The Adventures of Caine Constantine and the State of Combat on the Grid

As many of you know, or may have figured from my spending a good deal less time on the grid, I’ve essentially retired – at least temporarily.  I don’t write much for the Journal and the day-to-day administration of New Jessie is mostly handled by others.  I’ve gone back to school to finish out my last year as an undergraduate, and then hopefully, embark on my quest to become an ass-kicking lawyer and then someday leader of the free world, or something to that effect.

In any event, I have spent a lot less time hanging around New Jessie, which I used to spend nearly all my time in, and gone exploring the grid.

I went on an expedition to find SionChickens to hunt, but when I noticed that these chickens – who I had assumed were roaming free in people’s e-backyards – were actually locked tight into cages and sometimes surrounded by electrical fencing, I leapt into action.  With some fine friends I raided a chicken farm and we liberated over 20 of the laggy clucktastic bastards, using grenades, tanks, and ramps covered in pictures of Jesus and the American flag to free them from their wirey prisons.  There were suspensions, but the chickens were freed!

I also visited the new “adult” continent known as Zindra.  What a disaster that place is already.  There are some few nice builds and land formations but by and large, it’s just what you’d expect from a bunch of people thinking with their dicks and all clustered together in one place – poor concepts, poor construction, poor taste and of course a general sense of fail.  Even the Linden Lab team who built the place did a fine job at helping it to fail in advance when it built the public roads on sim borders.  Imagine driving a car down a road and crossing a sim every two seconds.

Then again, I guess that doesn’t matter when the purpose of the continent though is to put all of the stupid BDSM “museums” – I mean, that’s what they call their porn collections, anyway – into one place.

I also checked out the mysterious Ravenglass Estates, home to famed Second Life blogger Prokofy Neva.  This person is really famous for perhaps that saddest of tendencies – playing Second Life and taking it as even more serious than real life.  Or whatever, all I know is that as soon as I flew up to say hello and talk to them, Prokofy banned me from the estate without question.  I found her beautiful blog about Second Life, in which she calls everyone she disagrees with a communist.  I normally endorse such blunt overuse of fear of the red menace but Prokofy brings it to a whole new level!

Check it out at http://secondthoughts.typepad.com/ sometime when you’re looking for a cheap laugh.  Because she chose to ban me so rudely I gave free Soviet uniforms to everyone who is a member of the “Woodbury University” group, a lulztastic group of all kinds of /b/tards (I think that’s what you call them, I don’t know to be honest, but they seemed nice) who spend part of their time making her estates more appealing to her tastes with a monument to Soviet communism.

Another place I found was “Tha Slump,” a ghetto-fabulous semi-combat sim in which you can murderize thug-life wannabees who SWEAR they are “black irl.”  You’ll never have a more satisfying experience than gunning down a 15 year old white kid who just bought his first griefing HUD in front of a Chinese restaurant while shouting “Step the f**k off mah’ hood n***a!”  It really rekindled my interest in the grid!

Yes, there’s much to see past combat, and much to wreak havok upon as well.  And the good news is that combat itself is really improving across all fronts, it’s really getting better.

You may recall that as 2009 began, almost everyone had a pessimistic tone about how combat was grinding to a halt, because all of the large groups had allied, and all of the small groups were, well, small.  The fact is though that whereas it had once been a cakewalk for a large, organized group to take control of a small enemy base, the new groups of yesterday have really taken their place as hardened fighting forces.  This is probably one of the brightest spots for combat on the grid.  Groups like Raven Raiders, Sturm Korps, and TCG have grown and expanded their operations.  For a while it seemed in fact like TCG, in their new full sim of Furizona, was the most war-torn sim on the grid, repeatedly attacked by Iron Symphony and Vanguard alike.

There are also appearing to be some signs that the blockade of Vanguard by the Iron Symphony is winding down.  There have been a lot of high-level talks and regular meetings between them and individual key members of each group involved.  Finally giving the Iron Symphony the reassurances they needed, Vanguard appears to be, as France was a couple years after Napoleon, “ready to be readmitted into the concert of respectable nations.”  This is good news for the groups involved, considering that neither of them had any real source for a truly grand-scale war.  The future is uncertain and the blockade, at least as far as I know, is still in force, but there is certainly reason to be hopeful.

In general, people are also agreeing on a lot of positive conventions and norms.  Armor is being gradually accepted into the community, and looks to be fairly limited as well.  Anti-armor weaponry is also following suit.  The initial flurry of enthusiasm for clear combat objectives and destroyable cores has faltered, but in its place more and more groups are allowing for homepoints to be set in their spawns – and lag in combat has been decreased dramatically across the grid as a result.  Airplanes are no longer slaughtering defenseless ground troops, but on the other hand, they represent one of the losers in combat today, as their role seems to be on the decline.  Their role in being a strong counterpoint to armored vehicles, however, could bring them back.

Old groups like the Alliance Navy, previously stuck in a rut of some sort for the past year, are breathing with new vigor and the pace of new groups being born is still strong.  The Spanish and Portuguese groups are even doing well.  the RED ZONE at Sangria Beach, a Spanish-speaking combat zone is worth a visit, and CATI still represents what is all-too-often not given enough credit as one of the most powerful militaries, man for man, on the grid.  They can raise numbers that would make even the three superpowers as it were think twice.

And as always, New Jessie remains a strong center of the community and a great place for combat, for shopping, for advertising and for hanging out with people from across the grid.  I can only hope that some of the things we have done there have contributed to what I feel are positive changes across the grid as a whole.

And so as summer ends and a cold winter edges forth, I’m personally going to be eagerly awaiting the possible resurrection of the fierce German-Soviet (Vanguard-Merczateers) war on the Eastern Front (now I’m just indulging in historical dreamery).  I would have to say that the greatest battles of combat on the grid are still to come, and that things are, without a doubt, improving across the board!

I myself will continue to spend what free time I have here adventuring and attacking randomly.  After an experience I had at the Sturm Korps base fighting a Vanguard occupation, I was thinking about organizing a group of like-minded independents who might go in and try to liberate occupied sims.

Or maybe I’ll…egads…join a group!

But I ask everyone to remember that things will only continue to improve as long as we as individuals make positive changes to ourselves and our organizations, and always consider both sides of a fight when planning our sims, and our assaults at that.

With that said, I will see you on the front lines!

-Caine Constantine

The Alliance Navy’s New Look

I walked out of the subterranean subway and breathed in a long breath of cool night air, then promptly looked around in surprise. In front of me was a bustling city street, with cheerful lights streaming out of buildings and lamp posts dotting the sidewalk. No this was not a new city sim, as I was soon to discover, but the new home of an army that has, for years, been entrenched in the battlefield that is Second Life Military. Only a moment after I realized that this was more than just another city street, a strange creature darted past me, followed by another. Both were carrying rifles, one of which had the markings of the Valor military on him. He stopped for a moment, said good morning, and sprinted off into the brightly lit streets. A few moments later I ducked for cover, the sounds of assault rifles and blasts from grenades echoing down the once silent streets as invader and defender engaged in mortal combat. The sounds of turbo engines suddenly became deafening, and I looked up to see an uniform leaning out of the open door of a dual bladed helicopter. “Get in!” He shouted, and I was more than willing to oblige. I looked around the small hold for a moment as the officer shouted to the cockpit, “To the Base!”

A few moments later I was struggling to hold onto my seat, watching as the distant sight of a newly built fortress grew larger in the view screen at the front of the helicopter. Lines of tracer fire at the invader flew from the walls, and a few moments later I was rushed out of the helicopter and into a safe room. The sound of battle outside of that room seemed to draw on for hours, then suddenly everything went silent. The pilot of the helicopter, a Warrant Officer by the markings on her shoulder, came into the room where I was, and motioned for me to follow her. As I exited the room and once again saw the skyscrapers and cheerful lights, I shuddered to think how much violence could possibly happen in this place. I was led to a group of five people. No, this is not some nightmarish post-apocalyptic sim. This is the new home, and the new way of the Alliance Navy, in the sim of Elshout.

As I looked around at the base I could see workers rushing about, trying to repair and also finish the buildings within the city as well as within the base. A fox, dressed in the garb of an officer, nodded to me and lifted a cup of hot tea, drinking it. Introductions were made, and I began talking to the four that remained, the pilot of the helicopter having rushed off to another assignment. I remembered the reason I came, and had the following discussion with Major Vaher, commander of the Marine Division, Lieutenant Colonel Moonlight, commander of Fleet Division, and the former commander of Marine Division, Air Division Cadet Ard.

Wyrik Hellershanks: Well, this entire facility is much different from the last Elshout base, could you tell me what brought it about?

Nadav Vaher: The easy answer to give is that we felt that we were in a need for change of scenery to compliment the change happening inside of the group.

Wyrik Hellershanks: When I first came here yesterday, I thought I had come to a brand new city sim, this entire complex is amazing.

Nadav Vaher: Thank you. Our builders have been hard at work.

Wyrik Hellershanks: And it shows, I see in your prim count listing you are still over 8,000 prims under the 15,000 limit for the sim, the amount of work done is spectacular. You said that the change in scenery was to compliment the changes in the group, could you elaborate on this?

Nadav Vaher: Well, I can only speak fully for the Division I am currently in command of.. But there is a major restructure in the way things are being done. Such as the addition of sub-branches in the Marine division (Addition of Cavalry and Infantry),the updating of weapons cores, Addition of new commanders and especially the revamp on training throughout the group.

Wyrik Hellershanks: When one thinks of Calvary, most times it’s horsebacked men running over a battlefield, or the Vietnam era helicopter divisions, what will the Alliance Navy’s Calvary ride to battle on?

Nadav Vaher: Cavalry will be using an assortment of Tanks and APCS.

Major Vaher then motioned to the engineering bay and shouted for someone to bring out the new tank. An eager cadet rushed inside, and then I heard the sound of air rushing from the bay as a massive tank rolled out.

Nadav Vaher: This is the NLAFV MK2 MBT. The model was built by Rear Admiral Jim Herbst, and scripting was done by Airman Jeremy Duport.

Nadav Vaher: The APC model is still currently in production, but it’s looking to be released sometime in the next week.

Wyrik Hellershanks: That is a very nice looking piece of hardware

welshfireman Ard: Very effective too I hasten to add

Wyrik Hellershanks: I would imagine!

Nadav Vaher: It is. In addition to the new APCs and MBTs, they will be getting turret upgrades to go with our new system.

Nadav Vaher: They proved to work extremely well in our scrimmage this past Sunday with the Ordo Imperialis.

Wyrik Hellershanks: So the entire Alliance Navy arsenal will be changing along with the simulator?

Nadav Vaher: Again, I can only speak for the Marines, But yes. I would most definitely say that our arsenal will be changing.

Michan Moonlight: And I can say for Fleet that we will be getting alot of new gear as well

Wyrik Hellershanks: That would pose alot of problems for an enemy that is used to fighting the old Alliance Navy systems!

welshfireman Ard: Of course the Alliance Navy strives to be at the forefront of the communities technological advances

Wyrik Hellershanks: So Major Vaher, I read the sim rules, and I see by the notice on the way in that the three reactor system that was in place in the desert base will still be in place here?

Nadav Vaher: At this point in time, I am not entirely sure. The idea of a core system being added to the simulator has been up in the air for some time now. However, if it were to come about, I do not think it would be the end all be all of the combat in Elshout. As you are probably aware, the whole core based system has raised some dramatic problems in some of our enemies simulators. I don’t really think the group as a whole is really in for that.. But that is just my opinion.

Wyrik Hellershanks nods, “Personally I find the militaries that offer win criteria for a win to be a refreshing sight on the battlefield, it gives the enemy something to shoot for.”

welshfireman Ard: If I may be so bold as to give an opinion, just looking at the layout of the sim, I feel that if the enemy over run the city outside these walls, that would surely be victory enough without the much used destruction of a said target scenario

Nadav Vaher: That is true, Mr.Hellershanks; however, I think it creates more issues than it solves in the long run. Extra scripting, Worrying about people sit hacking their way into the cores.. then having to go through the added arguments the person may have (It’s unfair to place it here, there, or there) just adds to the drama of combat. I’m not saying that we won’t explore the options of putting in a core, I just think that is not on the front of the build teams mind.

Nadav Vaher: Perhaps when we have 100% completed the simulator, we could explore that option.

Wyrik Hellershanks: I can easily see that there is alot more that goes on with this base than meets the eye, could you tell me some of the features of this facility?

Nadav Vaher: Well, The bridge is standing as a focus point of what is new in the simulator. It is an objective on its own. If you look underneath the bridge.. inside of the control room.. there is a button added which controls the portion of the bridge that retracts. I feel it has added another point of combat to the simulator. Instead of the enemy being able to just hop along the bridge, they have to battle it out to gain control of the room which allows them access to the retractable portion of bridge.

Wyrik Hellershanks: Improvements in arms, a Fleet and Marine division overhaul, and a new simulator layout that moves from desert combat to an urban warfare environment. There has been alot of changes within the Alliance Navy, is there anything else that has changed within the military?

Nadav Vaher: Our training has been improved. Some of the divisions have found it absolutely needed to move away from copy pasting training. We’ve found that it doesn’t actually teach the Cadet much of anything.. They could just sit back, coast through it and not have to do much of anything. The Majority of our DI’s, and Cadets have embraced this newer training format. Heck, it has really produced some rather good personnel in the AN. Our recruitment has taken a major boost since we’ve started to change the way the AN as a whole works.

Wyrik Hellershanks: What would be the active membership number of the Alliance Navy since the new changes in protocol?

Michan Moonlight: Fleet Division currently has about 8 Active members and we are the smallest division] Michan Moonlight: Since most sims wont allow our ships anymore many have chosen to join AD or MD instead. We are however looking over the possibility of “nerfing” the Fleet ships to make the more acceptable

Nadav Vaher: Division wise, The Marine division has about 20 – 22 active marines who currently make up the core of the division (DI’s, Branch Commanders, and combatants)

welshfireman Ard: and I am aware that Air Divisions boasts 17 active pilots

Wyrik Hellershanks: One last question, and please be as honest as possible.

Nadav Vaher: You’ve got my word on that one, Hellershanks.

Wyrik Hellershanks: How much would could a woodchuck chuck, if a woodchuck could chuck wood, if they were to go into Alliance Navy training?

welshfireman Ard: They would not do much chucking really, they would be to busy running laps

Michan Moonlight: Fleet Divisions answer, Give us the opportunity to train a woodchuck and it would take out the redwood forest in less than a few hours

Nadav Vaher: There would be quite a bit of wood for them to chuck… With the revamp of MDBT and the new occupational training system.

A moment later after we all wiped the smirks from our faces, a siren went off, with a message that the Merczateer’s Badnarik base was under assault. Goodbye’s were said, and I was ushered into a helicopter and rushed back to the subway. Before I left, I took one last look over the city. The Alliance Navy’s sim of Elshout not only signals a much different approach for combat, but also a new spark in the old military’s method of conducting warfare. Although the officers of the Alliance Navy gave no real indication of when the simulator will be open for combat, they are leaving it open. Old enemies of the Alliance Navy, as well as new, will find that Elshout is a new face, as well as a new attitude, for a familiar face.

-Wyrik Hellershanks

The Blockades

Lurdan Huszar
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I need to emphasize two important things before I begin. First, if you don’t invest the time required to fully understand the content of this article, don’t involve yourself in the debate. Second, this article is largely in response to Vanguard defiance of the blockade and an excess of misinformation. This is not an offensive effort.
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INTRODUCTION

Since Vanguard’s recent return, the combat blockades that they have received from various militaries and the reason for said blockades have become a widely debated and pivotal issue within the combat community. Being one of the key figures within the debate, I have decided to write this notecard so that individuals engaged in this issue may better understand our issues, concerns and actions. I will explain our history with Christoph and Vanguard, the steps we took in response to that colourful relationship, how it has lead to the more recent blockades, issues and events surrounding them and other points of relevance that need to be addressed.

PART 1: THE HISTORY——————————————————————————————————————————————————————–

” You have no idea. I’ve returned bases and ruined lives for a ‘lol’”

- Christoph Naumova, May, 2008

Christoph’s first appearance in my life was during the Adscita era of the Merczateers, many years ago. There were several noteable occurrences during his time spent in the Merczateers. The first of which was when he offered to educate the Merczateer high command with his knowledge in psychology, since, as he claimed, he had a PhD in it. This was later found to be a lie, one of many. He requested L$5000 for the service, which I excitedly agreed to, not being the sharpest tool in the shed at the time. The service never occurred and Christoph later “forgot” about it. In the same weeks, he claimed to have an inoperable brain tumour, complete with fake photographs. The ensuing sympathy helped him achieve the rank of General. During this period, he attempted to acquire our content with full permissions with promises of huge sales as he would apparently upload them into a vendor network for us. We never gave him the content, but if you extrapolate from the entirety of his history with us, ulterior motives of a malicious nature were likely. During the end of the Adscita era, using his power to do so, he declared war on the Alliance Navy. This resulted in an argument between himself and Merczateer General Spartan Plunkett. As the argument heated up, Christoph decided to release all of our land to Governor Linden, which cost me L$50,000 or more because I paid to buy each parcel. A few days before the argument I had bought space for an airfield for L$30,000. After this, he began to eject members from the Merczateers, and because of the poor state of the group interface and its options, we were unable to do anything about it without Linden support. Christoph had killed the Merczateers.

After this, Christoph dissapeared from the scene for quite some time. His next attack occurred when he apparently defrauded IntLibber Brautigan out of roughly $3000USD during our first year of residency within Brautigan and Tuck. The following is Christoph’s defense, and IntLibber’s rebuttal, judge for yourself who is right:

Christoph’s Defense
IntLibber’s Rebuttal

Shortly after this incident Christoph began to build the first incarnation of Vanguard. As people started to question this relatively new leader figure within the community, I would explain to them what Christoph had done to us in the past, as I explained above. Shortly after I recieved this message from Christoph:

Christoph’s Threats – 10/10/07

Charming.

During this period, a close friend of mine and member of the Merczateers, Uildiar Kuhn, was working for Christoph. He prepared a lengthy complaint shortly after his time with him that was sent to Linden Labs during the first of two organized abuse reports against Christoph. In the notecard below, Uildiar explains how he was harassed and blackmailed by Christoph.

Uildiar Kuhn’s Abuse Report

In January, Christoph sent the following letter to the Alliance Navy. This notecard fully demonstrates the destructive attitude Christoph carried during his time leading the first Vanguard:

Christoph’s Declaration of War to the Alliance Navy

Also around this time, give or take a couple months, Christoph bought one of the Militant Collective’s sims from under their feet, returned all of the prims on the parcel, raised a Vanguard flag, then disposed of the sim. Here is Christoph attempting to justify his malicious actions:

Christoph on the MC Incident (From the NJJ)

Just another excuse for his consistently destructive attitude.

Things became a little quiet then until just a bit over a year from now while Vanguard was in full swing. It began shortly after Tangent Eponym resigned from the Merczateers. The following are excerpts from a conversation Christoph had with one of our personnel:

Christoph Open Sourcing Merczateer Content (Excerpts)
Christoph Open Sourcing Merczateer Content (Full)

Shortly after acquiring a good portion of our weapons and gear and releasing it to the public with full permissions, Christoph had the following discussion with Proteus Hand, an NCO in the Merczateers at the time:

Christoph’s Threats – 05/18/08

In this notecard Christoph explains that he plans to sue me because I apparently slandered him. I still have no idea where he got the idea that I was doing such a thing. He claims I was telling people that he copybotted Merczateer content when clearly the weapons he open sourced to the public were the original copies with the creator names intact. According to him I was also orchestrating a mass false abuse report effort against him at the time. I vaguely remember a combined effort to report Christoph for the various things he’s done to people and I do remember sending one in myself, however I never asked, let alone suggested that anybody send in anything false. My own report contained substantive complaints, most of which I’ve described above. It’s also worth noting that in the above log Christoph admits that there was a premeditated effort to lure me into slandering him so that he may “collect my assets”.

On the New Jessie War Journal, Christoph claims that I slandered him to achieve revenge. The following is an interesting conversation I had with Kitsukie Flare several days after our equipment was open sourced by Christoph. I also have one of Valycion’s weapons which we got from Radek shortly before he joined Vanguard with full permissions, is it open sourced? No.

Lurdan & Kitsukie

I consider the public release of Merczateer content by Christoph a group attack for two reasons. Tangent Eponym, who became a member of Vanguard during this incident, was directly involved. Vanguard tolerated the actions of both Christoph and Tangent, and to my knowledge, there were no protests or resignations within Vanguard in response to what happened. In fact, I remember clearly watching Vanguard personnel enter Salamis wearing the leaked gear in an attempt to mock us. Also, a common Vanguard argument in regards to this entire incident is that Tangent gave Christoph only his own content. This is not true. Tangent gave Christoph things that Vasili Debevec, Keystone Gray and myself made.

Shortly after all of this one of Vanguard’s main scripters, Lance LeFay, hacked into Operations servers and released Operations products to Vanguard members for free. He also effectively shut the vendor network down entirely across the grid, causing monetary damages, and replaced the display on the vendors with various perverted images. The following is Christoph’s defense:

Christoph on Lance LeFay (From the NJJ)

So apparently it’s alright if it’s done while Christoph’s at work, and in response to something IntLibber never actually did. To my knowledge Lance received no disciplinary action for what he did and is still in Vanguard to this day.

PART 2: VANGUARD TODAY
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The standard Vanguard argument most of the time is that we’re blockading Vanguard solely for what they’ve done in the past.

They couldn’t be more wrong.

When we first began hearing rumours of a Vanguard return, we decided that we would keep the blockades raised and observe them. We weren’t ignorant to the fact that people can change, I am a living testament to that. However, we were not interested in finding out the potential bad news the hard way, so we decided to keep our guard up. Within the first week or two of Vanguard’s reincarnation, Christoph made these comments:

Christoph & Vegna (Full)
Christoph & Vegna (Excerpts)

These three excerpts show that Christoph has not changed his mindset at all, and was only offering to change Vanguard for the better if we dropped the blockades. This would later become a reoccuring theme within their interactions with us. It also shows the usual complete disregard for other groups. Vanguard actually made it an active policy to try and steal Chaos personnel.

So at this point it was already clear that Vanguard hadn’t changed much. However, they weren’t done flaunting their lack of a sincere will to improve themselves just yet.

Dagger sent out two notecards, one to the leaders of the Iron Symphony, and one to Vanguard, they are below.

Dagger Exonar’s Address to the Iron Symphony (*1)
Dagger Exonar’s Address to Vanguard (*2)

I’m gonna break down the first notecard first.

” Anoki’s actions with the AN wiki where done when he was in the service of the AN” *1

Another reoccurring idea within Vanguard is that if somebody does something malicious, the tag above their head or lack thereof determines whether it is okay or not.

“Christoph immediately estate banned him for ‘grieving’” *1

According to Anoki himself, he was banned for spamming the “You’re silly” gesture.

“until he (From my understanding of the story) convinced Christoph to unban him and that his ‘attack’ on the AN wiki was a ‘one time action, out of anger at the unfair treatment of my friend and squad leader.’” *1

That hardly makes it acceptable either, and why Vanguard would make this individual an officer shortly after he did this is still beyond me.

“Takkun’s actions where also performed while in the service of his military,” *1

Again, that doesn’t make it okay.

” Takkun returned the sim, yes, but he did so because he knew it was temporary. It was his way to leave the SL militaries and never have a chance to ‘come back’ like so many others do. This was a one-time act of anger against a group he felt had done him wrong,” *1

I’ll just respond to this one with another Dagger quote:

“Attached is our handbook, if you would like to view our Zero Tolerance policy first hand.” *1

Zero Tolerance Policy *1

I’ll just show another Dagger quote here to emphasize the spectacular hypocrisy of this all:

“We *do* accept people like Takkun and Anoki, as they made a mistake once” *1

In the quote below, Dagger basically makes up more excuses for inviting Takkun and explains that Takkun is valuable. Then basically says that it was okay to eject members from our group, attempt to dismantle our online assets, return every prim in our sims and leave because Christoph’s colossal amount of wrongdoings makes the wrongdoings of others appear smaller. This is amazingly contradictory to their apparent policy of zero tolerance and reputation reform.

“There was an article on the War Journal detailing how minor of an event Takkun’s ‘grand betrayal’ was, and it’s not like he’s going to return the Mercz sim ever again, I see no reason to deny a great tactician and LO officer from our ranks, especially since Christoph’s shadow (His ‘evil deeds’ of the past, per-se) grant many of us protection in terms of scale.” *1

Speaking of amazing contradictions:

“We do not support E-terrorism, or people with a history of E-terrorism” *1
“We do not support people with troubled pasts” *1

I shouldn’t even have to explain those two.

Their failure to adhere to even their own policies isn’t surprising at all to me. The last time they emphasized a certain policy within their rule book (no racism), their second in command at the time (currently an officer in Vanguard) turned around and defiled it in the ugliest way imaginable:

Gabe Barnstormer – 25/09/2008

The contradictions don’t end there. The second notecard, which was sent to Vanguard, had an entirely opposite tone to the one sent to the Iron Symphony militaries. I’ll break this one down now.

“One of the major problems of VG 1.0 was the fact the IS was ignored and hated. This time around, we’d like to point out that the IS is our enemies – yes – but they should be treated with respect. You know why? Nothing annoys your enemies more than forgiving them. ” *2

Yeah, it certainly wasn’t the fact that the old Vanguard was essentially a group of griefers and common detritus of the military community, it was because we were hated, of course Dagger. Also, he basically says here that the only reason the Iron Symphony should be treated with respect is because it would apparently annoy us.

“Note at the top it says Takkun Gray was ejected. Takkun returned the sim and left.” *2

He was ejected by Proteus Hand, and again, he not only returned the sims, he attempted to eject members from the Merczateers and dismantle our online assets.

“He then goes on to accuse Christoph of stealing, Er, wait, no, of …. letting other people steal things. Wait, He’s also accusing Christoph of taking control of Tagent and making him release all of his property to the world when he quit the SL militaries. Oh, and insulting another military is a crime now according to lurdan…” *2

This is Dagger trying to undermine serious offences from Christoph and Vanguard personnel, clearly showing insincerity in his earlier statements in his address to the Iron Symphony. He repeats this in another quote:

” I honestly don’t understand much of Lurdan’s rants” *2

Below, he repeats his earlier belief that if you have a different tag over your head when you grief someone, it’s okay. And by the way, when Takkun’s friend copybotted the entire Operations product line shortly after Takkun joined Vanguard, we had the items blacklisted in just a few hours. Just because damage can be reversed doesn’t make it excusable.

