pHatBambi
In Cryo Sleep
Hey guys,
A little over 5 months ago I proposed to the THN community that I wanted to put together a team to compete in the EnemyDown ladder. This was accepted and with a little hard work we managed to secure our first win and take our first steps towards towards the top spot.
5 months on and I can be proud to wear the THN tag and claim command of an experienced squad of hard working lads who I think are capable of taking the top spot on ED. In short we are a success but we have still to prove ourselves. We are not yet champions.
This has lead the admins and I into a difficult place that is going to require a lot more hard work and commitment then I had previously thought we would need. It also means that we are going to have to make some very hard decisions about what we are as a clan and a community. How we can best compete in EnemyDown, promote the THN community, support and improve our existing players and keep things competetive fun and rewarding for our new members.
Over the holidays I have taken time to discuss with the admins some of the things that we feel need to be done in order for us to become champions.
Fixed clan roster
This is possibly the most controversial and has been the hardest decision to make because of what it means.
As time has gone on I have always taken the stance that we should allow anyone to play as part of THN given the fact that they show commitment and have sufficient skill to prove themselves.
We have done this well so far but with the new site and the ever increasing size of players joining up to THN the roster has become too large for us to rotate players, yet keep playing to a consistent quality.
We tried to stop recruitment but this has not been so easy to do with the way that the THN community works. Now that we have a large amount of players in the clan and community I believe that we need to fix the team, and that this team should be made up of our best players from the community, who play the most and are the most competetive of our members.
I shall announce the team in a different thread. The team will consist of a basic fixed 12 and an overall squad of 18. This way I can move members in and out depending on what maps are being played and also have enough players in the squad for the 12+ matches.
This does not mean that you will never get a game it just means that you need to work harder to improve your level to earn a spot in the squad. I want our team to be made up of competetive people who want to win and are willing to put in the effort to do so.
"Well how can I prove myself to be good enough to compete in the THN squad?"
The Mini League
Simple. The answer lies in the Mini League. This is something that we tried to launch a while ago but didn't fly because of a few reasons. Piacular and myself have had a look at this and we have come up with some changes that will hopefully address the previous issues.
The Mini League is a way of being competetive within THN. It is a good way of practicing your infantry skills, learning your command skills (squad leaders), showing off how awesome you are to the BF2 admins and generally gaining shed loads of respect and bragging rights within the THN community. I've got some good ideas for a trophy that should be accepted(?) and this will go to the clan that wins the league.
If you haven't already then sign up to the Mini League user group and the keep your eyes peeled here http://games.thehavennet.org.uk/forumdisplay.php?f=24 for more info.
Practices
Another good way of proving yourself will be regular practices.
These have dried up lately but I plan on trying to get them regoing in the New Year. Tuesday evenings were always the classic practice night and so we will look to get this up and running again.
This is also a good way of learing about THN strategies and more advanced ground tactics. It's also a good way of showing off your extra skills. Think you're good in a chopper? Then get in the sky and try and take out Hotstuff and Killcrazy. Rekon you know a thing or two about driving a tank? See how you come up against Buffalo_Hunter.
These will fit in with what I hope will be regular community, friendly matches.
"But I just want to play as part of the community. Screw that competetive stuff lets get on with the killing"
Community matches
We have recently promoted Fi$hy as head of community BF2 PR. This is a dual role that not only inculdes promoting our clan to others but also to get the community ticking over with regular friendlies.
I have been spending a lot of time organising ED stuff and so I don't have the time to commit to the commmunity now. The community was not getting much love so I gave it Mr Cyber himself.
If you've been challenged to a friendly and don't know how to organise it ask Fi$hy. If you've organised a friendly but don't have enough members get Fi$hy on the case. If you're too lazy to do anything but want a game then "hopefully" Fi$hy will be organising one soon.
His role isn't to take over the community completely just to keep things ticking over.
Summary
I know that some of this is rather hard to accept but I feel that it is best for THN as a whole. I am trying to set this up so that it caters for as many different levels of player as possible.
I hope that it will keep things interesting and engaging for both the ultra competetive and the casual player and all those in the spectrum between.
If this doesn't work then I'll look to change it in the future. I'm still learning too.
For now though I think that this is the best way to push the THN clan towards being champions, promote ourselves as a successful team and through that promotion gain new members who want to be part of the THN community and experience.
Thanks for reading this Behemoth.
Cheers,
pHatBambi.
