Souljack

I never would have clanned if he hadn't made the coop maps he did.
 
Zunnie seemed to always around to chill with, or to show me and others the stuff he was working on, helping them out, even taking time leading me through the coding he was doing, interspersed with the clinking of coffee stirring.
 
He was a friend and an inspiration to me and so many others.
 
Rest in Peace man.
 
 

I never would have clanned if he hadn't made the coop maps he did.
 
Zunnie seemed to always around to chill with, or to show me and others the stuff he was working on, helping them out, even taking time leading me through the coding he was doing, interspersed with the clinking of coffee stirring.
 
He was a friend and an inspiration to me and so many others.
 
Rest in Peace man.
 
 

Sander please take all the time you need, do not worry about us guys. 
 
I miss those nights that we would all be online till very early hours of the morning, listening to the dog, the birds and every other farm animal known to man that Zunnie kept next to his computer and of course the worlds loudest coffee maker. 
 
Take care my friend, 
 
Hunty. 
 

So much at a loss for words right now... Rest In Peace, brother...

No way, cant believe this! RIP Zunnie 😢 

Hi Shaitan,
 
Its the least we can do!
 
You all we a very big part of Jan's life, to not fill in his friends about whats going on feels like letting him, and you all down.
 
Thats not a option, but thank you very much!
 
All you have sayed, and put out here, and beyond  i know Jan would be so freaking proud...
 
He did have friends, so much so and then some..
 
Thank you.
 
 

You do not need to apologize for anything Sander. You and Kees taking the time to read these is above and beyond.

Hi Hunt,
 
Ive spend several nights gaming with Jan, and trust me m8 he missed talking with you as well as he mentioned to me.
But he knew  RL stuff gets in the way sometimes.. that didnt mean You or any lost touch....all the posts here, the reactions of friends he treasured..trust me he knew, understood and didnt mind because thats life.
 
Thank you very much for being his friend, the gaming nights i was there and you all on TS hahaha i wish
 
I wish for all so much the very best,
 
You all have been such a support, Words wont cut it, but thank you for being there for my brother.
 
Pls forgive me, if any reply takes a while after this.. im kinda empty..
 
May the Best of your past, be the worst for the future!!!
 
Best regards,
 
Sander

Hahahah Omg my dog just farted, that must have been "Polle" my moms dog.
 
Geez, so nice to read all these stories/anecdotes....
 
If only...
 
Sry all, im at rock bottom atm.
 
I know jan loved you all.
 
Talk soon, and take care pls.
 
Thank you all for everything,
 
Best regards, and wishing well for all of you..
 
Sander

I saw this announcement via the Facebook page and I must say it upsets me greatly that Zunnie is no longer with us. 
 
He was the first person I ever became friends with on Renegade way back in 2002-2003. He took me under his wing and taught me a lot of stuff even though I was a hot headed teenager he took time to show me the ropes, even when I made mistakes or lashed out at other clan members Zunnie had my back. 
 
I regret not talking to him for the last year or so due to family/work commitments, just goes to show you never know when your time is up. 
 
I am just glad he made a legacy here and in other gaming communities so his name will live on for many years to come! 
 
Ren In Paradise old friend, condolences to his brother and the rest of the family. 
 
Hunty. 
 
P.S - the best quote by Zunnie on Teamspeak will forever be
”omg guys my dog just farted”. 
 

God i hated reading this i really hoped it was fake news but it wasnt. Jan zunnie my friend may you rest in peace you've helped so many in this world it's a big shocker we lost a very good person thank you for everything you've done for me personally and for renegade this was such a shock to read  i hope you're at peace now my friend and my condolences to the family.
 
R.I.P zunnie ❤️ save us a seat bro and if i know you well enough we will all be in for a suprise when we meet again!.
 

Zunnie invited me into his community as either a representative of Chaos or the old UT world (I have no idea).
At times like this, the word "Community" seems like an understatement.
The love and respect Zunnie showed for his community is mirrored and amplified here from the shining light that he was.
Though I only had a few conversations with him, mostly about UT and game design, they were always fun and and focused of team play.

I regret not picking his mind more often, as now his thoughts will remain his alone.
I had hoped he would get the opportunity to join the Chaos team for some beta testing fun, and help us with the team play balancing it will need.
 
The general feedback seen in this thread shows that it was not just a matter of being a nice guy, he was valuable.
Valuable as a community leader
Valuable as a modder
Valuable as a technical resource
Valuable as a friend
Valuable as an inspiration
but most of all, he was valuable as a Human being

In the older parts of the gaming world we have given a final salute to many that had their last respawn.
When it is a a Clan or Community leader it hurts in a different way. It often leads to feelings of confusion of what to do next.
That is easy, you continue to enjoy what you have, and tell the stories of all those fun times.
You can't bring him back but you can weave him into your maps and mods, and continue making him be part of gaming history.
 
You can find Clans over 20 years old that still keep the memory of their fallen comrades alive every day.
At the NewbiesPlayground for the old Unreal game, the DOG clan have a tough house bot with the name of their original leader "Old Sparky"
They have one of the servers always show his name, and on the clan site his wise old face still welcomes you every time you arrive.
Importantly, every year on the anniversary of his last respawn, the server is setup for a more  fun gathering of old friends. The event is posted in the most prominent places for the various Unreal communities to see.
Often this is a time when some of his family join to share in what he created with his friends.
Perhaps  this helps give a sense of "even though he is gone, it is not over yet".
 
