Spook Posted May 18, 2000 Share Posted May 18, 2000 And just what might be this award category? In the recent Usenet spat regarding the "Trotter article" and his viewpoints on how what has brought on the recent decline in the retail computer wargame industry, Maj Holdridge, the designer of TacOps, offered the following comments in response: -------------- "In my opinion the way to deal with what has been referred to as 'bitching is to simply respond to people's questions and comments briefly, accurately, and without trying to spin things in your favor. I don't see any reason to try to silence anybody. Advice to publishers and developers who have a low opinion of Internet forums and critics ... Don't show up in a forum one week before a product hits the shelves and then depart two weeks later. Don't assign someone to Internet forum duty who has a thin skin, bad temper, deletcate ego, or who is not a true expert on the game and its development. Don't be snide, insulting, or condescending - don't make fun of or try to embarrass a poster - just answer the bloody question. Don't fail to respond to a comment/question and don't give a lame, pious, or incomplete answer just because you have answered the same comment/question a hundred times before. Don't do spin control. Don't promise what you can't deliver. Don't include 'we are the greatest' advertising puffery in your forum messages. Puffery just dares people to chime in with negatives. Best regards, Major H." -------------------- This may seem like a bit of a "conflict of interest" to post the Major's quotes as the good Major is also tied to Battlefront, but he did nothing to cite either his work or that of Steve & Charles. It was offered as an earnest opinion to a hotly debated issue on Usenet for now (the "grognard" effect). My basis for nominating BTS for this special award is that it, as a game producer with a discussion forum, has gone the farthest in recent times to embrace the spirit of the Major's advice. MAYBE not perfectly so, but definitely head & shoulders over most others. To this award nomination, I would also like to cite Steve for a special "Webmaster Ribbon." This is because you have not only been very candid and informative to many of the design decisions behind CM, but you have also shown remarkable tolerance and judgement in monitoring what gets posted on this forum. You've also been effective to lay down the law and lock up contentious threads when necessary, but it's further remarkable how you will post to offer a forum member who's "out of line" another chance to remain. That's hardly the operating mode of most other game producers with forums. OK, I really seem to be coming off like the suck-up now. But really, Steve, even when we may not agree on a certain CM design aspect, I still very much appreciate the webmaster effort you've applied to what must often be a very thankless job. I feel it's gone a long way to help build the CM community that presently exists here. Gamers will come back to a forum if they feel that their game-related opinions are shown respect. (And yes, others like Madmatt & Fionn are also deserving of thanks, but I haven't devised a special award category for them yet....) Regards, Ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ash Posted May 18, 2000 Share Posted May 18, 2000 hhhhhmmmm, awards for fionn and madmatt? one of them would have to get the special idiot underachiever since the both seem to be vying (sp) for highest (lowest?) idiot. ------------------ The names Ash, Housewares Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ol' Blood & Guts Posted May 18, 2000 Share Posted May 18, 2000 Hey, if Madmatt and Fionn can vye for the Biggest Idiot Award, then hell, I think, Lewis, SS_PanzeyLeader, and myself along with a few others need to be considered for the Biggest Lame-Ass Award. With regards, OB&G PS-I'd like to thank all of my lame-ass comments for winning this coveted award. I couldn't have done it without them. PPS-SS_PanzeyLeader, the tongue raze smiley is done with a lower-case 'p', not a capital 'P'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Big Fat Guy Posted May 18, 2000 Share Posted May 18, 2000 I nominate myself for the wide a$$ award. To offer a competative nature to this thread I also nominate Mad Bunny for the Holdridge Award. Although he is some times drunk, mostly rude, and a cannibal, Mad Bunny should be in the runing, or swaying, in his case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spook Posted May 18, 2000 Author Share Posted May 18, 2000 Hmmmm......I KINDA thought that Matt & Fionn would get something complimentary like "Support Web Site" for an award category. But if some of you think that's lame as an award category, then.....well, whatever. Perhaps better to allow Matt & Fionn devise their own nomination. But the "Holdridge" stands with BTS. If CM does meet our expectations as a premium wargame, I do hope also that the PC game review sites will be attentive too. Favorable reviews from enough of them will certainly help get the word out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s bakker Posted May 18, 2000 Share Posted May 18, 2000 <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>If CM does meet our expectations as a premium wargame, I do hope also that the PC game review sites will be attentive too. Favorable reviews from enough of them will certainly help get the word out.