Saturday, 27 May 2000 1300Z
Corrections and more comments ... -Totentanz

Bleh, note to self - when writing any other scathing editorials, if you don't have time to double- and triple-check you wording and all, then don't upload it until you do so. :( Folks, because of some excess zeal on my part, and being so pissed off about this issue, I made a coupla mistakes, which I'll now correct.

I've had some email correspondance with cliffe from the CounterStrike devteam in the last day, about some of the stuff I did say, and some of the things I allegedly said - which I worded poorly due to haste in writing, and came out wrong.Ok, time to run it down.

First, myself - like many others in the community - were under the impression that that cliffe was the first person to made public comments about the new netcode and such. He informed me that he only did that after the cat was let out of the bag by another site, and that he had personally asked the Valve staff if it was ok for him to comment, and got the green light. Later on, in one of Gabe's interviews, he said for people to check out cliffe's comments, at that point endorsing HIS particular info.
For this gaffe, I owe cliffe a personal apology. I acted on incomplete info - as I do NOT read all the other sites and especially not about all the other mods. There are exactly 2 mods for HL I have ANY interest about at all, and that is TFC/TF 1.5, and CS. I'll make more personal comments about CS later, after I finish corrections. So, cliffe, sorry about posting inaccurate info about that, and thank you for being professional and mature in correcting me, and filling me in on some info I did not have before. Folks, I'm happy to say cliffe is a 100% class act.

Second, I made a HUGE error in wording - due to the haste with wanting to get the update published to the webpage, and still make it into work on time that night. The quote I made about modmakers was poorly worded, and stirred up a real hornet's nest of problems, and I want to apologize to the ENTIRE CounterStrike devteam for that one screwup. Below is how it SHOULD have read - had I taken more time to think things out and say everything I wanted to, although it's still technically incorrect now, given the info I got from cliffe:

And then there's the other side - the Modmakers. We've all seen the CS team break confidentiality by coming out and talking about the netcode and all. They've also given out estimated release dates for the patch - and last I looked, they were not Valve employees. Now, I don't know about you, but although I really don't think that the CS team is the culprit - due to their great working relationship with Valve that they would NOT want to jeopardize - but I know where my money lies on the betting of the source of the leak. From some other modmaker who got the advance info. Perhaps the modmakers themselves did not make it available as "warez" - perhaps they gave it to a trusted "friend" who did so. But I stick with my belief that it was a modmaker, NOT a playtester, that leaked it.

Screwups like this, folks - especially when running an editorial site, are one of the thing that can get you the most amount of flak, folks. One of my personal heroes in the gaming editorial business, Sentinel, used to catch all kinds of crap for things he said. We both have thick skins and can take the abuse, fortunately. :) Tot just needs to remember to take his time and do more than just run the column thru a spelling and grammar checker. I think I need to go back to getting hold of my old outside proofreader before posting anything again - it might keep the temperatures down and keep the power bill for the Air Conditioning a bit lower on the fort. :P

Ok, I believe that sums up all the corrections and apologies I needed to make - now on to other business. As you might expect, this little business stirred up a firestorm of emails. As per my longstanding policy, any emails that aren't outright abusive and obscene, that that are at least somewhat intelligible, DO get responses. So, all of you gung-ho CS supporters that wrote in, I'll be getting back to you in the next day or two. Just remember, if you decided to be an idiot in your email to me, expect to get shots back in return as well. Oh, and for the ASSHOLE that decided to send me a me a .vbs virus as an email attachment - nice try, sparky. I'm not senile yet. :P

Oh, and someone made a comment in one email that I'm "a bit jealous on CS, aren't you". Now, that comment makes no sense whatsoever. I'm not a modmaker, to be jealous that CS is doing so good. In fact, I used to enjoy the hell out of CS beta5.2 - when I could find wanker-free servers to play on. Which I couldn't find too many, thanks to the overwhelming number of TKing arseholes, people using the see-thru-walls cheat, and then shooting thru the walls, and finally that cursed Trainer that came out, that TOTALLY hosed the game. After this recent conversation with cliffe, he assured me that his team, with assistance from Valve as well, are working to make the next version as cheat-free as they can. I look forward to seeing what else they can come up with for this impressive mod, even tho I'll freely admit that Team Fortress is my preference.

