THE YOU-KNOW-WHAT HITS THE FAN

You've seen this letter already, but here it is again:

"

As of this week (Mon 23rd June) I am standing down from all Quake Clan related activities. I am leaving TeamPendragon, and after Clan Meet II I will not be involved in any further organizational tasks.

Phew - bit of a statement that. And now for the reason...

I am f*cking pissed off with the way that the UK Clan Scene is, and has been for a while.

People like Spirit and Azrael are totally unappreciated for the amount of work they put in - all people seem to do is whine about how its 'not being done their way'. Superb Clans such as the Buckshot Brigade are disappearing, being swept up into big, faceless Clans.

I was involved in an IRC sesh with a couple of people that really opened my eyes to the amount of unhappiness that is rife in the Clan Scene at the moment - we all got into this because it was FUN, and enjoyable, and I think the bottom line is that I don't enjoy it anymore.

I formed TP to play CTF, and the guys I got were fantastic. The team was made up of the finest CTF players in the UK, Dibbler, Osiris, Dr.Chris, Flametop, Tine and the rest. Yet we got hammered in the first game we played, simply because the other team roped in a couple of LPB QL ringers, who proceeded to play CTF as if they were playing standard Quake (grab the RL, defend the weapons etc). Now this is fine, but personally I think it is missing the point. CTF is CTF - sure, you can win by a: being LPB and b: doing the weapon/armour/goodies thing, but whats the damn point?

Until we have a level playing field, Quake in all its DM forms will be unfair to the people with lower pings. We all know that. But now the UK Clan Scene has become a 'Get the LPBs at all costs - we must win' affair. What happened to the playing Quake for Quake's sake mentality? What happened to friendly matches? What happened to the camaradarie?

They say that those that can, do, whereas those who can't, complain. In this situation, whinging and moaning about the scene isn't going to change a thing, so rather than become (more) bitter, I choose to remove myself from the scene.

I'll be waiting with baited breath for Quake II, Hexen II, HalfLife, SiN and even Duke Nukem Forever, and hopefully these games will bring a breath of badly needed fresh air to the UK Scene.

I will be continuing the Grail, and hopefully people will start to use it for what it is - a place to air your views and share your knowledge.

I hope to see everyone who has said they are coming at the ClanMeet II. If you don't agree with what I have said, then talk to me there, or even better send a rant to the Grail."

- Uther Pendragon

THE QUAKE LORDS HIT BACK

A couple of letters emanated from the Quake Lords in response to that, but the most printable came from QL-Enrique, one of the players in the CTF game Uther mentioned:

"Uther, I saw your statement on NFTF today, and although I can sympathise with several of the sentiments you expressed, I feel that I must take issue with some of the more insulting comments. This message is copied to The Nomad, who may feel that it is appropriate to present an alternative viewpoint.

I agree that the UK Quake scene is going through a tough period, but it seems to me that the central problem is one of attitude, and a lack of willingness to see issues from others' perspectives. I do not wish to cast any aspersions on the work of the UKCL organisers, and others, to whom we should all be grateful. I too find the mega-clan phenomenon worrying, particularly the way that BB and JK were both absorbed by the same clan. This may sound hypocritical coming from a member of one of the most dominant UK clans, but until recently QL barely had enough members to support a regular match turnout. We are still not big.

Near the beginning of your treatise, you give an example, upon which you appear to base much of your argument. The match you refer to was organised, as you must know, by Death.cp.kod, who like me (and not, as far as I have seen, you) is a regular player on the MINOS CTF server. He sent the following message to half a dozen other MINOS regulars, including myself:

"sorry if this is an intrusion ... but I'd like to set-up & play (and beat :) the CTF clan TP sometime. I've noticed you all play CTF regularly on Minos CTF4 and are usually near / at the top of the score board ... Would you be interested in playing a one off game versus them &/or possibly forming a clan .... If you know anyone else who might be interested in this let me know"

I suggested my good friends and fellow QLs Ricardo and Prophet, both excellent CTF players, and also another MINOS pal, Biggus. The match went ahead as planned. Prophet didn't play, neither did NW or Sujoy, who were also in the line-up, but nonetheless TP received a sound beating. I find your inability to accept this irritating, and the excuses you produced actually offensive. Who are you to summarily judge two players who have probably been playing CTF at least as long as you have?

