My friends, fellow Spooks, the past two years have been great. When I started out playing Astro Empires it was an amazing experience. I got to meet and play along side many people in my time here, including Kel-do-rah, Thyriel, StRiDeR, Aledujke, Ufal, Desolation Angel, Shamrock, and many others. I lived through two Server Wars, and I helped us build a home in the 50s. Personally I have always called B57 my ae home, and I will always remember it with fondness.
Tonight I say farewell. Farewell to the game, and to all of you. Truth be told, the game has been sorta dying for me of late, many of my old friends gone, it's not really the same as it was when it was all new. Not only that but my real life has been demanding my attention more and more, and I have not been able to give the time to AE that would be needed to make it work. I do not wish to sever our ties, and those of you who are in our MI5 group on facebook are more than welcome to friend me and keep in touch. I would certainly like to hear from some of you from time to time. :)
Anyway, I've left my account to Strider to find a new owner. Whoever takes it over will find the bases well-built, the tech highly developed, and the economy strong. While the mobile has been destroyed, the bases are all capable of rebuilding it quickly. I ask that you rename my bases and personalize it to yourself, let what was mine pass on with me.. I hope my account finds a good owner, and that all of you in Spooks will continue to grow, and that one day you will help bring about the destruction of AA and make Beta good once again.
Prosperity to you all!
~Tyroq
PS Cherub, behave yourself! :p
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Summary of the Politics in Beta
Hello again everyone. As I look at the list of members in our great guild, I cannot help but notice the ever increasing number of newcomers among us. So for those of you who do not know the great scope of history to this server, I present this summary...
The situation we're in today began long ago, taking shape for the first time in what became known as the Second Server War. Back then, the face of Beta was rather different from what it is now. At that time, The GOONion was the main powerhouse on the server. Comprised of [GOON] and their various affiliate guilds. Together they dominated the lower galaxies and made constant attacks on the uppers, making mortal enemies with Band of Brothers [BoB] and other independent guilds. Inevitably the situation came to a head, and the various guilds that hated the GOONs united to form the RAGE coalition. Consisting of Astroholics Anonymous [AA], Project Meteor [PM] and numerous other guilds, they prepared a force to bring down the GOONion...
During the course of that war, Mordor, which at the time was among the top 5 guilds on the server, joined the RAGE coalition. MI5's own strong ties to Mordor brought us into the fight along side them, and soon we were a part of RAGE. At one point in the war, a large number of RAGE members came over to MI5 to use our JGs and coordinate some attacks. This was over a year ago, and I took a screenshot to commemorate the occasion. Well, time went on and eventually the momentum of the war led to the GOONion's downfall. The RAGE block took its place at the top of Beta. But to the surprise of many involved, the RAGE block did not dissolve after the war. Instead they took their natural place of power atop all the other guilds and proceeded to exploit their strength and position for their own gain. In the months following the end of the SSW, RAGE turned against various guilds they no longer valued as allies. Mordor did not want to be a part of this, and so they left the RAGE block. RAGE responded by declaring war on Mordor. In response to that, we stuck with our closest allies and left RAGE to fight along side Mordor again. The GOONion decided to take this opportunity to strike back at RAGE and declared war on them. It wasn't long before things heated up into another server war.
At first it seemed to be a three-way standoff between the RAGE block, the GOONion, and the Mordor alliance. But as it was soon clear that RAGE had the upper hand in it all, Mordor and the GOONs joined forces. It was a very surreal time for me, and other old timers, to be allied with the GOONs, who we had been at war with only a few months previously. But we got over our unease and soon we were gathering our fleets together. And thus began the Third Server War, which has become known somewhat as the Blob War. This war dragged on for many months, as the GOON side and the RAGE side blobbed massive fleets in the lower galaxies, and faced off across the galaxies. It was like an unending stalemate, with neither side willing to flinch first. But finally things came to a head in the event known as the Day of a Thousand Pew Pews, which I wrote about earlier in this blog, back when it happened. The GOON blob crashed into the RAGE blob and the echoes of countless billions in fleets smashed the crap out of each other until there was nothing left but debris... and RAGE. Yes sadly RAGE won out again, and now a truly decimated GOONion was forced into surrender. MI5 returned to our home up here in the 50s and were lucky enough to stay out of most of the aftermath of that war, but Mordor and many others that had stood against RAGE found themselves in a rather nasty situation.
