This history of DOM was written by yours truly some time during the spring of 2004 when the clan decided to "unretire" from DP for the 2nd time (or 3rd if you count a few matches in 2003.) We only played for a few months or so and did decent, but not great, before we retired again, this time for good. I plan to add this extra chapter to the DOM history, as well as greatly enhance and rewrite the entire history at some time in the near future. Hell, I may just write a memoir of my entire DP experiences one day. But for now, this will have to do.
1. Creation
Towards the end of March 1999, the RIP clan for Digital Paint was dead. I, one of the original founders of RIP, had to move on. I went clanless for a month before deciding on a clan. The other original founder of RIP and personal friend of mine, PolishPlaya, did the same and ended up in a different clan. For the next month or so we looked at numerous clans and even joined a couple. In the end I came to the realization that most clans pretty much sucked. So I decided to give it another shot and create another clan. Keeping in mind what was wrong with most other clans, PolishPlaya and I created what I personally consider to have become the perfect clan. In May 1999, The DOMsquad was founded. I choose the name DOMsquad from a personal word that my group of friends used - "DOM", which applied to the knowledge that you dominated so much that you dont even need to say the "inate" part. It was in my belief that the clan would achieve their namesake.
2. The Early Days
Within a day or two The DOMsquad picked up a member in the name of Acid. We decided not to rush into a match till we gained a few more members and had some practices. However this didn't exactly work out as planned. Instantly we were pestered by a clan by the name of Mama's Boys for a match. Other clans followed. Thus we finally gave in and on May 12, 1999 had our first match - a win against Original Paint Hooligans. During these early days, The DOMsquad consisted entirely of HPB's (High Ping Bastards). Due to the nature of online gaming, this gave us a disadvantage against the better clans who had a few LPB's (Low Ping Bastards). However we quickly gained a reputation as being a very talented group of HPB's with great sportsmanship. Eventhough we couldn't beat the best clans yet, we certainly were an above average clan and gave any clan a work out. Eventually we added WarLobster and ADrenaline to the clan. We also helped change the Digital Paint clan community at this time. Previously most clans only matched once a week, however we, along with Mama's Boys, were matching 3 or 4 times a week regularly. Eventually other clans picked up on this and started matching more regularly too. In the middle of July 1999, The DOMsquad had a respectable 29-17 record.
3. The Middle Ages
Slowly things changed with in the clan by end of the summer. Acid had quit, along with some other members, thus there was a need to add more members. Enter FuRy and JBallZ. WarLobster quit shortly afterwords. Violent J, a former RIP member, was added to The DOMsquad roster. The DOMsquad also changed from an all HPB team to a mostly LPB team, with PolishPlaya getting a T1 at college and RoyaLBlooD, FuRy, and JBallZ all getting cable modems. The clan continued to improve and was now argueably one of the top clans. Here and there we would still lose, but the losses were primarily to other top clans. We gained a reputation at this time as being a clan that doesn't back down from anyone and who frequently challenges the best. We also slowly gained a following of immature jealousy from certain members of the community.
4. The Dark Ages
During the winter of 1999, the clan scene withered. The majority of the top clans had moved on and no longer played Digital Paint. Matches were harder to come by too. Fighting with other clans became a common occurance as the majority of other clans seamed to only want beef with us. We started to fight and argue amongst ourselves a bit too much even. The clan reached the top (in our minds at least) and lost it's focus. Matches were played half-hazardously and without joy. Sensing we needed to move on and that the Digital Paint community was in a state of death anyway (rampant cheating at this time), we retired at the end of February 2000 with an impressive record of 89-44. We had the most (legit) matches and wins of any DP clan in it's history and had proven to ourselves that we were the top clan of the moment. We decided to move into Q3. However that didn't happen, as people didn't get Q3 as soon as originally planned. PolishPlaya also quit at this time.
5. Rebirth
During the month of March 2000, we did little of anything as a clan. However the Digital Paint community slowly came back and we were frequently getting asked for matches. Eventually we decided to unretire and came back in April 2000 with a new vengence. This version of The DOMsquad, while similar on the outside, was very much different on the inside. All the egos and attitude had been left behind and replacing that was a total-team effort that quickly turned unstoppable. If anyone doubted we were the best before, they had all the proof they could want now. We went on a nice 19 game stretch with only 1 loss. Everyone knew we were the clan to beat and we got massive challenges accordingly. We went through everyone, slaughtering any clan with a lack of team play that we met in our path. Our record during this time was an impressive 43-11. Eventually after proving without a shadow of a doubt our place in DP history as one of the all-time top clans, and with little else to prove, we retired for good in July 2000 with a final record of 132-55.
6. TFC & CS
At this time we pursued other gaming experiences, most notably Team Fortress Classic and Counterstrike on Half Life. I can't fill in the details at this moment. There were some fun times, but ultimately it never matched our experience in DP.
7. Death
Eventually it had to happen. Everyone went their own ways and the clan ceased to exist. We still kept in touch with each other everyone once in a while. But matching together as a clan had seemingly come to a final end. There was a minor revival back into DP in the early part of 2003, but the results were disappointing and the revival went away just as quickly as it started.
8. Coming Full Circle
Once again the thrill of competition called us back. Back to our roots in DP. Some how the core members of the clan were reunited. Increased efforts in the community to bring back the same matching expereinces that brought us to love the game in the first place were being made. And DOM would be central in that. New members have been added. The next chapter in the DOM saga is ready to be written...
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