First off, I would to send my congratulations to Duga Arkarso on his receipt of the Sapphire Blade at last Saturday's meeting. While he has been of assistance to Prophet Mav on a multitude of DGM-like things, Duga has been an even more invaluable assistant to me with the administration of the ICTE. I can't always run things, yet he's always there to help me when I falter. So, I would like to publicly thank him for all that he has done and will continue to do for the ICTE's future long after I am gone from the stage of the ICTE's leadership.

Fig. 1: "Duga r pwn!!1111\" 

Next… XvT and XWA in the DB? You decide.:

I've had the chance to play both 1v1, free-for-all, co-op, etc with a lot of XvT and XWA players lately whether via basic melees, combat engagements, campaigns, or even custom skirmishes. New pilots have had fun learning of these old games and the many possibilities they contain. Old pilots have had fun just dusting off their old CDs and having the chance to fly again. Both, alike, have had a lot of fun just getting out there and doing something they don't normally do.

While these games are a bit older compared to the graphics-driven first-person-shooters, I have always believed that they have a lot to offer the Dark Brotherhood, a club that is yet again reaching out for something beyond the monotony of good ole JA 1vs1 duels.

Ever since the Exodus, there has been skepticism about whether or not the old flight sims (XWA = X-Wing Alliance, XvT = X-Wing vs TIE Fighter, btw) could ever again be used as viable gaming platforms for the Dark Brotherhood. There has been a questionable level of success each time someone has tried to push people to get involved. Frankly, they don't have to be the all-star seats of the Sith order as they once were. That is an unreasonable request given the shock-and-awe games being put out these days. However, at the same time, I know that they are far from dead and are far from being removed as supported games of the Brotherhood.

“Why does the senile Dark Adept say this?”

At the last ICTE, I had the chance to help organize and take part in a 3v3 XvT Team MP match. It was the old style imperial FRG vs rebel FRG match for teams. The Malevolent vs Endeavor I think. I can't exactly recall the names or even who won the match, it's probably in the ICTE spreadsheet somewhere. But wow! It was awesome. A 6-player XvT match... a platform we were thinking about removing from the DB forever... Who would have thought it possible? This is an achievement I have not seen since my days with the EH TIE Corps. In fact, I myself have actually never participated in a 6-player XvT game - usually I was a big 4v4 or 5v5 XWA skirmish guy.

For me, this was very inspiring. Taking part in a 6-player XvT MP game made me think twice. 8 months ago, 3v3 matches of any kind were unheard of. Heck, a 1v1 XWA match was unheard of. Saturday, August 13 th , 2005, we had a 3v3 XvT match... Wow. Not only that, we had 15 XvT/XWA matches, 4 of them 2v2s or 3v3s.

Hey, maybe we can't make XvT and XWA an unparalleled success like before, but surely that is no reason to ignore XvT/XWA and relegate them to the past. In fact, I'm going to put myself out on a limb and say the pessimistic analysis of these games' futures in the DB was incorrect. While these are older games, they work with WinXP and are ridiculously cheap. All they require is a joystick - a piece of hardware you can use in a WIDE variety of other PC games. People can and will play XvT and XWA if properly motivated. I think this last ICTE proves it.

Think about it, guys. The resources are available. They may not be free, but they are good games and they are Star Wars games. Flight sims like TIE Fighter, X-Wing vs TIE Fighter, and X-Wing Alliance were the games that helped breath life into this club the Dark Brotherhood over 10 years ago. I challenge you to ask around and learn about what you are missing. In the meantime, think about the facts I've presented. XvT and XWA are far from dead, my friends. In fact, I think they can come back from the dead if just a little.

Dark Adept Pyralis