Tactical Gamer

ANNOUNCEMENT Tactical Gamer University is coming to PS2

bolagnaise — Tue, 21 May 2013 11:29:29 GMT

Fellow Tactical Gamers,

I would like to announce that Randy_Shughart_ClwFL is now the title lead for TGU Planetside 2.

Over the coming weeks Randy and yet to be recruited instructors will start to conduct courses for PS2. This will give you the chance to hone your skills, and give you a shiny badge you can wear in your signature.

TGU is looking for enthusiastic, dedicated TG members to join the PS2 TGU team to be headed up by Randy to develop and run bespoke courses applicable to PS2. For those interested in applying to join the team, Please apply here http://www.tacticalgamer.com/tactica...plication.html

Please join me in congratulating Randy for agreeing to spend his time for the benefit of us all.

Regards

|TG-18th| Bolagnaise
TGU DEAN

Its me again, Wondering about Pre builts

Brainhurts — Tue, 21 May 2013 06:01:20 GMT

This time for certain im buying a new computer, I have a steady job this time and plenty of money.

Im willing to spend up to 1300, I want to run BF3 and other games on the highest settings possible.

To me this http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16883227466 is so far the best one for the price I want and what I want for a pre Built one, but Im not sure if its actually good or if there is something wrong with it, or if I could get something better for a similar price.

Im willing to either build my own or fork out a little more for a prebuilt.

French Heavy Review

socomseal93 — Tue, 21 May 2013 03:05:53 GMT

For those of you interested in the French heavies, here is a little review. Let me start by saying that the French heavies are the definition of support tank. They are not truly heavies, so don't expect much in terms of armour. I will start from tier 5, as most of the previous tanks in the line up are fairly balanced, and the time spent in them is short. Wall of text inbound.

Tier 5 BDR G1B- This tank has ok armour for tier 5. Its rather slow though, as a result of its ok armour. Its 90mm gun is quite damaging, and is like a "derp" cannon. However, it has a long reload, and aim time to balance it out. The BDR hits hard and can even take a few hits. It is a traditional heavy by and by. Not a bad tank, not a great tank. Its a forgettable tank though, and its not really worth keeping. But, the grind through it is not that bad.

Tier 6 Arl 44- This tank is a traditional heavy tank. It has good sloped frontal armour, and it is great in a tier 6 battle. Its gun is also superb, and it can easily damage tier 8 tanks frontally, thanks to high pen, with good damage. The ARL is not the best tier 6 heavy, but it is not the worst either. Its a fairly enjoyable tank to play. However, its not quite worth keeping in the eyes of most.

Tier 7 AMX M4 1945- This tank is yet again, a traditional heavy tank. However, it is a downgrade from the ARL 44. The AMX M4 uses a Panther chassis, which is weaker than the ARL chassis. This means the AMX M4 is slightly more manoeuvrable, but it comes at the cost of armour. Gun wise, the AMX M4 gets the same gun as the ARL 44. Its not a bad cannon, but it starts to show its inferiority when fighting tier 9 tanks. Worst yet, the AMX M4 turret has almost no gun depression, meaning that hulling down is not an option. The only thing that the AMX M4 can really do is hide in the back and snipe. Its not too bad at a sniper role, but its not great either. This tank is genuinely horrible, and it is not a fun grind in the slightest. Most people hate this tank, and I don't blame them.

Tier 8 AMX 50-100- This is an auto loader toting support tank. It has a very good 100mm cannon and a 6 round auto loader. The cannon is capable of shredding up to tier 9 tanks with ease. The hull of the AMX 50-100 is once again, based off the Panther hull. Luckily, the 50-100 gets a much better engine than the AMX M4, which makes it far faster. This is a good thing, since once the 50-100 depletes its ammo drum, it needs to run, and speed is its only defence. The tank cruises at about 35-40 kmh. The tank is also fairly small, which makes it a bit hard to hit. As a support role, this tank is the best of tier 8, without question. Its primary downside is that its gun takes about 48 seconds to reload. All in all, a great tank, well worth keeping.

Tier 9 AMX 50-120- The AMX 50-120 is an upgrade of the AMX 50-100. Its got better hull armour, better speed, and a much better gun. The hull armour doesn't really make any difference at all. The speed is somewhat noticeable. Curise speed is again 35-40 kmh, but it accelerates faster. However, this upgraded hull comes with a serious drawback. The turret and hull have to be larger to support the larger gun, which in turn, makes the tank huge. The turret on this tank is a massive weak spot, that is incredibly hard to hide. However, don't let the glaring weakspot fool you, its gun is well worth the weak spot. The 120mm gun, is the same gun the tier 10 AMX50B gets. And the 120mm is a nasty gun, it shreds tier 10 tanks with ease. The 120mm gun has a 4 round auto loader with about a 32 second reload time. Once again, the 50-120 is the best support of tier 9. Its gun shreds enemies, and the reload time is more than manageable. I had a lot of fun playing this tank. Though, due to the existence of the 50B, there is no real reason to keep this tank, despite it being a keeper.

