Same Salt; Different Fist

Hello Gamers! It’s been a while, but I’m incredibly excited and super honoured to get the opportunity to work with all of you again. I want to thank Mav, Evant, and the entire Dark Council for extending this amazing opportunity.

Just as important: I want to thank Dracaryis for 34 months of incredible leadership, creativity, and mentorship to many members of the Brotherhood who have come across his staff, myself definitely included. I came to him with a silly idea and he let me run with it, which gave me some seriously incredible insight into a lot of the operations of major events. I can easily say that I wouldn’t be Fist today without his help, guidance, and leadership. Thank you, again, Drac for all you’ve done for Gaming in the Brotherhood. Enjoy your “retirement.” (heh, sucker).

Another big thank you to Taldryan for sharing your home with me for the last three years. It’s been a great experience getting to work with all of you, and I can’t wait to see what you can bring to the table in the future.

A huge thank you to Junazee, who is going to stay on as Praetor, and to Aldaric, Justinios, and Rhylance who have been great Magistrates during this transitional period and are also sticking around.

First Things First

Don’t expect massive world changing events under AlarFist any more than we got under Drac Magic. A great majority of the rules and systems we have in place have survived so long because they work. Everything needs tweaking from time to time and I’m going to be doing a review of the RoC. Bubba and I have already started talking about our vision for their presentation and make-up. I’ve spoken with all the other applicants for Fist, and this was something everyone spoke to.

I worked with Juna already and we’re putting together a To-Do list during the transitional period. It’s going to be a busy two months for me because the first thing Mav did was surprise me with a Great Jedi War. Over the first several reports, we’ll highlight some of the changes coming. Some of them are logistical in nature and probably won’t affect the membership, but keep your eye on these reports because some of them absolutely will.

#AskTheFist

I figured that when I started writing this that there might be information that the membership wants to know that I might not include, so instead of guessing, I just opened up a #AskTheFist. So without ado!

Wally asks: Great, now that Drac is gone. When can we expect Pokemon Go for CFs?

You can expect it never. I am going to be forever open to supporting games that are viable PvE, PvO, and especially PvP. If our members play it regularly, together, and it’s trackable, there’s no reason I won’t consider any game. Consider is very different than support, though so keep that in mind.

Junazee asks: With the war coming up without giving to much detail. Have anything you can share with us on what to expect?

I’ve had about 18 hours to think about this (including sleep time), but I’m going to draw on what I’ve seen work and be successful. Brackets generally go over very well. I’m never one to shy away from throwing in something spicy, though.

Turel asks: What's your assessment of the state of the dbgaming community and what would you like to do to further foster that community?

Gaming sees the largest level of activity in the club, because of its ease of access and the many FTP options we have supported. One of the things I want to encourage more of is playing with a variety of people, and not just the same folks, repeatedly. Be prepared for policy to support that encouragement. This said, there is always room for growth.

Turel asks: What’s your vision for the future of gaming in the club?

My philosophy for gaming is two fold. Accessibility and Competition. I want to make sure that there are options for people who want to just play casually, but that we also don't alienate people who really want to be competitive. My policies and decisions are going to be based around this philosophy as much as possible.

Val Cole asks: With the GJW around the corner are you planning on running any trials to games before it? What are your thoughts on Dauntless as a potential platform for the club?

Dauntless has shown incredibly popularity, thus far. Expect a poll on it in the near future, but live support probably won't start until post GJW - IF it gets the activity level we hope for.

Mark asks: Will the DRAConian policy towards stickers and images be reviewed?

GIFs are distracting and cluttering. DBGaming is the only place you can set up PvP gaming and where PvE game announcements occur. GIFs have the potential to clutter up the space, especially on mobile phones. That rule isn’t likely to change.

Gaming Activity Update

Top Platforms for month of May:

No. 1 - Overwatch with 26 Activities.

No. 2 - Battlefront II with 10 Activities.

No. 3 - Apex: Legends with 6 Activities.

GMRG Elevations:

Dek Iron'yikut has been elevated to IV.

Competitions

• GMRG Q2 Competitions – The second set of Q2 Comps are still live until the 21st! Go earn crescents and clusters to move up that leaderboard!
• Planetary Conquest - Jon Silvon of Clan Scholae Palatinae is a running a flash comp 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. 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, or ever.

• 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]

If you have any other questions about the Fist’s Office or Gaming in general, don’t hesitate to fire me an e-mail: [Log in to view e-mail addresses].

Thanks everyone, and let’s get to work!