Flitterkill

Yeah - just let the fat one know and it can be changed (see I.S. to Lex) -Fk

What he say. And enough with the zombies already Unclean - and none of this aliasing crap from you either. Get back in here so I can die on a more regular basis -Fk

Would be nice... The majority of our conversations though UT-wise are either specific to our GC member's TWL 6v6 ONS competitive team or random server updates that members should be aware of (over and above public anouncements) We just got around to cleaning up the forums a bit so you should expect some more action down these parts in the future. I've tried to do a weekly update down here but haven't been too regular with it yet. Have to say though, this past Saturday evening - even though numbers were down all around due to the holidays, Nepenthe had the *most* competitive Dria match I've seen - probably ever. Standard 3-2 win, each round OT, but that last round... Wow. Took at least 15 minutes of literally back and forth - one sides primary down - then recovered and the other side's primary down, rinse and repeat over and over. Amazing round. -Fk

Hi! -Fk

Server running fine as usual - Opteron's generally make that the norm rather than the exception. 1) Tweaks to the server auto-text messages. You'll know'em when ya see'em 2) Please guys - give rides - it is not that hard and your team will do so much better - just because you don't get a vehicle at start doesn't mean you won't get vehicle later on. 3) Lag whining. Too much! Seriously - on the server side it ain't there - check your ping to our server and packet loss. If you are playing with a ping of 120+ we won't auto-kick ya off (that's for folks with pings over 190) - but think about this for a second - if there is any slight server spike or hitch - who do you think is actually gonna feel it? Yeah - that'd be you and you alone. Same deal with packet loss. If the game feels a bit "off" to you - shots seem to not fire off on occasion - it ain't us - check that packet loss - myself, I've had awful packet loss about 1/3 or the time I connect - no clue where in my routing to our server I'm having the problem at - but I don't whine about a "laggy server" - I take a look at the score board - see everyone else doing fine with no packet loss and then me with 20+ and that is that. For those that are curious: netspeed=10000 tickrate=25 Note that if people continue to whine about lag and there continues to be the trend of that whining coming from the folks who are connecting with a high-ping to our server, we may just dial the automatic ping-kicker down from 190+ to 160+. Just FYI 4) The language filter has been tightened just a bit - if you trigger the filter enough times the game will warn you to dial it back - if you continue to trip the filter you will be automatically muted (text and voice) for the remainder of the map. You will be un-muted for the next map (again, automatically) but if you trip the filter again, you will be muted again, etc.... For those that start to purposely evade the language filter, well, if there is an admin on the server, enjoy the ride Otherwise - everything seems cool - good numbers in the evenings and esp. on weekends. We run pretty standard map-wise (as when ever we put a new non-std. map up numbers tend to drop off) but if you have a suggestion - feel free to throw it up. -Fk

All better now "They are up now. Evidently, earlier they had put them all on a separate circuit just to get them all up and running quickly while they finished installing a new circuit. This last outage was them moving us all to the new circuit. Hopefully this will fix this thing permanently. Sorry for the trouble bro. Viper" And that is that - play on! -Fk

Yes - I know - it was a full server and then it disappeared Looks like the head end is still having power issues - ticket is already in Sry bout this guys -Fk

All good now - play on! -Fk

Sorry guys but it seems that there are electrical problems at the server facility - they have an electrician on-site to resolve this now. We went down around 10pm Eastern Thursday and as of 130pm Eastern Friday we are still down. Hope we get back up by tonight... -Fk

Alas no. DSM would not have access to those forums as DSM has not got down with the GC in the biblical sense as of yet. -Fk

