Newsletter October Newsletter

[Quaffer]

After a run of seven years, eGO’s COD Division has closed its doors. In the Meet the Leadership section of this month’s Newsletter, I explore the rise and fall of the COD Division with FrikFry, @ppl3p!, and whoflungpooatwho.

September also marks the three year anniversary of the eGO Newsletter. The realization of the Newsletter occurred on July 12th 2010 when Angreifen posted an invitation requesting participation in the creation of a Newsletter team. The ever enigmatic Quaffer was one of the first on board, responding with "I have spoken to the forum moderator of the Signature of the Week. He will permit the weekly winners signature to be published in the newsletter. He's a rather snarly curmudgeon so feel free to just sneak in and copy the link. Trust me you do not want to wake this guy up sudden like." He then showed up for the meeting and somehow managed to talk his way onto the staff. Did I mention Quaffer used to run the SOTW?
The first Newsletter was published in September 2010. By October, Angreifen had the insane running the asylum, asking Quaffer to manage the editing and the reporters while he concentrated on creating the threads. Eventually the latter task fell to Quaffer as well. Since our inaugural edition we have published 37 newsletters, including this one; this has been through the efforts of seventy eight contributors. This number does not include the help of EdgeGamers’ Leadership, who have gracefully granted interviews, and assisted in fact checking. I hopped on board in March 2011 as an editor, and shortly thereafter, I was promoted by Quaffer to the position of Chief Editor. We both work under the auspices of Artimus, the Editor in Chief.
Quaffer had this to say about the Newsletter Team, “I am proud of my team and the work we do. I am grateful for the support of leadership, especially Artimus who does the final review of every article. I would also like to acknowledge the significant contributions of our Chief Editor wewo who has been on the staff from very nearly the beginning and who's help has kept me sane. Well some people have argued that point. I hope you continue to enjoy the newsletters and I thank you for taking the time to read it.” I echo this sentiment and must add that Quaffer has and continues to be the driving force behind the eGO Newsletter. Enjoy.

wewo, Chief Editor​

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wewo talks to the people in the know. You owe it to yourselves to read this one.

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EdgeGamers give us a seat up front in our favorite games.

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The PSC is stepping up the pace and expanding its scope.

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Get the info on Battlefield's maps from the folks that know it best.

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Come on down and see Ichor's mine. But beware, I can't promise you a return ticket.

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Fancy a nice vacation on a Greek island? Best bring your flack jacket.

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Hit the streets in TF2. Is this your week?

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This months newsletter was edited by Ezekiel, RogueOps and wewo. Please thank them for their efforts.

Our graphics this month are provided by the talented, Dangle.

We here at EdgeGamers Organization would like to thank the kind people at MaxFrag.net for providing us with our highly ranked, 400 slot Ventrilo server. For everyone interested in finding out more about them, visit their site at this link: http://tinyurl.com/4yqoyq8

 

[Quaffer]

By wewo:

For this month’s Meet the Leadership article we delve into the rise and fall of the COD Division. I was able to get some questions answered by former COD Division Leaders FrikFry and @ppl3p!, as well as recently promoted Advisor, whoflungpooatwho. Let’s start with FrikFry and @ppl3p!:

Q: When did eGO form the COD Division, when did you get involved?

FrikFry:I wasn't here for the start of the Division. I believe it was formed with the launch of the game, which would be November 2007. I personally got involved with the Division in August 2009.

@ppl3p!: I joined EdgeGamers last year.


Q: How did the Division develop and when did it start to decline?

FrikFry: The Division developed fantastically. Our highest point was when we started to support World at War. Unfortunately, we had problems with server administration and our WaW servers suffered for it, to the point where they had to be shut down. Following that, the true turning point for the Division was the release of Modern Warfare 2, when Activision decided to stop supporting dedicated servers. In addition, all of the mod options take players away from the vanilla servers, which is what we primarily ran. There were also a lot of problems with PB (PunkBuster) being difficult for users to setup, so that shunted users away from our servers as well. We also lost out because players using illegally downloaded copies of the game could not connect to our servers. Last, the addition of a new sequel drained away players.

@ppl3p!: I don't know where the decline began, but I could see the CoD Division being in decline at the moment I joined eGO. I have heard others say the decline began a very long time ago. I don't know how true that is since I wasn't here to witness it. I think either Division members were busy or found another game they liked more. CoD lived long, but there isn't much interest anymore.

