Elite Armed Forces Leave the Iron Symphony for Vanguard’s Sovereign Regime
by caine on 10/07/08 at 10:39 pm
Merczateer operatives unmask and attack the EAF weaponssmugglers, but Vanguard comes in to back up their new allies – resulting in thelatest battle between two old foes.
By Caine Constantine, Herald War Correspondent
A sting operation conducted just a few days ago caught theleader of the Elite Armed Forces – a marvelously named group allied with the Merczateers up tothis point – personally selling leaked and copybotted weapons designed andbelonging to the Merczateers to an undercover agent from that same military.
Shown here, Commander Br1an Razor, leader of the EAF, wascaught in the act of selling Merczateers equipment to a black market buyer byProteus Hand, the Merczateers Light Operative who first uncovered informationleading to the suspicion that the EAF was selling their ally’s equipment.
During the sting, Proteus, dressed in a suit and sportingthe title of someone working as an “1337 Weapz. Employer,” made contact withCommander Razor while posing as someone not affiliated with the Merczateers, andmanaged to purchase multiple weapons, like the Mac-10, the G36, and the Silhouette.357 – all illustrated below – for L$500.
Proteus gave me a chatlog of the event. Commander Razor does not dispute itsaccuracy, though he feels it was taken out of context. Here is the entirety of it, with minorchanges and omissions in order in the interests of clarity and conciseness.
Proteus Hand: but, they’d be nice to have concepts for.
Proteus Hand: like, if I were to get my own guns built
Proteus Hand: if I had something to work off of.
Br1an Razor: I see that simply that there built up alreadyand need scripts then thats half the battle and people in sl dont give 2 shitsabout armies go out to some getto and they buy them just to look cool
Proteus Hand: yeah.
Br1an Razor: so are we on the same page
Proteus Hand: mmhm.
Br1an Razor: so i dont see why you would not want to sellleaked stuff
Proteus Hand: good point.
Proteus Hand: so, how much you want for them?
Br1an Razor: ill give you all of them for 500
Proteus Hand: okay
Br1an Razor: you will have to script them
Br1an Razor: unless you want the ones we did
Br1an Razor: let me get them
Br1an Razor: alot are
Br1an Razor: let me dig them up
Br1an Razor: i want to make sure there full perm
Br1an Razor: ill fix the settings
Proteus Hand: that’s good for business, actually.
Proteus Hand: now that I think about it.
Br1an Razor: make sure there full perm
Proteus Hand: congratulations.
Br1an Razor: np
Proteus Hand: Sting operation, complete.
Proteus Hand: check my tag.
Br1an Razor: i see it
Br1an Razor: and i realised
Br1an Razor: that you know
Br1an Razor: that most of sl has these
Br1an Razor: leaked guns are all over
Proteus Hand: which is a violation of ToS, and is a bannableoffense
Proteus Hand: not to mention, you just broke the Mercz EAFalliance.
Proteus Hand: Kommissariat will be pleased.
Proteus Hand: one step closer to killing the leaking ring.
Salamis
and Badnarik, underwent extensive remodeling, to talk to the Merczateers aboutthe EAF incident.
Merczateers Màrshal Anthony Lehane told me about how thealliance between the Merczateers and the EAF began – and how it ended.
Caine Constantine: So what happened with the EAF incident, MàrshalLehane?
ALOT
-.They would call us for backup when like, one guy was attacking their sim. Everytime, we’d send a small squad or some ADto clean it up.
Anthony Lehane: That’s how things have been going for theentire alliance. But recently, one of mymen heard a rumour that their leader, Br1an Razor, was selling and distributingleaked/copybotted Mercz gear.
Màrshal Lehane reviewed the chatlog with me and explainedagain how the operation had worked, saying that Commander Razor had left thealliance after he was exposed, and that attacking forces from the Merczateerswere immediately inbound for retaliation.
Anthony Lehane: With that, and the log, Br1an silentlyresigned from the Iron Symphony, and our alliance.
Anthony Lehane: The very same day we issued a large scaleattack on EAF. It was to the point where Br1an was av-flying around trying totake out our swarm, but AD easily picked him off.
Anthony Lehane: Later that day, they attacked the MilitantCollective, which we provided support, and immediately tore them to pieces.When they left, we then joint-op’d them with MC and crushed them once again.
Anthony Lehane: At that attack, however, Christoph and VGwere backing them up.
And so as quickly as he left the side of the Merczateers,Commander Br1an Razor immediately found new and willing allies in the VanguardArmed Forces – who showed up to defend him in force. The Merczateers eventually claimed victorynonetheless.
Anthony Lehane: Nevertheless we still had a very successfulassault – the EAF alliance was one our officers urged us to end, anyways, as itwas causing problems.
In fact, for most of the duration of the ill-fated alliance,both officers and rank-and-file soldiers in the Merczateers were tiring of whatthey called their “noob ally.” TheMerczateers seemed happy to be rid of the Elite Armed Forces – but was EAFfeeling the same way? I decided to go toSouthwest Seaport, their home, to find out.
The base had a destroyed city fraught with a nexus of sewersand ruined buildings, which seemed doubly fitting considering it had sorecently been subject to a massive attack from their vengeful formerallies. It was still under attack byother forces when I arrived on the scene, but the battle had died down to thepoint where I made it into the base and received an audience with CommanderBr1an Razor.
I wanted to start by getting some information on the EAF forreaders who may not know much about the group, as it is fairly new to theSecond Life military community.
Caine Constantine: What is the EAF all about?
