.

Exodus wins first exclusive minigame in AoC

noreply@blogger.com (Lexion) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 14:12:00 +0000

Greetings,

Coming back to Hyboria with low expectations has proven to be a step in the right direction after all. It's a casual game for us while waiting for SWTOR and we play it for some quick PvP practice and fun.

Yesterday we had our first exclusive (5 out of 6 Exodus) minigame in the lowest bracket against higher gear and PvP-leveled characters. It went well indeed and we pulled away at the end.

I'm certain we'll repeat this victory many times over and I truly feel our that our current members are the strongest PvP:ers so far.

If you're interested to play with us, contact anyone online in the Age of Conan channel on Vent.

Regards,

Lexion

ATTENTION: New Forums Live

noreply@blogger.com (Leugim) — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 03:47:00 +0000

In efforts to add a higher quality & beautify our home on the internet today, Thursday, April 23, 2009 the old PHPBB 3 forums are now defunct and outdated.

In its place, we now hold license to our own vBulletin forums far superior to the last and they are located here:

http://exodusgs.com/forums/

Change your bookmarks!

You may have also noticed that the bridge to the portal is no longer active and/or your password is not working on the new forums, but please be patient. Lexion is working on it and in due time everything will be fixed. If you encounter any problems please be swift to post them in the Offtopics - Everything Goes - Welcome to the new forums section.

On the new forums there is a link to a mini-tutorial I have written within Lexion's announcement topic to address the login problem and help you to get online. It is located here:

http://www.exodusgs.com/forums/showthre ... 802&page=2

Brief improvements of new vs. old:

Ajax which updates the page without a total reload.
Quick Reply option^ under every thread + more
Generally faster forums
Much better admin/mod options which will save time
Much improved profile pages with galleries and blogs
Most mods are already installed, like post-preview.
WYSISYG editor instead of bbcode (which also works of course if you want it), please turn on in your Profile.
Better and more diverse thread listing/viewing options

Lexion says:

This theme is mashed together out of 3 different ones to look unique but not too far from our old one. Know that there are still a few things to iron out, like images and icons being incoherent and missing. Do not worry though, it's being worked on.

Remember guys, OBSERVE and REPORT in the aforementioned thread in offtopics if there is anything that is wrong with the website. Enjoy yourselves and heres to the Guild taking a step forward!

Leugim

Home of the Suave #1 - Exodus Who?

noreply@blogger.com (Leugim) — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 13:18:00 +0000

Home of the Suave

This is the first of a series of "editorials," along with my regular blog banter. Hopefully in time they will all get their own section, so if anyone has any ideas for future editorials, please e-mail suggestions to thenameisleu@gmail.com. Please if you must try to keep them Gaming oriented.

"WTF?! ! JU$T GAT G@NK3D!"

"u guyz sux."

"I @|\/| l33t |-|@xx0r!!"

We all have heard it, and have come to expect it from on-line multiplayer games. Whether it's the folks with no sense of humor who simply cannot seem to take an ounce of blame for themselves, or those who do not even seem to understand their own native tongues, the world of internet gaming is famous for its less civilized inhabitants. However, as with any large group of people, one can find decent human beings even in this cut-throat world of pixels and QWERTY slang. It can be difficult for people of this sort to survive in on-line gaming; they are harassed, attacked, and generally badgered (sadly, not with a real badger; that would be soft and fuzzy!) if they ever try to present a piece of logic in a sound and calm manner. It seems that if you aren't screaming profanity at the rest of the community, or spouting some stream-of-consciousness l33t babble, not only will you not be heard, but you may be intentionally silenced. Thankfully, there are havens for these civilized people. In some games, they find message boards. In others, they find chat rooms. In life, they find the Exodus Syndicate.

I am sure there are other communities across the idyllic and boundless landscape of the Internet that hold people of honor and respect, but to find a high concentration of good individuals, one need not look further than the ever-growing ranks of the Syndicate. Not only that, if you're looking for a laugh, boy wonder, the Syndicate can provide. Need some entertainment? Go talk to Sraalok, or perhaps Genx. I'm sure those two will be sure to put a hurting on your cheeks. No pun intended. See what I did there?

As well, it is not an elitist environment; an aura you can feel just having a brisk chat with members. We do not scan for levels and such moreso personalities and the competitive drive.

We are Competitive believe that. It is the fuel that drives the engine to this juggernaut we call home -- and our members can attest that this is one of the main reasons they continue to game with us. We are a community, not a Power Hungry hierarchy. We keep only as many rules as we need, and none that we don't. Every member of The Exodus Syndicate is welcome to step up and offer changes for improvement, to make our community the best example for players the internet has.

