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ESL: Intel Extreme Masters 2010

October 10, 2010 /

Another exciting International gaming event has concluded, this time it was the Intel Extreme Masters, American Championship Finals. Challengers played Counter-Strike, StarCraft 2, and Quake Live. From the little I was able to catch, seemed like some quality matches. But I have to say the streams weren’t helped by some of the announcers. Isn’t IEM pretty big, with decent funding? They should spend a little more time finding good shout-casters. But otherwise seemed cool.

Check out this page for the match results and prizes.

Other Tags: CS 1.6, ESL IEM, QL, StarCraft II, SC2

Shout Out: Super Smash Bros. Brawl Combo Video

October 1, 2010 /

This Friday we have a Brawl combo video for you.

It’s not often that I find a Brawl combo video that actually impresses me. The main reason for that being that the closest things that come to “combos” in Brawl are usually lame, but this video shows that players in Brawl are really starting to gain some skill.

Give it a look. It’s really, really impressive. I bet even those that don’t play Brawl would be wow-ed by some of this stuff.

Watch it here.

Other Tags: SSBB, FGC

Team Fortress 2 MANN-conomy Update

October 1, 2010 /

FROM STEAM NEWS (Source):

Updates to Team Fortress 2 have been released. The updates will be applied automatically when your Steam client is restarted. The major changes include:
Team Fortress 2 

  • Added the Mann-conomy.
    • Added 65 new items (hats, weapons, tools, minigames, gifts, crates).
    • Added the Mann Co. Store & Catalog.
    • Added Trading.
    • Added Item customization.
  • Additional TF2 features
    • Added new auto-team-scramble system:
      • Set mp_scrambleteams_auto to 1 (default) to automatically scramble the teams if the criteria is met
      • Set mp_scrambleteams_auto_windifference to set the number of round wins a team must lead by in order to trigger an auto scramble (default is 2)
    • Updated how Spy disguise targets are selected to more randomly distribute the selections
    • Fixed the FreezePanel background not using the correct color if you were killed by a player or building on your own team
    • Server browser tweaks
      • It will now encourage you to add servers to Favorites or Blacklists after you have a good/bad experience on them.
      • The Server Browser now automatically closes after successfully connecting to a server (opt-out via the Options-Multiplayer->Advanced dialog)
  • Achievement tuning
    • Demoman achievement “The Stickening” changed to 3 from 5.
    • Heavy achievement “Krazy Ivan” changed to 50 from 100.
    • Medic achievement “Consultation” changed to 3 from 5.
    • Medic achievement “Peer Review” changed to 10 from 50.
    • Medic achievement “Placebo Effect” changed to 2 from from 5.
    • Medic achievement “FYI I am A Medic” changed to 1 from 5.
    • Medic achievement “Family Practice” changed to 5 from 10.
    • Soldier achievement “Geneva Contravention” changed to 3 from 5.
    • Scout achievement “Strike Zone” now counts assists.
    • Scout achievements “Fall Classic” and “Foul Territory” are fixed.

Engine (CS:S, DoD:S, TF2, HL2:DM)

  • Added sv_alltalk to the list of convars that are checked for the sv_tags list.
  • Fixed a model instance crash.
  • Removed engine ConVar “r_ForceRestore”

Other Games
Half-Life 2: Deathmatch
Updated to run on the Orange Box engine with CS:S, DoD:S, and TF2

The latest Team Fortress 2 patch has dropped! Here’s a quick analysis of the changes:

Added the Mann-conomy. This covers a few new elements to the game. First, they’ve added a brand new in-game catalog that allows you to use your “Steam Wallet” to purchase items. This is a novel idea and makes financial sense considering how long Valve has been supporting this game. Note that the Steam Wallet encompasses all of Steam and not just Team Fortress 2. This is similar to Microsoft Points for Xbox, except Valve uses real money.

Next is the implementation of player-to-player trading. This allows you to trade or gift items you’ve found or crafted to another player. Pretty neat addition and about time. They’ve been talking about it for ages. Also note that at the moment you CANNOT trade or craft purchase items.

