Blackmore 4(04)
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| Battle of Blackmore | |
|---|---|
| Date | August 19th, 2010 - August 31st, 2010 |
| Place | Ridleybank, in and around the Blackmore Building |
| Result | Zombies overwhelmed survivors after 13 days of fighting |
The generator is already running perfectly.
-The rallying cry of many a 404'er.
We won't be signing off until the world ends. We'll be on, and we will cover the end of the world, live, and that will be our last event... and when the end of the world comes, we'll play 'Nearer, My God, to Thee' before we sign off.
-Ted Turner, on the events in Blackmore
When it takes the entire RRF to take you down, you know you've done well.
-ADK, a 404'er, on the event
Blackmore 4(04) Was a major siege that took place from August 19, 2010 to August 31, 2010, almost four years to the day after the original Battle of Blackmore. It began with an alleged "failed Pinata" by the group 404: Barhah not found, and quickly spiraled into a major conflict between various survivor groups, the Ridleybank Resistance Front, and the Feral Undead. It ended after thirteen days on August 31 when a joint strike by several RRF strike teams finally established a foothold and overpowered the survivor resistance.
Overview
Prologue
You people are all insane.
-tyl112, CORAM member, after a mass combat revive.
We're not insane, we're 404.
-Rolfe Steiner, 404 member, in response to the above.
On the 9th of August, 2010, the (in)famous survivor group 404: Barhah not found wandered into Ridleybank, with plans to test a "new tactic." They slowly built up numbers until the 14th, when they began working suicide repairs. during this time 404 experienced little resistance, and by the 18th had most of the suburb repaired or at low repair costs.
Unfortunately, during this time period JustinBronze began publicizing 'Project Operation Let's Not Get Our Asses Kicked," an ill fated venture into Ridleybank to retake the Blackmore.
Fearing that the publicity that this event would draw, 404 decided to move on after one last shenanigan: Pinata'ing the Blackmore. (Un)fortunately, an accidental FAK ruined the 19th's plans to pinata the building and, rather than try again, 404 decided to stick it out and see how long they could last.
The Early Days
I reckon we'll last one day.
-Little Chris, 404, every single day from the 19th onwards.
By the 21st, the Constables showed up to evict the unwelcome visitors and were promptly revived. Both sides traded a few curt words before the Constables swan dived onto the pavement. The survivors, who now included a few members of The Order of the Black Rose and The Big Prick, began to wonder if something was brewing, and began looking for backup.
On the 22nd, the Constables tightened their attack, and breached the barricades several times. They were repelled after several close calls.
The survivors celebrated their 100th hour in Blackmore with a game of traditional 404 "Naked Twister."
The Celebration
This is the oddest siege I can recall being at.
-Alyson Jenkins
On the 24th, survivors began filing into the building and finally outnumbered zombies, 36-32. By the 25th, the survivor numbers had swelled to around 50, and, by the time the date rolled over to August 26th, over 100 survivors were inside. This news was overshadowed, however, by the appearance of the Feral Undead, and the announcement of the withdrawal of the RRF to Ridleybank.
As survivor numbers swelled, many inside began celebrating what they viewed as a giant four year anniversary celebration for the original Battle of Blackmore. Through the waves of break-ins and combat revives, the merry din of singing, twister, and rowdy toasts to Ron Burgundy and his compatriots could be clearly discerned.
Surrounded by this aura of mirth, the initial hostility between the survivors and zombies seemed to disappear. Many revived RRFers (including their leader globule13) took some time to join in the fun before executing the regulation death threat and window dive.
The tide turns
All right you sons of mothers, it's time. Prepare to LIVE!
-Alan Corvus, right before a spree of 13 CR's.
As the second week dawned, survivors were very optimistic. While the now present DoHS were hammering the barricades, omnipresent 404'ers were maintaining the barricades around the clock and reviving break-ins within minutes of entry.
This appearance of success, however, hid a darker truth. Tired of being treated like pin cushions, many of the attacking zombies broke off to attack the nearby TRPs. While the survivors were more or less unaffected by the loss of an individual hospital (There were four hospitals in the immediate area), the sudden loss of a generator source was a major blow to the survivors, who depended on power to maintain their strategy of combat revivals.
Sensing the looming danger, Maverick Farrant went out on a recruiting tour through Malton's malls. As he reports (in the totally badass thrid-person):
- "Many of Malton's malls were ruined when Maverick went by. According to his own personal numbers, only two of the six malls he visited were repaired and between the two malls he figured roughly sixty survivors. What was meant as a powerful rallying cry for Blackmore turned into a week-long effort to bring perhaps a dozen or so more survivors to Blackmore."
