PannenKoek [607891] —
Original article
With the forthcoming territorial and permissions changes set to force factions into the adoption of new tactics, we explore the experimental methods used by Vinerri, and the morality behind them.
On the 21st of July, sweeping changes will be made to Torn's territorial and faction systems, changes which will, in turn, render many formerly successful tactics entirely obsolete. But is this something to be scared of? Of course not. In time, fresh tactics will emerge, developed by those who are willing to take a chance and try something new.
This is precisely what Vinerri did earlier this year. Last month, a member of Urban Broil faction contacted the Torn City Times to expose the fact they were being blackmailed by Vinerri, the faction which I currently lead. We were accused of threatening to raid Urban Broil if they refused to sell us their faction, and at first glance, the evidence seems damning to say the least.
This story was set to be published in the Torn City Times, but not before Sugarvalves contacted me for my side of things. And it's a good job he did, because there was more to this incident than a simple case of blackmail. For while it is true that I did indeed threaten the Urban Broil faction, the whole thing was part of an investigation into the mechanics and morals of raiding.
Urban Broil were essentially our test subjects. And through the use of manipulation and raiding tactics, we put ourselves in a position to acquire their faction, only for our conscience to kick in right at the death.
How It All Started
In April, Vinerri was raided by MMCP. The well-known culprit Nemesis tried to extort us for the lousy sum of 10 billion dollars after Vinerri jacked the desert caravan of the famous trader ORAN. We responded with a counter-technique already known as 'The Vinerri Defence,' which entailed the use of the following tactics:
• Step 1: Faction leaders clear out our members, so there are no targets in the faction to hit.
• Step 2: Our members join newly bought factions (burner factions), which begin with 5k respect.
• Step 3: The burners begin counter-raiding the aggressor.
This system worked by allowing you to reduce the respect of another faction with zero consequences for your own - at least in the short term. With our members holed up in temporary burner factions, they were free to attack the aggressor and reduce their opponent's respect without risking your own. And when the counter-raid began, no one cared, as if a burner faction was destroyed, you could start up a new one for a few million bucks.
Vinerri was kept alive throughout this by having one member remaining back at base, a lone soldier who constantly self-hosped and flew to avoid being attacked. So while Vinerri's respect was entirely unaffected by this incident, our members were busy making hits on the raiding faction, taking away MMCP's hard-earned R+. The result of these tactics was that before long, with no prospect of victory, the aggressor would want to end what they started themselves.
Now that new faction members must wait for 72-hours before they can attack, the use of Burner Factions has been somewhat nerfed. However, this tactic is by no means completely off the table, as with enough preparation and analysis of the numbers required, a sufficiently organised faction could easily set up several burners and stock them ahead of a planned assault.
Alternatively, if you wish to use burners as a defensive measure, your members could rotate in and out a set of pre-purchased burners to ensure they were ready to go at all times. It would work a little like jury service, with all faction members required to serve one week a month in the burners on the off chance that you are attacked. You might think this is a little excessive, but last month, the relentless nature of warring against burner factions caused MMCP to admit defeat in an attack they themselves had started.
The Consequences
The raid by MMCP, in hindsight, proved to be a blessing in disguise for Vinerri, as it resulted in us becoming more organised and dedicated to conquering new land. Yet despite our opponents' failure, we realised that raiding could still be a good way to nab our neighbors' territory by pressuring them to find a more peaceful plot elsewhere.
We reevaluated our moral objections to extortion after seeing how a faction called Octogenarian DirtyBombers (ODB) went through a similar experience to ourselves. ODB was being extort-raided by Vigilantes - not surprisingly also linked to the MMCP thugs - and we stepped in to help defend them. However, soon thereafter ODB allied up with their extorters, with an unnamed member of their leadership describing their stance as "not necessarily against the notion of extortion".
Vinerri and ODB nevertheless forged closer ties over this, and TerryTorn, the mastermind behind burner factions and anti-raid techniques, started to cooperate closely with Vinerri's leadership as we looked for another challenge. It was the intention of both parties to further refine our war techniques and get more familiar with the offensive potential of raids.