To find your way to the Syndicate, all you need to have is the will to succeed, the potential to be great, and the attitude to match. With such interesting personalities like Lexion, and SneakyJes leading the ranks,there is not a lack of skill. I would even argue that the Syndicate home-trains its members to surpass any skill level that they come in contact with. Tricks are taught and passed on, strategies tested and tempered. To put it simply, the Syndicate makes itself known not through flashy macros, but through the potency of its members. I doubt you could find a person in our gaming history whom does not recognize and respect the name of The Exodus Syndicate.

With Star Wars: The Old Republic being months possibly a year away we are already an integral part of our faction, contributing both through solid action and swift force. In a world of constant war, there is no breaking the spirit of the Exodus Syndicate. We are the Syndicate, and I'll be damned if we don't live up to the name. It's a long ride to the front lines; I'm glad for the regiment I get to make the trek with.

My brothers in arms.

Leugim

FYI: New SW:TOR Recruitment Policy

noreply@blogger.com (Leugim) — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 12:37:00 +0000

Good Morning! Woke up to what seems like a combo rainstorm/hailstorm this morning. Not ideal in my opinion but apparently enough to warrant cancellation of the first class of the week.

Without further ado, there has been a change to the guild's recruitment policy towards SW:TOR applicants. If you haven't had the chance to screen Lexion's announcement here, I have taken the opportunity to divulge key highlights.

Two week trials now run Saturday to Saturday regardless of application date. A period of two weeks (14 day minimum). This has been standard before but there has never been a fixed time period for the applicant. My understanding of this rule for example is that if you were to apply for the ExGS on say a wednesday, your application would then run a course of 17 days.
Every applicant will need to schedule two interviews; one initial and one pre-approval (See the "Scheduled for Approval"-sticky in the App room)
Meet 'n Greets are now every Saturday at 8pm EST, & will be aimed toward new applicants

This new protocol has been put in place to provide greater emphasis on getting to know the applicant and for the applicant to get to know us, allowing both to understand the value of one another.

This also aims to prove the applicant is driven, and actively seeks to immerse themselves in the guild. Less chance, more substance.

Leugim

Snapshots of TOR - 13 April 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Leugim) — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 19:34:00 +0000

Welcome to this week's snapshot of the major topics that people are discussing in the Star Wars: The Old Republic Forums. To see other weekly snapshots in the future, you can click on the 'TOR Snapshots' tag in the Category list to access them.

Warfare & Tactics

Features and Ideas Discussion

New Planet: History of Ord Mantell
Comic: Threat of Peace #4
Developer Blog: Creating the Bounty Hunter
Instancing PvP
Poll: Cross-Faction Communication
Player Housing

Fansites you should check out

See you next week!

The state of the Micro-transaction

noreply@blogger.com (Leugim) — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 19:01:00 +0000

Back in December we all had imminent heart attacks brought on by EA's announcement that SW:TOR would not be subcription based, instead favoring a micro-transaction model. Since that time there has been quite the substantial uproar from the community and we have since gotten word from EA's CEO John Riccitiello that; "No statements have been made about the Star Wars business model." This is good news for guys like myself whom as you know am an avid gamer and mmofanatic. We highly prefer subcription based models.

Anyways, rummaging through the net I ran upon an article published by BBC News on micro-transactions over the weekend, focusing on everything from the large amount of money the system can generate to the concern that greed may overshadow gameplay if these payments for in-game items are given too much priority.

According to the article, a survey at the GamesBeat conference in San Francisco found that 66% of those polled "were excited about this growing trend" in free-to-play games. Dean Takahashi, the organizer of Gamesbeat, said micro-transactions are popular in the far east, Korea and China, and now the big test is whether North American gamers will fully embrace the system. Takahashi predicts micro-payments could become a multi-billion dollar business. I however think & believe that RMT will be the end of the western mmo market.

On the other hand, some people in the industry are concerned micro-payments could affect gameplay. "You need to remember that at the end of the day, we are there to provide fun gaming experiences for people. Not something where they are constantly badgered to pay up for something," said Neil Young, the founder of NGmoco that makes games exclusively for Apple's app store.

So, to you fellow ExGS guildies I ask you what your thoughts on micro-transactions are? Are they the future of payment in MMOs, a nuisance that can affect gameplay, or something else entirely? You can read the full article for more information, including revenue numbers for various companies.