1) Server was mostly full the majority of the weekend - nice to see. Friday ran late. Saturday ran thru to at least 230am Sun morn. and Sunday ran thru til Mon 130am. 2) Before you begin to blither about lag - seriously - look at your ping and P/L (packet loss). Do you have P/L? Nothing we can do about that - that's your connect to us - if you want to play with that kind of performance (and hell, I do as I have been having some router issues lately) pls. refrain from denigrating our servers as some folks have done with thier lag comments - "I got lag" is fine - "laggy server" is just blithering unless you know what you are talking about. Same goes for those of you joining us with 250+ pings. You won't last too long here though if you do join us with that kind of ping count - the server will auto-boot 190+ pings (sustained over a few minutes) Why? No need to play here with that kind of handicap and it cuts down on folks blithering about the lag they think everyone has (which they don't) Remember - Chicago, IL, USA server - Opteron 252 3) Expect the auto language warnings to increase in severity. Now, these are not seen unless you take to dropping the f-bombs and the like text-wise - and then only you will see them. Generally you get warned after a few passes through the filter which you all know and love. After that you get warned by the server (automatically) - then it will eventually mute you for the remainder of the map. Gonna tighten that up a notch - attitude seems to getting a bit...hmmmm....off at times lately. Remember - just a game folks - have fun and try and dial the attitude back a notch or two. 4) Stacked teams? Happens. /-=GC-=/ *try* to even things up but there is only so much we can do - ride it out and hope for a better mix next map. Hell, you'll see me flip to the losing side many times *before* the end of a round - its all fun. 5) Big hint folks (though if you are reading this you probably already know this...) At start - Manta should (must!) give rides. "But I want to get the manta!" That's nice. If you are the first to get to it though - guess what? "What?" You should be a rider instead. "Why? I got there first?" That's nice - so let's run this through shall we? You get there, get in, manta levitates in air then.... I) You take off with no passengers leaving behind people who could speed up node production - general complaining begins, your teammates now don't "think" you are teh suck, they *know* you are teh suck - wonderful... "I won't do that - I'll get in and then wait!" II) That's nice but guess what - it's twice as easy to get on the manta as a passanger when its ON THE GROUND then when its hovering in air. You've seen folks *try* to hop on - works real well and happens the first time always right? Right... How it should go for a great manta start: First two who get to the manta hop on - the best place is on TOP - not the paddles - on the paddles people can get knocked/fall off easy - very hard if you are on the spine. If there are any others that are rushing the manta, let them take the paddles - they can try to stay on - that's fine. Last there gets to drive. Deal with it. You can get your very own manta once the node comes up in a few seconds since you helped build primary with 3 or more people linked together. "Ok - you convinced me - but I'm still going to throw shock and flak at the manta at start to let folks know I need a ride" <insert insult directed at above speaker here> Shoot shock into the air above and around but not at the manta (or your teammates? Fine. Shoot shock and flak *AT* the manta? If you want to have the vehicle move and slide into and kill your teammates at start - sure - why not. Teammates love to be killed by flak thrown at the vehicles at the start of a match. Stop that. Of course, if you get to the manta, hop on top, turn around and see no one coming towards you any time soon (and that's the key here) - then go. Same if you only have two at the manta - no one else - take off eh! Speed matters too but more people is nearly always much better. 5) They are not botting. Seriously. Just because they kill you efficiently all the time means nothing (well, might mean something about you... ) Did you know that if you bail out of a raptor real high in the sky, but you use the shield to break your fall, you'll survive! Its true! Its also true that you will have just a fraction of your health left. It is also just as true that I saw you bail, got out my lightning gun, and aimed it at the spot on the ground where I saw you were going to land. And then you landed at that spot with your 15 health left. And that is that. HAX FTW! I could go on... Bit smart alecky on my part but the gist is that if you apply some thought, one can become ridiculously good and efficient at this game. Hell, if some folks are fast enough, they can hit you in mid-air as you are falling. We have *LOTS* of competitive ONS players (teamwarfare.com, onscentral.com - check them out) who come here to play - sometimes they have thier clan tags on, other times they are aliasing - generally they don't suck - and they know how to really play. Watch, learn, have fun, no one is haxing. Enjoy the server folks - keep the attitude in check, and by all means - have fun! -Fk

Smitchy - like I said in-game - let it go and consider it a compliment - lot of folks have no idea what competitive ONS can bring to the table and you folks start pounding away on a pub server... It's all good, and you are all good with us - and welcome! -Fk