To this end, we decided to try to extort a target using a raid, so we could experience how it feels to be the aggressor in this situation. We soon identified a target, Urban Broil, a faction that had a substantial networth, despite its relatively low level of members and activity. Our choice was made easier by the fact that their leader, Clarice, used the following image as her profile picture.
The Results
It was our intention to use aggressive raiding or the threat thereof to try and cajole our opponents into selling us their faction for cheap. However, we soon realised that Clarice was unlikely to give up Urban Broil to me, her own personal Hannibal, at least not for a reasonable price. We needed a new approach.
Enter TerryTorn, Clarice's White Knight.
While our threats meant that Clarice would play hardball with Vinerri over a deal for her faction, we realised she might sell it cheaply to someone who seemingly had her best interests at heart. TerryTorn pretended that he did, advising Clarice on how to respond to our threats, all the while gaining her confidence and trust. We hoped this would eventually put him in the position to buy her faction at a friendly rate.
But first, Clarice needed to be softened up a little. Raiding is a hefty instrument of war, as the experience of seeing your respect drop is heightened by the fact that your members are laid up in the hospital, powerless to do anything as you watch your faction endure a slow, painful death. Once we began exerting such force upon Urban Broil, the psychological aspect of our plan kicked in.
Clarice reached out to us and immediately tried to look careless, while also making it clear she would never sell the faction. In response, we convinced her we could carry on the raid indefinitely until Urban Broil had been destroyed.
In the meantime, Clarice was approached by the White Knight, who told her what a horrible man I was. TerryTorn fed Clarice the story of how he had beaten my faction in the same manner, and if she could use any help, he would happily provide it. To gain her trust, TerryTorn gave Clarice some genuine anti-raid advice, such as why she should clear her faction, and how to close the raidscore gap using drive-by hits. Clarice followed his instructions to the letter. Trust had been achieved.
But at the time of writing, Urban Broil remains a proud, free, and independent faction. So what happened?
The End
As if that wasn't enough drama in Torn for a day, another raid happened simultaneously to our assault upon Urban Broil. Nemesis, a perpetual one-trick pony, decided to ride out raiding once again, and he chose The Chimera's Den (TCD) as his target. When we got word of this, we reached out to TCD and started to offer help. Isn't that odd? Raiding one faction and protecting another at the same time? Our members certainly thought so.
Calla, TCD's leader, was instructed in the ways of The Vinerri Defence, and before long, no fewer than five burners were raiding MMCP. TCD was safely housed in Vinerri's hood, and in the meantime, the extremely skilled Calla was closing the raidscore gap with the help of her powerful and loyal friends. MMCP soon decided to end yet another failed extortion attempt and were thrown a lousy 10 Xanax in exchange, to save face.
In many ways, we also tried to save face when we ended our raid on Urban Broil around the same time. This raiding and extortion experiment led to a fierce discussion within Vinerri, as I had always personally condemned such tactics as bullying, arguing that it results in players being scared away from the game. We subsequently put out a faction newsletter explaining that our actions were merely a test and a way of improving our raid skills.
Tyrion, Vinerri's moral compass (known by some under his artist name, Titi Wurst), was strongly opposed to these methods throughout, regardless of their purpose, and he informed us early on that he would not take part in what he viewed as immoral practices. Many members followed his example, forming a silent majority who voted against our decision to extort by refusing to bear arms. And when Vinerri began to help out TCD, the duplicity of our approach convinced the rest of us we could not continue with such underhand tactics while defending another faction against them.
When the raid against Urban Broil ended, so too was Vinerri's brief tenure as an extorting faction. Those in charge, myself included, felt sorry for both our targets and those in the faction who remained uneasy with our little experiment. Extortion proved to be nothing for us. Not only from a dogmatic perspective but a practical one too, given that we explored this behaviour from the perspective of both victim and perpetrator. Lesson well learned.
And Clarice got her peace back without paying a single dollar bill, or having her liver served up with some fava beans and a nice Chianti.