“1) Anoki nuked an AN wiki page, and joined VG a few days later after we removed him from the estate ban list. – No damage done to the AN
2) Takkun returned Badnarik, and the sim was rolled back – No damage done – He joined VG shortly after, as I offered him a position. He was a high ranking Mercz officer after all, and my bitter enemy for a year. In VG we do not make leaders re-take boot camp, our egos are not that massive.

Both of these examples do not involve VG in any way,” *2

I’m unsure if Dagger will ever realize that it does indeed involve Vanguard when an individual is not only invited into the group as an officer the same day he commits a malicious act, he is congratulated for it as well.

So in conclusion, Dagger has a spectacular double standard. One in which he may recruit all of the malicious individuals he likes as long as they’re valuable and he has some half-assed excuse for doing so, and where he will eject people to put on a facade of zero tolerance for even thinking of emulating those acts while they’re in Vanguard, which isn’t a problem at all because Vanguard’s recruitment standards are terribly low – which provides a steady stream of individuals for Dagger to make false examples of.

To further my argument that Dagger and Christoph aren’t actually sincerely interested in changing Vanguard for the better, here are some self-explanatory quotes made by Dagger on his alt, Keira Skytower:

Proteus & Dagger (*3)

“[2009/07/30 15:58] Keira Skytower: You do understand that we’re offering to play by your rules, and be held accountable
[2009/07/30 15:58] Keira Skytower: But if you turn us away, What’s stopping us from returning sims, using autokillers and being a pain in your side? What options do you give us?” *3

What’s stopping you? Certainly not yourselves by the looks of it.

“[2009/07/23 20:57] Keira Skytower: but Chris is laying down a two week deadline
[2009/07/23 20:58] Keira Skytower: if the IS still refuses to even discuss with us what we need to change, shits going to be unpredictable” *3

Threats! Speaking of threats, here is Christoph threatening Bizcut just a month ago:

Christoph Threatening Bizcut

How do they honestly expect us to react to threats at this point? “Ohhh.. ohh noo.. I guess they’ve changed now guys, guess we betta’ unblockade ‘em!”?

Ridiculous!

After observing all of this, we are convinced that absolutely no changes have been made aside from a poorly organized effort to sport a facade in an attempt to deceive us so that Vanguard may engage the Iron Symphony in combat again. We believe that there is no sincere and signifigant will to make any real and substantive changes in Vanguard to prevent what I explained in the first section of this notecard from being relived if we decide to engage with Vanguard again in any manner.

PART 3: VANGUARD IN COMBAT——————————————————————————————————————————————————–

This will be a relatively short section because Vanguard’s poor conduct in combat is dwarfed by the ridiculous amount of infractions that have occurred off the battlefield from Vanguard. However, there still is a good bit to share here.

Vanguard’s conduct in combat during their first period on the grid was just as backwards as Christoph’s moral compass. I could sit here and share tales of being shot through walls, witnessing Christoph setting his home point on defensive structures, the swarm tactics they used, and all of the other ways I’ve personally seen Vanguard personnel perform less than poorly on the battlefield for a long time, but nothing explains it better than the words of Vanguard’s Kommand itself:

Vanguard “End all” Supox Tactics (*4)

This was an actual Vanguard policy notecard. Here are some noteworthy excerpts:

“Dealing with mass invasions is easy, a single bomb from a Viper, Reaper, or Kriss will ruin anyones day, even in lag. So heres what you do. Suicide – Fly in, drop a bomb, if it kills you who cares, youll get your target and anyone near them.
I also encourage use with grenade launchers. Shoot walls, shoot buildings, anything you can to take out the people inside. They fail somewhat in lag, so make up with quantity.
If all else fails, use the AD to whore bombs on where people are teleporting, itll fuck them over greatly.” *4

“Set your spawnpoints randomly around the sim, but not near the hub or ANYWHERE on the W side. Ill demote for it. Randomly set your homepoints in strategic areas along the base, different levels of the main HQ, etc. Make it so they cant spawncamp you in one place, it’s really easy to prevent. ” *4

“Pay attention to the fact we have a space station with ICBM’s pointing down at the sim. This means if theres ever a mass/major occupation I will be launching our tactical weapons down, to immediately purge the sim of all life, for the retaking from the station.” *4

” Walls half the time mean shit in H4. You can fire through them with low vel, or enough bullets, whatever works. This means if you see someone go behind a wall, shoot at it again and again until that green dot goes away. There are no walls thick enough in supox to stop bullets. Even 10m fails sometimes. ” *4

“Air division – If you see people getting planes and fleet ships ready, make sure to fly your ass over the HUB And wait for them to get up to altitude, then hit them with an Einstein. The einstein isn’t dodgeable unless you’re constantly avoiding, so constantly fire them every 8 seconds when you’re near an enemy craft. Air superiority is easy as shit to hold.” *4

These are quotes from just a little over a year ago. Has Vanguard’s conduct in combat changed? Judge for yourself. 2142, Chthonic Syndicate, Chaos have experienced the “new” Vanguard in combat and have blockaded them partially because of that experience. According to Chthonic Syndicate, Christoph exploited land powers in Thorium to set his home point inside their headquarters while himself and other Vanguard forces attacked. In addition to that, there were claims of blackscreening with Christoph as an active participant, and cases of Vanguard shooting through walls. The following is Christopher Compton, an Admiral in the Chthonic Syndicate explaining his reasoning behind the blockade from them:

Christopher Compton on Vanguard

2142 blockaded Vanguard for similar reasons, below is LordBob Boa, the leader of 2142, explaining:

LordBob Boa on Vanguard

Chaos blockaded Vanguard because of threats of sabotage received from them, crashing their simulator, and generally having poor conduct in combat. Dark Svenska explains in an interview with Caine Constantine:

Dark Svenska on Vanguard

PART 4: THE BLOCKADES—————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

There are two main reasons why we are currently choosing to specifically “blockade” Vanguard in response to all of the above.

#1. Prevention

Engaging Vanguard directly, in or off the battlefield, historically and even today, has resulted in the many incidents that I have described above. Christoph has a consistently destructive attitude and we believe that by interacting with him and the people that support/tolerate him, we will only relive the many acts of malice committed by them in the past. In order to prevent this, we believe that for the time being we should put as much distance between ourselves and Vanguard as possible. To further my argument, Christoph open sourced our content just a little over a year ago in response to us voicing concern over the weapons and tactics they were using against us in combat during that time.

Vanguard – Response to Current Events – 05/19/08 (*5)
Merczateer Request to Vanguard (Vanguard Mandate)

“Instead of submitting to the retardation of the Mandate in itself, I gave them the finger and threw down the idea of any submission at all, and retaliated. This was in defense of the reputation of Vanguard as a military, a military that does NOT submit to the will of anyone at all, regardless of how large they think their “E-Penis” is. ” *5

In addition to this, Christoph made the threats I showed earlier largely in response to me calling him “horrid and disrespectful”.

#2. Public Protest/Boycotting/Pressure

We steadfastly believe that individuals like Christoph Naumova should not be allowed to be in positions of power and influence within our community. He has and continues to carry a group that not only tolerates and supports his various acts of destruction, in many cases, his group even assists him in doing so. The blockades have helped us bring this issue of grave importance to light to many individuals. By continuing this protest and boycott of Vanguard, we hope to eventually see Christoph and the people who support him no longer in a position where they can effectively influence and galvanize groups of people against others, perform malicious acts, and otherwise be viewed as a community leader.

We hope to either one day fight a Vanguard with responsible, capable leadership that can meet the basic standards we feel all community leaders should meet, or see Vanguard cease to exist at all if they choose inaction and continued tolerance of Christoph and his supporters. Only banning choice individuals from our simulators who we have confirmed to either be or support Christoph would achieve little and appease the status quo, and to be frank, currently anybody who is in Vanguard and has read this notecard up to this point should be one of three things; a person who carries integrity and now wishes to leave Vanguard to find a group that truly abides by basic standards of conduct, behaviour, and ethics (to you, I wish the best), an individual who claims none of this matters to them and only wants combat and is currently not experiencing the full potential of combat in the military community due to the blockades, or somebody who genuinely supports Christoph and deserves to be barred from our simulators just as much as he is for doing so. Again, holding Vanguard in this situation will help the blockades be successful.

PART 5: CONCLUSION——————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

Again, I am not ignorant to the fact that groups have the ability to change. The very fact that we are currently close allies with the Alliance Navy is a powerful testament to that. Just over a year ago, they were blockaded much like Vanguard is today. The blockades brought serious issues between our two groups to light and highlighted problem individuals that instigated conflict – achieving a state of reconciliation and a period in which relations could begin to improve to the point in which they stand today. We have provided some fairly straightforward requests to Vanguard that they must fulfill before we begin official negotiations. You can find them in the following document that we sent to Vanguard Kommand roughly two weeks ago:

Merczateer Response to Vanguard Requests

It is often said by Christoph that I am putting politics before combat and that that is somehow gravely wrong of me. That I am somehow being selfish in denying combat from my personnel because of these protests. On the contrary, it is selfish of you, Christoph, to deny your men combat. It is you who must atone for your actions, and it is you who must step down from your position for the benefit of your group. In addition to this, you have defiled and attacked time and time again what truly makes our community so wonderful, and what many of us would put before combat here any day – content creation, camaraderie, and community itself. Realize this, or live in bliss and stagnation until your final days on this grid.

With hopes for the best,

Márshal Merczateers
Lurdan Huszar

Verklund to expand.

Verklund is the home of Vanguard Armed Forces. Usually I’d introduce a little background about the military, but I’m sure Vanguard needs little introduction. Disbanded a while back, then restarted by Christoph Naumova after the success of his business, Valycion Enterprises, selling off the old VG gear, Vanguard rose to a prominent place in the military community, as debatably the second largest military on the grid today with around 220 active members, second only to the Merczateers with around 400. (Statistics not accurate) The Merczateers, in hand with CS, 2142 and numerous other groups, have blanket banned Vanguard members from their regions, unbeknown to some, but we plan to investigate in the coming week.

Verkland; Present Day.

Verklund is usually packed with Vanguard troops, and the region is known to lag considerably in attacks, such as the one involving Kratus and Vanguard at Verklund yesterday afternoon. But, Christoph and the Kommand of Vanguard plan to attach another full prim simulator to the West side of Verklund, continuing the theme of a snow setting, as Vanguard Captain Petros Siamendes tells me.

Metallicoe: Hey Petros, could you tell me about the new SIM planned to be attached to Verklund?

Petros: I would not know much about it at the moment. We did buy another SIM, but are still debating over the name.

Metallicoe: Will the SIM be attached as soon as it is named?

Petros: We paid to move it. It is UU’s old SIM. That’s the Uramach Union.

Metallicoe: Will you be continuing this theme onto that SIM, or rebuilding entirely?

Petros: Continuation most likely.

Metallicoe: Will it be a homestead?

Petros: No. It will be another full SIM.

Metallicoe: Wow. Do you have any plans drawn up for the layout of the new region?

Petros: Not at the moment. Most likely it will be a continuation of this cargo/storage, etc. plan, with roads.

Metallicoe: Will the VG frontline be moved forward?

Petros: Yes, Verklund will be ours; the SIM over to the west will be for attackers.

Metallicoe: And will you make it easier for people to get in? At the moment, it seems to only realistic way to get in is through the garage, as the fence blocks the other garage, and emerging over the cliff is a death wish!

Petros: Well right now, there are two garages, and the front doors.

Metallicoe: Alright, when can we expect to see the new SIM attached and named?

Petros: Within the next week or so.

So, this is setting out to be an interesting prospect. The Merczateers and Ordo, the only militaries with two SIMs joined together, other than Silver Hawk, which no longer do, and Black Talon, which is inactive, have an interesting setup. But, both Ordo and Merczateers’ SIMs are a homestead attached to a full SIM. So, Vanguard is pioneering two full SIMs attached to each other, each with no avatar cap. This could mean a large battle, if the Merczateers eventually unban Vanguard forces from Salamis and Badnarik.

An ariel view of Verkland; The new SIM will continue to the west, the left of this picture. The road will presumably continue.

So, in the coming week(s), we should see a new SIM emerge from Verklund, with a new build, hopefully more cover, and a lot more attacks happening on Verklund, not compressed to combat in the tunnels led through the garage. We’d love to hear your thoughts on this, so leave a comment below.

-         Metallicoe Keng

-         Editor in Chief

Weapons Review – Protean A-Type-02 “Chimera”

The Jessie War Journal
Weapons Review Department

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Overview

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Weapon: Operations Protean A-Type-02 “Chimera”

Price: $899L

Prim Count: 71

Operations Protean A-Type-02 "Chimera"

–Manual Credits–

Build:                Uildiar Kuhn

Scripts:             Poon Voom

Animations:      Ayatora Slade

Concepts:         Anthony Lehane/Poon Voom

–Inspection Credits–

Animations: Uldiar Kuhn, Anthony Lehane, Mark Karlfeldt

===========

Flags

===========

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

Performance: [~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~]  [~JW (2.5)

Performance: [~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~]  [~JWj~]  (3.0) ~Post Editors Correction. See Editor’s Note

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

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

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

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

Ease of Use:  [~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~] (3.0)

Value: [~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~] (3.0)

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First Impressions

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The folder you receive in your inventory Is the basic three items: drawn weapon, slung weapon, and manual.

The manual here is actually the most interesting thing, as it describes three different weapon functions, something that perks my interest greatly, combo keys for mode switching and reloading, and a full AO. With options Like these, I was half tempted to skip the usual aesthetics portion and go directly to the battlefield, but alas, I have protocol to follow.

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Aesthetics

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I’m not new to Operations weapons, so I had a slight idea what to expect. The Chimera however, is nothing like anything I had seen before, let alone seen from Operations.

The Chimera is so distinct in its style I struggled to find words to describe it. Its looks like something from the future, but it’s not sleek and smooth. It looks like something sci-fi, but again a bit rough for anything but an alien race to use. It looks like it’s from a post apocalyptic era, but still more advanced. This is when it hit me… Cyberpunk. I think back to my days playing Dystopia (a third party game on the Source platform) and realized that this weapon would fit perfectly into the steam punk universe. Regardless of where it fits or how you describe it however, It looks good. The glowing swirling plasma core in the center draws the eye in and the tube heavy design leads from there to the front vents and to the barrel in a rough but flowing way. The model is balanced well between textures and prims, and prim work is handled well, with a handful of sculpted prims working out some of the piping. A few areas in front are a bit slab sided, but they drop down to other areas so its not as noticeable. Buttons and the moving portion of the front vent work well together, but there is one thing I noticed on the moving texture… a hint of flashing purple. The biggest single downside i see on this model is the far back end and grip area. The entire back end is incredibly blocky, and the grip looks like it was made out of Legos, squared off at the side with square finger rests… Ouch!

The Chimera’s textures are well done and very fitting. All pieces are textured well and the whole weapon looks a bit dark and foreboding.  This looks like a weapon that has seen its share of firefights and is awaiting more, tubes and piping scratches and dulling in places but still wanting more abuse. The plasma cylinder and its housing have some very nice details to them, covered with warnings, voltage capacities, and other hazard labels. Down on the front is a small production plate with the weapons full name and the Mercz/Operations logo, it too scratched and worn. The vents up front are done very well too. The only real area where the textures are just so-so is that back end again. With the exception of the cool data readout (which changes colors with modes) the back end and grip area just seems to be a flat color. The metal from the front of the gun doesn’t share its texture back here, and the only thing that has much detail is the trigger itself.

Animations! Animations! Animations! Boy are there a lot of them packed into this gun! Now some guns that boast animation overriders give you a walk, and run and maybe a jump. Not the Operations Chimera. They say animation override and they mean it. This gun’s AO is more complete than the one I wear when I am not in combat. Outside fo the standard gun AO animations, Operations loaded this weapon with all the little parts you see in commercial AO’s you buy from animation stores for more than the cost of this gun. All the little animations (pre-jump, hard landing, soft landing, jump, ect) are included along with many gun animations not seen in other guns, such as recoil, special prone reload, tactical reloads, crawl, and even an alternate stance. Now, I know it’s true that anybody with beginner SL knowledge can toss some animations into an AO scripted object and set it up to run, but that is NOT what you have here. I am very impressed at the quality of the animation and how precisely they fit the gun, especially the reload. As I am sure you have noticed through my reviews, I pay particular attention to sounds, and the reload animation ont his weapon matches the sound frame for frame, and it is placed perfectly on the gun. Excellent work!

The only real effects on the Chimera are the muzzle flash and the bullet glow. The muzzle flash istoggled by the effects command, and is just ok looking (it also changed colors when you change modes, but it looks a bit too opaque and blocked out). The bullet glow can only be turned off in the rapid-fire green mode by setting the weapon to its low lag bullet. Again, the bullet only effects green mode.

Sounds aren’t as consistent as I would like to see and could use some work. Fire sound for the green mode is ok, but too quiet to sound fitting for the menacing look of the gun. Blue mode’s fire sound is clear and sharp as it should be and with a good volume, and the charge up sound is right on the spot for volume and feel. Red mode follows suit with the sounds, sharp and crisp, thought he uncharged shot could be a bit louder. Reload sound is very fitting and as I said prior, matches the animation perfectly. However, there is one fairly sizeable problem I found with it. Like the fire sound for green mode that uses llTriggerSound to be heard for each shot (resulting in an inconsistent and choppy sounding firing) the reload sound uses llTrigger sound to play at the location you start your reload. If you are moving, your sound doesn’t keep playing at your location (as it would with llPlaySound) so you sound like you are passing someone who is reloading rather than reloading yourself.

I found a few errors in the manual that had me stumped and asking around for help. The velocity adjustment command is not listed in the manual, nor is the command for melee strikes. Velocity I discovered to be “vel.###” but I have yet to figure out the melee command. I was told that “a+d” is usually melee, but on the Chimera that is the mode change. I was then told, that it probably doesnt have one then, only to respond by pointing out that there is a kill prim named “riflebutt” in the object’s inventory. The manual is also confusing on the command listeners, with “uses channel 9005″ typed after every command but the mode changing commands. However, I noticed that, like on all Operations guns I have used during my time on the grid, it has a channel 0 listeners for all but one command. This is not listed or made clear, and I would suggest perhaps putting “All commands work on channel 0 and 9005″ to the top of the manual to avoid confusion.

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Performance

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Well, I have to admit I was disappointed.

I found numerous problems in each mode, and these were not small problems

Overall, the gun’s operation was heavily influenced by lag. Almost as though following a curve, performance degrades exponentially as lag increases. I have noticed this before in other guns, but it was never this pronounced. While the gun would never fully come to a stop, it would come very close in the extremely heavy lag situations.

The weapon also seems to reset on each attachment, meaning all settings you may have set, such as velocity and fire mode, are wiped.

Furthermore, the weapon will discharge after reloading if the mouse button is pressed while it is reloading.

–Green Mode/Rapid Fire–

Green Mode is a automatic SMG style weapon setup. There is no charge-up for any specials, just automatic fire. Each shot is one ammo unit. It’s simple, but probably the most useful weapon mode for general combat.

The fire rate is between a rifle and SMG, but the spread is fairly large, so if you want accuracy over distance you are going to have to change modes. The rate of fire is also extremely sensitive to lag. It is rare to see it at a constant rate in a full combat situation. The sound, based on a LLTriggerSound system is also inconsistent and jittery, although it only triggers when the bullet rezzes, so at least you know what your fire rate really is.

–Blue Mode/Plasma Blast–

First off, it’s worth noting that this mode isn’t legal in New Jessie the delay between the explosive rounds is too short.

The blue mode is accurate and semi auto with two charging modes. The uncharged shot is just a much larger than usual bullet. Its accuracy makes it useful as a replacement for the lack of semi-auto accuracy in green mode. This uses one ammo unit per shot.

The partial charge uses four ammo units per shot, and is simple an even larger bullet with a mushroom shaped head.

The full charge, taking up ten ammo units, fires a ball that generates a 3m explosive on impact. It is useful as a grenade launcher replacement.

Aside from the disturbingly massive bullets, Blue Mode was fairly bug free.

–Red Mode/Spread Shot–

The Spread Mode is basically a shotgun. Uncharged fires a four bullet shot cluster and consumes two units of ammo. A partial charge ups the cluster to six bullets, and ammo use to four units per discharge. A complete two second charge fires out a massive twelve bullet cluster, which uses six units of ammo.

Just like the Operations Striker-12 shotgun, the shotgun mode on the Chimera has a large bug.  The “spread”, a multiple, unlinked set of bullets, does not fire consistently. Facing East/West and it works fine, but the further you turn away from that axis the closer the bullets rez to each other, eventually forming a vertical line when the user if facing the North/South directions. This is not a hard problem to solve, and after this bug was in the previous gun, it is unnerving that no work has been done to fix what more inexpensive weapon companies do not have a problem with.

The script time numbers were also disappointing, especially for such a company that totes its efficiency.

Idle time with the gun is 0.159ms, which is quite high, higher than the Aeko Labs and Ironsight Armament guns reviewed earlier when they are firing full auto. Granted, the Chimera has a full AO built into it, and a very good one at that. Slung time however, even though the AO is turned off, is also higher than average at 0.089ms. Most other guns I have reviewed register between 0.015ms – 0.035ms when slung. The firing script time, which was recorded in Green’s full auto mode, was unnerving. The Chimera does not have an exceptionally high rate of fire, yet its script time is well above other weapons at 0.793ms. Switching to the “low lag” bullet and disabling effects lowers the full auto time to 0.734ms, an improvement, but still very high.

Speaking of the bullets, they were perhaps the biggest disappointment of the entire gun.

For starters, every bullet, except for the low lag bullet and the parts of the “spread” in Red Mode are two prims, and all parts of the bullets appear to be made from spheres. Beyond that, the bullets do not perform well. They bounce, they get “stuck” on collision, and they just sit there for a few moments before dying. 2 seconds to be precise. How do I know the exact time? I will explain.

I had heard rumors through the community that Mercz and Operations weapons use bullets with the old Sirlor Stonecutter bullet scripts. I thought this was laughable, as no company would touch those scripts with a 10m pole. At least that is what I thought… or hoped. After observing the poor performance of the bullets, I decided to rez one and look into the contents. I was surprised to see the bullet script was full perms, and even more surprised to see that it was, in fact an old Sirlor Stonecutter script modified internally. I opened it up and read through it to further inspect it, and confirmed what it was. This explains the poor bullet performance, as the bullets have to do so much in the script before llDie() is called, including an llSleep(2.0), llSetAlpha(0, ALL_SIDES), and llSetStatus(STATUS_PHYSICS, FALSE). All a bullet script needs in its collision event is llDie(); That will kill it before any bouncing can occur, and negates the need for the bullet to change its alpha. It will be dead before you would see it.

***EDITORS NOTE***

After the posting of this review I was contacted by Operations scripter Poon Voom regarding some misunderstandings about the bullets.

1) The scripts, while created by Sirlor Stonecutter, have been modified internally.

2) The reason for the llSetStatus(STATUS_PHYSICS, FALSE), llSetAlpha(0, ALL_SIDES) and llSleep(2.0) prior to the llDie() is because the shape of the bullets would otherwise bounce severly.

Poon Voom: We figured it’s worth the server reading two lines of code, stopping the bullet, and dieing a little bit later, than it bouncing all over the place, rushing to have it die…It might be the bullet shape, but…It [Just llDie()]  just didn’t work with out bullets.

In response to this, performance rating will but modified because a lower rating was caused on the reviewer’s part due to this misconception. This writer regrets the misunderstanding, and appreciates the courteous nature of Mr. Voom.

——-

Another issue that has also been around for a while in Operations products (since the SAA at least) and was not fixed in this “state of the art” weapon is a filter for velocity. You can set the velocity to a negative number, which will send the bullets backwards from the rez position, and into your face.

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Overall

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The Operations Protean A-Type-02 “Chimera” is a very unusual case. Performance is just 2.5 flags. This is a split rating, as the weapon does function fairly well in combat, but there are many errors that prevent it from being exceptional. For starters, the bullets and bullet scripts could be optimized in all but a few mere minutes, greatly increasing reliability. A good bullet script is not hard to make, so I am dumbfounded as to why a company with such a reputation uses a sloppy, inefficient freebie script from a few years back. The spread issue on the shotgun mode come from the “bullets” being one, unlinked object that is rezzed on firing. This should not be an issue with this upper class of a gun, especially since this is a know issue that has been around before (Operations Striker-12) and is something even the smaller weapon manufactures can figure out how to do. However, one cannot deny that the three separate operating modes are an interesting and useful concept.

The build quality is excellent and gets near top marks at 4.5 flags. Its clean build is interesting and of a rare style. Rare, but not unique, and not original. I would like to add to the credits the game Necron, which is where the design is from. The only other place I have seen these weapons is at Thorium, in the hands of Cthonic Sydicate, who use the plasma series of weapons from Necron for their Plasma Cannon. Texturing is very good as well, although it is to be expected of Operations. Everything flows well with the mood of the weapon, and is good and clear.

Plasma Weapons of Necron

From Top to Bottom: Operations Chimera, Cthonic Syndicate Plasma Rifle, Cthonic Syndicate Plasma Cannon

Animations are top notch, absolutely exceptional. A full 5 flags for these well done works. They are fantastic and fit the gun right down to the centimeter. Sounds are a bit hit or miss, but still get a solid 3.5 flags. The full auto sound is too quiet and a bit whimpy, but the charge up and firing for the charged sounds, and the shotgun sounds are loud and intimidating. Ease of use is split with a flag rating of 3.0, and in a sense of what is easy. The manual is misleading and omits things that it says it can do, or doesn’t tell you about things that are in the gun contents (Melee. There is a prim for it… but I have yet to figure out the command), or just plain doest tell you things (Velocity adjust… It’s there, but they don’t tell you that). Changing modes via A+D is brilliant and aids the functionality greatly. However, Green mode not having a semi auto is annoying at times. The W+S reload is a sigh of relief, and the channel 0 listen, although bad from a lag perspective, is easier for the inexperienced to use. Value is 3.0 flags.

The Operations Protean A-Type-02 “Chimera” is an exceptional build with phenomenal animations, however it lacks performance and is riddled with bugs and nuisances, and unfortunate scripting shortcuts that cost the gun combat functionality. If you are looking for an outstanding looking weapon, a multi-function weapon that is easy to operate, something fancy to put on your mantle or something rare and good looking to use in an RP sim, then the Chimera is just what you need. However, if heavy combat is your goal, then you may want to look elsewhere. The multi-functionality (Automatic, Grenade Launcher, Shotgun) can be achieved for the same price from other weapons (Assault rifle with a grenade launcher, and a shotgun) that will be more reliable.

