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Halo 2 World Tourney Finals - Aussie Champ's View

Remorhaz writes "Some of you may be aware that the finals of the Worldwide Halo 2 tourney over Xbox Live was held on Friday night (10th June) with the 24 Xbox Live Region winners duking it out for ultimate glory. I was there with Cabel (the Australian representative), his brother and Pidge from Microsoft Australia to play the finals - Cabel made it to the grand final round - but didn't take first place unfortunately (congrats to King Tuur from the Netherlands) - but he's done us Aussies extremely proud :) Here's Remorhaz' "writeup of an insider's view of Australia's Halo 2 representative - Cabel's progress to the finals and the night's events at Australian Microsoft HQ."

115 comments

  1. just when i thought i could sleep. by conna01 · · Score: 2, Funny

    No more sleep for me

    --
    Acrylic Bubble Panels www.beyond7.com
  2. Cool... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I know somebody who knows one of the players on the team! How cool does that make me?

    1. Re:Cool... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      Not cool at all. You are posting to slashdot after all.

  3. First Comment on... Halo? by internetjunkiegeorge · · Score: 1

    I've heard somewhere that these things can be screwed with because of the programming foundation of the game. Is it true that certain players may be able to somehow take advantage of the game without anyone noticing?

    1. Re:First Comment on... Halo? by ROFLMAObot · · Score: 0

      Not likely, I play Halo 2 everyday on Live and it just doesn't happen. Plus at a high-glory event like this I bet the games were very, very closely monitored. There was a problem with cheating that was recently fixed. So I would assume they'd monitor this prestigous event.

    2. Re:First Comment on... Halo? by cahiha · · Score: 1

      You can screw with the programming foundations only after you kill Agent Smith.

    3. Re:First Comment on... Halo? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      it still happens ... last nite, while playing, i kept killing an opponent who was crouching and had their back to me. the game would state that i killed them ... then the screen would flash 3 times, switching between me inside and outside a building on battlecreek ( even though i was nowhere near the buidling ). all of the suddent the flashing would stop and it said i was dead. this started to occur a 3rd of the way through the game when we were up by 15 kills in doubles, but because of this we lost the lead. i am done with halo ... it seems like a waste since i am level 25 in team slayer and 20 in doubles but in the last week, i have run into so many instances of people cheating, it is just not worth it anymore.

  4. Re:Halo kills children by Rii · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Aye, but sometimes 'wasteful' diversions like that make life worth living.

  5. This gives me faith in gamers by hobotron · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I've long since been burned out on the incessant stream of racial, sexual, and downright lame spoutings of the usual "gamers" in every online game no matter what the genre.
    It really is a nice sight to see what real gamers around the world can come together for actual GAMING
    Hats off to you guys.

    --
    There is truth in humor.
    1. Re:This gives me faith in gamers by dewfish · · Score: 1

      I was about to comment on this very same thing. I experience this a lot playing counterstrike and i'm sure the same goes for people playing quake or unreal. I try to go to the foreign language servers because the american ones are always full of racists.

    2. Re:This gives me faith in gamers by coopex · · Score: 1

      L0L!!! UR 4 pH49 |\|00B!! U 907 p\/\/|\|3D U 91RL!!!!

      --
      The road to hell is paved with good intentions.
  6. Halo2 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Halo2 is impossible to beat multiplayer. It's crammed with 10 year olds who have some sort of unnatural advantage over me. I empty whole clips at them, and they kill me with 1 or 2 shots. What is it, does wireless have lag?

    1. Re:Halo2 by conna01 · · Score: 1

      Yes it does.

      --
      Acrylic Bubble Panels www.beyond7.com
    2. Re:Halo2 by HD+Webdev · · Score: 1

      What is it, does wireless have lag?

      Of course. Especially if you have the transmissions encrypted as they should be.

      Encoding, transmission, and decoding in both directions takes a significant hit on your latency.

      Not to mention that the compression schemes that wireless often uses increases the delays in what you see and react to.

      If you want to do better in online FPS gaming, you need to ditch wireless.

      --
      This is not a dream, not a dream...we are transmitting from the year 1-9-9-9.
    3. Re:Halo2 by bullitB · · Score: 1

      Well, most games can't really be "beaten" in their multiplayer component. Keep playing, play some practice rounds. The idea is that essentially there will always be someone better than you, but getting a few kills now and then are fun.

      Like real sports, I guess.

    4. Re:Halo2 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm glad a nation can be proud of someone winning a game.

  7. Re:Halo kills children by conna01 · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    Not sure if you were serious in your post but you complain that he could have worked for the US military. How would that be good for humanity? And the cop out blaming games/music/movies for death is just crap anyway. Blame you cousins lack of supervision and not a game. Hell the games have warning labels on them for people like you...

    --
    Acrylic Bubble Panels www.beyond7.com
  8. So let me get this straight by Espectr0 · · Score: 1

    In true /. form, i haven't RTFA. An aussie fights the final against a dutch guy, the dutch guy wins, and the article is done with the looser (just kidding! loser)?

  9. fuck progress by benna · · Score: 0, Troll

    Western society is obsessed with progress, to the point of neglecting happiness.

    --
    "It is not how things are in the world that is mystical, but that it exists." -Ludwig Wittgenstein
  10. Can you use your own controller? by Dancin_Santa · · Score: 4, Funny

    I had this great idea for a glove-type of controller. It would allow for quicker movement (especially with caffeine).

    It's so bad.

    1. Re:Can you use your own controller? by WordNA · · Score: 1

      Or if you have to use their controller, can one attach an extra robotic arm with a direct neural link?
      For enhanced high speed button pushing.