The Morality
Is extortion immoral then? It's hard to say. Since both the game rules and mechanics allow for such behaviour, you could say the morality is in the eye of the beholder. And who are any of us to judge someone and morally condemn their actions? What one person sees as a legitimate tactic within the role-playing world of a crime game, another may see as an abhorrent way to behave against your fellow players.
That being said, the recent changes to Torn's mechanics do indicate that extortion was a problem, so perhaps this is more of a practical issue than a moral one. There are lots of things you can technically get away with which are widely accepted as wrong; buy-mugging, vault-raiding, and scamming are but a few examples. When the game itself enforces restrictions on certain practices, are you actively seeking to destroy the game if you exploit the areas they have not covered? Are you goading the developers into making draconian changes simply because you cannot conduct yourself with integrity?
Then there is the human aspect of it all. During our extortion experiment, our white knight, TerryTorn, developed more of a conscience, the longer he was made to perform the treacherous task to which he was assigned. After talking with Clarice and getting to know her personally, he learned that she often spent her days taking care of old ladies who lived on her street and that the stress of the raid meant she was hardly able to sleep at times.
These insights into our opponent eroded TerryTorn's desire to play his double-dealing role with convincing flair. The white knight and his dark counterpart ended up debating on how necessary the psychological aspect of warfare was. Our target was a human being of flesh and blood, and surely her wellbeing and enjoyment of Torn should be more important than the digital gains we'd acquire through usurping her from her faction or territories.
"I have a lot of respect for Clarice; she is intelligent, tough and gutsy ... and a perfect example of 'Just Say No' to the extorter. This is a game, but it plays out in real life as well ... how far is it fair to push?" - TerryTorn
This is something we all must ask ourselves as we consider how to respond to Torn's recent changes. For example, outside wall hits look like they'll become a more mainstream tactic due to the 5 energy cost of joining an empty wall slot, and this may lead to entire factions becoming specialist outside hitters. But what is the endgame for such a strategy? Might it soon cost more energy to hit someone on a wall? Will wars become less fun through the use of this tactic? Will territory walls eventually be ringfenced entirely?
Many forum dwellers have complained about the potential unintended side effects of the latest updates, but few possess the self-awareness to give the same consideration to their own actions. There will always be loopholes for you to exploit for your faction's temporary benefit, but how might Torn respond if everyone started doing this? Are you forcing Torn towards a course of action you may come to regret through your single-minded desire to win?
The Solution
Of course, it is futile to spend all day worrying about potential new tactics and their impact, as people will act how they see fit regardless of any advice from a stranger. So long as the strong and weak co-exist, there will always be those who extort, and while Torn has given us some tools with which to fight back, it is really up to the individual to make the most of these. When a new tactic is made apparent, you must focus your efforts on finding new ways to defend yourselves as a priority.
Alternatively, you can try whining in the forums and see how far that gets you. MMCP famously had their alliance buddies from N.O.O.B. start a thread complaining about how successful our anti-raid techniques were. They claimed that 'The Vinerri Defence' was game abuse and should be made impossible. Rather hilarious. Granted, our methods may seem like something of an exploit, but they were themselves a response to the inordinate amount of power wielded by major factions who could move members between subs and allies at will.
Hopefully, with the playing field levelled somewhat and competitive warring on the horizon, such tactics won't always be needed, as factions become more able to fight on an even keel. Yet even if such a situation comes to pass, regular tactics like raiding will always be a heavy instrument that causes panic and stress for those who don't know how to respond to it. Raiding's effectiveness is dropping rapidly as defensive knowledge spreads among the community. Still, such things are temporary, so those who lead must always be prepared to switch things up to protect their members from the stresses of war.
Regardless of the mechanics and the rules Torn creates, in this City, there will always be good, and there will always be bad, along with every shade of grey you can possibly imagine. This makes it hard to know what is the right thing to do at any given moment, but this is the very essence of morality. Morality should not be determined by the codes imposed upon you by others, but by your own personal growth and development.