Br1an Razor: well we are allied with Vanguard and TFM welike to keep allies down to have plenty to fight we are a group of friends thatformed a army group so we are all good friends
Caine Constantine: So how old is your group?
Br1an Razor: we are about 3 months old
Caine Constantine: And how many members do you have?
Br1an Razor: last time I checked it was I believe 70
Caine Constantine: So what is the EAF working on currently -any projects or plans for the future?
Br1an Razor: yes aircraft and weapons we are looking to workon the divisions as well
Caine Constantine: How so?
Br1an Razor: I have unlike many other groups allowed mygroup to be more active in the decisions I dont want to be a person who says dothis and that I would rather have the team bring Ideas to the table
Caine Constantine: You are trying to create a moredemocratic group?
Br1an Razor: I want the people to feel its there army notmine I would rather provide and let them run with it and look back at what theybuilt not just me
Caine Constantine: So how successful have you been in combatso far?
Br1an Razor: well we have made a name for our selfs prettyquick for the short time we have been a group, mainly because we all enjoyhitting one location to the next but keeping a respectful out look tword ourfoes
While I was tempted to ask him if a respectful outlookincluded selling the other group’s leaked weaponry, I chose not to in favor ofkeeping a peaceful air to the interview. He was quick to condemn the Merczateers as a social club, and deniedbeing at fault for any of the problems with the leaked weapons.
Caine Constantine: I heard you used to be allied with theMerczateers.
Br1an Razor: We were with the Iron Symphony but felt thatdoing that did not allow us to have many to attack so we broke alliances toonly have a few
Br1an Razor: there a good group but not that active theremore of a social group where we like to attack more
Caine Constantine: I see. I talked to Màrshal Lehane, whotold me you left the Iron Symphony because of your allegedly selling leakingMerczateers equipment.
Br1an Razor: This is not true, yes like many other groups onhere I was given open source Mercz gear which there own people with in theregroup had leaked and given to Christoph the leader of Vangaurd, bad bloodbetween those to groups caused the leak of all there weapons
It would do well to explain a clear a fact Br1an pointedout, one that every party to this incident – EAF, Merczateers, and Vanguard –freely acknowledges. These weapons havea bitter history behind them.
Tangent Eponym, a former Merczateer General, resigned fromthe group in frustration and gave a multitude of its latest weapons designs toVanguard Führer Christoph Naumova. FührerNaumova then gave the weapons out freely to anyone he felt like giving them to,dispensing them into groups and to individuals who would do well to havethem. He openly admits to it too as amatter of normal conduct in response to Merczateer provocation – a topic thatwill be discussed in more depth in the future.
Christoph Naumova: I seriously gave them to people I knewwould leak them all over.
Eventually, these weapons reached Commander Razor, who soldthem back to their creators and sparked a new war. But as he continued on with the interview, justthen, an invading visitor broke into the compound.
Aryte Vesperia: Hi Caine!
And just then, in a stream of lead and a puff of smoke,Commander Razor was dead. Seemingly onhis own, Ordo Imperator Aryte Vesperia had taken control of the base. He was quick to ask the EAF back into thebattle after gunning a few more down.
Aryte Vesperia shouts: That’s fifteen.
Aryte Vesperia shouts: Who’s next?
Eventually after another wave of EAF troops broke into theunderground area where I had been conducting an interview and was now watchinga lone gunman hold his own in hostile territory, Ordo Imperator Vesperia wasshot and out of the area. Or was he?
In fact, he had been ejected from the land and had neveractually been killed. This is a pictureof him stranded at the edge of the sim, at which time he sent me the copy ofthe phrase he received ejecting him from the land. It was a rather unorthodox way for EAF to winthe battle against the lone invader – using land powers to do so and all – butit was effective.
The interview now continued, with Br1an talking to me nowabout his new alliance with Vanguard, and his complaints about his old one withthe Merczateers.
Caine Consantine: So you’re now allies with Vanguard – whoapproached who for the alliance?
Br1an Razor: Christoph – he tped the Task Force Marines andthe Elite Armed Forces for a meeting
Caine Constantine: So he came to you with the alliance idea?
Br1an Razor: yes, a few weeks back, but we took him up onhis offer 3 days ago
Caine Constantine: So he originally wanted you to split withthe Merczateers and the Iron Symphony?
Br1an Razor: Im here to fight not talk
Br1an Razor: The mercz said to me that they were not in SLto fight, that they were a Social group. this made me leave them
Br1an Razor: we never got any back up from them while in theIS
Br1an Razor: out of the whole time with us they helped us 2times
Commander Razor was quick to account for how fast he could "call on" Vanguard troops to save him from any trouble he might encounter.
Br1an Razor: I can call on Vanguard and they will help atthe drop of a dime
Br1an Razor: thats what I call Alliances
Br1an Razor: more of a fight for power
Br1an Razor: pluse Chris did leak there guns lol
The interview by this point had mostly been finished, butsomeone else was going to end it for me. Commander Razor had me under heavy guard to prevent future attacks fromtaking out either party of the interview.
But Imperator Vesperia returned in a jet, landed aboveCommander Razor’s compound, and killed all of his guards. He stood facing the entrance to theunderground bunker, again killing anyone who tried retaking the position.
Meanwhile, EAF soldiers were busy guarding the interior ofthe base – still held by the Imperator – from other invaders.
Eventually, Imperator Vesperia left, and with CommanderRazor finished, I went on to talk to the third party in this incident. In this later interview with Führer Naumova,he denied that there was any sort of orchestrated plan to lure the EAF out ofthe alliance with the Merczateers.
Caine Constantine: Br1an Razor told me that you had beentalking with him for a few weeks prior to the alliance, trying to get him toswitch sides. Was there any previous contact?