Ricardo and I, whom you so casually dismiss as "a couple of LPB QL ringers", started playing CTF back when it was new, and you are in no position to pronounce that we do not know how to play it, never mind the fact that the accusation you level at our playing style is untrue. The fact that you formed the first, and only CTF clan does not grant you theright to assume that you are the ultimate authority on the subject, let alone the best! I see you and the other TPs pop into MINOS infrequently, and with the exception of Tine, the most annoying ping whiner I have ever encountered, you've always seemed like a decent bunch of blokes, and on the whole pretty capable players. But the finest CTF players in the UK? I grant that Dibbler and Dr. Chris probably ought to be in TeamCTF UK if there was one, but I doubt if there would be any other TPs in a team of about a dozen.

I don't mean to insult anyone here, and if I'm being too harsh then I apologise. I'm guessing (and hoping) that you said what you said because you were trying to make a point, and that you made a couple of assumptions based on a sub-100 ping and the letters QL. If with hindsight you still believe that I do not play CTF as it is meant to be played, then ask Dibbler or Dr. Chris (or indeed anyone else who is frequently to be found on MINOS CTF) if they think I don't play CTF properly. You won't see me on there till next term, but I'll be there in spirit :)

I generally prefer to stay out of the ping debate, because it is an unproductive argument and probably an intractable problem, but for the record here is what I'll say:

Put yourself in an LPB's shoes. You love Quake. You have a ping of 55. When you win, you take a load of crap from bitter modemers. When you lose, you get laughed at, which is a lot worse. What are you going to do? Buy a modem? Quit Quake? It's a no-win situation.

Realistically, there will never be an acceptable way of making deathmatch-style games fair. If an internet game depends on fast reaction speed, then those with faster connections will always have the advantage. They will also always have to take a shitload of abuse for it. Whether you are on the receiving end of a) the unfair beatings or b) the unfair abuse, there are a few ways of dealing with it. You can:

1. Get so good you don't get the beatings/abuse (I wish)
2. Flame
3. Quit
4. Live with it, and hope everyone grows up

Number 1 is what I call the Ettu/Sujoy/Fragga solution. Number 2 is what most people do, to some degree, number 3 I have considered (trust me, the shit you take REALLY gets to you), and number 4 is what I do, with short and mostly regrettable bursts of number 2, and what I hope you will decide to try, on reconsideration.

Oh, I left out number 3.5 (change your name all the time, yuck), which is specific to LPBs, and number 5 (solve the problem) which I believe to be impossible. Touche.

Sorry this has been so long, but I hope you took the trouble to read this far. If you disagree, let's talk about it, IRC, ICQ, whatever.

sincerely,

QL.Enrique
(Russ Clarke)"

BACK TO UTHER

As I write, this is the last word in the debate:

"Hi,

Yeah, I went off the deep end a bit, and for that I apologise.

I feel, however, that I should address some of your comments, and then maybe you can get a feel for my perspective.

I formed CP a long time ago, back when there were only three or four Clans (of which QL was one). We were all Modemers, all enthusiastic, all keyboarders, and whilst not lacking talent, we were crap. But we did it for fun. It was superb. We were pumelled by DC, we were pumelled by QL, and when BB showed up we were pumelled by them. But we enjoyed the games. You NEVER heard a CP complain. Ever.

Now things have changed. I am irritated by the way that some Clans are absorbing others left right and centre, especially CP's treatment of BB. The new Clans, coming in with the old CP attitude, are being hounded off of servers, treated like shit, and are NOT succeeding. This means that these people are not getting the chances that CP had. Maybe this is unavoidable, but it would be nice to think that they could get the same enjoyment out of Quake that CP did.

On the subject of TP. The problem is this - that was a grudge match. I have the memory of a Goldfish (hyperactive, I'm afraid), and I forget when people ask me things on Servers. Death and Mongoman asked me to join TP a number of times, but never Emailed me (as I asked). Both of them were pissed off having not joined TP. I did not want that to happen, but it did. Thats the reason that the little Clan was pulled together, using the best players from the MINOS CTF Server. I have no problem with that. But TP was a long time in the making. Contrary to your unfounded statement, I played on MINOS CTF a hell of a lot. I was the one who had the f*cking Server put there in the first place, when the first release of CTF came out (the one with the keys :->), and have been playing on the Server ever since. I've only stopped playing in the last couple of weeks because the GL Version of QuakeWorld is'nt totally compatible with CTF (massive slowdowns).

