Originally Posted by Axis_Sniper

Yeah, because playing with your buds is so horrible that even thinking about it causes half the server to get their panties in a bunch.

Heyup Axis, anyone in their right mind will not say it is wrong to meet up with your friends in game. However this is not the point, and I’ll get into that but I wanna say this is by no means a missive of you (as will be layed out later).

ZOMG, I wrote loads. Ah well. Important I guess. Apologies for the length but if it helped a few get 40 winks, fine, helped me too, feel more awake now.

The point is to find a way to ensure a fair system for both teams since the seeming evidence suggests that a migration occurs to one side, causing the opposing side to loose heavily over an extended period of hours and creates public drop out.

I have a high regard for the 6th to note this in game and switch to the handicapped team regularly. If they decide once in a while not to switch then that's fine since 4 times out of 5 they will. We all deserve days off from being altruistic and simply enjoy playing.

It is difficult to sometimes maintain an effective team with public players, who are more and more visiting the TG server. I'd say the majority of these people are people like us, who first arrive on the hope of teamplay, and hopefully think 'I found it'! Of course there are some 'noobish antics' but this is rarer nowadays, and most of these relate to assets and especially flying. The majority though put up a good fight and good squads. Sometimes though the problem is one of co-ordination.

I would suggest it is not exactly challenging to easily beat down a less skilled opponent. However I note that this is likely due to the euphoric nature of running high on the winning, slick, side, can over-ride the more cerebral thought of having less fun whilst trying to address the problems your team is facing on the loosing, disorientated side.

Not to blow my own trumpet, but an example people miss out conversely, is last night (UK time) I was placed in my team and as per usual stayed. As an aside to this, I am more guilty of not switching to the loosing side since usually I over-ride any decision by staying with the team the server originally picks at the start of me playing PR for an evening; perhaps I will lend more thought to switch to the loosing side but I want to say this because I hold no judgement on anyone without judging my actions first (hopefully).

The point is Barracuda came. The team had yet again been stomped for several maps. I recognise there is the Commander position but there is also only so much 'giving' you can do. I was happy to be in the squads I was in through those maps, making acquaintances and cementing others.

On this map as US I ran a squad, as I tend to do so I can let public players join. Alot of walking about but allowing the 'friendly' nature of TG to represent itself. At one point, due to the less action more walking, and when action did happen it was hard to win an entrenched position, whilst most of the team had lost helicopters and were defending docks, whilst you had a rally and half the enemy wandering about you. I don't know why, I shall leave it you people to reason why, but at one point only one guy stuck it out. Also, one member was completely new to PR apart from a foray some years ago, perhaps he wanted to try something else out until next time. Of course I welcomed him and said anything he'd like to know was fine.

Then a joy occurred in my two man unit. New players joined. Public players. All were keen, patient, and worked as one. They took setbacks in their stride, and set back the enemy, performing professionally. I wondered if some of these guys had real military experience. Anyway, my job as SL on this team, was to ensure they had fun, even though the map was lost (too many heli's destroyed), and to perform against anything thrown at them; their own personal fun and euphoria was uppermost in my mind.

This is the kind of thing missed out. The public and the spirit of TG, if people continue to not work towards this goal. This is not the only problem faced on the TG server, others include asset hoaring and screaming like a little kid if the candy is taken by some public player from TG tagged people. Now I wear the tag with pride and to show others the nature of TG as I was shown. And spent two years - not putting it on in order to represent the TG way but to be a regular who ensured public had a good time, and that players who wanted the same ethic as myself, to be in a community and give, and to show a great teamwork community based on humility. And be part of one of the most formidable teams to play a game like this. I can think of being part of that in games to come, where PR evolves and surely this is in the backdrop of most regs.

So I think the problem does not lay with wanting to play with friends. That can be easily overcome by all switching. However if that means 12 of you go, say two IHS, then that is obviously defeating the objective. How to maintain some kind of balance then, is the question? Not so simple to answer, as we know. That, I feel, is more down to what I looked at earlier: to the person or group consciousness, and think since we all need a 'kick-back' time then perhaps the onus is on consistency, public spiritedness, inner insight, and a value of the TG philosophy and not the TG tag.

I am personally tired, though like many try to add in the virtue of patience, and the insight we are all learning, of seeing consistently, the same people in an APC squad, then in a heli squad on the next map, then in a TOW squad on the next map and so on, then seeing others switch over to a team with cooler assets or some kind of teamwork value like NATO forces on Insurgency. Then seeing people scream blue murder if some public player takes anything this elite group feels only they can use – for the team. And what is more, these people tend to be tagged! My altruistic preistlike patience has to take huge gulps of air like some kind of demented suffocating blowfish; but I know it wont go away unless we take a serious look at ourselves, and really try to lay down some kind of maxim. I wouldn’t even mind some serious talking to, or review of who wears the tag as all can put it on – but it has to be worn correctly or it can be taken away – know matter what your supposed hierarchical position is or not. We are all under peer review and the founders of TG and their philosophy - and those that carry this in some form equipped with ban hammers or the right to lay down the Judge Dredd law, or simple little blowfish, although patient have a personal line they draw. Honour.

It is not about putting on the tag – the tag means nothing unless you follow the philosophy, and beware those who do not! Because you erode from within this philosophy and thereby TG, and perhaps some patience will run dry if you are found wanton.

Let me make this clear without bolding and italicising enough and likely the most vastly important paragraph in this ramble. Time and again the TG philosophy is what I refer to and it’s not the ‘play in the realistic manner’ ruleset; too bandied around and utterly missing the nature of The TG ‘Rules’. Again, these are like what WhiskeySix wrote about, they are not the ‘you must play nicely and realistically and so on, rules (third point of the Primer rule and subsidiaries)’ which are wrongly thought of as 'The Rules' - they are absolutely and uttery not. The Rules are based on the Prime Rules otherwise known as the TG Philosophy. Refer to WhiskeySix and other notables. It is notable: the Primer's First Two points are based on this Philosophy, the third being clearly stated as being - only able if the First Two Prime Rules are adhered to - and much time is spent outlaying this. Not the other way round.

This is the malaise and why it needs to be seriously looked at. Many public arrive here and I want to welcome as I was. Everything here is held fast by the Prime Rules: it is the TG Philosophy (to state a few) of Humility, Compassion, Humour, Humanity and Community.