My first foray into competitive LAN gaming was with the Lemmings RtCW team. LAN tournaments are entirely different from online competitions, especially when there is prize money up for grabs. A LAN tournament is always hectic and adrenaline filled.

Low-Ping for the win?

Even with a ping of 12 through a fibre-optic cable modem, a LAN firefight feels nothing like it - you live or die in an instant. It is often said online that the LPB (“Low Ping Bastard”) has a huge advantage, but it is not a case of ‘better ping, better player’; with the antilag features in today’s games a higher ping actually gives you more reaction time for certain weapons, and makes you more difficult to track if moving quickly. However, if you have the reactions, the skill and experience with a low ping then the high ping opponent is in for trouble.

Cheese with your W(h)ine?

People often complain when playing on foreign servers that their ping has caused them to lose. It is true that your distance from the server will increase your ping, and hence the feel of the game will be different. However, I used to play Quakeworld Clan Arena on a 100+ ping, and subsequently played hundreds (if not thousands) of games on foreign servers on broadband. The key for the individual is to acclimatise to the ping - yes it will feel different, and yes you will have to adjust to it, but that is all part and parcel of online gaming. Moaning about it will not help, nor will moaning about opponents 'warping'. If you lose it is because you have not changed your play-style to match your ping-time. If you want to be a rounded player - deal with it. Hitboxes will be slightly different so your aim will need to change slightly, and you may even have to use a different weapon (i.e. in Quake, switch to Lightning Gun if you cannot hit with rail). Also, do not rely on hit-sounds or even the graphics, you need to know when you are hitting and trust in that knowledge. Often the graphical display and sound can be misleading, especially with packet-loss, so do your best and you will probably find it a lot easier than you think.

Lemmings
Now the Lemmings team had a great bunch of guys of similar age to myself, all with a passionate united goal – to be the best UK team and defeat 4Kings (4kings had been UK Number 1 for a long time!). My last game with Lemmings was also my best. The final of the Intel Masters 2, against 4Kings in 2002, is probably my favourite gaming memory..

Hosted in the Science Museum, South Kensington, Chris Barrie (Rimmer from Red Dwarf) was host to the crowd, keeping them entertained during the usual tournament delays.
My presiding memory of the final consists of noise and adrenaline - with Warwitch’s commentary blasting from the IMAX cinema speakers as we battled tooth and nail, screaming at each other to be heard over the racket, in front of a crowd of friends/family/fellow geeks watching the action on the IMAX cinema-screen. It was bloody brilliant.

On a technical level, the whole tournament took place on a custom map: the Science Museum layout. (My map knowledge also helped me navigate the building on the day, when security decided to close a stairwell). All Wolfenstein and Counterstrike teams had to learn the “Science Museum” map in two months and create tactics specifically for the tournament. It was a great test of ingenuity.

After Intel Masters 2, I was recruited by 4Kings specifically for Quakecon 2003. I left friends behind, choosing to play at a higher level. I cannot say I was sorry about this, I was hoping to enter real money competitions in America, I was constantly improving skill-wise and I wanted to move on. However, 4Kings were not some a super-team, they were basically just a team of youngsters who had worked hard to get where they were.. one step ahead of the Lemmings team but still a step behind the top European teams.

The top teams from around the world were our Quakecon 2003 competition. After months of practice, we were informed that the online qualifying stages were to be held on American servers. The need to qualify on high ping US servers was something of a kick in the teeth. Infensus, GMPO, Ocrana, One Soldier, and ourselves all made it through to play the finals in Dallas.

I highly recommend watching “GMPO - Road to QuakeCon 2003” (produced by Vesa Nieminen). The section in the garage on MP_Assault waiting for the enemy rush still gives me the shivers nearly a decade later - it captures the adrenaline and the pressure of the qualifying matches brilliantly.

This leads me on nicely to strategy:-

Attrition

In “respawn” games, attrition is often the way to break a seemingly unbeatable defence. MP_Assault in Wolfenstein being the key example. The map is simple, but brilliant. You either push high along the open runway in full view of the enemy, or dynamite two areas and head low through service tunnels. The engagement points are vicious – small doorways or narrow stairwells. Breaking through a decent defence is nigh on impossible in one push.

As such, you should not expect to break a strong defence in one attack. Your goal should be to take out one or two defending opponents in each push then keep the supply line suppressed (i.e. tie them down at the respawn point). Clear opponents out the garage one at a time, eventually leaving it clear for a small group to push through low and get the dynamite down on the objective.
As with any map, disrupt the enemy defence enough and it will fall apart into confusion – leaving you open to claim the high ground and rain down some fiery death of your own. Gain control of the strong positions, move quickly, lock down the map.

The Players

I have been reminded quite forcefully by two of my “gaming buddies” that I have missed out one of the most important gaming points – the players.

Obviously if the same group of people play as a team together for any length of time, they will become excellent at predicting each others’ movements and will be a very tough team to beat. However, that is not enough on its own.
When a big tournament comes along, you need the preparation and the plans down on paper. When you are sitting in the big game itself, the adrenaline is pumping, your natural teamplay skills will be tested – it is important you know what the plan is, what your teammates will be doing, and to leave as little as possible to chance. If you do not prepare, you will regret it.

The Ideal Gaming Team

The ideal team will enjoy playing, will be able to laugh if things go badly, and also will fulfil various natural roles. You need the aggressive players for the aggressive positions, the defensive players to hold the line. Each player needs to be aware of how their individual actions will affect the other players on the team. Risking your life on a frag-hunt is not an option on a well-designed map against good opposition (unless it is built into the overall strategy).


4Kings

4Kings were certainly not the ideal gaming team. A group of hot headed youngsters, arguments, tantrums a-plenty, and I was forced to practice with the same group of guys five nights a week for around four hours a night, and indeed then Captain them training for CyberX Gaming and then as we moved into Call of Duty. My girlfriend suffered my gaming for years, but eventually it caused her to leave – not because of the time I was spending on it, but because of the stress it caused me and my moods after the training.

The Creamy Rant

If there is one rant I can make about competitive gaming (and believe me, I have ranted this before to specific people): Do not bicker during an official match. It makes me extremely angry. If you practice for a game and something goes wrong, well that is a problem sure, but there is no sense in arguing and throwing insults around during the match – it guarantees you will lose. It is a childish, pointless cop-out, and all it means to me is the offending player is himself failing miserably. If you want to win, you need to play, not make excuses. You cannot win a game if you are bickering. If you want to discuss tactical or strategic issues, you do so after the match. Until then you focus on winning, nothing else. (This is not specific to 4Kings, every team does the same).
And conversely, if you make a total cock up (2.59 Mr Smithers!) do not lose all hope, just get on with it and do your best, everyone makes mistakes. The worst thing you can do for your teammates is fall into a slump and lose motivation. Get over it and get on with it – the game will be finished in the blink of an eye, you need to give your full attention to winning, not mope or sulk or complain.

The Tactics
For my next (and potentially final) article I will devise some tactics for a specific map - so watch this space.

Corrections:
Quakecon 2003 was actually hosted at the Adam’s Mark Hotel. The CPL was held at the Gaylord Hotel.
Oh, I should also note that whilst I did get a six man panzer kill in the Intel Masters 2 Final, Warwitch apparently shouted out that it was a “4Kings suicide” – which it may have been, I was blasting the hell out of them over and over again and keeping them at bay, so they pushed me on a short respawn, got blown up, then over-ran the team whilst I was “recharging” from the previous shot. Such is life!