Table of Content
Hearthstone Heroes and Generals Vanguard In The Scope Doc SuaveBet World of Warplanes Top gun Tournament
Letter from the editor: Wow what a month. This month has been all about free to play games, and I am really surprised at the calibre of gaming that occurs on the battlefield and in the world of these simple yet engaging games. As research this month I thought about all the free to play games and which has been played a lot by the community.so after consulting a few people the decision was that I would play Archeage. All I can say is that it was it one of the best games I have played, let alone free to play. It has perfected what a MMORPG really is and made it available to everyone. I would like to thank my team at NEWS for the support they have given me over the last month as I know things haven’t been the most smoothest of sailing (Quite like USS Rowboat in Archeage). But I would not rather work with a group of skilled writers such as yourself. Havoxa| Lieutenant Colonel News| Division Commander
Letter from Cherry: Well its been a busy time since sharing a last update for the newsletter so I'll try to keep it short. Obviously the Community Fundraiser took a great deal of our resources and time. A BIG thanks to all of the OS members/corps/divisions that rallied around the cause on a moments notice sometimes. It is truly remarkable of the dedication and servant leadership of not only OS, but all of TAW. From the 24 hour fundraiser stream to the special graphics created to the constant posts all around our SOC land...it was amazing work. Our streaming is picking up quite a bit on taw.tv with over 1000 subscribers now....and looking to continue our growth there. In some other areas, DEVOP has a mock up back end nearly ready towards the 3.0 launch. ISC continues their constant trolling of current systems and their use keeping the 'radar' on. Our SHOP continues to pick up more visitors [and shoppers] so thank you all for that. The website ad revenue is dropping a bit so I would encourage you all to check to insure taw.net is 'white-listed' and also check your virus protection if you'd be so kind. If you run into Kinare, give her the virtual high-five as her role as SUP [Support] DC is awesome. SUP is our 'helpdesk' with hundreds of emails and inquiries a month. On a parting note, if you or someone you know is interested in joining the ranks of OS, please speak with the specific area of interest. A few more hands on the clay really help keep the backbone of TAW going - OS: The dark side no one sees. Again, thank you to all of OS and of TAW for what you do....make TAW the #1 gaming community on Earth. Cherry
What is your favourite Free to play game ever? “WarThunder. Awesome content. Due to the Three types of gameplay.” Tigerfang [DEVOP DO] “Planetside 2. Has multiple ways to play the game.” Bush Wokie [WAR DI] “Archeage. Sheer freedom, Allow you to do whatever you want.” Andrewki [CC 3CLC]
WOWP TAW WIDE TOP GUN TOURNAMENT! Prizes!!!!! 1st Place = $50 Steam Card 2st Place = $20 Steam Card 3st Place = $20 Steam Card Over the period of 6 weeks (excluding July 5th) WOWP NA Division will be holding a TAW WIDE tournament. This means that ANY ONE in TAW is welcome to compete in this contest. You will have to own a tier 1-5 aircraft for this tournament on the NA SERVER (If you win and want your prize on the EU server we can do that!). This tournament will start on June 28, 2015 (Sunday) at ***2000 HRS GMT/1500 HRS EST/1200 HRS PST*** and will be played out on the next 6 weeks (excluding July 5th) every Sunday, we will be starting with Tier 1 aircraft and then progressing each week to the next tier until we reach Tier 5. The winner will be based on a total point accumulation over the 5 nights of play. Each night of the tournament you will fly against three(3) opponents in three(3) matches. Each match will consist of three(3) battles, for each battle you can score two(2) points for a win, one(1) point for a loss or one(1) point each participant for a tie. The points are then recorded in to the challonge.com system and will accumulate from match to match and will be shown in the Standings for all to see. Do not have the game? Well here is the link to download the game.Download here! Tabs you will Earn! Every one that participates will receive a participation tab. If you are able to win all three(3) of your matches on any given night you will receive an Undefeated tab for Tier 1-5. The over all winners will receive the Steam Card Prize and over winners tabs. Days/Nights and Tiers June 28, 2015-***2000 HRS GMT/1500 HRS EST/1200 HRS PST***-Tier 1 July 12, 2015-***2000 HRS GMT/1500 HRS EST/1200 HRS PST***-Tier 2 July 19, 2015-***2000 HRS GMT/1500 HRS EST/1200 HRS PST***-Tier 3 July 26, 2015-***2000 HRS GMT/1500 HRS EST/1200 HRS PST***-Tier 4 August 2, 2015-***2000 HRS GMT/1500 HRS EST/1200 HRS PST***-Tier 5