Leugim

The Old Republic Update - April 10th 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Aralis) — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 19:38:00 +0000

It's that time of the week again! We sure got quite an awesome update this week. This week's update on Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ is not a blog or even a Fan Friday, but rather this update gives us a new planet which will be in the game.

Ord Mantell is a Republic-aligned Mid Rim planet with a civil war fought between the Republic and Separatists seeping all throughout it's mountainous and volcanic landscapes. The planet was once a strategic stronghold of the Republic, but as the years passed on and corrupt military personnel made certain deals, the planet became a crime-ridden haven for smugglers, bounty hunters, and even pirates!

To read and see more of Ord Mantell, click here.

We also received the next few pages of the webcomic which depicts the events leading to the beginning of Star Wars™: The Old Republic™, The Threat of Peace. You can read the latest pages here. Other than that, that's it for this week's update!

By: Aralis

Classic Game Display #1: Rise Of Legends

noreply@blogger.com (Lexion) — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 11:50:00 +0000

Classic Game Display #1: Rise Of Legends

-By Lexion-

I'm an RTS fan, not the most skilled but a fan nonetheless. I wanted to highlight one of my favourite RTS's in my first Classic Game Display so if you're a fan like me, this game is definately worth trying.

In 2003, Microsoft published Rise of Legends which is the follow-up in their previously popular "Rise of Nations"-series which features classic RTS gameplay with some twists and spins.

Not only a game with extremely pretty and functional graphics for it's time but also a very potent gameplay factor as you choose one of three sides; Vinci (human technology), Alin (magic) or Cuotl (alien) to battle over the territory given.

What separates RoL from the classic RTS is the points you get by conquering territories on the Strategic Map which is where you manage your cities during your campaign. These points are used to purchase upgrades for your armies, heroes and new troops for your skirmishes, much like Civilization, only that the actual battles are full scale RTS. Yes, it was one of the first RTS to use the "Hero"-concept, which you can find in most other RTS's today.

The skirmishes are epic, nuff said. If you like massively huge armies, land and air with lots of upgrades and map points to capture this is the game for you. Unlike it's predecessors it doesn't completely suffer from stalemate battles but they can drag on for quite some time, cascading back and forth. There is just so much to play with; from small riflemen to huge tanks and hulking Clockwork Men to Siege Zeppelins.

Playing the campaign you're also treated to a nice story for each side with cutscenes between the important territorial battles. Just like mentioned about the graphics, these still look darn good for such an old game.

Rise of Legends received much acclaim when it released for it's innovative and immersive gameplay. The negatives were given for being very spec demanding and resource hogging. Ironically, it's still extremely playable due to that same fact; it's graphics-heavy environments and overall audiovisual experience. Most of all, it's just damn fun.

So if you're an RTS fan like me and you've missed this one I suggest you go and give it a whirl, I promise that you won't regret it. Rise of Legends is a milestone in gaming history in my book.

Lexion - Old School

Turbine beats out Bioware in The Escapist Magazine Developer's Showdown

noreply@blogger.com (Aralis) — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 19:59:00 +0000

That's right folks, Turbine, the developers behind the epic fail that was D&D Online, was victorious over Bioware in The Escapist magazine's March Mayhem: Developer's Showdown. Of course, this "victory" occurred after The Escapist removed 100 "invalid" votes from Bioware's side and when Turbine put the poll in their launcher and stickied it on top of all their forums as well. Who are they trying to convince by basically fixing the poll, I do not know. The final results were as follows:

(1) Turbine: 4147 | 4089 :(5) BioWare

While we all know BioWare is indeed better, I can feel the anger rising from the indigitation you all are feeling! This is good. Let the hate consume you and carry you to more power. And then harness this power to bring The Exodus Syndicate to complete domination.

By: Aralis

Welcome to our new inductees of April 9th!

noreply@blogger.com (Mig Sebes) — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 18:09:00 +0000

To all the new members of April 9th, welcome!

Remember: Activity, Dedication, Maturity, Fun. The four cornerstones of the ExGS. With those we as One Guild have One Goal... Domination!

In alphabetical order the newly inducted members are:

Jamoculus

J man

heartless_25

MidheX

Reru

Rontor

War

Zahnn

Congratulations on your entry into one of the greatest gaming community!

Those of you waiting for SW:TOR and active on the Official Forums please do not forget to grab your forum signature tags from here. Once again, Congratulations on your entry into one of the greatest gaming communities around!