  11. Re:Halo kills children by master0ne · · Score: 2, Interesting

    ok first off, doom 3 has been out for some time, not to mention its recently released expansion pack, so that leads me to beleave this is a re-post by a troll of another thread. anyway ill still take the time (because im bored and find this post comidicly innacurate). First John Carmack (not Jon Carmack) has had a major role in coding fod ID software, he had nothing to do with the development of Unreal (by epic games) or duke nukem (also by epic games i beleave). The shooters at Columbine which every body points to when referencing how violent and bad videogames are hadpre meditated the killings (for those trolls out there, this means they planned them!) and playing violent games like doom was mearly ment as a "practice run" not that it would have dont much good, as most these games pit you aganst demons from hell, not Danny from third period. As far as target practice, i do not see how playing a video game can improve that by itself, as there is no recoil from a mouse, you do not hold the mouse in the same way you hold a gun, nor do you get any expirence aiming with the "targeting" system in all FPS's, no the killers at columbine had access to real guns, and were practicing with them long in advance of the killings. And if you want to blaim their psycho killings on the video game industry, who not blaim the paint ball industry aswell, that is a more realistic and less seperated form of "killing" people. Or for that matter the gun industry who made the guns which the kids used? or even the school system for not having metal detectors, or the cops or their parents for not checking out their weird behavior leading upto the day of the shooting. The fact is that the role violent games played in that incident (if any) is no more than the roll the teachers played for not asking more questions. Hell the bullies who pushed these kids over the edge are more to blaim than the games they played.Now as to your cousin who "became catatonic" after losing a death match, not only do i not beleave it (and if it is true it wasnt the game that caused it, it would have been a chemical in balence in the brain that caused obsessive cumpulsive tendencies, in which case you are as much at fault as the game is for not picking up on this and trying to get him help), but im willing to say if your not making it up, its more your fault or whoever was with him or closest to him for not stopping him or trying to get him help. anyway i dont know why im replying to this AC troll, i guess just because i havent seen a good responce to posts like this in the past so ill take the time to respond as best i can.

    --
    Noone writes jokes in base 13!
  12. Math is hard, so are console games.. by sinner0423 · · Score: 3, Funny

    Playing a first person shooter with a joystick is analogous to driving a car with your buttcheeks.

    I've played PC games for over half my life and I still can't grasp controlling a FPS on a console. I'm sure any awards that were given out were well deserved.

    1. Re:Math is hard, so are console games.. by rudydog · · Score: 2, Funny

      ...driving a car with your buttcheeks.

      I've tried that... Not as hard as you thing. I just feel sorry for the next guy that drives.

    2. Re:Math is hard, so are console games.. by AvantLegion · · Score: 1
      Nonsense. Playing with a gamepad is easy. While you don't get the same lightning-fast speed, what some people just don't get is that everyone else has the same limitation too. It is a bit harder, but that doesn't make it unsuitable for a game, any more so than the limitation of not being able to use your hands makes soccer unplayable.

    3. Re:Math is hard, so are console games.. by Psykus · · Score: 1

      Two words:

      Dual Analog

      Main stick controls actual movement (like the WASD on the keyboard), and the right analog stick controls turning left/right and aiming.

    4. Re:Math is hard, so are console games.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      My problem is that in that configuration I lose my ability to aim and jump, aim and switch weapons, or aim and pick up a new weapon. If I'm tracking a target and want to jump I can continue to move but I have to remove my thumb from the analog stick to use one of the other buttons. When I'm playing an fps on the PC I never have this problem because I have more total actions at my fingertips without having to take my fingers off of any keys. I'd have to actually play fps' on a console more to really decide if I liked it or not. I actually only discovered these problems last night when I played halo 2 for the first time.

    5. Re:Math is hard, so are console games.. by imsabbel · · Score: 2, Funny

      SO its like car racing with EVERYBODY stearing with their buttcheeks.
      I see. Now thats MUCH more sensible :)

      --
      HI O WISE PRINCE. WHT TOOK U SO DAM LONG?
    6. Re:Math is hard, so are console games.. by IntergalacticWalrus · · Score: 1

      That doesn't do anything to fix the lack of precision.

    7. Re:Math is hard, so are console games.. by rohlfinator · · Score: 1

      "I've played PC games for over half my life..."

      There's your problem. I've yet to see a dual analog hater that's been playing PC and console FPSs for the same amount of time. It's always hardcore PC gamers who can't seem to figure out how to use their thumbs. Not to say that dual-analog is better, but I've never seen anyone with an unbiased opinion. My roommate started out on Halo, and he can't stand mouse and keyboard.

    8. Re:Math is hard, so are console games.. by TLSPRWR · · Score: 1

      You play it long enough, you gain precision. It's just a skill you have to learn. I bet you that a top ranked Mouse and Keyboard player and a top ranked Dual Analog joystick playerwould be nearly identical in terms of skill.

    9. Re:Math is hard, so are console games.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well, do the experiment. Buy a PC joypad or a trio linker, set it up, and join a CS or UT game. You'll lose, likely very badly. Using a joypad you take 2 seconds to do a 180, with a mouse it's under 0.2 - of course you can't compete.

      Not knocking console FPSes (timesplitters rules) but it really is a handicap playing that way.

    10. Re:Math is hard, so are console games.. by pbaer · · Score: 1

      Yeah but consoles have autoaim so it basically evens out.

      --
      There are 11 types of people, those who know unary and those who don't.
    11. Re:Math is hard, so are console games.. by toad3k · · Score: 1

      It irritates me that some very good games have been changed to be more analog stick friendly. Because they tank on the consoles when not designed that way. Why can't they just put two stinking keyboard/mouse inputs into the xbox.

    12. Re:Math is hard, so are console games.. by rEdiM · · Score: 1

      I also found using a controler hard at first, and it is a bit frustrating, as I'm quite quick with a mouse and keyboard, but after playing a few times, the controler feels much easier and more comfortable.

