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ASSIST, AMERICA'S ARMY COMMUNITY - RELIVE THE GLORY DAYS OF AMERICA'S ARMY 2.5

Author Topic: Anyone else miss the way things used to be?  (Read 38979 times)

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Offline Spanky

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Anyone else miss the way things used to be?
« on: Wednesday, April 20, 2016, 02:05:38 AM »
AA has always been a love/hate relationship for me. I think we all love the classic days and funnily enough, those are all different time periods. We came in at different times, knowing different people, enjoying different servers and different crews on different versions. But we all share the same fondness for a specific period. The way it used to be.

It's almost heartbreaking, the poor timing I've seen in this game. I came into this game around when 2.6 was released, maybe a bit before. This was a weird time. All the anti-cheat sites were still popular but MD5 checks didn't exist and you could do crazy easy cheats and only get caught if the server admins were lucky enough to get a screenshot. I met Crusade just as he was starting to take off on modding and hacking, bringing back a lot of the old school coding to life that was pioneered by PAS clan and Rifle over at the Hazard AA Tracker. I had learned about modding and loved to run my own server and looking to make it better, I found out about custom maps and that's when I met BlueBlaster. Both him and me were scraping together the remnants of the custom maps once created by enthusiastic people at aa-maps.net. We were too late to work with them but instead just browsed through the forum which was more of a graveyard. This is just a tidbit of my personal history with AA and the great people I've met through it. I say the timing is heartbreaking because, knowing what I know and seeing the timeline unfold, I was always too late. Finding out about cool shit after someone else was done with it. I've come across so many super talented people over the years I've been involved with AA. It's impossible because it's gone but I often wonder what would have happened had the timing been right and a lot of us gotten together to create something amazing. Brilliant website coders and designers, creative UScript, LUA and C++ coders, 3d modelers, countless talented mappers, tons of eager people willing to learn. It's been such a waste. Looking back, a lot of these characters quickly burned out. I'm sure they all had various reasons but I can't help but think that given what we know and have today, if that same enthusiasm and knowledge they had 10 years ago, if that was around today... wow.

I don't know what it is about this game but it's just heartbreaking and frustrating. I miss the way things used to be. I am disappointed in the waste of potential due to timing.

What do you miss? What do you wish was different?
It's like shaving your pubes to make your junk look bigger.
Might look bigger, but it aint.....

Offline teddy_grizzly_bear

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Re: Anyone else miss the way things used to be?
« Reply #1 on: Wednesday, April 20, 2016, 02:20:34 AM »
Nice topic! :)
Even though dwelling on the past can sometimes have a negative effect, remembering what was great and what could have been even better most probably won't.

I started AA around 12 years ago. Don't remember much from back then, was in a clan here and a clan there, had some fun in different leagues.
I think around 7-9 years ago was my peak time in AA. There was loads of different maps being played. Hell, I remember Courtyard (I was whoring it back in the day) had 3-4 different servers filled at all hours of the day (didn't check literally, but felt that way). Probably so did most other maps that were decent. It was so easy to play any map you wanted. There was always a server for it (unless it was FLS Assault or SF Recon, I think).
I think it was around the same time that I also played a little bit of modded AA. I remember fondly my days of SF Urban (on 2.6) ... killing 6 people with 1 203  - those were the days :D . It was a lot simpler back then somehow. I guess nowadays most everybody has played this game for 10 odd years and has picked up a thing or two.
I even remember playing some AA  2.5 (my clan at the time, -v3. - consisting of MR an iX -  was originally from 2.5 , but they had migrated to 2.8)

I had a break from AA somewhere around 2009 - 2012.
It was only after that I when I joined this community here. I've seen some rises and falls of different people. I've seen very talented and highly motivated people come and go (mostly the latter, at least in the end). It's sad to see, but unfortunately that's life - always moving forward. I'm just glad there's still people sticking around.

All in all, I'm not even sure what I miss most of all. I just don't feel like playing the game interests me anymore. I'm not sure if my (somewhat mild) ~3500 hours on it has given me all it could or I just grew out of it. I'm not sure what exactly would bring back the spark. But I know there was a spark and there will always be a memory of that and as long as it's there, I'll do what I can for this project.
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Offline Spanky

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Re: Anyone else miss the way things used to be?
« Reply #2 on: Wednesday, April 20, 2016, 02:31:37 AM »
It's one of those nights, I'm just dwelling on the past. Thinking of better times and what could be different. Shitty but it provokes thought and opens discussion.

