British Overrun Task Force Marine HQ In Prize Delta Sim
by Alphaville Herald on 18/06/08 at 6:08 am
Musket fire downs marine aircraft, silences machine guns – Redcoats rally round the Confederate flag, force Marines off base with superior numbers — next step: possible taxation without representation, Earl Grey tea, crumpets?
by Caine Constantine
On the morning of Thursday, June 11th 2008, the Merczateers pulled their forces out of Prize Delta after a victory over the Task Force Marines — Marines who had just started rebuilding their home in the sim. But as the last Merczateers left for home to celebrate their definitive conquest, a new threat gathered on the horizon, as what first appeared to be role playing redcoats began appearing in the hub.
Roughly 20 invaders – all wearing tags naming them as “British Rifleman,” were assembling. They were not here for anything less than war. And an epic war is what would transpire on the war-torn lands of the Marines. The Royal Army was out for blood. And tea. And taxes. And the King and Queen, of course.
British muskets rule, ok?
When the British first arrived, the Marines could not believe they were for real, with their muskets and their calls for the Queen’s tea. The picture above shows the Brtish army decked for war, holding a position they captured halfway through the battle. But at first sight, their intentions were not so clear.
Cole Pashinin, a truly devoted Task Force Marine, thought they were just roleplayers. Understandable considering some of the first things this army of invasion said. British General Ruin Nefarious, leader of the armed force, seemed like he was interested in a cultural exchange at first.
Ruin Nefarious shouts: We are here to represent the glory of our King. Do not fire upon us! We bring gifts. Beads. Etc.
Ruin Nefarious shouts: WE ARE NICE.
Then came the now famous last words.
Cole Pashinin: o..lol just rp’rs
And then…the King’s red tide let loose its angry fury on the Task Force Marines…
Cole Pashinin shouts: HOLY SHIT
Caine Constantine shouts: THE BRITISH ARE COMING! THE BRITISH ARE COMING!
*You died and have been teleported to your home location*
Taken down by musket shot, I returned as quickly as I could to the battlefield. With more of the King’s soldiers flooding in every second, I managed to get to talk to some of them. My first question was what the men were fighting for – they all had a response.
Ruin Nefarious: For King and Country!
Mikael Khalamov: GOOD SIR.
Mikael Khalamov: WE FIGHT FOR TAXES.
Mikael Khalamov: AND THE QUEEN.
Kazuhiro Schnyder: WE FIGHT FOR THE KING
IcedPhoenix Seferis: AND THE QUEEN
IcedPhoenix Seferis: THEY TOOK OUR WIGS!
Knightblade Fayray: Crumpets and Tea!
Knightblade Fayray: They took our scones!
Knightblade Fayray: they took our friggin scones!
Knightblade Fayray shouts: For king and country, eh chaps??!?!?!
Mikael Khalamov shouts: Righto!
Knightblade Fayray: this is the most epic battle evah!
Eazy101 Wilber: GO GO GO!
One of them, Mikael Khalamov, had been drafted into the King’s rifles only moments before the attack and he told me what was going on.
Caine Constantine: Mikael, can I ask some questions?
Mikael Khalamov: Sure
Caine Constantine: Are you all from different SL militaries joining in on this venture? I see a lot of Ordo Imperialis here.
Mikael Khalamov: Most of them are Ordo.
Mikael Khalamov: I’m the only AN.
Caine Constantine: How did this idea come to be?
Mikael Khalamov: Beats me, one of my friends was just like “Go get a musket and come to Prize Delta”. Plus, TFM is both our enemies.
Soon enough though, he had to leave the hub and charge forth, with his best cry of war leading the rest of the redcoats onward.
IcedPhoenix Seferis: FOR CROOKED TEETH EVERYWHERE!!
Knightblade Fayray shouts: KING AND COUNTRY!
Mikael Khalamov shouts: RAAAH!
British General Ruin Nefarious also put his stamp on the nature of the attack.
Ruin Nefarious: This is what happens when I have too much espresso.
So the differences in the previous and current battles were clear. The Merczateers fought the Marines on a roughly 1 to 1 ratio with their standard weapons. Ordo Imperialis and their supplementary soldiers, who will henceforth be collectively called the British, were all using muskets that fired one shot and then required a ten second reload time. To make up for their 18th century technology though, they had overwhelming numerical superiority – at times ranging from two or four British soldiers for every one Marine.
Their technology left the British only able to fight on the ground. The Marines though, not in the mood to lose Prize Delta to these invaders, had already pulled out a new jet fighter.
