Latest News Bulletin: The leave of Jason Backer.

Off to get a first life.

Dear friends who I have known for months or indeed years, I have to sadly announce that I will be leaving without a trace after this is sent out. During my time on SL I have found myself pulling 16 hours online, sleeping to little or to much, ruined my eyesight, (Believe your parents when they tell you staring at a computer for hours will do you harm!) missed Real Life events… This is unsustainable and with me going to Uni this September, getting a job and looking to enjoy my life a bit more I need a clean break.

When you’re sacraficing real life to play a game you need to take a good look at what you’re doing. I’ve done that and i’m sure if I put all the focus, effort and time spent that i had on SL i’d be something more than I am now, thats for sure.

My coming back to the AN was a massive mistake, not because I don’t enjoy your company or because I don’t give a damn, but because it threw my SL/RL balance way out of line and I have to change that. I am truely, unreservedly & infinatly sorry for any problems that result from this… so very much.

On my time on SL i’ve met many friends and persons who I will miss dearly. I’ll remember you all fondly.

So I leave you all now as a friend, hopefully. Some will think i’m selfish, and they are right, i’m putting myself first and nothing but, but i’m doing it for a better future.

With sorrow,

Jason.

P.S. This will likely find it’s way into the hands of those who are not altogether fond of me, to which I will say farewell, good luck and I won’t be missing you one bit :)

The final letter from Jason Backer, to the Alliance Navy, the group he’s grown with.

Jason Backer has left Second Life. I for one am mortified, being a good friend with Jason.

So, what happens to AN?

Jim Herbst has taken first in command within the Alliance Navy. Being a loyal officer, Jason appointed him, to the appreciation of his group.

Jim pledges his first priority to rebuild the base. And he plans to make AN much more active, so we’re told.

Some will be happy at this news. This reporter is not too happy. Jason was a good guy. Bias? No. This is my conclusion. My summary. My opinion. Jason was awesome. And yes. I think we all do spend too much time on Second Life.

I’ve seen my Real Life decapitated in recent weeks. I too should cut down on SL. But this community is too inviting.

It seemed Jason was having issues finding Elshout. So, will his leave mean AN moves to a void sim? Only time will tell. Jim also plans to participate in the IS more.

And now, I open the floor for comments. Tasteful only please. In memory.

-Metallicoe Keng

Editor on Cheif

The reformation of Firestorm.

A firestorm is a conflagration which attains such intensity that it creates and sustains its own wind system. It is most commonly a natural phenomenon, created during some of the largest bushfires, forest fires, and wildfires.  – Wikipedia

The Firestorm Alliance was a group spearheaded by Valor a few months back, that set out to create a tie between smalle combat groups. The original Firestorm was built, primarly with the purpose of defending a fledgling 10th Moutain division from constant attack. Intermittently, it fell quiet as more eventful affairs plagued the community. And now, newly appointed Valor ambassador Aiatar Jurassic tells me it’s making a return.

Aiatar: We’ve noticed that a large majority of the massive militaries will raid the smaller ones, sometimes on a very regular basis. Valor doesn’t suffer from this, not nearly as much as the others, or at all. Valor has taken two attacks on our sim in the past week, both of which were eradicated. One from Red Zone forces, the other from Silver Hawks. We found the one from Silver Hawks suprising and entertaining to say the least, mainly because Silver Hawks has our entire military carpet banned. After that attack, I met with the General and we both talked about the prospect of opening diplomatic ties with some of the other militaries around for the purpose of mutual defense.

Aiatar: Alot of this has to do with the Alliance Navy joining the Iron Symphony.

Metallicoe: So who will be contained inside the Firestorm Alliance?

Aiatar: We have opened talks with a number of the smaller militaries. So far I’ve spoken with leaders from MBC, as well as CATI, and Andresparta from Red Zone. I’m also hoping to reach out to the Raven Raiders, as well as Black Mamba, a spinoff from MBC who’s sim is about to open.

Aiatar: Firestorm will not be a concerted attack force, but a complete mutual defense force, with Valor troopers standing ready to defend sims against incursion.

Metallicoe: So the new Firestorm will not attack military’s together, merely defend if one of the groups is under attack?

Aiatar: Valor will retain a stand alone policy in terms of attack, and the essense of the alliance wil be for mutual defense, but the command structure of the alliance will allow for multi military attacks on a single military.

Metallicoe: Will the Alliance have a structure?

Aiatar: The command structure of the Alliance will be very small and controlled, with only the leading General of the militaries as well as thier second in command as officers. The figurehead of the alliance will be nothing more than an arbitor. Alliance matters will be settled via voting between the High Generals.

So Firestorming is forming to protect smaller militaries from the larger ones. Aiatar tells me that, with recent talks with Petros Siamendes from Vanguard, VG have a policity that forbides trying to ‘zerg’ down enemy forces. Firestorm recognise that similar posicies are not present in other militaries.

Aiatar: If Chaos were to attack MBC with 15-20 troops, MBC would be extremely hard pressed. And we both know that Chaos can bring far more than that. In the Firestorm doctrine it provides instruction for just such a case happening.

Metallicoe: Will all the militaries that join be under that doctrine, that agreement?

Aiatar: Any militaries that join with the new alliance will be tied to a defensive agreement to come when called. It is also a training agreement, as well as an information and technology sharing agreement. The only BINDING agreement however, is the defensive agreement, all other items listed are at the discretion of the High Generals of the militaries

Having a discussion, Aiatar sent me a copy of Firestorm’s doctrine.

Firestorm Alliance Doctrine
___________________________________

The Firestorm Alliance, from this point on refered to as FA, collectively assists the militaries within the alliance with forces, science, and hardware.

Ranks within FA
___________________________________

The Arbitrator – The de facto leader of the Alliance.
- Power and Responsibility of the Arbitrator – The primary dispute settler between the militaries. The primary diplomat of the the alliance.  Holds the final say on all alliance matters of dispute that cannot be resolved by the High Generals. Cannot infringe on internal matters of individual militaries. The power of the Arbitrator ends with the administration of the alliance. The position of Arbitrator is simular to the Leader of the House of Representatives. The Arbitrator holds no voting power. [Edit: This is Aiatar]

High Generals – The leaders of the militaries within the Alliance.
- Power and Responsibility of the High Generals – Voting on Alliance policy, complete control over the military they control.  Responsiblity to honor Alliance Doctrine.

Storm Lord – The 2nd in command of the militaries within the Alliance.
- Power and Responsibility of the Storm Lord – Enforcement of Alliance Policy

Firestorm – All other members of the militaries

Centralized Doctrine
___________________________________

Article One : All FA member militaries must have a parcel within thier base dedicated to the Alliance. The parcel will serve as a homepoint for assisting troops, as well as the landing point for Alliance members as they teleport into the sim. This parcel must have complete cover from enemy fire, as well as script disabled, and damage disabled.  Direct Teleport must be allowed to this parcel. Telehub must be disabled on the sim, and every parcel must have a set landing point.

Article Two:  All FA member militaries will induct all existing members of thier (typo in the doctrine) militaries into the Alliance group upon recruitment, as well as train new recruits in the policies of Firestorm, as well as the rules and regulations of Member militaries. All FA member militaries will include training on other alliance members rules and regulations so that that when called in to assist in defense, all rules and regulations of the defending alliance member are honored.

Article Three :  All member militaries must submit a notecard detailing rules and regulations for said military to all High Generals of the alliance upon making any changes. The rules and regulations of the Alliance militaries are to be distributed amoung the militaries for study.

Article Four : All member militaries are suggested to assist in training each other for conflict. The High Generals are responsible for setting training up.

Article Five : All member militaries are required to lend any assistance nessicary to other member militaries in the form of troops as well as military hardware.  If a member military is attacked by a larger force, a call for aid will be given by the highest ranking officer within the FA member military’s chain, to be immediately reacted on.  Assisting militaries will use the landmark for the parcel outlined in Article One for teleporting to the sim. All assisting military members are required to stay on post at the defending military’s base until the threat has passed. Only the highest ranking officer of the defending military or the High General/Storm Lord of the assisting military can dismiss troops from the defending militaries sim. The threat must match the reaction as will be outlined in Article Six.

Article Six : Militaries requesting aid must give an approximate amount of troops requested. The reaction cannot be greater than the threat. (In Example: If a military is attacked and outnumbered 5 to 10, a request for 5 to 8 troops is appropriate, a general distress call is not.)

Article Seven : General Distress Calls – A General Distress Call is when a major military attacks a smaller one, bringing a large amount of troops in. When a General Distress Call is sounded, Member militaries are required to send as much aid as possible, reserving a base watch in case of attack on the assisting militaries bases.

Article Eight – At any time, member militaries may request a vote be carried out on any issue regarding the alliance. The vote request must be submitted by the High General of the military.

Article Nine – All inter-alliance disputes are to be brought before the Arbitrator.

Article Ten – Technology sharing will be performed at the whim of the High General of the militaries to all the militaries within the alliance, as is information sharing.

__________________________________________________

Membership in the Firestorm Alliance

Members of the FA follow a simple rule. We stand together. This is not an outlet for inter-military drama, nor is it a power play. It is a mutually defensive pact between militaries.

Further definition of the Arbitrator came from Aiatar.

Aiatar: I will remain in place until the alliance is fully cemented, and the first vote will be to elect the new Arbitrator. The Arbitrator MUST be a diplomat, it cannot be a leader within the militaries. For now I will take the role as the diplomat of the founding military. The role of the Arbitrator will not be to do what’s best for HIS/HER military but to do what is best for the alliance as a whole. I will also be drafting a secondary Arbitrator, sort of an assistant. In case the central topic of the alliance issue is Valor. That way there will be no dissention with a suspicion of favorable voting.

I wanted elaboration on how AN joining the IS sparked the reform. ‘Alot of this has to do with the Alliance Navy joining the Iron Symphony.’  In response to this, Aiatar told me that, when they learned that AN joedin IS, the thoughts of forming a defensive group began. Aiatar continued to explain how a lot of Valor’s activity seems to be offensive, and minimal assaults are sent to KrazyKat, Valor’s region.

Aiatar: And if the juggernaut populations of Mercz and Ordo can be called in to defend, why not the Valor Assault Force?

Aiatar: The attack on AN and the subsequent defense by Mercs of AN assests was the catalyst. The very next night the Firestorm Alliance document was drafted, and I began to instigate talks amoung the smaller militaries.

Well, I’m quite impressed with the prospect of another alliance besides the Iron Symphony. It could prove an interesting swing on things, and brighten up large attacks on smaller militaries. What do you think?

- Metallicoe Keng

Editor in Chief

Caine Constantine: A tribute.

I’d like to highlight to the Journal readership that Caine’s last three articles were his last for publicly writing about this community. I’d like to hereafter thank Caine for his support in keeping the Journal going, and moving on to concentrate on making New Jessie a fine combat sim.

In lighter news, I plan to focus on the Journal more, now that Real Life issues have died down, and after Caine’s resignation.

I remember standing tall on the wall of the Task Force Marine’s headquarters, as an eager officer in Prize Delta, when I first proposed the idea of a combat publication for the community. Caine agreed it would be a smashing idea, and we moved from freebie site to blog, to notices, and finally resting on a secure domain and WordPress as our host. I’d like to thank the readers of the Journal for supporting our work, and making the near-impossible, possible.