Despite the lack of mallrats, both sides continued to swell, with the Human:Zombie ratio at Blackmore reaching 125:114 by the 30th, and eventually peaking on the 31st at 140:125. In addition to the central Blackmore groups, a there was a large but indeterminate network of survivors and zombies who fought for control of the surrounding area.
On the 29th, the Gore Corps showed up.
On the 30th, survivors outnumbered zombies 125/114.
At the peak of the 31st, survivors outnumbered zombies 140/125, with large numbers of survivors in the outlying buildings.
Coda
Gentlemen, Playing with you has been the greatest honor of my life.
-Red Hawk One, August 31
With the full RRF in Ridleybank, the last few days of the siege were difficult for the defenders. Around the clock attacks by the RRF from without and the Gore Corps from within drained the survivor AP, and the rapid exchange of TRPs placed the generator supply at a critical low.
On the 31st, this strain finally broke the survivor defense; 404, both AP and generator-less, was unable to withstand a joint strike by the RRF Constables and Team America around 1:30GMT. A few survivors tried to scrounge generators from a nearby factory, but were met with failure (and pipes. Looooots of pipes). With the zombie numbers steadily rising, the battle appeared to be drawing to a close.
By 800GMT, the zombies outnumbered the survivors roughly 70/50. However, even as the RRF began to pour in, the brave defense was adamant to continue with one final hurrah- reviving, killing, and taunting zombies in what may have been one of the game's biggest real-time conflicts.
Epilougue
"Gentlemen, playing with you has been the greatest honor of my life.
Tonight dies a moment that was never supposed to happen, a pinata went, as the designer says, 'horribly wrong'. But as this moment dies, a dream is born;
For the survivors have proven it is possible, for a time, to fight the horde despite all odds...
And we have all proven that, even as the game ages, it can still be fun. Godspeed, my friends, and let the spirit here at Blackmore spread throughout your lives.
*Pulls out a violin and plays a few bars of ‘Nearer my God to Thee’*
Frontline: Blackmore
Shortly after the siege ended, Red Hawk One interviewed several of the major players on their opinions of the event. These are their stories.
Rolfe Steiner
Rolfe was the main instigator of the event. He was the one to commission the ill-fated pinata of Blackmore, who acted as a sort of leader to his fellow 404, and who helped bring order to the survivor side.
<Red> So who's idea was it to 'pinata' Blackmore?
<Rolfe> It was mine. I rounded up Bis and Bosch.
<Red> Care to comment on what gave you that idea?
<Rolfe> We were going to pull out of Ridleybank that night, expecting imminent arrival of POLNGOAK and DEM, and I told the guys, "There's 1 zed in Blackmore, lets pinata it to fuck with POLNGOAK." Since we viewed their entire movement as fucking up our project in Ridleybank, it was pretty much the perfect time to practice what we had in mind, what with the RRF all spread out.
<Red> yet you ended up staying. Why?
<Rolfe> The pinata failed, Blackmore was up. We figured reinforcements were coming any day, so why not stay and fight? Why let POLNGOAK take the glory and the credit for something they didn't do?
<Red> When did you realize that this was going to be more than a one or two day thing?
<Rolfe> Day three, definitely. Why? We had almost 20-30 zombies outside, 20+ survivors inside, and we kept pushing out the Constables
<Red> What would you say the survivor's biggest strength was during the fight?
<Rolfe> Our around the clock coordination. Without that we wouldn't have lasted more than a couple days.
<Red> And their biggest weakness?
<Rolfe> Not enough people coordinating with us. Out of the almost 150 survivors in Blackmore, maybe about 20-25 made an effort to actually work with us.
<Red> I understand AP shortages were also a problem. Without the AP problems, how long do you think you could have held?
<Rolfe> Possibly indefinitely. We had a very dedicated band of caders here watching around the clock. If there was a dip in cade levels we usually got on that instantly and patched them.
<Red> I see. On a more positive note, what was your favorite experience during this fight?
<Rolfe> That's a difficult one. I'd say its a tie between killing the TKer, making JustinBronze shit his pants, and combat reviving some of the RRF top brass.
<Red> Such as?
<Rolfe> Irishmen, the leader of the Constables, MichaelBarnaby, one of the leaders of Team America, and the big cheese himself Globule
<Red> What was your impression of the RRF as opponents?
<Rolfe> I thought the RRF were extremely worthy opponents. They're the oldest horde still active, and the biggest. They didn't let up for a second.
<Red> What was your overall impression of the event? Do you see anything like it, or better, happening in the near future?
