27 October 2009

Men and Women of CustomTF,

It's been over 48 hours since Rock2ober 2009, and I've been waiting to calm down a little so I can write a coherent review, but ...I can't. I'm still too overwhelmed. I'm *still* in a stunned state of disbelief, euphoria, and amazement.

WE DID IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

At approximately 00:39 GMT, the 32nd person logged into Rock2ober 2009, and the game officially became the biggest AGR game in history, the biggest AGR game (currently) possible, and the first 32 player CustomTF game for many, MANY years.

What an amazing day!

32/32!

Those who were there know what happened. The amazing demos coming in say more than I ever could.

To be honest, the sheer historic significance of the day distracted me from the gameplay. I was also nervous about whether all registered players were connected, would the server crash (it DID!), turning the password off (didn't work - had to restart server!), getting screenshots, demos, etc etc. So I wasn't properly 'in-game' for much of the first half.

So, whats the point of reviewing a game when nearly EVERYONE was there, and with 32 players, there are 31 other versions of 'what happened' which are probably more accurate than mine? Well, for those who weren't able to be there...

Rock2ober 2009

My *impression* of the game was that there weren't 2 teams, but 32 people going nuts (and after all these years, who could blame us?!!!!?)

I'm glad we did 2 one hour games, because it was only in the second half that I managed to forget the "Oh MY FUKCING GOD WE DID IT!!!!!" feeling, and concentrate on the game. I also turned Team Damage and Mirror Damage off for the second half, so it was also absolutely Spamadellic!

Rock2ober 08 players will remember Blue being soundly defeated by solo, Bunnyhopping 'Flying Tanks', who simply could not be stopped. But things have changed for Red. Not only are there Armour restrictions for Bunnyhoppers, but spies have to watch out for monsters as well. Life is tough in AGR land in 2009. Teamwork is essential. I have no doubt that if Red had attacked in groups more, it would have been a different game. I went chap for a while, but it was surprisingly difficult to get 3-4 players to stick together.

After the Intermission, I switched to Blue for the second half. I remember I had an awesome time summoning pirahnas in the waterhole (where the train tracks start in the tunnel). Normally that would be a silly position for a warlock, but with 16 attackers, the action at the waterhole was a mini game in itself. I switched to Red towards the end of the second game, and found a team in disarray. No tele, no Chap, and a domination by the Blue snipers - which could have been avoided with the use of a tele, or someone anticlassing the snipers. Perhaps many players didn't realise that snipers can now be anticlassed. A 300/100 player can survive a direct hit *without* Kev. With Kev he survive multiple hits. I actually went anti-Sniper towards the end but time had run out.

As I said, I was too amazed and excited by the sheer mass of people to concentrate on the game, and it's true the teamwork was lacking compared to regular AGR Sessions, but who cares?! It was a spectacle. It was a celebration.

FINALLY..

I am so glad that this amazing game still has fans, and that the passion is still there after all these years. I'd like to thank ALL those who contacted me w their timeslot options, and weren't able to make it. I hope you take some comfort in the fact that the timeslot was chosen by vote, and nothing was left to chance.

To those that were there, THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for making it happen! It was a dream come true, one of the most amazingly intense gaming experiences ever; a full server of CustomTF maniacs, playing my favourite map, in my favourite mod was just... bliss.

Credits:

Rock2 map: Jim Kaufman

Technical Consultants: Often, Pulseczar, Shaka, Quadz, The Gizmo

AGR Programming: Pulseczar, MauveBib, OneManClan

Gameplay Consultants: Wolfgang, Bobski, Moa, KOP, Kookee

'Smokescreen Grenade' and 'HolyChap' programming: MauveBib

AGR ent editor: Pa3

Interlude map: Cosmic Gnarler

Rock2ober map: Hardkore, edited by Pa3

'Rock2ober 2009' Video: Andreas Kyriakopoulos 'Ecce Gratum' written by Carl Orff, performed by Everhard.

AGR server: Quadz @ tastyspleen.net

Promotions: TacoBell, Scar3crow, Mli, Eizid, Sapphired

Special thanks: Armaphage for trying to make MVDSV work with CustomTF in time for Rock2ober 09. And thanks to those who recorded demos and are uploading them as I write this. Your efforts will preserve our game, in all its glory.

And of course, a big 'high five' to the stars of the show:

the PLAYERS!!!!

Thank you for your support, and thank you for making this dream come true. Hope you all loved it as much as I did. At this stage, no-one knows what the future holds, whether we can do this again, or whether it was indeed the worlds last 32 player Quakeworld game, but right now, we can just rejoice that it actually HAPPENED!!!

We did it.

OneManClan

http://www.customtf.com