TP took a long time to pull together - no-one seemed interested. The guys who are playing for TP are ones who asked to join (via email). It takes a lot of effort to put a Clan together, and a lot more effort to keep it together. I have claimed on ONE occasion (the WebPages), that TP are the finest CTF team, and I stand by that. I've seen QL boast a lot more. TP have a mixed set of LPB's and HPB's - I don't/didn't feel that it would be fair to exclude HPB's (as in the case of QL). But now I have stepped down from the Clan scene. Hence no more TP.

I accept the beating of TP. What I find it hard to accept is that a team such as TP, which had trained very hard, with some of the best players in the UK, could be defeated by two players. You may not agree with me, but that game was dominated by the two QL guys. One of them (I think it may have been you) had a strength rune, got the flag, and carried it around for 15 minutes. Your flag was in your base. Yet you didn't return it. This is not standard CTF tactics (correct me if I'm wrong). Dibbler and Dr.Chris, blessed with low pings, are astonishing players, yet they didn't get a look in.

I'm not saying that you two QL guys aren't good. Far from it. But I don't like to see a game dominated in that fashion. I mean, it must get boring after a while?

On the subject of QL, I received a pretty unpleasant letter from LordStorm last night, and I'd like to thank you for not sinking down as far as he did.

To sum up (as I'm am wittering, and possibly going off track slughtly at this point), if anything I said was offensive to you, I apologize. On the
other hand, it would be gratifying if you could at least see it from my perspective. That was TP's first game, and I had put a lot of work into
getting that team together. A fairer game would have been nice (i.e. another CTF team, rather than all the 24 hour players from MINOS).

TeamCTF UK - hmm, yeah I guess that Dibbler and Dr.Chris would be on it. They are students after all, and enjoy the free, fast connection that most students take for granted."

Uther also mentioned to me that

"I can understand Enrique's ire, but I thought you'd like to know that in response to my slightly inflammatory statement, I have received:

2 Mails of complaint (LordStorm and Enrique)
21 Mails of agreement"

And that's it. No matter which side of the fence you're on, it's interesting reading, and it's also pleasant to read a mature, sensible discussion that doesn't stoop to personal insults.

That's all, folks.

BUT NO!

And then Enrique returned:

"I must say, it is refreshing to be able to have an coherent, well-argued and above all civil discussion about these matters. Again, this goes to the Nomad, but that's mainly for interest, as there's stuff below I would rather not be quoted publicly on.

I too was a keyboarder back in the old days, although I wasn't one of the original QLs. {Lord Storm was- Nomad}. Nevertheless, I joined QL either shortly before or shortly after I migrated to mouse control, mainly because they seemed to be The Boys, you know? It was QLs I'd see at the top of lists, and they seemed like the happening crowd. I was pretty pleased with myself when Ettu gave me the thumbs up; of course I quickly persuaded my college friend Ricardo, who's always been that bit better than me (except for CTF ), to join as well.

I don't remember playing that many actual matches, but QL was a nice badge to wear, and we had a lot of fun with the other guys. We never boasted (it just wouldn't occur to me), but I have always believed my clan to be the best there is. You're right, things have changed. The clan scene is now more demanding, more competitive, and leaders have responded with a desperate rush to grab the top talent - and inescapably that translates into the LPBs. I honestly thought QL was above that. I thought that the bunch of us could take on anyone as we stood. Our page still had a no admittance policy on it. And we were about evenly mixed, ping-wise.

[ Enrique asked me to cut the next two paragraphs. In brief, he makes the point that the Quake Lords have become more LPB-centred than they previously were]

Well, suffice to say that I see where you're coming from on the clan scene issue; we all have problems, and I don't know what to do about them.

That Death and Mongo are actually pissed-off TP rejects (as they presumably see it), is certainly news to me. The Grudge factor puts a slant on the TP match of which I honestly was not aware, and if I had realised the full context I would have though twice about fighting a battle that was not mine. I liked the idea when I heard it because I thought an actual match would solve a lot of the problems of public server play (e.g. people leaving when they're losing, stupid tactics that piss everyone off, like opening the lava on Capturephobopolis, that sort of thing).

