200 people per day still qualifies as no one playing. There isn't a base from which this clan could draw recruits. It's a dead game. Play it for nostalgia, but it's dead nonetheless.
200 people per day still qualifies as no one playing. There isn't a base from which this clan could draw recruits. It's a dead game. Play it for nostalgia, but it's dead nonetheless.
It's not large enough of a pool to draw enough recruits to revive the clan or anything, but if I can still find a game 24/7, it's not a dead game. And I'm nostalgic for the good ol' days of Halo PC, sure, but that's not why I play it multiple times a week still. There are plenty of games I'm nostalgic for that I rarely play. I play it because it's the one FPS I ever got decent at, and it's still is fun for me to play, and it has my favorite gameplay of any FPS ever, and there are still other regulars from over the years who I play with.
I like owls. Do you like owls? (@v@)
ZA Code wrote:
Things that I think a new game would need is:
- Free to play or if there is no other option priced under 10 dollars atleast
- Low PC specs required
- Easy to learn and no big difference in levels/experience in order for anyone to join in at anytime
I highly disagree with these requirements and here's why:
First off, we're almost all old enough to get jobs now, regardless of the level of income (I make minimum wage, but hey, I won't complain since it's a summer job). That means that there is no excuse for not being able to drop money on a new game. Free to play games are almost entirely P2W (Pay to win, for the casuals) and games under $10 are usually indie games or just a game that is heavily discounted. $60 is the norm for games and if you can't pay that, then you're out of luck. Hell, games like Counter-Strike and Rocket League are significantly less than $60 (CS is $15 and RL is $20, when they're not on sale). There is no reason to not be able to drop that money.
Second, PC specs. If you are running a toaster than can only run Halo, then you should probably upgrade your computer. Obviously I understand that people aren't made of money, but you can easily build a gaming PC that blows consoles out of the water for the same price, if not lower. If you're a gamer then you need to be able to keep up with the hardware that gaming demands, or at least the minimum requirements.
Easy games with no differences is not as big of an issue that I have. I think having a game with a nice learning curve is good because then it encourages players to stick to the game so that they can master it. An example is Counter-Strike. That game is not a game you can just play for the first time and be like "oh this is pretty easy". It takes practice and once you get good enough, the amount of satisfaction you get is unparalleled by a game like Call of Duty, where its a simple point and click arcade shooter. Having different levels of skill and experience also encourages teambuilding. It would be great to have noobs at a game join and have a seasoned player giving them advice so they don't always fuck up in the game.
Carnage wrote:
Since I doubt this “revival” will actually take off and go anywhere, I will get to the point. I have posted similar sayings before but I think they warrant repeating now. Any game that is chosen for this clan to focus on must meet certain criteria.
-Must have many players from which to recruit
-A sufficient number of current clan members that play the game
-Must be new-ish (since ~2012)
-Must be able to have hostable servers under the clan’s control.
This has obvious and in some cases unfortunate implications. Some of you have shitty computers. The reason for this is irrelevant, but it does mean that you cannot play newer games and it also means that you can’t really participate in the gaming aspect of the clan other than to be on the site. Another implication is that money is required to run a server for the clan no matter the game chosen, and I don’t think anyone has a bunch of money laying around to do that with.
I edited the homepage and listed many of the games that people of this clan play regularly with links to them. Even of those, few of them are good options for clan focus games. Clans must offer something to new players that will draw them in. When we were thriving, we had the stats server as our hook, and now we have nothing but the fading friendship of people that played together 5 years ago.
The teamspeak that Dudeman has available for people from ZA to use is only done so by 5-6 current or past members. While I realize that you guys are busy with school and real life things, as often as one of these revival threads pop up lately, I see almost 0 effort or follow through to the grandiose ideas that are often proposed.