    13. Re:Math is hard, so are console games.. by rohlfinator · · Score: 1

      "Well, do the experiment. Buy a PC joypad or a trio linker, set it up, and join a CS or UT game. You'll lose, likely very badly."
      That's because CS and UT are designed for the mouse and keyboard, so they favor it. You can't compare PC controls and console controls using a PC game without being biased. The only accurate test would be to design a game that equally caters to the M&K player and the dual analog player, but that would be nearly impossible.

    14. Re:Math is hard, so are console games.. by elrous0 · · Score: 1
      I also found using a controler hard at first, and it is a bit frustrating, as I'm quite quick with a mouse and keyboard, but after playing a few times, the controler feels much easier and more comfortable.

      Yeap. I started out playing FPS's on consoles. I've since played some on the Pc too and have had a hard time adapting to a mouse and keyboard.

      I will say this, the PC FPS's allow for more accuracy. But I think that is due more to the much higher screen resolutions and frame-rates that you can get with a PC monitor vs. a NTSC TV.

      Where the mouse and keyboard are really lacking though is in the lack of analog control (everything is either stop or go, no subtlety in-between). They just weren't originally designed for games, and have been woefully slow in changing over the years.

      -Eric

      --
      SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
    15. Re:Math is hard, so are console games.. by iocat · · Score: 1

      Dual Analog player would win if they both played DA, because it's a tougher control scheme to master.

      --

      Dude, I think I can see my house from here.

    16. Re:Math is hard, so are console games.. by Anti_zeitgeist · · Score: 1

      Just pick up a smart joy frag....connects your mouse and keyboard to your console....viola!

      --
      If it wasn't for C, we would be stuck using BASI, PASAL and OBOL.
  13. No, this shouldn't be on front page by aCapitalist · · Score: 1

    Some of you may be aware that the finals of the Worldwide Halo 2 tourney over Xbox Live was held on Friday

    Oh of course, loads of us. There was a world wide Rise of the Triad competition the other day too.

    Timothy, don't turn into a Michael and put stupid shit like this on the front page.

    1. Re:No, this shouldn't be on front page by HD+Webdev · · Score: 1

      Oh of course, loads of us. There was a world wide Rise of the Triad competition the other day too.

      Strangely enough, I still have ROTT on my gaming box.

      Quake3 Arena was pretty much ROTT with better graphics.

      Nothing to see here...move along, move along.

      --
      This is not a dream, not a dream...we are transmitting from the year 1-9-9-9.
    2. Re:No, this shouldn't be on front page by aCapitalist · · Score: 1

      My girlfriend still insists that I try and get ROTT to work on XP.....something about jumpads.

      Of course, thankfully, she's addicted to Quake3 now.

    3. Re:No, this shouldn't be on front page by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wow ROTT. Flashback! Ludicrous gibbs!!! Woohoo!!!!!

    4. Re:No, this shouldn't be on front page by Kirby-meister · · Score: 1

      Chill out. Just because you aren't interested does not mean the rest of the world isn't. Some of us who play at game tournaments are interested in stuff like this.

  14. Re:good PC UI not alwasy == good game UI by HD+Webdev · · Score: 4, Interesting

    1) Out of mousemat error. Sooner or later, your going run out of mousemat when your turning and will have to lift the mouse back onto the pad to continue. Meaning you'll simply stop turning while your doing this. On a DJC, you just tilt the right analouge stick right or left for continuous turning.

    That's silly. Any experienced gamer uses a large mousepad and sets the sensitivity so that moving to the left or right edge of the pad == 180 degree turn. It's common sense. No lifting of the mouse is necessary. If it is, then the sensitivity is not set correctly.

    2) Out of fingers error. With a keyboard and mouse, you aim with the mouse, meaning one hand, and all its fingers, can only access, 2-3 buttons.(Scrollwheels help with this a lot though) Usually these are shoot,change weapon and other. Meanwhile your other fingers, usually 2-3, are stuck on WASD for moving. If you want to crouch, reload, zoom, jump or perhaps change weapon reverse, you will need to do some keyboard gymnastics, look down, or (horror of horrors) stop moving to press other buttons. On a DJC, one thumb is used for movement, the other for aiming. Flipper pads mean four buttons are easily reachable by two more fingers, and the dpad and other buttons are acessable by a nimble other if required. Bottom line. You can keep moving while you perform on the fly weapon maitainance. DJC has a lot more buffer space for out of fingers errors.

    Again silly. Good gamers don't usually use WASD. It's not the natural typing position and limits the number of keys that can be used without moving the hand. Gamers that need a lot of keys use ESDF because they never have to look at the keyboard because there's usually a divit on the F key to keep the person from losing position. Using the home typing position, 28 keys are available without moving the left hand out of standard typing postion.

    3) Mouse Error, Error. Most comupter mice are fairly cheap anyaway. Mice get junk in the wheels. Even optical mice glitch from time to time. Buttons sometimes get stuck, and of course hands may slip or be jostled from time to time. The average DJC is of a higher quaility than the average mouse and suffers far less from any of these problems.

    meh, I don't want to bite on that hook.

    4) Keyboard limitations Open up a text editor. Press and hold E. Without letting go hold C. Now while holding, tap U. See the problem? Now try W,D and E. E will not register. Try WAQ. There are umpteen other combinations. Keyboards can't handle many multiple keydown combinations. DJC can.

    More trolling. Cheap keyboards only register 3 keys pressed at one time. You know that. Spending more than $15USD more often than not gets a keyboard that can handle more than 3 keys at at time.

    {SNIP REST OF BS}

    --
    This is not a dream, not a dream...we are transmitting from the year 1-9-9-9.
  15. Kinda Lame by Saige · · Score: 2, Interesting

    A number of guys that made it to the finals boosted their way there. You can check some of the match histories for the gamertags and see the boosting that's happened.

