MicaWrath has long been an officer of TAW playing Combat Arms. Once he was a CO when the game had a full-fledged division, he stepped down and while he was a regular member, the division was sent to Sentinel for a second time. Now the time has come for MicaWrath to step up once again as an officer and lead the battalion out of SN and back into TAW as a division. Here, MicaWrath discusses how Sentinel is helping him save his game.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
First, tell us a little about Combat Arms and what position you held prior to its move to Sentinel…
Combat Arms (CA) the game is celebrating its 4th birthday, and currently features 32 maps, 10 modes of gameplay, and well over 100 weapons to choose from (as well as mods for most of those weapons) which makes for an incredibly varied game-playing experience. We don’t usually have issues with finding unique ways of running around killing each other.
Combat Arms the Battalion has been in existence for longer than I have been a member of TAW (a bit over 2 years) and has been a Division twice. Our current stint in Sentinel is the second time.
Just prior to being dropped back into Sentinel, I had to relinquish the CO position due to work load, so I was just a grunt when it happened.
What was the ultimate cause of Combat Arms membership falling and a move to Sentinel coming about?
This is still tender territory for those of us who stayed, so I'm going to skirt the issue a bit. I was not an officer at the time it happened, so I don't know all the details, but a large number of members left at one time, and the fallout from that exodus caused a slow trickle of people leaving until we reached the point where Sentinel became the only option to remain a Battalion in TAW.
How have the officers in Sentinel helped you as a DO restructure and rebuild Combat Arms?
Well, at one time I was the only officer in Sentinel, heh! Prior to that instance though, the DC was very helpful and supportive in my efforts as the reappointed CO to get CA back on track, helping me get new recruiting posts on various CA-related forums up and going, and answering questions when he was available. He was unfortunately removed from that position (real-life commitments take a precedence, as we all know) which left me to my own devices for a few weeks, until a new DC and DO were assigned to Sentinel and became readily available, providing positive input and a helping hand when I needed it, as well as giving me a promotion to my current status as DO of CA Battalion. The current DO has been very responsive to my questions and issues, and we've had some good discussions about where CA is going; I have yet to work with the new DC, as he has just been assigned.
A couple months ago, the idea of a European CA Battalion was brought up. CA has its own set of servers for European players (separate from North America), and it looked like a good step to take, but there didn't seem to be enough interest to get another Battalion going. I'll take some of the responsibility for that decision, as I believe we would need at least 6 dedicated players to start a new Battalion, with one super dedicated CO to run it and work the recruiting and team building end of things, and I just didn't see that happening. But the possibility still exists!
Far as restructuring, we've never had to having never been huge to begin with, but rebuilding has been a slow process, for various and assorted reasons I could talk your ear off about. But we are growing, a point I get to hammer home every time our growth is brought up.
We bottomed out at six members.
We now have nineteen.
When you first moved to Sentinel, how was the day to day operation of the division approached by the commanding officers there?
The only thing that changed was the urging to recruit, recruit, recruit (inside joke, that) in an effort to regain Division status.
The urging to recruit has been scaled back, in favor of setting up private rooms where we can play against each other without worrying about cheaters; CA is famous for its prolific and varied “hackers”. We also have returned to actively recruiting from pubs and still have two recruiting threads active. Internal play peppered with recruiting efforts seems to be a good combination... Nobody gets burned out on either.
What changes have been made to assist in the rebuilding and strengthening of your unit?
We. Have. Fun.
As previously mentioned, taking the focus off of exclusively recruiting has taken the pressure off the Battalion to simply get people in the door. We've found that when people apply to TAW from pubs, it's because they've played with us in game and find enjoyment in it.
Combined with the streamlined application and onboarding process that now exists, I think we have a slow but reliable way of attracting the right people to us.
How long has Combat Arms been in Sentinel?
Almost a year. That's a guess, but I believe it's been close to a year.
How long did it take for the division to see an increase in membership growth after joining Sentinel?
Oh, I’d say within a month we had one or two new members. Turnover is kind of high in this Battalion though, and I would conservatively say that one out of five recruits we get actually stays loyal to TAW. Being in Sentinel has nothing to do with this, it's more to do with the game itself.
What is the overall attitude of your membership towards being in Sentinel?
For a little over half of our current members, they’ve never experienced TAW outside of Sentinel, so having nothing else to compare it to I don’t think it matters much to them that we’re in Sentinel. I can’t speak for the rest, the ones who have been here through the good and bad… I think it’s sufficient to say that that they’re still here.
If you were to give one piece of advice to a DC whose division was being brought in to Sentinel, what would it be?
Don’t think of coming to Sentinel as a demotion; nothing is further from the truth. It’s not a place of punishment, it’s not a place Divisions come to die. It’s a place to take a breather, regroup, and rebuild.
Is there anything you would like to tell the rest of TAW about Sentinel in parting?
See my advice above.
The second man from the top in TAW's Sentinel command is BGN Lucky. Lucky has put in a ton of time and work for TAW in the past and now he has turned his tireless efforts to helping develop leadership and rebuild struggling divisions, helping keep the games we love in the clan we hold dear.
