Torn City Times

IIIlusionist [253384] — In the final article of our trilogy regarding the Faction Wars 2.0 Beta, we'll move on from talk of stat monsters, money, and energy in order to focus on what the new system means for the little guys. After reading our previous article, smaller factions might be trembling in their boots, so let's see what lies in store for them when the update comes. Once the dust settles following the initial release, it is highly probable those factions looking to avoid war will be able to pick off the territories other factions don't want, so as to remain relatively quiet and out of the way. Therefore to a certain extent, some factions will be able to remain peaceful, but there remains a lack of clarity on whether non-warring factions will need to put members on the hills of abandoned or unoccupied territories in order to gain respect. Can they simply target unwanted areas with the only downfall being that the respect gain is lesser? Should other factions declar...

sugarvalves [1963573] — The citizens of Torn have long wondered whether their efforts in seeking the Lord's favour result in any form of tangible reward, or if the entire operation is merely a time sink, designed to entice some of our guiltier god-fearing individuals. Thus far nobody has been able to prove conclusively either way, yet we've all heard the rumours - prayers reduce jail time, obtaining the Forgiveness honour lowers the likelihood of incarceration, and that good fortune is bestowed upon those who make significant donations to the Church. Others maintain that such actions bear as much fruit as the average Scotsman - zilch, nada, nothing, and the findings of Perplex's 2014 investigation into the benefits of religious activity, whilst extremely thorough and interesting, was ultimately deemed inconclusive by the community. However, the recent discovery of a shipment of Church-approved merchandise has once more thrown the efficacy of worship back into the spotligh...

IIIlusionist [253384] — In the second piece of our article trilogy concerning the ongoing Faction 2.0 Beta testing, today we are looking at the punitive aspects of Faction Warring - specifically how much it will cost in cash, and what it requires in terms of energy The points target system means that wars, regardless of other factors, will last a minimum period of one day. This is the time it will take to reach 1,000,000 points with ten people involved, and it seems this will go some way towards limiting the advantage gained from surprise declarations, as the defending faction are now able to enter into the war without having to wait for leaders to declare filler factions. But will this mean the end of our beloved war chaining? Perhaps, but on the other hand, might the points system also introduce a maximum duration a war can last? Could we see competitive wars where players are continuously joining the hill and attacking each other limited to a couple of days? Before the Beta many p...

sugarvalves [1963573] — As many will have noticed, Torn's loan-shark Duke has been decidedly more active of late; his recent forum posts in response to planned attacks upon his person coming hot on the heels of a somewhat surprising offer of charitable aid to the people of the city. Many in Torn took this opportunity to offer up rivals and enemies as targets for the faux-Mafia bruiser, and while it is not yet known what became of those whose names found their way onto Mr Calabrese's naughty list, I have uncovered evidence that another group of people may have much more to fear - his clients. For several years now Duke has sent out generic messages to his tardy clientele, with most containing nothing more than payment demands or vague threats of retribution. Occasionally he receives a reply, but for the most part Duke refuses to read these, instead employing a team of underlings to do the work for him. However, thanks to a recent staff shortage Duke HAS been reading the respon...

IIIlusionist [253384] — The announcement of the factions 2.0 update is undoubtedly one of the most anticipated developments in recent years. Just recently the second batch of factions were introduced to 2.0 beta testing, and with many of Torn's users eager to see how this overhaul will affect their own faction, now seems as good a time as any to take a brief look at what players have gleaned from the process so far. For many, the beta experience involves a short burst of testing out the new features and a quick look at what changes were implemented after the first test run, before a much longer period twiddling their thumbs while the developers work through reported bugs. It doesn't take a whole lot of time to get your head around the beta system - a day at most - but here is a rough idea of what the beta faction update looks like. All territory is displayed and viewed through the city map, and your own blocks can also be viewed from the Territory tab on the faction main page...