—Credits Take 2—

–Manual Credits–

Build:                Uildiar Kuhn

Scripts:             Poon Voom

Animations:      Ayatora Slade

Concepts:         Anthony Lehane/Poon Voom

–Inspection Credits–

Animations: Uldiar Kuhn, Anthony Lehane, Mark Karlfeldt

Bullet Scripts: Sirlor Stonecutter See Editors Note

Design: Necron via 10TACLE STUDIOS

Operations Chimera Ad

~JessieWarJournal Frequency

The Operations Protean A-Type-02 “Chimera” is availible in the Operations vendor in the  New Jessie Armory.

Yes, bennyboy’s latest endevour.

On June 26^th, the Journal reported that bennyboy Ball, the military leader famous for the birth of many-a force on the grid, was bringing back Imperium Battalion, his military formed after TFM split into CS and IB. It seems Imperium Battalion didn’t open, and it floated away that time round. Of course, previous to that, bennyboy Ball had run ‘Dark Imperium’ with ex-CS admiral Bouwie Scofield, which also had a sim, but never opened due to bennyboy being banned. Previous to that, DEK existed, a German themed military, when that theme was all the rage. And now, he’s back with his newest carnation; Novas Milita. Search ‘BennyBoy’ in the search box at the very bottom of this page for more of abackground on bennyboy Ball.

Novus, based on an 1/8 of a SIM in the region of sweet orange1, is commanded by bennyboy Ball, Zouwer Hydraconis, and three second in commands, Seitei Charik, ravange Zepp and Bouwie Scofield.

Seitei Charik is the character responsible for trying to bring back TFM a few weeks back. And, still being in the groups, and founding the reborn group, it’s only sense that she would want to work with benny again on this new military.

Arriving in sweet orange1, the build of the base was a simple one, but, I’m not one to criticize. And, of course, a kill-prim river, ever inevitable in benny’s bases. I do somewhat admire benny, for having the drive to start a military, even through challenging odds.

It seems their gear is also established. A mech, and armour, and weapons. Although, fleet ships would logically be expected, as their application has a tick box for ‘Fleet’.

The armour at sweet orange1.

In our last article about bennyboy bringing back Battalion, we setup a poll; Will IB succeed and become a potential threat on the grid. It seems, 91% of you were correct.

But! Will Novus be an exception? I spoke with Zouwer Nydraconis. First in command with benny, and builder of the outpost at sweet orange1.

Metallicoe: Hello there! Could you tell me about Novus?

Zouwer: It’s a military.

Metallicoe: Well, that much was clear. Do you own land on sweet orange1?

Zouwer: No.

Metallicoe: Oh…Where’s your land then?

Zouwer: Novus already got land.

Metallicoe: At sweet orange1?

Zouwer: Benny owns it. I dont got land.

Well…that achieved nothing. But I don’t think going into an in depth investigation is good use of my time. Maybe, when Novus become active, I’ll check out their goals. But for now, we wait. Stop on by sweet orange1 to pick up an application, check out the rules, or just see the base for yourself. Unfortunately, at the time of my visit, damage was not on, so perhaps they’re not open for combat yet. It seems Seitei also runs a business selling weapons and armour. A vendor for that is also in their hub area. I couldn’t get anything more out of Zouwer. A more in-depth article may follow. For now, just an update. Novis Militas; coming to a SIM near you.

The products of the Novus 2ic.

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

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

[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

Tetra’s Open Rebellion Against the Echelon Union

The Echelon Union ended on Sunday, June 28th, 2009. In its place has risen a new group, called the Tetra Combine, made up of nearly everyone who left Echelon. An intensely-planned and fairly well-executed transition of power was launched on Saturday night and continued through Sunday by nearly all of the Officers and NCO’s of the Echelon Union.

The Echelon Union in its last hours at Vadoo Reef: "null and void."

Within hours, Echelon was already smaller than the group attempting to take its place, and by the end of the day Vadoo Reef was locked down and the Echelon Union was soon composed only of Archlord Roo Tenk and those dwindling numbers of Echelon who had not yet signed on to hear the news.

If anything in combat on the grid comes close to a coup, this was it, and it was pretty much complete and total. Roo soon found himself the last member of his own group and announced that it was all over on his profile by Monday.

As Roo put it, "Echelon is dead. (The period at the end means it's final.)"

In the process, the coup, which in practical terms took the smallest of the Iron Symphony groups, made it slightly smaller, and then took it out of the Iron Symphony altogether, nevertheless shook combat on the grid in much deeper ways.

Its unfolding offers lessons for leaders of all militaries with regard to considering the goals of their soldiers, and perhaps also offers inspiration to those who feel, rightly or wrongly, that their groups are headed in the wrong direction.

All the while, the coup also displays some of the impacts of the everpresent issues of combat in Second Life today. It caused a real stir within the Iron Symphony by taking out its fourth member overnight, while also furthering rumors that its third might soon follow, while also revealing the subtle paranoia some of the members have against other members. It gave the Chaos Decretum a place to further its own ambitions and to claim, wrongly, that it destroyed a member of the Iron Symphony, which also brings up the continued question of where Dark Svenska draws the line between roleplay and serious operations.

And as the coup spread, over thirty ex-Echelon members set out, ordered a new region and are building up their own forces in preparation for the inevitable retaliation.

So then the next questions then are comparatively obvious. What happened with the Echelon Union, and why?

—————————————————————————————————————————————————

“When you make peaceful revolution impossible…”

The saying above finishes through with the fact that you make violent revolution inevitable. Echelon has been racked with protests and complaints by its members from perhaps the very beginning. One of the most colorful outbursts Echelon hosted was a series of protests back in October of 2008.

Freedom isn't free, but apparently, it is flammable.

Months after the first protests, Roo Tenk, increasingly concerned about the Iron Symphony’s goals, chose to eject Dezno Parx over vague claims of stealing and distributing gear belonging to other members of the Iron Symphony.

Most of the group was against the ejection – including Dante Indigo, who was co-leader of the Echelon Union along with Roo Tenk.  But while they discussed the issue, Dante was soon convinced that Echelon was headed in the wrong direction and left the group when Roo chose to eject Dezno anyway.  There was no longer an Echelon high command as it once existed, and Roo was firmly in charge. Those who were against the ejection believed that Roo had done it under pressure from his allies. Echelon founder Darakon Kayvon explained the situation to me.

Darakon Kayvon: Mercz pressured Roo to boot Dezno from the Group..Believing Dezno was a Copybotter..Dante spoke out against it, and Roo didnt..Without Dante’s approval Roo booted Dezno in order to appease the Merczateers..Dante left..He couldn’t work with someone like that
Caine Constantine: So was there ever any proof of the copying?
Darakon Kayvon: Negative

And, properly following this conclusion, one of the underlying worries of many members of Echelon was that its leader cared more about the Iron Symphony than the Echelon Union.

The group was also tired of being so restricted in its combat operations. Though this list is in dispute because of the circumstances of why various groups are on it, Echelon could not engage with the following groups in normal combat.  Please keep in mind that the totals are rounded and approximate and based mostly on land groups and shouldn’t be viewed as an authoritative or comprehensive list in terms of group size.

Banned outright:
Chaos Decretum – 70 members
Guerilla Rebels – 50 members
Vanguard Armed Forces – 150 members

Functionally banned:
Raven Raiders – 50 members – none of the group’s weapons were allowed in combat.

Allied:
Merczateers – 355 members
Ordo Imperialis – 265 members
Militant Collective – 115 members

Neutral:
Alliance Navy – 75 members – though they were allowed to engage if they gave one another forewarning, one must ask if that is the way a real fight should go?)

If you tally all of this up, even excluding the groups whom are not formally banned but whom it’s really unlikely that Echelon could have had a decent fight with, it’s still over 1000 people. Echelon was barred from fighting every major group, and other groups like the Chthonic Syndicate didn’t particularly like to visit Vadoo Reef anymore due to the fact that many of their weapons were banned by the Archlord.

In addition, the recent and questionably-authorized practice by the Merczateers of declaring unilateral protectorates over other groups was another problem to the Tetrans. Gordo Kohn, a Tetran leader explained it to me.

Gordo Kohn: Sometimes a new group would pop up and without anyone’s consent the Mercz would issue a protectorate or something and keep any IS from attacking them.

Caine Constantine: Forefront?
Gordo Kohn: That happened with Forefront and Silver Hawk just before they were added to IS.
Gordo Kohn: The FF protectorate really hurt IS internally imo

Caine Constantine: How so?
Gordo Kohn: It almost came to EU and Mercz exchanging killprims
Gordo Kohn: Proteus said that if EU attacks FF that Mercz will gun us down
Caine Constantine: Wow

Gordo Kohn: We thought it would be a lulzy raid
Gordo Kohn: In Mercz defense, they adjusted it so that if EU attacked Mercz would stay out of it.
Gordo Kohn: But for about a week we were told we cant touch FF without even letting us have a say in it.

Caine Constantine: Do you know if they ever asked Roo or anyone else before admitting new groups into the IS?
Gordo Kohn: We never got any information on any IS meetings or anything
Gordo Kohn: But I doubt Roo even knew what his group’s wants were.
Gordo Kohn: Personally I dont think EU’s voice was ever heard in IS.

Gordo Kohn: You know they say Christoph uses VG like a toolbox, but I think the same could be said about Mercz and the IS, but that’s just me being cynical.
Gordo Kohn: honestly I don’t think EU, MC, Dom, or SCS had much voice in IS matters
Gordo Kohn: I could be mistaken as I haven’t ever been a part of any discussion or meeting with IS leaders, but everyone feels like its that way

So who was left to fight? Not enough people to keep Echelon interested, it would seem. But what’s more interesting perhaps is the way in which Vanguard got on the list of banned groups. Billyjoe Benoir, a big contributor to Echelon’s land fund as the sponsor of its project with the Militant Collective to create a joint third sim for both groups, tried to talk to Roo about the blockade with Vanguard from the perspective of looking for more combat for a group not seeing much of it. The Tetrans said that this conversation was one of the last straws that made the specter of open rebellion into an inevitability.

Billyjoe Benoir: So VG, where are we going to stand on blockading them or not?
Roo Tenk: Blockade the fuck out of them, anally, and vaginally.

Billyjoe Benoir: Don’t you think it would be healthier for us though to not blockade them since we are rarely being attacked by anyone lately?
Roo Tenk: …
Roo Tenk: Okay, let me ask you.
Roo Tenk: Have you ever fought VG?
Billyjoe Benoir: Nope

Roo Tenk: That’s why you don’t understand.
Roo Tenk: They have tech, that just straight up dodges bullets.
Roo Tenk: …
Roo Tenk: As in, cannot be hit.

In this grainy file photo smuggled out of Verklund at the cost of many returns to my homepoint, we can see Vanguard's secret bullet-dodge tech.

Roo Tenk: That’s just one example.

Billyjoe Benoir: I don’t think they will be using the same shit twice in a row
Roo Tenk: ………….
Roo Tenk: It’s VG.
Roo Tenk: They don’t learn, it’s that simple.

Billyjoe Benoir: How about this then
Billyjoe Benoir: Let them attack once and if they use the same shit fine, if they don’t and have changed lift the blockade entirely
Roo Tenk: Billy, they shouldn’t be on the grid. We aren’t unblockading them.
Roo Tenk: Not to mention they are close with Chaos.

Dark Svenska: It seems Christoph wants to consume Chaos. He deemed us as 'Poland'.

Billyjoe Benoir: Christoph and Dark hate each other
Roo Tenk: Officers from VG went to Chaos.

Billyjoe Benoir: Caine was yelling at Dark the other day in NJ when he was harrassing Christoph.

Roo Tenk: OFFICERS.
Roo Tenk: Not commanders.
Billyjoe Benoir: Mmhmm

Billyjoe Benoir: So are we going to blockade RoG as well?
Roo Tenk: RoG is going to die.

Billyjoe Benoir: Well practically everyone in RoG is going to be going over to Vanguard when it starts up again
Roo Tenk: Yeah, so they will be fucked.

Billyjoe Benoir: Not to mention Moky is going over as well, you going to ban him as well?
Roo Tenk: RoG is another shit storm of SL combat.
Roo Tenk: And I already told Moky. If he leaves, he won’t be allowed here.
Roo Tenk: You don’t know Moky…
Roo Tenk: Like… Before you joined.
Roo Tenk: He wasn’t always so well behaved.

Billyjoe Benoir: Yeah well if he was he’s changed since then
Roo Tenk: Yeah, he has, unfortunately, not the rest of VG has.

Billyjoe Benoir: Also that stuff about bullet dodgers is BS, I have seen VG randoms that have attacked Vadoo that weren’t that hard to remove with bullets.

Roo Tenk: Ask one.
Roo Tenk: They have it.
Roo Tenk: They use it.

Billyjoe Benoir: Well they don’t use them anymore most likely cause they realize how dumb they are.
Roo Tenk: ……………
Roo Tenk facepalms.
Roo Tenk: They used them for 12 straight months.
Roo Tenk: With constant criticism.
Roo Tenk: They knew that people didn’t agree with them the whole time.

With Echelon’s soldiers feeling, rightly or wrongly, like there was just not enough fighting for them, the blockade of a new group that even had some fellow Echelon in its ranks just because of its past, without so much as  a thought about how Vanguard may fight now, was too much.  Soon after this conversation – which essentially said that a band of perhaps 30 people merely wanted to be able to fight a group several times its size rather than just ban them – the plotters of the coup came to believe that there was no hope with Roo.

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

The Plot Thickens

One of Tetra’s leaders, Likmai Woodget, told me that the original plan was for Roo to be presented with four main demands.

1. EU is to reinstate Darakon Kayvon as Archlord
2.  All blockades are to become null and void
3.  Power is to be more spread out for officers
4.  EU will begin a transition out of the IS.

They predicted correctly that these demands, especially numbers two and four, had little if any real hope of being fulfilled.  They planned to present them to Roo nevertheless, hear his response, and then leave the group when they were inevitably rejected.

However, some Ordo Imperialis soldiers came to Vadoo Reef to talk about what they had pieced together of the plot so far.  Surprised that word had gotten out about their plans to leave the Echelon Union and the Iron Symphony, Billyjoe decided to lock down the base and keep Ordo out of the region.  He believed that the coup had to be launched then and there before word of it spread any further. This brief ban on Ordo was soon revoked by the other members though who believed it stood against the “no blockades” principle of the new group and it was agreed that it had been a rash, mistaken reaction. But nevertheless, word was out.

And so, with that, resignation letters were sent out via group notices en masse over the Echelon Union’s main group.

Dozens of letters were sent out, one after another - along with a few AK-47's to commemorate the revolutionary mood.

The letters – which had all been written independently – revealed that this coup was the product of a good deal of thought and planning, and that it was nobody’s first option.  The leaders of the rebellion, Likmai Woodget and Gordo Kohn, now Tetra’s co-leaders, had two especially interesting letters of resignation, which summed up the general consensus of the coup and what it aimed to do.

“My friends, Brothers and Sisters in arms, tonight I come to you looking for your support.  For too long the Iron Symphony has made our community a mere shadow of its former self, and tonight a group of us have decided to do something about it.  We are breaking free from the Echelon Union and the Iron Symphony.  Breaking away from all of these things that are strangling us as a whole…  I ask that you will follow us into this new age and come to join us in arms with a new group.  A group that isn’t plagued by blockades or bans, but one free to fight who it pleases!  If you do not wish to join us, take a good look at what you have been doing in EU since you have joined.  Look and see that while there may be many in sim, there is no one to fight.  Do you really want to stay in a group with nothing to do?

We just want to fight.  That is what this is all about, and why we must break free from the current community norms.  I only ask that if you do not follow us you take charge and realize what is wrong with SL combat today and try to fix it.

I hope to see you on the battlefield.

-Lik”

Gordo’s letter touched on many of the same theme’s as Likmai’s letter.

“For all of my friends here, it has truly been an honor to serve with each and every one of you.  Unfortunately we all have our own path to follow and my time here in EU has come to an end.  For months I have dedicated my service entirely to EU, working to create a solid and innovative structure to the mess that I’ve found internally.  And for the few of you that have helped me accomplish this, I’ll miss you.

As for now I have found myself conflicted however.  I’ve come to believe that the morals and attitudes that drew me to EU in the first place have all but vanished.  The care free, laid back atmosphere that I had loved so much had lifted and what was left I hardly recognized.  Blanket bans and blockades had taken the place of rich combat activity.  I’ve seen EU become a complete EU had turned into more of a political machine focusing more on IS’s goals rather than EU’s.

And beyond that I can no longer stand the blatant corruption that I’ve observed in both EU and IS…  Blackmail, Espianoge, and Extortion… Aside from the blatant Hypocracy that is IS… It is my belief that this practice is far from expected from your leaders and its something I cannot morally be a part of any longer.  So for all of you, I ask that you look carefully for a millitary showcases your own values, and if that is not possible…

Fight for yourself.

Gordo Kohn
Support Komdiv”

Billyjoe Benoir expressed another side of the discontent with the Echelon Union in his letter.

“My patience is at an end.

The actions of our so called “Allies” in the Ordo Imperialis combined with those of lack of leadership and in general not caring by our “leader” Roo Tenk have worn my patience to the breaking point. As of this moment I have resigned all duties pertaining to being in the EU. I do so with a heavy heart as EU was everything to me but it is now evident to me that things are not going to improve here. With this I must bid my adieu’s to the military that I grew to love so much and had so many good memories from it as well.

I now must bid you all farewell and hope to meet you in the next incarnation of EU.”

————————————————————————————————————————————————–

The Rebellion Begins

And with that, the Tetra Combine was founded. Now, the Tetrans, who’d been forced to act before their sim was open, decided instead to camp out at Vadoo Reef, offering the chance for a new start to anyone who wanted to leave Echelon and join their ranks. All of the active members of Echelon left EU and the IS for Tetra’s goal of more combat for all.

The Tetrans, who were just looking to swell their ranks with the rest of the dissatisfied Echelon Union, were soon faced with questioning over their goals and intentions by other members of the Iron Symphony. This had been going on for some time according to the Tetrans. Gordo told me about a recent incident where a member of the Ordo Frumentarii questioned a member of Echelon on their feelings toward the Iron Symphony and then asked it to be kept secret.

Aelus Janus: What are your thoughts on staying in the Iron Symphony?
Aelus Janus: Locke Tomba was recently talking about splitting with the IS.

Madison Foyston: I feel that important to stay together.

Aelus Janus: This to remain between you and I.
Aelus Janus: I agree! I think the Union is part of the definition of the Iron Symphony.

Madison Foyston: I wish we cooperated more
Madison Foyston: We should do more scrimmage matches, and try to create a tighter union.

The questioning and secrecy really bothered Gordo, who said it was nothing new.

Gordo Kohn: Usually I wouldn’t care much about something like that but he told Madi to keep it a secret.
Gordo Kohn: Anyway Madi ended up just telling him what he wanted to hear
Caine Constantine: Looks like she just told him what he wanted to hear. (This was one of those cases where two people have the same thought at the same second.)

Gordo Kohn: Which is what everybody does its because we’re used to this shit by now.
Gordo Kohn: Not the first time we had something like this happen, and I’ve seen it happen in other groups too

Caine Constantine: Other members of the IS?
Gordo Kohn: Yeah, basically anything that isn’t Mercz or Ordo
Gordo Kohn: Or if they do they spy on themselves, which is even worse.
Gordo Kohn: I don’t know, those kinds of things along with Lurdan basically telling everybody that the VG blockade sticks without even giving VG a chance to prove themselves.
Gordo Kohn: I just couldn’t stand the hypocrisy anymore, and from the support we’ve had everybody else felt the same.

Soon there was talk of an attempt by the Merczateers and the Ordo Imperialis to send troops to Vadoo Reef and keep the situation under control until such time as Roo could log on and deal with the problem. Chaos forces simultaneously decided to intervene, hoping to help the Tetrans keep the Iron Symphony out of Vadoo Reef. Though there were some sporadic verbal exchanges, most of the fighting was impossible because, as a void region, Vadoo Reef could only have 20 people in it at a time and was full of Tetrans and Chaos.

With 20 people already in it, Vadoo Reef was impenetrable.

The Tetrans were mostly waiting out and recruiting any Echelon who came by. In time, the Chaos and the Tetrans, presumably bored, had a dance party.

Roo soon logged on, and Chaos kept him from banning them all for a brief time by repeatedly killing him in his spawn. He turned off physics and scripts and soon locked the sim down and kept everyone out. The Tetrans regrouped elsewhere and the Echelon Union was now dead.

————————————————————————————————————————————————–

The Chaos Factor

Immediately after the Tetran coup it was assumed by many that Chaos, whose presence was part of the day’s events, had helped further the coup. Talking to Dark Svenska, it sounded like he believed this to be the case. And while Dark is not often one believed by the members of the Iron Symphony, they all seemed to believe at first that he was telling the absolute truth when he claimed credit for what had happened.

Dark Svenska: So, did you hear?
Dark Svenska: Me along with Tetra consumed EU after a great siege of the SIM.

Caine Constantine: uh huh…
Caine Constantine: From what they tell me
Caine Constantine: you guys just spawnkilled Roo for a while
Caine Constantine: and had a dance party

Dark Svenska: Actually this was going on way before Roo was even online.
Dark Svenska: This is how it went: Tetra and i poured in a legion of Decretum soldiers. We stayed there hoping that Ordo or Mercz would drop by and give us some sport. Sadly though the SIM was filled to maximum capacity resulting in IS trying frantically to get in and try to stabalize the SIM. They tried and failed, with no resistance. So we sat there thinking. “Maybe some EU will log on and ect..” Then Roo hops on and we’re like “Oh sweet maybe he`ll fight us.” Then boom.
Dark Svenska: All of it was for two purposes, Tetra did it for their reasons. We however did it because i wanted revenge on Roo for the ejecting of Dezno Parx.

Caine Constantine: Did they ask you guys to come in or did you come in on your own?
Dark Svenska: I told Tetra it was pretty boring right now, and i said. “Hey who wants to scare things up a little?” They agreed and i TPed a legion of Chaos not expecting that the SIM would fill. I blame LL for that though.
Dark Svenska: I mean hell we all wanted IS to come storming in. It would of made a epic fight.

Dark told his group that they had indeed helped to destroy one of the members of the Iron Symphony, and that trophies would be awarded to all who participated in the event. In Dark’s words, things unfolded according to Chaos’s goals and plans.

"I guess what matters is we decimated a group that deserved destruction."

It all made me ask why some leaders will ignore Dark when he claims to do something positive and then believe him totally when he takes credit for something that the people he says he helped say he has no responsibility for – the coup against Echelon.

Indeed, according to the Tetran leadership, Chaos was more an eager supporter of the circumstances than a group that the Tetrans wanted help or friendship from.

Likmai Woodget: Although Chaos was present at Vadoo Reef on the day of our uprising, I would like to make it clear that we are not openly hostile with Chaos, or allied with them in any sort of way.
Caine Constantine: Did they cause the uprising in any way?
Likmai Woodget: No, by the time they had learned about what we did they came to show support in our actions.
Likmai Woodget: And that is as far as it goes.

In fact, even some of the leaders of the Iron Symphony couldn’t understand what some of the Chaos were even bothering them about. One member of Chaos makes an ill-fated attempt at being…evil?

Slovic Jaggernov: Good your here. Tetra has overthrown Echelon with the help of Chaos. Ordo and we think IS is trying come with personnel to stabilize the situation until Echelon Admins get on.
Slovic Jaggernov: Bad news. Echelon Admins= Tetra Admins. EU has dissolved. Revolutions FTW good sir. Have a nice day.
Slovic Jaggernov: Oh and the sim is full of Chaos and Tetra personnel who have their spawnpoints et within the sim. Extreme Defensive Positions have been acquired.
Slovic Jaggernov: We’ll sit here all night for you Anthony. One man at a time.
Slovic Jaggernov: ;)
Slovic Jaggernov: Who says Chaos isn’t evil?

Anthony Lehane: I don’t understand why you’re being condescending, if the members of EU wanted to create a new group they have every right to.

Slovic Jaggernov: Aryte sees it as EU being defeated and is trying to attack the sim with your members.
Slovic Jaggernov: Open warfare with us before our own sim Meliae is open.

In the final analysis, it appears a large group of bored Chaos soldiers came to Vadoo to help keep out any attackers by jamming the sim. In terms of making the revolution a success, it’s really doubtful that they played any role in this, unless the Iron Symphony really was planning to attack the Tetrans for trying to leave Echelon.

But it’s pretty questionable whether this would have even happened considering that it would have essentially said that the Iron Symphony is a group you can never leave on your own accord. All in all, Chaos did only what it does best – create chaos and have fun doing it. For everyone else, they confused the real issues of the coup.

——————————————————————————————————————————————

The Last Echelon Soldier

Echelon Archlord Roo Tenk had become the last man in his group, aside from those who had not yet logged on to jump ship. He sent out a few notices through various Iron Symphony groups to express his feelings on the subject, especially focusing on the minor role Chaos had played in the revolt. He sent the following over a group of the leaders of the Iron Symphony.

“I’ve purged all groups except main, and land. The officer “revolution” was a massive misunderstanding. I’ve been inactive for the past 2 months. Darkdirt and Darakon had been in control. Apparently, no one else knew that. I came online to be spawn killed with riots in the sim, joined by Chaos members, and none other than Svenska himself. I don’t have time to rebuild Echelon to what it once was, so it’s over. I have no plan of restarting it. I’m sorry.”

He told the members of the group about some plans for it in the future.

“I have no ambition to restart this group. It’s over. Feel free to stay in this group, or the main group, or leave. It doesn’t matter either way. I will figure out some use for both of the groups. I may open a combat sandbox in honor of the former Echelon group. I’m really not sure yet. I’ll keep you all posted.”

Another point he insisted on making was that it was not himself who was in charge of the Echelon Union anymore, and hadn’t been that way for a month.

“Attention misinformants: I haven’t been the Archlord of Echelon since at least a month ago. I gave command to Darkdirt and Darakon. I’ve only been paying tier. But I guess you didn’t understand that.”

But probably his clearest statement with regard to his position on the rebellion was when he rejected any of the demands made by the former Echelon Union soldiers and seemed to blame it all on Chaos.

“I really don’t care. I’m not leaving EU to let you all turn it into Chaos II. And anyone in TC (Tetra Combine) can go fuck themselves, we aren’t leaving the IS. I don’t care if I’m the only person left in EU, I’m not allowing it to leave the IS, nor turn into Chaos.”

I knew that I had to talk to Roo if I wanted this to be anything resembling a legitimate article and not just something akin to the Tetran Declaration of Independence with pictures. What follows is an extensive discussion with Roo on the subject of the end of his group, and his beliefs with regard to the role of the Iron Symphony and the Echelon Union in each others affairs. At times it seems like an argument or a debate, but it’s an attempt to get out the information that people in our wide spectrum of readers would like to know about.

