Widescreen Gaming Forum

Nice article. I remember playing UT Instagib alot. It was (is) great.

@ StingingVelvet

Congratulations, you have discovered, on your first try, "Good games gone bad". "Mods" sound like such a good idea but in truth, most of them really screw up a good game. I have seen some good mods that actually add something but most add thrashing, booming, or otherwise annoyingly loud music and killfest gameplay.
I live with my son, his wife and a house full of kids, because of this, we have 6 computers on a network and we often play in lan mode or, where lan is not available, passworded games. This way we can assure that no one cheats and only the best mods are used (best mod is in the eye of the beholder) Some love the run n' gun, bunnyhop, killfest, type of play. I myself like a game that allows for stealth and sniping, along with the run and gun. I love a game that allows you to think and plan, but very quickly.
A headset with mic can be really cool if it is not abused (some idiots like to key their mic and blast loud music messing up everyone else. and some just like to scream cusswords constantly. But in a fair game with positional surround sound and a good team chat it really pays off.
Also, most server browsers have filters that you can apply. You can screen out mods if you wish and only play stock (out of box) maps.
Mostly I would like to say, don't give up! Some of the people that you will meet are worth knowing and you can have great fun once you find a group that suites you.

I've seen from some of your other posts that our likes and dislikes are quite similar.
Please don't give up on Multiplayer. get to know some people and chat with them and soon you will find some enjoyable games.

I've seen from some of your other posts that our likes and dislikes are quite similar.
Please don't give up on Multiplayer. get to know some people and chat with them and soon you will find some enjoyable games.

Thanks for the kind words and suggestions. I especially like the idea of filtering out mods and I might do that next time not only for my sanity but to have a much different experience and article come out of it. I also know you're right about finding the best serviers and communities being an important part of the multiplayer experience. I have one or two people I play Left 4 Dead with a lot and asked them if they played any competitive games so we might get something going there eventually.

I agree the best shooters are ones with some strategy and planning time, along with excellent action in the resulting combat.

to be honest Quake 3 still rocks some normal servers. And is tons of fun. Still my favorite multiplayer. UT2k4 won out UTGOTY. But, yes, mods and that sort are because these people are bored...and lets admit, most gamers move on to newer games leaving older games for fanboys and people who really need to get out more.

I have one or two people I play Left 4 Dead with a lot and asked them if they played any competitive games so we might get something going there eventually.

Yep I don't even know how people find multiplayer enjoyable if they are not with a group of people that they know. Left 4 Dead [2] as you mentioned I only play with my group of 6 friends, so we are always at least me and another guy when I play, I would NEVER play the game alone. Same goes with say TF2, on the single server that I have on my favorites I have like 75% of the regular players there on my friends list. I wouldn't even play TF2 if it was not for that server and all of those good mature friends that I met on it.

Sorry to hear you had such a bad time.

You didn't mention what luck you'd had with Left 4 Dead. The competitive multiplayer community in Left 4 Dead is probably the nastiest towards new players. Don't bother for now. On the other hand, Left 4 Dead's co-op is pretty accepting of all skill levels. Play "Campaign" mode - that's regular co-op. Don't go to expert difficulty until you are good. To be more safe from nasty insults, don't even go to advanced difficulty until you've completed a few games. If you can develop the habit, use "push-to-talk" and a microphone. It makes a world of difference. Unfortunately, Left 4 Dead is currently empty - you'll have an easier time finding friendly teams in Left 4 Dead 2.

If you want competitive multiplayer, find a game with LOTS of players and choose the team vs. team mode - generally called Team Deathmatch or TDM. You survive much longer when someone is protecting your back, and in a BIG game, it's less likely that one of the teams is completely stacked with experts. Call of Duty 2 and Call of Duty 4 both have lots of servers still active. For an even more relaxing game, try Capture the Flag mode. You can guard your own flag if you're feeling patient, or try to capture the enemy's flag if you're feeling adventurous. The absolute worst, most-frantic games you can join are the every-man-for-himself games. Sorry that you picked that option first.

Team Fortress 2 is a much trickier game to get used to than Call of Duty, but it's OK to just learn one of the character classes at a time. You play better when you understand what everyone can do, but to begin with, just shooting the enemy with whatever weapon you have is fine. Snipers, soldiers, and demomen are probably the easiest classes to start with. Again, when possible, join bigger games with more people. The more people on a team, the less anyone will resent mistakes made by a new player.

You didn't mention what luck you'd had with Left 4 Dead. The competitive multiplayer community in Left 4 Dead is probably the nastiest towards new players. Don't bother for now. On the other hand, Left 4 Dead's co-op is pretty accepting of all skill levels. Play "Campaign" mode - that's regular co-op. Don't go to expert difficulty until you are good. To be more safe from nasty insults, don't even go to advanced difficulty until you've completed a few games. If you can develop the habit, use "push-to-talk" and a microphone. It makes a world of difference. Unfortunately, Left 4 Dead is currently empty - you'll have an easier time finding friendly teams in Left 4 Dead 2.

I bought Left 4 Dead for a solo experience at first and then liked the game so much I suggested it to a friend who barely plays games anymore but does on rare occassion. We tried coop one night and both enjoyed it very much and have played a lot since, and I found a few people on my forums who have played with me as well. I also played Halo and Halo 2 coop offline on the TV with that same original friend, so perhaps that counts as previous experience and I should have noted it.

