Earlier Days (2010-2014):
Gosh, I haven't updated this thing in forever, so now is probably as good a time as ever (this seems to be the only place where I can write a pretty detailed introduction, so I will certainly be taking that to my advantage!).
For those who don't know me: My name is Zach (Azula on the forum because I love Azula, but feel free to call me either- although most call me Zach) and I am one of the founding leaders of 4DR. Yes, I am one of the people who created this clan back in 2012 and I have consistently been around here ever since. As you will soon learn to find out, I LOVE talking about MKW History (particular 4DRs and mine), so just beware. I had been playing MKW ever since 2010 and was in the community back then, but I was rather quiet and more of an onlooker. I was on the various MKW websites/forums back then, but didn't really start to pop my head out from beneath the covers until around 2011. It was back then that I created by first clan called "Revenge", which was relatively successful. It had technically died off a couple different times, but I refused to believe or admit that back then. However, the last time I decided to "revive" Revenge would prove to one of my best ideas since it would eventually lead to 4DR being created on October 21st, 2012. Xat (a chat service that is still very much alive and thriving today) is what we primarily used back then and back then was what we would consider the forum today. In fact, a majority of the MKW community back then used Xat, but eventually switched off to Skype. 4DR stayed on Xat for quite a bit longer than the rest of the community, although we did happen to use Skype as well. 4DR (and myself for that matter) did dabble quite a bit in the hacking scene, which is something that I nor anyone else who remembers those days should be afraid to admit as it is history. This continued on this way until it was learned that Nintendo WFC service was going to be ending in May of 2014. Luckily, the community was so invested in the game that there were people who had already been developing a server that they released once Nintendo officially pulled the plug, and this server would become known as Wiimmfi.
Wiimmfi Era (2014-2017):
I was frankly quite devastated once the time finally came where Nintendo WFC was going to be shut down. Obviously this game had become my life and it wasn't known at that time how popular the server was going to be, so I thought the game was pretty much dead at this point. 4DR had to continue on of course, so we transitioned onto Wiimmfi where the scene was very much different. The competition was much more fierce and obviously there was the absence of hacking (which frankly, myself and a majority of 4DR was kind of settling down with the whole hacking thing near the end of Nintendo WFC anyway), so it was much more different. I was pretty depressed at this point in my life as a result of Nintendo WFC shutting down as this game did and still does mean A LOT to me; playing a game and being invested in it for countless years does tend to do that to a person after all. Eventually, Wiimmfi would become quite popular and 4DR was doing fine on Wiimmfi, as well as me adjusting to the entire thing. I didn't realize it at the time, but the "Wiimmfi Era" of 4DR/my time on MKW would become one of the most treasured times in my life so far. I still remember all the fun times and calls (not to mention that it was a good time during my life outside of MKW since I was graduating from high school, and all the events that occurred as a result of that were fantastic as well), and still take nostalgia trips back to then quite often to this day. I could try and re-create it all (and sometimes I think about it), but I just realize that it wouldn't be worth it and the impacts wouldn't be the same.
Inactivity (2017-2019):
In early 2017, I would be starting college (and a lot of people who I regularly played with and had fun with during the Wiimmfi Era had dropped off to do their own things on MKW and/or elsewhere) and already knew and notified everyone that there would likely be a dip in my activity due to college. Looking back on it, the notice I gave to everyone was not needed and I could have continued, but I was learning to manage my time better back then. There was certainly a drop in my activity, but it was not
that bad. Again though, I was learning to manage my time (and fighting depression/motivation), and I started to take more classes and took on a full-time job, so my time became even more thin here. It is easy to look back on things and judge yourself though, so I try not to do that too much, but I could have stayed had I learned to manage my time better. I was severely inactive for quite a few months when I finally realized that it was not fair to myself and everyone in 4DR if it continued this way, so I eventually
put in my resignation as Leader of 4DR. Putting in my resignation was one of the hardest things I have had to do thus far (again, MKW and 4DR were what I have built my life around essentially), but I knew that it had to be done. Plus, there were some events on Wiimmfi that occurred that I will not go into detail about here, but you are welcome to contact me elsewhere if you want to discuss it more. The events that happened on Wiimmfi turned me off from MKW/Wiimmfi in general, so that combined with everything else that was going on meant that it was my time to go. However, I never intended to completely drop off the face of the planet and did promise to check in from time to time, and I certainly did keep to my promise. I was certainly not active, but I did check in to see how things were going and offer support/advice where I could. In early 2019, I had more of a grip on time management and while some staff of 4DR and I were taking a nostalgia trip on our Xat, we came to the ultimate conclusion that I would be able to help out on the forum as a "Tech Admin". This was perfect as it allowed me to help out like I wanted to without having to get on MKW/Wiimmfi. I never wanted to stop helping out or resign mind you, but it is something that I was pretty much forced to do.
Modern Era (2019-Onwards):
Shortly after getting the Tech Admin role here on the forum, I realized that I wanted to get back into the whole scene of 4DR again and so I was considering getting a Switch to play MK8DX. Frankly, MKW is still my choice, but do remember that there were some events that happened back then that turned me off/prevented me from playing, and those reasons still apply today. I eventually got a Switch on January 27th, 2019 and started trialing for 4DR. I have been playing MKW for so long and nothing else, so this is a very big adjustment for me and I miss MKW and all the memories that I had. Maybe some day I will get back on, but for now, I will be sticking to MK8DX. It is funny since I am so new to the game that I am an absolute noob (something I haven't experienced in quite some time) since I am not aware of all the shortcuts, Strats, etc... But that is to be expected with this new game and will get better over time. I don't know where things will go from here, but we will see what happens and roll with it. My Switch FC is listed in my profile and I invite anyone to add me.
All in all, I've seen many generations, discoveries, arguments, etc... of not only 4DR, but MKW as a whole (the hacking scene, the competitive scene developing, various casual clans- the list goes on). I could include 10x more details than what I've included here believe it or not lol, but I think I will leave it here for now. Anyone is of course welcome to contact me about any of this if they want to talk more about it (or just talk in general!). The best way of contacting me is through Discord (will leave that below) or by Private Conversation here on the forum.
Discord: z.#0478