A Call To Arms from Olympus Wycliffe

Soldiers of this great community, listen.

All of you make this community great. Whether you role-play your arrogance to gain self-respect and respect overall is among yourself. Whether you’re just a guy or girl who enjoys no better than to kill opponents in the means of battle or your just simply here for the lulz. This message is sent to all of you to explain a situation which probably really you don’t think concerns you. Fact is, it does.

Take one moment, take a stop here and think about your allegiances in a military. Why do you do it? What bounds you into serving one another? What is it that bonds us as players on a rather awesome laptop or PC to serve one another. Is it for the incentives? Is it for the fun? Is it for the ‘lulz’? Is it to prove yourself of something? We all join the SL Combat scene for one whole reason though and recently, it has becoming more and more lost in the drama that we create..

The fight.

Though when I enter Salamis, I see many soldiers standing in a professional line of defence. I usually ask myself if they have been like that all day, when I was in Merczateers, you got attacked nearly once an hour. That was with all due respect the average for any military back in November 2006. But also remember, Merczateers is a prime example of a military under a lot of combat.

You hear veterans speak of ‘the good ol days’, fact is everything has it’s pros and cons. We can all say all those back in those days that there was many difficulties with even things now, sit hacking, phantom bullets, bigger bullets etc. But after they were put down to rest, there was just exciting fighting! I remember near the end of these great days back in April 2007 Merczateers attacked in early morning British time Psychwar back in SLSN. They had our base fair and square and kept me captive! It was the most memorable experience of SL because it was so exciting that a SIM wasn’t crashing with approx 25 soldiers in 18 being Merczateers and I was being guarded by soldiers as I was disarmed like a prisoner of war.

What has changed? The following:

- Lack of battles

Nowadays, you need to get permission from high command in order to attack an army. The only reason this rule was put into place was through fear of either banning the military from the SIM or losing the base thanks to attacking relentlessly an enemy. But look at the soldiers now, take Ordo for example, why and how is an Ordo Imperalis soldier going to get the group banned from a SIM when they’re probably all pretty mature and fair in the hands of combat AND, Ordo has several defending the base anyways so is clearly fine to allow this sort of thing. So is Merczateers, probably, anybody with active numbers can do this.

- Alliances

It took me a while to see more cons then pros in the Ascendant Intiative. After an assault which SLSN and Merczateers were attacking Dorien, you saw 39^th and Sparta arrive and then soldiers actually were told to retreat… Now because of alliances there’s more to worry about when you attack a military.

- New Combat Treaties

This is something that has to happen, but it is crazy on how many laws there are in battles now! You know when you play those classic games from back in the 90s and then you play the new 21^st century version, what do they do? They over complicate things to make combat more technical and apparently that’s so the person with the most skill wins over the person with luck. In SL Combat though, treaties are only upgraded to restrict certain opinionated overpowering advances in technology. I remember 39^th’s flying mechs got banned for being apparently illegal of treaties and so they were restricted from many battlefields and now to this day, you see Titan restricting armoured vehicles from attacking as they have to not have any armour script in them.

Here’s a good question. What has this all amounted to?

I’ll tell you. Restriction of Combat.

Better or for worse, this has happened thanks to new changes like this. I remember when Dark Sleeper would be free to attack SLSN when he pleased, nowadays you need to talk to a soldier of authority in Merczateers to attack certain SIMs and in doing so need a couple of soldiers to do so (and not to beat them, but to represent the military well).

It is a fact that you will all have a good pick at what I said. But why do you do that? In fact, why do you have even the time to read this instead of busy taking out that enemy soldier on your base. I can tell you why, you got nothing to attack.

Isn’t that so true though? I am not entirely sure on how many enemies come each day for each military. But I am pretty sure those amounts of attacks have decreased.

A Solution?

Let’s be honest, there’s no straight forward cure and to be honest. Most people are fine and dandy with how militaries are now, but for a small amount, there is just nothing worth fighting anymore because there is no challenge or there is nothing that makes a challenge.

Here is a simple idea.

If you’re looking to make your own military and have eyes on making it a huge success. Then send me a notecard detailing what your abilities include. But it is a fact that if you want to make a military, you must have a source of income to pay for a Full SIM. Do not worry, I am sure the contacts I have can help pay for the full SIM. Notecard me, Olympus Wycliffe.

Let’s be honest though, I sound like some hotline to call for an emergency.

Please note, this is a small solution of many, another thing that could happen is if MC really went high, they have the potential to become the strongest military in SL, they got the tech, they just need the men. Another is Chaos, but whether or not they will be allowed to fight the IS is another thing.

At the end of the day, this is me trying to help the community make something good happen. Operation MMC was coordinated by me and I got several commendations by Iron Symphony members for doing such an attack. Sure, you might hate me for doing it, but it’s cruel to be kind. Enjoyable wasn’t it?

Instead of whining about how there’s nothing to kill, why not work to make something to kill? ;)

Oh and by the way, unless requested by those who notecard me to have any part in the military that I have suggested to contact me to coordinate and meet others interested, I will not be having any part in the making but simply will be coordinating the process of this from meeting individuals to the making of the groups. Then, I play no further part.

And to the critics. At least I am trying to make something positive happen. So smile!

Regards

~ Olympus Wycliffe / Terror Voom

Editor’s Note: I know that my favorite experiences in combat in SL have been when a bit of light roleplay is mixed in – taking prisoners, holding negotiations on the battlefield, all with the threat of impending death behind them – I know me and Olympus cannot be alone in enjoying these experiences, right? – Caine

The End of Dominatium and the Grid’s Combat Malaise

NOTE: The last article was removed as per the request of the author.

The Dominatium saga has ended with the unfortunate disbanding of the group by its leader, Amory Gears. I talked to him earlier today about the situation.

Amory Gears: Caine, do you have a minute ? I have a scoop for you.

Caine Constantine: Sure, although I may not be able to write much for a bit.

Amory Gears: This is going to make many people happy, others will say “I knew it would happen” but i hereby announce the dissolution of the Dominatium Regime. In short : The Dominatium is dead.

