CT Sideways, Chief News Editor
Monday, January 28th, 2019

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     Welcome back again, clones! This week’s issue of the 501st newsletter continues to bring you the up-to-date information from the front. Gather around and listen close for the latest in Republic news. This week’s article will contain information regarding the upcoming Galactic Campaign hosted by Hailstorm Battalion and the 501st Legion.

     The Galactic Campaign is approaching fast and will be the next step into making an interactive and creative experience for everyone in GARC. It is a long term commitment that the 501st will be deployed into for the foreseeable future. The foundation and principal ideas for a large scale campaign, spanning across many worlds with variable objectives and consequences has always been a goal for the 501st, but it was not until CS Verax, the current section lead for campaign management, and Hailstorm command decided to expand on the idea and dedicate the resources towards fulfilling this goal. Recently, Coward’s campaign was an example at what a planned campaign could achieve when all the elements participate. As of today, the unit has been doing similar random adventures that have been varied every week and field training exercises that focus on improving specific skills within the battalion alongside the odd campaign thrown in the mix. There was an issue with these missions, some felt as if there was nothing at stake and no real consequences and that there was no real difference between a well made field training exercise and a well made campaign mission, other than the fact that campaigns had a tendency to stretch over a longer period of time. After some time organizing and the end of winter stand-down, the 501st has presented the refined idea of a procedural and persistent Galactic Campaign. Now there is a galaxy at large and a continuous story to invest in. People can now look forward towards new operations, putting the skills they’ve learned to the test and possibly have the opportunity for victory or failure in dynamic and important missions.

     This Grand Galactic Campaign is similar to a Total War style galactic map that consists of 63 sectors, with each sector having 7 to 32 planets each. Battalion HQ will decide what actions to take on the sector level, while standard troops will only experience the fight planetside. Every action will be felt by the unit with battles affecting the outcome of sectors and the sectors affecting their local region. These regions, which are composed of two to four sectors, can contain multiple factions and could take anywhere from six months to a year to complete, with individual sectors taking anywhere from one to four months. This requires the constant attention of all the C-shops, who will need to continually maintain it and if they do, this could potentially last the entire lifetime of the unit. This campaign also needs intelligent and dedicated people to help flesh it out with managers and story writers who will give depth and focus to our galaxy. Every action matters and no battle is pointless as they will be remembered by the consequences that follow. Other GARC units could potentially join this campaign further down the road to assist the 501st in the fight with real players representing the Confederacy’s command who will be trying to beat the Republic and remove their control from the galaxy.

      “I think the payoff for the campaign could be very large” states CS Coward, who is the Lead Story Writer for the Galactic Campaign.

     The 501st will be starting on the southern side of the galaxy in the sector Sujimis. The neighboring regions include the Naboo Pike and the Outlands, which holds such systems as Kamino, Ryloth and Christophis. The sector that the 501st is currently deployed in is home to the Kazaraki who were recently thrown out of power in the local region due to a natural catastrophe and temporary loss of communication to the Republic Senate. This event allowed the Republic allied Pantorans to seize political control of the region and all its planets. The Pantorans, who are very ambitious, have been seeking control of the region for some time to extend their support received from the Republic. The Kazaraki on the other hand, who were known to be a very noble and proud people and were very well received by almost all the other powers in the region. With the loss of all of their former political power, their long lasted control of the region and a recent strike from Pantoran forces, which killed a high profile Kazaraki Baron, the Kazaraki people have devolved into a completely warlike state and began to participate in barbaric matters such as the slave trade. They then retaliated and called for the assistance of the Confederacy to remove Pantoran control of the region and seceded from the Republic. Along with asking for CIS support, many of the neutral worlds, most of which despise the Republic and the Pantorans, are willing to rally to support the Kazaraki and ultimately seek that the Pantorans relinquish their control of the system. The 501st has been deployed to stabilize the region and defend Pantoran control and assets.

     In the most recent events Hailstorm Battalion has broken away from the Republic supply chain in the sector and began its invasion of the contested planet of Negev with two Acclamators, the RSS Harbinger and RSS Phantom. The RSS Harbinger was lost and considered derelict during the initial battle over the planet leaving the RSS Phantom the lone Republic cruiser in the battle. If Republic forces lose this sector, it will open access for the CIS and Karazaki invasion and control of all the local regions. The campaign begins February 1st with 3rd Platoon’s operation and will continue through with the other platoon operations for the foreseeable future.

    With the beginning of the Galactic Campaign coming around the corner, every element is preparing for the coming fight with renewed vigor. The campaign team needs intelligent and dedicated people to fill the roles that are required to maintain such a large undertaking and as always, the community needs your support to keep growing. Projects such as this and everything else in the community are all made by members who take the time out of their lives to present a deep and engaging experience. Battalion expects a smooth run with the new campaign thanks to the new server box, sitting comfortably in a datacenter, which has been acquired thanks to support and donations from the community. With the continued development of such projects as the Grand Campaign, or The Clone Wars mod, the 501st experience has only just begun to reach its potential...

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Promotions and News:

Battalion HQ -

"This week, remember. Don't drink and drive. Drive and drink. And use your brains." - BC Jay

Avalanche 1 -

“Ready to kick ass and take names in the campaign” - CS Point

Avalanche 2 -

Stuka (CT to Sr. CT), Parrot (CT to Sr. CT), Gull to (CR-C to CT)

Avalanche 3 -

Muzzer (CT to Sr. CT), Slooshi (CR-C to CT)

"We still doing good." - CC Ewik

Avalanche 4 -

Pro (CT to Sr. CT)

Acklay -

Needles (CT to CP)
“Acklay is training hard to prepare for the campaign. Excited as always to fight alongside everyone.” - CC Lava

Onyx -

This upcoming Wednesday, the 30th, Onyx will be hosting a public training session at 5:30pm EST on whatever server is available. The Topic(s): CQC Procedures, and HVT/VIP Procedures.

