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Hello guys, these are the pics I took during the dreamhack 2011. I will try to upload following the temporal order. Some pics are quite bad quality wise, but I tried to tweak and make them look decent.
Edited by Memento_Mori at 09:41 CDT, 23 June 2011 - 15068 Hits
Stockholm, 0:30AM, I’m lying in my bed. The headache is getting better, yet I’m unable to get asleep. The room is dark, the only lights coming from the laptop I’m typing on, and Noctis’ laptop where he watches a movie. We are at the very nice apartment of Tybalt, friend and co-manager of the Reason Team. This is where they boot-camped before the event, as proven by the left-over pizza boxes and empty cans that welcomed us when we arrived. I cannot stop my mind from shuffling a mass of memories, emotions, faces and sounds. But, since this happened before, I know what to do: canalize everything into a unique stream - a goal, a solution, a key to get some sleep, finally.
For those who haven’t been in Sweden at this time of the year, the sun goes down around 10 PM, just to get up again around 2:30 AM. There is a brief moment where the sky seems dark, but if you look to the North, you will see that, in fact, the light is there, just below the horizon. An intense blue aura that can – if you don’t look away – fill your eyes with the breath of the summer, the will to stay up, the joy of being alive.
The Dreamhack is sleepless; the sleep hacked into a daydream. Thousands of gamers, many of which teenagers, wander in groups, haircuts and clothes appropriate to today’s costumes. Halls, the size of hangars, populated with flashing monitors, electronic music, the silhouettes of thousands living their own shared realities, focusing, laughing, screaming joy to a world that is outside and inside at the same time. A mixture of languages and expressions, for which the true common denominator is a simple one: Gaming.
Gaming is beautiful. Gaming is a passion. Passions work best when shared. So, a question arises. Possibly, “the” question, at least today, in this reality 2.0. Have you spoiled us, almighty internet? Have you tricked us, making us forget completely the experience of physical presence? Has your fabulous jewelry turn into golden chains, chains that we proudly wear even when they become heavier than our fat bottoms? And do these chains speak for us? Sometimes one thinks he can hear them. Dead you are Quake, as sentenced by the fear of many. Dead you are, after every tournament, every year, every day from the golden era until today. Every tournament is the last one, and there is no point in beating a dead horse. So sad, so bitter, but above all, so stupid of us to be blind to the truth.
Truth? Which truth?
These last three days the truth were thousands of gamers showing that no matter how comfortable their home setups may be, meeting for real “is the shit”. These last three days the truth was a combo of duel and TDM tournaments, with the best players in the world showing Quake at its best. These last three days the truth was the definite passion we all share, the joy of playing Quake and being together.
The internet is the nemesis of faith. Online, having faith is too silly and weak; the perfect juicy quarry for swarms of hunting trolls, skeptics, and all sorts of disciples of sorrow and regret. They are strong in their habits, so cool when they rule the web with their sarcasm. But then, if you read beyond the text, reaching the glaring screens inside their silent rooms, you can feel a cloud of muted sadness, carefully masked by a fragile display of pretended indifference. Are you alone dear troll? Have you forgotten the excitement of being together with your genuine kind?
Today I saw Fox’s son, a little creature, two priceless sapphires open to a world they just started to see. I’ve seen a busy 2GD, organizing the last steps of the trip of all those who he managed to bring to the event. He would drive people back and forth, covering for hotel and trip. Mad props to him. I’ve seen the light of excitement shining on Tony’s face at the idea of conquering Quakecon with an FFA tournament. I don't know if it will work, but it would be awesome. I’ve seen a smiling Cooller, finally having the chance to talk with him, seeing the nice guy he is, his latest quote being "...because I'm Cooller" as reply to why the FFA should be postponed to 3PM. I’ve seen a crazy man. Most appropriate nick ever, Dr. Czm, I'm very happy you are coming to Europe. I’ve seen quakers hanging out as friends, and a band of desperados led by Clock go to a gas station to get the last booze after dawn, just to come back with only four empty cans and no beer for those who waited. I heard many stories about the past, and lived moments that will be stories at the next events. And yet, behind every single thing I have seen, there was the same undeniable truth that our community is simply amazing, our game fantastic, and these truly are good times for anyone willing to step out of his or her basement, forget about the fear for the future, and enjoy what is there, now, from us, for us all.