The war has been over for quite some time now, and Beta has been just drifting lately, but the situation with RAGE is far from over. AA now runs rampant slaughtering whoever they please, as was demonstrated by their half-assed assault on us last month. PM got bored with peace and declared on PTSS, the two of them crashing around all over the place. GOON is currently trying to pick up the pieces and rebuild, and MI5 is watching it all. Interesting times are coming to Beta in the near future. Some things are uncertain, especially regarding the various alliances that have been held in the past. But amidst all this uncertainty, some amazing things are coming our way as well. Soon we will be welcoming back into our midst two of the most influential people in our entire history. Thyriel and Kel-do-rah, legendary founders of the Commonwealth, are coming back to Astro Empires after nearly two years away from the game. It is with great excitement that we can welcome them back. I see good days ahead for MI5.
Long live the Spooks!
The situation we're in today began long ago, taking shape for the first time in what became known as the Second Server War. Back then, the face of Beta was rather different from what it is now. At that time, The GOONion was the main powerhouse on the server. Comprised of [GOON] and their various affiliate guilds. Together they dominated the lower galaxies and made constant attacks on the uppers, making mortal enemies with Band of Brothers [BoB] and other independent guilds. Inevitably the situation came to a head, and the various guilds that hated the GOONs united to form the RAGE coalition. Consisting of Astroholics Anonymous [AA], Project Meteor [PM] and numerous other guilds, they prepared a force to bring down the GOONion...
During the course of that war, Mordor, which at the time was among the top 5 guilds on the server, joined the RAGE coalition. MI5's own strong ties to Mordor brought us into the fight along side them, and soon we were a part of RAGE. At one point in the war, a large number of RAGE members came over to MI5 to use our JGs and coordinate some attacks. This was over a year ago, and I took a screenshot to commemorate the occasion. Well, time went on and eventually the momentum of the war led to the GOONion's downfall. The RAGE block took its place at the top of Beta. But to the surprise of many involved, the RAGE block did not dissolve after the war. Instead they took their natural place of power atop all the other guilds and proceeded to exploit their strength and position for their own gain. In the months following the end of the SSW, RAGE turned against various guilds they no longer valued as allies. Mordor did not want to be a part of this, and so they left the RAGE block. RAGE responded by declaring war on Mordor. In response to that, we stuck with our closest allies and left RAGE to fight along side Mordor again. The GOONion decided to take this opportunity to strike back at RAGE and declared war on them. It wasn't long before things heated up into another server war.
At first it seemed to be a three-way standoff between the RAGE block, the GOONion, and the Mordor alliance. But as it was soon clear that RAGE had the upper hand in it all, Mordor and the GOONs joined forces. It was a very surreal time for me, and other old timers, to be allied with the GOONs, who we had been at war with only a few months previously. But we got over our unease and soon we were gathering our fleets together. And thus began the Third Server War, which has become known somewhat as the Blob War. This war dragged on for many months, as the GOON side and the RAGE side blobbed massive fleets in the lower galaxies, and faced off across the galaxies. It was like an unending stalemate, with neither side willing to flinch first. But finally things came to a head in the event known as the Day of a Thousand Pew Pews, which I wrote about earlier in this blog, back when it happened. The GOON blob crashed into the RAGE blob and the echoes of countless billions in fleets smashed the crap out of each other until there was nothing left but debris... and RAGE. Yes sadly RAGE won out again, and now a truly decimated GOONion was forced into surrender. MI5 returned to our home up here in the 50s and were lucky enough to stay out of most of the aftermath of that war, but Mordor and many others that had stood against RAGE found themselves in a rather nasty situation.
The war has been over for quite some time now, and Beta has been just drifting lately, but the situation with RAGE is far from over. AA now runs rampant slaughtering whoever they please, as was demonstrated by their half-assed assault on us last month. PM got bored with peace and declared on PTSS, the two of them crashing around all over the place. GOON is currently trying to pick up the pieces and rebuild, and MI5 is watching it all. Interesting times are coming to Beta in the near future. Some things are uncertain, especially regarding the various alliances that have been held in the past. But amidst all this uncertainty, some amazing things are coming our way as well. Soon we will be welcoming back into our midst two of the most influential people in our entire history. Thyriel and Kel-do-rah, legendary founders of the Commonwealth, are coming back to Astro Empires after nearly two years away from the game. It is with great excitement that we can welcome them back. I see good days ahead for MI5.