Caine Constantine: Wow, why are you taking this step?

Amory Gears: We lost support from our main sponsors after the recent events and as it seems our sim has been sold to someone. We couldn’t afford it anymore.

Amory Gears: We stood tall for more than a year, we were there before Echelon, we were there when the IS was still young, we never gave up, no matter what happened but this time it is no longer a matter of choice. I see myself forced to quit.

Amory Gears: All i will say to my men and to those who supported us for so long is that i am sorry. I wish we could go on but this is no longer possible, i encourage them all to join Chaos and support the group on the best of their abilities. All groups will be disbanded, with the exception of the main group which will stay as a memorial group for us to remember how Echelon’s lies ended up with the death of one of their former allies.

Caine Constantine: So it was finances that did Dominatium in.  But why would you encourage them to join Chaos?

Amory Gears: Because Chaos seeks to expose the corruption of the IS. And that’s what its all about.

Caine Constantine: Will you be joining Chaos?

Amory Gears: No, I am quitting military life. This will be the end of my career.

Caine Constantine: I am sorry to hear that Amory.  Do you have any last words for the readers of the Journal?

Amory Gears: I would like to publicly apologize towards my men and towards the community. I am sad that my group has been subject of so much drama and I never wanted things to escalate in a mind crusade against the Iron Symphony.

One of Herbert Feldmann's propaganda poster creations.

We started to make posters, we started to spread rumors ourselves, we started to act like our enemies and caused harm around us, we offended people and for that I am sorry. But above all I apologize towards my men, these few faithful individuals who gave me everything. Armies come and go, others will rise from their ashes, but not the Dominatium, this is the end. I am sorry.

Caine Constantine: Well I appreciate the information Amory and I wish you the best of luck on your future projects.

Amory Gears: Thank you.

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The story of Dominatium ended as many militaries do – with a request by the leadership that its members join another group who is seen as carrying on the best traditions of the ended group. But the request that the members of the Dominatium join Chaos is what seems to be an example of a growing trend in combat in Second Life – dissatisfaction with the status quo.

Right now, it appears that the predictions of one member of 39th, who came to talk to me after the article on their short-lived blockade against the Merczateers, are true, when he said that it’s essentially the “Iron Symphony versus everyone else.” There is no more Vanguard, and the Alliance Navy is on such friendly terms that it is not unusual to see it and soldiers of various I.S. groups joining in on attacks together.

Other groups are good at playing defense, but attacks on the hundreds and hundreds of soldiers that make up the core groups of the Iron Symphony are not practical unless you use underhanded tactics. During the last major raid into the Merczateers base for example – in which it took every bit of the rest of combat on the grid to challenge the group and its allies – people on both sides swore up and down that they saw an attacker sit hack into the base and teleport enough people into it to make claiming victory seem reasonable. And what is the point of a fight if it’s done with underhanded tactics?

Word among the Merczateers is that soldiers from the Republic of Germany are even now looking for turncoats willing to teleport invading forces into the sim for yet another backhanded attack on the base. This is what it takes for smaller groups to breach defenses that are routinely 10 to 20 soldiers strong.

As a result, much of the serious military combat these days goes on in seriously limited void sims, whose processing power is set to only decrease as Linden Lab squeezes script limits into sims already limited to 20 avatars. Except for Ziost, Thorium and Second Chance – whose rules prevent it from usually having more than a void sim worth of people regardless – there are no full sims for traditional military combat. Many of the members of the I.S. claim that it’s better this way, with smaller raids and less lag, but even small raids can turn into grey goo in a void sim.

There is a growing feeling among many that combat on the grid is just plain gummed up. Chaos is a symptom of this. It’s made up in large part of people who are frustrated with the current situation. Some of its members are even experienced members of I.S. militaries with strong track records with them, but who for reasons of intrigue are no longer with them.

Other symptoms include the recent ban of Ordo Imperialis from Nerva, the home of one of their allies, the Militant Collective. The ban is apparently due to a feeling among many MC that Ordo is disrespectful toward their group and has recently been combing its membership for new recruits in a time in which the MC is looking to grow and become a larger part of the combat scene. On the other hand, Ordo has not had a recruit from the Militant Collective in over a month. The Merczateers are apparently mediating the dispute towards a positive resolution.

What these random bits add up to is that military combat on the grid appears to need a new major force to get it going again. This could come from Nanao Mahfouz’s new Ascendant Initiative military group, or from Kharne Spyker’s Teen-Grid imported New Rome military – both new challengers with old histories. Or, the steady growth of the unallied Chthonic Syndicate could continue to represent a third way from the Iron Symphony and the ruins of the old Ascendant Initiative alliance.

I have heard more people talk about military diplomacy, improving intergroup relations, and establishing a new way of doing combat in Second Life this past month than I have ever heard before. But what good is all of this if it doesn’t result in more fighting for the average soldier? Or are Second Life’s militaries now more about socialization than about combat?

This isn’t an attack on any groups or alliances, to be sure, but it would be interesting to know how many people – soldiers, officers and leaders – are truly satisfied with the present system. If it seems to focus mostly on the Iron Symphony, that is simply another example of the alliance’s ability to be the 800-pound gorilla in the room that all other things are measured against.

Right now there’s a whole lot more talking than there is shooting. The question is whether this is a positive development for anyone other than the leaders who are doing the talking.

-Caine Constantine

Dominatium’s Side of the Story

A story that continues to pop up, Dominatium’s representative Kacey Blackburn contacted me earlier today to put forth the group’s story in response to what they feel is an untrue and yet publicly-accepted version of events. In the following story, Blackburn explains Dominatium’s view of the history of the Iron Symphony with regard to its smaller allies, and tells a story of how perceived bitterness and betrayal led to the destruction of “the most respectful army on the grid.” It is surely worth a read.

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Kacey Blackburn: Alright, we thought it would be good if we made a few things more clear. I was asked to make this press announcement on behalf of the Dominatium.