Christoph Naumova: Naw, more like three days
Christoph Naumova: Random IM like a week ago
Christoph Naumova: He just randomly IM’d me and asked aboutan alliance
Caine Constantine: To your knowledge, was this before theincident that ended the alliance?
Christoph Naumova: Or doing anything like allies should
Christoph Naumova: It’s just sad Vanguard helped more in oneday then the Merczateers did in an entire month.
Caine Constantine: So what did you tell him at the time?
Christoph Naumova: Well, he and bennyboy (TFM leader) askedabout joining the Sovereign Regime
Christoph Naumova: And, honestly, there was no globalconspiracy or anything
Christoph Naumova: I was truly just like "Sure, whatthe hell, I’ll give it a chance’
Caine Constantine: Yes, I wanted to ask because peopleclaimed that it was an attempt by you to pry them away from the Merczateers.
So then the question was simple – who was telling thetruth? Commander Razor’s own statementswere directly against those of both of his benefactors, past and present. He presented a picture of Vanguardencouraging him to break the alliance with the Merczateers.
But why would Vanguard – unquestionably, a very capable andpowerful military force, once very proud of the fact that it had no allies –worry about a group like the EAF? MerczateersMàrshal Lehane had some ideas as to why this could be the case.
Anthony Lehane: First, I’m sure Christoph would love anoutlet to have his men shoot at Mercz, because right now we’re in a combatblockade with them. We don’t go to Supox, they don’t come to our…3 sims.
Anthony Lehane: For Br1an, he needs another big group tomooch off of when things get tough for him. That’s why he gave Christoph landrights to his sim.
Anthony Lehane: So he was doing all the banning while Br1anav-flew around screaming.
Caine Constantine: Wait – how extensive are these landrights?
Anthony Lehane: I’m not sure, but Christoph DID ban people,so. I’m guessing Christoph requested full control.
Caine Constantine: So he’s looking for a fight, but you guysare still blockading him.
Anthony Lehane: Yeah. We’re not gonna let VG presence duringour assaults stop us, however. We plowed through them.
Caine Constantine: Do you think there are any other motives?
Anthony Lehane: I think Christoph just needs to get histroops killing stuff. A lot are leaving right now due to either boredom,racism, or excess lulz and stupidity. Looking at his documents and charters Ican see he’s starting to really try to crack down on those problems.
Führer Naumova saw things quite differently in a follow-upresponse to the Merczateer claims about the state of Vanguard.
Christoph Naumova: The whole reason I allied with EAF andTFM is because they came and asked me. Although now that I think about it, itdoes give me a chance to further limit the people they have to attack, causingboredom and drama on their part.
Christoph Naumova: As far as people leaving VG and mydocuments goes? Nope, we’ve still gotall the people I care about and we’ve gained 20 more in this week – So really,it’s unfounded.
Christoph Naumova: Not to mention after handing Mercz’ assesto them after having them caught on tape sithacking in Cheerful Rising duringan assault, I’m sure he’s just annoyed over that.
Christoph Naumova: Haner needs to grow a pair and stopliving in ignorance, and see the full light of things.
The Elite Armed Forces are in fact a group that, in itsshort history, has already found itself wedged between two of the titans ofSecond Life’s military scene. It is amilitary whose leader at this point has thrown his lot completely in with thatof Vanguard – and has no qualms about admitting that they are perhaps hisbiggest asset. I asked him about what hethought of the Merczateer invasions of the EAF sim, Southwest Seaport.
Caine Constantine: So you won each battle?
Br1an Razor: we did not I feel the credit should go toVanguard and TFM they were a big help
Caine Constantine: Oh okay, that’s very fair of you.
Br1an Razor: well its the truth
Caine Constantine: So do you see yourself and the EAFsticking with Vanguard into the future?
Br1an Razor: yes we would have it no other way
Caine Constantine: And do you feel like they treat you asequal partners?
Br1an Razor: I feel they do unlike the Mercz did, the merczseemed condescending
Caine Constantine: Do you plan on any more allies then? Or are you sticking with the TFM and Vanguardforever?
Br1an Razor: I want to keep it with just them I feel we needno others we like to fight
Caine Constantine: So you stand with the Sovereign Regimeuntil the bitter end?
Br1an Razor: yes
Caine Constantine: Thank you for your time, Br1an.
Br1an Razor: thank you
This incident with a comparatively new military digs up anold and continuing story – that of the war between the Merczateers and Vanguard– of bitter foes, with a history, membership and even leadership that are tiedinextricably to one another.
The story behind the war between these two groups – on andoff the battlefield – and the personal vendettas among many in the groups isthe next part in this series about two of Second Life’s most powerful militaryforces, and those caught in the crossfire between them.
Garin
Jul 10th, 2008
Like always!Great article!
Aryte Vesperia
Jul 10th, 2008
I love the pictures of my unrezzed pants. But awesome, Caine. I’m amused!
Zrazor Rozenstrauch
Jul 10th, 2008
“So then the question was simple – who was telling the truth?”
Well,
“Br1an Razor: yes, a few weeks back, but we took him up on his offer 3 days ago”
I was present for the meeting from “a few weeks back,” which occurred between Br1an Razor and a couple of VG Generals. Christoph wasn’t online at the time and I don’t believe he was even made aware of it. Additionally, the proposal that EAF should leave the IS and join SR was just a suggestion which Br1an said he would take into consideration. We simply let him know that the option was out there should he become dissatisfied with Iron Symphony and that high horse upon which they seem to be perpetually seated. There was no active effort to pressure him into switching alliances.