As airman jeff Lax landed in the middle of the Marine’s ruined town to survey the invaders, I asked for a ride back to the Marine’s base before the crossfire could gun me down again. He obliged, but the British were in close pursuit.
Intus Infinity shouts: THE QUEEN PROTECTS!
Knightblade Fayray shouts: Let’s show these blokes what limeys like us can do!
One of them, noticing the bright jet fighter, called it out.
Water Halberd shouts: METAL BIRD!
Water Halberd shouts: WITCH MAGIC!
General Nefarious pulled out his own musket and called on the men to do the same.
Ruin Nefarious shouts: CONCENTRATE VOLLEY ON THE AIRCRAFT, GENTS.
Ruin Nefarious: draw
Mikael Khalamov shouts: Righto!
British soldier Synth Fhang had a clear message for the Marines.
Synth Fhang shouts: REMEMBER THIS DAY, FOR IT IS THE DAY WE GAIN YOUR LAND! AH HA HA! FOR THE KING!
It was remarkable to watch – lacking their own assault weapons, the British were actually firing their musket balls in volleys to shoot down the Marines on the ground and even in the air. I soon landed in the Marines’ base, and the scene was still chaotic from the last attack. British troops were already closing in on outward positions and still more were arriving on the scene. Some of them though were less than historically accurate. The first flag on the scene was not the British Union Jack, but rather, the Confederate stars and bars.
British Rifleman Striker Dryke, now readying for another charge up the northeast hill, compelled me to follow behind.
Striker Dryke: HURRY CAINE!
Striker Dryke shouts: FOR KING AND CRUMPETS!
Striker Dryke shouts: FOR THE JEWELS!
Striker Dryke shouts: FOR GOD AND COUNTRY!
Eazy101 Wilber: OI CHAPS NO TIME TO DILLY DALLY!
Eazy101 Wilber: LET’S GET EM!
Striker and his fellow riflemen were charging the same derelict three story compound on the far northeast hill of Prize Delta that had been the first stepping stone for the Merczateers’ attack on the base. His war mask obviously struck fear into the hearts of the Marines.
The assault was staged up a rather steep hill, but the King’s men were not afraid to die in exchange for even a mere few feet of open ground. Striker was soon shot down by angry Marines, but with steel bullets whizzing past his head, and even explosives going off right behind him, General Nefarious was leading even more men in their charge on the hill.
The assault was fierce. Marine gunfire, raining down from two towers guarding the entrance to their main compound, could reach almost any point in the sim, and the King’s dead men were proof of it. But Striker’s inspirational charges motivated the men to rally ‘round the flag – albeit, the wrong flag – again and again and again, and eventually, it paid off.
After this last charge, the British took the compound – but this only meant that the fight was now moving indoors. The Marines still had to be cleared out of the structure, and volley fire was proving difficult with the numbers the British had on site. It was now up to marksmanship to win the day. And as Marine 3rd Admiral Mayra Roffo soon found out, the British had this as well. Running for cover, she was soon taken down by concentrated musket fire.
It was here that the British were gathering strength for their charge upstairs. The Marines’ presence in the compound was scattered, and though their technology was far inferior to that of the natives, the British acted as a unified force and worked their way upstairs.
Clearing out each level, they stopped to regroup on the third floor. I was given an invitation to follow them at this point by British rifleman MikeMurdock McMillan.
MikeMurdock McMillan shouts: There is no reason we can’t be civil. 
MikeMurdock McMillan shouts: come up here Mr. Caine. We have tea and crumpets.
General Nefarious gave me a brief overview of who his men were. From musicians to servant boys and even Hessian mercenaries, they turned out to be a diverse lot.
Ruin Nefarious: You may photograph me. I am General Nefarious, leader of this battle.
Ruin Nefarious: These individuals are my lieutenants.
Ruin Nefarious: And this is my Quarter Boy, Janus.
Ruin Nefarious: Sergeant Schnyder is a Hessian.
Ruin Nefarious: We paid him in cookies.
Kazuhiro Schnyder: 
Ruin Nefarious: Back onto the battle, boy!
Rei Kuhr: For King and Country!
Ruin Nefarious: Corporal Wilber!
Ruin Nefarious: FORM RANKS!
Eazy101 Wilber: TO BATTLE!
Intus Infinity: FOR THE QUEEN, THE KING, AND THE HESSIANS!
It was on the third level where the King’s men posed for an epic shot of their defensive perimeter.
Amidst oncoming gunfire though, they soon had to break ranks and take to the roof, for two reasons. Firstly, Admiral Roffo was back again with a vengeance and the high ground could more effectively provide a strong defense against her persistent and deadly gunfire. Secondly, the King’s messengers had come with new orders.
