Experience
No matter how long you've been playing, there's always something new to learn.
— A Bored HWGUY
No matter how long you've been playing someone does something, and you
think phoar gotta learn that, or in most instances as the fat man you
have to learn to defend against it.
Dim Dark ages 2Fort4 (Last year, and maybe early this year)
When I fist started playing TF online (as oposed to LAN) I was the
chunky bum that sat in the ramp room under a sentry gun with an
engineer paying special detail to me every need. Not to piss in my own
pocket, but the defence was the best in Aus at the time, other clans
replicated it but never got it like we had it. But, new skills came
with experience, soldiers started RJ'ing to the battlements to bypass
the ramps, then demomen got in on the scene and finally the scout
c'jump started to happen. The ramp defence was dead, not many came via
the ramp. Thats when I first became Bored.
Middle Ages Well6 (This year, about 7 o'clock)
My personal favourite, me and the hoover had so much fun on the well!
My clan used to spank bottom on the well, defence was a natural, and
our attack was suberb. But these days, there are scouts and medics
flying out of the water, not giving much time for the ol' AC to warm
up. They fly out of the water like they have a rocket retro fitted to
thier bum holes, and unfortunatly, duck shooting is not one of my
strong points. So... time to learn some new moves there.
I played a well known Aussie demoman the other day, it was pretty much
one v one for a while, I got him the first two time, mostly due to
surprise, but things started to go the other way after that. the
little bugger could hide himself behind the bars on the lift so most
of the AC damage was not getting him at all :( then we would go into
the dance around the flag room biso, well I danced the pipe bomb polka
around the flag room, he just ran around like a cut snake. He also
pulled a nice reversal on me. But it was a learning experience, and I
am working on that, and the damned scout/medic water conc jumps.
Yeah, its not in the normal Bored Heavy frame set, but skills have
changed with the other classes so much that the heavy is effected in a
very profound way, and its a worthy discussion point. See if I can't
end this up quickly:
1. Demoman didn't det their pipes in mid air, now its a must do.
2. Demoman didn't do fantastic grenade goodly distances now they do.
3. The heavy didn't run fast, and he still dont.
4. Engineers didn't use the dispenser as a defensive weapon, now they
do.
5. The scouts didnt Conc jump everywhere, now they do.
6. The soldier didn't gren/RJ combo to reach extreme new heights, now
you cant get the buggers out of the sky.
8. The heavy used to be able to gren jump to the battlements in 2Fort,
now he cant.
9. anything else that doesn't come to mind.
blahblahblah.... The skill's these days have changed TF one hell of a
lot, but don't get me wrong, it's not a whinge just a fact, and all
the new players have so much more to learn in such a short time span
to get to speed with the current level of play. The old grissled
veteran saw these things occur of a long period of time.
If you read all of this and think, this guys a loony, you're prolly
right but for the wrong reasons, all of the above is true, the game
has changed as players have become more and more innovative, and I
hope it continues. I just cry, knowing that it takes 6 freindly pipes
to launch my armor 200 yard away, and leaves me standing 2 foot away,
naked in the breeze.
Lamers/Cheaters/Etiquette Rule
What exactly do these terms mean?" Let me give my personal definitions along with my own opinions.
— Slippery Wang
I read the editorial regarding this issue and the first thought I had was
"What exactly do these terms mean?". So let me give my personal definitions
along with my own opinions.
Without doubt I would put ghosting (don't see it much anymore) and
intentional friendly teamkills in that category known as "cheating". These
practices are obviously way outside of any definition of fair play. I tend
to regard such people as somewhat retarded and I fail to see the point of
what they are doing. Such things should (as with both of these practices) be
designed out of the game.
"Lamers" is a bit trickier of course. I don't like tactics such as respawn
camping and the old tricks with stacking sentries etc. However they were
exploits of the game system and as such not strictly illegal, just bloody
annoying. Most often they are not very effective in achieving the objective
compared to actually playing the game as intended.