Simple as that.
Proteus Hand
Jul 11th, 2008
ahahaha, Cheerful rising.
I’m surprised Vanguard had the kahoonies to tape that, especially since it was like, 4 hours of their leader spamming a wall of bullets into the spawn.
I really want to see that on youtube.
PLEASE Tell me you made that.
Anon
Jul 11th, 2008
OMG
TL;DR
Who gives a crap about one pompous delusional group selling freebie garbage to another?
Poon Voom
Jul 11th, 2008
Very good article Caine, a little long, but that was only for the better.
Izaea Qinan
Jul 11th, 2008
EAF leave Iron symphony and trade in stolen crap, and then ally themselves with Vanguard.
Vanguard manages to take under its wing a new army that already has a history of misconduct without batting an eyelash.
Hum.
-IQ
Blade Syakumi
Jul 11th, 2008
Mister Razor is most ignorant and a complete liar. In spite of all the facts put up in the article, with proof and quotes, we denies it still. Basically making an farce of himself and his ‘army’.
-Syakumi.
Yawn
Jul 11th, 2008
I love how the Herald now posts areticles that are only interesting to like 10 people. This whole Army thing is kinda stupid. There is no war, your guns shoot prims that don’t do anything. Yay for being gay and stupid.
Weasel Blackadder
Jul 11th, 2008
Mercz a ‘social group’? I found them such good fighters that I joined up.
Mo.
Jul 11th, 2008
Caine, keep up the articles.
Sol Cult
Jul 11th, 2008
In before Artemis… yes, I did it, whoo hoo!
Vanguard
Jul 11th, 2008
Vanguard Rules.
Br1an Razor
Jul 11th, 2008
Well, never the less the ordo member you see in the picture had gotten in our bunker by prim sitting,and as far as Vanguard not going to the Mercz sims they cant they are banned.
When I left IS I was asked my a mercz why would you leave? I told him not enough action his statement was “Mercz is not on SL to fight were a social group”.
About 3 days later when Mercz opened Appledore, Tfm and EAF witnessed there army shot into the hub non stop this was the biggest noob act we had ever witness people could not even spawn with out being sent home.
Proteus Hand
Jul 11th, 2008
In response to the prepubescent “Yawn” that I read across just recently, might I refer to a response to a similar lulzcow that Izaea Quinan berated a few months ago.
The member counts of SL range something around like… 500 people, and it continuously gets bigger. The reason why it seems like nobody is interested in it, is probably because the military communities are tight knit, and seen as griefers to everyone else.
Do you know of any “club” or “community” that can even hold a candle to the military scene, good sir?
I sincerely doubt it.
And I really do apologize for my vehemency, but if there’s one thing that we hate more than one another, it’s those that would, in their minds, place masturbation to a series of 3d Rendered sprites in freebie animations above a massive, dynamic, and entertaining roleplay such as ours.
Anonymous
Jul 11th, 2008
“Do you know of any “club” or “community” that can even hold a candle to the military scene, good sir?
I sincerely doubt it.”
In terms of sheer drama and public bitchiness? Maybe the goreans or furries.
Jumpman Lane
Jul 11th, 2008
@ yawn. d&d tard nerds need crap to do to. but i f i were them i wouldnt TELL anybody. hehehehe.
Axel Eppeston
Jul 11th, 2008
Great work Caine. I thouroughly enjoy reading your articles and look forward to reading your next one.
Being a member of Vanguard, I am apalled at the fact we have allies who are willing to sell copybotted goods to anyone who wants to purchase them.
Hopefully the criminal will be banned from SL for good.
=)
Vegna Fououx
Jul 11th, 2008
Great article.
I hope EAF understand that the sovereign regime isn’t an equal alliance it’s a protectorate
with Vanguard as the blanket group (being the biggest by a large margin and the biggest group in SL military on a whole)
however we (that is the Pan Slayva Coalition ) welcome them to S.R and look forward to helping them develop their group
Neo Citizen
Jul 11th, 2008
Reads like a James Bond novel. Never mind who the people involved are, it’s pulp fiction at its finest.
Who the fuck do you think?
Jul 11th, 2008
Ok….
first off i find it funny that these reporters suck Mercz dick way to much. Seriously is Caine Constantine and Lurdan Huszar a couple?
Second of all i think its kind of pathetic thw way you guys argue. Have you forgotten why people join SL militaries? Its certianly not to argue witha bunch of lonely kids who hide behind stupid ban lines.
When you decide where ever you want to be an SL army that actually fights or a fucking political group that argues consistantly please inform me.
EAF are here to have fun, it seems people like mercz simply are here because they dont understand the meaning of ‘fun’. They are bored at their sim. The amount of stuff they do just to fight this boredom is quite funny.
Oh and for the record….Grammar doesnt mean you cannot left click on your mouse to fire a gun or even that you are dumb.
If anyone has a problem with what i said keep it to yourself. Unlike you i do not exsist only on SL to argue.
And as for these sorry ass reporters, i understand that you have to make the story even more intresting but lying through your teeth about stuff that actually did not happen might make you get praises from your boss, but with these lies you give false vision of the truthful story and make people seem to be bad, and this is why i refuse to talk to you.
Philip Ljoke
Jul 11th, 2008
Ok….
first off i find it funny that these reporters suck Mercz dick way to much. Seriously is Caine Constantine and Lurdan Huszar a couple?
Second of all i think its kind of pathetic thw way you guys argue. Have you forgotten why people join SL militaries? Its certianly not to argue witha bunch of lonely kids who hide behind stupid ban lines.
