Message from the Fist

Aloha, DB Gamers! Another short report. Things are relatively quiet right now, so I’ve had some time to look at the

Here’s the TL;DR.

1. GMRG Monthly Competition Update (Monthly Voting Poll!)
2. Anthem
3. StarCraft 2 Removal Warning

GMRG Update

The GMRG Leaderboard now has two months under the new system. While the scoring model is working exactly how I intended, the activity for the individual competitions is much lower than I expected. I attribute this to a couple things:

1. Current competition set is based off a wholly single-player model
2. Competition distribution is out of balance (Mobile and Flash equate to 50% of the available placement points each month), other competitions lack interest or accessibility.

These assessments are in line with some feedback I have received, both in discussions with my staff and members, as well as the overall competition activity.

Because your feedback is important, and member activity is truly what drives the adjustments and updates to the DB’s Gaming systems, I have decided to make the following adjustments moving into 2nd Quarter.

1. Only one flash game OR one mobile game competition will be run each month.
2. One competition will be PvP focused.
3. One competition will be a skill based event for a supported game.
4. One competition will be a basic cluster race for a single supported game.

I know, this looks like we’re doing a bunch of the same stuff. Three of these competitions will be conceptualized and developed internally by my staff. We’ll use activity metrics to help determine which games will see the most overall interest, and we’ll build and run events accordingly.

Here’s the fun part for you: you all get to pick what game we highlight for one of the three competitions.

Every month, I will run a poll in DB Gaming (and only in DB Gaming). That poll will be a list of supported games for you to vote on to determine which supported game we will feature for competitions the following month. To avoid back to back months where the same game is supported, each game that gets the highest number of votes will be removed from the voting pool for a two month period.

Example: Overwatch receives the most votes for March of 2019. Overwatch will be removed from the voting pool for April and May.

It’s our job to provide activity, and for the past 28 months, it is a job I have not taken lightly. When I applied for this position, it was knowing that first and foremost, I owed it to the club to provide continuous activity so there was always something for you to do. I think we do that well. Every single member of my staff (and I’ve had a few) that has served a term has done their absolute best to help build events that are challenging and that will be worth your time to take part in. Now it’s time for everyone in the DB to be part of the process.

Keep your eyes peeled. The poll will go live sometime around the 15th of March and will run for 48 hours. Again, I will ONLY run polls in DB Gaming. This is the DB’s primary hub for club gaming, and it is the only room I will monitor for gaming related issues/concerns. If you aren’t there and you want to be part of the decision making process for next month’s competitions, gaming tests, and competition updates, the join link is available on the DJB website.

Anthem

Anthem has arrived. I’ve seen a good bit of activity/interest on almost every platform (helps that I own them all), so I know people are playing it. I have personally enjoyed flying around like Iron Man in an all-black suit emblazoned with the N-7 logo (Mass Effect: Anthem, anyone?).

That said, the initial reviews are less than stellar.

So while I absolutely believe that Anthem is a good fit for the DJB’s gaming system, I will be holding off on polling for support interest or running any tests until after the first month.

Mid-march is the first update according to the Roadmap that Bioware just released. I think that will be the right time to see if interest peaks or if the game loses players.

So more to follow, and keep on discussing what you like and dislike in DB Gaming.

Just keep it civil, ok?

Destiny 2

Get ready to Drift! Season of the Drifter begins next week. Bungie has released a roadmap and vdoc showing everything we can expect. Check out their site here.

I don’t know how thrilled I am that another exotic hand cannon quest awaits me…especially since it’s Thorn and I spent countless Crucible matches getting destroyed by people with that gun.

I am looking forward to Gambit Prime and The Reckoning. Plus, looks like we finally get to meet the mysterious “Nine”.

Starcraft 2 Removal Warning

It has been nearly a year since Starcraft 2 was last played by a DB member. Therefore, starting today I am instituting a 2 week probationary period for the game. If I do not see a sizeable uptick in activity for Starcraft 2, I will remove it from the library of supported games.

StarCraft 2 has both a PvE and PvP option, and is free to play. If you play the free version and group with a friend that has the paid version, you are able to access all the paid content.

Probationary period ends on 14 March.

Gaming Activity Update, GMRG Elevations, and Pendants of Blood

February Gaming Activity

Climbing up to the top for activity for the month of February is Diablo 3!

Hanging in second for activity was again Overwatch.

Still hanging on to third in activity was Star Wars: The Old Republic! For the month of February there will be New Events going on. Feb 19th - 26th will be DOUBLE Rewards, that’s double rewards, XP and more! So don’t miss out. Check out the SWTOR website for more information.

GMRG Elevations

Congratulations to the following for elevating their GMRG rank in the month of February.

Elevated to VIII: Hilgrif

Elevated to X: Calenhad

Weekly and Saturday Pendant of Blood Awardees:

• 17 - 22 February 19: No Matches Played.

• 23 February 19: No Matches Played.

Competitions

• GMRG Q1 Competitions - Last month for Q1. Go earn crescents and clusters to move up that leaderboard!

• Q1 Gorefest - Gorefest is back. As this only runs once per quarter, I have decided to include it in the GMRG placement event. Only GMRG members may compete in Gorefest, so if you haven’t taken the exam, the link is below. Join in the fun and earn 2x clusters for all DB supported games!

Admin and Policy Reminders

If you haven’t joined the ranks of the GMRG, head on over to the GMRG-History course and pass the exam within the Shadow Academy. Get an opportunity to gain exclusive items, compete on the leaderboard to choose a Dark Council member to protect! (Get their accessory!)

All current Gaming and Fist Policies can be found on the Gaming Information page. I suggest that all members read this page as it has some great info. I will make sure this page stays updated to reflect all current office policies. I do not want to confuse anyone, especially with what is and is not allowed in the DB Gaming Telegram room.

Other items of note:

• The staff has 24 hours from the time you submit gaming activity to approve it. If your submission has been sitting for longer than that, there is a problem. If it hasn’t, there is no problem. The staff do their best to process gaming submissions as quickly as possible, but they are real people with real lives. I do not expect them to sit behind a computer processing gaming submissions all day, and neither should any of you.

• Solo submissions are never acceptable for Clusters of Earth/Fire. My staff and I will reject any that come in. You must play with at least one other DB member, no exceptions. This is not changing any time in the near (or far) future.

• Pendants of Blood are not acceptable for submission to cluster-counting competitions. If we see them, we will remand the request.

• Reminder: Feel free to run Gaming competitions DB wide. Gaming is a slightly different community, and is one of the few that consistently brings club members together outside of the competitive environment. Most of the people I currently game are all in different clans. By opening up your event DB-wide, you increase the pool of possible participants, which could allow for a crescent upgrade!

• Reminder: While I sincerely appreciate having proposals/great ideas sent to me via telegram, please email the staff list (email is at the bottom of this report). I ask that your House and Clan leadership take a look at your proposals before you send them up. This isn’t to add a layer of bureaucracy, it’s because I’m sure they’d like to know how you are trying to help the club improve...helps with award and promotion recommendations and all that. Feel free to cc them on your email to me and my staff.

Helpful Links

• [DB Gaming on Telegram - Log in to view join link] on Telegram. Come be part of the discussion in the one and only official gaming channel of the Dark Jedi Brotherhood!

• Send us an email at [Log in to view e-mail addresses]

I look forward to seeing what game you all pick for the March competitions. Remember, this is your chance to have a say in the events we run.

I will make a decision on polling for Anthem support sometime in the middle of March.

As always, thanks for reading and keep on gaming.

-Dracpool, out.