October 2016 Newsletter

 

      In-The-Air-Tonight - Michael herndon

 

MUSIC THIS MONTH:
Thamyris In The Air Tonight (Phil Collins Cover)

Halloween is near!

Fall is in full swing, and soon it will be the holidays, but first…time for Halloween! Do you celebrate or take part? Is Halloween against your beliefs? Do you and your church have Harvest Festivals instead?

We hope that however you celebrate, or don’t celebrate this time of year, that you still enjoy all God has to offer, from pumpkin spice, to eggnog!

As always, thank you for reading and keeping up with the Christian Crew!

-NeoJabez: Editor

New Website Section!

That’s right! We’ve added a whole new section of content, we think you’ll love it! Please check the main navigation menu for the Resources section! Resources has so much content packed in it, it has its own submenu!

  • We have playlists of our 60+ Christian Crew YouTube videos!
  • We have a ChristianCrewTV Twitch page which is both a location for streamers to get great tools for CC Streaming, tutorials, and more; but also has our Twitch channel and chat built right into the page!
  • We have a Downloads section that has some great wallpapers, and even the font that was used as part of the new site branding, if say, you wanted to make your own wallpaper for inclusion on the page! (We may soon be releasing graphics packs and other resources to go with that font!)
  • The CC Store is back, and better than ever, with a recently released “New CC” design waiting for you!
  • A page for our Newsletters, like this one!
  • And lastly…Something special…

There is a new “History” page, but it isn’t just a long, boring story of CC’s origins and happenings…There’s more to it than that. We now have an interactive, multimedia-rich timeline that we think is simply a must-see for new members, old members, and guests. We sincerely hope you enjoy the timeline and will perhaps find yourself included in it one day!


New Members!

Don’t forget to welcome our new Christian Crew members:Grizz Gallant, Grimm and TROY!
Welcome folks, glad to have you with us! Click the button to see their welcome thread!

God Loves A Cheerful Giver

Members, friends, and guests of Christian Crew Gaming, This community has existed for over 13 years through the dedication and faithfulness of it’s members and leadership. We are incredibly grateful for everyone who is a part of this community, and for those who freely volunteer their time every day. But there is a cost to keeping this community online; our website, forums, game servers, and TeamSpeak server.

God has been faithful these past 13 years to provide the funds we need to keep our community online. The leadership team has long believed that so long as God wants this community to exist, he will continue to provide for our needs. Though we trust in God’s faithfulness, it still takes having cheerful givers. As such, this community is completely dependent on the donations it receives from people like you.

As of October, we will be paying the yearly bill for our webserver. This will reduce our total monies to just enough to pay our other monthly server bills through January. This is a very small ‘cushion’ if you will, and so its time for us to ask if God has brought us donors when we need them most?

If we had 20 people who pledge $5 a month, we’d pay our bills with zero problems, but we don’t get consistent donations, and so, any amount we can raise right now is money that will go directly to keeping our community online past January. We will try our best to have some fun and interesting fund-raising going on soon, but if you feel the need before then to offer a cheerful gift, please visit our Donation Page!

Please click here: God loves a cheerful giver. 2 Corinthians 9:7

Distance: Survival Racing by Hudbus

Writer’s Note: This was written the week of 9/11/16. At this point the game was still in its Early Access format. Because of this, information below may or may not remain relevant in the future.

   Saw blades, large cylindrical grinders, Pumpkins and Lasers. These may sound like standard sci-fi and horror film props, but would you be surprised to find them in a racing title?

In this GFA review, I present Refract Studio’s Distance. A Survival Racer.

   One that pits you against the hazards of the track in addition to the traditional clock. There are no laps, nor items. It’s you, and the track. The aforementioned hazards are all standard obstacles that will stand in your way, minus Pumpkins. They’re ready to slice, dice and completely destroy your car. However, you have the advantage of a rocket-boosting-self-repairing car. That last part can only be done at specific Checkpoint/regeneration rings, however. As long as you have at least one wheel you can keep going. So, yes, driving half of a car (or even less) is a mechanic in this.

   Did I mention this car has the ability to jump, and take flight as well?

   The controls are simple and easy to grasp. Although, I can say from experience that Rocket League did somewhat mess me up. The Boost option is normally where Jump would be. Although remapping the controls is easy.

   The HUD is, rather cleverly, displayed on the back of the car itself. Every now and then a trick notification will show up, but this is only for a moment. Boost and flight are tied together. The engine can, and will overheat if left to run for too long. Pulling off tricks, or going through rings will cool down your engine, keeping you from exploding.

   In terms of the car itself, it handles incredibly well. Not just on the track, but in the air. This thing may as well be a spacecraft. With not just a rocket motor on the back, but rotational thrusters as well. They’re not just for show though. The road at some points may quite literally flip out.

If you weren’t already sold on this car, its colors can be customized as well.

   As seen above, the game itself is set within a rather mysterious floating city. There’s really no sign of human life other than large propaganda-esque signs reading things “Salvation in Science” or “Together We Progress.”

   Considering everyone seems to be gone though, this society obviously failed. Without God we would quite literally be nothing. However, self separation only leads to ruin. Something that Jonah, and this city learned the hard way.

   Without giving away too much, whatever it was that caused everyone to leave appears to still be out there. One of the first things noted is that an “Anomaly” had been detected in Sector 11. It’s your job to find it.

