GAHzette, Issue 15
Editor-Martok
Assistant Editors- KukriKhan
||GoTW||Warman8||Sldr||-III-||
Editor's Note:
Hey, ya sick twisted totalwar freaks! Ya thought we had died and gone to Valhalla, dind'ja? C'mon, admit it! You thought: "The Gahzette is deceased, kaput, out of order..."
Weeeell we got news for ya: here we are again! Here to taunt and tantilize, tempt and titillate, teach and tutor. Tickle and toggle... OK, enough with the alliterations. We got stuff ya wanna read, just below this gratuitous Ed Note. Just scroll down a bit, and you'll see things "Submitted for your approval".
Honestly: on behalf of the writers: thanks for your eyeballs. Sorry it took so long to crank out this edition. We'll try harder.
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HOF 2008 Winners
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:Org-wide Awards:
Funniest Member: Gregoshi
Best PBM Write-up: "BC Hotseat Story", by Askthepizzaguy
Best Frontroom Contributor: Strike For The South
Best Throne Room Contributor: TinCow
Best Gameroom Host: Seamus Fermanagh
Best Game (Gameroom): "Capo II" (Seamus Fermanagh)
Best Gameroom Player: TinCow
Best Account of a Battle or Campaign for STW: Wishazu
Best Sword Dojo (STW) Contributor: Drisos
Best Hotseat Campaign: "Broken Crescent Hotseat: Commanders of the Faithful" (phonicsmonkey)
Best Account of a Battle or Campaign for M2TW: Rameses II CP ("Tyranny's End and Send in the Elephants")
Best Citadel Contributor: FactionHeir
Most Helpful Member: Omanes Alexandrapolites
Best Empire Total War Contributor: Sir Beane
Best Account of a Battle or Campaign for MTW: bamff
Best Main Hall (MTW) Contributor: Martok
Best Backroom Contributor: CountArach
Most Helpful Member (Technical Knowledge): Caravel
Best Arena Contributor: Husar
Best Guides Contributor: Brandy Blue
Best Story (Mead Hall): "The Struggle for Power" by Stephen Asen
Best Contributor to the Monastery (Historian): PanzerJaeger
Most Memorable Interactive History Player: Stephen Asen
Best Account of a Battle or Campaign for RTW: MarcusAureliusAntonius
Best Colosseum (RTW) Contributor: Omanes Alexandrapolites
Best Interactive History: "Concert of Europe" (Franconicus)
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MultiPlayer Awards:
STW: Most honorable player - Drisos
STW: Most feared player - Nihilistic Cow
STW: Most Helpful Player - Nihilistic Cow
STW: Most Feared Team - RTK
STW: Most improved player -
MTW: Most Honorable player - Tomisama
MTW: Most Helpful player - Barocca
MTW: Most feared player - ||GoTW||Warman||Sldr||-III-
MTW: Most Feared team - Heerbann
MTW: Most improved Player - ||GoTW||Warman||Sldr||-III-||
RTW: Most Improved Player - ||GoTW||Warman||Sldr||-III-
RTW: Most Feared Team - GOTW
RTW: Most Helpful Player - Fighting-Til-Done (aka FTD)
RTW: Most Feared Player - Darth_Max
RTW: Most Honorable player - AggonyLion
M2TW: Most Honorable player -Krook
M2TW: Most Feared team - Bractwo Stali (BS)
M2TW: Helpful Player - Naiver
M2TW: Most improved player - Blitz
M2TW: Most feared player - Krook
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Game Modification Awards:
STW Outstanding Modder 2008 -
STW Favorite Modification 2008 -
STW Useful Tool 2008 -
MTW Outstanding Modder 2008 - Barocca
MTW Favorite Modification 2008 - The Pike & Musket Mod.
MTW Useful Tool 2008 - Gnome Editor
RTW Outstanding Modder 2008 - Makanyane
RTW Favorite Modification 2008 - Europa Barbarorum
RTW Useful Tool 2008 - Squid's Anc&Trait Validator
M2TW Outstanding Modder 2008 - FactionHeir
M2TW Favorite Modification 2008 - Stainless Steel
M2TW Useful Tool 2008 -
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ETW editorial
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:To be or not to be?
The games convention at Leipzig has come and gone, and with its passing and the rapid onset of the holiday season, a great deal of information on upcoming game titles has been released to the rabid public. Naturally, Empire Total War, the next installment in The Creative Assembly's popular strategy series, is foremost among those games of especial interest to us. By all appearances, Empire looks to be the grandest, most epic, most engrossing, and most visually stunning TW game to date. But can it truly deliver this time?
It's certainly no secret that not every TW player is jumping for joy at the prospect of the next title in the series. Many fans have been disgruntled with Total War -- and by extension, CA itself -- since Rome was released back in 2004. (Indeed, some Shogun veterans even lost faith in CA with the release of the original Medieval, but that's a whole other story.)
