Somebody pinch me.
Had someone told me Enemy Territory would even enter the minds of Quakecon tournament director Nate Borland after last year's relatively poor showing I would have laughed. Not one of those feminine, "tee hee hee" laughs. This would be a hearty, "Ho, Ho, Ho," emanating deep from my bowels. In fact, the only thing I would rank as less likely than ET returning would be seeing Return to Castle Wolfenstein back in Grapevine.
Oh wait.
So why is it that Borland has opened the can of worms that is the ET vs RTCW debate? How can we best settle the never ceasing argument over which game is better in a competition setting? Which game had the higher skilled players? Which game is more spectator friendly? And most importantly, how can we ensure a successful showing of the Wolfenstein faithful after a disappointing 2005?
Introducing the first--and with the release of RTCW2 on the horizon, likely only--Wolfenstein Olympics. A test of skill in all things Axis vs Allies. A battle that rages from the beaches, across the airfields, through the cities' banks, and into the heart of the desert. A challenge so complete only the true Wolfenstein elite would remain standing.
Imagine a format that includes matches played in multiple games. A weekend when ET teams will finally have a chance to shake the stigma that they were the dregs of RTCW competition. An event where RTCW teams will have an opportunity to make good on the years of trash talk.
I humbly propose the creation of a Wolfenstein utopia.
Two separate qualifiers resulting in the best eight RTCW teams and the best eight ET teams. Tournament seedings done in a format that would pit ET's strongest team against RTCW's eighth seed and vice versa. Matches in a best of three format with a twist; multiple games would be available to choose from. Each team would have the opportunity to select their game choice (RTCW or ET) and the opposing team would have map choice.
The difficulty lies in finding a suitable tiebreaker. This I leave open to the community. In keeping with the Wolfenstein theme, a match in ET with suitable tweaks (no landmines, no fall off damage, etc) seems to come closest to a compromise of the two games. Or perhaps 15 minutes of 6v6 Q3 TDM is the solution. Suggestions are welcome and encouraged.
Naturally, there are disadvantages to such a format. Setup time may become prohibitive since two games would be actively used. The potential risk of having no one attend must be weighed against the potential reward of everyone attending. Having separate qualifiers for a common event requires far more man-hours and creates logistical nightmares otherwise avoided. Forcing ET players to spend $10 on a bargain bin copy of RTCW may be perceived as unfair.
Regardless, the potential payoff is huge. Hear the glee of RTCW players should all the ET teams be knocked into the loser bracket the first round creating an entirely RTCW second round. Visualize the elation when the ET(8) knocks RTCW(1) off the first round. And picture the surprise when RTCW(8) picks ET as their game choice when facing a higher seeded RTCW team. The strategy now goes far deeper than just in-game setups and tactics.
But most importantly, imagine a weekend of partying and fellowship amongst all the Wolfenstein faithful. After all, isn't that what Quakecon is all about?
Had someone told me Enemy Territory would even enter the minds of Quakecon tournament director Nate Borland after last year's relatively poor showing I would have laughed. Not one of those feminine, "tee hee hee" laughs. This would be a hearty, "Ho, Ho, Ho," emanating deep from my bowels. In fact, the only thing I would rank as less likely than ET returning would be seeing Return to Castle Wolfenstein back in Grapevine.
Oh wait.
So why is it that Borland has opened the can of worms that is the ET vs RTCW debate? How can we best settle the never ceasing argument over which game is better in a competition setting? Which game had the higher skilled players? Which game is more spectator friendly? And most importantly, how can we ensure a successful showing of the Wolfenstein faithful after a disappointing 2005?
Introducing the first--and with the release of RTCW2 on the horizon, likely only--Wolfenstein Olympics. A test of skill in all things Axis vs Allies. A battle that rages from the beaches, across the airfields, through the cities' banks, and into the heart of the desert. A challenge so complete only the true Wolfenstein elite would remain standing.
Imagine a format that includes matches played in multiple games. A weekend when ET teams will finally have a chance to shake the stigma that they were the dregs of RTCW competition. An event where RTCW teams will have an opportunity to make good on the years of trash talk.
I humbly propose the creation of a Wolfenstein utopia.
Two separate qualifiers resulting in the best eight RTCW teams and the best eight ET teams. Tournament seedings done in a format that would pit ET's strongest team against RTCW's eighth seed and vice versa. Matches in a best of three format with a twist; multiple games would be available to choose from. Each team would have the opportunity to select their game choice (RTCW or ET) and the opposing team would have map choice.
The difficulty lies in finding a suitable tiebreaker. This I leave open to the community. In keeping with the Wolfenstein theme, a match in ET with suitable tweaks (no landmines, no fall off damage, etc) seems to come closest to a compromise of the two games. Or perhaps 15 minutes of 6v6 Q3 TDM is the solution. Suggestions are welcome and encouraged.
Naturally, there are disadvantages to such a format. Setup time may become prohibitive since two games would be actively used. The potential risk of having no one attend must be weighed against the potential reward of everyone attending. Having separate qualifiers for a common event requires far more man-hours and creates logistical nightmares otherwise avoided. Forcing ET players to spend $10 on a bargain bin copy of RTCW may be perceived as unfair.
Regardless, the potential payoff is huge. Hear the glee of RTCW players should all the ET teams be knocked into the loser bracket the first round creating an entirely RTCW second round. Visualize the elation when the ET(8) knocks RTCW(1) off the first round. And picture the surprise when RTCW(8) picks ET as their game choice when facing a higher seeded RTCW team. The strategy now goes far deeper than just in-game setups and tactics.
But most importantly, imagine a weekend of partying and fellowship amongst all the Wolfenstein faithful. After all, isn't that what Quakecon is all about?