---As my TAW.net biography explains, I have been a gamer as long as I can remember, and I'm 50, so that goes back a ways. I started with the usual games like Stratego and Risk, then got into table-top war games (Panzer Blitz, Third Reich, Richtofen's War, etc.) and RPGs like D&D. That was 35 years ago! I stumbled into Live Action Roleplaying Games in 1990, with NERO in New England, and ended up owning and running one (Legends Roleplaying) a few years later. As far as computer games go, my first was "Adventure", played on a sort of teletype machine by acoustic-coupler modem - there was no monitor; it just printed everything out on a roll of paper! I used to buy about 15-20 games a year, but since I found Arma 2 in 2009, I have hardly played other games. I spend a lot of time in the mission editor, creating missions for the Arma Division.
You've been in TAW nearly two years and worked your way up through the ranks to Brigadier General, earning nearly every command medal the clan awards. What has been your proudest accomplishment in TAW?
---No question: the thing of which I'm most proud is to have been one of the people who helped build the Arma Division into what it is. There's a culture that is classic TAW and works well for the co-op style the members like. The other thing that I'm really proud of is the missions that I've made for AM to play. We've got an archive now of over 25 original missions that were created to suit the way the members like to play.
Now, on to Sentinel. What are the goals and objectives of Sentinel as a division and as a part of TAW?
----You have to understand that we're in the middle of big changes at SN. So I can't give you a lot of details, but here's the big picture. Sentinel has been a the place where game divisions get moved if they're struggling. Usually that happens when their membership drops below 20. And in the past, there was a unspoken policy that the goal was to get the groups built back up and out of SN ASAP. We have re-examined that, and we're no longer going to pressure groups to sink or swim. The details are TBD, though. The really big change, though, is that what used to be called "TAW University" has been folded into Sentinel, and Sentinel is being reshaped a bit to focus on leadership development. So now SN will be helping develop TAW leaders in addition to working with struggling game divisions.
What are the "qualifying factors" that lead to a division being assigned to Sentinel?
---In short, if the membership drops below 20 or the group is unstable, Army will step in and move the group to SN. Then we begin to work with them to rebuild and help them with what they need to thrive.
What are the basic steps that a division goes through once placed into the Sentinel Division?
---It really varies by the group, depending on their circumstances. And this may be something that changes in the near future.
What are some of the misconceptions of the Sentinel division that members may have?
---Some people have said that SN is the place divisions go to die, and that's wrong. Of course, the majority of games have a life cycle: they come out, people are excited about them, and they thrive for a while. But then gamers get bored and want something new, so they leave the division, or sometimes game servers become unavailable, etc., and the numbers dwindle, and the division will get moved to SN. Sometimes, the division does "die". People abandon the game and move on. That is just normal. In those cases we try to rebuild with the people who remain, but sometimes it's just not going to work out, for various reasons.
You have been with Sentinel since February according to your TAW.net profile. Did your work with Sentinel begin before then or was it a brand new endeavor for you?
---It was brand new. I was 1CLC before that for about 6 months, with ChicagoOne.
If you had one thing to tell the rest of TAW about Sentinel, what would it be and what would make that one thing the more important than other statements about Sentinel?
---I think it's been covered.
Vanguard It has been a bumper month for Vanguard. Whilst we have sadly made the decision to close down the Diablo 3 team, we have recently added Minecraft and Guild Wars 2 with The Secret World also soon to join. It’s an exciting time for PC games and over the next few months more games are expected to join the Vanguard ranks. Whilst we work hard to spot additional games for TAW, we are not perfect and there maybe some games that we miss. Therefore if there is a game you are interested in seeing in TAW or you think would work well in TAW please e-mail Wardy and Kingcheese or better still complete our potential game list form which is listed below. This can also be found under the PGL channel of Vanguard in TS. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dGZvd0FIODI0MFkyLW1wZW8yczY4SHc6MQ Thank you and gaming happy The Vanguard Team Counter Strike Global Offensive - SUL Ekis Counterstrike Global Offensive is still an horizon team but now has a confirmed release date of the 21st August 12. With that in mind and the need push harder on the recruiting, Ekis (from ND) has agreed to join the CSGO team and take on the Spin Up Leader role. The experience and attention to detail that Ekis brings with him will be of great benefit as it continues to grow.. Diablo 3 - SUL Toxyn It is with regret that the Diablo 3 division will be closing its doors within TAW due the game having difficulties to make itself a online platform that allows TAW style gameplay. After a very long wait, unfortunately the game designers have still not released the player. Vs player mode and they have made some terrible choices on character nerfs. The lack of future content and generally repetitive gameplay has also caused its fan base to suffer. Despite this it still remains a fantastic game