Caine Constantine: Hey Roo, do you think I could talk to you about the recent events surrounding Echelon and the new group Tetra?
Roo Tenk: I guess. But Tetra is apparently already experiencing difficulty. From what I’ve heard, the person paying for their sim is no longer going to pay for it.

Caine Constantine: Ah wow, so you have no love lost for the new group?
Roo Tenk: The thing people don’t understand is this. I have been inactive for the past 1-2 months. I gave full group power to Darakon Kayvon and Darkdirt Ohara during this period. I was only paying tier for the group. I had no involvement as far as command was concerned.

Caine Constantine: I talked to them about that this morning and they told me that while you had given them power in the group, you were still running all the “foreign relations” as it were.
Roo Tenk: Yeah, most of the officers had bad connections to either the Mercz, or Ordo. And I don’t really care whether they like it or not; I wasn’t going to allow them to leave the Iron Symphony. Because as you can see, they are now with Chaos. If that doesn’t tell you how poorly they are doing, I don’t know what really can.

Caine Constantine: So there was no way you guys would have ever left the IS?
Roo Tenk: While I was still breathing, no.

Caine Constantine: Why is this?
Roo Tenk: Because we shared the same values with them, and we were nothing like Chaos.

Caine Constantine: I think the statement was, even if I’m the only one left, we’ll never leave the IS, paraphrasing of course.
Roo Tenk: Obviously not. The group is done. So basically anything I am saying is past tense.

Caine Constantine: Is the choice really just Chaos or the IS?
Roo Tenk: I’m using them as an example. Considering Chaos was a large part of the disbanding of the group, they are sort of a primary example.
Roo Tenk: Chaos jumped on the first chance they saw to destroy an Iron Symphony group. No surprise there. Amirite?

Caine Constantine: Definitely understandable given much of their past.
Caine Constantine: So you think Chaos made it possible?
Roo Tenk: I could send you these photos I have… They are of Chaos notices.
Roo Tenk: Showing their direct involvement.
Roo Tenk: They take credit for it, if you’d look.

Caine Constantine: They do take credit indeed
Roo Tenk: And then afterwards, it seems they gave “trophies” out to anyone involved.

Caine Constantine: What did Chaos actually do to further the end of Echelon though?
Roo Tenk: Well, when I logged on, there were many Chaos members who attempted to spawn kill me. At which point I turned off sim access.
Roo Tenk: Dark Svenska himself was in the sim, and had gotten access to the land group.
Roo Tenk: Many Chaos members were invited to the land group after that, and set their home to Vadoo Reef.

Caine Constantine: But wasn’t the real damage the fact that nearly all of the officers and the NCO’s left?
Caine Constantine: Versus Chaos antics the day after?

Roo Tenk: I suppose. I mean, the officers leaving wouldn’t have really been so bad. But you know, then everyone else just plays follow the leader. And at the time, I was on a two day absence. So I didn’t have the chance to log in and neutralize any issues.

Caine Constantine: Yeah that can make things difficult, definitely.
Caine Constantine: Did you ever get to see the list of demands that the Tetrans were planning to put forth to you? I was wondering if I could get your thoughts on them.
Roo Tenk: Nope. I wasn’t really told anything. But the thing is, I don’t really care at this point. I have my own future ahead of me. And it doesn’t involve Tetra, or Chaos. I was, and still am inactive.

Caine Constantine: What are your plans, if you can disclose them?
Roo Tenk: Probably just work with Hua more and expand Imperium for a while. I’m have no ambition to start a new group, if that’s what you were asking. I may join another military group, though I’m not sure which. It’s all just whenever I have time to really get on SL more often. Right now I’m swamped with work. I can’t log on very often.

Caine Constantine: Well if you don’t mind, I wanted to ask you about some of the reasons that the Tetrans said they left Echelon, because it would be good to get the other side of their points here.
Roo Tenk: Sure. Although I’m not sure I can answer some of them, as I wasn’t informed of almost anything – hence my inactivity.

Caine Constantine: Alright, thank you. Okay, the first one I heard the most was that Echelon just was not getting enough combat.
Roo Tenk: That’s a bit hypocritic… Any of the officers who left could have lead attacks. Like I said though, I was offline, so there’s no way I could have lead the attacks myself. When I was online I was updating scripts, or dealing with inter-group issues.

Caine Constantine: Definitely, but what I found was that Echelon was not allowed to fight Vanguard, Chaos, GR, RR, Mercz, Ordo, MC, or AN, and it seems like this represents about a thousand people.
Caine Constantine: I was wondering if this was an accurate list.

Roo Tenk: No, it isn’t…RR is not banned, although most of their weapons were banned from OUR sim, due to intense lag. Their men, armed with other weapons were more than welcome though. Vanguard was dead the entire time EU was undergoing these combat constraints… So that’s sort of a null point. GR was dead most of the time we were in this situation as well. GR was actually banned by Dante way back in the day… But then they just died out.
Roo Tenk: And it’s obvious we aren’t going to attack our allies.

Caine Constantine: So then any lack of combat was the fault of the leaders of the group at the time, Darkdirt and Darakon?
Roo Tenk: No. Not really. Any of the officers could have lead attacks as well. Leon, Billy, Gordo, Likmai, you know… All the same people who complain about lack of combat? They could have attacked… They just chose to complain about it, instead of leading one themself.

Caine Constantine: The second major criticism most of the people in the new group had was that you were not really interested in considering any of their thoughts or new ideas in your decision making.
Roo Tenk: I had no decision to make. I gave entire control to Darkdirt and Darakon. I also gave specific officers full rights to make necessary changes while I was absent.
Caine Constantine: Well for example, I was given this notecard that they felt was “the last straw” or one of them in terms of deciding to leave the group. They said it illustrated this point.

I then sent Roo the conversation he had had with Billyjoe over the Vanguard blockade.

Roo Tenk: The IS decided as a whole, that we were going to blockade VG.
Caine Constantine: You, Aryte, Anthony, Lurdan and Raideur you mean?
Roo Tenk: Yes, and there was a notice sent out in the IS group about it too.

Caine Constantine: Did you talk to members of Echelon before making the decision for the group, or did you make the call yourself?
Roo Tenk: I believe I told you earlier that I was handling most outside policy, due to some of the officers having hate towards our allies. Such as Gordo, hating the Mercz. Leon never liked the IS either.

Caine Constantine: Did most Echelon like it?
Roo Tenk: Some. Others didn’t. But that wasn’t their issue.
Roo Tenk: We joined the IS before I was even in command.

Caine Constantine: It was not the issue of the soldiers what alliance they were part of?
Roo Tenk: Kudos, I guess you have a point. So allow me to reillustrate my point…
Roo Tenk: Have you ever heard the term…”I know what’s best for you”? That applies to their circumstances.

Caine Constantine: Not trying to make points, just trying to ask the questions I think people might ask. You know?
Caine Constantine: So just so it doesn’t seem like I’m trying to prove you wrong or anything.
Roo Tenk: It’s okay. You made a point, whether you were trying to or not. Hah.

Caine Constantine: So you think the IS was good for Echelon even though most of them didn’t want to be a part of it?
Roo Tenk: I wouldn’t say most of them…Most wanted to be in it.
Roo Tenk: Look at the IS, it’s the largest group by far. You can’t say most people don’t want to be in it. Most do.
Roo Tenk: If most people didn’t want to be in it, Ordo and Mercz wouldn’t be as large as they are.

Caine Constantine: Most Echelon left the EU though in large part over that issue.
Roo Tenk: I told you before, follow the leader.

Caine Constantine: So I am asking though, if most Echelon wanted to be in IS?
Caine Constantine: Was that the case?
Roo Tenk: One decided to have a butt-hurt about it, so everyone else followed.

Caine Constantine: They’re really that…simple?
Roo Tenk: It’s just a person sitting behind a monitor. That’s as simple as it gets.

Caine Constantine: But I mean, you’re saying the people who left Echelon, including the officers you entrusted with running it right down to most of the enlisted, left the group essentially because one guy did it?
Roo Tenk: Not one guy. A few. Gordo, Leon, Likmai, Mokymok, and Billy.

Caine Constantine: But how did they even convince the founder of the group, Darakon, to join them then if it was just on a whim?
Roo Tenk: Darakon was a large part of it too. I suspected Darakon was against me for a while. He stayed impartial up until that point.

Caine Constantine: Do you think they had any valid points in their decision to leave the group and the Iron Symphony?
Caine Constantine: Or was it really just shortsightedness?
Roo Tenk: I can’t speak for the opinions of others… Some see the IS as a beacon of fairness, others see the opposite. It’s really dependant on the person.

Caine Constantine: Yeah I see what you mean
Roo Tenk: As you can CLEARLY see, not everyone likes the IS.
Roo Tenk: But some really do.

Caine Constantine: All of the people who left EU and founded Tetra who I talked to told me that they were convinced that you cared more about the Iron Symphony and personal friendships with the leaders of those groups than you cared about the Echelon Union, and they said that in fact Echelon was as one of them put it, a “trophy army” useful for allowing you to be a part of the IS.
Caine Constantine: What do you think of that kind of accusation?
Roo Tenk: It’s a really simple response.
Roo Tenk: EU was in the IS before I was a leader. So that’s nonsense.

Caine Constantine: But you said you’d never, ever leave, even if all Echelon members left or wanted to leave.
Roo Tenk: Yeah, I saw it as our “ally”… That’s what the IS is, it’s an alliance. It’s more than an alliance, but evenso… That’s what you want you allies to be like. With you until the end.

Caine Constantine: But you’d really sooner have stayed in the Iron Symphony even if all of your members thought it was the wrong thing to do?
Caine Constantine: Because when you describe it that way, it does sound like you’re saying you are more loyal to the IS than to Echelon
Caine Constantine: Allies to the IS to the end, even at the loss of all of Echelon.
Roo Tenk: I’m saying we are set with our allies. If you don’t like it, join somewhere else.
Roo Tenk: Would you join the Mercz if you hated the IS? Not likely.

Caine Constantine: Sure, but if 90% of Echelon wanted to leave because they thought IS had become a bad institution, you’re saying that it wouldn’t make a difference, right?
Roo Tenk: I’d rather see EU die with a decent reputation, than seeing EU turn into Chaos. Is that understandable?

Caine Constantine: Definitely. And that reputation can only be had through the IS?
Roo Tenk: No. But in our case, we were already in the IS.
Roo Tenk: For the third time. We were in the IS before I became an Archlord.

Caine Constantine: I understand, definitely. The reason the point keeps coming up though is because it seems that you are saying to some degree that the IS is more important to you than the goals of the majority of the members of the group, which you seem to be saying is not relevant because you know what’s best for them in that respect. I am just trying to get what’s here clear.
Roo Tenk: The IS is a base to our group. The values, I mean.

Caine Constantine: Understood. Do you have any other comments you might like to share on the happenings of the past couple days?
Roo Tenk: Not really. I think I’ve expressed my discontent, yet uncaringness.
Roo Tenk: And if I haven’t…
Roo Tenk: I don’t care.
Roo Tenk: But I am discontent.
Roo Tenk: (expressed.^)

Caine Constantine: I appreciate all of your patience in discussing this with me Roo
Roo Tenk: No problem, Caine. Happy editing. This is a long log…haha.
Caine Constantine: Definitely, but I think it’s all pretty relevant. I wish you the best of luck with your new projects.
Roo Tenk: Thanks. I wish you luck with the Journal.

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

The Tetra Combine

In the final analysis the most important effects of the coup are that the Iron Symphony has lost a member, and the combat community has gained a new face while losing an old one.

The coup brings up some questions about whether the Iron Symphony is an alliance that responds to the needs and wants of its member groups, both for combat and for recognition as an equal. This is an important question to consider when the Iron Symphony in the past month went from five to three members with the expulsion of Silver Hawk as well. With rumblings in other groups, you can bet they are going to do their best to make sure this number doesn’t go any lower, with the lessons learned from the Tetran coup.

Though it was later rescinded, the Merczateer protectorate over Forefront and the threat to shoot any Echelon who might try and fight Forefront – in essence, siding with a protectorate over a long-time ally – was definitely a blow to relations between the Iron Symphony and the members of the Echelon Union, even if officially Roo himself did not care. Though Forefront needed breathing room, forcing it on allies was unpalatable.

Furthermore, the decision to blockade Vanguard, while definitely understandable in many ways on the Merczateers or Ordo Imperialis sides, seeing as how Christoph had done the groups and their leaders much harm in the past, nevertheless seems much weaker when it comes to the Echelon Union – many of whom had never even fought Vanguard and who were appalled at the idea of yet another group being banned.

While the Merczateers and the Ordo Imperialis may see combat all the time, Echelon didn’t. For them to lose the chance to fight a major group when they already couldn’t fight perhaps a thousand people was a big loss, especially when the justification Roo provided was made without consideration of the goals of Echelon soldiers.

Furthermore, the Tetrans have created a new enemy for nearly everyone to fight – themselves.

Sporting Soviet assault rifles new uniforms made on commission by Kamil Noel, the new Tetra Combine fully looks the part of revolutionaries.

They’re currently working with members of the Militant Collective to acquire new weapons for use in battle. Furthermore, both groups have joined together to create “The Iron Outpost,” now a joint MC-TC project by which both groups will have an equal stake in an extra battlefield for both sides to defend and hang out at. So far, it would appear that the Tetrans are drawing close to their former ally, and developments between these two could also have far-reaching implications for combat on the grid.

The biggest lesson learned though is this. Even when a leader owns the land and is the only one with full authority, they disregard the wishes of the majority of their soldiers at will. The Echelon Union was a group with very strong morale – that’s the only way you can explain all of them but one leaving at once. But as an astute observer once put it, this is Second Life and you can join – or form – any army you like for any reason you like. And if you expect to keep a group together, they’ve got to be happy and having fun, too. Armies on the grid are not based on conscription, but instead on consent. And while pride and a desire to create and improve means people won’t automatically flock to greener pastures, they’ll sure think twice if the ones they’ve got look worse each day.

That said, one thing is sure – we’ll all be hearing more from Tetra real soon.

-Caine Constantine

A story of frags, bullets, teleports, attacks, tea and Queen. Oh, and 2142’s new base.

Editor’s note: This story was quickly pushed off the front page and has been moved back up for a while.  Thank you – Caine.

Sure, base opening stories aren’t the most engaging reading material you could find, but the mysterious alour of Port Kelvin, guarded by 2142 personnel, might just give you something to do.

2142’s new base is, in fact, very detailed; and utilizes the 15000 prims wisely. With two hangars on the side of a steep hill, a subsequent wall, and an array of administration, infantry and defense structures being the walls, this looks to be an enjoyable place for attackers and defenders alike.

As I arrived, a hoard of Merczateer and Guerilla Rebel forces arrived, preparing to attack. As I was quickly taken care of, then teleported to one of the many buildings behind the personnel defenses, I set out to see how 2142 defended Port Kelvin.

As the bullets went flying, and the attackers dispersed across the east side of the sim, I took a moment to explore the base for myself.

The steep rising to 2142's stronghold.

The north cliff-side hanger, lit by the dim lights.

2142 Commander LordBob Boa explained how the base consists of destroyable forcefields, as to keep things fair. He also showed me three flags across the wall of defense, for attacking forces to capture as a sign of progress.  LordBob also told me that 2142 were working on a Titan sky-ship for their homepoint, so they’d drop down into battle – replacing their current underground bunker homepoint. “It makes it more fun for the enemy, and us, giving an even playingfield” LordBob told the Journal.

Courtesy of IGN.com

Glancing back at the attacking forces, I saw a group of Merczateers teleporting each other to the south wall, much to the horror of the sprinting 2142 personnel.

A squad of Merczateer attackers brave a dim-lit corner of Port Kelvin, as approaching 2142 forces advance on their position.

A few minutes after, the Merczateers were in the compound.

Merczateers in the 2142 base.

Shortly after, 2142 cleared them out.

As attackers continued to flow in, I spoke with some of the attacking Merczateers.

Merczateer member billyyank Dagger told me how he thought the hill was too steep, and gave attackers a large disadvantage. I would agree with him partially, as 2142 have the higher ground, it’s easier for them. However, the Merczateers did manage to break the defense line, which shows it can be broken quickly with the right skill and forces.

On the Merczateer group chat, one Merczateer expressed his opinion that Port Kelvin is a good map on Battlefield: 2142, but not so good when it is translated into SL.

Proteus Hand commented that the base is an improvement to the last one, and General Poon Voom told me it has plenty of land cover, which is good in his books!

As I evacuated my tent at the sound of grenades around me, and dived under the staircase of a nearby administration building, one of the flags 2142 had placed around their base, shouted;

Capture the Flag v2 shouts: 2142 has lost the flag at Antare after holding it for 16h 23m 22s.
Capture the Flag v2 shouts: Ranga Surtees has captured the flag at Antare for Merczateers.

And, one minute and thirty-five seconds later;

Capture the Flag v2 shouts: Merczateers has lost the flag at Antare after holding it for 1m 35s.
Capture the Flag v2 shouts: Mokuno Zarco has captured the flag at Antare for 2142.

{Click here and play the video before you read on.}

Shown above, I was caught up in a crossfire; the building I was seeking refuge in was being fired upon in all angles, as I was carpet bombed by arial units.

Prompty, as another flag shouted it’s surrender, I was killed; and was rather bored then.

The flags were being contested all over the place now. Captured, recaptured, captured, recaptured; the flags just kept yelling.

“/me sighs.”

As fallen soldiers sunk through the snow around me, I hummed a bit of Queen to fill up some time.

“Another one bites the dust.”

The Merczateers were once again running throughout the base. Desperate pleads were ignored.

Vancouver Cortes shouts: damn idiot dont kill me!

Fighting continues. 2142’s new base has proven itself as interesting, to say the least.

Well. There you have it. Interesting, huh? And now, we’ll finish with a picture of LordBob with his supply of tea, prior to the battle.

Explosions continue. And I make my departure.

Metallicoe Keng

New Jessie War Journal Editor

Tunivore Kohime: do i seriously
Tunivore Kohime: hear lightsabers or something
Metallicoe Keng: Yar
Metallicoe Keng: Merczateer Storm Trooper Division is here.

Benny’s bringin’ Batallion back.

Yes! He’s back! After lying low for a while, BennyBoy Ball, the character we all love to hate, is back in the community, commanding his newly reformed military; Imperium Batallion.

Based in Money Island 1, previously a hub for second life campers, Imperium Batallion doesn’t plan to open for a while. While details are sketchy, benny’s uniform, the other IB soldiers, and the built sim definitely suggests it’s making a glorious return.

A view of Money Island 1, IB HQ

Bennyboy sporting IBs old armour, soon being replaced.

So, watch this space!

What do you think?

GR: “That that don’t kill me, can only make me stronger.”

As much as Kanye’s lyrics are grammatically hellish, it’s clear that the Guerilla Rebels are indeed, becoming stronger even when they are knocked down by loss of land.

Guerilla Rebels, the post Vietnam-themed milita, have recently moved to a new plot of land; a quarter of a sim in the region of Armaud. Contrary to expectation, the new land brought over ten new rebels, Zidene Kamm told me.

Shown above, the town of the Guerilla Rebels, 2000 meters in the air.

The base has a network of underground tunnels and passages, Kamm explained – where, recently, a raid group of Mercateers got lost, so I am told.

A dingy tunnel deep under the soil of SW Armaud.

“We expect to have a linked core system up and running soon, to provide a much more enjoyable and challenging combat experience”. With this perhaps combat will become more than just shooting a cylinderical prim, tactics?!

What do you think of GRs new base? After being complimented by the attacking Merczeteers, and exploring it myself, it’s passed my test!

-Metallicoe Keng

Back from the dead.

Vanguard Reborn and Rising

For all of those who have in recent months wished for a shakeup in the combat community on the grid, it’s coming soon. Depending on who you’re talking to though, it may be a case of being careful for what you wished for.

Vanguard is back and with a warchest full of the vast proceeds from the Valycion Enterprises weapons company, Vorhut Fuhrer Christoph Naumova has picked up a new full region for the group – Verklund – and says it will be ready within a month. I talked to Christoph to find out more about what was going on in the new region, which is currently on access but still home to a growing new group.

Caine Constantine: I wanted to ask if I could talk to you more about the group coming back this weekend?
Christoph Naumova: Sure but it ain’t coming back for a few weeks.
Christoph Naumova: Just announced it.

Caine Constantine: Should be interesting. Good luck getting things back to speed, this is a prime time to get a new superpower going.
Christoph Naumova: Yeah I already got a sim.

Caine Constantine: So are you planning to pick up where you left off in terms of enemies?
Christoph Naumova: Read profile.

“Yup, its confirmed. I AM NOT INVITING YET.

All questions about Vanguard should be directed in notecard format to myself. If you wish to apply before the opening (unspecified date) do so in notecard form with your old rank or qualifications you have from prior militaries.

Upon opening all bans are null and void, any relations with prior militaries are open to negotiation, and terms are compromiseable if talked about beforehand.

So seriously, notecard it.”

Caine Constantine: I also heard you’re merging with RoG?
Christoph Naumova: I’m eating them, yes.

Caine Constantine: With their consent, or just marching in and declaring “it’s mine, everyone”?
Christoph Naumova: I did the later, and they were like, we’ll just let you do it, because they resisted the last 2 times, and it didn’t work out so well.
Christoph Naumova: I am however going to sit down with leaders of the IS.

They’re also going to be embracing some of the armored combat that many in the Iron Symphony have been working to bring into the mainstream of combat on the grid.

Caine Constantine: Are you doing the armored combat too?
Christoph Naumova: yep
Christoph Naumova: We have this badass tank
Christoph Naumova: Dual cannons
Christoph Naumova: dual vulcans
Christoph Naumova: mortars
Christoph Naumova: missiles
Christoph Naumova: and a flamethrower

What will happen next is probably clear to everyone. Christoph is going to put together another well-built sim and a new arsenal of weapons that are going to swell ranks that will already be growing strong when many ex-Vanguard inevitably return to the group. Christoph has already assembled most of his leadership team and now it’s more likely than not really only a matter of time before the group is back up to speed. The fact that the group is going to be well-sized and well-armed is no doubt, so long as the reborn Vanguard lasts a few months at least.

That said, there is still plenty left up to speculation – but what’s up to speculation is now in the hands of all of the combat community’s other groups.

The Republic of Germany

Christoph has said he is merging with the Republic of Germany. And he’s following through indeed – Vanguard is taking over the group entirely, and with the full consent of most Germans at that, who seem to look forward to becoming part of Vanguard. I talked to sassistrawberry Gossipgirl, who by the writing of this article, was the sole leader and financier of the Republic of Germany. She was one of the last to agree to the union of Vanguard and Germany, but is now a strong supporter of the two groups uniting.

Caine Constantine: Hey sassistrawberry, I had a quick question I wanted to run by you.
Caine Constantine: I just wanted to ask you about the merger with Vanguard.
Caine Constantine: Why’s it happening?

sassistrawberry GossipGirl: sure
sassistrawberry GossipGirl: I cant totally afford ROG to the fullest, and our sims are very messed up, as they always lag now.
sassistrawberry GossipGirl: Our Kommand is rarely on, and most of the higher ranked are all Ex-Vanguard.
sassistrawberry GossipGirl: They are going back regardless.

Caine Constantine: So I’m not sure what to think, is this a happy merger or a matter of “Well, we don’t have a choice.”?

sassistrawberry GossipGirl: I am ok with it.
sassistrawberry GossipGirl: Not totally thrilled, as I love ROG.
sassistrawberry GossipGirl: But being the only one who supports it…

Caine Constantine: Will you be joining Vanguard?

sassistrawberry GossipGirl: With this merger.. there will be several hands in the money pot
sassistrawberry GossipGirl: Yes, I am. All of my Kommand are going.
sassistrawberry GossipGirl: This includes Gabe, Gunner, KC and Tristan.

Caine Constantine: I see
Caine Constantine: Are they receiving any special positions?

sassistrawberry GossipGirl: We have positions.

Caine Constantine: Officers?

sassistrawberry GossipGirl: Some of my officers already have spots as well.
sassistrawberry GossipGirl: I cant speak for the others.

Caine Constantine: I hope they at least make you an officer as you’ve certainly showed a lot of dedication.

sassistrawberry GossipGirl: Yes, I will be an officer.

Caine Constantine: That’s good, for them too.

sassistrawberry GossipGirl: I applaud Chris on his effort to make changes.

Caine Constantine: What do you mean?

sassistrawberry GossipGirl: To make some of this bad blood go away. I know VG was blockaded. I have already been given that information that now that ROG is merging .. we too will be blockaded

Caine Constantine: Wow, who said this?

sassistrawberry GossipGirl: We want to change that. It came down from Lurdan… To Ayatora Slade, who then told me as Aya and I are friends.
sassistrawberry GossipGirl: We want to fix that, we just want to be able to fight

Caine Constantine: Yeah, understandable.

sassistrawberry GossipGirl: In fact, Mercz attacked us the other day and afterwards… we had a dance party with them.

Caine Constantine: And so now they’re refusing to fight because you’re joining Vanguard?

sassistrawberry GossipGirl: Yes, when we merge all members of ROG will as well be blockaded from the Iron Symphony.
sassistrawberry GossipGirl: And in fact…none of them have been attacking us now.
sassistrawberry GossipGirl: But our active members are depleting with this merge.

Caine Constantine: How many active members do you think will be following you into Vanguard?

sassistrawberry GossipGirl: At least 50 of the good ones.
sassistrawberry GossipGirl: All of my current officers…
sassistrawberry GossipGirl: But we are trying (to establish friendly combat relations with the I.S.).

Caine Constantine: Any other thoughts on the merger?

sassistrawberry GossipGirl: I am saddened to see something i worked so hard on go away, but I alone can not run an army…
sassistrawberry GossipGirl: I do not have the experience…

Caine Constantine: Do you think it’s really going away though?
Caine Constantine: As in, totally disappearing?

sassistrawberry GossipGirl: No…ROG never does.
sassistrawberry GossipGirl: We spawn from other failures.

Caine Constantine: Sounds like with 50 people you guys are taking Vanguard as much as they’re taking you.

sassistrawberry GossipGirl: Yes. I think its fair to say we make up a large piece of this new Vanguard
sassistrawberry GossipGirl: My best are all going…very few have left…they are loyal to me.
sassistrawberry GossipGirl: I have built something with them and they trust me enough to follow.
sassistrawberry GossipGirl: I know ranking was not a fun thing to discuss.
sassistrawberry GossipGirl: I have officers who have been in ROG since birth…they will be having to start over in some senses.

Caine Constantine: Yeah, I think that can be difficult indeed.

sassistrawberry GossipGirl: But, they thank me and say we trust you.
sassistrawberry GossipGirl: So I hope this works.
sassistrawberry GossipGirl: You can ask Christoph, I wasn’t for this for months.