Long live the Spooks!
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
MI5 Member Highlight: YukiKashimaru
Hello again everyone! It's been a good week for us in MI5. S3D finally got bored of chasing sensor echoes around B56 and left, not without loss of time and fleets on their part either. And to top it off, several unguilded and inactive players have been popping up around 57 for us to munch on. So all in all, it has been a productive week for us.
Anyway, it is time once again to bring a new member highlight to you all. So tonight I bring to you YukiKashimaru. Many of you newer members may not know him very well, as he has been rather absent from the boards lately, but Yuki has been around a while, getting close to 3 years actually, and has some experience to offer you all.
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away... B38 to be specific, was where Yuki started. He joined ASG, which as I have written about before, was one of the predecessor guilds to CW, which has since branched into MI5. Back then were the days of constant war for dominance in Beta, and B38 was no exception. But even as the dust settled in the wake of those wars, time passing on and CW began its epic migration up to claim B56 for its own, Yuki stayed behind for a time. Actually, he was one of the last to migrate up here, doing so shortly after I began playing.
"I originally didnt want to move," he said, "but GOON and friends declared war, and my neighbor became hostile and after some calculations and arrangements for a 3 month upgrade I decided to move. I was saving credits when GOON attacked and pillages over 1.4mil. I disbanded everything after that and headed up..."
His was the only migration of CW members that I witnessed firsthand. I recall seeing, what to me at the time, was a massive armada of more fleet than I'd ever seen yet, heading up toAledujke's JG at Holy Terra. I was so amazed at the sheer amount of fleet coming up that I had to take a screenshot...
Yuki's Migration
Anyway, it was shortly after his arrival in B57 that the OW confederation invaded our fledgling stronghold in 56. Yuki threw his fleet into the thick of the battle and stood at the forefront of our defenders in 56. It was the sacrifice of him and several others that helped secure our foothold in 56 and pave the way for the home we have now. So raise your glasses in salute to those that have gone before you, and have paved the way. We are MI5. We shall never forget.
For more information on the OW invasion of B56, you can see my other journal which I wrote in detail on the subject. The Invasion of B56
Anyway, it is time once again to bring a new member highlight to you all. So tonight I bring to you YukiKashimaru. Many of you newer members may not know him very well, as he has been rather absent from the boards lately, but Yuki has been around a while, getting close to 3 years actually, and has some experience to offer you all.
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away... B38 to be specific, was where Yuki started. He joined ASG, which as I have written about before, was one of the predecessor guilds to CW, which has since branched into MI5. Back then were the days of constant war for dominance in Beta, and B38 was no exception. But even as the dust settled in the wake of those wars, time passing on and CW began its epic migration up to claim B56 for its own, Yuki stayed behind for a time. Actually, he was one of the last to migrate up here, doing so shortly after I began playing.
"I originally didnt want to move," he said, "but GOON and friends declared war, and my neighbor became hostile and after some calculations and arrangements for a 3 month upgrade I decided to move. I was saving credits when GOON attacked and pillages over 1.4mil. I disbanded everything after that and headed up..."
His was the only migration of CW members that I witnessed firsthand. I recall seeing, what to me at the time, was a massive armada of more fleet than I'd ever seen yet, heading up toAledujke's JG at Holy Terra. I was so amazed at the sheer amount of fleet coming up that I had to take a screenshot...
Yuki's Migration
Anyway, it was shortly after his arrival in B57 that the OW confederation invaded our fledgling stronghold in 56. Yuki threw his fleet into the thick of the battle and stood at the forefront of our defenders in 56. It was the sacrifice of him and several others that helped secure our foothold in 56 and pave the way for the home we have now. So raise your glasses in salute to those that have gone before you, and have paved the way. We are MI5. We shall never forget.
For more information on the OW invasion of B56, you can see my other journal which I wrote in detail on the subject. The Invasion of B56
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
MI5 Member Highlight: Our Mysterious Diplomat
Hello everyone! It's been quite some time since I've added anything here, but in the midst of this current war with S3D I have decided that another member highlight is in order for all our newer members. It's easy in the monotony of building, growing, crushing, recycling, and repeating to forget where we came from and who our influential founders and leaders are. This is especially true regarding those that aren't as active on the boards...
