Ah I see. I hate extralevels. I thought you got banned from playing on regular NS servers <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin-fix.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":D" border="0" alt="biggrin-fix.gif" />
I don't play NS anymore. Haven't for a good while. It hasn't been any fun for me for a long time, but I kept playing because I convinced myself that if I just found the right server it would be fun again. I never did. The closest I got was a server that played mostly seige, which I like because it reminds me of the good ol' days where epic battles were fought tooth and nail for just one room, or even just a hallway. But even that became boring rather quickly.
There was a time when NS was my crack. I could play NS for up to 12 hours straight and loved every minute of it. Which was good because occassionally a game would last that long. Somewhere along the line it ceased being fun. I didn't move on, no other game stole my heart, no particular real life crisis stole me away from it, it just wasn't fun anymore. I'm not entirely sure what went wrong, but I have an idea.
You see, I'm terrible at FPSs. I'm not one of those people who can whip a 180 and draw a bead on a single pixle. Usually I'm lucky if I point the gun in the right direction. What I used to love about NS was that even though I was terrible, I was still usefull. I could still contribute to the team. All it took was the knowledge and experience to execute the commander's strategy. Somewhere along the line, that stopped being the case. My mere presence was a detrement to my team. My knowledge was practically worthless because I could never be counted on to take out a skulk before it got me. But also, there used to be this feeling that you were not just some rambo out there, but that you were part of a team. A team that fought together and strategized together. You all understood what needed to be done and worked towards it, together. Last time I played NS, the only time a team communicated was to blame eachother for their failings, argue about insignificant trivialities, or discuss this weeks episode of Popular TV Show.
So yeah. I don't play NS anymore. In fact, I don't really play anything. I never found the NS experience again. If I'm really bored I'll play netrek, or Hostile Intent (the game CS should have been), but thats about it.
With smaller communities, hacks and extremely skilled players can really devastate the community. Eventually the hackers get banned but the really skilled players stick around. As server numbers dwindle, you can end up with only 2-3 active servers (kind of like what we are at now). You end with the really skilled players (long time people who won't give up on ns because they love) congregating in the 2-3 servers. This results in most games where new players don't play the game so much as they continuously die over and over again.
I have noticed a lack of quality games these days, while this is nothing new, it seems to be really bad lately with the few ns_ servers we have. I see a lot of skill stacking and games just turn into one team dominating the other. As a long time player, who pretty much only plays alien (i find rines boooring), I am used to having my, and my teammates' ###### handed to me on a silver platter. To a new player though, this can be extremely frustrating, and I can easily see why it would make them quit.
The second thing is, the player base is getting older. Players who were in highschool are now in college, or they're trying to pay their rent.
SkulkBait, I swear you stole my non-existant post. It reflected what I was thinking so much that I can hear my own voice in my mind when reading your post. It kind of scared me. That said, I don't plan on ditching NS; I'll continue following NS, but I'll come back to playing later in the future. Although I do ponder about the redesign of the NS website now that we have a reduced community. Hope it wasn't a complete waste of effort.
I've pretty much given up hope of NS ever returning to what was, for me, its peak. I didn't say anything in that post I, and others, haven't said before. I specifically recall a post by tailsin which was very similar. Hell I even remember saying what you said to me to him. I remember long arguments about it. But it was all for not. Our pleas for the game to return to its roots, to what we thought made it great, fell on deaf ears.
Skulkbait, I think the experience you are talking about is <b><i>exactly</i></b> what seperates the NS model from all the other FPS' out there. Call it the NS "Secret Sauce."
The problem seemed to be that Flay, the beta testers, the pub and competitive community was not sure exactly what elements made up the "Secret Sauce" and to make things even more complicated, pubbers and clanner each had their own idea what made the best "secret sause." What was evident was that whatever Flay cooked up was tasty, maybe not exactly the perfect "secret sause" but there was huge potential that it could be a sause fit for all.
Near the end I recall a huge divide between pubbers and clanners mostly because they had two very different tastes but just one "special sause." Some thought it could use more spice some thought it wasn't the spice but it needed more herbs. There were many incarnations of NS near the end with Flay and Co. balancings things back and forth frantically trying to appease everyone (some would argue they were trying to please the clanners, some would say they were trying to please the pubbers) but however you look at it there were too many cooks in the kitchen and the result was a sause that didn't taste right for neither groups.