First of all, unlike what most people seem to think, we are in no way an army based on hate. When the Dominatium was first founded, most of the small militaries like EU, CS, SCS didn’t exist. When it was founded the aim was to create a fair military with principles that would always be followed. I remember how much there was about respect in our handbooks at that time. That’s what it was all about, respect your friends, your allies and your enemies. Later on, while I was no longer in the Dominatium; I wanted to try out something else, they joined the Iron Symphony, that was just after EAF’s departure I think. The Dominatium spent several months in the IS, building their new sim and involving themselves in a project called “Indigo”, I can not give you any details but this one project could have changed our community today. Later on, the Echelon Union became a member of the Iron Symphony, Dominatium | Control was first upset not to be asked about their opinion but they ignored the issue.

At that time many Dominatium members were favorable to the entry of the Echelon Union into the Iron Symphony. Later on, came the JMA to which the Dominatium of course participated. The JMA was a complete success and a proof of the efficiency of the Iron Symphony as a whole. We had proven that all together, we could take on any enemy, any alliance and come out victorious. However, soon afterwards, Special Combat Service, supported by Militant Collective, joined the Iron Symphony. Everybody or nearly was very upset about their arrival into the alliance. Echelon even decided upon a blockade against them. The Dominatium didn’t like the colored newbies but they kept on following the respect policy and regularily visited SCS at their headquarters.

Then I am sure that everybody knows what happened. Echelon decided to plot against us in order to get us removed from the Iron Symphony. They made it look like if we were the conspirators. But why would a military based on respect try to “destroy” an ally ? The answer is simple, we wouldn’t. Echelon saw us and SCS as too small and they wanted to remove us, so using an alt Roo Tenk published an article on what they decided to call “Silverstar”. Without any questioning, without any warning, all Dominatium members were ejected from the Iron Symphony by Lurdan Huszar and Aryte Vesperia. They didn’t even look for a proof, the reason is that the Dominatium has always been political, they were cold and formal towards all while at Echelon, Roo was their friend. So who would you rather kick out? Your friend who is lying in order to promote his interests? Or the other guy you couldn’t care about?

Well, the second in Command of the Dominatium at that time who had been personally accused of treason against an ally was of course furious. How would you react if you had been accused?

How would you react if you were to receive harassment IMs every single day?

Well, Feldmann started a crusade against the IS, he wanted his revenge. He was dismissed from the Dominatium and I was selected to replace him. At that time I was in the Merczateers, so I left in order to become a part of the Dominatium, which I consider, even today, to be the most respectful army on the grid. Now you may think what every you want, you will say why didn’t we contact IS leaders after our ejection to talk, well, if the IS had a problem with us then it was their responsibility to contact us, not ours.

I believe that we can all do what we always wanted when we started to create armies, to make weapons and open new combat sims and that is to have fun. Do not loathe others without proof. Do not loathe anybody, remember, this is just a game.

—————————————————————————————————————————-

I then talked to Blackburn about the situation as she asked me if I had any questions about the group in general.

Kacey Blackburn: Well, Mr. Constantine, that’s about all, but before i give you some additional information, perhaps you would like to ask me a few questions ?

Caine Constantine: Sure. Do you deny completely any plans to have Echelon ejected from the Iron Symphony?
Kacey Blackburn: Why would we do that ? As i said, the answer is no.

Caine Constantine: So you believe you were framed by Echelon and abandoned by the rest of the Iron Symphony?
Kacey Blackburn: I was in the Merczateers at that time, i could see what by fellow grunts thought about it, the only thing i saw was indiference. It was like if Echelon wanted to kick someone off a cliff and the Merczateers just said “Okay, i don’t care, do it”.

Caine Constantine: I see. Finally, why does Dominatium continue to bring this up when it seems like there is no plan by the IS to reverse its decision?
Kacey Blackburn: We do not care about the IS, even if we had a chance to rejoin the IS, we wouldn’t. What i want to show is that we are not what people think we are. Echelon expected us to die a week after the “Silverstar” article, but look, are we dead ? No, we are not, and we will always be around and be an example for fairness, respect and justice.

Kacey Blackburn: I wanted to end this conversation by saying that our sim “Dominatium” is almost finished and should be open to the public in a few weeks. I also wanted to say that the Dominatium does now accept application forms via its online Application system. All applications will be recorded and applicants should get an answer one week before the opening. The form is avalaible at : http://www.dominatium.com .
Kacey Blackburn: Anything else you would like to know?

Caine Constantine: Yes, any reason behind the delays of the opening of the sim?
Kacey Blackburn: We seek perfection. Our sim will not open until we feel it is exactly how we want it.
Kacey Blackburn: We will not rush things, we have all the time in the world.
Kacey Blackburn: Was that all ?

Caine Constantine: I think so Kacey.
Caine Constantine: I appreciate it, thanks for taking the time to talk to me.
Kacey Blackburn: The pleasure was on my side. Have a wonderful day Mr. Constantine.
Caine Constantine: You too

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And so a familiar story is there; Dominatium is back and preparing to avenge the alleged lies of its former allies. But with Iron Symphony issues aside, one must wonder about the veracity of the group. Though it may have all the time in the world, does it really have all the money as well, to go on for yet another month in a full 15K prim sim without much of a group supporting it? That is a difficult question to answer. And will it ever be able to overcome its reputation – rightly or wrongly deserved – and attract the talent necessary for success in a combat scene built of ever increasing standards? It’s really not something that can be known until the sim opens.

And was the recent massive attack on the Iron Symphony their “revenge,” or do they have more in store?

Please share your thoughts on this issue with us, as the next few weeks could warrant either the silent death of an incomplete group, or perhaps bring the rise of a new power in Second Life combat.

-Caine Constantine

[Post-Event Update] Greifers Attack the Entire Community

What do Elshout, Badnarik, Second Chance, 2142, Anamur, Nerva, and Vadoo Reef all have in common?

They were all offline at once.

A man named Dickhead Engineer who is with an as-of-yet unnamed Greifer Organization was behind the attack. New Jessie Admins say that he has been permabanned from Second Life.  But, being the smart greifers they were, came back on new accounts to wreak havoc once again upon the grid a couple more times.