But how far do you carry it. Packing the ramp room with sentries or placing
one in the enemy respawn room are in my opinion valid and fair. They are
actually not terribly effective either, but they do not do anything
intrinsically unfair and in one case (respawn room sentries) have been
designed out by the mapmakers. If we start to call these kind of tactics
unfair, what about rocket jumps? That too is an exploitation of an imperfect
game system, but has become an accepted tactic (though funnily enough looks
to have been designed out of TF2).
I personally think that snipers slaughtering huge numbers of the enemy
outside of the base exit doors is a tad unbalanced, but it's perfectly fair
and simply exploits the strength of that class to the full. Placing sentries
in nasty spots that the enemy and perhaps the mapmakers didn't think of is
the same thing (you've guessed by now I'm an engineer given the choice). If
we start to dictate exactly how the game is played even within the limits of
the engine and/or map, where is the room for innovation?
Example: I recently saw (in WELL6) a soldier RJ from the bridge support to
the ledge outside the keyroom. I and another engineer had both lifts blocked
with dispensers (is this cheating or laming?), the central room covered with
sentries and the central lift defended well. With a little thought and
exploitating of the strength of his class this guy negated all of our
efforts and frankly earned my appreciation for his brain as well as his
skill.
I don't want TF to turn into chess, where only certain pre-defined moves and
tactics are allowed and any innovation (effective or otherwise) is frowned
upon as "laming". Almost every pastime I have ever had has had a "pro
player" elite to it who want to tell everyone else how to play and sneer at
anyone new or inexperienced. Let me tell you from bitter experience - it
WILL kill the game as effectively (if not more) as the idiots who ghost or
slaughter their own teams
Finally the question of scripts. I'm undecided on this point. I do use
scripts myself for messaging and also for RJ when playing a soldier. Yes I
can RJ manually but not with the consistency and accuracy of a script. I
don't feel like a cheat anymore using the RJ script than I do sending
messages with a single keystroke, but I am open to debate.
Rant
The community is in a downward slide in etiquette.
— UnHuman
I recently got back into the gaming scene, fixed the modem problem
and now am experiencing TF GL style, with minimal lag for a change.
It's good to be back.
well, sort of...
I got onto a few servers, relieved to see the classic 2forts being played,
since by now there's probably so many new maps out, that I'd be forever
downloading them.
Ok. classic map, my old quake/fortress directory intact,
maps, sounds, bla bla bla keys bound.. ok.
here goes.
A few minutes into the game,
I watch a constand barrage of flaming, profanity, name calling,
and a whole slew of immaturity placing itself on the top of my gaming screen.
I respawn and it seems the enemy team is kind of having a conference in my resupply room,
spamming the heck out of the place with grenades, pipes, rockets, you name it, its there.
the whole thing was topped off by peolpe blocking exits with themselves,
structures, everything imaginable..
names like 'L443ZPH' (pureply an example, if this is your name, take.. little offense)
saying the most obsurd things to other players...
a five line burst of 'I GOTS SKILLZ' would fill the little message screen,
after some idiot spams anothers respawn with a zillion launched grenades,
staying in there as long as possible..
What's happened?
I go and log onto a Heretic 2 server.
lovely.
more spam, obscene camping, more of the ceremonial name calling,
lamer-speak and who knows what else...
back to TF.
this time i'm going to enjoy my game.
even worse.
'If you don't like it, don't play' is no excuse for complete idiocy.
However, it's good to be back playing,
and maybe I'll find a decent place to enjoy my game,
but it sure isnt what i was expecting to come back to.
It's Only A Game?
It's not just a game, and here's why.
— Col.Neutron =C=
Greetings. Col.Neutron here from the Carbineers. I feel I need to
address this ever-repeated point "it's only a game" that I've been
hearing ever since I first played Quake in the days when DM was all
there was.
Whenever anyone gets upset for any reason there's always someone
saying "Chill dude...it's only a game.". Well...it's my considered
opinion that Quake is definately NOT just a game and here's why...
We as human beings are subjected to STRESS every minute of every day
in one form or another. It's a simple fact of human nature. In our
work...in our relationships...stress stress stress is being CONSTANTLY
built up. We require some type of RELEASE from this stress on an
occasional basis. If we fail to VENT this stress from time to time...we
end up having nervous breakdowns or we go on real life shooting sprees.
