OK, I'm going to show my age a bit now
I had bought UT2K3, and was looking for something a bit different to the usual FPS fare. I honestly don't remember how I came across RO:CA - but I believe, it was probably via FilePlanet. I found quite a few games and mods via FP back then, before it mutated into the big filthy beast it is today
I also don't remember which version of RO:CA I happened across - I think it was pretty early though, and I don't remember any vehicles being in there. I'm thinking it was maybe 1.0, or pretty close - so it was probably just called RO back then? I do fondly remember the likes of Spartakovka (was this mis-spelled or are there two similar place names?), Berlin, Warsaw, Donets, Sevastopol and Ponyri. Very good times indeed
For some reason, my RO career faltered during the reign of RO:CA. I didn't pick up RO1 for some time, and never managed to get into it properly. I also happened across DH way too late really - early this year to be exact! - although I did get to enjoy some good DH games on the few servers still running and populated, but I got a bit sick of people voting for Omaha
lol
DH did however re-ignite my interest in RO2, and here we are. While it may not be the game many people were hoping for, I have to say I usually enjoy playing it. I have bad games, but mostly it's great fun and I definitely don't regret buying it. I am hoping that we can have the requested "genuinely hardcore mode", be it via fully tweakable server settings across the board or, if it absolutely has to be, via a well-crafted mod. I would prefer not to see the community sliced and diced though - so I hope TWI helps us out with that one