I myself have been one of these "malcontents" (as some people seem to view us as). I've made the same complaints about RTW and M2TW as have so many Total War veterans: There's too great an emphasis on graphics & style over gameplay & substance, the AI is terrible, diplomacy is broken, CA refuses to address the problems people have playing Shogun/Medieval on newer machines, etc. These are all familiar litanies.
In addition to the previously-mentioned list of woes, many also feel that the series thus far hasn't received adequate post-release support: Medieval 2's notorious 2-handed bug and long-delayed 1.2 patch are merely a couple examples; its Kingdoms expansion pack including the now-infamous SecuROM copy protection software is another. When one factors this in, it turns out that even newer fans have reason to grumble -- and many do so.
It is because of all this and more that a significant percentage of the community have long held the opinion that CA's quest to expand their Total War franchise to new players has often come at the cost of their existing fanbase. Many players have become disenchanted with the series, some to the extent that they've outright turned their backs on it, never to pick up another TW game again. While it saddens me that this is so, neither do I blame them.
I digress, however. Indeed, I can already hear you saying, "But Martok -- you sexy beast, you dromedary-worshipping Klingon -- the title of your article seems to indicate that you actually have hope for the series. So would you please kindly cease your usual prophecies of doom & gloom to tell us why you feel that way?" Well certainly, don't mind if I do! (You asked so nicely, after all....)
I'm beginning to feel that maybe -- just maybe -- the Total War series is turning back to a more....wholesome path. It's too early to tell yet, but there have been indications of a possible change in the wind:
For one thing, it appears as if Empire will address many of the problems that plagued its predecessors. From reducing the number of agents on-screen, to (finally) having dedicated AI programmers, to armies being fewer but larger in size (and thereby increasing the chance there will be large, decisive battles), to a diplomacy system that finally makes sense, to an AI that will actually have some understanding of the importance of the battles it commands (e.g., no more abandoning one's capital without a fight), ETW looks like it may actually fix a lot of things that were wrong -- or at least never quite right -- in the previous games.
However, all these things also point to an even more significant factor: CA seems to be listening to -- and communicating with -- its fans to a degree that I don't think I've seen since Shogun was being developed. Not that they tell us everything, of course (I accept that developers have to be able to tease us with *something*), but they do seem to be sharing a lot more details about Empire than they ever did with any of its predecessors. And not only have they handed out more game details than they usually would've by this point, but they've also tended to be quite a bit more involved in discussions as well.
Also, it's perhaps worth noting that just as important as what CA has been saying, is *how* they've been saying it. Their employees (at least the ones on the forums and/or in interviews) seem to be far more candid than they ever have previously; they appear to talk about things in a much more frank manner than they have in the past. I suppose one could attribute that to them simply being fed up with us to the point that they no longer care about how they word things (heh), but it doesn't feel that way. As crazy as it sounds, I think they may simply be trying to be as honest as they can, without the stereotypical corporate media-speak (or at least less of it).
I recall one thread in particular that sticks out in my mind, in which a couple CA employees actually took the time to discuss in some depth how Empire's AI was being programmed. They weren't able to get into the technical "nitty-gritty" stuff (as neither of them were on the game's AI programming team), but the level of detail they were willing/able to reveal was still far more than I've seen in a long time. In addition, they actually passed on some of the community-submitted suggestions to the AI programmers, which again I don't believe I've seen in almost eight years.
To have this kind of communication with a developer is definitely a step in the right direction.
Now lest I paint too sunny a picture (and all the STW/MTW veterans wonder whether I've gone completely off the deep end in my seemingly-unbridled optimism), I will say that I still have some serious doubts and/or concerns. After all, CA also promised us the world with Rome Total War, and many of us were subsequently left bitterly disappointed. Given that, it behooves me -- it behooves all of us -- to retain a healthy dose of skepticism when discussing Empire Total War.
Among my concerns: I worry that the naval combat will be way too "arcade-like". I worry that the AI and diplomacy system will be another letdown ala Rome/Medieval 2 (although to be fair, diplomacy wasn't that great in STW/MTW, either). While I'm glad the game isn't shipping with SecuROM, I am concerned with how Empire using Steam will affect my computer's performance. I fear that historical accuracy will be as completely ignored as it was in RTW (i.e., tons of fantasy units and overly-stereotyped factions). I'm especially concerned that CA will release the game too soon and that it's then buggy as hell. The list goes on.
Despite these fears, however, and despite my strong natural skepticism, I dare to hope. In regards to ETW and The Creative Assembly, there is a sense of....something (excitement? enthusiasm?) from them that I've not felt in a long time. What it is exactly, I honestly couldn't say, but it's palpable. You can feel it.
I freely admit that I still have trouble believing in CA -- they've done much over the past four years that has damaged my faith in them. But for the first time in a long while, I'm actually starting to look forward to the release of a Total War game. I very much hope that my cautious optimism isn't misplaced.
-Martok
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A Interview with Gregoshi
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:Gregoshi is a long time standing member at .Org and a Former MP Player Back In The Day!
