Mechanised Combine

The Mechanised Combine was the very first iteration of The Combine and formed a primitive foundation for what The Combine would become in the future.

The Combine was to be a primarily Human and Mech faction guild, with fewer ties to other factions, with emphasis on better players who were Humans and Mechs. Many of the basic concepts present within The Combine today began with the Mechanised Combine.

The Mechanised Combine was only 18 days old at the time of disbanding.

The Mechanised Combine as an Ego Boost
The Mechanised Combine was founded at the tail end of a wave of pre-BETA clans formed on the forums. The original intent was to found it, keep it functional for a time through the BETA and full release, then should it die (like every other clan IVIilitarus had ever formed). The Mechanised Combine was intended to be an ego boost for IVIilitarus alone, several years down the line when he could say he created one of the first clans in Stellar Dawn history.

The Mechanised Combine was soon met with considerable popularity and IVIilitarus decided on rebuilding it from the ground up as a permanent fixture in Stellar Dawn.

Original Thread and Transcripts
The Mechanised Combine's thread survived for 280 posts, 19 of which were information and clan posts.

The thread was locked on 14 August, 2010, on the same day the newly minted Combine thread appeared.

Introduction
As of this posting, the game itself is far from release, but I hope to start a guild off right now.

A guild. Not a clan, corporation, Family, tribe or anything else for that matter. I'll refer to the faction we work for as Our Benefactors.

Half-life 2 references abound.

Í_INTRODUCTION_Ì

"Knowledge and Assistance" - Mechanised Combine Motto

Welcome.

Welcome to the Mechanised Combine. We are a group of players interested in the technological side of Stellar Dawn and helping everyone. We are to be a close-knit, intelligent group who strive to help new players and give older players a mature place to go and have fun.

The object of this guild is to foster development of new players, provide a ground for people interested in our technologically advanced Benefactors and allow enjoyment of activities under a common banner.

I want to use this guild as a gateway for new players, to build them into productive and mature members of the community. Here, the questions they'd usually ask in a crowded street are answered.

We function as a general community, helping, trading, learning, enjoying and interacting.

The Founding Principles for this guild have been noted down, as etched into the hammer and stated here;

• Guide new players on the path of Stellar Dawn's technologically advanced race.

• Give experienced players a place to continue learning and let them interact.

• Take on challenges as a united group, fighting for each other and even for fun.

• Provide a mature, friendly place in which various players may meet, communicate and progress.

• Connect with other player organisations, grow alongside them and help each other along the way.

Those were our Founding Principles. This is our guild.

Once more, welcome.

Regards, IVIilitarus

Table of Contents
† TABLE ~ OF ~ CONTENTS †

"All men by nature desire knowledge." - Aristotle

§ 1 - Logo § 2 - Introduction and Founding Principles § 3 - Table of Contents § 4 - News § 5 - Rules § 6 - Member List § 7 - Elaboration on Founding Principles § 8 - Organisation of Guild and Facilities § 9 - Definitions of Players § 10 - Rank System and Functions § 11 - Recruitment § 12 - Inter-Organisational Relations § 13 - Reserved for Events § 14 - Reserved for the Future § 15 - Reserved for the Future § 16 - Other § 18 - Frequently Asked Questions
 * 17 - Reserved

News
Ø_NEWS_Ø

"He who laughs has not yet heard the bad news." - Bertolt Brecht

27 July 2010, Guild Formed, updates begin. Currently recruiting. Willing to take advice, feedback. Ambassador CornOnTheMob accepted, 1 Roppar 1 accepted.

28 July 2010, Added 5th Founding Principle. Continually updating. Changed 'Guild Members' to 'Acolytes'. Guild Members now refers to all members of the Guild.

LOGO ADDED! THE GUILD NOW HAS THE HAMMER, OPEN BOOK AND PRETENTIOUS LATIN MOTTO!

29 July 2010, Updated logo. Updates continue. Acolyte Md 25 accepted. Scholar Pepper Bif* accepted.

Apparently, my original motto meant 'memory in knowledge' rather than 'knowledge in memory'. Neither of which made sense. So I changed it. to Scientia et Suffragium. That is to say, Knowledge and Assistance.

30 July 2010, Overseer Jaylez accepted. Scholar Karl Arne0 accepted. Acolyte Tassel accepted. First Executor Arc Tech accepted. Added a note about rejections to Applications. Removed Military Contractors from player classifications.

