I'm fucking happy this is still here.

I'm just happy that this forum still exists. I'm happy that forums in general still continue existing.

Thanks, everyone, for being here all these years. This place meant a lot to me and I met some great people and spent some great times on IRC and skype, back in 2007-2012.

That's all.

 

That was the longest I've seen you go inactive, WoodenRat. I thought for sure you weren't coming back after that one, but I guess I was wrong, your days weren't over just yet. I got real excited when I saw you posting again, because then I got my hopes up that you might finally cross the finish line and eventually reach 2000 posts. But it looks like you just dropped by to make a few posts, so I guess I may still be waiting quite a while for you to make those extra 65 posts outside of the Satellite Lounge you still need to reach that milestone.

Also yeah, I'm also glad that this place still exists. I have a special sort of fondness for this community, even though it's nowhere near as active as it used to be (and even back then, the CSTSF was considered less active than a lot of other forums). It does make me a little bit sad to see that message boards are a dying medium, though. While instant messaging apps like Discord can streamline communication in a certain way, there's less room for lengthy, thoughtful discussions, and if you're not online right as a certain conversation is happening, you can miss out on it. Seeing previous replies or past conversations is also a lot harder with apps like Discord, but is extremely straightforward with forums like this. That's one reason why I think message boards like this still have their place on the internet. Sadly, a growing population of the internet doesn't agree with me on that.

Even though it's sad to see this place less active, it kind of works for me in the phase of life that I'm in now, since I'm out on my own and working full-time, so I'm able to be a relatively active member here with a minimal time commitment. But yeah, I've heard no unironic hint from DT or Andwhy about shutting these forums down, even though this place is a lot less active. I think they share in those sentimental feelings that you expressed, probably more so than anyone else here, which is probably why they still keep this place running.

 

until death do us part

 

I wish I was around in the heyday of the online forum. There's something with a forum to me that just really sticks, and I feel like even still, forums have their magic. One forum I really wanted to get into, the Puyo Nexus forums, has basically been archived and new accounts cannot be made, so that's a big bummer. However, with the openness of this community, I feel like we, along with many other forums, are helping keep this magic alive. The magic and wonder and stupidity of the online forum.

Thank you, for letting me be part of a forum. I'm honored to be here, even if I lurk more than I post.

 

I'm honestly super shocked that the forums are still as "active" as they are! I have so many good memories and have made so many good friends because of this site, and I wouldn't trade any of it for the world.

 

The forums are rad as hell! If I had an email as a kid, I would've joined sooner, haha. I'm glad the community is active and new members join semi-regularly.

 

The forums stayed over all a good memory, I wouldn't particulary say I got fond of this place mainly because I joined when the forum pretty much ended up replaced by the discord servers aka, when it was dying but I got some pretty good memories of this place.

 

I've been here since 2016, and I still pop by every so often. It's strange that it's still here but yeah, I agree it's really cool.

 

Yo, what's up?

 

I joined the forums in 2018. You've all been on the forums longer than me, and I don't have anything interesting to say.
The forums were at it's golden age while I was an infant. I was seriously born too late.

 

I joined the forums in 2018. You've all been on the forums longer than me, and I don't have anything interesting to say.
The forums were at it's golden age while I was an infant. I was seriously born too late.

Or you could be like me and be tardy as hell. But I digress. I also like to see that the forums are still here and active to the surprise of many.

 

I joined the forums in 2018. You've all been on the forums longer than me, and I don't have anything interesting to say.
The forums were at it's golden age while I was an infant. I was seriously born too late.

It's so weird to think that there's someone who is 14 years old (the age I was when I first played Cave Story), who is actively posting here and making a mod. And that same person wasn't born until over a year after S. P. Gardebiter joined, and was also 4 years old when I released my fourth ending mod. Way to make me feel old.