Imagine with me for a moment: You are a new player to Garry’s Mod and some weirdo named “Aero” invites you to look at his clan page. You go to this website “Zombie Assassins” (a name which really has no relevance to Garry’s Mod or any game for that matter...) and see that the forums are mostly dead with posts from 7 months ago still on the homepage while the website looks antiquated and dusty. They have no servers save for a teamspeak which seems half dead too. Their website is plastered with Halo stuff, but no one plays Halo and they don’t have a server for that either. You feel like you’re in a time warp to 2009.
Would you join a clan like that? If you answered honestly, why would anyone else want to either?
TL;DR I had to be that guy and sound like an asshole to tell you all that this clan won’t ever come back unless there is serious effort involved from more than just the leaders and drastic changes made to every aspect of the clan.
I agree with you completely.
To rebuild the clan, a HUGE overhaul would have to be made.
Here's a list of some things that would probably have to happen:
Perhaps a name change, unless you can create a new zombies gamemode in a new chosen game. If zombies can't be done, a new name is a must. There is no reason to have a name relating to zombies if zombies aren't going to be what we're doing. To give an incentive for those who still like the Halo/Zombies clan, you can create a new name/clan but give a seniority status for those who were here in the ZÅ days (similar to the veteran tags for admins who are no longer in the clan).
Site Overhaul would need to be done. This goes in hand somewhat with the name change. All images would have to be redone so it is not Halo related. Along with this, deleting all users that haven't logged in since god knows how long would also be very helpful. There's no reason to keep a bunch of severely inactive users on a site if you're trying to get active people.
As you already said, a server would need to be put up. Somebody would have to be willing to drop money for that.
Add on to this as you like, it's just a start.
Despite some people hating me *cough* Star *cough*, I am still proud to say that I am one of the few who goes into the Teamspeak to talk to clan members who I became friends with since before I hit puberty. That's more than most of you can say, since a majority of you just occasionally log into the site just to post in the shoutbox. That being said, if a revival were to happen, I would be more than willing to put in this effort that so many of you lack, but are always hyped about.
Edited by Hobo on 05/21/2016 17:49:28
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Discord, if you don't know it, is a fairly new program I've heard a few people talking about recently. Thought I'd try it out last night for my friends' gaming group and it's great, like a Skype group chat, Teamspeak server, and Xfire rolled into one very nice program, and it's specifically made for gaming.
If we were serious about playing some games again with each other, setting up a Discord server, where we could see who's about, would be the best way, for sure. Even if we don't want to play, it's a good chat room.
Thoughts?
Edited by The Hat of Love on 05/23/2016 13:41:54
my signature broke, here is a fox snek:
We can rename to FC if it gets ninja back. We now have a Discord server what I just set up. Click this link to join the chat:https://discord.g...KfSjBsYgsu.
At the moment there's simply a chat channel, a few voice channels, and a very basic permissions system (member/moderator/leader). If people like using it, we can work on getting it a bit more orgaised.
Also, you might want to download the desktop version of the program - works better for voice chat.
Edited by The Hat of Love on 05/23/2016 17:43:22
my signature broke, here is a fox snek:
Discord is nice, but we already have a teamspeak which no one joins other than a few, why would having a Discord server be any different?
"Hey guys, I just bought this thing called a sight ward...so it's GG." - MasterA in League of Legends
Carnage wrote:
Discord is nice, but we already have a teamspeak which no one joins other than a few, why would having a Discord server be any different?
Because it's a text chat program that you can have open in the background, like Skype or Xfire, but it also does voice for when we need it. I have Discord start up with my computer so I can see whenever anyone posts anything in chat, making it more of a thing where we can just be like 'Hi, anyone around?' and join in conversations when we want — like the shoutbox, but without having to go the site.
I mean, if no one uses it then no one uses it and I'll delete it next week, but no harm, since it's free. It suits my needs better than TS, if that's not the case for everyone, no harm done.
