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Morgan

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Posts posted by Morgan

  3. Posted · Report reply

    Dear Asiafortress,

     

    Due to Tharnos's severe Anthropophobia, 6 Kings is recruiting a new pocket for the up and coming Lan. We will most likely be holding open trials this Saturday in the evening from 7pm onwards. Some of the trials included,

    MGESpire

    MGE Gran

    MGE Badlands Mid

    UltiDuo

     

     We would like to thank anyone in advance for your interest however please note that we will be judging stringently as we hope to advance in Division 1. Please contact any of my 6K members to register or post here.

  10. Posted · Report reply

    Dear Asiafortress community,

     

    After a long intensive discussion with spammah this morning I have decided to give my input on the current state of Asiafortress. In respect of spammah’s advice and not so mild request I have decided to leave out most of my normal gusto and humor and speak on a more serious note. In the words of spammah I shall not be “snarky”. I hope you will take the time to read this very serious article and absorb the points I am trying to bring across.

    I look back at Asiafortress just a year ago and there is a vast difference between the state of the community now and then. I admit though I have been absent for large portions of this year, I have actively followed the progress of Asiafortress as it is something I used to hold quite dear to me. Just a year ago we had an active community, there were numerous social events with great turnouts, a thriving competitive scene and a growing player base well mixed with experienced and amateur players alike.

     

    Lets take a look at Asiafortress in the year 2012

     

    1)      In the competitive scene we had the highest registration of teams every in the history of AFL. We also had throngs of newly formed teams with a generous mix of new and old players alike. We had three very competitive divisions and a great competiton. Likewise with the Mercs cup and various other competitions.

     

    2)      In the social scene, Just last year we had Summers Barbecue, Beach Barbecue and Soccer outings. During these outings I met a lot of old and new faces alike. Cuteboy,pearbomb,synergy and spikycactus are just a few examples of new players who were integrated into the social community. We had a large influx of new players who were becoming actively involved with the community.

     

    3)      The Pug/Casual Scene, Pugs were rampant. We actively had 3-4 servers running concurrently and people playing regularly till 4-5AM in the morning. Offclassing was common but relatively kept in check by the administrators.

     

    Fast forward to December 2013 and lets observe where we are now. Objectively of course.

     

    1)      1) In the competitive scene this year the standards of the competition was hilarious. Our latest AFL, Mercs cup and Ultiduo competition were ridiculed by almost everyone I spoke to. I don’t mean offense to anyone but im stating it how it is. The standard of the respective competitions and divisions were ridiculous to say the least. Most of the former top teams couldn’t even be bothered to actively participate.

     

    2)      In the social scene, I have attended roughly 4-5 Asiafortress social events this year. Including Soccer, Paintball and Dinner. Of the events I have attended I have met 0 new players that I have never seen. I actually even met a player last week that last played tf2 in 2009. Talk about a friendship forged.

     

    3)      The Pug/Casual Scene, The new pug system is in place which I must say is a vast improvement. Occasionally 2 servers are full. Game normally shuts down at 11pm.

     

    Now Ive spent some time analysing on what could have caused this drastic a change in the space of less than a year. Ive come to the following conclusions which you may accept as you see fit or ignore it and be blissfully happy.

    Players these days do not feel connected to the community they are playing with anymore. PLAIN AND SIMPLE. There is no more sense of pride or belonging to a majority of players and we have become basically a place they use the facilities of. No longer a community. No matter how dense one may be I do not think they can ignore this fact. You rarely see friends greeting each other in Pugs anymore ( Trolling not considered ). Neither do you see a very active scrimming community either. I believe this is one of the root problems existing in Asiafortress today.

     

    The above has led to many side effects. Firsty we have seen a large portion of the “experienced” player base leave the community. This has led to a decline in the average skill level of the individual players. If you play with the camels you will play like a camel.