Today I am highlighting one of our oldest, yet quietest members: Emperor Goudius. At the time of this writing he is a mere 6 days from his 3rd year anniversary of playing AE on Beta. It is in people like this that a wealth of historical experience lies deep.
For those of you newer members who have joined us, MI5 has a long and fascinating history that people like Emperor Goudius and our other founders have helped shape. You see, we were originally formed out of the top members of ~Common Wealth~ over a year and a half ago. But back long before that, before the B50s galaxies even opened up, CW itself was two different guilds: Asgard and the Spartans. Asgard was the economically focused guild and the Spartans were the main fighting guild. Kel-do-rah and Fathinking were the leaders of those original guilds, and for a time they grew together and prospered in the lower galaxies. But then a rift began to grow between the two leaders, and eventually both guilds were on the verge of war. This was when Emperor Goudius stepped up and first showed his skill for diplomacy...
"As Fathinking assembled The Spartans fleets and was poised for an attack. I manged to convince him to delay that and got a steady peace going. As one of the leading diplomats and voice in the guild I used my powers to exact a vote to prevent the schism of the guilds. Kel-doh-rah removed some of my powers but not before I got a vote that could have changed this guilds history. With no powers left and no way to be heard I left. The guilds split and both reformed. Asgard became the CommonWealth and the Spartans became.... the spartans." Later on as the 50s opened up and CW moved up to claim what would become our home in 56 and 57, the Spartans also began a move up here to escape the growing power-guilds in the lower galaxies. Reformed into the Myrmidon [Myrm], they spread throughout B57 until their eventual disbanding and dispersal into various guilds like [\TM/] and [{CM}] among others.
More time passed and CW became established in the 50s and began to prosper again. But still the lack of combat-oriented active players kept the guild from achieving true greatness. In May 2008, StRiDeR and several other top members of CW left to form MI5, taking with them a large number of top players to help build something new and strong. Emperor Goudius came with us in the migration and helped us form what has become the guild you all call home today... MI5 Spooks!
~For more information on other members of MI5, see below for my highlight on Bowtie Bob, and stay tuned for future updates on other members. From time to time I will be sending out messages to those I want to feature here. Together we can build our history.
Today I am highlighting one of our oldest, yet quietest members: Emperor Goudius. At the time of this writing he is a mere 6 days from his 3rd year anniversary of playing AE on Beta. It is in people like this that a wealth of historical experience lies deep.
For those of you newer members who have joined us, MI5 has a long and fascinating history that people like Emperor Goudius and our other founders have helped shape. You see, we were originally formed out of the top members of ~Common Wealth~ over a year and a half ago. But back long before that, before the B50s galaxies even opened up, CW itself was two different guilds: Asgard and the Spartans. Asgard was the economically focused guild and the Spartans were the main fighting guild. Kel-do-rah and Fathinking were the leaders of those original guilds, and for a time they grew together and prospered in the lower galaxies. But then a rift began to grow between the two leaders, and eventually both guilds were on the verge of war. This was when Emperor Goudius stepped up and first showed his skill for diplomacy...
"As Fathinking assembled The Spartans fleets and was poised for an attack. I manged to convince him to delay that and got a steady peace going. As one of the leading diplomats and voice in the guild I used my powers to exact a vote to prevent the schism of the guilds. Kel-doh-rah removed some of my powers but not before I got a vote that could have changed this guilds history. With no powers left and no way to be heard I left. The guilds split and both reformed. Asgard became the CommonWealth and the Spartans became.... the spartans." Later on as the 50s opened up and CW moved up to claim what would become our home in 56 and 57, the Spartans also began a move up here to escape the growing power-guilds in the lower galaxies. Reformed into the Myrmidon [Myrm], they spread throughout B57 until their eventual disbanding and dispersal into various guilds like [\TM/] and [{CM}] among others.
More time passed and CW became established in the 50s and began to prosper again. But still the lack of combat-oriented active players kept the guild from achieving true greatness. In May 2008, StRiDeR and several other top members of CW left to form MI5, taking with them a large number of top players to help build something new and strong. Emperor Goudius came with us in the migration and helped us form what has become the guild you all call home today... MI5 Spooks!