I look forward to providing a greater service to the community. Of course, any help with contributing stories would be greatly appreciated. Even if you have an idea for a story, or a breaking piece of news. Please do let me know. Thank you!

Metallicoe Keng

-Editor in chief.

To whom it may concern; The Final Path.

We have been called differently sane – a collaboration of madmen from an age that has been long forgotten. I shall not deny or confirm this; I myself am undecided, but it is not of us that I wish to type; it is if you.

You; while fully aware of quite who you are, I somewhat doubt that you will come clean with this audience standing before you. But perhaps I am wrong; maybe you shall walk away from this regiment of paragraphs and make a difference. Maybe you will put all of your wrongs right in a single sweep of magnificence.

Maybe. It’s that word – a word that echoes hope for this Community. When was the last time you felt hope? Do you ever wonder quite why you did what you did? You, who dragged the Community into ever-darkening depths, leaving its denizens oblivious to the chaos and ruin that you have laid to their groups.

Perhaps there is a light. It is not your light; the brightness that once emitted from your callow shells has long since become extinguished;

No, this is our light; a light that has been pieced together by the sweat, longing and courage of a single minded body of individuals. You do not know us, but we know you.

I type this not to insult or provoke you, but to offer you once final chance of redemption; the final straw in a long line that ended far too quickly.

For if you refuse to make a difference – if you blunder on as you are, malicious, corrupt and decrepit, then this shall not be the last you hear of me, or of the people whom I have come to represent.

You may have accepted the stale rot of the once-grand banners that you cower behind, but we have not accepted the demise of this Community.

Heed this warning, or cower behind your fragile balance of blockade, drama and banline;
Either way, a light is beginning to shine;

This light shall cast a heavy shadow over each and every twisted ideal that you have hidden from your Personnel, and in this pitch-black, impossible complex room, it shall breath life.

- The_Administration

This Month’s Community Update

It’s been quite a month for combat in Second Life, and so, as the Journal does its best to keep up, here’s a collection of stories from across the grid.  This month, we’ll be discussing the new Iron Symphony, some leadership changes in the Alliance Navy, Militant Collective, Raven Raiders and Sparta, and the bad blood between Chaos and Vanguard.

The More Things Change…

The Iron Symphony recently went past being a simple alliance and became a full-fledged discussion group as well. This has been the state of things for the past couple of weeks, and is best explained through the notice sent through the Iron Symphony groups discussing it.

Some important changes we’ve made are the following:
~IS is no longer an alliance. Though politically allied, all members are free to ally and go to war with anyone they please. Important details included in the Doctrine.
~Larger emphasis on transparency. Important decisions will be up for member speculation and concern, not just the leader’s.

~All militaries are required to have at least two ISDs (Iron Symphony Delegates) who act as diplomats, promoting good communication and addressing the concerns of those both inside and outside the Iron Symphony.
~Iron Symphony meetings. The leadership of all IS groups will meet at a certain time each month to stay on the same page, debate policy and admit militaries into the IS after a sufficient discussion and debate between themselves and the military in question.

In not altogether surprising news though, the Iron Symphony is still the grid’s largest alliance, comprised of the 800 or so soldiers who make up the Merczateers, the Ordo Imperialis, the Militant Collective and now the Alliance Navy, who recently joined the group and joined in banning its most despised enemy, Vanguard.

“AN diplomatic stance update.
Sunday, 12 Jul 2009 23:21:26 GMT

>> The Alliance Navy after a meeting with IS leaders has become a member of the Iron Symphony. From this point in these member groups should be regarded as allied:
- The Merczateers – The Ordo Imperialis – The Militant Collective
>> After recent events with the Vanguard including the trashing of our own wiki and the return of the Merczateers base. This is an ugly side of the community that completely goes against our own ethics as a group. We have taken a stand to not be included in these practices.”

So the real question is – what’s the difference between the old and new Iron Symphony?

The change in policy allowed for a brief war between the Ordo Imperialis and the Militant Collective that was either a lot of friendly fun or just more proof of what one side already knew about the other, depending on who you talk to. Having observed some of the fighting, it was without a doubt fierce, mostly fair, and was to date probably the best example of the inter-alliance combat often touted by the leaders of the Iron Symphony.

In the wake of Raideur Ng’s resignation as leader of the Militant Collective, its war with Ordo was put on hold and then ended, and the two groups are now allied once again. Past that conflict, it’s still an alliance between the largest groups on the grid, minus Vanguard, who all IS members – including the newest member, the Alliance Navy, have banned.

In all honesty, the biggest difference between the new and old Iron Symphony seems to be that the new discussion group is in fact a stronger alliance than ever. The recent changes allowing combat between IS members made the prospect of the AN joining much more palatable to the group’s high command, and many of the IS leadership hope that the admission of the AN into the group will be only the first of many new memberships in an Iron Symphony that is now meant to facilitate fair combat as opposed to being a large alliance.

But considering all of the groups in this no-alliances-necessary and no-blockades-required Iron Symphony are all allies and are all blockading Vanguard, the new direction the IS is looking toward moving in, with new members united not by an alliance but only by shared ideals, will probably require the admission of a major group who will break from the current precedent of joining as a full ally.

Another alternative would be another war between members of the Iron Symphony, in the spirit of the recent one between the Ordo and the Militant Collective. Though it was short it was still a good show of what could be possible if the members of the IS went for full combat with one another rather than the occasional pre-planned match. This would show that the new IS is indeed more than just an alliance. As an added benefit, such matches should conceivably be free of any cheating or otherwise foul play, assuming everyone who subscribes to the IS Doctrine is happy to fight under its terms against other IS members.

At the moment, it still really looks like business as usual, plus the new admission of the Alliance Navy. Of course, business as usual is no problem for the 800 members of the Iron Symphony who seem to agree with the direction their groups are moving in enough to remain a part of them. Most of the criticisms put toward the IS involve it somehow restricting combat or trying to control everyone. At this point, there are no restrictions left on members.

And so perhaps the biggest difference between the old and the new Iron Symphony is that the ugly truth is out! Members of the IS are allies with one another and all ban Vanguard because they want to, not because they have to. And so for all of those who keep dreaming of the epic Merczateer/Ordo war that will never be, well, keep dreaming. That’s about as likely as the day either group unbans Vanguard. In other words, you’d probably do well to focus on more plausible matters, like squaring the circle or something.

As always, keep an eye on the Iron Symphony. Second Life combat’s 800-lb gorilla in the room isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

A New Alliance and a New Leader

This summer has been quite the season for changes in power, and the Alliance Navy has had the biggest shift of all. I talked to Jason Backer, the new man in charge of the Alliance Navy, about his promotion, his group’s admittance into the Iron Symphony and the blockade of Vanguard.

Caine Constantine: Hello Jason, how are you doing? I heard the Alliance Navy recently joined the Iron Symphony and I was hoping to learn more about the motivations behind this big decision.
Jason Backer: Hey Caine, I’m doing very well thank you. Yes, as of this Sunday become full members of the Iron Symphony, it’s quite a shock and just shows how much SL Combat has changed in the past 12 months. There are many reasons for joining, to name some key motives however would be to look back to late 08 with the break up of the AI, after everything what was said about us by the good king the first persons to stand by us were ironically our enemies, and since then relations have been improving greatly, we’ve been on joint attacks… Mercz have sure well helped us to defend as have Ordo. There’s also a great way to open up communications between our groups, at the IS meeting I attended recently I was really impressed how we were able to talk and resolve a matter between groups. There’s many reasons though.

Caine Constantine: Well to get to the heard of the matter, what seems to confuse people is that you have not only joined but also joined as full allies. What was the motivation for the alliance?
Jason Backer: Well we as hold no will ill to any of the IS members, as time goes on things may change I suppose, and this was stated in the meeting but theres no animosity between us.

Caine Constantine: Had the AN already not been fighting the Merczateers and Ordo?
Jason Backer: Actually no, we’d been in a state of friendly neutrality since December. This time was for our members to adjust and hopefully see them in a new light, we as HC knew they were good but we wanted to show some consideration for our members. It’s a bit hard going from baddies one minute to friends the next. Nothing really has changed you could say, Sunday was just the formal pen to paper.

Caine Constantine: So then one of the benefits the IS allows the AN is the ability to focus on other enemies then?
Jason Backer: That would be a fair point, but just a bonus that came along with joining, I and I’d like to think the group genuinely do like them and are happy to be in.

Caine Constantine: That sounds like a pretty positive development then if all the members wanted to be a part of it.
Jason Backer: I won’t lie there has been one or two that have been displeased, but after talking it over, explaining the motivations behind the decision, and informing them that changes that will be made will be minor at most they have been happy to put a little faith in me which I am very grateful and humbled for. I value every member of the AN, they’re always more than welcome to come talk anything over if they have disagreements.

Caine Constantine: Understood. I also wanted to ask, at the same time you joined the IS, you also blockaded the Vanguard, right?
Jason Backer: That is true, i’d just like to clarify that it would have been going up regardless, I was just waiting to talk things over with other military leaders to understand the situation on their side. I’m not a great fan of the blockade tactic, but then again I am not a fan of base returns, wiki trashings, spawn campings and all the wonderful things that seem to come with the Vanguard.

Caine Constantine: This blockade occurred after a massive Vanguard attack that appeared to require Merczateer and Ordo intervention to fight off. Did this attack have anything to do with your decision?
Jason Backer: That would have held no difference to me, I’ve had 45 Mercz & MC in the sim before with 6 defenders and didn’t ban a single one.
Jason Backer: What was done, was based on the cumulative actions that have been taken by the group as a whole.
Jason Backer: And I know some weren’t in the VG as some things happened, but if these are the types that are welcomed in? What else may happen?

Caine Constantine: The last question I’d like to ask on the subject is why instead of banning individual rulebreakers or troublemakers, you followed the IS in banning the whole group?
Jason Backer: I’d like to be clear this was a decision reached before joining the IS, actions were taken on other groups in and out the IS, the CS for example. It was not a requirement to join the IS we had to have the blackade, the Mercz earlier in the week had already helped to fight them off. The decision was not made because the IS members had been doing it.

Caine Constantine: I had one more question, about your promotion in the Alliance Navy recently?
Jason Backer: Sure
Caine Constantine: It seemed a bit unorthodox, as previously everyone had at least ostensibly had to go through the ranks to get up to any desired positions. But you were admitted as the first in command. What circumstances surrounded your rejoining the AN and becoming the leader of the group?
Jason Backer: The circumstances for my return were to nothing but the best by the group, Bizcut was trying his hardest, but things weren’t going so well. I did return to the position I did because I will always do best by the group, the manner of my leaving was because I couldn’t do that. Decisions were taken out of my hands and problems were made. I have been welcomed back well by the group I feel, and things have been improving steadily in the week or so I’ve been back. The people that know me have placed their faith in me and those who don’t I will prove myself to them.
Jason Backer: Give me some time, and I hope you can see a real kickstart for the AN.