Hey My Fellow Pennsvianialyian! (can't spell worth a dang and I say that Since I'm from Pittsburgh and you from Phily, are you not :-) )
1.When did you start playing TW in general?
I started playing from day one of Shogun Total War – sooner if you count the demo. I bought the game the day it hit the stores. That was June/July 2000 I think. I had read a preview of the game in Computer Gaming World about six months earlier and was fascinated by depth of the combat – unit and individual soldier AI! When the demo came out I was excited. And when I finally played the game it just blew me away.
2. Why did you join .Org?
I joined the Org because discussions here seemed to have more depth to them than elsewhere. It was a close and competitive community, which made the discussions all the more intriguing, but it was difficult to participate if you were not heavily into the clan/multiplayer scene. My first 600 posts at the Org were pretty much ignored by all, even the serious game commentary posts I made. The thread discussions either stopped completely with my post or continued on as if I never posted. I gave myself nicknames like “Thread Killer” and the “Invisible Man” because of the reaction – or lack thereof – to my posts. It was frustrating not being able to participate in these interesting discussions.
When I was asked to moderate the new Entrance Hall forum with KukriKhan back in the fall of 2002, I saw an opportunity to address my frustrations. I made it my personal goal to greet and engage in dialogue every new patron that came through our doors. It made my moderating a time consuming task, but it was fun and quite satisfying. I met a lot of wonderful people as a gatekeeper for the Org. Martok’s reflections recently in his 5000th post celebration thread brought back lots of nice memories for me of those earlier times.
3. How Did You get your name?
I wanted a Japanese sounding name back in the STW days, so I thought of common endings to Japanese names and tried marrying them with my name. “Oshi” seemed to have the nicest ring to it, so “Gregoshi” it was. I do that a lot. My first D&D character was name “Gregolas” – I had just read Lord of the Rings at that time.
4. Have you ever played TW MP?
I played MP STW casually for a year or so when I joined Clan Doragon and I played MTW online very casually for several months after it came out. I’m not a very competitive person so I didn’t take it too seriously. I always tried my best, but I was pretty awful. I just don’t think fast enough for the online game and my hand-eye coordination is bad. A perfect example was a MTW game I played against soly. He hid most of his army in the trees along the flank as I advanced. I saw his flanking army coming out of the trees and a good TW player could have turned his army to meet the threat. Not me. I made some pathetic moves to counter soly’s attack, but I was pretty much like a deer in the headlights - it was a very short game. I suppose it also didn’t help my game play that I never took “standard” armies. When the golden rule was that every STW army had to have 3-4 gun units, I specifically avoided using them. If I recall correctly, I think in MTW the pav was the must-have unit. I never used them - not even once. Where’s the fun playing with the same army all the time?
5. Have you played any game on MP in general?
I played MP Starcraft with friends before my TW days. I had the same “thinking”/hand-eye coordination issues with Starcraft. Fortunately we were all turtlers, so it worked out well with us. I’ve also played Unreal Tournament 2004 online with friends too. The nice thing about UT2k4 is that only my dreadful hand-eye coordination is a handicap! Basically, I try to play online with people I know. My few experiences with complete strangers were not that much fun.
6. What Keeps you coming to .Org?
I like the varied discussions with people around the world. Even though I may not directly interact with some of them routinely, I have become quite fond of many Orgahs. I smile when I check “who’s online” and see the names there. I also really appreciate the civility here.
7. What Do you think of My Crazy Questions? Come On, Be Honest :-)
The questions are fine Warman. There is nothing crazy about them to me. I guess that comes from hanging out in the “News of the Weird” thread too long. <grins> I hope that you will ask follow up questions if anything I’ve said sparks further curiosity.
8. And Finally, How Did you manage to get all of these HOF Awards? You must be one of the few people here who won 4 HOF almost straight? I only got 1 :-(.
Well, for the two “friendliest” awards, I have my role as Entrance Hall moderator to thank for that. The “funniest member” award caught me by surprise. I figured Devastatin Dave was going to win that one seeing how many keyboards he’s ruined making people spit out their food and drinks. The Lifetime Achievement award was quite unexpected. I was stunned at first and then embarrassed because I didn’t see how I deserved it compared to the contributions of others. However, after some reflection, I came to realize that the award decision-makers felt differently and the award is the Org’s way of saying “thank you”. To that end, I am extremely grateful and honoured to have received the award. In my mind, there are a few other Orgahs who have yet to be recognized with a Lifetime Achievement award. Hopefully in the near future that will be rectified and a couple of more will be handed out to deserving Orgahs.
-||GoTW||Warman8||Sldr||-III-||
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Modchat-The Frontier
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:It is the year of our Lord 1748. A serpentine column of red-coated infantry winds its way along a narrow forest path in the woodlands of Northern America, drums beating a steady tattoo and flags lifted high in the crisp morning air. To the head of the column, an officer rides, glancing back occasionally over the foot soldiers toiling behind him.