Tier 10 AMX 50B- Here is where things change a bit. The 50B gets an even more upgraded hull. In fact, the hull has some extremely bouncy armour. The AMX 50B hull is just as good as the T110E5's hull, it has the same armour values. The turret on the other hand, is still incredibly weak, and most tanks shoot the turret. Luckily, the 50B gets an incredible engine, which allows it to be even faster than its predecessors, which makes the tank a much harder to hit target. The tank cruises at about 40-45 kmh, and it accelerates decently. The gun is the same as the 50-120s, but the reload is down to 28 seconds, which helps. Overall, its a great tank, that is under rated. Its well worth having.

Overall, the French heavy line is good. The only real rough patch is at tier 7, with the AMX M4. However, the grind through that tank is totally worth it, once you get to the AMX-100. The tier 8-10 tanks are very unforgiving, but if played right, they can dominate the battlefield and send the enemy into a world of hurt.

"I've got your back!"

DocFinley — Tue, 21 May 2013 00:41:52 GMT

Well howdy howdy TG,

Well we all run into that situation where if we had just one more gun with us, we would've killed the tango and lived haven't we? Well I haven't been playing the PlanetSide genre as much as the veterans have, considering I've been playing for about 3 weeks, but I've learned ALOT in that time. Primarily tactics, comm control, and teamwork, teamwork, teamwork. Yet I find myself in a situation where another player could've helped me live through a skirmish or fire fight but none were near, now whether that was me being reckless and getting that close or just having been cut off is up for debate. I feel like most of the players within TG have found that person that if they said "I've got your back!" they would trust them, but how often do they actually find themselves fighting beside them? Not often enough. One thing I have noticed is that no matter what, my good friend Sothile has been there by my side the second I asked for back up, and though we may get wiped by more enemy patrols that we stumbled across than i can count, we definitely gave them a run for their money and took a few of them out. And our battle buddy tactics never made planning difficult, it never puts strain on a PL or SL and clearing areas is alot easier when 2-3 friends and comrades clear a room side by side and ready to support one another.

I am aware that these tactics may have been employed on the field for trial or testing, and whether they have succeeded or not is unknown to me, but I feel like going that extra step to determine battle buddy pairs or trios could just prove the enemy an increasingly difficult adversary to fight.

Review of British Heavy line

socomseal93 — Mon, 20 May 2013 23:48:04 GMT

Here is a small review of each tank in the British heavy line. I am going to skip to tier 5, as the previous tanks are fairly balanced, and you don't spend much time in them. The British heavy line is a bit different from most heavy lines, as it has guns that fire fast, and do low damage. They are armed with cannons you would expect to see on a medium. Wall of text inbound.

Tier 5 Churchill 1- This tank is slow, with a whopping top speed of 25 kmh. However, this tank makes up for its lack of speed with decent armour and a great gun. The armour is somewhat bouncy. But the most redeeming quality is the 75mm high velocity gun, which is highly accurate, and with decent damage and great penetration. All in all, not a bad tank, but not a great tank.

Tier 6 Churchill VII -This tank is also slow, even slower than the Churchill 1, with a top speed of 20 KM/H. Despite having the same chassis and a similar look to the Churchill 1, this tank is much more heavily armoured than the Churchill 1. The Churchill 7 has a slightly better gun than the Churchill 1, however, it is an adequate gun at tier 6 and 7. In a tier 6 battle, the Churchill 7 will dominate, as most tanks will bounce off of it. In anything higher than tier 6, the Churchill 7 will struggle, as its armour becomes less capable. All in all, not a bad tank.

Tier 7 Black Prince- This is an upgrade of the Churchill design. It has the exact same hull as the Churchill 7, and it even shares the same upgraded turret that the Churchill 7 had. The primary difference is that the Black Prince has a little bit more gun depression, and most importantly, a new and much better gun. The 17 pounder has decent penetration, sitting at 171 average penetration when using standard AP shells. The 17 pounder rips tier 7 tanks to shreds fairly easily, with its fast fire rate and decent damage. Against tier 8 and 9 tanks, the 17 pounder is a bit lacklustre, due to its lack of damage and pen. Luckily, the 17 pounder is fast firing, which means you have many chances to pen the enemy, and perhaps scare them off. All in all, not a bad tank.