~For more information on other members of MI5, see below for my highlight on Bowtie Bob, and stay tuned for future updates on other members. From time to time I will be sending out messages to those I want to feature here. Together we can build our history.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
War Update: The Empire Has Risen
It was a night that marked a moment of forever. Silence fell over the largest battlefield in AE history, the sounds of laser fire and missiles and all manner of weaponry echoing into the backdrop of space. Over 4 billion credits worth of debris floated where less than 24 hours before there had been fleets of countless starships. Now all was silent. The silence of the grave...
It was Tuesday, the 18th of August, and the Day of a Thousand Pew Pews had come to an end. This battle was the climax of the blob war going on in the B20s, and it was hoped that it would prove decisive in the war. And it many ways it did, but not as we'd hoped. CHUG fought hard to win the day, but in the end RAGE's superior numbers concluded the battle in their favor.
Following the next day terms for surrender were given to CHUG leadership. It was hoped by many that this would end the age-long war and Beta could move on from there. But perhaps such hopes were premature. In the 24 hours since the terms were first laid, they have become progressively worse, with RAGE positively demanding whole-scale disbandment of CHUG bases in B20 and the destruction or removal of any and all mobile fleets in the 20s cluster. It is a bleak outlook for Beta, one reminiscent of another post-war outlook on another world, long ago. That was Versailles, 1919 Earth...
But despite the bleak outlook, strength remains among the allied guilds of CHUG. While much has been lost in the lower galaxies, much remains yet in the uppers. As RAGE reorganizes into the Evil Empire and gathers their forces at Threed (B20:53:08:32) for an all-out assault on the last CHUG strongholds in the B20s, we in MI5 have a great deal to plan for our future. Beta is changing yet again, and while we do not know what all this will hold, we will be watching, and we will be ready. The Empire of RAGE has risen, now it belongs to the Rebels to whether the storm, and some day, to bring the empire to its knees.
We will not give in. We have time. We will prepare and meet this tyranny as all such monstrosities have been met, with the will and determination not to be conquered or subdued. And when the day of the Empire is over, we shall overcome.
It was Tuesday, the 18th of August, and the Day of a Thousand Pew Pews had come to an end. This battle was the climax of the blob war going on in the B20s, and it was hoped that it would prove decisive in the war. And it many ways it did, but not as we'd hoped. CHUG fought hard to win the day, but in the end RAGE's superior numbers concluded the battle in their favor.
Following the next day terms for surrender were given to CHUG leadership. It was hoped by many that this would end the age-long war and Beta could move on from there. But perhaps such hopes were premature. In the 24 hours since the terms were first laid, they have become progressively worse, with RAGE positively demanding whole-scale disbandment of CHUG bases in B20 and the destruction or removal of any and all mobile fleets in the 20s cluster. It is a bleak outlook for Beta, one reminiscent of another post-war outlook on another world, long ago. That was Versailles, 1919 Earth...
But despite the bleak outlook, strength remains among the allied guilds of CHUG. While much has been lost in the lower galaxies, much remains yet in the uppers. As RAGE reorganizes into the Evil Empire and gathers their forces at Threed (B20:53:08:32) for an all-out assault on the last CHUG strongholds in the B20s, we in MI5 have a great deal to plan for our future. Beta is changing yet again, and while we do not know what all this will hold, we will be watching, and we will be ready. The Empire of RAGE has risen, now it belongs to the Rebels to whether the storm, and some day, to bring the empire to its knees.
We will not give in. We have time. We will prepare and meet this tyranny as all such monstrosities have been met, with the will and determination not to be conquered or subdued. And when the day of the Empire is over, we shall overcome.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
MI5 Member Highlight: Bowtie Bob
Hello again everyone! I realize it has been quite some time since I added an entry in this journal. Much has happened, but also much has stayed the same. The endless server war drags on down in the 20s. Meanwhile up here in the 50s we have several smaller ops going on. Good times...
But that is not what I am here to talk about today. This new article will be my first of a series of articles highlighting different MI5 members, starting with core-members and founders, and perhaps later including newer members who distinguish themselves in combat or other areas. Those of you who contributed interviews to this article are probably thinking "about bloody time!" So with that in mind, I present to you the first highlighted member, Bowtie Bob (BCL).
Bowtie Bob's story begins, as any good sci-fi story should, a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...
