s base. A few seconds later, my brother came back and noticed I was playing. Of course, he promptly took over on my account again trying to “teach” me how to play, but that was fine. I had captured my first flag. Nothing could take that feeling of accomplishment away from me.

 

 III: Becoming a Guest Writer

I really would have to put it as number one if we were talking about most life-changing moments, but we aren’t so… #3 it stands. Just a few days before the invitation came, I was pondering quitting Tanki. I had just left all the Tanki-related Discord servers, placed my last story in the AWS, and started penning my goodbye topic. For me, I felt like being in Tanki served no purpose. Though I was an average writer, there wasn’t a chance of moving up to a Newspaper Reporter (my ultimate goal) and my stupidity had caused the enmity and hatred of many towards me. Quitting was perfect. One last goodbye, a sad tear down my cheek, and I would leave the game that I had once loved.

The perfect go-to snack when you're lonely ;-;

Sitting on a chair and clicking away at my dad’s desktop, I was listening to “f---, i’m lonely” while eating Chex Mix, passing the time in the most pointless of ways wishing my friend was online. At one point, drunk with Worcestershire sauce seasoning and music, I decided to open a new tab and finish up my goodbye topic. But it wasn’t meant to be.

The moment I logged in, I was greeted by a PM. Flexoo had invited me to join the Guest Writers team (in exchange for some more maturity, which I have a perpetual lack of), and of course, I accepted. How could I turn down such an offer?

Spoiler

Well, if I never noticed, then I probably wouldn’t have been here today. Perhaps I would just be some fat kid sitting on the computer, wishing my friends were online on Discord but realizing they were all too busy for me. Who knows?

 

II: Becoming a Reporter Candidate

Each reporter’s story is different, and of course, mine is quite an interesting one, just like everyone else’s. I had become a Guest Writer and reversed my potential retirement just a few months back. For weeks, I had thought of many ideas and promised to get working, but after one article, the creative juices stopped flowing. In fact, I had not written anything Tanki-related since October 19. During that time, I had just thought about life and the cruel turn it had taken since my friend had stopped interacting with me.

On top of that, those past few days, I had been pressured by my parents to study harder before finals, and that was taking a mental toll on my life. I remember crying myself to sleep like the crybaby I was, walking to school downcast, thinking that I would probably go home and use self-harm to stop this pain from hurting me anymore. Instead, I logged onto Discord while studying for finals and found Flexoo’s message waiting for me.

[screen]

My despair was wiped away from me for a few days, and I posted up my first two articles. Life went on. I had hope for the future. Well, that is, for a few days. However, it is still one of my best moments in Tanki Online to this day.

 

  I: Every new day in Tanki Online

For me, each day is a new surprise. When I log in to the forum, questions often pop up in my head, and I wonder: Will I come up with some new ideas for my articles? What will I be doing today? Do I decide to end this AWS writer’s torture and approve this piece today? Any articles for me to proofread? Because of all these surprises I face each day, I truly do love my job as a Reporter. (And of course, my role as a tanker, but I don’t play too much.)

Will I one day become Admin?

While the world plays Fortnite, Smash, Minecraft, or Valorant, I am often moody waiting for them to finish their game so they can talk to me. (And I’m probably watching everything I worked for in 2019 go straight to ruins because of my perpetual lack of maturity messing with me) But when I’m writing an article, I’m in pure focus. Everything that once bothered me has melted away. And that’s why I’ll stay with Tanki until its very last day.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________

And those are my top eleven memories in Tanki Online! Happy Birthday Tanki, and may we celebrate many more together!

[Besties 39]

interesting. Good work uwu

[E_polypterus 2,374]

On 5/22/2020 at 6:46 AM, Person_Random said:

I was so pleased… until I heard that garage door opening, meaning that my mom was home. Now I was in trouble.

I know exactly how that feels xD

Nice article btw.

[Venem 615]

What a wonderful piece, @Person_Random!!

Enjoyed it!

[CyborgPenguin 282]

On 5/21/2020 at 9:16 PM, Person_Random said:

 

The perfect go-to snack when you're lonely ;-;

 

Hehe thanks for the advice.

[Iron_Man 2,376]

On 5/22/2020 at 6:46 AM, Person_Random said:

And that’s why I’ll stay with Tanki until its very last day.

You are making me Emotional!!! Well I am with you. You just nailed it!!!

[Tidebreaker 1,669]

On 5/22/2020 at 10:16 AM, Person_Random said:

 

Will I one day become Admin?

So this aged well