The Monday Papers - Natural Selection 2
System
Join Date: 2013-01-29 Member: 182599Members, Super Administrators, Reinforced - Diamond
Join Date: 2013-01-29 Member: 182599Members, Super Administrators, Reinforced - Diamond
The Monday Papers - Natural Selection 2
This weekend, the Natural Selection 2 World Championship was announced. This Monday, the world started to take notice.
Comments
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I don't think you will manage to get 30.000$
If you do: Can we attend to the event if we manage to get there by ourselves?
And for long do you have this profile pic now? *suspicious face*
edit: Srsly. I don't remember if this already was your avatar yesterday, or the days before o.O
If we fail then we will go down in blaze of fiery glory, and we will be stronger for it.
It is very likely that up to 50 free tickets will be available for anyone to attend the event in person, on a first come first served one-per-person basis.
And no... I just changed my avatar... I had the same one for about a year so decided it was time to freshen up!
"Hats off to them, the NS2 community is one of the best out there. I
really hope they reach this $30k target - the last NSL finals held live
in Cologne were ruined by technical difficulties and pointless "filler"
in the casting before the last match, as one team was stomping the
other.
With the balance changes brought about in the recent
patches, a 4-team grand final should be amazing. Donated."
Now, "best" community, stop the negativity, get over the false hype, and prove if we're still such a good community.
I actually prefer communities where dissenting opinions are allowed and encouraged over those where people insist that everyone think the same way about everything, maybe that's just me though.
Same here, but some of this negativity is way over the top. We are no worse off than we were 3 days ago, and yet some people are acting like they have been stabbed in the back just because they have no interest in eSports.
The bottom line is, if they aren't interested, then they don't need to contribute any cash. But as we all know, not contributing isn't enough of a 'statement', so they have to add their gripes to every thread in an attempt to drag the whole thing down.
Awesome!
You think this community is bad? You have no idea...
edit: Fixed quotes.
edit2: Those darn quotes.
wasabione and the rest of the ns2wc team keep on fighting.
a bit of love from Denmark.
need more amo
Some of us are upset because UWE just asked us for money to continue developing NS2, and now UWE is offering to cover part of the expense of this tournament that only directly affects a handful of people. Think about it like this: If your brother asked for help because he was about to default on his mortgage and you gave him $30,000, and he then turned around and spent several thousand of those dollars on new golf clubs, wouldn't you be angry?
Some of us also feel like entirely too much emphasis and effort has already been dumped into trying to support/force the esports aspect of the game, at the expense of the non-competitive player. If the casual/pub experience hadn't been so dysfunctional for pretty much all of release, the game might have retained a larger percentage of the people who bought it or tried it out during free weekends, and the comp scene would have developed naturally on its own from that larger pool. At the very least, it could have developed with the help of the devs AFTER nailing down the fundamentals.
So yeah, it's kind of a slap in the face.
I agree Havoc - If the scenario you described ever occurred, it would be a slap in the face. But it did not - And that puts us in an awkward spot. I'm going to set about carefully explaining how the reality of the situation differs from your perception. Please don't take that as an insult - I'm not saying your opinion is invalid, only that you appear to have formed your opinion based on incomplete and possible inaccurate facts.
There was never a brother defaulting on his mortgage. There was a game developer who had spent over three million dollars developing a successful pay-to-download game, and continuing to develop it post release with an update, on average, every two weeks. For almost a year. Two major expansions were released, for free. Faced with the inevitable reality that such a situation is unusual, untenable, and ultimately suicidal for a game studio, we offered you a choice. If you would like us to create more content, here is a way to fund it.
The response was wonderful, and $160,000 was raised. Plans were drawn up for continued development and content will begin arriving on the NS anniversary and thereafter. We shared those plans via the State of Development update. A game that was a critical success, a business success, and for a great many people a great gaming experience would now continue to receive free, fresh content well over a year after its initial release. Updates do and will continue to address issues that players face. All in all, a fantastic result.