Tier 8 Canaveron- This is an entirely new tank design, unlike the Churchill series. This tank features a decent hull, good speed and manoeuvrability, and an all new cannon. Best yet, the Canaveron features an extremely strong turret that is capable of deflecting tier 9 and sometimes 10 shells. The turret also has great depression, which allows for hull down. On top of that, the 20 pounder cannon the Canaveron is armed with, is fast firing, extremely accurate, and damages decently. Much like previous British heavy tanks, the cannon feels like its suited for a medium. However, its still a fantastic cannon on a heavy. All in all, the Canaveron ranks among one of the best heavies of tier 8. Its even better than the T32, as its armour is roughly the same, but the gun is much better. Its a very good multi role tank that excels in every category. Out of all the Tier 8 heavies I have played (IS3,Tiger 2, T32, AMX 50-100) I have found the Canaveron to be the most versatile and most pleasurable to drive. It has almost no drawbacks. The only thing that players may not like, is its gun is lowish damage, which is unusual for a heavy. But, the fire rate makes sure that the low damage is entirely tolerable.

Tier 9 Conqueror - This tank shares the same chassis as the Canaveron, and while the hull armour was decent at tier 8, its only ok at tier 9. The turret is even weaker than the Canaveron's, but it gets a huge upgrade in fire power. This tank for all intensive purposes, is a TD. It plays just the same as a TD. Except its highly manoeuvrable and fast. The 120mm gun on this tank fires only slightly slower than the tier 10 T110E5s, and it has better accuracy than the T110E5's 120mm. This tank is definitely a support tank. It is like a slighly better armed M103, with a small sacrifice to armour in favour of gun.

Tier 10 FV215B- I do not own this tank, but from what I hear, it plays like a T110E5, except the turret is in the back, which makes it a little awkward to handle. The FV215B is rarely seen on the battlefield, as a result.

Overall, I would not recommend going up the British heavy line. The Churchill series of tanks are ok, but nothing special. They perform poorly above their respective tiers, and it gets repetitive to play the same tank 3 times in a row. The Canaveron is fantastic, and I highly recommend it, its the best part of the whole British heavy line. The Conqueror is ok at best, it hits hard but is almost incapable of taking a hit. And the FV215B is awkard to play.

Unless you are going for the Canaveron specifically, don't waste your time on this line.

Balance Test mod

bentring — Mon, 20 May 2013 22:49:19 GMT

I'd like to bring discussion to the fact that it's pretty much been confirmed that changes from the BT mod will make it to vanilla NS2 at some point.

__________________________________________________ _____

Quote by UWEs Cory Strader http://forums.unknownworlds.com/disc...omment_2118006

Just to clarify a little bit, at the moment UWE is planning on moving forward with implementing the Balance Mod into Vanilla NS2 in some form, unless there is a huge outcry, which at the moment there does not seem to be. And as Hugh points out, this is a massive undertaking, and does come with a lot of risks. What has been more up in the air is the release date for that, and which features are going to make the final cut, and that is where we are trying to solicit as much feedback from the community as possible.

So I think the best thing to do is assume that we are going to incorporate a large amount of the mod into the game at some point soon, and if you want to have a say, play it. And play it a lot, not just a single game before passing judgement. And please don't just read the changelog before passing judgement, either.

__________________________________________________ _____

Now if you've ever joined a balance test server you know that it's about as different from vanilla NS2 as NS1 is. I've played it a few times but it was painful trying to learn the new mechanics because of 3 people on each team or because of a number of things which I can sum up with a facetious reason of 'pubs'. ;)

I would, however, love to try it out with a server full of our regulars. If there's enough interest, could we schedule one of the servers to run the balance test mod on occasion/regular intervals so if/when some of the changes make it into vanilla NS2 we will still be somewhat familiar with the game?

EVENT Friday Night Fights 24-5-13 8pm EST (-4 GMT)

Xen — Mon, 20 May 2013 22:25:53 GMT

Friday Night Fights

This event is open to ALL players.

What not to post:
"Do I have to sign up?" -- No you don't this is a weekly thing, but positions will be given to those who sign up for them first.
"Can you change the date?" -- No, the date is confirmed.
"Can I come late?" -- Absolutely!

Date: Fri May 24th

Time: 8pm EST - 12 AM EST (-4 GMT)

Roll Call: No roll call for this event

Sign-Up Information:

In Game Name (Please use the exact in-game name.):
In-House Division (Unaffiliated if none):
Specialties(Infantry Class,Vehicles ect)

Be sure to sign up early!
THIS THREAD IS FOR SIGN UPS ONLY - NO DISCUSSION

Server Information:
Server: "Mattherson"
Faction: New Conglomerate
Teamspeak Server IP: ts.tacticalgamer.com:9988

GUIDE Infantry-only Squad Leadership with Fireteam Leader

E-Male — Mon, 20 May 2013 21:42:57 GMT

As I am going to running infantry-only (IO) squads for a while I'll document my SOPs and related instructional material in this thread.