Q: What efforts did you make to keep COD going?

FrikFry: We did everything we could, including new servers, changes to existing servers, contests, prizes, recruitment incentives. I alone spent about $100 dollars on event prizes in one month.

@ppl3p!: I tried to get a competitive team going not too long after I joined the Division. It was short lived and it was very hard to schedule match times because there was hardly anyone around. So I also started to organize events. There were a lot who came to those, sometimes. We still had people; there were a lot of people in the CoD Division. The recent and former CoD Leadership was a very active team and we tried to fill the servers as much as possible. This is where we were hurting. Our servers would not stay full. We did continue to run events to try to keep the current members interested in sticking around. We tried to make it fun for them and want to stick around. They did but there wasn't enough of us and we couldn't always be on. I tried to keep the members happy, I even helped them with their math.


Q: When was the first time you thought the Division may have to close?

FrikFry: We were all very optimistic up until the end.

Q: Will the COD Division return, and if so, do you want to be a part of it?

FrikFry: I don't think the CoD Division will return, not as it was. If it does, I don't know if I will be involved with it. That is a decision that Council and the Community Managers will need to make. I'd like to be involved in some way.

@ppl3p!: We hope EdgeGamers will pickup CoD: Ghosts but that is only if Ghosts supports dedicated servers. We will see what happens in November.

Q: What are you doing now?

FrikFry: Catching up on a serious backlog of video games that I've accumulated over the years.

@ppl3p!: I have been playing Minecraft on the PC and playing GTA5 on the PS3.

Q: Have you joined any other Divisions?

FrikFry: Of the gaming Divisions, I'd consider myself most closely aligned with Op:X.

@ppl3p!: I'm not joining any other Divisions. Honestly, I don't see how it could be an easy decision for me to just to join another Division when I had tried so hard to make this one work. Just to choose another Division would mean I have already forgotten the CoD Division. It is kinda like going out with a boy for so long and then after he dies, one second later I'm going out with another guy. I would just like to add that I appreciate the CoD Leadership efforts but more importantly I appreciate our members and their efforts they put into the Division.

Thank you FrikFry and @ppl3p!, I’m sure the former COD members and the entire eGO community appreciate your Herculean efforts. Now let’s talk to whoflungpooatwho, who was a COD Advisor and is now a PSC Advisor.


Q: HI Poo, one minute you were in DOD Division, the next thing I hear you were promoted to Advisor in COD, and now you're a PSC Advisor. Do you keep a "go" bag next to your computer?

A: Hahaha. It has been an up and down six months or so. The only bags I keep next to my desk are my book bag and hopefully a suitcase that says "CoD:Ghosts"

Q. Really though, when did you join the COD Division, and when were you promoted to Advisor?

A: I joined CoD Division in late March/early April of this year. I was promoted to Advisor on August 15, 2013, my 355th day in eGO.

Q: So you were an Advisor for less than month when the Division closed. How unexpected was the closing of the Division?

A: It caught me by surprise, that's for sure. I knew the state of the Division was not that good, but I thought we were starting to turn it around.

Q:When did you suspect that the very existence of the Division was in jeopardy?

A: Once I was promoted, one of the DL's at the time told me what was going on.

Q: What efforts did you make to keep COD running?

A: My duty was to run/create events and just be there for help if anyone needed it.

Q: Who told you that the Division was closing and how did you react to the news both verbally and emotionally?

A: We (Frikfry, applepi, Darkraven, and Krome and I) were told by USCG Hammer and other Council members. Verbally, I was speechless. Emotionally, it didn’t hit me until later that night.

Q: Do you think the COD Division will be revived when COD Ghost is released?

A: Hopefully, if Activision provides dedicated servers for the game.

Q: Do you still play COD and do you intend to play COD Ghost?

A: Honestly, I don't play CoD4 as much as I did before but I get on from time to time. I do intend to play Ghosts.

Q: Assuming that the COD Division does reopen, do you think you will re-join the Division?

A: 100% yes.

Q: Well good luck in the PSC Division, and hopefully I will see you in the DOD servers. Do you have any final comments for our readers?

A: Yes. Never stop recruiting/filling servers cause I do not want what happened to the COD Division to happen to any other Division.