There's quite a few good frags that come to mind. I remember the plentiful servers where you could hop on and you actually had to scroll through the list and pick something. There was a lot to choose from not just in maps but locations and mods. You weren't forced to play a map you don't like on a server across the world.

I'm sure a good psychology thesis could be done on this game and it's impact in players' minds even a decade and a half later. There's just something unique about this game that hooks people.
It's like shaving your pubes to make your junk look bigger.
Might look bigger, but it aint.....

Offline ronski

Re: Anyone else miss the way things used to be?
« Reply #3 on: Wednesday, April 20, 2016, 03:06:57 AM »
I have been around only two years. Back in the days I used to work as a lifesaver at swimming hall and there I met LieutenanT, two years ago I was already working full day with websites but I spent few evenings at swimming hall helping with their recourse problem and there one day we were talking with this good friend of mine about fps games, that time I played mostly Quake III Arena, and when he introduced this game to me this felt so damn hard. I didn't play long after I signed up on this, my crappy PC didn't help much in learning how to play. After six months I started working where I work now, got brand new Mac and gave another try for this game. I still remember how people behaved against me when I was trying to learn how to play, it's sad to see how people still behave against low honors, they seem to forget that one day they were at the very same position. Maybe it's a part of the learning path then.. Fortunately I had my friend as a mentor here and he taught me all the "tricks", I got to known with new friends, got to known with -seke^ players and after being with them in teamspeak for week or two they took me in to their clan somewhere in march 2015. During this two years I've got friends from all over the world <3

After I got this mac I've been in love with this game. The more time has passed the more I want this to stay alive. I wish I would have got to known with this ten years earlier, but back in those days I had my own hustle in life as well, so would I have had time for this back then is totally another subject. So what I miss? From these two years I miss those days when clans were actually working together and also those days when we didn't have this much of hate among us. What I wish was different? I wish the player base would be bigger and we could just all get along, unfortunately the latter seems to be too hard but for the player base we might have something worth of trying..

Offline Southofheaven

Re: Anyone else miss the way things used to be?
« Reply #4 on: Wednesday, April 20, 2016, 10:39:57 AM »
Finally a topic that worth the time to read and write.
I started to play this game in 2004 or 5 i dont remember well. (too much beer since then) but at the time it was great because all days full servers many maps. I remember being waiting for a spot to get in servers Like United Noobs and such. the worst thing about that time was the hackers. that u all know how it was. but we had really fun games. Now its always the same, maps , same soap operas, insults, weapons, tks, on and on and on until people lost interest. Lots of the guys i play me included are all playing 2.8.5 and we may have in a good day 10 players in a server. but its fun like hell because we rotate all maps and different types of playing and its close to what the game was some years ago. But the best of this is that we have respect over there. the guys that were playing there for years welcomed us and helped us and no problem to this day. The problem here is that people are sick of the fighting sick of the same maps so they dont show up. Until most of the players start to bring ideas and stop the "fighting" this will only keep on sinking.

Offline Koden

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Re: Anyone else miss the way things used to be?
« Reply #5 on: Wednesday, April 20, 2016, 13:01:34 PM »
I think America's Army as a whole was a really lucky and beatiful coincidence that  probably had very few chances to exist otherwise...i mean: a free, quality tactical FPS that rivalled and was even superior to similar titles that came out at its time, developed and published by an US Army dep? 

I am already glad we (at least most of us) have been to be able to play this game in his golden age where it really was fresh, new and enjoyable at its best.

I think America's army has surely left something on everyone who has played...in its multiple roles and qualities it has something for literally everyone.   I get Spanky's point but if there's a time and place for everything, then maybe America's Army had its own place in time...even FPS arena were doing better back then.

Offline -Vegeta-

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Re: Anyone else miss the way things used to be?
« Reply #6 on: Wednesday, April 20, 2016, 15:22:18 PM »
I miss all the guys I meet at the start. I miss the Smugglers clan I was about to join and the clan split. Life story of AA full of splits. All the way through to the anti cheat sites aswell. Smugglers finnished and I joined half or more of them that then became. the {ReAl} Real Renagades. With Spuds as the leader. Miss all these great guys. Miss all the great guys at ACI Reaper Kage and many other real genuine guys. I sent and recieved stuff to and from these guys all round the world.
Words are great possed but the tune is crap. A condeming fear strikes down
Things they cannot understand. An excuse to cover up weaknesses that lie within Lies
Laying your guilt and pain. On people that had no part in the molding of a life
That creates its destruction. Lies. Right before your very eyes
A reflection of the mistakes. To the end you will deny. Your part in the demise of a life
Lack of comprehension. Thriving on your cliche. Compelled by self-resentment
Reaching into the minds of those that created. The depression in which they
In which they drowned their flesh and blood. Lies. So easy to blame the
Everlasting fear on a pathetic attempt. To justify the ending of life. Lies
Right before your very eyes. A reflection of the mistakes. To the end you will deny
Your part in the demise of a life
Lack of comprehension. Thriving on your cliche. Compelled by self-resentment