I would like to thank all attendants of the SW:TOR Meet & Greet last night, it was a blast and we had over 50 present in just the SW:TOR channel. Strong activity & a strong community is what we're all about!

April 8th, 2009 - SW:TOR Meet & Greet

noreply@blogger.com (Leugim) — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 21:30:00 +0000

To all of you whom may have forgotten. Today is the first Meet and Greet of April hosted on the guilds ventrilo server. We have had the pleasure to watch what probably is the largest inductee class of the year overcome the rigors of the two week trial. Tonight, you get your chance to meet these members and say hey!

Along with getting to know one another and chatting up a storm another hot topic of the day is the XWS. It will also be discussed. Please visit the General PvP-room in the SW:TOR section (accessible to full members) and read the stickies and announcements.

The meeting will take place after the 6pm EST Jedi Academy practice which continues to this day. Feel free to join as soon as you can. Looking to kick off the meeting at approximately 9pm EST.

Everyone is welcome members and new applicants alike. Don't be late!

Escapist Magazine Developer Championship - (1) Turbine vs (5) BioWare

noreply@blogger.com (Leugim) — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 19:31:00 +0000

It's April, and as such we have just bore witness to the end of the biggest competitive tournament out there. The NCAA Championship in which the North Carolina Men's Basketball team claimed victory for the second time in five years. Congratulations to those gentleman! Enjoy the fun and merit it brings.

In conjunction with the aforementioned tournament, The Escapist Magazine has held a Developer's Showdown of the top 64 companies in the field. The tournament was brought to our attention recently but the company in question looks like they may just need our help, to get over the hump. As it is now April 8th, 2009 this is the last day to vote for the respective Champion.

(1) TURBINE vs (5) BIOWARE

The tournament ends tomorrow morning April 9th, 9:00AM EST. Get your votes in now while you still can. As of the writing of this entry BioWare leads Turbine 3667:3639 respectively.

Although this may just be a popularity contest if you haven't already and do desire to see Bioware reign supreme get your vote in!

Note:

You will have to register an account on their forums to vote.
Click the above picture to head directly to the escapists tournament showdown.

By: Leugim

Congratulations to the April 6th Inductee Class

noreply@blogger.com (Mig Sebes) — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 12:23:00 +0000

To all new members accepted on April 6th, welcome!

Remember: Activity, Dedication, Maturity, Fun. The four cornerstones of the ExGS. With those we as One Guild have One Goal... Domination!

In alphabetical order the newly inducted members are:

FollowTheLight

Isolated Purity

Lowlife

Vabem

Williang

Congratulations on your entry into one of the greatest gaming community!

By: MigSebes

The Law of the Land - Lex's Blog

noreply@blogger.com (Lexion) — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 09:32:00 +0000

Hey all,

First of all; I'm exstatic to see this new blog feed create life to our site, it's proof that when the initiative comes from the member it gives a fresh angle on our community along with created alot faster than when a Management person has to fit new ideas into an already cramped schedule.

So thanks to Leugim for making it happen, it's now neatly wrapped and integrated into our site and a good hub of information for the SWTOR forums, Darkfall universe and the web in general.

Of course I want to thank everyone who contributes to writing entries here, the more the merrier!

Secondly, this week we saw the "re-opening" of our radio station, another member driven initiative by our veteran member WhiteStreak. The station will be streaming set lists but there is also room for members who wishes to broadcast podcasts and shows. More on that to come.

Be sure not to miss our Ventrilo meeting for the SWTOR branch this Wednesday the 8th of April at 9pm EST as we're gonna go through both some basics and have you the members talk about yourselfs as well so we all can get to know each other better.

For myself, I had a week from hell at work but I'm now off for 10 days straight so I can finish up some of the enhancements I'm working on. For example; you might have notice a consolidation of some of the top menu items for easier access along with dropdown options. I will continue to tweak the CSS to make the whole site look even better.

I'm glad to see our members starting up temp branches (unsupported games) so that we all can practice and start spending quality gaming time together. Even if it just entices 3 members, that's 3 more than 0 and that's a success in itself. We have to be aware of that these things are run as projects; there will be an end just as there was a beginning cause we are here for a different game. We cannot be afraid of that, it's natural and absolutely ok and we've taken steps to ensure we are closer to our goals for SWTOR than ever, which we should be proud of.

So right now we have members playing CoV, WoW and Lineage II as temp games so if you feel you want something to do, come and join up for some fun. There is of course also our supported game Darkfall for the hardcore PvP crowd.