Jason Backer: The group has such a rich history, it deserves nothing less than to be doing well for itself.
Caine Constantine: Yeah I agree. Good luck with your work reforming and building a new future for the Alliance Navy, Jason.
Jason Backer: Thank you Caine, a pleasure as always.
Caine Constantine: You too Jason.

And so after what many in the Alliance Navy had described as a “troubled period” in the last few months, the group seems by many accounts to have taken a new lease on life. Its recruitment has increased of late and both officers and soldiers report a tremendous boost in group morale. Under his new leadership, Admiral Backer has undertaken a revolutionary strategy – he has encouraged the growth of his group by means of more fighting!  The seemingly rejuvenated AN now attacks at least twice daily and is even much more present now in places like New Jessie.

As the Alliance Navy moves into its brave new future four years after its founding, it’s certainly a whole new beast and is undoubtedly going to make its mark on combat on the grid as a major power once again.

Tell Me How You Really Feel, Raideur

The Alliance Navy is not the only military seeing new leadership this month. Raideur Ng stepping down from his position as leader of the Militant Collective under circumstances that are even now unclear. I was approached by Raideur, who was kind enough to focus not on his own situation but rather on me in a spirited discussion that took me completely by surprise. I was hesitant to post it but, seeing as how there’s no definitive answer out there yet about why he left, this probably exemplifies what was running through his mind and brought him to make his decision to leave the MC.

Raideur Ng: Your organization and the majority of military organizations suck.
Caine Constantine: Oh wow
Caine Constantine: haha

Raideur Ng: Your friends and business partners are assholes.
Caine Constantine: Well at least you’re honest.
Raideur Ng: Especially your wannabe germans.
Raideur Ng: Im leaving or going to a real RPG
Caine Constantine: My wannabe Germans?

Raideur Ng: Im not playing a game I want to beat my head against a wall dealing with
Raideur Ng: Vanguard, whom you so enjoy helping.
Caine Constantine: Ahh, yes, by not banning them.
Raideur Ng: Yes.
Raideur Ng: You can cease speaking now.
Caine Constantine: To hell with you.

Raideur Ng: That’d be awesome.
Caine Constantine: Run off to wherever you’re going because other people seem to get on your nerves.
Raideur Ng: Or I’ll just do it myself.
Caine Constantine: You have a good day.

Raideur Ng: Oh yea, write a good one about this.
Raideur Ng: I expect no less stupidity from you.
Raideur Ng: Christoph and Aryte and Bruno can assist you
Raideur Ng: and I cant hear you.
Caine Constantine: Ahh certainly.
Caine Constantine: Good job Raideur.
Caine Constantine: This is your problem.
Caine Constantine: You love talking and hate listening.
Caine Constantine: It’s why I guess you gave up.

Raideur Ng: Which makes this a bit easier.
Caine Constantine: Now you can cease speaking now.
Raideur Ng: Of course.

New Leaders for the Militant Collective, Raven Raiders and Sparta

And so Rancid Nurmi is now the new leader of the Militant Collective, and the group is quietly planning for its own new future as the dust settles after the end of the recent war with the Ordo Imperialis and the resignation of its longtime former leader. Though many members have many divergent views on where MC will go from here, it’s almost assuredly going to become a bigger player on the combat scene now that new leadership, with new priorities, has taken command. Great things are certainly on the horizon for the Militant Collective.

The Raven Raiders have also seen a change in leadership. Raven Isan, the longtime leader of that group and the leader who brought the group out of a mainland parcel and into a full region, gave a heartfelt resignation speech recently, praising his soldiers and all of the progress they made in reforming combat on the grid in their own way.

“To all Raven Raiders, friends & comrades in arms,

I am writing you to announce my resignation from the Raven Raiders Army as RRGA. EG Burnstein is now RRGA and in charge of the RR Army and all RR related groups. I am resigning for purely personal reasons regarding aspects of my RL that command my full attention now and in the future.

I will no longer be financially supporting the Raven Raiders group land here at Mountain. This SIM is paid for until 17 Aug 2009 at 12:26:53 (SL time) when at this time the RR base here at Mountain will cease to exist unless someone or everyone pitches in to support this SIM.

The leadership exists in the RR Army in a very real and functional way. Whether the RR Army continues to exist and build on what we have now is up to all Raven Raiders now. The future is unwritten…

I hope that everyone has gained in a positive way from all our experiences together, through our team work, friendships and trials with each other and our customers. I know I have learned a lot from everyone and all we have done as a military group.

The RR Army has done much in the SL military community to influence in a positive way the hearts and minds of many of those we have been involved with. I truely believe the RR Army holds some of the highest standards of fair combat and respect in the SL military community and through this have made it a better place for everyone.

I want you all to be proud of yourselves as I am proud of you for all the great things as a team we have done together. This is the moment of truth when the dream we share continues to live on through the respect, honor, loyalty and hard work that you all will bring to the SL military community in the future.

My hope is that the Raven Raiders Army group will continue exist and grow and certainly will as long as you all rally together in every way it takes to make it happen!

My best wishes to you all and my greatest gratitude for everything everyone has contributed to the Raven Raiders to make us shine like the brightest star on the SL military grid! So now go forth into the unwritten future and fly together even higher than we have soared and continue to be the uplifting force we have been so far…

Farewell everyone and thank you,

- Raven Isan”

The new leader of the Raven Raiders, EG Burnstein, prepared a speech of his own to address his new office and the man whose shoes EG would now have to step into.

“Dear friends,

Because that is what you are to me after almost a year together in combat.

I am standing in front of you, and silly me spent time crying alot, together with a great friend…

As you probably have read in the GN of Raven, we have busy times upon us.
We are facing the hardest time ever.
General Raven Isan left a big void. As our leader, inspirator, friend.
It is his wish that we we will continue.
Keep our name up high…
Save our heritage…
A small army which influences the grid.

Raven left a well organized army. We have few issues but one…our funding.

I do not think it is possible to find a benefactor, who is capable and willingly to take over the financial burden of a full sim.

A void sim however, with the monthly cost of $127.71 must be possible.
I myself will put me up for $50 per month and I am looking for people who want to help RR. Partners. People were I can count on.

I do not need an answer now. You are probably just as shocked as I am…

Let’s stay together and talk for a while…”

The Raven Raiders are nothing if not determined, and are sure to persist in some form or another. For a group so unique in its outlook as to thank its top attackers and refer to them as customers, encouraging the use of new types of base designs and objectives, and providing homepoints for attackers, RR has without a doubt certainly fulfilled its role of being a small army that influences the grid.

Former King of Sparta, Bruno Ziskey has left Second Life and the new King, RoudyRaccoon Hand, has already taken the initiative to secure a new sim for Sparta in Narnia, while also creating a new base design that is probably as close to an all-encompassing D-Day theme as has ever been seen on the grid. With searchlights scanning the dark skies, bullets whizzing above, and the sounds of war playing in the background, Sparta’s new look is a big departure from its typical Greek-temple styled build, and they’d have to start goose-stepping to the tune of “Deutschland Uber Alles” to make it any more encompassing of an environment for Normandy-style combat. As my alts and I can attest to without a doubt, the group’s new “Wardrobe Installation” is a lot of fun for both attackers and defending Spartans.

Meanwhile, On the Eastern Front…

The recent war between the Chaos Decretum and the Vanguard Armed Forces was probably as brutal as one could find on the grid today. Dark Svenska and Christoph Naumova, once allies, are now complete enemies, and like all truly epic wars, the battle between the two was rooted in mutual hatred and disrespect. Like the Germans and the Soviets on the Eastern Front, everyone else watching the fight could only marvel at seeing both of “the bad guys” tearing each other limb from limb.

Vanguard’s return had surely been in Christoph’s mind for months, but for most of 2009 he was a weapons merchant, and spent most of his time working on and selling Valycion brand weapons. He did a fair bit of socializing in New Jessie during this time. Meanwhile Dark, who was also spending a lot of time in the region due to continual work on the then-closed Chaos sim, eventually ran into him as he was working on his vendors in New Jessie. On more than one occasion the two butted heads over the proper way to run a group, with Christoph commenting on the way that Dark was working on building Chaos up. Suggestions turned into criticisms, which turned into a back and forth yelling match between the two.

Christoph eventually set his sights on the absorption of two groups into Vanguard – the Republic of Germany, and the Chaos Decretum. Seeing as how many of the members of both groups were ex-Vanguard and how the leadership was in the past quite friendly to Vanguard, he had every reason to expect major defections and probably the eventual annexation of both groups. But while the RoG happily joined the resurgent Vanguard, Dark stood firm and refused all talk of merging the groups.

At this point, the Vanguard high command decided that they’d use Chaos for a special purpose, apart being another normal base for soldiers to attack after receiving the go ahead from their leadership. In a group notice they told Vanguard members that, in so many words, Chaos “is our Poland, and you may attack it at any time you wish for any reason.” With that, Chaos was made into Vanguard’s “private New Jessie” as some Chaos and Vanguard had put it.

The assaults were constant. Upwards of 16 to 20 attacks a day on Meliae by random Vanguard were not uncommon, and following their bullets were applications to join Vanguard, which invading soldiers repeatedly hit Chaos soldiers with. Things got personal, fast. Chaos forces repeatedly hit back at the Vanguard base with their own invasion forces, making use of dropships to scale the vast heights of the new Verklund fortress. But the war was not to last.

Dark Svenska: For all those political maggots, Vanguard has been banned from Meliae.

Caine Constantine: ahh, why?
Dark Svenska: Well, it was fun while it lasted.
Dark Svenska: But after a vote of majority in Chaos of enlisted personnel. Vg was banned for: 1. Threats of sabotage against the group. 2. Disregard for the SIM 3. Abuse of technology and underhanded things in relation.
Dark Svenska: They were ordered they can attack Meliae like it was New Jessie, 24/7. Which we could not care less for at the time because we slaughtered them time to time even if at times they broke our line.
Dark Svenska: Treated us like Poland and trying to annex us which failed horribly.
Dark Svenska: So, we pounded VG early like they try to do to us. And beat on them until they cried.
Dark Svenska: So we proved we were not Poland, pounded their crappy un-skilled members. And in turn all they did was lag our SIM and lag their own SIM to hell.
Dark Svenska: Chaos is superior to VG in combat, VG is superior to crashing our SIM.

Caine Constantine: Oh you guys banned em? Why?
Dark Svenska: Over time we got tired of the VG planes doing what they were doing, the threats to return our SIM, and snow mew money flaunting.
Dark Svenska: I’m being perfectly honest with you, you can even log this in a notecard: I was enjoying the fighting constantly and the points where VG would actually break our lines like earlier before someone restarted the SIM. I was not enjoying the total disregard for the SIM and group. (Though seeing Christoph try to lecture me is funny).
Dark Svenska: So, I stayed neutral in voting and refused to vote.
Dark Svenska: I decided, we beat up VG, we’re not Poland anymore, hail Chaos.

Dark was, however, very emphatic that this ban was only temporary. And so while all may be quiet on the Eastern Front for now, you can bet that the flames of furious combat between the two groups are sure to rise again soon.

