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[Dilbert]

I've reached my snapping point -- I'm about to uninstall UT2k4.

I am SO FUCKING SICK of joining servers, only to get raped by pimple-faced 13-year-olds with nothing better to do but practice 24/7. Even worse, I upgraded my mouse/mouse pad to try to compete better, and now I've actually gotten WORSE because I can't adjust to the new sensitivity.

Other than smashing my PC to tiny pieces -- or, arranging to meet some of these fuckers in real life to rearrange THEM into tiny pieces -- any suggestions? I really wish there were a ranking system and a tiered system of servers, since I don't think it's fair that I can't get any enjoyment out of the game.

 

[Mike Works]

Just ban a few republicans in the OT forum, it'll calm you right down.

 

[TheGreenGiant]

just give up on the genre or buy a gamecube

 

[Sho Nuff]

When I go on Xbox Live I always limit myself to playing with my friends, usually. Why? Because my friends SUCK just as much as I do. Therefore, that = fun and I = win.

Or play some co-op! I highly recommend Zdaemon for 8-player Doom ][ action.

 

[TekunoRobby]

Just ban a few republicans in the OT forum, it'll calm you right down.

Liberals/Republicans, just banning by itself does the trick. Especially if you ban 20+ Junior Members is a row.

Seriously though, why not try asking a few guys for pointers. It might be the servers you play on but I've met a few genuinly nice guys who've spent some time with me showing me the ropes and map specific tricks. I don't think I'm very good to beging with but if I can offer any help online in any matches I'll try my best.

Upgrading to a better mouse/peripheral will not make you better unless you are excellent to begin with. Perfecting your sensitivity to your play style will. I usually suggest setting it to a high sensitivity (mine is 6.5 for example) and adjusting your wrist movements to it. After the initial adjustment, lowering it a bit to help with more precise sniping is another good idea. Depending on how much sniping you do you can lower it a bit or a lot.

Psychologically, accepting that you will not win at the beginning is a very important factor that impacts how much you enjoy the game. We all would love to win most of the time but with a game like UT2K4 and it's massive userbase chances are you're hardly going to win. Of course that's not to say you won't get better, just accepting the truth and playing to learn and having fun is one of the key successes to gradually getting better. In no time you'll notice your skills improving without any serious mental dedication on your part.

 

[Sinatar]

I am SO FUCKING SICK of joining servers, only to get raped by pimple-faced 13-year-olds with nothing better to do but practice 24/7.

In other words you really really suck.

 

[Dujour]

I'm afraid I'll be saying the same things about socom II, so I'm kinda refraining on not getting it despite my Big Boss status on the first one. I'm weaksauce.

 

[Dilbert]

In other words you really really suck.

Well, the funny thing is, I don't. I'm a solid mid-tier player -- I would hope that some of the people I've played against from GAF would back me up on that. The issue is that when you're on a ten-person DM server with eight clan players, you're pretty much screwed. I can finish #5 or #6, but my kill:death ratio is terrible, and I'm nowhere near winning. If I join a server with "normal" players, I usually win.

I have read a lot of articles on how to improve, and used some of the tips. I have a fast PC and if I can ever get used to the @%@$%@$ing mouse (MX510 with a Xtrac Pro HS pad), I should have a near-ideal hardware setup for the game. I have my mouse sensitivity down to 0.55 -- a complete horizontal drag across the pad (11"W) is a 360-degree turn. I've learned all the DM maps offline, and practiced the vast majority of them online.

No, the problem is simply that given my limited practice time, there is only so much skill that I'm going to learn. It just sucks knowing that I have no shot to win from the moment I start -- I'm VERY competitive, and I find it hard to accept.

 

[DaCocoBrova]

DM is soooo late '90s.

Seriously, comp is good... Giving up is wack!

Either step your game up and get better, or concede defeat and move on.

Getting angry accomplishes nothing.

 

[IJoel]

DM is soooo late '90s.

Seriously, comp is good... Giving up is wack!

Either step your game up and get better, or concede defeat and move on.

Getting angry accomplishes nothing.

W.T.F!?

:lol

 

[Ploid 3.0]

I'm afraid I'll be saying the same things about socom II, so I'm kinda refraining on not getting it despite my Big Boss status on the first one. I'm weaksauce.

Get it, join the clan. It'll be like a online escort battle until you overtake Wario64 or the deadly Tenchir. Can't be no worse than me lol.

141773 - Ploid2zero

 

[Ramirez]

Pwned.

 

[ZombieSupaStar]

jinx there are too many losers with nothing better to do than play their fav fps all day because they lack the looks or the real world talents to excel in life. Ive learned flipping out and wishing death on them serves no purpose. Just play with a group you know, or like me and join a nice community that will shit kick ban any retard that steps outta line. Internet anonymity is really bad in fps realm where any 10 year will "fuc j00 up fahzgut!1"

 

[DarienA]

That's not the real story... the real story is how can we somehow find a way to pin the blame on EA for this?

