Metamidions, Lobbies of Icarus
without Matchmaker (a.k.a. the Eternity Clock) even with hundreds of players online (back in the days when you would create a lobby with a map you actually wanted to play!), skill based leveling. Competent, friendly crews, a feeling of actually being in command of a well tuned fighting machine. Those oh so satisfying moonshine-driven Pyramidion ram kills with all guns blazing to soften up the target first. Not having to soften up the target if it was a Spire.
I really miss the old game, and didn't really realize it until I read this thread.
The current version is really formula and quite boring, it wants to be a modern FPS game with a retro feel and fails everywhere