Why do the gamers of the "older" titles out there seem to dominate the scenes of any new game? The magic formula below.
I write this due to the fact its been playing on my mind since i picked up dayz as a game that i actually enjoy. The learning curves in games has been ruined by the vast introduction of easy mode gamers. I think everyone here knows where i began my journey in gaming, from the likes ET, CoD and more i don't think i can say i had a better introduction to gaming than this.
The skillset that we all learn from these early titles can be imposed upon most games and give us select few a huge advantage over most newer gamers, especially within the FPS world. Now dont get me wrong, i know countless examples of new kids on the block who can blow us all out of the water but the vast majority cant. I intend to look upon some of the skills we learn as basics that have carried us "veteran" gamers to the top of the scene in many of the newer titles.
Team work makes the dream work
The whole basis of beating the opposing team is to work as a team, you cant do it on your own. Simple as that, you could be the best player in the world but with no one beside you, you are as useful as a chocolate teapot. Everyone reading this will know what i mean, Without that medic behind you, you'll be on full... without that Engi in front of you, you cant blow up the main gate.
To not go into to much detail about the structure of Enemy Territory i intend to highlight how mentality towards your team can really make all the odds. Understanding how the guy next to you plays will secure you the victory.
To quote a article written by D1ablo about team structure within CoD4 teams relates perfectly upon this topic.
"Above the spectrum, I have decided to place Vasquez, who was somewhat in the middle of it all and is considerably one of the most influential “Mr. Gel” type characters to date. He solidified the flow of play styles present within this team, and it most definitely showed in the team’s late success of 09’. "
Now this can be applied to ET and many other games, everyone had that team leader who was able to keep a cool head and lead you to where you need to go. I look back upon playing with Mztik , Tox and co those two were ideal to be the in game leaders. Tox for example was a true damage dealing Fops with the ability to adapt to any task infront of him but the way he could instruct a team was magic. Any "legendary" team has this leader within the team dynamic.
To put ET aside for a moment, what we learn from just this small part of what can make you a good ET player is how to conduct yourself within a team. You don't have to be the leader of the pack but you know how to if it has to be done. You know how to see the bigger picture in front of you. You don't just fraghunt and blame your team. You win as a team and you lose as a team, there is no other way to think.
"Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships"
Michael Jordan
This may feel like second nature to you as a player but to the newer kids this is something totally alien to what they do and we as ET players have this etched into our brains from your first 3on3 or 6on6. The ability to handle yourself within a team structure with the right positive mentality can make you a pivotal member of the team and keeping the right mentality towards how to improve and works as a team makes that happen. The raging and throwing your toys out the pram attitude will get you nowhere.
The example above is from LowLandLions, a team who had massive success towards the later days of CoD4, the reason wasn't their individual ability. There were teams with better. The way they communicated and had the correct mentality shined and pulled them past the vast majority of teams.
Clear and useful comms can change the odds on so many situations. When i first came from ET to CoD4 the reason i got picked up into a team wasn't due to my ability, i had never played CoD4 properly prior to that point but my calls were spot on and better than most. I only had this due to the fact ET is based upon it as it lends so heavily towards how you play as a team. To really go into detail about the clip below and the one above, to call where you smoke, flash, nade and push can almost check off areas of the map for your teammates that they wouldn't be able to see or know about otherwise. Raging and moaning about something that goes wrong will only create issues within the squad or team you play with, what good does raging about a lucky nade do? nothing. So don't. Keep calm, call it and help your team mates that are alive.
Knowing where a nade landed and at what time can pin point a area your enemy is playing. Lets say a fast A nade on strike, you get caught out by rushing by a fast nade. It landed by the second car on attack, now there are only few places that can by thrown from, both by double palms. Most SMGs wont throw that nade so you can already know that there is probably a AK by A rather than a SMG stacked bomb site/Statue area. So that can already highlight you may have a SMG from the other side pushing garage or to B link. All of this, can be understood by calling rather than raging.
Back in the days of CoD4 - VitaNova Lan
Being able to stay calm, give clear and useful comms is missing in a lot of gamers these days as they have never understood why its so important. Games like dayz for example can be made so much better by being able to communicate with your squad well. I will list a example below of a ex ET player Ngotie who has transferred over to DayZ with relative success.