When you decide where ever you want to be an SL army that actually fights or a fucking political group that argues consistantly please inform me.
EAF are here to have fun, it seems people like mercz simply are here because they dont understand the meaning of ‘fun’. They are bored at their sim. The amount of stuff they do just to fight this boredom is quite funny.
Oh and for the record….Grammar doesnt mean you cannot left click on your mouse to fire a gun or even that you are dumb.
If anyone has a problem with what i said keep it to yourself. Unlike you i do not exsist only on SL to argue.
And as for these sorry ass reporters, i understand that you have to make the story even more intresting but lying through your teeth about stuff that actually did not happen might make you get praises from your boss, but with these lies you give false vision of the truthful story and make people seem to be bad, and this is why i refuse to talk to you.
Philip Ljoke
Jul 11th, 2008
How funny that the SL herald does not post my comment.
does the truth hurt? or the fact that the stuff i said about you and mercz is true??
Artemis Fate
Jul 11th, 2008
Out of curiosity, since I see these “We handed their asses to them” and “We plowed through them” and “We’re undefeated” comments, coming from every military a lot (which how does that work by the way? Every military seems to think they’re undefeated): what constitutes as a “win” in SL army with the laughable combat system? In real war, it’s whoever retreats or runs out of people first, but in SL without a shared ground, only the attacking force has the capability of retreat, and neither side can run out of people, since they infinitely and instantly respawn. In video games, there’s usually some sort of capture the flag or kill counter (Whichever team gets 50 kills first), but as far as I know none of these Militaries do or keep track of that. So how exactly do you guys qualify “We totally won that!” in battle?
As far as I can tell, you guys fight till you get bored and leave, then both sides declare themselves the unquestionable obvious victors of the battle by far, and start throwing around terms like “We crushed them!”.
parrhesian
Jul 11th, 2008
these vapid articles are nearly entering spam territory.
GreenLantern Excelsior
Jul 12th, 2008
“When I left IS I was asked my a mercz why would you leave? I told him not enough action his statement was “Mercz is not on SL to fight were a social group”.”
Well if some random Merczateer said something, it must be true for the whole group, right?
Caine, the Herald is lucky to have you and so are the readers. Your research is impeccable, as is your writing. I can’t wait to read the next article in the series.
LikmaiWoodget
Jul 12th, 2008
Caine, great article. Keep up the good work!
IntLibber Brautigan
Jul 12th, 2008
Artemis,
Generally speaking, defeat of a defending force is measured by the fact that you, the attacker, have established air superiority, have trapped the defenders in their core fortress/barracks, and then enter and kill them repeatedly in their spawns.
An added bonus is when one defender has to tp/login elsewhere, comes in through the hub, and then uses an aircraft to bomb the invaders out of the base with bombs with 20-32 meter blast radii (or, extra extra special, use a 96 meter blast radius Dr. Strangelove bomb to do your dirty work, but only the AN does that). That is the ultimate sign of victory for the invaders, defeat for the defenders: breaking every rule to get the enemy out of your base.
If you are the defender and the invader cannot get more than 100 meters from the telehub area repeatedly (without you spawn camping the hub area, which should be a separate parcel that is no-object entry), is unable to establish or maintain air superiority, and particularly is unable to get a single attacker into your base building, then the defenders have won and the attackers have lost.
As for sithacking: some militaries make it impossible for enemies to enter their base, either having only one very small well defended entranceway, or none at all, typically group-only teleporters are used (TFM for instance). In such a case, breaching charges are used that allow you to move 5 meters at a time through a facility, wall by wall, door by door, and engaging in close-combat all the way. That is not sithacking.
Now, if you use alts to infiltrate, say, Mercz, as mladshys, and use those alts to sithack into your own base while you know you are filming such sithacking, is that Mercz cheating, or you being a low down sleazy scumbag?
Bruno Ziskey
Jul 12th, 2008
“enter and kill them repeatedly in their spawns.” ah, the stupidities of spawn camping. Totally unnecessary, and yet idiots like Mercz do it. Another reason Mercz don’t support “fair, fun” fights since if they did, they’d do what Sparta does: block the doorway of the spawn so they people cant get out, and move on. This way nobody gets spawn camped intentionally and tempers won’t flare up and ban the spawn campers, which ALWAYS makes the defenders call themselves “victorious.” The obvious stupidity here is that if you’re being spawn camped, you obviously can’t defend yourself.
Artemis Fate
Jul 12th, 2008
@IntLibber
But here’s the question, with those situations do the losing squad just end there and admit defeat? You mention an Alliance Navy nuke used when the Alliance Navy loses, which would suggest that someone has seen it in action. But I know at least from one person, Nanao, that the Alliance Navy has declared itself “Undefeated in combat”. So it seems like what constitutes as “win” and “loss” is very shaky.
Ethan Schuman
Jul 12th, 2008
Artemis, with all due respect, Nanao has demonstrated time and time again (and I’m not talking about the babyrapings) that he lacks the ability to clearly define and formulate logical thought. His opinions really aren’t the best things to go off, given his warped perception of pretty much anything under the sun, as well as his laughable victim complex.