There are MANY ways to relieve stress. Every individual has his or
her own way to deal with it. For some it's sex. For others it's
athletics. For some it may be going out on a Friday night and getting
totally WASTED. Some of us have MANY ways we deal with our stress. The
point is...playing multiplayer games such as Quake is a VERY EFFECTIVE
way of relieving stress.
That is why many of us are so PASSIONATE about our Qauke. When the
game starts to get intense we get into such a tightly wound state of
mind due to our stress build-up that it's highly likely we might SNAP at
any moment. Many of us DO. The trick is to CONTROL that adrenaline rush
and channel it INTO the game rather than attempting to vent our
frustration on other players in the form of insults or lame accusations
of cheating.
Whenever I see a player screaming at the top of his lungs (I
interpret "screaming" as ALL-CAP messages with lots of "!!!!!" after
them), I always assume that this person's stress is OUT OF CONTROL and
he/she is failing to channel it in a constructive way...a la
concentrating on HIS/HER game and NOT worrying about everyone else's.
Speaking for myself...I often get so wound up playing Quake that I
sometimes don't realize I'm about to crush my mouse from gripping it too
hard. The thing is...I've gotten quite good at FOCUSING that rage on my
OWN gameplay rather than on someone else's. My stress may INCREASE for
awhile due to getting my ass-kicked but when I channel that intensity on
trying to kick-ass myself...I usually DO and when the game is
over...I've successfully VENTED my stress for the time being and can
relax and just have fun...with my stress level back to zero and ready to
start the never-ending process of building up again.
This is why players will ALWAYS lose their tempers on occasion. It
doesn't make them bad people...they just need to learn FOCUS and
CONTROL. Once they do...their skill will reflect it as will their
overall attitude.
Col.Neutron =C=
p.s. I'm not a Doctor but I've seen one on TV. ;)
Cheapness and Whiners
Stop whining about what you consider cheap playing!
— [UpR]-Judas-OSA
Let me apologize in advance if this is too strong a rant for you to
handle, but just in case it is and you decide to read on, remind
yourself that you didn't have to!
I'd have to say the thing I find least appealing about the TF community
(don't get my wrong, you guys are great - gals too), is the relatively
constant whining over "cheapness"! I mean, come on! Usually, it's just
because you are getting the crap beat out of you in a match or you are
dying frequently. In any case, here are some of the stupid reasons most
people use as an excuse to whine� somewhere towards the end I hope
you'll start to agree with me and then my finishing comments may
actually have the desired affect. So keep your mind open for just a few
paragraphs� thanks.
If I must single out the whiniest class it would have to be the Snipers.
You guys bitch and moan about soldiers, demos, medics, spys, and pyros
camping your sniper deck and killing you all the time. You know what?
Getting camped on Sux! Doesn't it? Sure does. But here's something else
that sux, not being able to cross the bridge without seeing a "� So and
So Just gave So and So a third eye!" The real deal is, if you must say
that someone camping you is cheap ( most of you apparently must ) then
you should also be thinking about how cheap being able to peg someone
from across the board and kill them with one shot is. I'm not saying it
doesn't take skill! ( On the contrary, I know it takes a whole lot of
skill! ) I'm saying that soldiers killing snipers at close range
consistently is just as cheap as snipers killing soldiers at long range
consistently! It's a balance of the game, live with it. (Or you could
always decide to give up TF in which case we'd have to hear less of your
whining� pity us!) Oh, and before I continue, lemme say thanks to all
those kick ass snipers out there that don't whine and still peg me on
why way across the grassy knoll. ( Oh, one more thing on the camping
issue, I won't mention that snipers are the biggest - and best --
campers in the game! Hey, no complaints here, that's what they were
designed for, but the other classes were also designed to kill snipers.)
I don't want to give away all the solutions, but here's 2 for you:
1) SHOOT THEM! Then they can't camp you until they make it across the
bridge again� and if you're good, that's not bloody likely to happen
very soon.