Rules ● Competitors must be TAW rank PFC or higher. So if you are a recruit right now you will want to make sure that you are attending all mandatory events. ● Must have Tier 1-5 Aircraft on NA Server ● Must be present EACH NIGHT for ALL MATCHES or you will be given NO points for the matches that you miss, if you miss a night it does not disqualify you, but may make it harder to win. ● All MATCHES will be recorded using WOWP in game recording system. They will then need to be stored for 30 days and will be submitted to admins (Vampmeep WP DC, Deathvondoom WP PIO, Optima WP 1CO) upon request for review. All Participants will have to delete all current recordings from the C:/Users/Owner/Videos/World of Warplanes folder before the tournament starts. ● All DISPUTES WILL BE RULED ON BY ADMINS AND DECISIONS ARE FINAL. ● There will be a total of 15 Matches - 3 matches per tier for a total of 90 points available per participant. ● The winner will be determined by points and points only. ● In the case of a tie in points between the top score winners there will be a single round of elimination. Each participant will pick a number between 1 and 20, the admins will then pull a random number from random.org, the participant closest will be the first flyer, the next closest participant will be the second flyer and so on until all are given a rank. They will then fly matches for points and will be ranked per the point system. How Point system will work: In each match you will have the ability to earn a total of 6 points, this is broken down as: ● A win is 2 points ● A loss is 1 point ● A tie is 1 point for each So lets say we have player A and player B and they are in a match: Player A wins battle 1: Player A - 2 points Player B - 1 point Player B wins battle 2: Player B - 2 points Player A - 1 point Players Tie (Draw): Player A - 1 point Player B - 1 point So from this Match: Player A - 4 points Player B - 4 points The points are then recorded in to the challonge.com system and will accumulate from match to match and will be shown in the Standings for all to see. you may see the current standings and bracket by clicking here.
Sign up: Click Here Or go to II Corps/Warplanes/★★ NA Wing ★★/Top Gun Channel.
Hero’s And Generals On the third of June the Vasilevsky update went live
New Features:
Assault Team Morale This update introduces Assault Team Morale. This adds a much requested layer of depth to the strategic war game. You now have to take your units’ morale into consideration before you commit them to attacks, and it makes defense-in-depth a more effective strategy. You can read more about the Assault Team Morale in this blog post.
Melee / Close Combat update In this update we have reworked the melee / Close combat feature. It is now much easier to use and looks a LOT better. You can read more about how it works in this blog post.
Weapon Balance Pass This build continues the weapon balancing and tweaks and adds a few new things, first of all the M1 Carbine is now available for regular US infantry with rank 12 of the Semi-Auto Ribbon. Soldiers wielding Pistols & Revolvers can now decide on how much ammunition they want to carry and a new powerful round for the American revolver is here.
New Ribbons & Combat Badges Four new Combat Badges! Mechanic (faster vehicle repair), Charismatic Leader (Faster morale recovery), Battlefield Commander (Extra Morale), Logistic Expert (Increased AT movement speed). And two new ribbons: Battle Ribbon (Participate in WAR battles to earn experience. Highest award is given for victories) and War Ribbon (Participate on the winning side of a war to earn experience). – Other ribbon updates; See the full changelog (link below) for more details. (From http://www.heroesandgenerals.com/ community/19238/at-morale-badges-for-generals-newmelee-and-more-arrives-with-the-new-vasilevsky-update)
And many other small updates, the update was followed up with sever hotfixes!