Here is a short unedited documentary video capturing the I-O squad in action.

GUIDE How to attack a tower.

BigGaayAl — Mon, 20 May 2013 16:58:30 GMT

Hi guys I've made a guide for on attacking bases using towers as an example. I didn't manage at all to structure it well so it is barely readable. Perhaps I'll rework it someday but I already spent a bunch of time on it. It is inspired by seeing a lot of what I would call mistakes. I use towers as an example because everyone knows them, but principles can be applied for most bases.

A) Attacking towers
First of you have to decide between three scenarios, depending on enemy strength.

1)Enemy force considerably larger
=> Retreat. You will never take a tower with a larger force defending. Wrong battle.

2)Enemy force considerably smaller
=> Attack in any way. You could walk in a conga line backwards to assault, you will win because of manpower and respawns. Take a B-line to lock down the spawn, and the fight is over.

3)Enemy force near equal.
=>Siege, drawn out fight where surrounding the enemy from advantageous positions decides the battle

The third scenario is where in my opinion the mistakes tend to happen and hurt. People will get one sundy, and have the whole platoon barrel straight in to the base of the tower, or just as badly, go for the A/B/C control points. Usually these four locations are on tactically weak areas. The tower base is usually on lower ground than the surrounding area, and so are all the control points.

Sure we can go into the control points and be reasonably safe but for every man that is put put inside, we are losing more of the fight outside, more of the fight that really matters. If you have most forces inside, you will have such weak positions on the rim of the base that your sundy shall be taken out.
In this situation people are sacrificing the mapcontrol, key in any RTS, for game mechanic control (A/B/C).
If people are going straight for the enemy spawn in the tower, then they are confusing the scenarios above. They are fighting the wrong tactic for the scenario and sacrificing in the same way map control, for pressure on the enemy spawn.

I propose the correct way to attack such a tower is the following.

Think of the tower as a hill that you want to take. It is no longer a tower just a hill. The control points have disappeared, all buildings become hills. Now. If you are an equal force attacking a force on a hill, you will set up your spawn. Will you now send all your guys barreling up the hill straight to the enemy? No. This is what I see quite quite often though in the game.

What people do in the case of hills, instinctively I may add, is set up a base of fire at the point of deployment, another hill. Then the force will spread out along whatever cover/high ground is available, and find adjacent positions to fire on the enemy, thus slowly enveloping the enemy hill, setting up bases of fire around it.

THus the enemy is surrounded, pinned/suppressed and isolated from reinforcements. This is THE time to assault. Only now is the ideal time to assault. Goes without saying that in a computer game, during the surround, a bunch of rambos will have been charging straight up that hill for the enemy and re-spawning. But they have been mostly a waste to the large battle.

So the enemy is suppressed, time to assault. Now military doctrine says you should commit no more than 1/3rd of your force to the assault. Most of the team must remain at distance, providing covering fire and keeping the enemies' heads down whilst also protecting the mapcontrol you have won, protecting your sundies.

I think an attacking force should never willingly give up mapcontrol (bases of fire, high ground, can be called various things). You want to keep dominating the whole area you just seized control over, until you are ready to leave again.

Now the assaulting force are all the guys that are going to cap the three points, camp spawn and hack consoles. All those that are leaving tactically strong positions for tactically weak positions. All the people doing that are to be counted as assault. This should be no more than 1/3rd! Obviously our assault forces are usually way larger. This is because of various habits. But also because the 'equal force scenario' happens the least of all scenarios. So people don't expect it and don't learn to play it much. The assault force will have a much easier time moving up and securing their objective if 2/3rd of the team is watching them with their guns.

Think of it as the difference between attacking say an objective B inside a building off the tower.
-Now with a bloated assault force, the enemy can reinforce from the tower. Two forces are colliding head on in the building with respawns. Takes time, end-result unpredictable.
-With a properly sized assault force, the enemy will not be able to reinforce as he is being cut down on the way there, or at least scared enough. There is a small pocket of enemies isolated in the building. You have respawns and reinforcements. You will win.

Now you will achieve mapcontrol; control of the tower and of enough control points as well.
-If the enemy respawns on a different base and surprise-attacks you, you will be able to keep enough mapcontrol (spawnsundies) and manpower in good positions to stop them or slow them down enough.
-You can absorb a max crash; as you have the area. The assault team will die, but the maxes would be killed by the suppression elements. The assault team then restores control.
-If Air attacks you, you have some idle AA guys on the surrounding hills.

