Fri, 01 Feb 2008 15:47:21 -0600 http://www.the-pond.net/ the pond en-us http://www.the-pond.net/images/community gaming http://www.the-pond.net/ atf@the-pond.com http://www.the-pond.net/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=112 You may or may not have noticed already that the forums have been reorganized a bit today (as in consolidated and/or killed off en-mass). For those that are wondering, this is not (solely) because I'm crazy and looking for a way to waste time. You see, something is happening! First off, fishie has procured a brand new Team Fortress 2 server! Currently hosted in New York, it will probably be moved over to a more central location soon (Dallas or maybe Chicago). The server will be running cp maps, so feel free to shoot fishie some suggestions for user-made maps you've seen that you think would work. Also, if anyone has any ideas for good admin mods to run, let him know as he's having a bit of trouble digging up recommendations on that front. Finally, the HLX stats software will, of course, be incorporated. Though the server obviously isn't set up for pub play yet, you can add it to your favorite by looking for the-pond.com in your server browser. Secondly, the Tribes 2 server will likely be taken down soon since it hasn't been used in quite a while. I'm not sure if anyone would like to try to reverse that trend by getting Siege pubs going again (on a new day maybe?) before this happens. If you feel like taking one last stab at organizing them, I'll make sure you're set up with admin access and such. Barring that, it may just be the end of an era. :[ Finally, a new TF2 forum has been added. Feel free to start spamming it with suggestions for the server. Fri, 01 Feb 2008 15:47:21 -0600 http://www.the-pond.net/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=111 Just a minor update to report this week. Empire by Paint it Black has been updated with a Pond Edition of the map. The Airbase generator can no longer be killed before the Disruptor gen and a few of the forcefields have been made quick pass. Sat, 13 Oct 2007 19:59:01 -0500 http://www.the-pond.net/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=110 After a brief hiatus, the Dynamix irc server is working once more. Come join us in #pond on irc.dynamix.com Update: Disregard the above; the irc server has gone down for good. The pond has officially moved over to #pond on irc.tribalwar.com! Look for us there. Sun, 15 Jul 2007 15:52:45 -0500 http://www.the-pond.net/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=109 Some old favorites are back in rotation this week, including Trident and Isle of Man. Please note that this means that a portion of the rotation is now client side and must be downloaded. So, if you haven't already done so, get the Dynamix Final Map Pack here and install it by placing it in your Tribes2\GameData\base directory. Sat, 07 Jul 2007 17:04:50 -0500 http://www.the-pond.net/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=108 New maps on the pond this week: Aloysius by Verna: A classic indoor Siege map. Destroy the unrepairable Forcefield generator to gain access to the base, then disable the three generators within to cap. Night Time Sands by Thecarisonfire: Destroy the Plateau generator to expose the Hilltop gen. Neither of these are repairable and disabling both allows the attacking team to mount an attack on the Hillside generator, which controls access to the switch. A remote outpost solar panel makes attacking this generator easier, as does a repairable offensive bunker. Finally, a backdoor to the switch also exists, though it's not exactly an easy route to take! Map updates: Hey Now! by Geordi W: The mini blue FF on the Forcefield generator has been removed, making it easier to kill. Sojourn by Celios: The map has been made a bit harder to attack and easier to defend. The North (Drifts base) Forcefield generator is now no longer completely exposed when the Base generator is destroyed. Rather, the green FFs leading outside become orange. As for the South (Thin Ice base), one of the chutes leading up to the Forcefield generator is now defense-only, and the other is blocked by an orange FF, making it more defendable. Turbide by Celios has been completely remade as Early Morning Mist: The terrain is now different, the second base has been moved and the Forcefield generator has been changed completely. It now works in Ultima Thule style, lying in an out-of-the-way tower and being unrepairable. Witchhead by Celios: The Underground generator has been made a bit more defendable. Whenever the Forcefield generators are destroyed, the green FF running through the upper level no longer vanishes, but becomes orange instead. Forum Discussion >> Sat, 23 Jun 2007 15:23:29 -0500 http://www.the-pond.net/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=107 As you may have heard, we intend to start re-adding some Dynamix