Author: Sam Shadow (SMSHDW)

Firefall free public beta weekend, First Impressions Review

Awhile back I signed up for a Firefall public beta invite after seeing it mentioned on some eSports websites and forums as a potential candidate for a new competitive title. I looked into it and didn’t see much potential for that, but I did see a game that looked fairly intriguing for an MMO. After a somewhat lengthy install I jumped in-game and began exploring the new world of Firefall. This video covers my experience as a new player (first impressions), what I liked and disliked, and a review of the game thus far.


Show Notes

Startup impressions

  • Downloader ran fine, nothing weird
  • Nothing annoying when starting up (no forced ads/splash videos)
  • Paste username and password!
  • Has an invasive anti-cheat like most games (scans PC, like Warden)
  • Be nice! You can be banned for any reason like most games nowadays

Client Options

  • Borderless window mode!
  • Separate PVP video options
  • Stream to Twitch from in-game
  • Modify interface built in
  • It looks like they did their research

Character Creation

  • Create character gives some customization options, but not many
  • Multiple classes to choose from

Performance

  • Runs better than PlanetSide 2 which is what I would compare it against right away

In-Game Notes

  • You can modify character if you don’t like it after selecting
  • World was really dark when I got in because it was night
  • Gamma washed it out tho, might want to lessen the night effect a bit
  • Not much of an introduction or help, I didn’t know what I was doing
  • Wandered out into the wilderness and got into a battle
  • Since FPS was able to handle myself which was cool
  • Felt like Borderlands

More World Notes

  • Huge world, non-linear, go anywhere
  • Gliders were sweet, you could have a lot of fun with those depending on world placement
  • Still no help, where do I get quests? Are there outposts with quests?
  • Like MMO Unreal Tournament
  • Combat was exciting, doesn’t tell if I got a reward or anything though
  • Servers were slow, menus were slow, to be expected though, except maybe menu speed?
  • NPCs / combat AI are dumb
  • Combat can be pretty intense
  • Not as many ppl playing as PS2, you def. can’t take towers by yourself at low level
  • Mining nodes like most MMOs, random “chests” (supply crates)
  • Cool areas to explore, some epic monsters roaming around, quite a bit of empty space tho
  • I seriously have no idea what I was supposed to be doing
  • Night time is really dark
  • I didn’t see any vehicles driving around
  • Weakness of both this game and PS2 was a lack of direction
  • I just ran around aimlessly, this was better tho for MMO imo
  • Quests I was able to do really repetitive, could be like GW2
  • Did I get a quest reward? I have no idea…
  • I didn’t really understand the environment, there was beach resorts and houses randomly
  • If F2P definitely something worth checking out
  • Has potential for awesomeness
  • Apparently you can’t swim, I died so quickly I didn’t even have a chance to respond, WTF!?!

Behind the Play #003, League of Legends basic strategy

This week I’ve got an extremely comprehensive League of Legends guide for new players and spectators! I literally crammed every possible aspect of beginner level play into this 1 hour and 38 minute show. This is the “uncut” version too, meaning that eventually I’d like to trim it down and perhaps even cut out certain sections to upload on their own. We’ll see though, I’ve been really busy lately. Anyhow here’s the video, hope you enjoy:

Other Tags: BTP, LoL, MOBA, ARTS, tips and tricks

Why Dota 2 is considered more hardcore than League of Legends

Last night I posted a new video discussing why Dota 2 is considered more hardcore than League of Legends. The video and MP3 are available at the bottom; directly below are the show notes:

Hello and welcome to an opinionated eSports piece about why people consider Dota 2 more hardcore than League of Legends.

So first, as someone interested in all of eSports, one of my goals is to be impartial and appreciate all genres and aspects of eSports. So when I loaded up Dota 2 after significant time playing League I went in with an open mind. I’ve also spent some time watching Dota 2.

So why is Dota 2 considered more hardcore? Well first, if we look at the companies and their games from a non-gameplay perspective, they seem very similar. Valve is known for developing competitive titles, nurturing the competitive communities (at least to some degree, CS fans might disagree), and maintaining their games for the long term. Riot is also very supportive, arguably even more so, but they haven’t been around long enough to see how loyal they are to eSports. Both games are designed with competition as a core aspect, both have features for supporting eSports like in-game match spectating and advertising events. So basically I’m not interested in comparing companies or the interface or the programming behind the games. This evolves, both seem supportive, it’s not worth considering in my opinion.

What is worth considering though, is the strategic elements since this is generally what makes a good competitive title good. StarCraft 2 is incredibly deep, with serious meta elements to consider, and evolving strategy. Even something like Quake Live which seems very simple, is so pure that the strategy happens through the players and can be surprisingly deep (reference my QL strategy video). But what about Dota 2 and LoL?