And On to New Frontiers

This has been one of combat’s most vibrant months in a long time. With some incredible fighting between Ordo and the Militant Collective, and between Chaos and Vanguard, it proved that there’s no reason former allies and friends can’t fight too. New leadership has shown that there are a lot of new things on the frontier for some of the grid’s most well-established groups. And the new Iron Symphony is surely going to be a growing factor in the military community if it continues to grow past its recent admission of the Alliance Navy into its ranks.

Indeed, my last update is that I’ll be bowing out of the reporting business. I’ve only ever reported because I believed that, in addition to being an interesting subject, it was a great way to get a combat sim – New Jessie – off the ground. It’s made a lot possible, but at this point it’s getting in the way of my operation and administration of New Jessie. As a result, seeing as how the Journal has never made more than a pittance anyway, I’ll be signing off to work full-time on New Jessie, and won’t be reporting anymore, except perhaps for the occasional opinion column should the mood strike me.

It’s been a lot of fun, and please check the story on New Jessie’s first year anniversary for more information. Until then, I’ll see you in New Jessie, and of course anywhere else Linden damage (the only combat system worth an honest damn anyway) prevails. See you on the battlefield!

-Caine Constantine

New Jessie – One Year On and Going Strong

On July 26th, 2009, New Jessie finishes its first year on the grid as Second Life’s premier open combat sim.  And I figured, as my last piece for the Journal and for combat journalism in general, I ought to write about what I know and love best, and have never tackled yet – New Jessie. If you’ve ever wondered where the name comes from, or where the idea came from, or why it happened at all and how it has – against all odds – managed to survive to this day, then dear reader, you are in for a story that will cover all that and more.

Storytime in Jessie. Don't forget the beer.

New Jessie is as much a product of the rest of Second Life as it is a unique creation. But how is this possible – to be truly different while still based on much of the rest of the grid? To be honest, the idea of New Jessie grew out of my experiences with other combat sims, and was in large part a result of my beliefs in how a combat zone should not be run. I don’t take orders too well, and I am not particularly good at giving them either. I’m not a fan of ranks or uniforms, and I prefer attacking alone or with close friends in more the style of a rag-tag militia.

Anyone in the combat community – and when I say combat community, I mean Linden damage combat – knows full well that it’s a rough game out there raiding military bases without an army of your own. Back in 2007-2008, when the idea of New Jessie was nothing but a vague longing for a region with fun opportunity for everyone, most combat zones weren’t much fun to me. There were no homepoints, and so you had to constantly teleport back and forth into sims repeatedly, dealing with the lag that accompanies that. People were eager to ban you for winning because, after all, if you won, it meant you must have cheated. And that was if you were lucky enough to be able to attack – many people would shut down their sims or ban visitors if they dared do something as audacious as attack during training time. And God forbid you not be dressed the right way – you could be mistaken for a griefer and booted immediately. If you didn’t like it? Well, better not argue back – or you’ll be abuse reported for harassment!

I didn’t really understand a lot of the way many combat zones were designed, on top of all of that. What is the fun in defending a giant fortress when the only thing the height is good for is motivating attackers to use jetpacks? What is the purpose in having a base one half or three fourths of the size of the sim? And is it really much fun to repeatedly gun people down in the same trench over and over again?

I won’t name names because Caine is everyone’s friend, but on some of my older accounts, people would routinely tell me to “fuck myself” before rezzing a grenade or banning me for infiltrating their base against the word of the silly sign that said not to. Even now sometimes I get the same treatment when I get on alts. One of my favorite experiences was when they told me I was clearly an inferior human being and should quit Second Life after they shot me in the back once I left the hub. Once I got back onto Caine, they asked me to be an admin at New Jessie. Classic!

And so essentially, I didn’t like the way that combat worked in a lot of places. It was, in my opinion, monotonous, needlessly laggy, mean spirited and completely inhospitable to visitors. And this last part – being rude to visitors – especially surprised me, since without invaders, a combat zone is nothing but a place where people talk shop and act the fool out of boredom.

I knew there was another way to play the game and still enjoy the fun of shooting people without the problems that come with it.

I moved into the original Jessie region as a new player to Second Life looking to start a faux-Stalinist revolution. I traveled the grid with my AK-47 and my Soviet combination cap, shouting at people to pay me or suffer at the hand of the people’s revolution. When I stumbled upon Jessie – a place where you could fight it out in a dynamic environment – I knew I’d found my home.

Everyone's a noob sometime or another. At least I had fun.

And as it turned out, Jessie had a real history. Long before the Alliance Navy and the Merczateers, way back in 2003, Jessie was the center of combat on the grid, with the WWIIOnliners being Second Life’s first organized combat group. This was real war – fighting over land and over ideals. But past the crude WWIIOLers and their awesome sense of sim design – weapons factories, German towns, and NRA offices – there was something to it.

The slums of old Northern Jessie.

Everyone was welcome in the sim, or were welcome to try and make it there, that is. There was a charm and a flavor to the place based on a shared love of combat and chaos, and not the paperwork and technicalities behind some variants of it.

For some of the history of the Jessie wars, check out the Second Life Herald:
http://foo.secondlifeherald.com/slh/2004/09/essay_a_history.html

And so eventually I knew what it was that I wanted to do. I tried to secure parts of Jessie through fundraising and donations but the sim was too old and pockmarked with the land of charter members and other lifetime residents who, though they hadn’t logged on in years, would never let go of their land. The lag of an older server was coupled with the lag inherent to the mainland. When much of the sim was put up for sale I calculated how much it would cost to buy up and make into a new and improved combat zone. When I found that I could buy a new car for the price the land barons were asking for Jessie, I figured I’d just have to get a sim of my own.

And so I opened up the Jessie museum and began reporting for the Second Life Herald, thinking I could raise money this way.

The original New Jessie museum on the South Jessie shore. Selling this valuable turf made building New Jessie possible.

I did indeed, and this is why I began reporting in the first place – I wanted to make money to put toward my idea of a New Jessie. I’ll never forget my first story – I covered the new Task Force Marines, operating out of Ocean Estate 10. My first interview with Mayra Roffo was a lot of fun. Shoop sirens and poison gas, dodging TFM fire to get behind Merczateer lines, and seeing British soldiers using muskets to shoot down metal birds powered by witch magic. To this day I have never enjoyed a story as much as this one. I consider it my finest journalistic work, beyond a doubt!

Part 1:
http://foo.secondlifeherald.com/slh/2008/06/sl-militia-task.html

Part 2:
http://foo.secondlifeherald.com/slh/2008/06/sl-militia-ta-1.html

Part 3:
http://foo.secondlifeherald.com/slh/2008/06/task-force-mari.html

Part 4:
http://foo.secondlifeherald.com/slh/2008/06/battle-of-prize.html

Part 5:
http://foo.secondlifeherald.com/slh/2008/07/battle-of-prize.html?cid=121268456

I eventually put the money I made off of the Herald together with the cash I made selling the land in Jessie a good friend and fellow citizen of Jessie, Levi Anansi, had donated to me. With about 100,000 Lindens and a new friend to help me buy a void region, New Jessie was born. I played around with various designs for a few days, including one where the sim was segmented into quadrants joined by bridges. I considered a voidscape before I realized how terribly they’d always lagged me in other places and resolved to try and keep things good and simple.

The flags in New Jessie have always been a source of questions too. The American flag flies highest because I’m American, and I’m quite proud of it. The American flag was always and still is today a staple of life in the Jessie region. Meanwhile, the New Jessie flag, visible on the battlefield under the American flag, is indeed a MS-paint modified Texan flag, whose five stripes represent the five previous years of the Jessie sim and whose blue union and single white star represent the united New Jessie community.

Of course, practical experience and the fact that my initial ideas just looked plain bad eventually led to the eventual design of New Jessie as it stands today. A no-damage corner in the northeast, 60 meters by 60 meters, with a floating hub and weapons shop in the sky above a battlefield that would be a mix of buildings, terrain, and a few funny accents like the old Waffle House, which has stood in New Jessie for nearly a year of its own.

Three corners and three spawns would allow people to teleport down into the fight, but teleportation by people of other fighters to their direct position wouldn’t be possible, because you could get anywhere in the sim on your own power in a good amount of time. There’d be no air-on-infantry combat or vice versa, because to ask a guy with an assault rifle to fight the kind of UFO’s we see in combat today was kinda criminal in my opinion.

And of course – there’d be a homepoint for all fighters to enjoy so that they could quickly get into the fight and reduce lag for everyone. The concept was tested and refined for a long time until the formula was finally right.

And while I like to think I built New Jessie out of nothing, this would have been impossible without the help of all of those who contributed to the project in its infancy.

Humble beginnings.

Ordo sent in the first military force in to occupy and hold the sim, setting a great precedent we’d see repeated many times in the future. The Merczateers provided a lot of aid through a 30% commission via their Operations vendor and other donations. Vanguard contributed a host of buildings from its Supox build, which I used to fill up the town until I could create models of my own. Both sides sent a lot of soldiers to the sim to fight constantly, and they helped spread the word about it abroad to others.

A brief and often forgotten period in the history of New Jessie - the destroyed Supox build.

New Jessie’s first admins really helped a lot in getting the place going strong too. And as time has gone on, we’ve developed great relationships with combat groups across the grid who provide us with visitors and who, in exchange, we provide with an outlet for combat. We’ve also worked on getting a lot of good admins on staff.

There were some problems too of course.

Our first ban - a guy using a barrage of nuclear missiles to fry a young New Jessie.

We had a couple of troublesome admins, as well as the occasional griefer, and worse politically. In a time in which the Iron Symphony was trying to strangle Vanguard to death by blockade, I was given some seemingly friendly offers of assistance by some and threats of a blockade by others in the Iron Symphony that if I didn’t join in banning Vanguard that there’d be hell to pay. Some of the Vanguard didn’t help their case either by breaking vendors and joining into the political drama. But these issues both subsided after we put up a large board in the hub explaining that New Jessie was totally sovereign and would never ban anyone except for their own individual transgressions. And of course, the people breaking the vendors were naturally banned.

They'll probably never be friendly but Vanguard and the Merczateers still put their differences long enough to enjoy a waffle.

The “Friends of New Jessie” group has also been a great creation. Initially a mere homepoint group, it’s grown in the past year to encompass nearly 2,700 people, and is probably as close as we’ll ever see to a group representing most of the members of combat community. Through it we can send news, sim updates, and other good information across the grid to people of all groups and loyalties.

New Jessie's last build as a void region, before the upgrade to a full sim in January.

We’ve tried some other things that didn’t work so well. The space zone was a good example of an idea that was fun in practice – a zone a thousand meters above the earth devoted to air and sci-fi combat – but that in reality, didn’t work, because nobody wanted to play most of the time. The drama room, though classic, was usually unused and therefore scrapped, though it had its moments.

Playing Russian Roulette in the last Drama Room - I'm getting pretty nostalgic!

The second sim, Eastern New Jessie, which was meant to be a lag sink did improve combat a bit, but mostly left us with an expensive extra sim for people to hang out with, and combat dropped as more people chose to just go fishing in the eastern sim. As a result, we let that one go.

New Jessie before the beginning of the rebuild, and looking good.

Other things are still panning out. We’ve just made our first donation via the help of visitors to New Jessie of five care packages, being sent to the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan. The vote on armored combat, soon to be finished this next week, is an example of a fledgling voting system which we hope to implement for deciding more close issues in which there are good arguments for both sides.