Razor -

If anyone intends on being a pilot they should be part of the next two Initial Evaluation and Assessment classes. Razor in its current state is almost full. Check the first pin in the razor channel on discord for information.

Discord link to Razor's IEA

Medical -
Welcoming the newest Medics: CM-C Tom and CM-C Jericho. Bronson (CM-C to CM)

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DID YOU KNOW?

You can Alt+click on map icons to move them around!

501st Legion Discord

501st Patreon

^{501st News opinion doesn’t necessarily reflect the opinion of the entire community. If you’d like to help the news team, you can in many ways, including but not limited to, signing up for the news team, submitting an article, posting a piece of media or getting publicity for an event. For those interested, please contact either CT Sideways or CI-C Daedalus for more information. Your voice matters, let it be heard. We’re currently looking for journalists to collect stories, media and content and story writers to write articles. Also please consider donating to the 501st to help pay for server costs and help keep this community alive and well maintained. Photo credits: CI Rathian, CX-C Sazi, CC Ewik}

^{Chief News Editor: CT Sideways
News Editor: CI-C Daedalus}

CT Sideways, Chief News Editor
Monday, January 21st, 2019

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     Welcome back, clones! This is the beginning of the weekly newsletter! With the new year coming around it’s important for you to keep up-to-date with all the latest news from within your community. We’re dedicated to finding the trending topics and upcoming events that are planned within the 501st and keeping tabs on everything that you need. Keep coming to the website to check all the latest articles and posts that affect the ever-changing unit.

     Winter stand-down is officially coming to a close and the battalion is returning to full combat strength. With this metabolism comes great change, operations are running larger and larger thanks to the server box moving to a data center, which is currently going through testing right now. This could not have been done without the generous donations and support that the community has given to the unit along the time and dedication of all the members. The unit has come further and further from the original vision, which has expanded beyond the horizon to unimaginable heights and will continue to grow into a truly unique experience that can't be found anywhere else.

    Official work has started on the Galactic Campaign, which is similar to Pandemic’s Star Wars: Battlefront II Galactic Conquest gamemode, featuring space and interplanetary battles and a player-driven sustained logistic management system that will keep track of progress and losses as the 501st carries its battles across the galaxy. A full fledged star map of the galaxy is being constructed to give tension and stakes to the player-made campaigns of the future with real consequences for those who fight.

     The Clone Wars Mod is currently in its Alpha stages of development and available for public testing on the Steam Workshop. Already featured on the most popular mods page, the Clone Wars Mod team is working diligently on the future versions of the mod. They count on your support to keep them going as this is a non-profit project made by Clone Wars fans for pure entertainment. To keep better assets and gameplay experiences coming, the Clone Wars team appreciates any help it can receive and has worked with many prominent members from all around the gaming and modding communities. As progress grows, so does the scope, width, and depth of the experience, rivaling that of even some of the most expensive contemporary AAA titles that share the Star Wars name.

    Alternative military operations have always been a popular attraction for certain members within the unit. Recently we’ve been graced by some notable campaigns, including two notable World War II campaigns hosted by CW Lindsey and CP Tyler. For Clone Wars campaigns, several are still ongoing and hosted by a single zeus who want to cover entire islands over the course of multiple individual missions, one of which is CS Crisis’s Altis campaign that has been ongoing for the course of SEVEN months and still the fight is not over. Dates and times are often posted for these events and more information can be found on the Legion discord.

    Zeta company officially started as of November 24th. This company will help find time for people to enjoy the unit without being overly active. Captain Klein and First Lieutenant Machete came up with an organization of reserves that serves as a stepping stone to bolster the ranks for everyone. It serves as a global check-in for all new and returning members, where one is assigned a squad with a goal to play one Zeta operation to serve as a quality check. The total capacity is 16 squads of 11 people, currently sitting at 12 filled squads. The creation of Zeta serves multiple roles, including that of a training and penal company. Training includes the current cadet corps to assign people, but also corrects behavior of troops who may need a reminder. Ultimately, Zeta will serve the Republic and those who also want to, but otherwise couldn’t. Currently headed by CS Verax, Zeta promises a future in the Legion for all those willing.

     Keep checking in here for more news on what’s happening in the 501st Legion. After a long winter, it’s time to charge your blaster packs and load that tibanna gas. There’s still plenty of new droids to destroy and another year awaits the 501st in it’s long march to victory.
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Promotions and News:

• Avalanche 3
   Snoopy (CR-C to CT)
  “We’re doing good.” - CC Ewik
  
  
• RTO
  Benjamin (CI-C to CI, 4-Romeo)
  “Bingnut.” - CI-S Roadboy

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DID YOU KNOW?
You can help your buddies dig trenches with ACE interactions!

501st Legion Discord

501st Legion Patreon

<sup>501st News opinion doesn’t necessarily reflect the opinion of the entire community. If you’d like to help, by signing up for the news team, submitting an article or posting a piece of media, please, contact CT Sideways, CI-C Daedalus or any other member of the News team. Your voice matters, let it be heard. Also please consider donating to the 501st to help pay for server costs, keep this community alive and well maintained. Photo credits: CX-W Flog, Star Wars: Battlefront 2 (EA 2005), CP Tyler and CS Legia.

Chief News Editor: CT Sideways
Editor: CI-C Daedalus</sup>