Maybe a six degrees separation type deal?

 

[TekunoRobby]

jinx there are too many losers with nothing better to do than play their fav fps all day because they lack the looks or the real world talents to excel in life.

Actually to be fair some people for some reason are naturally "decent" and FPS and without even giving heavy practice soon become very good. A lot of the players are also currently enrolled in college. To a lot of these guys, online gaming is THE source of entertainment in between classes and heavy workloads. Unfortunately we get to the last group which is the overwhelming majority. Most of these guys are 14 year old kids who are in highschool and don't have anything better to do than to spend all afternoon on a server.

 

[Chony]

What most games need is a system like in Warcraft III that has a ladder and automatically matches you with your skill level whenever you choose to play a game.

 

[miyuru]

Yeah this is how I felt when I started playing CS, it took quite some time to get relatively good. So you don't have any friends that play and are better at UT2004?

 

[BombScare]

so why dont you just play on the servers you always win at if winning is that important to you. It sounds like your just pissed because you arn't the best player on any server but you dont want to practice at it so you insult the people who are better then you. Its a pretty dumb thing to get pissed about imo.

 

[Dagless M.D.]

I usally just play jailbreak, there are less abnormally skilled people on those servers

Edit: can we get some more GAF matches going, they were pretty fun

 

[Celicar]

It's just a game. I am not that good at UT2k4 either, but it's a lot of fun regardless.

 

[Scottlarock]

the younger the crowd the more they cuss... (strange)

 

[Ambience]

Sounds to me like someone needs a cup of tea, a little biscuit and a nap.

 

[The Shadow]

I've reached my snapping point -- I'm about to uninstall UT2k4.

Heh. I already sold my copy on eBay. A few months back actually.

Eh. Just don't play DM anymore. I got sick of free-for-all DM ages ago. You just have to accept the fact that there are people who will dedicate 40+ hours a week or more on these games and unless you play as much as them, you won't beat them. You're going to have the same issue with any online game really, unless you play with friends who are like-skilled.

I personally don't mind if I play against some really skilled players. There's always someone better than you and sometimes you just get owned, badly. What I do mind is people who develop egos over it, as if winning a game is some kind of real accomplishment. Sh'yea buddy, try putting that on a resume or impress the chicks with your l33t FPS skills.

 

[Mama Smurf]

This is some sort of subtle Halo 2 viral marketing, isn't it?

Seriously though, you're right. People online love to call each other weaksauce (it's the anonymity thing, do the equivalent in sport in real life and everyone hates you), but the fact is playing with people around your level is more fun. And I'm not saying you want people you can beat all the time, just people you might actually have a chance of beating every so often.

 

[Deleted member 1235]

I think this is going to mirror my feelings when halo 2 comes out. We regularly organise 8 person system link games and I am usually in the top 2 across the board. I'm in for some rude awakening though I imagine....

 

[BuddyC]

This is why I just play with the GA folk. The UT2K4 resurgence we have every few months always warms the cockles of my gaming soul.

 

[epmode]

odd coincidence, i just started playing ut2004 for real. i figured i'd get ready for half-life 2, but i've come to love this game on its own. it's tough as hell, especially for someone who has largely ignored multiplayer FPS games over the last few years, but it's very rewarding (as games go.)

really, what it takes is to find an unpretentious server and someone to tell you the little tricks. proper key binding, map secrets, jumping techniques.. more importantly, you have to get your mouse precision down, which only comes with practice. and really, once you start getting shock rifle combo frags, there's no going back.

i recommend that all of you look into vehicle ctf, by the way. i love it. with the right maps, it's better than onslaught.

 

[Wellington]

I'd play if we went at it again.

I avoid DM, if only for the douches that hop around lobbing flak shells randomly firing rockets to get the splash damage kills. Assault is much more my game, but I find the REAL players hang out in CTF servers.

 

[rastex]

Just get Tribes: Vengeance and play a REAL game.

 

[fart]

it's just a goddamn game.

 

[Vlad]

I have read a lot of articles on how to improve, and used some of the tips. I have a fast PC and if I can ever get used to the @%@$%@$ing mouse (MX510 with a Xtrac Pro HS pad), I should have a near-ideal hardware setup for the game. I have my mouse sensitivity down to 0.55 -- a complete horizontal drag across the pad (11"W) is a 360-degree turn. I've learned all the DM maps offline, and practiced the vast majority of them online.

That may be part of your problem. While it may be harder to get used to, you may want to try a little more sensitivity for your mouse. A fast-paced game like UT really requires some fast aiming, and having to traverse half your mousepad to do a 180 can be a little awkward. I'm no expert, but a full horizontal traversal of my mousepad can probably give me at least ten full turns, if not more.

 

[fart]

when we used to play quake, you wanted to be able to get a full rotation in a wrist flick, so about 2" horizontal travel. i have no idea why you're rolling that thing a foot to look behind you.