    Kinda ruins the whole thing when you can't trust that the people who should have been at the top actually were.

    --
    "You know your god is man-made when he hates all the same people you do."
    1. Re:Kinda Lame by neye_eve · · Score: 1

      Ok, I'll bite... got a good link that explains "boosting" in a Halo 2 context (or any other gaming ranking system for that matter)?

    2. Re:Kinda Lame by HD+Webdev · · Score: 3, Informative

      Ok, I'll bite... got a good link that explains "boosting" in a Halo 2 context (or any other gaming ranking system for that matter)?

      Try the http://csports.net/ forums for example.

      You can see how ranking is figured out there.

      Once how the rankings are computed is understood it's easy to get to a very high ranking as long as you understand and implement it better than most other people. (tracking down higher rated players and catch them on a losing team and then joining the winning team is one of the most useful tactics to boost stats regardless of the specific ranking system).

      As far as ranking, being the better player is more difficult than figuring out how to trick ranking systems into thinking that you're a better player.

      --
      This is not a dream, not a dream...we are transmitting from the year 1-9-9-9.
    3. Re:Kinda Lame by Have+Blue · · Score: 2, Interesting

      It's actually a lot harder in Halo 2 than you make it sound- the system is pretty resistant to being gamed, especially after the recent patch. In ranked play, you give up control over what you are playing and who you are playing against- the only choice you make is what category of game you want to play (deathmatch, objective, 1v1, etc). You don't get to choose your opponents either; you can't see who you are playing against until the game has started. If you leave after the game has started, it's counted the same as if you played through but came in last (and the game has "started" once you see the game settings and player list, so there's never a chance to "escape" a tough game). Finally, in response to the specific exploit you mentioned, you're not allowed to change teams during the game.

      However, "boosting" had a different meaning in Halo 2 before the patch- it was the exploitation of a real bug in the ranking system (not just "find the best play pattern" like you describe). I never knew how it was done, though.

    4. Re:Kinda Lame by Saige · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Well, there are still ways to do it. I think one way is to get on at a time when fewer people are playing in your area (middle of the night, for example), and make sure to have a group of people together. If you were to, say, form two 4 person teams with the same highest ranking player, and manage to start looking for a game about the same time, the odds are much higher that you'll get matched up with each other.

      If you can play around with switching people on teams and starting games at the same time when there are fewer people on, you can manage to consistently get paired with the same people.

      I'm not sure of the exact details, since I haven't thought it out all the way yet, but it's still done. I ran into someone recently that boosted their Team Slayer rating from 25 to 50 in one sitting. Fortunately, Bungie has blacklisted him from the leaderboard, since the rating wasn't properly achieved.

      --
      "You know your god is man-made when he hates all the same people you do."
    5. Re:Kinda Lame by startled · · Score: 1

      Congratulations on being the only >= 3 post that isn't bitching about not being able to use a mouse and keyboard! Your brain must have been accidentally left in the "on" position while posting to /..

  16. A glove controller? by tod_miller · · Score: 4, Funny

    Yeah, but you would end up bunny hopping around like a maniac, and everyone would know what you were doing, you sick puppy!

    Seriously.

    --
    #hostfile 0.0.0.0 primidi.com 0.0.0.0 www.primidi.com 0.0.0.0 radio.weblogs.com
  17. Re:good PC UI not alwasy == good game UI by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    I 100% agree with you.

    A keyboard + mouse is 10x better than a silly x-box controller for FPS games.

    More accurate, faster, better ability for custom controls, and just all around better.

    I use a nice mouse and keyboard... but quite honestly I'd take a $10 mouse and $10 keyboard for a FPS over an $80 x-box controller anyday.

    1.) With a high sensativity you can still aim perfectly and you won't run out of mousemat. Winner: Keyboard and Mouse
    2.) Not counting my movement, fire, and primary fire buttons: I have 5 more buttons on my mouse, a scroll wheel, and probebly 3-5 that I can easily reach on my keyboard. That is considerably more than an X-box controller.
    Winner: Keyboard and Mouse
    3.) I have never had an optical mouse 'stick' or 'glitch' during a game, ever. I have had a PS controller, a PS-2 controller, and an x-box controller have controller issues (loss of sensativity).
    Winner: Keyboard and Mouse
    4.) Spend more than $10 on a keyboard and you don't have this problem.
    Winner: Tie

    So lets look at the 'keyboard/mouse weaknesses' that were pointed out, and see who came out on top.

    Keyboard and Mouse: 3
    X-box controller: 0

    It's pretty obvious to me which is better... and unless you've got some bias in favor of the x-box then it should be obvious to you as well.

  18. Re:good PC UI not alwasy == good game UI by Highrollr · · Score: 1

    Any experienced gamer uses a large mousepad and sets the sensitivity so that moving to the left or right edge of the pad == 180 degree turn. It's common sense. No lifting of the mouse is necessary. If it is, then the sensitivity is not set correctly.

    I would be interested to know how you turn more than 180 degrees without lifting the mouse, for example while circle-strafing.

  19. Article text - Server running slow by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    A Day in the Life of an International Halo 2 Tournament - Cabel vs. the World!!!

    An insiders view of Australias Halo 2 representative - Cabel's progress to the finals.

    The scene was set - it was the day of the World Halo 2 Xbox Live Championship Finals. The 24 Xbox Live Region champions had been decided and it was game on for the final series.

    This was the worlds first global Xbox Live Halo 2 tournament and the final series was being decided by a playoff on Xbox Live. The global championship rounds were played on Friday June 10th in double elimination rounds. The 24 regional winners were sectioned into four pools of six players each. The top three moved on to the next round, while the bottom three from each group moved into an elimination bracket. Once a regional champion lost twice, they were eliminated. Each round lasted 10 minutes with unlimited kills. All the final matches were played on the new Halo 2 map, Warlock as a Free For All Slayer with standard SMG spawn (what! no BR you say ).