     

    I also believe that the system of old WORKED. There was never a problem with the old system only a problem with a single individual who has since been forcibly removed from the scene. Having more Server administrators mingling day in and out helped to police the servers. It also created a connection between ASIAFORTRESS and the players with whom the players could interact with on a daily basis. You rarely see that anymore today.

     

    I believe one recent catalyst that had a very great effect on the community was the recent removal of administrative powers from the old batch of admins. The new system or reporting this and that in forums etc merely complicates a very simple process. Step out of line and get punished.  I believe that the time left for Asiafortress to change before this community collapses is brief. A view that many others do share.

    This is what I suggest you do.

     

    1)      Bring back the server admins

     

    2)      Simplify the rules so that it isn’t about guidelines or rules. Rather what is logical and in good spirit.

     

    3)      Penalize those with a bad attitude and remove them from the community. They are a cancer.

     

    4)      Listen to the people and the suggestions they make.

     

    5)      Have a central administrator that can reverse the actions of normal admins if you want a level of accountability.

     

     

    Below I have attached some of the current sentiments of some more familiar faces. I hope the community will take this as a wake up call. The problem lies not only in the administrators though that needs reform. But also every one of you who refuses to speak out, say their piece or make things happen. You are equally guilty for any problems as you have not attempted to solve them.

     

    ===========================================================

     

    At first I had the names  of everyone giving the quotes. After that i decided to remove some of the names to minimize the drama.

     

    Teal

    It desperately needs staff but is too proud to take people in. Thinks that newer players are kids and hence, aren't good enough to help out. The Head admin wants to wash his hands off and stick to coding/programming. But then again, only he retains the powers to GIVE powers to people. So its a contradiction. There is no transparency at all, not to the community, not within the admins themselves. No internal communication and I have no idea what the admin team are doing. To summarize it feels that Asiafortress if Mao tze dong and we are his peasants. There is NO fun in Pugs anymore. Its Dead.

     

    Spammah

    8:48 PM - spammah: its in a good place

    8:48 PM - spammah: just needs more staff to help out with its activities

     

    nasty

    8:55 PM - All-Father: hah

    8:55 PM - All-Father: i dun like AF now luh

    8:56 PM - All-Father: its like shit

     

    shounic

    8:57 PM - esp. shounic: I think asia fortress as a community is starting to, and learning to mature

    8:58 PM - esp. shounic: the community as a whole seeems to be a lot of self aware and for the better

     

    ****

    8:57 PM - ****: i got one word

    8:57 PM - ****: SHIT

    8:57 PM - oaueue: a few words

    8:57 PM - oaueue: lol

    8:57 PM - ****: x10

     

    bran

    8:57 PM - IX: would be better with more activities, and more transparent admins

     

    abel

    8:59 PM - littlelionman: i feel that the leadership now have little foresight.

     

    rufus

    To me, asiafortress is like an adolescent child. A community is defined by the common values of the people in it, pros and cons alike. What values do I see in asiafortress? There's no denying the competitiveness that we all have, as well as the "trolls" that we all can be. In that sense, it seems that asiafortress has missed something, that is to enjoy the gathering of friends with mutual goals, be it to get better at a game together or just to be able to enjoy it together. Of course that does not mean that there aren't glimpses of this in the community itself but I would say that there isn't enough due to segregation. Whatever the reasons for this, I don't feel that it really matters. In my opinion, it just boils down to what does the community of asiafortress want to create for themselves in the future, nothing more or less.

     

    _____

     

    10:23 PM - _____.: filled with stupid kids

     

    Halu

     

    10:28 PM - jihyo: In my opinion, AF has finally stepped on the right track with the help from different parties: admins, players, etc. as a player who started out playing tf2 and joining af since is very first start, I am more than happy to see it expanding in popularity. On the other hand, I think we still need more people with greater motivation if the community really wants to develop itself. Having admirable casting the afc 7 finals is a great move as in bringing the Asian scene to the globe. I am looking forward to seeing more changes in the upcoming future

     

    &&&&

     

    10:28 PM - &&&&: hmm
    10:28 PM - &&&&: trying their best to keep the community afloat i guess
     
    Summer
     
    Asiafortress is taking earnest steps to improve on an whole. Even though admin decisions may not always be the best or the most efficient since everyone has different perspectives. The efforts from admins and server coding by nata is app laudable and though they have been accused of not being reasonable they have to do what they see fit.
     