Final Pack maps to the rotation in a week or two, so we need everyone to get them downloaded! The sooner you get that taken care of, the sooner we'll be playing Trident and Isle of Man. You can get the pack here. Just place that file in your Tribes 2\GameData\base directory and you're set to roll. Forum Discussion >> Thu, 07 Jun 2007 02:38:26 -0500 http://www.the-pond.net/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=106 New stuff on the mapping front: An Inconvenient Siege by Verna: The offense must destroy a number of generators, thus decreasing the "power level" and improving the weather. Once the power level drops below 0, the switch becomes permanently exposed. Cutoff by hcats: The offense must knock down a series of solar panels as they push deeper into the enemy base. Whenever it is active, an Auto Repair generator within the base slowly repairs most of the defenders' assets, however. Only the Quick Access panel is unrepairable and disabling it makes attacking the two panels needed to cap a breeze. Sojourn by Celios: A simple map that plays something like a cross between Respite and Frozen Shadows. The offense must disable the North and South forcefield generators to cap (though they do not necessarily have to be down at once - switch defense is key!) The attacking team may also choose to destroy the North and South Base generators as well, thereby making the forcefield gens far easier to assault. As for map updates: Death From Below -Pond Edition- by ???Unknown???: The final base is no longer campable and an invo can once again be deployed by the defense in the Hilltop tower's upper window (the forcefield previously preventing this has been moved). Turbide by Celios: Added some waypoint code so teams can now easily notice the Equipment generator (destroying it makes attacking the forcefield base much easier). Also removed the two forcefield base turrets. Witchhead by Celios: Made a few of the easier gens a bit tougher. The switch can now only be capped by killing both gens. Last but not least, some of the newer maps' rotation requirements have been adjusted. Forum Discussion >> Thu, 07 Jun 2007 02:33:50 -0500 http://www.the-pond.net/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=105 We've been getting inundated with new maps lately, as well as a few updates to old ones: Jackpot, a new map by a tiny fishie himself has been posted. By touching the switch, the offense is given random rewards. The more times you hit it, the more likely that reward will be a cap! Alundra's Lakeside Assault has also been added. In it, the offense must disable all three Generators simultaneously and prevent repairs for 15 seconds in order to cap. Trojan Horse by Geordi W is his second crazy Siege map. Here, the offense must attack a number of unrepairable Generators in sequential order so that a path for their MPB is cleared. They must then drive the MPB into the enemy stronghold and capture it from within. Scuba Siege by Verna is fairly self-explanatory. The offense assaults ever more distant bases (each Gen is unrepairable) until they finally reach the Switch base. Here, destroying any of the four Gens allows the offense to cap. Witchhead by Celios has been put up and thoroughly tested. Similar to Uphill Battle, it forces the offense to attack one unrepairable Generator at a time in order to progress. Each of these is partially protected by ForceField Gens, though be warned that all of them are also accessible by a "back door" route (this includes the Switch!) On the map update side of things, Prismatic by propain has been given a Pond Edition treatment. The ForceField tower has been removed entirely and replaced with a Generator in the base itself that may or may not be taken out in the future. Finally, Reprisal by Celios has been updated based on feedback. The ForceField Gens have been renamed "Primary" and "Secondary" and must now be attacked sequentially. The Secondary Gen (previously the upper FF Gen) has also been made far easier to attack thanks to a second chute having been added, thus making the back route as effective as the front one. The offense has also been sped up a bit by giving them two routes of attack right off the bat, as well as elevator FFs to support them. Last but not least, the Switch Gen is now easier to defend since the giant FF down there is now gone when the Main Gens go out. Hope you like the changes! Forum Discussion >> Wed, 30 May 2007 17:04:05 -0500 http://www.the-pond.net/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=104 Two map updates I've been planning for a while finally got done this week: First off, the Cold War final base has been made much harder to camp since the offense can no longer get into it until all other gens are down. I'm also considering letting the defense spawn and setup there a gen in advance, though we'll try this setup first for now. Secondly, Death From Below has been made