If you lose mapcontrol
-Basically any attack will take out your sundies on the outside perimeter.
You have most of your forces inside the tower. One by one sundies are going down. You don't worry about it too much, because you have a sundy inside the vehicle bay, and have the spawn locked down with maxes.
But the enemy is surrounding the tower again. They have the other hills. They have spawns, new sundies driving up all the time. Then suddenly... a max crash wipes out your spawncampers... it all falls apart and the enemy resecures the base.

---------------------------------------

B) For Platoon leaders:

Identify which scenario you are in. First, Always. This is your main job. If you get it wrong it will mostly be harmless.!?!

Yes because most of the time you are not fighting an equal force. If you are in the 'enemy force smaller' scenario you can do whatever you want and you won't notice mistakes because you cannot lose.
If you think you are in 'enemy force equal', but the force is really smaller, you will just have done an easy job better. So again, the mistake in gauging the situation goes unpunished and unnoticed.
And well ... if you make the mistake of attacking a larger force... Platoon-wide frustration is your reward :D. Oh yeah, we've all done it!

But if you get it wrong, at the wrong time, you will lose a great fight, exactly the kind of fight you are looking for.

So identify the scenario.

Smaller force => If you use tactics, it is to just be careful and for practice. Very important, these are great opportunities to get the platoon rolling in a forgiving environment. Alternatively you can use no tactics, emphasizing speed. good for an uncontested outpost

Equal force => Lay siege, as explained above, try visualizing everything everything as hills. Place your forces around objective in positions of power, send in assault force.

Larger force => Retreat or use delaying/skirmish tactics

---------------------------

C) For squadleaders (or PL in very large battles):

Pay attention mostly to the supression/assault ratio. Identify which of those elements needs more manpower. And add your squad to that element. The doctrine says I believe 1/3rd to 2/3rds. So the supressing/surrounding force must be at least twice as large as the assault force.

If there are enough people running in there is nothing at all wrong with just putting you behind on a ridge in great cover getting easy shots and kills on the enemy. Usually the suppression team is understaffed. Because people tend to rambo. People tend to zerg. On the other hand if everyone is sitting back, don't hesitate to take advantage of their fire, by taking the ground they are controlling.

If you can identify the scenario:

Smaller force => Time for training. Get your squad to form up. You have time to identify stragglers and cajole them back under your wings. Practice anything you like, and get some easy kills while doing it for extra fun.

Equal force => Money time. Identify where you need to be, execute and hope for the best. You may lose fights, but keep your focus on your role in winning mapcontrol and assaulting. No time for cajoling. Don't try, let stragglers straggle and focus on the battle.

Larger force => Pl will call retreat or organize delaying or skirmish tactics. That is a whole other topic I haven't experimented much with.

------------------------------

D) Note on switching scenarios

Scenarios can change, at any time.

Change to larger force => Identify asap and act accordingly or get slaughtered

Change to smaller force => A great time to call for an all out assault. This is how we crushed almost a platoon of guys in a valley that one day. You have gone from siege, to clean-up. Enjoy.

Review of British medium line

socomseal93 — Mon, 20 May 2013 14:28:10 GMT

In case any of you were interested in going up the British medium line I have played up to tier 9. So I will give my feedback on each tank starting from tier 5. I am skipping the early tiers because they mostly seem balanced, and the time spent in them is short. Wall of text inbound.

Medium line:

Tier 5 Crusader- This tank is one you want to get rid of immediately. Its gun is ok. The gun was clearly designed for flank shots, and it is certainly capable of that. However, this tank has a top speed of 44kmh despite being a light tank. This means that flanking the enemy is hard due to a lack of speed. This tank is also a light, therefore, it has virtually no armour. All in all, not a good experience.

Tier 6 Cromwell- This tank is a real keeper. Its extremely fast, as fast as a light tank. With a top speed of 64 km/h, which it reaches fairly easily. Its got ok armour. But above all else, its gun is outstanding. The gun hits hard and accurately. The cromwell is even more fun to play than the Easy 8, which I didn't think was possible. The Cromwell is best used as a fast flanker, it can run circles around enemy heavies at close range, with ease.

Tier 7 Comet- The Comet is an "upgraded" cromwell. It looks the same, however it feels like an entirely different tank. Due to the increase in armour, the tank is significantly slower, with a top speed of 51 km/h. The Comet also has poor track traverse, making it hard to turn. This means that the Comet is not suited for the same flanker style of play as the Cromwell. Luckily, the Comet does have one huge advantage over the Cromwell, it has a well armoured turret that has great hull down capability. This allows the Comet to get into a hull down position on the flank of the enemy, and harrass them. Overall, this tank is not worth keeping. However, it is ok to play; nothing special though.

