A note from the Editor. Ladies and Gentlemen, The past few months have been very difficult for myself in real life with advanced work commitments, family issues and a lot of other personal goings on. I would like to formally apologies for being unable to fulfill my commitments to bring you a newsletter out every month, but I would like to thank all the fantastic support I have received and all the submissions I have received from everyone, you guys are all wonderful and I’m sorry all your hard work went unpublished. I would also like to thank my team for sticking with me through this and helping the team as a whole pull through. Without you guys this Newsletter wouldn't exist right now. This edition is a general catch up while we get back on our feet, so I do apologies for such a short edition. Thank you all for your continued support by reading the newsletter! Newsletter Division Commander, MAJ. Monohell
TAW on the Social Media Scene The community of TAW is expanding outward massively by means of social media. We are involved in Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, Anook and Twitch. Currently there are almost 900 followers on our Facebook page, gaining new followers on a fast pace. If you are interested in checking out any of our social media listed above; all you need to do is click on the appropriate link on the TAW website. They are located on the top left corner of the TAW website.
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Gameforce 2014
Several TAW members have attended this year’s Gameforce on October 4th in Antwerp, Belgium. This has been the launching year for this convention and was a big success with big companies attending such as Sony, Nintendo, Ubisoft and loads more.
We have seen a lot of interesting things such as this oversized Nintendo controller (It actually works!) And regional League of Legends championships, having the top LoL
teams from the Netherlands and Belgium
And of course, Arianni stay away from playing against a professional StarCraft player.. and losing within 13 minutes. Still worth!
Of course, we can’t forget about the cosplayers, who have been just stunning, take a look for yourself!
More pictures on the next page!
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We are proud to announce to you that the SOCOP division has officially integrated Plug.DJ into TAW! Make sure to check out the Music Lounge in the Social Operations section of Teamspeak. You can choose to either chill and out listen to the music - or be a DJ yourself! Can I be a DJ? Definitely! And if you hang around regularly, you can get promoted to a resident DJ. How does it work? It’s very simple! You join us on https://plug.dj/taw-net/ and create an account. Once that is done you should see the lobby, where you can create a playlist in the bottom right corner by browsing through Youtube video’s. Once you have selected the songs you would like to broadcast, just hit the “Join wait list” and wait for your turn to DJ! More information can be found in the channel description or e-mail Arianni@taw.net
More Gameforce 2014 Photo’s!
A few of us have stayed for the after party at Outpost, unfortunately we didn’t have the time to make any pictures. We were supposed to start with a League of Legends event at 20:00, but unfortunately - typical EUW servers- the servers went down at 19:57, I do not kid you. Sooo.. we sat around chilling, playing Trackmania, Archeage and World of Tanks for a couple of hours until we could finally start our League of Legends event at about 23:00. Two Belgian members from the LL division and myself, Arianni, have lasted till the bitter end with the event lasting till 4 in the morning. Unfortunately, trains didn’t leave yet when we arrived at the station around 4:45AM, so guess who had a lovely chat for about an hour.. yup, us three survivors. I want to thank Geodriehoek and Scrax for the epic brawl, it was amazing and I have really enjoyed it! We had an amazing time together, and I hope that this inspires other TAW members to go to events like this together. Everyone that attended has been rewarded with a “TAW GameForce participant 2014” tab.
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In the Scope Interview with BGN Arianni Let's get to know you - can you describe yourself in five words? Lady-bacon, awesome, caring, creative, bossy Tell us about your history in TAW. Back in September 2012 I joined the League of Legends EUW battalion. I remember that the division had a massive amount of over 200 members back then, so obviously I got to know quite some awesome people, and still have contact with some of them & playing games together. During my time in LL3 I have been a squad leader most of the time, with the best team name ever: DJ Pony After being in LL for about 9 months, I have decided to transfer to the Neverwinter division, which was in vanguard at that time. As I have offered my full support, I have quickly gained ranks within the EU battalion, stepping up to DI a day after transferring. One week later I accepted the XO position. Beginning of September 2013 I finally stepped up as commanding officer of the EU battalion as a part of the division reorganisation. April 2014 I decided to join Operations Support, SOCOP division. It wasn't easy to leave Neverwinter, but I was sure that it was, and still is, in good hands. Within SOCOP I was mainly responsible for TAW's Facebook group & page, but I also assisted in other social media outlets such as streaming and game convention coordination. September 2014 I have been promoted to my current BGN rank, being the Lieutenant Corps Commander for Social Operations Corps; which contains SOCOP and NEWS divisions. What was your initial impression of TAW? I loved it! I immediately realized that it was very organized, and there were people in TAW that I had added on League even before I knew about the community. People are very friendly (thank god for the CoE, no flaming!) and helpful. Joining TAW has definitely improved my in-game experiences as well as personal development. Tell us about your current division, and what you do there. I am currently the LT. corps commander of the Social Operations Corps, which consists of SOCOP and NEWS. I make sure that everything regarding TAW's social media and newsletter runs as smooth as possible. I also coordinate IRL gaming conventions for TAW to attend.