much simpler. The gens must now be defended in order and cannot be rushed by the offense. The final base is still campable, however, though I'm considering eliminating this as well. Finally, Geordi W's map (Hey Now!) has been upped to the server. We have a few other new ones in the works as well! Forum Discussion >> Wed, 16 May 2007 12:09:15 -0500 http://www.the-pond.net/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=103 There's 3 new maps on the pond today, just in time for tonight's pub. Brigade by Morgoth Bauglir is a Siege map with an interesting twist: you cap by destroying and holding 9 of the 12 objectives rather than by hitting a switch. Saharan by Golarth the Bold also changes things up by offering a Convoy-like experience. Finally, Auza's VSTO - Frozen Glory is a Team Hunters take on a TR2 map. In an effort to make the gametype more rewarding of teamwork, there are now two bases keyed to support only one team each. Come join us tonight at 9:00 PM EST to check out these new additions! Forum Discussion >> Sat, 31 Mar 2007 18:00:09 -0500 http://www.the-pond.net/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=102 There's been a few more changes made this week. A map called Turbide has been added to the rotation, The Fall of Omicron 8 has been removed and several others have been updated. Modified maps include Bastion, To the Edge, Delirium and Northern Winds. Red Shifter has also been kind enough to fix a scoring issue with DnD. Check out all the details here. Tue, 27 Mar 2007 22:02:12 -0500 http://www.the-pond.net/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=101 Red Shifter's made a few updates to the server the CnH junkies should be happy about this week. He's upped his improved version of the gametype, complete with better personal and team scoring, improved score tracking, energy pack spawning and a variety of other wacky options. If that isn't enough to pique your interest, he's also written an Infinite Bounty mod that makes the gametype last longer than its standard microbial-lifespan duration. Those of you who were around during the daytime last Saturday know what I'm talking about. Dare I say it may even be worth throwing together a few playable maps for? In far less impressive news, I've made a few minor changes to Reprisal recently with several more on the way. On this front, I feel obligated to mention that not only did a vote to skip the map fail last week, it failed by - get this - a significant majority. I nearly wept with joy. Seriously. Forum Discussion >> Wed, 21 Mar 2007 10:14:55 -0500 http://www.the-pond.net/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=100 Not only was the first actual expansion pack for Guild Wars announced yesterday (cheaper, no new classes and you have to own a prior campaign to play it), but Anet also decided to drop another bomb on the community. Guild Wars 2, promising an experience that sounds far closer to that of World of Warcraft than its predecessor, will apparently be ready for beta testing by 2008. With a revamped level cap, movement system and PvP experience, the title seems to be pushing for a far more casual and mainstream audience. Good news, or has Anet just decided that fixing the current game isn't worth it? Forum Discussion >> Wed, 21 Mar 2007 09:53:57 -0500 http://www.the-pond.net/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=99 Not sure if any of you would be interested, but TWL just launched a new 3v3 Team Gauntlet ladder. It's base at the moment, though if there's enough interest I'm sure a classic one could be setup as well. More info available here. Tue, 06 Mar 2007 00:56:07 -0600 http://www.the-pond.net/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=98 Just in time for the Halloween event, Nightfall has officially shipped. You'll be able to start playing as of 12:01 a.m. PDT on Friday, October 27th. Hope to see you there! Thu, 26 Oct 2006 20:25:20 -0500 http://www.the-pond.net/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=97 As announced on the Game's official website Starsiege2845.com, the dev team is coming closer to another milestone. The Alpha Tech Release (ATR) is a showcase of what they have accomplished so far. Keep in mind that what you might see might be subject to changes as developement continues and also that it is still far away from being finished in any aspect. Sat, 14 Oct 2006 20:38:10 -0500 http://www.the-pond.net/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=96 Direct download from the official website Mon, 09 Oct 2006 14:51:13 -0500 http://www.the-pond.net/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=95 Quote from Guildwars.com: The event will take place September 22, 2006, beginning at 12:01am PDT and running through September 24, 2006 at 11:59pm PDT. The Guild Wars Nightfall World Preview Event will feature previews of the new environments, new missions, and new battle arenas. The event will allow players to create Nightfall-specific characters from the six core professions as well as the two new Nightfall professions, the Dervish and the Paragon, and try out new Nightfall skills. The entire Istani province of the new realm Elona will be open for player exploration, and players will be able to view the first Nightfall in-game cinematics. In addition, two new arenas will make their debut, the Sunspear Arena and Churranu Island. A link to the original article can be found here. Important things to know: 1) You do not need an existing Guildwars account to play on that weekend. Details on how to acquire an access key will be posted on guildwars.com before the event start. 