Offline Vanoke

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Re: Anyone else miss the way things used to be?
« Reply #7 on: Wednesday, April 20, 2016, 16:37:12 PM »
This i have in my facebook so all can read history and yes future/history   1 & 2   3 is now!
1-:
   :style:
Hello my name is ..... also in game called Vanoke here my history.

I was started in around 2006 under the name flyingdutchman1 together whit the guy you know as Abyss  he was Flyingdutchman2 he already played it for a while before I finally do the Install.

I remember i say to him meaby later its nothing for me!! but i didden`t know what i say in that time i was to young just 44 years.

So i play the game and I was fascinated bye the game play and the contacts in game. I know =[DDT]= and AK Asskickers and CGS were my favorit.

I start in the clan from =[DDT]= Detachement Delta Team the clan was in portugal, here the site its still running http://ddtclan.com.sapo.pt/

were me and abyss were playing alot and a good friendship was born whit those guy`s Sergio Noddy VosC Ribiero Fapetta Trump Mikey Tuga Slash Artolas Tomek.

And soon i puth the naughty shoes on and askt if i can be a member and that results in =[DDT]=Vanoke.

But soon .....internal affair thit the clan do fall apart and that results that sum members Sergio Trump VosC Noddy and me started a aa 2.8.5 server whit the name and tag =PUF=  that stands for Peace Under Fire  great name hey !! .

I played several years in that clan untill also this dit come to a end, private reasons and other intresses new games were the mean reasons.

But in all that time we had to 3 wise man form Kauto norway and 1 t-back American named Sid and Me and street and Abyss puth the heads together and say yes we can.

So whit help from sergio i dit installed the game in to my server that i get for my 50 years burthday from my cousin.

Now we have 5 servers on the comp. were we can play on.

THX to all old and new players that believe in =PUF=Kauto clan

2-:
  :style:
1 - So here we are then, we have a server and 5 game s that are in modded style.

13  members how play summtimes and understand so far i can see the fun and the contact in game and on raidcall.

I hope that will stay for a long time.

The cost are not so much only the electricity and when it broken i will look for a other server 2 hands not new i don t know what it will cost we will see and meaby there are better idears how knows!!!, so far i know we still have around 80,- euro on paypal. but soon i will support assist for 30 euro not 60 like last time becose the change in game they dit to us.

2 - We have to a other part we're we have to deal with called Assist.

In the begin we had no problems whit the admins about modded server, but becose there was a cheange in the admin settings and whit that a diffrend way of thinking

were we have to deal whit.

My biggest problem and unfairnes that happend is that in the start of the inlog to our modded servers is standing unautorised Cheats , and we all knows what that means unfair difference and we all know thats not true!! in our server is everybuddy equal.

I dit make many toppics in assist forum to led them know that its childish ore whatever Sid told them that it is a chooce that players self can make.

But ther is no listerning ear for us so, and like spanky say be glad that you still may play this game. so after about 8 years of modded gameA few guys make our future and try to turn it a adder way.

3 - But i believe in the good game and modded in the right proportions !! ( i know the jump 750 was to high but now we have 550 and thats good soldiers can jumpore climb  to over walls.)

4 - The summer hollydays are almost over the bad weather will bring back more players back to play more regularly.

if it looks like people don`t come anymore becose they don t get point (honor),

I will cheange like Sid ask 1 server into normal if i can do it (do i have the skills) ore whit help form others it must work hooah!!  ORE !!!!

5 - a little dream a second server normal whit =PUF=Kauto somewere els =PUF=Kauto grows 2x hooah! thx for listerning its a open end.

3-:
   :makemyday:
Also i see ther is no grow in this game . Way  ?? 
1- We get older. 
2- Its difficult to motivate players outsite clans ,but also insite clans it also takes alot
    inputh for the server admins. we know several clans that were big, and did shrink changed name , ore
    dissapeard , players ( clans ) did go to other games.
Olso PUF has to do with all those changes in time, luckely i found after my BCD nadir ad the end some friends that motivate me to go on becose we build in time 2006 / 2016 a super good environment in clan.  And a extra server in coop 2.8.5 helps us to stay in game splitting in assist and bugsgang now.