To break down what you are seeing they are going to a extremely hot area within DayZ probably one of the most challenged areas the "NW Airfield" . This is where high loot will spawn like great weapons and such so you will always get a good bit of PVP action. You can hear Ngotie, Sacriel and Oshi7 as a 3 man squad taking on another team of players. At a disadvantaged position they have to adjust where they are to make a challenge without being dropped.
"The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place."
George Bernard Shaw
Personally i have always strafe aimed, with minimal movement from my mouse i was able to control spread to the best of my ability and generally keep up to the movement of the opposing player (by using A & D) Adding movement to this by moving in such a way that makes it near on impossible to be tracked easily has aided me to being a "Good aimer" in most games.
Now that's just me, players like mAus, butchji, mztik,ferus and azatej all had their own ways of aiming but you put them into another game and it can still translate. You only need to look at butchji or ferus in another game to see how amazing they really were (and are).
Enemy Territory made you learn how to track, to track a player isn't the most simple of things due to positioning and the fact they are also trying to kill you. The ability within itself makes most ET players above the skill level they should be at most other games, ive casually mixed with enough ET players in CoD4 to see them being called cheaters due to the fact they have the game sens of a fish but the aim of a beast.
1.6 for example did have way less of a tracking feel to it and more of a snap to target but the countless hours id spend on something like
Would help ease the transition and by this point of transferring from game to game you would know what you would need to succeed. The correct choice of sensitivity that can relate to the speed of the character you are playing against, you don't want to have sensitivity so low you cant track a player moving left to right or sensitivity so high you are aiming all over the place. That sweet spot of sensitivity will make you aim on point faster than sqzz on a doc run.
I look back at a article written by Mztik many moons ago and it still highlights a HUGE point to being a good ET player and a good player at just about any other game. The choices you make may initially by a small splash in the water but the repercussions are huge.
"Ever thought to yourself why players such as Clown or Xpaz, neither distinguished in aim (although respectable and potent enough to carry out their duties), are constantly achieving in clans full of power house players? The truth is, because they have excellent decision making skills and this is reflected in their game-play. They endeavor to remain constantly aware of all influencing variables"
The focus of trying to stay aware of all the variables was something that i took from playing with Mztik and Xpaz on a regular basis to any game i could, i explain in here the impact of just knowing where one nade landing can have a HUGE impact upon the round but you can apply this to anything.
The choices you make in the split seconds of ET or CoD or any other game define you as a player. I always was the dedicated medic within that setup between Mztik, Toxic or Xpaz whoever was playing i knew my role and i knew what they wanted and how i could slot into this. I kept track of spawn times, where the opponent will be, how that will impact upon my team mates how i would position myself to be of assistance, whether it was the correct choice to be aggressive in a situation or work fully towards keeping others alive. Always putting down medic packs to make sure there was a option there if needed, one pack could cause a player to stay alive and get someone on full or be on full them self.
You can apply this to CoD4 or whatever game you are playing, who is alive? where do they play? what is their weapon? Okay so its Germaine on strike attack. More than likely he will be in midshops with a AK with a eye on where i probably already am as he is as knowledgeable as they get. How can i come out of the situation with a advantage?
ET makes you keep track of this as does most previous games, The ability to think beyond just the situation in hand and see the impact that will have upon others and how to adapt.
I don't think i need to explain to the people reading this the effort we go to to improve and learn more. These days i feel its missing within a lot of FPS titles and the people who play it, they want quick success and aren't willing to put in the hours to get to the level they should.
How many demo's or ETTV replays have you watched to try and pick up some tips and tricks? I can personally say i spent hours upon hours watching CoD4 demo's to learn opponents routes, nades, positions and where they get caught out.
If i knew i was going to play them in the upcoming games, i would time their route, learn a stop nade to their feet and block them out of a game. Taking 1 player out of a game totally is the most frustrating thing to do to them and it can break down a teams dynamics, ruining communication and their mentality. I look at gamers today and see them spending endless hours on publics trying to improve their aim and gameplay but when are you EVER going to come up against the situations you are faced with in a public over in a real match? never... No one is going to just run at you or peak all the time, its a pointless endeavour.
Knowing how to hone your skills is what separates the big players from the rest when a new FPS title comes out. Why do you think players like Blackmane, Mark, Toxjee and co are ripping up artic combat? They know how to improve. They know what to focus on. They do it time and time again.
Expecting to be good at a game after only a few hours of playing makes me rage. DayZ for example you wont be good at it when you spawn, you get eaten alive... literally. Then you learn the spots, the counter spots how to aim with certain weapons and how to play as a cohesive squad.
