RLGaming.com

DarkPheonix (NBT admin) also posted this on DSC so we may want to drop them a line:

Those of you in NBT4 probably know this already, but this is for the new units that are joining NBT-Mercs.

HomeLAN has removed DK as Game Group Manager of MW4. As such, she is no longer the approved admin of the HomeLAN MW4 servers. That leaves both NBT4 and the upcoming NBT-Mercs in something of a deficit situation.

OK, gang. This is where we come in. We need to make our position known to HomeLAN, and make it known immediately.

I would like to request that EACH AND EVERY pilot that participates in this league contact HomeLAN today. By email, HomeLAN forums, our forums (this thread) by snail mail, by phone, smoke signals, whatever method is available to you. Actually, making use of multiples of these methods is preferred.

The following is requested from HomeLAN:

DK restored to Game Group Manager
MW4 Servers brought fully back online
MW4 Servers brought up to specs for MW4: Mercs
Many of you play on these servers 4 or 5 nights a week, if not more. Without them, we are dead in the water for the foreseeable future. If we can make it known to HomeLAN how much these servers are needed and appreciated, hopefully we can get action taken on this matter.
When sending your messages please be very direct and firm, but at the same time professional (no cursing or swearing AT ALL!).

We are calling on YOU the league to help us in this. Have at it.

Contact Info:

Please feel free to voice your concerns about this matter on the HomeLAN forums at http://www.homelanfed.com/newforums/ or write directly to Sockpuppet and Serpentius at sockpuppet@homelan.com & serpentius@homelan.com

[ 11-20-2002: Message edited by: Dark Phoenix ]

--------------------
NBT-Mercs Admin
The Dark Phoenix Has Risen

I just got this email back from Home Lan:

HomeLAN has every interest in keeping the MW4 community alive and kicking, and this includes its support of the NBT4 community, arguably the largest of its kind.

HomeLAN has spent almost 2 years supporting this community with relative free-reign over its MW4 servers, even going so far as to expand the servers with graphics cards to support newer versions of the game, something our other game servers dont do.

HomeLAN has grown from a community, to an organization that must make money to survive. We have always been supportive of the gamers in the market, and have tried relentlessly to not bombard them with advertisements, banners or a pay-for-play model to keep the spirit of gaming alive. After all, we're all gamers ourselves, not a bunch of Corporate suits.

Many months ago, HomeLAN was approached with the request to pay Die Kerensky money to keep her liquid while she devoted more and more of her personal time to MW4 and NBT4 specifically. The NBT4 league went on, grew and prospered. But complaints from our non-league patrons of MW4 games were a bit unhappy due to the lack of attention paid them.

Normally, HomeLAN Game Group Managers (which Die was attributed to being apart of) manage more than one game, and manage the HomeLAN servers for their game(s) during match time, league support, and most importantly, public playtime (which ends up being the largest group of gamers HomeLAN caters to)

Servers were given, and maintained to the best of our ability. Modifications were made, website hosting was offered (although recently this website hosting was no longer needed, but HomeLAN wasn't informed until we shut down the server the site was on only to realize it had been moved much earlier)

HomeLAN Game Group Managers are part of a team that keep HomeLAN alive, and going strong. They communicate with each other in relation to whats going on in the gaming world according to them. They keep the leaders who make HomeLAN decisions aware of happenings in their part of the gaming scene, and most importantly, they take care of the public players that visit our servers, which is one of the things that keeps us going.

Unfortunately, with Die Kerensky, the situation was different. We've asked many many times for status updates, information, communication and most importantly, to be in the loop and informed. To be able to decide how and when the servers were used, and in the event Die had a better use for the servers, at least that reason would be given and HomeLAN (who own the servers and bandwidth) would at least be informed how their servers and bandwidth were being used, and their benefits maximized to the public.

This didn't happen, and it was asked for on more than one occasion. Unfortunately, no matter how well NBT4 is doing, it doesn't mean HomeLAN is doing the same. We have to judge a games popularity on the amount of people are reporting using/playing in the servers. On emails we get, and most importantly, on information we get from the Game group manager.

