 |
|
 |
|
February 1998
7th - Two online gaming friends, Terwin and Kotwah, got together in a room on the Heavy Gear section of mplayer
(mplayer.com). With the intention of forming a elite coalition of online gamers, they named the room "Forming
DSC". Mutter had been in the Heavy Gear lobby when the room was made and had no affiliation with neither
Terwin nor Kotwah. Mutter had never been in a clan before; Heavy Gear was one of the first online games he had ever
played. Being a newbie looking for something exciting in gaming, he entered the room.
This was Mutter's first time trying out for a clan and he had no idea what he was doing. He was tested and passed
with a score of 4-3, not being the newbie he thought he was. Mutter was sworn in, and admitted into the Dark Spire
Clan before it was made. He was the third founder. DSC-Terwin_CO, DSC-Kotwah_XO, DSC-Mutter_Lt.C, the first three DSC
members.
DSC grew rapidly and was the 2nd or 3rd best clan in Heavy Gear. Terwin disappeared and has never been heard from
since. It was said that he was killed in a car accident, but this is believed to be circumstantial.
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
March 1998
Mutter received a review for a game in PC Gamer. The game was Battlezone, and after talking to some friends,
DSC-Mutter_Lt.C immediately pre-ordered the game. He received it one day after it was released, on March 18th, 1998.
As soon as DSC-Mutter_HK got multiplayer running he founded DSC in Heat.net with approval from DSC-Kotwah_XO,
making DSC the oldest clan covering Battlezone. DSC grew but its first members in heat were not of the loyal type.
They would not respond to e-mails, follow orders, or interact with each other.
DSC-Mutter_HK decided to play Battlezone on the normal Activision Multiplayer servers. The Activision servers were
much more promising: people were nicer, there was more competition, it was easier to chat, join games, and also much
easier to recruit. DSC began to grow many members were recruited like: DSC-Blade, DSC-Reaper, DSC-Charmew, DSC-Brickroad...
31st - The game Star Craft is released by Blizzard Entertainment.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
August 1998
Charmew, a future Keeper for Battlezone 2 and Head Keeper, is recruited by Mutter. He had originally been part of the
snipers clan SRU, which had fallen due to inactivity. Talented in the deathmatch portion of Battlezone, he
most remembers some of his strategy matches. In one, after he and his opponent both obliterated each other's
bases, Charmew was left with only a scavenger. He hopped into it, found his opponent, and ran him over, giving
him the win. For his deathmatch side, he prefered either a Czar tank armed with linked AT-SP Stabbers, or a
light tank with Hornet missiles linked with a TAG cannon.
Loud is also recruited by Mutter in August. He had just gotten his Monster 3D II card and a copy of Battlezone in
June, and had begun playing online under the name Loudplay. Mutter spots him in a strat match and recruits him.
It's then that Mutter recommends that he shorten his name to just Loud, since DSC-Loudplay was a bit long. Loud's
first assignment is Recruiting Officer, where he proves quite useful to the clan. He also contributes several
images for website and other use.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
February 1999
Eagle-Eye, a future Head Keeper and leader of the Flaming Eagles Squad, is recruited. Suffering from boredom
that winter, Eagle-Eye had decided to try out Battlezone multiplayer, his first online game. He had been
playing the game continuously since it had came out and had acquired a great deal of skill. Within a few weeks,
he was picked up by the 007 clan after defeating some of their better members in matches. Unknown to Eagle-Eye,
the clan began to dissolve. Mutter_HK, always the recruiter, noticed the lone 007 member and informed him
of his clan's fate. Eagle-Eye, taking note of the absence of his clanmates, joined Mutter's DSC.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
May 1999
5th - The DSC-Battlezone II Web Page (http://members.tripod.com/DSC_COMMAND2) is posted by DSC-Mutter_HK in
preparation for the release of Battle Zone II. Loud had played a large role in the creation of this website.
10th - DSC undergoes a perestroika. The result is a bicameral DSC, with the three Head Keeprs (Mutter, Reaper, and
Blade), and a Ministry of Defense (MoD). The MoD is led by a Secretary of Defense, SoD, a position first
filled by Charmew_SoD. The MoD's purpose was to spy on other clans and to perform counter-espionage
within DSC's own ranks. Since DSC was such a large and powerful clan at the time, it made many
enemies, necessitating a spy-counterspy group. Secrecy was of the utmost importance; candidates for
membership in the MoD were not told its details until they accepted the position.
BDoG Tank is recruited by Clone on the map Z-Crossroads on Battlezone. BDoG Tank is initially a spy for SFH,
but becomes fond of DSC and is revealed. After a stern talking-to by Reaper_HK, he is admitted into DSC. He
shortens his name to BDoG, and eventually becomes a »C.E.« and later a Head Keeper.
18th - The DSC Battalions in Battlezone are officially disbanded, to be replaced by single Deathmatch [Ð] and Strategy
[§] battalions. The snipers remain unchanged. Vaperiser is announced to be the Commanding Officer of the
Deathmatch Battalion ( [Ð]/CO ), but the counterpart position in the Strat group is vacant (although Loud later
holds the position).
27th - Jedi_MoD, Mutter_HK, and Exodus_MoD release a Battlezone Deathmatch map customized for DSC. Containing a
Russian bomber that launches three rockets at once (though a later revision removes it), the map is
similar to the Colliseum map in appearance, but has "DSC" written in the middle.