You’ll be travelling through a world with design inspiration from things like TRON. If the Wipeout games sound familiar, this visual and musical style should be of no surprise. It’s electronic, but not harsh dubstep. It’s more in the ballpark of the Rocket League soundtrack. The world will also illuminate and pulsate according to the music. All music is also able to be replaced with custom tracks.

   So, I could be barrelling down a course to F-Zero’s Mute City theme.

   Currently the Adventure mode mentioned with the vague plotline above is incomplete. However, an extremely robust Level Editor and Automatic generator both exist to allow for completely new races. The community has created some excellent levels. Some are obviously better than others, but in my experience one has to work in order to find the more iffy levels.

   There are also a few other additional modes. A One-Life run through a small course, a “Reverse Tag” that acts like keep-away and finally, Soccer. So, Rocket League without Boost and flips if you will. These are fun little additions, but they are just that. Additions.

   Although, if you search “Horror Racing Game” an article about this game is the first result. The developers have noted that they do intend for it to be somewhat frightening. Mainly with this Tweet. Now, I’m no fan of the horror genre, unless you consider the Ghostbuster-esque title Luigi’s Mansion a horror game. Either way I’m oddly excited for this.

In terms of non-horror Spooky things, the sole achievement available for this game is called “Pumpkin King.” You have to smash every pumpkin on the Spooky Town Reverse Tag Map.

   In its current state, Distance has a heavy focus on gameplay, rather than plotline. Because of this the rating itself will be given on the core gameplay and visual/audio design rather than level structure or plot.

Distance earns a Good rating, with a score of 9/10.

Easy to grasp gameplay along with a great visual and audio style lead to something I desperately want to see brought to Arcades. The sole reason I can’t give this a full 10 is due to it currently being in beta..

Member Of The Month!
Interview Series by NeoJabez

This month’s interview is of one of our resident artists, (and newsletter contributors!) Kesarahk. She usually goes by “Kesa” on teamspeak. (Please pronounce this Keh-Sah).
If you weren’t aware, Kesa is ShaddaShk’s sister, and though not a huge gamer, still loves what the CC stands for, and still participates in any way she can!

On with the interview!

How did you find the CC originally? Who introduced you to it?

My sister Shaddashk is an avid gamer. She is the one who found CCG. I was aware of the community but stayed off for a long time because I’m not really a gamer. She persevered, dragged me into the Thursday Bible study one night, and that was that.

What is something about you that it’s possible nobody in the CC actually knows about you? Perhaps something about you in real life that would surprise your friends in CC to learn?

I had a 2% chance of coming into existence, and my mother’s doctor wanted to abort me due to potential complications. (She said no, obviously.) I once stepped on a rattlesnake and survived; do not try that at home. Also, I occasionally bake nice whole grain bread.

Who has had the greatest impact on your time in CC?

Other than my sister? That upstart Dodge. =) He knows why!

If you could introduce a CC Division of any game, and everyone would play it, what game would it be?

I would form an art division and force you all to draw with me. Failing that, multiplayer Tetris.

So you’re looking at a CC yearbook, near the back it has a list, how would you fill out this list?
Most likely to succeed:
Class Clown: Warlock. He’s a natural.
Most likely to be President of the United States of America: Global, but he’d be impeached for banning Europe. Vice President Neo then takes over and bans Pokemon. And me. 😉
Most likely to be Canadian: I know a few CCGrs who *are* Canadian, so would my answering this be cheatish? =)
Needs their own reality show: cappiman, starring now in the “Punnic Wars.”

Have anything to add? Testimony, thoughts on grain prices and the speculation thereof? Want to share your alien manifesto with us humans, O Overlord from the Virgo Star Cluster?

It’s funny that you should mention alien manifestos. When I first went online, I used a variation of this handle and told people I was an alien from the planet Oom and was here to study human society. My story included fingers that tangled while typing. I don’t think anyone believed me, and I hope nobody remembers me at that age, because I would like to put my teenage self away some place where it will never embarrass me again.

As for my testimony, if it were not for Jesus I would probably have been a suicide statistic at age twenty-four. I had the means within reach and I have never wanted anything so badly as I wanted to die at that time. The knowledge that Jesus loved and valued me and that He had a plan for my life even if I didn’t (and still don’t) understand it kept me from acting on that desire. There is a saying that life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards. Proverbs 20:24 puts it this way: “Man’s goings are of the Lord; how can a man then understand his own way?” My faith did not just keep me from dying; it gives me a reason to get up every morning, in the belief that what I do is important and eternally meaningful, even if much of it happens in a no-man’s-land of discarded expectations and an uncertain future. In “The Screwtape Letters” by C. S. Lewis, one demon explains to another that when tempting humans, “The attitude which you want to guard against is that in which temporal affairs are treated primarily as material for obedience.” One does not have to understand in order to obey, and one does not have to understand in order to be blessed or to have peace about the present reality, whatever it is.

Thank, Kesa, for your contributions to our community, and now for sharing with us! We appreciate you, and hope that we turn you into an avid gamer yet! Either way, our Crew is made stronger by your addition!

Christian Crew Gaming
A Faith-Based Gaming Community
www.ccgaming.com
neo@ccgaming.com

If you are a registered forum user of CCGaming.com, you have received the link for this newsletter as part of being registered. We are considering sending these newsletters out in email, we’ll keep you posted.

©2016 Christian Crew Gaming.com All rights reserved.

 

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