Lastly, we've always been big on our GIDA here at the ExGS and I'm glad to see even more members getting into it and alot of new members showing off their art work. I would like to highlight what I think is the sig of the week, created by Miene who's really come along way since he started just some year ago. It's made for Obsidian and has a real smooth and mellow color scheme:

Thanks for reading, have great easter and week,

Lexion - Management

The Old Republic Update - April 3rd 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Aralis) — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 19:51:00 +0000

This week's update for The Old Republic is yet another Developer Blog. Fortunately, this update from the principal lead writer of the game, Daniel Erickson, features interesting information pertaining to the Bounty Hunter class instead of quite dull information such as the making of mud on Nal Hutta!

The blog goes on to mention quite crucial information such as the fact the game is catered to those who have only seen the movies at first. As one goes on through the story though, Expanded Universe material starts to make it's way into the game. Also, another interesting tidbit that is mentioned in the blog is that no one class will exist in both factions. That's right folks, both factions are getting their own classes!

You can read more about "Creating the Bounty Hunter" here.

By Aralis

Some Planets Confirmed for The Old Republic?

noreply@blogger.com (Aralis) — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 23:06:00 +0000

Oh joy it's April! The time of the year for pranks and false articles for everyone. However, I can assure you I'm not trying to pull your leg in this post. Last week, we received a wonderful timeline update from Bioware at www.swtor.com. With that update, we received what appeared to be the galactic map of the location of prospective planets that will feature in the game.

As you can see, there are 16 locales on the map. The eight crimson markers represent Sith-aligned planets and the eight aqua markers represent Republic-aligned planets. Now of course, it is perfectly feasible these spots may just represent a couple of planets in the general area instead of one, but let's just say that these collective locations represent one planet for now. Obviously we know three of those planets are Tython, Korriban, and Nal-Hutta. With that said, I came across an article a few weeks ago which had a few more planet confirmations. Those planets include Coruscant, Alderaan, Maanan, Utapau, Agamar, and Dathomir. So if the spots on that galactic map represent only one planet, we have 9 out of 16 planets confirmed! What will the other seven be? Only time shall tell and not our fruitless speculations.

By: Aralis

Congratulations to the March 31st Inductee Class

noreply@blogger.com (Leugim) — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 17:11:00 +0000

Special congratulations goes to this short-list of inductees. They so happened to make it through arguably one of the toughest stretches of time in recent past of applying to the Guild. They ran the gauntlet and effectively joined the ranks of the ExGS yesterday March 31st, 2009.

Everyone remembers the sheer mass of the applicant pool of March. With applications streaming in by the dozens day in and day out these 12 rose above and beyond. Thus, it is understood that this was a daunting task for these individuals to extend themself all the while extinguishing themselves above the rest. It is with that perseverance and interest in the goals and direction of The Exodus Syndicate that our beloved Community is strengthened.

Congratulations to you all! We welcome you all with open arms and common goals!

Remember: Activity, Dedication, Maturity, Fun. The four cornerstones of the ExGS. With those we as One Guild have One Goal... Domination!

In alphabetical order the newly inducted members are:

Aralis

Behemoth

DukeAtriedes

Eru

fireswraith10

Iniquity

Muffin

NotAnAngel

Scykoh

Tyki

VictoryAkara

Withoutum

Those of you waiting for SW:TOR and active on the Official Forums please do not forget to grab your forum signature tags from here. Once again, Congratulations guys! Welcome to the Guild.

By: Leugim

Who is the fool today?

noreply@blogger.com (Leugim) — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 13:21:00 +0000

So the dreaded pranksters holiday is upon us fellow eXo's. Watch your backs today and make sure you realize and do not seldom forget that any and everyone is out to get you! Today is no holds barred pranking, ganking, fooling, and laughing. So do yourself a favor and try not to be made an ass of! Me personally you ask? Having fun at someone's expense will not be well received - so consider yourself warned. But don't turn your back either... I might just have a trick up my sleeve.

Our first member to attempt today's tomfoolery was DBoxer. Whether he knew it or not he failed miserably and his name makes it to this wall of shame. I'm not even sure it can be labeled a joke. Navigate to the highlighted link of his name to see his 'prank'.

A notable prank I've already seen this morning is Google's Autopilot.

The folks up in Mountain View surely know how to get our feathers riled up. The thing that intrigues me about their school of prankdom is that Google's April Fools jokes can actually be features on their GMail service. That is they already have an "undo" feature and a "you're too drunk to send this feature." So while I'm ruling this out effectively as a prank, would be nice to see it come out as not a prank.