I really hope NS2 is a new beginning for the community and most importantly now that Flay has access to technology with fewer limitations, he can incorporate teamplay elements into the fundamental gameplay of NS2. I recall quite a few excellent suggestions submitted by both pubbers and clanner that simply could not be implimented because of the technology.
To go back to the analogy of the "Secret Sause"... perhaps Flay had all the right ingredients mixed together but not the proper cooking tools to attain a taste for all. It will never be possible to satisfy everybody but with better tools maybe Flay and Co will have a greater chance of <b><i>blending</i></b> all the right elements to capture the essense of the "secret sause" craved by both pubbers and clanners.
So the hope is Flay has rounded up all the ingredients we love but now he has a brand new kitchen.
I don't know if this makes any sense but I typed it all out so I'll post it. <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tounge.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":p" border="0" alt="tounge.gif" />
<!--quoteo(post=1573561:date=Nov 5 2006, 09:08 AM:name=Whiskey-Tango-Foxtrot)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Whiskey-Tango-Foxtrot @ Nov 5 2006, 09:08 AM) [snapback]1573561[/snapback]</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec--> Skulkbait, I think the experience you are talking about is <b><i>exactly</i></b> what seperates the NS model from all the other FPS' out there. Call it the NS "Secret Sauce."
The problem seemed to be that Flay, the beta testers, the pub and competitive community was not sure exactly what elements made up the "Secret Sauce" and to make things even more complicated, pubbers and clanner each had their own idea what made the best "secret sause." What was evident was that whatever Flay cooked up was tasty, maybe not exactly the perfect "secret sause" but there was huge potential that it could be a sause fit for all.
Near the end I recall a huge divide between pubbers and clanners mostly because they had two very different tastes but just one "special sause." Some thought it could use more spice some thought it wasn't the spice but it needed more herbs. There were many incarnations of NS near the end with Flay and Co. balancings things back and forth frantically trying to appease everyone (some would argue they were trying to please the clanners, some would say they were trying to please the pubbers) but however you look at it there were too many cooks in the kitchen and the result was a sause that didn't taste right for neither groups.
I really hope NS2 is a new beginning for the community and most importantly now that Flay has access to technology with fewer limitations, he can incorporate teamplay elements into the fundamental gameplay of NS2. I recall quite a few excellent suggestions submitted by both pubbers and clanner that simply could not be implimented because of the technology.
To go back to the analogy of the "Secret Sause"... perhaps Flay had all the right ingredients mixed together but not the proper cooking tools to attain a taste for all. It will never be possible to satisfy everybody but with better tools maybe Flay and Co will have a greater chance of <b><i>blending</i></b> all the right elements to capture the essense of the "secret sause" craved by both pubbers and clanners.
So the hope is Flay has rounded up all the ingredients we love but now he has a brand new kitchen.
I don't know if this makes any sense but I typed it all out so I'll post it. <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tounge.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":p" border="0" alt="tounge.gif" /> <!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Wow, I love the whole, "food/kitchen" analogy you got going on there, nice <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile-fix.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":)" border="0" alt="smile-fix.gif" />
I agree with all your points, we need to see Flay take all the good parts of NS and apply it to a new engine, with new twists on some things such as teamplay.
I don't think so. To me it always seemed as though the problem was that changes to NS were trying to appease skilled FPS players, detracting from the RTS elements. Things like elec, r4k, shortened research times, shorter "contact" times, and unchained aliens (though even I thought it was a good idea at the time) all contributed. When people complain about these elements they are dismissed as heretics.
<!--quoteo(post=1573523:date=Nov 5 2006, 06:48 AM:name=SkulkBait)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(SkulkBait @ Nov 5 2006, 06:48 AM) [snapback]1573523[/snapback]</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec--> I don't play NS anymore. Haven't for a good while. It hasn't been any fun for me for a long time, but I kept playing because I convinced myself that if I just found the right server it would be fun again. I never did. The closest I got was a server that played mostly seige, which I like because it reminds me of the good ol' days where epic battles were fought tooth and nail for just one room, or even just a hallway. But even that became boring rather quickly.
There was a time when NS was my crack. I could play NS for up to 12 hours straight and loved every minute of it. Which was good because occassionally a game would last that long. Somewhere along the line it ceased being fun. I didn't move on, no other game stole my heart, no particular real life crisis stole me away from it, it just wasn't fun anymore. I'm not entirely sure what went wrong, but I have an idea.