Ruin Nefarious: Lord Vesperia brings orders, lieutenants.
Ruin Nefarious: We are to take the east tower.
This would allow the British to take out the snipers who had been plaguing them the whole time. As General Nefarious compelled his men upward, British soldiers continued to play their instruments. Their violins and bagpipes continued to counter the Marines’ Shoop sirens still wailing over the chaos of it all.
After I took the liberty of enlightening the men to their historical inaccuracy and giving them a British flag, the King’s riflemen proudly put up the colors over Prize Delta after seizing the roof.
There was still a base to be taken to the west, however. And as all of this was happening – as the British turned the tide towards a victory for the Crown – Cole Pashinin and some of the other Marines still believed this was all some sort of joke and that they were not to be taken seriously.
Cole Pashinin: well…i think its more of a just foolish attack than one to harm us
Cole Pashinin: i mean come on..furrys with muskets..lol
Soon though, through the shouts of Mikael Khalamov, and commanding General Nefarious, even Cole was convinced of the need to go all out on the invaders.
Mikael Khalamov shouts: Volley fire, lads!
Mikael Khalamov shouts: FOR KING AND COUNTRY! CHAAAAARGE!
Ruin Nefarious shouts: RALLY ON THE LINE!
Cole Pashinin shouts:: GIVE THEM A TEAPARTY FELLAS..GIVE EM HELL FROM TFM!
The Marines were fighting but the battle was not going in their favor. Some of them had claimed success. Thompson Aeon, a Marine defender, claimed to have shot down many British riflemen, while angelneko Magic, who had taken part in the battle with the Merczateers, was still having problems. I had given her a free assault rifle during the last battle, and yet somehow she had managed to lose it. The two of them compared their situations.
angelneko Magic: i need a gun
Thompson Aeon: lol
Thompson Aeon: i killed alot
angelneko Magic: i need a gun plz!
At this point, their numbers were starting to thin. Combat in Second Life, where current rules mean you can’t really die, means that most battles are waged with sheer persistence being part of the ultimate path to victory. The Marine base looked like it was soon going to be open to British takeover. Imposing signs were part of all that was left defending it.
With the British by now commanding the highest ground in the area, it was up to them to take the base. British rifleman Sol Cult led the army of the King into the base. Holding not only the Confederate flag, but also dressed and made out to look like a black Confederate soldier, only his bagpipes gave away his true British identity.
Caine Constantine: Why are Confederate flags up here?
Rei Kuhr: One of our British soldiers fell on his head.
Rei Kuhr: Yes. He had an unfortunate incident with a cannonball.
Intus Infinity: Sol Cult isn’t very knowledgable.
Intus Infinity: He thinks it’s a British Flag.
Indeed, from a long distance the two flags could potentially be confused. Later on I was told by a British rifleman that Sol Cult was actually intoxicated during the fight.
Kazuhiro Schnyder: Don’t mind Sol, He’s a tad drunk like usual.
Whatever the case, he managed to evade the fire of the Marines still in the base. And now all that was left for the British – now rampaging through much of the Marine’s base and facing little resistance – was to claim victory. General Nefarious commanded one more barrage of musket balls on the Marines.
Ruin Nefarious shouts: VOLLEY ON THE HILL!
Thompson Aeon shouts:: get your own base!
Synth Fhang shouts: WE HAVE YOUR BASE NOW! FEAR THE BRITISH!
Knightblade Fayray shouts: ALL YOUR BASE BELONG TO KING!
Knightblade Fayray: HAIL TO THE KING, BABY!
And with that – with a bit more shouting and with a bit more gunfire, the British claimed their victory and headed for home, which for most of them was the sim Titan, home of the Ordo Imperialis. They were posing for a victory ceremony there when I caught up with them. Apologies in advance for the grainy shot, but the spirit of victory is evident.
Caine Constantine: Hello everyone, how do you feel about the battle?
Synth Fhang: The kings’ tea was pridefully protected!
Eazy101 Wilber: it was a glorious battle and a win for the queen!
Knightblade Fayray: Jolly good show chaps!
There were numerous remarks on battlefield strategy.
Caine Constantine: What was the British strategy for victory?
Rei Kuhr: Lots of biscuits.
Ruin Nefarious: Our victory was achieved by the pure faith in King and Country.
Krow Ames: Marching in columns and playing loud music with bright colors was our strategy!
Knightblade Fayray: And Tea, musn’t forget that.
To take the picture, which in the end refused to load completely for me, I asked them to maintain their positions.
Caine Constantine: Can you hold position just a bit longer? It is taking me a second to load it all.
Ruin Nefarious: Fighting in a pointless line is what we do best, sir.
