SpawnPoint

In case you missed it...

198.11 24/7 Assault is now a FRIENDLY FIRE server. If you have ever wanted to try the UK FF assault, but could not handle a high ping, roll over to 198 and give it a try! We are trying to challenge 174.5 for supremacy muhahaha!

My wife is accepting a job offer as we speak. I am very much looking forward to being those people that others hate...the young couple with good jobs and no kids :). She is a lawyer and decided against a law firm job in order to take one with more reasonable hours. I am not sure what having her around will do to my cs:s time, but good things are on the horizon!

I don't even know what to do with myself. Usually, I am so burnt out from work that I use my evenings and weekends to play games (CS:S and Civ 4, atm). Well I am on day 3 of my four day weekend and I am just about burnt out. I am going to the Rams game tomorrow so if I am gonna do anything productive, it should be today. I SHOULD go buy christmas lights and pick up the leaves, but just one more Civ game won't hurt, right?

That and I want to test Raven's theory about not being able to comment on the first blog...

As any dedicated reader of Dwinx's blog knows, I am still very new to any sort of competitive gaming. I have played Counter Strike off and on since 2000 but always in pubs, trying to get my kdr above that magic 1.0 barrier. 1.0 is not longer an issue and I can comfortably keep north of that, even while admining. 

The competitive thing is a whole new can of worms. Even the folks we play in CAL-O seem to be as good as the best player on a given pub server. I generally only get one shot and it better kill the opponent or I am in trouble. Another major difference is that AWPs rule everything, and no one whines about them because you pretty much cannot win without them. I have been trying to model my pub game around things I experience in matches. I am trying to get better at winning one on one matches with headshots instead of just trying to catch people off guard. In matches, I always want to rush everywhere, and oftentimes the best strategy is to play it slow.

I have really enjoyed scrimming with PHXX the past few months instead of constant pubbing. It really forces you to pick up your game. We did the first internal 5 v 5 that I have been a part of and we had a lot of fun. The Vets tore us new guys a new one, but it was a much more enjoyable match than many of the srims we seem to find.

The CAL season is over now, but there are many other opportunities and if one presents itself to you, I highly suggest you explore it.

Labec's thread reminded me that it is the time of year that I dread...putting off Christmas shopping. All together, I think I need to get around 13 gifts, which actually not too bad. However, the way I generally handle it is to take an afternoon off work and go to the mall and buy them all. Unfortunately, this leaves me feeling like I "cheated' everyone because I just bought whatever was nice that I saw. Does anyone have any bang-up ideas for loved ones, particularly moms, dads, siblings and grandparents. I really can't bear to get my folks more sweaters and my grandparents more books.

I just figured out how to change my header and words. I am rather embarassed that it took me so long.

Have you ever met someone that you think, "Oh my god...I hope I do not turn out like them?" 

In my case, the person is nice enough, but he is about 60 years old, boring and when he came to visit our office, I just thought, "why are you here and what value do you bring?" He is a regional manager and so we have to keep him around, but it is a bit inspirational to me to make sure I always bring value to business relationships or I am sure the relationship will not last.

My wife's rabbit needs $1,000.00 worth of surgery for an abcessed tooth. Salty Dwinx.

I was so excited for the (real) football season, only to have the Rams look like they have no idea how to put together a competent offense. So, I am jumping back on the hockey bandwagon and cheering on my Blues. Any other hockey fans out there?

Homecoming 07 is almost upon us. A few of my friends are gonna meet up in Nashville to get a little crazy for the weekend. It is always a great deal for my wife and I because we live close enough to drive and I don't pay for gas on the company car and usually we stay with my sister in law. Sadly, a few more folks fail to make it each year because life gets busy. I can barely make a weekend now for us all to get together. I can't imagine how much harder it will be once people start having families and real careers and babies...

I am a complete n00b to competitive gaming. I am pretty good on pubs, maintaining a respectable kdr even on poor teams. Generally, I manage this by shooting people who do not know where I am or before they expect me. This gives me a huge advantage because I can line up my shot or they simply are not ready to fire when I pull the trigger.

This tactic does not work well in CAL scrims. This mostly occurs because the opponents are aware of potential rushes and do not get caught off guard or I am left to securing a particular area, so they are looking for me anyway. Basically, I am a very average shooter when I do not use other elements to gain the advantage. If I get caught in a close range 1 v 1 with an AK, I still wind up spraying for my life and this is even magnified further because I have limited knowledge of CAL maps.

Any suggestions on how to improve? I have tried to do more awp server so that I can patrol with that weapon more effectively. I would like to figure out how to win more one on one standoffs versus capable opponents without relying on luck.