28th - DSC and Dark Vigilent GenX (DVX) have tension between them, stemming from an incident that took place on
Battlezone. At the time, Mutter_HK was having difficulty getting online, and someone began to pose as him on
the BZ servers. Charmew_MoD detected this and fed the poser false information in the hopes of finding out
who the poser was. After doing this, Charmew_MoD informs the Head Keepers of the matter. As it turns out,
a DVX member was the culprit; whether this action was a DVX clan action or if the member was acting alone
was never uncovered.
28th - Boss_Snp/[C] improves his DSC sniper page and moves it to http://members.tripod.com/DSC_SNIPERS.
28th - Aliens Vs Predator is released by Fox Interactive.
Several members of DSC break off and form the clan XCS. Originally, XCS had been somewhat of a clan within a clan,
a sect almost like the Spartans would be half a year later. One of their main purposes had been to find and
recruit members into DSC, as they had done with BDoG Tank. The first of DSC's sister clans, XCS would enjoy
success in Battlezone, but eventually move on to Counter Strike and other games.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
June 1999
With the coming of summer, DSC reaches a peak. This is perhaps the time of highest membership, expansion, and
activity in DSC's history, past and present. Gregoryman would later call the summer of 1999 the "height of the DSC
empire."
7th - Wavebro_SC/K posts the DSC Starcraft website, http://members.tripod.com/DSC_COMMAND_3. The site was designed
by /\\/eo, who was not affiliated with DSC.
22nd - The game Heavy Gear 2 is released by Activision.
22nd - War with the Dark Shadow Clan, ~DSc~, led by EviL(V)agicLord, is announced for the Star Craft players. ~DSc~,
a relatively powerful clan in Star Craft, was previously looking for another clan to make war with. When one
of their players saw another clan with the "DSC" tags, they jumped on the opportunity. They first try
bad mouthing the -=DSC=- group on their channel (~DSc~'s channel, ~ShAdOwLaNd~, is revealed to -=DSC=- on the
next day. Since a group's channel was its primary meeting place, finding your enemies' channel was a victory in
itself.), and then move on to offensive gaming. The two groups play a best of five set of matches, primarily
on the Broodwar expansion pack for Star Craft. The result is a 4-1 Dark Shadow victory. Since the war was
semi-friendly, Drone and Evil (V)agiclord become somewhat of friends as the clans return to peace.
23rd - DSC-Pikachu creates a Star Craft Battalion called the Imperial Guard (IG). The other battalion,
containing the majority of the DSC-SC players, is known as the Assault Elite (AE).
25th - Dealer is recruited by Mutter_HK and Exodus. He had heard of a war the next week to be fought between DSC
and SOA, so with the thoughts of fighting against SOA in his mind he entered a room in the Battlezone lobby called
"DSC Recruiting." There he found Exodus and Mutter waiting for lonewolfs. Dealer was instructed to play three
matches against Exodus, which ended up being on the map Singularity. He finished with a 2-1 score, and was
admitted into the DM group with the lowest rank, [Ð]. Unsatisfied with this, he persuades Mutter to assign
him the rank of [Ð]/ÇrÐ, the highest and most elite of the Deathmatch group, on the day of the war. Ever
dedicated to gaining rank and contributing to DSC, he takes over as [Ð]/CO when Vaperiser is promoted to »C.E.«.
29th - Mutter_HK establishes DSC in War Zone 2100, a strategy game which is played on mplayer.com. Construction of a
website soon commences.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
July 1999
2nd - War Day with Soldiers of Apocalypse (SOA). Two matches are pre-scheduled: A 2v2 DM, in which Reaper_HK and
Blade_HK will represent DSC, and a 2v2 Strat match, including Mutter_HK and Exodus_[§]/CO. One of the
unscheduled matches was a 2v2 DM, in which Dealer_[Ð]/ÇrÐ and Eagle-Eye have respective scores of 18-1
and 8-0 by the end of the twenty minute round. Dealer partially attributed the score to the SOA players
being newbies, but said of the score "That's an ugly number for SOA's history book." By the end of the night,
DSC emerged victorious with a 3-1 final match score.
6th - Mutter_HK opens the DSC Store section in the website. This sells computer and video game accessories from
which DSC earns a commission. Mutter plans to use the money to buy the domain DarkSpireClan.com.
Charmew had for some time shown frustration at not being a Head Keeper; many attributed this to his relatively young
age. Finally, Blade gets tired of this and gives Charmew the rank. Reaper follows his friend's action and also gives
up his rank, leaving them as plain [Ð] members. Some have described Charmew's HK time as tyrannical; he himself
acknowledges that after he got the title, "shit happened."
17th - Forty-six members are pre-ranked in preparation for the release of Battlezone II. This is done so that DSC will have
a head start in establishing itself in that game. Unfortunately, the release is delayed several times, ultimately
occuring in the last quarter of the year.
22nd - Kommadant establishes DSC in the game Aliens Vs Predator and begins work on a website. The members in the AvP
division include the Keeper, Kommadant_AvP/K; Mutter_HK; Enigma_CO; Soul Blade; and Jedi. AvP makes the fifth
game that DSC covers, the others being Battlezone I/II, Star Craft, and Heavy Gear 2.
23rd - Blade, Exodus, Reaper, and Vaperiser leave the clan due to the Charmew situation and the bickering that the
clan was suffering from. Soon to follow them are Carebear and Mr. Dead. In fact, the arguing caused a great
number of members to leave; this was one of the problems that DSC would have to overcome in order to survive.
24th - Charmew_HK is kicked from the clan for "unforgiving circumstances." To replace him, Mutter names Eagle-Eye
to be the next Head Keeper of DSC. Charmew is not clanless for long as he is shortly thereafter reinstated without
his HK rank. Later, he becomes the clan's Information Officer (IO).