    More info at: http://www.xbox.com/halo2/tournament.htm

    Earlier in April; Cabel had beaten out a very strong field (including his brother who almost snaked the win ) in a close fought FFA at the BigPond Halo 2 Tournament to be crowned the Australian champ and our representative on the world stage.

    I arrived at Microsoft Australia's Headquarters at about 6:45PM with the trusty 'XboxZone Com AU' server in hand. We had thought that given our location in the world that we needed every advantage we could get to overcome the tyranny of distance (or network latency LAG for you simple folks ). Cabel may be playing on the 10Mbit link at MS HQ but nothing compensates for the 200ms delay to most other countries. I offered my server Xbox for Cabel to play on for the night - it was hoped that since this Xbox has been hosting Halo 2 games pretty much non stop 24x7 since early January on a 100Mbit link that its awesome Halo 2 host record/rating (300+ clan matches, 1500+ Big Team Battles, 2000+ large custom games, etc) could steal it host in some important games. Alas it wasn't to be so - each of the finals matches was hosted by a Referee (XboxLiveCommish the guy in white hiding in the corner ) at MS HQ in the states - I suspect Bungie rigged things up so he'd always be host for every round - which is fair I guess with no player getting direct host advantage.

    Cabel and his brother Senyo were already there with Pidge and Kumar from Microsoft and after a bit of networking jiggery pokery it was practice time before the first game at 9PM.

    It was then Pizza ordering time and since we had to plan ahead for a long night (if we made it to the finals they wouldn't be played till 5AM - so think positive and plan to be needing food for the long haul ). Senyo got to order a crapload of pizzas for the four of us on Microsoft's account - nice

    In the first round Cabel's pool included:

    ii CaBeL ii - Australia
    l Kobegod l - Taiwan
    Otcho Boy - Switzerland
    ZpiKeY - Norway
    Billykater - Austria
    GermanFreak - Denmark

    Pregame chat in the lobby was pretty friendly and discovering that GermanFreak was in fact NOT from Germany but from Denmark was a bit of a head spin - but hey - whatever makes you happy

    Cabel had a slow start but picked up the pace as he went along to eventually catch the leader just at the end equaling on Kills but taking the win on Assists and lower deaths.

    Full game stats at: http://www.bungie.net/Stats/GameStats.aspx?gameID= 201030311

    Our next round wasn't till midnight so it was going to be a long 3 hour wait - time for some practice, customs and a bit of matchmaking.

    Cabel and his brother Senyo also whittled away the hours with some head to head and double teams on the fast link at Microsoft - I couldn't believe how many people quit the games against them or worse tho

  20. Yeah, because this is now slashdot.org.au by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Or at least it sure seems to be.

  21. Re:good PC UI not alwasy == good game UI by dedazo · · Score: 2, Insightful
    I think you're kinda feeding the troll, but

    Any experienced gamer uses a large mousepad

    As a fairly experienced (and ranked in UT at one time in 2001) gamer, I can tell you that any gamer worth his tag uses a trackball. There is nothing better for FPS. The control you get from one by simply moving your fingers is far superior than what you'll ever get by moving even just your wrist, never mind the whole arm.

    --
    Web2.0: I love when people Flickr my cuil and digg my boingboing until my google is reddit and I start to yahoo
  22. Re:Halo kills children by noisymime · · Score: 1

    agreed, I remember reading words very simlar to this before.... I can't find another posting with them tho.

  23. Am I weird? by eeyoredragon · · Score: 1

    I've never used WASD. I just place my hand on the keyboard like normal: ASDF[SPACE].

    • F: forward
    • D: back
    • S: strafe left
    • SPACE: strafe right
    • A: jump

    I now have... six keys I can reach with little to no stretch with my little finger without letting off of the movement buttons. Of course, I don't strafe in two directions at the same time, so that leaves at least one additional finger to press a myriad of buttons at all times as well. Plus my fingers don't feel squished into a tiny arrow key configuration.

    I'm not a professional gamer and rarely play anymore, but I've always felt that to be way more intuitive than the arrow key configuration.

    1. Re:Am I weird? by tek.net-ium · · Score: 4, Funny
      Since when was WASD the standard?!? I always thought it was
      • K: up
      • J: down
      • H: left
      • L: right
    2. Re:Am I weird? by mr_snarf · · Score: 1

      Think you're weird?!

      My quake3 controls are:
      z: strafe left
      x: strafe right
      a: back
      space: jump
      right mouse: forward
      q: select railgun
      w: select RL
      e: select shotgun

      Allows me to play one handed, which is useful for drinking [insert favourite beverage]. :)

      All other games I use wasd though

      --
      printf("Goodbye cruel world!\b\b\b\b\b\b\b\b\b\b\b\b\b\b\b\b\b\b\b\b");
    3. Re:Am I weird? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      I have the same configuration with the mouse (right mouse forward and middle mouse secondary fire) but use:
      right ctrl - back
      . - strafe left
      / - strafe right
      space - jump

      quite a few other keys but I can't be bothered to list them here, it works very well

    4. Re:Am I weird? by imsabbel · · Score: 1

      Well IMHO your config is suboptimal because you wast to fingers for farward/backward, plus the fact that giving spave to right isnt that good on most keyboards (because space usually has worse feedback when hitting non-centred).

      With wsad, middle finger can easily hit both forward and backward, a and d for left and right each have their finger, the thump is resting on space ready to jump and the base if the little finger rests on control, ready to crouch, while the tip can activate shift for running without moving the finger a bit.

