8/1/08

For those of you who don't know, a splash screen has been uploaded to SWATCash. It contains an image of some soldiers, including what looks like one soldier capturing another. It also has the text 8/1/08 and the word "CAPTURE" above it.

A lot of speculation has been made as to what will happen on this fateful date. Here's what we know.
1. The WM will be redesigned with more spaces.
2. Everyone's base locations will be reset.
3. The splash image used to say 9/1/08.
4. The map's inactive bases are wiped on the first of the month.
5. Brian has confirmed the possibility that we shall see the new situational space.
6. It was stated that the splash image will continue to change.
7. Alliance's were recently installed but don't have a real purpose yet.
8. The July contest ends on the first, and the August contest begins soon after.
8. Napoleon Dynamite is one of Brian's favorite movies.


Using what we know, we can make some assumptions on what will happen. A lot of people think the 8/1/08 marks the start of alliance wars. Since there were actually two dates, one being a month after the other, we could assume that if the alliance wars did start, it would end on 9/1/08. Of course this could also just be a hint that the big thing that's going to happen is the monthly contest (if the monthly contest isn't the war itself).

I'd like to show you an image that involves seven full-grown men in uniforms with loaded weapons, and one man bound by rope... No it's not that kind of image...
Click me to see the image.
I have brightened the original image SWATcash had uploaded (besides the change in date it is the same as the 8/1/08 one). As you can clearly see, in the middle of the image it has one soldier capturing another soldier. It appears that he bound his arms in rope and is about to pick him up. Even by itself this is a huge hint that suggests the new thing coming out will involve soldiers (members) capturing each other. If you add in the "CAPTURE" text, it's almost guaranteed. Anything beyond that though is just pure speculation.

One thing that we can assume is that this will definitely be alliance related. As in you will only be able to capture soldiers in another alliance. This is really the only way it would make sense. Otherwise it'd be "Hey guyz we got this rogue soldier here who has no ties to anyone, what shouldz we do?" "Aren't we low on food provisions?" And well... yea, it's not a pretty picture.

The point of capturing another soldier remains a mystery. Maybe if you capture another soldier and bring him/her back to the alliance headquarters your alliance gets a point. (Or just bringing the soldier back to your base).

To make it more exciting they could add various ways for you to lose your captive. This also means that soldier interactions could also finally be implanted. So maybe at first the way it could be decided on who becomes the captive could be an equation that factors in the soldiers stats and maybe a little bit of luck, and whoever wins gets a new captive. However, it could be made so that if while holding a captive you come across another person who isn't in your alliance, you have another battle. If that other person wins, he/she gets two new captives. (Or one if he is in the same alliance as the soldier you captured).

Now some rules to this could be the following.
1. Can't capture a member not in an alliance.
2. Failure to bring captive(s) to base within x hours results in their escape.
3. Can only carry x amount of captives at a time.
4. Can't capture Ombre, because you love him too much.

Obviously some new armory items could be implanted in this. Like say if you have a limited amount of captives you can carry you can buy one of those big army trucks or something to let you carry more. Instead of new items this could just as easily make use of the current ones. Perhaps something like this, where the number is the maximum number of captives you can carry.
Bicycle: 1
Motorcycle: 2
Humvee: 3
...

And it just keeps going on like that. They could also use the new situational space to add some excitement. "With Bond like stealth your captive has managed to escape your grasps... And nab your woman!"

Of course all of that was just a shot in the dark. We won't really know anything until the first of August. However, I'm still hoping I'm somewhat right so I can see this image.


Then I can die happy.

Maximize Your World Map Movements

This will be the first of many tips I plan on posting. I will tell you a few ways you can maximize the amount of movements you make per day on the World Map.

First off, let me start by saying that planning is one of the most important steps to make the most out of your time. If you plan ahead you can easily get 60+ moves in a day. Decide ahead of time what time your going to sleep, and what time you'll wake up. If you know you are going to be busy all day the next day, don't be afraid to sacrifice a few hours of sleep in order to make up for it.