You see, I'm terrible at FPSs. I'm not one of those people who can whip a 180 and draw a bead on a single pixle. Usually I'm lucky if I point the gun in the right direction. What I used to love about NS was that even though I was terrible, I was still usefull. I could still contribute to the team. All it took was the knowledge and experience to execute the commander's strategy. Somewhere along the line, that stopped being the case. My mere presence was a detrement to my team. My knowledge was practically worthless because I could never be counted on to take out a skulk before it got me. But also, there used to be this feeling that you were not just some rambo out there, but that you were part of a team. A team that fought together and strategized together. You all understood what needed to be done and worked towards it, together. Last time I played NS, the only time a team communicated was to blame eachother for their failings, argue about insignificant trivialities, or discuss this weeks episode of Popular TV Show.
So yeah. I don't play NS anymore. In fact, I don't really play anything. I never found the NS experience again. If I'm really bored I'll play netrek, or Hostile Intent (the game CS should have been), but thats about it. <!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Nice post mate, I can clearly see where you're coming from.
I'm almost in the same boat. Most of the time I get owned by fast skulks early in the game and sometimes it feels like my "role" in the team makes no difference. Most of the time when I'm a marine for example, I just go around doing basically nothing, until we suddenly get owned by the aliens or the Comm orders a hive rush.
Both endings are boring, and I see myself longing for LONG games. That's another issue I'm very concerned with nowadays. Nothing makes me more furious than seeing JP's early in the game.
Basically, I think NS maps are turning into CO maps. That's what will happen unless something crucial is done to the gameplay, fast.
I usually have matches that end the other way around, Aliens always loose, hardly if ever manage to get a second hive up, and even if we do it goes down five minutes after. I still find some epic battles, but most of the time it's just that both teams rambo(man do rambos get on my nerves, manage to plop down a resource tower, BOOM rambo pops up, kills me, then kills the res, and holds the entire hive rest of the match..) <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/hive5.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="::hive::" border="0" alt="hive5.gif" />
<!--quoteo(post=1573523:date=Nov 5 2006, 12:48 AM:name=SkulkBait)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(SkulkBait @ Nov 5 2006, 12:48 AM) [snapback]1573523[/snapback]</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec--> I don't play NS anymore. Haven't for a good while. It hasn't been any fun for me for a long time, but I kept playing because I convinced myself that if I just found the right server it would be fun again. I never did. The closest I got was a server that played mostly seige, which I like because it reminds me of the good ol' days where epic battles were fought tooth and nail for just one room, or even just a hallway. But even that became boring rather quickly.
....
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I felt very much the same way. I have returned to NS after a 2 year break because I hoped that some of these issues would have been resolved. My hope was that perhaps the Source engine would fix some of the mechanical problems with NS. My other hope was that people and strategy had matured in the community. I have observed mixed results in the last month.
Balance issues and my FPS skills aside, I think many public classic servers are better -- the commanders are more communicative, and they are smarter. I observed the same thing in the CS community 3 years ago. Over many months, the community itself slowly learns. For example, fewer comms will waste vast resources trying to take double res areas when they are all lamed up with OCs.
I still think NS is a great game... but we'll see if it continues to change for the better...
basically what made NS great was ns_ and nothing else, and thats what should take it into the future, co_ and all these freeking siege maps will get me right off a server, co_ has no teamwork to speak of (what NS is really about in the first place...) and siege maps are horribly made and completely outside of the realm of the story line, which completely kills the atmosphere that NS can create.
Hell do I remember those days when a 400ms ping was the best one could get, yet most people continued playing because the goal wasn't only to outskill the enemy, but outnumber them and make your way slowly through the map.
Now the gameplay somewhat changed. I can't say whether its good or bad. Like <i>Skulkbait</i>, I wasn't a very good FPSer at the time (and still not, though I got better), and I liked the "Build while the others fight" strategy. Nowadays, there's a lot less to build: I see people focus more on rushes instead of sieges (I'm not saying there are no sieges anymore, but I see them less often), so aiming skills are really appreciated by commanders.
As <i>Stooopid</i>said, people learn. They learned what's more efficient: Having 5 unprotected RTs or 2 Turret farmed ones? Fight through OCs or run past them/go around? Build a base outside the enemy's hive and risk getting spotted or run into it with 8 Shottys and take the hive down by the time it takes to say "The Hive is under Attack"? I think it's normal that no one plays as we once played back in November 2002.