Anyhow, I'm going to wrap this up now. Rants, comments, and yes, more flames - you know where to send them. Now if you'll excuse me, I hear the damnable siren call of the Diablo2 stresstest calling me again.

Thursday, 25 May 2000 0230Z
Comments on the Patch leak... -Totentanz

Set_rant_mode= ON

I'll make this short and bitter, as this one has REALLY got Tot irate.

I have it on VERY good authority, that the Betatester patch binaries are UNABLE to start either a LAN server or a normal multiplayer server. It was disabled in the code. I repeat, that's in the test binaries that Valve distributed to their "trusted" betatesters. No, I don't know the build number offhand.

This leaves a couple of possibilities for this leaked TF 1.5 patch that seems to be making it's way around the net. One, and a rather UNlikely one, is that someone in Valve leaked it purposely. Since they've had a history of playing things close to their chest, and since thet have certain signed agreements with Sierra on how they do things - I don't consider this one as too probable. The other, is that one of the Mod makers that have received an advance copy of it, so that they can do work on their Mod - that they leaked it to someone. This to me is a lot more probably, as if you remember, the first people to break any "official" news about the new netcode, and it's changes on the playability - were members of the CounterStrike development team.

Okie, let's do the math, people. On one hand, we have Valve, known for not giving out much info to the public, and keeping to themselves. Known to keep working at things until they think it's good enough for them, instead of releasing incremental patches, like id Software does. Myself, after conversations with the Valve devteam on the status of the patch - *I* would have released it a while back - to fix the majority of the bugs that are out there - and then released another patch with the new functionality. But they chose to hold off until their idea of the "total package" was completed to their specs, and tested to Sierra's specs, as per contract. Now, do you really think this group of people is going to let something leak out, "before it's done"?

And then there's the other side - the Modmakers. We've all seen the CS team break confidentiality by coming out and talking about the netcode and all. They've also given out estimated release dates for the patch - and last I looked, they were not Valve employees. Now, I don't know about you, but I know where my money lies on the betting of the source of the leak.

Oh, and one other thing. I just love it when people make statements about the patch - when they don't know a damned thing about what it actually does. I read the PF forums on a regular basis, and I love seeing all these people talking out their arses about "Valve ruined this, and they ruined that, and TFC is dead". Tip for all you wankers - Try waiting until the patch ACTUALLY comes out, and play it for a bit. Then, and only then will you have enough concrete data to see what has changed in the playing dynamic of TF. Because, for right now, all you geniuses are saying is mere conjecture, and a LOT of hot air. Even the betatest isn't a completely comprehensive test. All the beta testers are most likely experienced TF/TFC players. They know what's right and wrong, and know how to properly play the game. The true test will be when Joe PubPlayer gets hold of the new thing, and we see how they deal with the changes - and how their adjusted playing style changes the game for everyone. The clannies will take a week, maybe two - adjust their strategies and drive on. They'll probably STILL go with the "by any means to win" mindset, tho - a big reason I dropped from the TFC clan scene - it's just not FUN anymore. But wait and see when you do have the FINAL patch in hand, and have played it for a while, to see how the changes impact the game, eh?

In the (paraphrased)words of a comrade of mine, DieHard - " After the newsie release, a complete re-install was needed once the offical patch came out. I hope this will have to happen for this as well." Well, Tot shares that sentiment also. When you sign on to be a betatester for ANY product, you fully realize that it might have adverse effect on your system. I really hope the leaked warezmonkey people get what they deserve. To quote my man DieHard again - "It is simple an issue of morals, honor, and respect -- you show none of these" Fort Bundy salutes DieHard - one of a dying breed of people that sticks by their principles, and that personifies the principles we espouse here on the Fort - Honour, Sportsmanship and Team Play.

Thursday, 04 May 2000 1930Z
Reality Check time, people... -Totentanz

Ok, So I was selfish, and took some time to myself to do some stuff I wanted to do, after my last update here at the fort - so sue me. Sometimes it's hard to keep updating this place alone, when you've got other things you want to do. I haven't heard from Bundy-sama in 7 weeks, but he DID tell me he was going on an extended business trip, and may be incommunicado for the duration. Still, it does get lonely here alone, and I've been seriously considering bringing in reinforcements to the place. The place gets kinda lonesome when yer a solo act, and the echoes of single footsteps start to do things to your mind. We'll see what comes up in the next coupla weeks or so.