To that end, we'll like to apologise to the victims of our extortion attempt. Clarice, we're sorry, girl. We love you - Terry especially. He was with us, but also with you. You have been a worthy opponent.
Hannibal 0 - Clarice 1
PK
This is precisely what Vinerri did earlier this year. Last month, a member of Urban Broil faction contacted the Torn City Times to expose the fact they were being blackmailed by Vinerri, the faction which I currently lead. We were accused of threatening to raid Urban Broil if they refused to sell us their faction, and at first glance, the evidence seems damning to say the least.
This story was set to be published in the Torn City Times, but not before Sugarvalves contacted me for my side of things. And it's a good job he did, because there was more to this incident than a simple case of blackmail. For while it is true that I did indeed threaten the Urban Broil faction, the whole thing was part of an investigation into the mechanics and morals of raiding.
Urban Broil were essentially our test subjects. And through the use of manipulation and raiding tactics, we put ourselves in a position to acquire their faction, only for our conscience to kick in right at the death.
How It All Started
In April, Vinerri was raided by MMCP. The well-known culprit Nemesis tried to extort us for the lousy sum of 10 billion dollars after Vinerri jacked the desert caravan of the famous trader ORAN. We responded with a counter-technique already known as 'The Vinerri Defence,' which entailed the use of the following tactics:
• Step 1: Faction leaders clear out our members, so there are no targets in the faction to hit.
• Step 2: Our members join newly bought factions (burner factions), which begin with 5k respect.
• Step 3: The burners begin counter-raiding the aggressor.
This system worked by allowing you to reduce the respect of another faction with zero consequences for your own - at least in the short term. With our members holed up in temporary burner factions, they were free to attack the aggressor and reduce their opponent's respect without risking your own. And when the counter-raid began, no one cared, as if a burner faction was destroyed, you could start up a new one for a few million bucks.
Vinerri was kept alive throughout this by having one member remaining back at base, a lone soldier who constantly self-hosped and flew to avoid being attacked. So while Vinerri's respect was entirely unaffected by this incident, our members were busy making hits on the raiding faction, taking away MMCP's hard-earned R+. The result of these tactics was that before long, with no prospect of victory, the aggressor would want to end what they started themselves.
Now that new faction members must wait for 72-hours before they can attack, the use of Burner Factions has been somewhat nerfed. However, this tactic is by no means completely off the table, as with enough preparation and analysis of the numbers required, a sufficiently organised faction could easily set up several burners and stock them ahead of a planned assault.
Alternatively, if you wish to use burners as a defensive measure, your members could rotate in and out a set of pre-purchased burners to ensure they were ready to go at all times. It would work a little like jury service, with all faction members required to serve one week a month in the burners on the off chance that you are attacked. You might think this is a little excessive, but last month, the relentless nature of warring against burner factions caused MMCP to admit defeat in an attack they themselves had started.
The Consequences
The raid by MMCP, in hindsight, proved to be a blessing in disguise for Vinerri, as it resulted in us becoming more organised and dedicated to conquering new land. Yet despite our opponents' failure, we realised that raiding could still be a good way to nab our neighbors' territory by pressuring them to find a more peaceful plot elsewhere.
We reevaluated our moral objections to extortion after seeing how a faction called Octogenarian DirtyBombers (ODB) went through a similar experience to ourselves. ODB was being extort-raided by Vigilantes - not surprisingly also linked to the MMCP thugs - and we stepped in to help defend them. However, soon thereafter ODB allied up with their extorters, with an unnamed member of their leadership describing their stance as "not necessarily against the notion of extortion".
Vinerri and ODB nevertheless forged closer ties over this, and TerryTorn, the mastermind behind burner factions and anti-raid techniques, started to cooperate closely with Vinerri's leadership as we looked for another challenge. It was the intention of both parties to further refine our war techniques and get more familiar with the offensive potential of raids.
To this end, we decided to try to extort a target using a raid, so we could experience how it feels to be the aggressor in this situation. We soon identified a target, Urban Broil, a faction that had a substantial networth, despite its relatively low level of members and activity. Our choice was made easier by the fact that their leader, Clarice, used the following image as her profile picture.
