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The Saddest Day


Reg

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2 hours ago, Reg said:

There has been a slight development on information.   Thanks again to the member behind the scenes that put me in contact with the right people, I will let them step forward if they choose to.

  • 24th August 2020 was the day that Chris passed away.
  • He will have family representation at his funeral so due to Covid conditions that makes it impossible to attend in person.

I have given the funeral directors my name and number and asked them to pass it onto the family.

I have also written an email to them as well that they will pass on.

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Thank you Harvey and to the behind the scene member for keeping us informed of Christian's final time on this earth, it really can't be easy for both of you.

2 hours ago, Chopaholic said:

Thank you Harvey, that really means a lot to me and I'm sure many others as well.

TBH I'm genuinely taken aback by how hard this has hit me, I knew that Chris and his work had been a big part of my life over the last 19 years, so logically it would make sense for me to be upset by his passing, but then again I never actually spoke to him, and whilst we have exchanged messages over the years and quite a few friendly ones in this 'new era' of FME, I'd be lying if I said I was in any way close to him.

And yet, thinking about it, he did speak to me, he spoke to all of us, every single time we load in MFME, Chris is speaking to us, because it is so much the passion project of a single person. It's not like when the credits roll on a modern videogame and about six million names scroll up the screen, MFME is basically Chris, the work of one man and his incredible talent and dedication to make MFME the very best emulator he possibly could.

So to have that voice suddenly fall silent, to know that the brilliant mind behind MFME is no longer with us, really fucking hurts, I've properly been in bits over it, I woke up at 5:30am this morning and couldn't get back to sleep, thinking about Chris and FME. I can't concentrate on anything today, I'm properly useless, I'm going to book the afternoon off and go for a long walk and try to rationalise it all through.

RIP Chris.

I think this sums it up for most us.

Again, Rest in peace Chris and thank you xx

Chloe x

 

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I'll admit (maybe I'm not alone in this) that I was in somewhat of a state of denial over this - mistaken identity maybe? Obviously that's not the case though. Probably just my idiotic optimism. 

As for what I'll be doing tomorrow, I'm going to have a proper MFME session. Then, at 3pm I'm going to sit back for a couple of minutes silence / quiet reflection, and give thanks to him for what he gave us all, and wish him well in whatever comes next. Probably have a cry too, which I'm not ashamed to admit I'm doing at the moment sat outside just writing this.

 

 

 

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Currently owned digitals : T7 Encore, T7 Original, Astra iPub and Storm Street Casino.

MFME cabinets : Genesis cab DIY by No1Stoney, Interplay conversion and Vegas Strip conversion (both are works in progress!)

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I've been reflecting on this since the news yesterday. I never knew Wizard, and always gave him a respectful distance. He'd had a long time away from the scene, which was pretty much a shell of itself in his absence, and I didn't want anything to annoy him and see him driven away again.

One dealing I had with him sums him up perfectly for me though. With the new emu releases, many old Crystal games finally became possible. I was trying to create a classic of a game I loved but ran into trouble with the hoppers. Neither I or Reg could figure out what the problem was, and it went over to Wizard to take a look. Unsurprisingly, he diagnosed the problem pretty quickly. He said it would need an emu update, but this would have to wait a few weeks until after the release of 6.1, which was due within a few days. No problem, I thought. Then 6.1 arrived and he'd actually bundled the Crystal hopper fix in with it anyway!

How this sums it up for me is that this guy wasn't content to only have a "very good" emulator. He wasn't going to allow any kind of imperfection - not even on some niche Crystal game from 1997. He wanted a "perfect" emulator. And as far as I'm concerned, he was 100% successful. It's a truly brilliant piece of software, created by an obviously gifted individual. The effort that's gone into MFME shows commitment that's beyond most people, and the joy brought to others is obvious from this thread alone.

Rest easy sir.

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7 minutes ago, slotsmagic said:

I'll admit (maybe I'm not alone in this) that I was in somewhat of a state of denial over this - mistaken identity maybe? Obviously that's not the case though. Probably just my idiotic optimism. 

As for what I'll be doing tomorrow, I'm going to have a proper MFME session. Then, at 3pm I'm going to sit back for a couple of minutes silence / quiet reflection, and give thanks to him for what he gave us all, and wish him well in whatever comes next. Probably have a cry too, which I'm not ashamed to admit I'm doing at the moment sat outside just writing this.

 

 

 

No shame in that, let it all out and the best way. I feel you mate😢.