B29 to be exact. And 877 days ago, at the writing of this article, making even me feel like a newbie again. He came to beta back in the still frontier days. Before the 50s cluster had even been added. His first guild was BCL (Battle Corps Legion) which was comprised largely of a group of friends from a couple of BattleTech sites, but it grew fairly quickly from there. Back then the beta server was a lot more wild than it is now, much like the new Epsilon and Fenix servers are still, with a great deal of vying for control over various regions with many guilds striving for dominance. BCL was not immune to this, and soon war engulfed B29. Bowtie summarized the situation, "After nearly getting wiped out, we were offered a place in CW (ASG at the time) where we were able to build up our strength and eventually break away as a separate guild again. When BCL finally dissolved, we all went our separate ways, but many of us went back to CW."
During that time there were two individuals that would come to have a great impact on many players in Beta, including all of you reading this article, though many of you newer players do not even know their names. They were Thyriel and Kel-do-rah. Those were among the founders of the Commonwealth and the ones largely responsible for us being where we are today. But that's a story for another article. As it was, they were the ones who brought Bowtie Bob into the new CW fold and had the greatest impact on him. As he puts it, "They had two of the strongest empires in the guild at the time, and I remember thinking how I couldn't ever imagine being that strong... (I don't believe they had reached Lvl 40 at the time)."
But things were not all sun and roses. Bowtie Bob lived through the single largest operation in the history of Commonwealth, perhaps even all of beta. The guild-wide move to the 50s. His summary of the move and the reasoning behind it is as follows...
"To me, the reason behind the move was to strengthen our guild by concentrating our forces. Before we moved, we were spread all over Beta. Originally people were encouraged to spread out across multiple galaxies, and we attempted to get bases in all galaxies to spead up movement with JG's. Unfortunately, this made it extremely difficult to coordinate attacks, and defend each others bases as our fleets were spread too thin to truly be effective. By far, our largest concentration was in B29, but even there we would get attacked because of too many other guilds being there and many people kept their fleets elsewhere.
As a part of BCL, we got to see firsthand just how effective a "stronghold" galaxy could be. When the 40s opened up, we decided to have everyone build at least one base in a new galaxy that would become our new Home. Unfortunately, we chose B47 as that galaxy, and ended up being forced to battle BOB for control. While we fought continuosly for months, we were eventually overwhelmed and forced out.
That one conflict was the cause of BCL's eventual breakup, but it is the reason I'm here in B56 today. I moved every base I had here because I had seen how effective an entire guild can be when they are concentrated in one galaxy."
Indeed a great deal has been learned over the years regarding tactics and guild strength. Beta was very much a guinea-pig for testing new ideas in AE. A lot of what has been established now came out of things like what Bowtie lived through first hand. And it is why we are where we are today. MI5 sprouted out of CW about a year ago, after we'd finished the move to the 50s. Now we dominate B56 and 57, with a good amount of strength elsewhere in the cluster. We are far from in ultimate control here, but we do have an excellent position. And as long as we stick together and work as a team to continue building what we have, MI5 shall reign supreme in the 50s.
Bowtie's closing thoughts on this issue are much the same. He says, "While I despised their tactics at the time, I now understand BOB's goal of removing any foreign guilds from their galaxy. While I don't believe we are ready to attempt it at the moment, eventually, I hope to see us clear B56 of non-allied bases. This would go a long way toward fortifying our position here even more."
Long Live the Spooks!!!
But that is not what I am here to talk about today. This new article will be my first of a series of articles highlighting different MI5 members, starting with core-members and founders, and perhaps later including newer members who distinguish themselves in combat or other areas. Those of you who contributed interviews to this article are probably thinking "about bloody time!" So with that in mind, I present to you the first highlighted member, Bowtie Bob (BCL).
Bowtie Bob's story begins, as any good sci-fi story should, a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...
B29 to be exact. And 877 days ago, at the writing of this article, making even me feel like a newbie again. He came to beta back in the still frontier days. Before the 50s cluster had even been added. His first guild was BCL (Battle Corps Legion) which was comprised largely of a group of friends from a couple of BattleTech sites, but it grew fairly quickly from there. Back then the beta server was a lot more wild than it is now, much like the new Epsilon and Fenix servers are still, with a great deal of vying for control over various regions with many guilds striving for dominance. BCL was not immune to this, and soon war engulfed B29. Bowtie summarized the situation, "After nearly getting wiped out, we were offered a place in CW (ASG at the time) where we were able to build up our strength and eventually break away as a separate guild again. When BCL finally dissolved, we all went our separate ways, but many of us went back to CW."