2) CALL FOR SOME HELP! It's TEAM Fortress, there is no shame in calling
momentary help from the ramp room to remove a soldier from your sniper
deck. On the contrary, there is much stupidity in not doing so.
Simple solutions like this can make for a kick ass game and an easier
win.
Oh, but all you non-snipers don't get all happy� you guys can be a bunch
of whiners too, and sometimes worse. Some people say the cheapest
class out there is the pyro! "Whaaaaaaaaaaaa� pyros take no aim, they
are so cheap, no skill pyros, blah blah whine whine moan moan whine."
Well, I had the same opinion until about a month ago when I got board
with soldier and said to myself: "Self� why don't you give it a shot
and be cheap for a day." So I did, and I got owned by every demoman,
soldier, sniper, engineer, and medic on the board. You're probably
thinking, "well you probably suk in the first place." I'm not about to
become the egotist I despise, so suffice it to say I can at least hold
my own against anybody. Back to the topic at hand� The TF designers did
a great job equipping the pyro for his job - I think they did a great
job for every class, but I'll just focus on pyro for now because they
are the class people verbally attack most. If you don't know his primary
role it's - no not to spam up the ramp room - to provide primary defense
in enclosed areas. Pyros aren't designed to kill, but wound and cripple
the enemy on the way into the base or to the flag so that the rest of
the D has a cake time killing them. Therefore, if you put a tiny bit
of thought into it you can see how the pyro's light damage but burning
rockets and area-effect grenades and flame thrower are wonderful weapons
for taking on multiple opponents WITHOUT the expectation of killing all
5 of them! This coupled with their speed second only to the scout and
decent armor outfits them wonderfully for hit and run tactics! Pyros
aren't cheap� the good ones do their job well and THAT is what really
pisses you off. Most people whine that pyros are all spam, I think I
made a good point why the aren't� so let's get into the Spam issue.
Spam�. IS CHEAP AS HELL!!! Perfect agreement with you there - it makes
the game no fun and very frustrating when all the other team does is
spam. But the pyro isn't the only class that spams! Oh no� pyros only
have 4 napalm grenades to spam with. Demomen? They have a whole lot
more grenades, from the launcher, regular AND the dreaded MIRV spams!
Demos can spam just as well as pyros, and so can soldiers with their
server-lagging nail grenades! How many games have you had an attack
group of 3 teams soldiers Rjump into your base and throw 2 nail grens
each into your upper lobby on the way down the spiral! I've seen it a
whole lot� THAT is spam! Scouts and Medics can spam with their pesky
concussion grenades, and engineers and spies with their special
grenades too! Pryos aren't the only spammers� any class is capable of
it. So now let the truth be told� ( drum roll please! ) IT'S NOT A
CLASS THAT IS ALL SPAM, IT IS THE PLAYER!!! Nuf said on the big bad
spam� moving on.
I hate unnecessary spam as much as the next guy, but I do see its place
in desperate situations. For example, when the flag is out on the bridge
and I am the only one left alive to try and prevent a capture! When I
see 2 soldiers, a medic, and a scout emerge from the enemy base, you're
damn right I throw every grenade I have at them hoping to take out at
least 2, and give my teammates enough time to respawn and get out there
to help me protect the flag! That's what the game is all about! So be
honest with yourself, you do it too! And if you don't then you really
aren't the passionate player that your team needs on their side� unless
of course you are good enough to take on all 4 of the enemies and win,
but unless the opposing clan is HORRIBLE or your ping is like ONE� you
aren't. Spam should be refrained from at all costs, except desperate
situations� very even match, they get this last cap in 30 secs and you
loss� wait and see, you'll spam.
Ready for the next part? PING! Please, please stop whining about LPBs!
I play on a 28.8 so don't think this is because I'm an LPB and am just
being a poser. Yes, a low ping helps a lot! But the beauty of TF is
that there are lots of classes where Ping can be almost negated. For
example, the Engineer with his relatively easy build-and-forget sentry
guns. ( Good engineers won't build and forget to guard it, but the point
is, ping isn't needed to put up a sentry gun and let it kill people. )
Furthermore, you all know damn well if you were LPBs you'd be having fun
killing all those people you simply out ping also! So be good sports,
and except the fact that some people are more fortunate to have cable
modems or whatever. You could always go get one yourself, you know.