Oh, congrats on the wedding tommorow, Bruno. Will your dress be red, or are you going with the traditional white? I kid, I kid. I hope things work out well. With regards to your fair, fun fights, the offer for the five vs. five battle is still on the table, and you have yet to even acknowledge it, let alone give an answer. It’s so tragic… you actually DO have some good ideas and concepts to bring to the table. If you’d stand out on your own instead of settling for a position as the AN’s lapdog (as well as shrugging off that retarded concept of “They’re our enemies! They hate us!”), you may actually find yourself equaling, if not surpassing, the Alliance Navy. That’s something to think about.
ex-AN
Jul 12th, 2008
the major reason why the AN believes it’s “undefeated” is because unlike the mercz and other combat groups that the people will start to drop out of combat and start bitching, the AN on the other hand will grow in numbers and do not back down no matter how close out numbered, or out gunned they are. And they do not resort to banning every one under the sun because they are winning. Now bans do happen but not in mass like the Mercz Ordo and MC and any of the other combat groups that I have not listed.
like just today, the mercz had gone against their own agreement about air combat that they made with the AN in banning the AN AD from their land.
simple difference between the AN and Mercz, AN try to follow the rules of combat while the Mercz try to change the rules to get one up on their enemies.
Ethan Schuman
Jul 12th, 2008
Every time a member of the SL military scene mentions the “rules” of combat, especially the AN, I bust out laughing. Newsflash for you all:
SL combat is a GAME. A -GAME-. Granted we create our own weapons of war, but the fact of the matter is that you are sitting behind a monitor with a keyboard and a mouse playing a videogame. Now, the stuff that goes on off the battlefield, the negotiations and such, where people interact with one another… that part isn’t so much a game, as the people are real. That’s where things get into a greyscale.
In an ideal world, all the military groups would recognize this. Combat would be about fun, and fun alone. People would treat one another with respect, and we wouldn’t NEED arms treaties and the like because we’d all be responsible enough to police ourselves, and think about the people on the other side. That’s the reason Iron Symphony does not have a single written document. We have a set of standards we’ve all agreed upon, as gentlemen that respect one another, and because of this we can adopt ourselves and our tactics dynamically, making combat between IS groups much more enjoyable, and fun.
The very fact that the Alliance Navy requires a specific, binding document to regulate every detail of how they engage in combat (especially in a world where you are limited only by your creativity and resourcefulness) speaks volumes of their lack of maturity. Years ago, the Alliance Navy planted the philosophy that enemy combat groups are ENEMIES to be treated with animosity and to be driven to destruction. That is a philosophy that the community has tragically embraced and allowed to become standard, and it is a philosophy we must rid ourselves of if we ever want to advance beyond what we have right now.
Even now, it’s virtually impossible for a member of an Iron Symphony military, especially a commander, to speak directly to the leadership of the Alliance Navy (one member in particular who does not need to be named) without being taunted, disrespected, insulted, and ignored. This would be unacceptable even if the Alliance Navy had the military power to compete with the Iron Symphony. The fact that either of the IS superpowers could dominate Dorien with only a fraction of their forces just makes it comedic.
We need to move to a standard of behavior and combat where opposing forces treat each other with some degree of respect and sportsmanship, and stop being so “serious business” about our relations. Consider this an open challenge to the Alliance Navy and the rest of the Ascendant Initiative. Put your silly rules and your hatred aside. Start talking to other leaders not as enemy soldiers, but as human beings who play on the opposite side of the game field, who are out to accomplish the same thing you are: fun, enjoyable combat. Police yourselves not by a silly, outdated document, but how your opponents engage. (Bruno, I’m calling you out especially to make good on what you say, and giving you an opportunity to do so). If you all really require hatred, spite, and malice to enjoy your game, you need to turn off the monitor, walk away from the computer, and re-evaluate yourself, and your priorities in life.
IntLibber Brautigan
Jul 13th, 2008
Actually, “ex-AN”, the AN have a long list of banned mercz members due to AN getting owned in Dorien, not due to any illegitimate combat.
Its a fact that mercz have the most restrictive rules to their own combat actions and weapons uses: no trackers (bullets or missiles), no bombs with blast radii over 5 meters, no phantom or shieldbreaker bullets falsely named ‘damage’, no sit hacking, no jet packs, grav packs, or movement enhancers other than full airframe air vehicles.
For those who want to see the AN breaking the rules to clear out Dorien from being overrun by Mercz, here’s an example of Luca Vasilopta using five count em, FIVE Dr. Strangelove bombs with 96 meter blast radii, to clear out Mercz who had completely overrun the entire base at Dorien during Operation Crucify This:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=RRyBjTZlaUs
NOTE: the only reason anybody was able to escape the blast in this event was because Dorien is a crappy class 4 sim, AN cant afford to upgrade it to a class 5. The sim was lagged to hell by hundreds of ANs own skymines, as well as the physical vehicle movements, among other issues (thousands of bullets that dont die quickly enough, etc etc).
Here’s more on Operation Crucify This:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=GQTl2GuHpps
(Thats me in the Xenu head, strictly for the lulz of course!)
NOTE: Another common tactic by our enemies when we are overrunning their sims is to ban us, or even restart the sim, obvious abuse of land power for military purpose, hence the end of the action in this video.
AN have taught the tactic of using 20-32 meter radii bombs to clean out their own base to other groups in the Assendant Inertia. This tactic means “we suck, we suck ass so bad we cant root you out face to face like Mercz always do on the rare occasion anybody makes it into their base temporarily, so we have to use cheap means…”
Jason Backer
Jul 13th, 2008
I’m from the AN and to say the AN never looses in my eyes would be ridiculous. Of course we don’t ‘win’ all the time, but we don’t ‘loose’ as much as is claimed after every battle.
Somewhere along the line the whole point of the article got lost. This isn’t an article about AN. Nothing to do with us. I think using every opportunity you can to smear the group speaks volumes about your own maturity.
———
Back on topic. Leaked gear… not good. Hope you get it sorted… Metal gear.