And as for the future? We’re in the midst of a thorough sim rebuild now, and after that, who knows. We’ll see as things come down the pipeline. I want to improve what we’ve already got going now, including rules, design and administration, before moving onto anything too ambitious. But to be honest, I am mostly always concerned with keeping up on tier so that we can continue on with everything we’ve built. Whether it be in ensuring we sell enough adspace and weapons to keep up with tier or through my own personal contributions along with the donations of others, that’s always the biggest concern for the future.

New Jessie began as the work of a few and has since grown into a community wide project. It represents a place where everyone can go to fight anyone under what I believe are clear, simple and fair rules. There are some that of course throw people for a loop, like my insistence that everyone fight in shirt and pants (the rest of SL is gross enough, and I appreciate people keeping their clothes on here).

Yeah she (or more likely, he) IS wearing a shirt, but it's still disgusting. Jesus Christ, seriously...

Another one that I am proud of is our policy of banning people who threaten abuse reports or actually file them when they’re related to New Jessie. I stand by my belief that 99 percent of all abuse reporting is misguided and usually unjust, and represents an attempt to put down a small nuisance with an oversized weapon – the ban hammer. I despise most all abuse reporting and if it’s going down in New Jessie – to hell with the silly Terms of Service – it will go down through me, because while I can’t do anything but ban, I’m happy to do so to keep abusive abuse reporters out of New Jessie.

And so by and large, I stand by our practices in terms of efficacy and fairness. We do our best.

And in the spirit of this I am no longer going to be writing about combat on the grid anymore. I find that I spend hours doing so, and this is time that, if it’s going to be spent in front of a computer, needs to be spent on improving New Jessie. I am confident that other reporters will step up to the plate and take my place. I hope I can help many of them get off the ground.

In the meantime, I’m prouder than ever to be leading New Jessie into it’s second year of operation as its president. With a full sim and a host of fine visitors and friends, New Jessie is poised to remain as Second Life’s premier open combat zone.

And we've got the grid's only quality Wal-Mart, too!

Our best days are ahead of us my friends, and let’s keep on working together to build and maintain what is already clearly the most vibrant and fun community – combat – that Second Life has to offer.

See you on the battlefield soon!

-Caine Constantine

An Interview with Vanguard Fuhrer Christoph Naumova

There is probably no character on the grid more despicable or more misunderstood, depending on your opinion, than the leader of the Vanguard Armed Forces, Christoph Naumova.  Now that Vanguard has returned as a major military after a mysterious disappearance and a months-long interlude, the leader of the group – still as controversial as ever – has plenty to say about the new group, the blockades that have already been issued against it, and the military community at large.

Caine Constantine: Hey Christoph, how’s it going?
Christoph Naumova: Quite well actually, you?

Inside Christoph's office, in the heart of the German fortress of doom.

Caine Constantine: I’m good, building our sim and such. You guys look like you’ve been busy here building something of your own.
Christoph Naumova: We in fact have. Throwing an organization back together in under a month isn’t exactly a small process, you know. I do think it brings back the image we had originally, though.

Caine Constantine: What do you mean?
Christoph Naumova: We strayed from the Germanesque look and a lot of people weren’t happy with that…. Going back to an imposing fortress-of-doom seemed to have corrected it.

The visual imagery of the Vanguard base is undoubtedly German in this new build.

Caine Constantine: Yeah I noticed that with the space station but this place is certainly very German in its feel.
Caine Constantine: So what motivated you to bring back Vanguard?
Christoph Naumova: Truthfully? The requests from about one hundred people played a major part in my decision to bring it back. A lot of it however was based around the condition of the community and how things were playing out without Vanguard being around. Nobody had a “public enemy” to go after and it was causing a massive amount of morale loss in some areas.

Caine Constantine: So you felt like you were doing a service to everyone in bringing it back? Was this planned the whole time after the group disappeared last year?
Christoph Naumova: In some ways I did in fact feel like that. My decision to do this however was only planned a week before it happened, the armor and what not as you could see was not used and was just a product of boredom. I would like to take the fact now to clear up any speculation as to why the group was put on hold however…It was a multitude of things, like the Frumentarii underhandedly convincing people in my organization to leave (Since they’d rather do things like that then fight on a battlefield, good old Ordo tactics), but mostly because of the request of the individual I’m with currently.

Caine Constantine: Alright, then lets touch on that. The popular consensus is that Dagger Exonar, who was a Frumentarii with the Ordo Imperialis back at that time, had convinced several of your officers over a period of time to defect, and this led to the end of Vanguard.
Caine Constantine: These officers did leave shortly before the group was disbanded, right?
Christoph Naumova: Yes, they did. However, the military itself was disbanned three days later when Daiza asked me to pick him or the military group, I picked him. Was still planning on stayin’ strong up until that point, even with those two individuals (Zrazor, Tandem) being gone.

Caine Constantine: So you disbanded Vanguard due to a request form Daiza Dowren?
Christoph Naumova: Yes, that would be a correct statement, along with the underhanded tactics of a group that everyone is familiar with, who has APPARENTLY tried to do this to a lot of other groups in the process. Oh wait, isn’t that why the MC and a few other groups broke off and are having diplomacy issues with the IS? Frumentarii’s still around.

Caine Constantine: Well seeing as how he’s back and you’re back and Vanguard is back, what was his problem with it at the time that led to such a drastic move?
Christoph Naumova: Not enough time, needed to prove my seriousness, you know, relationship stuff – the list goes on. If you do notice however I reformed Vanguard before he in fact came back, so the role is entirely separate at the current point.

Caine Constantine: Yeah that’s true, he didn’t join right off the bat. Alright, here you bring up another question.
Christoph Naumova: Go ahead.
Caine Constantine: You mentioned – putting a major group together in about a month. How do you do something like that?
Caine Constantine: You’ve got about 200 people in the group and…how many active?

Christoph Naumova: A multitude of things is required to do that. I have of course dumped a CONSIDERABLE amount of money, time, and effort into it, but I suppose the biggest thing thats drawing people in and made it possible was the idealisms it was refounded on. In response to your statement, though, we’ve got about 230 people and every single one is active, as indicated by my 40+ people on the base at almost any given time without being told to be here.
Christoph Naumova: Now understand we opened on July 4th, so you can do the math as to how many people per day applying that has been.

The Vanguard base is consistently host to and defended by a considerable number of soldiers.

Caine Constantine: Alright, but how many of them were already in the group or came back to the group they’d once been in? Surely those aren’t mostly new members who’ve never been in one of Vanguard’s incarnations..
Christoph Naumova: To be honest? Only about one hundred of the current members are members from the previous Vanguard. If you look at the individuals downstairs on the wall currently, you’ll only recognize a few from previous encounters. The majority of Vanguard at this time consists of fresh faces and individuals with a new outlook on the scene.
Christoph Naumova: That itself leads to the explanation behind the way I run the group at this time.

Caine Constantine: Alright, well, other than a Germanic fortress-of-doom, what makes this Vanguard any different from the last one?
Christoph Naumova: To be quite frank I suppose the biggest difference in the way Vanguard is run now from then is the way decisions are made. Back before everything that we did and everything that we stood for was dictated by me, however in the current situation all decisions are voted on and decided ultimately by my Kommand staff. I may hold full authority over the group but they decide what we should do and how by a majority rule, based on what the soldiers within Vanguard desire the most.

Caine Constantine: Alright, can you give me an example of this?
Christoph Naumova: The best example would be me “Playing nice” with all the other militaries in the sense of not doing the negotiations or conversations myself.. Or not publically lashing out at them, causing drama or doing anything of questionable nature. It is all decided on and handled by the people directly underneath me in the chain of command, I simply adjust to the nature that I need to have.

Caine Constantine: Well the way you’re making it sound now all you do is take care of the finances.  What else are you personally doing?
Christoph Naumova: Being the image of the group and the icon people need to look up to, while insuring everything runs correctly behind the scenes and making sure all parties within my organization are content. Like you stated though I am the primary source of founding for my group.

Caine Constantine: Anything else different about the way the new Vanguard is and operates?
Christoph Naumova: We follow the rules placed in front of us in the simulator we are currently attacking: I believe this is called “Home rules” to the majority of the community. If they do not wish us to swarm, we will not swarm. We only ask they follow our own in return and give us the same respect of not using the items or tactics themselves if they do not allow us to do so.

Caine Constantine: Why then have a number of groups banned Vanguard since its reemergence, including 2142 , CS and Sparta?
Christoph Naumova: 2142’s reason is due to them being blackmailed by IntLibber Brautigan and Faron Karu, they’d lose their sim and their gear. CS has their own opinions of what is “Fair” within their combat environment and based the actions of an entire army on those of an alt. Sparta however I’ve not got the slightest clue and the overall consensus of my Kommand is to not care about them due to the current changes in their infrastructure.. Until they speak to one of my Kommand or to myself about the issue then it’ll remain unknown and we will not mind it.

Caine Constantine: Then probably the most contentious point we can talk about is the Iron Symphony blockade on Vanguard.  Four groups, including the AN now that it has joined the IS, have banned Vanguard by default.  What do you think of this?
Christoph Naumova: Individuals who in turn could fit that definition quite easily.
Christoph Naumova: Three, technically.. The MC is undergoing some changes and does not have a stance at the current time. My personal opinion on this belief is that they’re caring more about the politics then they are about their soldiers. If you go to any sim and speak to the average soldier they know nothing about us or in fact wish to fight us, they just cannot simply speak up about it without being shot down in some way or another. The leaders of that organization would rather breed discontentment and not have any major opponents to fight then admit that a mistake may’ve been made. My Kommand has been urging talks with them and has been speaking about the subject of going into combat with their groups regularly – At this point however it remains the leaders ignoring the boredom of their soldiers to further their own agendas. I do believe a good example of this would be the recent engagement we had with the Merczateers… Lurdan had the gall to claim we were “Disgusting in combat” yet was not there.
Christoph Naumova: I suppose the best summary would be that they’d rather associate one person to an entire group and ignore the possibilty of fun on both ends then ban the one or two people they have issues with and let the hundreds of people under them enjoy being in a military. We have guns for a reason, holding hands nullifies that point.

Caine Constantine: Alright, you bring up a timely point with Lurdan’s claim that Vanguard is disgusting in combat.  He’s got a litany of complaints against you that he uses as a basis for banning Vanguard. Let me list them out.

1. L$5000 worth of fraud against Lurdan.
2. Malicious ejection of members of the Merczateers.
3. The malicious release of Merczateer assets. L$50,000+ in damage.
4. Fraud against IntLibber Brautigan, costing him roughly $3000 USD.
5. Three major counts of threats/harassment towards myself.
6. Blackmailing of a Merczateer member into paying tier for Vanguard’s land.
7. Maliciously prim returned Militant Collective’s base.
8. Convinced Tangent Eponym to resign and give him Merczateer equipment with full permissions.
9. Use of stolen Merczateer content to blackmail myself.
10. Subsequent malicious open sourcing of Merczateer content.
11. Allowed Lance LeFay, a prominent Vanguard scripter to maliciously hack our vendor network in order to acquire free Operations products and distribute them among other Vanguard personnel.
12. Defamation attempts towards Aryte Vesperia and members of the Ordo Imperalis.
13. Allowed Takkun Gray to join Vanguard as an officer less than an hour after prim returning our base, attempting to shut down our forum and attempting to eject our members.