 

Spoiler: My Timespan of Cave Story

I remember when I was about seven or eight-years-old, I found out this game. My brother actually found it for me, and he showed me the "demo" version of it on the Wii. I remember that I would save my money for Wii Points, then buy the full game of Cave Story for the Wii (yes, I did not know that was a freeware game of Cave Story until I was about nine). I remember the first time I "beat" the game. Apparently, I only got the Bad Ending, then I got the Normal Ending - and I did not know about the "Best Ending." When I eventually found out about the Best Ending, I remember going through everything very precisely. I remember the time that I beat Hell so many months later after I bought the game. Also, along with that, I remember how much struggle I had on Boss Rush and the Sanctuary Time Attack - glad knowing that playing those mods so often definitely improved my skill at both of those challenges.

Then, about a year later, about July of 2015, I found out about Cave Story Modding. I found everything so fascinating and visual when I could LITERALLY edit the game any way I want. I tested out so many things, such as setting my health to the highest I could. I also remember playing other mods, such as WTF Story, Death Story, Jenka's Nightmare, Corridor Challenge, Boss Rush v24, and some others (that I cannot really think of at the moment). I remember trying to cheat my way to "beating" WTF Story through modding to test my experience in modding. And, well, I did not succeed - I actually had no knowledge on a lot of things (especially flags). So, after a little while, I decided to quit Cave Story Modding due to my loss of interest (but not quit playing the actual game) for a little bit.

About a year later, I actually got to the point of buying Cave Story+ on Steam. During that year, I remember I used to make even MORE mods and port them to Cave Story+, then allow my brother to play through them. He had a lot of interest in the game, so he definitely loved playing any mod that I created. And, yeah, that was about it for that year. (Also, along with those mods, most of them are actually lost indefinitely because I lost that computer. Some mods are actually backed up on a portable hard drive that I have.

Approximately two years later, I made a few mods, such as challenge mods and very little story mods, and I shared them with a few friends that I had. They all had great feedback on some of them - except for some that are vague, such as simple-to-fix bugs in my mods that I could not help much, as I only had a little more experience than three years earlier; but still considered, well, a beginner. I remember porting some mods with Plus Porter to Cave Story+, and I had an absolute BLAST with that amazing little tool; ah, those days...

Fast-forwarding three more years, here we are - I am now a part of the Forums and actually have more access to more mods that I originally could not find years ago (plus, new ones are always being made a posted to these forums, too).

Such an excellent timeline and timespan of how everything just... flies. Especially time. Time flies so fast. I even remember the day watching a YouTuber playing Cave Story for the Wii (it was either a little before or a little after Christmas of 2014) before I even bought it. Man, the memories.

 

Too late for me to hop in on the fun? I've been meaning to check in on the forums for a few weeks now and I'm glad I did. I wanted to say something to this effect and I'm glad that other people decided to bring it up too.

I was only really active on here around 2014 and 2015. After that, I spent more time in the CSTSF Discord and eventually moved to smaller groups. From then on, I never really left or came back. Mostly, I just go months or years without visiting before eventually deciding that I want to drift back in to check out what I've missed out on. This is a pattern that I've undergone with more online games and communities than I would likely be able to (or want to) count. I've seen places disappear and player numbers flatline, so when I do decide to revisit a place, I'm always happy to see that it's still around.

This site is most certainly one I'm happy to see still around. After discovering Cave Story by accident and completing the normal ending, some searching around led me to find this place. I tried signing up for an account but I never received the confirmation email. Luckily, sending an email to andwhy about it got me on track. Thanks andwhy!

Even though my account is technically from September 2014, it wasn't until October that I could use my account and had gotten past my self-consciousness to finally begin making posts. Unfortunately, I was a teenager at the time and that is clearly reflected by how posts from that time aged like milk sitting on the kitchen counter. I would say that I don't know how anyone here put up with how insufferable I was, but in the middle of typing this sentence, it occurred to me that it's probably because most were a mix of "about as bad" and "I'm older now, but I get it and have patience". So, thanks for that. A lot can change in seven years and now I get it.
Quick Tangent: CSTSF Personality Quiz:

Spoiler

While looking through my old posts to find the point at which I could actually tolerate looking at them, I ran across a post I made replying to a thread about a CSTSF Personality Quiz that Tpcool made back in 2017.
Here's the link to the thread: https://forum.cavestory.org/threads/which-cstsf-member-are-you.13901/

I thought it would be fun to take it again to see if there was a change, so I gave it a go. While I can't say this would be the case for any member who joined after 2016, it was fun to revisit. I laughed a lot at the question poking fun at new posts in the theories section because that's pretty much what my first post on here was (remember: stupid teenager). There was more than that, but that's what got me the most.