If people take the above points into any game you will succeed. I can tell you now i would take a ET player as a teammate over anyone as i know they have all the above as a basic skillset to be something special.
So i put the question to you, why do you think players like Winghaven, ferus, Mztik, Reload, Wombat, Xylos and more always seemed to be able to adapt so well to newer titles? Does the above apply to you?
I write this due to the fact its been playing on my mind since i picked up dayz as a game that i actually enjoy. The learning curves in games has been ruined by the vast introduction of easy mode gamers. I think everyone here knows where i began my journey in gaming, from the likes ET, CoD and more i don't think i can say i had a better introduction to gaming than this.
The skillset that we all learn from these early titles can be imposed upon most games and give us select few a huge advantage over most newer gamers, especially within the FPS world. Now dont get me wrong, i know countless examples of new kids on the block who can blow us all out of the water but the vast majority cant. I intend to look upon some of the skills we learn as basics that have carried us "veteran" gamers to the top of the scene in many of the newer titles.
Mentality
A huge point for me. The mentality of a gamer within a team based game is as critical as any other ability. To work within a unit and complete a set task of goals is no easy feat, but as a community a ET player will have a huge step in the right direction. Personally i only have to see my change from ET to CoD4 to prove this point.Team work makes the dream work
The whole basis of beating the opposing team is to work as a team, you cant do it on your own. Simple as that, you could be the best player in the world but with no one beside you, you are as useful as a chocolate teapot. Everyone reading this will know what i mean, Without that medic behind you, you'll be on full... without that Engi in front of you, you cant blow up the main gate.
To not go into to much detail about the structure of Enemy Territory i intend to highlight how mentality towards your team can really make all the odds. Understanding how the guy next to you plays will secure you the victory.
To quote a article written by D1ablo about team structure within CoD4 teams relates perfectly upon this topic.
"Above the spectrum, I have decided to place Vasquez, who was somewhat in the middle of it all and is considerably one of the most influential “Mr. Gel” type characters to date. He solidified the flow of play styles present within this team, and it most definitely showed in the team’s late success of 09’. "
Now this can be applied to ET and many other games, everyone had that team leader who was able to keep a cool head and lead you to where you need to go. I look back upon playing with Mztik , Tox and co those two were ideal to be the in game leaders. Tox for example was a true damage dealing Fops with the ability to adapt to any task infront of him but the way he could instruct a team was magic. Any "legendary" team has this leader within the team dynamic.
To put ET aside for a moment, what we learn from just this small part of what can make you a good ET player is how to conduct yourself within a team. You don't have to be the leader of the pack but you know how to if it has to be done. You know how to see the bigger picture in front of you. You don't just fraghunt and blame your team. You win as a team and you lose as a team, there is no other way to think.
"Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships"
Michael Jordan
This may feel like second nature to you as a player but to the newer kids this is something totally alien to what they do and we as ET players have this etched into our brains from your first 3on3 or 6on6. The ability to handle yourself within a team structure with the right positive mentality can make you a pivotal member of the team and keeping the right mentality towards how to improve and works as a team makes that happen. The raging and throwing your toys out the pram attitude will get you nowhere.
Communication
People often underestimate how important this part is.The example above is from LowLandLions, a team who had massive success towards the later days of CoD4, the reason wasn't their individual ability. There were teams with better. The way they communicated and had the correct mentality shined and pulled them past the vast majority of teams.
Clear and useful comms can change the odds on so many situations. When i first came from ET to CoD4 the reason i got picked up into a team wasn't due to my ability, i had never played CoD4 properly prior to that point but my calls were spot on and better than most. I only had this due to the fact ET is based upon it as it lends so heavily towards how you play as a team. To really go into detail about the clip below and the one above, to call where you smoke, flash, nade and push can almost check off areas of the map for your teammates that they wouldn't be able to see or know about otherwise. Raging and moaning about something that goes wrong will only create issues within the squad or team you play with, what good does raging about a lucky nade do? nothing. So don't. Keep calm, call it and help your team mates that are alive.
Knowing where a nade landed and at what time can pin point a area your enemy is playing. Lets say a fast A nade on strike, you get caught out by rushing by a fast nade. It landed by the second car on attack, now there are only few places that can by thrown from, both by double palms. Most SMGs wont throw that nade so you can already know that there is probably a AK by A rather than a SMG stacked bomb site/Statue area. So that can already highlight you may have a SMG from the other side pushing garage or to B link. All of this, can be understood by calling rather than raging.