There you have it. While a few foresaw the (hopefully temporary) demise of COD, it seems that many were taken by surprise, and all are saddened. I will echo whoflungpooatwho’s comment that we must vigilantly support our Divisions or they too may be disbanded. Cheers to the good times had in the COD Division over the past six years.

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[Quaffer]

By SkylineGTR

Interested in a game and don't know if you should buy it? Are game trailers too boring and just not giving you enough detail about the game and its game-play? Well, the answer to those questions is located right under the Shoutbox, it's called eGO Live Streams.

This nifty little installment to the forums is a great way to get a feel for some games you've been thinking of buying, but are not sure what the gameplay looks like. Members of the community can stream the game that they're currently playing and by clicking on their name in the eGO Live Steams box, you can actually watch them. You will even be able to hear the game, the voices of the game characters and actually talk to the player via a chat-box next to their name.

This is a great tool to use to stream the games you like as well. Whatever game you're playing at the time can be shared with the rest of the eGO community, and who knows, maybe you'll inspire someone else to buy the same game.

You think that's it? No, there's more. Streaming your game on the eGO Live Stream will earn you the "Streaming" achievement. Now, doesn't that sound like a pretty awesome deal just by streaming the game you're on? Sure does to me.

Streaming does require you to utilize a streaming service and hosting site. However, these are available free from, what I like to call, "streamers". To obtain them and set yourself up read THIS.

eGO Live Streams has to be one of my favorite things to check out once or twice a day, and I highly recommend it. It is a great tool to see your friends in action and to share your gaming experience with the rest of the community.

As always, happy gaming and here's to another year of school.

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[Quaffer]

By Ric

It's a bird..It's a plane..It's this month's newsletter with the PSC:

Hello everyone, and welcome to another exciting article brought to you by the wonderful folks on the Newsletter Team. This article will feature the PSC Division and it's amazing activity within our community.

First up is Mr. Lucas15 discussing events:

"First, we've got the event schedule slowly filling up with more events than in the past couple of months. We plan on having multiple events for each Division from now on. Second, we will have a new Event Coordinator (EC) or two brought up very soon, so keep your eyes peeled.
Changes? Ah yes. DarkRaven is my co-Advisor for the EC program and XxDoomxX is the newest EC. Congratulations to them both."

Thank you very much for your time Mr. Lucas15 and we wish your Division well when it comes to events.

Next up is SkylineGTR to tell us all about PSC Training:

"It's simple really. PSC trainers are tasked with training the new folks who join our program. We teach them how to process applications and help individuals become familiar with their newly acquired position. I am always looking for willing candidates who want to try out for the position. Shoot me a PM if you're interested."

Thank you SkylineGTR, we appreciate the time you've committed to your program and congratulations on your rise to Division Leader. It is well-deserved.

Any closing stateme...Blindy, is that your hand raised? Did you have something to say sir?

"Yes, Ric, it was raised this whole time, I think you need glasses. Hello everyone, I just wanted to remind you that there is a PSC Steam group where you can receive the latest invitations and more. Please pm a PSC Advisor to get access to that group. I wanted to thank all the dedicated people who spend their free time helping out the PSC and eGO and most importantly thank you Ric for being so awesome."

Thank you Blindy for your time tonight and your words of inspiration.

Thank you for taking your time to read this month's newsletter featuring the PSC and more. Have a wonderful day.

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[Quaffer]

By VeridianKiwi

With the much anticipated Battlefield 4 scheduled for release on October 29th, 2013, I decided to consult a couple of Battlefield: Bad Company 2 and Battlefield 3 experts to see why our servers are so popular.

Here's what ThundrRok has to say about Battlefield 3:

Q: By numbers, what would you say the most popular server is and why?

A: Eh, by numbers, it would be Metro because of grinding.

Q: Why is there such an appeal to grinding?

A: Well, there are 45 ranks to get to Colonel, and then 100 ranks of Colonel to become max rank. In big maps, an average player would get around 600-700 spm, or score per minute. In metro, with 32 v 32, (which was designed for 16v16), an average player can get 1000-1100 spm. At 1000 spm, it takes about 500-600 hours to max rank.

Q: Does rank carry across servers? And what exactly does the ranking system do?

