Clan Interaction

[Ouchek]

I gotta agree with rai on this.
I've been once a pub player, just like everyone else...and this is why I can quite easily tell you that even if you dont play soldat in order to GET BETTER (although I doubt anyone wants to be worse...) or get into the "proffesional gaming", playing gathers and joining IRC will allow you to play organized CTF games, Instead of playing in pubs with kruczek[PL] constantly spamming the default soldat taunts and whining kurwa everytimes he gets killed.. not mentioning the people named "Yourself" crouching and using minigun all maps long.
Dude I miss pubs time so much.

[Cappy]

We just play for fun, thats mainly why we play in pubs. I myself am not playing this game to become the best that there ever was. I just play it for fun...but if all you people care about is having 'organized' matches that supposedly is supposed to make you a better player. Then quit soldat and start playing Halo. THEN you can try and be the mastah and join real life tournaments for money. But I'm sorry to say, I don't think soldat is that kind of game.

[Ouchek]

If you had read my post you would have had understood my point... I just said that gathers and cws are more fun than pubs. Why?
Mostly because people do whatever in pubs they camp, spawnkill, all use the same weapons, are usually stupid ingame, whine etc etc...
Now if you weren't stubborn you would understand that people play gathers because it's more organized, people GENERALLY have a better behaviour ( they dont votekick you when you do a backflip eh), and these very people don't necessarily play to be the SUPER MASTAH as you so call them.
Once again I'll repeat, you dont play gathers to become zomg super pro, but to have fun, more fun than in pubs.

note : Dont get me wrong I didn't say everyone in pubs is like that, or everyone on IRC is friendly and not stupid, but this is how people generally act.

[Cappy]

If you had read my post you would have had understood my point... I just said that gathers and cws are more fun than pubs. Why?
Mostly because people do whatever in pubs they camp, spawnkill, all use the same weapons, are usually stupid ingame, whine etc etc...
Now if you weren't stubborn you would understand that people play gathers because it's more organized, people GENERALLY have a better behaviour ( they dont votekick you when you do a backflip eh), and these very people don't necessarily play to be the SUPER MASTAH as you so call them.
Once again I'll repeat, you dont play gathers to become zomg super pro, but to have fun, more fun than in pubs.

note : Dont get me wrong I didn't say everyone in pubs is like that, or everyone on IRC is friendly and not stupid, but this is how people generally act.

If you play gathers to have fun, then why not play in pubs as well? if you're playing for fun, then you shouldn't care about what gun your teammates are using, the majors being useless, ect. Unless just winning every time to you is fun...

Anyways, sorry Brock...this topic kinda went off topic...

[Demonic]

It's not winning which is fun. Having an even battle with the enemy is fun: if your teammates are total retards, or the enemy is just a swarm of dimwits, fun is just not gonna happen. What's the point in running around and blasting them like cattle? Might aswell play Moorhuhn then. ¬_¬

[Graham]

On publics, more often than not your teammates will be of little to no use. Taunts are not used, they lack common sense: how many times have you seen two Majors bickering over a flag in your base, while the enemy constantly moves in? I could bring up an endless list of examples, but the conclusion is: within these circumstances, you will not improve. And sure, soccer is also fun if you play it with your mates; but it could be also much more fun if you can actually dribble and score some spectacular goals.

Me and you don't play in the same pubs then, when I play I do see plenty of people communicating. Hardly ever see anyone getting pissy about someone else being the flagger. And yes playing soccer with friends might not make you great, but playing with pissy people that do nothing but complain and talk down to you will only make you hate the game.

[LtKillroy]

Back in its day, U13 INF was great, little to no whiners, good people, lots of fun. Now Inf has more idiots but its still kinda fun. CTF can be a different story with its popularity compared to Inf, but it is never terrible.

[amrzi]

Public gaming fails, I haven't played in public for 2-2.5 years now, simply boring, no challange.

[Twistkill]

What pubs are you guys playing in that there's no challenge or it's a bunch of noobs? Those are random publics made by some 14 year old hosted on his computer. I go to well-established, dedicated ones. If you haven't played in publics for along time then go find some good ones like U13 or Rw~ Free Play Server, the ones I frequent.

[xurich]

If you're content with pubs, then there's really no reason to argue about it. I don't see anything wrong with them myself, and I occasionally join one for a quick game. I only suggest IRC for those who are looking for a bit more than public servers may offer, mainly those reasons outlined by the above posters. But if you're completely happy just pubbing, there's nothing wrong with that. I still suggest at least trying IRC/gathers a couple of times for those who haven't already, but it's pointless to force yourself if you just don't like it.

[LtKillroy]

Do you know why I like pubs. The occasional all talk noobs. Like I was just playing at U13 at rise.
Noobs like "All you blues are noobs ahahaha you suck" So we started destroying their team, and you know noobs, they make all kinds of excuses and stuff. It was just so enjoyable, blowing the crap out of a retarded noob. The reason I never got IRC/Gathers was becuase I'm not that into soldat to get all kinds of software and play it enough to be respected or w/e. I don't know if was an actual gathers map, but the server was called like CTF Gathers and the server message was something about joining at W/E website, but everyone there pretty much was very good, especially compared to what people say about people who play gathers. It might not have been an acutal gather server but it sure looked like it.

[Twistkill]

If you're content with pubs, then there's really no reason to argue about it. I don't see anything wrong with them myself, and I occasionally join one for a quick game. I only suggest IRC for those who are looking for a bit more than public servers may offer, mainly those reasons outlined by the above posters. But if you're completely happy just pubbing, there's nothing wrong with that. I still suggest at least trying IRC/gathers a couple of times for those who haven't already, but it's pointless to force yourself if you just don't like it.

