Shmack vs. Rage

[spooker]

Okay so we all know that these are the 2 most popular servers by far, and have been for over a year, maybe several years. Its true Dredd seems popular but it has yet to prove its staying power. So, I'm gonna compare the 2. I'm mostly a shmack man myself, so this will be a little biased, but i encourage a mainly rage person to take up the other side, so long as they also play on shmack enough to know it.

First, regarding gameplay. As I see it, Rage is more competitive, and Shmack is more fun. Runequake is a more democratic mod, meaning there are more skillless tools that newbies can use to cut down the top dogs once in a while--IE freeze rune, berserker. So, you do get a generally lower skill level on shmack. Also, though, you'd be scared at what a good player can do with a good rune. Shmack has so much variety--it plays nearly every map, and with so many runes in the game almost anything can happen, which, together with the general newbieness, leads to many accusations of botting. Yes they bothered me too at first but i got used to it and find them funny. Rage is pretty much dm3, 24/7/365. People on rage have better aim, but I think it means less since they're only capable of applying it in such a limited field. I used to play CA a lot more a few years ago and I would often vote other levels, and got laughed at for it.

Second, about the social atmosphere. As I said, rage seems more competitive, and I feel like the social relations also flow around that. There is a strict meritocracy, and I don't see the easy and free expression of personalities that I see on shmack. Part of this is the mod; CA, with it's focused, round-based approach, cuts off any conversation when a new round starts, and people don't want talking by observers during a round. What can I say; judging by the things people say on Rage, they seem less creative, or maybe it is just the atmosphere of the server. On rage, with the exception of mindz, you don't see rich personalities like HappyBunny, Digifunk, Scoffer, Catgirl, Pita, SurferGirl, D'Rouen, etc. The clans on Rage are organized strictly around skill level, and theyre very concerned with owning the other clan. People come to rage cuz they only want to kill, while people on shmack like socializing.

This is my analysis. it's not very indepth, but i think its true. i'm sure some rage people have some things to say....

[Canadian*Sniper]

Whether anyone agrees or disagrees with Spooker here, this is how at least one quaker sees shmack and rage Impressions impressions

shmack deals with banning and kicking a lot better IMO. You just ride a player as observer, demo, and send the file to slotzero.

[Baker]

I think a there is vocal minority of weenies at Shmack and a vocal minority of stiffs @ Rage. :d

[Phenom]

I kind of stopped playing at Rage, people there seem to take the game to serious and over-react abit and act like complete assholes. Also theres never really fun to be had when you play Dm3 10 out of 12-13 games.

Shmack does offer a variety and doesn't need to be played on a certain map to be successful. Its easy for new comers to get frags even if they are skillless instant gibs which I do not prefer at all.

In the end, Shmack is something I have no desire to play faithfully dew to disorderly mayhem (Good & Bad) and Rage is overflowing with lamers who only play when the map is on DM3.

you still might catch me on Rage but theres no real point to try on DM3 to me anymore and I rarly can be seen on shmack dew to the instant gibbing runes and other lame oddities that can occur.

[Frenzy]

Before Dredd, as far as how a server was ran, Shmack takes the cake. Shmack isn't necessarily a "newbie" server, it just has different skill levels. Also, when searching a server (new players), they see shmack and the fact that it has people on it. Some of those players are runequakers for life, and there's nothing wrong with that, that's the type of gaming they choose. On Shmack you're open to say whatever you want, because, well, that's how quake should be.

On Rage, depending on an admin's mood (a select few, and you know who I'm talking about), you're regulated on what you say/do. Rage, when it started, was a great server in itself, yet it more or less, has turned to shit because of the "quake police" that run the server. Once it gained popularity, and became the main CAx server, it more or less crumbled in quality in my opinon. Admin's will "veto" votes, etc, and it's completely rediculous. And of course, there's the DM3 discussion, which has been brought up many times. Players seem to think if they can win on DM3, then they MUST be better then you. DM3 is like an old lady with saggy tits, old and overplayed.