Ongoing Events/competitions: Currently the H&G division is running two competitions: One: DC challenge (open for all taw members) Info: http://taw.net/blogs/heroes-and-generals/archive/2015/05/25/h-amp-g-dc-challenge.aspx
Second: The War for Europe! (Open for all H&G division members) Info: http://taw.net/forums/t/17672.aspx
Golden shovel challenge Every first Sunday of the month a couple of the battalions within H&G division organize the golden shovel challenge. It purely comes downs to who can kill the most enemies with a shovel
Winners of last month: -
Dimoncreep won the golden shovel challenge in NA battalion!
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Neledin won the golden shovel challenge in the OC battalion!
Battlevision competition The EU battalion monthly participates in the community screenshot competition called “battlevision”. With some great results! In May the EU battalion won with the following screenshot: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/? id=440825644 Impressed? You have to see the BTS video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rx3ho5_JyrY The theme for June is “certain death” and the battalion has submitted the following screenshots: http://taw.net/forums/ t/17677.aspx. The winners will be announced on 17th, let’s keep our fingers cross if we will win!
Hearthstone For those who know Hearthstone, Most of you guys know how positively addicting the game is. It goes without saying that is possibly one of the most successful card games to grace us with its presence since, Lets go with Yugioh, Don’t be shy we all went through that faze. The Boys down in the Hearthstone division have not only given birth to the division but seen it grow from a division fresh out of vanguard to the 68 member division we know it as today. Being a card game with no real player to player interface that is one of the most impressive stats to come out of a TAW division. As a huge fan of the game I did have my doubts when I first heard that Hearthstone was joining our rank. I love being proved wrong and I would like to commend all the boys in Hearthstone on the outstanding commitment they have given to make it as successful as it is today.
The thing that Hearthstone brings to the community is the Taw wide and also the Mini Comps that have happened quite a few times in the division’s short but prosperous life. That being said, the boys down in Hearthstone have let us in NEWS know that in a few months there will be another TAW wide tournament. We will let you know when the details have been finalised. So reshuffle your decks, Work on your strategies and above else…..Put Leroy Jenkins in your deck. Not really…..Don’t do that. A I have previously mentioned the Mini comps that take place are a regular occurrence and the most recent one was a hard battle due to the expanding number of people joining the division. The results are: 6/3/2015
1st dlineman 2nd RoastedPheasant 3rd Butterpants
Not only are the boys in Hearthstone are doing an amazing job in our community but the national wide community as well with a few of the boys in the North America standings. The following members are the top 110 players in there nation. Congratulations guys: SuaveBat. Rank 89 Vandoom. Rank 94 Axel. Rank 105 It was awesome to have time to explore the community of Hearthstone this month and I would like to thank them all for their help with this monthly update of the game that is Hearthstone.
Vanguard Update This month in Vanguard has been an exciting one as we welcome both Halo and Destiny to Vanguard, which are the first two “Home Console� games to enter Vanguard. We wish luck to Talisac who is spinning up both games. We also had to say farewell Insurgency as it launched as a full division into Army. Congratulations to the members of Insurgency, especially the Nem who was the Spin-Up Leader. Read more about their time in Vanguard below.