26th - Gregoryman begins to write his DSC Newsletters. The emailed feature contains not only clan news, but general
gaming news as well. This important part of the clan would last until Gregoryman's departure from the clan several
months later.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
August 1999
14th - Dinobot, a future Code Enforcement Officer, is recruited. Only playing games online for about a month, he
wanted to join a clan, preferably one large and powerful. Since he had seen many chatrooms in Battlezone
labeled "-=DSC=-", he guessed that DSC was the type of clan he was looking for. Wavebro was his recruiter,
but Dinobot recalls it was because of good attitude rather than skill. He quickly becomes fond of the Grendel
bomber, but later becomes good with the Black Dog Tank. His brother, known to DSC as Shadowmaster, is also
brought into the clan within a short time. He preferred the Black Dog Tank, and always went for the dual SP
Stabbers. With the release of Battlezone 2, he transitions into that game.
29th - DSC joins the first Battlezone Federation in order to participate in official ladder matches. Brickroad_»C.E.«
is the first representative to the BZF.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
September 1999
SM, a future Recruiting Officer for the Battlezone sniper division, is recruited by Tombo.
Two prominent members, Stealth_BZ/K and Gregoryman, have an intense fight between them and both leave the clan. Soon
to follow them are mrogers and bmny1. Gregoryman, bmny1, and mrogers join the Dark Hunters (DH) clan, while
Stealth goes on as a lonewolf. mrogers and bmny1 begin to trade insults with DSC members, agrivating the
situation. Ultimately, mrogers hacks into the DSC Members-Only Section. He later gains enemies in DH when he
destroys the members area of the DH website. bmny1, a founder of DH and one of its generals, soon changes his
name to SnakEyez.
18th - Reaper and Blade, former Head Keepers of DSC, form the clan Nether Regions (NR). A sister clan to DSC, its
ranks contain many former DSC players. Friendly competition exists between DSC and NR until NR begins to
transition out of Battlezone early the next year.
26th - Candidates for the upcoming HK election are required to submit campaign speeches
by this date.
27th - A week-long poll was posted in the MOS of the forum to elect a new HK to serve with Mutter and Eagle-Eye.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
October 1999
5th - The results
of the HK election are posted. Brickroad_»C.E.«, under a cloud of controversy, was
announced to be the winner of the election. He ultimately denies rigging the election, yet the poll where the
voting took place was not passwod or IP protected, allowing anybody to vote multiple times for their candidate.
Despite this, the results were considered valid. Dealer, runner-up in the election, soon leaves DSC to be a part of
Cronos's new clan, Soldiers of X (XS). It is initially a spy mission for DSC, but Dealer is really testing
the waters to see what gaming without DSC would be like. He soon returns to DSC, but this causes tension
between the clans. Dealer resigns from DSC again, and after a stint as a lone wolf, joins up with DSC's
sister clan, the Nether Regions (NR). Later, he becomes a founder of the Natural Killers (NK) Battlezone clan.
16th - Cronos, leader of XS and longtime enemy of DSC, joins DSC. He is noted for his great skill in Battlezone
as well as his HTML abilities, and soon becomes leader of the Ministry of Defense. XS soon falls without their leader.
21st - Wavebro resigns as Keeper of Star Craft to found DSC in Half-Life, a foreshadowing of DSC's future in one of
Half Life's mods, Counter Strike.
31st - Soldiers of the Apocalypse (SOA) once again declares war on DSC for reasons unknown.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
November 1999
Sgt. Pepper, a popular Battlezone and Ages of Empires player, is recruited. He was the leader of the Spartans,
a Battlezone bomber clan. A future HK, he brings most of the Spartan's members with him. The majority of these
end up being members of his squad of the same name.
Scout, a Star Craft player future Battlezone 2 member, is recruited by Mutter.
7th - DSC participates in the Battlezone Federation's Tournament 3. In perhaps their finest 12 hours, DSC members
play a total of 35 matches, ending with a record of 20-13-2. Suspense is high as the participants await
the release of the results.
The next day, the BZF does just that. DSC members find that their clan has taken 3rd place.
She is beaten by The Dark Side (TDS) and SMEG, both of which were able to play more matches. However, it is a
great moment in DSC's history.
14th - To consolidate information and viewers from the great number of official DSC websites, Mutter_HK posts the
DSC High Command Center website at http://dschc.cjb.net. The new site has
only one forum, news section, chatroom, link to DSC, and join DSC section. All of the Battle Field (game-specific)
sites will have a link in a special section on the new site.
The Battlezone Federation is suddenly disbanded. However, due to the need for such an organization in the game of
Battlezone, Taz and Cnl. Failure (non-DSC members) begin to rebuild the Federation and construct a new website.
The initial expectation is a month of downtime; however, the new organization begins accepting membership
applications in less than three weeks.
21st - A meeting is held at 5 PM EST, with an attendence of 24 members. Among the topics of discussion is the
issue of Gregoryman and Stealth. A vote is held by Mutter_HK at the request of many members to allow
Stealth back into the clan. The participants vote 21 to 3 in favor. Stealth is removed from the
Black List and reinstated as a DSC member, but is not allowed to regain his position as Keeper of
Battlezone. Gregoryman remains on the Black List.
25th - Mutter announces that the release date for Battlezone 2 has been again pushed back from December 8th until
the 22nd. However, it only serves to heighten the suspense in DSC surrounding the release.