All at once, the officer is seen to slump from his saddle, a scream rising from his throat. The feathered shaft of an arrow protrudes between his ribs. More arrows fly from the trees, striking at random all along the length of the column. Leaderless, confused and frightened, the soldiers return fire blindly into the woods, their only mark shadowy figures flitting ghost-like between the trees. It is of little use. For this is not the pristine, orderly battlefield of Europe. This is—The Frontier. . .
And it is also the name of one of the most unique and exciting modifications currently under development for Medieval: Total War 2 Kingdoms. Spanning the years between 1655 and 1774, The Frontier project was started in late 2007 by Tommyknocker, one of the mapmakers on the Stainless Steel project. Inspired by such movies as Last of the Mohicans, it covers some of the most pivotal years of early North American history, when the fate of entire cultures hung in the balance, and the European colonists could have just as easily been thrown back into the seas.
The Frontier will permit you to play as one of the four European powers struggling to establish their colonies during the mid-seventeenth century, or attempt to beat back the foreigners as the chieftain of any one of twenty-four Indian tribes.
The Factions
The European colonies ( Spain, England, France, or The Netherlands), start with settlements already established in the New World and a power struggle for dominance in play.
Starting off with the most provinces of any European power, Spain is set up in much a similar style as the Seleucid Empire in RTW, or Arche Seleukia in Europa Barbarorum. A lot of land, few reliable soldiers to defend it, and empire-hungry neighbors. No, this won’t be easy.
England starts off controlling much of the Eastern Seaboard from New England down to the borders of Spanish-controlled Florida. They are in a position to either expand rapidly into the forests of North America, or be pinned in against the ocean by the power of their native foes.
France’s largest holdings are in Canada and the Northwest, but they also possess the French Antilles and Santo Domingo, setting them up for early conflict with Spain for control of the Caribbean.
The Netherlands too are Caribbean players, with settlements in the West Indies. Also, the modification begins just after the Dutch have taken over the Swedish holdings in the present-day state of Delaware, and solidified their grasp on New Amsterdam(New York). Can you say Stuyvesant?
So far, not much has been released regarding the regions assigned to the twenty-four Indian tribes on the map, but they can be divided into five groups.
Eastern Woodland: Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, Iroquois, Mohican, Shawnee, Sauk & Fox, and the Wabanaki Confederacy.
Plains Tribes: Cheyenne, Comanche, Crow, Osage, Pawnee, and Sioux.
Canadian and Subarctic: Cree, Montagnais, and the Three Fires Confederacy.
The Southwest: Apache, Navajo, and Pueblo.
MesoAmerica and the Caribbean: Carib, Miskito, and Maya.
The Map
One of the most amazing things about The Frontier is its map. Stretching from the Rocky Mountains to the Atlantic Ocean, from the Labrador Peninsula to the Guyana Highlands. And if you thought the map from Medieval 2 was big, look out! The map being created for The Frontier is almost four times larger. This allows for the creation of navigable rivers such as the Mississippi and the Orinoco.
However, a European army cannot expect to rampage at will across this vast area. Aside from the many powerful Indian nations ready to stop all intruders, the team will be implementing the supply train trait used in such modifications as Stainless Steel. Armies taken too far into the wilderness will be quickly stranded, their supplies running out and morale running low, easy prey for the natives.
The Units
The team is currently designing all-new and historically accurate units for each of the thirty factions. All vanilla units are going straight out the window, and will be replaced and expanded upon. No longer will all units feature the same base model, the models will be as random as possible. Due to their small team, progress is currently slow, but the results have been exciting. Work has focused on the Caribs, natives of the Caribbean islands, including these Carib Spearmen.
And their work on units has not been limited to the battlefield.
They have made very interesting additions to the campaign map and the units available there. Calling to mind the old episodes of the TV series Daniel Boone is the Settler unit, a strategy map unit which takes the place of the priest or missionary in Medieval 2. This European-only unit will be created in large settlements such as those in the East and subtract a number of people from the settlement(the number being based upon his skill level) and transport those people to another settlement, adding to the population there. Essentially, settlers will ‘colonize’ a new area, spreading a faction’s culture and population.
Worried that the Europeans will thus be able to advance rapidly up the technology tree, leaving the Indians with no way to stop them? Never fear, the team has that covered. Another Native American unit(similar to an MTW2 assassin) has been proposed that will be able to intercept them—much in the manner of a war party swooping down on a wagon train. No word as to whether we’ll get a movie for that. . .
Merchants are still to be included in the game, giving the player the ability to involve himself heavily in the fur and lumber trades in North America—along with the sugarcane fields of the Caribbean, among others. And to emphasize their historical importance, they will be able to make much more money than previously, making them worth your time and investment.