- CUT ALL TIME SENSITIVE MATERIAL AS IT IS NO LONGER RELEVANT –

What this means for the SL Combat Community? That’s for another article on another day, but here’s the short version: There is another, much larger scale war on the grid between Greifer Groups to, well, out greif each other. What was different this time was that their battleground came over onto our sims.  We here at the Jessie War Journal recommend landowning groups

- Put warning systems in your telehub if you have not already, this way an admin can more quickly identify suspicious people before they can take down the sim (Mr. Greifer managed to take down Elshout in about 15 seconds. Every second counts.)

- Notify other groups on any channel of communication you can if you identify a greifer, even if you have already banned them.

- Report them to the lindens. It won’t un-do the damage or take effect quickly, but it means the Greifers will have to take that much longer to get on another account.

**Additional note at Readers’ request: This is NOT Faceless Engineer of the Alliance Navy, so take Faceless Engineer of your ban lists. He’s cool.**

Community Update

Hello, here’s just a general update of news in the Community right now;

- Jason Backer has stepped down as an Admiral of the Alliance Navy citing personal reasons, and joined the Ordo Imperialis.

-A new Alliance has emerged on the grid; The Firestorm Alliance, composed of the Guerilla Rebels (sim: Anamur) The 10th Mountain Division (sim: Baie Lazare) and a newly formed group under the command of the inimitable Verissimo Seetan; VALOR (sim: Krazykat).

“Mission Statement:

The Firestorm Alliance

Our goal is to help smaller militaries share resources when needed. As in extra troops to help defend, guard and attack.
Also to freely share information and to help one another.”

The journal will keep you posted on any developements within the alliance.

- Erusea after yet another period of turbulence are on the rise once again. Apparently a coup was launched against the group leader Grey Nolder and things turned sour, with the leaders of the coup leaving for Chaos. According to Grey the group should have a sim soon and are currently building equipment.

- Sturm Korps, a very old group founded around 2006 (and the first German themed military in Second Life), which subsequently died, now however without leaving its mark on groups like the Merczateers and the Alliance Navy, has been resurrected by the old leader Semmi Seraph. The group’s charter says;

“Sturm Korps
> Established circa 2006, The Sturm Korps is a conventional German-themed military organization; a concerted legion of military and combat enthusiasts with an emphasis on the study of Second Life warfare and politic. “

-Along with Dark Svenska’s group, Erusea and Sturm Korps appear to have formed some sort of discussion group, whilst in no way an alliance. The group charter of this “Militar Kollektiv” states;

“The self-righteous and their alliances, ever so deluded by their dogma may attempt to enforce their policy but let them tread in their own hypocrisy.

The Militar Kollektiv. “

Dark Svenska attempted to enlighten me:

Dark Svenska: I have no idea right now.
Vegna Fouroux: okay
Dark Svenska: So far its something Maks started up for militarys interested in changing the community blah blah blah

Again the Journal will keep you posted on any developments within the two groups and the Militar Kollektiv itself.

- Saed Lehtovaara has founded a military, The New Zeridum Colony. Located in Narnia the sim is currently closed for building.

Stay tuned for my next article; Guess whose coming to dinner? An interview with Avil Creeggan.

- Vegna Fouroux

Theft in our Community?

We know that many armies are capable of making weapons that are so realistic that they seem to be taken out of a gun magazine. But how do they make these weapons? How do they produce such professional work? The answer is simple, unfortunately in most cases they don’t. The use of stolen textures and sounds, which are extracted from other games and then uploaded into Second Life is now a very common thing. But who will punish these thieves? What can we do against copyright theft? I started by interviewing an Alliance Navy officer about this matter.

Olympia Exonar: Several militaries are currently using textures on their weapons that come from games like Halo, Counter Strike and some others. As you may know, many militaries and weapons sellers are committing a punishable offense by using these textures in their products. The punishment for a copyright infraction in most countries is usually a big bill and about 12 years emprisonement. What is your opinion?

Nrom Normandy: It’s more than just textures. What about sounds?

Olympia Exonar: Indeed.

Nrom Normandy: Do you know where the sounds for your weapons came from? Do you think the people selling them are using sounds that they made? Probably not.
Nrom Normandy: Unfortunately, since the day LL has permitted user created content to be uploaded to their servers, there has been copyright theft. Violations of trademarks, piracy, etc.
Nrom Normandy: We see people run around with disks on their backs that play full music tracks, and you and I both know the RIAA or the artists aren’t receiving any revenue from that.
Nrom Normandy: I don’t agree with blatantly stealing textures from other sources. I think it is cheats the builders of an opportunity to display their real talents.
Nrom Normandy: It’s why I really enjoy the work of people like Gutterblood Spoonhammer and Christabel North and Jezabeth Poutine.

Olympia Exonar: Do you think these criminals, texture and sound thieves will be punished?

Nrom Normandy: Not really, I don’t think they will.
Nrom Normandy: SL has been around for over 5 years now.

Olympia Exonar: What can be done against this kind of theft?

Nrom Normandy: Have you heard of any big cases involving copyright theft?

Olympia Exonar: Not as of now.

Nrom Normandy: There probably won’t be any, either. What’s the point? LL can just purge the database of an item that violates a copyright. The person can just re-upload it again somewhere else. Lots of bother.
Nrom Normandy: What can be done about it? Show your concern with your Lindens. Don’t buy from weapons makers who aren’t creating their own content. Tell people who do so they realize the importance of only selling your own content and the ethical consequences of using copyrighted materials.

Are people like Gutterblood Spoonhammer the last true creators in Second Life? What do military groups think of the issue? As it seems people do not seem worried about it because there is no real awareness!

Vincey Fanshaw: Yeah I really have no idea where our textures and sounds come from.

Ayatora Slade: I do not feel comfortable making further comment on this matter without enough knowledge of where our textures are coming from. Thus I need to contact our builders.

People in military groups on the other hand seem to find that copyright theft is normal. This Echelon member claims that as long as the creator doesn’t mind it is OK to use his textures, sounds and other created contents; but does the creator even know that his textures are being used elsewhere? No, probably not.

Bicket Burt: I’d allow it to SL armies, like Echelon and Mercz etc. As long as the creator doesn’t make money of it, like Breach.