Caine Constantine: Now that’s a long list of grievances.  Doesn’t he have a strong case for keeping Vanguard out if this is what it and its leader has been up to?
Christoph Naumova: Ah yes, before I go through explaining all of that I would indeed like to point out that these accusations are directed at one out of almost two hundred and fifty members, again reinforcing my claims about political ventures more than actual comment. Now to go through and explain/nullify each accusation…

1. Fraud against Lurdan? No, if anyone who was around back then were to comment I paid for the tier on the original sim in Adscita, and I did infact purchase it under my name. On top of that instead of selling the land for myself I deeded it back to Governor linden and lost the money entirely.
2. Mass ejection was had after I simply stated that if they wanted me gone I’d be taking everything I contributed with me – That included every person I recruited. You have to understand that dealing with fifteen year olds at the time was a strain.
3. Merczateer assets released also refers to the “Tangent Eponym” incident. Tangent left on his own accord without me speaking to him about anything except paying him (Where they never did, if you ask!) and the gear was given to me as a sidenote which I retained for months before giving it out. Now for the public who doesn’t know, Lurdan was ever so kind to ignore Tangent actually giving it to me and started the “Christoph copybotter” rumors to slander my name in revenge.
4. Fraud against Intlibber, ah yes. That was the whole situation with Major League Combat where the scripter he hired to adapt the system (After me telling him repeatedly he needed a scripter) decided to trash everything he bought off of me, do his own system in a week and then make it look absolutely horrible without any foundation to go upon. When the scripter in question decided it wasn’t his fault, Intlibber attempted to push it on me.. But I’m still here so its obvious I did nothing wrong.
5. Harassing Lurdan? I’m sure telling him to cease and desist with slander and mass ARing me under false pretenses surely qualifies as harassment, I mean gee 1100 + falsified AR’s saying I’m a horrible man who copybots and what not without any foundation is perfectly acceptable. Again another “We’re going to use our voice to turn it around on him!” If any of these things were true I’d be banned.. But I’ve never even been suspended.
6. Blackmailing someone into paying for my land? The only people who have ever helped me with land tier would be Salone Runo, Alex Lulu and Morganna.. None of which were ever in the Merczateers to the best of my knowledge: Again, another rumor that was malicious and unproven or I’d be banned as blackmail violates the TOS.
7. MC? Yep bought their sim due to Raideur being 30k in debt and returned it after he told the person in question I bought it from that “He didn’t give a damn if they went bankrupt.”
8-10. was answered previously, #9 ties into #8, and #10 ties in to the same subject. All of which were them accusing me of copybotting and “Bribing” or blackmailing people into doing things on their own accord. Again, I reiterate that I’ve NEVER BEEN SUSPENDED for these ’supposed’ things I’ve done, even though all are horrendously illegal in nature by LL TOS.
11. The Lance thing? Oh that was entirely Lances idea and was actually committed by another person in question. He did it while I was at work without any knowledge of it happening, and from what he told me it was in response to Slimscotty (Ex PN leader if I’m correct) hacking the Aubretec vendors for Intlibber (Supposedly from logs I got) and plastering my name all over them to get me banned.. Which again I was cleared for by Luc himself and untouched by LL. I will not deny he did hack operations though.
12. Oh yes, insulting those who insult me. Again if it were actually slander or done by me I’d be suspended.. If you look at the creator or ask who actually made a lot of the images that were sent out it wasn’t me, I just got blamed for it due to me always being such a handy scapegoat to justify their actions when they themselves were having morality issues. That table went both ways and both sides insulted the living hell out of each other daily.
13. Now, the Takkun incident is something else entirely. They claim it was “Planned” or “Orchestrated” by me to have Lurdan’s base returned and all that fun stuff. To be quite honest about it, Takkun just wanted to get out of the military scene entirely after how things were happening within the Merczateers. When he left I wasn’t the one to offer him the rank, someone else in my organization was and he declined it TWICE before finally accepting the offer. He doesn’t want to be apart of the drama and he doesn’t want to be involved in the politics, he just wants a gun and an enemy to shoot at with soldiers in his command, and I gave that to him. Anyone else who wants that opportunity can have it as well.

Christoph Naumova: I do believe that covers all bases.

Caine Constantine: Alright, now let me give you some common responses to some of these.  Lurdan claims you’ve threatened on multiple occasions to sue him for all manner of things, including sue him into handing over his account to you as some kind of form of damages.
Caine Constantine: In fact, it was a common joke that you were one to frequently threaten legal action.
Christoph Naumova: To be honest the only time I’ve ever threatened legal action was over the 1100 AR’s sent at me claiming I was a copybotter, all that fun stuff. The other times were probably just created as a joke.. I never spoke to Lurdan directly more than three or four times about large incidents, I’d personally love to see screenshots of the chat in question or something along those lines to prove anything they’ve ranted. Demanding proof or speculating can happen on both ends, unless its presented and UNTIL its presented it’s usually just hearsay. I will admit however that the “GIVE ME YOUR ACCOUNT” thing is a pretty hilarious idea.

Caine Constantine: With regard to the leaking of all the Merczateer equipment, the argument is still out there that you eventually did give it out.  Why would you give out leaked gear like that?
Christoph Naumova: I treated people back then in the same mannerisms they treated me. Nothing I did was done without provocation, and if you look at my past year now can you name anything huge like that done by me? No, you cannot. They’re holding onto old grudges like I stated for politics rather than the interests of their soldiers. 99% of the people who hate me in the community do so by hearsay, not actually knowing me.

Caine Constantine: Alright, that makes sense then.  But that leaves one last point.  Everyone, you and me included, knows Lance and Takkun did bad things to people who didn’t have it coming.  Whether it be hacking vendors or returning bases, why are these people admitted into or allowed to stay in Vanguard?
Caine Constantine: And doesn’t this further the argument made by many that regardless of individual cases of abuse, or individual apologies or rectifications, that Vanguard is a group based on destructive behavior?
Christoph Naumova: They did what they wanted to on their own accord outside of the Vanguard operations or requests. I could say the same about people within the ranks of every military. Everyone has things they’ve done maliciously and they haven’t been punished for it, especially towards anyone their leaders dislike. The way I see it? I’ll punish people now for what they do while being within my military but I expect the same from members of the opposite.

Caine Constantine: And you stand by the statement that you’ve never been suspended or banned in all your years on SL?
Christoph Naumova: I was suspended one time by the actions of someone else and LL taking precautionary effects- But I was unbanned within 15 minutes of that happening.. It involved bank issues our something.

Caine Constantine: Ahh, alright
Christoph Naumova: However I’ve never been banned due to my actions or for anything they’ve accused me of, and regardless of how many hundreds of Lindens have investigated me I’ve never been found guilty of anything
Christoph Naumova: I would like to take this time however to mention that the only one seeming to hold grudges in the current point is Lurdan. I’ve spoken to Aryte myself who is perfectly willing to reopen combat with my organization if Lurdan agrees. I do believe we stated last time we talked that holding a grudge for a year or more (At least publically, I’m sure we hate each other on some level still) is pointless and dull. He’s got a decent head on his shoulders and I respect him for at least taking the time to consider such things.
Christoph Naumova: I suppose what needs to be realized is that basing the actions of a single person on an entire organization can ruin a lot of things for everyone. Until now I’ve never publicly discussed the absolute bullshit stream that was tossed at me to provoke my responses, due to me thinking that it was just adding more fuel to a fire that shouldn’t have been there in the first place. I’m back here willing to make compromises and willing to bite my tongue for the people in my military – We’ve fought fairly and done nothing wrong yet still get excuses and “reasons” tossed at us for year old events and stuck up issues leaders have. They need to listen to the common soldier, not to their personal agenda if this community will get any better.

Caine Constantine: What do you think of the fact that upon joining the Iron Symphony, the Alliance Navy also banned Vanguard?
Caine Constantine: As they said of their reasons, they basically blamed Vanguard for Anoki trashing the AN wiki and for Takkun’s recent actions with the Mercz.
Christoph Naumova: Yes, I know for a fact they didn’t consider banning us until an Ordo officer joined and took control. We were allowed their friendly each day, I was there unarmed and spoke with leaders, I helped them script things, I helped them understand more about SL, then suddenly Jason strolls in and we’re banned? I do not believe in coincidences… I was also not aware of Anoki’s actions until about two days ago, to be honest. I wasn’t even aware of the AN having a wiki.

Caine Constantine: I’ve talked to a number of Vanguard about the blockades recently and many of them say that at this point they don’t even care anymore and would rather forget about the Iron Symphony in the same way many IS members say would sooner forget about Vanguard.  Do you share this outlook?
Christoph Naumova: The way I see it is that there are approximately seven hundred people belonging to the IS community who are gridlocked due to the personal wants of about thirty. They will not go away and their boredom will not placate itself, so why should we forget about those individuals and act like nothing can happen? There should be combat between the groups and the weapons we have been given should be used. As long as people want to fight us within those organizations in large numbers, I’ll keep allowing attempts to happen.

Caine Constantine: Do you really think that the minds of people like Lurdan Huszar or Ethan Schuman – who recently said that only your ouster would make combat possible and that until then you should “enjoy your blockade” – can ever be changed?
Christoph Naumova: I believe that if enough people tell them that they want to fight they’ll come to their senses and realize the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. Being selfish and self centered will get your military nowhere, and itll continue to make people discontent.

Caine Constantine: Alright, let’s visit another point then to tie all of this together.  You’ve said in that in the past you viewed everyone as replaceable.  You say you’ve changed then as a person, so what motivated this?
Christoph Naumova: Just felt like it. Literally happened overnight.

Caine Constantine: Doesn’t that seem a little hard to buy at face value?
Christoph Naumova: I’ve done crazier things. I suppose seeing the community in shambles triggered it, who knows.

Caine Constantine: What makes you say its in shambles, anyway?
Christoph Naumova: Without a single entity to direct hate upon or a purpose to keep fighting people lose interest and motivation. It’s as simple as that, really.

Caine Constantine: So you think that Vanguard being everyone’s biggest enemy is a plus?
Christoph Naumova: Just look around at how alert everyone is now and you’ll answer that question for yourself, really.

Caine Constantine: Any other thoughts on the subject of bans and blockades?
Christoph Naumova: Not that I can think of at this time.
Christoph Naumova: Aside from the fact that at current we have not banned or blockaded anyone, nor have we allied.

Caine Constantine: Any plans to make allies?
Christoph Naumova: If they come to us? Possibly. I’m not actively looking for them though.. As stated I give out guns for a reason.

Caine Constantine: Okay, the other interesting point with regard to Vanguard’s relations with other groups is how it’s managed to annex two groups, RoG and UU, entirely.
Caine Constantine: First, how did RoG get pressed into Vanguard?  Did you pursue it forcefully?
Christoph Naumova shrugs. There was no forceful nature needed. I offered both groups a home where they could be accepted without the burden of financial needs floating over their heads, and offered ranks to those of them who deserved it. They were eager to be unifed under one banner to be strong rather than separated and kept to themselves. They respect me just as I do them.