I like the Secret Sauce analogy ^^ I have nothing against clan play. I was never attracted by it, but I'm sure clan matches are great NS games. Pleasing both pubbers and clanners is something very difficult to do (I don't want to say impossible, but...), and NS isn't a simple Kill-the-other-team-and-plan-a-bomb-or-capture-flags-if-you-feel-like-it game... so I think there's still a lot of work on the road ahead!
I started playing again. I don't find the old fun anymore, that's true. But I do sometimes find a new kind of fun when people cooperate a little (and it happens more often than I expected). Let's see how the situation will evolve...
Just give it a try from time to time <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/wink-fix.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=";)" border="0" alt="wink-fix.gif" />
<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->As Stooopidsaid, people learn. They learned what's more efficient: Having 5 unprotected RTs or 2 Turret farmed ones? Fight through OCs or run past them/go around? Build a base outside the enemy's hive and risk getting spotted or run into it with 8 Shottys and take the hive down by the time it takes to say "The Hive is under Attack"? I think it's normal that no one plays as we once played back in November 2002.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
The realities of the gameplay mechanic were different back then. The strategies utilized now would have failed completely. Unprotected RTs nowadays will suddenly become protected as soon as elec is researched. Back then, a lone skulk could munch on an RT and force you to come and defend it. And when the lerks showed up with their spikes, well, they annoyed the hell out of you even when you did have defenses. OCs nowadays can't be stacked, and the aliens have a buildings/room limit. Back then, we made giant Walls of Lame, they blocked your path so you couldn't run around them. Skulks can be taken out rather effectively nowadays, but back then they were much more effective against lightly armored and unarmored marines. Sure, shotty rushes still worked, but not as often. In short, I think the only reason the strategies changed is because the gameplay changed, for the worse in my opinion.
Comments
There was a time when NS was my crack. I could play NS for up to 12 hours straight and loved every minute of it. Which was good because occassionally a game would last that long. Somewhere along the line it ceased being fun. I didn't move on, no other game stole my heart, no particular real life crisis stole me away from it, it just wasn't fun anymore. I'm not entirely sure what went wrong, but I have an idea.
You see, I'm terrible at FPSs. I'm not one of those people who can whip a 180 and draw a bead on a single pixle. Usually I'm lucky if I point the gun in the right direction. What I used to love about NS was that even though I was terrible, I was still usefull. I could still contribute to the team. All it took was the knowledge and experience to execute the commander's strategy. Somewhere along the line, that stopped being the case. My mere presence was a detrement to my team. My knowledge was practically worthless because I could never be counted on to take out a skulk before it got me. But also, there used to be this feeling that you were not just some rambo out there, but that you were part of a team. A team that fought together and strategized together. You all understood what needed to be done and worked towards it, together. Last time I played NS, the only time a team communicated was to blame eachother for their failings, argue about insignificant trivialities, or discuss this weeks episode of Popular TV Show.
So yeah. I don't play NS anymore. In fact, I don't really play anything. I never found the NS experience again. If I'm really bored I'll play netrek, or Hostile Intent (the game CS should have been), but thats about it.
With smaller communities, hacks and extremely skilled players can really devastate the community. Eventually the hackers get banned but the really skilled players stick around. As server numbers dwindle, you can end up with only 2-3 active servers (kind of like what we are at now). You end with the really skilled players (long time people who won't give up on ns because they love) congregating in the 2-3 servers. This results in most games where new players don't play the game so much as they continuously die over and over again.
I have noticed a lack of quality games these days, while this is nothing new, it seems to be really bad lately with the few ns_ servers we have. I see a lot of skill stacking and games just turn into one team dominating the other. As a long time player, who pretty much only plays alien (i find rines boooring), I am used to having my, and my teammates' ###### handed to me on a silver platter. To a new player though, this can be extremely frustrating, and I can easily see why it would make them quit.
The second thing is, the player base is getting older. Players who were in highschool are now in college, or they're trying to pay their rent.
The problem seemed to be that Flay, the beta testers, the pub and competitive community was not sure exactly what elements made up the "Secret Sauce" and to make things even more complicated, pubbers and clanner each had their own idea what made the best "secret sause." What was evident was that whatever Flay cooked up was tasty, maybe not exactly the perfect "secret sause" but there was huge potential that it could be a sause fit for all.