 

[LakeEarth]

Despite the game being so fast paced, I like to play more sneaky stratagy. Find places in the map people usually don't go and hit at a distance. In small quarter maps, find areas where a lot of people are fighting, keep your distance, and start pumping Flak gun shots into the crowd and rack up the kills. DON'T TOUCH THE LIGHTNING GUN unless you can aim well AND dodge well. And learn to jump, dodge and shoot at the same time.

 

[Wario64]

Man, I need a new PC game to play online...probably Half Life 2. Only PC game I really have that has an online userbase is Half Life. I want to make Gaffers CRY and fear my skillz

 

[Deleted member 1235]

yeah I would assume that greater mouse sensitivity would be needed. I don't really play PC, but I'm sure that the same applys for controller, In halo multiplay I put sensitivity on 10.

 

[Insertia]

Get used to it.

I've never excelled at any online game. I went online with UT2003 one time and got my ass handed to me in a deathmatch. That was the last time I bothered with the multiplay.

 

[dynamitejim]

I stink at pure DM as well. If I was getting whipped I'd go around the map with a fully charged shield gun trying to ram into people for a one hit kill. I barely played DM anyways. Most of the time I played ONS or AS against bots. I played a couple games online until I ran across one where some fat chick kept yelling "I'M RICK JAMES BITCH" into the mic.

 

[Deleted member 1235]

I played a couple games online until I ran across one where some fat chick kept yelling "I'M RICK JAMES BITCH" into the mic.

I also picture any stupid/annoying girl I can't see as fat.

 

[Dilbert]

when we used to play quake, you wanted to be able to get a full rotation in a wrist flick, so about 2" horizontal travel. i have no idea why you're rolling that thing a foot to look behind you.

That works well for rapid situational awareness and dealing with threats behind you...but complicates your aim for hitscan weapons like the Shock Rifle and Lightning Gun. Since those are the primary weapons for good players....I thought I'd try to lower the sensitivity to compete.

 

[Teknopathetic]

For anyone who thinks Jinx sucks...He doesn't. He's quite good, and a damned good ET player. Personally, I too have problems with DM, despite usually scoring top on CTF (with no caps, all defense).

Also, I foudn my aim improved after practicing a lot on insta gib servers. I can hang with Godlike AI, although, your usual Clanners are fucking insane.

 

[BuddyC]

I always loved when Team GA would accidently take on a clan in whatever and we'd get our asses handed to us. Made me feel better about myself.

 

[belmakor]

Well, I've only really dabbled with UT games. I've bought all of them and played as a ringer for various clans but I've never been able to get into them as a competitive game.

That said, I played quake at a rather high level for a few years so I maybe I can help anyway.

Mouse sensitivity is going to need work. You CAN leave it at a really low sensitivity, but you'll need to compensate for it by using mouse acceleration. Especially since it's an optical mouse.

You'll need to be able to flick yourself around in full 180 degree turns more or less instantly, and accurately. This is one of those things that you will probably tweak constantly, even after you feel comfortable with your settings.

Assuming we're talking about dm/ctf/1v1/etc and not the oversized maps that come from asault then you're just going to have to spend some time running around empty/near empty maps. It's really the only way to figure out all of the different paths and cut off points to and from important items.

I'll assume by this point 2k4 has some variation of a Rocket Arena mod. Play it sometimes, as well as instagib. They'll really help with just getting your reflexes in better shape. It's not about being just the fastest, it's also about being accurate, and knowing when to go for shots. Don't play them religiously though. They destroy any and all skill required for running maps with items.

Hope some of this helps, and if you have any specific questions, let me know. I'll try and help if I can.

 

[jecclr2003]

I know how you feel.. I'm an avid BF1942 player. I run into the same crap over and over. Spawn camping bitches, plane whores who don't even know how to fly the plane. Team killers.. it runs the gamut.

But for some reason, liek a strung out crack whore wanting to get her fix, I come crawling back. To that resource hog of a game that slowly is draining my life away.

 

[LakeEarth]

Worst ever was the time I ran into a hacker bot. This thing would grab a lightning gun and get instant headshots the second you came into view. I spectated him and he was turning instantaniously. No turn to it at all. He would be looking on direction, then suddenly in another exactly where someone came into view. I really don't get people who play as bots... it's not like it matters or nothing.

 

[Sp3eD]

If you don't know how to straif slide in 2k4 then you can pretty much just pack your bags and play something else. Most important move in the entire series.

 

[Hooker]

^ Is that turning 90degrees, dodge(-jump) and turning -90degrees?!


And Jinx, go play some 120% InstaGib servers. Your aiming will improve immensly

 

[teepo]

Man, I need a new PC game to play online...probably Half Life 2. Only PC game I really have that has an online userbase is Half Life. I want to make Gaffers CRY and fear my skillz

didn't i kick ur ass in quake2 back in the day?