Hey Guys! Great to see a couple more familiar faces (ya know what i mean!)!! Welcome!

~Moses

Greetings All!
We’d like to announce a couple changes to HolyLand’s policies that we think everyone will appreciate and that will also make the new member application process significantly less complicated:

First and in keeping with our goal of balancing the desires of our members against the costs of operation, we recently re-evaluated our membership monthly contributions. At this time, it was determined that a lower monetary contribution from each member would still help defray most of the cost of our site and servers. Therefore, effective this month, the membership contribution has been reduced to a flat rate of $2 per month, per person. Members who have paid in advance will be contacted by email shortly.

Second, the Rank & Promotions component of HolyLand is outdated and has been eliminated. Eliminating the concept of rank simplifies our community’s structure and hopefully encourages everyone to feel more like partners who each own a share in our community’s future. Effective immediately, you can remove the rank indication from your playernames and use only the [HOLY] tag in front.

To keep the public aware of these updates, the webpages in the About HolyLand Clan section have been updated. Please feel free to take a couple minutes to go over them.

Lastly, thanks to your feedback, the COD2 server has been opened to the public and expanded to 20 players. Thank you!
Frag, Moses, Sloppy

Welcome (back) to the HolyLand community Ultra! Before you lose your site password, log in to the forums and give us an update on what you've been up to and how the family's doing! (just kidding about the losing the password part!) 

~Moses

First thing's first: COD2 Server Updates

We've made some "updates" to the COD2 server to step up the gameplay a bit and make the server a little less chaotic. I combined the AWE mod with our current weapons mod for some added features including the ones listed below. Once we finalize the settings (we need to have one or two sessions on it to be sure we're happy with it), we will be adding more slots to the server and making it public.

* Weapons restrictions (example: 1 sniper per team, etc), grenade adjustments
* Ability to sprint (by pressing the Use key)
* Friendly Fire with automated TK warnings/punishments
* Random Helmet popping
* Spawn protection
* Default gametype changed to CTF
* Other goodies

Next: COD: Modern Warfare 2:

It doesn't appear that IW/Activision is going to be reversing it's decision anytime soon regarding offering dedicated server support for COD: MW2. Also, their current plans would not only make it impossible for us to host a server, but the game cannot be modded at all; that means NO custom weapons, NO custom maps, NO custom gametypes, NONE OF THE THINGS that the PC gaming community has enjoyed about all previous COD-franchise games. The game is essentially a console game, with a half-hearted attempt to make the game playable on the PC---nothing more.
Therefore, because we will not be hosting this game, we are currently discussing other options including COD5:WAW or BattleField:Bad Company 2 (BF:BC2). BF:BC2 is due out soon, and offers all the things a good multiplayer FPS game should and more. If you have an opinion about this decision, we encourage everyone to share their thoughts in the forums.

Last, But Certainly Not Least:

Don't forget: TUESDAYS and THURSDAYS are gaming nights (starting at 8pm EST), so drop what you're doing and join us. And don't forget to get on TS before you jump in!

***UPDATE*** There is a discussion thread in the Registered Users Forum section for feedback and updates on the COD server. Please log in to view it! ***

Welcome aboard! Make sure you guys take a few minutes to log in, go to the forums and tell everyone a little bit about yourselves!

~Moses

 

Greetings HolyLand Members and Friends!

 *********UPDATE***********

At this time Infinity Ward has decided to eliminate dedicated server, punkbuster, and mod support from the upcoming release of Modern Warfare 2. Instead Infinity Ward will force you to use a “matchmaking” service that pairs you with players of equal rank and experience. Each time you log on IW will decide where you play and whom you play with. You will no longer have the ability to play with your friends or clan mates except in co-op mode.

IW is also removing PunkBuster and replacing it with Valve Anti-Cheat, a system that Valve (makers of the Half Life and Counterstrike series) uses on the Steam platform. There is some debate over which system is better at detecting cheaters but in my limited experience with VAC, cheating seems to be more rampant on Steam servers. Further, the MP gaming society is already very familiar with PB so leaving it out of a very successful series like COD is a head-scratcher to be sure!

Finally removing the MOD support means no more custom mods or maps that keep the game fresh. Instead it is likely the IW could begin charging for content like patches and map packs.

What does this mean for HolyLand Clan? Unless things change no one will be able to host a MW2 server, including us. There is a petition online that you can sign to get IW to reconsider their foolish stance on this matter although its unlikely to affect IW much.

http://www.petitiononline.com/dedis4mw/petition.html

In the meantime we will shelve our plans for MW2 and decide in which direction to go. Possibly expanding the COD2 server and getting rid of COD4 altogether or some other combination. We would like to hear from you, our members and friends. If you have a comment, suggestion, or idea, please post it here in this thread. Thanks!

 

~frag

 

****UPDATE****

We've placed a poll on the left side of the screen. Please take a moment to vote. This is your clan and you have a say. Unless you don't speak up. Then I rule!! :-)

 

 

A warm HOLYLAND welcome goes out to two old friends, Walking Dude and Joan of Arc.  We're happy you came in to visit and we hope to see you often!

 

In just seven weeks Infinity Ward will release MW2. While there are no specs(official or otherwise) listed for the game, there are some pretty neat videos out there including some multiplayer footage. Check them out!

 

http://www.youtube.com/user/InfinityWard

 

Stay tuned for more!!!

 

~frag

 

Hello everyone, I'm pleased to announce that Desprat has joined HolyLand Clan.  We also have two new friends in Bar Boy and Echoman. Great to see you guys!!! Lets give them all a warm HolyLand Clan welcome!

If you are not yet a member of HLC, but would like to spend a little more time getting to know us, then register on the site! Although registering won't make you a clan member automically, registration is free and you will get limited access to our forums and other services not available to the general public. For new people, it's a great way to get to know us a little more, and for old friends, its a great way to say hello and hang out.

Click HERE to register now!

~Moses