Near the end I recall a huge divide between pubbers and clanners mostly because they had two very different tastes but just one "special sause." Some thought it could use more spice some thought it wasn't the spice but it needed more herbs. There were many incarnations of NS near the end with Flay and Co. balancings things back and forth frantically trying to appease everyone (some would argue they were trying to please the clanners, some would say they were trying to please the pubbers) but however you look at it there were too many cooks in the kitchen and the result was a sause that didn't taste right for neither groups.
I really hope NS2 is a new beginning for the community and most importantly now that Flay has access to technology with fewer limitations, he can incorporate teamplay elements into the fundamental gameplay of NS2. I recall quite a few excellent suggestions submitted by both pubbers and clanner that simply could not be implimented because of the technology.
To go back to the analogy of the "Secret Sause"... perhaps Flay had all the right ingredients mixed together but not the proper cooking tools to attain a taste for all. It will never be possible to satisfy everybody but with better tools maybe Flay and Co will have a greater chance of <b><i>blending</i></b> all the right elements to capture the essense of the "secret sause" craved by both pubbers and clanners.
So the hope is Flay has rounded up all the ingredients we love but now he has a brand new kitchen.
I don't know if this makes any sense but I typed it all out so I'll post it. <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tounge.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":p" border="0" alt="tounge.gif" />
Skulkbait, I think the experience you are talking about is <b><i>exactly</i></b> what seperates the NS model from all the other FPS' out there. Call it the NS "Secret Sauce."
The problem seemed to be that Flay, the beta testers, the pub and competitive community was not sure exactly what elements made up the "Secret Sauce" and to make things even more complicated, pubbers and clanner each had their own idea what made the best "secret sause." What was evident was that whatever Flay cooked up was tasty, maybe not exactly the perfect "secret sause" but there was huge potential that it could be a sause fit for all.
Near the end I recall a huge divide between pubbers and clanners mostly because they had two very different tastes but just one "special sause." Some thought it could use more spice some thought it wasn't the spice but it needed more herbs. There were many incarnations of NS near the end with Flay and Co. balancings things back and forth frantically trying to appease everyone (some would argue they were trying to please the clanners, some would say they were trying to please the pubbers) but however you look at it there were too many cooks in the kitchen and the result was a sause that didn't taste right for neither groups.
I really hope NS2 is a new beginning for the community and most importantly now that Flay has access to technology with fewer limitations, he can incorporate teamplay elements into the fundamental gameplay of NS2. I recall quite a few excellent suggestions submitted by both pubbers and clanner that simply could not be implimented because of the technology.
To go back to the analogy of the "Secret Sause"... perhaps Flay had all the right ingredients mixed together but not the proper cooking tools to attain a taste for all. It will never be possible to satisfy everybody but with better tools maybe Flay and Co will have a greater chance of <b><i>blending</i></b> all the right elements to capture the essense of the "secret sause" craved by both pubbers and clanners.
So the hope is Flay has rounded up all the ingredients we love but now he has a brand new kitchen.
I don't know if this makes any sense but I typed it all out so I'll post it. <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tounge.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":p" border="0" alt="tounge.gif" />
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Wow, I love the whole, "food/kitchen" analogy you got going on there, nice <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile-fix.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":)" border="0" alt="smile-fix.gif" />
I agree with all your points, we need to see Flay take all the good parts of NS and apply it to a new engine, with new twists on some things such as teamplay.
NS is a good game. It might not bring back that old thrill it used to for me, but its better then anyother game i play.
I don't play NS anymore. Haven't for a good while. It hasn't been any fun for me for a long time, but I kept playing because I convinced myself that if I just found the right server it would be fun again. I never did. The closest I got was a server that played mostly seige, which I like because it reminds me of the good ol' days where epic battles were fought tooth and nail for just one room, or even just a hallway. But even that became boring rather quickly.
There was a time when NS was my crack. I could play NS for up to 12 hours straight and loved every minute of it. Which was good because occassionally a game would last that long. Somewhere along the line it ceased being fun. I didn't move on, no other game stole my heart, no particular real life crisis stole me away from it, it just wasn't fun anymore. I'm not entirely sure what went wrong, but I have an idea.
