Soo...I was at the scrim tonight 1/24

[seforest]

...and we had 3 irregular players: Zigrat, Phil21 and myself. Due to our lack of players, Zigrat and I formed a "power squad" of 2 and proceeded to do the best we could. If you're played the tacticalmod you know how much 2 people can do to take a flag against a defending squad of 6 (not much).

Anyway, I'll give it another try but it's not really worth the time to do these scrims if we can't get a full squad. I have to add, I'm not really crazy about the tacticalmod after tonight. I believe the high kill score was below 20. I only had around 6 kills and I was in the upper 1/4 of scores(pretty sad).

[JimmyTwoHand]

Yes this has been the sort of attendance i have seen in the three matches i have been at. Do not give up just yet, hopefully it should take an upturn in the future....

I also believe there were other rostered irregs on server1 while the match was going on so if you know that was you, smacked wrists all round.

[Boot]

I was frustrated myself. I spent most of this evening trying to get the tactical mod up and running so I could get in on the scrim. Of course, by the time I had it working I pinged the scrim server and it was empty. There was a rowdy bunch on Server 1 so that's where I headed.

But it does bring up an ettiquite point that I would like clarified. When the scrim is in progress, my understanding is that we should join the TS scrim channel and... what? There is a significant protocol in place and my reading of the rules is that anyone not signed up for the match is not on the list. What is happening in game?

[Phil21]

First... The scrim.

I joined the BB squad on the MEC side of things, as that's the side I was assigned to. It's definitely going to be an IRR disadvantage not knowing all our different playstyles and the like - as those guys did, and were used to simply "knowing" what the guy next to them was about to do.

However I'm with seforest.. I really don't like the tactical mod after tonight. While some of the changes are great (medics not reviving with full health, the better AA to name a couple), some simply drag the enjoyment down to near zero for me. Essentially this mod is a lot of sitting around doing nothing, to all of a sudden being tossed into combat and being dead 5 seconds later. While this is definitely more "real" than vanilla bf2, it's simply not as fun imo. Plus the lack of commander in my opinion has a VAST negative impact on the game flow. I have a ton of suggestions to make this mod more "friendly", but I doubt they'd be heard since they go against a lot of what the mod seems intended to do. Different strokes for different folks though, I'd join if needed to help out - I simply didn't really feel I was an asset.

As for the attendance.. I think the most dissapointing part were the players wearing IRR tags playing on server 1, and saying "not interested" when asked to join up on the scrim server. We're talking one round here guys, 30 minutes of your time. Plus, an all IRR squad would have made the game a bunch more fun for all of us, and we'd get some "real" playing time in. I don't think asking players who otherwise are playing, to join in on the events is too much to expect. The whole idea behind irregs is that everyone understands time commitments are hard, but if you're otherwise using your time to play - PLAY WITH US!

Now.. the positive. After playing and witnessing some of the other in-house squads in action, they are impressive. However, the IRR players I've teamed with in the past can be just as good. It seems all of us play regularly on server1, and are very used to fitting in with very much varying playstyles of different squadleaders - so lets use our adaptability to our advantage.

All in all, a great learning experience. I can't wait for the real scrimmage we have coming up this weekend! Lets get some attendance guys!

As for the guys showing up late - it's always worth a shot to join the TS channel and simply ask. Apparently an event coordinator sits there and doesn't play, so no harm in asking.

Ugh.. time for bed.

-Phil

[Shafik]

I was on server 1 when the scrim started, but that's when I left. 4 is my current limit, as in 4 AM. Yes, genetlemen, the scrims start 4AM here in Israel, which is 2AM in the UK. Not real friendly. Some matches started at 7PM EST, which is 2AM israel (midnight UK). I can make those, probably. The later ones will never happen for me, and all UK'rs i'd say, unless on a weekend.

[-=[dMw]=-DuVeL]

Originally Posted by bootstrap

I was frustrated myself. I spent most of this evening trying to get the tactical mod up and running so I could get in on the scrim. Of course, by the time I had it working I pinged the scrim server and it was empty. There was a rowdy bunch on Server 1 so that's where I headed.

Ditto, eventually reinstalled BF2 because it gave a few errors. Decided to use my time left to reset settings and do some other stuff. Sorry.

[JimmyTwoHand]

Originally Posted by boot

But it does bring up an ettiquite point that I would like clarified. When the scrim is in progress, my understanding is that we should join the TS scrim channel and... what? There is a significant protocol in place and my reading of the rules is that anyone not signed up for the match is not on the list. What is happening in game?

If you are late get on TS and make the admin for the match aware. At the moment there seem to be free slots available most matches and there is normally at least one person who drops out mid scrim due to either connection or some sort of "my kid has just swallowed a golf ball" scenario. There is normally no problem about getting a place once the match has started but it may mean that you have to fill in on the other side to the rest of the irregs. It may even help the admins and allow them to balance out the teams.

If you are late due to unforseen circumstances get on TS and announce you are late and would like to know if there is any chance of getting into the scrim. ABRA or one of his admins will then hook you up im sure. It would be nice if everyone is there early but its understandable that things come up to disrupt this. Better late than never i say.