People talk about wanting new things in the community, ways to improve it, but in all honesty, I see Rage destroying the community in time. There needed to be something better around, something that wasn't a dictatorship, something that made it fun to quake....

And then there was Dredd.

The admin's at Dredd let Dredd be run how it's supposed to be: as a public server. Some of the admin's at Rage seem to think it's a private server. Now incase some of you don't understand, a public server is for pickup games, that means people WILL join, and WILL leave at will, no reason to call them names for leaving mid-game, because that's what a pub is made for. A quick pickup. I've seen no negative attention applied towards players that come and go at Dredd, as opposed to Rage. Shmack, well, same thing, public server, people join and leave, no bitching and moaning. Also, when joining Dredd or Shmack, you can CC without being bitched at and called a newbie, etc. At Rage, this never happens. And if you join the PUBLIC SERVER CALLED RAGE, and CC, you stand a very good chance of being booted off the server..... doesn't seem very public to me. If you want your private games, or you 2-2's, there's rage ports 01-05... go there and play instead of kicking players that come to your server you fought so hard to gain popularity for, then once you gained the popularity, completely changed how the server was ran.

Also, nowhere on the Dredd server do you see DM3, although you do on Shmack. But on Dredd and Shmack, you have automatic map rotation at the end of every game, making it, in my eyes, a true public server. A players skill abilities are not based solely on one map, you get a variety of different situations and enviroments to show your talent on Dredd and Shmack. Rage, it's based mainly on Edge, DM3, and MAYBE another map once in awhile, it's rediculous.

Anyways, I do admin Dredd/Rage, so my opinions are not biased, just true and to the point. If I were to rate each of the 3 servers on a scale of 1-10, this is how I would rate them:

Dredd: 10
Shmack: 7
Rage: 3

Frenzy
uake ne

[Phenom]

Thanks for your input Frenzy about Dredd. You are a very positive and awesome person when it comes to supporting your beliefs and you tell it cut and dry. Now, on with my rantings

Not to sound high and mighty but I am the man who pays for Dredd and I wanted Dredd to basically pickup where Bomber.Ironrocket.com left off befor the idea was handed over and rewritten and tranformed into Rage.

I am not the owner, admin or even the best player at Rage, honestly I have no desire now. In my eyes Rage is doomed in the future. Once "SynQ" is released the surge of new players aren't going to think "I know DM3 like the back of my hand" which is both a good thing and a bad thing, they will want to play where they have a chance, have the most fun. Rage is a good server, but like Frenzy stated, its ran more like a dictatorship.

A server shouldn't have to be administered unless there is a true problem on the server. Dredd doesn't really have this problem because its based off the old Bomber.ironrocket.com server's intention. Make a server for the people essentially speaking (By the people for the people). You will always have your diehard DM3 players and new players will probably get into the groove of only playing DM3 which is a sad thing in my opinion for obvious reasons. I do plan on adding Bomber.ironrocket.com's old map pack (Rage's map pack) to the Dredd map rotation soon enough but DM3 will not be seen for one reason. We already have a DM3 24/7 server. I also agree with Spooker that Dredd still needs to show it has staying power before it gains any true recognition. But it doesn't show it has any problems getting a full server when mentioned.

Shmack shouldn't even be compared to Rage because they are so different. Rage is in a class all of its own. If you were to visit these two servers (Shmack & Rage) it quickly becomes obvious that they are worlds apart except they both are Quake 1 servers.

Rage is more like it tries to push a "One world order" onto its players which allows the admins to bully its players and the other players accept it or get treated the same, one example of poor admin skills is (not going to name names but if you want to speak up feel free) is you aren't allowed to use axe, shotgun,nailgun. You are only allowed to use LG,RL or SNG in a fight which doesn't make sense. If I choose to use an axe that should be my choice same with nailgun and shotgun. These are serious issues that Rage has and will inevitably lead it to its own demise.

My final words are.

Rage does a good job as being a server but the people who "admin" it clearly aren't playing the right game and it does have low merit players and "griefers".