Yesterday, I woke up about 5:45 to hit the road to make customer calls. I drove around and talked until 12:30 or so when I stopped to get lunch. Imagine my dismay when I tried to bring up spawnpoint.com on my blackjack and could not navigate the site :(. I had to go another 5 hours before I could check out the forums!

All kidding aside, I am sure having a mobile version of this site is not on the radar, but does anyone have any tips for how I could get around the existing one? I was able to log in and all, but then the features, blogs, game buzz and such were stacked and I could not jump to the one I wanted.

I was amused yesterday...

In a fantasy football league with my little brother, a couple kids tried to pull of a trade that was beyond unfair- Maroney for Leinart. The trade gets vetoed and one of the kids starts flaming. He swears, threatens to quit and veto all future trades. 

I instinctively pressed my "=" (admin) button, only to be disappointed that I could not mute the offender. Even worse, yahoo does not have the kind of people in charge to swiftly boot the immature punk :/. Oh well...I'll just have to kick his butt on the "playing field" instead.

Anyone else have other "hmmmm....I'm not an admin in real life" moments?

So I just got back from a walk with my wife. She just decided that she will not be attending her law school graduation this December because she is not proud of graduating in 3.5 years. Remember, she took a semester off because I strongly encouraged her to in order to go into residential treatment for her eating disorder. 

She feels like she would have been proud if she were graduating on time, but the delay is unacceptable. Selfishly, I am rather bummed because it is a graduation of sorts for me as well. I have been supporting her for the past 2 years and have been looking forward to this event for quite awhile. I know graduations are among the most boring events in the world, but they are still symbolically important, at least to me.

She has dug her feet in on the issue and I dunno if she will budge. I have asked her to reconsider, but I do not think that will get me very far. 

Has anyone else experienced a similar sentiment?

It is almost that time of year again. I love fantasy sports and most of all football, although based on the response to my thread, I may be alone. 

Every year for the past 5 years, some of my college roommates have had a league with a few other guys we know. We put a little money on it and then obsess over it for the next 5 months. This weekend is our draft so I will drive up to Chicago. My wife is also friends with all of these guys, but she is debating passing simply because she knows it will be all football all of the time.

We have found it is a great way to keep in touch because us guys are very bad about going months and months without ever talking and then immediately reconnecting in September. Everyone should try it!

Right now I am in a baseball league with my 14 y/o brother. Sadly, we spend enough time talking about baseball and football that I think he may actually be better than I am >:(. I am sure as soon as he gets a job, he will try to get into my money league as well.

Funny moment for me on 198.11 assault. I just banned a kid for aimbotting after the server yelled at me for about 5 minutes about it. After I send in the demo, I join T and quickly find myself the only one left and outside the warehouse. So, I go on overpass and shoot the hostie room to see if there are hosties in there. Sure enough, I hs the poor kid and now everyone is screaming hacker again...

Come play with me at Assault 24/7 65.39.198.11:27015! Fast pings for you midwesterners (although the server resides in Canada...) and good practice for everyone else. This is not the most talented group of folks on the spawnpoint network, but there is no waiting and you can actually rush the vent without 8 guys shooting out your feet (usually). Best of all, you can avoid the problem folks on the problem servers like 108 and 175 :)

Come check it out! Tell 'em Dwinx sent you! Also....If you are new and looking for a place to apply for admin, I think this would be a great one to try out. We are not overrun with admins, but occasionally the kids get out of hand (less so now that the Lawlrus guys seem to have moved on).

This morning I finally maxed out all of the races on WCS. I do not care to know how many hours I wasted accomplishing this. The question is do I keep playing wcs for grins or do I move onto another spawnpoint server...

Just a bit of a rant...

Just because you own a mic, please do not feel obligated to use it. If you do not think something is important enough to type, then you should not say it just because you only have to push one button. 30% of the time, people on mics are helpful/hilarious, especially on levels where I am dead a lot like Assault, but the rest of the time they are just yelling "OMG BS!" or spamming in other ways. I do not mind if you are having a conversation with someone, but otherwise please be mindful of imposing your voice on everyone else.

Side note: If your mic sounds crappy and other people tell you it sounds crappy, please do not continue to use it. I understand if you need to test it out to see if it is getting better, but listening to your feedback at the max volume level is brutal.

::Edit:: I got the hard part out of my system, so now I'm going to comment on it a bit regarding which maps and races your race are good for. Let's see some comments agreeing or telling me I'm an idiot.::

 

Okay, so here is my guide to WCS. This is not definitive, so please feel free to correct me.

One quick note: please do not complain about the powers. I have heard that every single power is "GHEY!!! OMG" at one point or another. If you do not like the mod, go play one of Spawnpoint's other wonderful servers.