to play although it does not lend itself to decent multiplayer. The Vanguard staff would like to thank Toxyn, viperous and Zerrro for their tireless effort to bring D3 as far as it did. Dota 2 - SUL Denied The Dota 2 team is doing very well. All the team are working hard together to recruit and build a nice friendly environment to game in. With TheGame moving over to Guild Wars 2, MasterOdin has stepped up to the SO role. He is doing an amazing job organising the team and recruiting. Next goal is to get in place a EU SO as dedicated he is. The team are currently looking at additional events and the possibility of a comp team. Ghost Recon Future Soldier - SUL ChicagoOne Since The Ghost Recon Future Soldier was released on the 21st June there have been a few bugs in the game which have hampered the game play and therefore the team’s efforts to increase numbers. Despite these issues the team have continued to work hard and try to recruit. With the release of the latest patch which is due out on the 11th July, hopefully most of the issues should be resolved and it will be game on again. Guild Wars 2 - SUL VG Vanguard is pleased to announce that the long awaited Guild Wars 2 is opening a Horizon Spin Up team. The spin up meeting is set for Saturday the 14th at 12:00pm EST /17:00pm GMT. At the spin up meeting will be discussed what everyone would like to see out of the Guild Wars 2 division. The more people that attend the better feedback on how to develop the team. As a Horizon team, GW2 will only be open for external transfers initially with internal TAW transfers once the game launches on the 28th August. For any questions regarding the team please contact TheGame at TheGame@taw.net or Kingcheese and Wardy at the taw.net mail. Minecraft - SUL Dogstar Minecraft has only recently joined Vanguard with Dogstar stepping up as the Spin Up Leader. As such the initial spin up meeting is still to be confirmed. If you fancy a break from the intense fire fights of FPS, try your artistic flair with this game.. If you are wondering how this game would work in TAW, look-out for the Spin up meeting announcement and come along. World of Warcraft - SUL Doc World of Warcraft is welcomed back to TAW and is being rebuilt from scratch. The NA Battalion have got Bamsen stepped up as NA XO with Ptyadolf as the NA SO. They have also now established themselves on a server "Quel Thalas". The EU team is a little further behind but they have stepped Zerrro up to the EU XO role and will start looking for an SO as well as a server. The Wow team would like to welcome back previous TAW members SychoSmar, Midniterider, and GlennTX along with HotDog who will be returning after his deployment from Iraq. Recruiting for the Wow team is going really well and big welcome to you guys and girls as well.
WORLD OF WARCRAFT RECRUITING CONTEST!
World Of Warcraft would like to Announce that it's holding it's first, recruiting competition! What do you win? a 60 day payed time card from the WOW division for "World Of Warcraft" ? Who can enter? : Anyone with-in TAW who is actively playing WOW, even if your an old member come back & have a chance at that 60 day play card! Why?: It's fun! Getting involved in recruiting as well ass boot-camps is a great way to introduce yourself to the new members as well as diversify the new members in what TAW really is a "family friendly" environment a community, that stays together plays together!
RULES
CONTEST TIME PERIOD: July 2nd to August 1ist
PRIZE
Reminder: Returning member to wow? Ask one of our members to resurrect your account for a free realm transfer + full expansion upgrades!
Thanks again
Bamsen
World of Warcraft - Staff Officer
Today we have an impromptu Q&A interview with League of Girls (http://leagueofgirls.com) Caster Aewynia. She is the leader of the league of girls, and is fairly well known in the league of legends community for her stream and self hosted community nights. We were lucky enough to get the chance to talk with her.
So Aewynia, in League of Legends there are plenty of champions to play as, but they come in so many different types. What is your favorite SPECIES of champion?
Aewynia: YORDLES!!!! They are just too cute!!!
After having watched a couple of stream, I had a feeling you'd say that. So what type of Yordle do you think is the cutest?
Aewynia: Oh geez! It would have to be Lulu! :3
So it's safe to assume you like cupcakes then?
Aewynia: I LOVE them!!
Would you say it goes beyond just admiration then? Would you say you devour them?
Aewynia: *munch*
Alrighty then. So other than yordles, what type of champion would you like to see come into League of Legends in the future?
Aewynia: More champions like Lulu. Where you have so many choices to harass, support, and can fill so many roles.
So people with options, like Lee Sin, Lulu, Ezreal, and the like?
Aewynia: Yeah, Soraka is a little bit in the same too. I love having choices on being defensive or offensive.
Okay onto the final few questions. As a caster, what do you think is the hardest part about doing commentary?
Aewynia: Oh wow. Making sure you can explain what is happening quickly and clearly for everyone to understand. Also keeping it entertaining!
And for our last question, what do you think League of Legends needs to do to keep competitive with the sudden surge in MOBA games?
Aewynia: Honestly I don't know. I would have to say they are the largest and have a HUGE fan base! It would be hard for them to lose their following.
Well thank you for you time and answering our questions. Everyone, you can follow Aewynia on twitter @LoGrls_Aewynia, and catch her casts on http://www.own3d.tv/Leagueofgirlz/
Interview by skatcat (@TAWgaming, TAW.net)
All rights reserved, copyright The Art of Warfare (http://taw.net), copyright League of Girls (http://leagueofgirls.com)