| 29 July 1998 |
Quake Journalism Follow-Up:
- Hopefully there's no connection, but just days after I posted a mini-rant about sites like The Texas Martini Foundation being necessary evils in the online gaming community, the aforementioned 'Foundation is closing its doors, seemingly due to provider influence. With a heavy heart I've removed it from the Links page.
- A similar site to check out is The Weakly World News, if you need to scratch that particular kind of itch.
- I was saddened to note that the other site I mentioned in my mini-rant, the Gaming Insider, is actually hosted by PlanetQuake (I guess I have some attention-to-detail problems to overcome too, huh?). I say "saddened" because I've noticed a trend at the 'Planet to cover mostly what happens in their own little empire of hosted sites with their own mods and Quake utilities. Knowing this, I won't be too surprised if Gaming Insider either folds or becomes the unofficial, unprofessional mouthpiece of PQ (assuming it hasn't become it already). Salt grains, anyone?
- On a lighter note, PlanetCrap is open.
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| 27 July 1998 |
Sin Demo Virus Alert:
Tactics:
- The UK clan King has published two guides on how to properly use the Quake2 railgun: one for HPBs and one for LPBs. Just remember that you don't have to lead the women and children as much, just because they can't run as fast.
Spelling 102:
- Sharp-eyed visitor Steve Borstead educated me (and rightly so) regarding the word "to": it's a preposition, not a conjunction. I stand corrected, but in my own defense I never claimed to be a master of the English language...just a guy who knows his homonyms.
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| 26 July 1998 |
It's SUNday, Dammit!
- Ritual Entertainment is scheduled to release a demo of their new Quake2-engine game, Sin, sometime today. Expect long, slow lines in the download queues...
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| 25 July 1998 |
Roster Changes:
- Silencer has passed his qualification test with LT Reaperman and will become a full member of SMS on July 29th. Congratulations!
Gentle Reminder:
- Practice tonight. Hope to see everybody there. Especially you roster phantoms.
Contest Update:
Quake-related Software:
- Speaking of the Contest, I did some playing around with the Quake II Scene Builder, an extremely cool utility that allows you to
pose every possible Quake2 model and object with the appropriate skins, textures, architecture and lighting and export it to an image file. Want to make a Quake2 comic or a specialized screenshot that would be a nightmare to do via
the actual game? This is the tool.
- I also broke down and upgraded to GameSpy like the rest of the free world. Other than some additional columns ("average ping," for instance) I don't really notice much of a difference.
Absolutely Nothing To Do With Quake:
- I've been listening to Garbage's new album, Version 2.0, like a fucking mental patient. I loved their first album and this one is, surprisingly enough, a great follow-up (unlike such recent dissapointments as Live's Secret Samahdi, Def Leppard's Slang, Queensryche's whatever-they-called-that-piece-of-shit-album and many others).
| 23 July 1998 |
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'Freedom of Quake Speech' Department:
Contest Update:
- Yet another rules addition: although I specified it in the section above the rules, I never actually put into the rules themselves the fact that SMS members are not eligible to compete in this contest. A trainee of ours submitted an entry tonight, so I'm going to close that loophole too. (It's a nice entry, though!)
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| 22 July 1998 |
Spelling 101:
- I realize that we all make spelling mistakes now and again (and I'm certainly no exception), and while that problem is sometimes compounded by a lack of spelling-checkers in whatever HTML editors we use, there are just a few things that I've got to comment on:
- Name of this Clan: It's S-T-E-E-L Maelstrom. Not "Steal". I've seen this mistake a couple of times in as many days, and it kind of grated on my nerves.
- Red Fish, Blue Fish, One Fish, Two/To/Too Fish: A simple lesson here:
- Two - The number. Comes after "one".
- To - It's a conjunction (remember "Conjunction Junction, What's Your Function" from Saturday-morning TV?). Often confused with "too" (below). Links words together, as in "we were going to grandma's house".
- Too - Means "also". As in "oh, you were at grandma's house too?"
- Any Which Way But...Lose? This seems to be a big problem, especially amongst the editors of the more popular Quake news pages:
- Lose - The opposite of "win".
- Loose - The opposite of "tight".
You're welcome.
Yes, I'm cranky.
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| 21 July 1998 |
Roster Changes:
- Ping Ping has passed his test with flying colors and is now a member of SMS (he had originally applied in June). Congratulations!
Contest Update:
- I've decided that I really like sponsoring contests that involve creativity. We're getting some really cool artwork in (we're up to 11 entries now) and there's no indication that they're stopping...
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| 19 July 1998 |
Roster Changes:
- Another Cadre assignment has been made....yet more to come, don't worry.
Contest Update:
- We've received two more entries (woop!), bringing the grand total up to eight so far.
- I've amended the rules (yet again) in regards to the graphics formats: now, in addition to the previously-allowed formats, we will accept animated GIFs, Flash or Shockwave animations or RealVideo animations. The 500k size limit will not apply to Flash, Shockwave or RealVideo animations.