Rei Kuhr: Who needs battlefield innovation when we have pomp and tradition!
Would the British army come back onto the military scene for more later on?
Ruin Nefarious: Most definitely.
During the battle, I enabled voice chat so I could hear what might be going on in the background outside of normal text chat. I heard someone cry out loudly the words “FOR HITLER!” after one of the British shouted out another round of “For the Queen!”
Caine Constantine: I heard someone say over voice “For hitler!”
Ruin Nefarious: !
Ruin Nefarious: What?
Ruin Nefarious: Who?
Instantly, at the same time, two of them blamed the same person who had soured an otherwise valiant battle with the Merczateers a couple hours earlier – Marine soldier Neko Zilz.
Knightblade Fayray: I saw that, was one of the enemy
Reiken Birge: That was Neko.
Intus Infinity: Neko.
I always like to find out what opposing forces think of one another after the dust of the battlefield settles.
Caine Constantine: One more question. What do you think of TFM?
Ruin Nefarious: TFM is actually the Colony of Lamestein.
Ruin Nefarious: We are reconquering it for the Crown.
And why did the British visit their wayward colony at all?
Intus Infinity: They had a temporary uprising. We crushed them
Rei Kuhr: They didn’t drink their tea.
DamionStJames Webb: No, [the problem was] they drank Chai Tea.
DamionStJames Webb: Not Earl Grey.
Thunder Rahja: Bastards.
Caine Constantine: So the new rulers of Prize Delta and the Task Force Marines, which you are calling now the people of the Colony of Lamestein, are the British Empire?
Ruin Nefarious: Exactly.
Rei Kuhr: They will be heavily taxed, as a reward.
Afterwards, I was given a round of salutes from the perhaps twenty men in attendance at this point, and as I bid my goodbyes, they gave one last round of cheers for the king.
loki Cramer: HUZZAH!!!!!!!!
Aelus Janus: FOR COUNTRY, FOR THRONE.
Ruin Nefarious shouts: Fuck representation!
Synth Fhang: HOOOOO FOR THE KING!
Kazuhiro Schnyder: God save the king!
Of final mention should be the man carrying the actual flag of the Ordo Imperialis into battle alongside the “British.”
Krow Ames: Make sure to mention our brave flag boy. Water Halberd.
Krow Ames: He kept the flag alive the entire battle.
To be sure, in the face of machine guns and “metal birds,” the victorious British died many deaths, and for one of them to have survived the whole fight is definitely a worthy mention.
I was headed back to Prize Delta to get the Marines’ response to their defeat at the hands of the British. The first person I tried to talk to was angelneko Magic, who had finally found a gun, but was in no mood to talk and was wearing a very interesting blue tag – “FUCK THE BRITISH.”
Caine Constantine: angelneko, how did the battle go?
angelneko Magic: not now sir
Admiral Roffo continued the conversation though.
Caine Constantine: So how to do you think the battle with the British Empire went?
Mayra Roffo: Very well, considering there numbers.
Mayra Roffo: They out numbered us 4 to 1.
Caine Constantine: Was there an overall strategy in the fight against them?
Mayra Roffo: Seek and destroy.
Caine Constantine: How many TFM were in the base during the fight?
Mayra Roffo: 6 or 7 TFM members
Caine Constantine: Wow, the British had perhaps 30 soldiers?
Mayra Roffo: Close to that.
Caine Constantine: Now I saw them briefly take control of the top level of this base. Did this happen?
Mayra Roffo: We had to clear them off.
Caine Constantine: So you took the base back quickly?
Mayra Roffo: For the most part, yes.
Caine Constantine: Any last thoughts on today’s battle?
Mayra Roffo: Every member did well, that’s a victory in itself.
Caine Constantine: Thank you for your time Admiral.
And so it was finished. The British had ultimately won the day. A spirit of undying loyalty to their King and country had overcome their outdated weapons, and now all that was left was to develop their new “colony.” But would the Marines comply with their wishes? Had they truly felt the sting of defeat?
No…it was not to be. The Task Force Marines might have lost this phase of the battle of Prize Delta, but they were not taking orders from anyone, and were not going to be anyone’s colony. And while the British guns were silent for the nigh – they would be returning in force soon to claim what they believed was rightfully theirs.
Vegna Fouroux
Jun 26th, 2008
to address ethan’s point on 16 spartans being killed by 4 merczateers. Mr.Schuman I’m not sure from what planet you came but I dearly wish you operated under the commonly accepted practice of being truthful. This quite simply doesn’t happen. 1 to 1 the merczateers grunt and spartan enlisted are more or less evenly matched. Spartan training operates on a 3 phase system (similar to the merczateers) with sub-phases at phase 3.