Edited by The Hat of Love on 05/23/2016 19:41:36
my signature broke, here is a fox snek:
Carnage wrote:
Discord is nice, but we already have a teamspeak which no one joins other than a few, why would having a Discord server be any different?
I just said this in the shoutbox.
If we have a man (Dudeman) paying for a TS server why not use it? Teamspeak is extremely good, has tons of nice features, it's customizable, and more.
Teamspeak+Steam is the norm for us really (those on the Teamspeak). It's very useful.
Add me on Steam: hobonoobo
Add me on Origin: hobonoobo
Reason I think people might like to switch over is that Teamspeak is good, but Discord is better. Way nicer UI, really good text and voice channels system, friend and server lists, and it's free so no one would have to pay for a server. I can't think of anything Teamspeak has that Discord doesn't (I might be wrong!), and it lets us chat to each other in text (which is great for me since I only use voice when I'm actually gaming with people).
A text chat is quite a different dynamic to a voice chat, and you can drop in/out at anytime and reply to things a little later on, so I think of it as more convenient.
Everyone I've seen use it so far seems to like it; my friends instantly abandoned Teamspeak when I showed it to them. I don't think it'll split people up, I think that if people give Discord a try, they'll probably switch over from TS pretty quickly.
But I only set up the server as a test to see if people wanted to use it. If people don't like it and want to stick with Teamspeak, I don't mind.
Edit: By the way, I don't mean to be a dick to Dudeman by suggesting we all abandon his server, sorry if it comes across like that. I think it's great that he's paid for the TS server for everyone. I just wanted to suggest a new alternative I've found.
Edited by The Hat of Love on 05/23/2016 19:56:37
my signature broke, here is a fox snek:
Carnage wrote:
Discord is nice, but we already have a teamspeak which no one joins other than a few, why would having a Discord server be any different?
I just said this in the shoutbox.
If we have a man (Dudeman) paying for a TS server why not use it? Teamspeak is extremely good, has tons of nice features, it's customizable, and more.
Teamspeak+Steam is the norm for us really (those on the Teamspeak). It's very useful.
Carnage wrote:
Discord is nice, but we already have a teamspeak which no one joins other than a few, why would having a Discord server be any different?
I just said this in the shoutbox.
If we have a man (Dudeman) paying for a TS server why not use it? Teamspeak is extremely good, has tons of nice features, it's customizable, and more.
Teamspeak+Steam is the norm for us really (those on the Teamspeak). It's very useful.
Why pay if it's free?
Can't poke others. I rate 0/10 for lack of a spam/poke feature in Discord.
But in all seriousness, I just checked it and it's mostly the same shit. The only difference is that Discord can run in-browser. That COULD be problematic for users with Chrome since Chrome is a douchebag and likes to use up as much RAM as possible.
It lacks SOME features (I'll admit it has added more features since the last time I used it) that TeamSpeak has. Among these are poke (that can be useful to find out if someone is AFK), whisper with voice chat is SUPER useful. Along with this, TeamSpeak is VERY VERY VERY low latency, so you don't have to worry about lag.
Honestly, I'll be biased and say TeamSpeak is what I'm siding with.
Add me on Steam: hobonoobo
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Ok, so here's my general thoughts on what we can do with ZA, not necessarily about why we should use Discord. Bear with me on it.
==========
Not long after I left ZA, I got added to a Skype group chat with some friends from high school. We were all gamers, and this chat is where we got together to play games. The reason it worked is because it had text chat. Primarily, the group was was a chat room, a place to socialise. You could throw something out there to start a conversation, and whoever was listening could chime in, at any time. And if enough people were online, maybe someone would suggest a game, you'd move over to TeamSpeak, and spend the evening playing Left 4 Dead or Minecraft or whatever.
That's the beauty of a text-based chat room: you can have it open in the background, whatever it is you're doing, and add to or ignore a conversation as you wish.
