[OLD] CLAN’S – HISTORY
A Short Explanation
Note on the text: All historical documents written are subjective. What does this mean? Well all historical accounts‚ even first person ones are subject to the memories and/or bias of the recorder. For example‚ two people may remember an event differently‚ so which is correct? Well‚ they both are. Human beings are not perfect and people make mistakes. It is the historian’s job to present factual data with out bias. It’s not easy. Most preferred are diaries and eyewitness accounts to events‚ then 2nd person accounts‚ (interviews) then finally 3rd person or research accounts of the events recorded. This history is how I remember it and I hope that the facts are correct as I remember them. Many people will read this accounting and perhaps some readers will have different views of events.
The Early Days
Quake 3 was released on December 5th‚ 1999. During this time I was playing Half‑Life on line and not having a great time with it. It’s a hell of a one player game‚ but the multi player seemed to attract the worst sort of players. My computer would not run the Q3 demo (that was released a few months earlier) well enough at the time. Hence‚ I was not around for the beginning of the Quake 3 on line experience.
Meanwhile‚ as the Quake 3 servers began to establish themselves‚ a server called "Rail Wars" ("RW") went up in Pennsylvania. This was run by the Dude‚ who owned the domain Highpines.net. Regulars began to play on the server‚ such as Target‚ Neo‚ Bendover‚ Dude‚ Flower‚ Griffin‚ Lazarus‚ Rainman and Jackel just to mention a few. Bendover always annoyed Neo and Target with taunts and ragging. One day Bendover came on the server as [OLD]Bendover. This comical turn of events got Neo‚ Bendover and Target talking and the "Old Lazy Dudes/Dudettes" ‚ [OLD] clan was born. Bendover became [OLD]Ben and the [OLD] clan began to grow. Ben and Jackel brought in new members like JustPlayin (Munchkin) and her husband Roadrash. All of the players listed above joined‚ as well as Asdirt‚ Love‚ Armageddon‚ Gash‚ Keyman‚ and Pappa Smurf. At first [OLD] clan members had to be over a certain age limit; eventually this changed. [OLD] clan was about having a good time‚ sure it had excellent railers‚ but it was not about who had the most skill or who could get to 30 frags the quickest. It was about people enjoying themselves and hanging out with friends. Respect for others was mandatory. Excessive taunting was frowned upon. The RW server was a fun place to play Quake 3 on line and was growing in popularity.
The early days of the [OLD] clan produced friends and allies in other clans. Some of these clans no longer exist. Clan {HqZ}‚ (30+) and Kor are examples. Other players still around today‚ like Honi and <‑Stinky‑> were all playing on RW before I was and eventually some of the {Hqz} folks joined [OLD]‚ when {Hqz} was discontinued in 2001.
Enter Terminal*187
By late July 2000‚ I had gotten a TNT2 video card (embarrassing; what a piece of junk compared to today’s video cards) that could run Quake 3. I had enough of Half‑Life and all those who played it‚ including the just born Counterstrike which was just becoming popular. My tag "Terminal*187" was born in the era of Half‑Life. In multi player I always had more deaths than kills‚ so I coined the name Terminal*187 from terminally getting killed (187 being the police code for homicide in Los Angeles) and I was playing on a "terminal" which also could be number "187". The duality of the tag sticks with me to this day.
This is the time I started playing Quake 3. The single player game fascinated me because there was no mission. Just get more kills than the other participants to advance to the next tier. As I progressed through the game‚ I decided to get as good as I could with the most difficult weapon‚ the rail gun. Upon completion of the single player version Gamespy came into action and I discovered the RW server in August of 2000.
Right away a difference from Half‑Life was apparent. These people were nice. They spoke to you and congratulated you if you won a match. They offered support to those who were just learning. I began to notice many of the regulars had [OLD] tags. The first person to start a conversation with me on any Quake server was of course‚ Honi. Eventually I began to come in 1st place in a lot of the matches‚ beating some of the toughest opponents out there like Neo and Honi. I always wanted to be in a clan even when I played Half‑Life. My younger brother was in a Quake 2 clan {dS} (Digital Samurai) and he always told me how much fun it was to play as a team against other clans. I decided I would try to join the [OLD] clan. The [OLD] tag was my first interest; to me [OLD] represented mature players with respect for others.
In October of 2000‚ I asked [OLD]Ben if I could join the clan. Ben asked some of the others and I was accepted. I was nervous. I did not want to be turned down. I later learned from Ben that he wanted to ask me to join but was afraid I would say no. Funny how some things happen. Around this time a few more members were recruited‚ such as Tango‚ iCe‚ MadmaXXX‚ ReBel‚ gRUDge and Ronster. The clan began to grow‚ people began to communicate outside the server in messaging programs and a web site was developed.