Thank you everybody for being awesome.
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I'm one of the most laid down people posting on this site, and when I do it I aim for quality over quantity the best I can. This is no troll attempt, nor an attack to you. I'm just sharing my thoughts with the hope of doing good.
I write this as some soft of open letter, of the kind you read on newspaper, as I think the topic is of general interest. I am polite and I hope you will be as well.
I personally have a good experience with QL. I like the game in general, I can find good opponents to play with, and there is enough around in terms of tournaments and cups to keep me entertained and willing to improve myself. Of course things could be better, but my experience is overall quite good. My biggest fear is that QL will be shut down, and with the little time I have I do my best to support it, spreading positivity, trying to create content, and just hanging around happy of what I am given.
Said this, I do understand that other people, living in other countries/continents, or playing at a different level, have different experiences. The official forum seem full of low-tier players that post about things I do not experience myself.
I understand that you are very concerned about the situation in NA, about the decline of the game and a lot of issues. Let me say that I sympathize with you and all others for which QL is not a good experience.
What I do not really understand is your behavior.
Maybe you aim for awareness, informing people of how bad things are. To this let me just make two comments:
1) I can tell you that a good percentage of the people posting on this site are veterans. They know about dying games, as they probably saw this happening once or twice with their favorite games. They know about cheaters, as the history of quake is full of them. They know about all sorts of community issues, id Software faults and so on. This is in fact the major difference between ESR and the official forum. You can expect people here to know a crap-load of things about quake, small dying communities, and esports.
2) When you observe a sad situation, you can try to react to improve it. Or, if the challenge is overwhelming and you are out of bullets, you have to face the truth, accept the situation and move one. Tearing your clothes out is rarely useful. It does not help you (nor your cloths...), and it can possibly cast your bad mood over others. In the specific case, it could cast your sadness over people who have a different experience, maybe a good experience, with QL.
I think you should ask yourself what is your goal. Not the short term impulse of sharing strong emotions, but rather your stance regarding the situation, and how you want to interact with the community.
My humble suggestion, based on all the negative emotions I perceive in most of what you write, is to forget about QL, about this community, and about how sad these things are. Life offers many things, and getting stuck on the empty half of the glass is pointless and stupid.
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Driven by a discussion after a match I just had, I want to share some quick toughts.
When I went to UGC I found out two important things:
1) This is irrelevant to the discussion, but I write it none the less. The game in lan feels a lot different than online, even compared to low ping internet. It partially explains some of the crazy things we see in the official tournaments. If you can, try it because it's a very nice experience, and makes the game a better game.
2) Pros dodge like mad. I did not realize at first, but my girlfriend made me notice and then I was like "wtf, look at them". They tap the dodge keys like crazy, uber high clicks/minutes, way faster than I was used to.
Since back then, I try to tap the dodge like a madman myself, and it's not easy at all. As soon as I want to change pattern I get my fingers messed up, slowing down. Moreover I aim like shit. Everyrthings counts to my inexperience I guess. Said this, the question is if you have more tips or experiences to share.
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Let's discuss about TDM. Lately it seems a bit more alive, with various news on the main page and matches here and there. However the number of comments tend to be low, and the impression - hopefully wrong - is that the part of the community that does not play TDM does not care much about it.
Is this really the case? And if yes, why do you think it is so?
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![shaftwhores only by [EXE]dann](/files/avatars/2007/51852-shaftwhore.gif "shaftwhores only by [EXE]dann"){kind=small}