sugarvalves [1963573] — This year Torn's annual Easter Egg Competition saw more players take part than ever before, with Adamantium coming joint first alongside -asc3nt- after acquiring an astonishing 21 eggs. However, with the winner decided by a game of rock paper scissors - something Adamantium lost after being bludgeoned with the rock, stabbed with the scissors and given a series of paper-cuts to the groin - he had to settle for an eggscruciating second-place billing on the leader-board. Not that he's upset, and nor should he be. Adamantium was also joint 2nd highest eggsplorer in 2015's competition, and has gained a reputation as something of an anti-Christ Easter Bunny amongst the egg-hunting community. In the latest in our series of interviews with our community's finest citizens, the Torn City Times sat down with Adamantium to hear his thoughts on what exactly makes him such a jolly good egg. TCT: "Hello Adamantium, which was your favourite easter egg?...

sugarvalves [1963573] — Torn's Municipal dump isn't the most exciting place, and it's doubtful most citizens ever give second thought to the items casually discarded here. Tissues, bouquets, jewellery; only a small number of these abandoned trinkets end up scavenged by the city's poor, as of the 80 million possessions trashed a mere 17 million have ever been recovered. This discrepancy of more than 60 million items lain waste cannot continue. Our recycling efforts are frankly non-existent, and I realised that as the city's most well-respected reporter I had the power to affect meaningful and lasting change. Thanks to the world-class facilities available at Torn P.D. anyone with the desire to do so can easily trace an item's former owner and reunite them with their property. So last week, that is precisely what I did. One hot summer afternoon I spent four hours wading through the rancid pastures of the city dump, my lungs choked with the acrid stink of decay, w...

sugarvalves [1963573] — On the 19th of July I commenced my day as I would any other, with a bottle of Tequila, two Xanax chasers and a box of extra strong mints - just in case mother pops round. After breakfast I began to trawl through the forums and city stats for interesting morsels of news that might make for a compelling read in next week's paper, when something rather odd happened. Something that had never happened before to me in Torn or elsewhere in the world of journalism. Persecution - for now I art a victim. Eleven bounties within the space of 3 minutes 48 seconds, and all from a mysterious stranger named Collete. As a feeble reporter with the physique of a severely malnourished infant I found myself hospitalised almost immediately as random goons gleefully accepted the contracts placed upon my head, yet I knew not why I had been targeted. Over the next few days each of these bounties were dutifully collected by the bloodthirsty citizens of Torn, and frankly I'd be ...

sugarvalves [1963573] — On June 11th 2016 Torn welcomed to its streets the 2 millionth person to register here as an official citizen, with this prestigious honour bestowed upon a young lady named MelodyQueen. A time for celebration indeed...or perhaps not. More than one month on from that momentous day neither hide nor hair has been seen of this mysterious stranger, with very little known about who she was, where she came from, and where her bullet-ridden corpse is today. At the time of writing it has been confirmed that MelodyQueen resided within a shack during her brief appearance in the city, making four enemies and one solitary friend whilst active on the streets of Torn. So where is she? Did this poor innocent soul fall prey to one of Torn's vultures already? MelodyQueen's status as the 2 millionth citizen means she has already been subjected to a disproportionate amount of violence, with hospital records noting her admittance on a total of 31 occasions. Yet this baptis...

sugarvalves [1963573] — Torn has no Mayor to speak of, nor does it have a Governor, a Councillor, a President or Prime Minister. Torn even lacks so much as a Park Ranger to stop you throwing trash at geese on the park. But many would say that what Torn does have is a dictator, an unstoppable presence whose benevolence in recent years is a testament to his own power, rather than the will of those attempting to dethrone him. Official titles aside, Bodybagger has ruled the streets of Torn in every meaningful way for the past seven years, and despite fearing the repercussions of a misquoted phrase or an incriminating typo, this reporter valiantly entered into correspondence with the city's greatest ever player - the results of which are provided for your perusing pleasure below. TCT: "How does it feel to be the most powerful player in the game?" BB: "It feels great and wonderful!!! In reality, it really is no big deal. It's just a game after all." TCT: ...