Caine Constantine: As for enemies, it would seem like Chaos is currently Vanguard’s biggest enemy with regards to how often both sides engage one another.  Is this the case?
Christoph Naumova: No they’re a training ground right now. They’re a training ground with a 20 person pop cap and usually 10+ defenders on base who love to lock up physics and hubkill, but still a training ground. I suppose it’s best to teach people how to fight with .1 time dilation or less.

Caine Constantine: When Dagger Exonar sends out seemingly derogatory notices saying that “Chaos is our Poland.” what does he mean by this?
Christoph Naumova: He simply is quoting me. They’re a small group or “country” that is easily walked upon and doesn’t put up much of a fair fight, really…. I’ve been very kind to Dark and he continues to spew his banter.. A good example is how I was offered power to mass eject everyone from Chaos and put an end to it but I declined – I do wish he’d stop with the idiot idealisms though.

Caine Constantine: What do you mean by spewing banter?
Christoph Naumova: “I’ve hacked ventrilos, I’ve hacked comms, I have alts in high positions in every military! I am Dark Svenska, more a liar than Christoph ever was!” sort of stuff. It’s just really depressing to turn down an offer to destroy his group only to see him go and completely wreck a sim like a child a day later.
Christoph Naumova: By wreck I sim I mean decorate it with 3000+ prims and basically grief the entire place just for a laugh. It’s going to get him banned faster than I ever was.

Caine Constantine: Which sim was this?
Christoph Naumova: UU’s former base, Aussie dAlliez

Caine Constantine: I’ve heard Vanguard forces attack Chaos repeatedly and also shoot applications at Chaos defenders.  Are you trying to absorb the group?
Christoph Naumova: Yes, I announced that any Vanguard soldier at any time may attack Chaos without authorization, the applications are their own choice and I have no motivations to absorb a primary training ground.

Caine Constantine: So why so much bad blood between you guys?  Aren’t you and Dark old allies?
Christoph Naumova: The moment he started to be more arrogant then anyone else I argue with he became on bad terms with me. He started making himself look bad in public and slandering people without thought of consequence so now he deals with it. I’d like to state he still hasn’t attacked us during the day, and the only time he’s been here was at about 6 AM when only a few people were on just to desecrate the sim.

Caine Constantine: Any other thoughts with regard to other groups out there and Vanguard?
Christoph Naumova: No, just to understand that the military is not just my military. It is run by a large sum of other individuals and simply overseen by me… And that as long as nobody attacks me directly I’ll continue to grow in numbers and power, so I’ll be waiting.

Caine Constantine: Another and arguably meaner comment traditionally made about Vanguard is that its ranks are filled with, at the moment, group hoppers and the “rejects” and disaffected members of other groups.  What do you think about this idea?
Christoph Naumova: Again as I stated above Vanguard only has about one hundred familiar faces, out of the two hundred and thirty or so we have. Numbers alone disputes that.

Caine Constantine: So why should a person join Vanguard over any other group?  What makes it unique?
Christoph Naumova: Probably the fact that we’re still the only military on the grid to offer a home to anyone who’s been shunned by the other groups on the community, and the only group to offer a weapon to those willing to join without hours and hours of silly training to acquire one. They joined this community to fight, and I gave that to them.

Caine Constantine: Vanguard doesn’t do training?
Christoph Naumova: Oh no, don’t misconstrue that as us not having training.. We just dont sit people through classrooms after classrooms to learn the favorite colors of their high command. We teach the basic foundations of SL and subjects like beacons, then we toss our soldiers into battle to learn from experience, not a notecard.
Christoph Naumova: I also just want to make it clear that we do not condone griefing and people who have done such acts while belonging to the military as of current have been removed, such as Loki pulling an assassination on Aryte.

Caine Constantine: Anything else you’d like to say to the readers of the Journal?
Christoph Naumova: Nothing comes to mind. You have a good night Caine.
Caine Constantine: You too.

And so as Vanguard continues to grow and make its presence felt, Christoph’s reputation, for better or for worse, is at the heart of Vanguard’s diplomatic future. The Iron Symphony probably won’t be giving Vanguard another chance until sometime in between the discovery of the cure for cancer and the uncovering of the secret to immortality, but it’s critical for Vanguard’s survival and success that it maintain open channels for combat elsewhere. Christoph has laid his hand on the table not only through this interview but through his words and deeds ever since the return of Vanguard, and only time will tell whether or not the new Vanguard will be able to exist in today’s combat community.

-Caine Constantine

The British Army and the Battle of Nirvana Isle

I have a special place in my heart for groups whose culture is rooted in nationality, being the American nationalist I am. And so I am happy to say that – to the hordes of would-be Germans and Soviets across the grid, the Union Jack is proudly sallying forth to bring bombs, bullets and British resolve to the enemies of the Crown. As Stirling Trafalgar, an officer in the Second Life British Army puts it:

“The British Army is here.

We have recently formed a coalition from a number of different militaries into one powerful culmination, the British Army.

British forces, at ease in their base.

We have ex-RL British Army Members included in the “Trustees” who run the group as a continuing communicative part of the workings.

We have a dedicated infantry, specialising in ground combat, we have a very inventive and talented Royal Engineering regiment who build all our weapons and vehicles, we have the B.A.T.T. (British Army Training Team to intensify the recruit training process, and as a specialist force we have an airborne regiment that will bring an aggressive and uncompromising style of combat the the area of combat.

We use the same British Army rank structure, organisational structure and standards of combat.

Accurate right down to the fine muttonchops.

We as Trustees, have found that a lot of time is wasted on creating ranks and structure when setting up so as it was something that some of the Trustees knew well it was an obvious choice. We are aware that this is SL and for some its about creating new ranks badges/names and such, but for us we were against the clock and wanted to use something we knew.

We are looking for soldiers ready and willing to fight, we will train you and hope to make The British Army one of the most feared in SL.

-Stirling Trafalgar”

I’ve held this article in draft limbo for more than a week waiting for a good opportunity to post it. We at the Journal sometimes post people’s press releases and leave it at that, but I had a feeling there was more to the British Army than their press release led one to believe.

I was indeed proven right, as that eternal enemy of the British – the Germans – soon showed me. And in a fight whose natural overtones of the Second World War proved irresistible, the Vanguard Armed Forces launched a massive invasion of Nirvana Isle, the home region of the British Army, on July 14th, 2009.

Syxx Craig, ein leader of the invading Vanguard forces, looks every bit the part of a German officer planning the destruction of his British opponents.

Syxx Craig, leading an army of roughly 13 Vanguard, though numbers fluctuated during the course of the fight, brought his people in to, as he put it, reclaim the territory of New Verklund, which Vanguard had claimed Nirvana Isle as the night before. Another large Vanguard fight had led to the British Army being forced to fight for its life for hours on end. Herr Craig told me that he’d tried to offer the British genial terms of surrender last time around, but said they just weren’t interested, explaining that Vanguard had “offered them all the concessions of prisoners of war and they have chosen to continue fighting.”

And so, in true Churchillian spirit, facing innumerable odds once again, five British defenders stood against the wave of Vanguard that was once again poised to wash over Nirvana Isle and crash into the walls of their base. Their spirits were nevertheless in line with their group identity, and exemplified strong morale in the face of what was going to be, from the moment the enemy massed in the hub, nothing less than a fight for their lives.

leos Merryman: See how much they outnumber people?
leos Merryman: Very unsporting.

Stephen Holder: OH this will be FUN!
Stephen Holder: I love to slaughter GERMANS! lol

But the slaughter would surely go both ways. The Vanguard had truly arrived in force and were storming through the tunnels under Nirvana Isle, up through its winding stairwells and out into the open streets and fields that make up the outer layer of the sim’s defensive line.

Vanguard soldiers poured from the British hub.

It didn’t take long before both sides were watching each other from across the sim, initially trading only mild gunfire, each perhaps expecting the fight to be over in moments.

As Vanguard soldiers pushed outward into the sunlight, red British fire began to rain down a fiery welcoming.

Steely British defenders initially faced down the invaders – outnumbering them between two and three to one – without so much as a wince or a care for anything but to keep pouring the fire down on them.

British defenders like Walter Banufong preferred to face the enemy head on.

It took Vanguard a little while to pass through the city and start to seriously hit the British base. The red bullets really thinned out their assault as it began, with white Vanguard bullets initially less successful than red British fire at keeping the battlefield clear and open for an advance.

British fire kept the Vanguard at bay for some time.

British forces sought to boost their own morale further by donning flags that played the tune of “Rule Britannia” as they unloaded their clips into the invading Vanguard forces.

Rule Britannia! Just watch for that suppression fire.

As time went on the fight grew fiercer. Sustained Vanguard fire had cleared out the first line of British defenders but the exchanges of bullets got heavier and heavier from both sides of the fight. Soon the defensive line, on both sides of the wall, became a no-mans land, raked by British and Vanguard fire.

The bullets were laid on thick from both sides.

Things were just as inhospitable on the inside of the British base.

But the battlefield couldn’t be a rough stalemate forever. Soon, an attempt was made to get into the British base by the invading forces.

As the fire briefly let up, Vanguard made an attempt to rush the British base.

But soon all but one of the Vanguard infiltrators were mowed down by British fire.

With such stronger numbers, however, it was only a matter of time before the Vanguard soldiers made it past the British defenders and into the base. It was here that the fighting really got close and personal.

The British let loose a hail of grenade fire to purge the British base of the Vanguard invaders.

The Vanguard soon reached the region's objective though - the British flag floating in the breeze above the army's command complex.

The British, now pinned down in their own base, took to firing heavily on their command building, where most of the Vanguard soldiers had regrouped.

British bullets clear much of the complex roof, while Vanguard grenades lobbed toward the barracks prevented many British soldiers from making it more than a few yards into combat.

The Vanguard held the roof of the command complex for most of the remainder of the fight, but not without a lot of bloodshed.

Nevertheless, though the battle had turned against them, the outnumbered British defenders, fighting for control of their base, did not let Vanguard in without a high cost in terms of lives. Stephen Holder, leader of the British Army, held his grenade launcher up high as he signaled his men to continue the defense as long as necessary.

As he said before, he "loves to slaughter GERMANS!"

British forces continued to pull out all the stops in defending their base to the last man.

By laying down smoke, the British hoped to keep the Vanguard forces confused enough to help even the score.

As the attack went into the end of its second hour, British troops showed no sign of surrender or retreat.

Even into the late end of the attack, the British continued to run through streams of Vanguard fire in pursuit of more targets.

The British base and gear were pretty ordinary, with no endless, winding corridors or flashy lasers. They have no special clients to give them more information about the battlefield. But what the British had in spades was something it could be said that many combat groups lack today – guts and grit.

In the face of an enemy twice and at some points three times their size, the British coolly pulled their guns and held the Northwestern barracks to the end – giving the Vanguard a fight for every foot of British soil they stepped foot on. In an era where the word “swarm” is synonymous with the word “ban,” the British chose instead to put their fingers on the trigger instead of the ban button.

