Does anyone recognize this?
I'll give you a hint: Kalt, currently #254 on GameTracker. That's right: a top 50 server reduced to #254 because of inactivity. If people aren't going to play on the servers, things will happen...and we certainly don't want to lose servers to another division. I don't think anyone in DoD can support that happening, am I right? We start with the 24/7s and go from there, because those are the bread-and-butter of this division. Our famed Kalt Assault, which ran weekly for over a year, actually was emptying out the server. Why? Because only two or three eGO members came out for it each week.
Curiously, if a few Leadership members were available to play, it wouldn't die anywhere near as much. Interesting, but I digress...
There are still options available, and we are reviewing and pursuing what we believe to be the best course for this community. Do we want servers to die? Of course not, we'd love to see every server up there with our beloved Avalanche (currently #2 on GameTracker, I might add). At one point, Avalanche and Donner were a 1-2 punch at the top of the listings; Donner has fallen to #68. I know, I'm just as guilty as the next person for being busy in the real world, but we can't stand around and watch this happen. We have more top 250 servers than ANY OTHER DIVISION (ignoring MOD, since there are something like 104 INS servers TOTAL), and we need to keep pushing. For a while, the Seed Team revitalized night play and startup; once all those awards were handed out, people disappeared. Getting the "Server Starter" award is a badge of honor, not a "Congratulations, you're done!" ticket. Some of you have been working hard at this, and for that we all thank you. But it's a team effort.
I really liked the turnout for Opening Night yesterday; we got up to 30 players in Argentan at one point. It was a great kickoff to a great map, and a show of solidarity with 25 eGO members in one server together. We're still working out the kinks, and we need your help in this.
Why haven't we had Dog Tag Scrims in months and months? No interest in events in general, except for Realism. That just isn't enough. Why did we set up Argentan? Because Kalt was dead, with an average of 5.9 players over the last month. I'm not trying to beat anyone up over this; we have to find a way to solve our problems. Argentan was the second favorite in the map trials, and we're going to give it another try with Instant Respawn enabled. Kalt isn't dead, by any means: we will still think about running events and variants of it, such as Kalt@Night. (I'm currently thinking about events of this kind.) Have a suggestion for a new event or idea? Come and find me in Ventrilo or put it in the Drop Box (so we all can see it). This is not the end of Kalt.
If we decided to encroach on CS:S's turf by invading Jail, I guarantee we'd have a dozen guys in there, harassing the heck out of them by following the rules TO THE LETTER. I know, because we've done it before. Perhaps it's time to stop over and sucker-punch Mister Adam to get the TF2 boys all riled up and looking for a fight. We'll have to see
Thanks for all of your help; we absolutely couldn't do it without you guys. DoD is #1 for a reason; we have a strong core of guys that show up day in and day out to fill the servers, keep them clean, and have a great time while doing it. I'm planning to personally stop by all of our servers soon; call it an "inspection tour" just like the legendary generals of our game would have done in World War II. We'll get a contingent of Leadership together and see how DoD is doing...and we'd love to see you all there. Yes, Strand, that might even include you, you hive of spawn-camping snipers
I look forward to seeing you all not only in Argentan, but also on the rest of our servers. Oh, one last thing, for everyone about to help us as we embark on this great journey...from Leadership to you:
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMUgmU_Hsjc[/ame]
We'll see you there...and we'll be ready for you
</steps down from soapbox>
Edit: (Since this took a half hour to type up and revise and I got sniped by Ron, I'll clarify: Avalanche was the first server, followed by Donner, and then the others. Just putting that in for historical purposes.)