Wooden Ships and Iron Men
Although perhaps not as glamorous as the playable sea battles featured in the upcoming Creative Assembly release Empire: Total War, naval warfare in The Frontier will still be far more important than in previous Total War games. Navies will receive a very significant movement bonus, to emphasize the common sense of a European army sailing from say, the Carolinas to Texas, rather than attempting to march there. So, at least playing as the European powers, your navy will be vital to your success. As for the Amerindian tribes, those which were known to be sea-faring, such as the Caribs, will receive native war canoes on the campaign map. Other historically land-locked factions will have the opportunity of achieving naval-based reforms, if they succeed in reaching the sea. These will have a shot at engaging, and perhaps even beating the European fleets, as happened on occasion in history.
Ships will receive all-new campaign map models, to more accurately resemble their historical antecedents. The modification team also hopes to make admirals far more important, their skill becoming the tipping point in the engagement, rather than the simple arithmetic of men and boats.
This, in turn will play a role in the economy of the game, for cutting off a European faction’s sea trade, for them the primary source of income, by blockade, can greatly aid in your war against them. Or their war against you. . .
To add to your woes, and the challenge of the game, storms will occur with increased frequency, smiting areas of the ocean with their wrath. And causing damage ranging from killing a few men to sinking ships and wiping out your entire fleet. Spanish Armada, anyone?
Your naval expeditions will not be limited to the open seas, either. The Frontier includes navigable rivers such as the Mississippi and the Orinoco, which will allow you to sail your troops up their length to strike at enemy heartland. Assuming, of course, that the enemy does not have a firm grasp on the mouth of the river, which could stop your mission cold.
This adds a whole new layer of strategic planning the game. Planning an expedition up the Mississippi as the Spaniards? The French control the mouth of the river? You’ll probably have to land your troops in the bayous and fight for control of port facilities which will clear the way upriver. Neat stuff.
The Future
The team looks to take the engine of Medieval 2 to its limits, expanding upon it as far as possible within their time and resources, much as Europa Barbarorum did with the Rome: Total War engine. Revolutionary ideas and gameplay suggestions have been proposed and discussed within the development forums, with the reinstatement of classic features from the original Medieval: Total War among those planned. However, these ideas require not only skill, but manpower, and here is where the team has entered rough going. While the dedication of the current team is above question, the dedicated few can only accomplish so much. Supermods like Europa Barbarorum II and Dominion of the Sword have taken many of the skilled modders with the TW community. The team of The Frontier is looking for people to share this dream, to help make the first MTW2 New World mod a reality. Only people of insight and vision will dare to go where no one has ever gone before—to The Frontier. . .
In the meantime, the current team can be found here: http://www.twcenter.net/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=510, on Total War Center Forums. Persons interested in helping with the modification should contact the new team leader, Kundich, by Private Message.
And here’s two final, never-before-seen goodies I pried away for you. The newest unit from the team, a Carib bowman who stands ready to take on all invaders, his arrows dipped in curare poison.
And also a Mayan noble spearmen, attired in elaborate jaguar headdress
-Theodotos I
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GAHzette Players Of The Month
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:Agamemnonas From Sith is the GAHzette Player Of The Month. Congrats M8!!!!!!!!
1. How Does It Feel To Be GAHzette Player Of The Month??
1.Well it certainly cant be anything less than an honour to me to be named Gahzette Player of the month!Its my first recognition as a player of the month by any community and i will do my best to win this prize again in the future!
2. What Do You Like About Sith?
2.Sith is old clan with experienced and very good players!I have learnt a lot since i joined and i want to belive i was able to contribute something to the clan as well!But what i like most about the clan is its structure and its solid basis!We got plenty of members and a pretty active forum as well!Its always fun being around sith clan!
3.What Are you doing in TW MP Today?
3.Today and the last few weeks whenever i get online on rtw i am looking for some fun games!Either with clannies or not!I am trying new stuff in every game and i play with underrated factions and units which maximize the fun!Ofc i do some practising along with some clannies from time to time cause i participate in some tournaments and i really want to do well in them!
4. Anything Else you like to add??
4.RTW is a game that by me will write history!Its really fun game!The more somebody loves rtw the better he will get sooner or later!I personally am a rtw addict(i try to cut down on it but its too hard),and i am afraid that even when ETW comes out i wont give up RTW!I only wish ETW becomes as fun a game as RTW!
Thanks M8 and Congrats :-) :-)
Kocmoc Of Grey Wolves will be our 2nd GAHzette Player Of The Month for this issue. Congrats M8!!
1. When did you start TW Online?
I played the STW Demo back in 2000 or was it end of 1999?! The game itself was completely new, i was hugged from start with the battles, the campaign i wasn’t interested in.
At that time I sit behind a 45k modem, which was good enough to play that game online. It was my first online game….online gaming was a pretty new thing at that time.
It did offer the first time ever, the chance to play vs. other human people, I was tired of stupid AI games, where u always did win.
I came online, started a game or joined, and the first player I ever played against, was “Thejudge”, good player at that point. I met a monk/gun army on totomi and got my arse wiped in less than 1 min. I was excited!