- I'm making a second plea to PlanetQuake to publicize the contest. After all, if Blue can do it, why can't they?
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| 18 July 1998 |
Roster Changes:
- Trainee YAH0E has been tested by XO Ace and passed; he will become a full member of SMS on Tuesday July 28th, barring any violations of Trainee requirements between now and then. Congratulations.
- CandyMan has resigned from SMS, citing Real LifeTM time constraints due to his full-time job. CM was a good player, and we wish him well.
- Three assignments have been made for our current batch of Trainees; more on their way.
- A Trainee has been dismissed due to a lack of attendence.
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| 17 July 1998 |
Roster Changes:
- SMS will not be accepting any more applications for membership at this time. We've got plenty of eager volunteers right now that we've got to process. We'll probably start accepting more applications next week, but don't hold your breath. The Joining section has been updated to reflect this change.
Contest Update:
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| 15 July 1998 |
Roster Changes:
- The applications continue to roll in. I'll be announcing a secondary Trainee qualification system within the next day that takes massive influxes of personnel into account without (hopefully) sacrificing quality. Thanks to everybody for their interest in SMS.
Contest Update:
- Total number of contest entries received as of 8pm Eastern: 4.
- I added a bit to the contest rules: now the winner has a choice of either the existing Quake II Mission Pack(s), a third-party commercial mod or other add-on, or waiting for the release of any future Quake II Mission pack. This is my attempt to make the grand prize a bit more appealing...
- In the words of XO Ace, "Holy shit!" Blue's News has announced the contest (after a somewhat less-than-gentle reminder from me). I take back all those unflattering things I've said about Mr. Blue. Let's hope we can get some more entries!
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| 14 July 1998 |
Roster Changes II:
- Congrats to Ballistix, who became a member of SMS tonight after a tight battle between Anthrax, XO Ace, LT SCSI and yours truly.
- We have eight new Trainees, bringing the total up to ten. Will all make it into the clan? Probably the greatest deciding factor will be attendence (hint, hint)!
Contest Update:
- Well, after spending a couple of days away from the 'puter (we had guests here at Stately Rantage Manor), I was pleasantly surprised to find two entries for the SMS Contest already in my mailbox. They look good...keep them coming!
- On the down side, it appears that only Quake2.com and Gringo's Hut have seen fit to announce the contest.
I'll resend announcements to the non-posters again in a couple of days.
I would hate to think that, at a time where there is very little Quake-related news to report except for mod patches and corporate maneuvering, a way for Quakers to win a free game doesn't even rate as "worthy news." I'll save some more bile for next week, lest I offend too hastily.
Roster Changes:
- None yet....but HOLY SHIT did I find a buttload of SMS applications in the mail this morning along with the aforementioned contest entries. I guess the extra publicity kinda helped, huh? I want to push the existing Trainees through before taking on any more....the whole Trainee/Probation process seems to be taking too long for my liking.
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| 11 July 1998 |
Contest Update:
- I made one minor addition to the contest rules, stating which criteria will be used in judging the winner.
- Announcements regarding the contest were sent out tonight to a host of Quake2 news site, including Blue's News, PlanetQuake, Quake2.com, Redwood's and sCary's Shuga Shack. Lets see who thinks that their readers may be interested in winning something. The omissions may make an interesting editorial...heheh....
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| 10 July 1998 |
SMS 2nd Anniversary Contest:
- All of the details are in the Contest section. I'll be pimping the announcement to the major sites tomorrow.
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| 28 June 1998 |
"Hey, what's that in the corner over...*THWAP*" Department:
 The scrimmage with Clan of the Camper (COTC) went off last night, albeit with a few hitches. Server settings and connectivity problems delayed the 10pm EST/7pm PST match and reduced the five rounds to about two and a half. COTC was the clear winner, as seen by the screenshot provided by LT Tempest (oooh, pretty colors...). SMS was at a bit of a disadvantage due to the fact we were playing the Lithium mod instead of straight Deathmatch; the runes were a bit distracting and the Lithium hook's physics feel a bit odd compared to the CTF hook. Well, lesson learned, time to march on. Thanks goes out to Aide-de-Camp and the boys for hosting the event.
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| 27 June 1998 |
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Well, so much for that streak of page updates....
Roster Changes:
- I have dismissed two individuals from SMS for failure to attend practices within the last month. As outlined in the Membership Requirements section, full SMS members must attend 25% (that's a whopping TWO out of EIGHT) of the practices each month. Members who attend at least one practice a month are warned, those who can't even bother to let me know they're not making it for whatever reason are expelled.
Battle Time?
- Cross your fingers: the battle with Clan of the Camper is supposed to take place tonight in technicolor 5-on-5 deathmatch format.
- I have temporarily changed the Challenge section. For the next couple of weeks, SMS will not be accepting challenges from other clans (the exception being the COTC battle tonight) while we get our own house in order in terms of training and clan organization. Sorry for the inconvenience.
