So what has the United Gamers Coalition been up to since we celebrated 10 years of existence last July? Gaming of course!
Halloween is coming and that means zombies are walking. It seems UGC has a fascination with these dead guys.
Call of Duty World at War and the zombies that come with it has been a hot game the past few months. Bolt action, round in the chamber, and other gametypes have kept this game alive. Some of the zombie mods actually allow for modern weapons as well. It seems COD5 has it is sometimes called, has become a staple of the United Gamers Coalition. Joining other such games from the past such as Medal of Honor and Left 4 Dead.
I mentioned zombies for CoD5. Yes, zombies. It seems the undead never die. One of the hot new games that members of UGC have been playing recently is the popular Dead Island. If you have something against zombies, and most of us do, then you will love the way you can deal with these dead walkers. Knock their arms off, kick their teeth in, jump on and destroy their heads. All of this can be accomplished in this bloody fun game.
Keeping the zombie thing going, we cannot forget about Minecraft. UGC started messing with this building block of a game late last year and it is still going strong. A lot has changed with Minecraft in the past year but the fact remains that the game is fun. A true sandbox.
Zombies are not in all games. Warlight is a game that is zombie free and involves placing and using armies. It is based on a game style such as Risk. You know, the board game where you try to conquer the world? Instead of conquering the world, you can simply conquer a nation or a province or a state. Many possibilities designed around your own power hungry ways. It is a turn based game that can be played for about an hour with friends or take days to weeks with friends and others all trying to gain dominion over the assigned areas of play.
Black Ops remains a game played by a few members but it seems it may be dying out as a main game for UGC. Call of Duty 4 has been revisited and could become a regular game as it did before. However, new games on the horizon could be the end of Black Ops and CoD4. We have a member who is dedicated to the revival of Earth and Beyond and we still have others who are scattered about the gaming universe as well.
So what will we be talking about in 3 months? 3 months from now will be mid January. I don't claim to be able to see into the future but I do believe that the hot topics will be Battlefield 3 and Star Wars: The Old Republic. Currently we are focusing on Battlefield 3 with plans to host a server. The game shows promise but only time will tell. Soon after, Star Wars: The Old Republic will be released and some will have to choose between these two games and other games. I sense that Minecraft may finally die out after being with UGC for a year. It will be hard for it to compete with BF3 and SW:TOR. Then again, we have been playing old games consistently for a long time now. Who knows, UGC could be playing Delta Force Extreme in 3 months. I wouldn't bet on it though.
So we are still here, playing the games we love and some games we love to hate. After all, we are the United Gamers Coalition!
"Cyber Space: The gamer's frontier. These are the adventures of the United Gamers Coalition. It's purpose: to seek out new games and virtual worlds; to expand our alliance with gamers from across the globe; to boldly go where Friendship, Fairness and Fun have never gone before."
-KingE (June 2004)
In the beginning there was a mission to prove that the oppressive clan mentality was not the only path an online gamer must take. Nine friends conceived an idea that was new to them. An idea, if successful, that could change how they interacted with one another. Their friendship held them together. They exemplified fairness throughout this new group of gamers. They sought to promote fun. Thus the foundation was built on the solid rock of friendship, fairness and fun.
"Our motto is not mere words that sound nice together, they hold true. It is extremely satsifying to experience the whole gamit of gaming with the same friends over several years. Not many can say that. Not many can say that it is all about friendship, fairness and fun."
-Nvincible (July 2009)
The nine friends came up with ideas of how to sustain such a group of people which helped to form the founding documents known as The Creed and The Articles. The Creed gave us a reason, a purpose, to be together. The Articles, though now obsolete, helped to guide this group of friends. With these founding documents, the United Gamers Coalition was complete in structure thus allowing the explosion of new membership that soon followed.
Month most members joined = 26 in September
Month least members joined = 6 in June
Year most members joined = 45 in 2003
Year least members joined = 0 in 2007
Day most members joined = 5 on March 17, 2003
Number of members joined on UGC Birthday = 2 on the actual day, 1 in 2003. 2 others were within 2 days of UGC birthday.