2) Characters you create will most likely be reset to level 1 and stripped of all equipment after the event. But will save your characters names for further use when you purchase nightfall (or any other guildwars chapter). Tue, 12 Sep 2006 20:42:50 -0500 http://www.the-pond.net/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=94 Tribalwar.com is bitter about the past. They place blame on many people for the failures of Tribes Vengeance. All they want is a "good" Tribes game, and doubt they would ever get it. So when this video somehow magically appears on the site, you can simply imagine that all hell has broken loose. People are excited. The official word from GarageGames is that this is a "tech demo" of the Atlas Engine and there is no "Tribes successor" in the works. Even so, it looks far too substantial to simply be "rumor". And it doesn't help that this site is complicating matters, since it came from a post supposedly made by Tim Aste (who works for GarageGames). This is more than enough to make you wonder what is really going on. Thu, 23 Feb 2006 08:18:53 -0600 http://www.the-pond.net/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=93 We're starting weekly HoH & GvG stuff this Thursday at 8-9 PM EST. Please be on as early as possible so we have enough. Ideally most if not all the people we have on will be reasonably experienced in PvP, but if you're not and would like to participate, it is highly recommended that you start learning. Try some builds, ask around for advice and even just screw around in random arenas if you have to. The more people we have who know their PvP stuff the easier it'll be to get groups going consistently. Mon, 30 Jan 2006 10:39:56 -0600 http://www.the-pond.net/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=92 In celebration of today's announcement of Guild Wars: Factions, ArenaNet invites all gamers to participate in a special event next week. The Guild Wars: Factions Global Free-for-All PvP Weekend begins on January 20th and runs through January 22nd. Check out the press release for information about Guild Wars: Factions, and for information about this exciting upcoming event. All are welcome to join the event! Keys will be distributed on this website and through various partners starting on Friday, January 13th. Press release can be found here. Wed, 11 Jan 2006 20:29:53 -0600 http://www.the-pond.net/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=91 Hear ye, hear ye! If thou hast but a Guild Wars account, thy noble guild of "pond" designation would advise thee to make thy presence known in Lion's Arch. A competition between thy gods of life and death taketh place every 3 hours, with glorious Yule Caps and Horns of Grenth as rewards for thy attendance. Wasteth not thy time, make thy way onto thee Guild Wars account sooneth! Sat, 31 Dec 2005 15:07:25 -0600 http://www.the-pond.net/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=90 From everyone here at the pond, have a very Merry Christmas to everyone! Stay safe and enjoy the holidays. Sun, 25 Dec 2005 19:55:07 -0600 http://www.the-pond.net/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=89 On the twelfth moon of Wintersday ArenaNet gave to me... Blessings from Dwayna Festive decorations One mighty snowman Weapons made of candy Gifts that might kill you Snow-covered henchmen New winter monsters Some really long quests Lots of drinking Dwarves Gingerbread shields Curses from Grenth And a new way to watch PvP! That's right, Observer Mode! Fri, 23 Dec 2005 03:56:30 -0600 http://www.the-pond.net/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=88 It's somewhat amusing to hear that there's another gaming community out there that's getting the VUG-style boot. It seems that COD2, just like the original COD, is suffering from a severe lack of any anti-cheat software, patches and general developer support. Sound familiar? In any case, the COD2 community apparently plans to run a 24 hour strike during which all the servers will be taken down. What this will actually accomplish is moot, but at least they're calling attention to what's apparently a growing problem in the industry. Read the whole article here. Mon, 28 Nov 2005 17:41:04 -0600