28th - A meeting is held at 5 PM EST on the Australian server on Battlezone. One of the issues is the possible
expansion into the game Unreal Tournament. Those in attendance vote in favor of the expansion, so Loud
and Cronos begin work together on a webpage and leadership positions. Another issue covered was the SOA
webpage and message board, both likely taken over when SOA lost their late October war with DSC (such losses
during a clan war in Battlezone were not uncommon; frequently, the losing clan was disbanded). To avoid
further confrontations, the members voted to return these to the SOA leadership.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
December 1999
3rd - The new Battlezone Federation starts to function, including a new website at http://bz.online-federation.com
(the old one being http://vuvu.com/BZF). Five clans are already members: Cosmic Warriors, Imperial Garde, Mercenaries of Faith, Thunderhawk, and the
Vaccuum Clan. Mutter quickly submits a join request to add DSC to the list. However, after four days, he
receives no word about the status of the clan. He submits a second request, which is approved by the new BZF
leadership. The celebration is cut short when it is learned that one of DSC's allies, DVX, was not admitted into
the organization.
6th - A meeting was held between Mutter_HK and Gregoryman, now known as DH-MXPX_Gen. To summarize, DSC and DH would
both withdraw their spies from each other's clans, and DSC would be allowed to compose a Peace Accord. The treaty
would be ratified by the three DSC Head Keepers and the three DH Generals. Further, any past issues between the
clans, including the Gregoryman and Stealth incident of 3 months before, would not interfere with further clan
relations. To make this known to their respective clanmates, the two leaders saved the chat log,
yet edited sensitive clan material out for the sake of security.
19th - DSC's sister clan, the Nether Regions, disbands over clan issues. This causes some grief within DSC due to the
closeness and alliance which exists between the two clans. Thankfully, several days later, NR is back in
business.
30th - At 2:02 p.m., Fishboy_[§]/CO became the first DSC in Battlezone 2 multiplayer (released that day by Pandemic
Studios), making DSC the second clan to enter that game.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
January 2000
After the Christmas holiday, DSC's glory days begin to make a down-turn. Membership slowly drops, causing the period
to be known as the First Great Depression. Battlezone 2, the game that DSC had been counting on, receives
mixed reviews and suffers from high system requirements. While DSC still goes on as a strong clan, the first
signs of inactivity appear.
9th - Mutter holds a meeting in the DSC chatroom on the High Command Center website, which was rescheduled from a
date in December. Only six members attend, which is not enough to accomplish important clan business. Mutter
posts in the news section that the issues that were to be discussed will have polls or threads posted in the
MOS message board. Among them: a Battlezone alliance with Dianetix (DNX), new Recruiting Officers, Desk becoming
the new Keeper of Half-Life, and comments on the Armory and Art sections of the website.
15th - Pandemic Studios releases a beta version of the Battlezone 2 patch, which helps to improve the problems occuring
with the game.
21st - To combat inactivity and make the roster accurate, Mutter asks that all DSC members send him an email telling him
that they are still active and in the clan. He also asks that they include what games they are in and what games
they play. This is one of the first signs of the inactivity and loss of membership that occurs around this time.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
February 2000
A significant change in the clan's structure takes place around this time. The old Deathmatch, Strategy, and Snipe
divisions are replaced by squads. A squad, consisting of at least five members, is created, named, and led by an
important DSC member. Squads only are used in Battlezone I and II since those games have the core of DSC membership
at the time.
Rumors circle throughout the Battlezone community about a possible DSC-NR merger. Both sides claim this to be untrue
and the result of a misunderstanding.
5th - DSC participates in the Battlezone Federation's Tournament 4 and earns a sixth place
spot. It is a disappointment after the third place victory from the previous tournament, but is still an
accomplishment considering 28 clans were involved.
Dadevil, a Battlezone sniper and future Temporary Keeper, is recruited by Necropheliac.
Two weeks later, Zorro is recruited by Mutter. The future Head Keeper first serves as Assistant Recruiting Officer
under Loud, and later starts the Fury of the Swarm squad. FS adds a fresh group of members to the DSC roster.
Members of this squad eventually include Zorro (Commander), Keebem (Recruiting Officer), Killer (Training Officer),
Alien, Barqs, Cyrax, Dealer of Death, Deathscythe, Duke, Nicolai, Outcast, and Stormer. A later member, Killer, changes
his name to Killaz. Long after FS dies, Keebem and Killaz are found to be the same person. Dealer of Death is the
author of the famous Battlezone Deathmatch map "Super Snipers."
About this time, a large group of snipers leave DSC. Before their departure, the division had Midas as Executive Officer (XO),
Murs as Commanding Officer (CO), Nookie as Lieutenant Commander (Lt.C), and SM as Recruiting Officer (RO). Many leave
to become members of NR; Murs, Nookie, and SM become members of DO. While in that clan, SM changes his name
to Phreak, and then joins the Fallen Angels clan. Nookie also leaves DO for the Nether Regions.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
May 2000
14th - Sgt. Pepper leaves DSC for personal reasons. A well-respected member and great leader, his departure
represents a great loss to DSC. BDoG is appointed as replacement HK without a vote, and in turn he
appoints Dinobot and DaDevil as Code Enforcement (»C.E.«) Officers. Despite his new responsibilities, Dinobot
continues as leader of the Raven Claw squad.
InsaneNecro, a former NoL member in their Ages of Empire 2 division, joins the clan. He had been recommended to DSC
by a former clanmate from NoL, the former DSC-Gregoryman. With BDoG_HK's approval, Insane creates a Diablo 2 division
which he maintains for the next year. He has few recruits, but is a constant participant on the message board and
among the more active in the clan's activities.