      The "other" keys i have mapped on the buttons of my mouse (the 2 thump keys of the mx700 are perfect for reload/activate)

      --
      HI O WISE PRINCE. WHT TOOK U SO DAM LONG?
    5. Re:Am I weird? by Eric+Coleman · · Score: 2, Funny

      I don't see how any of you play games like that. It's not very intuitive at all. I use the following.
      J: Jump
      U: Up
      D: Down
      L: Left
      R: Right
      F: Forward
      B: Backward
      C: Crouch
      Left Alt + S: Strafe Seft
      Right Alt + S: Strafe Right

    6. Re:Am I weird? by drsquare · · Score: 1

      I always used the arrow keys, seems more natural as my fingers can rest on the keys and the bottom of the keyboard rather than having to have them suspended over the rest of the keys if I were using aswd or something. It's a hassle having to move your finger tips everytime you want to change direction, with the arrow keys you just press down with different parts of your finger which are already lying over the keys.

      Then I use space for jump and control for shoot or something. Apparently some people use mice to shoot/aim, but I don't how I could do that because I'm right handed and not ambidextrous and can't control the direction keys with my left hand. You don't really need to aim anyway do you, isn't it automatic if you're facing in generally the right direction?

      I think it was easier with something like Goldeneye where you use a controller, it's easier using a direction pad.

    7. Re:Am I weird? by crs3210 · · Score: 1

      This is what I use. Relatively straight forward:
      up: up arrow
      down: down arrow
      strafe left: left arrow
      strafe right: right arrow
      jump: middle click (though this depends on the game...for something like UT this works fine...but CS:S...)

    8. Re:Am I weird? by amliebsch · · Score: 1

      Screw WASD.

      MOUSE1: Forward
      MOUSE2: Backward
      MOUSE3: Alt Fire
      MOUSE4: Fire
      MOUSE5: Reload
      Q: Strafe Left
      W: Strafe Right

      --
      If you don't know where you are going, you will wind up somewhere else.
    9. Re:Am I weird? by Infinityis · · Score: 1

      You may be modded funny, but in truth, I think us lefties have a natural advantage when it comes to such games. Although it bugs other people to use my computer, I always have the mouse on the left and use the numeric keypad for directional controls. It's pretty convenient not only because the buttons are nicely lined up, but it's surrounded by other buttons that are good for reload, jump, duck, etc.

      Also, the keys that are further away (+, enter, and 0) are bigger, so they're pretty handy too.

      Couple that in with the whole left-brain/right-brain debate, and I'd be pretty interested to see statistics on the winners/losers and their handedness...

    10. Re:Am I weird? by tek.net-ium · · Score: 1

      It was a bad vi joke. I didn't intend for it to be interpreted literally.

    11. Re:Am I weird? by Mozk · · Score: 1

      How do you turn around? With that, you're limited to facing one direction. o_0

      --
      No existe.
    12. Re:Am I weird? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That can be sort of awkward because you either have your hand very close to your mouse, or you have to move your keyboard. Unless you're left-handed of course.

    13. Re:Am I weird? by mr_snarf · · Score: 1
      How do you turn around? With that, you're limited to facing one direction. o_0
      By moving the mouse...
      When I say I can play one handed, I mean just for a little while, take left hand off keyboard to grab a drink, while changing direction + moving forward + firing with just the mouse :)
      --
      printf("Goodbye cruel world!\b\b\b\b\b\b\b\b\b\b\b\b\b\b\b\b\b\b\b\b");
    14. Re:Am I weird? by banz23 · · Score: 1

      There will be zero correlation between the "handedness" and skill. It is all about practice, practice, practice. I am right handed and if I wanted to could use the numeric pad, it would be a matter of sliding my keyboard 10 inches to the left. Besides the letter keys aren't lined up perfectly because it is more ergonomic, which is needed for playing hour after hour to guess what? practice practice practice.

    15. Re:Am I weird? by initialE · · Score: 1

      Up:Jump
      Dn:Crouch
      Left:Strafe Left
      Right:Strafe Right

      Nearly nobody does it this way but me: the benefit is that I can do all my running around with 1 hand, and use the other hand only when I need to engage something. :/ The setup was modified from the original Quake setup, which had fire and move forward as mouse buttons.

      --
      Starbucks, Harbuckle of Breath.
    16. Re:Am I weird? by Balerion · · Score: 1

      You're almost as freakish as me...

      Mouse1: Fire
      Mouse2: Forward
      D: Strafe Left
      F: Strafe Right
      Space: Backwards
      S: Jump
      C: Next Weapon

      E usually gets mapped to "use" or something like that.

      This is how I was taught to play back in the original Doom days when I switched from gamepade to mouse. I've become extremely good at it (although I'm not as competitive as I was back in the day) but I don't know if I'd go so far as to recommend it to anyone. The hardest part was learning not to "lock up" by hitting forward and backward at the same time, since they're on different hands.

    17. Re:Am I weird? by eeyoredragon · · Score: 1

      Well IMHO your config is suboptimal because you wast to fingers for farward/backward, plus the fact that giving spave to right isnt that good on most keyboards (because space usually has worse feedback when hitting non-centred).

      I would argue that I can naturally react and move more fluidly though. I've done the arrow key position (which is what WASD is if I'm not mistaken), and you have to lift your finger off the W and move it to the D to change directions. I don't have to do that. It's probably not a huge difference, but when you refer to a game as a "twitch" game, every little bit counts I imagine.

      As to the SPACE, my thumb rests naturally in the middle when I play so no biggie :)

  24. Re:good PC UI not alwasy == good game UI by HD+Webdev · · Score: 1

    I fed it but then again, I was Trolling the Trolls back when A.S.T was in it's infancy so it's more hungry than it was before I posted.

    There are plenty of trackball players that I personally know that are well matched up with mouse players.

    I didn't mention it because the Bridge Fellow was talking about mice and I have been a mouser since the Doom mouse patch (IIRC, v1.2).

    --
    This is not a dream, not a dream...we are transmitting from the year 1-9-9-9.
  25. Re:good PC UI not alwasy == good game UI by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You sir just rocked my world.