One day in late 2000‚ about 10 players from the {ROS} clan showed up on the RW server. The two clans soon became fast friends. We had many great days and nights of gaming with {ROS} and I miss playing with those people; Mayhemm‚ Cauterizer‚ LuckyShot‚ Pleomorph‚ SlamminPam‚ Mole‚ Deadned‚ Grandpa and the rest of {ROS}. Hope you are all well and still gaming somewhere! Around this time we finally persuaded one of the most beloved players‚ <‑Stinky‑> to turn in his arrows for brackets and he was with us!!
Maelstrom and Fracture
In early 2001 [OLD]Clan began to grow exponentially. This was because centralized control by vote had evaporated. Things were getting crazy‚ with over 100 members and no one was even thinking about controlling the growth. The clan became so large that people did not know each other. Different groups within the [OLD] clan were actually arguing with each other. During these dark times the [OLD] Clan had acquired some good people such as Destiny‚ Hellion and Elbe to name a few. Things were crazy. Members began to break the rules and make us look bad on other servers. In‑clan fighting was rampant. It just was not the same. In April 2001 many of the original members that were left in the clan decided to leave. I was one of the members who left. The fracture caused many other members to leave as well. A small core of members continued to play on. While other clans criticized those who stayed on stating "that will never happen to us"‚ like rocks in a river‚ time erodes all things and those very clans fractured and broke apart.
Rebuilding
Jackel‚ Tango‚ ReBel‚ Rainman‚ Destiny and the other members did a great job of rebuilding the clan. Rhino and his brother Shaky joined‚ as well as MrsTango‚ and Spunky. Ocelot eventually convinced Ben‚ Stinky and I to rejoin the clan. Things were going great. I was never a big CTF fan‚ but when we began to play as a team‚ I started to have fun again. It was like a new game. Our team was winning some matches. We were having great times again and that was the main point of the clan. It was just like when Percival finds the Holy Grail and finds what Arthur has lost and the world is renewed. Another mythological/historical metaphor from Term. Sorry my mind is filled with them. It was great. We had a new web site and forum due to Jackel and Rhino. This of course is when we literally had the rug pulled out from under us and were all knocked for a blow out of the blue and into the black.
Tragedy and Loss
In late 2001 the [OLD] clan suffered a bad tragedy. We lost two of our original members within one month of each other. [OLD]Ben left this earth in November of 2001. He had a heart attack and never recovered from it. He was the most loved person in Quake 3. He was like a father to many of us. He would always talk to you and help you with your problems. He was one of the most generous people I have ever known. In 2001 when my father was very sick in the hospital‚ it was [OLD]Ben who consoled me and made me feel better. He got me through the tough times. Ben always sought the calm solution to problems and disputes. His wisdom helped a lot of us and he will never be forgotten. I still miss him terribly and this little paragraph cannot scratch the surface on what kind of a great man he was. Right before Christmas 2001 [OLD]Rainman‚ after recovering from brain surgery passed on as well. He was a great guy‚ quick with a joke and always cheering people up. I never heard him utter a bad comment about anyone‚ or complain about anything. He just went with the flow. Rainman just played the game‚ that’s it. Everyone loved him and he will also be sorely missed. I was just getting to know him at this time; we were trading music files on my FTP server‚ just days before he passed away. I know that Tim [OLD]Ben and Joe [OLD]Rainman are up there in heaven playing Quake on God’s server‚ laughing and having a good time and one day we will all be there laughing and playing with them again. I took these tragedies very hard. I stopped playing for 3 years‚ popping in and out over the last year. I was going to Graduate school and this ate up most of my time‚ also I was distracted by illness in the family and my own personal issues.
The Present
During my lengthy absence‚ the [OLD] clan still hung in there with good leadership like Rhino and Tango running things. The clan got back to its roots of having fun‚ respecting others‚ and playing Quake. With new allies like {Q:E} clan‚ and the development of clear in game voice technology‚ things are headed for a bright fun future for all of us. I am grateful that [OLD] took me back in after being gone for so long and it feels good to play again. I feel whole again‚ especially with my relocating to sunny Las Vegas‚ Nevada. I tried to be fair to everyone as I remember it. I would welcome comments. Just post them on the forum and I will listen to other accounts and include them if warranted. This account of [OLD]’s history would not have been possible without the tireless efforts of Rhino and Tango in the final editing phase.