Well it seems pretty obvious once you join the game that Dota 2 must be more strategic simply because there are more elements to consider. To say otherwise would be foolishly arrogant. For instance:

  • Movement varies between champions altering playstyles, used for balancing as well
  • You can manipulate your own minion wave which allows you to manipulate lanes
  • You can deny creep by stealing last hits
  • Most items have an active effect + more useable items like pots/bonuses
  • Orb walking in Dota 2, seems controversial if it exists in LoL (animation canceling)

Because of these differences Dota 2 seems less forgiving, more difficult, but with deeper strategy. However, there are consequences to this and I think it explains why League is more popular than Dota 2:

  • It seems less exciting to watch since shallower games tend to focus more on action
    • Remember people think movies like Transformers and The Avengers are “really good”, meaning that they like to be visually rewarded, not intellectually rewarded
    • Analyzing gameplay in Dota 2 is probably too difficult/time consuming
  • In League champion survivability seems much higher meaning team fights are longer
  • Higher entry barrier to new players, higher requirement for strategic knowledge
    • This problem was addressed in a previous video I did about competitive FPS
  • I think the movement variation will turn people off, especially the delay
    • The delay makes the game feel slow and thus slightly more boring
    • In League it’s cool that players can “dodge” skillshots

One question I have for viewers, that I couldn’t easily find, is “in League it seems games often tip towards a team fairly early on and if you understand the strategy you can usually tell who’s going to win. Is this the same in Dota 2? Or with the deeper strategic elements, do you find teams improvising more and pulling out of these holes?”
I would think so, since teams have more choices in how to reverse the scales and regain momentum, but the enemy team also has more choices. How does work out?

I also feel like League is more visually appealing than Dota 2 since it has an almost WoW look to it, something friendly and cartoony. Dota 2 looks more serious and polished, but I wonder at a statistical level how many players might choose a game that “looks better”

  • Example, say just 1% of MOBA gamers will choose LoL over Dota 2 because of visual appeal, that could be ~400-500k players if the MOBA base is 40-50 million players.
  • This isn’t really relevant, but just another thought I was considering
  • I really like the look of Dota 2 though, especially the interface

All-in-all the games are both fun and cater to different communities. I think it’s safe to say that Dota 2 is more hardcore than League, however I don’t believe Dota 2 will ever beat League in popularity. League is easier to get into thus will be many players first MOBA and the one they’re loyal to. I also think it’s more fun for people because there isn’t all the subtle challenges they face in Dota 2, like learning hundreds of active item effects and movement variations. Dota 2 will also suffer from the same fate that SC2 suffers, having no “fun mode” for new players to get sucked into the game. There will be that high frustration and ladder anxiety that stops a significant percentage of players from enjoying the game. This is a very serious problem too, since eSports needs larger audiences to grow. If we select games like Dota 2 and SC2 for the premier competitive titles, we’re shooting ourselves in the foot. We need games like League to open the doors for new players, especially since people who play a specific game or sport, tend to get really into spectating it as well. For instance, people who’ve played soccer or football personally, will often times be more attached to spectating it than non-players. eSports will be no different.

And of course here is the actual video:

And as requested via the YouTube chat, a link to the MP3 download of this broadcast.

Other Tags: LoL, MOBA, ARTS, Dota2

Having Realistic Expectations in eSports

Last night I published a short opinion piece about having realistic expectations in eSports. Specifically it was in regards to getting paid from eSports positions and the Major League Gaming Fall Championship.

The first point I went on to make was my theory about why such a small percentage of people get paid from eSports. It’s because these organizations, while appearing large and successful from the outside, are actually operating on razor thin margins. This instability in a volatile market means we need to treat them like start-up companies. They are only able to hire the absolute best candidates because a single bad employee could literally put the company out of business. And we see this every 6-9 months, with another organization going under. So as an individual interested in pursuing eSports professionally, understand that you have a long road ahead. You must prove your worth by creating value over a consistent period of time. Only then will they consider paying you.

The second point I wanted to make was that as fans we need to have proper expectations when dealing with tournaments. I saw a number of angry Tweets on Friday and Saturday from HD purchasers who said they would never buy MLG again. This saddens me because 1. they are giving you a free pass for the next event and 2. this industry is really young. eSports has only been around in its current context for ~12 years and the technology we’re using make everything possible only 3-4 years. No matter how much money someone throws you, hosting an event at this stage of the game is going to result in problems. MLG took a risk by switching streaming partners (I’m assuming because of a better deal or simply to “test the waters” and take power away from Twitch), which results poorly. It’s going to happen as things evolve. Please give them a chance to grow and support whatever they do so we can have a bright future. Of course I should also clarify by saying that complaining and holding people to standards is a good thing, just don’t count them out completely.