Originally, I got Polaris. This time around, I got Noxid. I would consider both of these outcomes to be really good. Also, this doubles as totally sound proof that I have changed as a person.

Cringe aside, it's fun to look back at some of the old threads and see names I haven't seen in a while. I've made a good few friends from here and other people that I'm glad to have interacted with. Sure, there were the occasional unsavory characters, but those haven't done much to detract from the earlier statement. I'm not the type of person who thinks new things are bad just because "the new stuff is new and the old stuff was better," but exploring old posts is something that newer social media platforms just don't do as well, be it Facebook, Twitter, or what have you. That also applies to messaging platforms (Discord, Skype (good times), IRC), but those aren't really designed for it, so I can't blame them.

Saying "hi" to a bunch of names I recognize and haven't interacted with in a long time (in no particular order except for the categories below the messages for specific people):

Spoiler

@andwhyisit : Thanks for getting me in the door and for keeping the lights on! This place means a lot of things to a lot of people. Also, you're a cool guy.

@Polaris : I only recently saw the news about you having graduated and coming out as trans. Congrats! Hope to see you around and maybe talk sometime.

@Thatnamelessguy and @SeasonsOfDestiny: I remember both of you from the Skype group and I don't think that I got off on the right foot with either of you. I can't remember exactly what happened or why, but I'm just going to assume it was my fault and apologize for it here.

@HaydenStudios: I've seen you around a fair bit, even back in the mid-2010's, but I don't think we've ever really interacted all that much. My Discord is listed in my profile and I'm obviously around here sometimes, so if you're also interested, send me a message.

@Mint: I feel like I remember you, but I can't remember why. Maybe a username change?

@Random-storykeeper: Your music is super good!

@Reddeh Le Steddeh: God, it's been so long. I remember you from the Skype group, but not much else. Hope you're doing good. I think I have you added on Steam, so I'll try sending you a message if I see you around.

@Aeternum: It's been a while, but the last time I saw you around, you were working on a story. I remember it being good, so if you're still working on it, I hope it's going well!

@Spirit: Thanks for making the picture I used as my profile pic for years on this site!

@Bionicobot: I wasn't particularly friendly to you in the beginning and that's true of a good many people, but you've become very talented over the years. I've apoligized to you before over Discord, but I think it's important to also put that here. Glad to see that you overcame the cold welcome we gave to you at first and that you're doing well now.

@Polar✪: I played part of your rabbit game and I remember it being really good (it's been a minute)! I hope that things are going well with Studio Nevermore. This probably doubles as a "hi" to dunc now. Also, totally unrelated, but apparently I never made a post on the Rave Story thread, which I find surprising.

Anyone from before 2010 who is still active here: Absolute legends.

Anyone from after 2016 who is still active here: Things have been slow, but if you're still around, thanks for dropping in!

Names I recognize that I found while spelunking around recently that I don't really have any specific message other than "hi" for: FDeityLink, Goerge Bobicles, Captain Fabulous, Ralren, DoubleThink, Noxid, duncathan, Doors (Slither?), 2DBro, GIR, ColdCallerLoopy, EnlightenedOne, SuperJaws100, Fatih, Yinga, VinylCheese, Super, Weetsy, Safusaka, JonSpider, NoNameForEvil, Claoose, Zenix

People that I didn't list above because we talk on Discord with some amount of regularity: Aar, Tpcool, Raymundo, sinisterMayo

There are more people that I forgot to put here. I tried looking through a good number of old threads to look at names, but there's only so far that can go.

There's also this (mostly) fun experience I had a while back that I'll share here:

Spoiler

Recently, I had a fan in my laptop go bad and it took two weeks for replacements to ship. I had to use something while waiting, and the only alternative system I really had for it was the old computer I used before I had a laptop: an HP Pavilion a1648x. Hailing from 2006, it features an AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+, an Nvidia GeForce 6150 LE graphics chip on the motherboard, 4GB of DDR2 RAM... need I go on?