Well, once again it's time to do "damage control". I tend to read a LOT of the TF-related pages and message boards out there, even if I don't post on them. I tend to limit my message board posting in this area to the PF ones - plenty going on there alone, I don't need to stir up any more controversy elsewhere - I seem to do that well enough when I post here. :P Ok, let's run down the listing, shall we?

Item#1 - comments I made about Team Assault, in particular, the ones relating to it being "a dark horse". Well, if you've done any significent studies of the English language, etc - you'd know EXACTLY what I meant by that, and not get your panties all in a wad about the comment. In politics, a dark horse contender was one who wasn't viewed by the masses as one favoured to win. One that didn't get the same exposure and whatnot as the others. It is by no means meant as a slight to the TA team. As I said, I'm looking forward to seeing what they present as their vision of an updated version of QWTF. But it seems that someone read that comment, and ran off to the TA forums with a Chicken Little "the sky is falling" mindset. Goodness, get a grip, ok? Let's run down the facts that led me to making that statement that TA has some catching-up to do.
FACT: Q3F has had 3 test versions that used several clans, to help work on play balance and other issues. And now 2 open Beta releases. TA has none, that I'm aware of.
FACT: there are already announcements for no less than 3 Q3F leagues forming up, despite it's clearly Beta status, with the play balance issues that WILL be occuring. This tends to indicate the level of community support, and feeling towards the Q3F product, in spite of it's state in it's own development cycle.
FACT: Q3F has gotten some rather positive press in the big 3 Quake webages - Blues News, sCary's Shugashack, and Redwood's @Stomped. This has definitely added to it's visibility in the mainstream DM community, and has brought in an influx of newbies, some good, some bad. I've seen some mention of the UTFortress port, too. I can't recall the last time TA got any press there.

This tends to make things look rosy for Q3F, and not as such for the TA team. What to do about this - don't ask me. TA already has a very capable PR person on their staff, and I think it should be his job to present their project in the best light they can, and to continue to drum up enthusiasm for it. However, with a dearth of visual goodies, his job is complicated. I'll sit back and wait to see a product, and review it fairly and objectively against the other products in the community it will be going up against. I wish the best of luck to the TA development team.

Item #2 - this phenomenon, the so-called "Gaming Preservation Official Anti-clan sentiment ". Well, this is a rather interesting issue here. Reminds me quite a bit about the older "True Mercenary" movement, that started with all the impact of a turd in a punchbowl, and eventually worked out ok in the end. Now I don't know what the real goal of this thing is, and no, I don't intend to put up a link to it, either. You can get one from all the other newsie pages posting about it - I don't intend to dignify it with any further attention, myself. The signal to noise ratio at that place is rather low. I've only got a coupla comments to make about this entire hullabaloo.
1> Asshole clans happen. period. They're composed of asshole gamers, who seem to naturally gravitate together, like flies to a fresh turd. Labelling ALL clans as bad, because of the actions and behavior of some mental midgets and social retards is nothing short of idiotic, and in the very least extremely closeminded. Which is disturbingly close behavior to the people you're kvetching about. Hmmmm. Stop and think about that one for a moment, Ace...
2> Things like this tend to attract first a bandwagon motion. I just love sheep that cease thinking for themselves."I had a bad experience with some clan people, so I'll join up with this guy". Gotta love that. Then word get out, and an opposition forms up, and they usually lug over their jumbo-economy-size flamethrowers, and all sorts of logic breaks down, and that's usually when the signal to noise ratio dives thru the floor. *IF* the original webmaster had ANY sort of intelligent message, it has usually been completely drowned out by this assault, and they usually switch to a more offensive tactic on their main page as a result. Queue the downward spiral here, eh? Then the news pages get hold of this ongoing flamewar, and all the sudden all sorts of people come over, and a small blaze becomes a towering inferno. The actual message gets lost, in favour of the festivities going on that caused all the sensationalism. What gets accomplished as a result? ZERO! Then, sometimes things die down a bit, and some calmer minds try to come in, and do some mitigation/damage control. If it's still too active, they get flamed as well. Otherwise, some intelligence returns, the noise level recedes, and usually the activity just fades out of the limelight after a while. But we must have our Bread and Circuses first, of course. :P

