Creating a Clan - by ColdSun

> Before you can put a team of players together you need a name. Some clans just think of a name and paste it on their clan. I prefer to form a concept and base the clan around it. The Rangers, for example, I based on an actual U.S Army military unit with a rich past and a powerful creed that they follow day by day. I think if you make your clan more interesting it will draw more players. People will come and see your webpage because there is some content there. Plus, a good concept and name is easy to remember when your clan begins playing matches and winning.

> An example of some other concepts that I thought would be good clans: The WarHammer 40K miniatures game has a great space marine concept. Starship Troopers a book by Robert Heinlein, and you may think this is corny, but a Rebel Alliance clan would be nice - especially with the impending release of X-Wing Vs. Tie Fighter and Jedi Knight (your clan would expand nicely to these games).

> After you have the basics of your clan's concept you must decide about your team. You can pick from players who are your friends or players you have been impressed with on the net. A good place to go find players is to use the internet and grab an IRC program (like MIRC or VIRC) and get on UNDERNET or EFNET and goto the #quake channels. Advertise your clan's name and concept. Sell yourself. My recommendation is to act professional about it.

> You need to decide up front how many members you want. I strongly caution on forming a clan that is too big if you intent on playing in competitions. I would recommend a clan of 5 men - all with the same kind of connection - modem or Ethernet. Limit your clan to playing only other clans that have the same connection type as your clan. You do not have to follow these guidelines on matches but be careful when facing clans that out-ping you because they have a direct connection to the internet. This can be very hard when you lose because your connection simply was not fast enough.

> Design a logo based on your clan's name or concept. You can also have someone else do the artwork if you are not good with graphics. I think a good logo is very important to a clan. It is the symbol of your clan and is what other clans will remember you by.

> Either design your own or have a skin designed for you. This is especially important if your clan plans on having matches with QuakeWorld - a version of Quake intended to make internet lag less of a problem by using prediction techniques. Your clan's skin is almost as important as your logo when you use QuakeWorld. If you want to find out more about skins simply search the internet for "Quake Skins" and you should turn up with a few good sites to learn more. You can also get some info from Stomped, the quake site.

> Again, you can design your own or have one designed for you. This is a very important facet of your clan. It should have a list of members, news, match schedule, wins, losses, and any other info that you want to share about your clan. A link for people to email you about challenges should be there too. For some examples check out The Clanring... A ring of clan sites...

> When all of the above is ready you need to submit your clan to The id Software Official Clan List and The Clanring. Your clan will not be taken as a serious contender until this is done. Many competitions require your submission as well.

> Last but not least is the important task of maintenance. You should post news at least every few days, scedule at least one match every two weeks (one a week would be better) and have practices at least once a week (2-3 times per week is recommended). Also, make your own channel on IRC and have meetings with your members at least once every two weeks. The Rangers always have someone in their channel to practice with or other things. Try to keep egos out of play and be professional and extend courtesy to other clans and your clan will go a long way.

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