    Teddybar
     
    10:56 PM - Teddybär. 1st time buy mouse: istalematey as no one (or very few) has risen to play at an acceptable/high level of play, resulting in substantially lowered standards in regular pug games
     
    Erio
     
    10:36 PM - erio: stagnant
     
     
     
    =========================================================================
     
    After all research I have come to a conclusion. The community thinks there needs to be change. I hope the administrative team will not be defensive but instead embrace those who are willing to help you. There is rarely any love for the community anymore. The best I have been able to garner is mild reluctance or approval. I think that while the administrative team is taking positive steps and working hard. There are lessons to be learnt here and I hope this will be the catalyst for change.
    • Like 3

  11. Posted · Report reply

     

    I apologise if I didn't make it clear enough from the start with this thread that opponents are allowed to complain. You may note that the first post has been amended yesterday to reflect these changes. However, both shounic and andrew are aware of the fact that complaints are taken from players on either team.

     

     

    On a very serious note I have to interject here. How can you allow an opponent team to complain about offclassing. Every time i get stabbed by a spy ill just lodge a complaint. Doesnt work. Despite the attempts of everyone to ignore my irrefutable logic, this is very very dumb and should be stricken off. With regards to my dear friend caldytron, please see my post where i clearly state I offclass more then usual now.

  17. Posted · Report reply

     

     
    When there were no rules in the past, we've had the best teams - H2H, Vco , AUR by far (UNTIL TODAY). Whilst everyone had their fun, they also had productivity in learning the class and had a great skill level.
     

     

     

    H2H was by far the best.

     

    When you say work to an extent, please remember, what the goal is; the betterment of the community. Simpler clear cut rules, I don't see why then the need to clutter the guidelines with time sensitive restrictions when the "team mate rule" is simple enough.

     

    I appreciate the effort, but I think it is counter productive. I warn against the excessive restrictions for players will take precedents of certain bans and sabotage. Just imo.

     

    Yes 1 rule is enough ( I came up with that rule )

     

    Giving people a set timeline to offclass only encourages the behavior. In fact though i rarely offclass, i find myself playing spy so much more often these days so that teal and spammah will say " Im watching you" then I get the giggles.

     

    You just need 1 rule. Just the 1. The 1 rule that is enforced regularly. Yes you know which one I am talking about. Yup that one.

    • Like 2

  21. Posted · Report reply

    I don't care if you're right or wrong or purple with spots or a camel (like spammah), say this (even as a joke) and I understand people wanting to ban you. Iri is one of the best assets people arguing could change could possibly hope for, and banning those who post like this would be doing his cause a favour.

     

    There's a right and a wrong way to make an argument and a cause, and coming from about as close to an external observer as you are likely to get, the way you post is not the way to make it. Websites such as Teamliquid have a really good level of discussion with the community feeling safe to post unpopular/"dangerous" opinions because of the standards they demand of posters.

     

    logical arguments dont work in asiafortress. sad to say the justice system here is as fair as fuzz's skin tone. this is coming from someone who used to be one of the strongest supporters of this community. but alas ive learnt the hard way that there is no such thing as fair in afl.

    • Like 2

  22. Posted · Report reply

    IM PROBABLY GONNA GET BANNED LOVE YOU ALL

     

    On a more serious note I have to retype all this because I think i hit my post limit.