And now, the golf clubs. Just as there was no brother defaulting on his mortgage, there was no set of golf clubs. Where you see an entity in a vulnerable position spending your money on luxury consumables, consider reality: A vibrant and successful game developer choosing to spend a very small amount of its total available resources supporting a community project that will ultimately lead to greater success for the game in question.
In your opinion, the choice to support the NS2WC team represents a waste of money. For that to be true, the following outcomes represent in aggregate a waste of money:
- Around two hundred players competing in a global tournament
- Weekly unique live viewers for that tournament exceeding five thousand people over the course of two months
- Over one hundred and sixty thousand unique viewers on the semi and grand final events
- Unknown Worlds receiving revenue from sales exceeding the costs incurred, making the event revenue neutral and sustainable
- Inspiring countless incredible community members to continue to create wonderful content for the NS world
- Building the skillset of the competitive community and increasing the quality of competitive NS events and leagues
Between you and I, there is information asymmetry. You probably don't think those numbers are correct, or possible. But I know them to be correct, because I have access to data you do not. It is simply a case of either you believing me, or believing that I would lie to the community I love.
Let's assume that you won't think me a liar. For your argument to hold, these things must be a waste of time. Maybe individually, one or two of them are. Maybe achieving revenue neutrality on a marketing expense that yields hundreds of thousands of high-quality unique impressions is a waste of time. But to argue that in aggregate such an undertaking is a waste of time is to perhaps give in to a little too much cynicism.
That cynicism finds a catalyst where you see a dysfunctional game. You assume that an undertaking like the NS2WC will in some way impair the ability, resolve or capacity of Unknown Worlds to continue what it has done since the dawn of the Alpha: Methodically and consistently and improve the core game. Regardless of whether NS is dysfunctional or wonderful, regardless of whether you agree with those that praise it or those that loathe it, your assumption is incorrect. Whether the NS2WC happens or not, NS2 will follow the same development path.
Of course, if the NS2WC is the success it has the potential to be, NS2 will inevitably follow a very different path. The perfect storm of positive outcomes that the NS2WC could generate over the course of the next six months would change the game completely - And potentially open up the possibility of development work that none of us had ever dreamed of.
Back to our awkward situation. You are very angry at Unknown Worlds, you are very angry at me. It's likely you read this post very quickly. It's likely you think I have made up numbers. It's likely you think me a right prick. By the time you read this, Havoc, someone else will have made a reply that dissects my argument with lots of individual quotes, missing the forest for the trees. You will probably give it an 'awesome.' But before you flame me - Consider this question: What is my motivation to lie to you, mislead you, and piss you off?
I don't have any. Because I want to cast you playing in the NS2WC. I want you to be playing those games on a Build better than 258. I want you to have a shot at the live studio semis and grand final. I want the NS2WC to deliver on its potential, so that more people are playing NS2, giving you a greater pool of people to play with. I hoping that by tomorrow, when this thread settles down, there is a little more understanding between us.
*Special CLOGS* for reward levels too! Everyone loves CLOGS, see below
One Contributor will win a trip to the LIVE Final
Clog = 1 Clog
Extractor - 3 Clogs
Crag = 7 Clogs
Arms Lab = 12 Clogs
Bio Mass = 20 Clogs
Contaminate = 55 Clogs
Prototype Lab = 120 Clogs
Command Station = 250 Clogs
Does this give us extra clogs to use in game? Or are these points that go towards winning a trip to the final?
An explanation would be nice.
Thanks
Thank you so much guys!!
Im happy and hopefully this would get more ppl to ns2 for bigger community for the real esport thinggy!
xxx
F2P is the solution to make quick cash , but E-Sport games dont live because money
Well , except Call oF Duty : Bla bla sold over 10.000.0000 copies every years
You mistake me, sir. I read your reply very carefully, and then I did it again twice more. I don't think you're a right prick at all - on the contrary, I think you're a great guy, and I love your enthusiasm for this wonderful/dysfunctional game. I never assumed you were lying about anything, simply far more optimistic about the potential benefits of the NS2WC to the overall community than I am. You say that you have numbers to support the decision however, I assume from previous tournaments, and I do believe you.