Do you have any special hobbies or activities outside of TAW?
stuff and play some games However, I love to go to conventions, LANs and other kinds of events whenever I can! I also like to draw at times, but I'm not really good at it :( Tell us about some of the people you've met during your time in TAW. I've met so many people during my time in TAW.. but every single one of them is amazing and actually crazy enough to stick along with me, I guess that's a good thing. What's your favorite thing about TAW? The people! (wait - people are things?)
How does TAW affect your offline life? I have become much more self-confident, social and coordinated. Also, I became much better with Office applications due to the amount of documentation I've done!
What might our readers be surprised to know about you? I used to join international tournaments for DDR (rhythm games) before my time in TAW. I have been in the top 10 of Europe in 2011 in multiple games. Unfortunately, i had a hand injury right after that so I couldn't really play much anymore - as obviously it involves a lot of keyboard tapping (and I mean a LOT). I still play these kind of games, still being one of the top-players. I stream at times, too!
What's your favourite retro video game? Why? Does worms count? Because it's amazing.
If you could choose any TAW member to be stranded on a desert island with, who would it be and why? But there are so many.. but I would probably pick Sloan, as he is my best friend and we go through everything together! :)
Who do you believe is going to be the most influential figure in gaming in the next three years? Bacon? I don't really keep track of these kind of things.. but I definitely look forward to whatever is going to happen. Go with the flow you know.
I am a single mother and have a full time job.. so I love to just sit in my office chair at the end of the day, do my TAW
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Updates from Minecraft The Minecraft Division has had a lot of good changes recently. As some of you may know Minecraft was recently bought by Microsoft for 2.5 billion dollars. We hope that Minecraft will really improve with Microsoft’s support. To what we have seen so far this is looking promising. Although Minecraft has had some few hiccups along the way with changes in Mojang’s EULA you can find out more HERE, however these changes have not had a negative impact on us, and the Division’s technical team has worked tirelessly to make sure that everything continues to run smoothly. We also had the release of Minecraft version 1.8, which will allow the division to continue to push the boundaries of the TAWcraft vanilla server once again!. We are currently planning to move forward to 1.8 very soon, however this will take some time as we have some interesting things planned. So look out for that and more in the future! TAWcraft has now begun an Ultra Hardcore tournament, which will go on until the start of next year. For those of you who do not know what this special mode is about, here’s the low-down: Ultra Hardcore is a PvP event where players can battle solo or in teams of two in order to survive against hostile mobs and each other. A standard twist in this game is that players cannot regenerate health passively, so players will need to be extra cautious about each and every move they make. Look out for these Ultra Hardcore events and more on tawcraft.net, or check out our Facebook and Twitter to get more information when it comes. In addition, we have had some promotions and member movement in our Staff Team. Ffaen is now leading our Division at DC, we wish him well and know he will support the Division all the way. Currently our DO, CO, and TS roles are vacant. These positions will be getting filled within the next couple of weeks. Even without these positions, we have continues to thrive with the dedication of the Staff Team and willingness of members to step up and complete tasks. Other news inside the Division is we have also opened up a Training Office, the Training Team will be in charge of writing all article for TAWcraft.net and managing all our Social Media. This addition to the staff team will be a great asset to Minecraft Division in the future and hope it can be used to its full effect in the future. On the topic of advertisement, we have recently created a TAWcraft Twitter and Facebook page. This will help us advertise for our events and hopefully improve our numbers to these events. Since we have put them into operation, they have been a huge success to the Division. Finally, we have a modded Minecraft server that is currently running the CrackPack which you can get off the ATLauncher (available here). Here is a guide on how to install it. The IP is ftb.tawcraft.net. This has been very successful and we thank Dervishkid, hyperninja & Jamie for contributing to the server. That's all we got this month, but look forward to some exciting changes coming your way this holiday season!
