S3 Series

All good things must come to an end. And so it is with the original Squad Select Series in WarBirds. Twenty years of war! Countless Sundays reliving the past, being our Heros.

It started with seven squads and seventy-five players back in 1998. The iconic Battle of Britain in the very first S3, "3 Days in August". So many squads and so many names over the years. We had the very best going in the early days of online games. Blood, money and tears each Sunday for ten months of the year. Year in and Year out.

The Hardcores. The Diehards. The best, most sportsmanlike and professional bunch of gamers on the internet came together after supper on Sunday or early in the morning on Monday, from all over the world. From Brazil to Britain to Japan, we lived for this "game". Some guys never missed a frame for years, they were the one constant in our lives as the world changed around us all. We played to win but we played by the rules. We played with respect, honor and humor. We were human and we apologized for our lack of grace. We took pride in our victories but were humble and enjoyed the contest on its own merits with the result often secondary to the play. We helped each other out, volunteered to keep our passion alive during the week, long before our Sunday game day. Our families knew when we had "war", not a game, WAR!

We were lucky to be in on the explosive growth of internet gaming from the beginning. We made our sandbox represent us as established WarBird players, historians and enthusiasts. All we demanded was to play with fairness, sportsmanship and professionalism. And we sustained ourselves for so long. Games and events came and went and we flourished. Nineteen years watching each other grow as friends and players. The sadness as we began to pass from this world. Real friendships and respect for what each of us brought to our event. Years playing together exposed our innate morality. Many I would trust with my life based upon how well they played, planned and enjoyed the S3s.

It is impossible to re-live our time in the sun. There are many brilliant games or simulations out there, some even with decent communities but we had The Best. That to me is the hardest thing to retire from. You all are characters to me, offering something unique and prized. We took the time to learn about each other as opponents, friends and gawds. I will always be the Donkey and the PC you gave me years ago still has that name. I smile every time I log in.

I wish you all the best in life. You deserve it for putting up with my arbitary, irrational Greek "Gawdom". So many of you gave me honest, helpful advice and feedback. That was what made this event strong and vibrant enough to change and adapt over the years. To keep you coming back to an often difficult and unfair matchup. The challenge in the face of adversity made you great players, more than the sum of your stats.

Wild Bill has always been our greatest supporter and will continue on the Squad Select Series in a different format with a different crew. But the Donkey is done now and walks off into the sunset, not too stubborn, just happy to have been a part of it all. My deepest thanks to you all for making my life so much more fulfilling than any game, simulation or event could provide alone.

<SALUTE>

Jeff "Jabo" Barlow
S3 Janitor
1998 to 2018

A re-post of my e-mail on the Squad CO's list

Jeff,
There is so much, and so little that I could properly say to express our gratitude as a community to your brilliant efforts over the years. I, and I’m sure my Squad mates from 417 Sqn, will forever remember your and your fellow janitors’ efforts to make this game and the community great.
I will sincerely miss your fellowship and sense of community. If I ever manage to get my sorry ass out to Comox again, I still owe you a drink. Luckily the Courtney House is a thing of the past! <gdr>
Twenty [sic 21] years is a lot of time to invest in a silly internet past time. I’m glad I had the honour to share in yours.
Sorry I never got that Normandy terrain sorted out. Such is life.
Sincerely,

Muzz
aka
John R. Meurling
Major (Semi Retired)
Royal Canadian Air Force (not the virtual one!)

As for the rest of you,
I hope the volunteers who become the new management [please be out there!] can maintain the spirit of community that we have enjoyed so far.

Thanks Muzz,

So many have help the S3s along the way and you are first among them. Thank you for the kind words. It is a great community and I know the new crew will do well to keep it alive. Wild Bill cares more about this event than any other game past or present, so it will live on as WBs VR come alive.