I have never launched Left 4 Dead and played a random game though, that just sounds like a bad idea. I have a list of 3 or 4 people I will play with and that's that.

The absolute worst, most-frantic games you can join are the every-man-for-himself games. Sorry that you picked that option first.

I assumed it was the most basic and easy to use multiplayer type, as well as the only one where my performance or lack-there-of would not annoy anyone else, that is why I picked deathmatch. I will probably do so again for the second game I pick and will then try team stuff on my third go.

[quote]You didn't mention what luck you'd had with Left 4 Dead. The competitive multiplayer community in Left 4 Dead is probably the nastiest towards new players. Don't bother for now. On the other hand, Left 4 Dead's co-op is pretty accepting of all skill levels. Play "Campaign" mode - that's regular co-op. Don't go to expert difficulty until you are good. To be more safe from nasty insults, don't even go to advanced difficulty until you've completed a few games. If you can develop the habit, use "push-to-talk" and a microphone. It makes a world of difference. Unfortunately, Left 4 Dead is currently empty - you'll have an easier time finding friendly teams in Left 4 Dead 2.

I bought Left 4 Dead for a solo experience at first and then liked the game so much I suggested it to a friend who barely plays games anymore but does on rare occassion. We tried coop one night and both enjoyed it very much and have played a lot since, and I found a few people on my forums who have played with me as well. I also played Halo and Halo 2 coop offline on the TV with that same original friend, so perhaps that counts as previous experience and I should have noted it.

I have never launched Left 4 Dead and played a random game though, that just sounds like a bad idea. I have a list of 3 or 4 people I will play with and that's that.

The absolute worst, most-frantic games you can join are the every-man-for-himself games. Sorry that you picked that option first.

I assumed it was the most basic and easy to use multiplayer type, as well as the only one where my performance or lack-there-of would not annoy anyone else, that is why I picked deathmatch. I will probably do so again for the second game I pick and will then try team stuff on my third go.

I actually enjoy playing L4D in campaign mode with randoms. You get to learn a lot about how other people play the game, how you think, how they think, what personalities drive people. i.e. someone takes on the "let's go do this role", someone else takes on the "bitch about everyone shooting them" role, someone else runs off to the end of the map and then bitches when they die... then you get those games where everyone is chatting away about music/games and you're all working together and you absolutely pwn the map and everyone pats each other on the back. it's an experience. there's highs and lows, but the highs are worth it.

Whereas if i play with mates, we end up trying to show off who knows more exploits in the maps (well at least in l4d1... not so much in l4d2)

lol,One man's meat is another man's poison

I assumed it was the most basic and easy to use multiplayer type, as well as the only one where my performance or lack-there-of would not annoy anyone else, that is why I picked deathmatch. I will probably do so again for the second game I pick and will then try team stuff on my third go.

You are correct that objective wise deathmatch is the easiest to pick up and play, I mean its basically if you see something move, shoot it.

The problem is that its also one of the most competitive game modes, the skill level in something like team death match or capture the flag is much lower in general.

[quote]I assumed it was the most basic and easy to use multiplayer type, as well as the only one where my performance or lack-there-of would not annoy anyone else, that is why I picked deathmatch. I will probably do so again for the second game I pick and will then try team stuff on my third go.

You are correct that objective wise deathmatch is the easiest to pick up and play, I mean its basically if you see something move, shoot it.

The problem is that its also one of the most competitive game modes, the skill level in something like team death match or capture the flag is much lower in general.

I disagree. In deathmatch (DM), people are constantly moving. If you stay still, you'll quickly end up shot in the back. The action is so quick, you'll often not even have time to pull and throw a grenade before dying. To survive at all, you ALREADY have to know your controls very well. In Team Deathmatch (TDM), the teams slowly roll around the map, with the more aggressive team constantly trying to outflank or get behind the defensive team. You can't stay still forever, but you've got time to react to what's going on around you, instead of just twitching your gun towards everything you see. So long as friendly fire is turned OFF, and it's off on most servers, TDM is an easy place to learn multiplayer. In Capture the Flag (CTF), all you have to do is find your flag, find a good place to camp out, and shoot any enemies that get near your flag. CTF is the easiest for a purely defensive player. In CTF, they NEED some patient players who hang out around the flag. Only a few servers will ever hastle you for just setting up a tent and defending. Only a few CTF teams are stupid enough to ask the rookie to join in on an attack on the enemy's flag. TDM is the easiest for someone who gets bored waiting for the enemy to show up. Deathmatch is just...really hard to get used to, unless there are only a few players present, and then, what's the point...you're there for MULTIplayer, and trying to kill only a few opponents only teaches you how to deal with one or two opponents....which you probably won't need to know unless you're one of the few, highly skilled players left alive at the end of a search and destroy map.

Again, I'd also disagree that the DM servers have the best players. People trying to earn points for perks, get kills as fast as possible on DM servers, and so there are lots of not-so-good players on DM servers. I'm not a top player - maybe a top 15% player - and I tend to get the same ranking on TDM, DM, and CTF servers. Search and Destroy though - most of those players are very serious folks...very good.