I have always loved CTF, and Ric and I also started back in the old days of the keys for flags, and the episode levels converted for CTF. We were playing it more or less as soon as the MINOS server appeared, so there's not a lot of difference in experience there. I also have fond memories of the first round of dedicated CTF levels, like the Strongbox and the original McKinley Base. With the advent of QuakeWorld (which happened during the holidays for us), we both stopped playing, but as soon as I noticed the MINOS server again, I was straight back on the old drug. It is possible that I didn't notice it for a while, due to the vagiaries of Qspy, which I personally think is a piece of shit. Anyway, once I returned to CTF in its QW, v4.1 incarnation, I was hooked again (ha ha). This would have been a few weeks before that period when MINOS reverted to v4.0, for some reason.

Anyway since then I have played CTF and little else. In the month or so before the TP match, I rarely played deathmatch or duel, and I don't think I played a single clan match (exams may also have had something to do with that). What I'm trying to say is, by the time we played that match, I could barely even remember how to play deathmatch, let alone how to use that method to dominate CTF (which I am not convinced is possible). While I now have a better understanding of why the match may have been galling for you, I must reject your account of the match.

You may remember that I actually dropped about half way through, when my machine locked. At that point, I was in second place with about 82 frags, behind MIKE!, an HPB, who had 84. Ricardo was about halfway down the (blue) field, but by the time I managed to reboot and reconnect, it was over, and Ric had come top. I certainly did get a rune, could have been strength, and kept it for quite a while (in good CTF style, yes?), but I would never knowingly hold the flag when a capture was possible. You're right, that isn't a standard CTF tactic, and indeed it is highly annoying when people do it.

I am certain that I did not, and I would be amazed to hear that Ricardo had. While I was playing, there was a long period when I had your flag in our base, and got a lot of frags as you all kept coming in to get it. I also remember that when I eventually captured, the flag had returned and I hadn't noticed in the heat of battle, but there can't have been more than about a minute between the return and the capture. For one thing, one of my teammates would have said something! I spent most of that time hanging around the yellow and the megahealth (fair enough for a flag carrier holed up in his own base?), from where you can't see the flag, but I stress that I was checking regularly, although I had to concentrate on not getting killed in the commendably constant attacks.

I can see how a misunderstanding could have arisen, perhaps if you checked impulse 23 shortly before I noticed the return, but I assure you that my playing style is classic CTF. You may recall that I made the first capture for our team, by hooking straight into your base before any of you had time to get rockets. I got back to our base at about the same time that your first attack appeared. Flagrunning is what I do best in CTF, and what I said I'd concentrate on in our tactics talk before the match. As I remember, after that delayed capture I moved on to defence because I had strength. All standard stuff.

Anyway, I've said my piece about me and Ric, but although it is flattering that you say the 2 of us defeated all of you, I don't think that is an accurate reflection of the match. Yes, I had a whale of a time until I crashed, and as I understand it Ric played a blinder, but the rest of our team, guys like Mike! and Rock Burn, played with their customary flair, and the victory is as much theirs as ours. Like I've said, that team were all guys who play a lot on MINOS, and with respect I think you had your work cut out to take them on. It is no shame to lose to a team composed of the best players from the only good CTF server in the country (here I flatter myself).

If you'll excuse my intrusion, I think the main problem with TP is that they are in fact the ONLY CTF clan in the UK (that I have heard of). No wonder it's hard to arrange matches! Practice is all very well, but it's no substitute for real match experience. My advice to you, for what it's worth, is firstly Don't Quit! Dedicated, intelligent and open-minded people are in short supply, and that is part of the problem. The best thing for TP would be to play more matches, so why not challenge some clans? If the LPB factor is a problem, then stipulate equal numbers of LPBs as a condition (that's fair enough). Stick an open challenge on your web page. It's still early days for organised CTF, so keep a stiff upper lip and wait for things to settle down. The CTF mod is so good that there's bound to be some sustained interest in restarting the league before long. Also, as editor of your magazine, and a well-known quake figure, you are in a position to actually influence the situation yourself. I know you've already done a lot of work and not seen much for it, but do yourself a favour and give it a bit longer.

Anyway, that's that. No hard feelings, and I hope I'll see you on MINOS come October"

Uther's reply:

"Heh - as you say, its nice (and bloody unusual) to have a rational discussion about this.