23rd - Due to inactivity and lack of adequate leadership, Mutter declares that the squads must have at least fifteen
members instead of the original requirement of five.
26th - Zorro begins the Fury of the Swarm squad website at
http://furyoftheswarm.tripod.com.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
June 2000
6th - Eagle-Eye sets a training schedule for his Flaming Eagles: Saturdays from 4 to 6 p.m. Members meet on BZ1
then disperse to games or BZ2 for 2v2 matches.
7th - Madmaster, a skilled stratter, leaves the Cyber's Minions squad for the Flaming Eagles due to inactivity.
This likely represents the end of the CM squad, formerly led by DSC-Cyber_‡CM‡.
8th - Dansgreat joins the Flaming Eagles.
14th - An upcoming Battlezone Federation Match with Clan Unity (U) is reported by Madmaster. Eagle-Eye_HK recommends
Mutter_HK, Rooks, and Charmew as partners because of their stratting skill.
Dealer of Death_FS is kicked out of the clan by BDoG_HK. Zorro and DoD both recall shortly after that, as Zorro
and BDoG were in a game, DoD turned on one of his old hacks and entered the game. He said "BDoG, this is Dealer
of Death you f****r!" and the game crashed. This was the last time DoD used one of his hacks. He went on as a
lonewolf for a time, and eventually found his way into the Natural Killers (NK) Battlezone clan under the handle
Defiance.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
July 2000
Alien_FS is found to be a hacker and is kicked from the clan.
5th - The day of the DSC-EW wars. The Fury of the Swarm squad, led by Zorro_C/FS, earns a record
of 4-2 against the Elite Warriors, who promptly make peace with DSC. It bears mention that EW was somewhat of a
descendant clan of SOA, as key SOA members Benny, Cactus Jack, and others were also members of EW. The
celebration after the victory is marred when BDoG_HK blames the FS members for this clan war and begins to kick
them out of DSC. Others leave because of conflicts with the Head Keeper. When the dust settles, only Zorro,
Nicolai, and Duke remain.
7th - Nookie returns to DSC from the Nether Regions (NR) since that clan had began to move out of Battlezone.
With much fanfare, he is placed into the Flaming Eagles squad.
21st - Mutter begins to work on a DSC-Tribes 2 website, with the battle field to be headed up by long-time Star
Craft division members Drone and Hyuga. The two of them push hard to get the clan into the game, but to their
disappointment, there is a move towards Half-Life instead. The Tribes 2 Battle Field idea is soon scrapped.
22nd - Gregoryman returns to DSC and joins the Flaming Eagles squad.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
October 2000
Cranky Panda is recruited and shortly after changes his name to Sentinel. A turret vs bomber specialist,
he is gone by the end of the end of November. During his time in DSC, he maintains a fair level of activity,
and even makes a few posts on the message board.
BlueRacer, a Battlezone player, goes inactive about this time. Because he doesn't frequent the message board,
an exact date cannot be pinned down.
25th - SnakEyez, the former DSC-bmny1, joins DSC. Claiming that DH was dying, he asks Gregoryman if he could
rejoin DSC. Gregoryman agrees, and gives him the rank of Recruiting Officer for Battlezone 2. He later claims
that this was to get back at Mutter and mrogers, since they did not know of his new handle. But he soon loses
interest in BZ, and his mission of revenge means less and less.
27th - Zorro resigns, but is convinced that day to remain with DSC.
28th - Zorro installs Nicolai_G[DM] as head of BZ-DM division, to be called "The Hoards of Ghengis Kahn", and
Duke_G[Snp] as head of head of the BZ-Snp division, to be called the "Cold Warriors". The strategy section of DSC,
once a mighty force, is nonexistent at this point. This is also the last real organization DSC would have in
Battlezone beyond rankings.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
November 2000
1st - SnakEyez resigns. He simply says that he's unpredictable, and when he sets his mind to something, he does it.
However, it's because of his waning interest in Battlezone and getting back at Mutter and mrogers. He returns
to being a General of DH, and leads that clan for a long stretch of activity before it finally dies out.
Hermdawg is recruited in Battlezone by Nicolai. He only is in the clan for about a week. It was Nicolai who gave
Hermdawg a copy of Battlezone; He, Jester, Nicolai, and Zorro are all from the same town in Pennsylvania.
2nd - Dinobot resigns because of inactivity. His brother, Shadowmaster, holds on to his membership for a little longer,
but he too soon leaves. Dinobot soon forms a tribe in the game Tribes, NwO. He later joins the Tribal Rangers
[T=R], a group which has around a 70 ranking on the Tribes ladder, and he temporarily changes his handle to Indexion.
Jester becomes leader of Flaming Eagles with Dansgreat as his second-in-charge, covering Battlezone 2. This is the last
reference to the FE squad on the message board-it can be assumed that the squad was unofficially disbanded
in this time frame.
12th - Zorro leaves DSC because of Duke's supposed dismissal. Apparently, Mutter had kicked Duke from the clan for
no reason at all. It is later found to be the work of a poser, and BDoG reinstates Duke. However, the damage
is done, and Zorro goes. The same day, Jester leaves DSC because of lack of participation and installs Dansgreat
as the head of Battlezone 2. His resignation statement is quite revealing of the clan at the time, mentioning
the grand proposals compared to the little action, and Mutter's continued inactivity.