    I was about to say "THATS CRAZY TALK" when it came to shunning WASD, but when you mentioned the divit on the F key, sure enough I look down, and there it is. I'll be using ESDF now I think ;)

  26. They aren't even that good. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I've played against / with kids who are much better than these guys. It's a shame they don't pay enough attention in the gaming world to partake in such a competition.

    Perhaps there's not enough exposure or perhaps MLG is their calling. In either case, I really wouldn't consider these guys the best of the best... or even that close :)

  27. Re:Halo kills children by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
  28. Re:good PC UI not alwasy == good game UI by HD+Webdev · · Score: 1

    I would be interested to know how you turn more than 180 degrees without lifting the mouse, for example while circle-strafing.

    I don't circle-strafe in the same direction for very long. Otherwise, I'd be dead because of my being predictable.

    Keep 'em guessing.

    --
    This is not a dream, not a dream...we are transmitting from the year 1-9-9-9.
  29. You've never actually played real sports, have you by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Holy crap, that chick on the tigerdirect.com banner that's up on my screen now is freaky. Refresh slashdot a few times till you get the banner and see what I'm talking about. She so wants to eat your face!

  30. Tourney by FidelCatsro · · Score: 1

    Tourney means to compete in a tournament , it's is not a short form for tournament .
    "Halo 2 World to compete in a tournament finals-Aussie Champ's view"

    --
    The only things certain in war are Propaganda and Death. You can never be sure which is which though
    1. Re:Tourney by FidelCatsro · · Score: 1

      Tourneys is the short form of tournament not tourney

      --
      The only things certain in war are Propaganda and Death. You can never be sure which is which though
    2. Re:Tourney by ctid · · Score: 1

      What are you talking about? Tourney is a valid abbreviation of tournament in English. What I say has been true for at least three decades.

      --
      Reality is defined by the maddest person in the room
    3. Re:Tourney by FidelCatsro · · Score: 1

      Apologies , i was wrong its also acceptable :D well i just made a fool of myself nice way to start a Sunday , Well i blame it on lack of sleep.
      But well done to the guy , It would be interesting to see how well he could hold up against someone with a keyboard mouse combo though.
      Apologies again

      --
      The only things certain in war are Propaganda and Death. You can never be sure which is which though
  31. Re:Halo kills children by hxnwix · · Score: 1

    Haha. Therapy for six months... for catatonic stupor induced by (note the quotes) losing a "death match".

    *airquote gesture*
    death
    match
    *airquote gesture*

    Hhehehehehahahahah pure comedy gold. Can't you people recognize sarcasm?

  32. Re:good PC UI not alwasy == good game UI by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    oh FUCK you sure trolled that troll

    replying to every one of his troll bullet points with a detail explanation as to why his troll is wrong sure shut him up

    I've never seen such an utter destruction of a troll

    I bet your asshole is nice and loose considering how often your head must be up it

  33. Goddamn kids stealing names... by pidge-nz · · Score: 1

    *sigh*

    Mind you, I'd had the nickname inflicted on me before pokemon.

  34. Re:good PC UI not alwasy == good game UI by RyuuzakiTetsuya · · Score: 1

    Gamers that need a lot of keys use ESDF because they never have to look at the keyboard because there's usually a divit on the F key to keep the person from losing position.

    And I thought itw as just me and Thresh who used ESDF for movement in FPSes(although I've never met him, or played him, an article he wrote on keyboard/mousing got me into using the mouse)...

    Everytime I see the default setup for an FPS, it's always WASD. What the fuck is up with that?

    --
    Non impediti ratione cogitationus.
  35. Re:good PC UI not alwasy == good game UI by drsquare · · Score: 1

    Great, more moderation abuse on Slashdot. You know, just because you don't agree with something, doesn't mean it has to be censored. Funny how this is on the same day with a discussion criticising Microsoft for censoring things in China.

    I actually agree with it, mouse and keyboard are horrible. You need about thirty fingers to manage to play it. With consoles you can concentrate on playing the game rather than obsessing over the controls. Also you get to play with normal people rather than obessesive gamers who spend 30 hours a day practicing, and the other 5 configuring the keyboard/mouse to give them optimal speed/accuracy. It just a game people!

    Also in online play the keyboard is used more often than not to spout racist/sexist abuse to other players.

  36. could have been? by 06metzp · · Score: 1

    Carmack could have been working for NASA or the US military, but instead he simply sits around coding violent computer games.

    Oh, but he was working for the government. He just didn't know it. If I recall correctly, various violent video games are used by the military as traning devices. I know it's an argument usually used by anti-violence folks, but in this case it just blows a hole in part of an argument, so.... all good, right?

    --
    This sig left blank for page turns.
    1. Re:could have been? by banz23 · · Score: 1

      Carmack could have been working for NASA or the US military, but instead he simply sits around coding violent computer games. Yes, he could work for the government, but instead he chose what he was interested in doing. I doubt he regets his decision while he is driving his ferrari to a company that he partially owns.

  37. Re:good PC UI not alwasy == good game UI by e03179 · · Score: 1
    Good gamers don't usually use WASD
    Yes, they do. I've been to the CPL to watch them play. Most FPS gamers at the CPL use the standard WASD. As a matter of fact, I've won at CPL using WASD to play HALO.

    I knew my keyboard well enough that I didn't need a "divit" to orient my fingers. Come on. A good piano player doesn't need a "divit" to find keys on the piano.