As for Death and Mongo, I think TP-Rejects is a tad strong! It was more down to my Goldfish Memory that they were missed off the TP list, and for that I feel a little guilty, but when TP was originally proposed (via NFTF) the initial response was, whilst not being overwhelming, a little fast-fire. I had a list of guys that I wanted (basically from seeing them play in the short lived CTF League) such as Osiris (fantastic HPB player), Tine), Nimbus (who retired from TP due to Vengeance pressure), Spirit (who retired from TP due to MCW pressure) and Groffy, and I was happy to grab them. Then there was a trickle of people, basically on the MINOS Server, who kept asking and were admitted, guys such as Dr.Chris, Dibbler, Flametop (Damn cool HPB player) and Chunky. In the rush (and at the time I was doing a JAVA contract from home) people got missed out. Hence Death and Mongo. Also in the middle of all this I managed to crash my hard drive, and lost my email DB, which did'nt help - but this is starting to sound like an excuse.

Talking about CTF Clans for a sec, do you know if there are actually plans for any more to appear? I have stood down from TP (to be honest, I don't enjoy the QW scene as much as the old Quake Scene, but thats just me living in the past), and to my knowledge there are only two other Clans planning to have a CTF division, Fallen Angels and Xtreme Chaos.

The mouse - CP only found the mouse when Sujoy spent an evening with us on the hidden Demon Server (Demon ran a TeamPlay based Quake Server on port 6666 that no-one except CP used). The fact that Sujoy spent an entire evening with us on a Server, sharing his config and showing us the tricks, sums up for me the way it used to be on the Servers.

[Sujoy had no idea of the effect he had on CP when I chatted with him about this!-Nomad]

QL - to be honest I don't have a problem with QL, and never have. The LPB tactic galls, but simply because when I was running CP originally we were totally unaware of the ping concept, and simply thought that Ettu was a DemiGod of some sort. Of course, when it became evident that ping played a massive part of the style of play, we tried to grab LPB's as well, but could'nt, simply because CP had the reputation of being a friendly punch-bag. I think people don't realise that - CP used to get a massive amount of stick on the Servers (ala BOG nowadays), yet we stuck with it, and never moaned. In that way I feel that I'm letting the side down a bit (and of course, calling CP faceless on a number of occasions has'nt endeared the present incarnation of CP to me).

[Another cut: Uther refers to the fact that he has patched things up with Lord Storm]

Public Server problems - yeah, the Lava on Capturephobopolis is paticularily irritating (can never seem to activate the Grappling Hook fast enough), and there are a number of times that I have had probs with people on the server.

The first set of CTF levels - yeah, they were superb. TP still play them as practise levels, using CTF4, and to be honest those levs are much more fun then some of the new ones (Two Towers for instance). I remember the first time CP played CTF against the RTWs - both teams spent 15 mins fighting before we realised that you had to pickup the keys, rather than simply defending your own (this was the first release, when it was keys and e1 levs).

CTF tactics - yeah, to be honest I was probably wrong about the 15 mins. I use Imp23 rarely, and when I did your flag was in your lev. Apologies again. And yeah, I did notice (briefly) the first capture - thats when I started to really worry...

As for carrying on, I'm going to leave it for a while. Being egotistical, I'd like to think that my statement would at least spark a little interest, and maybe get people thinking, but I think that the Quake Scene will deteriorate for a while longer, at least until we get some more Quake Engine based games - I'm hoping that Hexen II will be a breath of fresh air, and from what I've seen, heard and dribbled about, Quake II should blow everyone away.

It's been good talking to someone who does'nt use the work fuck every second sentence - no hard feelings!"

FROM THE SIDELINES...

It's around this point that Rawmeat emailed me in support of Storm. It's also worth inserting Death.CP.KoD's response to Uther's earlier comments here:

"I wish to point out a few lies included in Uther's response.

1) I mailed Uther first, a long time ago when he spoke on the Minos BBS about forming a CTF clan, and he said "[uther.cp] death - if u want to join tp, you can" but I replied saying I may form a team with a few Cix's.

