Our history

The Beginnings and Quick History of EGC/UiE

This community, once guild*, came about in 2005 when a number of people split from a guild with the intention of carving out a better, more fair community. The guild which Universe in Exile [UiE] split from was named X Universe [XU] in Guild Wars, itself starting as one of a number of communities which came from the Egosoft forum. Disagreements where had, back-room politics were rife, one member left - eventually forming a guild of their own; as this news spread many moved over. I think the total came to just under 10 people, who formed the early core of UiE.

* Guild, in this sense was the term used for clans in Guild Wars.

By 2009 the regular play of Guild Wars was starting to slow down, members of UiE started experimenting with other games, both MMO and non-MMO. The UiE name was still a strong link to Guild Wars and our history with it, those members who spread their wings felt that the term guild was inaccurate, as was clan (though it was used for a brief moment in time) - we'd adopted the term Exilers in various games and chose to turn our guild/clan into a gaming community. More open to previous allies, new members, and games than before. Whereas previously UiE membership was exclusive to members of the UiE guild. The Exilers Gaming Community became home to members of the guild and people who regularly play among our ranks.

What Happened/Happens to UiE?

Like all other games, the Guild Wars forum became a small section of the site - though it still remains a larger part of our history (many members sunk well over 2,000 hours in over a few years). Though the UiE guild remains intact and unchanged in Guild Wars, when Guild Wars 2 comes about - it will likely become an EGC guild with the sequel (this is to preserve the history of membership in the first game, whereby to change the name or tag would require a new guild be made and some nice information to be lost in the process).

UiE in that sense has become a legacy guild, where the preferable situation is new members become members of EGC communities rather than members of the UiE guild communities (on Steam and XFire for example); as stated above, UiE in Guild Wars is the only exception to this - because it remains intact and would just be troublesome to change now.

So who steers this ship?

The core administration for EGC communities tends to be:

Many Exilers communities exist, undoubtedly there are “Exiler” named communities not related to ours - and where possible games with an EGC community present tend to have a mention on our forums. Effectively, these are splinter communities - they are unlikely to have the large numbers UiE once had nor will they potentially last as long; rather they may act as stop-gap locations for players who are waiting for the next big thing in gaming (or a cheap enough deal to warrant opening wallets and purses).

UiE still has active officers, though if you wish to gain an invite or discuss large matters your best bet may be this forum as your first port of call. In any situation, if you are finding yourself stuck in a game, and you know other people have it (via Steam or Xfire). Post a topic, if you can wait a few hours chances are someone is willing to help you out or offer advice. Or join us on TeamSpeak, where you can get instant answers without feeling like you're pestering over chat or waiting on a reply from the forum.

How are things run?

We saw how a diplomatic system didn't really work too well. There is this strange limbo where some people are satisfied, some aren't - then those who aren't fail to be listened to in future situations and the odds get stacked. The bonds between players are a little weak, and there is no clear leader, and usually no mediator. UiE aimed to have a small leadership, and where possible try to defer work down the ranks - so in theory, those who wanted to manage a small slice could do so if they simply organise an event.

Furthermore, we look for a general quality in players. We aren't strict, for example we'd prefer players over 18 - but we have a number of younger members who have proven mature enough (mostly) to stick around. A sense of humour is a must, and perhaps a thick skin and/or ability to joust words with none or very little ill will later on will probably go a long way. For the most part UiE and EGC are about having fun, our members aren't on 24/7, many have jobs and commitments, both 9-5 and shift-work, and everything in-between hence schedules don't always allow regular organised competitive events; and things tend to be rather impromptu in effect.