October, 1999 News and events from the month of October.

October 30, 1999
|Repairs|10:04pm
Hmmmmm...almost 12 hours since my last post. Weird. Anyway, I just wanted to let you know, that I'm currently working on the fix to make this site 100% Netscape compliant. I got a very good letter from one of our visitors explaining where my errors were showing up, and possible fixes. I can't thank him enough for this advice, as it was very good! As such, you'll now see that this page looks the way it's supposed to in Netscape! I'll be fixing all subsequent pages in this manner over the next while. PimpyRules sent me this wonderful information, so if you run into him, give him a pat on the back for me. Well, I'm off to do some work on the site, and probably get some much needed sleep. Until later...

|Details|10:40am
It seems that this site isn't 100% Netscape compatible...once again. I've been told via e-mail that the side nav bar doesn't render out properly when viewed using that browser. I made the decision a couple of weeks ago that i'm no longer worrying about browser compatiblity with Netscrape, for the simple reason that it's coding just isn't up to snuff anymore. So, you can consider this the official announcement that this site will only view properly with Explorer 4.0 and up. I will add the appropriate notification near the top of the site, for future reference. I'm sorry if this causes some inconvienence, but if this site is ever going to be updated, i can't spend ALL of my time worrying about rendering in every browser. If i fix this problem later on, i'll let you all know. Thanks to VorTeX for bringing this to my attention...

October 29, 1999
|Coffee|8:52am
I'm trying to get a few of our old reviews converted to our new format today, so you should hopefully be able to access some of them finally. My appologies for it being so long, but some of this stuff just takes time. With the next batch of reviews, from our playtest last night, Wedge and nimrod. will also be doing reviews, so let them, as well as me, know what you think. The new reviews should hopefully be ready in the next day or so. If you were at the playtest last night, please be sure to put your thoughts about the maps in the discussion forums, as we use your feelings on these things as well when we write them up. I'm out for now...

October 28, 1999
|Playtest Over|9:15pm
Our long overdue playtest has come to a close. Although we had a smaller than average turnout, it was a good crowd, and we got all of the maps covered in record time. There weren't any real wiz-bang maps in this batch, but there were a few that were good enough to have in your collection. Thanks to all those who came out! My thanks also goes out the the folks over at PCGS, who's server has been kindly donated to us for playtesting when we need it. Of course, having one of them working for us (Wedge) helps a bunch too! Hopefully we'll have some new reviews for you soon! And in the meantime, i'll get busy transferring our old maps to this new format...

|Playtest Tonight|3:30pm
Well, good news folks! We'll finally be having our long-overdue  playtest tonight. Wedge has got the server all set to go for us, and the maps are available to download. There's only one problem, i forgot which ones i'm running! *ack* So, I need to go and have a quick run through of my map list, and see which ones we're supposed to be doing. I'll post the list here shortly, so stay tuned...

|Later that same morning|9:00am
With about 4 and half hours sleep under my belt, I'm feeling ready to take on the world! *yawn* Yea, right. Well, I still need more sleep, but I'll have time to do that later. Don't have any playtest news for you yet, but I have a strong feeling that there's something going on with the PCGS group over there tonight. I'll bring you all up to speed a little later, when I know more. By the way, judging from the forums, our little Pikachu buddy has drawn some responses. Just keep in mind: "All work and no play makes jack a dull boy"...

|Early Morning|3:35am
*YAWN!* Ok, so I've been a bad boy for not updating here over the last couple of days...well, there's been a good reason, and you're looking at it right now...the new design! I know, I know, the last design was only up a few days ago, but I was really unhappy with it, and the design and layout for this latest one hit me last night. So, after picking my good buddy Radium's mind for a bit, I got some really good ideas, and finally learned how to work with PhotoShop 5 a little better (Thanks a LOT Radium! You're a life-saver!!!). As you can see, things worked out pretty well, and I must say, I'm VERY happy with it. So, and I know you're all going to groan when I say this: I'm leaving the design ALONE for some time....seriously. This takes too high a toll on me trying to do this, AND get our maps reviewed. So, this is the status quo for a while. I'll have news about our next playtest up sometime today, PROMISE!!! We've put this off long enough. I've got to convert our entire review stack to this new format, but that shouldn't take too long, so expect to see things humming along in a day or so. Well, I really should get some sleep, as i'm beat! Later...