At that point I had no idea about the mechanics behind this game, still, it was amazing to play vs. real human opponents.
2.When did you join Grey Wolves?
End of 2000, i think it was a few days after Mag did found it. I was in “Fear” for quite some time. Pretty nice guild, a guy I really miss and never saw/spoke again ist “Jst”,
Not a top player, but some good friend and nice person.
Grey Wolves was the best. Apart 1-2 other player, we had the best of the best in there.
Mag and me had the best 2v2 at that time, allthought we lost in the 2v2 tourney :D haha…
I think we made around 3000 battles and maybe lost 10-20.
Grey Wolves, as some other guilds, gave a lot input to the community, we brought an onlinecampaign, hold tourneys, brought tools and a lot of input. We intented a lot of tactics, which are used “today” by everyone.
Credits to Magyarkhan, who created a shitload of good things and put tons of energy in this.
3. Win Any Awards?
Awards, dunno, possible. I never was interested into awards, people who know me and my playstyle. A top result I made in a CWB fight, I just came back from a little break and Wolves was kind of tired of the game.
I took Swoosh and my goal was to solo vs Elite. One of the last game was 2v2 with Swoosh and I made it uphill 1v2, in MTW it was almost impossible….anyway, I think that was a perfect run.
4. What you think of TW Today?
Hehe, what I think about TW today, good question. I grow older, im 33 years old now, back in 2000 I was pretty young….times change.
Let me start with the community, im not going to say the community is worse today, it’s different.
I look back and see a smaller community back in old times, where everyone did know the other and where we was more a family. Honour was something worth, people showed manners in the foyer. People was older, today a lot more young kids are player and many times they lack manners and behave not in the way id like to see.
TW today is a game which didn’t changed a lot back of 2000. The mechanics are still same, the basic idea is the same. I don’t think the game changed to the better, it got a lot easier to play, lets say dumped down.
The only thing what got better, is the graphic, there came many new ideas in, if u look into the campaign. Nice stuff, but nothing special.
TW missed the point, where they could have changed into an online game. So what we see today? An old idea with a new look.
Let me put it in a different way, while many new games come out, TW kept same. Today u can choose other games, which also offer u tactical game play and games vs. many other human player. TW had a status like Chess, today its like Domino. Player who love to play chess are not here anymore, since they hate Domino.
5. ETW is coming out soon. You going to make a return?
ETW. Well, I gonna playtest it, it will get a fair chance, like any other game. I doubt that ETW will surprise me with brilliant deepness and a way to outplay my skills. Instead I expect, once again, an early beta with endless of bugs, a quite bad balancing and not half the tactical deepness Shogun had. It will be a good seller, people will learn it fast, but to really outplay something will be impossible.
U know the best battles in history? There are endless… The real fights, something people still speak about after hundred of years….those battles was not 2 Armies, same amount of soldier, same size, same power…. It was Peole who won with a smaller army, using better tactics, better drill about a larger army…. That’s something people like to see, the little one won about Goliat.
Now look at TW today, what we got here?
In STW/MI and partial also in MTW u could win with 1 army over 2. By outplaying, by doin insane moves.
I doubt I will ever be back into the TW community as active player, I wish the game will be pretty good and I could have fun once again.
6. Tell Me.... Will Grey Wolves ever come back?
Grey Wolves. Well, hard to say. I personal don’t think that Grey Wolves will be back. Times did change a lot and our way of playing (not the game online), the outside tactics on boards, the politics, the hunting of other player. The way of honour…
I personal think it is good, that Grey Wolves doesn’t exist anymore. This way people remember us as the strongest Guild in the early days of TW.
Good thing about Grey Wolves is, we still keep contact, I speak/play with some of them, got em all on my msn. A few are lost, but the most are still active.
7. What you think of TW MP today?
More or less I did already answer the question, what I think about TW today.
MP isn’t present. The weight of MP is almost not around, most people are interested into Campain, mods and such stuff.
CA don’t do much to change that, the last 8 years I never had the feeling, that there were any intentions to put much energy into MP. It was always a side effect of the game.
This prolly wont change. I did play WC3, SC and other games. If u ever did play those games (there are many other similar games out), than u understand why games like WC3 is so extremely successfully.
U come online, press 2 buttons and u can start playing. In less than 1 min u get into a game. The big advance is, that u don’t have to waste a lot of your time to have some fun.
TW has a major problem, there is no indicator what kind of player u gonna play. U have to know the names, to be sure, that u wont play a crap player. Nothing against new player.
Maybe today its completely different, but from what I saw and did hear, it isn’t.
I remember some examples…. You come into the foyer, join some game and it takes more than 30 min to fill it up. We also had a time, where the “good” games was closed with password. This lead to some elitist behaviour and let any new player out.
In the end, u spent 1 hour of your time to play a game of 10 mins.
The laddersystem back in STW/MI was very good, coz people had to play 1v1 to gain a good rating (we know the system wasn’t perfect). This way new player had always the chance to get games and learn something. By closing games with pass, u play with up to 8 player who has all an okay skilllvl.