Tier 8 Centurion- The Centurion is an entirely new chassis in the British medium line. This is a late war tank, as such, its armed with a late war gun, the 20 pounder. The 20 pounder is incredible, and is the best tier 8 medium cannon by far. Its so good in fact, that the 20 pounder is also mounted on the tier 8 British heavy, the Canaveron. The Centurion has weak hull armour and slow speed, with a top speed of 40 km/h. This makes the centurion the slowest tier 8 med by far. However, the Centurion doesn't need speed or hull armour. The Centurion has a trick up its sleeve, its got an incredible turret that is fit for a heavy. In fact, the turret is fitted to a heavy,the same turret is used for the British tier 8 heavy. This turret is extremely bouncy and can easily take up to tier 9 and sometimes 10, shells. The turret also has full hull down capability. A combination of a very lenthal fast firing gun, and a nearly indestructible turret make the Centurion a joy to play. Its a definite keeper tank.

Tier 9 Centurion Mk 7/1- This tank shares a lot in common with the Centurion 1, it has essentially the same turret, and it has the same top speed. The hull is slightly upgraded, not that it makes much of a difference. However,the biggest difference this tank has, is its access to a tier 10 gun. This means the Centurion 7/1 is better armed than the E50,T54, M46 Patton, T54E1, and Lorraine 40T. The Cannon this tank gets is the British L7 105mm. Different versions of this gun are also used on the M48 Patton and Leopard 1. Its a quality gun. The only drawback to using it on this tier 9 tank, is that it has a long reload time. However, it is more than tolerable. All in all, this tank is excellent.

Tier 10 FV4502 - I have not played this tank, but from what I hear, it is mediocre, and it is rarely seen on the battlefield.

From tier 5 to 10, there are 3 mediocre tanks at tier 5, 7, and 10. There are 3 superb tanks at tier 6, 8, and 9. If you were ever interested in going up the British medium line, I would say it is well worth your while to get to at least the Cromwell. The Centurions are also worth grinding to, but their play style may not be for everyone.

INFO ArmA Server Reboot scheduled for 1800Z (2:00pm EDT) 2013/05/20

Damonte — Mon, 20 May 2013 13:09:16 GMT

I will be rebooting the ArmA server shortly after 1800Z (2:00pm EDT) today. Please be aware of this as there may be a second or third reboot to follow shortly after. All work should be completed by 1900Z (3:00pm EDT). No updates or changes will be made to the games. This maintenance is strictly for security updates to the server itself.

INFO DayZ Server Reboot scheduled for 1800Z (2:00pm EDT) 2013/05/20

Damonte — Mon, 20 May 2013 13:09:14 GMT

I will be rebooting the DayZ server shortly after 1800Z (2:00pm EDT) today. Please be aware of this as there may be a second or third reboot to follow shortly after. All work should be completed by 1900Z (3:00pm EDT). No updates or changes will be made to the games. This maintenance is strictly for security updates to the server itself.

Esbekistan - Missions are in development

Unkl — Mon, 20 May 2013 13:06:01 GMT

Esbekistan is an awesome map. We've previously overlooked how awesome this map is. It's just massive at 20km X 20km and it's very very well thought out and considered.

To tide us over we have the MSO/PatrolOps 4.66 version on the Bravo server. Have a look around. Lets run it with the Headless Client. Here is a look at the main base from about 1 click out.

Attached Images

msoBaseEsbekistan.jpg (96.1 KB)

Any tips that work with my leading style

DocFinley — Mon, 20 May 2013 12:57:28 GMT

Howdy Howdy TG,

I've been PL a few times and have lead a few platoons that helped win a couple alerts to my satisfaction, but I was hoping for some tips that may better help me PL and get everyone I lead into peak performance. Those that have seen me lead under various conditions have seen me adapt and change into a better leader and hopefully I can get even better with any tips ya'll have for me that coincide with my current leading style.

Guardians

Wyzcrak — Mon, 20 May 2013 05:56:11 GMT

I've created the Guardians designation for any player (SM or not) who has signed and agreed to our TGNS Primer and wishes to play an active role "guarding" the design of our server and the experience it offers.

It shows similarities to Temp Admin, in that:

) it's opt-in (you may opt out any time)
) only one per team (and you lose it when a Temp Admin or Admin arrives on your team)
) shows a scoreboard icon ("g", capitalized if the Guardian is an SM)

To opt in (or out) of Guardian, issue this console command while connected to the server:

sv_guardian

Like Temp Admin, opting in/out on one server does the same for the other server -- it's a player-specific, not server-specific, option.

Also like Temp Admin: you opted in, so do use your powers (for good, not evil!).

