With the introduction of the capital vessels, there has been quite a bit of excitement in Sedina as of late. The com channels are alive with constant talk about what's been happening. Mostly, I ignore the arguments and the heated tempers, but you can't expect much more when there is a public channel. I've noticed this before, but more lately, and that is that there is a lot of negativity towards our guild [IA]. I've heard more than once that [IA] is a bunch of "runners" and "spammers", and just earlier today I heard this: "[IA] has no honor". This has utterly infuriated me! I would normally let this go as usual, but I can take it no longer.

As far as the spamming goes, well all I have to say is that I've encountered it used against me many times, it's been going on for as long as missles were attached to ships, and you don't see me calling anyone a "spammer". It's just part of the risk you take piloting a spacecraft. It's a tactic. Yes, maybe it's an exploit, maybe it's wrong, but it's there and I deal with it.

Now, on the the honor of [IA]. During the capital ship war in Sedina at least 4 of us took great combat hits, myself taking -800, for engaging a newcomer in order to protect our ship. I received word that one pilot took a hit of -1100 to his/her combat, and we all now how much fun that is to get back. Many guildmates have come to my call for help, as well as myself coming to the call of other guildmates as well as other Itani. One of our guild had spent 2 or 3 continuous hours defending our ship in Sedina.

I have run from 4 fights. The first fight I was fairly new at piloting and, frankly, the bots were a bit too much for me. And, besides, isn't that typical when "botting"? The second was in Sedina, the well known battlefield, I was still fairly new with all of the weapons and ships, so I was pretty much in over my head. The third, well, I was in the middle of a trade run and really didn't want to loose my load. The fourth was just yesterday, I did disengage from a Serco pilot, but only because that particular pilot had already cost me 3 ships and I was quite tired of the trips in the ejection seat, not to mention the money I've spent (even though I was repaired, upon return I was again owned). I digress. The point being is that I have 110 lost ships to my name. Only a handful can be blamed on those damned hive bots. Each and every battle I've fought in (except for the 4) I have fought to the death.

I am not a runner, and will never be. So, the next time you want to call [IA] a bunch of runners, come see me! I'll fight you, maybe I will loose, but you wont see me run!

kernel.panic
[IA]

Coward Itani Scum! Your claims to honor are meaningless! An Itani is incapable of even comprehending the meaning of Honor! It is your self-expressed Itani "honor" to attack less experienced, less well equipped pilots! You declare with pride that you have recieved legal retribution for your criminal acts of violence against those who are poorly able to defend themselves! And this is not the yet the limit of your "honor"! You further state that you are incapable of fighting even in these circumstances, unless you have superior numbers! You call frantically for reinforcements, and rush to aid your fellow Itani, so that you may never suffer from being outnumbered! This is what you Itani name "honor," but I have a different name for it. I name it black hearted cowardice!

I was actually the person who wrote that

"IA have no honor"

And I did so because I was fighting multiple players, many who were using swarms, and as soon as I would drop one below half (in an Nv1 fight) they would go repair while the others kept fighting. And then they would return seconds afterward and jump back into the fight.

In one scenario I kept fighting all comers. Till I was down to 3%
(my honor wouldn't let me leave and repair while there were players left), and this Rev C leaves when I get it down to half, repairs and jumps back in.

I mean, jeez, 4v1, the odds are already stacked in your favor, the least you can do is stick it out. Especially when you're all in Rev C's/swarm+flare+mine rags and I'm in an SVG (still a good ship, but slightly worse)

Look, I realize that missiles are part of the game, but the "any way to win strategy" that has become so common is beginning to piss me off. How do we keep the fights fun if everyone is willing
to just take shortcuts?

Shape...

Couldn't agree with you more. I've seen more runners in the past few days than I have in the past few months. The new style seems to be that if they're not winning, they'll go repair and try again.

I even had one guy tell me that "he doesn't fight barrel rollers". Sorry, I wasn't aware I was supposed to hold still and let him shoot me.

Is this what PvP is sinking to these days?