31 July 2010, Acolyte Tassel tranferred to Event Manager position.

4 August 2010, Acolyte Rider Anton accepted.

7 August 2010, Ambassador to Void Alliance CornOnTheMob resigned from the Void Alliance and ambassador position of his own accord. Overseer CornOnTheMob accepted.

8 August 2010, Scholar Valeyor accepted. All scholar positions filled for now.

10 August 2010, New project in progress

MASSIVE OVERHAUL PROPOSED. SEE PAGE 21 FOR INFO.

Rules
ô_RULES_ô

"Experience means conflict, our natures being what they are, and conflict means drama." - Allen Tate

1. Obey all JaGex and ingame rules.

2. Obey all forum rules.

3. Obey all Guild rules.

4. Do not insult anyone based on orientation, religion, race, gender or circumstances. Disobedience is grounds for immediate expulsion.

5. If applying, change 'Did you read the rules' to 'Did I read the rules'

6. Respect the higher ranked. Respect the lower ranked. Respect the interlopers.

7. Do not beg for ranks. Ever.

8. Act maturely, responsibly and honestly at all times.

9. Do not troll, or do anything for the sake of irritating people.

10. If applying, also swap the word 'rules' for 'rulers' when asked if you read the rules or not.

11. Remain active, notify the guild in advance of any upcoming inactivity.

12. Keep the damned thread bumped and interesting.

13. Multi-clanning within Stellar Dawn is not recommended. Ask permission from both ends before you attempt to join. Runescape clans are allowed. Multi-clanning with combat based clans is not allowed.

14. Disputes should be settled peacefully and maturely.

15. Do not attempt to break any rules in our chatrooms and do not use our chatrooms to discuss topics that disobey rules.

Member List
¥_Member /\ List_¥

"Respect is earned." - Author Unknown

Position Pending:

Current Leader: IVIilitarus

Ambassadors:

Executors: Arc Tech

Event Manager: Tassel

Scholars: Pepper Bif*, Karl Arne0, 1 Roppar 1, Valeyor

Overseers: Jaylez, CornOnTheMob

Acolytes: Md 25, Rider Anton

NOTE: Ambassadors are members of other organisations taking up join membership to facilitate growth and good relations between both sides. You may only apply for this position if there are fewer than 2 Ambassadors from your home organisation and with your current leader's permission.

The Guild cannot be held responsible for damages caused by Ambassadors and an Ambassador must take responsibility for his/her screwups.

General Information
Ÿ_GENERAL ¤ INFORMATION_Ÿ

"Liberty cannot be preserved without general knowledge among the people." - John Adams

NOTE: If you are another organisation looking for negotiations, please look to our Inter-Organisational Relations page.

If you are interested in joining, please read the entire thread.

As you may have noticed, this guild is primarily aligned to the most advanced race and none other. Only members of this race are recommended to sign up, as we're providing for them.

Other races are fully welcome to come and lend their advice, trade and chat. Do not expect us to cater entirely to you, you'd be better off in a more specific group.

I will now list detail general functionality of the guild and its usual agenda in relation to our Founding Principles.

1. "Guide new players on the path of Stellar Dawn's technologically advanced race."

This guild was founded to aid Our Benefactors and their servants. Members of other factions/races may come and go, but are not recommended to join.

2. "Give experienced players a place to continue learning and let them interact."

Nobody stops learning. We do not want valued, experienced players to leave simply because they lack a home. This is also a mature environment for mature people.

3. "Take on challenges as a united group, fighting for each other and even for fun. "

Advancement in weaponry and combat applies to us all the same. We fight in events, against possible opposing guilds and even just to learn how to fight.

4. "Provide a mature, friendly place in which various players may meet, interact and progress."

Like Our Benefactors, we strive for forward progress and the Guild is a hub for everyone, new and old to interact. This is a home, market and area to have fun.

5. "Connect with other player organisations, grow alongside them and help each other along the way."

We strive to contact other player run groups and join in the fun, rather than being snotty recluses. We were founded to help a

The Guild was founded with Our Benefactors in mind and we serve their interests. Other races, factions and organisations are fully welcome to interact with us. We are not recluses. It is right to learn.

My plan is to set clan chats, each for a separate avenue of the Guild. Interlopers, Seekers and Guild Members may use these as their primary means of communication.

1 - The Guild

The Guild is available only to members and is more exclusive. Chatting between members and Guild matters are dealt with here. The Guild chatroom acts as a general room where Guild Members are free to talk about what they wish, provided it keeps to the rules.