Caine Constantine: So he’s been trying for a long while?

sassistrawberry GossipGirl: Planning…now we are doing.
sassistrawberry GossipGirl: Talks of VG have been flying around for months.
sassistrawberry GossipGirl: I believe the purchase of the Vanguard sim was full disclosure it is coming.

Caine Constantine: Verklund right?
sassistrawberry GossipGirl: Verklund has been reborn you could say.
sassistrawberry GossipGirl: Yes.

Caine Constantine: Ahh I understand
Caine Constantine: Well I appreciate your help in understanding the German side of this.

sassistrawberry GossipGirl: It isnt a bad thing.
sassistrawberry GossipGirl: Everyone is bringing hatred to this.

Caine Constantine: What do you mean bringing hatred?

sassistrawberry GossipGirl: They don’t seem to understand that spending 400USD a month all alone is painful.

Caine Constantine: Yeah, that really is.

sassistrawberry GossipGirl: I have had a few leaders.. say well we are going to ban you if… you do A,B and C
sassistrawberry GossipGirl: putting judgment on us already.
sassistrawberry GossipGirl: Not even giving us a chance to rise.
sassistrawberry GossipGirl: What fun will it be if we cant have some friendly combat?

Caine Constantine: You have to wonder who they’re going to fight.
Caine Constantine: I bet that Vanguard is going to start positioning itself to ally with all of the Anti-IS coalition if the IS won’t fight them.

But what sassistrawberry told me next was probably the biggest surprise to me of the whole return of Vanguard. The Anti-IS Coalition claims to be fighting the oppression of the Iron Symphony, which at this point stands uncontested in its power with regard to the rest of the combat community in a way that is really hard to truly understand until you look at the numbers. The Merczateers alone probably have more active members than most any other group or combination of groups put together – except for their allies in the Ordo Imperialis, who are of roughly equal power. She told me that this coalition won’t be working with the new Vanguard.

sassistrawberry GossipGirl: They wont let VG in.

Caine Constantine: Really?

sassistrawberry GossipGirl: yes
sassistrawberry GossipGirl: I was told no by Zidene and Raven
sassistrawberry GossipGirl: ROG has pulled out already…

I really doubt that this will be the case as the situation unfolds, however. You can bet that if the Iron Symphony or even just the Merczateers – currently the most eager to resume the old blockade – indeed again ban Vanguard and all of its members from combat in their regions, Christoph will eagerly scan all combat sims for potential I.S. invasions as often as possible.

And you can bet that – assuming the past and the words of all involved are a good guide – Vanguard forces will do their best to fight off Iron Symphony military attacks wherever possible if they cannot attack the actual lands of the Iron Symphony – and they’ll do this with or without the consent of the people they’re ostensibly defending.

Caine Constantine: I would be surprised if that stayed that way.
Caine Constantine: Once the Merczateers or Ordo have one of those groups by the throat, they’re gonna call Christoph.

sassistrawberry GossipGirl: ROG pulled out of Anti -IS because of the views of Vanguard…we don’t know what will happen, so I pulled us out.

Caine Constantine: Something tells me that if you had to pick a side you probably picked the right one…I really doubt they’re going to avoid calling in the Vanguard if it means they can fend off the I.S.

sassistrawberry GossipGirl: I support them… I truly do.
sassistrawberry GossipGirl: Well lets hope.
sassistrawberry GossipGirl: If you think about the history of the two armies…ROG and VG, we are seriously almost one.

Caine Constantine: Yep, one is always around.

sassistrawberry GossipGirl: Most of the members…as well as the ideals
sassistrawberry GossipGirl: As I said to my members… we are still Germany.
sassistrawberry GossipGirl: That has not changed
sassistrawberry GossipGirl: What does change is the organization some flashy armour , weaponry, less lag

Caine Constantine: More money.

sassistrawberry GossipGirl: Yes, working as a team…we have money, not to mention some of the best builders in SL.

Caine Constantine: Yes indeed.
Caine Constantine: I gotta run sassistrawberry, but I wish you the best of luck with this new direction.
Caine Constantine: Thank you

sassistrawberry GossipGirl: Np.

Caine Constantine: Have a good day and good luck with the merger.

And with that, the Republic of Germany is now under the leadership of Christoph Naumova and a fully-integrated part of the Vanguard Armed Forces. German leadership had been afraid of this fate a few months ago, but now seems eager to embrace it – even sassistrawberry, Germany’s biggest defender. And from all of the Germans I talked to, it seems that almost universally, whether it be for new weapons and armor, for more power and less lag, or for survival, the Germans have thoroughly accepted their accession into Vanguard.

But what about the Iron Symphony, who Christoph claims to want to talk to, and who his new German membership also wants to parlay with? The views from the top brass on the other side of the combat community are mixed.

The Merczateers

Considering the Merczateers are one of the only two superpowers left on the grid, and because they are the dominant voice in the Iron Symphony alliance, I talked to Lurdan Huszar, who was and is probably the strongest advocate of keeping the ban on Vanguard tightly enforced and in-place for the foreseeable future. He’s very solid in the opinion that the group ought to be kept behind the ban line.

Caine Constantine: Hey Lurdan, how’s it going? Do you have some time?

Lurdan Huszar: Sure, what’s up?

Caine Constantine: I wanted to ask, I heard that Vanguard is back and Christoph is trying to talk to all the Iron Symphony leaders. Has he contacted you?

Lurdan Huszar: No, not yet.
Lurdan Huszar: We’re not interested though.

Caine Constantine: So you’re going to keep the new Vanguard banned indefinitely?

Lurdan Huszar: Yes.
Lurdan Huszar: The rest of the IS is following my lead.

Caine Constantine: So there’s not going to be any combat between you guys outside of, say, them intervening as a third party in attacks on other groups as they did last year?

Lurdan Huszar: And the occasional encounter in New Jessie, yeah.

Caine Constantine: I understand. Thanks for the help Lurdan, I appreciate it.

Lurdan Huszar: No problem Caine.

This position is not particularly surprising, and has some merit. Christoph Naumova did try to destroy the Merczateers after he was booted from the group, being a former Merczateers General. He ejected most of the membership and abandoned most of the land, though he always maintains that he only took from the group what he contributed, but he

Furthermore, when Tangent Eponym released most of the Merczateers’ arsenal in 2008, Christoph did contribute to its wide spread across the combat community, and according to Lurdan it was Christoph who actually did the leaking and convinced Tangent to release the gear in the first place.  Christoph then threatened to release it all if the Merczateers did not allow Vanguard weapons and troops back into their combat zones.  Though they are rarer to see now, with new leaked items taking their place, they’re still out there in force.  Christoph has also been one to threaten Lurdan with legal action and with threats to release real life information.

On top of all of this, the reputation Vanguard has had as a spoiler and even as a force that cheats has never quite been shaken. This reputation, deserved or not, has a lot of power to unite people against the group. At the two meetings on armored combat across the grid held a few weeks ago, there was only one thing everyone could agree – “come on, we’re not like Vanguard, guys” – saying in essence that that group was probably the real roadblock to all advancement in negotiations with regard to combat on the grid in 2008.

Nevertheless, the majority of the wrongs done by Vanguard against the Merczateers would more aptly be called wrongs done by Christoph Naumova against the Merczateers. And it would certainly be a fair question to ask, as many asked last year, whether or not a ban of many for the crimes of one is just. But what’s most interesting is who may, ever so slightly, perhaps, be open to the negotiations that Christoph is asking for and Lurdan is completely against.

The Ordo Imperialis

The Ordo Imperialis is the only other superpower left on the grid, in that it routinely has 20 to 30 people in the midst of its base on defense – even in the wee hours of the morning – and in that it can bring incredible numbers of soldiers to bear on anyone while simultaneously arming and armoring them with the best stuff on the grid. In this respect, however, it has no real competition other than the Merczateers in terms of its power – and vice versa.

However, the end result of this is that both groups are often left fighting groups like C.A.T.I., in battles that fairly inevitably all turn out the same way. Is Ordo perhaps up for some more challengers?

Caine Constantine: Hey Aryte, how’s it going? Do you have a minute?

Aryte Vesperia: Goes very well. What’s up?

Caine Constantine: I just wanted to ask, I hear that Vanguard is back and Christoph is trying to talk to the Iron Symphony leaders. Has he contacted you at all lately?

Aryte Vesperia: I spoke to him very briefly.

Caine Constantine: Do you think you’re going to continue the old blockade and keep Vanguard from engaging in combat with Ordo?

Aryte Vesperia: At this point, it’s really too early to tell what will become of it. Anything we do would have to be discussed in detail with the IS leaders.
Aryte Vesperia: The Ordo is interested in listening to what he has to say, at least.
Aryte Vesperia: To add, at this point, the blockade is in effect.

Caine Constantine: Ah, understood. Thank you for the help Aryte, I appreciate it.

It’s still unlikely that Vanguard will be unblockaded by the Ordo Imperialis, so long as the resolve of the Merczateers’ leadership holds strong to keeping Vanguard banned. Nevertheless, there is still, small though it may be, some disagreement within the alliance with regard to how to engage the new Vanguard and its leader.

The Final Question

The question really is then whether or not the old blockade will remain. Everything really comes down to this. If it is lifted, then you can expect to see a lot of more serious assaults on the Iron Symphony militaries. Currently, any successful assault requires the coordination of multiple groups, and naturally this is a difficult undertaking. But Vanguard would be able to do this much easier, and with more advanced weaponry and technology, as well as more seasoned soldiers.

If the blockade remains, however, and all indications are that it indeed will, then the Iron Symphony militaries can look forward to fighting Vanguard abroad instead of at home. Vanguard has seized upon a moment in the history of the combat community where things are divided, as Tsevorak Romano once put it quite well, the Iron Symphony and everyone else. 2008 showed that smaller militaries, often unable to keep up with the Iron Symphony groups because of the men and materiel they can bring to the battlefield, will eagerly call in for reinforcements.

And though the Anti-IS Coalition may today say that Vanguard is not welcome, it really comes down to the question of whether or not a group whose base is thoroughly under the control of the Iron Symphony is really going to say “Well, we could call in for help and get them out, but I don’t like Vanguard, because they’ve got a pretty checkered past.”

You can almost certainly bet that if Vanguard lasts, its soldiers will see combat in probably ever military region other than the six regions belonging to the Iron Symphony. If Vanguard is allowed to fight there, it could become a fair and worthy member of the mainstream combat community. But if it’s banned, it will once again have its fun by spoiling every assault the Iron Symphony groups can muster.

And with the Ascendant Initiative alliance a diplomatic afterthought, and the Commonwealth being a stunted alliance as well, it’s fair to wonder how the Iron Symphony will really get around fighting Vanguard in some form or another.

Smaller groups should also worry too, though. While Vanguard more likely than not wants to take on the “big fish” as it were, the growth of small groups in the past year was in large part fueled by the death of the old Vanguard. It’s very likely that many of these members will join the new Vanguard and leave their old groups.

The next month will definitely determine a lot about how combat on the grid in 2009 will unfold, and whether it will be amicable, or whether it will be like 2008 to the extreme. Whether the fighting be done through bans or bullets – the decision will be made by the words or lack thereof between the leaders of the Iron Symphony, Vanguard, and various members of the Anti-IS Coalition who themselves have a large part to play in determining what role the new Vanguard will have in a community currently dominated by the militaries of the Iron Symphony.

-Caine Constantine

Plugging the Drain – Inside of Second Chance

The story of Sparta this past week looks like it’s coming to a conclusion, but where it will end up is definitely different depending on who you talk to on the subject.  RoudyRaccoon Hand, Sparta’s Aerospace Commander, issued this statement today to inform the combat community that Sparta is indeed as strong as ever.

In the previous article on the Journal, it was well stated that Sparta was indeed aiming for death. Many rumors have been spread about how we’re dealing with the recent actions and happenings. But I am very glad to report that Sparta has taken a full recovery including a democratic reformation of the command structure.

As for the funding issues of a full sim, we will easily be able to compensate for the tier price of a full sim, even if Second Chance is lost. In this very short published report I do re-assure you that Sparta is not dying and is no where near death. Actions have been taken within high command relating to the reported events between Bruno and Delila including a full and resolved investigation.

To the rest of the SL military community, Sparta has opened doors to combat and that’s what we plan to do for a long time to come, with the past behind us I hope to see our fellow SL combatants on the front lines.

Signed,
Sparta’s Aerospace Commander
RoudyRaccoon Hand

And so from the Spartan side of things, all is well.  But according to former Spartan Queen Delila Shippe, this may not be the case, as Linden Lab is investigating the situation.

Delila Shippe: Heya Caine. Roudy just gave me what he was hoping to publish, but the information in it is incorrect. The sponsorship is not officially gone as yet – LL is conducting an investigation and working with me and the treasurer of the rescue, and their decision regarding deleting the sim or simply removing sponsorship has not come about yet.

Caine Constantine: Any idea how it’s going so far?

Delila Shippe: They just got the formal letters from the rescue today
Delila Shippe: I’ve been told now that even though Bruno’s name is on the sim, it is actually legally the property of the name on the 501(c)(3) papers, which would be the treasurer of our rescue.
Delila Shippe: So now its just a matter of their investigation and a waiting game to see what happens.

And so it seems likely that a decision on the future of Second Chance is going to be made soon.  Depending on how it unfolds, Sparta’s future is definitely in part based on the decision.  It’s not likely that Linden Lab will ignore the revocation of the non-profit status; if they can find an excuse to rake in a few more dollars, they surely will.  But the question is whether Sparta can really afford another full region.  If they can, then the argument is indeed moot – it will simply be a move and at worst a week of downtime and rebuilding.

On the other hand, when 39th Blackwatch had to leave their full region of Ziost, they had to settle for a homestead region instead, New Scottish Highlands. Though it has led to no less fierce combat, it was still a loss in terms of processing power, though it is according to 39th only a temporary move until a suitable full region is found.  If Linden Lab determines it wants more than just Second Chance back, and decides to retroactively bill Spartan King Bruno Ziskey, then it could become much more difficult to afford a new region.

However, Sparta itself will surely exist in some form or another.  It will in fact probably retain a full region just as Roudy said.  But how easy this will be and what kind of obstacles are in its way in the process of doing so are now in the unpredictable hands of the Linden Lab game gods who purport to rule us all.

-Caine Constantine

“Circling the Drain” – A Story from Second Chance

Of all of today’s groups on the grid, there may be no-more driven by its leader than Sparta.  King Bruno Ziskey of Sparta is the defining member of his group in a way not often seen on the grid, rivaled only by the role of Imperator Aryte Vesperia of the Ordo Imperialis.  His role in the group is that of a self-described father figure, as he personally described himself in a January 27th, 2008 edition of his “Weekly Wisdom” in-group Spartan newspaper when he said to his Spartan readers that “I will, as the Father of Sparta, protect you from the darkness that lurks.”

Unfortunately, Sparta’s father has had to deal with a whole lot of darkness lately, most of which is personally related to him.

From a blockade against the Merczateers allegedly based on personal jealousy, to the potential defrauding of Linden Lab for the purpose of obtaining a discount on the Second Chance region, and even to the harassment and attempted extortion of the former Queen of Sparta, Delila Shippe, for financial purposes, the father of Sparta has had a lot of charges levied against his character in the past month.

The Journal is not a grocery-store e-tabloid akin to the Second Life Herald; we do our best not to cover sleazy military sex-posés.  People are constantly bringing them to me, and someone even propositioned an idea for one as I wrote this very sentence.  But, we don’t write about such things.

However, the story we’re about to go into is justly related to combat because it, unfortunately, shows just how far people will sometimes go to get what they want when it comes to combat on the grid.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

The Search For A Reason to Blockade

The original blockade against the Merczateers by Sparta was slated to last just a week, and was ostensibly blamed on, for the most part, the lag that King Ziskey claimed was caused by Merczateers during their attacks on Second Chance.  He summed it up quite simply when I talked to him on the subject.

Bruno Ziskey: We just dont think that we have to fight Mercz, who lag like hell and keep having people like Proteus and Avil Creegan, along with Strealok Moskalev, who aren’t responsible people and keep trying to break our rules and grief. And yes I’ll damn a group for them because these members have been in Sparta most over a year, and still commit these things, and we know they have done similiar things in the past. If the Mercz are irresponsible to have these sorts of people in the ranks that they have them, we see no need to affiliate with them.

Merczateers Marshal Lurdan Huszar and others in his group pressured King Ziskey for a chance to prove that Merczateer weaponry was by no means any laggier than anything else.  With pressure from Delila Shippe, who threatened to pull Second Chance’s non-profit status – which we will go into soon – King Ziskey begrudgingly agreed to the test.  RoudyRaccoon Hand, who may be perhaps one of the most admired combatants on the grid for his persistence in combat and level-headed nature, conducted the actual weapons tests.  He even defused an initial argument between the leaders of both groups.

Lurdan Huszar: Don’t think I’m impressed at all Bruno.
Lurdan Huszar: I know exactly why you’re here.
RoudyRaccoon Hand: Lurdan, lets just keep this to the testing
Bruno Ziskey: Against my wishes, trust me Lurdan.
Lurdan Huszar: Fair enough Roudy.

During the weapons tests, Roudy examined the impact of the Merczateers’ assault weaponry and ammunition on the function of a sim during combat.

RoudyRaccoon Hand: Okay Lurdan
RoudyRaccoon Hand: Sim performance is Stable at a Dil. of 0.95/96, Top effecting the sim is currently geometry
RoudyRaccoon Hand: I’d say we’re ready to test.
RoudyRaccoon Hand: Okay, fire when ready.
RoudyRaccoon Hand: 3 second burst, forgot to specify, sorry.

Lurdan Huszar: One sec, that wasn’t three seconds.
RoudyRaccoon Hand: Okay
RoudyRaccoon Hand: fire when ready.

Lurdan Huszar: Again? Sure.

RoudyRaccoon Hand: Ya

Lurdan Huszar: Full mag or three second burst?

RoudyRaccoon Hand: Full mag, why the hell not.
RoudyRaccoon Hand: 0.13 sim impact
RoudyRaccoon Hand: minimal for first rezzing if you ask me.
RoudyRaccoon Hand: I’m gona fire our gun now, as I currently have the most updated fire slaves.
RoudyRaccoon Hand: Firing.
RoudyRaccoon Hand: 0.15 impact
RoudyRaccoon Hand: Roughly 2 points over
RoudyRaccoon Hand: Very minimal as far as difference goes.
RoudyRaccoon Hand: Next up is bullet testing, because the guns are so similar on automatic fire.
RoudyRaccoon Hand: We’ll simply use a normal setting with the classic issued damage rounds.
RoudyRaccoon Hand: Lurdan, same gun, with normal damage rounds please.

Lurdan Huszar: Alright.

RoudyRaccoon Hand: Alright, full mag on my command.
RoudyRaccoon Hand: Fire
RoudyRaccoon Hand: 0.09 per bullet.

Lurdan Huszar: Can we test our low lag rounds?
Lurdan Huszar: We switch to these in bad conditions.

RoudyRaccoon Hand: Sure
RoudyRaccoon Hand: Fire at will, sim is stable
RoudyRaccoon Hand: …holy f*ck

Lurdan Huszar: ..What?

RoudyRaccoon Hand: 0.004 sim impact
RoudyRaccoon Hand: .____.

Lurdan Huszar: Yeah, exactly.

RoudyRaccoon Hand: Okay
RoudyRaccoon Hand: I’ll fire our gun.
RoudyRaccoon Hand: ….same thing, 0.09
RoudyRaccoon Hand: There is one more thing I’ve always wondered
RoudyRaccoon Hand: what an AO does in combat.

Lurdan Huszar: Our weapon has a built in AO.

RoudyRaccoon Hand: Indeed
RoudyRaccoon Hand: I wish to see exactly what it does.
RoudyRaccoon Hand: Sort of personal curiosity, and I have all the sh*t up, so why not.

Lurdan Huszar: So what? Should I just run around?

RoudyRaccoon Hand: sooo, ya do your thing.
RoudyRaccoon Hand: Ya, pretty much.
RoudyRaccoon Hand: ………..0.0000000789
RoudyRaccoon Hand: No use, Bruno.

Nexii Malthus: most built in AOs are nice and streamlined for their use, the real AOs are bloated with functions and yadda.

RoudyRaccoon Hand: That jump however did do a little impact.

Anthony Lehane: The combat roll?

RoudyRaccoon Hand: 0.07, ya.

Ethan Schuman: My avatar and HUDs might be making an impact. I’ll detach them if you like.

RoudyRaccoon Hand: Nah, even with those the sim settles to 95% performance.

The lag test was concluded rather amicably, and the end result seemed to be that, barring any other unforeseen factors that could be causing lag on the part of the Merczateers, they’re about as laggy as anyone else, or at least the Spartans, though Roudy was still ready to do more research.

However, King Ziskey had more to say after the conclusion of the test. He was about to seriously demand that he be allowed to select which officers lead attacks into Second Chance.

Bruno Ziskey: There’s one more thing to handle.
Bruno Ziskey: As you’ll recall from our last “chat” Lurdan I had trust issues with your officers who were heading the attacks on Sparta.

Lurdan Huszar: Are you seriously going to make the argument that you need to trust everyone that enters your sim for combat?

Bruno Ziskey: EU and Ordo have both agreed to have certain chosen individuals who have had a good past relations with Sparta, be the commanders of the attacks and so far its turned out well. I have yet to hear of cheating from attacking Ordo or EU.

Ethan Schuman: …

Bruno Ziskey: Do you want to be unblockaded or not? I’m giving you a chance here.
Bruno Ziskey: Or do yuo feel you’re somehow “better” than your allies?
Bruno Ziskey: If Smulet Back were to be responsible for leading attacks, this blockade would drop right now, And ONLY smulet.

King Leonidas kicks the Persian messenger into a pit because King Xerxes refuses to limit his attacking forces to only those people Leonidas personally trusts.

Lurdan Huszar: No Bruno.
Lurdan Huszar: I can’t accept that.

Bruno Ziskey: Oh? You dont trust your own officers?

Lurdan Huszar: I trust each and every one of my officers.

Bruno Ziskey: But not smulet?

Lurdan Huszar: That is why I am refusing.
Lurdan Huszar: Officers are officers in my group because I trust them.
Lurdan Huszar: Smulet is among them.

Bruno Ziskey: Hes an Officer. You say you trust them. Yet you cant trust Smulet to lead attacks on Sparta? Do explain.

Lurdan Huszar: I never said that Bruno.
Lurdan Huszar: You’re taking this argument where you want it to be, not where it’s actually at.
Lurdan Huszar: Wake up.

Bruno Ziskey: So what are you saying? Why cannot a mere officer who has been friendly with the whole of Sparta lead attacks on us?

RoudyRaccoon Hand: He means he trusts all of them, not just smulet. just to clear that up, he’d prefer a more opened appraoch.

Lurdan Huszar: Bruno, you don’t understand what I’m saying.

Bruno Ziskey: EU and Ordo both agreed to these terms and it all ended up fine. I do recall Mercz saying they’d always “be open to ways to coordinate with defenders for a fair fight”

Lurdan Huszar: I trust all of my officers, so I will not accept that only Smulet will be allowed to lead attacks.
Lurdan Huszar: Ordo did not agree.
Lurdan Huszar: They called bullshit.
Lurdan Huszar: Just like I am.

Bruno Ziskey: Oh?

Ethan Schuman: Actually, Bruno. We did call bullshit.

Bruno Ziskey: Interesting, Waffle says its fine.
Bruno Ziskey: ah well

Ethan Schuman: We’re only cooperating to make you look like an ass when, not if, you ban us after agreeing to your own terms.

Lurdan Huszar: Bruno, our militaries should be able to cooperate to appropriately attend to combat infractions.
Lurdan Huszar: I’ve shown to you in the past that I am ready and willing.

Bruno Ziskey: Not entirely it would seem.
Bruno Ziskey: I would agree to such terms. I can trust my people. If you cant trust Smulet, who can you trust?

Lurdan Huszar: …
Lurdan Huszar: Bruno, I’ve said three times that I trust Smulet.

Anthony Lehane: Bruno, he’s not saying he can’t trust Smulet.

Lurdan Huszar: Pay attention please.

Bruno Ziskey: Yet not enough to allow him to lead attacks on Sparta?

Lurdan Huszar: I never said he couldn’t lead attacks on Sparta Bruno.

Anthony Lehane: We. Are. Not. Saying. Smulet. Can’t. Lead. Attacks. On. Sparta.

RoudyRaccoon Hand: No he means, if anyone else isn’t allowed, then Smulet isn’t allowed.

Ethan Schuman: You really outta be thankful, Bruno. Lurdan is cooperating far more than Sparta deserves. If it wasn’t for him, you’d be looking down the barrel of an entire IS blockade right now.

Bruno Ziskey: Sparta doesn’t need the IS to survive Ethan, wake up to that.

Lurdan Huszar: This isn’t about fucking survival people, this is about all of us enjoying combat.

Bruno Ziskey: Regardless.
Bruno Ziskey: Roudy has convinced me to unblockade you.
Bruno Ziskey: However this will not be today, but in this week.

Lurdan Huszar: I’m trying to do what’s best for both of us Bruno.

Bruno Ziskey: And I seriously doubt it Lurdan. I really do.

Lurdan Huszar: I never expect you to believe anything I say.
Lurdan Huszar: I know what kind of person you are.

Bruno Ziskey shrugs “Jim once told you that I am so ‘mean’ because I really dont care. I still dont, nor will I ever. And before you go throwing around that I am a super banner, do look to your allies the MC before looking at me. Analyze your friends before your enemies, otherwise you are surrounded by hypocrisy”
Bruno Ziskey: I”ll be at base Roudy.

And for a while, it was good; Sparta had briefly unbanned the Merczateers. However, they were soon banned yet again before any sort of real combat could even take place. Why did this happen, seemingly out of nowhere, once the reason for the blockade – lag – had been negotiated out of the issue?

In fact, the idea of actually demanding the Merczateers only allow one of the 11 people they have who can authorize attacks to do so sounded like an attempt by King Ziskey to continue the blockade, not to end it.  Was he looking for more reasons to continue to forestall combat, and if so, what were the real reasons behind the blockade?

The answer it seems is that the current blockade and probably the original one are completely unrelated to combat complaints of any kind.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Banning Over a Broken Heart?

Our story now shifts to its root – the once happy relationship between Bruno Ziskey and Ivy Contepomi, now known as Delila Shippe – the King and the former Queen of Sparta.  It is in the relationship between these two people that an understanding of the real motives behind the blockade of the Merczateers can be found.

Bruno and Ivy in less vindictive times.

Ivy, who abandoned her account after cutting all ties with King Ziskey and Sparta and joining the Merczateers, now goes by the name Delila Shippe, and explained the background of her relationship with the enigmatic Spartan king.  She tells a tale of someone who was brought into a group as a friend and a confidant, and eventually became little more than a target for King Ziskey’s pent-up rage.

