WHAT IS MERCENARIES GUILD?

Mercenaries Guild is a free-form group of like-minded individuals, with a focus on teaching, fun, and Tremulous related projects. We are not what some would consider a "skill clan", as our requirements for entry aren't skill-based at all. This means that anyone, whether it be the average Joe player or a super-gamer, has a chance to be a part of the family that is MG. You'll also find that all of our members, regardless of skill level, are constantly learning from each other. In the words of one of MG's founding members, PIE, "You don't have to be a master to teach or to learn. Even the most experienced players can learn from each other".

DO YOU PARTICIPATE IN "CLAN-MATCHES"?

We have two elected leaders in charge of organizing COMPLETELY VOLUNTARY teams for clan ladders and other such competitions. These leaders are also in charge of looking for other clans that are interested in "scrims" -- as we call them. Participation in these scrim games are also entirely voluntary.

WHAT ELSE DOES MERCENARIES GUILD DO?

We have a number of projects going on currently. There is the documentation team that is working on our MG Wiki, which is freely available to read to anyone who visits the MG website. Some of our members work with maps, while others work on contributing to the Tremulous source. We're also working on a revival of the once-dead Tremulous Demo project, which we call the MG Demo Project, that will ultimately provide a series of demos/videos to introduce new players to the Tremulous basics. Furthermore, our art team works on Tremulous/MG related art, and we all like to take time to stop and help new players that haven't fully-grasped the game's basics yet. We are, as you can see, a very busy group of people! Participation in all of this is, like almost all parts of Mercenaries Guild, voluntary.

DO YOU ALLOW MULTI-CLANNING?

The simple answer is yes. The complicated answer is a bit longer: we feel, due to the fact that MG isn't a skill-based clan, that our members should be allowed to participate in more rigidly constructed clans that focus on only allowing in very talented members, and that focus solely on winning matches against other clans. As long as the other clan you belong to doesn't mind that you are also a member of the MG family, then feel free to be involved in both. MG is more a collective of like-minded people than a binding obligation to show up and perform on command. Even displaying our }MG{ tag in game is entirely up to you. Being part of Mercenaries Guild runs deeper than winning tournaments and flying a red }MG{.

CAN I JOIN? WHAT ARE THE REQUIREMENTS?

Of course you can apply to join! Provided you fit in with the general Mercenaries Guild mentality, we'd absolutely love to have you. We ask, compared to other clans, relatively little of you; and once you're a member, you're almost guaranteed to remain one for as long as you wish. The most difficult part (but by no means impossible) is, however, gaining entrance. While our requirements aren't skilled-based, we are still fairly selective of who we want to have associated with the Guild.

The system that we use to decide who gets in is, honestly, a fairly simple one. You apply (exact process detailed below), then you endure a one month waiting period where you play with/talk to/interact with MG members. At the end of this one month period, MG members can begin to "rec" you -- which is a sort of voting system for whether you'll be allowed membership or not. The amount of recommendations needed is determined by an elementary equation: Amount of Active Members / 4 = Recs Needed. If a member thinks that you don't fit the Mercenaries Guild spirit, they are also able to Negative Rec you. This moves the amount of recs you need to enter up by one. Note that this isn't a symbol of "I hate you", rather it's more of a "I don't think this person is ready to get into Mercenaries Guild yet".

*Short Guide to Joining Mercenaries Guild

1.) Post a new thread in the Application Center. In this thread, you need to write up a little post (at least about 150 words, but no real upper limit) letting us know a little bit about yourself, what names you play under, what servers you frequent, and when you usually play.
2.) Play Tremulous with members of the Guild as much as you can. If possible, frequent the MG servers. This will allow you to, hopefully, catch a group of MG members on. MG members are also known to game on other servers, mostly based in North America due to the high concentration of North American members.
3.) Wear the }MGR{ tag in game! Simply adding ^1}MG^5R^1{ in front of your name will let us identify you as a recruit, and allow you to get more attention from our members.
4.) Hang out on the Mercenaries Guild IRC channel. You can find a web-client to directly connect to the room on the MG website, or you can use your favorite IRC client to come over to #mercenariesguild on Freenode (irc.freenode.net).
OR:
5.) Post on the MG forums. Participate in conversations and projects that we have going on right now, or try to start your own.
OR:
6.) Mercenaries Guild TeamSpeak! The server can be accessed at mercs.no-ip.org, and the members will help you get it installed and working -- provided you have a mic.