I believe in clans they can  gif a extra impuls to stay. The contact between humans and the discussion (ore no discussions)   in ts ore other media like Website ,FB  are making it worth and i think for alot of my members to stay in game.

writting in spanky first line :
 Looking back, a lot of these characters quickly burned out. I'm sure they all had various reasons but I can't help but think that given what we know and have today, if that same enthusiasm and knowledge they had 10 years ago, if that was around today... wow.


Yes beautifull  speaking spanky good idears new inputh, fun mods ,respawn, And yes I miss BIG CLAN DAY in the time ther was hope that clans suppost to try to work together Euro / America.   




 
       
« Last Edit: Wednesday, April 20, 2016, 16:41:46 PM by Vanoke »

Offline Yahoo

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Re: Anyone else miss the way things used to be?
« Reply #8 on: Wednesday, April 20, 2016, 16:43:54 PM »
The game is only good as the players in it, and the people we met along the way were what made this game great. Besides that i think what people miss the most is well summarize by the links below.

http://web.archive.org/web/20060207063941/http://aaotracker.4players.de/trackerstats.php

http://web.archive.org/web/20060505214811/http://www.teamwarfare.com/viewladder.asp?ladder=America%27s+Army+Europe+Objective+6v6

Offline Whoopin

Re: Anyone else miss the way things used to be?
« Reply #9 on: Wednesday, April 20, 2016, 17:18:44 PM »
I found this and thought this would bring back memories of when everyone started the game.



I first heard about AA through a Time magazine article.  I started playing around version 1.9.  So many people playing back then, everyone fighting to get into the "good" servers.  I joined a clan back then, =SouthPark=. I was the only American in a German clan! LOL!  We ran several servers, including a TWL server.  Those were the days.  Our clan had over 50+ members at the time.  I would have to get up very early so I could play with my clanmates.  I made some very good friends, who I still keep in touch with today.

Well, 2.8 came along and the clan started to dissolve.  A lot of the members did not want to upgrade, and the clan fell apart.  The next couple of years I clan hoped from =[316]=, @SS, UcG and then the 82nd.us.  It was during my time with @SS that the whole bottom of AA fell out with the shutting down of the authorization server.  We tried holding the clan together and playing different games, but it wasn't to be.  It would be awhile till I found about ASSIST.  And now....even ASSIST is falling apart.

I will play as long as there are servers and people who want to play, but not sure how long that will be.  I did discover some 2.8.5 servers still around, some people playing COOP (Bot) maps.  We have tried to make a go of that, but again we only have a few die hard fans.

I will stick with the 82nd till Shad shuts it down, after that I am not interested in Clans.  The day of the Clans is gone.  Gaming is just not like it use to be.......sad.

Whoopin
82nd_S3_MAJ=Whoopin

Offline Virus.exe

Re: Anyone else miss the way things used to be?
« Reply #10 on: Thursday, April 21, 2016, 16:04:31 PM »
I first played AA at a friends house in July of 2002, v 1.0.

Went and built my very first PC just for AA. Had my own account at version 1.2.1

Love that I can now login and play again however this community is not the greatest, and the players active and their attitudes are even worse.

I really did not expect to see the majority of players online to be only playing pipe and hospital. The clans with servers and their admins seem generally hostile and aggressive to anyone who doesn't suck up to them.

Also it seems a large number of players are still playing for raising stats rather than fun friendly gameplay, which really slows things down and dulls the gameplay.

Great thing going here but I find the community is lacking positivity. Not many friendly or fun players out there, too much needless bickering.

Game is 15 years old, get over yourselves.

Offline Koden

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Re: Anyone else miss the way things used to be?
« Reply #11 on: Thursday, April 21, 2016, 16:43:22 PM »
I first played AA at a friends house in July of 2002, v 1.0.

Went and built my very first PC just for AA. Had my own account at version 1.2.1

Love that I can now login and play again however this community is not the greatest, and the players active and their attitudes are even worse.

I really did not expect to see the majority of players online to be only playing pipe and hospital. The clans with servers and their admins seem generally hostile and aggressive to anyone who doesn't suck up to them.

Also it seems a large number of players are still playing for raising stats rather than fun friendly gameplay, which really slows things down and dulls the gameplay.