Not many of us leave a genuine legacy behind us, but Zunnie is one of the few (even less gain status as an Ambassador).
To Lien Rolvink, I know it is the worst possible thing to outlive your children, but your little boy has created a legacy you can be proud of.
You gave the world something very special in your son. He was a true leader, and people don't forget that.
On behalf of the  Unreal Tournament world, thank you for lending your son to us, even for such a short time.
 
To Zunnies close friends and family;
On my weekly radio show I tend to start with a tribute to someone that just left us. This Friday I would like to dedicate the show to Zunnie and play his favourite tracks. If you could select his top 5 (or as close as you can guess) I would be very grateful.
You can use any of the contact methods in my profile you prefer.

That's a beautiful thing...

Ill gonna miss the sound of his coffee machine on teamspeak it was something special he was awesome in all ways always kind and helpful will miss him much

@Scopes  My only question is how did you manage to sleep over at his place with him slamming (typing) on his keyboard at wee hours of the night!  And how many keyboards has he broken?
 
We love and miss him dearly. We appreciate shedding light for us, we know how difficult it must be for you and the family.  Stay strong.

Your brother was the one thing every one of us had in common. He was also the one who literally did the most stuff for the gaming communities he was involved in, he was a jack-of-all-trades(tester, coder, owner, social media, helped the newbies regarding games/irc/teamspeak/servers/you name it).
He would spend hours trying to help people, even if you were a regular player. A lot of us were his guinea pigs over the years for trying out new stuff he would do.
Back in 2007/2008 I forget which, he was the drive behind trying to keep C&C: Renegade alive. I had a small part in that regarding collecting maps for him. Him, what he did was put that out there everywhere to be downloaded. Back then there were a lot of places he would get banned from for doing it, but you know your brother better than any of us: when he wants to do something it will get done.
Jan was the heart and soul of a community. If he left a place, it was never the same again.
I apologize if it seems like I am posting in here a lot. I'm just trying to get things rolling so noone ever forgets him and the stuff he's worked on, and their children will be able to play his stuff long after we all give up gaming.
Your bother was the best of us, he was my first friend online back in 2004. He was the one back then(and over the years of bs'ing on irc/teamspeak) who took the time to show me the ropes. I will never forget him.
I hope you and your family find some measure of peace from knowing that Jan touched a lot of lives.

@trunkskgb Thank you very much.
 
I've spend several nights gaming at my brothers during last few years. I've watched him develope, fix probs..with several profanity flying across his desk when fixes either didnt work or didnt do wich he wanted them to
But he kept at it untill they did, when he encountered a issue he couldnt solve no of you were reluctant to help each other and fixed and build the most amazing maps.
 
Again thanks very much!, for bringing Joy into my brothers life.
 
Ill pass along the condolances to the rest of our family.
 
Regards,
 
Sander Wessels

@Scopes You and your family have my deepest condolences. Zunnie/Jan taught me A LOT about creating maps for Renegade. I’m currently creating something in his honor that I will be placing in current project and future projects to come. I will make it available to download for everyone once I am finished. We miss him a lot!

Hi all, I am Sander, Jan's older brother and i just wanted to say that im very gratefull for all the reply's about my brother sudden death. Its been a shock to us , but i also know he spend many hours..days..years with his friends on MPF Mp, RenX and more. I understand that it comes as a shock to you all as well. I know he really loved playing, talking laughing with you all and i want to thank you for all the good times you all shared with him.
 
We dont know what really happend, was it an accident? was it intensional we will never know. All i know is that i love him and will miss him terrible as i can imagine you all will too.
 
Thank you all again for all the good times you shared with him, and filled his life with joy and laughter.
 
As Jan is no more i do hope you all will continue to have fun and share the good times, its hard to look any further but i really think he would have loved to see you all enjoy the game he loved so much.
 
Ty all very much, take care and treasure those you love!!
 
Sincerly,
 
Sander Wessels
 
 

We do have one old server up right now if anyone wants to bop around in it. This one I think is where zunnie and crew started using purchasable buildings and poke scripts.
 
Server name: zunnies OmegaAOW
Xwis IP: 208.115.205.106:5350
GSA IP: 208.115.205.106:5351
Xwis host name: zzzzzzzzd
IRC: irc.cncirc.net -or- irc.rencorner.com channel: #OmegaAOW

same with me jks. He got me UT3: Black Edition, Age of Empires II, and CS:Source. Never thought that he would just give me games like that. Such a guy with a heart man...

I have also spoken with his brother and such a tragic end to a beautiful soul.
 
may his soul RIP and live on forever in Renegade.
 
i know I have not Been on best terms with MPF but if you could please organise a weekend of his maps in his honour I will he happy to pay for it. Just PM
 
Miss you Zman!!!!!!

I have spoken with his sister in law who has confirmed his passing.
 
i have provided her with the website upon her request
 
RIP old friend.

No way..... Not zunnie... 😰. I only knew him online and still am devastated by those news and surely I'm not the only one, because anyone who knew  him also knows what a great guy he was. He was kind, cheerful and very fun to talk to, sometimes for hours straight. He also was a person with no prejudices towards anyone, he trusted other people and gave them a chance to show what they can do and to become useful in the many communities he has created and led over the past many years. He trusted me too, and I thank him for that. Having been a part of Multiplayerforums was a lot of fun.
 
Now I wish I've actually gone to the Nerherlands to meet him like I planned years ago... In the end I didn't, and wasn't around the community for the last years either so I don't know how he was lately. Do you people knwo how this happened?  Did he have any troubles lately?
 
R.I.P. zunnie, may you find peace forever! 😔

This makes us realize how fragile our existence is.
 
Rest In Peace buddy.