Total number of people who joined UGC over the past 10 years = 152
Over the years, the United Gamers Coalition has gone through many changes. Growing pains and heated discussions have left their scars but time has shown that friendship is bullet proof. UGC remains a gaming group of friends, but I suggest that UGC has become much more than that. Friendship has gone beyond the games. UGC has lasted 10 years not because of the games played, UGC has lasted because of a strong sense of fellowship. The pure bond of friendship.
Stand pround members of the United Gamers Coalition! Here is to the first 10 years and to many more years to come!
First I want to apologize. I came to the website to read my January 2011 edition of the State of the Coalition to make sure I did not repeat anything when I post my April 2011 edition. Much to my surprise I did not see a January 2011 edition. I checked the forums and there was nothing there as well. So .... oops! I missed the scheduled State of the Coalition and so I have come today to post it ... two months later.
If I had written one for January I would have mentioned DC Universe as the up coming MMO that I was looking forward to and that others in UGC were planning on getting. I had finally decided to stop playing Age of Conan which I enjoyed for almost 3 straight years. It was not the game that I tired of, it was the fact that the guild I was in had suddenly fallen apart. Same thing happened with World of Warcraft which ended my 3 years of that game. So I was looking for a new game and I found out that DC Universe was about to be released. I am a huge Batman fan and have been since I was younger. While waiting I actually reloaded City of Heroes but quietly let that go ... again. So January would have had me writing about how I hoped the game was fun.
Skipped over two months ... well because I forgot to write something in January ... and I have played DC Universe. The combat was awesome the graphics rocked, the powers were tons better than City of Heroes and I had a blast ... however I wasn't sure I was going to pay $15 a month for it. Up the road was the impending release of Rift which I had participated in the beta and was very much looking forward to it. I actually thought I might pass up Rift for DC Universe. So I had to make a decision ... pay for DC Universe or wait for Rift. Seems I had another choice as well ... I will expand on that in a moment.
DC Universe is a good game but I was not inclined to pay for it monthly. Some others played it as well but they too let the game slide away into oblivion. What was the next MMO? Rift! I posted my thoughts on the game and gave it high marks. The beta was very polished for a beta and the invasions and rifts within the game was something I had never experienced before. They were fun! Some members of UGC have picked up the game but it does not have a big following at this time. This is not a reflection on the quality of the game. I have no explanation why it is not as big as City of Heroes or World of Warcraft was with UGC. Rift was just not the UGC sensation that it could have been.
Speaking of UGC sensations, we have had our share in the past. The first sensation for UGC was of course Medal of Honor: Allied Assault. That game helped build UGC into what we are today. Others that come to mind are Call of Duty and Star Wars Galaxies. However APB would have to be the biggest sensation that became nothing in the fastest time ever. Even though APB failed as a game, it was a win for UGC. Out of the ashes of APB we accepted new members Trashman, Sovietwafflez and Naymliis. No matter what, that is a huge win for us. Now APB is returning and there are some who are eager to play it again.
Another game that could have been the next sensation was Call of Duty: Black Ops. This game is the best Call of Duty yet. Personal opinion of course but you cannot deny what a great game it was. However, as good as the game is, it did not win the UGC End of the Year poll on what was/is the best UGC game. That honor went to Call of Duty 2 beating out Call of Duty 4 and Call of Duty: Black Ops. I guess you can say that the Call of Duty series is well received in UGC. Even so, Call of Duty:Black Ops was very popular with UGC but I am not sure if it has gained the popularity that very recently another game has.
The latest sensation seems to be a game that does not require the latest video card and is not as complex as an MMO. How do I describe this game? I found one quote from another player outside of UGC that said "Hate your job? Tired of your nagging wife? Play MINECRAFT ... you will lose them both!"