Tomie Baran
Jul 13th, 2008
Razor must be Brunos alt or something…there cant be two that delusional people existing.
lol wtf
Jul 13th, 2008
tl;dr
Steve319 cao
Jul 13th, 2008
Couple observations here firstly Vanguard have been banned by nearly every civil group on the grid so EAF TFM if you much now rely on a criminal greifing force to protect you enjoy dieing slowly also EAF 70 members is not accurate if you look at there numbers a little closer you’ll see the likes of bennyboy ball and other prominent members of other sl military I suspect instead there active members is probably closer to 30.
Next with regards to the IS were not perfect we have communication issues however I would rather be allied with IS than AI after seeing what both groups had to offer IS treat even its smaller groups with basic respect even the smaller factions such as U.N.I.T and R.I where as when I remotely try to communicate to any senior member of A.I for even a basic quirey the convocation normally goes along the lines of fuck off learn to spell LordBob being the exception he is normally a nice guy. again personal opinion but I enjoy combat allot more with the IS groups.
Now finally to the subject of AN I don’t think we should Judge the whole group on nanao and harlequins very poor standards because I genuinely believe without those two members AN wouldn’t have as many problems as it does but facts are facts quite simply AN did make use of there doctor S.T.R.A.N.G.E.L.O.V.E bomb for any way they try to justify it they violated STABLE end of argument.
now what ive posted here is only personal opinion but watch the likes of ziskey and go come and have a pop at it thus proveing everything I just said.
Steve319 Cao
U.N.I.T AD Commander
Vegna Fouroux
Jul 13th, 2008
Once again the article has gone off topic and turned into a AN vs. IS topic.
Ethan how can you talk about being civil to one another and then turn around in other forums and comment boxes and talk about Nanao’s only right to life is the fact that he serves the country’s miltiary, wow some hate there wouldn’t you say?
Also on the subject of military treates, YES they are vital. Here’s why. I’m new to combat, I join a new military, new military has no idea how to conduct itself, very confused, subsequently gets banned from most military military sims, someone hands leader STABLE (IM: you’re doing it wrong) leader reads STABLE, “oh so thats how to fight in Second life”, everyone smiles, group prospers, the end.
AN serious business? yeah Ordo Imperialis pretty serious bsns too.
And Bruno accept ethans 5 vs. 5 offer it’s disgraceful that you won’t back up your pomp and rhetoric when a challenger appears.
If it were up to me I’d have an outside organization regulating every single group with inspections and not let your bullshit continue. But that’s just me.
What’s this about a wedding? BASTARDO. I own your parody group! where was my invite
Ethan Schuman
Jul 13th, 2008
To your first point, Vegna, my dislike for Nanao has nothing to do with the SL military scene. I won’t waste your time with our history or why I think that son of a bitch needs to take a bath with a half dozen toasters, but I -DO- want to make it ABSOLUTELY CLEAR that my opinion of Nanao does not reflect or influence my opinions of the Alliance Navy. While in fact there are some things about the Alliance Navy that I do not agree with, that is due to a difference in ideologies, not dislike of their members as people. If you’ve ever talked to him over voice, Jim is a pretty funny guy, and easy to get along with. While I disagree with certain parts of his leadership method, I don’t think he’s a bad dude by any stretch of the imagination.
Now, on to why STABLE, and other documents like it, are flawed and will never work. Before I stopped associating myself with the Merczateers, we were well on our way to creating an entire new division that isn’t even remotely touched upon by STABLE. The shitstorm behind the attachment Uriel was the perfect example of why STABLE doesn’t work. Someone came up with a new concept, a new type of weapon, and it took two weeks for the AN (yes, the AN. Not the STABLE signatories, just the AN) to convene and discuss the concept. That was one new system. ONE. And that system had the bonus of being EXTREMELY beneficial to all parties involved because of the low amount of lag it produced. How are the members of the Ascendant Initiative going to react when they see Iron Symphony’s new battle fleets, Infantry 2.0, land vehicles, and the dozens of other new weapons and ideas we’ll be bringing to the front?
The Alliance Navy earned their name and claim to fame by coming up with new, radical concepts and ways to engage in combat. For a long time, the AN was the only military with airpower, as well as a respectable naval group. They pioneered those ideas. Had we had something like STABLE around back then, the AN’s progress and creativity would have been greatly hampered. STABLE not only tries to regulate tactics, but it tries to regulate that which cannot be restricted, and that is the human imagination. The flexibility of Iron Symphony makes its strongest showing here. When a radical new technology hits the field, it takes all of two minutes for the commanders of each group to say, “This is what we have. This is what it does,” and “Alright. We’d like it if you didn’t use it this way, for this reason.” There’s no formal conferences or conventions and four hour debates about how it should reload. It’s a quick, verbal agreement based on respect and communications between the groups. Not only that, but it avoids the hypocrisy of STABLE, which while SUPPOSEDLY being founded as an agreement between a group of militaries, is pretty much run, maintained, and altered unilaterally by the Alliance Navy.
Instead of allowing one group (a group that is out of touch with the combat community and is desperately struggling to preserve their last shreds of importance) to decide and regulate in concrete terms how we as a whole engage one another, we should have the maturity and sense of responsibility to ourselves and our members to speak to other commanders and deal with things as human beings playing a game instead of lawyers.
“Here’s why. I’m new to combat, I join a new military, new military has no idea how to conduct itself, very confused, subsequently gets banned from most military military sims, someone hands leader STABLE (IM: you’re doing it wrong) leader reads STABLE, “oh so thats how to fight in Second life”, everyone smiles, group prospers, the end.”