Also, when you get started, you will want to bind your ultimate ability to a key. This is important once you reach level 8 of any race so that you can use certain powers. To do this, in console type:

bind (Key) "ultimate"

for example bind v "ultimate"

Alright, now onto the races...

Undead Scourge

Vampiric Aura (steals dmg back as health)

Unholy Aura (Speed)

Levitation (Jump higher, really cool at higher levels)

Suicide Bomber (ultimate. does not require pressing ultimate key)

I love Undead. It is great for maps like assault and italy, where you can find some new camping spots and explode on people. It is the BEST counter to a succubus hunter because they stab you and then you blow him into a million little pieces. Level unholy or levitation first.

Human Aliance

Invisible

Devotion Aura (extra hp)

Bash (this freezes your target when you shoot. everyone will hate you)

Teleport (worthless until higher levels. Do not even try until you are past level 5...this is where I am at and I still can't go anywhere)

This race is fun against bots. People yell at you too much to enjoy this. Ya. People still really yell...Teleport (now on level 6) still has me running into things blind. Use succy hunter to kill Humans. Level bash or invisible first.

Orcish Horde

Critical Strike (extra damage)

Critical Name (Extra nade damage)

Reincarnation

Chain Lightening (mostly worthless)

I like this race on Hangumhigh. The critical hit can mean a deagle shot to the leg is lethal and the respawn glitches so sometimes you respawn in a funny place with a gun. Try to hang out around their spawn/hosties/bs...wherever the other team will run to. Level reincarnation first.

Night Elves

Evasion (dodge shots)

Thorns (does dmg back at enemy who shot you)

Trueshot Aura (extra dmg when shooting)

Entangling Roots (stops enemy in range for 10 seconds and often shows you where they are stuck).

I love this race too. On office it owns. The best use of roots is to camp a bit or hit ultimate around corners to let you know trouble is coming. Remember, they can still shoot you (unlike human), just not move their feet. Use a flash and carve them up. Level evasion first.

Blood Mage

Phoenix (revives first dead mate)

Banish (Broken with new update. makes it hard for enemy to aim at you)

Siphon mana (Steal money...good for buying xp)

Flame Strike (burn person you shot)

Curing Ritual (use money for health)

Probably my least favorite. Someone else always dies first and uses your phoenix. The other powers do not make up for it imo. Level phoenix or sipon mana first.

Archmage Proudmoore

Earthquake (shakes enemy)

Broom of Velocity (speed-required for liftoff)

Weapon of Sorceror (free guns randomly)

Lift-Off (fly)

Lift-off does not work until level 8. It is a mostly worthless skill unless you are on a really open level because you cannot aim and fly. This race is really fun on the gungame map and compound where you can get to sniper spots really fast and get free guns. Level weapons first.

Shadow Hunter

Healing Wave (heal mates)

Hex (slow opponent)

Serpent ward (creates traps for opponents)

Big Bad voodoo (invincible for a few seconds)

This race sucks until you get it up in levels and then it can be unstoppable. Ask Karma...A well place serpent ward can really slaughter and entire team if you are their waiting. Getting into a firefight against an immune player (with the glowing red eyes) is suicide . Level hex first.

Warden

Fan of knives (become a mole and go to other teams spawn)

Blink (dodges other's ultimates)

Shadow Strike (extra dmg)

Vengence (Respawn at spawn with original weapons)

This is fun and is cheaper than buying moles. Really maxes out more quickly than you would like. Use it to slow down another team's charge, but be careful once they are expecting you. Level knives first.

Crypt Lord

Impale (shakes and lifts opponent)

Spiked Carapice (free armor)

Beetles (do extra dmg)

Locusts (everyone's favorite. THESE ARE RANDOM. Do not complain. These can be tough because people tend to hide and try to locust people to death.) This is a fun race to gang up on another team and hit them over and over. Another easy to max race if you use it right. Be careful not to buy armor and then use locusts. Level impale first.

Succubus Hunter

Daemonic Knife (extra knife dmg)

Head Hunter (Get skulls and extra dmg for skulls)

Totem Incantation (get hp for skulls)

Assault tackle (jump really far)

Deamonic (sic) Transformation (why is this spelled differently than the knife? This lets you spend skulls to become really good for one round.)

I love this race. It is the most fun. Level up Tackle or knife first. There is not much worse than setting up for a perfect shot with 100+ hp, only to get knived out of nowhere.

 

That's about it. I never buy anything but armor, a pistol and xp. I never buy boots of speed or anything else. That's just my opinion. You should also bind "say shopmenu" to a key so you can buy XP (bind-5-1) quickly. Feel free to pm me with questions!

 

Dwinx