Launch Reports Insurgency Wow! Launching already?! It seems unreal. I have to admit the time has flown by, but as they say, "time fly's when you're having fun." It's the time we spend with friends and making memories that hurries it along. Shortly after I came to TAW, we lost our leadership in the INS division. What was left was a handful of recruits and PFC's, all unsure of the path ahead. Some were wondering who was going to lead us. Others debating if they should even stay. That's when I first stepped up. "Insurgency is a great game and there isn't any reason why we can't band together to have fun," that was what I told those who were still in the channel. That's what it's all about; Making friends and having fun. Time passed and it came to be that I was put in charge of the division. Soon after, we stabilized and started to grow. From there we struggled through, but made the best of what we had. Fast forward, we reached enough members to warrant us getting a larger server. From there, we boomed! We were finally making our mark in the community. At this point, we were rapidly growing and so was our development as a unit. We eventually sat down with our members and discussed the direction we wanted to go. All hands went up for the firefight game mode, because that's where the competition is. So, it was time to get serious. We reached out to other clans to scrim and give us pointers. From then on, we were determined to be the best that we could. Today, we have over 50 members strong, and two teams on theDGL.org ladder. We just wrapped up season 3. Team 1 is moving up to division 1 and team 2, recently added, are moving from division 4 up to 3! Both teams are undefeated. We spend each week working to get better. Our events are geared for us to play hard and have fun. Outside the events, we are constantly recruiting for new members, both inexperience and skilled. No matter what their background is, we see all members as diamonds in the rough. Leading the unit from almost nothing, to what it is today, has not been easy. Far from it. We have had our ups and downs. We've had, seemingly, dedicated members walk out on us, but have received priceless ones in return. The amount of work, time, and dedication to see this unit through pushed me to my limit, at times. However, in the end, it has been a blessing! The friends that I now have and the times we spend together make it all worth while. We have a great bunch that I wouldn't trade for anything. As we venture forth to our new home, I want to give a special thanks to the leaders of Vanguard: Eifer, Kingcheese, and the former Vanguard Lt. Commander, Andrewki. Thanks for all the times you were our guide, mentor and at times, therapist. Without your continued support, we wouldn't be where we are! Nem [INS SUL]
Unit Updates Evolve Evolve recently got a new game mode called Arena which is a battle to the death without the hide and seek elements that are present in other game modes which some players did not enjoy. With this change, new players are coming into the game that were previously put off by having to find and hunt the enemy side down. The Evolve division in TAW has actually begun to grow again after it had slowed down for a while. The entire division has found this very encouraging and everyone is working hard to make Evolve a strong division in TAW. We are very proud at the job our recruiters have been doing lately. We are also both pleased and proud to announce that our comp group won their first competitive games in a tournament on May 31st against a field of fairly strong teams, but sadly got knocked out of the tournament by the team currently ranked second in the ladder. The earlier victories and encouraging, showing that our team is improving, with our competitive team currently being tied for 10th place in the standings. MMOHealer [EV XO]
Elite Dangerous The Elite: Dangerous Horizon-Team is up and running! ED is a space-simulation game from Frontier Developments set in a open-world Galaxy with over 400 billion star systems to explore. The most recent content update released "POWERPLAY", a new way to interact with and pledge allegiance to political factions in the game world, as well as new ships, modules and countless fixes. Be a Trader, be a BountyHunter, be a Pirate, be a Explorer, be a Mercenary, be anything you like in the unforgiving Galaxy we call our home in Elite: Dangerous. Anyone interested in the game and what it's all about is welcome to check in to our TS Channels up in Vanguard at any time, our mandatory Events currently take place every Saturday 1900 UTC. Naturally, as a Horizon Team we are still very small and on the lookout for potential new staff members from both NA and OC Regions. So if you are interested to help us out in either the SO or DI role please do not hesitate to contact Metzger@taw.net. Metzger [VG SUL] Guild Wars 2