<Rolfe> The event was pure accident and happenstance, we had no real intention of it turning into an entire epic siege situation. It just snowballed into one. I had a lot of fun during it, met some great people like the guys from SoC and MCM, and thought it was very well fought on both ends. Do I see anything like it happening in the near future? Not likely but anything is possible. We've showed that after the failure of Escape, survivors DO still have what it takes to make an effective stand against the zombies.
<Red> Well, Rolfe, thank you for your time.
<Rolfe> No problem. It will be nice to see my words immortalized in the event history I suppose, as one of the guys who made it happen.
Irishmen
Irishmen is the leader of the Constables- a major home-guard RRF squad that was the first to face the survivors in Blackmore.
<Red> So, you are the leader of the Constables, correct?
<Irishmen> Oh yes. :3
<Red> After hearing that survivors were in the Blackmore, how long did it take you to realize that it wasn't just a bunch of trenchies?
<Irishmen> Well, about a day.
<Red> What were your thoughts when you found out you'd be squaring off with 404?
<Irishmen> Well, the immediate need was to bring the horde to Blackmore, at least in my mind. I've dealt with zergs and trenchies since 2005. A group of 30 of them is nothing; a group of intelligent players is very different. I knew that a group of 5-7 zombies wouldn't bring it down and started to advise we move in a bunch of zombies now before humans start to bandwagon. That didn't happen, but I think it actually worked out better it didn't in terms of fun.
<Red> I think we can all agree on that. During the siege, the survivors relied heavily on combat revives to maintain control. What is your opinion on that tactic?
<Irishmen> It’s valid. I'm not against combat revives. I think it’s a useful tactic. That being said, it still can be confounding to counter at times, at least if you don't take a step back and exploit the inherit flaws in the tactic.
<Red> Such as the need for generators?
<Irishmen> Well that and AP dripping.
<Red> Anyways, what was your favorite part about the siege?
<Irishmen> Oh, breaking in to ruin those damn Christmas lights!
<Red> And your least favorite?
<Irishmen> Eh. Well, one of the 404 members accidentally idled in the RRF channel during a strike. It got me pretty pissed when I saw them combat revive someone and then exit the channel. It was an accident but really bothered me at the time. It was a minor thing really, any other time I was having fun.
<Red> I see. Overall, what was your impression of the opposition, specifically 404?
<Irishmen> Actually intelligent. And fun. A rare combination for survivors.
<Red> And your impression of the siege in general?
<Irishmen> A hilarious battle of attrition. And naked twister. And Christmas light destruction.
<Red> Do you see anything of this scale happening in the near future?
<Irishmen> Never can say. It’s a distinct possibility. After all, we didn't see this coming until it happened.
<Red> Well, thank you for your time, Irish.
<Irishmen> No problem. :3
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The Blackmore Building Day
The other groups still present;
They aren't all friendly, but they are all welcome. 114 standing zombies outside, it appears the RRF has been recalled to Ridley, a similar number of survivors face them from behind the barricades. Hopefully an enjoyable siege is being had by all. Christmas lights have now been installed again.~ Red Hawk One Talk | space for lease 02:07, 30 August 2010 (BST)
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I am going to eat you all but I must say that it's nice to have well mannered guests on occasion. What the hell!? Did I just get healed by a guy from Fortress?
-globule13, RRF
I'm may be a zambah, but I know how to treat a lady. Well, when I'm alive that is, when I'm dead.... Well.... nevermind....
-Humanphagia , RRF
What the hell have I gotten myself into...
-Dunstan Smit
FOR OUR FINEST HOUR IS UPON US, WE SHALL NAHM EM IN THE STREETS, WE SHALL NAHM EM ON THE BEACHHEADS, WE SHALL NAHM EM ON THE ROOFTOPS, WE SHALL NEVAR GIVE UP, WE SHALL NEVAR SURRENDER! AND WE WILL LIBERATE RIDLEYBONK FROM THE INFLUENCE OF THE HARMAN OPPRESSORS! VICTORY SHALL BE OURS AND SO WILL THE DELICIOUS BRAINZ OF THE HARMAN OPPRESSORS! BECAUSE TODAY IS OUR INDEPENDENCE DAY!
-Agent Sandman, RRF, prior to the final assault on Blackmore
You heard a loud bellowing from very close by. (6 hours and 33 minutes ago) ...and again. (5 hours and 5 minutes ago) ...and again. (4 hours and 49 minutes ago) ...and again. (4 hours and 43 minutes ago)
-Various
aaagh! not the christmas lights!
-KendoKen, MCDU