    However as you were suggesting, a keyboard and mouse does have many advantages over a standard console control. Simply put, the console controllers aren't made with buttons that can be used by 8 or more fingers. Keyboards and 5,6,7-button mice leave you wishing you had extra fingers to issue more commands.
    --
    -516
  38. RE: Non front page material by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Damn it why do people always give these lower class Australians so much print space? These dolts couldn't tell their arse from their elbow - it's OK, you don't have to pretend you didn't notice anything unusual about them, in the name of not offending your friends in Freedom & Democracy around the world. That's how it works here. We have lower class whites, and lots of them. Please ignore them, and don't embarrass the rest of us by trying to be accommodating when they air their tabloid, trailer-trash views!

    Sorry for being so extreme but a lot of people really need to learn this, even if it may not have been completely relevant this time.

  39. Re:good PC UI not alwasy == good game UI by HD+Webdev · · Score: 1

    Keyboards and 5,6,7-button mice leave you wishing you had extra fingers to issue more commands.

    That's why shifting over to the right one key feeds that wish. With WASD, your pinky can move to the left without you moving your whole hand. And, that pinky is then hanging over empty space when it could be used for more key presses (informational binds to alert teammates about {whatever} for example).

    Come on. A good piano player doesn't need a "divit" to find keys on the piano.

    Yes, but if you changed the notes that played when he hit keys he'd have a slight hinderance to his playing. People who type very well do so because they use the home row position. To then have them switch to something else for playing games doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me.

    The default WASD is a throw-back to DOOM when many keys were not necessary. It won't go away in the foreseeable future.

    Also, I was not implying that WASD players weren't as good. OTOH, those WASD players could open up more possibilities if they shifted one key to the right and used the extra keys they'd then have readily available.

    --
    This is not a dream, not a dream...we are transmitting from the year 1-9-9-9.
  40. Re:good PC UI not alwasy == good game UI by HD+Webdev · · Score: 1

    replying to every one of his troll bullet points with a detail explanation as to why his troll is wrong sure shut him up

    No, the moderation system took care of that.

    Correcting misinformation from Trolls is a good idea, especially when it is disguised as 'very informative' on a user moderated web forum.

    By highlighting such information from a Troll (at least on Slashdot), you give moderators much more of an idea of what to do even if they aren't experts on the matter being discussed. Moderators didn't even need to be gamers at all to see the stark contrast of that post compared to the replies.

    The Troll was not moderated down as one until a while after others posted a general disagreement with what the Troll said.

    BTW: Welcome to Slashdot where the Trolls are pistol-whipped into submission.

    --
    This is not a dream, not a dream...we are transmitting from the year 1-9-9-9.
  41. Re:good PC UI not alwasy == good game UI by Zangief · · Score: 1

    The most important thing to me is this:

    -Can you play from four bed or couch?

    Keyb/Mouse: Hell, No!
    Control Pad: Yes, of course.

    Control pad = absolute winner.

  42. Re:good PC UI not alwasy == good game UI by Mozk · · Score: 1

    I type very well (up to 100 WPM with no errors), and I have never used the home row position. My hands are usally around a, w, r, g, space, and k, semicolon, apostrophe, and shift. Not that my hands are always on those keys, which they hardly are.

    --
    No existe.
  43. 180 by tepples · · Score: 1

    Using a joypad you take 2 seconds to do a 180, with a mouse it's under 0.2 - of course you can't compete.

    Shouldn't you be able to press in on the aiming stick (assuming ps2 style L3/R3 buttons) to do a 180 degree turn?

  44. WSAD stands for by tepples · · Score: 1

    Everytime I see the default setup for an FPS, it's always WASD. What ... is up with that?

    We Suck At Deathmatch.

  45. Re:good PC UI not alwasy == good game UI by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Awww, lifo-fifo's troll piece got owned, and to boost their already low self-esteem they have to post this drivel.

    People love to point holes in flawed troll pieces, and you would be jerking off about your post whether or not someone replied to it.

    Your troll failed, maybe you can do something else with your pathetic excuse for a life instead of posting these replies talking about you pent up sexual frustrations and homosexual fantasies.

  46. Bunny hopping by tepples · · Score: 1

    Yeah, but you would end up bunny hopping around like a maniac

    What's so bad about Jazz Jackrabbit again?

  47. Re:who gives a shit? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Actually in multiplayer Auto Aim is disabled.

  48. Re:good PC UI not alwasy == good game UI by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Again silly. Good gamers don't usually use WASD. It's not the natural typing position and limits the number of keys that can be used without moving the hand. Gamers that need a lot of keys use ESDF because they never have to look at the keyboard because there's usually a divit on the F key to keep the person from losing position. Using the home typing position, 28 keys are available without moving the left hand out of standard typing postion.

    I'm an ex QuakeWorld TeamFortress junkie trying to find my way in Halo2 on XBox Live, and the other thing i miss about PC FPS games was the scripting. Being able to create a custom zoom script with 2 or 3 levels of zoom, then bind that to a button was awesome.

    Also, this might sound a little excessive, but for the grenades, me and a friend timed out to the 100th of a second how long it took a grenade to explode once the pin was pulled, made a wav file that played the "ding" sound from ICQ 2 times spaced out at correct intervals, then played out the "uh-oh" sound from ICQ when the grenade blew. We then created a script for grenade throwing that played this sound before 'priming' the grenade. In QuakeWorld TeamFortress, the game let you hold a grenade as long as you wanted after you 'primed' it, even to the point of it exploding in your hand. So this timer we made let us hold on to the grenade, then time our throw so that it exploded right when it got to the opponent. Great stuff.

  49. Einstein's Pinball by MS-06FZ · · Score: 1

    What would have happened if Albert Einstein had worked creating amazing pinball games instead of creating the theory of relativity?

    I bet the man could've made some damn fine pinball machines, which could have led to many happy hours of pinball.

    But since he didn't go with the pinball thing, he instead contributed to the development of nuclear weapons. Which do you suppose brings more joy to the world?

    --
    ---GEC
    I'm but the humble pupil, seeking to snatch the scratchbuilt pebble from the master's fully articulated hand