I'm personally not going to give this den of lunacy anymore publicity that I haven't at this point. They aren't worth my time, and quite frankly, I don't think they're worth the time being spent posting news about it on the webpages. People who think that all clans are bad, because they have a coupla bad experiences with crappy ones, need to remember how to use their brains and THINK again. But's it's so much easier to point a finger and cry foul, isn't it? Thought denotes taking responsibility, and heaven forbid we be FORCED to take responsibility for our own actions - that comment, BTW, goes to all parties in all issues. It's just so fitting here. :P

Item#3 - Ok, one to stir the pot here, eh? I haven't done that in a long time. Right now, the attitude of the TF community in general really sucks. I mean, it's just pitiful. The public beta release of Q3F had some small part in that. Since it got press in the mainstream DM pages, we got an influx of curious DMBs wondering what all the hoopla was about. I'll make no bones that I don't like the DM mindset - all personal glory, nothing for the better of a TEAM. I've seen all to many DMers with the " I'll pwn j00 anytime" attitude, so I tune it out. However, lately on the PF forums at least, I've seen the trolls come out in droves. We usually have a fairly friendly environment there, and but the signal/noise level has gone down for a while. And it sucks. Here's some simple guidelines for life, that all too many people have forgotten: Don't be a dick. Treat others as you would them to treat you. Simple, ain't it? If you don't like people demeaning you, and insulting your intelligence - then DON'T DO IT YOURSELF! Granted, not everyone reading this is acting like preks - in fact, most likely the people that DO bother to read the Fort are NOT preks. It's just a shame that a small amount of cretins can reduce the enjoyment factor so easily.

Item#4 - and this is a doozy, trust me. All this stupid conjecture and whining about the upcoming TFC patch is just ludicrous. Unless you're a Valve Beta-tester - and if that is the case, you are SUPPOSED to be under an NDA to not talk about what you see, from my understanding - the ONLY concrete facts we have about this is what Gabe Newell has put out in Press Releases. A recent post on the PF Forums, which seemed to come from Yahn Bernier himself, and does look legit - was not confirmed either. So, the only info we can take as gospel, is what Gabe said - "We've decreased the distance a concussion grenade throws you. It's still possible to do some impressive conc jumps, but you can't jump from one battlement to the other in 2fort." Now, that's something Uncle Tot is definitely in favour of. I highly doubt it was EVER the intent of the game designers to allow concjumpers to reach a damned Low Earth Orbit with the bloody things. Myself personally, do NOT like the handheld concjump at all - I remember the old style one from QWTF - that I never quite mastered. You needed practice and skill to pull that off on a regular basis. With the handheld conc, even a scrub like me can fly anywhere. Funny, I don't recall seeing the scout or medic wearing a jetpack to be able to do it - Oh wait, isn't that a feature of the AirScout in MegaTF? *grin*
And people are complaining about other reputed changes, without having any concrete info to base them on. Folks, the development team at Valve includes Robin Walker and John Cook - 2 of the people that dreamed up and made TF. It's THEIR game, geez. There are also several mappers from the TF community on board as well. I find it hard to believe that these people would purposely make changes to destroy TFC. They do extensive playtesting to make sure the overall dynamic isn't made so it's too mangled. You've got to believe they're NOT going to make arbitrary changes, cause they're bored, or something, people. But the fact that they did wait so damned long is something I'll leave alone, for those dark ruminations when I'm deep in my cups. :|
And keeping on this subject, I see on the front page of PF, a story which says, and I quote again: "We've received a number of e-mails on a petition going around to stop Valve from releasing the next TFC patch with the no-concussion-jumping fix in it." To which I've got but one thing to say - put down the crack pipe and take two steps back, and nobody will get hurt... First, they've got the info from Gabe quoted, and I wonder if ANY of them have a clue what the actual changes might really impact. I highly doubt it. Next, their "list" of signing people has many duplicate entries, and ones with bogus info - clean it up, kiddies. If you want it to look logical, reasonable and professional, take the time to do so.
Bleh, this is getting out of control. Here's a tip, ace - whining about stuff you have no concrete idea about exactly makes you look foolish. Just wait until they release the patch, play it for a ferw days, and see what the total change to the game dynamic is. THEN make some intelligent observations based on facts and make your protests then. Until you have that hard data, try not to embaress yourselves too much, hmm ??