On certain occasions, the Guild may be opened or even locked to allow for private discussions between high ranking members and to allow diplomacy with other guilds.

2 - Marketplace

A marketplace to allow players to trade, bargain and discuss current market conditions. Keep trades civil. The marketplace should mainly be used to search for a deal, once found, players should deal in private rather than haggle in the chatroom itself.

Marketplace Rules:

1. No price manipulation clans or schemes. 2. Do not spam goods. Ask every few minutes if somebody is interested in your offer. 3. Do not attempt to scam or advertise unreasonable deals if you think the other player doesn't know better.

3 - Crossroads

This is a general chatroom to allow anyone to come in and mingle. It is moderated by Guild Members and anybody can come and go as they please. Obey the rules and enjoy yourselves. The Crossroads are mostly for light-hearted chat.

We would also like to use the Crossroads as a place where players in opposing organisations can meet and chat safely and without stress as long as they don't discuss matters of their conflict.

Never recite song lyrics in the chat. Ever.

Leave your weapons and attitude at the door. Violators will be beaten, stabbed, burned and tortured. Survivors will be prosecuted.

The Guild identifies people who pass back and forth and categorises them, not negatively, but to allow for easier identification.

Anyone associating with the Guild will probably fit into one of these categories.

GUILD MEMBERS

Guild Members are of course, members of the Guild. They applied and have been accepted into their place. Realise that while you are in one of our facilities, you're a guest of the Guild. Treat the Guild with respect, do not kick off hostilities. If there is trouble, ask a Guild Member for help.

SEEKERS

Seekers are players who are essentially 'hit and run'. They come in, ask their questions and leave when an answer is found. We hope to supply new players with greater access to the Guild and it's Scholars.

We'd prefer it if Seekers stayed for longer to learn more, but Seekers can come and go as they please.

INTERLOPERS

Players who are of a different faction, race or organisation who wish to interact on a more regular basis but have no interest in joining our Guild are Interlopers. Interlopers come to trade or just chat and have a good time. They're fully welcome to join in the festivities.

PROSPECTIVES

Prospectives are players who show interest in joining the Guild and are touring around a bit to familiarise themselves are Prospectives. These players may one day join our ranks as full fledged members, but are simply here to look around for now.

OUTLANDERS

Outlanders are players who do not support Our Benefactors and are of different factions/races but are in or show an interest in joining the Guild. These players bring knowledge of their own kind and are welcome to join in, but we may not have the facilities to return the favour.

Rank System
«_RANK SYSTEM_»

"It is not titles that honor men, but men that honor titles." - Niccolo Machiavelli

We are currently recruiting:

1 Executor

Executors are seconds in command for the current leader who manage day to day life when the leader isn't present. Executors manage disputes, enforce rules and maintain elements of the Guild.

Executors must have great leadership skills, be intelligent and fair people with a minimum 1700 Total Level on Runescape.

Executors should also manage recruitment and applications from prospectives.

Event Managers - NONE NEEDED

The event manager organises and coordinates events for the clan. The event manager should be quite active and must understand anything that can be turned into an event. The event manager should be a people person who can judge at what time an event should be placed.

Scholars - NONE NEEDED

Scholars are intelligent players who exist solely to help other players. Scholars must be very regular players with a lot of knowledge and patience.

2 Overseers - 2-3 from European Timezones, 2-3 from American

Overseers act as mediators for the Guild, settling issues, solving problems before they arise, taking over small groups of players on events. Overseers must be able to lead, motivate and have good typing fingers.

15+ Acolytes

Acolytes are the heart and soul of our Guild, these day to day players comprise the majority and are our backbone in events. Acolytes must be friendly, patient and mature people.

Acolytes are the most important part of the Guild and take up their daily lives under supervision of the Guild. They can call upon aid from the Guild but must return the favour in kind.

Acolytes act as a mouthpiece between guests and the Guild. They watch over facilities, mediate guests and partake in fun events with/against other organisations and are a large pool of potential higher ranked Members.

Applications
{_Applications_}

"The question isn't who is going to let me; it's who is going to stop me." - Ayn Rand

We're accepting applications from the populace based partly on previous video game experience and use a semi-resumé format to apply.

Your second rejection in 30 days will bar you from applying again for 30 days.

Your second rejection will bar you from application to the original chosen rank and you must pick a lower rank instead unless you applied for Acolyte.