13th - Nicolai resigns from DSC and joins the Zion Bomber Guild, leaving Commando as the head of the DM group. Nicolai is
talked into changing clans by his friend and former Fury of the Swarm squad member, Killer. He leaves not
because of the turmoil facing DSC, but for the opportunity of good bombing games, which are not found in DSC.
BDoG, friend of Nicolai, is enraged and begins asking Nicolai to return.
18th - A small "DSC Reunion" on Battlezone for current and former members takes place. Attending are: Nicolai, Killer,
Nookie, TheHitman, Commando and Tallgeese. Nicolai and Killer hold several more of these spontaneous events
in the coming weeks.
21st - Gregoryman proposes one-year HK terms; the idea is rejected and soon forgotten. This is among his many proposed reforms for DSC in
his quest to rebuild the clan into a "republic-empire." Although he outwardly seemed to be trying to force his ideas on
the clan, he was only interested in helping it survive.
22nd - DSC-mrogers returns with the new handle High Voltage. He is met with resistance by his old enemy SnakEyez,
but High Voltage claims to be a changed person. The DSC members decide to give him a chance to prove himself.
23rd - Gregoryman makes his speech for an HK spot, and names Dansgreat as his advisor and Madmaster as his Vice HK.
He promises a council as medium between members and HK's, with the power to override an HK action. Ranks will be
modified to include HK's, a council, a judge, a recruiting officer, and a training officer. He also
promises a new website, despite the fact that Beowulf and Mutter working on one at the time.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
December 2000
4th - NK-Stevie reports foul language and other inappropriate behavior from DSC-Commando in the BZ lobby. Several
other Battlezone members, including UBF-flash21, report him to be harassing German players. Although he is
a very good magger in the game, several members speak out against his conduct. The next day, he quietly
resigns.
9th - The Battlezone Federation holds the Tournament 9. Although there is much hype about the event, there is very
little participation. Dansgreat tries to rally his Battlezone 2 players for the tourney.
11th - Gregoryman restarts his DSC Newsletter. In addition to the clan's news, it contains information about his
plans for DSC's reformation.
20th - Between 1:30 p.m. and 2:00 p.m., the DSC website was hacked into and deleted. The main page was replaced with
mock-up, with Mutter's speech replaced with vulgarities. A guestbook entry indicates that the culprit was
Claw from the Zion Bomber Guild, but later information clears him as well as his clan.
27th - Hendrix and Lord Neo are recruited by Mutter and Seraphim in Battlezone. Lord Neo is rarely seen on Battlezone
and never posts on the message board. Hendrix,
on the other hand, makes his presence know on the forum and on
the battlefield. His skill at magging is exceptional, and he puts many of DSC's finest to shame.
28th - The Tallgeese Conspiracy is revealed to the clan. Mutter had used the name DSC-Tallgeese_RO as an alias with
which he could keep tabs on DSC members. However, it was said that ex-DSC-Dealer told many Battlezone
players the truth about the alias. To turn the tables, Mutter had one of his recent recruits, VegaBlue, use the name
Tallgeese while gaming. In return, VegaBlue was trained, admitted into DSC, and given the rank of Recruiting
Officer.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
January 2001
Al Capone is recruited in Battlezone. He quickly creates a problem when he helps a newbie clan, DE,
start up. Several members bring up the question of dual clanning, but Al Capone stays with DSC. He becomes
one of the more controversial members, leaving the clan several times and openly asking for hacks in the
Battlezone lobby. However, he works to clean up his act and is very active.
6th - Hendrix asks to be head of deathmatch division; after some pushing, he's given the title nine days later.
8th - Blackknight from the Spartans reappears and asks to be in DSC; he's allowed back in, but disappears within 2 weeks.
This happens several times in this time period, with members such as Opti205 and Brickroad returning then
shortly after disappearing.
Gregoryman, after losing his opportunity to be an HK, drifts back toward the Dark Hunters Clan (DH). This creates
controversy over his membership and the dual-clanning issue. He eventually leaves DSC for DH and starts up
a Call To Power division within that clan.
19th - Mutter appoints Madmaster as BZ2 DM Commanding Officer.
27th - BDoG appoints Al Capone as recruiter for Battlezone after asking for the position for some time. While serving
as Recruiting Officer, he only recruits and handful of members.
29th - DSC T-shirts are proposed by Mutter as both a fundraiser (like the DSC Store had been) and also as an
extra for the members. Like many of the ideas proposed around this time, the idea falls dormant soon after.
29th - Mutter and Hendrix recruit Berlin_DM in Battlezone. As with many of Mutter's recruits at this time,
Berlin is never seen on the message board and is presumed gone after a week.
30th - Mutter recruits three Battlezone players, Slayer_DM, HoS_DM, and Whore420_§. Slayer_DM is gone within a week,
never once posting on the message board. Hos_DM and Whore420_§ do become active in the clan, albiet in a
negative way. Whore had a foul vocabulary, and when asked to clean things up, he told the clan outright
he'd talk however he wanted to. The two, friends from Tampa, disappear from the clan soon after.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
February 2001
Spring brings a new problem to DSC: ranks. Some in the clan want a structured system, where everybody has a role
and their own sense of superiority. Still others want the equality and simplistic style of no ranks, arguing
that the clan doesn't have enough members to fill all of the spots in a complex rank system.
6th - Nicolai rejoins DSC after leaving Zion. Many of Zion's leaders did not care for him, so after being falsely
accused of spying, he returns to his original clan. Shortly after his departure, a significant number of Zion members
leave that clan and rejoin the Force One (=F1=), which for most had been their pre-Zion group. Mortally
wounded, Zion lingers for a few weeks before ultimately dissolving.