October 26, 1999
|Morning|9:20am
*yawn*

October 25, 1999
|More Content|11:00pm
Ok! the files section is finally up and running. Mucho thanks to nimrod. for getting it all set-up. Now that we have a better system for the team to do updates, you can look forward to work getting done much faster around here. Make sure you head over and check out all his hard work! News about the upcoming playtest later...

|New Design, Again!|3:00pm
Here we go again! Another redesign from yours truly. I'm sure you're wondering if I'm ever going to be satisfied with things, and you know what? probably not. I'm always looking for new and exciting ways to spice up, or speed up this website, and bring the things you, the visitor is looking for: The Latest Map Reviews, and All Things Team Fortress. You'll also notice that we've changed our name to The Collective. This is due to my feelings on the nature of the site, and to make things a bit more streamlined. I'm of the thought that the "Team Fortress" aspect of our name was a bit redundant. The old color scheme was really bringing me down, and I had a number of complaints on how slow the site was loading, no doubt due to heavy graphic content! I've decided to cut out the fancy java links and buttons, in lieu of a faster loading, text-based navigation menu. As soon as i get the java links working the way (and speed) i like, they will be back. Until then, we'll see how this goes. There were also issues relating to color mis-matching at lower color depths, and problems with the way the page looked in Navigator. Well, i'm sure that this new color scheme will work much better, and hell, it should even work in Netscrape! I'm still converting our existing maps to the new format, so don't be surprised to see some of them offline. Not to worry they'll be back soon enough. Speaking of maps, I know we're long overdue for a playtest! I've got the maps loaded on our playtest server, and as soon as i get confirmation on the day we'll run from the rest of the team, i'll post the information here. Expect to see reviews from the other members of our site team, as it takes a bit to get them all reviewed, and with me doing it alone, it is taking a bit too long to get them out. So, after they've honed their writing skills, expect to see some results from the crew. Well, some maps are needing attention, so i'm off for now...

October 22, 1999
|Under the Weather|6:55pm
Ok, here's the scoop. There won't be a playtest tonight because I'm feeling pretty Ill. I've been feeling this way since early yesterday, and I need some time to recover. My appologies to you all, and we'll have that playtest as soon as I'm feeling up to it. Thanks again for your support...

October 21, 1999
|It's a Boy!|2:30pm
I just got word from or very own Wedge. His wife has been pretty close to bringing their second child into the world, and i was just informed that he's finally made his appearance! A hearty congraduations to the newest member of the family, and i'm sure wedge will have him on the computer within days! Feel free to send wedge your good wishes. Here's an excerpt from wedge's e-mail:

"I didn't think I'd get to a computer today, but here I am.
Jesse Durand -censored-
Born: 2:53 AM, October 21, 1999 in -censored-, WA
Sex: Male
Weight: 8 lbs, 15.1 oz.
Height: 20.5 inches
There's the particulars. He's a wonderful, mild tempered baby boy. He
opened his eyes within 10 seconds of coming out and hasn't quit looking
around since. He's very curious and very content.
Jesse's big brother, Duncan James, picked out a little beanie puppy for his
birthday present. Mom is doing great, she only labored for 2.5 hours.
More as time permits."