Great thing going here but I find the community is lacking positivity. Not many friendly or fun players out there, too much needless bickering.

Game is 15 years old, get over yourselves.
This was something happening on the latest year of life of 2.8.5 aswell (to a smaller degree), there have been countless attempts to get people to play different maps, but indeed the community is now really small and you often find more or less the same people playing the same maps, and many might not be so friendly/polite as they should be.

Offline Robert

Re: Anyone else miss the way things used to be?
« Reply #12 on: Thursday, April 21, 2016, 17:57:24 PM »
Came in to play in 2007, remember urban assault was one of my favourite maps with bridge crossing.

Loved mutate mod, also loved crusades mods when I was server admin of IGC clan.

Also loved it when servers had point hack and every kill was 5000 points. Blowing everyone with RPG in bridge crossing with all kinds of mods involved, super jump, gravity and so on. It was fun and one of the best memories I personally had.

I was a clan jumper early in the game, my first clan was -[DeF] as far as I remember then I went to SWISS, IGC and other couple clans.

I have used a no recoil cheat for 2 weeks when my honour was 81 that's when I levelled it to 84 as far as I know, it wasn't my best moment but I admit for doing it and it was one of the memories when my main account got banned.

But to sum up everything, my best memories where when I first started on this forum, I tried to help as much as I could and gave a lot of ideas to this community, also looking back at my questions I see how stupid they were. ( also have 5 -6 forum accounts and most of the banned for giving hate to this community )

Offline Virus.exe

Re: Anyone else miss the way things used to be?
« Reply #13 on: Friday, July 01, 2016, 14:10:52 PM »
IMO the game actually began to go downhill when they started to remove the original HomeLAN official servers and allowed people to run their own official servers.

I played this game since the very very beginning. Before there was SF, before there was even Honor. A lot of things changed around that time, the hardest thing for us original players to get used to was having to play by different rules in every server. It was such a hassle getting kicked and bitched at for normal game functions that simple minded players couldn't combat against.

The other thing that really changed (and ruined) the game was it felt like around the time AA2.0 came out with SF, it became a lot easier to play for the masses, my memory may not be 100% correct but I even think they enlarged the hitboxes because of the CS and COD players who couldn't get any kills without camping and waiting to shoot someone in the back.

I tried coming back here to 2.5 Assist but the game is modded even more to force you to play a certain way and it's not my style. Unless people are breaking game functions I see no reason to force them to play by your rules or style or face ban. There simply aren't enough players to dictate the gameplay in that manner.

Biggest problem today is the lack of players, and what few players there are today are definitely not friendly. I want to be involved here and try to bring back some guys but in all honesty there's not much to come back to. This isn't a friendly place and the way people run their servers don't promote fun gameplay majority of the time. "My server my rules" isn't exactly a fun environment to come back to, especially when some of us have been away for 5 or more years.

Just my opinion not that it will matter to any of the elitists here.

Offline Koden

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Re: Anyone else miss the way things used to be?
« Reply #14 on: Friday, July 01, 2016, 14:21:31 PM »
IMO the game actually began to go downhill when they started to remove the original HomeLAN official servers and allowed people to run their own official servers.

I played this game since the very very beginning. Before there was SF, before there was even Honor. A lot of things changed around that time, the hardest thing for us original players to get used to was having to play by different rules in every server. It was such a hassle getting kicked and bitched at for normal game functions that simple minded players couldn't combat against.

The other thing that really changed (and ruined) the game was it felt like around the time AA2.0 came out with SF, it became a lot easier to play for the masses, my memory may not be 100% correct but I even think they enlarged the hitboxes because of the CS and COD players who couldn't get any kills without camping and waiting to shoot someone in the back.

I tried coming back here to 2.5 Assist but the game is modded even more to force you to play a certain way and it's not my style. Unless people are breaking game functions I see no reason to force them to play by your rules or style or face ban. There simply aren't enough players to dictate the gameplay in that manner.

Biggest problem today is the lack of players, and what few players there are today are definitely not friendly. I want to be involved here and try to bring back some guys but in all honesty there's not much to come back to. This isn't a friendly place and the way people run their servers don't promote fun gameplay majority of the time. "My server my rules" isn't exactly a fun environment to come back to, especially when some of us have been away for 5 or more years.

Just my opinion not that it will matter to any of the elitists here.
I agree with you about the total, massive lack of respect I see around these days...although I don't get what you mean about the modding. Are you talking about game features or map features? As far as I can recall this version of the game only received rather minor modifications in comparison to the original one (like the SAI).

 

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