IA has no honor.
While I will agree some IA do have honor, the guild it self does not. More spammers and runners come from IA then any other guild in the game, and some far the IA leadership has done nothing to combat this. The IA tag is a blot on the name of any one who has it, sure maybe it's only a few bad IA that have caused this but if IA really wanted to get rid of this image they would do some thing about these few, the way I see it they do nothing to stop it and there for they condone it making IA as a whole an honor-less guild.

Before I start on the main subject at hand, kernel.panic and I have faced off on numerous occasions and I have always found him a worthy amd honorable opponent.

Many times I have faced odds that were stacked against me..often 4 to 1 or higher. I have observed the pilot I have targeted break off from the fight, only to return minutes later fully repaired. I have seen this action across many guilds...and across all the factions. This action is not unique to IA, mayhaps they have a higher percentage of pilots that perform this action, of this I do not know.

In this community, pilots are easily recognizable, their actions and abilities are noted....and remembered. Pilots that engage in 'spam and run' or 'heal and rejoin' show their true character to me...and I respond to them in future encounters in like manner. Some of them have discovered this when I find them flying solo...my unannounced attack is vicious and without mercy. At some future point, I will run across all who have shown themselves to be without honor and they will receive the same..my memory is long and I am patient......

Pilots that fight with honor...I also remember well. And in future encounters I show my respect by also treating them with honor. Even though we may stand on the opposite sides of the line, they have earned my respect and I will respond in kind. Warriors of this type I enjoy being around. Although many of them will attack on sight, or visa versa, the attack is announced..and the battle engaged until the inevitable final outcome. Oftentimes, I engage in dialogue with these warriors and find us to be similiar in nature and action, only our ideological and philosophical differences prevent us from meeting over a tankard of fine spirits.

Is there a solution to the subject at hand? Is one guild or faction more guilty than the others? I'm sure these can debated for a long period, but I fear there are no final answers....

If you choose to engage in these nefarious activities remember that others are watching...and remembering.

Damn, when did [BLAK] become a bunch of crybabies?

[IA] Kopus Tol

Look, we're going to keep fighting, Kopus, cuz we like it.

But saying that IA has no honor was just a statement of the fact that I didn't respect any of the pilots after those incidents.

We're not saying that the "teams are unfair" cuz they have been for a while, and we LIKE that. But when people start trying to do anything to win, its clear they're not playing for fun anymore.

BLAK attempts to hold itself to a standard on these issues.

Previous players who did not hold themselves to respectful & honorable fighting and demeanor have been kicked from our guild.

But at IA, it seems like people are rewarded for this behaviour.

Previous players who did not hold themselves to respectful & honorable fighting and demeanor have been kicked from our guild.


Who wants to guess why Shape was kicked out of the syndicate?
:)

Edit: Although, honestly, your guess is as good as mine. T'was a while ago, and I don't usually 'member things that upset me for a long time. Still. Keep in mind that I've only ever kicked one member.

whether IA is full of "runners" is not mine to judge. but if you think it is, consider this:

IA is a new guild with few vets. perhaps many newer players simply have not yet learned that leaving a large multiplayer fight to repair, when their side is winning, is considered dishonorable. it didn't seem dishonorable to me when i started: i thought it just was strategy.

but now it's no longer worth the whining. so "fight to death" it is, whether fun or not. sigh.

[IA] hronek

Imagine a scenario where everyone runs....Maybe one day people will figure out that if everyone runs, this game will stop becoming fun for everyone else.

Hronek : Yes, lots of [IA] are not vets. But there are a lot of vets (? is a chronic runner, and he has >500 kills and is alpha/beta) that does the same. And new players can be taught to respect some semblance of sportsmanship. If one of your most highest scoring member runs, your new players are just going to think it is ok and follows suit.

Kopus Tol : You know what, there are members of [IA] who screamed "cowards, runners" (i.e. you) etc, when they themselves run. So get off your high horse.

[EDIT : And i don't even know why am I getting into this argument again. Didn't we just finished one with the VPRS? Bah. Im am outta this thread.]

Hehe BLAK a bunch a cry babies? No, though it is a vary funny statement. We are not whining, we are not saying we are gonna quite VO cuz of the evil spamers, or that VO needs to become more balanced. (this time ;p ) We are simply stating the facts. Nothing more nothing less. If you can't handle the facts well then thats your problem.