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| 14 June 1998 |
Quake2 3.16 --> 3.17:
- Blue is reporting that the upcoming Quake2 patch will be 3.17 and not 3.16 due to some internal Id testing. This patch will supposedly allow the client -- the players, you and I -- to control what (if anything) is autodownloaded to our machines once we connect to a Quake2 server. Thanks to SGT Kreth for bringing this to my attention.
Essay Question:
- While this may seem like a smart-ass question, it is not my intent. Here we are, around the 2nd anniversary of the formation of the first Quake clans and a lot of the darlings of the Quake/Quake2 "news" pages are dead or dormant. Case in point: remember RevCo (aka the "Revolting Cocks" clan)? They were the A-1 top shit Quake clan for months if you believed the hype. Their roster boasted Paul Steed, Killcreek and some impressive players. Go to their website now, and you can read the same thing that was up there 6+ months ago.
What happens to Quake clans that make them wither and die?
Look at the CrackWhores. This all-female clan was hyped oh-so-much for weeks and weeks, to the extent that we have the crackhor model in Quake2 now. Check out their web page (as of today at least) you'll find five updates since October 1997....the last one taking place in May.
What's the deal? These were the hot clans....with a lot of highly skilled people.
Look at the homepage for Clan DeW. I'm no DeW fan, but their sudden silence and departure of members is a bit surprising for a clan with a buttload of potential.
Anyway, anybody who cares to take a stab at answering why this sort of thing happens is welcome to. I'll post anything I get that's more than a couple lines of insipid cheap shots.
100% Unrelated to Quake:
- Congrats to the Chicago Bulls for winning the NBA championship. Like they need my non-jumping ass to give them any support...
- I've been playing Ultima IV lately. Yes, you heard correctly. Part of the reason is due to some kind of nostalgic mood these Amiga and Commodore 64 emulators have put me in....part of the reason is that the full version of Ultima IV has been released for free on the Net. If anybody's interested I'll post the URL.
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| 9 June 1998 |
Roster Changes:
- Trainee Dizzy has withdrawn her application for the time being, citing a lot of upcoming travel this summer. She promises to re-apply in the fall.
Autodownload this, bitch!
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| 8 June 1998 |
Commitment: 1, Ego: 0
- Steel Maelstrom's membership has continued to rise in the face of the new membership requirements and a dedication to self-training by its ranking members.
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| 7 June 1998 |
Roster Changes:
- The FFA to fill the two empty Lieutenant positions took place Saturday night.
- Congratulations to LT Tempest and LT Violator. Violator came in first, with Tempest in second. CandyMan was close behind Tempest, in third place. Also attending were Neep, LT SCSI (who opened up a major can of Whup-Ass), LT Reaperman, XO Ace, SGT A-Wal and Rantage.
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| 6 June 1998 |
Roster Changes:
- Not yet, but I've assigned some cadre members to the trainees:
- Violator has been assigned to test both Mordax and Dizzy, since they share the same computer and connection for the near-term.
- CandyMan has been assigned to test Ballistix.
- A cadre member for Elvis will be announced soon.
- FFA tonight to fill the two Lieutenant positions.
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| 4 June 1998 |
Roster Changes:
- Our newest applicant is Elvis, who joins us from Ottawa (not Memphis, surprisingly enough).
'Rapidly Dispelling AOL Stereotypes' Department:
- I was debating whether or not to make mention of this, but figured that ignoring might be interpreted as somehow acknowledging any kind of truth (or humor) in what amounts to a pretty lame attempt at a "slam" in response to my comments made here. In any case, view Clan M12's stinging rebuke.
- What's funnier, of course, is the M12 "Clan History". I think if these boys want to know about Marines they should ask SGT Kreth.
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| 2 June 1998 |
Surf's Up:
I got what pretty much amounted to a piece of spam mail today...which would normally piss me off. But I gave this one a second look:
Hi, im emailing all clans, in all styles of play, to tell them that I am
adding on to my current page and making a Clans News page. You can get to
this page by going to http://www.yourchicago.com/gringo/ and clicking on
the link to “Clan News”. All u have to do is email me your clan
news(anything you want) and I will post it on my page. Also any demos or
strats that u would like to share with the rest of the quake community u
can submit those too.
Like I said, spam normally pisses me off. But having tried to run a Quake news site of my own once (Seismograph, R.I.P. 1996-1997) I can sympathize with a guy who is running into the wall of silence put up by the megasites like PlanetQuake and Stomped who tend to ignore that which they cannot claim for themselves.
So I've added the URL to the Links section. Give the guy a visit...before he tires of providing us with an alternative to the moneymakers.
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| 1 June 1998 |
Roster Changes:
- I'd like to welcome Dizzy to the Trainee roster.
Miscellaneous Crapola:
- Welcome to June, everybody. I've placed the last two months' worth of news in the News Archives, so go there if you've missed something.
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