This is a bit of a long blog discussion, covering some recent news and looking at some long-term community issues with un-lockable weapons, so strap on your seatbelts and glasses!
ESEA-Invite has been rocked in the last week by two major issues.
First off, MoB gaming has fallen apart as a team. The ESEA roster for MoB now lists just Davis (AKA woot) and Grillz as their only paid members. Grillz has stated his desire to re-form the team and finish out the season. Thus far they've been dealt 2 forfeit losses with another match in limbo. With a 1-6 record, they are out of the playoff scene regardless.
Not only has MoB fallen apart, but Blight has also been in the midst of a dispute with ESEA. While they played a match just yesterday Sunday the 10th, a 5-1 win over loaded, the word around the campfire, coming from Seagull and Blackstar, was that they were boycotting ESEA over a dispute with the administrators concerning the ban of the Direct Hit. (edit: Or perhaps more so over the banning of the buff banner. Blight is waiting to hear the results of Cyzer's player survey and ESEA's response to that, they will be playing until then at least)
These two events represent a slap in the face of the progress TF2 is making and the negative aspects of this community that must be dealt with.
The issue regarding MoB is nothing new, team stability. Teams must be able to stick it out for a whole season. If they lose players they must be able to fill those slots or should face consequences. ESEA-I Season 5 represents the greatest collection of talent that TF2 has seen for years. To only last 5 matches together is a sporting disgrace.
The are many understandable reasons for a team to fall apart. The loss of team unity/cohesion, the loss of a key player, or simply no longer enjoying either playing together or playing the game itself. None of these reasons should result in a team quitting mid-season, you made the commitment now finish it out. Quitting mid-season is a shame on all the players involved and a set back for the progression of competitive FPSs and TF2.
Blight's actions as well are a disappointment and a let down. To let a dispute over the use of the Direct Hit put a stop to your top 4 aspirations and further devalue the games current top league is unacceptable. Blackstar and others have mentioned the various ways they feel TWL is superior to ESEA but with the quality of competition in ESEA-I this season it is certainly the top league regardless of its let downs.
While TWL's league has strength in numbers and friendly capable admins, its webpage lacks severally when compared with the ease of following ESEA S5 on the ESEA site. TWL can reach that level with the support of the players, and hopefully it does, but ESEA represents a great opportunity to further the TF2 community.
The debate about the Direct Hit and other new weapons is an important debate. It's a debate whose core issue will rear it's head again and again as Valve continues to update the game and the debate needs to be resolved once and for all.
You can approach this debate from several perspectives. The first is: The game is what it is and whatever changes Valve make should be played with. The second is: Well, most of those changes are pretty sweet but if they are bugged out or glitched then they shouldn't use until fixed. The third perspective is: We should only adopt the changes We/I want.
Before breaking each of those down, another aspect to this argument is the integrity of the season at hand. I don't think currently anyone is so concerned about this that it overrides other arguments. There is something to be said for the argument that major changes mid-season would negate the meaning of results earlier in the season. Team A may have beaten Team B before the release of the unlocks, but afterwards Team B has adapted faster and beats Team A. I don't think anyone minds in TF2, but there is a reason Major League sports do not change rules mid-season, even if the benefits to game play are clear. That would be one approach to adopt that would put an end to this debate, unlocks/major changes (such as tf_use_fixed_spread) are not used in the leagues if released mid-season. An appropriate compromise that will help ensure results consistent with earlier in the season, give teams time to adapt, and allow players time to obtain new weapons, is whenever new unlocks are released by Valve they are not allowed in competition for a certain period of time, say two weeks or a month.
Going back to the three approaches to the unlockable debate, it is my belief that the 2nd approach of only banning glitches is what should be taken. Just like the numerous rule changes that happen in regular sports between seasons, NFL and NHL contain many great examples of game play changing rules. TF2 is an alive game that Valve is constantly tweaking. As is the nature of coding, Valve sometimes includes glitches in their updates and that is why the first option is unrealistic. If Valve updates the game and a team utilizes a glitched weapon to beat another team those results are not fair. In the case of a clear glitch, that weapon should not be allowed until fixed.
What is a clear glitch? The Direct Hit getting mini-air crits on a sloped surface is a clear glitch. Players that utilize the DH should realize that those particular instances give the shooter a benefit that is not intended. It's okay in PUGs, but in a league match its the difference between a DH shot on a medic badly wounding or outright killing. To be honest I never paid enough attention to the glitches around the FAN to dissect when that particular weapon should have been banned for glitches and re-allowed because it was fixed, but either way we should move forward from the past. My opinion is that the DH should be allowed as soon as the sloped shots do not grant mini-crits. The glitch criteria is what should be applied to all future weapons/items as to whether they are allowed or not.
The third approach of only allowing what "We/I" want to play with is extremely problematic. It turns the community against itself, with players whose classes are strengthened by a change shouting loudly for it to be implemented while the players whose classes are on the receiving end of the punishment invariably against it. Any decision made by a small group of players that has an impact across the community will likely upset a good deal of players not involved with the decision making. The history surrounding the FAN should clearly illustrate this. There is no accurate way to determine how the community as a whole feels about a certain item and it is a waste of time to try and determine what setup the community wants. Polls are a waste of time as many players who will be affected by the results will probably not give their opinion. Who is more likely to vote on a poll banning the DH? A player that hates it? Or someone who is currently using it in a PUG?
Determining the play style of competitive TF2 by committee is particularly pointless considering the high level of support we receive from Valve Software. The FAN once again gets brought into the discussion. Even at its peak power, the FAN was never a game breaker. It gave a power boost to Scouts for a brief period of time but they still had the same weaknesses and were able to be countered. Valve has since tweaked the FAN down quite a bit, perhaps too far, but they have responded to the criticism of the weapon. The Buff Banner is a great example from the current updates. It is no longer glitched, comes with serious consequences of equipping, but might be a little too powerful. If it is, Valve will adjust it accordingly and Soldiers on both teams can have fun with it until then.
Once again I state; unless there are clear glitches all un-lockable weapons should be allowed and only restricted to give players time to obtain and adapt to them.
With that whole debate out of the way, if Blight is going to boycott the rest of the ESEA-I season over the approach of the admins to the DH, they need to grow up and look around them at the rest of the community. Play the season out, and if you still have serious problems with the ESEA administrators move your team over to TWL or CEVO. It is irresponsible to leave mid-season and damages the reputation of competitive TF2 and its chances at becoming the next great thing. TF2 has the capabilities to overcome CS, but any sport is based upon the foundation of its players and fans.
TF2 players all across the board need to realize this community is what you make it. If top teams can't stay together for a full season either because of team stability or league disputes then this community will never progress. If administrators keep trying to micromanage how TF2 is played and which weapons should be used they will only aggravate players and further alienate the competitive community from the much larger pub-server community. Everyday pub and pug players have their own obligations in terms of progressing the community and seeing as I've already hit 1.5K words, I'll save that discussion for next time.
If you have read this far then you'll get to hear my words of gratitude. I love this game, but also those who have picked me in #pug.na know I'm not the best competitive player myself. It's the players of ESEA-I that myself and others draw inspiration from and enjoy watching. Hats off to the players of MoB and Blight, and to the hard work league administrators put into keeping things running. To all players, let's keep improving this community together. Please discuss the issues in this post kindly and gentlemanly in our forums.
Signing up for a league and representing the top echelon of the competitive TF2 community teams need to buck up and finish the season out.