Hey everyone! Guild Wars division has been holding steady while waiting in ever-growing anticipation of both the upcoming expansion and the next content update. Once the content update hits, we'll be seeing a completely repaired Lion's Arch, as well as the start of the new class specialization system. As for Heart of Thorns, we are hard at work, and have nearly finished, our guild mission progression so that, once the expansion is out, we'll be able to start right away on our very own guild hall. In fact, we recently unlocked the ability to play Guild Challenges, which leaves us with only one more mission type to unlock before we have them all! Nightshaper [VG DC]
GTA V The GTA V TAW Division is now spinning up, bringing you the chance to approach missions/heists professionally, get your adrenaline rush racing and chasing; or... partake in general tomfoolery with other comrades. Everyday is a good day for mayhem on our teamspeak channel, but Tuesday is our Optional and Saturday the Mandatory practice days; both from 20:00-21:00 CET or 15:00-16:00 EST. Feel free to participate if you want or contact either Glengis or OneViking for more information. Glengis [GTA SUL] Payday 2 Payday 2 has joined the TAW as a new horizon team. With the recent appointment of Himscar as the SUL and Monohell as a DI we hope to have the basis to steadily increase the team in size. Currently we have a mandatory on Saturday at 20:00 GMT and an optional on Wednesday at 21:00 GMT. If you have the game, whether you are experienced or new, you are more than welcome to drop in for some heisting fun. Initially we are looking at fun nights, levelling, training and familiarisation of maps.Further down the line we hope to have numbers for teams to complete in a ladder system. If you have any queries or questions please contact Himscar or one of the VG staff. Now go get your mask on, there is a bank to be emptied! LGN Kingcheese [VG CLC] Star Citizen This has been a solid month for Star Citizen. This month featured the Starfarer (medium-sized fuel ship) and Reliant (versatile mini-hauler) concept sales, both of which have been very popular thus far in terms of dollars pledged. As we wait for the FPS module, our Racing Tournament is well underway. It will be the first of many month-long internal mini-tournaments focused on the most relevant content. Our racing team is very strong, and TAW is currently in the Top 3 Organizations worldwide for all three racetracks. A special shout-out to our top racers: Zenmire, Xaust, CarsonBeckett, DeadEyePsycho, and Kavarin. If you have the game, come join the fun! Just because the persistent universe isn't out yet, doesn't mean that we don't have a great time playing arena commander together. Everyone is invited to our weekly main events on Sundays 3pm EDT / 9pm CET, and optionals on Tues 3pm EDT / 9pm CET, Tues 9pm EDT / 3am CET, and Sun 7am EDT / 1pm CET / 9pm AEST. Zoloft [SCZ SUL] World of Warships It has just over a month since the World of Warships (WWS) horizon team was launched, and we now have the initial staff and events in place. ShmeeCow is leading the North American practices, starting at 7PM Pacific time, every Sunday. Verrak is assigned as our European Staff Officer, and leads the European time zone practices on Fridays, 7 PM GMT + 1. Bombahawk, our Staff Officer for the Oceanic region, leads the Oceanic practices on Wednesday, 8PM GMT + 10. He is assisted by Timberwolffe, who transferred over as a drill instructor to help recruit. So far recruitment has been slow and difficult, due to the game still being in closed beta with no clan functions, though anyone can enter the beta by buying a pre-order package with beta access. Even so, we kept trying, and have even recruited our first member to the European battalion! We hope to be seeing more recruits in the near future, and hope to have a larger amount of incoming members once open beta is launched, which should include clan support. We hope this is soon, though do not have date yet. ShmeeCow [VG SUL]
In The Scope: DOC [CC AC] 1. Let's get to know you - can you describe yourself in five words?
Easy going, Relaxed, Devoted father. 2. Tell us about your history in TAW.
1st Tour of duty: Joined on February 12th, 2005 to February 05th, 2008. Positions held in Ravenshield Division: SA for Terminators Squad, Sl for Terminators Squad, SA for Diamondbacks Squad, SA for Cobras Squad, DI for RS Division, HDI for RS Division, SO for 1Bat., SO for 3rd Bat., XO for 3RD Bat., CO for 3rd Bat., XO for 1st Bat., CO for 1st Bat. 2nd Tour of Duty: Joined on June 10th, 2010. Joined the Ghost Recon Division. Positions held: DI, DO. I then transferred to Homefront. Then transferred to Sentinel and became the DO of SN. Was promoted by Hook to the CLC for Sentinel. Transferred to 2nd Corp under the leadership of Dogstar. Six months later, was promoted to Corp Commander of the newly formed 5th Corp. From there was voted in to Lifetime Members. 3rd Tour of Duty: Was asked by Bravehardt to step up as Army Commander. This has been the greatest honor of all the time that I have been TAW. 3. What was your initial impression of TAW?