I too hope that the tournament is a success and brings more players into the community, though I remain skeptical. I'm afraid you won't be casting me any time soon either, as my interest in the game remains entirely in 'casual' play and I'm not good enough to compete at that level anyway, but I appreciate the sentiment. Moreover, I appreciate very much the time and the effort that you took to open a dialogue and address my complaint.
I love NS2 and I love UWE, and I want nothing more than for both to become wildly successful, but I have been growing increasingly frustrated/despondent with the course of development. I hope you understand that I am not just another hateful troll spewing vitriol, but that I am only as upset as I am because I care as much as I do.
Confirmed, it is!
Oh my, could you imagine being able to use 250 clogs in a game? Thank would be something!
You were correct in your second question.
I want to dispel this myth about comp gaming. While it is true that the top division clans have extremely talented gamers, and also that some of the lower division clans feature some great individual talent, the real difference between comp and pub mindsets lies in the teamwork and understanding between players. I know you pretty well, Havoc, and you're easily skilled enough to play in competition. Indeed there are many many pub-only players who would do well given some time spent training (by which I mean some pcw games) with teammates especially focusing on tactics and 6v6 awareness. The challenge we as a comp community face is getting people to realise that they DO have the skills required and to jump in to comp play headfirst!
I have to say it's a blast. When you first perfectly execute a team tactic that results in a win, oh boy that's quite the feeling! Beats any pub game I've ever played.
Competitive level ns2 should not be seen as the elite. It should become the standard!
Problem is with 6v6 being literally "no fun allowed" and boring. Fucking up once can cost you the game, you have to rely on aiming a lot as you have just 1 or 2 guys with you when split. (Not even taking into account microfreezes or fps drops that by Murphy's law always happen during an encounter, or crashes that happen even in comp) In 8v8+ pubs you can test some fun stuff, strategies and even if 2 team members are bad/do something stupid, it won't become an obvious lose after 5 minute mark.
I'd rather play a 100 average 8v8 or 9v9 pub matches than 1 great 6v6.
I know I could play competitively if I was interested, and DFA has enough talent that I think we'd actually do quite well in the lower divisions, I was just referring to his particular comment about having a shot at the live studio semis and grand final. I'm nowhere near that good.
Who's not allowing anyone to have fun.. Or to experiment with different strategies or build orders. Have you ever actually played a 6v6 in an organised setting? Even in the top divisions teams have fun trying things outside of the normal.
Some moments are pivitol in deciding the outcome, and individual skill is rewarded. That's the entire point and why it is so interesting to play. The lower player count puts emphasis on positioning, map awareness and making your engagements really count. In a pub, this falls apart completely regardless of player count. Spammy, spammy!
To each his own I guess.
Air France
For those of you that missed this, skip to 4:35:
Oh come on, they won most if not all of the major encounters, they outplayed them with aiming, they could do whatever they want, then there's even 6v5 when alien comm wasn't "locked" in the hive, good times. It's just cute.
I'm more interested in comebacks after the "turning point" a.k.a. "oh, it's not looking good for X"/"they can't get out or cap more RTs" using some fancy tactic. Except for bile rushes, those just aren't interesting to watch or even execute.
I've played a few organized 6v6s, each ended with egglock/iplock after a few minutes, there were always those guys with aimbot-like aim, good PC, no strategy needed. Of course such things would work if everyone was like that, it's hard to find 2 teams on the very same level. We wouldn't see dominating the other team with aiming alone, like in that video and the rounds before it, that often.
Maybe in pubs you need spammy spammy, but you also need to know how to counter it by tactics, not by encounters and aiming alone. Sure, individual skill means less, but I like it more that way and I'm sure a lot other people too, looking at server caps and recent survey. Ultimately - to each his own, it's just that line about comp becoming a standard got me going, because I can't imagine 12 cap pub games getting past 15 minute mark, even without all this stacking going on.
On the other hand, what I kind of "like" (I guess I would not like it so much if I played in comp) about comp is how often balance changes are introduced, teams don't have time to figure out the perfect meta game so they have to experiment whether they like it or not. It creates an "artificial variability" of strategies. There was even one time when the changes were introduced one day before some league or something, right?