You want the truth?

You can't handle the truth!

Sorry, I just had to say that. :D

[IA, but not for much longer]Calder

@Genka: Haha, Actually I DO remember why. :)

Yukinari had just left, and we didn't have a commander, so I suggested a tournament to determine command. At which point I was kicked :P

Look, there's no requirement to act honorably. But it makes the game more fun for everyone when you do.

My thoughts: in a duel, honor is essential. In any other combat situation, honor has no place. If you want an honorable fight from me, challenge me to a duel. If I accept, then I accept the responsibility not to backroll, or flee to repair.

If you attack me in b8, or anywhere, without establishing a duel, then I'll whatever I can to minimize my losses and maximize yours.

Oh Yukinari's around... he's lurking... out there... somewhere... under a new callsign...

Waleran, its different than that. In a duel situation, you can't flee to repair, you can't really leave the fight, Cuz you LOSE the duel.

Fighting honorably at all times is what keeps battles interesting. Knowing that everyone is there to have fun, and if you run whenever there is the chance you could lose, you take something away from the game.

Does anyone here remember the big IDF debate? Let me summerize it for you: if people start to badmouth your guild, you must be doing something right.

everman: yeah, sorry about the combat hit. i didn't realize 2/2/2/2/0 would cause -800 pain! :D that and i thought that char was higher. but hey, had you left me to lebermac it would not have hurt you :) hehehe.

and 100 deaths?!?! wow, i can't remember those days..... i think shape killed me 100 times before i made my first char! hehehe.

to the subject: like vipers, ia has some good people. people i genuinely like to fight... people that are BLAK at heart but don't know it :D however the majority of their kids are lacking in "manners". the basic idea to me is this.... if a player shoots you enough to kill you, then they deserve the kill. they have earned the right to say they killed you. they have earned the pk point towards their next badge.

I thank you all for your comments (except for Iongar). I tried not to name names, and don't mean to point fingers at anyone in particular. Shape, you are a great pilot, and I respect you. I do not condone (spelling) what happened in that fight, and we [IA] do NOT reward that behavior. I cannot speak for others in my guild, I only wanted to clarify that all of [IA] are not runners, spammers, etc. Some of us have honor, and I would like to think that all of us (everyone in the game) have honor.

{trying to get all the real life crap outta my head} Remembering the evening in question to the best of my aging abilities: Itani outnumbered EVERYONE in b8. It was a mass of green on my radar. We all had a chance to protect our Cap ship. We've ALL been waiting for this! We are all trigger happy! We saw red, we engaged! At one point the remaining turrets were easily avoided by attackers. I left the turret to pursue one of those attackers. All of a sudden the attacker flys out of range to message "it takes two of you..." at which point I disengaged. With so much chatter and fighting going on who can tell who is engaged with who? or is it whom...
Point being that swarms of spam is not right, I mean has anyone tried to get spam off their radar screen? But, really, there can be a lot of confusion with so many pilots out there and when I hear that [IA] has no honor, I take it personally. I take it personally when I hear that we're a bunch of runners and last night a serco pilot had me down to 2% and I was maybe within one shot of killing him/her and he/she turns and burns...wtf!?!

Borb II, I don't believe you are crybabies, in fact, I think that the majority of the "pirates" and especially the majority of [BLAK] are respectable pilots!

Beamrider, I thank you for your kind words!

Shape "Look, there's no requirement to act honorably. But it makes the game more fun for everyone when you do." I agree wholeheartedly!

Iongar: well, you attack our cap, we will defend. I care not if you are 0/0/0/0/0!
This is an issue that needs to be resolved. It is unfair even though some are n00bs that they can attack and we cannot defend. When it comes down to real battles what's to keep everyone from creating an alt so that vets cannot kill them?

Now, EVERYONE GET BACK TO VO! Quit reading all of my ranting and go mine or something.

Devs, can we get a SPAM widget? Or maybe a SPAM roid? An advance SPAM beam MK 2? That had to survive all this time, the stuff they made 10 years ago has an expiration date of 4708..."...but I don't like spam..."SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM...

kernel.panic
no, i'm not drinking! yet!