At the end when I asked this Echelon member if copyright theft should be punished, and she seemed to agree with Mr. Burt and declared that:

Dayna Laville: hmm, no no punishment

I would like to remind you all that buying or selling stolen content is a criminal offense. Don’t buy or sell weapons that were made from game texture maps!

-Olympia Exonar

[Rant] Group only doors.

A nauseating rant from Josh Kira

I’m still fairly new to the combat scene in Second Life, and I thought I’d express another of my thoughts. It’s been a while since my last rant on fleet divisions, and with so much positive discussion, I thought I’d move onto another subject that ‘grinds my gears’.

As the article title indicates, I’ve recently been getting annoyed at group only doors. Granted, group set doors do improve defences for the defending military. On the other hand, the doors (if breaches are disallowed) can mean there is no way into a base. In my opinion, a real military need not group doors. Group only doors show that they cannot defend, that they have to lock down all parts of their base, because their group is incapable of defending themselves.

One such group I had in mind was Sparta, a group with 5m thick group only forcefields, and no breaches allowed. I had a talk with Spartan officer Loves Clarity.

[7:41]  Loves Clarity: Can we help you? :O
[7:41]  Josh Kira: Yes, I’m just wondering why Sparta need group only doors.
[7:41]  Loves Clarity: Because it’s our base? o.o
[7:41]  Josh Kira: Are you not capable of defending without them?
[7:41]  Loves Clarity: Of course we are.
[7:42]  Josh Kira: Then why use them?
[7:42]  Loves Clarity: It’s just the way the base is set up.
[7:42]  Loves Clarity: Why not?
[7:42]  Josh Kira: 5m doors and no breaches…
[7:42]  Josh Kira: Because it makes it near impossible to get in.
[7:42]  Loves Clarity: The red doors, you’re allowed to breach.
[7:42]  Josh Kira: Oh, are you?
[7:42]  Loves Clarity: It’s the walls you and elevators you are not.
[7:43]  Loves Clarity: The red doors you’re allowed to breach. Just the walls and elevators you’re not allowed to breach.
[7:43]  Loves Clarity: Not hard at all to get into our base. :D

Well, there goes my anger. Seems Sparta do allow people to breach their red forcefields.

Anyway, what’s everybody elses standing on group only doors? Another military that uses them is Chthonic Syndicate, on their main door, they have a group forcefield. Although they allow breaches, breaching it ends up inside the forcefield, thus resulting in a ban. And breaches on any other part of that upper structure get you killed. Point? That Chthonic Syndicate can’t defend? If you get in, you’re constantly IMed about how you did it, so they can patch up the hole.

There are probably more groups out there with similar principles. I’d like to see group ditching group doors, so everybody has a fair chance of attacking and defending.

Thoughts? It’d be great to get a good string discussion going.

- Josh Kira

Armored Combat Leads 39th MHTF Black Watch to Temporarily Blockade the Merczateers

After a battle between the forces of the Merczateers and the 39th MHTF Black Watch in Ziost, Black Watch has unilaterally declared a blockade against the Merczateers. According to General Hooked Dagger of Black Watch:

Hooked Dagger: Consider the entirety of the Merczateers
Hooked Dagger: Banned from Ziost
Hooked Dagger: We shall not conduct combat in Badnarik, you shall not conduct combat here.

This was the unfortunate ending to a battle which was not too far removed from any other – but with one significant difference. The Merczateers had chosen to deploy a single one of their new ExoSuits, avatar-sized armored infantry.

General Poon Voon of the Merczateers stands beside me in the group's new armored ExoSuit.

The new armored combat unit has 30 armor and can even walk up walls, which make it a pretty powerful machine all in all.

Can't go around it? Can't go through it? Just go right over it.

It’s deployment in Ziost caused a major stir between the two generals, and the conversation that ensued was a heated debate between two different combat philosophies. General Dagger began banning Merczateers for its use in the area, as well as for their general deployment of what he believed to be too many soldiers.

With this, the Merczateers were forced to leave the area.

General Voom and the Merczateers are essentially trying to remake combat in Second Life, to a modest degree. They have already introduced some very successful armored tanks and transport vehicles, including their now well-known Legion Main Battle tank, sporting 100 armor.

One of the big players in armored combat on the grid, the Legion Main Battle Tank.

They also have an armored aircraft, the Scimitar, which has 50 armor, as well as twin blades at its front.

The blades on its front are an especially brutal touch.

They all run on the same principle – one bullet of damage can take down one hit point of an armored unit’s armor. This is how the ExoSuit’s system works as well. With 30 hits, the suit is dead. Shotguns and fast firing chainguns can take it down within a few seconds if their shots hit their target, which is about as fast as normal infantry.

In fact – considering how much more popular mechs and infantry suits are than tanks in Second Life, one would imagine quite naturally that armor for them would be a logical next step in the process, especially for groups who make extensive use of these weapons.

The Attack and the Ban

The Merczateers attacked six Black Watch defenders in Ziost with nine of their own attackers, including eventually one of their new armored ExoSuits. Shortly thereafter, a conversation arose between the generals of each side on the response by Black Watch to the new technology.

Poon Voom: So people are getting banned?

Hooked Dagger: As stated, the bans have begun, and will continue until I get an explanation for this cockfaggotry

Poon Voom: Explain the cockfaggotry, all I’ve gotten was “BAWWWW SLIGHTLY LAGGY”

Hooked Dagger: Perhaps I have acted hastily, but I was to understand there was about three of my men against a full Mercz attack

Poon Voom: You had 6 people, we brought 9.

Hooked Dagger: That really isnt what I’ve been led to believe
Hooked Dagger: Armoured aircraft – I can hack that
Hooked Dagger: Armoured tanks? Sure, tanks after all
Hooked Dagger: Armoured infantry?
Hooked Dagger: Absolutely not

Poon Voom: Mechs?