Delila Shippe: I was pretty green to combat. I met Bruno on his alt, and he never even mentioned being the leader of a military. After a few weeks, he showed me to the new base they were building.
Delila Shippe: I went through training, became queen, and later on the infantry commander as well, etc etc.
Delila Shippe: In August, I took full reins with Sparta, because Bruno went back to school.
Delila Shippe: I worked my ass off, doubled our numbers, started working on getting the banhammer reputation removed.
Delila Shippe: Whenever he came on, he always angry, dissatisfied. Banned people for no reason, shut down the sim for weeks, etc.
Delila Shippe: Shutting down the sim stopped when I used my non-profit to help fund his sim purchase, because then I was the sim manager and put a stop to it.

Apparently King Ziskey did not enjoy the assistance and the reforms, and wasn’t afraid to share his thoughts on the changes to the group.

Delila Shippe: By December, I was called moronic and stupid every day for improving relations with Iron Symphony armies, and dropping blockades with them, and also clearing the ban list.
Delila Shippe: The Gerousia and I begged him for a formal reform of Sparta so that things could work more efficiently, and he refused.
Delila Shippe: I dont know if you remember or know of the party Sparta held in February, but I actually resigned the night of the part, along with three  of ‘my’ commanders, since he refused to help us reform or let AD develop new technology.
Delila Shippe: We were all tired of the constant verbal abuse dished out by Bruno, tired of being held down by ancient technology, and tired of repeated sim rebuilds and unfair bases.
Delila Shippe: I abandoned the Ivy account.  Bruno at first was simply trying to apologize and get me back, though anytime I raised issues within sparta with him, he was as abusive as he was to begin with, so I ended all communication with him.

At this point, King Ziskey began to take things much more angrily, and began work on a now-legendary blog based first on missing Ivy, and then on hating her.

Delila Shippe: He got a Tumblr (http://hewhoknows.tumblr.com) to  more or less harass me online (I’m a Tumblr user). First posting about missing me, now its all about how I’m a bitch.
Delila Shippe: He’s also, on occasion, posted threats about getting me ejected from Mercz, Second Life, and a few things that could be taken as death threats, but he’s removed a lot of them now that I gave out his Tumblr to others that he was making threats against
Delila Shippe: And that’s pretty much the whole story.

King Ziskey’s blog, entitled”The Nietzchean,” speaks for itself through some of the images Delila has posted of it.  Though it was originally open for public viewing, this changed when the links to the blog were sent over an in-world group called the “Sparta Bullshit Division,” and the King eventually made the blog private.  He denies its existence, but Google’s caching of web pages, however, means that the blog is still open in an older form for people to check out.  The front page really speaks for itself.

With the internet, we can broadcast hatred through images, text and music in one complete package.

According to King Ziskey, President Obama is not a secret Muslim but far worse – a secret Merczateer!

Comrade Obama plans to use his presidential authority to avenge both Operations Make Mercz Cry.

Some entries are not very nice.  One of them uses chalky Valentines candy to convey King Ziskey’s feelings to his former Queen.

These kind of candy hearts are plain terrible in taste, and the messages usually aren't even this clever. They make Sweet Tarts candy hearts now though, which I highly recommend having instead.

There are many other posts with similar themes.  They run along the same three subjects – Delila, the Merczateers, and an interesting cartoon or so sometimes thrown in the mix.  It was this Tumblr account that ultimately led to the real reason for the blockade of the Merczateers, however – sheer anger at the group for taking in his former Queen on her new account.  After King Ziskey posted a link to Delila’s personal Web site on his blog, she e-mailed him asking him to remove it, and a fiery exchange began that led to the current, permanent blockade of the Merczateers by Sparta.

In the e-mail exchange that follows, King Ziskey hurls some pretty rude insults Delila’s way, and then threatens to extort 300 bucks from her in a crude attempt at blackmail.  In it is the clearly stated reason for the current blockade of the Merczateers by Sparta.  You really have to read this to believe it.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Delila to Bruno

I just got a notice from my hosting that your tumblr is set to forward to my personal website. I suggest you end the forward now.

Thanks,
Katy
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Bruno to Delila

I’ve also seen that you’ve posted pics of what are supposedly my tumblr on your flickr. Take down those pics and we’ll see what happens hm?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Delila to Bruno

All I did was put together a compilation of screenshots. Also, you should be aware that google caches the website, so making it private or forwarding it to my site doesn’t remove the fact the tumblr clearly shows you responding to me and things happening to you.

Also, it’s too late now. Forwarding to my website is the last thing I’m willing to put up with. I’ve emailed Linden Labs to remove the non-profit status of the site, and I’ve A/R’d the sim as well.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Bruno to Delila

Thank you for finally freeing me, you stupid cunt whore bitch. I’ve been getting rather tired of being pushed around by your bullshit just because you’re able to be a fucking lazyass and keep the sponsorship of the sim. What I didnt tell you when I reminded you that I have a job and you dont (hows it going with paying the insurance and car payments by the way? Money must be running out eh?) is that at work I got a nice little promotion, enough to allow us to keep the full sim. So no, you’re not going to be able to destroy Sparta. Sorry, I know its something you really wanted, and look, you’ve even proven that yet again, you’re a liar, having said to me before that you wouldnt ever pull the sponsorship and cause the destruction of sparta because you dont want to be responsible for that. Looks like you’ve become everything you’ve been saying I am huh? Oh and again, nice job with Sukasa. Hes broken how many hearts now? Three? Four? Well I guess that’ll make you four or five then.

I am now also free to release every single thing I have about you. Pics, sound clips, logs, address, phone, all of it. I’d also like my $300 back. I had given it to a girl who was kind and caring, but shes disappeared and replaced by a total bitch who cares only for herself. Give me the money back and I wont release anything.

For the reader's ease of understanding, a visual representation of the two paragraphs above.

In short, you’ve made your own life harder. Oh well, sucks to be you huh? So far, everythings getting better and better for me while circling the drain for you.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Bruno to Delila

You can also tell your mighty mouse mercz HC that because of YOUR actions, the mercz ban is extended indefinitely for harboring a person like you. Congrats.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Delila to Bruno

Marc with  tumblr kindly removed the forward, and will be on hand to do so if you choose to do it again. I’m also printing a nice stack of emails, complete with the IP routing information sent with each, for any further threats of any nature will be turned in. I’m not playing the “who’s the bigger internet bully” game. Your threat for money was extortion, your threat to release my RL info is not only breaking the TOS, but I my old law school friend said he believes that would also be applicable under federal law of the CIPPA of 97.

Again, have a nice day.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

As a point of clarification, according to Delila, “the 300$ Bruno mentions was a payment I received in November of 2008 as an attempt to “pay me” for 8 months of running his army.”

These e-mails were unfortunately very real.

In essence, King Ziskey bans the Merczateers because they had the audacity to admit someone he no longer likes.  In addition to this, he openly tries to threaten Delila to return money he paid her some time earlier for months of service, telling her he’ll release pictures and information if she does not give him 300 dollars.

But perhaps the most interesting revelation out of all of this is a shady phenomenon of military sims trying to exploit nonprofit status to avoid paying their proper tier to Linden Lab.  This deceptive practice is best exemplified through the Spartan region Second Chance.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Whose Second Chance?

Little Miss Tennessee is a three year old black miniature horse standing just under two and a half feet tall.  Rescued from a terrible abuse situation and suffering from malnutrition, parasites, and near death, she never had any medical care for her whole life.  She was brought to a hospital facility for emergency treatment by a not-for-profit group known as Chance’s Mini Horse Rescue – formerly known as Second Chance Rescue.

Sparta’s region was named Second Chance in order to pass as a non-profit region – costing half as much as a normal full region.  At a time in which a group with a homestead region may often have to pay perhaps 125 dollars a month to their estate owners – depending on the deal, of course – King Ziskey had managed to secure a deal where he could get a full region in exchange for only 150 dollars a month.

With Delila being actively involved with the group, he had a chance to ask her to vouch for Sparta as a non-profit group in Second Life committed to helping wounded miniature horses.  She asked the board of the organization whether they’d be interested and she donated to the board out of her own pocket in order to keep them happy with the otherwise questionable practice of using their name to further an online virtual world project like Sparta.

According to Delila, in its time on the grid Sparta has done nothing to help the real-world group from which it obtains the means to secure half price from Linden Lab.  In 2008 the group maintained a small stable in its village where people could learn about the real-world organization, but by the time of the new rebuild even that was gone.  Having now reported Second Chance as being part of a military combat sim and having nothing to do with the real-world organization it derives its name from, Delila has opened King Ziskey up to the possibility of having to pay back the hundreds – and potentially thousands, depending on how long the region has been non-profit for – of dollars he would in theory owe should Linden Lab act on its own stated policy:

“If Linden Lab determines at any time, at its sole discretion, that a region is not being used for educational or non-profit purposes, either in part or in whole, Linden Lab reserves the right to cancel all related billing agreements and accounts, and/or bill retroactively for past usage at standard rates.”

Regardless of how much combat was prevented through a continual march of bans and blockades, the region clearly would seem to fall into the category of sims Linden Lab would probably demand restitution from if it indeed does so at all in practice.  Sparta could be in serious trouble if Linden Lab come calling, as they could decide that, perhaps next month for example, the new, retroactive tier bill could be so high as to end Sparta in any form involving a Bruno Ziskey who would be banned from the grid for his inability to pay.

In the final analysis then, the cost of the full region could end up being a lot more than anyone could expect for a group already forced to deal with a doubling in tier costs now that it’s lost non-profit status altogether.

Little Miss Tennessee was indeed adopted after recovering from her terrible state, but her second chance had nothing to do with Sparta’s non-profit status rooted in helping small horses like her.  Check out the Web site if you’re interested in learning more about the horse rescue project at http://www.chancesminihorserescue.org/index.htm .

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

King Ziskey’s Response

We at the Journal do our best to talk to both sides of a serious issue like this, and I made several attempts to contact Sparta’s leader.  When he finally got back to me after my third attempt, he did not have much to say other than a simple denial of everything we’ve established thus far.

Caine Constantine: Hi Bruno, do you have a minute?  I would like to talk to you if possible
Bruno Ziskey: About?

Caine Constantine: I wanted to ask you your thoughts on some lag testing that apparently happened recently between you and the Merczateers, and I also wanted to ask you about some claims made by Delila Shippe with regard to personal threats
Bruno Ziskey: Personally, this is something that has started between me and Delila and has been so overblown its just not necessary to spread ir further by making it into an article as it doesn’t impact combat, which is what your journal is about. Otherwise it would be more fitting for the drama laden Herald.
Bruno Ziskey: And they so far have shown no interest in booting her, nor do I care anymore.
Bruno Ziskey: The matter is settled as it is, and I’d prefer that this was just dropped and not blown up with another article.

Caine Constantine: We are going to be writing about this subject because it covers a number of combat related subjects, including bans for non-combat purposes, the use of a non-profit sim for combat purposes, and according to the people who talked to me this is by no means something that has been amicably settled.
Caine Constantine: That is why I wanted to ask your thoughts on the subject before we put anything up.
Bruno Ziskey: Well if you’re going to insist on it, try me getting odd phone calls as of two days ago, as well as odd emails and messages on my MSN with people calling me Bruno and making irrational comments like “go die in your hole Bruno” and “stop fucking up with your queen Bruno” etc
Bruno Ziskey: and the only person who has my phone number, email and MSN who would do this is the former queen
Bruno Ziskey: however
Bruno Ziskey: I have no proof that she did it
Bruno Ziskey: so nothing can be done
Bruno Ziskey: and I don’t really care anymore
Bruno Ziskey: as for nonprofit, is there proof of this?
Bruno Ziskey: we dropped that a while ago

Caine Constantine: According to Delila she canceled it.
Bruno Ziskey: its even been told by Ivy on your journal that months ago we dropped it
Bruno Ziskey: not recently

Caine Constantine: She said she canceled it because of personal threats made by you to release her real life information.
Bruno Ziskey: Yeah, sadly for her I didn’t.

Caine Constantine: Which she claimed were made on your part to try and dissuade her from cancelling it.
Bruno Ziskey: I didnt, as it was cancelled months ago.
Bruno Ziskey: as said on your journal
Bruno Ziskey: by Ivy/delila
Bruno Ziskey: months ago
Bruno Ziskey: unless of course shes a liar, which has been true lately
Bruno Ziskey: anyways I have to log
Caine Constantine: Alright, thanks Bruno.  I appreciate it.
Bruno Ziskey is Offline

I couldn’t get any more clarification before he left and have been unable to talk to him since then.  As a result, his response consisted of a blanket denial of everything, other than interestingly enough the illegitimate non-profit status, though he claims it ended long ago.  King Ziskey also claims that there were some serious threats made against his person though he admits to have no proof.  If this is the case, such threats should indeed be wholeheartedly condemned as well.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Conclusion

In the final analysis, one can really only ask the question of “why?”  Why start a blog just to harass someone you once professed to love?  Why ban an entire group of people all out of anger that they accept a single person you don’t like anymore?  Why threaten someone’s personal information in an attempt to get money out of them?  And why put forth falsified information to use a group founded to save animals in need in order to fund a combat zone?

Anyone doing such a thing would be a lot of things, but none of them would live up to the reputation of someone who says that “I will, as the Father of Sparta, protect you from the darkness that lurks.”  Clearly, Sparta is in a time of need, but its greatest threat lies not in exterior foes, but in a crushing lack of reform from the top combined with what seem to be some serious lapses in good judgment and common decency on the part of King Ziskey.

There is some real talent in the Spartan ranks, to be sure, and that’s why three years after its founding Sparta continues on.  But the challenge of the group is to ensure that it is led by someone as able as its regular soldiers.  And if Bruno Ziskey is indeed that leader, if nothing else, he ought to take a long look at his recent actions – even if the worst of what he says about others is true – and ask himself if they were for the good of the group, or for the placation of his own ego.

And if he arrives at the right answer to that question, it will be a good step to a new and better future for Sparta and for all combat on the grid.

-Caine Constantine

Armored Aircraft – The Debate Begins

Through some intensive meetings between Raideur Ng, leader of the Militant Collective and proponent of the Air Combat Realism Project, and several heads of militaries across the grid both large and small, a rough baseline for how to potentially bring armored aircraft and fleetships into the skies of Second Life combat was established.

Raideur Ng: This meeting is Informal, non policy
Raideur Ng: I don’t feel I need to explain the issue concerning modern aircraft and ships to any of you.
Raideur Ng: And the lack of realism or fairness associated with said vehicles.
Raideur Ng: The problem is apparent and obvious.
Raideur Ng: We all want a solution and I believe that the introduction of HP systems into vehicles of all types BEST offers the ability to appease all groups, provide necessary realism, and function in a game environment.

The meeting was held in a massive ship floating above the Militant Collective's stronghold in Nerva.

The baseline, while nothing intensively solid, was an attempt to establish a framework for future negotiations to work off of. Though it’s been a couple weeks since then, development on the aircraft seems poised to continue, at least by the Iron Symphony groups.

Speeds:
80-100 m/s Forward Flying
35 m/s VTOL
10 m/s Ships

Armor:
Fighters: None
Gunships/Dropships: 30-80 HP
Small Ships: 100-300 HP
Capital Ships: 300-600 HP

Weapons:
Limit 2 per vehicle
+2 per extra avatar

AP Rounds:
5 Damage (Autocannon)
10 Damage (Heavy Cannon)
20 Damage (AP Rocket)
50 Damage (Anti-Ship Torpedo)

__________________________________________________________________________________________

In what we at the Journal hope is the beginning of a spirited debate on the subject, we’re publishing our first opinion piece on the subject of armored aircraft. Please share your thoughts on this new subject facing the combat community. Is armoring the skies to a degree a logical extension of combat on the grid, or a case of technological development gone too far? Check out what Lindsay Bruun, a commentator on the subject who errs on the side of this being a development going too far, has to say on the subject.

-Caine Constantine
__________________________________________________________________________________________

As some of you know, there have been various debates about putting HP/armor scripts in vessels such as aircraft and fleetships over the past couple of weeks. After a recent debate in the IS, some information has made it my way regarding this. And frankly… It disturbs me, as it should anyone else here on the grid.

To be fair, let’s look on the upsides of such an implementation. Anyone in a dropship vessel or a fairly large ship won’t be able to be taken out by a single stray bullet. I will say here and now that I certainly don’t think things like transport vessels should be able to have the entire ship taken out by a single bullet — especially if what you are going for is realism. However, the non-phys damage distribution system already covers that. Perhaps a required HP system will also force some groups to actually have their ships de-rez themselves once the pilot has been killed.

Now the flipside. I’ve seen arguments that this would be beneficial to ground units (sometimes referring to those under fire for some reason). Let’s look at this specific point from multiple angles, shall we? Those defending the base will have to flood said craft with specialized bullets (I’ll come back to this later). In some cases, this may require switching bullet types, and even then, they won’t be able to kill anyone by directly firing at them (depending on the ship layout). For those inside the craft, they’ll have a certain amount of protection. However, any transport crafts will have to be able to pass through objects in order of this to effectively work (though the practice of such can still be prohibited). Why? If the craft is phys, it will have to use Volume Detection so that a stray bullet can’t hit and immediately kill someone inside. For those unaware, Volume detection phantoms the avatar, allowing for a 100% phantomized object to be able to pass through anything it wants. The craft it’s self will also have to recognize the specific property of the bullet (object name, description, chat command, etc). This will require the ship to call a lookup command to the sim upon each “collision”. With many bullets and lag, this can potentially take a long while (Yes, this does mean that HP crafts can potentially be invincible simply because of a laggy situation).

I’m sure by now, many of you are wondering why you would have to add a property to the round. The plan is to have rounds with various damage capabilities based off of a hardcoded ID (ex: setting the object description to “missile”, or doing the same in the object name, through a chat command, etc.). Unless the volume detection system is scripted to accept bullets that aren’t set to any of these, standard rounds will do nothing. And if they are, they will most likely not be able to do much damage if at all. If a ship does use volume detection and is scripted to take damage from any collision, the vessel will take an HP cut each time a small part of it (or the detection box(es)) collide with land or a building (something not currently done). If you’re coming down to land, you have to be extra careful not to kill your ship by barely touching the surface which you’re moving down on. This being said, there are ways around this by only allowing collisions of a certain velocity. However, laggy and/or close-range situations may call for lower velocity rounds — which will potentially end up doing nothing. Of course, someone can also potentially set it to not accept collisions below 300 m/s and become invincible without anyone else knowing.

Something like this of course leads to various sorts of exploitation. There are already Anti-HP weapons which rely on creating a large number of collisions by making a projectile spawn collision prims to constantly ping/ding the HP target. This can be adapted and exploited to have each prim have a property which makes these proposed systems think they’re getting constantly hit by something that’s supposed to deal loads of damage. And since the current ping prims only die after a certain amount of time and not on collision, each pinger will be able to deal damage numerous amounts of time. This being said, you don’t even need a spawning prim to create the exact same effect. The point is, HP systems in the past have been horribly exploited both in favor of the defender and the attacker — this is the same situation.

In the case of fleet ships, the decent ones are already phantomed to compensate for the size and stray bullets. Since we’re supposed to be going with realism here, any large ship currently in existence in real life will not die from a single bullet, or even a barrage — they are specifically built to last. Just like real life, the fleet ships of today that phantom have the weakness of the cockpit, requiring a well-placed shot. Whereas with an HP system, a shot to the cockpit, or even a missile may not kill it.

For any ship, an HP system will cause more lag — especially the more complex it gets. I’ve already mentioned the lookups, but the script must also keep up with (and possibly update the floating text) of the current amount of HP. If you want to get around the stray bullet situation by placing more detection blocks around the ship, They will all have to relay to a central prim which will keep track of not only every incoming message but possibly every collision it recieves as well (And yes, passing collisions also involves sending messages back to the main prim).

Speaking of collision tracking and potential exploitations, let’s assume that they go with the proposed idea of making it in the object name (not description or script property). Anyone can make collision filters to tell the HP system, “Hey, ignore all collisions from objects with [x] in it! You’ll become invincible or insanely overpowered that way!” Without the HP system, using the LLDamage currently in place, llSetDamage() will still take precedence if it hits an avatar despite the collision filter(s) in place.

In the end, do we really want something this exploitable and laggy? Since no one really has any way of looking at scripts in use by the opposition and being absolutely certain those are the ones in use, there is absolutely no way to enforce such a system’s usage. Please, think very carefully before you or your own organization begins working on HP-based weaponry.

-Lindsay Bruun

Sparta Bans Merczateers, Unbans Ordo Imperialis

After what was originally slated the be only a week-long ban of the Merczateers from Second Chance, the ban was extended recently to last indefinitely.  And so the Merczateers are once again banned from Sparta’s home in Second Chance, ostensibly for good, because of accusations of griefing and lag.  Meanwhile, the Ordo Imperialis has been unbanned from the region – under the condition that only two ex-Spartans in their ranks may lead the attacks into their old stomping grounds.

Why the bans, and why the difference?

I talked to Spartan King Bruno Ziskey to find out.

Caine Constantine: Hey Bruno, I heard Sparta has blockaded the Merczateers, and was wondering if I could ask you more about it when you have time.
Bruno Ziskey: We just dont think that we have to fight Mercz, who lag like hell and keep having people like Proteus and Avil Creegan, along with Strealok Moskalev, who aren’t responsible people and keep trying to break our rules and grief. And yes I’ll damn a group for them because these members have been in Sparta most over a year, and still commit these things, and we know they have done similiar things in the past. If the Mercz are irresponsible to have these sorts of people in the ranks that they have them, we see no need to affiliate with them. Besides, we’re unblockading Ordo today. Thats bigger news I should think

Caine Constantine: Also, any reason you unblockaded Ordo that you could tell me about to add to that?
Bruno Ziskey: yes, Because they have agreed to only attack, following our sim rules, and only with Wasaac Hax and Jaxx Loon, both ex-Spartans who can be trusted, leading the attacks.
Bruno Ziskey: Ergo, more responsible fighting.
Bruno Ziskey: To date, Mercz have only one person who I trust, and he rarely leads attacks. Smulet Back.

Caine Constantine: And he’s the only one?
Bruno Ziskey: Yes.

Caine Constantine: It seemed like relations had been improving for a while actually.  I heard though that one of your reasons you did not want to engage the Merczateers was that “Sparta did not feel like engaging Merczateers” or essentially something to that effect.  Is that for the reasons you’ve listed?
Bruno Ziskey: Yes. I talked to over with the Gerousia, which is our High Command, and mostly we all feel it would be better to leave the Mercz blockade up for now.

Caine Constantine: Understood.  Any other thoughts you might be able to share with the readers on the subject of the blockade?
Bruno Ziskey: Not really. I just hope they start to understand how seriously we uphold our rules and code of ethics in combat.

Caine Constantine: Thank you Bruno, I appreciate it.
Bruno Ziskey nods

The discussion was friendly enough and it seemed like it boiled down to this – the Merczateers cheat and lag, while the Ordo are willing to send only those people who are trustworthy (ex-Spartans) in to lead attacks.

Was there anything more to it?

I talked to Merczateer Marshal Lurdan Huszar, who sent me a log of what seems to be the last conversation he had with Bruno on the subject.

Lurdan Huszar: Hey, apparently there was an incident involving Strealok Moskalev and you guys, could you explain what happened when you’re not too busy?
Bruno Ziskey: Strealok and his friend George Reisman came over to our base a few days ago, and we all began crashing. During this time, Strealok and George went to the core room as we were all crashing and attacked the core, in clear violation not only of the visitation rights he had, but in violation of the blockade. Once he and his friend were able to be banned however the crashing stopped immediately.  I’m also uninterested in lifting the blockade against Mercz. I’m finding EU, Ordo and even Silver to be more…interesting.

Lurdan Huszar: Okay, so what sort of crashing was it?
Lurdan Huszar: Client crashing?
Bruno Ziskey: Yes
Lurdan Huszar: Okay, I’ll look into this.
Bruno Ziskey: Thank you.

Lurdan Huszar: Okay, and what more needs to be done to clear up our issues? Avil and Proteus were dealt with appropriately, is there another problem?
Bruno Ziskey: Lag. Silver attacked today with at least 8 people fighting our 8 people. Far less lag than Mercz. I’m finding personal problems with some Mercz but thats not an issue for officers, just a hate thing they have on me, which I dont really care about, the mute button fixes it just fine. I’d prefer to just fight other groups for the moment.

Lurdan Huszar: ..Lag?
Lurdan Huszar: So we’re currently being blockaded because we’re laggy?
Bruno Ziskey: horrendous lag that makes everything more complicated. As in matrix bullets. I’ve also found occasions for when your men sithack past our walls, and no thats not delayed tps. I’ve already talked to my Branch Commanders and for the most part they agree that it would be best to just fight other groups for right now because they offer less lag and more control, especially since we are able to work out certain members leading, which makes the groups more responsible and less prone to cheating.
Bruno Ziskey: Currently, with the exception to Smulet Back, I know no members in Mercz that I can trust to lead attacks and be responsible during those attacks.

Lurdan Huszar: Do you have the names of those who apparently sit hacked?
Bruno Ziskey: No.
Lurdan Huszar: ..
Lurdan Huszar: Why not.
Bruno Ziskey: Because nobody bothered to really write it down during the combat.
Lurdan Huszar: Uh.. alrighty then.
Lurdan Huszar: Don’t make it a huge problem then if you guys don’t care enough to properly take note of incidents.
Bruno Ziskey shrugs
Bruno Ziskey: You wanted what was wrong, so I listed them.

Lurdan Huszar: So uh, your reasons for maintaining the ban here aren’t very substantive.. vague complaints of lag and the fact that you can’t trust anybody to lead an attack without cheating? Despite the fact that you.. only have one vague example of cheating?
Lurdan Huszar: There’s gotta be something you’re not telling me here.
Lurdan Huszar: Because this is ridiculous.
Bruno Ziskey shrugs
Bruno Ziskey: Not really my problem.
Bruno Ziskey: Unless this wholly affects the Mercz in some way?

Lurdan Huszar: No, I’m just interested in preserving good relations with you guys.
Lurdan Huszar: We have some good combat in your sim.
Lurdan Huszar: And you guys seem to be getting more reasonable.
Bruno Ziskey: I’m quite sure. We designed it to be that way.
Lurdan Huszar: So apathy shouldn’t be an excuse here Bruno, I’m just trying to help everyone here.
Bruno Ziskey: I realize that.