There were no planes strafing ground soldiers in pursuit of evening the odds, and there were no giant explosives or mysterious bombs rezzed onto clusters of invading or defending soldiers. Combat was pursued fairly on both sides, aside from the normal bullets through walls that are just the nature of homestead sims and laggy combat in general. It was really as fine a fight as one could hope for on the grid today.

And so if you’re more superficially looking for a group based on a solid British theme, or on a deeper level looking for a group that isn’t afraid to tell an army three times its size to “bring it on,” the Second Life British Army is a solid group worth a look. Check them out – either to join up, or to join in on a future assault against them – in their home region, Nirvana Isle. Whether you’re attacking or defending, it’s a fine place for a fight.

-Caine Constantine

Weapons Review – The Rapture MAC-107

The Jessie War Journal
Weapons Review Department

===========
Overview
===========
Weapon: Rapture MAC-107
Price: $1250L
Prim Count: 34 Per Gun

The Rapture MAC-107

–Manual Credits–
N/A

Inspection Credits
Build: Niiya Narayan
Scripts: Niiya Narayan
Animations: Niiya Narayan
Textures: Niiya Narayan
Sounds: Niiya Narayan

===========
Flags
===========
This is what a perfect 5 Flags looks like [~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~]   [~JWJ~]

Performance: [~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~]   [~JWJ~] (5.0)

Build: [~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~] [~JW (4.5)

Texture: [~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~] [~JW (4.5)

Animations:  [~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~] [~JW (3.5)

Sounds:   [~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~]   [~JW (4.5)

Ease of Use: [~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~]  [~JW   (3.5)

Value: [~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~] (4.0)

===========
First Impressions
===========
The futuristic crate you rez before you hints as much as it can to the contents inside. Clean. Simple. Detailed. Elegant.
The lable above a glassy looking panel reads
“To open: Place palm on glass panel.”
“WARNING: Unauthorized use will destroy contents!”

I know its not much, but it suggest that if Rapture puts such detail onto their box, imagine what the gun must have.
Though why not two panels for each hand/gun? Haha.

===========
Asthetics
===========
I had seen Rapture weapons in the field before, so I was expecting to see a set of full custom sculpts with textures and well placed asthetic touches. I was correct.

The build is a sleek futuristic, yet extremely compact SMG that is reminiscent of the Ingram Military Armament Corporation Model 11 (AKA, the MAC-11). The charge handle is on the top, the magazine goes through the grip, and the receiver is mostly a square box. But aside from the overall feel, this weapon is full custom. These sculpts are done though an external program (you can tell when you cam out, and by precision) and leave almost no details to be done by texture. Even the vent under the front hood structure has completely sculpted ridges. Its easier to pick out which prims are not sculpted than point out those that are. Of the only 34 prims that make up each gun, I can only spot 9 non-sculpts: the barrel, the projection of the sights, the LAM lens cover, fire selection marker, ejection port cover, shell emitter (its hidden behind the ejection port), and the two bolts that hold on the forward hood. Wow.

On the last sculpted gun I reviewed, most of the detail on the gun were done using textures and the sculpts were faily slab sided. I am pleased to say that this is not the case with this pair. However, the highly detailed sculpts are not left bare. They all sport textures clearly matched to their shape. Fades, shadows, lines, creases, ports. They are all there. The textures are clean and simple, with a few scuffs and scratches to keep things interesting. The only problem I could see was the trigger, which shared the same rubber looking material as the grip. That, and I cant read a damned thin on the fire selector! But the furtureistic symbols add to the futuristic feel, and I just hope I’m not alive when those get phased in as the alphabet.

Animations are very nice and offer options depending on useage. When using only the right handed weapon, you can choose between one or two handed aims, the latter changes your rez position to center. The idle holds can be toggled on/off to further decrease performance footprint, and the aim animations are basic but good. The reload looks a bit off, and doesnt sync up with the sounds as well as is could, but with dual wielded guns, this is slightly expected.

Effects on the MAC-107’s are a combination of prim and particles. The main core of the muzzle flash is a sculpted prim that appears to use an animating texture to flicker while firing (which is much more effecient than toggling an alpha for each shot, as it is only client side among other things). The particle shell eject has the .45ACP casings toppling out the side port. One thing I like alot at the effects end is the smoke that leaves the gun upon reload. Its interesting, something I dont see very often, and fitting to the gun.

Sounds are crisp clear and sharp. The only things really to point out is that there is no silencer on or off sound, and that the reload sound doesnt match the reload animation at times. Its also a bit hard to believe this is a .45ACP and not a 9×19, but it has the sharp crack it should, so thats what matters. Otherwise, everything fits the gun. Modern sounding with a hint of the future.

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Performance
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Directly out of the box, one gun or two, the Rapture MAC-107’s are great performers. Heavy lag and low time dialation couldnt stop these SMG’s from firing. Bullets flew regardless of the situation and hit detection was never a problem. This matched pair is one of the most reliable ways I’ve ever amred myself. I frankly didnt have a problem with this performing during my heavy combat, so despite my normal long windedness here. Its hard to go on and on when something just works entiriely as it should!

Although I fight with all defaults, as usual I toy around with the options to make sure they work and see to what extent they are useful. The optional combo keys (off by default) made reloading easier, thought he included gesture worked fine as well. Effects worked in the strenuous situations as well, though the particles stayed on in heavy lag once or twice (which is normal for particle systems).  Bullet color is fun to toy around with, as nothing says “OWNED” like killing someone with a floresent, hot pink bullet. The biggest performance changing option is Overclocked fire mode. It ups your rate of fire and decreases the time you have to enjoy each magazine, but when you are using one gun alone, I thinks its a worthwhile option to use.

One major thing I liked was the ability to use a single gun in a two handed aim. While this may just seem like an animation change, it changes the offset of the gun to the center (where you look like you are aiming) rather than the side as with the one handed aim. I used this for the second half of my testing, as I’m not one for dual wield guns (its quality of your shots and not quantity in my humble opinion) and had a hard time hitting things with the zero spread double offsets. This however, is personal preference.

My biggest gripe: spread. Where is it? I know this is a personal preference as well, but I dont think it is unreasonable to expect such high rate of fire SMG’s to have some spread to them instead of a laser beam precision, even if they are from the future.

The hard numbers had me checking my math again. The MAC-107’s are two guns functioning, which explained the idle time of 0.07ms  and slung time of 0.068ms, but I was dumbfounded by the full auto readings. Two, high rate of fire SMG’s firing fully automatic… and averaging just 0.189ms of script time. Once again I found myself taking extra readings and having other people checking my math, but the numbers crunched correctly. The number for full auto fire is only beaten two other guns tested prior, both assault rifles with lower rates of fire.

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Overall
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The Rapture MAC-107’s are truly a piece of work. Full custom everything and full of a fair amount of options, as well as excellent performance. Performance is superb, with its script time for two guns lower than some single assault rifles. Beyond script time, all other aspects of the gun work flawlessly together to earn this pair a 5 flag rating. Build and textures complement each other perfectly. All the smooth sides of the build have equally smooth textures to fit the weapon. There are a few odd spots here and there, but otherwise both are great and each warrant a near perfect 4.5 flags. Animations are basic and simple, but fit the gun well and earn 3.5 flags. The only odd animation is the reload, which looks odd when done with the duals. Sounds are clear crisp and sharp as they should be. It sounds a bit too quiet for a .45ACP weapon and there is no silencer on/off sound, but the quality of the others make up for it to keep its 4.5 flags well deserved. Ease of use is still above average with 3.5 flags, but suffers slightly by the nearly exclusive use of touch menu’s and high channel listeners. However, the redeeming optional combo keys and included gestures make things a bit easier.

Value is a really tough decision on this weapon set. At $1250L the MAC-107’s are the second most expensive weapons I have reviewed to date, but are exceptional performers with various options. As I am reviewing from the New Jessie standpoint however, I have to  mark it a tad lower on value simply because of price. But even so, $1250L for such exceptional performers with the options they have warrants a 4 flags.

In the end, if modern style weapons don’t do it for you and you want something original, or if you just want some high performance weapons with a fair amount of options, assuming you have the Lindens to spend, you will get your money’s worth, and you will not be disappointed by the Rapture MAC-107’s.

Staring down the barrel of the Rapture MAC-107.

Weapons can be found in the Rapture wing of Fairlight.

-JessieWarJournal Frequency

[Update] Sparta sim change, and AN leadership shift.

Due to issues with their non-profit status over at Second Chance, Sparta have now settled in the sim of Narnia, a homestead sim, that’ll no doubt be visited by many-a aslan and Mr Tumnus while Sparta are based there.

An in-depth story will follow, but this is merely an update to anybody wondering where they’ve gone.

In other news, Jason Backer has taken Admiral status in the Alliance Navy after his step down earlier this year. He plans to swing AN back around to it’s former glory. Again, we’ll investigate this further in an upcoming article.

Metallicoe Keng

Variable-Damage Armor – The Alliance Navy’s New Tank

While hunting for a story, I decided to drop in on Elshout, home of the Alliance Navy where, behind the spray of beginner bullets, Officer Jim Herbst and Enlisted Jeremy Duport were developing a new tank for AN’s use. A new tank, with new technology to add to the fledgling armoured combat scene.

Shown above, the model for ANs new tank, the MBT, with new technology in it for the purpose of allowing more damage on certain areas of the tank. Jim explained the tanks hitpoints system to me.

In the picture above, the yellow area inflicts one point of damage when hit. With 60 hitpoints in total to destroy the whole tank, 60 bullets on that yellow area will finish the tank off. The red area, at the rear, inflicts 2 – 3 damage, as the engine is contained within that enclosure. Jim also told me that an engine fire is possible, which will do constant damage to the tank for a short period of time. The pink areas represent the maneuvering bowers of the tank, he says, and hitting these will directly affect the speed and maneuverability of the tank in a negative way. These will also depict how the tank was destroyed, and employ relevant effects. While still in the development stage, Jim and his associate scripter, Jeremy Duport, are working hard on the features; “idle bullet damage resulting in an idle wreck, while a big cloud of bullets will make it go kablooey.” The engine can also after burn if the tank is used for too long.

Kill Bill

After clearing up how the tank dies, Jim moved onto how it kills. “The MBT will be armed with a cannon, a 50 cal, and smoke launchers. The cannon will be equipped with at the bare minimum an HE shell and a SABOT shell. The HE will just be a plain old explosive. The sabot will do a good amount of damage to a target tank.” With some serious firepower, and some great ways to defeat it, it makes a nice combo.

Who’ll be the lucky drivers?

I asked Jim whether each division would get its own variant of the tank, as he explained there would be varieties, including a line armed with flamethrowers. Jim explained that they are all part of the AN Marine division. “There has been very little internal debate as to where tanks belong organizationally. Whether it will be part of the currently planned specializations or a specialization of its own remains to be seen.”

So this brings a new light to SL armoured combat. Potentially this could lead to the growth of more specialized tactics when destroying tanks, rather than the currently prevailing tactic of spamming them at any point on their armor with bullets. Either way though, one thing is clear – it’ll be fun seeing AN personnel sporting these new killing machines in the next week or two.

-Metallicoe Keng