Hooked Dagger: Which have no armour?
Hooked Dagger: You might not’ve noticed, but we have yet to adopt this system
Hooked Dagger: No, just
Hooked Dagger: no
Hooked Dagger: refused

Poon Voom: Welcome to Combat 2.0

Hooked Dagger: Consider yourself banned until further notice

Poon Voom: You’ll see, Hooked, that one of these days, not everyone will die with one shot.
Poon Voom: I actually wasn’t expecting this reaction from 39th.

Hooked Dagger: It’s less the lack of dying in one hit,
Hooked Dagger: More the fact that YOU dont die in one hit, whereas WE still do

Poon Voom: We’d be happy to help you get this technology.
Poon Voom: You can also kill them through other means.
Poon Voom: But, we’ll save this for another time.

Hooked Dagger: Consider the entirety of the Merczateers
Hooked Dagger: Banned from Ziost

Poon Voom: For using one mech?

Hooked Dagger: We shall not conduct combat in Badnarik, you shall not conduct combat here,
Hooked Dagger: Did I mention the far-greater-than-double-numbers?

Poon Voom: 6V9?
Poon Voom: Wow, really, I hate to say this, but suck it up.

Hooked Dagger: Not as far as I have been informed

Poon Voom: Waaaaa, armour, waaaaa people. It’s like, if you’re going to ban us for everything you can, I’d really rather not fight you either.

Hooked Dagger: Take your “Hard-fought victory” and superior attitude elsewhere – When the Merczateers are interested in combat rather than simply scripting their way to victory then they will be welcome here again.

Poon Voom: Take your pompous “Higher-than-though” attitude, learn to keep up combat wise, and put away your ban hammer. The ONLY good thing about Second Life combat is it’s amazing ability to fluidly change combat dynamics. When the Alliance Navy attacked us over a year ago, with aircraft unlike we’d even seen, we did not ban them. We show up with 3 more people, and one armoured mech, and you shit yourselves. I don’t feel you had a right to make this decision, but for now we’ll respect it. Good day.

In the wake of this, Black Watch sent out a notice explaining the situation to their group and asking them to make sure that the Merczateers kept clear of the area.

“Again the Merczateers have disappointed me, showing a complete disregard for sportsmanship and honour on the field. Frustrated that their armoured aircraft and tanks were completely useless they have resorted to armoured infantry, to the tune of forty-five armour points. [Note: the ExoSuit has 30 armor points.]

This is, to use perhaps too soft a word, appaling. The Merczateers are, until further notice, banned in thier entirety. As always members of the Mercz who come here without hostile intent will be welcomed, however any Members of the group attacking Ziost in tag and uniform will be ejected and, if required, banned.

Likewise, members of Black Watch are NOT to conduct combat operations in Merczateer sims, or act with undue hostility. Use common sense, and just stay away from them.

Stay tuned for further updates, assuming this situation ever changes.”

I was interested in what SqueezeOne Pow, leader of Black Watch, might have to say about the issue, but being offline I talked to the general behind the ban, Hooked Dagger, who was not pleased with how the battle had unfolded.

Caine Constantine: Hey Hooked, how’s it going?
Hooked Dagger: I’d like to say ‘Well’

Caine Constantine: Hmm, what is the problem?
Hooked Dagger: You possibly already heard, that I just had to ban the entirety of the Merczateers.

Caine Constantine: Yes, I was curious as to why?
Hooked Dagger: Well I heard reports of them attacking en-masse when only three members were online, which was kind of annoying – but I expect that of them these days
Hooked Dagger: No, infantry with forty-five armour – They’ve found the quickest way yet to get banned from Ziost.

Ziost, Black Watch's home and the site of the battle in question.

Caine Constantine: Infantry with armor?
Hooked Dagger: The concept isnt so abhorrent – Hey, people wear body armour. But…. Forty-five… No

Caine Constantine: I think it’s actually referred to by them as a mech of some kind. [Note: They actually prefer to call it an ExoSuit.]
Caine Constantine: With armor on it

Hooked Dagger: Its about as big as an avatar, moves just as fast as an avatar, is more heavily armed than an avatar,
Hooked Dagger: And, the most annoying thing about it?
Hooked Dagger: The single most irritating thing about this mech,
Hooked Dagger: Is that its being used on targets who have -no armour whatsoever-
Hooked Dagger: Relying on good ol’ fashioned dash and dodge

Caine Constantine: Do you think armor has a place in combat then?
Hooked Dagger: I don’t see why not – But if you’re going to use it, use it on other people who have armour

Caine Constantine: Did they offer to help you obtain that kind of technology?
Hooked Dagger: I mean hell, we’ve been fine with thier armoured tanks – and even thier armoured ground-attack aircraft
Hooked Dagger: It was probably mentioned, though I really think it’s unlikely at this point :V
Hooked Dagger: I made it quite clear what I thought of the mercz’ behaviour today

Caine Constantine: So do you see any kind of future for combat between your two groups?
Caine Constantine: Or is this a long term blockade?

Hooked Dagger: Well there’s a few things that could end this,
Hooked Dagger: First one, though I’m really not holding my breath for this one: The mercz apologise for the utter bullshit they tried to pull, and don’t use that armoured infantry
Hooked Dagger: Second: If Blackwatch decides to create it’s own equivalent – or indeed, adopt any sort of armour at all, then the ban would be moot,
Hooked Dagger: Or third some sort of agreement is reached between the groups, though I’m really not holding my breath on that one either – Diplomacy with the Mercz is like talking to a smartassed brick wall.

Caine Constantine: Do you think you would adopt any kind of armor?
Hooked Dagger: Its looking probable – the Mercz seem determined to make it the new norm for SL combat, NZC and Sparta have already adopted it, and it seems other groups are leaning that way too
Hooked Dagger: There’s a few flaws with armour of course – Groups that either can’t, wont or just don’t adopt it won’t really have much luck attacking groups that do use it

Caine Constantine: So why would you ban the whole group instead of just armor?
Caine Constantine: Is it “swarming” as well?
Hooked Dagger: The swarming I’ll admit was pretty galling – they said that a bunch of grunts came along that werent supposed to, but to be honest thats really not my problem
Hooked Dagger: I can accept them attacking with superior numbers – quantity over quality and all that – but attacking with two, three, four times as many people will just lead to bans, no questions asked. We’re here for combat, not a swim in the lag.

