Two weeks ago it seemed like it would take forever for QuakeCon to get here.Now the event has come and gone and it went by so fast. I have this weird post-tournament depression that I always get after an event. Especially lately, with the lack of other events, QuakeCon was like this random tropical oasis in an expansive open desert. I do hope other organizations take notice at the buzz QuakeCon had and put up some significant prize money for events, both in North America and Europe. Obviously, none of us can expect the glory days of having WCG,ESWC,CPL,WSVG all in the same year, but we can definitely hope for some tournaments where the prize pool makes it worth a trip. QuakeCon and their casting partners have not released any official numbers yet, but I'm positive when we find out the numbers from the cast, it is going to be amazing.
If you were at QuakeCon, sitting in the event center during the finals, you were a part of something special. The atmosphere in that room was uncanny and unlike anything I've ever been a part of at any event. There were thousands of people cheering on the CTF, Open and Masters matches. We had all been sitting in that room for hours longer than planned because of an unexpected power outage, and yet the energy level instantly picked back up and the enthusiasm was through the roof for the matches the second they started. I think djWHEAT said it best in his post performance speech, we need to keep the dream alive and with events like QuakeCon, you can't help but be inspired.
One could argue this tournament had some of the most talent at a Quake event in recent memory. While we were missing some big names like Zero4, CZM, cooller, and jibo, we definitely had some new talent that has elevated the game of Quake to a different level. This game is constantly evolving and never ceases to amaze and that is why we all love Quake and why events like QuakeCon always have such a huge turn out.
This year the tournament directors and organizers really stepped up big time. I want to personally give a huge thank you to Alienware. You guys really came through for the gamers and I will definitely keep that in mind the next time I am to make a major PC/monitor purchase. The same goes for Intel, thank you. The Alienware monitors at QuakeCon this year were awesome and so were the PCs. Obviously, in a perfect hardcore gamer world , we would all want 120hz CRT monitors, but as we are all aware this isn't 2002 anymore, and technology is finally beginning to catch up. The new 120hz monitors will be mainstream soon enough and no more will we have this problem of monitors at an event. So once again, I say thank you to the sponsors and organizers that apparently listened to the gamers and came through for us.
With all this said, I do have some initial post-event suggestions for not only the event, but QuakeLive in general. Remember, this is my personal opinion.
For one, the tournament area needs to get moved to the back of the BYOC instead of the vendor area. If you didn't have noise canceling headphones, it was virtually impossible to play in the tournament area. I had to borrow Chance's helicopter head phones for almost every single match. I mean, it was LITERALLY impossible to hear in game without noise cancelling head phones. I won't blame the vendor, but I will blame QuakeCon for this HORRIBLE mistake. How many times are we going to make this same mistake at events before someone finally goes, "Wait a minute... this vendor is going to have extremely loud music, events, and people ranting stuff at the top of their lungs almost all day long...... maybe it isn't a good idea to have it DIRECTLY NEXT TO THE TOURNAMENT AREA." Its like come on... really? Get a God damn clue, FOR ONCE.
Ok, sorry I lost my composure, but I really hate that.
Second, the 10 minute time limit experiment needs to be over. Let me say this: I'm glad it was 10 minutes at this event. Why? Because on the practice servers it was 10 minutes for the last year, so... We tried it, it was ok, but 15 minutes is definitely what the 1v1 time limit needs to be for the masters event. I won't go into any in depth elaboration, but if you understand the game of Quake, you understand it takes minutes to regain a position of a counter-attack to attempt to regain control. The ten minute time limit forces situations that don't make sense to some hardcore quakers and in result, I think we saw some blow outs on certain maps that we shouldn't have had to see, simply because as a person who doesn't have control, you're FORCED to attack when it isn't appropriate.
(**EDIT: People in the comments section have brought up some good points about 10 minute matches. I'm already starting to question my position on this. From an outside POV, 10 minutes does make more sense over all. Hmm...)
Third, maps. We need more NEW maps like T7 and T9. CA2 is decent, but we can do better. I think CA2 can be OK with some tweaks with the spawns and perhaps some other game play style tweaks. I'd like to see a Q4 map port, like a Monsoon, with some tweaks for non-crouch sliding style Quake. Just some food for thought. I think id software so far has the right idea and has amazingly put out two maps (t7,t9) which have managed to be accepted by virtually everyone in the main stream. The last time that happened? Hub3Aeroq3? Either way, the process of phasing out old maps, needs to begin immediately.
Fourth, more competitive features need to be implemented. Real time stats, other hud options, voting features, spec modes, the list goes on. I know Syncerror & Company have a lot of shit planned to be released soon, so I'm interested to see whats coming, and I have faith they will do a good job just like they have been doing.
Fifth, leagues and ladders. I hope id software is planning on being active in the competitive scene of QuakeLive and providing us all with a platform for this. How awesome would it be for an online league with LAN finals for decent prize $, twice a year. You could have an event at id's offices, and one event at QuakeCon. NA, Euro, and Asia divisions. Make it so!
All in all, QuakeCon kicked ass and if it was any indication for what is yet-to-come with QuakeLive, I'm going to throw on my sunglasses, because the future is bright.
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