The Results
It was our intention to use aggressive raiding or the threat thereof to try and cajole our opponents into selling us their faction for cheap. However, we soon realised that Clarice was unlikely to give up Urban Broil to me, her own personal Hannibal, at least not for a reasonable price. We needed a new approach.
Enter TerryTorn, Clarice's White Knight.
While our threats meant that Clarice would play hardball with Vinerri over a deal for her faction, we realised she might sell it cheaply to someone who seemingly had her best interests at heart. TerryTorn pretended that he did, advising Clarice on how to respond to our threats, all the while gaining her confidence and trust. We hoped this would eventually put him in the position to buy her faction at a friendly rate.
But first, Clarice needed to be softened up a little. Raiding is a hefty instrument of war, as the experience of seeing your respect drop is heightened by the fact that your members are laid up in the hospital, powerless to do anything as you watch your faction endure a slow, painful death. Once we began exerting such force upon Urban Broil, the psychological aspect of our plan kicked in.
Clarice reached out to us and immediately tried to look careless, while also making it clear she would never sell the faction. In response, we convinced her we could carry on the raid indefinitely until Urban Broil had been destroyed.
In the meantime, Clarice was approached by the White Knight, who told her what a horrible man I was. TerryTorn fed Clarice the story of how he had beaten my faction in the same manner, and if she could use any help, he would happily provide it. To gain her trust, TerryTorn gave Clarice some genuine anti-raid advice, such as why she should clear her faction, and how to close the raidscore gap using drive-by hits. Clarice followed his instructions to the letter. Trust had been achieved.
But at the time of writing, Urban Broil remains a proud, free, and independent faction. So what happened?
The End
As if that wasn't enough drama in Torn for a day, another raid happened simultaneously to our assault upon Urban Broil. Nemesis, a perpetual one-trick pony, decided to ride out raiding once again, and he chose The Chimera's Den (TCD) as his target. When we got word of this, we reached out to TCD and started to offer help. Isn't that odd? Raiding one faction and protecting another at the same time? Our members certainly thought so.
Calla, TCD's leader, was instructed in the ways of The Vinerri Defence, and before long, no fewer than five burners were raiding MMCP. TCD was safely housed in Vinerri's hood, and in the meantime, the extremely skilled Calla was closing the raidscore gap with the help of her powerful and loyal friends. MMCP soon decided to end yet another failed extortion attempt and were thrown a lousy 10 Xanax in exchange, to save face.
In many ways, we also tried to save face when we ended our raid on Urban Broil around the same time. This raiding and extortion experiment led to a fierce discussion within Vinerri, as I had always personally condemned such tactics as bullying, arguing that it results in players being scared away from the game. We subsequently put out a faction newsletter explaining that our actions were merely a test and a way of improving our raid skills.
Tyrion, Vinerri's moral compass (known by some under his artist name, Titi Wurst), was strongly opposed to these methods throughout, regardless of their purpose, and he informed us early on that he would not take part in what he viewed as immoral practices. Many members followed his example, forming a silent majority who voted against our decision to extort by refusing to bear arms. And when Vinerri began to help out TCD, the duplicity of our approach convinced the rest of us we could not continue with such underhand tactics while defending another faction against them.
When the raid against Urban Broil ended, so too was Vinerri's brief tenure as an extorting faction. Those in charge, myself included, felt sorry for both our targets and those in the faction who remained uneasy with our little experiment. Extortion proved to be nothing for us. Not only from a dogmatic perspective but a practical one too, given that we explored this behaviour from the perspective of both victim and perpetrator. Lesson well learned.
And Clarice got her peace back without paying a single dollar bill, or having her liver served up with some fava beans and a nice Chianti.
The Morality
Is extortion immoral then? It's hard to say. Since both the game rules and mechanics allow for such behaviour, you could say the morality is in the eye of the beholder. And who are any of us to judge someone and morally condemn their actions? What one person sees as a legitimate tactic within the role-playing world of a crime game, another may see as an abhorrent way to behave against your fellow players.