One of the things that really helps me my number of moves up is my PSP. (A phone that can handle SWATcash would be an even better choice). Whatever your choice though, if it has portable internet capabilities and can handle both the site and the WM you are set. Now, with the PSP if you are restricted to only a few hours of battery time, I find it works best to only leave the wifi switch on when you are making your moves/attacks. Since you probably don't want to log into SC every 10 minutes another thing you can do to reserve your power is to turn the PSP screen off by holding down the brightness button. (Make sure to put it on hold when not using). To help you remember when you have to move, I'd suggest either a stop watch of some kind, or using your phone alarm if possible. Remember to set the timer to around 7:50 minutes when you are on a base (Gives you time to attack). And do 9:50 minutes when you land on a empty space. If used effectively a PSP or other device can greatly boost your move count.

For when your at home (or if you're using a laptop) I highly recommend getting a count down alarm application. While it might seem easy enough to just remember to move or attack every 8/10 minutes, it isn't. One can easily lose themselves if they are working on a project, playing a game, watching a movie, etc. A simple I can recommend is Cool Timer, it can be found here. You may find one you like more, but this one works well enough. Remember though; if the timer goes below 2 minutes and you attack, it will automatically reset back to 2 minutes. So for this reason if you plan on attacking bases, set the timer for 7:50 minutes when you land on one, and 9:50 when you don't. This will greatly help save time.

When you have to cook food, fold laundry, dust the furniture, save the world, etc. I highly recommend using some of that planning I talked about. If possible put the said chore off until right after you move. This will help a lot because than you have 8/10 minutes to get that pesky task finished. Also make sure to turn your speakers up a bit in case you don't finish in time. (That is if you are using an alarm program).

If you don't have any ambitions when it comes to the WM Ladder, I have a tip that should help you save some time. Most people probably aren't interested in spending 1sc every time you lose 20 hp (that's .5sc per failure, retaliation, or land mine explosion!) therefore they probably just let their hp dwindle down until they eventually die. The problem with this is that'll waste 60 minutes of possible move time (6 moves!). Therefore what I suggest is that you find some bases you fail on, (you probably want around 4) mark them on your map, and if you're getting to a low hp before you go to bed, go on a suicide mission. Purposefully attack these bases, die, then go to sleep. When you wake up you'll have full hp and you won't have to wait 60 minutes to move. Now sometimes you won't be able to use this tactic, so I suggest you use that 60 minutes wisely and do either a particularly long chore you have for that day, or do a series of small ones. That will give you more free time to move after the penalty is over. (This tactic can also be used if you wander into a cave).

That's all the tips I have for today. If you know any good tips you feel I should post feel free to tell me.

July Contest

A lot of people were asking for another monthly contest similar to the Awesome April contest. The admins have granted this wish with the J...inormous July Raffle. For those who don't remember, the April contest was based on overall activeness, in where the ones who did the most on the site, (offers, ptc, wm, etc.) won the best prizes. The July Raffle is very similar to this, except we get raffle tickets instead of points. So while there is quite a bit more luck involved, the more you do the greater chance you have of winning.

The bad thing about this contest is that every single person on SWATcash is automatically entered. What this means is that even if you get 10,000 tickets, there could be 2,000,000 other tickets in the system. So this means that all the defrauder's and people who aren't registered on the forum could still win. I'm not sure what the plan of action is if those people don't claim their prizes. A lot of people sign up at SWATcash, do $100 worth of offers, and never come back.

Someone on the forum was worried that we would have to be there when they announced the prizes, and while we don't really have to be I think it would have been best if it was a requirement. Or at least require the winner's to claim their prize within twenty-four hours. Which would help lower the amount of inactive members getting a prize.

Despite all that, if you work really hard you still have a good chance of winning something. So go out there, complete those offers, refer your friends, and keep moving forward. I would be most happy with the 40" TV or a Xbox 360. Though with my luck I will probably just end up with some stickers. :p