So what are your pranks? What have you noticed or are doing to someone today? Throw your thoughts and actions in the comments section here! Don't forget... HAPPY APRIL FOOLS!

By: Leugim

[MAJOR] Conficker Worm due for activation April 1st, 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Leugim) — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 13:14:00 +0000

First and foremost I just want to say that this is not an April Fool's Joke. If you know me, you know that I do not do those things. Especially when it's something this serious.

The Conficker worm is a computer worm that can infect your computer and spread itself to other computers across a network automatically, without human interaction. You may not even know that you have this virus/worm/trojan because it hasn't been activated yet.

I first heard about this on CBS's 60 minutes special Sunday night with Lesley Stahl. You should definitely read the article here. Conficker burrows it's way through the internet slopping itself on each and every computers hard drive it comes across. Here's the catch though, while it's been active for almost a year - it hasn't been red-flagged because it wasn't malign. It changes a variant of itself every 5 minutes making it tough for the guys who crack these things to protect you. But they have found something MAJORLY important. On April 1st the virus is set to receive instructions from whoever programmed and circulated it. Telling it to do whatever they want.

THIS MAY INCLUDE DIVULGING ANY AND ALL SENSITIVE INFORMATION ON YOUR COMPUTER. I REPEAT THIS IS NOT AN APRIL FOOLS JOKE.

Something striking I saw in the CBS article was that the easiest way for this worm to circulate is social networking sites. Sites like facebook.com or myspace.com Places the likes of you and me frequent almost everyday! Check out this excerpt from that article below:

Looking at a real Facebook page, Trilling explained, "We added your friend and colleague Morley Safer, you can see down there on the left."
He says a worm can crack into a Facebook account, like Morley's, and send a message to anyone on his friends list.
It's a message a friend or colleague, like Stahl, would be sure to open since it comes from a trusted friend. Stahl took the bait and clicked on what looked like Morley's video link.
"Something looks a little off," Trilling remarked. "You're already infected."
As Trilling demonstrated on a second screen, the hacker "owned" Stahl's online movements. "From here on out, everything you do, gonna show up on the hacker's machine," he explained.
So when Stahl typed her username and password into a bank Web site, it appeared instantaneously on the hacker’s screen, along with her bank account details.
"Every single keystroke you hit, in fact, if you make a mistake and hit a backspace, that shows up in the window," Trilling explained.
The hacker then followed her around, as she browsed the Internet from CBS News to Amazon.com.
"So, if I buy something, they’re gonna have my credit card," Stahl remarked.
"Everything you type in, your address, your credit card, it’s all gonna show up in that window," Trilling warned.

My advice to you is this: If it isn't utterly necessary to do so, stay off the Internet on April 1st. Unplug your routers, and anything you have connected to it. Just could throw the monkey wrench into your life. You may be saying that I am going paranoid, and that may be so but I've actually seen friends get infected and held hostage by their computers. This could all very well just be a scary prank meant as a joke... or it could be the real thing. I myself think it's better to be prepared and to be secure just incase because you never know.

I will go on a rant and say this. It's like protecting yourself during intercourse. Even though there IS a chance you may not get a disease or procreate you do not take that chance. You protect yourself with the appropriate methods. Same thing applies here. Be safe people.

To check it out further and to leave your thoughts on the virus, head over to Braingasim's post on our forums here.

By: Leugim

The Old Republic Update - March 28th 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Leugim) — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 04:00:00 +0000

Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ is set during a unique time period in the galaxy’s history. Decades of war concluded with the Sith Empire sacking the Republic’s capital planet, Coruscant, and forcing Republic Senators and the Jedi Council to agree to a painful peace treaty.

In the years following the treaty, the Jedi Council tasked Master Gnost-Dural, Keeper of the Jedi Archives, with re-examining the galaxy’s history in light of recent events. In his insightful reports, Master Gnost-Dural established a new galactic timeline that became an educational reference for years to come… the very same years in which Star Wars: The Old Republic takes place.

In his first entry, Master Gnost-Dural recounts the events immediately prior to the signing of the Treaty of Coruscant – the turning point in the Republic’s recent history.

You can read Master Gnost-Dural’s recount’s here and see the video here.

– – – – – – – –

BTC circa: 32,800 | Force "discovered" on Tython
Philosphers and Scientists from several star systems gathered on Tython to share mystical knowledge. The force was discovered.

BTC circa 22,130 | The Jedi Order is established
Peace-minded scholars and monks who survived the explosive war on Tython relocated and established the Jedi Order.