During that time there were two individuals that would come to have a great impact on many players in Beta, including all of you reading this article, though many of you newer players do not even know their names. They were Thyriel and Kel-do-rah. Those were among the founders of the Commonwealth and the ones largely responsible for us being where we are today. But that's a story for another article. As it was, they were the ones who brought Bowtie Bob into the new CW fold and had the greatest impact on him. As he puts it, "They had two of the strongest empires in the guild at the time, and I remember thinking how I couldn't ever imagine being that strong... (I don't believe they had reached Lvl 40 at the time)."
But things were not all sun and roses. Bowtie Bob lived through the single largest operation in the history of Commonwealth, perhaps even all of beta. The guild-wide move to the 50s. His summary of the move and the reasoning behind it is as follows...
"To me, the reason behind the move was to strengthen our guild by concentrating our forces. Before we moved, we were spread all over Beta. Originally people were encouraged to spread out across multiple galaxies, and we attempted to get bases in all galaxies to spead up movement with JG's. Unfortunately, this made it extremely difficult to coordinate attacks, and defend each others bases as our fleets were spread too thin to truly be effective. By far, our largest concentration was in B29, but even there we would get attacked because of too many other guilds being there and many people kept their fleets elsewhere.
As a part of BCL, we got to see firsthand just how effective a "stronghold" galaxy could be. When the 40s opened up, we decided to have everyone build at least one base in a new galaxy that would become our new Home. Unfortunately, we chose B47 as that galaxy, and ended up being forced to battle BOB for control. While we fought continuosly for months, we were eventually overwhelmed and forced out.
That one conflict was the cause of BCL's eventual breakup, but it is the reason I'm here in B56 today. I moved every base I had here because I had seen how effective an entire guild can be when they are concentrated in one galaxy."
Indeed a great deal has been learned over the years regarding tactics and guild strength. Beta was very much a guinea-pig for testing new ideas in AE. A lot of what has been established now came out of things like what Bowtie lived through first hand. And it is why we are where we are today. MI5 sprouted out of CW about a year ago, after we'd finished the move to the 50s. Now we dominate B56 and 57, with a good amount of strength elsewhere in the cluster. We are far from in ultimate control here, but we do have an excellent position. And as long as we stick together and work as a team to continue building what we have, MI5 shall reign supreme in the 50s.
Bowtie's closing thoughts on this issue are much the same. He says, "While I despised their tactics at the time, I now understand BOB's goal of removing any foreign guilds from their galaxy. While I don't believe we are ready to attempt it at the moment, eventually, I hope to see us clear B56 of non-allied bases. This would go a long way toward fortifying our position here even more."
Long Live the Spooks!!!
Sunday, March 1, 2009
The Current War
I never thought I'd see another tag in front of my name, aside from MI5, but here it is. VICE was formed to coordinate our members on the ops location, allow for easy fleet movements, and help with teamwork from all involved in the war against the RAGE block. As more players come into VICE, and more fleets arrive, I expect the level of action to increase substantially. RAGE is going down, sooner or later.
Thinking back, it is quite interesting to think that we were once a part of the RAGE block ourselves. MI5 was allied with RAGE in the last server war. But back then things were different. Back then it was the faceless GOONion and their allies that were the unquestioned enemy. They were the danger that had to be brought down...
And now here we stand, helping those we previously fought against to stand up to the powerhouse that had taken over in their place. A powerhouse that we had helped put there. RAGE...
The sands of allegiance are ever shifting in this vast galactic conglomeration. But one thing is certain: through fighting or fleeing, combat or conquest, we shape our future in the game. It matters where we've been, for that is who we are. It matters who we are, for that is where we're going. So as we look at the war this time around, think of that, and walk your path with strength.
Thinking back, it is quite interesting to think that we were once a part of the RAGE block ourselves. MI5 was allied with RAGE in the last server war. But back then things were different. Back then it was the faceless GOONion and their allies that were the unquestioned enemy. They were the danger that had to be brought down...
And now here we stand, helping those we previously fought against to stand up to the powerhouse that had taken over in their place. A powerhouse that we had helped put there. RAGE...
The sands of allegiance are ever shifting in this vast galactic conglomeration. But one thing is certain: through fighting or fleeing, combat or conquest, we shape our future in the game. It matters where we've been, for that is who we are. It matters who we are, for that is where we're going. So as we look at the war this time around, think of that, and walk your path with strength.
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