Here is the full video:

Other Tags: MLG, TwitchTV

Why are the Koreans so damn good at StarCraft?

The other day I released a video called “Why are the Koreans so damn good at StarCraft?” In it I discussed my thoughts regarding work ethic and how it impacts eSports. Foreigners seem ill-equipped to deal with the strict training regimens Koreans and other Asian countries are currently employing. Instead American players are spending more time “branding” themselves by streaming and developing personalities. While this can be very entertaining and enlightening in regards to strategy and other topics, it shows at tournaments. So many of our international venues are dominated by Asian players who consume the top 5, top 10, and even sometimes the top 15 spots. In the most recent MLG, Naniwa, the last foreigner hope, was beaten out at the 13th-16th Ro6 slot! While this might not be a problem for some who closely follow the GOM or KeSPA tournaments, it is a problem for most. Having a more even split gives many fans someone to really root for and tournaments would be infinitely more exciting if our “home team” was competing at the end.

The other problem mentioned in the video is one of speculation. If Koreans are training ~12 hours / day, and foreigners start to catch up, what would happen? Would the Koreans start to train more? And if they do, what happens if being a pro gamer means you dedicate virtually ever waking minute to training? I can see a future where an elite group of highly disciplined gamers dominate every tournament because they use polyphasic sleep to achieve a 4-hour daily sleep routine and spend the rest training. Can we stop that from happening? Or is it even possible for the mind to achieve that level of focus?

Just some thoughts to mull over, here is the video:

Other Tags: MLG, SC2, StarCraft II, Brood War

Behind the Play #002, Quake Live basic strategy

The second episode of Behind The Play is up and this time we’ll be looking at the classic competitive FPS game Quake Live. This episode will give you a variety of lessons useful for understanding professional matches and improving your play. I also recommend watching this pro match for more details. Here is a summary of the main points:

  • Calculate your advantage
  • Learn the timings; use sound to determine pickups
  • Break the map into sections you can control
  • Have a game plan prepared prior to a match
  • You can sacrifice yourself to level the playing field
  • Beware of snowballing
  • Delay timings to gain/regain advantages
  • If disadvantaged, maintain a close gap if possible
  • Everything is a trade off, if I get X, he/she gets Y
  • What does he/she know? What does he/she know that he/she knows I know?
  • Be offensive when exploiting mistakes
  • Be defensive when ahead

Other Tags: QL

The eSports Bulletin #70 and eSports Nightly News Broadcast Episode 2

First up is the latest eSports bulletin for October 2nd, 2012. It not only covers today’s most important news items, but also announces an important change coming to the eSports bulletin starting tomorrow! The topics covered are:

  1. EsportSM Swedish Championship
  2. ASUS ROG GD Invitational
  3. International eSports Federation Conference
  4. LIQUIPEDIA: IeSF World Championship 2012
  5. League of Legends Season 2 World Playoffs
  6. Major League Gaming giveaway

Next up is the latest eSports Nightly News Broadcast, which unfortunately didn’t air live on Sunday due to me getting back late from a wedding out of town. But I got it made and it recaps the entire previous week + a preview of this current week! Check it out for detailed information regarding the insane amount of tournaments en route the next few months!!!

And lastly is yesterday’s eSports bulletin, which was recorded earlier today because the Nightly took so damn long to make! :P It covers all the latest and greatest for October 1st, 2012 and talks about these specific topics:

  1. Upcoming events mentioned in the eSports Nightly
  2. Hwanni leaving FNATIC for Evil Geniuses
  3. ESPlanet launches with ESPlay Opens
  4. 4PL adds CS:S and CS:GO tournaments
  5. Gamersbook giveaway
  6. Heaven Media / Tt eSports giveaway
  7. ESFI World giveaway
  8. Team Liquid’s TL Attack is back
  9. Definitive eSports “Heart of the Beta”

And that’s it! Thanks for watching and be sure to consider subscribing for more daily eSports content like this.

Other Tags: TEN, TEB, Daily News, Weekly News

The Problem with Competitive FPS

Today I published a new eSports opinionated piece called “The Problem with Competitive FPS”. Within, I talk about some problems plaguing the dying competitive FPS scene like a lack of developer support, a poor spectator experience, a lack of novel complexity (or whatever you want to call it, refer to paragraph below), a high required level of strategic knowledge, volatile communities, and a lack of unifying support. All these come together in a perfect storm of total destruction that is killing the once fruitful and exciting genre of FPS eSports.

I also forgot to mention the idea of the “illusion of strategic knowledge” that MOBA/RTS games give viewers. By focusing on resources, player movements, and other interface related details people may have the illusion that they understand what’s going on, but actually don’t and wouldn’t be able to answer the tough “why” questions.

Other Tags: CSGO, CS:GO, MLG, Halo, FPS, First-Person Shooter

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