That right there is more proof of my point. If instead of trying to rely upon rules and regulations, we focused on sportsmanlike conduct and respect, there wouldn’t BE ban lines. There wouldn’t BE concrete regulation of weapons. There wouldn’t BE drama. A new group could rise up and immediately get into the fray, without worrying whether they were STABLE/IS compliant. And most importantly, there wouldn’t be groups that are founded upon and thrive on the strife between the groups. We all know who I’m talking about.
My last point is directly to your remark about Ordo being serious bsns. Well of course they are. Having been a part of the original foundation, I can tell you from firsthand experience that the people that became Ordo, as well as their leader, were forged in the fires of hatred, arrogance, and disrespect of the Alliance Navy. Many members of Ordo still remember quite clearly how members of the AN (who are still around today) treated us in our early days, and that’s something that’s not easy to forgive or forget without a mutually established dialog that does not involve a covert objective of ego stroking. The Alliance Navy only has themselves to thank for the current state of Ordo, and only when they are ready to talk like men will they be able to change it.
IntLibber Brautigan
Jul 13th, 2008
Jason Backer,
One of the main problems in the SL military community that contributes to the vicious cycle of drama is the hostile and toxic way that AN treats everybody, the way they manipulate treaties they write for their own personal advantage rather than to benefit the community as a whole (SLSALT and STABLE are identical in this fashion), and the constitutional incapacity of AN’s admirals to have a civil conversation with the Ordo leadership. Its not that hard, Aryte’s a nice guy, easy to talk with. I know Jim seems like a nice guy too, I dont see the problem with opening dialog between the two groups. Grow up and get it done.
As for the specific problem of equipment leaking/theft, thats the toxic influence of Christoph Naumova. His people (Lance LeFay specifically, among other members) have been operating under Christophs orders for some time to try to hack the vendors of Operations to try to undermine the economic base of Mercz, to copybot their equipment. All this evil has Christoph at its root. If you were to ask me who were the three most evil people in SL, two would be Christoph (none are in AN, tho a few members seem determined to make the list).
yawn
Jul 13th, 2008
There are TONS of groups larger than 500. Like i suspected, you twirps are playing guns in a game that really doesn’t support it. You all are funny and gay.
R. Lee Squirmy
Jul 13th, 2008
LISTEN UP MAGGOTS!
YOU’RE ALL RETARD SHITSTAIN NERDS!
KILL YOURSELVES NOW!
DO YOU HEAR ME PRIVATE INTLIBBER PYLE?
The Gunny
General Drama
Jul 13th, 2008
Yawn,
The only military group larger than 500 isn’t really an SL combat group, they are an RP combat system group of teens, playing Star Wars RP (Grand Army of the Republic). The largest real SL combat (I.E. Linden Damage) groups in SL are Mercz, Ordo, and Vanguard (half of VGs members are alts of other groups keeping tabs on the griefing).
R Lee Squirmy,
Int’s not a private, he’s the Red Land Baron….
R. Lee Squirmy
Jul 13th, 2008
I SINCERELY DOUBT THAT ANY BIPLANE COULD GET AIRBORNE WITH THAT MASSIVE SACK OF AFTERBIRTH RIDING IN IT!
AT EASE SOLDIER!
The Gunny
R. Lee Squirmy
Jul 13th, 2008
THAT GOES FOR TRIPLANES TOO, FOKKERS!
The Gunny
Zrazor Rozenstrauch
Jul 14th, 2008
I would just like to take this opportunity to say that I love each and every single person who has ever left a comment in an article pertaining to SL Military politics and/or drama.
Thank you all so much. Without your long-winded and grandiose expressions of how much you hate each other’s group tags, the Milfag scene would not be nearly as entertaining for me as it is.
Special thanks go out to Caine for writing such stellar material. Keep up the excellent work!
ILU GUIS <3
Salone Runo
Jul 19th, 2008
“Couple observations here firstly Vanguard have been banned by nearly every civil group on the grid so EAF TFM if you much now rely on a criminal greifing force to protect you enjoy dieing slowly also EAF 70 members is not accurate if you look at there numbers a little closer you’ll see the likes of bennyboy ball and other prominent members of other sl military I suspect instead there active members is probably closer to 30.”
Maybe I’m just not thinking correctly now.. Nah.. Gotta be me.. Cause you said that Vanguard are criminals and banned by every “civil group”. Vanguard has a “blockade” with Merczateers.. And Ordo.
I have personally not found/have been told a reason of why they have done this. Since I, being a long time member of VG haven’t seen a single weapon/explosive/vehicle unfair to military standards.. I see drones.. Phantoms.. Fucking everything from these other armies. And from Vanguard we are called “griefers?” If you are such a great spy.. Infiltrate VG.. Its pretty funny the laugh we get when spies are infact found.. And we don’t give a fuck.
Nothing to hide in Verklund.
———————————
Now I was at EAFs base defending during the.. “revenge raid by mercz” they left in under an hour and were sourly ass fucked to put it in the best words. I went back to Supox laughing on how one of the top militaries on the grid was taken down by around 3 VG.. And EAF.
Have fun with your fucked up imaginations about Vanguard.. But if you want some truth.
Fill out an application.
clarkey123 aabye
May 13th, 2010
I was in EAF i was actually in the background when we had the security around brian, the thing is we didnt know where he was getting weapons from i was the one who had to script the planes the way brian wanted them and id never get credit for them.. yes brian sold them saying he was going to make alot of money but i told anthony and lurdan that brian had been trying to sell weapons the reporter has the right story later after this article was written br1an razer escaped secondlife….