Another month has passed and before I knew it I found myself writing another AAR. Its hard to believe we are already in our third month of 2010--and still no jet-packs. I will seriously be pissed if we don't have jet-packs before 2029. F*ck 2012 tin-foil junkies, 2029 is the real deal! As we move forward into the new year, I'm haunted by my guild project list. For those that don't know, the guild project list is all the really "cool" things I want to develop for FoE but never seem to get to. One of those "really awesome" things is phase 2 of the FoE site. The current site framework has been a beta test, albeit lengthy one, in order to test out Drupal's capability. So far I'm pretty happy with it, however Drupal is more of a Content Management System (CMS) and less of a Model View Controller (MVC) framework. This probably means nothing to you and feel free to skip a head, however if you're a web geek like myself read on.

A CMS suite uses, at least by today's standards, a MVC to receive content, save content and display content. This is great if all you want to do is have a blog or perhaps a website for an average guild full of average people. This of course is not FoE! Instead, I essentially want to create the sky.net of guild websites. I almost hate the term website as it really implies a static low functioning web application. While Drupal has served us well, I'm looking at developing a completely new site that truly integrates signup-to-member workflow management. I'm sure every S1 reading this is happy, however there is no ETA on this new site which I will now call "Project: Dominate the Web" (please say in loud ominous voice).

Project: Dominate the Web will likely be written in Ruby using the Rails framework. However I'm a HUGE fan of python and recently been looking into TurboGears so the jury is still out. While this may mean absolutely nothing to you, it does mean that our site will be purely customized from user integration to forums. I want leaders and members alike to have access to data interchangeably on any page they are on. For leaders, they can access a members profile and site heuristics by clicking on their name assigned to comments or forums post. The goal is to provide greater guild cognizance for management so they can address needs quicker. For members, greater social functions will be integrated into the site allowing users to provide detail about their characters, games they are playing etc. Our current setup through Drupal works...sort of...but rather sits on top of the Drupal CMS framework and thus to a degree causes some development issues.

Developing for Project: Dominate the Web will take some time. The truth in adverting is don't expect to see anything soon. The current site works fine, looks better than just about any other guild site I've seen, and is scalable and flexible to meet some of the demands. However, if we have any python or ruby coders that would like to work with me on drafting up the project road map, let me know. As for everybody else, please help me put together a wish list of ideas you would like to see in the future site.

State of the Empire

Probably the hottest thing happening now is the need to get your Battlefield Bad Company 2 gaming on. Don't fight it, its ok, we understand. What separates FoE from the others is we are a gaming community and as such appreciate the diversity that playing other games brings into our guild. BFBC2 hits at a great time as people's gaming desires begin to stray from their long time held MMO. If you got the itch to split heads, link up with others on vent and go kill in the name of FoE.

As for the MSCs, things are going well. We have a hefty group of PRs to bring in this cycle across the board. Galaxies resurgence has really invigorated 1STMSC. This brings the MSC into its 7th year of killing rebels; we just hope they don't give up again. The Aion MSC is steadily climbing the guild ladder on their server. They are continually proving to be one of the best guilds in the rift. The WoW chapter may return to MSC status soon. I've been currently talking to Saint who may be bringing 10-15 friends into the chapter. This would revitalize membership taking it back up to an MSC for the Cataclysm expansion. Star Trek Online has slowed to a crawl, 9THMSC by enlarge is eagerly anticipating future content release. There has also been small groups of FoE planting the banner in games such as Darkfall and the like. Short answer, things across the empire are going well!

As for guild MVPs:
Aion: Congratulations to Miharu as she has moved up in the ranks of Asmodean Faction to become our guilds first One-Star Officer. This is an astounding achievement and we salute you.../salute.

STO: We would like to congratulate Perry Noid, she's has stood out of the crowd as an excellent PvPer and has hit the Tier 5 mark far quicker than any other member. I personally enjoy Perry's laughter as she smashes in fed faces.

I would also like to welcome the following PRs slated to be inducted on 07MAR10:

Aion:

Tical
Rothwilder
Rarengar
Kezar / MRK
Manslayer
Epion

STO:

Mook
Ayatolla
Mortisrex
Blackbox77 (anderson)
Blitzhammer
Dizeez
Elderr
Gdank
GDFTigerTank
Naxin
Nesfari
Nopro
Soulshox
Zainredding
Zephyrus
Kruven
Snake Plisskenn
Vexanadu (Gorn)

Other thoughts...

If you are looking for my thoughts about STO, please read my Guild Network article. Which takes me to my next point, what is this Guild Network thing I see? For those that are new or don't know, Guild Network is a collaboration of talented FoE members who provide written insight to guild, gaming, technology and general online culture. Through Guild Network, we've written professionally for game magazines (published) earning income and notoriety for the guild. If you feel you have a bit more going-for you than being a button-monkey, feel free to get a hold of either Kia, momo or myself and we will bring you in on the fun (button-monkeys need not apply).

Would you be willing to buy video games through an affiliate program? Most of us by games through steam for convenience and I'll be the first to praise (and condemn) the glory of distributed, cloud, [insert buzz-word] computing when it comes to video games. However, FoE is now in the Google affiliate program where we can get a percentage of purchases sent back to the guild. I believe the max is 3%. While this doesn't seem like a lot, on a larger scale at the rate members buy games it could provide a significant revenue stream for the guild. Let me know what you think along with any comments or discussion points for this months AAR.