I love Quake series, and I wanted to love Quake Live, but I left after four months.

Here's why. Maybe it will serve somebody who has a hand in development.

There are two major issues I see. First, training enviroment is not provided. Second, cheaters are allowed.

For a game that touts itself as a game of skill, with huge skill span from noob to pro, it's absurd that players don't have training enviroment.

I can think of at least 15 types of training modules which would speed up my skill development. And I would enjoy to train them all, as I enjoy "training" with bots, concentrating on one part of my game, getting comfortable and then seeing how my training pays off in live matches. By the way, current option to play with bots is not training, it's best-alternative-to-none training.

Of course, not all QL players would train. But many of those who are serious about the game probably would.

I started as noob and during four months got to lower tier 4, with between 90 and 100 skill rating. I don't know if that's good or bad, but I know that if QL wants me to play in tier 4, with people who are multiple times better than me, I at least expect to be provided with training enviroment.

Without it, I am there just to provide frag counts to others.

There is no serious basketball or football team, no golf or tennis player, that just plays live games. They all train. QL is a game of wide skill span, and I expect that I can train it properly. I have other things to do in my life than to invest months on end or years getting wiped, without fair option to train, so that someday I'll maybe get to the enjoyable high playing level in QL.

On the other hand, what QL lacks in training enviroment it gives in cheaters.

As I see it, I give QL my passion and time, and for that QL rewards me with cheaters. Instead of enjoying conquering the game as hard as it is, I also have to think if there is a cheater on server, who takes shortcuts and undermines my effort.

There are people in this world who made satellites and shoot them to space to orbit around the earth. I don't think making QL cheat-proof is harder than rocket science. I think that there is a reason why QL is made in a way that it allows cheating. I don't care what that reason is, because whatever it is, I see it as "f*** you' to regular players.

Anyway, enough from me. As Jim Carrey said at the end of The Truman Show: "In case I don't see you... good afternoon, good evening, and good night".