Now to further develop on my point the reason Sparta is so small compared to such giants as the Merczateers is =NOT= for the following reasons:
(a) Bruno is a bad leader =he may be but it has little affect on recruitment, hell I barely know Aryte or any ordo personnel and I join, same with lurdan and anthony, I don’t know them as good/bad leaders and neither do the majority of their recruits have knowledge of their abilities.=
(b) Spartan training is superior and requires more effort and commitment and therefore more elite and hardened. =This is not true Sparta’s training is similar to the mercz as I have already outlined.=
(c) Sparta is a renowned military for freebie scripts and stolen technology. = this was amusing, plausible when you have Ethan Schuman throwing jargin at you but when analysed like Avil did quite simply it does not add up.
The reason Sparta is the smallest of the established groups (that is the A.I, I.S and sovereign regime or whatever it calls itself) is quite simple Bruno your group’s equipment looks like lego put it together. it’s a joke. Noob armies have better.
NOW I can already hear the fingers of every single community member of the old school hacking his fingers to bloody ribbons with his typing. Am I a shallow “equipment whore” for stating such? No, ordo and mercz and MC gear looks great. Very professional, attractive. It ATTRACTS the recruits. the nice armor, the sweet guns. however whether they stay or not relies on the SOUL of the group. Sparta has absolutely shit attraction, why would you join when the mercz can offer a cool, nicer experience (to the eyes of the recruit)? but Sparta has a truly enjoyable experience (soul) when one becomes a fully enlisted trooper and the experience has nothing to do with the gear. Mercz have an excellent attraction and (from what I’ve heard from numerous people) experience and soul.
Nothing major really, nothing to do with Bruno (you’ve given him far too much attention in my eyes) just simple analysis. Sparta needs better builders and maybe scripters (the latter not being my zone of expertise) then they will do well as they have an excellent soul/core which being a former officer I can attest to.
=also=
Lurdan and Anthony stop trying to make former Sparta personnel like Atribi and shade (even I got a mention ^_^) your posterboys for your anti-Spartan effort. they the exception believe me people aren’t leaving in droves Sparta has kept its numbers fairly stable since I joined (I.E 50-60).
Ethan Schuman
Jun 26th, 2008
Poor Vegna. That remaining bit of Spartan loyalty is now going to earn you part of an enlightenment meant only for Bruno and other Spartans. With regards to “remaining truthful”, you should probably stop to, I don’t know… verify what I said before calling me a liar? I know you’re taught in Sparta that Bruno’s word is absolute truth and there’s never any reason to question it, but be careful of what words of his you take to heart.
“1 to 1 the merczateers grunt and spartan enlisted are more or less evenly matched. ”
-That right there is probably one of the biggest lines of bullshit I’ve ever heard out of an Ordo member. Sparta has three phases just as Mercz do (a training technique we employed first, which was then imitated by Sparta). That doesn’t make the typical grunts evenly matched. You should look at the content of the training. Not only is Merczateer training far more effective, but Merczateer soldiers see far more active combat than their Spartan counterparts. This experience evolves into expertise. See, where Bruno bans people for attacking while training, we’re USED to being attacked while trained, and the Mladishys will have to assist in the defense of the base. Of course, all this talk is really just opinionated. The 5v5 challenge to Bruno still stands on the field, and as of yet he’s been too busy thumping his chest while cowering in terror at the thought of actually having to back up his words to respond.
“Bruno is a bad leader =he may be but it has little affect on recruitment”
-See Vegna, you’re only partially right there. Bruno himself may not affect initial recruiting, but he definately is the reason why we’ve been able to convince over a dozen Spartans to defect or become double agents for us. So yes, Bruno does indeed have an effect on recruitment… he helps us increase OUR numbers by sacrificing his own.
“(c) Sparta is a renowned military for freebie scripts and stolen technology. = this was amusing, plausible when you have Ethan Schuman throwing jargin at you but when analysed like Avil did quite simply it does not add up.”
-I will begin with a quote from Avil. “I have not extensively examined the new Doru, however, upon a cursory glance, it does appear to resemble both the flight characteristics and logical structure of the Talon flight core which I released. Furthermore, Spartan High Command had, in previous discussions, given me the impression that the modifications being made to the Doru centered around it’s weapon design.”