Presently, the list of responsibilities for those opted in (and chosen -- remember: just one per team):

Goodbye

"new" mod: gb

Wyzcrak — Mon, 20 May 2013 05:55:13 GMT

I've created the "Goodbye" mod for our NS2 server. It's very similar to its namesake from our NS1 servers. It was very helpful then, especially to seeders, and I'm hoping the same now.

You should use the "gb" command to remove from the server (say "goodbye" to) any Stranger ("?" designation) who you've clearly warned for violating a documented server rule.

All usages are logged. The command's syntax takes the following form:

gb

is a partial wildcard match against a unique playername (of a Stranger)
explains which documented server rule they've continued to violate despite warnings (be terse, but don't make stuff up) -- you do not have to put quotes around the , and to do so is harmless

Presently, Guardians have access to this command.

Some forum quotes from 2006-2007, when we last announced "gb" (I'd link to the old threads, but 'gb' was just enough dissimilar then that I don't want to confuse):

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wyzcrak

The "gb" is short for "goodbye", and the purpose of the command is to keep OFF of the server players who don't belong on it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wyzcrak

The player is kicked, shown the reason you stated. The reason ... must reference a documented server rule you're PLENTY confident applying to the situation, even if it's something as situational as "respect other players." [The command's] purpose is to keep OFF of the server players who don't belong on it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wyzcrak

Please use this. Use it responsibly, and as an ambassador of what you know makes the server great, but use it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pokerface

if they persist in the behavior that got them gb'ed (or any other behavior against our rules), they're ripe for leaving again. Of course, if they correct their issues, they stay.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wyzcrak

1) don't move too quickly. Poker's right.. go with your gut, but I'm running this boat, and I've found MYSELF to be too fast on the draw, especially if I'm dealing with goon after goon after goon. Just keep yourself in check and you'll be fine.

2) Don't concern yourself with the risk that they might respond while you're busy typing the command into the console. If that happens, and they return upset, explain you were just trying to get them to respond, you're sorry you didn't see them finally respond before you kicked them, and that you're glad they're back. If they're not a problem again, game on.

3) If someone returns once, let 'im repeat his previous removal-worthy mistake before he's removed again. If he returns immediately a second time, feel free to evaluate him much more quickly. Yeah, feel free to judge each case individually, but, in my experience, folks who come back after that either get it or are looking to cause grief. Don't feel that you have to tolerate that for one second.

Quote:

Originally Posted by shroompicker

I gb'ed one guy. He was mouthing off, calling people a noob, and others, not me, asked him to pipe down. He responded to others' requests to pipe down with "shutup noob" types of comments, so I gb'ed him without saying anything. With the help text that you programmed into it, I was able to fuss around on the command line and get it to work, good job on that. I never read this forum, just heard about the 'gb' command on voice and with the tagline messages, and eventually managed to type gb n00br4n7 "respect please". He came back next game, minus the attitude, and played I believe two more full games with us without invoking our wrath.

All of you asking how and when to use the gb command... Before using it, just ask yourself, would this make Wyz remove the gb command? If you say to yourself no, use it. It's pretty clearly stated above what the gb command is for. It's a subjective rule, but that final gut check, would Wyz remove gb, should be a good one.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pokerface

You can be terse when specifying the reason, if it helps, but never be rude or immature. Represent our community as professionally as you can, despite how the other guy may be acting. "Showing off" with 'gb' is a good way to lose access to it, as is threatening use of 'gb'.

Don't threaten people with this. Warn them and then remove them. No drama. Just remove the problem, ideally as transparently (to others) as possible. This helps players focus on the game, not the removal.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wyzcrak

'gb' holders cannot see admin chat.

ANNOUNCEMENT Might want to hold back buying weapons with certs for now.

penandpencilman — Sun, 19 May 2013 19:25:48 GMT

Hey guys, as you may have noticed, gu9 is coming out this week. Rumors have showed up from the test server that they will significantly lower gun prices certwise. It has not been confirmed yet, but you still might want to wait until the update rolls out before you buy the new weapons.

imgur.com/a/yhcl9 (picture taken from public test server)

EVENT Infantry-Only Platoon: Training Ops

E-Male — Sun, 19 May 2013 16:40:50 GMT

After witnessing BigGaayAl running an infantry-only squad last night I began to hatch plans to run the occasional infantry-only platoon.

Not sure how it will go as it requires SLs to exercise very tight control over their men. Only one Sunderer per squad, no other vehicles (possible exception of a Flash-radar, as used by Randy in the above scenario). All squad members must be in very tight cohesion, operating in close proximity.

After kicking a few of the weaker links each squad should see a rise in cohesion, discipline and effectiveness.

It is very easy to see who is not following orders in an infantry-only operation, so discipline can be rigorously maintained.

