I myself first played the game as a little kid on my dad's pc. I remember liking aftermath the most because of the cool units like the mechanic and tesla tanks, which is ironic because I now think aftermath is shit.
I didn't play online till the 2010s on CnCNet. It was the old style lobby and there were very few active players 10 or so years ago. Robskate, yuzgen, danco, grenadier and ifuc seemed to be on the most. NastyNate and Kickn were there. Players like Lauta and Hezb started around then too and it was mostly P4 and Ribbon Isle 2v2 games. Smash was an opponent who improved me the most as I used to play him lots of 1v1 and this is how I learned Q, bookmarks and shifting. I think the best way to learn is finding a sparring partner. Play lots of games 1v1 on all different map types, experiment with different strategies and see what works and doesn't work.
Anyway, everyone knows about CnCNet legends such as Ehy and At0m1, however I've often heard tales of superpros of old. We were very lucky that Blank aka Milo234 came out of retirement during covid-19 lockdown and played for 3 months. He proved he was still an incredible player and was one of the best players on Qmax and mastered the GQ side of the game . He had lots of interesting matches with Katsh, Ford and Hezb among others and even won the ladder one month. He was happy to play anyone anytime. You can find his youtube videos here https://m.youtube.com/user/432olim/videos. Milo showed that players of the past were just as capable of high level play as modern players. So who are some other legends who we would love to see return for the 25th anniversary?
Niklas This Scandinavian legend is best known in the current era for being the namesake of the extremely popular map 4c Niklas, however 90s players would remember him as one of the absolute best players online. Robskate accentuates Niklas' greatness by describing him as the only player in Ehy's league 1v1. Robskate has played literally 100s of players in the past 24 years, everyone and anyone who was good and he considers Niklas and Ehy to be the dominant forces and better than everyone else. This respect highlights Niklas' legacy and he is the number 1 player we would like to see return for the 25 year anniversary.
Jjfjr A name often mentioned in discussions of the greatest player of all time. Active from the 90s until 2006, Milo described him as his toughest ever opponent, humbly losing 8-1 in a 1v1 match. Other 90s players who have returned to online play on CnCNet such as Diaz and K0bra remember JJ's greatness.
ORA-Ssanai and ORA-Galgu 2 legends of ORA-clan remembered fondly by 90s players such as Cousintank, Katsh and ORA-Boy. Ssanai was so good he supposedly GQed his tanks with 2 separate groups. These Asian legends of the game disappeared after the early 2000s and folklore has it they ventured into starcraft and other more lucrative rts online play.
Neutralman This player's grenadier use is the stuff of legend. Many current players attest to the wizardry this player could pull off with his infantry micro. If you thought you could just happily mind your own business and execute your build orders against this player you were wrong. A behemoth of 90s and early 2000s play. His return would be very welcome.
Other honourable mentions of names I've often heard: Nike1, Wegandi, Aloli, FallenAngels, MrPinky, Porker.
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