If I am wrong let me know. I've already done something about what I don't like. Hence why I open'd the Dredd.quake1.net (Dredd.quakeone.com) server. Don't restrict a community with your personal way of thinking.

[Solecord]

Rage = dm3 = blah.

nuff said.

[Chuck]

Wido!

[spooker]

Yes, widomaker was awesome!
My only basis for comparing Rage and Shmack was that they have clearly been the most popular servers for a loooong time. No one commented on the social dynamics of the servers. What i love on shmack is that, for example, there are certain people who don't shoot each other; why? because they are friends and sometimes like to camp together. Rank among those me, catgirl, happybunny, digifunk, pita, dog shit; and many others come and go. It feels like the relationships are stronger on shmack, imo

[Baker]

Well, of course I'm going to say that I think the historical Rune Quake community was a lot tighter than the CA community. This site would even exist if it weren't for the strong bonds made from sites like the TLTQ.com.

Although I think Rune Quake is the single best mod ever made and the long term replayability demonstrates that, I don't think that any mod should be an island.

Clan Arena sharpens tactics.

[Mindf!3ldzX]

Not to offend anyone,because this isnt my purpose here in this post,but lets face it. Rage is popular,it isnt popular because it is the only CAx server. Rage is popular because it revolves around Dm3 mainly. Like it or dont like it,this is the truth. CA has always been more or less Dm3 or Q1edge , and will probably continue to do so. It's nice if you prefer RuneQuake over CA , or RA over CA,or whatever mod over whatever mod.It's great everyone has an opinion, its nice to hear them,even if the opinion your given isnt one your enjoy. RQ vs CAx is a great topic idea, but in the end,lets face it, there are many more servers of CAx than Shmack. If for some unforseen reason one day Shmack was to dissapear , atleast 50% of the RQ community would quit quake. Look at what happened when clanberries died,or when max died because JoshHURT couldnt find someone else to pay the bill for max. CA's community died off and just recently has made a come back, and now there are more CAx server's than there have ever been,and all of them get played atleast moderate to heavy,and if one of them was to die/cease to exist, one of the other servers would pick up the player load easily,because most CA'rs are on IRC,and know of all the other server's.

RuneQuake has passed those days, with DarkZone,Widow,GooLand,and most of the more popular RQ servers being gone now, the RQ community relys on 1 server,and will continue to do so up until the day Shmack goes offline for good (which I dont see happening anytime soon based on its popularity).

In the end, CA has this "friendship" tie that Spooker mentions,it just doesnt happen in-game , its more found so in IRC.

[Baker]

Mindz, sounds like a great description of the now, not something with any context of the past or the future

2 years ago, someone could have done a post saying Clan Arena relies on 1 server (Max) and how it's best days were behind it (Clan Berries, CAPlus, ...) and was 1 server away from death. 1 year ago, everyone worried that death was occurring (when Max died).

Clan Arena is back solely because of CAx; CAx does Clan Arena better than it has ever been before.

Artifact Quake/Rune Quake has not have the slightest hiccup of activity in the entire time that it has existed and is the only mod that can say that about itself. CA was on life support a little over 1 year ago; CTF has been on life support ever since Trinicom dried up.

But I think none of the above mods is as good as, or has the potential for popularity as FFA deathmatch. FFA deathmatch needs it's own version of CAX, something that does it better than it has ever been done before. And CRMOD is not that mod.

[Mindf!3ldzX]

CA did die during its after-max time , it had very little support on the current HDz or RuM servers,mainly because there was a lot of CA'rs who didnt know where to go. This was seen when Widomaker died, lots and lots of the RQ community quit playing Quake when that happened. It was a catastrophe in terms of playerbase loss for RQ.

