I am really glad that the TF21 guys posted this.
Just hanging around on the server in locked squads, nearly unreachable and generally noncommunicative (in game chat is a terrible method of communication, anyway), it is really easy for players to think to themselves "what a bunch of elitest prigs!".
The balance between quality of play and open play is a hard one to strike. I can remember playing Ghost Recon here years and years ago. Though it was "public" in that you just had to register to play, it was very much private in that you
had to register to play. This means that all of the servers were locked with a password ALL OF THE TIME. Further, no in game comms were present; you had to log into TS to play. All in all, the times I had with N42/
TG playing Ghost Recon stand out as the very best of online gaming for me.
I completely empathize with TF21. Playing with an open, unlocked squad means that it is a crapshoot. Sometimes I get a squad that follows my orders, sticks together and kicks some serious tail. Other nights I get on there and I have to kick several players that are one-manning vehicles despite repeatedly telling them that it is against server policy and not what our squad is doing...
Essentially this boils down to one point: I log into PR and play because I want to have fun. Some nights I do, other nights due to the utterly 'public' (and I mean this in a rather offensive and condescending way; ie 'pedestrian') status of a lot of the players on the server I simply can not have fun. If I wanted a headache I could do many other things to get one and have a better time... beer or rugby comes to mind... maybe both! I come to
TG to find players that are willing to learn a better way if they are not already 'in the fold', as it were. I come to
TG to play at a high level of play with regularity as opposed to as a rarity.
Some nights I do not feel like playing teacher and boot strapping up a bunch of new guys. Other nights I do. Its all part of what being in
TG is all about and what makes the game so rewarding.
TF21 plays at a very high minimum standard. The only way they can ensure this standard is to lock their squads and make it difficult to get in... If you want to call hopping onto their forums and looking up the TS info 'difficult'. In fact, that is strikingly similar to the 'difficult' nature of getting onto N42's Ghost Recon servers once upon a time... Hummmm... Correlation? By just adding a few steps to the process of gaining access, they can filter out 85% of the server population that refuse to put in the effort to find out more. Hell, just google "TF21". I did a few weeks back and found them.
The TF21 guys were extremely kind and helpful and I learned a few things while playing with them. Can't say that about most nights and most crews on the server.
Hop onto their TS server sometime and see if their sauce is the kind of sauce you crave.
I sure liked it.
- Hippo
|TG-6th|Skud
(and only if she's back in her "Naruto" years).