October 20, 1999
|Poll|6:10pm
I've taken down the last poll, and it looks like we'll be implementing the second opinion links into our map reviews. I'll have to ammend our current review template to reflect this change, and nimrod. is working on the revised archive tables to also incorporate them. Look for those changes coming soon. It also looks like the playtest will be on Friday, as there are other commitments involving our server tomorrow night, and i just can't swing tonight. I'll have further confirmation on that tomorrow...

|Heat|5:25pm
Well! It seems i'm under a little bit of an attack from the news crew at Planet Fortress. People are getting a little impatient for a playtest, now, hmmmm? Trying to get a peek at the maps for review, as well as getting our playtest server running properly takes some time, not to mention a little organization. I've been tied up with real-life matters, and that hasn't left a whole lot of free time. I'll do my best to have things ready for tomorrow night, as tonight isn't really the best time. Everything is working well, but the crew here at the collective have a lot going on in their personal lives that will take precedent over happenings here, sorry! I will give you a time for the playtest, and the map list as soon as i confirm the details. In the meantime, give me a break!...

October 19, 1999
|Damn ISP|11:40pm
Sorry for the lack of updates this evening, but my ISP decided to go down! =[ Well, it just came back up again, so i just wanted to tell you that i'm checking out the maps for our next playtest, which should be tomorrow night. When i've confirmed which ones we'll be running, i'll post them on the site for you to download. Expect that list either later tonight, or early tomorrow morning. Until then...

|Good Game|10:55am
Just finished a real kick-ass game on one of the German servers in Europe. Lemme tell ya, these guys sure knew how to work as a team! Even with only 10 players, we had a smashing game of "The Hunted". I'm not a big hunted fan or anything, but this game was great. Chatter was bare minimum (i can't speak a lick of german, nein), and the game ran pretty fast and furious. I wish more public servers were like this. If you'd like to have a look at this server sometime, i'll post the server information after this briefing. I've got new playtest maps loaded to our playtest server, but, unfortunately, i haven't been able to load and test them, to be sure all is working ok. I wasn't planning on having the playtest until tomorrow night anyway, so as soon as i get things on the server working ok, i'll post the map list for you to download in preparation. Oh, i've replaced the Pic-O-The-Day with a score screenie from my match this morning...heh...

Good Server!

Server Name: !Gamesurf.De TFC gs09
IP Address: 212.122.129.202:27015

October 18, 1999
|A mod on the horizon|3:40pm
Whist browsing through our forums, i found a link to a new mod for Half-Life that one of our members is starting to work on. It's called: soundless. While the mod is in it's early stages, it sounds quite cool, and the site is nicely done. Head on over and take a peek, and tell them Borg sent ya! They're also looking for people to come onboard and help them out, so, if you've can give them a hand, let them know...

|Reviews!|3:25pm
Finally! i've gotten the last of the reviews from our last playtest finished up, so go check them out. I'm sorry it took this long, but life doesn't always work in the most accomodating of ways. Well, since those are now finished, guess what that means? That's right, another playtest! I'm currently going through the latest submissions, and when i have the list of maps, as well as a confirmed time to play them, i'll post the information for you. In the meantime, get reading...

• Tiger - Puurrty!
• Kanvi War - Standard Fare
• Urban Escape 2 - Get lost in the dark

October 17, 1999
|A Word Of Warning|8:10pm
Ok, I'm slowly getting some of those reviews done, but I've made a decision on one that not everyone will be happy with. Mckinley's Nightmare, which we playtested last go-round, is pretty much a direct re-compile based on a Quake map. Now, I've done some checking around, and guess what? This is grounds for copyright infringement, and therefore, I'm aiding in intellectual theft by publishing this map review and comments. Unless you have explicit permission to use those textures, etc. YOU ARE COMMITTING A CRIME. Believe me, this is serious. A lot of skilled people put a lot of time into designing these games, and by using their work, without their permission in a public distribution of another game, you are committing fraud. Therefore, by use of better judgement, I'm not going to review this map. My apologies to the author involved, and to all of you for not providing this warning earlier. In this vein, I'm also pulling the review of NML2, due to the fact that the author of that map has also not obtained permission for use of textures from "Kingpin". We need to support the industry that has provided us these great games to play, not stab them in the back when they provide us the opportunity. I hope I never have to do this again, and that you all can respect my decision. If the authors in question can provide me with documentation from the respective game's owners, I'll be more than happy to put up their reviews. Until then, I feel I must do proceed in this manner. If you've got any comments on this, feel free to contact me...