Die wants a group of servers and bandwidth to run, and wants to have her full time job be to run NBT4. Unfortunately, she wants HomeLAN to pay for it, and we can no longer afford to do so. We're cutting costs in all areas to keep going and grow, and with such a lack of information, support and desire to promote our growth, and self-interest at heart, we can no longer financially support what Die requires.

As for the servers, we do plan on continuing to support them, as well as the league if they want. We simply cannot afford to pay Die Kerensky every month to run something that is not a part of HomeLAN, but simply managed by it.

We provide many big websites with free hosting, servers, and support. They realize that it is up to them to provide their income for themselves, not HomeLAN. I think we've done quite enough, and are a big supporter of the community and have been for many years.

I hope you can see where I am coming from, and understand my position.

If you should have any further concerns or questions, please feel free to contact me directly.

Regards,

Adam Vener
Director - HomeLAN Gaming

I have made some made some inquirreies, waiting on the info....I have posted support for Die...untill proven differently...that will be the Lighthorse line for know. Myself and Steel have delt with Die...by her actions she has earned bour trust. Steel..I need you to put your ear to the ground and keep on top of this.....

This is from DP of the lead admins in NBT4....fresh off the presses. Steel..back to work...hehe

Member # 712



Member Rated:
posted 11-21-2002 08:40 AM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
OK, here goes. Yesterday was an interesting, aggravating, educational, stupefying, unbelievably weird day. As most of you know already. Starting at 9:00 (EST). Needless to say, some of us didn’t get any work done yesterday.

At this point, I am not going to comment anymore on the causes, concerns or people involved in the server situation, and just discuss what NBT will be doing, as well as the solutions reached.

I spent about 6 hours on the phone yesterday, working on this project. I talked to various unit leaders (waaay too many of you have my phone number <grin> , DK, HomeLAN, and various others both in the league and without. I finally got to bed around 1:00 this morning.

The end solution is that, for the time being, NBT will continue to use the HomeLAN server system. This is with the qualification that HomeLAN will follow through on its promises to myself and the league in various areas (will come back to this). HomeLAN will continue to provide the servers for our league’s use. We will use them for league drops, and we will make sure they are usable during the day, as well as keeping HomeLAN informed of traffic on the servers, trends, etc.

DK will be continuing as the NBT Server Admin, as well as Primus of ComStar. Thus she is still the head of this league, as well as the primary individual that will be doing drops for all of you. I will be acting Game Group Manager for the time being, communicating with HomeLAN, as well as tracking the servers during the day. That responsibility may go to someone else in the future, but for the time being I will handle it to get everything running again.

Now we come to HomeLAN’s promises, both to myself and the league. By end of business next Wednesday, HomeLAN has stated that they will have our remaining 5 servers up and running. This will include our Voice Comms (353) as well as 3 BK game servers. We are going to convert one of the servers over to MW4: Mercs. Traxxas will be there today with a Mercs CD in order to work with HomeLAN on installing it on one of the down servers, and getting it up and running. Additional actions to be taken by HomeLAN are the upgrading of the servers to a minimum of 933 mhz / 256 meg so that we can run each of them for Mercs, as well as providing us the ability to upgrade the software on each (they are all running Win2000, SP2 right now).

DK and I will also be activating two additional server admins. These individuals will have the responsibility of handling all drops on 2 specific nights of each week. We have some individuals in mind, and will be contacting them today. HomeLAN has stated that they will expedite their approval process. We will provide training for the new server admins, as well as explaining both to them and to the league, exactly what their role will be.

As long as HomeLAN follows through on their statements, both to myself and the league, then this relationship can and will continue. If they do not, then the league will not continue with the HomeLAN service. We have been burned in the past by this, and the aggravation level is not worth the returns in the long run. HomeLAN has stated that they have corrected their communication problems. I’m willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.

So, to sum up: Battles will recommence this evening. Battle Scheduling may continue as well. We are discussing multiple options, both with HomeLAN, as well as other companies for ways to promote NBT further in the future. Several pilots/leaders contacted us with excellent ideas, as well as specific contact information on this. We will be following through on each over the next week.

--------------------
The Dark Phoenix Has Risen