Back in the days of CoD4 - VitaNova Lan
Being able to stay calm, give clear and useful comms is missing in a lot of gamers these days as they have never understood why its so important. Games like dayz for example can be made so much better by being able to communicate with your squad well. I will list a example below of a ex ET player Ngotie who has transferred over to DayZ with relative success.
To break down what you are seeing they are going to a extremely hot area within DayZ probably one of the most challenged areas the "NW Airfield" . This is where high loot will spawn like great weapons and such so you will always get a good bit of PVP action. You can hear Ngotie, Sacriel and Oshi7 as a 3 man squad taking on another team of players. At a disadvantaged position they have to adjust where they are to make a challenge without being dropped.
"The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place."
George Bernard Shaw
Aim
Okay eventually i had to bring this up, I personally believe some of the best aimers gaming has seen have come from ET/Quake/1.6. To break this down to something that you may be able to consume.Personally i have always strafe aimed, with minimal movement from my mouse i was able to control spread to the best of my ability and generally keep up to the movement of the opposing player (by using A & D) Adding movement to this by moving in such a way that makes it near on impossible to be tracked easily has aided me to being a "Good aimer" in most games.
Now that's just me, players like mAus, butchji, mztik,ferus and azatej all had their own ways of aiming but you put them into another game and it can still translate. You only need to look at butchji or ferus in another game to see how amazing they really were (and are).
Enemy Territory made you learn how to track, to track a player isn't the most simple of things due to positioning and the fact they are also trying to kill you. The ability within itself makes most ET players above the skill level they should be at most other games, ive casually mixed with enough ET players in CoD4 to see them being called cheaters due to the fact they have the game sens of a fish but the aim of a beast.
1.6 for example did have way less of a tracking feel to it and more of a snap to target but the countless hours id spend on something like
Would help ease the transition and by this point of transferring from game to game you would know what you would need to succeed. The correct choice of sensitivity that can relate to the speed of the character you are playing against, you don't want to have sensitivity so low you cant track a player moving left to right or sensitivity so high you are aiming all over the place. That sweet spot of sensitivity will make you aim on point faster than sqzz on a doc run.
Decision Making
I look back at a article written by Mztik many moons ago and it still highlights a HUGE point to being a good ET player and a good player at just about any other game. The choices you make may initially by a small splash in the water but the repercussions are huge.
"Ever thought to yourself why players such as Clown or Xpaz, neither distinguished in aim (although respectable and potent enough to carry out their duties), are constantly achieving in clans full of power house players? The truth is, because they have excellent decision making skills and this is reflected in their game-play. They endeavor to remain constantly aware of all influencing variables"
The focus of trying to stay aware of all the variables was something that i took from playing with Mztik and Xpaz on a regular basis to any game i could, i explain in here the impact of just knowing where one nade landing can have a HUGE impact upon the round but you can apply this to anything.
The choices you make in the split seconds of ET or CoD or any other game define you as a player. I always was the dedicated medic within that setup between Mztik, Toxic or Xpaz whoever was playing i knew my role and i knew what they wanted and how i could slot into this. I kept track of spawn times, where the opponent will be, how that will impact upon my team mates how i would position myself to be of assistance, whether it was the correct choice to be aggressive in a situation or work fully towards keeping others alive. Always putting down medic packs to make sure there was a option there if needed, one pack could cause a player to stay alive and get someone on full or be on full them self.
You can apply this to CoD4 or whatever game you are playing, who is alive? where do they play? what is their weapon? Okay so its Germaine on strike attack. More than likely he will be in midshops with a AK with a eye on where i probably already am as he is as knowledgeable as they get. How can i come out of the situation with a advantage?
ET makes you keep track of this as does most previous games, The ability to think beyond just the situation in hand and see the impact that will have upon others and how to adapt.
Dedication
The ability to dedicate yourself to improving. I firmly believe the moment you think you don't need to improve is the moment you should give up gaming and anything that comes along with it. From a competitive perspective that is.I don't think i need to explain to the people reading this the effort we go to to improve and learn more. These days i feel its missing within a lot of FPS titles and the people who play it, they want quick success and aren't willing to put in the hours to get to the level they should.
