Back in the day, there were 2 well known buggy designers. All 2 left the world for whatever reasons.  Now Onus, is back.

Back during beta, Onus was known for getting a “shine” on his buggies that no one else could duplicate. The designs tended to be clean, simple, and glossy. I’m hope I may be forgiven for my excitement at his return, but he was a real mentor to me. Onus provided help, guidance, even the occasional template to show me how something was done. I still use variations of the windshield transparency he sent me. I was only too happy to return that favor recently and send it back, since he’s lost all of his old files.

Onus is working hard on some new buggies for us. I have several of his older ones in my collection. Recently he relisted many of his old buggies. He realized quickly that this was causing a loss in value to collectors, so at some cost to himself, he pulled the auctions and won’t be relisting any of those vehicles. The buggies weren’t limited, and no one said he had to pull them. He just felt it was the right thing to do. Honor and integrity have always been his hallmarks, and I was pleased that he was willing to sit down and talk to us about what he’s doing now.

Zach - You were missed by many of us old timers. How long were you gone anyway?
Onus - I have been away for about two years. My last buggy (the OMC -
Signature I) was released in February of 2004. I left shortly after.  

Z - Was there anything in particular that brought you back? 

O - First of all... I left There due to a new addiction. Lineage II. I had worked my way up to Assistant Division Captain of the Lineage division of TheOlderGamers.com. I became more involved w/the administrative side of running four clans and an alliance of eight total clans than actually playing the game. It became work.  

In There, I have no responsibilities. I can come and go as I please. No one here cries to me when their level 12 cleric gets ganked by a level 69 Phantom Ranger.  

Seriously, It's a nice change. I love slapping a texture to a vehicle that others will drive in game.  

Z - What was your very first buggy? 

O - My first buggy, the Blood Rose, was released in August of 2003. It was

very black and red. I must have thought I was pretty hardcore. Hehe.

Did I say "Hehe?" Sorry.

Z - Ummm, yeah, actually you did... ‘rolls eyes 

Z - Do you have anything in the works right now? 

O - I have several in the works right now. The first of which was released to me today. I'm not happy w/it. It will not be released to the public as it is. But, I have (my) one copy and I'm willing to part with it for 200K. Any takers? :P But seriously... it has a minor defect that I'm not happy about. It may not even be noticeable to most, but I know it's there. 

Z - Yes, I know exactly what you mean. I had 2 buggies like that last week. But I digress.. hehe... oops... I can’t believe I said hehe... It must be you... anyway, has buggy design changed much since you were gone?

O - Heck yeah. So much has changed. Painters are so much better than two years ago. Partially due to the two years of practice they have on me, and to some extent the copy and pasting techniques now being used. I suppose I'll have to adapt to keep up. Till then I'll just have to paint the oldschool way. Is that a new white shirt you're wearing? 

Z - Yeah, it’s high res... remind me to tell you about high res sometime. :D

Z - What was most challenging about getting back into designing? 

O - The money. Fortunately, I have had the help of some new friends. On my
second day back, I was shocked when a member I had just met invited me
to his neighborhood and loaned me a house. And just last week a
neighbor paid up front for my first limited release buggy. He hasn't even seen
it yet. Microsoft Paint... here I come!

Z- OOOH!! I thought I was the only one that used that program to create buggies!

Z- OK, so the biggie... When will we see your first new buggy?

O- I'm driving around There in it now! It just won't be released to the
public. As for a public release... Soon. Very Soon. Well... maybe like in
a week or so. :P

After we got done talking, I pulled some of my Onus buggies out for some illustrations. Remember, these buggies are all over 2 years old. Onus was famous for putting shine on buggies back then, and if you compare them with buggies from that era I think you can see why.

I’ve had the opportunity to see some of what Onus is working on, and I’m looking forward to seeing them in world and maybe even adding to my collection.

Disclaimer... in reality, no one I know of uses Paint to design buggies. We were kidding... honest... don’t try it. Please.