     

    I have been saying for well over a year to everyone that listen that the general administration and running of Asiafortress should be passed over to Fuzz. In all honesty despite the good natured ragging and insults that we usually throw at him, Fuzz is an outstanding member of this community. I sincerely feel that the work he has done thus far has gone unappreciated in part due to the nature of his ridiculous beard. However the aesthetics of his face should not take away anything to what he has given to this community. He is one of the most helpful veterans left and the only one I feel would be responsible enough to dig this community out of the sinkhole that it is currently in.

     

    Unknown to most, Fuzz is my personal mentor. He picked me out of a pug 3 months after I started to play Tf2 and gave me a chance in the competitive scene. I sincerely credit a portion of my amazing rise to fame from Div 3 to the REAL Div 1 in the space of a year. Likewise as my mentor and one of the founding players of the Allstars, his nurturing spirit groomed me to lead the Allstars to the amazing levels that we reached. ( Tharnos credits his personal development to me too) (as does summer)

     

    In short

     

    Please vote fuzz for king

    • Like 7

  23. Posted · Report reply

    [–]Shounic 0 points

    4 days

    ago

     

     

    Excuse me? There has been a lot of forum activity and admin back room work talking about this. If you haven't noticed a lot of us veterans have been busy improving the quality of our pugs...

     

     

    HAHAHAHAHAHHA SHOUNIC YOU VETERAN

     

    No hard feelings bro, me and spammah were the first to believe in you. keep the strange scatter we gave you close and think of us when you sleep. ( BUT STILL PLEASE DONT SAY YOU ARE A VETERAN)

  24. Posted · Report reply

    Despite being inclined to just sit on the sidelines and watch the drama unfold, I've finally decided to weigh in on this issue after having thought about it for a while; now that I actually have something to add to the discussion.

     

    Progress of the competitive scene being the issue, the two key things contributing to this progress are positive player quality and positive player quantity. I will attempt to avoid getting into a debate on which is more important, but I would say that player quantity is a precursor to player quality. Whether a very small, highly competitive community or a large playerbase with big skill-gaps between teams/divisions is preferred is another question entirely.

     

    That aside, player quantity increase comes primarily from new players entering the scene, and that in turn is significantly affected by the image a competitive scene creates of itself.

    At a more complex level, positive player quality comes from mentoring, team-building and competitive events, among other things. However, the most basic pre-requisite for positive player quality is player retention. How will players improve if you're not retaining players that join the community? While player retention is not affected much by how a competitive scene looks from the outside, it is affected by the nature of a competitive scene, whether that nature is also represented in an outwardly fashion or not.

    Summing up, the influx of new players, and player retention are the two key issues that need to be addressed for progress.

     

    Here comes the crux of the issue; the nature of a competitive scene. You want better quality players? More players? Then work on creating a good outward image for the Asian competitive scene, and work on not actively driving people away once they've joined the competitive scene and would like to be considered a part of it.

     

    As the reddit thread has shown, a lot of potential new-comers see AsiaFortress in a very negative light. While this could simply be vocal minorities spreading vitriol, lack of exposure of the complainants to our competitive scene, or it could be that their complaints hold genuine weight, I think getting into that debate is completely redundant.

    If you want new players to even dip their toes in the frigid body of water that is the Asian competitive scene, you have to make it seem like a hot spring(short term change), while at the same time attempting to make the competitive scene a better place in terms of player retention(long term change).

     

    To continue in the vein of freyja's post, would it kill you to simply be nice, or at the very least neutral? No matter what you do, where you go in life, you're going to run into people that annoy you whether it is because they're unpleasant, naive, ignorant or simply have personalities that clash with yours. You can't yell at or insult every person that annoys you IRL, so why let the anonymity of the internet change that?

    Veterans want newer players to change the way they approach and see the game while newer players want veterans to stop being unnecessarily vitriolic. Here's (what I hope is) an eye-opener; the two don't have to be mutually exclusive. Why should you as a newbie ignore the advice of every other veteran because you've had a few bad experiences? Why should you as a veteran rage at and insult a newbie because of a few newbies that occasionally ruin PuGs?