The new player are left out and most wont stay.
MP part of TW need a completely new online system, to ensure, more games in the same time. You need a laddersystem to ensure, that people play for being Nr.1. This way u get more new player into the system.
Tourney have to be hold each weekend, ofc it has to be done by an automatic system.
I remember my Tourney with around 230 player, it took weeks to finish it, the amount of time u have to put into such events are just too big, there is no tool to coordinate it.
8. What you think of me?
What I think of you. Well, I see u around since years, you’re an active person and u try to give something back to the community. That’s good, not many are like this. As elmo said, most people just take and take. People like you are needed to keep things goin.
Else I don’t know u from the battlefield, I have no idea how good ur :D
I can freely say, that TW was the best game I ever did play. Today games a better in many ways, but the deepness and the mechanics of TW was awesome. It was a completely new kind of Game. Something u cant create in the real world.
It was kind of Chess. Apart this, I was one lucky guy, right time, right place. Lucky to met many nice people from all over the world in the early days of internet.
TW will prolly exist forever, every year some addon or “new” game comes out and I hope that someday there will be again a good TW game. It might take some years, but hope dies last…..
- ||GoTW||Warman8||Sldr||-III-||
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The Idea of the Holy. By Rudolf Otto. Free Press, 2005. Pp. 256. $16.95
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
1. A brief overview.
The Idea of the Holy, written by Rudolf Otto – a native of Germany –, is considered one of the classics of 20th century philosophy. Written in the decade preceding World War II, theologians and philosophers alike wonder what Otto would have written on the Nazi atrocities had he lived to see them come to their monstrous fruition.
One concept the author represents as the form of the numinous experience is mysterium tremendum. Mysterium can be experienced in feelings that convey the qualitative content of the numinous experience. This content presents itself under two aspects: (1) that of “daunting awfulness and majesty,” and (2) “as something uniquely attractive and fascinating” (“Rudolf Otto” Encyclopædia Britanica [CD-ROM], Chicago: Britannica.com, 2002).
How then do we experience this “mysterium”? Through participation in religion, for Otto makes observations on “the first crude, primitive forms in which this 'numinous dread' or awe shows itself. It is the mark which really characterizes the so-called 'religion of primitive man', and there it appears as 'daemonic dread'. This crudely naïve and primordial emotional disturbance...” Otto goes on to suggest that there are four stages of religious progress: the worship of 'daemons', followed by the higher level of the worship of 'gods'”, through to the “‘highest level of all, where the worship of God is at its purest.'” The third stage is implied: that of those religions where in Otto's eyes the worship of God is not at its purest (pp. 14-15).
(Follow me so far? Good…) After the defining the concept of the numinous and the experience of it, Otto goes on to explore various ramifications of the idea. Otto presents the tremendum component of the numinous that is being experienced as comprising three elements: awfulness, overpoweringness (that which inspires a feeling of humility), and energy. This sense of awe, or “numinous dread,” characterizes the so-called “religion of primitive man” wherein it appears as “daemonic dread” (pp. 15-16).
The Idea of the Holy, “while benefiting from earlier studies, represented for Otto a new venture and a radical shift in the nature and ground of his inquiry.” Otto’s apparent concern was to attend to “that elemental experience of apprehending the numinous itself” (“Rudolf Otto” Encyclopædia Britanica [CD-ROM]).
Otto seems to view the numinous – “the holy” – as something which adds to – or, in fact, is – the mystery found in religious services.
2. Why do you think this book is a classic of religious philosophy?
Occasionally, a book comes along in a particular field and is either instantly – or, after some passage of time – considered to be a “classic.” Dracula, Frankenstein, To Kill a Mockingbird and the works of Shakespeare are all considered to be literary classics in their respective genres, as is St. Thomas Aquinas’s Summa Theologica to the theological field and Thomas Paine’s pamphlet Common Sense to political philosophers. Each and every field from theology to biology, social psychology to zoology have their own respective “classics.” I believe Otto’s The Idea of The Holy is considered to be a classic of religious philosophy for much the same reason Thomas Aquinas’s aforementioned work is considered a classic in the same field. In his early works, Thomas Aquinas “clearly distinguishes between the domains and methods of philosophy and theology.” He sought the first causes of things, having begun with data furnished by the senses; “the subject of the theologian's inquiry is God as revealed in sacred Scripture. In theology, appeal to authority carries most weight; in philosophy, it carries least” (“History of Philosophy” Encyclopædia Britanica [CD-ROM]).