Obviously, it wasn't a great experience, but it was at least kind of fun to use it with some amount of regularity after so many years. This inactivity would actually make for an interesting discovery. On the old version of Firefox it was using, it would give me the option to close the browser without closing the tabs I had open, and I used that more than I probably should have.

It was the computer I was using when I was most active on here, so naturally, one of those tabs was CSTSF. I decided to give it a click and I realized after the page loaded that it had my old CSTSF-specific profile picture (the one Spirit made forever ago) on the main page. That's when it hit me that Firefox was also caching the web pages and that this was a really old capture of the site.

I know the Wayback Machine is a thing (and an incredible one at that!) but I felt it important to right click and save a more permanent copy of it somewhere safe. So how old was it? I couldn't tell for sure at first, but after digging through the page source, I managed to get the date: January 20th, 2017. I honestly can't believe that it held onto a cached page for nearly five years.

So what was it like? Well, actually, I decided to just host the page on my web server, so you can give that a look here: https://pummelator.com/archive/www/...017-01-20/Cave Story Tribute Site Forums.html

It's a fun little look into what was going on at the time. Hopefully the link doesn't go bad.

While this site may not have a lot of activity anymore, I still think that there's a future to be had here. It may be a bit of a quiet one, but if I've learned anything from watching people interact on Twitter and other sites like it, maybe that's not a bad thing. I also just think that forum sites in general have a future. I kind of mentioned it earlier, but there are some things that forum sites just do better than the more modern approach social media takes. Also, if nothing else, forums will always exist for asking questions, namely for technical help. I can only imagine how far the world would be thrown into anarchy if Stack Overflow just disappeared overnight.

I'll make no promises as to my staying or going, as experience has taught me that I'm inconsistent about where on the Internet I stick around at, but I'll try to make a few good posts on here in the coming weeks and hopefully I'll drop by a little more often in the future. I hope everyone is doing well and I look forward to seeing what the future holds for the community here! Remember to stay safe, drop by every now and again, and assume any post I made before 2017 is bad.

I spent at least three hours writing up this post in a text editor. I might have a problem.

 

Too late for me to hop in on the fun?

Not too late at all my dude.

Unfortunately, I was a teenager at the time and that is clearly reflected by how posts from that time aged like milk sitting on the kitchen counter. I would say that I don't know how anyone here put up with how insufferable I was, but in the middle of typing this sentence, it occurred to me that it's probably because most were a mix of "about as bad" and "I'm older now, but I get it and have patience". So, thanks for that. A lot can change in seven years and now I get it.

Yeah, many of the older members here remember what it's like to have that kind of underdeveloped judgement when you're in your early to mid teens. From about 2011 until late 2014, this community was actually pretty bad about the way that it responded to 12-15 year olds. In fact, I'd say that around that time, a lot of the 17-21 year olds were even worse than the 12-15 year olds, because of the way that they weaponized their higher social status and tried to hide their own insecurities by picking on 12-15 year olds. There were even a couple of threads that were made to address this problem, and eventually things got better, mostly due to that generation of 17-21 year olds fading into obscurity and being replaced by a newer generation that remembers what it's like to be treated poorly. Things were getting better by the time you joined, and by the time that 2016 rolled around, I feel like this community reached a good equilibrium and was dealing more maturely with immature users.

Quick Tangent: CSTSF Personality Quiz:

Spoiler

While looking through my old posts to find the point at which I could actually tolerate looking at them, I ran across a post I made replying to a thread about a CSTSF Personality Quiz that Tpcool made back in 2017.
Here's the link to the thread: https://forum.cavestory.org/threads/which-cstsf-member-are-you.13901/

I thought it would be fun to take it again to see if there was a change, so I gave it a go. While I can't say this would be the case for any member who joined after 2016, it was fun to revisit. I laughed a lot at the question poking fun at new posts in the theories section because that's pretty much what my first post on here was (remember: stupid teenager). There was more than that, but that's what got me the most.

Originally, I got Polaris. This time around, I got Noxid. I would consider both of these outcomes to be really good. Also, this doubles as totally sound proof that I have changed as a person.