Jabo,
It has been one helluva ride to be sure! Yes there were many great times and longtime friends made, as well as frustrations, so goes war. The few WBs Cons that I attended were some of the best times ever. Thanks for all you have done over the many years of the S3's, enough really can't be said. You do have a talent for really getting under folks' skin at times, just like an ole donkey! I don't mean that in a bad way <well maybe sometimes ; ) > , you just made us work/think harder to try and get the job done.

Something I always wondered about is who provided the initial spark to bring the idea of an S3 into fruition? You, the evil game master I suspect.
Now you outta spend some time just flying the dang game for a change!!!!!!!!!

<S>

-splt- aka Split

Jabo - I have looked forward to the S3s ever since the first bullet went through my wind-screen in Pony Boys and smacked me square in the eyes.

I cannot improve on what Muzz said, so I will say Thank You for all you have done over the years...more than anyone could have asked.

Please keep in touch and let us know what mischief you and that damn'ed donkey are up to.

Sincerely, respectfully and with a heavy heart...

~John Concha

~Sakai
~Neusch (a lifetime ago).

Salute!

What a great ride, huh? I echo the feelings and view of Muzz.

I think Beaver and Gums may be the only ones here that can recall the 3DA exercise. LW weenies didn't have a competent buff outfit, and the 305th was asked to help them. And so we got to meet and plan and fly with the swine that had tried to shoot us down so many nights in the Main or maybe the Point Blank series the company set up.

Those were the days. And the "game/sim" became more than a "game" on Sunday nights. Just ask my wife.

I salute you, JABO. May you always have good men at your back.

Gums sends...

Jabo,

What you have done for this community cannot be measured. The generous gift of your time and effort for 20 years was something that few - if anyone, anywhere - has given to a virtual community as you have. On behalf of my time as the former CO of the 352nd, and especially on behalf of my too recently departed friend dewolf: "Thank you."

<S>

Todd Gehrke
Todzla


Oh, and...





Penalty Plane!!!

Jabo and Roan,

I'm sure everyone that spent their Sunday evenings all rev'd up for the magic words T=0 appreciate all the blood, sweat and tears you have invested in the S3's. Pitching in to get you a new computer was just a small price to pay for all the good times had, good friends made and comradery between the players.

As the Sun sets on your turn at the helm know that you've provided immense pleasure to the players that at times moaned and bitched. You put up with it all and kept on pissing us off frame after frame for plenty years. Little did we know this made us better players and helped us learn how to over come obstacles to achieve positive results.

Hopefully you'll be hanging around and flying for a change to experience the grief and excitement you've caused us all these years.

<S> Sir. You're one of a kind and will be sorely missed.

LOL! C'Mon, Mr. Leader of the Pony Boys. IF (big if) I recall correctly, I froze on launch with that black screen and could not do anything. except Enter, Enter, Enter. Jabo had to do the reset so it was not a PP. And since in my 14 (?) Online years, I never took a Lady Luck...you can give some slack. And besides, I was flying on a Mac G3/300 at the time with a whopping 12 FPS. Fear couldn't understand how I would even hit with one bullet having that low an FPS.

It was the S3's historical allure, excitement and regular visceral pulse pounding that made me want to be as good as all you guys. Then came Frame CO duties. A whole new level of entertainment to this sim. I bow to Beaver and his 78+ frames, but will proudly take my spot on the Silver stand.

The O-Club
FRAME COs
beaver 78
-sakai 45
tracer 42
goebel 39
drdart 33
jugggo 29
darryl 26

Jabo, "thanks for the memories"!

What you did for Warbirds and the players has been priceless. Like most here, I looked forward to my Sunday night fix.
I feared it might be coming to an end. And now that it has happened I can only say: Hope you got as much enjoyment out of the S3's as we did. I wish you the best in the future and hope you can smile whenever someone mentions the S3.


Not knowing what the future holds, I hope that the new (nameless) team can be half as contriversial as you have been over 20+ years.


SALUTE ~S~