The last three listed items are very important. Our members have always been required to watch applicants in game, but no out of game interaction was strictly required. A recent vote has changed this, however. Our members have decided that out-of-game interaction is more important, and a fair amount of this is required before they can rec you. Utilize the IRC channel, the forums, and the TeamSpeak server to your maximum potential to increase your chances of getting in as soon after your one month waiting period as you can!

An Example of an Application Post (provided by }MG{Munroe)

Greetings Mercenaries,

My in-game name is Munroe, and I've been playing Tremulous for nearly a year now. I've noticed that a lot of players, both new and experienced, suffer from poor team-play skills and are generally not that mature. I enjoy playing tremulous a lot, so I went looking for a group of people that are interested in seriously playing this game, and trying to improve the experience around it. The Mercenaries Guild looks like the perfect group of people.

I'm 23 years old, and I live in Ottawa, Canada. I've been an active computer user since I was 6 years old when my dad bought the family a 386. I spent my early computer years tinkering with boot disks so I could play DOOM, and on BBS's trying to get walkthrough's to my favourite adventure games. I spent some time in high school fixing computers, and learning Visual Basic. I've recently graduated from a post-secondary institution, with a diploma in Computer Science. I'm fluent in a few different languages, including C, C++, Java, Perl, and Bash, and I'm competant in a UNIX-type environment. I have a deep hatred for propriatary operating systems and closed software in general. I use Ubuntu as my operating system, and I much prefer the experience to that of the WIN32 environment.

I'm serious about this game, and I think I can bring a lot of useful knowledge, and a good sense of humour to the Mercenaries Guild. Thank you for reading my application.

*What Are You Looking For?

1.) You have to remain "active". Our activity requirements are considerably lenient for members, but the more you're around as a recruit, the faster you'll get in!
2.) You should be a generally congenial person. Simply said, we don't like assholes. Naturally, the definition of "asshole" varies from person to person, so we'll explain what we mean. If you are constantly involved in flame wars, if you vote to kick new players for unintentionally feeding or unintentional bad building, if you're known to have a very short fuse that causes you to react badly in game, if you are racist, if you are sexist, or generally seriously deraugatory to other people for no extremely good reason then you are not what we're looking for. This is one of the biggest requirements.
3.) No griefers. Obviously this goes hand in hand with number two, but it still needs to be said. If you find joy in causing chaos and attempting to ruin the game for others, then you will not be allowed into MG, and you will likely find yourself banned from MG servers.
4.) No crackers/script-kiddies or cheaters. While quite a few members of MG are, indeed, hackers, we frown upon cracking or bug-abusing. If you are found to be abusing bugs or using programs to get an unfair advantage in game, then we don't want you. We do not consider HUD modifications (save for permanent radar) a cheat.
5.) You have to have a decently clean ban record. We WILL ask around, and we WILL find out if you're known for problem causing on other servers. We don't want to be associated with people that go around getting themselves banned for no good reason.

I've noticed a lot of MGRs that apply, then disappear for exactly 30 days before showing up to ask that they be added to the rec board. The following should be common sense, but it appears that some people don't quite come to the realization:

If you've been inactive during your wait period, you do not want to be immediately added to the rec board when it is over. You will either not receieve recommendations and wait in the queue forever, or you will receieve negative recommendations for being foolish enough to think that we'd like to admit someone who made no effort to get to know us or let us get to know them, during their first month. If you are not active during the time period when you're supposed to be letting us get to know you, you're sure not going to be active once you're no longer expected to particularly do much of anything.

This also applies to being active, but not with us. Few, if any of us, will go seek you out on other servers. Throwing us an application and then ignoring us for 30 days while you play somewhere with other people is the same as being inactive, so far as we can see. We will not penalize you for playing elsewhere, but it does not help us get to know you. You need to come to us and participate in our activities: play games on Puretrem, join our IRC, and participate in our forums.

If something happens and you need to be inactive during your wait period, that's fine, but tell us, and also tell us how you're going to be active again in the future, and even request that your wait time be extended. Do not just demand to be added to the board anyway. It will not help your chances. In fact, it will probably hurt them.

This is what has happened to me, I'm planning on waiting a bit after the 12th.

Further to what lak said, the point of the month is to get to know us.  An easier way of getting in is to get to know us first, and only apply once you have a few friends who will (hopefully) say your a decent dude.