A Reintroduction

Members of the Dark Brotherhood-

Yes, you read Evant’s announcement correctly. I am Fist again.

Go ahead and pick your jaw up off the floor. No seriously, I’ll wait.

All good? Right. Off we go.

I am excited to be back with the Dark Council and at the helm of the Fist office once again. I want to thank Evant and Bubba for having this much trust in me. To Justinios, job well done. You did some absolutely amazing and creative things during your time as Fist, and you should be proud of everything you accomplished. Now it’s time to go where all old Fists go (which is apparently to the back of the line to wait on another turn).

To the members, regardless of how you may perceive me, I intend to do this job to the best of my abilities and keep what is important foremost in my mind; that being your experience when it comes to gaming.

So buckle up, because just like the last time around, there are going to be some changes in relatively short order. I hope that you are able to enjoy what is to come.

Casual Gaming Concept

The cornerstone of my application was the concept of a “Casual Gaming Queue”. At its core, it emphasizes gaming for fun and broadening the scope of what the members can do for DB credit. From my application:

Intended change: provide a catch-all, low Cluster of Earth (regardless of platform) yielding gaming category that will allow members to submit non-supported games for DB credit.

Discussion: This has been a point of contention for many over the past few years. Until recently (past three years), the games we have supported have generally fit into the same cycle: initial excitement, support, immediate dropoff as excitement wanes. Gamers move from game to game so quickly at this point it is nearly impossible for games to maintain any kind of utilization longevity. Games like HotS and Diablo 3 are exceptions to this rule for an unknown reason. But looking at the last few additions to support, even Star Wars: Squadrons has seen a major dropoff. In fact, SW:Squadrons is the only game added over the past 18 months.

The concept I am proposing here is an open/free for all category for non-supported games. These games will have specific requirements before we could/should accept them. First, there has to be a discernible screenshot. Second, there has to be a clear list of names (playing with another DB member will always be a requirement, I will never recommend solo gaming for clusters). Third, there must be a text box added to state what the name of the game is. Cluster values aren’t going to exactly be high here, and the daily/weekly cap will start out on the lower side.

Yes, I am aware that this has the potential to open up certain Pokemon games, and after 18 months of reflection, I think it's time to let the "no" on that ship sail.

Ok, seriously, stop letting your jaw hit the floor.

Yes, you are reading that correctly. I intend to add a Casual Gaming Queue to the DB that will basically allow you to play any game you want with another DB member. As you can see above, there will be some baseline requirements in order for this to work.

Once I have all the details planned out and approved by the GM/DGM, I will lay out a timeline to all of you for implementation.

I am 100% aware this is a total 180 from things I and other leaders have said in the past. We also said we weren’t moving to Discord. And here we are.

GMRG Scoring

The second change is an adjustment to something I implemented during my Fist 1.0 time. As many of you may recall, I changed from a cluster race model to a competition focused model for the GMRG scoring system. I’ve been watching this for a couple years now, and after some reflection, I think an adjustment is necessary. From my application:

I made a number of gaming reforms as Fist to curb (at the time it was a concern) cluster farming. I changed the GMRG model to focus on competition participation/winning and less on thenumber of clusters earned. I have watched gaming trends since that change was made. While it is having the effect I wanted for the GMRG leaderboard, I have a feeling it may have had the opposite effect on casual gaming, which is something I did not intend.

While cluster farming is down, so is casual gaming. Members simply aren't bothering to game for clusters in the manner they once did. While I do not want to take away the GMRG credit earned for placing in Fist-run gaming competitions, I would like to increase the value for CEs and CFs to pre-reform levels, or 1 point for CE and 2 for a CF.

You really need to get that jaw looked at.

There’s a little more to this than just flipping a switch. I’ll have to work with James on the scoring formula, and I’ll have to work with the Regent on the credit values for clusters. All things in balance and all that. Until this is approved, the current scoring model will remain in place.

Competitions

• Gorefest October 2021 - GOREFEST IS BACK! This one is open to everyone. Earn all the clusters.
• FIST-Slaughterhouse 21 – Cluster Race. Earn clusters, win crescents!
• FIST-Supported Platform-Feel the Force(BF2) play the Assault mode in Battlefront 2, submit your highest single match score.
• Diablo 3 Solo Greater Rift - Korvis is running this one. Create a seasonal character and run the highest solo greater rift possible.
• A Good, Old-Fashioned Cluster Race?" 2: More Clusters for Me and You Bentre is running another Cluster race, for the whole DB!

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.

Helpful Links

• Gaming Information page

• Rites of Combat

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

I applied to do this again because I wanted to. This isn’t about me, it never was and it never will be. This is about this community and making sure you all are able to enjoy it to the best extent possible. That has always been my goal, and for my third time around, it will remain that way. I have never, and will never change anything or do anything in a vacuum without dialoging it.

My DMs are open. My email is always accessible. If you have an issue, you are welcome to contact me directly.

-Dracpool, out.