Started listening to this as I come from a very traditional family and after several seconds had to turn it off, it is from 1939 and we lost her at 103 in June but this one sticks in my mind over all others,

Don't want to put anyone in an upsetting mood but is spot on. Off to play some emulation and talk to him and hope he says hello to all the loved ones I have lost over the years, my Gran being the closet but don't get too close Chris she will get you pissed on Whiskey!!

 

 

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16 minutes ago, Road Hog Mad said:

Suggestion, a fund page to send to his family so we can all donate seeing as he cured our addictions and kept families together. Maybe Harvey or Reg could set this up with a close tie?

At the drop of a hat as have already said. When Reg is ready as will patiently wait on him.

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5 hours ago, Big J said:

 I met a friend yesterday as needed one (close friends for over 40 years and is my voice of reasoning) and told him what had happened "Don't know why I'm so upset I never knew him", you know what he said as he knows and asks about my emulation world from time to time...

"He will mean as much to you as your enjoyment of fruit machines on his software that you play, you not knowing him personally is irrelevant as it is always possible for someone to touch your heart for what they do for you, you have felt a loss and it is totally natural. The best thing to do is never forget and always think of them in the initial stages as it helps you come to terms with it, remember you don't know what you have until it is gone. Laugh, love, cry, enjoy life, be humble, show appreciativeness, show empathy and most importantly embrace life as anything can happen at any given time" 

I think this is where I'm landing with it, and it chimes with what Vicki said to me yesterday evening when I had good cry and started saying to her how stupid I must look crying over a bloke I never met who wrote a fruit machine emulator I like to play, but she immediately got it, and immediately understood, and said words to the effect of 'Someone can have a big impact on your life, and you can feel a closeness to them, even if you've never met them, because they connect to you through their work and their creations'.

And that's how it is with Chris. A totally brutal assessment would be, 'Nothing really changes, the emulator still works, and it's the emulator you enjoy', but that's not how I feel, I miss him even though I never knew him, I'm angry that something took his life at the age of 55 even though none of the stuff he made has been taken away, and I'm deeply sad knowing that the brilliant genius who gifted the world his emulator is no longer with us.

At first I almost resented the grief I was feeling because I couldn't understand it, but I realise now that in a strange sort of way, Chris the person, not just his emulator, but Chris the human being, has been an important part of my life for 19 years, and every time I ever loaded his emulator in, I was asking him to spend some time with me. I can still load MFME and it works exactly the same as it did yesterday, but the knowledge that its creator has gone is a deep wound that really, really stings.

On a wider note there is the FME community itself, I have made many genuine friends via FME, friendships that have lasted for nearly 20 years in some cases, and of course we have the current FME community as it stands now - none of those friendships or communities would exist were it not for Chris. He built it, and we came. We owe it all to him.

So I have accepted the grief, and acknowledge that like all grief, it will take time to process, and it will feel painful and raw for a while, and it will hurt, but in time it will start to fade, and in the aftermath Chris will live on through his emulator and the joy it brings to so many people, and the communities and friendships that his work made possible, will endure.

Right now though, I feel like shit, but that's alright, because losing a man who had come to mean so much to me as a person through the brilliance of his creation, should feel like shit.

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Fruit machine emulation content from the artist previously known as Degsy Degworth and the odd new thing here and there too - https://www.youtube.com/c/DegsyDegworth

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13 minutes ago, Chopaholic said:

I think this is where I'm landing with it, and it chimes with what Vicki said to me yesterday evening when I had good cry and started saying to her how stupid I must look crying over a bloke I never met who wrote a fruit machine emulator I like to play, but she immediately got it, and immediately understood, and said words to the effect of 'Someone can have a big impact on your life, and you can feel a closeness to them, even if you've never met them, because they connect to you through their work and their creations'.

And that's how it is with Chris. A totally brutal assessment would be, 'Nothing really changes, the emulator still works, and it's the emulator you enjoy', but that's not how I feel, I miss him even though I never knew him, I'm angry that something took his life at the age of 55 even though none of the stuff he made has been taken away, and I'm deeply sad knowing that the brilliant genius who gifted the world his emulator is no longer with us.

At first I almost resented the grief I was feeling because I couldn't understand it, but I realise now that in a strange sort of way, Chris the person, not just his emulator, but Chris the human being, has been an important part of my life for 19 years, and every time I ever loaded his emulator in, I was asking him to spend some time with me. I can still load MFME and it works exactly the same as it did yesterday, but the knowledge that its creator has gone is a deep wound that really, really stings.