6th - Al Capone leaves DSC and joins the Outcasts (Oc) on the promise of being taught skills in other BZ ships; however,
Oc wasn't what he thought it would be, and returns that day. Many are quick to note that he is quickly approaching
the three-entry limit into the clan.
8th - Flannelman is recruited by Hendrix as a Battlezone deathmatch player. The next day, Al Capone recruits former
IC member Hawk. Flannel sticks around the clan for a good amount of time, but Hawk is gone in less than a month.
10th-11th - Battlezone Federation Tournament 10 takes place over a span of 24 hours. DSC unfortunately fails to
play a single match in this competition.
19th - Hendrix resigns over inactivity and joins the Outcasts (Oc). He later becomes a member of the Black Sheep
Squadron, a prominent magging clan in Battlezone. His departure represents the loss of an extremely skilled
and active member from the DSC's ranks.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
March 2001
8th - Mutter resigns as HK due to college and flying career and starts a discussion over a replacement HK. High Voltage
quickly steps up to the plate, but is humbled by one of Beowulf's speeches.
8th - Beowulf, brother to the former DSC-Necro and member of the Cosmic Warriors, proposes a two person team to
act as an HK. This is the first proposal involving more than one person to take the place of Mutter.
12th - Dansgreat_FE/CC, citing a busy schedule, resigns from DSC. The Battlezone 2 division takes a blow on
this day, as Dansgreat was one of the members keeping the division going. The void is partially filled when
Rooks returns to DSC on the 17th.
29th - Al Capone proposes the three-person Temporary Keeper set-up which is eventually adopted.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
April 2001
1st - An HK vote is held on the forum. The results: Al Capone 1, DaDevil 1, High Voltage 1, and Nicolai 3. The
vote is nullified not only because it was supposed to be held via email, but also because of the creation
of the rank of Temporary Keeper (TK). Three members would acquire this rank and together serve as an equal to
one HK. As the name implied, it was only temporary, and the rank would be given up once Mutter returned. The
next day, BDoG names DaDevil, High Voltage, and Nicolai as the three TK's, after Al Capone willingly drops
from the nominations.
13th - BDoG, DaDevil, and Nicolai have a meeting and standardize the Battlezone uniform due to the many variations:
ÐSÇ-Name_Rank. They choose to replace the § in Ð§Ç since that character does not show up in the game status,
though the other two show up fine. Standardization does not go to well with the rest of the clan as many who
need to change the uniform never do.
18th - Perhaps as a symbol of the poor shape the Battlezone 2 division is in, Rooks requests to be allowed to
join the Blood Angels Corp (BAC) for the game. The HKs and TKs give permission for him to dual-clan.
22nd - Brickroad makes a brief reappearance, only to disappear again weeks later.
29th - Nicolai restarts Gregoryman's DSC Newsletters. Nicolai does the writing, and beginning with the second
weekly issue, High Voltage produces an HTML version.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
May 2001
5th-6th - Battlezone Federation Tournament 11 takes place. DSC comes in 12th with a record of 3-15, a few steps behind
the goal of 10th. Many losses come from the LAN-equipped team of Trubble and Arilius, brothers and members of
Clan Unity. Nicolai secures the three wins later in the night to keep the tourney from being a total loss.
18th - DSC has an unofficial meeting
on Battlezone. Attending are BDoG, DaDevil, Mutter, Eagle-Eye, Fieldy, Nicolai, and Seraphim. As can been
seen in the screenshot, Mutter had been having keyboard troubles that night and had to leave earlier than he
wanted.
20th - DaDevil recruits Preynmantis in Battlezone. Just like his recruiter, Preynmantis is a good sniper. He soon
finds his name to be too long and shortens it to simply Mantis.
20th - Zorro finally returns to DSC and creates a Delta Force Land Warrior division using the old Fury of the Swarm name.
He goes on a recruiting spree and gets five good members to serve with him. Due to his past conduct with the clan and
some unsure leadership, it's agreed that if Zorro can create and maintain the squad for a certain period of time,
the group would be officially recognized by DSC. Prior to approval, the members wear a FS tag in front of their
name.
27th - The last DSC Newsletter under Nicolai and High Voltage's direction is sent out due to lack of interest. The
concept is also flawed, since the clan has become more and more message-board based, and the members can read
all of the news there.
27th - Al Capone resigns, ending several months of controversy. He continues to frequent the message board, but after
some hacking issues arise again in early June, he disappears from the clan altogether.
30th - Zorro's Fury of the Swarm does battle with the foul-mouthed Above The Law (ATL) squad in Delta Force Land
Warrior. Just like the original squad on its day of war, the new FS secures a victory.
Flannelman leaves DSC to become a member of the Black Sheep Squadron in Battlezone. He remains with this clan
for years to come, and is still a part of it at the time of this writing.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Summer 2001
With his Delta Force Land Warrior squad entering a downward spiral, Zorro is appointed as the new Keeper for Battlezone.
The Battle Field grows somewhat, with the recruitment of members such as Explosion, Crazy Biker, the well-known
player FieLDy, and Kosh (who is the author of two mods for Battlezone). However, there begins to be serious thought
of dropping Battlezone as DSC's primary game in favor of something newer, especially since Battlezone itself is
losing popularity.
The members decide to finalize the Mutter situation with an HK vote, just like Gregoryman had wanted months before.