     

    As to the reasoning behind rage/insults/administrative-action directed at players(new or not), I find the accusation of double standards to be spot on. Kicks/bans being handed out for mere name-calling? Yes, name calling; not even racial/sexual/bigoted slurs.

    Moving onto the kind of abuse thrown around within the community, between veterans and new players alike; what some people consider trash-talk or friendly banter, others consider offensive. Maybe exercise a little restraint and judgement before spouting inane, incessant trash at people. Like someone mentioned, rage is not necessarily a bad thing. I don't see anything wrong with a veteran getting annoyed with a new player for something stupid they did, provided that rage is not unnecessarily offensive, and the rage is followed up by constructive advice. If you're being condescending, you're not doing it right.

    Last, I'm going to mention the attitude displayed by a number of players, some newbies, some veterans at the highest level; the attitude that, "The teams are stacked, so I'm going to sub out/offclass/screw around till the PuG is over". Some of those players then have the audacity to complain about the quality of games or the scene as a whole. It's not realistic to expect every single person to play super-serious every single PuG they play, but what you sow is what you reap.

     

    To name a few of the good examples in this community, we have summer, teal, bran, 2ragic, madman, js and rufus. Those are the kind of people all of you should be striving to emulate.

     

    And no, there's no TL;DR, sorry.

     

    BASICALLY WHAT FUZZ IS SAYING IS STOP PLAYERS FROM LEAVING. HE IS RIGHT! Want to know why some of the most respected players left? (Including myself) Bad administrators. Bias. Unfairness. ( THE UNFAIR BANNING OF MY TEAM FROM AFL FOR A PERSONAL GRUDGE RATHER THEN ANY LOGICAL REASON. YES I HAVE CHATLOGS. THIS WILL PROBABLY GET DELETED)

     

    WALAO PUZZ WHY DRAG MY NAME HERE. YOU MISS ME RIGHT :D :D :D :D

    Thumbs up marly!

     

    Tale as old as time

    Tune as old as song

    Bitter sweet and strange

    Finding you can change

    Learning you were wrong

    Certain as the sun

    Rising in the east

     

     

    http://www.lostgarde...e-play.html?m=1

     

    http://www.gamasutra...e_powerful_.php

     

    Shit bro you are always pure class

     

     

    PS. I have learnt how to use the multiquote button

  25. Posted · Report reply

     

    HOWEVER , IF YOU ARE THE KIND OF PLAYER THAT SHOWS ATTITUDE , COME IN FK AROUND , LEAVE THE GAME BECAUS3 YOU CANT HANDLE , just leave afl.

     

     

    THATS ME

     

     

    to veterans: try to be more accommodating bah, i mean i know some of you have really tried your best in helping (summer, fuzz) - keep it up yeah? if the newer players really don't wanna listen, then just ignore i guess, no use raging! need herbal tea afterwards, now very expensive.

     

     

    Why is my name not mentioned

     

    host a LAN and fite him irl

     

    YOU should really be the last person to challenge anyone to a fight cute little man

     

    Tbh bran , my view of improving is to have someone better than me so that i can sell how bad i am which at this point i already knoe after playing in season 7. Really, right now is the repeat of SCRT vs all stars .............. SCRT vs all stars. I am not saying my team is great by citing that example , me and my team have rooms for improvement and we all are in the process of learning. There arent really enough high level teams to scrim locally except one : Secret Stars. I tried asking ks, mej , go aussie find some good players to know them as a friend but usually none of them want to play because they know ITS A WASTE OF THEIR TIME AND I KNOW IT I KNOW ITS A ROLL. That is how things stagnate. We need flexibility in the opponents we against. Its really the same old players in "Secret Star" be in scrim or mix scrim.

    Please no more comparisons to All Stars or Scrts. Very different levels. But i like you you are a swell guy. You can always play vs godsofgodsofgodsofgods. We are very good when drunk.

     

    PS. I just realised there is a multiquote button

    • Like 1
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