This is getting kinda long and I don't want to deprive you of all your
chances to be intelligent� so here is the point of my comments: The
next time you are about to accuse someone of being cheap ( be it because
of a spy's gas, a camper, a demoman's air pipebombs, a pryos napalm or
whathaveyou ) try THINKING about its strategic importance first and how
it can be adopted to help your team in the future. Maybe you can find
away around for the future of this match or the ones to come, and/or
maybe you can employ that tactic against future rivals. In any case,
whining doesn't help your team at all, especially not during a match
when you should be fragging n' capping and not waisting time whining in
any of the messagemodes.
Use your heads, play the game� if you loss, figure out why instead of
making excuses. Nothing is farther from the TF ideal than whining.
Things that I HATE!!!
All the things that bug me!
— GeMiNi[BM]
Hi there everyone. It is that unfortunate time again for me to emerge from my own little world and complain. I REALLY hate the fact that the only times I have really written anything in relation to TF is when I'm complaining... I don't like this one bit. It really SUCKS!!!
A good example:
Its about 12:30 a.m. on a Friday night. I'm a college student, so sleep is not a word in my vocabulary. Sooo... I decide to play a nice game of TF. I open GameSpy, refresh the id TF server list, and what to my wandering eyes does appear, but a qVa server with a lot of people on it (sorry, I'm already getting into the Christmas swing of things, yes, a little sick, I know). So I figure: qVa is the home server for TRF, a really cool clan. I also know that they play a true game meaning without any form of teamplay on. So I start out playing as I usually do. At one point in the game, after dying and respawning, I emerge from the respawn room only to be shot at by my own teammate, a soldier. Of course my response to that was a shot back and a "WTF???" Immediately following that, a pyro (a class which I really don't care for at all) decides to join the party and starts to cook me. So after I die, I try to work the logic out in my head: Either 1) These guys are utter morons and think that the enemy would be coming out of our respawn room, or 2) They're just plain A**HOLES!!! Seeing as how I don't think that anyone is stupid enough to choose #1, I thought along the lines of #2 and figured I would avoid those kind of people.
A little later in the game something along those lines happened again. After respawning on the far side of the sniper nest (this was all happening on 2fort5), stocking up and running towards the exit, I pass an engineering who had setup a dispenser. When I pass the dispenser, the engineering decides to detonate it. The first time it happened, I assumed that he didn't like the placement of it. However, this happened again to me, and I watched him do it to two other people on our team. So again, I figure I'll steer clear of this guy. Only I sorta can't. For some odd reason, this moron continues to setup dispensers, and det them as team members run by. I assume that he finds this amusing. The third time this happens, I got a little pissed and retaliated. I know it wasn't the right thing to do, but I was really pissed. I shot a rocket at the moron and killed him. He responded with "WTF?" a typical response and I retorted with "I should be asking you that." At this point, the game ended and I felt I should leave instead of carry on an inane argument with this loser.
It is becasue of people like this that TF gets ripped on sometimes. And I have this innate ability to find servers with this breed of A**HOLE on it. I think the best idea would be to make a server for spammers and lamers, like those I encountered tonight, that has only one team. That way they can kill themselves as much as they want to their heart's delight and brag about who had the lowest (or highest negative) score. Its people like this that turn me off from this game. Amazingly, because of things like this, I have found myself playing more Q2 DM instead, and I don't even like Q2 that much, but it's the only alternative.
All I can say is that I've had it up to hear (my hand is now at forehead) with crap like this. For those of you who do this kind of crap, just GO THE HELL AWAY! Its because of you that TF isn't as enjoyable now as it used to be. For those of you that agree with me, all I can say os fight it to the best of your abilities, i don't know how but try. And to those that are indifferent or don't see this problem, well... props to you, because you're DAMN lucky.
Think the author was right on target or completely off the deep end? Let us know -- mail us or post in the forums!
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