See? Just by looking at it, Avil sees the similarities. Now upon closer inspection, you will see that the old Dorus instantiate the EXACT SAME (down to variable name) runtime errors as the freebie Talon. Furthermore, blow up a Doru, and what do you see? AN Talon debris. The grav packs you all used to use? Old AN gear. Your capital ship movement core? Yet another piece of “creatively borrowed” technology. I’m sure it won’t be long before this new generation of Spartan weaponry that Bruno has been harping about will reveal itself to be based upon the work of other content developers. Remember again, Vegna: Just because Bruno says something does not make it true. In fact, it’s usually indicative of the exact opposite.
“Sparta has absolutely shit attraction, why would you join when the mercz can offer a cool, nicer experience (to the eyes of the recruit)? but Sparta has a truly enjoyable experience (soul) when one becomes a fully enlisted trooper and the experience has nothing to do with the gear.”
-Correct. Gear has little to nothing to do with a person’s experience. However, having a prideful ego-driven idiot that will sooner close his group off to everything outside it before accepting the fact that he MIGHT be wrong has very much to do with the soul of a group. You can talk all you like about the joys of Sparta, but without action, there’s no entertainment. And if the troops aren’t entertained… they begin to leave, and take the army with them. You see, Vegna, you’ve been gone from Sparta for a little while now, and things have changed since you left.
“Lurdan and Anthony stop trying to make former Sparta personnel like Atribi and shade (even I got a mention ^_^) your posterboys for your anti-Spartan effort.”
-You’re right. Most of the Spartans aren’t leaving in droves. Instead, they’re agreeing to act as double agents and informants to give the Mercz and Ordo constant information regarding Bumbling Bruno, in exchange for a place in the army of their choice when they are caught/Sparta collapses. Sure, we have a few people who are sick of things and outright leave, and we have a few more who are staying in only because we requested they do so long enough to get copies of the new Spartan gear. And that’s just the active people. I’ll have to check the group list next time I have a chance, but the last I saw a good portion of Sparta’s numbers hadn’t logged on in a while. Anyways, my point is this: Spartans ARE upset with Bruno, and you have no place to tell them to keep their opinions quiet.
Mikael Khalamov
Jun 26th, 2008
Thank you, to those of you who a) completely derailed this thread and b) made this a flamewar. It’s shown me why it’s a bad idea to get so invested in SL.
Lulz
Jun 27th, 2008
I agree with Mikael, drama makes me lul. Stop with your ego’s! D:
Vegna Fouroux
Jun 27th, 2008
God is my lord but apparently Ethan Schuman is my savior, “enlightenment” thank you as a former Spartan member I should of course bow to superior knowledge from a person whose never even been in Sparta. (OR COULD IT BE THE 40 OR SO SPIES WHO MAKE UP THE REST OF SPARTA)
In regards to the content of training I fail to see the major difference between the mercz and the spartan’s programmes
Sparta: orientation, then Phase 1 test on the contents of the spartan handbook
Phase 2: basic combat training (inc. flanking, tips, client manipulations)
Phase 3: division specific: Navy: 7 stages, includes obstacle courses, movement, bombing, turret targeting, flight formation (this takes ages to complete) Phalanx: 5 includes adv. flanking, (much better than ordo’s I’ve got to say) SAF: (no idea was never in it)
==Didn’t OMFG leak any secrets hear by the way, this is all opensource on the website D:==
now from what I understand Mercz revolve around a very similar system 1. written 2.basic 3. specific.
Ethan you completely forgot to address the point that if Sparta was failing so much then why have they maintained consistent numbers in their group, they have a steady stream of recruits, I know this how? a few of my best friends are still in Sparta HC. So you have yet to prove why the “Spartan Experience” is so bad. Bruno is rarely online by the by.
Furthermore all this talk of spies, I concede I’m utterly at a loss here, this needs clearing up for me
. what is the benefit of spies in another group? is it the fact that their willing to spy on their own military and that gives the dear old Iron Symphony an ego boost? (not surprising that I.S would employ people of such dishonorable character).
I’m not telling anyone to keep quiet about Sparta, if you want the truth Bruno isn’t the strong personal character your lot make him out to be. Domineering like some tyrant. it’s quite the opposite he’s so easy to manipulate it isn’t funny, I practically handled the demotion of an officer 4 ranks ahead of me through Bruno. How the hell do you think the Alliance Navy keep such a leash on Sparta?