BTC circa 22,100 | The Force War on Tython
Several Tythonian scholars began using their knowledge of the force to pursue power. A conflict ensured which destroyed Tython.

BTC circa 21,400 | Founding of the Republic
The development of the Hyperdrive expanded the known galaxy, to keep order, several star systems formed a democratic alliance.

BTC circa 21, 300 | The Jedi join the Republic
Though much remains unknown, sometime during this period, the Jedi Order swore loyalty to the Republic

BTC circa 3,347 | The 2nd Great Jedi Schism
When a small group of Jedi discovered greater power was available from the force, a conflict arose and many Jedi were exiled.

BTC circa 3,247 | The first dark Sith Lords on Korriban
Exiled Dark Jedi landed on Korriban and became rulers of the native Sith. They began expanding their empire.

BTC circa 1,347 | The Great Hyperspace War
In a massive war, the Sith sought to destroy The Republic and kill the Jedi. Defeated, only a small number of Sith survived.

BTC circa 1,251 | Resurrection of The Sith Empire
After fleeing into deep space, the remnants of The Sith Empire began rebuilding their civilization and plotting revenge.

BTC circa 347 | The Exar Kun War
Corrupted by the spirit of an Ancient Sith, Jedi Knight Exar Kun sought to kill or corrupt every Jedi in the Galaxy.

BTC circa 311 | Mandalorian blockade is broken
Succeeding where the Jedi had failed, a smuggler convoy broke the Mandalorian blockade and restored The Republic's trade route.

BTC circa 303 | The Jedi Civil War
A fallen Jedi Knight named Revan redeemed himself by defeating Darth Malak in his efforts to take control of the galaxy.

BTC circa 103 | Peace for The Republic
Two centuries of peace and prosperity allowed The Republic to make progress in political stability and technological advances.

BTC circa 28 | Onslaught of the Sith Empire
After a millenium in exile, the Sith Empire launched a surprise attack against the Jedi and The Republic.

BTC circa 18 | The Battle of Bothawui
Bold strategy and heroic sacrifice halted the Sith Empire's advances and restored Republic hopes during a legendary battle.

BTC circa 14 | The Empire changes strategy
Frustrated by a series of Republic military victories, Imperial Intelligence adopted new tactics to force an end to the war.

BTC circa 8 | The return of the Mandalorians
A new Mandalorian Army materialized in alliance with the Sith Empire and blockaded The Republic's most critical trade route.

ATC circa O | The Treaty of Coruscant
After decades of War, The Sith Empire sacked Coruscant and forced The Republic into a painful peace treaty.

Earth Hour 28th of March, 8:30pm

noreply@blogger.com (Leugim) — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 19:06:00 +0000

If you have already taken the time to read Lexion's post here, you already know that the Guild as a whole is participating in Earth hour for the second straight year this Saturday. During that time - the entire hour - our website will be down in honor of Earth. Also, this will serve as a way to remind us as humans of our relationship with the environment. Which is something many of us may have taken for granted, or lack to comprehend. Earth gives us many things: Air, food, water, a place to call our own, history and peace of mind for years upon years. The least we could do is give back an hour.

Earth Hour is an annual international event created by the WWF, held on the last Saturday of March, that asks households and businesses to turn off their non-essential lights and electrical appliances for one hour to raise awareness towards the need to take action on climate change. Based on an idea successfully executed in Thailand in 2005, it was pioneered by WWF Australia and the Sydney Morning Herald in 2007, and achieved worldwide participation in 2008.

Earth Hour will next take place on Saturday, March 28, 2009 at 8:30 pm, local time worldwide.

2,848 cities, towns and municipalities in 84 countries have already committed to VOTE EARTH for Earth Hour 2009, as part of the worlds first global election between Earth and global warming.

Community Poll Favorite Sith Guild - The Exodus Syndicate

noreply@blogger.com (Mig Sebes) — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 14:12:00 +0000

Congratulations go to us for being the favorite Sith guild on Neith's community poll on the TOR forums!

In continuation of the community polling done by Pax Imperius, Neith took it upon himself to see which guild's were being favorited. Thus Poll #4 was created to survey players opinions on said guilds. Questions in these polls ranged from what types of guild features players would like to see & which guild was consensus favorite for each faction.