|Slackerdom|3:20pm
I'm sitting in front of my machine...again...doing what, you ask? Well, NOTHING, that's what. I've pissed away most of the morning playing TFC on various public servers, and I've reached a conclusion...I SUCK! It's been too long since I played the game with any real frequency, and boy, do you lose the touch quick. Anyway, I guess I'm just commenting on my total lack of motivation lately, and it seems to be catching. It's been pretty quiet around the 'net, have you noticed? Well, with this recent lack of compliance with Navigator, and feeling that my graphics are still not up to my own standards, I've been slightly off my game, so to speak. I may get some motivation later on, and try, once again, to get those reviews up. Stay tuned...

October 16, 1999
|Solved...for now|11:50pm
Ok, since I've personally exhausted everything I could to get that damn Navigator to work properly, with no luck, I've reached a solution...no Navigator support! Ha! Seriously though, until further notice, consider this site no longer Navigator friendly. 99% of the site will work ok, it's just that 1% that's all screwy, hence the new disclaimer at the top of the page. Anyway, since I'm in heated discussions online, I'm out for now...

|Slightly Pissed|8:10pm
Well! needless to say, I guess I should have known better. I installed version 4.7 of Netscape Communicator, and guess what? Some of the graphics and tables for my site look totally awful! Aaaaaaaahhhhh! Just when I'm feeling a little down about my site design, this had to happen. I'm not really sure what I'm going to do as of yet, but I'll keep you informed. I've tried a few things to get my Poll and screenshot tables looking ok, but so far, no luck! If anyone has any ideas, lemme know. Until later...

|Motivation|6:20pm
You'll have to forgive my tardiness on the last batch of map reviews. I'm struggling with whether or not I'm going to begin work on another redesign. Even though this design is good, I'm just not truly happy with it's overall application, not to mention, it isn't truly compatible with the majority of system configurations. If you've got some ideas about site design, or some hints to share with me, feel free to contact me, or start a thread in the forums. I may run off and play some TFC for a bit...

|Puttering Around|8:20am
Just doing a little site maintenance this morning, and catching up on some overdue e-mail. It's funny how fast you can get behind on things in a short time. Well, I'm going to work on those remaining map reviews today, to get them finished, and then start to arrange our next playtest. Hopefully we can have it fairly soon. In the meantime, why not head over to thefortress.org, and check out their new TFC server! It's been up for a little while, but it looks to be quite cool. It even has Roger Wilco support, which if you don't have, you must get, it's too cool! Well, as for me, it's off to work I go...

October 15, 1999
|Congratulations|8:15pm
I guess congratulations are in order tonight! Dark Ranger, one of our longtime playtesting members, has informed me that he is a father tonight (or tomorrow in the UK) of a new baby girl! A pat on the back and a hearty handshake to the proud father. A future gamer in the making...

|New Button|7:50pm
Ok, since a few of you have asked, and I felt a little "creative" tonight, I've finished up the new site link button. You'll find it on the left side, along with the rest of our site link buttons. Feel free to use this to link to our site. As before, if you've got a button, and you'd like to be linked here, e-mail me, and let me know! Well, I think I might play a bit tonight, as my writing juices just aren't working...

|Back|3:50pm
Ok! I'm baaaaaack! Well, did you miss me? probably not. :) Anyway, just a quick note to let you all know that I'm back, having survived my honeymoon! (which was a blast) I wanted to thank everyone for their will-wishes and support, I enjoyed all of them. I'm currently trying to get the last of the reviews done from our last playtest, and then....guess what? It'll be time for another playtest! Hopefully I'll have those reviews up tonight or sometime tomorrow. Now, where the hell did all my post-it notes go?...