People leave armies all the time the Merczateers have die-hards depart/thrown out frequently like lets say Xyekep Richez, Razor the list goes on. It’s a natural fact in this community the fact that it happens in Sparta does not mean “WIN, THEY ARE FALLING APART” the new fleet ships, recruits would beg to differ D:
Honestly this just smacks of the Iron Symphony failing to do anything with the Alliance Navy, so now they turn their eyes on smaller targets
Ethan Schuman
Jun 27th, 2008
“In regards to the content of training I fail to see the major difference between the mercz and the spartan’s programmes”
-The simple difference is quality, and focus points. Spartan training focuses on the idealistic, romanticized parts of combat, while also appealing to whatever form of “fair combat” has manifested itself in Bruno’s ego that day. Merczateers training touches on those notions, but we realized a long time ago that tactics used in the real world don’t apply very often at all in SL combat. Merczateers training takes into account our much more extensive combat experience, and concentrates on tactical philosophies that are effective in Second Life. Now I’m not saying Spartan training doesn’t have its perks. Parts of the training of Sparta help build esprit de corps, which is beneficial. However, when it comes to actually hitting the battlefield, the concentrated, refined, and much more frequent nature of Merczateer training gives the greenest grunt a distinct advantage over a Spartan.
“Ethan you completely forgot to address the point that if Sparta was failing so much then why have they maintained consistent numbers in their group, they have a steady stream of recruits, I know this how?”
-Funny you should mention that. We just took Crow Carter today, and we’re expecting a handful of others over the weekend. We’re slowly but steadily pulling at the threads that make up the Spartan membership, and we aren’t even actively trying to dismantle it yet. We’re still of the mindset that Sparta is salvageable if Bruno wakes the hell up, and that’s really the outcome that we’d like to see. In order for that to happen, however, Bruno has to realize that his current mindset will destroy his army, and the only way he’ll realize that is if he sees his army shrinking. That is the method we are employing as of right now, but it may change in the near future.
“Furthermore all this talk of spies, I concede I’m utterly at a loss here, this needs clearing up for me
. what is the benefit of spies in another group?”
-”Dishonorable characters”. L. O. L. Starting to sound like your old king there. Iron Symphony maintains informants and agents within Sparta not because we like to know what Bruno’s up to on a regular basis, but to act as an internal influence upon other Spartans to help them see the problems with Bruno, and to show them that blind obedience and faith in an incompetent leader will only lead to Sparta’s downfall. These individuals put a lot on the line, and it’s not to help Iron Symphony… they do it because they love their group and know that on its current path, Sparta is doomed. They do what they know it their heart is right for the benefit of their cause, and that is anything but dishonorable.
“I’m not telling anyone to keep quiet about Sparta, if you want the truth Bruno isn’t the strong personal character your lot make him out to be.”
-While I agree with you there, I’m sure Bruno’s reaction to that assertion from one of his former men will be comedic, to say the least.
“People leave armies all the time the Merczateers have die-hards depart/thrown out frequently like lets say Xyekep Richez, Razor the list goes on.”
-Once again, your ignorance draws you to a faulty conclusion. Sure, Mercz, like all other militaries, have our rejects. If we didn’t, Vanguard wouldn’t have a command staff. The problem with your argument here is that you’ve failed to look at WHO is leaving. Xyekep and Razor are two of the biggest disgraces to ever wear a Merczateer uniform. If they didn’t leave, they would have been kicked, and we are much happier that they’re gone. What you’ve failed to notice, is that unlike with the typical deserters, Sparta is losing its GOOD people. Look at Jordi and at Crow. I honestly doubt Tracy is much longer for Bruno’s leadership. The core of the Merczateers is made up of troops who measure their membership time in years, not weeks. New fleet ships and recruiting efforts are about as effective at addressing Sparta’s problems as a band aid is to lung cancer.
“Honestly this just smacks of the Iron Symphony failing to do anything with the Alliance Navy, so now they turn their eyes on smaller targets”
-Quite to the contrary. The Alliance Navy’s decision to unilaterally declare attachment vehicles illegal in clear violation of the ongoing STABLE talks has done nothing more than demonstrate without a doubt that the Alliance Navy, and those who follow their philosophies, are outdated dinosaurs who find that the concept of combat without vested negative emotion is something they simply cannot handle. All they have managed to do is prove what we’ve been saying all along, and show us that it’s time we stepped up and finished what we set out to do. You are right in one regard, we have been targeting Sparta. We’ve been targeting them for a while. However, our goal is not to destroy Sparta (at least for the time being). No, it is far from that. The Iron Symphony sees a lot of promise in Sparta, and sees Bruno sitting at the top maintaining a fierce choke hold on the advancement of his group. Sparta deserves better than that. Sparta deserves to be the superpower they have the potential to be. But because of Bruno’s methodologies, it is difficult, if not nigh impossible, for any sort of self improvement motion from within to initialize. That’s why the Iron Symphony has begun to interfere with Sparta… if you all can’t become what you’re meant to on your own, then we’re going to start kicking asses until you can and do.