You see, I'm terrible at FPSs. I'm not one of those people who can whip a 180 and draw a bead on a single pixle. Usually I'm lucky if I point the gun in the right direction. What I used to love about NS was that even though I was terrible, I was still usefull. I could still contribute to the team. All it took was the knowledge and experience to execute the commander's strategy. Somewhere along the line, that stopped being the case. My mere presence was a detrement to my team. My knowledge was practically worthless because I could never be counted on to take out a skulk before it got me. But also, there used to be this feeling that you were not just some rambo out there, but that you were part of a team. A team that fought together and strategized together. You all understood what needed to be done and worked towards it, together. Last time I played NS, the only time a team communicated was to blame eachother for their failings, argue about insignificant trivialities, or discuss this weeks episode of Popular TV Show.
So yeah. I don't play NS anymore. In fact, I don't really play anything. I never found the NS experience again. If I'm really bored I'll play netrek, or Hostile Intent (the game CS should have been), but thats about it.
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Nice post mate, I can clearly see where you're coming from.
I'm almost in the same boat. Most of the time I get owned by fast skulks early in the game and sometimes it feels like my "role" in the team makes no difference. Most of the time when I'm a marine for example, I just go around doing basically nothing, until we suddenly get owned by the aliens or the Comm orders a hive rush.
Both endings are boring, and I see myself longing for LONG games. That's another issue I'm very concerned with nowadays. Nothing makes me more furious than seeing JP's early in the game.
Basically, I think NS maps are turning into CO maps. That's what will happen unless something crucial is done to the gameplay, fast.
I don't play NS anymore. Haven't for a good while. It hasn't been any fun for me for a long time, but I kept playing because I convinced myself that if I just found the right server it would be fun again. I never did. The closest I got was a server that played mostly seige, which I like because it reminds me of the good ol' days where epic battles were fought tooth and nail for just one room, or even just a hallway. But even that became boring rather quickly.
....
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I felt very much the same way. I have returned to NS after a 2 year break because I hoped that some of these issues would have been resolved. My hope was that perhaps the Source engine would fix some of the mechanical problems with NS. My other hope was that people and strategy had matured in the community. I have observed mixed results in the last month.
Balance issues and my FPS skills aside, I think many public classic servers are better -- the commanders are more communicative, and they are smarter. I observed the same thing in the CS community 3 years ago. Over many months, the community itself slowly learns. For example, fewer comms will waste vast resources trying to take double res areas when they are all lamed up with OCs.
I still think NS is a great game... but we'll see if it continues to change for the better...
Now the gameplay somewhat changed. I can't say whether its good or bad. Like <i>Skulkbait</i>, I wasn't a very good FPSer at the time (and still not, though I got better), and I liked the "Build while the others fight" strategy. Nowadays, there's a lot less to build: I see people focus more on rushes instead of sieges (I'm not saying there are no sieges anymore, but I see them less often), so aiming skills are really appreciated by commanders.
As <i>Stooopid</i>said, people learn. They learned what's more efficient: Having 5 unprotected RTs or 2 Turret farmed ones? Fight through OCs or run past them/go around? Build a base outside the enemy's hive and risk getting spotted or run into it with 8 Shottys and take the hive down by the time it takes to say "The Hive is under Attack"? I think it's normal that no one plays as we once played back in November 2002.
I like the Secret Sauce analogy ^^ I have nothing against clan play. I was never attracted by it, but I'm sure clan matches are great NS games. Pleasing both pubbers and clanners is something very difficult to do (I don't want to say impossible, but...), and NS isn't a simple Kill-the-other-team-and-plan-a-bomb-or-capture-flags-if-you-feel-like-it game... so I think there's still a lot of work on the road ahead!
I started playing again. I don't find the old fun anymore, that's true. But I do sometimes find a new kind of fun when people cooperate a little (and it happens more often than I expected). Let's see how the situation will evolve...
Just give it a try from time to time <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/wink-fix.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=";)" border="0" alt="wink-fix.gif" />
The realities of the gameplay mechanic were different back then. The strategies utilized now would have failed completely. Unprotected RTs nowadays will suddenly become protected as soon as elec is researched. Back then, a lone skulk could munch on an RT and force you to come and defend it. And when the lerks showed up with their spikes, well, they annoyed the hell out of you even when you did have defenses. OCs nowadays can't be stacked, and the aliens have a buildings/room limit. Back then, we made giant Walls of Lame, they blocked your path so you couldn't run around them. Skulks can be taken out rather effectively nowadays, but back then they were much more effective against lightly armored and unarmored marines. Sure, shotty rushes still worked, but not as often. In short, I think the only reason the strategies changed is because the gameplay changed, for the worse in my opinion.