99.9% of the RQ community play at Shmack,if you know of any other RQ server in netquake that has even one quater the playerbase that Shmack has I'll dip your ass in whipcream and shave your ass hairs for you

It's a real possibility that one day , Shmack might disapear. It's happened to server's you thought would never go away like DeadZone/DarkZone (wtf ever it was called) , Widomaker , Hating (the most popular pub ctf , ~ever~...Trinicom took all the pub-ctf community once Hating was gone,and Trinicom had some homo-style hook that was a joke,and pushed me into saying Trinicom wasnt CTF,it was some half ass wanna-be. When it came back (much like Hating's "come back" for Q1 server) , it was a futile attempt.The player base was already gone.

Artifact Quake/Rune Quake has not have the slightest hiccup of activity in the entire time that it has existed and is the only mod that can say that about itself.

This is true to an extent,but there has *always* been a RQ server that people could fall back on. When Wido died, Shmack & a handful of other servers like Singed for example,picked up its playerbase. Now , the tables have turned,and RQ dwindles on 1 server with literally no logical options for a back up,aside from setting up a server,and announcing it here.. which wouldnt do much good,not everyone veiws websites or forums about Q1. For every really popular server that goes offline indefinately , and there isnt a well-known full public knowledge of other servers out there (max incident) , the community takes a substantial loss in player base. CA once was in that situation,CAx brought it out of that situation. RQ has had a remarkable staying power,but where its playerbase is bottlenecked into one server (Shmack) , it could face the same problems as CA once did not to long ago.

To think it can happen to CTF and CA, and presume RQ is invulnerable to such a thing occuring is just speeding up the clock on the Q1RQ community's playerbase being culled.

[Baker]

To think it can happen to CTF and CA, and presume RQ is invulnerable to such a thing occuring is just speeding up the clock on the Q1RQ community's playerbase being culled.

I don't! The size of the Rune Quake player base is large but I do think RQ could be vulnerable.

A problem Rune Quake has now that it didn't have 2 years ago is a number of players that let the (silly, often absurd) cheat accusations fly. No one likes playing with sore losers.

As a result, there are a lot of more skilled players that would just rather play CA or not play there at all -- which has lowered the competitive balance. It has also made newer and less skilled players feel they are being cheated out of a fair game when and therefore shouldn't bother to try to play better.

4 years ago, if you connected to, say Widomaker, often there were always at least 6 or 7 tough opponents playing. Now it seems like usually you connect and there might be zero, 1 or 2 strong players with the rest of the players being freebie frags for someone middle of the road.

and there isnt a well-known full public knowledge of other servers out there (max incident)

Yeah, that was a problem but fortunately less of a problem today than in the past.

CA did die during its after-max time , it had very little support on the current HDz or RuM servers

I'm glad to see that new RuM server is doing well. Great job on that.

Part of the CA problem was that CA+ was a dead mod so it was rotting like old dead tree. With CAx, everyone with servers has the option of loading nice, modern and living mod.

[TAXI]

I've never played on Shmack so I can't say anything about it. However, I do play on both Rage and Dredd regularly and have an opinion about both. Rage does have higher skill players, even though lately many of them were playing on Dredd as well. However, as it was mentioned before, some people do take the game too seriously. And I don't mean playing every round to win, that's everybody's right. I mean cursing and bitching when the game is lost, name-calling when something did go as planned. Community is more or less strong right now because of IRC (don't know how it was before, started playing about 3 month ago), most of the communication happens there, not in-game. In addition Rage does offer 6 servers to play on meaning that scrim, match or tourney can be arranged on any day at any time.

Dredd on the other hand has only 1 server, which is very often full lately (not saying that having just 1 server sucks ass, just a fact). I like Dredd; it's a lot of fun. It is more fun oriented than Rage. Rage is more skill oriented and a lot of times low skill players do get laughed at. On Dredd everyone plays for fun, there is no (or almost no) cursing at each other for not being able to win and similar stuff. It offers a variety of maps, some of which can be played on tourneys and "professionally" so do speak, IMO. And, to be honest, it's a great feeling to be able to play just for fun. I come to Dredd to take a break from Rage, to relax.

But I still do like Rage. Good server, just some people suck. It’s normal though, can't be without those and I am sure there are people who think that I am an asshole