Oh wow, I don't remember that thread at all. But looking through that thread, I guess I took it twice back in the day and got Polaris both times. I too got Noxid when re-taking it just now. As before, I see a lot more of myself in andwhyisit than any of the other options in that quiz, but given the way that some of those questions are framed, and the fact that it's a very narrow set of members to choose from, and that that thing was just made for fun, I can't expect it to be super accurate.

Saying "hi" to a bunch of names I recognize and haven't interacted with in a long time (in no particular order except for the categories below the messages for specific people):
@HaydenStudios: I've seen you around a fair bit, even back in the mid-2010's, but I don't think we've ever really interacted all that much. My Discord is listed in my profile and I'm obviously around here sometimes, so if you're also interested, send me a message.

I kind of remember you joining, but yeah, I don't think we ever really interacted that much. But cool, nice to see you around, and I'm glad that you consider me to be a part of some special memories from your youth. Good to know that I can likely reach you on Discord if I need to.

While this site may not have a lot of activity anymore, I still think that there's a future to be had here. It may be a bit of a quiet one, but if I've learned anything from watching people interact on Twitter and other sites like it, maybe that's not a bad thing. I also just think that forum sites in general have a future. I kind of mentioned it earlier, but there are some things that forum sites just do better than the more modern approach social media takes. Also, if nothing else, forums will always exist for asking questions, namely for technical help. I can only imagine how far the world would be thrown into anarchy if Stack Overflow just disappeared overnight.

My feelings on this matter are very similar. Message boards like this do a far better job of cultivating open discussion, tight-knit communities, and thoughtful conversation. Newer social media platforms have recently fallen victim to corporatism, censorship, cancel culture, trendy mob mentalities, and an overall disingenuous atmosphere. That's one reason why I try to put my time into platforms like this that much better facilitate healthy online conversations.

I spent at least three hours writing up this post in a text editor. I might have a problem.

Here's to writing lengthy posts. Glad that I'm not the only one still doing it.

 

I recall being in the Skype group for a brief period of time. Though I forget if it was Yinga or SP that was relatively pacifistic to me back in the Skype days, regardless it's probably why I didn't give up. I previously went by 'Hax4Ever' but I've foregone that name over the past decade as I try to turn the page in my life.

I was like 10 years old when I joined, Noxid banned me for 2 years... I came back and he was like "I'm surprised you still want to come back" Some time after I returned, I joined Blink and Enlight in setting up the CSMC early on. I wanted to help make Cave++ as well, though Lillin departed from the community and, the last I talked to him, he seemed disinterested in remotely associating with it. Now I'm working here and there on CS Multiplayer, though I've been busy with other things lately... I've got a game development company now. Alula, Bionicobot, SlightlyIntelligentMonkey, and Scrambles have all joined me as part of that endeavor... I'd say it's turning out well so far, We're working on some exciting stuff that we'll be able to show off properly soon hopefully.

My fondest memories about the CSTSF and CS Modding in general have been with what little I did on Wind Story (Which, in retrospect, is just a ripoff of one of Kiseff's mods based on some art I'd seen on deviantart back then), and Nimbase, which I'd say was a very important learning experience that I can tie back to my development process now, I learned alot from creating what little we got done on that mod and have been applying what I learned in the development cycle.

 

I'm kinda stuck with a character limit, otherwise this'd be a super-huge wall of text, haha.

I've been around since 2011. Not as a member, yet; I've lurked, learned to mod CS, made a few *atrocious* ones... though back then, I had issues of self-loathing (for reasons). Which led to me doing some pretty stupid stuff later on.

I first joined on 12 February 2012 (in my timezone), though under a different name that some older members may recognize, perhaps even loathe - "Shane". I posted a few of my mods (except the very first mods I made). The only "complete" one was "Cave Story - Time Warp", and that was... pretty badly executed, haha. (I think I had spoken with two other members here about the mod? Not sure if they'd like to take over and remake it or whatever.)

Some time after that, probably late 2012 or early 2013...? Anyway, I could no longer access the forums (still not sure why, but it was an issue on my end, apparently). Stuff happened (I'd prefer not to go into messy details, since I might misremember stuff), and the Shane account got ban-hammer'd.