A: Yes, rank carries across the system. Anything past rank 45, or colonel one, is just boasting. However before that, you unlock weapons, equipment and tools to use. By using a weapon and gaining kills with it, you eventually unlock equip-able items, like scopes, fore-grips, extended mag, bi-pod etc. You also unlock small achievements as well.

Q: Has anyone maxed out ranks yet?

A: There are a few regulars who have maxed their rank out, and we do have a forum achievement for anyone who has.

Q: What’s the difference between Bazaar and Metro?

A: Metro is linear, so half of the game is usually spent in the same spot whereas Bazaar has many flanking routes, allowing the game to open up when a squad works together, and also offers a close quarters gun battle in the center of the map.

Q: How exactly does the Bazaar map work?

A: There are four streets that form a box, at either corner are two spawns and diagonally between them are three capture points. Each team starts with a certain number of 'tickets', when you spawn, it depletes one ticket. When you own more flags (capture points) than the other team, the other team starts slowly losing tickets. The team that runs out of tickets first loses.

Thank you ThundrRok for telling us more about Battlefield 3.

Now to Skagnatti and Battlefield: Bad Company 2:

Q: What are your views about some of the popular maps that Battlefield: Bad Company 2 has?

A: Well there’s Heavy Metal, which is a fairly large map, and because of that it allows for more vehicles. It also offers not only close quarters combat but also wide open shoot to the death game-play. There’s also Panama Canal, which has a good combination of vehicles, but doesn’t have any aircraft, and it offers more of a close quarters combat experience.

Q: Does Battlefield 2 have a rank system?

A: Yes it does, the highest rank that you can get to is 50, but that doesn’t mean that you’ll be at max weapon class. You can play a lot and reach 50, but your weapons class may not be maxed out yet. The ranking system is based on points, so the more you do for your team the quicker that your points go up.

Q: Does Battlefield 2 have any rotation servers?

A: Yes, we have a conquest rotation server, which offers variety, as well as a hardcore rotation server for those who enjoy a more aggressive game-play style.

A big thanks to ThundrRok and Skagnatti for their input and dedication to eGO's BF division. If you’re looking for a fun time, join the Battlefield Vent channels where there’s always something going on.

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[Quaffer]

By Ichor

Walking down the path, the sun glistening on my face, the smell of flowers in the air, the sound of wild animals grazing on the lush vegetation and my brilliant diamond mining pick in hand. I'm off to mine some ore.

I've located a cave, dark and eerie, though somehow inviting. With my torches in hand I march on in search of riches. It seems like an endless cavern of curiosities as I place a torch to guide my way in and bread crumbs every few feet so that I may find my way out, should the torch flicker and die out.

After a few minutes of searching I've stumbled upon a wall of stone. This stone is no ordinary stone however. Glowing brightly yellow, I can tell this is Gold!

I start striking the wall in a frenzy, loosening the ore that lies within. All of a sudden, while in mid-swing, I hear a creepy sound, like none I've ever heard before.

"Ugggggghhhhhh... it's faint, but getting louder by the second.

"UGGGHHH!!"

Not knowing what I'm up against, I quickly exchange my mining pick for my sword, and prepare to defend myself. Rounding the corner, a zombie appears. It is disgusting, and intent on ending my life.. I take my stance. Unfortunately for me, another one comes out of the darkness.. Then another! And another! Within moments I am surrounded and fighting for my life. I realize I'm in a dire situation and my hope of survival wanes with my realization of the sheer number of my enemies. I decide to make a break for it and live to fight another day. After all, gold isn't really worth dying for, is it?

Too late; I'm cornered with nowhere to run. I lunge for the nearest zombie and hope for the best. My attempt fails and I'm knocked down. They are almost on top of me now. Knowing this is the end I let out a loud cry!!! Then darkness surrounds me.

I suddenly wake up. I can feel my heart beating quite quickly, but it's beating none the less!

"What a dream!" I think to myself. I open my eyes to take in my surroundings.

"Blocks?? Everything is blocks??!!" I look at my hands, my body and my house. All blocks!! Was it really a dream?.. Am I still dreaming??

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!"


If you are looking for an immersive adventure like no other, if you want to put your building and survival skills to the test, then Minecraft is the game for you.

Recently, the Minecraft Division has made a significant change with how the monthly events are lined up. Now, you can vote for your favorite events and see them happen. Never before has this been done in the Minecraft Division.

Thank you for reading. Tune in next month for our next adventure.