October 14, 1999
|Brief Update|9:30pm
Well, I made it! I'm now "officially" out of circulation. Day one of my married life has now begun. It was a blast overall, with good times had by everyone, and yes, I was sweating bullets in the church! *whew!* I just wanted to thank everyone for their support and encouragement. I'll be heading out for a week to honeymoon in the beautiful Rocky Mountains, so the site will pretty much stand still while I'm gone. I'll be sure to get the rest of those maps out as soon as I return, as well as arranging our next playtest. I'll try and post again before I head out again tomorrow, but we'll see how it goes. Look forward to more map reviews and a great future together!...

October 8, 1999
|Yet Another Review|10:25am
I've got another review for you map hungry masses! This map is from our last playtest, and all I have to say is: it's excellent! Make sure you read the review and download this one. I've got 4 more maps that will be reviewed from that same playtest, but don't expect those until next weekend, as I'm taking off to get married! :) I will give you a little update before I head out on my honeymoon Monday, but until then, check out the reviews, give us your feedback, and play some games!!! Now, where did I put that ring...

• Shutdown - Fire this one up!

October 7, 1999
|Another Review|10:00am
Ok, the last review for the playtest we had a few weeks ago is finished. This concludes the reviews on the maps from that playtest, and now I'll be able to get on with the ones from our last playtest. I've got quite a bit of running around to do, so my day is pretty much shot for anything else, and I'm going to be gone for a bit while I get married! :) I'll try to get a review or 2 from our last playtest out before I leave for the next week, so we'll see how that goes. I'll be sure to get all the reviews up to date before our next playtest, which may be the weekend after this one. I need to get a hair or 2 cut, so I'm off. On to the review...

• Sub Hunt - sub-standard fare?

October 6, 1999
|Reviews|10:41pm
Finally! I've got some new reviews for ya. I managed to finally get through a few from the playtest that was held a few weeks ago. My apologies to the authors involved. I've got one more to get through from that session, and then I can get onto the maps from the last playtest. Don't expect those up until I return from my honeymoon next weekend. I'll try to give you all a send-off when I finally head out, so wish me luck! There's a new Pic-O-The-Day up, so keep sending those babies in! Wedge needs something to look at while I'm gone! :)  I also wanted to point you to another couple of up and coming sites that you may want to look at. The Media is covering news of a Team Fortress nature, with an emphasis on clan activities, and Pixel is offering map reviews on all that is Half-Life. Anyway, on to the reviews!

• Closed Encounter - Ugh!
• Hazard Course: Deadly Game - Interesting
• Different Bases - Solid Teamplay!

|Poll News|11:50am
Ok, the new opinion poll is up. We've been kicking around the idea of adding a "second opinion" link on our map reviews. This is mainly to encourage new views on maps, and try and bring our community together, rather than foster and mis-guided notions that we're all in one big competition. The results of our last poll shows that there is a strong support for Saturday playtests, as well as everyday! (not!). So, I'll be keeping that in mind when setting up these events. Thanks for your input on it...

|Morning|9:20am
Just wanted to give a quick hello, and let you know I'm tweaking a few things with the site. I've found a few errors, and some other things I wanted to change around a bit. I'm working on a new opinion poll, so I may have something new up later. I'm also trying to get a couple of reviews out, and hopefully those will get done. Thanks for all of your support, and I just hope that this place can fulfill your needs for TFC and TF2 information in the future...

October 5, 1999
|Renewed Again|11:10pm
Well! It's finally up! The new look for the site is here. Like it or hate it, it's the way things are going to stay for a while. A lot of custom graphic work went into it's makeover, and I'm not changing anything else anytime soon. I've taken the Files area offline for a couple of weeks, while I'm away getting married and all that stuff, so it won't be accessible. If you've got any file related comments, submissions, or questions, feel free to e-mail nimrod. as he'll be more than happy to assist you. I'm going to try and get some reviews up in the next couple of days, so keep your fingers crossed I get enough time in. There are new submissions over in the Insights section, and Sneak a Peek is finally launched. If you've got any questions about that area, feel free to e-mail Wedge. As for me, I'm going to get some much needed rest, and maybe try to sneak in a couple of reviews tomorrow. I hope you all enjoy the new look of the Collective. Remember, you can e-mail me, or use the forums for your feedback. G'night...