A few years later... I was able to visit these forums again, and I made this account (then known as "Kim Tyranto"). I was... less of an idiot than I was in 2012, haha. (No bans yet, compared to a post-ban and a ban for bumping the s**t out of things as "Shane"... not sure if I forgot other bans.)
I even made a guide (of sorts) for the BOA command used in TSC - probably the most significant contribution I've made here, I dunno.

And then in February 2017, I lost Internet access and was inactive for a few years, having to use a mobile device (that's not very reliable, haha). It wasn't 'til mid-2020 that I finally stopped loathing myself (thanks to friends like @King (2.0)), and started accepting myself, faults and all. Regretting the mistakes I've made...

At some point after that, I requested the name change to "Cibryll", and hopefully... that's the last name change.

I've got a lot of memories of this forum. Some bad, some good, but one might say that all of them helped me grow as a person. Probably sounds silly, but that's how I feel, haha.

This was the first forum that I actively participated in topics (and the second one I had joined). Maybe made too many mods (several of poor quality, I'd say) and planned some projects way too ambitiously, though.

I guess this is it for this post...
I'm hoping I can still hang around here for many more years. :3

 

Whoa, Cibryll, you're Shane? I had no idea. You certainly were an interesting character back when you were 16. I remember there being some weird snafu with your account that resulted in your Shane account either being permabanned or inaccessible to you, but I was always very confused on the details. I kind of remember Kim Tyranto, but I didn't realize that was the same account you have now. For some reason, I've found it so much harder to keep track of all these name changes since about 2017.

 

Any mention of the first few years after I joined relegates me to being the local historian.

 

Names I recognize that I found while spelunking around recently that I don't really have any specific message other than "hi" for: FDeityLink, Goerge Bobicles, Captain Fabulous, Ralren, DoubleThink, Noxid, duncathan, Doors (Slither?), 2DBro, GIR, ColdCallerLoopy, EnlightenedOne, SuperJaws100, Fatih, Yinga, VinylCheese, Super, Weetsy, Safusaka, JonSpider, NoNameForEvil, Claoose, Zenix

Hello Pummelator! I remember you from back in the day, as well as many other people who posted in this thread! It is really cool seeing so many people still active on this forum. I remember you and Aar used to make YouTube videos playing through Cave Story mods if I'm not mistaken, which were always a pleasure to watch when they came out!

I am really glad that I had found this community back in the 2014-2015 era, as it was home to many amazing experiences I had growing up. This was the first and only forum that I have ever really participated in, and I really enjoyed interacting with everyone on here while I was active. Playing through other people's Cave Story mods on this forum had enough of an influence on me to actually make a mod of my own. Learning how to mod Cave Story really got me interested in programming in general, and was one of the biggest pushes for me to go into computer science at university. I would say that this forum has been a big influence on my life overall, and I am grateful to have had the experiences with everyone that I had! Thank you everyone!

Yeah, many of the older members here remember what it's like to have that kind of underdeveloped judgement when you're in your early to mid teens. From about 2011 until late 2014, this community was actually pretty bad about the way that it responded to 12-15 year olds. In fact, I'd say that around that time, a lot of the 17-21 year olds were even worse than the 12-15 year olds, because of the way that they weaponized their higher social status and tried to hide their own insecurities by picking on 12-15 year olds. There were even a couple of threads that were made to address this problem, and eventually things got better, mostly due to that generation of 17-21 year olds fading into obscurity and being replaced by a newer generation that remembers what it's like to be treated poorly. Things were getting better by the time you joined, and by the time that 2016 rolled around, I feel like this community reached a good equilibrium and was dealing more maturely with immature users.

It is interesting to hear about how this forum was right before I even knew it existed. I'm glad that the community overall has loosened up in that time and has become more welcoming to younger people. Going off of memory alone, I do not think I have had any negative interactions with people on this forum, so it sounds like I joined at a good time. I was around 14 or 15 when I first found this forum, so some of my posts may be somewhat cringeworthy, but I am happy nonetheless that the members here put up with my weirdness.

I may not be very active in these forums going forward, but I will try to occasionally pop in and see how everything is going. Thanks again to everyone for the good times and I wish you all well in life!