Back and forth this goes. It's more or less between the Element and the Audii TT now. Been digging around about the Audi for a few days now - half the time I'm scared way off - the other brings me back in. Lots of the hardcore TT enthusiasts say you can expect there to be significant dime dropped as things break in this car after 80,000 miles or so. Some folks have had just awful luck with build quality. Another site not filled with enthusiasts, but with TT owners chiming in say no problems - great build quality. Hmmm... Bottom line is I have the dime to get the car but do I have the dime it's gonna take to keep it running? Gorgeous 2001 Desert Green TT in Rhode Is. - 6 speed Quattro, price is right (with some haggling) - but the miles.... 110,000. Now, on the plus side, if it has that many on it, it would appear that at least build quality is perfectly fine - but I would have to start to deal with the stuff that starts to fall apart from wear and tear. Still... Hard finding a good AWD Element right now in the 12 to 13 range - go figure the resale value keeps these high - who would have thought with a Honda? Decisions decisions... -Fk

Flitterkill's rides for the last 11 years - 1990 Honda CRX Red Std: 1994 to 1999 1991 Honda CRX Red Si: 1999 to Present - Current Mileage: 170,000 Same car for a long time now - and why not? The Si is quick as hell, and I get about 40 mpg. Yeah! Still... the rust has begun to really settle in, all the *easy* major engine/transmission work has been done and anything from here on out is going to really just not be worth it. Probably gonna need a new head gasket soon (bit of a drip now). The timing belt/water pump is due in another 10,000 or so miles... Hell of a car - I can understand why people would knock on my door and ask if the car is for sale or drive along side me on the highway and ask the same (really - has happened many times) But, the reality is: 14 year old car soon to be hitting 15 It is probably/is time. Practical makes sense but - eh... Toyed with the new Mitsu Eclipses (2006) - the complete rebuild over the past few year's models is so much better but new starting at 18,000 - nah - too rich for my blood. Sweet rides though. Where am I sort of leaning? Three have kind of parked themselves in my brainpan. 2003-2004 Honda Civic Si Hatchback: Keep the reliability and speed, get some more carrying room, can at least appear to be a reasonable choice - something in the 30 to 40,000 mile range would be nice - prob have to see it hit under $12,000 though - would sell the CRX Si if this was the one. Example: 2001 to Present Honda Element: Essentially a Civic with a whole lot of space - funky look, and I do have a ton of stuff (and I will be more mobile over the next few years) - 40,000 to 60,000 mile range probably. Prob have to hit $13,000 or under again but I would *keep* the CRX in this case. Example: 2000 to 2004 Audi TT Quattro: Yeah - Obviously not dropping $18,000 or more, and to be real, I'm gonna have to accept some more miles on the guy, but I'm seeing some out there in the $12,000 to $15,000 range and when I see this car at those prices compared to the "practical" choices above, the two-seater groove I've been in for the better part of 10 years overrides the practical stuff ("hey - I'll just get a beater pickup to haul stuff around - yeah...") Naturally sell the CRX with this one as well. Example: Thoughts? -Fk

Yep -Fk

Hang tight - got a version mismatch on the zombie mutator. Should be up round about 7pm but expect some server downtime... -Fk EDIT: Did I say 7pm? I mean 915pm... Need to flip the ini file and that will be that Expect a minute or two of redirected texture files and the like to DL

Cool - just got home (a pox on 6am to 11pm days) - Full up now so I'll flip it back on in the morn. The thing about the final version of the map is that it requires a zombie mutator: Good: Zombies Bad: Non-Standard server then... Maybe throw the final up with zombies on Sunday and check how we do numbers wise I sleep now... -Fk EDIT: Saw a gap between maps - masks is back on - let me know if map crashes again - I can pull/fix in the morn