October 4, 1999
|Still Around|8:40pm
Evening folks. Just to let you know, i'm still around. I've got family staying with me at home this week, the week before my wedding, so i'm a little occupied. I gotten more work completed on the website revision, so expect it up soon. I'm just converting over the reviews to the new format now, so it's almost ready to load up. The files section will be down for a bit, while nimrod. and i work over how it's going to look. Other than that, it'll be up for your perusal. After it is operational, i'll finally get those reviews out that are long overdue!
In other news, Coder, the god of the Old Geezer Walker Wars server, has started a webpage dedicated to news and events on the server. If you'd like to see what the rotations are, what the server specs out at, or find out just who the hell Coder is, head on over and take a look! You can find the site at the above link...

October 3, 1999
|Coffee|8:30am
Morning, just a quick update to tell you that i may or may not have the site update online today. My mother is coming into town, and i have to pick her up around noon. So, things will be proceeding kinda slow today. My thanks again for the great turnout at the playtest last night, and here's to a great future ahead of us. I've also got to give a little notice about a new website that has been opened for another clan that frequents the collective, Clan Repomen. I've been informed by [RM]Dum2007 that the site can now be found HERE. He has also informed me that the site uses a special background that only IE4 users can see, so keep that in mind. Well, work to do, i'm out...

October 2, 1999
|Playtest Over|11:05pm
The playtest is done for tonight, and we had a great turn-out, thanks all! There were some doozies for maps in this test, and don't forget to post your feedback in the forums. I'll hopefully have some reviews for you soon. My thanks again to wedge, for the use of the PCGS Valiant TFC server, it ran great! Well, i need some shut-eye...

|Playtest Tonight|3:10pm
Well, after a long wait, we're going to have a playtest tonight. I've got 6 new maps to run through, and hopefully, if all goes well, we'll start around 7-8pm MST. I'll post the map list later on, for you to download from. Yes, the last batch we played will have reviews up soon...

|A Moment of Silence|12:50am
Well, this just in. Radium has decided to put his Team Fortress site into Hibernation. He officially announced it as of 11pm last night. Since yours truly was working on the site (still), and i was taking a break, i decided to surf around, and found his update. I'm sorry to see it have to come to this, but believe me, doing the same job myself, he's right, "spare" time is getting tougher and tougher to scrape up. I wish Kenneth the best of luck getting things back to normal with his life, and i'm sure he's only going to get better! While you go about your gaming today, take a moment to ponder how much our community benefited from his work, and think about how far we've all come. No news on the Half-Life portion of this site though...so?...

October 1, 1999
|Server Up|10:20pm
I've been talking to Wedge, our editorial dood, and the PCGS Valiant TFC server is now back online! The Valiant server is The Collective's official playtest server, and it runs like the dickens, so head on over and have a look. You can find the information needed to join the server in our Servers section. Me? i'm still plugging away on the redesign...

|Thoughts|4:45pm
Afternoon all. You'll probably notice that this update is pretty early in the day, and that's as a result of some changes in my real life. Not for the good either. But, that's not what i'm here to talk about. Since i'm going to be getting married next weekend, the site is going to be pretty dead over that time period. So, as such, i hope you'll all understand, and use the forums while i'm away :)
I'm trying to get the latest revision of the site up, and i'm shooting for tonight (late), or tommorrow sometime. Believe me, if it doesn't go up this weekend, i have serious doubts as to when it will go up. So, while you're all frothing at the mouth waiting for new map reviews, i thought you might head on over to The Fortress.org, and read about the latest update on the Half-Life: Opposing Force add-on pack. Some pretty interesting news there...