Lurdan Huszar: If you have a substantive problem with us, I want to fix it.
Bruno Ziskey: Well then, I’d suggest you seek out Tsume Xiao and have him script your weapons instead of poon. His scripts are not nearly as laggy.
Lurdan Huszar: Our scripts are not laggy.
Lurdan Huszar: We’d know if our technology was more laggy than other average tech.
Lurdan Huszar: We have very talented scripters.
Lurdan Huszar: What I think the problem is is uh, agent time.
Lurdan Huszar: Silverhawk probably put up a slow, weak attack.
Lurdan Huszar: Which results in not many teleports going in and out.
Lurdan Huszar: Less agent time lag.
Lurdan Huszar: Twenty guys walking slowly towards a checkpoint getting gunned down probably lags less than ten guys ripping it up making everyone teleport around.
Bruno Ziskey: I noticed no difference between the attacks Mercz have made and attacks silver/Grey Nolders group has made besides the lag. How fast you guys killed or got killed made little difference….although we did kill them more often.

Lurdan Huszar: But regardless.
Lurdan Huszar: I’ve been on a couple attacks recently to your place.
Lurdan Huszar: The lag isn’t an outstanding problem.
Bruno Ziskey: It is when it complicates everything else.
Bruno Ziskey: Look, we can debate this until doomsday, point is, right now, Sparta is not interested in fighting Mercz. Thats it. Period. Perhaps some other day we’ll lift the blockade.
Bruno Ziskey: Until then, we’re busy enough just fighting everyone else.

Lurdan Huszar: It’ll be interesting to see how long you can maintain to the public that you’re blockading us because we “lag” and you “don’t feel like fighting us now”.
Lurdan Huszar: But uh, fair enough Ziskey.
Bruno Ziskey: What everyone else thinks is of little importance to me.
Lurdan Huszar: Yeah, I know.
Lurdan Huszar: But yeah, alright – if you have any other issues be sure to come talk to me.
Lurdan Huszar: See you later Bruno.
Bruno Ziskey: Cya.

And so it seems the Spartan King has closed his base off to Merczateers for the foreseeable future. Was this a simple, justified response to excessive cheating and lag, or an attempt to give the Spartans breathing space in the wake of incessant Merczateer raids and the unbanning of that other of the two titans of the grid, Ordo Imperialis? The only one who really knows either way is Bruno Ziskey, and so far, he and his high council are pointing the finger directly at the Merczateers.

Will the blockade stand?

Chances are it will for at least the near future. There are plenty of people attacking Sparta on a regular basis, and if the Spartans genuinely believe the Merczateers are a source of lag, there’s probably no motive on their end to open up negotiations.

However, the Spartans recently joined the fledgling Anti-Iron Symphony Coalition, or the AISC, founded by Raven Isan of the Raven Raiders, along with SCS, ROG, CATI, CS, and TCG.

Founded by Raven Isan, the new Anti-Iron Symphony Coalition has united many groups together, including Bruno Ziskey's Sparta.

As a result, since the AISC is probably going to work on bringing its size to bear on the Merczateers in large part, whether Spartans will join in on these attacks while banning the Merczateers is unlikely, as one would imagine they would not attack someone who could not in turn attack them. Nevertheless, answers are likely to come only as the new alliance – or anti-alliance, as it were – comes to grow in size and engage in more attacks.  As a result, the current blockade of Merczateers by the Spartans is likely to last for some time, and whether this is a positive or a negative development is entirely up to the groups in question.

-Caine Constantine

Silver Hawk – A New Army, a Familiar Name

There is a new name in the SL Military game.  A new name, but an old group.  When Bicket Burt’s older Soviet-themed group DTK vanished from the picture, a proposition was made.  Ex-DTK General Corwin Lockjaw asked the founder of DTK to create a new group with him, and this group is today known as Silver Hawk. They are a small group of 38 members not including the officers and recruits, Dayna Laville told me. The group is located snugly in a void sim called Silverside.

The Silver Hawk stronghold in Silverside.

When I entered the sim everyone seemed nice and greeted me openly, seemingly excited to have some new visitors to talk about their group to.

The back story of why Silver Hawk was formed is a little-known one, and Bicket explained the history involved to me.

Phillip Hultcrantz: I’m not too familiar with your groups history, but I do know that Silver Hawk spawned from DTK, yes?

Bicket Burt: Yes, I am the founder of DTK, my ex-DTK general Corwin Lockjaw wanted to start another army with me, so after he got a base all set up, I helped him out and now we’re both leading an army.

Bicket Burt, Marshal and leader of the Silver Hawk military.

Phillip Hultcrantz: What prompted the change of theme and name? Did you just want a fresh start?

Bicket Burt: Yes, it was going to be a pirate theme which I didn’t know of, but after we got the armor and guns, the base theme changed to what it now is like.

They seem to have decided a pirate theme was a bit too much for an SL military, their final theme seems to suit them much better.

What I found curious is that they also share a name with the weapons company of a Merczateer, Ayatora Slade. After some questions I found that they use the name “Silver Hawk” to help promote Ayatoras weapons, but it was stated that he has nothing to do with the group other than letting them use his weapons for free.

Part of Ayatora Slade's Silver Hawk arsenal. The Silver Hawk military provides publicity to the weapons brand in exchange for free use of its armaments.

I did, however, ask Mr. Slade if he had future plans to join the group to which he denied this. This makes sense, as he is in a nice comfortable position in the Merczateers as an officer after all.

Bicket had plenty to say about Silver Hawk ( the military – a weapons review, on the other hand will be pending :P) when what was expecting of the group was brought up.

Phillip Hultcrantz: Ah I see. So what should the rest of the combat community be expecting from Silver Hawk?  Do you plan on having large combat operations or are you just going to sit tight for a while?

Bicket Burt: We do have assaults with 12 guys, and we have raids every day, so other armies could expect us at their base any time ;)

Phillip Hultcrantz: I take it you’ve done well on each raid?

Bicket Burt: So far we’ve done some very well with raids, yes.

Though I have only heard of only 2 raids by Silver Hawk, both being against the Forefront Union, all of the people in Silverside seemed stoked about their combat actions, which was reinforced by their attentiveness when people teleported into the hub. Certainly something that you don’t see in newer groups who tend to ignore what’s going on outside of their social cluster.

Silver Hawk also has another perk going for them, as they are a member of SL’s largest military alliance, the Iron Symphony. This came as a matter of conveniance as stated by Bicket himself.

Bicket Burt: Ayatora Slade asked me if I wanted to be neutral with Iron Symphony, but that didn’t work out too well since we were still being attacked by the Militant Collective just because they didn’t know about us being neutral. Also we kept being shot by IS members at other neutral armies like Alliance Navy.  So we thought it would be better to be part of IS.

In the long run this should help keep them going, and being a member of the IS should get their name out to people looking for a fight.

But all’s not well on all fronts. Some members of the groups involved have said that the Echelon Union has not been happy with Silver Hawk and is wanting to see them gone from the Iron Symphony. Sadly we cannot say much more on this, because Roo Tenk, the leader of Echelon and the one to talk to on the subject took nearly 4 minutes to then merely decline to comment on Silver Hawk.  This situation may still be developing and we will keep you posted on how it’s resolved if there are any changes in the status quo.

In any case Silver Hawk seems primed for combat and ready to get into the thick of it with the best of them!  Expect to see them raiding your bases soon, and be prepared to fight hard.

-Phillip Hultcrantz

Is Caine Constantine out to get you?

One of the things I don’t like about being in charge of the New Jessie War Journal is that I feel like sometimes, people aren’t up-front with me because they think I’ll write a story about it.  It can make it hard to talk to people, because they assume that I’m going to write a story about anything they say – especially if it’s bad.  Unfortunately, what I’m about to post probably won’t help my case, but it’s worth a chuckle.

Apparently I’m not one to be trusted – and neither is the Journal.  In a recent conversation with Verissimo Seetan, leader of VALOR, he informed a large group of people that the New Jessie War Journal is a source of misinformation and that I’m out to destroy Second Life’s military community.  Check it out.

Verissimo Seetan: In the sl military world. Check things out for your self. going by what all these tards say about me. its just funny. that you belive all that.   but for those that know me well.. I am not what you have come to know.
Verissimo Seetan: The biggest thing in SL is people rage when they die and do dumb shit…. I can keep going for hours and not care if I die.

Aubry Xue: I thought the NJ war journal recently had an article praising your new base design.  Yet you just called the war journal a misinformant.  The first person in a while to praise you for doing something positive publicly and your comment seems entirely ungrateful.

Verissimo Seetan: he cut out alot of stuff

Caine Constantine: Wow
Caine Constantine: We’re misinformation?

Verissimo Seetan: ALOT of stuff
Verissimo Seetan: Never posted
Verissimo Seetan: that made me mad

Caine Constantine: Verissimo, I highlighted ALL of the good stuff you guys do – the ONLY part I cut out was how you got yourself banned at other sims!

Verissimo Seetan: he could of put a link elese where

Caine Constantine: Unique sim design, homepoints, low lag, creative build, strong alliance, good training.

Verissimo Seetan: I want the truth no mater how bad it may seem

Caine Constantine: The only part I cut out was how you got banned at other sims for breaking their rules, and thats because it was 3000 words of the same story at different places.

Zamos Xaris: :O Oh gawsh, Caine’s raging.

Caine Constantine: If that means we misinformed, because I don’t think the story of how you got banned at 39th, Mercz and 2142 is 3000 words people want to read.

Zamos Xaris: Don’t forget Silver Hawk O.O

Verissimo Seetan: na you went and wote some unfair ull shit a little clip that you never even said to me
Verissimo Seetan: you just added it in after words

Caine Constantine: Like what?

Verissimo Seetan: it should of been raw and uncut

Caine Constantine: A giant chatlog that nobody would read.
Caine Constantine: The only problem with the VALOR story was that you immediately began to use the comments page to talk badly about other people.
Caine Constantine: And then they did the same thing.
Caine Constantine: So instead of going
Caine Constantine: “Wow, Verissimo has some cool ideas, let’s consider adopting them!”
Caine Constantine: People just ignored the story and began to flame on the comments page.

Verissimo Seetan: Caine most people will agree you are a Monopoly. Like all monoply’s you will come crashing down hard one day.

Caine Constantine, file photo.

Verissimo Seetan: Part of the reason of why SL combat sucks on the rid Is because of Newjessie

Second Life combat, file photo.

Verissimo Seetan: instead of people looking for fights they simply go to new jessie
Verissimo Seetan: you know dam well what your doing cane your not retarted

Verissimo Seetan: peace

Caine Constantine: You got me.

Verissimo brings up some good questions.  Are the New Jessie combat sim and the New Jessie War Journal both terrible monopolies that are destroying combat on the grid?  What do you think of New Jessie and the Journal?  Are they good additions to combat or are they draining it, or is it somewhere in between?

Though I believe we are a positive influence on the combat community, we are always working on ways of improving ourselves and I’d like to know if we’re genuinely creating any problems.  Verissimo may have his shortcomings but is not the first person to say such things.

Please share your thoughts on this subject, so we can work on improving both New Jessie and the Journal.  Or, I guess if we’re destroying combat on the grid, please tell us if and how we’re doing that also.  Or that is, rather how I am doing it, since “most people will agree you are [I am] a Monopoly”

-Caine Constantine

“Guide To The Typical Noob Military”

We all know typical noobs. We know noob military groups. These are the groups that emerge twice every four months, and die again within thirty days. This is an in-depth analysis of these groups. I hope to write more additional pieces if you all like this one. It will contain even more components of noobish military groups.

1). First of all, every noob military starts with the same thing, a semi-idiotic leader. This “leader” will not have any skill, in combat, building, scripting, or anything for that matter. They just have an idea. The idea that they can make a difference in the Combat Community. What a joke, right? This leader must have a terrible past, filled with justified bans, griefing, and of course – they must be in denial of this all. Ask me if I care. Wait, no! I’ll tell you… I don’t care! This leader will attempt to begin an alliance, this will fail as well. We’ll get to that another time. Anyways, this leader won’t be aware that there is a period, shift, or comma key in existance anywhere on their keyboard. They also will not have knowledge of when it is the proper situation to use there, their, they’re, your or you’re. Chances are, they will have a name that does not mean anything, yet this name will reflect absolutely everything about them. It will reflect their stupidity.

The epic question - plane versus submarine, who wins?

2). Secondly, this military will start with a small plot of land. If they are serious, they may start with a void sim. They will lose the void sim within two weeks, because their friend who was paying for it, ran out of money and is now living on the street in real life. Unfortunate? Oh well, we can all just blame the tight economy. Possibly blame Bush, Obama, or even Gordon Brown if you feel the need. However, their base will be entirely constructed by a builder no one has ever heard of. It will be made of freebie combat props, likely made by James Benedek. Their terraforming will be linden default. It will likely be based off of a good ol’ snow sim. You know, the one everyone loves so very, very much? Sadly, it won’t compare to anything worth while. It will look like a 1850’s, winter version of Sweden. Nobody wants that.

"Look ma, no hands!"

3). Third, all of their soldiers will not have a standard uniform. This is where a slight variation comes into play. They can either use modded, copybotted versions of armor that was formerly owned by a real military, or they can purchase D1 & MTG vests. Many Spanish, and Brazilian military groups use this method.

4). Fourth. They will attempt to compose a new group name. This name will contain the word “Alpha”, “Super”, “Marine”, “Force”, “Task”, or maybe even “Killers.” These adjectives can be mixed anyway you want. For example: “Alpha Task Force Marine Super Killers.” Sounds catchy, right? Don’t take that name, it’s copyrighted! No, not really.

5). Fifth. They will all shoot through walls, regardless of rank. They will all use Fairlight weapons, because they cannot put together the brain-power to create a script set, or proper weapons models. Nothing comes between a noob and their Fairlights.

Cat tank - coming to cough up a hairball on your town soon.

This has been the first five necessary basics of a typical noob military. Please join us again, and feel free to leave comments or whatever it is you guys do.

-Roo Tenk

Avil Creeggan’s Grand Theory of Second Life Combat

Avil’s Grand Theory of Second Life Combat: (DRAFT v.4)
ATTN: Lurdan Huszar, Anthony Lehane, Poon Voom
CC: Poon Voom, EvoxAlien Dix
===============================

STATUS QUO:
M = This is a man. An infantryman, to be specific. He shoots at other men, and aircraft, and fleetships. The infantrymen shoots at anything. But he walks.
The infantryman also can blow things up. He has grenades. He has rocket launchers. He uses these against infantry and aircraft and fleetships.
His skills include: Using show-look-at and camera zoom and having twitchy skills.

V = This is a vehicle. He really doesn’t exist much now, but is very likely to exist in the near future. He does vague and not-defined things right now.
His skills include: Being the surprise!

A = This is an aircraft. He shoots at other aircraft, as well as fleetships, and is occasionally allowed to shoot at infantrymen – typically when they are shooting at him.
He goes really fast and shoots giant walls of killy things and can also blow things up, because he is cool. His bombs are large – typically up to 32m, depending.
His skills include:  Having a computer that can handle his constantly changing view direction and location.

F = This is a fleetship. He shoots at other fleetships and other men and other aircrafts, but he is generally ineffective because no one bothers to get fleetships or make viable ones.
This is because the Alliance Navy has the only remotely meaningful fleet now, and that’s basically a joke.
His skills include: Knowing how to type a series of three digit numbers over and over again.

To summarize:
Type –through skillz attacks type
M  –skillz–> MAF
V —> ?
A   –leet computerz–> MAF
F    –111,111,111–> MAF

INSTEAD:
M = This is a man. An infantryman, to be specific. He shoots at other men and vehicles. He likes to be killed by vehicles and fleetships.
His skill is precision – to know where the enemy is and to engage him despite unpredictable movement and concealed firing positions.
The infantryman has grenades and the occasional rocket launcher. He walks. He’s a pretty cool guy.

V = This is a vehicle. He shoots at other vehicles and fleetships and sometimes infantrymen.  He likes to be killed by vehicles and fleetships.
His skill is perception – to be able to coordinate his efforts effectively across the entire battlespace.
The vehicle has chainguns and specialized weaponry. He remains close to ground/sea level – the horizon line. He’s a pretty cool guy.

A = This is an aircraft. He shoots at vehicles and fleetships and other aircraft. He likes to be killed by other aircraft.
His skill is agility – to be able to outperform other aircraft and deny any effectiveness to enemy assets which may not conform to our tiered system of combat.
He has chainguns.  He is typically a fast physical craft. He’s a pretty cool guy.

F = This is a fleetship. He shoots at vehicles and infantry. He likes to be killed by aircraft and the occasional vehicle.
His skill is prediction – because of the slow nature of his craft and its weaponry, he must be able to predict enemy traffic patterns and match his targets to them.
He has guided weaponry and an assortment of support functions. He is typically a slow non-physical craft. He’s a pretty cool guy.

To summarize:
Killed by —> Class —> Kills
MVF  —> M  —> MV
MVAF   —> V  —> MVF
A       —> A  —> VFA
VA     —> F  —> MV

The problem is that we are currently in an environment where the community isn’t apt to enjoy our suggestions for combat improvement and that, prior to this moment, all approaches to combat reform have taken an idealistic and utopian approach which makes success an increasingly remote possibility. The question is how to implement such a system in the most pragmatic fashion, a path where external community involvement isn’t required.  The answer is that we, as the Merczateers, can implement that system unilaterally with strong incentives for community adoption.

Two means of encouraging community adoption:
1. Discussions with the Iron Symphony and other such combat groups.
2. Implementation of gear in such a fashion that the most effective option to counter that gear conforms to the system.
The first should be obvious. The second is more complicated.

You see, we have a tremendous asset available to us to help control the flow of combat through such a system, although the use of that asset will be quite controversial. It’s the armor system. Using it, we can effectively implement this typing system and encourage compliance – consciously or otherwise.

—

First, a review of the initial balance of this system, as unapparent as it may be:

Aircraft: At the point where there role is solely to engage other armored assets (everything except infantrymen), they no longer need to have damage rounds by default. Quite to the contrary, we can outfit them with rounds optimized to engage armored targets, similar to the RPG rockets or the thermite grenades, although obviously not built for their duration. And to prevent infantry from engaging them, we can do what would otherwise be unthinkable given current trends – allow for rampant levels of maneuverability and speed, although perhaps not with some of the excesses of previous flight regimes (decoupled cameras, backwards flight, strict strafing, et et). We’ve already seen progress towards this ideal within the Merczateers with the development of the new camera-coupled perpetual-forward-thrust Agni flight core, which has thus far received admirable feedback in light of its current position within the development cycle.

Fleetships: We can provide them with slow ordinance inappropriate for dealing with air-to-air combat but which would effectively dominate both vehicle and infantry targets. They can be made particularly slow or downward facing to allow for engagement by vehicles without issue, and can have high levels of armor, down-facing defenses, or other supplementary methods to discourage interference by infantrymen firing into the sky. Additionally, we could aim to discourage fleet to fleet engagements or to force them into, effectively, infantry engagements; at the point where we’re making extensive use of the armor system (and adaptations for turrets?), the remaining vehicle is physical and… dare I say it… boardable?

Vehicles could have a fairly robust speed, in excess of fleetships but in contrast to aircraft, which would allow them some maneuverability to escape enemy infantry and ground effect munitions without having the ability to dominate the battlespace – but to engage across the full spectrum of combat. They could have traditional damage munitions for infantry targets and a specific weapon for engaging fleet targets and other vehicles – but it wouldn’t be a weapon that would have the needed speed to combat aircraft.

—-

Note that all of these would come with a complimentary unilateral reduction in explosive radii across the board as well as a total ban (either within the group’s technological design or, perhaps, across all Iron Symphony simulators) on coordinate fire munitions. Additionally, while this system may present opportunities for those proponents of guided munitions, the best maintenance of combat balance through this system requires their complete exclusion. Also, for clarification – an aircraft and a fleetship, while typically considered physical and nonphysical (respectively), need not be so – as long as they keep to the profile. That is – fleetships being substantally slower, better armored, and lacking air-to-air capability; and aircraft being substantially faster, less armored, and lacking an anti-infantry capability.

At the point where we are effectively implementing this system, abuse of it becomes increasingly obvious. The use of the armor system severely impairs the ability that was once available to unfairly tamper with vehicular platforms that were designed with longevity in mind, because munitions which can deal with armored targets and munitions that can deal with ground targets follow seperate and generally incompatible design theories. Damage munitions emphasize efficiency of killprims using sensors with quick prim removal, and armor munitions emphasize multiple collisions to maximize armor loss. Abusers would need to create anti-armor munitions with a damage capability – which is both inefficient and COULD be banned using social methods such as house rules and treatises as well as technical methods – additionally, because the armor system is not absolute, filters can be made to ignore specific munitions which are determined to be detrimental.

There is also a myriad of subtle but distinct circumstances which would discourage most forms of abuse short of the kind suited to Vanguard – the relative speeds of each class tend to be “enforced” by “realistic” limitations (NOT social limitations like house rules, but design considerations) as well as platform limitations such as the speed of ground vehicles as compared to freeflying aircraft; there are also social considerations that work towards this system, such as the community backlash currently occurring against freeform aircraft design; etc, etc. It’s a long list that I’d be glad to explain and defend at length at a different time – for the purposes of brevity, I’ll let the list stand there for now.

There are two real problems with this concept, and they are thus:
1. Social acceptance of the armor system is constrained
2. Regulatory interference (LL destroying VolDet’s current functionality to the combat community.)

However, the first problem is rapidly diminishing and the second is, in my opinion, an acceptable risk in light of the length of time that VolumeDetect has remained in its current state and the lack of impetus for LL to alter its functionality.

Feel free to share your thoughts.
—Avil Creeggan.

Militant Collective – Pioneers of Realistic Combat

The Militant Collective, a group based in Nerva and headed by C-3 Raideur Ng has stepped up its progress in developing future systems for the improvement of SL combat. Along with the Merczateers and other groups, they have begun to engineer what many hope will be a solution for the continued issue with current Second Life combat aircraft.

The Collective’s attempts to lead the way in realism began with their first aircraft, the Sparrow Intercepter. This small and nimble aircraft quickly became known for lethality and speed. However, the Collective was one of the first militaries to arm their main aircraft with only air to air weaponry, in effect developing a pure intercepter. This was combined with a thrust system that did not allow it to hover, nor move in reverse. It also restricted its strafing and boost movement, in effect creating a craft that moved like an actual aircraft.

The Collective has also begun development on a Health Counter system for use on all vehicles. This concept, with the cooperation of other Second Life military groups, will allow for a realistic use of vehicles. The Sparrow and other Collective craft will soon be able to take multiple hits and simulate battle damage.

This concept is also being applied to fleetships. Giving fleetships the ability to survive against minor ground fire and light strafing simulates armor and allows dedicated heavy vessels to react to threats much like other games. Such a system, coupled with the decrease in speeds of aircraft and fleetships, will allow infantry to once against protect themselves from low flying aircraft, simulate extended dogfights between fighters and bombers, and allow ships to finally pummel each other with countless weapon batteries.

The entire Militant Collective is extremely excited about the abilities such a change could make on the overall feel of combat in Second Life and encourages all military groups who read this to research and consider the broad amount of realism and sheer amusement this will bring. They also hope that groups can agree on a few simple rules governing such a Health Meter system so creativity is not squashed in the name of “winning at all costs”.

The Militant Collective Air Corp, Space Corp, Marine Corp, and Infantry Corp are constantly looking for able personnel to command the best equipment available and fill both combat and leadership roles. Entry forms are available in the Nerva telehub or by IM’ing one of our Reservist Trainers. As always, play fair, try hard, enjoy yourselves, everyone.

-Raideur Ng

VALOR – A New Kind of Combat

I went to the Krazykat region today to check out the growing and enigmatic VALOR military group. Here, those who might expect to find another small military would be wrong – instead, what they find is a unique form of combat on the grid entirely.

The battlefield at Krazykat, with its terrain ridges, lava pools, and basis for both defenders and attackers, stands calm for the moment.

It is a concept in which the goals are to create equal conditions for both attackers and defenders, while simultaneously minimizing lag and creating a clear and reasonable objective for capture that leads to fast-paced but fair fighting.

The long, lonely road - one of the routes into the VALOR base.

There are several key factors that the group’s leader, General Verissimo Seetan, employs to make this possible.  One thing he talked about is the equal balance employed in the sim.

Caine Constantine: So you redesigned the base for visitors?
Verissimo Seetan: Yea for a Real Army vs Army.  Both sides have a base and homepoint.

Verissimo Seetan: I am just so sick of other sims, with no home point and so 1 sided.
Caine Constantine: I know what you mean.
Verissimo Seetan: Not only are you attacking, but your dealing with rezzing, and tons of lag because of it
Caine Constantine: It can kill you.
Verissimo Seetan: It does.

Visitors to the VALOR base get a homepoint in the hub from which to fight.

I have personally often recommended homepoints for attackers in all combat sims, but usually the recommendation is shot down for, among other reasons, a belief that malicious types will exploit the homepoint.

Caine Constantine: But to play devil’s advocate, how do you defend against people exploiting the homepoint here?
Verissimo Seetan: Example?

Caine Constantine: Well for example I give out homepoints to anyone too in New Jessie, and it can be hard to ban someone with a homepoint in our sim.
Verissimo Seetan: well in the home point
Verissimo Seetan: no rezz
Verissimo Seetan: no scripts
Verissimo Seetan: nothing
Verissimo Seetan: not even for group members

Caine Constantine: Ah, so it’s a seperate parcel, and by keeping them out of the other parcels, the worst they can do is stand around and shout basically.
Verissimo Seetan: Yea, let me show you.
Verissimo Seetan: Its group only access, and its covered, other parts of it, above and below.

Caine Constantine: So does this cut down lag noticeably here?
Verissimo Seetan: HUGE

In fact, General Seetan told me essentially that its his belief that combat need not lag at all – contrary to the popular belief that where there is combat, there is lag. He said that he stringently checks scripts in his sim to make sure that this is the case, while also building low prim.

Verissimo Seetan: [We have] near no lag.
Verissimo Seetan: And the vendors, I made sure they are low lag.
Verissimo Seetan: I removed a lot. They stress the sim.
Verissimo Seetan: I make sure nothing here is over a .5 here in script time.

Caine Constantine: That’s good.
Verissimo Seetan: Even you and me, so right now I am totaling 100 scripts, and a 3.0ms [total script time].
Verissimo Seetan: Extremely low

Caine Constantine: Yeah
Verissimo Seetan: So when I feel lag, I check the scripts.
Verissimo Seetan: and if i have 2 of the same scripts running on my sim, I recompile it in to mono, so it all runs as 1 script, saving even more sim time.

Verissimo Seetan: And I made very minimal use of prims and textures here.
Caine Constantine: Only about 1250?
Verissimo Seetan: Yeah
Verissimo Seetan: So for a homestead I got the fastest one.

