This was originally a comment to Torrents article, but as this post got quite long nobody read/commented it. So im posting it as an own column, as its a little too long to be an comment, I guess people dont want two different and very long points in the same thread. (This is a answer to Torrents column so you need to read it before reading this one http://crossfire.nu/?x=column&mode=item&id=279 )

I understand Torrents of view really well, because etqw is different from WOLF:ET and I think everyone that enjoyed WOLF:ET misses things in ETQW. But it will always be this way with new games, I can bet 100 euro here and now that people will be disappointed about RTCW2 as well. In cod4 I will surly miss my favourite weapon from the cod series, the rifle, but I might just as well like the game. Because the game got new stuff that I might even have to learn to like, they might not be as simple - but with some time I might enjoy them just as much as I did with the rifle.

As for ETQW there is some things that might seem very scary to WOLF:ET players and these are vehicles. They are big, they are ugly, they got an unfair amount of splash damage and armour and they are going to kill you in pubs. There is a cvar to remove them, so when SDK arrives I guess we will see lots of infantry only servers. And there is 2 maps without (almost any) vehicles in the game atm, so you can pub without getting spammed to death.

But this will change, if you look to Battlefield 2 - (a game that's far from ETQW and many times more focused around vehicles) you will see that even bf2 is played INF only to a big extent. In clan matches the no vehicle scene is the most active and there are tons of public servers offering a vehicle free experience. And im convinced we will see the same with ETQW, not because BF2 and ETQW are alike - but because people aren't that into vehicles in the long run.

And in clan matches most vehicles and turrets is already restricted or removed. The reason for this is split. In a 6vs6 its kinda hard having lots of units having 2-5 times more health and firepower than a infantry, not only takes it focus away from the objectives having to use 2 or 3 from your team to counter tank/air. Its also very unfair and unbalanced in many situations where a tank or air unit can gain total map control over an area even versus several infantry players attacking at the same time. Other than that the vehicles doesn't really add very much to the gameplay in clan matches, ask yourself the question: "what does a tank add to the gameplay that an infantry player doesn't?" The only thing the tank adds to the game is being unbalanced vs infantry in 1vs1s or 1vs2s or even 1vs3s and that's not a thing that clan players enjoy too much. (Unless they're in the tank of course) Because this is a basic feeling WOLF:ET players might feel more strongly about than BF players, a 1vs1 shouldn't be about who's sitting in the best vehicle, it should be about skill and who's the better player in the situation or who's got the best teamwork with a nice crossfire setup or a medic coming in for the revive as soon as your dropped.

And I feel this very strongly (even though I have only played BF at a high level), right from the start I stated strongly that I didn't think heavy vehicles belonged in a tight 6vs6 clanmatch scenario as they are very powerful. In a tank you can take out as many infantry players as you want in an 1on1 unless they are a rocket soldiers and in a 1vs1 with rocket soldier vs tank the tank got about 4/5 times as much health and better weapons. So to make it fair you would need a 1vs4 rocket soldier and the tank can heal itself through the driver jumping and repairing, this is if you look away from the most effective tank counter, the rocket arty. But as tankers get better they are starting to find many ways to move to places when they get locked (by arty) where the path of the rocket arty is obstructed and they don't get hit.
And the tank got very powerful spam weapons that's so powerful that you don't really want to move in on a objective before you have taken out the tank that's a part of the defence there. This makes for a gameplay where countering the tank is as important as winning the 1vs1s or 2vs2 or whatever XvsXs buying you entrance to the objective. This is very familiar for BF players, but remember that bf2/2142 always was played no vehicles in 5vs5/6vs6 and we never used vehicles in "flag by flag". (gametype where you have to the objectives in a set succession - similar to the gameplay of stopwatch) So why do BF players feel so strongly about having the tanks in a 6vs6 scenario where you have to do objectives in a set succession? If this was bf2 we wouldn't.

So the questions remaining are: What good does the vehicles add to the gameplay in 6vs6? What good do the vehicles add to the 6vs6 ETQW community if it scares away the WOLF:ET players? (because the ETQW community will die at some point unless many WOLF: ET players move over - this isn't BF3 and the majority of the people playing in one year cant be BF players if ETQW is to have a long lasting life)

Will we miss the heavy vehicles if we remove them in 6vs6s?, is there anyone that's not very sucky and trying to be better than he really is only playing heavy vehicles that would miss them? Wouldn't we get a gameplay more about objectives, teamwork and skill - rather than having a large focus on spam and counters? Wouldn't we attract more WOLF: ET players and build ourselves a real future as a competitive community? Well I am one sided when answering my own questions, but I would like to hear other people answer these questions and I would love to hear what WOLF: ET players think.

And a big factor here is: The ETQW clan community need WOLF: ET players to start playing ETQW. Atm few realises this, but if WOLF: ET players dont start playing ETQW the community wont grow and it will only become a shadow of what it could have been. Because there is tons of other MP games coming out this fall and there is only one natural recruiting ground for ETQW. If this doesnt happen I dont see ETQW surviving for very long, as there is too few people playing atm and the recruitment is very slow with big resistance from WOLF: ET players. In my eyes the only solution to this problem is making ETQW 6vs6 more tempting for WOLF: ET players.

As for other things that's "wrong" with etqw, well the engine is different. Everything doesn't feel as smooth as in the q3 engine (especially if your not getting 120fps stable and have tweaked your config right), but it will be just the same with RTCW2 and its something you can learn to like if you give it a honest shot. The movement and weapons are different from WOLF: ET, but the game has good hitboxes and net code and these are just things you have to get used to. Because if you do give it an honest shot and find the game to be enjoyable, a new world of new maps, new possibilities and tons of fun will open to you. ETQW might not be as easy to like as WOLF: ET was back in the day (for current WOLF: ET players), but if you fix your fps, fix your animations and get into ETQW there is tons of fun here and it truly is a worthy WOLF: ET successor. Different - yes, but just as good. Long live Enemy Territory! : )