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In the Scope Interview with LTC Ffaen Let's get to know you - can you describe yourself in five words? Friendly guy to chill with. Tell us about your history in TAW. I joined TAW on the 7th October 2012, age 14. I had previously been playing a few events and slicer introduced me to the division. When I started, I remember being shy but I wanted to make myself feel welcome, so I hung around on the TeamSpeak and talked to all the members. Since them, I have held the DI role, FS role, SO and CO role, and recently just took up the Minecraft Divisions DC position. Working with people who have been around since I joined, like Daja and Dogstar, we saw our little Division grow from Vanguard to our place in 7th Corp, and its been a roller coaster of a time getting to it.
slopes. - I play the Drums to a (UK) grade 4 standard and also play the Piano for fun. Tell us about some of the people you have met during your time in TAW.
Throughout my time in TAW I've met some amazing people, I wish I could list them all but I would be here for a very long time, so instead I'll list the main men who brought me to where I am today. First up is Daja. I couldn't have been where I am now without him. He's believed in me from the very moment I took my first steps and has seen me grow up to where I am now. A downright honor to work with him. The second person is Viperous, who is formally my Division Commander, he's been great to work with and a pleasure to be around. (He is now honorably discharged) Next up is Dogstar; The Original Minecraft SUL, as well as recently hitting SIX years in TAW (congrats!) he's also been one of the What was your initial impression of TAW? people shaping who I am today, as well as a great guy to get When I first joined, I felt that the community was very large a beer with (if I was of legal age, of course :P). Another perand overwhelming at first, however as I stayed on the son I'd like to mention is Jamie, who joined TAW around the TeamSpeak and talked to the other members I saw that TAW time I joined, and from that point we became good friends. is just a big family, and these people made me feel at home, He's also my go-to for server issues, and can always deliver. as well as forming who I am now. Finally, none of this would have happened without my best bud Slipcor: Without you, I wouldn't have found TAW, or even Tell us about your current division, and what you do there. would have joined. Thanks Slip, and everybody else who's From the point that I joined TAW, I have always stayed with helped me on the journey. We're not stopping here. <3 the Minecraft Division and I wouldn't trade the experience that I've had here for anything else. When I joined, MC was in vanguard, and I've seen it move from Vanguard to SentiWhat might our readers be surprised to know about you? nel, to Second Corps and currently to our home in Seventh I don't actually play many games! My gaming experience Corps (shout out to our old DC Daja, now the CLC for Vanguard :D), and the Divisions ups and downs have shown me goes into Humble Bundles, Free to plays, and mobile games! what a leader should be. I have recently been promoted to the Division Officer of the Minecraft Division, and am looking What's your favorite retro video game? Why? forward to working with Viper, Draxton and hOtDog to help One game I remember from the child hood was the Star improve the Minecraft Division, 7th Corps, and TAW as a Wars Battlefront Games. Unfortunately the death of those whole. games came because of a friend scratching the disks for the PS2 :( What would you like someone considering joining TAW to know? When joining TAW, I feel that the best way to get something out of it is to explore and meet as many people as you can. TAW is a great community and without meeting all the amazing people on my journey to where I am now I would definitely not be the same person. Additionally, look in to your specific divisions staff team, as a great way to get stuck in is to ask about what you can do to make your division the best it can be. Tell us about some of the people you've met during your time in TAW. I have a list! - Swimming, in fact I'm a trained lifeguard in the UK.
If you could choose any TAW member to be stranded on a desert island with, who would it be and why? Dogstar. He has the banter to keep me sane. Also I'd hope he's big and strong so he can carry me (similar to most league games I play with him) all the way home. Who do you believe is going to be the most influential figure in gaming in the next three years? I wouldn't be sure, because of how fast the gaming industry advances currently, the next big hit and innovation could come from anywhere. Being a Minecraft Fanboy I would have to say Markus Persson, who has innovated the indie and mainstream game industry by proving that the "early access model" can work for games.
- Skiing, I don't do it very often but I enjoy a good time on the
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A New Tournament from Counterstrike Who can join the league? Members of any TAW Corps are allowed and CO invited personnel. You must have a team-mate to join in the league this can be from within TAW or outside of TAW. If your partner has to stop playing the season he joined, you can choose another partner as long as that player has not started playing in the league, because if a player leaves a team he cannot join another team until the season ends. What do you need to do to join the league? I. You must pick your own partner, both players must agree to be partners after which you name your team anything you want as long as it doesn’t break TAW policy. After you have picked a partner you must register your team into the league via I Corps Counter Strike Head Quarters and the 2 v 2 Taw Wide sign up form. II. Read the ground rules and agree with them before you sign up. III.Register your self before the season starts.