Caine Constantine: So twice as many combatants leads to an automatic ban?
Hooked Dagger: Specifically defining it is where it gets a little hairy
Hooked Dagger: If we had three people on base, and they attack with six – Sure, fine
Hooked Dagger: If we had ten and they bring twenty – welll, pushing it a bit there…

Caine Constantine: Ahh
Caine Constantine: Understood.
Caine Constantine: Did you have any rules in your hub about the use of the armor or of superior numbers?
Hooked Dagger: Well I know we’ve made it clear to the Mercz more than once what we consider to be a “Fair fight”
Hooked Dagger: As for armour, its not definied in our rules – what with it being a rather new concept, we were just using common sense

Caine Constantine: Understood
Hooked Dagger: A tank with a hundred armour, fine – an aircraft with fifty armour designed to attack ground targets, pushing it, but fine – most likely because they are specifically vehicles, and have counters
Hooked Dagger: The tank can be defeated by concentrated air attack, the ground attack aircraft can be hounded down with concentrated fire – an infantryman however, once he gets indoors, its all light weapons from there
Hooked Dagger: I mean its reasonable to say that the armour suit could defeat 45 enemies before being defeated itself
Hooked Dagger: If I’m making any sense :V

Caine Constantine: Yeah I know what you mean.  It does make sense.  I appreciate all of the information Hooked.  It’s definitely two philosophies on how combat should evolve.
Hooked Dagger: No problem – I’d like to think ours was pretty straightforward, but I guess there’s always differences in opinion.

Essentially, General Dagger had a problem with the inequality inherent in deploying units for which there is no automatic countermeasure. No matter what kind of guns are rolled out, the gunners always die in one shot – except for when they’re wearing armored suits, and this really changes the mechanics of combat on the grid.

Merczateer General Poon Voom had a different take on the issue, and seemed to feel like the ban was about sour grapes, over both losing the battle and being behind in the technological arms race of Second Life combat.

Poon Voom: So, we had just finished attacking Anamur, and, having alot of people online still wanting to attack, we decided to go attack Ziost.
Poon Voom: I dragged 9 people into a seperate ventrilo channel, and we set off.
Poon Voom: In total, it was myself in this Exosuit, and 8 infantry, (A Tank came later on)
Poon Voom: We first got IMed by Alexandro Holgado.
Poon Voom: He claimed that we were lagging the sim to a standstill, and we were about to get banned.

Caine Constantine: Did he give a reason?

Poon Voom:

[EDITOR'S NOTE: Alexandro Holgado had something he said here, but asked for its removal after he graciously informed me that my posting his conversation violated Second Life's Terms of Service.

This not being part of Second Life - we can say whatever we want - and he is completely wrong on that account. But it was removed because we try to give people fair control over their own words.

That said, I don't really like it when people bring up the Terms of Service when a simple "Please remove my words from your page." would have worked.

So let it be known Alexandro Holgado essentially threatened the Merczateers with a ban and told them to leave, and I am paraphasing this because he did not want his actual words pasted into the article.

Thank you - Caine]

Poon Voom: From my point of view, the lag was negligible, and we did manage to run from the hub, to their core, multiple times, so no, we weren’t stuck in place.

Poon Voom: Later, Hooked Dagger, banned two people who had entered the core room.

Poon Voom: I asked him why, I’ll give you the log.

Poon Voom: However, as the battle progressed, he noticed my Exosuit.
Poon Voom: I’ll give you the total log, but he banned me, and said the 39th would no longer do combat with us.
Poon Voom: Voldo Baxton, a Merczateer, managed to slip past their defences after myself being banned.

Poon Voom: He blew up the core, after which we were all banned.

Poon Voom: [10:28] Hub Monitor shouts: Voldo Baxton has entered the Reactor Core Chamber!!!! <___________<
Core shouts: CORE BREACHED!
Ghost Menjou shouts: WIN
Core has been destroyed!

The Core - the heart of the Black Watch base, blowing it up means that you've won the battle.

Poon Voom: So, yeah, we didn’t sithack, we didn’t TP people.

Caine Constantine: Someone just ran in and blew it up.

Poon Voom: We managed to get there fair and square, and from my experience, throughout the attack they wanted to ban us.
Poon Voom: Then they did, because of one mech that was simply better than theirs.

Poon Voom: I honestly was curious how they’d react with a Exosuit that used armour, simply because, they’re the “Mech Military”
Poon Voom: I just feel we finally gave 39th what a real “Mech” should be, and they responded by blockading us.

Caine Constantine: So then, it is the official position of the Merczateers, that large metal objects should require more than one shot to kill?

Poon Voom: I feel that combat where one shot can kill anything is much less fun than one where it takes variable shots.
Poon Voom: The joy of Second Life combat is the constant changing of combat dynamics.
Poon Voom: A year ago we finally had aircraft, and that changed everything.
Poon Voom: Now we have armour, and it’s holding people’s feet to the fire.

Caine Constantine: well do you see a place for any kind of unarmored infantry?
Poon Voom: Of course, keep in mind I was the only person in this suit. And it does have it’s disadvantages.

Poon Voom: Not to mention our armour isn’t impossible to innovate on.
Poon Voom: I believe I’ve shown you our Anti-Armour RPG round?

Caine Constantine: Yeah
Caine Constantine: that should kill this in one shot?
Poon Voom: Yeah

Caine Constantine: But then again, it is understandable that they’d be upset when you have both the armor and the anti-tank weapons. Have you considered offering them some anti-armor weapons?

Poon Voom: Well, I did offer them help, as you’ll see in the log.
Poon Voom: But I was hoping that people would innovate themselves.

Caine Constantine: Yes – but had he accepted it – what would that have consisted of?

Poon Voom: I would have explained simply, the concept of -how- to do it.
Poon Voom: It’s not very straightforward, but once you understand it, it’s not hard either.
Poon Voom: Sparta has a tank that worked exactly like ours does.
Poon Voom: I helped Roudy slightly with a few comments.