My plan will be to find a very active front/contested target and use the squads to contain the perimeter. I will deploy the squads within the same zone with sufficient proximity so as to maximize force ratio and enable platoon-wide target designation if necessary. These are of course ideal conditions, geography and battle conditions will dictate details.

I will attempt to create a platoon this evening (Sunday 19/5/2013) around 8:00 pm EST.

Let me know if you intend to participate.

@ chat

Wyzcrak — Sun, 19 May 2013 06:02:32 GMT

A build months ago broke @ chat, but it's been fixed for over a month now.

Start any chat message with the @ sign to send text to admins (temp or otherwise).

If someone's cheating or doing anything unsavory, don't discuss it publicly.

Set the bar very low for using it. When it doubt, keep it private.

AAR 18/05/2013 with Randy as PL

E-Male — Sun, 19 May 2013 05:26:19 GMT

Was in BiGaayAl's Bravo squad.

No details (too late now), just a quick reflection on how awesome it is when we all work together in the TG fashion.

Randy was doing good work as PL with excellent comms. I watched as Al whipped his squad into an lean mean infantry machine that did exactly what it was told to do.

Moral was high.

ANNOUNCEMENT Request feedback regarding my squad leading.

penandpencilman — Sun, 19 May 2013 02:31:40 GMT

Hello guys, I go by penandpennyman in game and you've probably seen on ps2 way to much recently. Anyway, I recently started SLing, and while I admit I am extraordinarily horrendous at doing so, I would enjoy some feedback from you guys. I could also use some tips SLing; I am horrible at giving and enforcing commands, I'm slow to react to situtations, bad at dealing with rebellious members amongst other things. If you want, please leave some comments below.

Thanks,

penandpennyman

Have you ever been to Esbekistan? ....updating TGMaps right now

Unkl — Sat, 18 May 2013 20:10:36 GMT

Esbekistan

Its a bigun.

From Armaholic:

Quote:

Features:
- Two airports with their respective bases both north and south
- The central base "Regimiento44" has training camp.
- Airfield zone for target practice exercises
- Four cities in the northwest of the map as in Southeast and the South
- Five main valleys located in the center of the map
- Two large lakes located in the northern part of the map
- Road network around the map
- 3 little FOBs in the north of map and central located
- Several villages around all the map.
- Things to discover....

Does anyone still play?

dumb13dor3 — Sat, 18 May 2013 19:36:23 GMT

I'm looking for someone to play with. If anyone still hangs around this game.

Map vote?

xavier — Sat, 18 May 2013 15:42:10 GMT

Greetings,

I just want to say it has been a lot of fun on your server the past few weeks. So much fun, that the kick bot inspired me to become a supporting member so I can see how the games end! ;) I feel like I found a new community where I can enjoy playing NS again without the constant team stacks and arragance of said stackers. (VERY refreshing when coming over from the last few living NS1 servers.)

One thing that I have noticed is that the admins tend to change the maps a lot. It is usually at the request of the other players, but it seems like this process may be helped along with some sort of map vote instead of just following the rotation. (Which inheriently has some flaws of its own.) Not sure if a mod already exists for this, but something to think about.

Cheers,

xavior

AAR More Hurrah

Shoomfie — Sat, 18 May 2013 07:12:33 GMT

Report:
Day 1:
deployed with about 6x infantry from Loy Manara Airfield at aprox. 1000Hrs to clear Sultansafe and Hurutimam along with a TOW HMMVV and a Crow (m2) HMMVV. Successfully cleared Sultansafe with minimal contact. Failed to clear Huzrutimam. Took multiple KIAs. Returned to base. A convoy of 2HMMVV an MHQ (LAV) and 2 MTVR (1x trans 1x fuel), to 07780529 and succesfully set up FOB Quark. Cleared Timurkalay with minimal casualties. During this advance we lost 1x MH-60 Blackhawks, over garmarud. Suspected AA missile. Pilot was recovered and unit returned to FOB.

CURRENT: FOB Quark contains: 2x mortar, 4x M2, 1x TOW, 1x AA, 1x MK-19, 1x MHQ, 2x of each ammo box (including vehicle), 1x MTVR repair, 1x MTVR fuel, 1x MTVR Ammo, 1x MTVR transport, 1x littlebird, 2x Strykers (1 Mk-19, 1 M2). Expect heavy resistance in Garmarud including enemy AA. The MSR route from Main to FOB, may contain hostile patrols! There is no action plan at the time. Holding at FOB Quark until furthar orders. Morale is high amongst the troops and they eagerly await battle tomorrow.

The Current time is: 15:28:09

acting CO at FOB Quark, Shoomfie, signing out.

(video to come.)