Hi everyone,
I've played on a lot of servers in my time, and with a lot of people, and clans. I know they come and go like the wind. The reason why I'm posting this and posting it now is because I want to share with you the pride I feel about this clan, this community we've had form with us, and the work that we've done in providing you one damn fine gaming environment.
The DW Philosophy: Fun and Games
Some clans form on the basis of getting the best player they can, looking at stats, and turning away otherwise good people because their shock rifle percentage is not good enough. That's not what we're about. We're about getting people who are good human beings, and who know how to treat others with respect. These are the people we want to have in our family. And hopefully we can grow together as a cohesive unit and become stronger from within. The person is what's important. And that's not just lip service like you might hear from other clans. It's the truth. And you will see this truth unfold in the years to come. We have already weathered many storms, and I'm happy to say the ship is still afloat, that the sailors are still happy.
We respect each other's lives. We are all adults, and have real lives. Some of us (myself included) have families. There are times when things don't happen that are the "best" for the clan. But since we are good people first, and 1337 gamers second,
we handle these types of situations with maturity and grace, we accept the situation for what it is, and rather than harping on the problem, we focus on a solution for the future.
The DW Future: Bright
I can only see good things ahead of us. We are honing our skills in all game types for UT2k4. (and ultimately 2k7) We conduct semi-weekly practices to perfect our games. We review matches and scrims to hopefully learn something for the next match. We have focus, desire, and best of all we're in it together. Most of the guys in this group started as casual gamer types, who were really good people, and I'm proud to say there's quite a few of us who have gotten damn good in the time they've been with us. And the beauty of that is it’s all gravy. We brought these folks in because we like playing with them, period. I'm really happy with each and every one of us, and the fact that we’re able to play and enjoy each other’s company, and grow together. We’re looking to get sharp in ONS, and branch out into other areas as well.
The Servers & SVA: The DW Campus
It all started off with me looking for a place to host our clan. To make a long story short, through game server rentals and co location facilities, we wind up here, with the flagship server, Spam Vikings. And as you can see, I’ve been adding servers left and right. Why? Well I love running servers, and I really like the players we have playing here, and guess what? I don’t want you going anywhere else. I want you to have 6, 8 10, or whatever favorites in your list, and I want 90% of them to be DW servers. I feel like this is a college Campus, and I’ve gotten very used to, and comfortable with the people I see “walking” around the campus. I want you guys to start your games, connect to a server, play 5 different game types, and never have to leave the DW campus.
SVA’s have a special place in this whole thing. You guys are the ones who have shown your loyalty right in your name. You wear it for all to see, and wear it proudly. It means a lot to me to see half a dozen SVAs on the server, playing for hour upon hour.
Usually you will find either a public server with no clan behind it, or you will find a clan hosting a public server. With the latter you frequently get the feeling you are simply a second class citizen, and get kicked the moment another clan member needs to get in. This campus is unique in that we are a clan, but we are also the hosts of one of the most popular servers in UT land. We never put our clan ”leetness” above the pub player, because we were all there once. Hell, there are times when I cannot get into my own server! We enjoy your company. We enjoy playing with you.
The Servers: The Future
The DW servers are here to stay. Take it to the bank.
Come UT2k7, there will be two Spam Vikings 32p servers, one 2k4 and one 2k7.
There will also be a Conquest server capable of handling 64 players.
There will be other periphery servers such as TAM, Monster Assault, etc. for 2k7.
DW will also be branching out into new games where we find interest. There is an exciting new game on the horizon. It is called Cell Factor. It looks very exciting, and utilizes the Aegia Physix card (which incidentally UT2k7 also utilizes). Our plans are to include a server for this as well upon release.
So the bottom line is this: The future is bright for all of us. We’re here to stay, and we’d like you to all be a part of that. Join the new DW Campus and make yourself comfortable.
Rich (TW)
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You can find more information on the Aegia Physx card here: http://www.ageia.com/
See more information about Epic’s dedication to this new technology with UT2k7: http://ageia.vnewscenter.com/press.jsp?id=1141898679428
BFG is leading the technology race. They have a May release on tap for the BFG Aegia Physx Card. More here:
http://www.bfgtech.com/physx/index.htm
And check out this rocking demo of Cell Factor: (Warning, this download is 115 megs, but cool is worth 115 megs, isn’t it?)
http://physx.ageia.com/cellfactor_hd.mov