2) Uther mailed CP and said he was leaving to form TP ((a CTF & TF team(anyone hear the TF bit ?)) so I mailed him back "Well I dont play TF much, but enjoy, and am excellent at CTF, ....snip... so if you need anymore _CTF_ players let me know :)"

3) But Uther says "Death and Mongoman asked me to join TP a number of times, but never Emailed me (as I asked). Both of them were pissed off having not joined TP." I can't speak for Mongoman, but this is blatant lies; I mailed Uther; He asked me to join if I wished, I didnt follow it up, but I recieve TP mails.

4) My idea to organise a CTF game between TP and TG (Terminal Gimps(the name we decided to use just (on IRC) before the game)) was becuase I read TP's web page, where he states :

"As of 25th April 1997 TeamPendragon has not fought any challengers due to lack of challenges." This was something to the effect that "No clan was brave enough to challenge us.", wasn't it ?

So I mailed a few guys who I have seen play CTF on the minos server, 4 modemers, a couple of ISDNers, and 2 SuperJanet people but only one played in the game I think, I didnt play since my connect was crap, and Ricardo just turned up in time. We discussed tatics before the game, like keeping the Quad and 666 area controlled in ctf2m1 (key area when you have the flag and returning to base)

5) I didnt organise the game with Uther, he wasnt around, so I organised it with Dibbler. Did that bother you ?

I think thats it. Rant over."

AND BACK TO THE GAME

Enrique made one last attempt to convert Uther. This is also the email with That Hook Alias in it...

"Well, it's been an educational discussion, which is nice. Here's my last attempt to persuade you to hang around, or at least keep playing CTF:

You mentioned that you have trouble pulling the hook out in time to escape from the Capturephobopolis lava. I used to have the same problem (and a host of similar ones), until a solution occurred to me which has dramatically improved my hooking skill, which is vital, and I daresay will do the same for you. At the bottom of this message is a copy of an email I sent to Mike! shortly before The Match, which lists a bunch of lines from my cfg. The effect is that you have your regular weapon on your left button, and your hook on your right, as if it was in your other hand. As soon as you release the hook, it switches back to whatever weapon you were holding before. I promise you, once you try this you will keep it; of course, if you quit now I guess you'll never find out... I share this with you, and anyone else who happens to read it on Nomad's page, should he put it up, in the spirit of comradeship which you so sorely miss.

As for CTF clans, I think it's a great idea, but beset with problems. For a start there is only one generally available CTF server, which is full a lot of the time. A couple more would hugely boost the CTF scene. Secondly, there is the issue of loyalty - I would like to be in a regular CTF team, but I couldn't possibly fulfill a commitment to that and my normal QL activities at the same time, and I don't want to quit one for the other. A 'CTF wing' is a nice idea, but hell, there's only 15 of us as it is, and how many of those are keen enough? I would have thought you'd need a squad of about ten for a functioning CTF team.

It's good to hear that you don't actually hate QL - that seems unusual these days, and I suspect that anti-QL feeling, combined with the ubiquitous anti-LPB feeling of which I am so sick, is responsible for many of the messages of agreement which you say you've received. It would be nice if you could prove me wrong there, but that would be hoping for too much. As for Ettu, even LPBs agree that he may well be some form of deity.

I'm sorry to hear you don't like my second favourite among the new levels. I never seem to have much success in persuading people that it's a good map, but all the elements for good CTF are there. The bases are well designed for defence, but skilled attackers will keep you on your toes, and attacks can come from all sides. The central area is perfect for large scale battles, with the red armour to fight over. The map as a whole is a flagrunner's dream, and the possibilities for skillful hooking chases and manoeuvres (sp?) are endless. I would say the only flaws are the campability of the rockets and the profusion of fiddly little secrets with not much in them. The size of the level is the problem that most people cite, but it just needs lots of of players. If everyone didn't bugger off with cries of "Shit level!", it would be a lot more fun. The best of the new levels is of course Spill The Blood. But I digress.

This correspondance had really stirred up my enthusiasm for CTF again, and I will certainly miss it over the next three months. Heigh Ho. I guess I'll see you in Quake 2.

cheers, Enrique

The Hook: OK, here's what you need. The first 4 lines are handy CTFimpulses that you probably know anyway. The others should be self-explanatory. Things to bear in mind:

1) autoloading a picked up weapon doesn't set the curr_w alias e.g. you're using nails, then pick up rox, then use hook, it flicks back to nails

2) similarly, when you die it doesn't reset to impulse 2

3) autoswitching when you run out of ammo doesn't change the alias

4) etc etc etc...