On a wider note there is the FME community itself, I have made many genuine friends via FME, friendships that have lasted for nearly 20 years in some cases, and of course we have the current FME community as it stands now - none of those friendships or communities would exist were it not for Chris. He built it, and we came. We owe it all to him.

So I have accepted the grief, and acknowledge that like all grief, it will take time to process, and it will feel painful and raw for a while, and it will hurt, but in time it will start to fade, and in the aftermath Chris will live on through his emulator and the joy it brings to so many people, and the communities and friendships that his work made possible, will endure.

Right now though, I feel like shit, but that's alright, because losing a man who had come to mean so much to me as a person through the brilliance of his creation, should feel like shit.

Like my close friend said to me I'll say she is absolutely right, you are a lucky man mate, we all have a right to be upset because friends and close ones can be anything you want it to be, a lot of us have not met him or each other but he has sure made his mark beginning, middle and end. It will take me some time to get over this and the same could be with you, with many others but take the time and naturally process this, rushing will make it worse and have learnt that lesson from the past.

Have said a few words privately to Chris but my most memorable time is when I was flicking (plugging) and he said there is really no skill or creativity involved and said he was going to remove the CTRL+R option, how wicked lol and laughing with mixed emotions atm. He would never of done that because he knew I loved reliving my youth, what kills it is that with a combination of Chris, DIF and layout creators I could do just that, he has saved me shite loads of money which is why I acted the way I did with WFW and hope you and others understand why even if it did piss people off I was compelled to do what I had to, I don't regret it and never will to the most unselfish person and get this I HAVE NEVER DAMN WELL MET. That post I put up about "How much would it cost to run an arcade with all these diamonds in it", proves my point down to the tee, deserved and warranted in every conceivable way. Glad that I could do something for him other than get on his tits half the time and hands down know he was very happy and proud to be a part of this community even with all the shite through the years. Came out like Rocky and just smashed it!!

I have only been here a couple of years so you are feeling it tenfold than I am but remember this Alex he is always with us and never stop those videos, I know he loved them like the rest of us especially with the way you are, if you cry and are upset in them we will cry and be upset together, fuck me this hurts more than when I broke my arm years back, an arm is several weeks but this will take longer. A powerful man that has had a major impact on us all and still has even though he has departed,

We will carry on and even though there will be no more updates he has propelled us in an unimaginable way towards the future and there are others on here that can help in certain ways as well. He will be up there now saying "I haven't finished yet ffs, I have to break the security on MABS, then there is Caesars Palace which @Retrofruit has been trying to punch through on The Mecca, Special FX, hold on I am waiting for an original program £4.80 Barcode to turn up (one of his favourites) and that is why I wanted Galaxy so much to do a video for him as well as others and so much more, not now my followers need me"!! We have to carry on his legacy and stamp in this community as it is definitely what he wanted.

Be Strong Alex and that goes for each and every single one of you across FME Land, remember how he was, remember his spirit. 

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Well after 24hrs and still disbelieve that yet again one of the good guys in the world gets taken from us far to early, and now looking at the comments by all, its time to believe this is happening and not just a dream! Al-day at work kept looking at my phone hoping this topic/tread wasn't here. i tried to watch degsy's video last night but 1.25 in turned it off as degsy welled up, still not brought myself to watch. Funny how someone you never met have a big impact in life. Never did understand the updates we had over the years, all i know is MFME brought me smiles and happiness of my youth days for all the 14 years iv been around in FME.

Chris/Wizard may not be with us in present, but his past and legacy will live on in are minds and in the emulator

I wish i wasn't writing this!!!!!!  😢

You will never be forgotten Chris for bringing happiness to so many lives.

Take care my friend.

Dave.

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I’ve just read this today, and I’m honestly shocked to hear this.

This is really really sad ☹️ 

Wizard has helped everyone on here by creating not just one but several versions of his classic emulator time and time again, each one better than the last. He has helped keep all of our memories of our classic and favourite games alive. Its thanks to Wizard for this, and for allowing designers to be able to make history with publishing their layouts, and for the reason we are all on here today. Wizard has also helped a community of people to come together.

I’ve used from v2 all the way up to the current version and I would like to say a big thank you for all the time, effort and commitment you have dedicated, into your software over the years, and for keeping guys like me away from the machines.

All the best pal, and thanks again for everything you’ve done for us all.

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OMG Shocked  RIP Wizard ,I have only been around this scene and community a short while and it didn`t  take me long to realise that you were a top bloke and a very clever one even though we only spoke a couple times mainly when you were helping me out with an answer to a question. Thank you for all that you have done and created and your MFME legacy will no doubt go on through all of us,😭

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