Mikael Khalamov
Jun 27th, 2008
For fuck’s sake, take the flame war OUT of an article that has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO WITH YOUR COCKFIGHTING and instead take it to in-world IMs or something. It’d be nice if for once people actually talked about the matter at hand.
Irritably yours,
-M. Khalamov
LULZ ETHAN
Jun 27th, 2008
“are outdated dinosaurs who find that the concept of combat without vested negative emotion is something they simply cannot handle”
first off I hope to god or what ever that you regretted saying that as you typed that just look at your post full of hate and negative emotions, Ethan if you really believe in the shit that comes out of your mouth I hope to god they find a cute for what ever is eating at your brain.
I mean come on, Ethan of all people preaching about combat not being about “negative Emotion” when he has done more underhand dishonorable shit I’ve ever seen/heard a person do, hell he’s worse then Bush.
Honor something that is totally foreign concept for the Mercz is a way to make combat Fair and there by Fun for both sides.
but I’ll tell you what the Mercz are all really about fun, fun for them and them alone that is why they use impulse in almost every physical object they use there by creating lag in a huge scale. They Spam grunts into a sim, and if one guy gets behind the line they hive queen sending TP to every Mercz attacking and most of them save the TP so you have to sit and camp them when they use the TP again. this isn’t fun or fair combat this is Mercz Lameness at it’s greatest.
LULZ ETHAN
Jun 27th, 2008
Cure*
Poon Voom
Jun 28th, 2008
“that is why they use impulse in almost every physical object they use there by creating lag in a huge scale.”
Yeah, not really getting involved in this. But this last statement is a complete and utter lie. We don’t use impulses in our bullets >_>. Not sure how you think that.
Ethan Schuman
Jun 28th, 2008
Ahh, the troll returns, still too afraid to post under his name.
“first off I hope to god or what ever that you regretted saying that as you typed that just look at your post full of hate and negative emotions, Ethan if you really believe in the shit that comes out of your mouth I hope to god they find a cute for what ever is eating at your brain.”
-Ehl oh ehl oh ehl oh ehl. Just a few hours ago I was in the middle of a voice chat with Jim Herbst, Izaea Qinan, and Loki Clifton. We had a long talk about group relations and interfaction communications, and I’m hoping that we’ve gotten ourselves onto a path that leads to improvement.
“I mean come on, Ethan of all people preaching about combat not being about “negative Emotion” when he has done more underhand dishonorable shit I’ve ever seen/heard a person do, hell he’s worse then Bush.”
-Every ‘evil’ or ‘dishonorable’ thing that I have ever done to the Alliance Navy, EVER, is something that they have done in some size, way, shape, or form to someone else at some point in time. The most obvious of these correlations is that of the link between the Kremlin and Emit Time. Everything else I’ve done, however, also has a precedent that was established as acceptable at a previous point in time by the Alliance Navy through either rhetoric or practice.
“Honor something that is totally foreign concept for the Mercz is a way to make combat fair and there by Fun for both sides.”
-Spend less time trolling, and take a look for a moment at what the core mission statement of the Iron Symphony is. It’s funny, because at the end of the debate with Avil today, Bruno stated it nearly verbatim. It made me look at him differently, and he may just have potential as a leader after all. Didn’t appreciate the whole part where he said something I actually said the exact opposite of, and then calling me a liar, but oh well, crap happens.
“but I’ll tell you what the Mercz are all really about fun, fun for them and them alone that is why they use impulse in almost every physical object they use there by creating lag in a huge scale.” Now, even if this were true (which it’s not), what benefit would such an implementation provide in a system that already lets normal bullets through solid objects? There is none. We don’t use impulse assisted ammunition. You should check your claims before making them.
“They Spam grunts into a sim, and if one guy gets behind the line they hive queen sending TP to every Mercz attacking and most of them save the TP so you have to sit and camp them when they use the TP again. this isn’t fun or fair combat this is Mercz Lameness at it’s greatest.”
-That right there is a tactic we learned right from the Alliance Navy during Crucifix. Us attacking spawn points? Originally we actually did not do that. In fact, we prohibited it. But as it was done to us more and more, especially by lightning quick aircraft flying overhead with infinite bombs, we adapted, and now are ruthless when it comes to blackscreening a defending force.
Dude, just come out on your main and try to deal with me like. You may just be a grunt somewhere, but at least you’ll be able to stand up with some backing behind your name.
Mikael Khalamov
Jun 30th, 2008
Stop the fucking flaming, shite.
Long term effects of fioricet.
Apr 2nd, 2009
Fioricet.
Hard to talk and fioricet codeine. Fioricet plain pill.