The candidates are Zorro and DaDevil. After much campaigning on both sides, the vote is held. Zorro is announced
to be the winner, with a 9 to 1 count in his favor. DaDevil, stunned at the loss, soon after leaves the clan. He
goes on as a lonewolf for some time, then joins up with the Sniper's Alliance (SA), a Battlezone sniping-only
clan.
Another merger proposal, this time with clan The Dark Side (TDS) is unveiled. This time, a few members from each
side actually wear dual tags, but the merger is never finalized.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Fall And Winter 2001
With the departure of summer and the arrival of school, DSC's membership takes the inevitable plunge. Many of the
summer's recruits leave the clan or outright disappear. Battlezone, too, continues to lose players, so DSC
decides to move to the newest installment in the Command & Conquer series, Renegade. Enthusiasm is high as
the game is released and bought by clan members. But they quickly find that the game and its resident gaming
population are not all that was expected. The Renegade Battle Field is abandoned within a matter of weeks.
Still in need of an adequate replacement for Battlezone, the clan members look elsewhere. Some consider
Counter Strike, a mod of Half-Life which has seen some DSC attention since early 2001.
In early September, the DSC webmaster, Beowulf, turns hostile towards some of the clan members on the forums.
This goes against his usually friendly and cooperative behavior. Several people raise the issue of protecting
the website, since Beowulf has the username and password. Nicolai goes to Scooby, who provides him with the
necessary data without hassle. When Beowulf makes his next post, Nicolai reveals what has transpired with a
screenshot of the email. On AIM that evening, Beowulf tells Nicolai and Eagle-Eye the truth: it had all been
a mind game to see what DSC really thought of him, and to see who his allies were. Nothing is taken personally,
and business goes on as usual.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Summer 2002
Activity and membership get a huge boost as DSC becomes familiar with the Counter Strike community. This part of
of the clan's history is known as the Second Golden Age, since the summer of 1999 represented the First
Golden Age. Among those joining the clan is long-time member RpTheHotrod, the former creator of The Armory.
Madmaster, former Battlezone 2 DM Commander, rejoins the clan as a Counter Strike player.
August 3rd - Around 9:30 P.M. EST, DSC and the Black Sheep Squadron (BS) have an unofficial clan match, to be run
by the Black Sheep on their server. The match was run poorly, with several BS members leaving during the match. BDoG, Lil Wayne,
Mutter, Zorro, and others finally defeat BS. The game was honorable in all respects, with no taunting or bragging.
Zorro posts four screenshots of the victory on the DSC forum showing the score at various points during the game,
yet doesn't claim a DSC victory. Rainmaker, a BS member, replies to the thread angrily, claiming the screenshots
to be poor conduct. DSC members showed patience and maturity in their replies, in contrast to Rain's accusations.
The fighting continued on a small scale until the thread was suddenly deleted from the forum. Immediately, the
clan pointed fingers at Rainmaker, but he initially denied doing it. They checked with the other people with the
ability to do the deed, including BDoG and Mutter, and NuclearDay's owners Scooby and Droog. Droog told the clan
that it couldn't have been a random happening; the blame was then focused on Rain. Most of the clan was over the
issue and wanted to end it, but Zorro was furious. He couldn't react, however, without the support of his clan.
Rainmaker posts on the forum stating his guilt, and apologizes for the mess that it had created.
Shortly after this incident, tensions with the Black Sheep reignite. A newbie that had been recruited into BS, known
as Tuned, begins to harass Zorro and asks him to leave the server. Zorro verbally bashes Tuned, who goes and
gets BS-Rogue. Zorro gets tired of the antics and leaves the server, vowing never to return unless for a clan
match. Rogue brings the matter to the DSC forum, starting a flame war. The fighting between the two clans turns
the DSC forum into a second Fight Club (in refernce to the fighting-only forum created by Droog on the HollowPursuits
boards). Finally, Rogue posts on the forum in an attempt to end the hostilities. He admits his actions were
childish, and tells Zorro of microphone problems which had started it all. He says the same for his BS bretheren.
The actions of Rainmaker and the Black Sheep turn DSC away from the NuclearDays community. Luckily, they find a
new home. On August 23, after four and a half years of online gaming, the clan purchases the domain
darkspireclan.net. Much of the monies needed for the purchase come from Mutter, who also designs a website which
gains great reviews from members and visitors alike.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Winter 2002
DSC's numbers still hold but members become inactive. A new ranking system is created and it is the following:
Head Keeper
Code Enforcer
General
Commander
Crimson Reign Duelest
Captain
Lieutenant
Master Sergeant
Sergeant
Corporal
Private
Also a new recruiting system is established where once a player wants to join DSC he/she must get the approval
of the Commander of Recruiting. If the commander thinks the player may be DSC material they will give them the
tag of DSC.r. playername. After 2 weeks with DSC the entire clan votes whether the person should be allowed to
join fully or not.
On December 19, 2002, DSC moves into Natural Selection another half-life mod. With this DSC Battle Fields
are reestablished. The ranks are altered a little to accommodate both divisions. Mythology is
appointed to the rank of General of Natural Selection.
Mythology gets a second Counter Strike server for DSC. Both servers have a steady flow of people
playing.
DSC membership explodes as DSC reaches 38 members (including r's), a number not seen since DSC's days in
Battlezone.
Mutter leaves his position as General of Counter-Strike to answer the Lord's call. Long-time member RpTheHotrod
is chosen to take his place. Joker is promoted to take RpTheHotrod's old position as General of Jedi Knights 2.
|
|
|
|
|
Information provided in part by: DSC-Mutter and other DSC members.
|