That it was organized and a lot of fun. Loved TAW since I joined. 4. Tell us about your current division, and what you do there.
As Army Commander, I am able to work with a lot of great leaders. As well as several previous leaders. It's cool to work with leadership to help the community grow and thrive.
5. What would you like someone considering joining TAW to know?
The more you are on TS, the more people you will meet. The more people you meet, the more fun you will have.The more fun you have, the more you will want to be on TS. It's a vicious circle that we all love. 6. Do you have any special hobbies or activities outside of TAW?
I enjoy target shooting. I have a 9mm, .380 auto, .45 cal, and am looking to get a 44 mag real soon. I love to shoot. 7. If you could change one thing about TAW, what would it be?
Nothing. I think we have a system set up to ensure the success and long life of the community. 8. Tell us about some of the people you've met during your time in TAW.
I have met some great people while in TAW. More than I could count. Members like WhiteEagle and MexicoBob, who sadly have passed on, are the most memorable. Both those men were good friends and are missed a great deal. 9. If you could choose any TAW member to be stranded on a desert island with, who would it be and why?
Trick question. I refuse to answer on the grounds that it may get my butt kicked. lol
In The Scope: SuaveBet[HS 1FS] 1.Tell us about your history in TAW? I was looking for an arena coach on the Hearthstone community forums back in February 2015. I found EducatedCollins first. Then I saw Conceited’s post looking for people to join TAW’s Hearthstone Division. I proceeded to check out the TAW website… 2. What was your initial impression of TAW? Although the website looked a bit dated, I was really impressed with the organization, history, and structure. Furthermore, the application process made it seem like it’s a more serious community. I liked that, because I know that process will weed out people who aren’t serious. I would also consider the DI a very crucial part of the initial impressions. Abishai (my DI) was really cool and one of the main reasons I stuck with TAW. He came off across as professional, mature, and friendly. Tell us about your current division and what you do in it? I’m part of the Hearthstone NA Division. I organize practice events, send out emails to remind members of tournaments, and come up with procedures for practice. 3. What would you want someone thinking about joining TAW to know? It’s a little intimidating at first and overwhelming, because everything feels so big and you’re just one tiny piece. But stick with it a bit, and TAW helps you develop a healthier gaming lifestyle and offers opportunities to enhance life skills. Let me explain. For example, we all know sitting in front of a computer all day isn’t quite exactly healthy: you don’t go out as much, you don’t interact with other people as much. In essence your social skills start to deteriorate. Mandatory meetings may seem like a “chore.” But I don’t see it that way. One of the most important life skills from Napoleon Hill’s “Think and Grow Rich” is self-discipline. We all understand that intuitively. But man, self-discipline is really really tough. But there are several tricks you can use until you become a master. One of them is to have an accountability group. That’s what I see the weekly mandatories as. It’s basically an accountability tool you can use to come out, play a game you love, be yourself, and it’s helping you develop your self-discipline. You’re committed to your team to do this. It’s not just about you anymore. There's so many divisions too. So if you ever get burned out on a game, you're welcome to switch to another division. You’re encouraged to contribute in your unique way. We all have special skills. Some of us have faster APMs (actions per minute). Others are better strategic leaders. And then there are others who just feel good that they can help with the admin stuff, because they’re excellent organizers. I especially like the Hearthstone division, because it feels like a new startup we’re building together for a game we love to play, talk about, and watch. 4. If you could choose any TAW member to be stranded on a desert island with, who would it be and why?
This one’s tough… does the mission require us to start an indigenous TAW tribe on the island?