Season Official Launch date: 4th January 2015 Ground Rules 1) Points and bracket formation: Point system: A win will give you 5 points, a tie gives you 3 points, and a loss gives you 1 points. The scoreboard is updated weekly accordingly by who has the most points all the way up till the end of a season to declare a winner.
*bracket formation will change depending on the amount of players 2) Season Duration and Season Finals Duration of the season will depend on how many teams there is. Although no longer than 6 Months. -At the end of the season points will be checked and if there are draws the best 4 teams will play the “Finals” where: The 1st and 2nd team with most points will play for the official 1st and 2nd place. The 3rd and 4th team with most points will play for the official 3rd and 4th place. 3) Matches: 3.1) Getting a match - Each team will play another team three times in a “home” and an “away”* match. The 3rd match will be on the EU UK Servers either server 3 or 6. HOME: Every team has to challenge all other teams once by the end of the season (the games from the teams you have not challenged will be considered a forfeit and they will get 3 points). AWAY: After you have been challenged you have up to 5 days to play the game or its a forfeit (or come to an agreement and schedule something).
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home = you challenged | away = you got challenged 3.2) Scheduling a match Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the Teams responsibility to arrange their own matches. Matches can be played at any time of any day (even during mandatory practices) as long as both teams agree to the time chosen and there is a Event Admin at the time to sit in for supervision and in case of a pause needed. Head admin: Reseasable Admins: CuteClaire, TDK, Imnameless, GhOsT, MrGloverLover, If needed: On Arrangement In case one of the teams do not show up to the scheduled time, the game can be rescheduled but the team who didn't show up will lose 2 points (you can be late up to 15 min). In case there is no Event Leader available at the scheduled time, the game has to be reschedule or postpone with no penalty. 3.3) Validating a game Every player will take a ScreenShot of the end of the match and pass to CuteClaire or the game will not be valid! 3.4) Maps & Game Type The tournament will use the pick and ban system. The home team (the challenger) will pick the map and choose the side to start. Matches will be regular MR15 ESL Rules (best of 30 rounds). Allowed maps:
Inferno
Dust 2
Overpass
Cobblestone
Mirage
Cache
Nuke
Train
3.5) Disconnects If a player disconnects the Event Leader that is watching the match will pause the server. The member then has 3 minutes to re-join the match. The game will be resumed as normal. There will be a max of 2 pauses for each team per match. 3.6) Disputes Demos will only be required if any disputes arise, the game will not be paused at any time for a dispute the dispute will be handled afterwards and if you canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t provide demos as required the match will automatically go in favour of the other team. In the case of an dispute contact any EU officer , the final decision will be made by the commanding officer. 3.7) Spectators No one will spectate exempt event admins. If a player is ghosting (spectating for a team to give them advantage) both the team and the member will be immediately dishonourably discharged for cheating.
For more information, Please contact one of the admins above or ask any member of CS:GO EU Staff. More information about the tournament will be released closer to the event
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Battlefield 4: Tides of War 5 - The Round Robins Last season in Tides of War 4â&#x20AC;&#x201D;Operation Phoenix, the gameplay continued the time-honoured tradition of a turn-based, board game-inspired campaign that pitted two large teams against one another. Many complexities were introduced, such as an economy and territory types, which really provided a dynamic campaign experience. This season, Tides of War 5â&#x20AC;&#x201D;The Round of Robins, the objective will be much simpler and to the point. As the name suggests, this season will not be a campaign, but a tournament. Instead of two teams, there will now be four small teams, who have been drafted by the staff. The game mode to be played is Conquest Small only. With this format, we're hoping to expect very tight gameplay, where every single ticket counts and every mistake is amplified. Because teams will be smaller, only Squad Leaders (SLs) will be in charge of each team. This season, we have Mercury, Kenisama, SteelxBullet and Niteranger filling in the role of SL.
This tournament will feature a "regular season" and "post season," where teams will be seeded according to their win/loss record and tickets remaining after each victory. Another element we have introduced is trades. After the first match is played, SLs can now trade players with other teams. This should allow for some interesting jockeying between the SLs and how well they can manage the repercussions of trading away a player. Or, will a player request to be traded? For full details on Tides of War 5: The Round of Robins, including a form to provide feedback to staff, refer to the following documents: Tides of War 5: The Round of Robins Tournament Schedule Squad Rosters Match Night Feedback Form
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