Caine Constantine: It seems like it, very smooth.
Verissimo Seetan: We had the Silver Army attack us
Verissimo Seetan: No lag, until one of them died or teleported back.
Verissimo Seetan: That is what causes the sim to choke.

We then went to look at the rest of the region.  One of the interesting things about the sim is that it features a closed sandbox for VALOR members to use for testing and building things.

VALOR's closed and covered sandbox structure.

Used for the testing of weapons built by VALOR, which builds its own armaments, as well as used for testing bought weapons, the sandbox has script testing devices that also help to keep weapons efficient and low-lag.

Another thing General Seetan has tried to do with the design of the sim is to make it harder for people to cheat – both attackers and his own soldiers.  One consistent problem with fairness in combat on the grid is illegitimate homepoints.  Especially late at night when people are feeling too lazy to defend properly, homepoints are sometimes set on defensive walls in the middle of the sim, far away from their legal homepoint areas.  This can cause havoc when attackers try to pass by, as they’re forced to either spawncamp – often against sim rules – or left to be shot in the back as they move toward an enemy base.

At VALOR though, the majority of the battlefield, outside of the sandbox and the small square parcels used for homepoints for both attackers and defenders, belongs to a land group in which only high-ranking members of VALOR, who administer bans and deal with other land issues, are part of.

Caine Constantine: So this is interesting, this land is set to groups which make it so that your own people cannot cheat in terms of homepoints even if they want to?
Verissimo Seetan: yea
Verissimo Seetan: the main parcel
Verissimo Seetan: not even my guys can cheat.

Only two people, Verissimo and one of his close officers, are members of the land group.  In other words, unless they themselves are doing it, illegal homepoints aren’t really possible for the most part at the VALOR sim.  This solves the illegal homepoint problem often afflicts even the most disciplined military groups.

A view of VALOR's sim, Krazykat, from one of their base's defensive towers.

I was then invited to check out VALOR’s own base, in the far corner of the sim opposite the attacker base and spawn.

These teleports allow VALOR's soldiers out of their base through an otherwise completely sealed off basement.

VALOR’s “barracks,” if a barracks is where people spawn from in combat on the grid, as well as their offices, are located in a totally sealed off part of the sim.  There are no connections to the surface, and the area is underground.  With the objective flag for the base above this, VALOR’s sim designs eliminates the need to go for the spawns and makes it impossible to breach into the area and take pictures of oneself sitting in the chief’s chair – breaches are disallowed, and ususally end in death due to breachproof walls reinforced with special killprims.

VALOR has three spawns - one for recruits, one for soldiers, and one for members of the Firestorm Alliance, their alliance group.

It’s a setup again based on some unique concepts – namely that spawnkilling should be impossible, and that victory should be tied to a simple and widespread objective.

Verissimo Seetan: this is inside our base
Verissimo Seetan: we have teleports
Verissimo Seetan: only way out
Verissimo Seetan: no way in
Verissimo Seetan: if you look
Verissimo Seetan: the floor above us
Verissimo Seetan: is all kill prim

Caine Constantine: To stop breaching?
Verissimo Seetan: yea
Verissimo Seetan: not allowed here
Verissimo Seetan: nor needed to win

Caine Constantine: It’s banned, and also stopped by lethal force in terms of damage prims here?
Verissimo Seetan: just look carefully
Verissimo Seetan: its all thought out
Verissimo Seetan: your goal here is to get all 3 flags

VALOR's first flag, near the main hub.

VALOR's second flag - in the center of the sim, surrounded by glowing lava and catwalks requiring some fancy footwork from attackers and defenders.

VALOR's third flag, located right below the courtyard of the base and a short walk from the surface.

Caine Constantine: So then victory happens when you take all three flags, or do you need to hold them?
Verissimo Seetan: You take all three and hold them for at least 5 minutes.

We then went and visited his office, where General Seetan told me about how he also creates objectives and missions for his own soldiers to embark on.

Verissimo Seetan: I send my guys out recon mission
Verissimo Seetan: or battles
Verissimo Seetan: they can complete it when ever they want

Caine Constantine: What do recon missions consist of?
Verissimo Seetan: thats classifed
Verissimo Seetan: :D

The General's office, where he stores notecard files on every single offensive and defensive that VALOR is involved with.

Caine Constantine: The mission reports, I believe you said that you write them up or your soldiers write them up anytime there is an attack or a defense?
Verissimo Seetan: solo / duo / attack
Verissimo Seetan: I send my guys on solo missions
Verissimo Seetan: if its only like 2 or 3 defenders
Verissimo Seetan: or just plain noobs
Verissimo Seetan: I push my guys very very hard

Caine Constantine: So you’re really going for an elite force.
Verissimo Seetan: we battle all the time here.

General Seetan then told me about some of his group’s recent offensive operations.  His brash attitude, which he eagerly admits to, came out here pretty quickly.

Verissimo Seetan: We beat Sparta in 10 min, blew up the core in no time.
Verissimo Seetan: 2142 proved weak.  We were banned, so we got on alts :D.
Verissimo Seetan: We beat CS in 15 min last night.  First run we got inside, they could not get us out.  But typically they will not say they lost, when we were inside for like 20 minutes.

Caine Constantine: How long do your attacks mostly last?
Verissimo Seetan: Depends.  Like for example, we attacked MBC last night, and 3 of us got banned for medicing.
Verissimo Seetan: They said we were sim teleporting

Verissimo Seetan: [We] tried to explain, but the tards did not understand English, so I told them to go fuck themselves.
Caine Constantine: I think they’re primarily Italians.

He then explained that the Firestorm Alliance is an alliance made out of VALOR and the 10th Mountain Division, of the sim Baie Lazare.  I asked him how they are as allies.

Verissimo Seetan: All we have is 10th atm, I don’t want to ally with commie type militaries.
Caine Constantine: How is 10th as an ally?
Verissimo Seetan: Easy, I help them, we ally and we help them.
Verissimo Seetan: I scripted weapons for them for free and helped them with the base cause the first base sucked.
Verissimo Seetan: So I told a good friend of mine a pro builder to build it how I said and he did it in an hour for free.

I visited 10th and asked some of them how they think of VALOR as an ally.

Stardaizer Yuitza, Pandoraearth Mathilde, Blackjack Kowalski and N3KO Burner at 10th Mountain's home, Baie Lazare.

N3KO Burner: Hey Caine… whats this about you taking a picture?
Caine Constantine: Just taking a picture here to put in my article about VALOR.  How are they as allies?
N3KO Burner: I like ‘em alot
Blackjack Kowalski: at least they come to help when they are available.
N3KO Burner: They are fantastic.
N3KO Burner: They don’t ignore you.
N3KO Burner: I think that they are a great army led by an even better person.

Blackjack Kowalski: I think other armies disses Verissimo Seeta, leader of VALOR without good reason.

Outside of the 10th Mountain Division though, the rest of combat is, to VALOR, target practice.

Caine Constantine: So aside from your ally 10th, is everyone else fair game?
Verissimo Seetan: yea I don’t care who.

Caine Constantine: None of that neutrality business or anything?
Verissimo Seetan: They don’t need to seek permission to attack
Verissimo Seetan: nope
Verissimo Seetan: why?
Verissimo Seetan: we play for the fun of it
Verissimo Seetan: most of us are old school fps gammers
Verissimo Seetan: from the quake doom days

Caine Constantine: So you don’t really do the diplomatic side of combat
Verissimo Seetan: naw
Verissimo Seetan: most of it is bull shit anyway
Verissimo Seetan: I just tell them to fuck off
Verissimo Seetan: or come battle it out
Verissimo Seetan: here we settle things with bullets
Verissimo Seetan: if you don’t agree
Verissimo Seetan: we will settle it that way
Verissimo Seetan: and I clear my ban list every week.

General Seetan did leave one exception to this policy though, for the Special Combat Services or SCS, led by Stephen Holder out of Nirvana Isle.  He basically explained his policy of ratcheting up his forces when he feels he’s being cheated against.

Verissimo Seetan: But for those SCS members
Verissimo Seetan: that went bad on their word
Verissimo Seetan: I will keep them banned
Caine Constantine: What happened there?
Verissimo Seetan: look
Verissimo Seetan: the last time we attacked them
Verissimo Seetan: we made sure Leos Merryman was not on
Verissimo Seetan: and won easly
Verissimo Seetan: so
Verissimo Seetan: this time we attacked them with Leos
Verissimo Seetan: and he just accuses everyone of cheating
Verissimo Seetan: because of his lack of skill
Verissimo Seetan: Caine you saw the sim
Verissimo Seetan: 2 doors in a wacked hill
Verissimo Seetan: so 1 sided
Verissimo Seetan: they just wireframe
Verissimo Seetan: and spam at the doors

Caine Constantine: Yeah it’s a huge cliff.
Caine Constantine: It’s hard making progress because there’s only two ways in.
Verissimo Seetan: look it may look pretty and pleasing to the eyes

Caine Constantine: Easily blocked too.
Verissimo Seetan: but
Verissimo Seetan: for fun factor
Verissimo Seetan: is really fail
Verissimo Seetan: I built a bridge
Verissimo Seetan: over the wall

Caine Constantine: Ahh, and that didn’t sit well.
Verissimo Seetan: they were going to ban me for that
Verissimo Seetan: then
Verissimo Seetan: they pull out 2 tanks

Verissimo Seetan: spammed away at the walls
Verissimo Seetan: so
Verissimo Seetan: then i pulled out a plane
Verissimo Seetan: to take out the tanks
Verissimo Seetan: I swear to god. no joke
Verissimo Seetan: i was shoothing them tanks for 5 min

Caine Constantine: They used 2 tanks?
Caine Constantine: Wow
Verissimo Seetan: and i was like thats bull shit
Verissimo Seetan: so i gave the ok for mechs
Verissimo Seetan: then we got carpet banned

Caine Constantine: Arms race heats up
Verissimo Seetan: we have no tanks
Verissimo Seetan: even if we did
Verissimo Seetan: armored combat is going to be the end of sl combat
Verissimo Seetan: not even a rail gun did anything
Verissimo Seetan: we’re working on an atom plasma full auto shot gun

Caine Constantine: Exclusively for tanks?
Verissimo Seetan: 200 rounds a shot
Verissimo Seetan: yea
Verissimo Seetan: the sim spikes everytime you fire

Caine Constantine: One hit and they’re down
Verissimo Seetan: yep
Verissimo Seetan: and we have a sticky bomb thats being worked on
Verissimo Seetan: ones it hits the tank
Verissimo Seetan: it stays stuck
Verissimo Seetan: rezzing daming balls from top of it hitting it
Verissimo Seetan: damage
Verissimo Seetan: and it will say for 1 min
Verissimo Seetan: appreaing its on fire
Verissimo Seetan: 10 hits a second
Verissimo Seetan: for a min
Verissimo Seetan: just 1 on a tank
Verissimo Seetan: and its gone

Caine Constantine: So you’re trying to smother tanks in their cradle.
Verissimo Seetan: if people want to play dirty
Verissimo Seetan: I will turn up the heat

Caine Constantine: Sounds like you don’t need any
Verissimo Seetan: thats what i am known and hated for
Verissimo Seetan: we don’t need tanks
Verissimo Seetan: if you grief me
Verissimo Seetan: I will beat you at your own game.

He then explained his basic philosophy on why people cheat at combat on the grid.

Verissimo Seetan: Caine the sad truth is
Verissimo Seetan: most people that play SL combat
Verissimo Seetan: are not good at FPS games
Verissimo Seetan: and most use advanced options

2142, 39th and the Merczateers are all banned from VALOR because, in part, all of them have banned Verissimo from their sims.  As a result, he is a firm believer in counter-bans.  And his explanation for why he is banned from these sims is fairly extensive but usually runs something like this – everyone was playing fair, until someone on the opposing side decided to turn up the heat.  Shooting through walls, bigger explosions, bigger armor, using aircraft to hit the ground, so on and so forth.  But they all end the same – when VALOR feels its enemies are cheating, General Seetan pulls out big guns to match.  As a result, he gets banned unjustly in his opinion, and so bans them in response.

Caine Constantine: Do you ever think theres something wrong about stooping to their level?
Verissimo Seetan: killing us in spwn
Verissimo Seetan: nope
Verissimo Seetan: look
Verissimo Seetan: i send them ims
Verissimo Seetan: as warning to the leaders

Caine Constantine: Not judging, just playing devils advocate.
Verissimo Seetan: they say they are doing nothing wrong
Verissimo Seetan: i am like dood they are shooting us though the ground with them
Verissimo Seetan: on top of shooting us with planes
Verissimo Seetan: so
Verissimo Seetan: i say fuck it

Caine Constantine: I see
Verissimo Seetan: and do it
Verissimo Seetan: why battle somone
Verissimo Seetan: when they don’t want to play fair
Verissimo Seetan: I rather get there blood boiling
Verissimo Seetan: and have them poping zits the next moring

Caine Constantine: So then doing stuff like that
Caine Constantine: is more like acknowledging that you cant fight there anymore at that point
Caine Constantine: and just having some lolz
Verissimo Seetan: yea why not?

The last thing we talked about was the Fairplay treaty that he writes and updates regularly, which stands as the rules in his sim. I asked him what makes it stand apart from other combat treaties on the grid.

Caine Constantine: I wanted to ask, what do you feel are its biggest advantages over its “competitors,” like NCR and STABLE in terms of treaties?
Verissimo Seetan: specs
Verissimo Seetan: and highly detailed
Verissimo Seetan: no bull shit talk
Verissimo Seetan: but
Verissimo Seetan: if the person reading it is tard he will not understand
Verissimo Seetan: its writen to help you
Verissimo Seetan: with your sim
Verissimo Seetan: for very low lag and fair combat

Verissimo Seetan takes no prisoners when it comes to getting his points across.

So in the end, VALOR is a very interesting group with a unique sim and setup. Verissimo Seetan is a leader with a lot of fresh ideas in many respects when it comes to things like homepoints, lag and cheatproofing his sim – but on the other hand, he’s also got a lot of old school methods of dealing with hostilities toward groups he feels are wronging VALOR. In any event though, the group is growing – with 20 members, growing income and a secure sim at Krazykat, all as of today – and it appears to have a bright future.

What do you think? If you’ve fought VALOR or talked with their membership or their leader, drop a comment by on our article and tell us what your thoughts on this new group, its ideas, its members, and its practices today. And as ever, thanks for reading and sharing your thoughts with the Journal community.

-Caine Constantine

The Urramaich Union: Valor and Honor!

Our leader, Mazzy Fastback, and her Second, Dralkanen Hextall, have saw fit to make our selves known: To introduce the Urramaich Union. We are a new army, you will soon see our black and bronze on the battlefield. We have formed within a desert region, our fortress is a monolith upon the crags, and a bastian in the storms. Urramaich Union: Valor and Honor!

We Plan to be a Fair and upstanding Military, just like any of the Other Giants out there; With a firm standing on Fair weaponry, Good tactics, and above all, The Fun that can be had with all those in the community. Our group hopes to renew the combat community and bring new life into it through innovative design and new group dynamics. We have the men, the builders, the scripters and the will to last. Our spirit is strong and very ready for anything that can be thrown at us.

If you would like an application or have questions about our new group please IM Xegras Xue for an application.

“We are a purely unified army based on a council and high council here everyone’s voice is heard so things may be dealt with quickly and in an honorable manner. We pride ourselves on valor and honor it is our name after all Uraamaich a Gaelic word with great meaning. We will be open in a few weeks time but till then all are welcome to poke around and visit us and we are taking applications please contact our head of recruitment Xegras Xue. Thank you.”

-Mazzy Bandia of the Urramaich Union

The Ummamaich Union is available to visit at the sim Aussie dAlliez.  Check it out today, as they go from a new group to becoming another member of Second Life’s growing military community.  And please share your thoughts about the group here in our comments section too.

-Caine Constantine

My Patience Is Now at an End.

And now before us stands the last problem that must be solved and will be solved. It is the last major claim which I have to make in Second Life, but it is the claim from which I will not recede and which, Phillip willing, I will make good.

The history of the problem is as follows: in 2008 under the watchword ‘The right for all to fight’ The Military Community was torn in pieces and was newly formed by certain crazy so-called ’statesman”; Caine Constantine. Without regard for the origin of the peoples, without regard for either their wish as nations or for economic necessities The Military Community at that time was broken up into atoms and new so-called States were arbitrarily formed. To this procedure New Jessie owes its existence. This N.J state began with a single lie and the father of this lie was named Caine Constantine. This Mr Constantine at that time appeared in Jessie and he first of all gave the assurance that there was a N. Jessie nation. To expand on this lie he founded with another, the Jessie Journal. It was resisted by many brave men.

So in the end through Mr .Constantine this J.Journal annexed SLH reporters. Since this state did not seem fitted to live, out of hand three and a half million readers were taken in violation of their right to self-determination and their wish for self-determination. Since even that did not suffice, over a million illiterate noobs had to be added, then some trolls, and at last several hundred thousand buckets of spam.

That is this state which then later proceeded to call itself The Jessie Journal—in violation of the right of the peoples to self-determination, in violation of the clear wish and will of the nations to which this violence had been done.

Now the shameless part of this story begins. This state whose government is in the hands of a minority compels the other nationalities to cooperate in a policy which will oblige them one of these days to shoot at their own brothers. Mr Constantine demands of the Reporter: ‘I am going to merge this paper with another, The S.L military forum, agree and you won’t be shot.’ And he makes the same demand of his “citizens” and “Friends of New Jessie”. Can there be anything more shameless than to compel folk of another people, in certain circumstances, to fire on their own fellow-countrymen only because a ruinous, evil, and criminal government so demands it? I can here assert: when we had occupied New Jessie, my first order was: no citizen needs to serve, rather he must not serve, in our force. I have not driven him to a conflict with his conscience.

Mr Constantine now places his hopes on the world! And he and his diplomats make no secret of the fact. They state: it is our hope that Marshal Lehane will be overthrown, that Imperator Vesperia will be removed, that on every hand revolutions are on the way. They place their hope on Chaos Decretium. He still thinks then that he will be able to evade the fulfillment of his obligations.

And then I can say only one thing: now two men stand arrayed one against the other: there is Mr Constantine and here stand I. We are two men of a different make-up. In the great struggle of the peoples while Mr Constantine was sneaking about through the world, I as a decent reporter did my duty. And now today I stand over against this man as the Writer of my people!

I have only a few statements still to make: I am grateful to Mr Stephen Holder for all his efforts. I have assured him that the Jessie Journal readers desires nothing else than peace, but I have also told him that I cannot go back behind the limits set to our patience. I have further assured him, and I repeat it here, that when this problem is solved there is for New Jessie no further territorial problem in Second Life. And I have further assured him that at the moment when New Jessie solves her problems, that means when the Sl military forums have come to terms with their other minorities, and that peaceably and not through oppression, then I have no further interest in the SL military forum state. And that is guaranteed to him! We want no SL military forums!

But in the same way I desire to state before the New Jessie people that with regard to the problem of the Second Life Herald my patience is now at an end! I have made their editor Ms. Pixeleen an offer which is nothing but the carrying into effect of what she herself has promised. The decision now lies in her hands: Peace or War! She will either accept this offer and now at last give to New Jessie their freedom or we will go and fetch this freedom for ourselves. The world must take note that in four and a half years of war and through the long years of my Journalistic life there is one thing which no one could ever cast in my teeth: I have never been a coward!

Now I go before my people as its first Reporter and behind me—that the world should know—there marches a people and a different people from that of 2008!

If at that time a wandering scholar was able to inject into our people the poison of democratic catchwords—the people of today is no longer the people that it was then. Such catchwords are for us like wasp-stings: they cannot hurt us: we are now immune.

In this hour the whole The Jessie Journal readers will unite with me! It will feel my will to be its will. Just as in my eyes it is its future and its fate which give me the commission for my action.

And we wish now to make our will as strong as it was in the time of our fight, the time when I, as a simple unknown Reporter, went forth to write and never doubted of success and final victory.

Then there gathered close about me a band of brave men and brave women, and they went with me. And so I ask you my people to take your stand behind me, man by man, and woman by woman.

In this hour we all wish to form a common will and that will must be stronger than every hardship and every danger.

And if this will is stronger than hardship and danger then one day it will break down hardship and danger.

We are determined!

Now let Mr Constantine make his choice!

P.S this is not a parody and should be taken VERY seriously, lol.

Reporter Vegna Fouroux

This Week’s Community Update

1. In a twist of things, the Merczateers were attacked and invaded, and by many accounts beaten, by an assault comprised of forces from Sparta, 2142 and the Chthonic Syndicate.  In an attack dubbed Operation MMC (Make Mercz Cry) 2.0, they reached the admin tower and a couple defending Merczateers had to go through their own hub to hit back at them.  Various Merczateers on the other hand report sithacking and bailing from aircraft as having almost assuredly happened as well.  The invading forces prepared a video to commemorate their assault on YouTube, viewable from this link.

Operation MMC V2.0

2.This story is a bit more than a week old, but I wasn’t able to post anything about it yet due to being unable to log into SL.  39th is out of Ziost and the Legion of Artemis, led by ex-39th command DaveyDarkStrider Oh, now controls that sim.  39th has moved to a homestead sim called New Scottish Highlands.  Both groups should be opening soon. But there is some seriously bad blood between them already due to the nature of the sim transition.  DaveyDarkStrider picked up Ziost after he and the sim owner essentially agreed that 39th had to leave.  Since that point, 39th has banned all Artemis forces, while Artemis is still allowing 39th to visit their base.  The war of words has been escalating since then.  Both groups should be open and ready for war by the end of May.

Definitely more to come on this story soon, folks.

3. Word on the street is that Vanguard is coming back, and that it could be soon.  With Christoph Naumova’s war chest of Valycion weapons sales at over L$2,000,000 so far, he’s got ample reserves of cash to do so, and is already having new items made for the group – though he claims many are simply personal items for himself.  Rumors of new Vanguard groups being formed and even new members appointed to an as-of-yet-allegedly-nonexistent high command are also out there.  If he does indeed start it up, it could be an overnight superpower, possibly drawing the majority of ex-Vanguard now scattered across the grid in smaller groups back into the fold – but will it be choked off immediately by instant bans from Iron Symphony groups and others whom were never too endeared to the Vorhut Fuhrer’s reich or to Vanguard Valycion Vanguard (again?) weapons?

4. Top brass at the Militant Collective and the Merczateers met recently to discuss their mutual ally – the Ordo Imperialis.  MC leadership and the group at large has been miffed of late at the Ordo for alleged problems involving siphoning membership and being outright disrespectful with regard to the rules, practices and aspirations of the Collective.   In response, MC broke off all relations with Ordo and restricted the group from Nerva, it’s home sim.  During the meeting, both sides agreed that Ordo has had its problems in the past, but while the Merczateers again argued that the group is certainly an improving group on solid footing, the MC stood its ground on the position that Ordo is indeed a member of the Iron Symphony that needs to change.  The MC has nevertheless chosen to restrict Ordo members from entering Nerva until further notice, but the group’s leadership insists that the situation is being resolved.  Ordo, for its part, wholly disagrees with the idea of disrespect and of it having ever recruited MC members, believes the restriction is an unfair ban, and claims that the situation has come about due to poor communication on the part of the Collective and says that the situation lies in the Collective’s hands at this point.

Expect an in-depth follow up on this one too.

5. The Special Combat Services, or SCS, has banned Valor from its sim, Nirvana Isle, for alleged “grieving.”

6. Oh, and, it’s the New Jessie War Journal from now on.

-Caine Constantine

New New Rome

New Rome, the once largest active military force on the Teen Grid, moved to the main grid two weeks or so ago, following the birthday of Kharne Spyker, the New Rome leader.

Originally founded by Darckk Trilam in April of 2006, New Rome has undergone threat after threat, including the ban of their original founder, and constant rebuild, so far as research would suggest. Notably, According the the Second Life Wikia, following a mass invite to the owner role of their group, and land abandoning, Kharne Spyker (now on the Main Grid) proceeded to rebuild the group. Much like any other major force on the Main Grid today, New Rome started on a sandbox, and recruited as any starting force must.  With constant warfare thereafter on the Teen Grid, mostly siding with the ‘Furry Plateau‘ and their allies against the ‘Black Talon‘, New Rome regained their respect in the combat community on the Teen Grid. The rest of New Rome’s history can be sourced from the Second Life Wikia page.

Alas, now Kharne has been transferred to the Main Grid, he must rebuild New Rome yet again, (technically forming New New New Rome, one would presume), with the harder task of pleasing the adult combat community in Second Life. I spoke with Kharne a week back, and he told me he plans to go straight to a sim when finances permit; coming from his new business he is starting, in the already competitive weaponry market and military goods market. His new business, ‘Khaos’, bears no resemblance or link to ‘Chaos’ let’s not forgot. Sheesh, the Mercs, the Mercz, and now Khaos and Chaos? This could get confusing.

Selling weaponry, of which I was given a Springfield Rifle to test, Kharne hopes to fund his military like Ordo, he tells me – “Ordo is supporting Titan with their gun sales. I plan to do the same, but with more stuff than just gun sales.”

“]

The M1903A Springfield Rifle I demoed from [Khaos

I am assuming the animations shall be replaced with custom ones, and if so, this should be a nice addition to the gun market.

I hope to speak with Kharne again, to discuss some more information, like just how many residents on the Main Grid, are already involved with Kharne’s efforts. Meanwhile, please do enjoy a good discussion in the comments of this article. Thank you.

Metallicoe Keng

A Call To Arms from Olympus Wycliffe

Soldiers of this great community, listen.

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

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

The fight.

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

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

What has changed? The following:

- Lack of battles

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

- Alliances

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

- New Combat Treaties

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

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

I’ll tell you. Restriction of Combat.

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

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

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

A Solution?

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

Here is a simple idea.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Regards

~ Olympus Wycliffe / Terror Voom

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

Dominatium’s Side of the Story

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

-Caine Constantine

[Post-Event Update] Greifers Attack the Entire Community

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

They were all offline at once.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Community Update

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

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

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

“Mission Statement:

The Firestorm Alliance

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Militar Kollektiv. “

Dark Svenska attempted to enlighten me:

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

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

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

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

- Vegna Fouroux

Theft in our Community?

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

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

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

Olympia Exonar: Indeed.

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

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

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

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

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

Olympia Exonar: Not as of now.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Dayna Laville: hmm, no no punishment

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

-Olympia Exonar

[Rant] Group only doors.

A nauseating rant from Josh Kira

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

- Josh Kira

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The blades on its front are an especially brutal touch.

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

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

The Attack and the Ban

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

Poon Voom: So people are getting banned?

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

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

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

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

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

Poon Voom: Mechs?

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

Poon Voom: Welcome to Combat 2.0

Hooked Dagger: Consider yourself banned until further notice

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

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

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