Caine Constantine: Seems like it’s modified versions of the tanks all around.
Caine Constantine: With different abilities but the same kind of armor.

Poon Voom: Well, it uses the armour system, and we’re keeping the armour homogenous.

Caine Constantine: So in other words then
Caine Constantine: a shotgun or a few people with assault rifles could pretty quickly bring this down if they were interested.

Poon Voom: Exactly.
Poon Voom: Every bullet counts.
Poon Voom: That included shotgun rounds.
Poon Voom: Hell, any anti-armour device would work on every armoured vehicle we have, minus the scimitar.
Poon Voom: The military community is very stagnant technology wise right now, I hope this helps in changing that.

Caine Constantine: Do you know of any other groups working on this sort of tech or working on countermeasures?
Poon Voom: Well, Sparta has a fully functional tank currently. GR has a tank of the same system.
Poon Voom: Once you establish any armour, vehicles come easily later.

Caine Constantine: Is it the goal eventually to give everyone armor?
Poon Voom: I hope so, just about everyone now has aircraft.

Caine Constantine: I mean though, every individual soldier.
Poon Voom: No, not at all.

Poon Voom: The armour we have right now, is strcitly regimented.
Poon Voom: We have an engagement policy actually, I’ll send that over.

Caine Constantine: It’s the same as the tanks?
Poon Voom: We’re thinking it will classify under that policy, yes
Poon Voom: If there are less then 7 people, no armour.
Poon Voom: Maximum deployment is 3 of any armour, at any time.
Poon Voom: We only used 1 in our recent attack.

Caine Constantine: So this would classify as one of the lighter vehicles?

Poon Voom: Well, it’s all one classification. It has considerably less armour, but it’s smaller aswell, and it can work indoors.
Poon Voom: It can also change linear gravity, but I’ll show you that later.

Caine Constantine: Ah yeah haha I have seen how it walks up walls.
Caine Constantine: That’s pretty neat.
Poon Voom: That’s all thanks to Nexii Malthus.

Poon Voom: He’s really amazing.

Caine Constantine: Sounds like it with that kind of skill.
Caine Constantine: So are you actively pursuing an unban from 39th?
Caine Constantine: Hooked has given me some conditions I would like to run by you:

I then gave him the basic conditions General Dagger of Black Watch had put forth for ending the blockade.

Poon Voom: We’ll be talking to their High Command. But sure, those sound alright, if we get our own conditions.

Caine Constantine: What would those be?
Poon Voom: I feel that we were mistreated as well, we go into their sim, violate non of their rules, they insult us, ban me, then blockade us.
Poon Voom: They could have handled themselves better.

Poon Voom: The only offenses that they banned us for was 1) Slight sim lag 2) 9 versus 6 people 3) One armoured mech 4) Blowing up their core.

Caine Constantine: If they had said, please remove the armor, and just left it at that?
Poon Voom: Sure, I would have taken it off.

Caine Constantine: So there was no request of that sort, just a ban?
Poon Voom: Well, look at the log.

Caine Constantine: Yeah I wasn’t sure if it’d been preceeded by anything is all.
Poon Voom: It was a philosphical debate, but he never said, “Take it off please”

In closing, General Voom said that he was willing to help any groups who wanted to acquire the technology necessary for armored units do so.

Caine Constantine: I appreciate all your help. If you had any last comments feel free.
Poon Voom: Alright sure.
Poon Voom: To you scripters out there, IM me if you’re interested in creating armoured -anything-. I’ll be happy to help and put you on the right track.
Poon Voom: Alright, thanks for the interview, Caine.
Poon Voom: I’m out, feel free to talk to Haner.
Caine Constantine: Thank you, have a good one Poon.

Another view of Combat 2.0?

Caine Constantine: That mech is going to scare people up this close.
Anthony Lehane: hahaha

Though he was not online, I think the last word could be had by SqueezeOne Pow, whose profile ostensibly explains his view on the subject.

"Leaders overcome obstacles. Pussies ban them." - SqueezeOne Pow

So far, there is little sign of change in terms of the ban. It is likely to last for some time in the face of these recent events.

Thoughts on Technological Advancement on the Grid

This story really touches on a lot of what’s right and wrong about combat in Second Life. There’s a great deal of technological development on the grid with regards to combat. As my recent trip on foot and by rowboat across the mainland proved to me, outside of the combat zones, there’s all to often not that much going on, and things are frozen in the capabilities of years ago. So the good news is that the combat scene is constantly pushing the limits of what Second Life can do.

The problem is that because we’re all now situated on our own private estates, by virtue of the limitations of the mainland, we can isolate ourselves not just from the rest of the grid, but all too easily from each other.

Is it right to deploy superior numbers and technology onto a battlefield without giving your enemies an equivalent countermeasure? Is it cheating – or even “griefing” – to use superior numbers and superior technology? Or is it simply the way combat should evolve, as in the case of when aircraft and fleetships were first introduced into combat zones?

And will we, at some point, as one military leader once said (and I am paraphrasing a bit unsurely, which is why I do not use his name) hit a wall in which we must say “Enough” and cease the development of new technologies for combat altogether? Or will combat continue to develop in all kinds of directions as time goes on?

There are a lot of views on the subject – so please comment and share your thoughts, and vote on our new poll on the subject, asking the question of whether armored vehicles, aircraft, mechs, and infantry have a place in combat on the grid.

-Caine Constantine

NOTE: Shortly after posting this, I was informed that the situaton has changed somewhat:

Hooked Dagger: Heh, Blackwatch recently unbanned most of the Merczateers, actually D:
Caine Constantine: oh geeze
Caine Constantine: woulda been nice for someone to tell me
Caine Constantine: haha
Hooked Dagger: xD
Hooked Dagger: Only a few hours ago[16:16]  Hooked Dagger: but eh

Caine Constantine: Yeah I am making an edit at the end
Hooked Dagger: I still consider that ’suit’ banned until it’s no longer a match-winner :V
Hooked Dagger: Not that I can’t take a loss, but I’m not interested in combat with stacked teams, as it were

Caine Constantine: Understood.  Thank you for the update, Hooked.
Caine Constantine: I will post it right now.