That's right! The sandbox game known as Minecraft has taken over like a virus. There are hold outs in UGC but for the most part, this game has proven to be a sensation. In fact, UGC as accepted a new member because of Minecraft. Welcome Evil_Teddy. He is the one who got the whole thing started! Well, he didn't make the game, he got UGC into the game. I mean come on, it would take more than one person to make a game that would make UGC go crazy over ...
So the game that stopped me from playing Rift and DC Universe was a game that looked like it was made in 1999 or earlier. Oh well!
As always, UGC pushes on and soon we will be marking our 10th anniversary. Let me repeat that ... soon we will be marking our 10th anniversary! What a wild and wonderful 10 years it has been. Thick and thin, in the end, UGC is still here! What do you have to say to that, Merkyl!
In a season full of fun and craziness, some UGC members raced in 8 races to start off the newly formed UGC Racing League. With memories of the three UGC NASCAR Racing seasons of the past, a new season using rFactor brought many laughs. The racing was competitive in a friendly sort of way as it was more about having fun than it was about winning.
Officially called The UGC Racing Season Fall 2010, this is something that is just starting. Although this season is over, in a few weeks a new season will begin. Each season promises to be fun with a new car and possibly new tracks.
The season started with tracks that most had driven several times and ended with a monster track that took anywhere from 10 to 12 minutes to complete. There will be a video coming soon of the last race with all of its glory and ... mishaps.
Congratulations to all who raced! Here is a graphic made by racer Lynx.
Waiting for the next big thing. I do believe that since Call of Duty 2, many members of UGC have been looking for that next Freespace 2, that next Medal of Honor: Allied Assault. Some found it in Call of Duty 5 but many of us are still looking. Our next big hope is Star Wars: The Old Republic. However, that game is still many moons away. For now we linger in games such as World of Warcraft and Battlefield: Bad Company 2. Even Bad Company 2 had promise and may still be the next big thing. I guess what I am trying to say is that we thought we found the one game we could play non-stop for a year or longer. We thought we had found the new Medal of Honor in that we would play on and on which would allow us to recruit new members. We thought we had the game that would give UGC a new breath of life that is much needed. We thought we had the new UGC game in ... All Points Bulletin.
APB started out slowly for us in knowledge of the game and in enthusiasm. One member of UGC was playing the game during the beta and slowly convinced others it was the game to get. By the time the game launched, there were quite a few members playing and with the creation of the clan Damage Control, several more people joined with UGC in the game. It was non-stop madness that was far more fun than any other game at the time. Frustration was high but the pay off was the extreme fun. With UGC hosting Damage Control at our forums, we had many new visitors to our website which caused us to create a new forum group. It was busy time here at UGC.
As the days turned to weeks it became apparent that APB was crumbling under the weight of the worst kind of gamer; the cheater. Cheating plus a poor match-making system started to reveal the cracks in the foundation of APB. What started out as a mad rush of excitement here at UGC had now turned into a excruciating pain of madness. In just over two months, APB closed down and with it went most of the players who were visiting out website regularly. The next big thing APB was not. The good thing about it is that we did add to our UGC membership some good friends and gamers. No matter how bad APB turned out, having more friends to game with is always a good thing.
So for now, we are still playing the usual. We have Call of Duty: World at War, Battlefield: Bad Company 2, World of Warcraft, Left 4 Dead 2, Age of Conan and some rFactor. With rFactor we have the idea of returning to an old tradition in UGC. Years ago we used to have events where we would gather together in one game and have an event. One of the events we used to have was the UGC NASCAR Racing Season where we would gather for 8 or 9 weekends of racing and then crown someone champion of that season. We held three of these racing seasons and they were always a blast. Plans have been made and promises have been made for a new racing season. This time the game will be rFactor. We are putting on our racing gloves and custom painting our race cars. The tracks are being cleaned and the concession stands are being stacked. A new UGC racing season is about to start. The schedule is still being worked on, however, I have a feeling that the next State of the Coalition will be full of racing!