Originally Posted by shafik

I was on server 1 when the scrim started, but that's when I left. 4 is my current limit, as in 4 AM. Yes, genetlemen, the scrims start 4AM here in Israel, which is 2AM in the UK. Not real friendly. Some matches started at 7PM EST, which is 2AM israel (midnight UK). I can make those, probably. The later ones will never happen for me, and all UK'rs i'd say, unless on a weekend.

Understandable.
Its a shame that others were just "not interested" though. Phil, you raise some valid concerns about the tacmod and that it may not be to everyones taste. It also requires a wholesale rethink of how you play the game. I completely agree with "The whole idea behind irregs is that everyone understands time commitments are hard, but if you're otherwise using your time to play - PLAY WITH US!" though.

In my experience the scrims are a step above regular server 1 play. It is really fun to play against the inhouse lads when they are with team mates they know. A real force to be reckoned with which makes me look forward to the 28th even more.

[kornkobcom]

Originally Posted by JimmyTwoHand

Its a shame that others were just "not interested" though. Phil, you raise some valid concerns about the tacmod and that it may not be to everyones taste. It also requires a wholesale rethink of how you play the game. I completely agree with "The whole idea behind irregs is that everyone understands time commitments are hard, but if you're otherwise using your time to play - PLAY WITH US!" though.

I have limited time to devote to liesure gaming. When I do have time I want it to be as much fun as I can cram into the few hours I've got.

Tacmod is not much fun for me so I'm not going to spend the time I do have for liesure gaming on tacmod games.

I'd prefer to play with a squad of Irregulars but if the Irregulars are going to be at a scrim that is based on the TacMod, I'll elect to run n' gun with the pubbies over spending my time on the tacmod.

[ChIck3nL3gz]

I was there, in spirit. I was having problems with BF2 last night and I had the wrong mod so I couldn't get on. But I was there on TS for a good 30-40 minutes trying to get it to work before I got thrown off the computer at 11pm EST.

I'm hoping there is going to be another pracitce this week (hopefully on thursday) and I am going to try and get the correct mod today.

[munchkin]

Originally Posted by JimmyTwoHand

If you are late get on TS and make the admin for the match aware. At the moment there seem to be free slots available most matches and there is normally at least one person who drops out mid scrim due to either connection or some sort of "my kid has just swallowed a golf ball" scenario. There is normally no problem about getting a place once the match has started but it may mean that you have to fill in on the other side to the rest of the irregs. It may even help the admins and allow them to balance out the teams.

If you are late due to unforseen circumstances get on TS and announce you are late and would like to know if there is any chance of getting into the scrim. ABRA or one of his admins will then hook you up im sure. It would be nice if everyone is there early but its understandable that things come up to disrupt this. Better late than never i say.

Got it in one. If anyone does run (slightly) late, we'll endeavour to fit them in before the match goes live. If you pop on TS just as the match is about to start, then we'll slot you in after the match begins. The best way to handle this is to use the "whisper" function and whisper to myself, shawn or ABRA. Life as an admin during these matches is usually pretty boring, as all we have to do is watch the scores change, take screenshots for records and maybe browse the forums. Don't worry, you won't disturb us at anything vitally important. As Jimmy mentioned, the addition of a player or two can really help us out. We've been having some autoswap issues on the server, and as a result the teams last night were unbalanced by one or two players . The more players we have, the easier it is to avoid this.

[TychoCelchuuu]

As for people who were on Server 1 while the scrim went on: for me, at least, this is something I might do because I'm not sure I can commit. I might get on Battlefield 2 one day and play for 5 minutes before someone in my family needs to use the computer: this is fine for a casual game, but in a scrim I'm really letting down the team if I just go "whoops seeya later." This is one reason why I'm not in one of the other in-house squads: the flexibility of a squad like The Irregulars matches my ability to play BF2.

[perry]

I think you guys are thinking that the in-house squads are more serious than they actually are.. They don't require that you play every single night and or attend mandatory practices 5 times a week. There is some amount of organization to them, yes, but not such an extreme level that they take over your life. Everyone understands that real life takes priority, computers can break down, etc. and won't hold that against you.

I looked for tagged players on server 1 then went to see if they had signed up on the master player list.. . If so, then I added them to my "to be knifed" list. Shafik has a convincing excuse, so I took him off.. The rest of you need to be on the look out You didn't make my list because you aren't on the master player list, Tycho.

You guys actually had a 4th player.. Bodofooko was flying the chopper for the USMC, IIRC.

[munchkin]

Originally Posted by perry

I think you guys are thinking that the in-house squads are more serious than they actually are.. They don't require that you play every single night and or attend mandatory practices 5 times a week. There is some amount of organization to them, yes, but not such an extreme level that they take over your life. Everyone understands that real life takes priority, computers can break down, etc. and won't hold that against you.

Exactly. The only reason I joined the 2nd was cause all the cool guys were doing it, plus the tag looked really neat.

j/k. Don't TK me, Trooper! I SWEAR IT WAS A JOKE!

[TychoCelchuuu]

Well, yeah, but with an in-house squad I sort of assume you have to commit to SOMETHING. It's not that I can't do anything; it's that I can't commit to it.