In this book, Otto touches on what could probably be considered the heart of religion – the mysterious. Without a sense of awe and wonder of whatever it is that a society worships, religion loses an integral part of its being. Encyclopædia Britanica defines religion as “human beings' relation to that which they regard as holy, sacred, spiritual, or divine” ([CD-ROM], Chicago: Britannica.com, 2002). As stated above, if one is lacking in a sense of the mysterious, it becomes all the more difficult to be a believer. I believe Otto’s book is a classic for no other reason than it demonstrates to its readers that the “mysterious” – and the sense of awe that goes with it – play a vital role in understanding one’s religious beliefs and tenants. Should religion be based purely on mystery and awe, and lack any sort of “rational” thought? No. However, does religion seem to be missing something when it is based purely on a sort of scientific reason (i.e., certain variations of deism, etc.)? I believe awe and mystery can (and should) be a vital part in anyone’s religious beliefs – this is the point Otto was trying to make, and this is the reason The Idea of the Holy is a classic.
3. To whom would you recommend this book? Why?
As a reader, I found myself to have mixed feelings about Otto’s Idea of the Holy. I found this book to be rather difficult to comprehend at times, however I believe this stems from my lack of knowledge in the philosophical field. However, after reviewing it for a second time, I found myself to be able to comprehend it more so than I did when I first read it.
As far as to whom I would recommend this book, I would recommend this book to academics in the theological and philosophical fields as well as members of the clergy. Specifically, I believe I would recommend this book to myself (having been a theology minor as an undergraduate) – at least, I would recommend that I re-read it in order to further comprehend the message Otto was trying to convey.
In the nations of the East, the idea of the vampire is quite different than it is in the West. It is believed that some Chinese vampires can detach certain body parts (i.e., the hand) and drain blood (among other…fluids) via that body part (in the case of the hand, it would drain you of your essence via the fingernails). In Vietnam and some areas of Cambodia, it is believed that the head of a cadaver once floated through the air with antennae sticking out of its nose and draining unwary sleepers of their blood with them. [1]
Alright then, enough of the vampiric bloodsuckers! Why did people tend to believe in such creatures to begin with? Perhaps, in less scientifically-inclined ages, people truly were more susceptible to naiveté, so to speak. More than likely, people used such stories to explain conditions which they could not find the words to explain otherwise. Take the case of werewolves, for instance.
Belief in werewolves is found throughout the world. In areas where wolves are not common, traditions can speak of these shapeshifters taking the shape of other animals, such as the bear, tiger, or hyena. In French folklore, the werewolf is called loup-garou. “France was particularly afflicted with reports of them in the 16th century, and there were many notable convictions and executions of loups-garous.” However, there is also a psychiatric condition in which a person believes he is a wolf called lycanthropy. In Medieval France, outlaws and bandits played on these superstitions by sometimes wearing wolfskins over their armour. For whatever reason, people at that time were unusually prone to develop the delusion that they themselves were wolves; suspected lycanthropists were burned alive if convicted. [2]
Also, don’t forget about people who have unusual growth of body hair (even on their faces, like bears). During such a superstitious period, such people could have easily been thought of as werewolves. Just as there have been people with mental instabilities who believe they were werewolves, there have also been people who truly believed they were vampires. Perhaps the one of the more well-known cases in the 20th century was that of Rod Ferrel. A youth from Kentucky, he made an 800 mile trek to Atlanta in order to kill his girlfriend’s parents. He had become so obsessed with vampire culture, and he eventually believed himself to be a vampire. This led him and three accomplices to go on their murderous trip.
So, biological and/or psychiatric abnormalities can cause certain people to be shunned as vampires and werewolves. However, some would argue people who see evil creatures all around have their own “issues.” In the case of exorcisms, cleansings, and the like, those in the scientific community would argue that it’s the exorcists who are “seeing things.” Father Amorth, an exorcist in Italy claims to have seen possessed individuals vomit such items as AA batteries, nails and a “man-from-outer-space toy.” Even amongst his fellow exorcists, there is some resistance to his claims. Amorth claims to see the devil in everything from serial killings to Harry Potter (which teaches the world’s youth about sorcery). However, Amorth and his supporters counter that “the devil’s most clever trick is to make people doubt his existence.” [3] Many argue that there is an internal contradiction in this line of thinking: superstition is blamed “for fomenting the problem by leading people away from God, yet they also validate superstition by lending credence to diabolical possession and other supernatural workings of evil forces.” [4]
So, is there any such thing as a demon, vampire, or werewolf? Perhaps we’ll never know…But I will keep a silver cross and garlic ready for the things that go bump in the night!
Footnotes
1 Curran, Bob, PhD. Vampires. Fraklin Lakes, NJ: The Career Press, Inc., 2005, p. 127-128.
2 “Lycanthropy” Encylopaedia Britannica. [CD-ROM]. Britannica.com, 2002.
3 Wilkinson, Tracy. The Vatican’s Exorcist: Driving Out the Devil in the 21st Century. New York: Warner Books, 2007, p. 27.
4 The Vatican’s Exorcist, p. 146.
- {BHC} King Jan III Sobieski
Re: GAHzette, Issue 15
zette alive.
Originally Posted by ||GoTW||Warman8|cpl||-II-||
Re: GAHzette, Issue 15
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