Jedi of Freedom
| |
| Jedi of Freedom | |
|---|---|
| Game | Jedi Academy |
| Mod | JA+ |
| Type | Social |
| Founded | 2006 |
| Years Active | 2006-present |
| Leader | Aldro & Shree |
| Website | jofacademy.eu |
Jedi of Freedom (JoF) is a European Jedi Academy clan that was created on November 1st of 2006. Being a social-focused community, JoF is considered one of the more active clans in the game, especially in the EU region.[1]
The clan hosts a publicly accessible server under the Free For All gametype and uses the JA+ mod. It offers a membership system with multiple Star Wars themed ranks and a Master-Padawan formula, its own forums website, teachings in sabering and member-hosted events in a variety of gamemodes. As of April 2023 it numbers over 200 members from 41 countries.
History
Founding of the clan (2006-2007)
Jedi of Freedom was created in November of 2006 by real-life brothers Aldro and Shree Koon in an effort to found a community that would last long, given their past experiences in clans that would disband within short periods of time. For several months the clan did not have a home server and counted around 20 members total that would conduct all clan activities on an abandoned server. Dueling, trials, meetings - everything was initially shaped around the classic "JediCouncilGCX" map that the server was running.
This marks the period of the community's own first website and forums. Halfway into 2007 the clan would also move into its own home-hosted server.
Growth and systematic recruitment (2008-2012)
As months went by the clan would continue growing. Through advertising, prior and current friends being recruited, absorption of other disbanding groups, promotion of JoF's saber teaching formula which was thematically branded as the "7 Lightsaber Forms", and through close observation of what worked and what did not for the major clans in the game: JoF managed to establish a core membership with a steady flow. Following this mass recruitment the community also purchased its first dedicated server host.
One of the first attempts at offering variety and unique gameplay through different means was led by Aldro Koon in these early years. Going as far as creating a squad of members who would focus on aerial flight combat, Aldro created "The Golden Wing". Its purpose was to simply offer training within the flight mechanics of the game and inspire every member to pick out a starfighter of their own choice. He would go on to host several events and at one point even have a seperate forum altogether. Unfortunately as more time was invested into this, it became apparent that the game's engine was not meant for space combat and the lack of good proper maps and deep gameplay mechanics led to "The Golden Wing" being closed down. A map was created by fellow member Exonimus and later finished and released by Aldro Koon in its memory. Today the map itself has been revisited and modernized in a new shiny version that sees use in a yearly Pilot event, as well as spontaneous hosted events by members.
After several incidents of altercations originating from people within the clan had taken place over time, the question was brought up of establishing a systematic way to recruit, evaluate and measure the quality of a potential member. This led to the first iterations of the Jedi of Freedom Academy (JoFA)[2]. In this manner, the member roster would consist of people that shared the same frame of mind and were community-driven looking to invest in a longterm stay. The clan would go through several phases of people joining and leaving but would eventually be shaped into the close-knit group it aimed to cement.
Modernization and evolution of the clan (2012-2015)
As time went by clearer roles were established as the leaders focused on specific duties each, the Low Council finally began to function as intended offering more responsibility to those members that are active, committed and could represent the community.
In 2013 a largescale project began to take form that would take several years of development before it was finalized in 2016. Through the efforts of several members (namely Fifthforge, Zefilues, Exonimus, Fuzzy, Ez, Milamber) and Aldro himself, the community saw the release of its very own custom-made home map called "JoF Temple" - tailored to its needs of housing open gameplay, trials and council meetings. In the future the map would see another updated version released.
The month of October 2014 saw the release of Low Council member Darren's most substantial project: A webapp for the Jedi of Freedom Academy[3] recruitment and monitoring process. Visitors would be able to create applications which would then be stored in the form of a database. The database would constantly evolve including things such as the applicants' activity, days on trial, evaluations from other members and more. This would be the first major advancement in the filtering process that was originally envisioned.
Around this point in time DDOS attacks were fairly common around the Jedi Academy space and JoF was not a stranger to the attacks.
It was also during this period that JoF started its own private Lugormod Roleplay server for its members through Aldro's initiative. Once every two weeks the members would gather on the server and roleplay. It ran the The-Council-RPG map and featured a story background written up for players to immerse themselves in. Members such as Flanagon with previous Lugormod building experience took up the reigns of continuous development for the server. He would create several interesting systems, quests and bug fix the many issues the map had received due to poor building experience prior. However the future of Lugormod came to a halt when the engine limitations began to show in regards to entity limit. Occasional events still take place once or twice per year in order to allow for new members to experience the Lugormod server and the roleplay universe of the clan.
Server
JoF's server is located in the EU. It can be accessed through the in-game server browser under the FFA gametype and can be connected to directly through the console using the command: /connect jof.jk3.in
Gameplay
Jedi of Freedom's public server runs the JA+ mod allowing use of the grapplehook and admin system. The server gameplay focuses on saber dueling and the Free For All gametype.
A unique feature of the server allows players to challenge each other in Force Dueling even though force powers are disabled outside of private duels, thanks to modifications done to the server.
Rules
The server has a Laming Rule in place and strongly encourages the use of English in public chat.
Public Events
- Hydroball tournaments
- Annual swoop races and tauntaun duels.
- A game mode called Domination created by one of our members as well as something we call BattleChess with a map also designed by one of our members. A game called "Predator" is yet another mode we like to hold.
- Saber classes and Full Force classes.
- Exploration on the many maps that exist in Jedi Academy in order to fully appreciate the game and what so many people have created over the years. We also do have a small team of dedicated mappers who work on creating maps.
Map Rotation
The server's map rotation is made up of exclusively default game maps without the need of external downlads and through the use of "Entity Modding" it features both Singleplayer and Multiplayer levels.
Rank system
JoF has a progressive rank system with a Master and Padawan system in order to make sure that you have a "Jedi" like experience in this game while socializing with others. A player's master will be chosen by the player depending on the person they bonded the most with during their trial. This system includes ingame missions that the player has to carry out with their master and with the aid of other members should they want it. There are also trials the player must take with their master in order to pass onto the next rank. These are not skill based, rather anyone who has played the game for a month or two will be able to pass them with some patience. Alternatively, you can disregard all of this and just sit steady at your first rank. It is not a requirement to advance.[4]
Events
JoF hosts a number of member-exclusive events that occur on a yearly basis.
- Anniversary Event
- JoF Awards
- JoF Saber Ladder
Websites
Jedi of Freedom is maintained primarily through its forums website. The forums are the community's extension outside of the game and allows clan members to discuss, collect accolades and milestones, organize events and showcase their projects.
The clan hosts a separate website called the Jedi of Freedom Academy which serves as its recruitment and applications hub. Through this platform applicants can contact JoF's council, select their preferred Master to be assigned to, as well as access an overview of their current application status.
Existing clan members can use the same platform to evaluate the applicant. The member role of "Instructor" also exists to oversee the recruitment process.[5][6]