SpawnPoint

Ok so a number of people have asked why admins (and me in particular) keep changing my "in game" name to something other than Raven.

A lot of players make a mental note of admins and admin names and watch for them connecting to the server. They act "good as gold" and all innocent (adhering to the rules etc etc) when admins are about.

Admins should change their names on a pretty regular basis and make sure you use some "fun" characters as well. I've personally been mistaken as 4 or 5 different admins from time to time and some people reckon all 5 alter egos are different people.

Also sometimes it's good to just change your name to something strange. Hit record and just play for an hour or so. It's quite enlightening what some "good" players and admins alike actually get up to when they don't think admin or other admin are on.

Also a word of advice to admins changing their "in game" names........remember your "steam friends" name too ;)

Now here's a word of warning to any "sneaky" players who keep a list of admins Steam ID's handy and check from time to time in case an admin is on. Some of us have more than one Steam ID. I use my second account to keep an eye on "Guest Admins" to make sure they're obeying the rules and such. Its great having a non-admin account because ma_admins and status doesn't give the game away.

Also, because it's a different Steam ID it's not like you show up on Steam Friends LOL

So i suppose what this really means is. BE AFRAID BIG BROTHER MIGHT JUST BE WATCHING YOU Muahahahahaha

Well, do you?As a Spawnpoint Support Staff member I visit a fair few servers during my gaming sessions. I note that there are a fair amount of nice console messages that appear at various times that lay out rules etc for players information.The Assault rules messages are a point of example. "Do not Upper Vent Camp" and "Do not Glitch" spring to mind. Why is it then that admins are constantly having to "discipline" players for not following these rules? Do players either a)not read them or b)just choose to ignore them?These messages are there for a reason. Please take close watch of your screen for both these messages and admin messages. It would be unfortunate if you were to be either kicked or banned for not paying attention to these messages. 

Counter-Strike is the most played online FPS game ever - yesterday, today and no doubt tomorrow. Countless people have wondered why this is, and just as many have written articles on the subject. This may be simple curiosity, or it may be that they hope to repeat the same success by using their theories. Either way, people have come up with different ideas each time. This little article represents my own thoughts on the subject. The most common answer to the CS success story is how every round and every game is different - my idea is just the opposite. It's the familiarity and similarity of every round that provides the game with a kind of "Just one more round" factor, making you want to keep on playing until you collapse from lack of food/sleep/porn. Think about this. If you win the round, if you kill everyone and have a perfect game, are you fulfilled and can you now leave the server happy in the knowledge that you have reined supreme? Nope, 'fraid not. Getting you to keep playing a game when you’re winning is easy, because everyone loves winning and to get the chance to do it again is too good to pass up. Losing however, getting you to keep playing when you suck is something different altogether In Deathmatch, you die and then you respawn instantly. However, when you go back to where you died the person who killed you will be long gone. In CS, things tend to work differently. Maps and gameplay follow a pattern that the Terrorists start at one side and the Counter-Terrorists at the other. This makes the game much like acting out a defined set of moves each time with very slight changes. So, when you get killed one round you have the desire to extract revenge and do better next time. Since you’re going to get the chance to do the same thing all over again next round, you stay put in the server - even if it means wetting your pants. As the rounds continue to come at you, you have the opportunity to learn what your enemy is doing, the opportunity to outsmart them, and above all else the opportunity to beat their ‘xxxx ass’ down. It all kind of follows the age-old cliché of "Tomorrow is another day", though in this case "Next is another round". This round will be different, you saw what they did last time and you'll be ready for them this time. You'll do better. You'll win. As long as the enemy doesn't do something different this time of course, which they inevitably will - giving you once more the same effect at the end of the next round, and so continuing the endless cycle and addiction. Just one more? Not likely. Of course there are other things that affect people's enjoyment of the game, the fact it’s a team-game for one (although a lot of the time you wouldn’t know it). I remember playing 1.6 and getting completely immersed in the game because it felt as if you were part of something every time you played. You weren’t just a lone warrior killing people for no reason; you were part of an elite squad sent out to save the hostages (or stop that from happening). There was a great sense of fulfilment when you saved the life of a teammate by killing his attacker just before he fired the last fatal bullet, and that was a feeling not acquired by deathmatch. Unfortunately however, the community appears to be in such a state that I haven’t felt that feeling in a long time. Saving someone’s life goes unnoticed, and usually all you receive are calls from that person saying, "HEY, THAT WAS MY KILL!" All the team spirit has left, with only kill-hungry idiots remaining. This for me is the reason 1.6 is loved by so many people, and many consider it to be the best of all the CS versions – not because it was more balanced or it was actually better, but simply because the people were still nice and there wasn’t any paranoia. Anyway, I digress. Counter-Strike is loved by thousands of people and each of them no doubt have their explanations for why they like it – and I'm sure it's a combination of things. So tell us why you like the game...

Ok,

I was playing 167.17 yesterday and, as you may be aware, all weapons are available to use there. There were guys (on both teams to be honest) taking all sorts of abuse from players for using the Auto-Sniper rifles.

Now that got me thinking, are they really the "noob cannon" everyone makes them out to be?

They don't have the stopping power of an awp or the maneuverability of the sniper rifle. Whilst being able to let off a fair volume of ammuition in a short space of time i've noted that, whilst the first bullet is fairly accurate, if you hit the fire button and "spray and pray" then chances are you'll miss and end up dead.

Up close they are god awful as "no scoping" is a lot harder with this than the sniper and to try to stay scoped to shoot a closing enemy is virtual suicide.

They cost a fortune in gaming terms compared to some and have the tell tale "bang" that gives their position away moreso than the awp.

So, to my original question. Are they overpowered killing cannons that should be restricted or a fairly standard and expensive gun that most peple wouldn't buy anyway?

Well i've gone and done it lol

I've finally become a member of [B.o.D] who anyone that plays the UK Servers will know all about.

I thought my days of clans and matches were past me but the guys are well fun to play with and with the new server and web site are going places in the CSS world.

Now just because i'm wearing my new tags doesn't mean i'm gonna change my "impartiallity" when adminning the servers.

Badgers for the win!

 

I visit a lot of servers on my daily "rounds" and often see players "stats whoring" on many of the maps on CSS. This got me thinking about my gaming style.

I must admit than in my earlier CSS days i used to worry way to much about stats and ranks and K/D ratios and such. I was upset if my K/D ratio on Assault dropped below 2.0 and uses to spend way too much time on server trying to achieve and keep top 10 status.

However, I honestly got to the stage where it was no longer any fun playing the game as I would spend round after round camping choke points or such like knowing full well that other players would die by my hand.

I also reckon that I probably drove many a newish type player from the server as, as you are probably aware, when you first start out playing a game if you get your @ss whipped every round you're gonna bin it and find pastures new.

All the above changed radically when i was offered the position in the Support Staff on here though. Due to the new responsibilities I found my rank dropping and my K/D ratio also falling as i had to jump to spec etc to watch / record hackers and cheats.

I found myself chatting to newbies (Mr Noob on 167.17 springs to mind) and trying to teach them the basics on gameplay and console commands etc to the detriment of my own gaming. I find myself swapping teams to try even the sides in both numbers and experience and try to get others to do the same.

I now get much more enjoyment and satisfaction from my time on-line now knowing that I'm trying my hardest, not to become Number 1, but to make both my, and other players gaming experience more enjoyable.

Perhaps if other "stats mongers" would take a step back and look from "outside the box" and try to help guys and gals who are obviously not as skilled as themselves then the game would become better for all of us.

Remember CSS is A GAME and meant to pass some time and be FUN.