A little over 5 months ago I proposed to the THN community that I wanted to put together a team to compete in the EnemyDown ladder. This was accepted and with a little hard work we managed to secure our first win and take our first steps towards towards the top spot.
5 months on and I can be proud to wear the THN tag and claim command of an experienced squad of hard working lads who I think are capable of taking the top spot on ED. In short we are a success but we have still to prove ourselves. We are not yet champions.
This has lead the admins and I into a difficult place that is going to require a lot more hard work and commitment then I had previously thought we would need. It also means that we are going to have to make some very hard decisions about what we are as a clan and a community. How we can best compete in EnemyDown, promote the THN community, support and improve our existing players and keep things competetive fun and rewarding for our new members.
Over the holidays I have taken time to discuss with the admins some of the things that we feel need to be done in order for us to become champions.
Fixed clan roster
This is possibly the most controversial and has been the hardest decision to make because of what it means.
As time has gone on I have always taken the stance that we should allow anyone to play as part of THN given the fact that they show commitment and have sufficient skill to prove themselves.
We have done this well so far but with the new site and the ever increasing size of players joining up to THN the roster has become too large for us to rotate players, yet keep playing to a consistent quality.
We tried to stop recruitment but this has not been so easy to do with the way that the THN community works. Now that we have a large amount of players in the clan and community I believe that we need to fix the team, and that this team should be made up of our best players from the community, who play the most and are the most competetive of our members.
I shall announce the team in a different thread. The team will consist of a basic fixed 12 and an overall squad of 18. This way I can move members in and out depending on what maps are being played and also have enough players in the squad for the 12+ matches.
- If your name appears in the 12 then expect to be competing regulary
- If your name appears in the 18 then expect to get games but not on a regular basis.
- If your name is not in the list then you have not yet proven yourself to compete in the THN team for EnemyDown.
This does not mean that you will never get a game it just means that you need to work harder to improve your level to earn a spot in the squad. I want our team to be made up of competetive people who want to win and are willing to put in the effort to do so.
"Well how can I prove myself to be good enough to compete in the THN squad?"
The Mini League
Simple. The answer lies in the Mini League. This is something that we tried to launch a while ago but didn't fly because of a few reasons. Piacular and myself have had a look at this and we have come up with some changes that will hopefully address the previous issues.
The Mini League is a way of being competetive within THN. It is a good way of practicing your infantry skills, learning your command skills (squad leaders), showing off how awesome you are to the BF2 admins and generally gaining shed loads of respect and bragging rights within the THN community. I've got some good ideas for a trophy that should be accepted(?) and this will go to the clan that wins the league.
If you haven't already then sign up to the Mini League user group and the keep your eyes peeled here http://games.thehavennet.org.uk/forumdisplay.php?f=24 for more info.
Practices
Another good way of proving yourself will be regular practices.
These have dried up lately but I plan on trying to get them regoing in the New Year. Tuesday evenings were always the classic practice night and so we will look to get this up and running again.
This is also a good way of learing about THN strategies and more advanced ground tactics. It's also a good way of showing off your extra skills. Think you're good in a chopper? Then get in the sky and try and take out Hotstuff and Killcrazy. Rekon you know a thing or two about driving a tank? See how you come up against Buffalo_Hunter.
These will fit in with what I hope will be regular community, friendly matches.
"But I just want to play as part of the community. Screw that competetive stuff lets get on with the killing"
Community matches
We have recently promoted Fi$hy as head of community BF2 PR. This is a dual role that not only inculdes promoting our clan to others but also to get the community ticking over with regular friendlies.
I have been spending a lot of time organising ED stuff and so I don't have the time to commit to the commmunity now. The community was not getting much love so I gave it Mr Cyber himself.
If you've been challenged to a friendly and don't know how to organise it ask Fi$hy. If you've organised a friendly but don't have enough members get Fi$hy on the case. If you're too lazy to do anything but want a game then "hopefully" Fi$hy will be organising one soon.
His role isn't to take over the community completely just to keep things ticking over.
Summary
I know that some of this is rather hard to accept but I feel that it is best for THN as a whole. I am trying to set this up so that it caters for as many different levels of player as possible.
I hope that it will keep things interesting and engaging for both the ultra competetive and the casual player and all those in the spectrum between.
If this doesn't work then I'll look to change it in the future. I'm still learning too.
For now though I think that this is the best way to push the THN clan towards being champions, promote ourselves as a successful team and through that promotion gain new members who want to be part of the THN community and experience.
Thanks for reading this Behemoth.
Cheers,
pHatBambi.
and well done in 2005 [THN]
