@At everyone who plays by a set of arbitrary, self imposed rules
From the book Playing to Win:
"The derogatory term “scrub” means several different things. One definition is someone (especially a game player) who is not good at something (especially a game). By this definition, we all start out as scrubs, and there is certainly no shame in that. I mean the term differently, though. A scrub is a player who is handicapped by self-imposed rules that the game knows nothing about. A scrub does not play to win."
-Sirlin
Jomi is of course correct. There is only one thing necessary to make a tactic valid. It needs to help you win the game. If one particular tactic is so powerful that it can not be defeated regardless of skill then guess what? Your playing an unbalanced low skill game. Play something else.
The tactic in question here is spawn killing. Let's ask a few basic questions:
Q. Can spawn killing help you win a game?
A. Yes. It can temporarily keep your opponent(s) out of play while your team accomplishes its goals.
Q. Will spawn killing alone win you a game regardless of skill?
A. No. A lesser/equal skilled player/team will be unable to spawn kill a higher/equal skilled player/team for a significant amount of time on anything resembling a balanced map. During the coarse of a game the spawn killing between the two teams should balance out if the teams are even or tip towards the better team according to skill differential.
Q. Is spawn killing always a valid tactic?
A. No. Some maps and/or game types do not lend themselves to spawn killing. When playing these maps/game types a good player will not spawn kill as it is a waste of time. Bad players may try, but they most likely won't be too effective at it, as they are bad. On top of that it will cause them to lose more games than not. If those bad players stick around and get better then they will stop spawn killing when it is not effective. In this way a bad tactic pretty much polices itself.
Q. When playing in a competitive game (tournament or otherwise) should you spawn kill?
A. If it helps you win the game yes. A team that chooses to not use a winning tactic will almost always lose (deservedly so).
Q. When playing a non competitive game should you spawn kill?
A. If you are on the higher skilled team and are going to win regardless you might want to avoid spawn killing so that the other team gets a chance to play. If however you are on a losing team and spawn killing could help you win the game or make it closer, then by all means do it. Following those guidelines should make the game more interesting/fun for everyone involved.
Q. Is there a downside to not spawn killing in non competitive games?
A. Yes. When you do decide to play a competitive game you will be unable to spawn if the other team decides to spawn kill you as you will not have practiced it. Part of playing non competitive games is practice. You need to practice both using and defeating various tactics so you know how to do it when it matters.
So there you have it. Spawn killing is part of the game, it can be effective, so therefor it can be a valid tactic. If you think its cheap and decide not to use it then you are a scrub. Jomi and myself are competitive players. We play the game to win and we have fun doing it. If you don't play to win then why play UT3?
On a side note it's nice to see that I agree with Jomi on at least one aspect of UT3
From the book Playing to Win:
"The derogatory term “scrub” means several different things. One definition is someone (especially a game player) who is not good at something (especially a game). By this definition, we all start out as scrubs, and there is certainly no shame in that. I mean the term differently, though. A scrub is a player who is handicapped by self-imposed rules that the game knows nothing about. A scrub does not play to win."
-Sirlin
Jomi is of course correct. There is only one thing necessary to make a tactic valid. It needs to help you win the game. If one particular tactic is so powerful that it can not be defeated regardless of skill then guess what? Your playing an unbalanced low skill game. Play something else.
The tactic in question here is spawn killing. Let's ask a few basic questions:
Q. Can spawn killing help you win a game?
A. Yes. It can temporarily keep your opponent(s) out of play while your team accomplishes its goals.
Q. Will spawn killing alone win you a game regardless of skill?
A. No. A lesser/equal skilled player/team will be unable to spawn kill a higher/equal skilled player/team for a significant amount of time on anything resembling a balanced map. During the coarse of a game the spawn killing between the two teams should balance out if the teams are even or tip towards the better team according to skill differential.
Q. Is spawn killing always a valid tactic?
A. No. Some maps and/or game types do not lend themselves to spawn killing. When playing these maps/game types a good player will not spawn kill as it is a waste of time. Bad players may try, but they most likely won't be too effective at it, as they are bad. On top of that it will cause them to lose more games than not. If those bad players stick around and get better then they will stop spawn killing when it is not effective. In this way a bad tactic pretty much polices itself.
Q. When playing in a competitive game (tournament or otherwise) should you spawn kill?
A. If it helps you win the game yes. A team that chooses to not use a winning tactic will almost always lose (deservedly so).
Q. When playing a non competitive game should you spawn kill?
A. If you are on the higher skilled team and are going to win regardless you might want to avoid spawn killing so that the other team gets a chance to play. If however you are on a losing team and spawn killing could help you win the game or make it closer, then by all means do it. Following those guidelines should make the game more interesting/fun for everyone involved.
Q. Is there a downside to not spawn killing in non competitive games?
A. Yes. When you do decide to play a competitive game you will be unable to spawn if the other team decides to spawn kill you as you will not have practiced it. Part of playing non competitive games is practice. You need to practice both using and defeating various tactics so you know how to do it when it matters.
So there you have it. Spawn killing is part of the game, it can be effective, so therefor it can be a valid tactic. If you think its cheap and decide not to use it then you are a scrub. Jomi and myself are competitive players. We play the game to win and we have fun doing it. If you don't play to win then why play UT3?
On a side note it's nice to see that I agree with Jomi on at least one aspect of UT3

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