The poll began on the 7th of March and ran its course for 2 weeks. Effectively ending on the 21st whereupon the results were revealed to the community:

14. Which Sith Empire Guild appeals to you most? (Use the 'other' option to name a Guild)
None of them 20.41% 119
I have not checked them out 36.88% 215
Other (Specify) 42.71% 249

1) Exodus Syndicate
2) Pax Imperius
3) Dark Disciples

15. Which Galactic Republic Guild Appeals to you most? (Use the 'other' option to name a Guild)
None of them 30.74% 178
I have not checked them out 39.38% 228
Other (Specify) 29.88% 173

1) Eternal Vigilance
2) Crossbones
3) Torms Super Awesome Team

(If we were to use the Mandalorian Guilds then it would have been Champions of Mandalore in 3rd place here- but those votes do not count becuase there is a specific section for Mandalore Guilds)

16. Which Mandalorian Guild appeals to you most? (Use the 'other' option to name a Guild)
None of them 34.36% 200
I have not checked them out 44.33% 258
Other (Specify) 21.31% 124

1) "Beskar" and "Champions of Mandalore"
3) Remnants of Mandalore

Navigate your browsers here for the full listing of all Poll results. Including #4.

A new poll is being held now, the Guild Popularity Poll. Make sure to cast your vote!

Mig Sebes

The Exodus Syndicate

Full HD: Arrival on Korriban

noreply@blogger.com (Leugim) — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 22:59:00 +0000

If you missed it the first time, or have never clicked the play button on the frontpage of our site, here it is. Bask in the glory that is this video. Oh yeah, it's lovely. It's main purpose is a motivational video created for our members.

Lexion put it best when he said:

It depicts several dark-siders remembering how they fell, prepare and come together for the upcoming conflict that awaits with SWTOR.

This is my first attempt with Premiere Pro and After Effects and I thought it would be fitting to share this video with this community. I hope you enjoy it and I hope to fill a few more minutes of your time while you wait for release. All further info can be found in the last used frame of the video.

Smuggler as a playable class?

noreply@blogger.com (Leugim) — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 22:34:00 +0000

One of our recent applicants: Lowlife happened to stumble upon a little easter egg dug up by the good folks over at SW:TOR-station.com.

The discovery was made when Amrac (whom recently interviewed us for GoTM) made a trip to his local zine store earlier this afternoon. What he found was an interesting article in games™ where some interesting comments were unveiled by Bioware's Creative Director Greg Ohlen. Here's a tidbit of those comments.

"... We want to change that with Old Republic and enable the player to take more choices. If you want to muddle through the game like Han Solo as smuggler or like Boba Fett as bounty hunter, you're free to do so." .....

He went on to say:

"Of course choices will have an impact, which will be most notable when looking at abilities like strength and stamina. Acquiring specific items and gaining further knowledge is also influenced by them. And of course the character's looks are determined by choices too: Your skin and your aura shall clearly depict the way you play. Even if you're not a Jedi or Sith, but choose one of the many other classes."

Maybe one of our German members or those whom speak Deutsch could throw us a bone and confirm the statements? Because, like often said in the MMO-themepark "screenie or it didn't happen." You can catch the latest issue of games™ on newstands in the EU or online. In it is an exclusive four-page report on The Old Republic.

You can head over to the source link listed below for the original article, as well as a scan of a female jedi. Which is new artwork. Thanks for your time!

Source: SW:TOR-Station

Going Live!

noreply@blogger.com (Leugim) — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 19:56:00 +0000

It is with great honor that I present, The Exodus Syndicate Blog.

We’re officially here. In the blogosphere. Finally.

I Leugim have been working on this blog for 2 weeks and counting. Fiddling with CSS wrappers, XML, html, etc. etc. At one point mid-last week I thought I had it all completed when the template host had crashed. (shame on me) I had to re-plan, and re-organize... this time hosting the files on my own host. So, it is with astonishment and a breath of fresh air that I'm happy to say that the blog has reached the point I can show you all happily.

I foresee this blog as a news outlet the Guild could utilize to get a deeper look into the different areas of our operations and the people writing those stories. The what has been and what will be of The ExGS. If you are interested in becoming a writer for this blog, please with all haste let me know! While knowing that this would most likely be a task worthy of giants to undertakeI did it and didn't look back once.

If you have skill with Photoshop it would be extremely appreciated if you or anyone you may know could develop one for this blogs banner. As you may have already have guessed the current one is out of place for this caliber of guild. Granted it looks nice... one more Gaming-centric would be lovely. Don't you think?

Let me know what you think of the Blog, if it is a bad/good idea, whether I'm crazy, or wishful... whatever floats your boat leave it in the comments.

Thanks for reading, Leu is out.