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> I guess we have to raise our voice a bit for that one because i bet a lot of gaming sites don't 'know' or 'forgot' about CM because; 1) it's been a long time since the beta demo. 2) E3 is currently demanding all of their attention. 3) it's a wargame and thus not sexy by default. So it won't hurt to 'remind' some sites and (e)magazines that CM is coming out and that it's 'all that and a bag of chips'. I already kicked the bucket here and there ..... Grtz S bakker ------------------ Visit my CM site! The bunker: http://bunker.panzershark.com Another proud member of the Panzershark webring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spook Posted May 18, 2000 Author Share Posted May 18, 2000 A good point, s bakker. One thing that does work in BTS's favor, however, is its chosen online order venue. There isn't the concern to match review timing with shelf-space occupancy because there isn't shelf space to compete over. So on that note, I further hope that many of the major game review sites or PC game mags don't just "rush into" a review. I certainly expect Wargamers, Gamers Net, & CombatSim to give detailed reviews, but Gamespot, OGR/cdmag, Gamesdomain, Gamecenter, AV, etc. also have very large followings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest R Cunningham Posted May 18, 2000 Share Posted May 18, 2000 BFG dude man, like you can't, like, you know, nominate yourself, like, twice, man. Besides there isn't a Mad Bunny registered on this BBS. Ooops! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spook Posted May 18, 2000 Author Share Posted May 18, 2000 The "Holdridge" name (sorry if you're reading this, Major) actually has some added value in its wordplay. It's synonymous to "hold the higher ground." At this present timeframe, it's the smaller wargame developers (BTS, Shrapnel, HPS, Matrix, etc.) who are stepping forward to continue the production of historical wargames on a consistent basis. As such, they are likely to hold the "high ground" of computer wargame development for some time to come. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffRaider Posted May 18, 2000 Share Posted May 18, 2000 Wow, Ash. You would think someone calling two great guys idiots wouldn't put something like (sp) in your post. Ballsy. Stupid, but ballsy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Madmatt Posted May 18, 2000 Share Posted May 18, 2000 Its ok Jeff, Ash was refering to my Update post the other night where I challenged Fionn when he said he was dumb about something and I said that I was even mORE dumb! No damage done! And anymore I have grown a pretty thick shell so even if he was calling me an idiot, I couldn't have cared less. Madmatt When its all been said and done, and the little sycophants and trolls and unhappy sorts have been put to bed you all need to remember one little thing to go and do: BITE ME! ------------------ If it's in Combat Mission, it's on Combat Mission HQ! And if it's NOT on CMHQ then its just GOT to be on CMHQ-ANNEX... CMHQ http://combathq.thegamers.net CMHQ-Annex http://cmhq.tzo.com Both now proud members of the Combat Mission WebRing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spook Posted May 18, 2000 Author Share Posted May 18, 2000 <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Madmatt: When its all been said and done, and the little sycophants and trolls and unhappy sorts have been put to bed you all need to remember one little thing to go and do: BITE ME! <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> No thanks, I'll pass. Too much grease. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fionn Posted May 18, 2000 Share Posted May 18, 2000 I'll have the "Large Target for Assholes" award. It seems to best represent what I've become. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spook Posted May 19, 2000 Author Share Posted May 19, 2000 OK....yeah.....you've been catching a bit of flak recently, Fionn. I guess the more prolific a person is in his support for a game project...... I don't expect this to mean very much, but for all the information, replays, and CM game tips that you & Matt have provided insofar for both here and at CMHQ, I do appreciate it. It has been first-rate. And I'm sure that many others appreciate it too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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