Gaming Awards

Should we get medals for beating a game on a certain difficulty (with proof of course). For those of us who can't play online, we still can play games relatively good. I can honestly say I have beaten every game I have come across, think that stands as some sort of skill.

Examples would be like Beating Halo/Halo 2 on Legendary you ge the Golden Halo
Heroic you get the Silver Halo
Normal you get the Bronze Halo
Easy you get no Medal

Beating Psi-Ops on Elite you get the Scroll of Psi (granting you the abilities given in the game Such as telekinesis, pyro kinesis, aura vision, remote viewing and mind control)


Catch my drift?

No

Hahahaha...

WTF Spears, you ruined a perfectly good poll without even giving an explanation.

What I did was make the poll funny.

The long answer is no medals will not be given out for single player gaming especially on systems like X-box and PS2 ect. The reason is there is no proof possible. Unless people are going to start sending in memory cards ect and even then there is no way to show if an outside cheating device was used such as Gameshark ect.

Halo/Halo 2 have no cheats except for Skulls which don't change the level. I understand about the cheats and stuff, thats why they should be limited to games without codes.

No they just shouldn't be. You can cheat on thpse systems without codes, with things like Gameshark and Action Replay. Not to mention proving that you did it. Like I said I don't see us accepting memory cards in the mail to check to see if someone beat a game.

Besides... why should we reward Halo/Halo 2 activity in an online STAR WARS gaming club?

Why not join one of the many Halo 2 clubs or clans and be rewarded?

We have and will reward Single-player gaming, however, these have been firstly STAR WARS games, and secondly, CUSTOM MISSIONS created by members of the club (ie. Single-player XWA missions).

Yes we do reward for single player gaming, we do not make up new medals based on the single player game played, let alone grant members special new force powers for beating a single player game or any game for that matter.

Custom missions are some of the best XWA flying I have done. But even then just beating the mission doesn't net you a medal in most cases. Getting the best score on the mission as part of a comp gets the medal, not the feat of beating the mission.

the OHC agrees with the HM.

the reason that if we start awarding medals for every SP game, there'd be more medals then one can ever keep track off. and what use will they be? if a person has a lot of CF's, you know he's very active in MP games. seals for vendetta's, and you know he's active at large competitions. lots of crescents, and you know someone participates in competitions. merit medals will show you some of a person's skills.

what would SP medals add to that? I don't see a use for a medal showing you beat a single player game, sorry.

It's much more fun to play a real person anyway Computers can be so predictable.

I want to reinforce the fact SP activity in supported games *does* get recognised in competitions. There is nothing preventing SP activity in things like JO and JA (though those are rare and only usually in larger Vendettas) or in TIE, XvT and XWA (which would be more common if people started making them again). The thing is though that SP missions don't build themselves, if you want to see more SP activities your best idea is to help to create some SP missions for people to use. However a good JO or JA mission can take a month to build, although good XvT and XWA missions only take an afternoon or so- after you've learned to use the mission designers (or purchased them as in the case of AlliED for XWA- its only about $10).

Playing random games like Halo though... why should the DB recognise the fact somebody has no life outside video games? The DB is here to recognise activity that contributes to the *community* that is the DB. Playing Halo against random opponents on Xbox Live! in no way helps other members of the DB. All that rewards is how rich somebody is and how many different computer games they own and have completed.

More importantly, before talking about rewarding non-Star Wars supported games, the first question should really be should we support non-Star Wars related games. If we don't support them we certainly won't be rewarding anything for them. That said you are allowed to play games like Halo at MP during training nights and have been allowed to for a long time, however, it has to be against other DB members. We reward people if they help other members by playing other members. If you only play your friends outside the DB that's not really helping the DB or contributing to our active gaming community. Playing non-Star Wars games can happen though and has been supported for a long time now, they just haven't ever really taken off, mostly due to a lack of true enthusiasm. People may play games like JA for a long time because they're classics and the only lightsaber duelling games around, but games like Halo come and go, Halo 2 is already getting outdated and being replaced with newer, more popular games, Battlefield 2 comes to mind, which is why we don't directly support them as they don't have as long term interest, especially among a predominantly Star Wars community, as games like JA.

However, if you want to play Halo 2, thats fine, but it has to be against other DB members, and during competitions like with any other game. This is partially why we have the Guild system (see DSC) to alllow people to promote particular games and form groups of people who can play together. That, however, is entirely self motivated. If you want to do that *you* have to have the commitment to see it happen. It won't get DC support. It'll be up to *you* or whomever else to see it through. The DC will support mainstream games that have widespread popularity like JA but the "flavour of the month" games like Halo 2 aren't something we're going to directly funnel our resources into, if you want to, thats up to you.

if someone could send me instructions on how to get XvT up and running for internet play i would be very happy, i want some cfs.

