The Blitz Website

[Copper]

As we are continually looking at ways of improving the Blitz website I'd like as many members to answer this as possible.

Please answer the questions in the poll as it will help mark the way forward for the Blitz.

Thanks

Bootie

[Copper]

*Bump*

We need as many people to answer these as possible... hell tell your mates on other ladders here at the Blitz to come over... LOL

Bootie

[The Coil]

Not sure how feasible it is, but I always thought it'd be cool to have more battle details tracked in player stats - i.e. attack/defend/ME, # of turns, etc. Not sure there's a big enough payoff in terms of the work involved to make it happen, just thought it'd be neat if it was possible...

[Huib Versloot]

I voted "other". I'd like see some more articles written. This could be book reviews, design articles, anything really. But I'm aware writing something serious takes a lot of time. I still wanted to write an article about the process of scenario designing, from the initial idea to to the end result.
The newsletter was really nice. I should have voted for that as well :)

Huib

[Herr Schacht]

Under "other", I have a couple of thoughts:
- a calendar section whereby players can put their names in time slots for dedicated IP games (rather than post on the board and say "available"). Race2Play.com has a similar concept, but obviously more organization is needed for online games there than here given the number of players

- How about a platform section and/or ladder. I noticed some Gears of War and Ghost Recon postings here. A section dedicated to these games where users can post XBox Live! id's and stats is a possibility, as is the ability to generate tournaments with other blitz members

Let me just say that this place is very well run. Yes, there are occasional controversies, but in general, I have to tip my cap to the management. Thank you.

Schacht

[Antoni Chmielowski]

I voted :

1) Restart the Newsletter.

I have always enjoyed the Newsletter because it covers other games that I dont play. and

2) Other - I`m with the idea of people posting their availability for IP games.

[Copper]

Thanks for taking the time to go through this little excercise guys.

OK... Im gonna start at the top and work my way down.

More Tournaments

I find the answers to this one quite strange. Out of the 20 people who voted for 'more' tournaments 4 of them are in the FGM. At present the FGM has 14 tournaments running.

The Few Good Men is basically the Blitz Tournament Club - we are not a seperate club but basically a small section of the Blitz that has a curtain around it. The reason for this is because we run tournaments for Blitz members but due to problems making these tournaments open to the wider membership a lot of them failed due to disappearance and drop out. We wanted to run a simple vetting process and let only those who were 'really' interested in joining in and being loyal to the tournament (seeing it through to the end) come in. So as you can see Im surprised that you guys have all voted for more tournaments... join the FGM which is NOT a seperate club or anything like that-simply a different area of the Blitz and get involved in all the tournaments running over there. any Blitz member can join but the FGM reserve the right to revoke membership into the FGM tournaments should a member walk out on a tournament or competition which is only fairto all concerned. Visit www.thefewgoodmen.com for more info.

New Ladders

Only one person is interested in new ladders - I dont think the Blitz really wants to go down the route of having FPS ladders as its a (without meaning to sound disrespectful) grown ups strategic wargames club. Hell Im the first one to launch into Gears of Way on my 360 and GR:AW on the PC but I think it is against the overall feel of the club to consider putting that in. The new ladders I was thinking along the lines of were games like Gary Grigsby' World at War, Highway to the Reich etc. Strategy games.

After Action Reports

14 people wanted more AAR's - are you guys aware thatthere is an AAR section already at the Blitz. Go to the top G2 Intel Section and click on Game Action. The first option is After Action reports. Admittedly there havent been any new additions in a while but the Blitz provides the tools for the members to post AAR's. I think it is about educating the members to what is available... the Blitz is a great resource but a lot of it does go unused.... those categoriesat the top of every page are chock full of interesting info. Go exploring. And for those who do write AAR's please start submitting them to the Blitz for others to read - you also get bonus points for contributing AARS. Just use the aforementioned section and redirect people to it via a post on the MB.

CM Ladder for tcp/ip

Two people voted for this. RedDevil is currently working behind the scenes to see if this would be a viable implementation and so far all the feedback has been good. The reason for this is that online play is so different from pbem games due to time constraints etc. All online games will be recorded as normal on the main ladder but will be able to be sorted out into an online only ladder to see who the online champions are. Keep your eyes peeled for future developments in regard to this.

A Better Training Ground for new players

5 people voted for this. I agree 100% with their assessment of what the Blitz needs. The Training ground we have is getting dusty and not all sections are filled. Just have a look at the Training Ground Section at the top of the page. This is where we all need to work as a team. We need to provide this information and the Blitz staff always gratefully accept any articles etc on the range of games specific to the ladder to be shared with the membership. Have a look and see if there is anything you can put back into the Blitz to make it a better club for old and new members alike. The only way we can provide this support is by working together.

Historical Discussion (More)

In my opinion this section does blow hot and cold..... we're currently running on luke warm but sometimes a star post comes along and everyone jumps in. I will personally endeavur to try and liven this section up with a post or two a week and if even two other members post once or twice a week that would be a 200% improvement... we have such a varied membership that we can tap into for their conceptions of various historical events that it wouldnt take that much to up the heat in the HD section. I'd appreciate if you guys could help me out by instigating conversations on the topics that YOU want to discuss.

Scenario Design Tips

Another area of the Blitz that could do with a makeover... we have some fantastic designers here among us... Millard, Huib, Jeepster and FredRocker to name a few.... guys we need you to show the rest of us some tips about how you go about designing scenarios from conception to completion. why not group together and do up an article on how you go about it - including tips and guidelines.

The Newsletter

Some interest in getting this started again. I left the position to allow me time to set up the H2H section (which is proving popular) and now that it is up and running I intend to look into starting up the newsletter at some point in the future. Abatis did take the reigns for a short time but due to RL issues and persona timeavailable he had to step down and its been vacant ever since. I cant resurrect it alone though as I need content... again these are all accepted gratefully so if you feel about rattling something out on your keyboard send it to me for hopefully inclusion in futur newsletters..... and reember bonus points get submitted for ... ermmm submissions.

Game Tips Section

12% of votes were for this - should a new section be set up or should we have it stickied to the top of the forum. we did have one before the MB upgrade but the layout was poor. Hopefully at some point in the future I can put a team together to provide the post for this area.

In closing thankyou for your feedback and I will hold off commenting on the 'other' section unil we get a few more opinions then we can decide if any of it is workable or not...

Bootie

[Copper]

Ok then getting back on topic... if anyone would like to add an opinion on what has been discussed please do so.

I do like the idea of a calendar or something that would show when people are available fo IP... on the other hand the Lets Chat section does work and it would seem a sensible idea if people wanted an IP game they should start hanging around in there. The more people use it the easier it will be to arrange IP games.

Bootie

[Colonel Talvela]

I voted for the newsletter restarted. Personally, I dont know if there is a whole lot that the admins can do to make the site better. Little changes here and there are fine. Mostly just more interaction from the members in the various places - including me.

[Zemke]