Thanks for all the fish...

First and foremost, I would like to thank Kia and Snit for their efforts on FoE's After Action Review (AAR). I will begin taking over the AAR to recap the guild's activities and highlight future endeavors. This shifts the content from an entertainment piece toward a more "guild business" focused discussion. Snit and Kia will continue to lead Guild Network and provide entertainment pieces that enrich our community. The AAR will now be linked within the forums for member discussion, trolling, flaming, and general ass-hatery!

With January behind us we have already plunged head first into 2010 activities. From the get-go there have been several dynamic changes: the most striking change being the closure of the Fallen Earth MSC. While there was some initial concern about leaving the game, the community at large has embraced the change and moved on to new games. I tip my hat to all the hard work members and leaders put into the MSC, but the deteriorating state of the game coupled with a waning desire to play fostered an environment that would only drag the MSC to a slow death. Personally, I had hoped for Icarus Studio's debut game to be more akin to an early Star Wars Galaxies. However, the general lack of content, whether it be PvP or PvE, failed to keep FoE's player-base entertained. Some of this was the result of our own e-flexing due to many months of pounded the competition's face into the ground. Ultimately, the decision to withdraw FoE forces from the game is mine. This has afforded the guild the opportunity to reinforce the Star Trek Online (STO) MSC which has already produced favorable results!

Additionally, the WoW chapter has pretty much moved on to STO. We have kept it open as there are a hand-full of players still wearing the FoE tags proudly. The game itself has pretty much turned into an adult version of Hello-Kitty Island Adventure, and as promises of new games appear on the horizon WoW will likely draw its last breath as a Chapter by this summer. Change is good!

State of the Empire

We're doing good! FoE is kicking ass and taking names across all MSCs. Our gaming community is thriving and there are new opportunities to expand the empire this year. I personally hope to develop/train three new MSC Commanders to help take on new areas of the guild. If you think you might want to lead a Chapter or potentially an MSC come talk to me. If I haven't scared you away after we talk then you might be masochistic enough to be a FoE leader! There is one area that the guild needs to improve upon: ensuring Potential Recruits PR(s) understand the FoE rules. Such is the case during recruitment surges when a few players may fall through the cracks and no receive FoE's full attention. I challenge leaders on all echelons and members alike to hold PR(s) to our high standards. If they don't make the cut, don't let them in.

I would like to take the time to point out the success that the AION MSC has had. For starters, the MSC has survived the grueling grind and stabilized itself as a presence within the AION gaming community. The leadership in AION has successfully negotiated several guild mergers, bringing in quality players. The AION MSC continues to provide a solid home for members seeking to cut their teeth in a fantasy genre. Keep up the good work!

The 2010 Plan!

In an effort to be more transparent, I would like to give you a glimpse of things that are on my mind for the guild in 2010. Sadly, I had expected Star Wars the Old Republic (SWTOR) to be released late this year. Since this is no longer a reality, STRAT-FoE and I have gone back and reviewed upcoming game releases with the hope of plotting out future expansions for our Empire. The good news is there ARE games that will entertain (and hopefully challenge) us as we bide our time for Bioware's masterpiece. With this in mind, there are two primary games on my radar: STO and Earthrise.

Currently, we are engaged in STO. The game is a bit of a diamond-in-the-rough, but all-in-all a fun, well-rounded game, with a monster of an intellectual Property to boot. This is definitely FoE's first quarter 2010 game. While the content may be a little lacking for the Klingon faction, there is much PvP to be had and a detailed ship combat system to literally spend hours tweaking. Cryptic Studios has promised many updates and fixes and we fully expect an open PvP zone to be released in the near future. If by chance Cryptic fails to deliver the goods (god forbid a game company should do that), then STO should carry FoE until summer. However, I'm optimistic and fully expect STO to carry MSC status for years to come.

Earthrise is a game developed by a European company, Masthead Studios. FoE has been tracking the development for some time and the collective feel for the game is a positive one. From what we've read and our interviews with Masthead, it seems Earthrise will truly be the modern version of SWG. I don't want to get anyone's hopes up, especially those that long for the days of old, but Earthrise does (so far as we can tell) seem to be aligned to the guilds over all taste of crafting, PvP, and PvE. I have engaged STRAT-FoE staff to begin re-connecting with Masthead in an effort to launch FoE into the closed beta. In the event that STO turns into a vortex-of-fail, Earthrise is the game that FoE will place emphasis on to carry us into 2011. If you haven't signed up for beta I encourage you to do so.

Naturally there are many more games slotted for a 2010 release. Of those, All Points Bulletin (APB) seems to be a game FoE members may find themselves playing. I'm not opposed to an MSC in this game, but time will tell if APB will truly be worthy of our attention. There are several space games I've been eye'ing--JumpGate, Black Prophecy (be careful when Google'ing this one!)--and they all seem promising, however I've yet to meet anyone in the betas. I usually don't launch an MSC until we get boots on the ground in beta; this mentality has saved us from numerous disasters such as Pirates of the Burning Fail, Conanfail and Tabula Rasa (translated Epic Fail). To be honest, I personally believe we have moved too much and prefer to sit on a game for at least one year. But with the relentless assault of mediocre titles in a game genre saturated with poorly developed games, we will find ourselves, at time, moving from title to title in hopes of lashing onto something great.

As stated, I do foresee WoW going away in 2010, but it's to bold a statement to see us saying good bye to SWG as well. Granted this will be the second good bye to SWG but it will likely be the last. As Star Wars the Old Republic builds steam expect to see the SWG player-base slip away. The game has served FoE well and, as the birthplace for the guild, will always be a bit special to our community culture.

If STO and Earthrise fail to spark your interest, 2010 is a good year for First Person Shooters (FPS). With Dice launching their newest addition of Battlefield with an enhanced engine, my imagination has run wild with visions of what the next version of BF 2142 will look like! Please note: If or when the newest BF 2142 is released, I'll probably be unreachable for a month. If you find yourself turned off by the current MMOs, I encourage you to join the FoE steam community and link up with your guild mates and enjoy some FPS action.

To recap, FoE is expanding into STO and Earthrise for 2010. I'm open to new ideas for games, but feel that our current selection are fairly good choices. Barring anything amazing sneaking up on our radar, STO and Earthrise should carry us into 2011. If these don't fit your fancy, then split some heads in an FPS with other guild members. Feel free to post your ideas or comments in AAR discussion thread.