Your rejection based on previous behavior and reputation for causing trouble can only be re-attempted in 30 days.

As a last note, remember that the Guild undertakes events for itself and Our Benefactors, but other races/factions may join in certain open events.

1. What rank are you applying for?

2. Why do you want to join?

3. Did you read all the rules?

4. Do you promise to respect players, obey leaders and help everyone?

5. Tell us of previous JaGex game and sci-fi experience.

6. Anything in real life that would make you a better member? Not too much detail.

7. What are your best qualities?

8. What are your worst qualities?

9. Are there any issues you may have if you join the clan that you would like to highlight?

10. If applicable, what are your complaints or suggestions for the Guild?

Post application in the forum and play the waiting game. That's all.

Inter-Organisational Relations
‰_INTER-ORGANISATIONAL # RELATIONS_‰

"Commerce with all nations, alliance with none, should be our motto." - Thomas Jefferson

This section is meant to overview our current relations and status with other player organisations.

Take note of it every now and again, updates here may affect day-to-day Guild life.

NOTE TO OTHER ORGANISATIONS: We are currently accepting ambassadors and willing to foster good relations with other player organisations. To begin negotiations, have a member from the top 2 ranks post a message with offers and conditions.

Organisations interested in aid in battle should be warned that soldiers are not a right and we will only join your wars if there is reason to do so.

Fansite relations are another important factor, with us setting up hubs on major fansites to let people know of our existence and give those interested a link to our HQ.

Currently at War with: None. Let's keep it that way, mmkay?

Reserves
4 posts of reserves were made after the above post.

The posts all consisted of, "Reserved"

One more reserve post was made after the 'Other' post, containing "Reserved for Other"

Other
Æ_Other_Æ

"If I had no sense of humor, I would long ago have committed suicide." - Mohandas Gandhi

This Other section of the Guild is dedicated to minor tidbits such as humour, shamless advertising, polls and Member's signatures. At some point, I'll be launching an Achievements system once I've figured out more about the game.

Member Signatures

Member signatures are ONLY AVAILABLE TO GUILD MEMBERS AND AMBASSADORS and are either based on rank or for general use. Those based on rank can only be chosen by someone of that rank or higher. The rest can be used at will by Guild Members.

II*(text)*II ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯


 * _-¯¯-_-|(text)|-_-¯¯-_|

/_\GUILD ÂCOLYTË/_\

\|/«GUILD ØVËR§ËËR»/|\

¿?GUILD §C|-|OLÂR¿?

=¥ _GUILD Ë\/ËNT MÂNÂGËR_¥ =

¤¢GUILD ËXËCUT0R¢¤

_+|Œ |Â/\/\BA§§ÂDOR|Œ|+_

Frequently Asked Questions
Â_FREQUENTLY < ASKED > QUESTIONS_Â

"I wish I had an answer to that because I'm tired of answering that question." - Yogi Berra

1. If I am of a different faction/race, may I join the Guild?

Yes. Though I would prefer certain events to be limited to Our Benefactors, other factions are fully welcome to apply for the Guild.

2. How high are Scholars ranked?

No. Scholars deal with a different arm of the Guild and operate outside of normal Guild rankings. They can be looked to for advice by anyone and rank no higher or lower than anyone.

3. How do I gain a higher rank?

Rankings are earned via event participation, treatment of other players and experience/knowledge of the Guild.

4. Can I be promoted to a Scholar?

Absolutely. Anyone of Overseer or higher rank may transfer to a Scholar position. Transferring takes some strain of leadership off to add the strain of teaching. Be advised that if your replacement is not willing to let go of your former position, you're stuck as a scholar.

5. Why is a Runescape total level requirement in place for Executors?

A high Runescape total level demonstrates previous experience with JaGex' games and proven dedication. Future Executors should be promoted to their position.

6. Who is allowed into the Guild Chat?

Only Guild Members and Ambassadors. Exceptions to be made upon review.

Beginning of The Combine
IVIilitarus eventually posted ideas for a new version of The Combine, which would put more effort into helping all players, and less in advancement of Human and Mech interests alone. The suggestions also included ideas for better organisation like the Arms.

The original posts are quoted below:

GUYS!

I'm proposing a major change to the way the Guild functions. The FAQ lists Stellar Dawn as combat-driven, which means the whole helping people angle I was gonna take on is gonna lose significance.