Actually, ask Rai and ouchek, I was in #sna.gather for a little bit. No one was there, unfortunately, so nothing got started up... seems alright, but I also need Ramirez's Soldat Clicker program to help with getting server information... and it only work with mIRC, I just use the Chatzilla Firefox extension. Whatever.

[Rai-Dei]

A couple things Twist and I am happy you came. :D
1. There was a gather going, so it wasn't empty.
2. You don't need text's program, The bot will PM/post the server info.

[mozzer]

IRC > xfire x10
Why?
1) loads of clan channels
2) Gathers which improve skills a hundred times over if u play regularly
3) You can make your own clan channel with all the info you need instead of making a useless website
4) You can find a clan war in about 1 minute after advertising that you want one and are mostly just top clans
5) Great place to spot new talent for your clan

[.::Blaze::.]

this may seem weird but for mine clan we have practice everynight at 9 pm eastern but u only gotat make it to 3 its not hard to get there 3 times and it also helps alot...u guys may seem like its alot but its not that bad

[Dr. Zombi3]

this may seem weird but for mine clan we have practice everynight at 9 pm eastern but u only gotat make it to 3 its not hard to get there 3 times and it also helps alot...u guys may seem like its alot but its not that bad

now thats worst, needing to go to practice at  9 o clock.

[SpiltCoffee]

IRC > xfire x10
Why?
1) loads of clan channels
2) Gathers which improve skills a hundred times over if u play regularly
3) You can make your own clan channel with all the info you need instead of making a useless website
4) You can find a clan war in about 1 minute after advertising that you want one and are mostly just top clans
5) Great place to spot new talent for your clan

Did you know Xfire actually supports clans?

My leader runs his clan off Xfire, and he does it pretty darn well. It's so easy to get in contact with new clan members, too. As soon as they're in the clan, they're on your contact list.

So it means that you only then need to have clan leaders on your Xfire, and you can find a war pretty easily.

Mind you, I am in Australia, so it's a bit of a different story down here.

[Veritas]

playing with pissy people that do nothing but complain and talk down to you will only make you hate the game.

Boy did you sum up why I no longer play in pubs.

[ElGato]

I play in U13 all the time, and I mean waaaaaay too much. I also happen to play gathers and have been in some competitive clans. That being said there is just no argument, publics are very fun on their own but they offer almost no challenge or almost no chance to improve for a skilled player. If you want yourself or your clan to be the best you/it can be get on IRC, the people aren't nearly as mean as most of the forumers(that don't go on IRC) would have you believe and competition really is fun. Before you say anything Twist I love publics and I will probably play in them until I quit, but there really is hardly any sense of teamwork and the skill level is marginally lower than in gathers. And gathers are 2-3 10 minute maps if they are starting up quick, that's not that long.

On publics, more often than not your teammates will be of little to no use. Taunts are not used, they lack common sense: how many times have you seen two Majors bickering over a flag in your base, while the enemy constantly moves in? I could bring up an endless list of examples, but the conclusion is: within these circumstances, you will not improve. And sure, soccer is also fun if you play it with your mates; but it could be also much more fun if you can actually dribble and score some spectacular goals.

Do you hate pro soccer players for little-no reason too?

[§hinobi]

Well, IRC isn't all bad. I, personally, don't use it much for I have dial-up, and it lags sometimes when I go into a game or gather with it connected. Now, I don't have the constant bickering of my parents to get offline causing me not to commit, which is why I'm happily in a clan, but that really isn't the point of this conversation. The point of this conversation should be whether or not a clan leader should be able to force the members into a practice.

Honestly, I'd say both yes and no. At certain times, after a stretch of bad luck, bad playing skill, or whatnot, or just severe inactiveness, it will do the clan good to be forced into a practice. It could be very beneficial, and boost morale. Of course, the losing team during the practice, especially if they are being blown out, could get even worse morale. So you have to be careful of what you choose to do, and how you do it.

But, y'know, forcing members to practice all the time wouldn't be a good idea. It'd make you seem more like a dictator than a friendly leader that keeps order. I think it would drain the respect you've gained and would cause the members to be very grumpy. One hour a week, though, should not be hard to do. Just make sure some of your clanmates are online, then ask them to go to your server so you can play for a bit. If they are busy, ask them again later. Sometimes you REALLY are busy and can't just walk away from what you're doing and play Soldat. But I'm sure you can find a time during the week when your members ARE available. Use that time wisely, and flourish.

Oh, and you should also count scrimmages and clan wars as practices. It even further enhances your teamwork, and will eventually cause you to become a better teammate and player in general. Try to scrim or whatnot as often as you can, thataway, you'll be in good shape to take down even stronger opponents.
___

Now, about the Pub servers thing. Not many CTF public servers are very fun, in my opinion. I've played some in U13, !EliteCTF, and Fractured. And I don't really care for any of them. !EliteCTF mainly because no one frequents the Regular CTF server, which is what I enjoy, and stick around at the Barret + Saw/Knife server. U13 is okay, I guess, for I suppose more skilled players would show up at the Reg CTF servers. I just never happen to see many of them. That's why I prefer to play with the friends I've made and know are good. It helps me to gain a better practice and improvement with my time, especially since I'm playing as a TEAM with the people there, and not just hoping my teammates will do the right thing.

Sometimes, it's just not the best thing to play public. It helps your personal skill, but doesn't enhance teamwork, usually. I don't like it when I go to a public server and my entire team keeps making stupid mistakes. I hate it when I make stupid mistakes, too. It gets me frustrated and then I play worse and worse. :\ I guess you'd have more experience in Pub Servers, though, Twisty, and would have a more informed opinion on this topic.

I think I've rambled enough now. :3