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[Quaffer]

By Jay_Jay

G’Day everyone. Jay_Jay here, your reporter from the land down under, with an exciting OP:X story. I’m sure many of you have been scoping out ARMA 3 in anticipation of its official release. The title has been in Beta for a while now and so far players have been able to test out new weaponry and vehicles as well as roam the island of Stratis.

Although limited in features at the moment, the full release is expected to receive much praise from the gaming community. Set in the mid-2030s amongst a struggle between NATO forces and an array of friendly and hostile factions, the game takes us to the Greek Islands of the Mediterranean Sea. It has been reported in other sources that the campaign will stretch over two of these islands in particular. Altis Island (based on the real Greek Island of Lemnos) is the larger of the two in the game. Reported at over 270 km?, Altis is set to be the main stage of conflict for the campaign. Stratis Island (named from the real Stratis Island of Greece) measures in at only 20 km?. The islands will include more than 50 small villages in which most buildings are able to be entered and all are destroyable. Stratis was intended to only serve in the Beta version, but it was later decided to include small elements of the campaign on the island.

So far the Beta has had some teething problems but hasn’t disappointed players. New features include the introduction of underwater environments, a diver class, submersible vehicles, customizable weapon attachments and gear, as well as many new game engine improvements. All of which are listed on Wikipedia.

To get the in-house scoop on the Beta, I met up with OP:X Advisor, Dutchoper72.

(Jay_Jay)
- Hey Dutch. I hope I'm right in assuming you've been playing ARMA 3 Beta. What do you think of it all thus far?

(Dutch)
I think it’s fun to play. I like what they’ve added and the fact that it still has that ARMA 2 feel to it. Sure it’s a bit buggy since it’s still in its Beta phase, but it is very fun to play with your friends. So far the ARMA community has been awesome, because they have ported over AMRA 2 game modes like wasteland. I just hope Bethesda adds more content like stock game modes when it comes out. ARMA 2 unfortunately lacked content on release.

- Given the popularity of ARMA 2, can we expect to see the latest edition embedded into OP:X?

I don’t see why we wouldn’t pick up ARMA 3 for OP:X. Like most other Divisions, they continue the game franchise like the Counter Strike Division did with CS:GO, The Battlefield Division did from BC2 to BF3 and same with the recently disbanded CoD Division. It would be no surprise to me if ARMA 3 is the latest addition to the OP:X family.

- What are some new features of the Beta you're fond of? Is there anything you're hoping to see that's not in the Beta upon official release?

I would have to say that I really enjoy the full customization of your weapons and the underwater gun fights. You just don't see that in most other games. You usually have one or the other, but in ARMA 3 you have both. I think the only thing I would want added is a good admin system, seeing as how only leadership and above can admin ARMA, which kinda stinks for our members seeing as how they can't get more involved and that ARMA 2's system broke over recent updates, which I hope doesn’t happen to ARMA 3.

- How do you think the Steam Workshop will improve the gaming experience in regards to ARMA 3?

Oh god, if they added the workshop I for some reason see it turning into Skyrim...but ARMA style. Tanks from the future or ones that shoot fully loaded buses full of civvies, maybe replace the moon with a Death star and jets as UFOs. However I would like to see a Stargate SG-1 mod or mission. Sure there will be crazy ones, but overall it would be fun to see what people will add.

Thank you for the interview.

Cheers Dutch. See you in-game.

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[Quaffer]

By Lucas15

The self-proclaimed “dabes” Division of eGO has gone through a fair amount of changes within the last month. A few of these changes include leadership alterations, recruiting, host change-ups, and weekly player recognition. So without further ado:

The beloved Wize, who was the Recruiting Advisor for the TF2 Division, has transferred to the CS Division as its Recruiting Advisor. Some of Wize's wisdom must have rubbed off on the Recruitment Host team. They have continued with the Recruiting Classes that their former mentor started just before his departure, and have also reinstated recruiting scenarios. They are doing a rather fine job. In addition, talk of recruiting contests are in the air, according to a reliable source, so be sure to keep an eye out in the Division discussion.

There has been an unprecedented number of members who stand out recently. Accordingly, TF2 has started a new program to recognize those who perform extraordinary acts within the week; a program they rightfully refer to as Player of the Week. The chosen player will be recognized on both the forums and the TF2 Steam group. Be sure to congratulate them.

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