How many demo's or ETTV replays have you watched to try and pick up some tips and tricks? I can personally say i spent hours upon hours watching CoD4 demo's to learn opponents routes, nades, positions and where they get caught out.
If i knew i was going to play them in the upcoming games, i would time their route, learn a stop nade to their feet and block them out of a game. Taking 1 player out of a game totally is the most frustrating thing to do to them and it can break down a teams dynamics, ruining communication and their mentality. I look at gamers today and see them spending endless hours on publics trying to improve their aim and gameplay but when are you EVER going to come up against the situations you are faced with in a public over in a real match? never... No one is going to just run at you or peak all the time, its a pointless endeavour.
Knowing how to hone your skills is what separates the big players from the rest when a new FPS title comes out. Why do you think players like Blackmane, Mark, Toxjee and co are ripping up artic combat? They know how to improve. They know what to focus on. They do it time and time again.
Expecting to be good at a game after only a few hours of playing makes me rage. DayZ for example you wont be good at it when you spawn, you get eaten alive... literally. Then you learn the spots, the counter spots how to aim with certain weapons and how to play as a cohesive squad.
If people take the above points into any game you will succeed. I can tell you now i would take a ET player as a teammate over anyone as i know they have all the above as a basic skillset to be something special.
So i put the question to you, why do you think players like Winghaven, ferus, Mztik, Reload, Wombat, Xylos and more always seemed to be able to adapt so well to newer titles? Does the above apply to you?
Reload, Winghaven: BF3, ETQW, CoD4, other smaller stuff
Xylos: CoD4
ferus: CSS and some QL
Night?
Mztik?
I think wombat is actually a prime example of a successfull multigamer (RtCW, CoD4, Quake3, 1.6).
&ninja edit
I like this, people forget this in every game, as long as they have 20k dmg or sick stats after a round, they are happy even if they loose. I find myself in this spot very often
Great read.
What I like about decision making in ET is, that its also so much about time (the game being based on setting a time and how it plays in constant pushes and selfkills etc), which makes it so much more complex and so hard to be excellent at.
I feel many other FPS games have a lot higher skill competition, but ET is probably one of the most complex teamgame FPS. The good plays are often not obvious or intuative for most, so thats big reason why the lvl has stayed low. Thats part of the reason I still get a kick out of playing this game.
Also, I feel the reason Clown and probably Xpaz as well are/were succesfull players overall, was more their good comms and ingame leading skills, not so much the decision making you see by watching them on ETTV.
Leading skills much like Mztik, that was almost ahead of his time back in 141, when i was still a complete noob in ET. :) I just feel like Mztik excelled in pretty much all the aspects in the game.
I dont really have experience from playing with night, but I assume hes more of the player thats excellent leader + really smart ingame, but many probably agree is not a top aimer (not that his gamestyle would even allow him to showcase a dominant aim, if he had one).
Little offtopic but whatever!
I wish more people would follow your "call rather than rage" on comms advice! :D
Haha the comms stuff took me long enough to get into my head. I was always the angry one but it takes people telling you to get it in perspective for you to realize and stop raging.
I've played a lot of random wars with my irl friend fun-team, and most of them are missing everything you have written here, I often feel like I am the only only actually paying attention to the game, and my friends are just seeing things on screen, and, maybe, reacting to them. No map awareness, no usage of minimap, barely any reaction to calls, etc. Just monkey see, monkey do.
Even with their aim, thats worse than mine, we could be decent team, if they would have learned, but nothing. So much time spend playing, and it still feels like first day.
I pretty much always have to carry, like some farmed HON hero, my team, but thats not enough, if the enemies have few decent players. I know it's probably due to my extended time spent in ET, and competitive environment, and lack of it from their side, but still it's so disappointing to see wasted potential.
Some people are just immune to learning in games.
some guys just wanna spend time with m8s, playing a game... not being awesome at it
This used to puzzle me too, everyone has their own level ambition in improving. Some may watch replays of themselves analyzing every mistake they make. Some may just think about what they did wrong in a previous game and attempt to change it. Along with that goes the other end of the spectrum, which are people who have no ambition of getting better.
Its very frustrating to see people making the same set of mistakes repeatedly, never thinking about what they are doing wrong. That's probably why it's not best to play competitive games with your friends!
I'm 25years old now, my reflexes are going down, what can I do? :(
play reflex games duuh ^^ also sc2 can improve ur aim pretty much^^