It takes about ten minutes to get the hang of, after that it's like breathing.

cheers, Enrique

alias pack "impulse 20"

alias weap "impulse 21"

alias ctf "impulse 25"

alias flag "impulse 23"

alias +hook "impulse 22; +attack"

alias -hook "-attack; impulse 2; curr_w"

bind MOUSE2 +hook

bind "0" "impulse 0; alias curr_w impulse 0"

bind "1" "impulse 1; alias curr_w impulse 1"

bind "2" "impulse 2; alias curr_w impulse 2"

bind "3" "impulse 3; alias curr_w impulse 3"

bind "4" "impulse 4; alias curr_w impulse 4"

bind "5" "impulse 5; alias curr_w impulse 5"

bind "6" "impulse 6; alias curr_w impulse 6"

bind "7" "impulse 7; alias curr_w impulse 7"

bind "8" "impulse 8; alias curr_w impulse 8"

bind "9" "impulse 9; alias curr_w impulse 9"

alias talk_shit "say hasta la vista baby"

AND FINALLY...

It's only fair to let Uther have the last word...

"Thanx for the config - I'll be trying that out. I had the right mouse as Hook Activate, but could'nt get the damn thing to cycle back to the prev weapon, so this should give me an advantage :->

CTF Clans - yeah, I think that Clan's will start to have CTF wings soon. Its a shame that CTF is'nt as popular as it deserves to be - I personally rank CTF AS Quake, and normal Quake is just a way to practise with the weapons (God I miss the grapple in normal quake). One of the probs TP had was that the players were all from other Clans, and CTF was a byline. Hence we'd have people sodding off from practises because their Clans were practising, or fighting.

Do you use the new QWCL Client, and if so have you noticed the massive slowdowns when playing CTF? I always play GLQWCL, and CTF is nigh on unplayable at the moment. Even in the standard QWCL the new client seems a lot more flaky.

The QL Bashing - some of the notes of agreement are due to QL bashing, but it probably won't surprise you to hear that the majority of the agreement notes are from 'The Old Guard', people who were very prominent in the early days of MINOS Quake, and just feel as I do that the scene has become unfriendly.

Two Towers - nice concept level, but I find that it doesn't flow as well as some of the earlier levels. Captureaphobolis (or whatever - can never get that name right) is an absolute beaut for flow - you can go from flag to flag without pausing, and its superb for defense/attack combo. Two Towers is a beautiful level to look at, and I agree with you that the central wasteland is a warground and a half, but unless you have a tonne of people the level is just a little too large to play.

(Excuse me if i get the names wrong) Spill the Blood - this is the one with the two bases, each having a little pool, a podium at one end with the Flag and a hidden RL room? If so, this level is one of the best. Utterly brilliant for defense - in one of the TP practises, Dr.Chris and Dibbler held that room for 20 minutes against 7 people, which was impressive.

McKinley Station - hmm, this does'nt do much for me, as it does'nt compare well to McKinley Base, which was a very fluid level. The base on McKinley Station are too fiddly - you can end up tangling yourself around those bloody handrails a lot.

This one's name escapes me, but it seems to be the default level everytime I go to MINOS - the one with the two bases set in rock faces, each base having the flag on a small platform, with walkways leading down from the sides, fronted by a little depressed area, with a secret location within the base room, containing two rocket packs and a 100 health - this level is reasonably good, except the RL situation is a major pain, one RL and its always camped (that damn little corridor has too many respawn points in it). I like the air tubes though - I managed to axe murder a flag carrier in one of those once, cos he jumped in whilst I was grappled to him, and dragged me along.

The most annoying level - the one with the two skull faces. This one is so un-fluid its almost unplayable. If you have anything less than 5 on 5 it turns into a 'help! I'm lost' style of game!

The Gloom Castles level - this, the other ID lev, is reasonably fun, aside from the fact that when you play it on the MINOS server, you seem to find that the flag is unguarded whilst 5 people hang around the respective RL room - really annoying.

My personal favorite has to be Captureaphobolis - it is without doubt the most fluid CTF level I have played, and just feels 'right'.

Anyway - thanx for the config again. I'll probably be jumping on the MINOS CTF Server occasionally, though not as Uther, so I'll probably see you there when you are back."

And that, really, finally is it. I'm The Nomad, for News From The Front, signing off.

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