Masks for all players through Monday! If you download the mutator yourself and install on your box, you can configure which mask you will always wear by starting an instant game and configuring the mutator locally. If you rely on the redirect installing the mutator when you join our server, the masks are assigned randomly (or default to pumpkin - forget which). http://www.ataricommunity.com/forums/showt...threadid=499150 Masks: Frank the Bunny, Hockey Mask, Skull, Pumpkin. ONS-Torlan-Nights (Night time Torlan variant) ONS-Dinora (Dark sea-side cliff map) Both are in rotation for the next few days to kick up the dark creepy feel Zombies of Nightmare! This takes us non-standard for the weekend but that's alright. 75 spawn at map start invasion-style. They drop candy (pickups) as well 50% of the time. Note that super weapons *are* off on this server - but if a zombie happens to give you a redeemer for candy...enjoy! FYI: The files will take about 2 minutes to DL to your computer - sit tight while they come down. Note on ONS_Halloween: Some servers have an end-of-round crash bug with this map, and we have it too. Confirmed. Sorry - map is out. For the locals who have been looking in here now and then, just an FYI that Nepenthe has been performing just fine with no CPU lag whatsoever - I myself have had some routing issues and packet loss but that's all on my end so a reminder to you b4 you start complaining about lag - take a look at the scoreboard and see if you have super high ping or a lot of packet loss - as usual, the lag is probably all on your end. Happy Halloween! -Fk

Sweetness I, on the other hand, should perhaps have been a little more forceful in the heads up regarding the behaviour - my bad. Ban? She be lifted. Now I can go back to being killed by this guy on a 2 or 3 to 1 ratio -Fk

Phaz - msn, icq, yahoo, aim - "starfoamblue" Lets talk off-boards real quik then bring it back here I got a 30 minute window til 9 then I get kicked out my building and have a 1 hour drive home - I see you idling here so... -Fk EDIT: Gots ta bail - be back to address this at 11pm Central (1 hour drive plus errand or two) or a bit b4 then

1) Play nice now... 2) Fodder - you the same fodder popping in our UT server? 3) You - Alba - we're waiting.... Anytime now.... CS is too slow anyways - come back to the speed... -Fk

Glad ya found us - seems we have finally hit critical mass with this server Although it has been full a good chunk of every day for the past few weeks, this weekend has seen consistant numbers since 3pm on Friday By consistant I mean at least 6 people (and usually substantially more) nearly the entire time (cept for 3am to 9am spans) Friday was atleast 3pm to 230am Sat Sat was 10am to at least 1am (minimum - I went to sleep then) And now Sunday morning, 10am and folks are kicking it off Fantastic! Have fun everyone and welcome again (and if you want to play here but the server is full, remember that we do have reserves for dues paying members - consider joining and you won't be left out!) -Fk

No clue if he ever was a GC member - any one can join these public forums. The tag then says "Group: Member" When they are a dues paying member of GC and not just hooked up in the public forums, then it says "Group: Coalition Member" Dingy has been around since forever - before I ever hooked up with GC - maybe Penty might know more bout him - solid player - GC type all the way - just not a coalition member -Fk

Flitterkill uses the Dell 1100mp as my primary living room tv. Only 800 x 600 resolution but brightness and contrast do not suck at all. Lists @800-ish - give it a day and coupon and it will be mid to low $600 buck range. Bulbs chime in around the mid $200 range, but again, give it a coupon and its down to around $200 Given my/SO's viewing habits, it'll be 2 years before we need a new bulb - I got no prob spending 100+ a year on consumables for a 120+" TV! Sorely tempted to Dreamcast/UT2K4/Atari 2600 (lol) on the thing but have stuck to it and have not done it yet - actually justified the purchase ($660 when I nabbed it back in February) as being not only for TV duty but also for using when I need to give lectures in places not teched-up. Football, of course, is not up for discussion (and our cable went out between noon and 3pm central this past Sunday - feel sorry for the help desk that day...) In the mid-600 range, more than worth it. Next one I purchase will almost certainly have a higher resolution but those models (1024x768) are still locked in the $1000+ range. Anymore Q just ask. -Fk

Just like the main stats package ran by Atari/Epic, this stats package traces players through a unique ID number assigned to your GUID (or whatever). If you change your screen name, the program does not care - it still knows you are you, it will however update the name listed for you. Last match you played on the old Nepenthe was on August 9th. During that match, you used the name "bushwack" sans captial letter - sans GC tag. And thats what is set in the database. You can check this your self with the main Atari/Epic stats page - just alias for a couple matches on servers where you know they are reporting world stats - then go look your self up! Prob get stats up on the new Nepenthe in the next two weeks or so. -Fk