Thats not what I meant Xanos. I meant a certain medal for completing a certain game on a certain difficulty. Ways to prove this would be taking a picture of the end sequence, or in Halo's case the additional sequences. One long way to prove this, a step I would be willing to take, but I doubt all of you would, would be to tape the setting up of the game and the beating of the game. Tape it on VHS (then transfer to DVD) or DVD then send it to a DC member and see if they approve. Its a long shot, but it could, and probably won't happen.

ROTFL!!

thanks, that was the best laugh I had in ages. I mean, seriously, you're funny.

wait.. you're being serious? you expect someone to sit down, and watch DVD's people send 'em? and what if something is not stamped right, we pay for it, since otherwise, we will recieve "OMG! I SENT THAT DVD! YOU DID NOT ADD A MEDAL!" mails?

and where would we get the time from?

simple answer: NEVER going to happen.

Yes but... why? Thats the question.

What benefit does Person A playing Halo bring to the DB community? We're a Star Wars club. Playing JA MP gives not just yourself but Person B somebody to play against and something fun to do. Likewise XWA SP involves other people... you play a mission Person C has designed. You submit it for a competition run by Person D which involves competing against Persons E and F. Things that involve other DB members help contribute toward the community. And the DB is, in essence, a community. Nothing more, nothing less.

However being able to own an Xbox, buy Halo, and complete it, doesn't really have much to do with the DB. It doesn't involve other members. It doesn't help the wider Star Wars community in any way or keep it alive. It doesn't help other members of the club. It just... is you, playing a game. Its the same reason lots of people are very uneasy when it comes to recognising activity in SWG because its a segregated community. Its self sustaining. SWG doesn't need the DB, per se. Likewise Halo doesn't need the DB at all. Things like JA MP or XWA SP are rather wholly dependent on the DB for survival though as they're activities that require other people to exist. Thats why the center of all DB activity is in competitions, because competitions, by their very nature as competitive, involve two or more people. If we all just wanted to sit in our rooms at home playing games solo we'd have no point being in the DB, no? If I wanted to promote myself to DJM just for completing a bunch of solo games I could do that myself- I wouldn't need the DB community for it.

Thats why its essential that activities in the DB involve two or more people to really be of any use. If we look at an extreme example one could say- why not award a medal for eating breakfast? For having lunch? For going to the toilet? For getting an A in your exam? So on, and so on. However, as important as those things might be to an individual, what, if anything, do they have to do with the DB? Nothing, nadda, zip. They're all unrelated. Its the same with Halo. The only tie Halo (or other games) has is its a game. Being a game isn't enough though. It needs to somehow be an important addition to the DB that somehow is involved in our structure and benefits the community.

Now, I know what you might be thinking, "what about people who just write stories?". Thats a good question but again... they are Star Wars stories. If we were to award people who completed Halo SP should be award people who wrote a story for their high school exam? Should we award every member who has published a book? Should we award people who write fanfiction for their Dungeons and Dragons club? Hardly. Most people will universally agree it 'd be stupid for us to award people for things they do for other places. Writing stories is a solo activity though, so should Halo SP be treated the same as a game solo activity? The answers still no. Writing stories involves sending it to your leader, who reads it, who evaluates it, who incorporates it into the whole story arc of the DB. Every members character builds on the greater virtual community (by this I mean the fictional one) that is the DB. Everything I have said so far has been about the actual community, you, me, everyone else, that we make up in the real world. The virtual community is our Star Wars one. Thats why fanfiction that is Star Wars related does, in its own way, contribute to the community and so, again, is something we reward. Halo however is not Star Wars, it therefore cannot contribute either to the real community or the virtual community. That said, this is why Halo MP is possible, because that contributes to the real community, the physical one we all make up, but Halo SP doesn't interact with other people, so isn't real, and likewise is disconnected to the virtual Star Wars community that makes up the DB.

If it were a game like, say, Republic Commando SP, then yes, perhaps there is some truth in that idea. Its still a controversial idea though, however, I must admit, I'd have to ponder over the idea of rewarding people for completing supported Star Wars games. I'd probably still say no, purely because everyone that owns the game is going to have done it anyway so its rather pointless, but the very fact I take the time to consider it shows that there is a distinct difference between a Star Wars SP game and a non related SP game like Halo. Even Republic Commando SP in its own way helps to build the Star Wars community we make up and so, in turn, helps to keep people interested, in turn means they own the game so may use it for MP etc. Halo though doesn't have any of these benefits, which, I'm afraid, is the predominant reason why it doesn't pass the tests for being a supported platform.