The group's not as active as it once was; much like ZA, people have moved on, and the rest of us are busy with either work or university, so we only play once in a while. But we're still going, because we have this text chat. No matter how uninterested we are in playing games, we still talk to each other.
I think that what worked for me and my friends could work for us. Three or four years ago, ZA all had one game in common. When you all play the same game, it's not too difficult to keep a group like us together, provided it's well run and everyone is enthusiastic. But now, there's no game that all of us play. ZA will never be revived as a gaming clan, not with the same people anyway, because we don't all play one game, so there's no obvious choice to replace Halo.
But, just like my group of friends, we still have something in common: we like to talk to each other. Look at the shoutbox, at the 'Whatcha up to' thread, we're just a group of people talking to each other, and sometimes playing games, separately.
If ZA is going to continue in any way, let's capitalise on the thing we have in common and make it as easy as possible for people to talk casually to each other. Like the shoutbox, but something you can have open in the background, a conversation you can join in at any time. And if people join the conversation, in time they'll play games together as well, I'm sure.
So, if we want a way for people to casually talk to each other and play games together, I think Discord would be the best way of carrying on the remnants of ZA. Not only is it a chat room, it also incorporates all the functionality of TeamSpeak, and more. One thing I haven't mentioned is that it also detects what game you're playing, like Xfire did, and it has an in-game overlay. That makes it very easy for people to see what games others are playing, and maybe join in.
==========
Ok, that speech over, make what you want of it. Now, @Hobo:
You're dismissing Discord veeeeeery quickly there =) It does indeed have a lot that TeamSpeak doesn't:
Functioning text chat service (TeamSpeak is not designed for text chat);
Xfire-style game detection and overlay;
Friends list and personal chat;
Ability to be connected to two servers at once: right now, I can see if anyone messages on my friends' chat or in the ZA server;
Modern and intuitive UI (TeamSpeak is 15 years old and it looks it!);
Free!
The issues you mentioned aren't really issues, either. The desktop version is very RAM light, and latency is no problem at all. You're right, it doesn't have a poke, though it does have personal chats between people, and an auto-AFK timer that moves people to a separate channel when they're not there. I didn't know about Whispering on TS, but it does look useful. On the other hand, it isn't a gamechanger, and the Discord devs say they are going to introduce a way for you to talk to a specific group of friends, which I guess would serve the same purpose.
Again I'll say that if people don't want to use it, then whatever. The server is there if people want to just come and chat, and if they don't, then hey, failed experiment. But this thread was about what we can do to revitalise ZA, and I think moving the community over to a Discord server would be the most natural way of doing it.
Edited by The Hat of Love on 05/23/2016 22:30:32
my signature broke, here is a fox snek:
You're dismissing Discord veeeeeery quickly there =) It does indeed have a lot that TeamSpeak doesn't:
Functioning text chat service (TeamSpeak is not designed for text chat);
Xfire-style game detection and overlay;
Friends list and personal chat;
Ability to be connected to two servers at once: right now, I can see if anyone messages on my friends' chat or in the ZA server;
Modern and intuitive UI (TeamSpeak is 15 years old and it looks it!);
Free!
Not that I think Teamspeak is better than discord, but for the sake of information accuracy Teamspeak actually does have most of those things you listed as lacking.
You can text chat, and open text chats to individual people as well.
It does have an overlay actually with Overwolf
There are friends lists and you can add custom names to people along with sending offline messages.
You can definitely be in multiple servers at once, in fact I'm in three as I type this.
It does look old, but you can get skins for teamspeak to customize it and they've added new themes as well that look more modern.
You are correct in that it isn't free, but it could be if someone like me with fast internet hosted a home server, it's just more convenient to use a hosting company.
"Hey guys, I just bought this thing called a sight ward...so it's GG." - MasterA in League of Legends
I would love to join in this revival as I'm free for the summer. And when you guys refer to the player count of Halo PC do you mean the Custom Edition or the regular one as CE gets close to over 1000 players regularly.
