Why not use the same game but upgrade it every few years?
There are really only 3 games that the CPL uses. That’s Counter-Strike, Quake and Unreal. They have been using CS 1.6 for sometime now and have started using Quake 4 last week. So here is my idea.
You take a game like Quake 3 since (IMO) it is the best and most balance online FPS ever made and use that as your base. When a new engine comes out (Doom 3) you take Q3 and just port it over to the new engine. This does two things. One is the players aren’t learning a whole new game every few years. Two is since the CPL needs sponsors to pay for tourneys it keeps the hardware companies happy because it give them a chance to show the power of there product.
Another thing would be to pick a set number of maps from the pervious version and move them over to the next one. Say DM6 and T4 were the tops pick from the players so you port them over to Quake 4. When Quake 5 comes out and you do the same again. Of course this would take the backing of Epic, id Software and Valve. They would have to release it at a lower price then games now and have to take the time to make it and support it. They would also have to release it ready to use in tourneys. This means at least basic support for things such as GTV, bright skins and so on that the community could build from.
This would give esports a base to build from since the games would be set. The sports that are most watch now haven’t changed much since the first time people started playing them. From American Football to Euro Football to Baseball to Basketball. There still at the core the same game.
esports idea
There is a lot of talk about this on esr, shocking I know. I agree and think it would be a good idea however I am not your everyday joe six pack game player.
Your average gamer doesnt want the same game over and over, even with an updated game engine and saddly no game will be made as a competitive platform that cannot also sell X amount of units to the public.
My idea is that there is a game mode put in that fills this niche instead. Just like CTF, TDM, whatever, you would now have a PRO game type. This mode would be identical year after year, change the basic physics of the game to some standard, and also be present in other games. PRO Quake 5, would be the exact same game as PRO UT2009.
The problems here are that there are those unwashed masses who do not like Quake, and we all know that the Quake 3 weapon set and movement are the near pinnicle of balance and perfection, therefore when that rule set if you will defined the PRO game type the UT heathens would be upset that their weapons and movement did not make it into the game. Secondly it would mean that the devs would be making something to cater (sp?) to what most likely amounts to less then 5% of the player base at most. This is unlikely to happen in the current publisher/developer business model where rush jobs are common to meet a certain sales quota and date.
So what it then comes down to is a mod team does it all. If CPL were to hire a mod team to create this PRO game type in each game they play well then there could be this standardization.
It would be even easier if you just did it with the CPL running 3 games each year so you could appease all 3 groups, but that wont happen either so they should just drop the other 2 and run Quake forever and the world will find peace at last!
Heh, I will try and find the thread that deals with this most recently on esr...
Your average gamer doesnt want the same game over and over, even with an updated game engine and saddly no game will be made as a competitive platform that cannot also sell X amount of units to the public.
My idea is that there is a game mode put in that fills this niche instead. Just like CTF, TDM, whatever, you would now have a PRO game type. This mode would be identical year after year, change the basic physics of the game to some standard, and also be present in other games. PRO Quake 5, would be the exact same game as PRO UT2009.
The problems here are that there are those unwashed masses who do not like Quake, and we all know that the Quake 3 weapon set and movement are the near pinnicle of balance and perfection, therefore when that rule set if you will defined the PRO game type the UT heathens would be upset that their weapons and movement did not make it into the game. Secondly it would mean that the devs would be making something to cater (sp?) to what most likely amounts to less then 5% of the player base at most. This is unlikely to happen in the current publisher/developer business model where rush jobs are common to meet a certain sales quota and date.
So what it then comes down to is a mod team does it all. If CPL were to hire a mod team to create this PRO game type in each game they play well then there could be this standardization.
It would be even easier if you just did it with the CPL running 3 games each year so you could appease all 3 groups, but that wont happen either so they should just drop the other 2 and run Quake forever and the world will find peace at last!
Heh, I will try and find the thread that deals with this most recently on esr...
I understand what your saying jester! but im not talking about one game. You take Quake 3 and port it to the Doom 3 engine. Valve already did CS. Now when it comes to the Unreal Tournament you have a problem.
The Unreal community is split. You have the UT99 people and the UT2003/2004 people. Finding a base to build from for the next UT game would be hard.
Also this wouldn't be for the average gamer. This would be for the (a work I hate to use) pro gamer. The biggest problem I see in this is that devlopers don't seem to give a dam about esports and I understand why. There is really no money in it for them. Just the CPL, ESWC, WCG and the GGL.
The Unreal community is split. You have the UT99 people and the UT2003/2004 people. Finding a base to build from for the next UT game would be hard.
Also this wouldn't be for the average gamer. This would be for the (a work I hate to use) pro gamer. The biggest problem I see in this is that devlopers don't seem to give a dam about esports and I understand why. There is really no money in it for them. Just the CPL, ESWC, WCG and the GGL.
Yeah, now as much as I hate to say it I think epic is on to something with the UT series. I am not up on the history of the game and know very little on the split community but its the same only less so with Quake, Q2/Q3/Q4 probably.
Either way, if id and Epic took the same approach to these games as say....EA does with their sport franchises maybe we would have a more stable base. I cant see id doing this but then again what is Q4 MP but Q3++, or atleast thats what it wants to be.
Anyway, if the games were just redone when it came to visuals year after year with new models, new maps, new sounds but also keeping the old stuff I dont know, maybe it would work. It sure seems to work for EA and the like...
Either way, if id and Epic took the same approach to these games as say....EA does with their sport franchises maybe we would have a more stable base. I cant see id doing this but then again what is Q4 MP but Q3++, or atleast thats what it wants to be.
Anyway, if the games were just redone when it came to visuals year after year with new models, new maps, new sounds but also keeping the old stuff I dont know, maybe it would work. It sure seems to work for EA and the like...
Re: esports idea
I agree with this basic idea. Quake 1 has seen a lot of engine improvements over the past x years, to the point it's looking pretty sweet nowadays. If you believe in your idea, you might be able to enjoy playing Quake 1.booker wrote:Why not use the same game but upgrade it every few years?
Then again, Quake 3 is pretty much a direct upgrade to Quake 1. There is currently no direct upgrade to Quake 3.... but the source code is out and people are starting to work on it. Perhaps watching/being part of that is the way forwards.
Until a game comes out that's Quake 3 with significant enhancements, like Q3 was to Q1.
"Maybe you have some bird ideas. Maybe that’s the best you can do."
― Terry A. Davis
― Terry A. Davis