If you want a less convolunted and philosophical answer then just think about the reality of the situation. I own well over two hundred games... should I have two hundred new medals if I can show proof I completed them all? I'm pretty sure even you'll agree that it would just be stupid to have that listed on my profile. It'd be totally valueless as nobody would care. Which begs the question: why have medals? Why not just have a list of games you own? And we do. If you want to tell people you own Halo, thats cool, but its pretty obvious you've completed the SP, who buys a game and doesn't? So why the need for a medal if everybody is going to have one? It just devalues the other medals that people have to earn the hard way, because it waters down the word 'medal' from 'something you earn' to 'something you earn -OR- something you get for owning a game' which isn't an idea people are too keen on, as you can see from the posts already made so far, including my own, and this one. Like I said earlier, when would it stop? We're more than just a gaming club. Would we start awarding members medals for graduating from high school? Giving those who have degrees medals? Recognising those who have doctorates with some special Star Wars title? Should we award people for being married? Should we give them medals for winning a sporting competition? Should we give a medal if they're on the winning team in a football match? Etc.

Its important to pause here and understand why the answer is no. Its obvious the answer is no, but why? Ask yourself 'why am I in the DB?'. Its the same answer. The real world isn't Star Wars. If it was there would be no need for the DB. The DB exists to emulate Star Wars and present us with a virtual, fictional escape from the real world. It would be ludicrous for us to reward people for things they did in real life such as winning a football match as those are precisely the things people 'escape' from in the DB. This isn't meant to be real life. Its meant to be a community where we all start out as equal, irrespective of our backgrounds, and where earning our ways up the ranks is an equal path that takes the same amount of effort no matter who we are or which side of any real conflicts we're on. If you're rich you can't just buy your way in and get DJM straight off. If you're a war veteran you can't just call claim to having a bunch of real medals and demand a Golden Lightsaber because you have the Medal of Honor and so 'deserve' it for what you've done for your country. This isn't the real world. Its the DB. Its fictional. This is why all the examples about getting a medal for stupid things like going to the toilet, having lunch, winning a hockey match, are all so important.

It sound stupid, but, well... its the same. None of the things I've listed contribute either to the virtual or real communities of the DB. I'm afraid neither does Halo. It may be a computer game but I'm afraid the connection ends there. Except for being a computer game rewarding people for Halo would be no different than rewarding people for winning a football match.

Just say "no"™.

Short reason: SP out of official competitions isn't getting rewarded because you're not active in the DB this way.

Yes I understand this is obviously a Star Wars community, but its like a gaming clan. Do you think Force Recon operatives are taught only how to fight? No they are taught angles and situations, and how to handle them. What I am getting at is wouldn't it be cool to have a DB Clan in EVERY online game? Not only would we begin to demand respect from people, but we could join up new members. We obviously belong to Star Wars communities as it is, and the people there have most likely already joined. I am asking for like a broadening of the horizan, I love SW as much as the next guy, but having a litle variety in here would benefit more than it would hurt.

That however is a different debate to awarding medals for people completing SP games.

The matter of supporting other MP games is another one and... we *DO* support *ANY* other MP game. If you want to play Halo MP at the ICTE there is absolutely nothing stopping you from doing it. Win a match and you'll get a CF. But we're not awarding you for what you play on Xbox Live. Unless you're playing other DB (or ICTE member clubs) members then the activity is not helping to contribute to the DB.

The fact at the end of the day... we're a Star Wars club first and a gaming clan second.
The opposite is the case with a club like FES but... well... we're not FES, we're the DB.

It wouldn't be so much an award as it is a...right. like a specialty insignia. Like a marksman has crossed rifles above the campain ribbons. Like you are Specialized in that game, you could only get one.

The answer is no.

Stop asking.

I never really had that much faith in it anyway. I give up. I promise never to suggest anything to the DB again.

Well you can always get some people in the DB together who like to play Halo and so forth and form a guild. I think there are guidelines around here someplace that tell you what you need to do. Then you could be the leader, have your special mark in your ID line, and award medals for participation.

Perhaps I shall do that.

I promise never to suggest anything to the DB again.

Now don't go talking like that... its good that you suggest things even if people don't agree. It's a useful character trait to have the innovation to be ready to think outside the box and suggest new ideas.

The danger is to fall into the trap of thinking just because it hasn't happened it hasn't been suggested before. The reason a lot of people just reacted very bluntly saying "no" isn't that your idea is really that bad its because its something that we've already discussed in the past on a number of occassions. The DB has considered supporting non-Star Wars games many times in the past, oh yes. We're not just stamping out feet straight away shouting "no, no, no!" without any reason its just that we've had this debate before and a lot of people have had it enough times that they've become a little sick repeating themselves.

So don't go thinking you're stupid or your ideas are pointless or anything... much higher ranked people have suggested just the same ideas as you have in the past... so you're not stupid for suggesting them. They're simply not an idea the DB feels ready to accept.

Like I said in one of my earlier posts... there are different types of club. The DB is one, FES is another. And multiple game types is just more of a FES thing than a DB thing. The best thing you can try right now is to get a DB Guild together, there are details in the DSC (or were, I think they're still there under the Societies bit).

Read my response on the other thread.