I'mma detail my plan in points and it's up to you to decide whether it's a good idea or not and add to it. If the idea is shot down by popular vote, we'll stay how we are.

Stellar Dawn being combat driven means we'll need our own militant arm. We really can't expect to be at perma-peace and the militant arm deals combat events and the small possibility of wars.

The idea is to have the militants function as a typical PvP and Minigame clan, with a more military (duh) rank system and allow players who aren't here to learn or teach do the last thing left: Kill things.

THE MILITANT ARM

1. Fights for the clan in case of war. 2. Hosts combat events with and against other organisations. 3. Helps HUMAN AND TECH players in learning about combat and equipment. 4. Acts as the Guild's private army. 5. ONLY ACCEPTS MECHS AND HUMANS. 6. Runs on a separate rank system.

The proposed rank system from top to bottom is:

Marshal: Leader(s) of any expeditionary force to anywhere. Events or wars. Outstanding leadership and high skills. Likely to get shot first.

Warden: Like a scholar, but with more guns. Teaches only Human and Techs. Leads if the Marshal(s) take a bullet(s) and acts as guard and advisor to Marshal.

Brother/Sister Knight: Leads a small, independent corps of troops and relays orders to them. Usually 3-5 others.

Acolyte: Lowest soldier rank in the Guild, but most numerous. May act alone at events or volunteer to join a corps.

The Militant arm forms one of my original hopes for the Guild: Somewhat combat based, organised and semi-helpful which only accepts Humans and Tech.

The less killy side is the Guild Scholarly Arm.

The GSA functions as the helpful portion of the Guild. This is where most of the stuff on the Founding Principles goes. Helping people, letting players interact and facilitating trade.

The GSA will be filled out with scholars, experienced traders, merchants and everyone else. The GSA recruits from every faction for everyone as long as they are willing to help maintain the Guild and teach it's players.

I'll detail the basics down there:

1. Teaches players about everything not Human or Tech murder based. 2. Holds the Crossroads and Trade chatrooms. 3. Recruits from all factions and races. 4. Maintains the Treasury. 5. Hosts leadership and more public events.

The GSA is where non-members go to chat, trade and ask help, rather than letting them cut into the rest of the Guild's time. It's an easy destination for people who need help.

The Treasury is made up of donations from everywhere left to several people who each manage a portion of it.

The Treasury funds certain guild member's needs such as paying for basic equipment and paying for minor losses as a result of Guild activities and giving money to new players.

Basic equipment and small parts of losses aren't too much, so it should be able to live on donations.

The Rank system for the Guild Scholarly Arm is proposed to be:

General Manager: Deals with public portions of the GSA, relays complaints and suggestions up, manages ALL Guild applications and issues basic equipment to members from the Treasury.

Treasury Manager: Gets a portion of the Treasury, maintains and distributes it with permission.

Ambassador: Same as ever.

Merchant: Moderates the Trading chatroom, gives information and some updates on the market.

Instructor: Replaces Scholar educates players on all non-economic facets of the game like finding areas and training methods.

Overseer: Moderates Crossroads and give basic advice.

Anyone in the GSA can join in a Militant Event as a Non-Standard Combatant, but don't have to if they don't feel like it. There is no need for a lower rank than an Overseer, as we'd have no use for one.

There are the leftover ranks whose holders may hang around either side.

The Leader, Executors and Event Manager may associate with either side of the Guild.

Transferring between the Arms requires reason and reapplication.

PROS of the New System

Adapts to the combat-driven mechanic

Cuts down confusion between who does the killing and who does the teaching

Keeps the public elements and more exclusive Guild elements apart

CONS of the New System

Requires far more members we don't have

May not fit into the game mechanics

Makes Guild organisation and management much more difficult

Your thoughts?

Outcomes and Lessons
After the disbanding of the Mechanised Combine and formation of The Combine, the clan saw major changes, mostly focusing on every species, the additions of the two Arms and its first days as a clan meant to help everyone progress in the game, rather than as an ego boost years down the road for its arrogant leader.

The Mechanised Combine also proved the unpracticality of a clan limiting membership to certain factions. That method of recruitment causes drops in recruitment, due to interested players not having access and valuable players not being able to enter.

The groundwork of the Mechanised Combine was recycled into The Combine as known today and many features and ideas of the Mechanised Combine were carried over to the new Combine.

Trivia
The Mechanised Combine's full page title on the Stellar Dawn Official Forums was, 'Mechanised Combine - Tech Guild'