That being said, the recent changes to Torn's mechanics do indicate that extortion was a problem, so perhaps this is more of a practical issue than a moral one. There are lots of things you can technically get away with which are widely accepted as wrong; buy-mugging, vault-raiding, and scamming are but a few examples. When the game itself enforces restrictions on certain practices, are you actively seeking to destroy the game if you exploit the areas they have not covered? Are you goading the developers into making draconian changes simply because you cannot conduct yourself with integrity?
Then there is the human aspect of it all. During our extortion experiment, our white knight, TerryTorn, developed more of a conscience, the longer he was made to perform the treacherous task to which he was assigned. After talking with Clarice and getting to know her personally, he learned that she often spent her days taking care of old ladies who lived on her street and that the stress of the raid meant she was hardly able to sleep at times.
These insights into our opponent eroded TerryTorn's desire to play his double-dealing role with convincing flair. The white knight and his dark counterpart ended up debating on how necessary the psychological aspect of warfare was. Our target was a human being of flesh and blood, and surely her wellbeing and enjoyment of Torn should be more important than the digital gains we'd acquire through usurping her from her faction or territories.
"I have a lot of respect for Clarice; she is intelligent, tough and gutsy ... and a perfect example of 'Just Say No' to the extorter. This is a game, but it plays out in real life as well ... how far is it fair to push?" - TerryTorn
This is something we all must ask ourselves as we consider how to respond to Torn's recent changes. For example, outside wall hits look like they'll become a more mainstream tactic due to the 5 energy cost of joining an empty wall slot, and this may lead to entire factions becoming specialist outside hitters. But what is the endgame for such a strategy? Might it soon cost more energy to hit someone on a wall? Will wars become less fun through the use of this tactic? Will territory walls eventually be ringfenced entirely?
Many forum dwellers have complained about the potential unintended side effects of the latest updates, but few possess the self-awareness to give the same consideration to their own actions. There will always be loopholes for you to exploit for your faction's temporary benefit, but how might Torn respond if everyone started doing this? Are you forcing Torn towards a course of action you may come to regret through your single-minded desire to win?
The Solution
Of course, it is futile to spend all day worrying about potential new tactics and their impact, as people will act how they see fit regardless of any advice from a stranger. So long as the strong and weak co-exist, there will always be those who extort, and while Torn has given us some tools with which to fight back, it is really up to the individual to make the most of these. When a new tactic is made apparent, you must focus your efforts on finding new ways to defend yourselves as a priority.
Alternatively, you can try whining in the forums and see how far that gets you. MMCP famously had their alliance buddies from N.O.O.B. start a thread complaining about how successful our anti-raid techniques were. They claimed that 'The Vinerri Defence' was game abuse and should be made impossible. Rather hilarious. Granted, our methods may seem like something of an exploit, but they were themselves a response to the inordinate amount of power wielded by major factions who could move members between subs and allies at will.
Hopefully, with the playing field levelled somewhat and competitive warring on the horizon, such tactics won't always be needed, as factions become more able to fight on an even keel. Yet even if such a situation comes to pass, regular tactics like raiding will always be a heavy instrument that causes panic and stress for those who don't know how to respond to it. Raiding's effectiveness is dropping rapidly as defensive knowledge spreads among the community. Still, such things are temporary, so those who lead must always be prepared to switch things up to protect their members from the stresses of war.
Regardless of the mechanics and the rules Torn creates, in this City, there will always be good, and there will always be bad, along with every shade of grey you can possibly imagine. This makes it hard to know what is the right thing to do at any given moment, but this is the very essence of morality. Morality should not be determined by the codes imposed upon you by others, but by your own personal growth and development.
To that end, we'll like to apologise to the victims of our extortion attempt. Clarice, we're sorry, girl. We love you - Terry especially. He was with us, but also with you. You have been a worthy opponent.
Hannibal 0 - Clarice 1
PK
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