Item customization is another step in adding more personalization to your character. Certain items, and I believe this just applies to purchase items, can be renamed and colored differently. Kind of a cool idea, but a few in the forums mentioned how this has “ruined” the art-style. I suppose time will tell.

Added new auto-team-scramble system. I have a feeling this change is going to be a hate-love relationship. On one hand scrambling teams is a great feature because it balances the game and ensures a fair match, but how annoying is this going to be for friends who want to play together. Granted servers will need to enable this, but I have a feeling a decent number will since people bitch about unfair teams all the time.

Server Browser Tweaks: This will require some testing, so I’ll hit up an update once I get a chance to play, but it sounds like there might be some serious potential. Server browsing for the most part hasn’t changed a hell of a lot since even Counter-Strike, so updating the interaction, interface, etc. would be a breath of fresh air.

The official MANN-conomy update page

Helpful resource for understanding the new update: MANN-conomy FAQ

World Cyber Games Grand Final (2010) – Coverage

September 30, 2010 /

In case you missed the headlines, the WCG Grand Finals are happening today! They just started a few hours ago and we’ve already seen a few exciting matches. Evil Geniuses, a prominent US team took on Face2Face from France, and won the first match of the WCG. Two StarCraft matches followed, one between Flash and iNfeRnaL, and another between Goojila and legend. Next we saw two Warcraft matches between Lyn and Fly100%, & TED- and Happy, finally leading up to the FIFA matches happening NOW. Don’t miss this crazy gamer event, it’s only going on Sept. 30 – Oct. 3rd and then it’s over for a whole year! And just because we’re such nice guys here at Spawn Room, we’ll be sure to keep this article updated with as many helpful links as possible, whether that be stats, ladders, bootleg streams, articles, etc. <(^^,)> Here’s some to start it off:

WCG

QuadV is streaming

WCG Broadcast Schedule (on Cadred)

But before I close this article, there is one piece of bullshit I’d like to talk about. Unfortunately for most gamers, the official WCG Streams are PAY-TO-VIEW! Yes you heard me! If you want to watch the official Live coverage of the games, you’re going to have to pull out a credit card. Why? Who the fuck knows. I suppose because they see MLG do it and think they can make some bank the same way. But what they fail to realize is that MLG has a much tighter, niche group of dedicated followers that are actually willing to pay for those streams, whereas WCG is about a global gaming community, reminiscent of the Olympics! By charging a fee, they are instantly alienating thousands of gamers who may have gotten drawn into the kick ass world of eSports. It’s unfortunate.

If you want to hear another person discuss this BS in a much better, more comedic fashion, check out the latest Live On Three episode with DJ Wheat. Funny as shit.

Other Tags: WCG, CS 1.6, StarCraft II, SC2, Brood War, Warcraft III, Warcraft 3, WC3

http://www.cadred.org/News/Article/122410/

LF Writers ZOMG!!!

September 27, 2010 /

Spawn Room is looking for interested writers! We need gamers and eSport enthusiasts who love to share their opinions, analyze patches and new games, have an interest in building a great gaming community, and spreading the joy of eSports all over the world. If you’re at all interested, post in the comment section of this article and I’ll be sure to contact you as soon as I can! Thanks! :D

Halo: Reach MLG Rules v1 Announced

September 26, 2010 /

Major League Gaming has announced their Halo Reach competitive rule set. For those of you unfamiliar with rule sets, they’re basically a set of changes to the gameplay that defines a new game type. In this case, it’s for MLG which hosts competitive tournaments for professional Halo players (among others). You may remember this being added in Halo 3 as one of your matchmaking options. Well now it’s approaching for Reach as well, and soon we’ll have aspiring pro-Halo players pwning with the official gametype.

The new rule set looks pretty standard (Halo 3 MLG RS v8) with a boost to player speed (120%) and jump height (110%), which will return a familiar feel to the game. Player gravity has also been adjusted to 200%, which seems really high, but I’m guessing this will help return that Master Chief-feel to the game. Players should now be able to make jumps and clear gaps that they normally couldn’t. As expected, motion tracker is off, penalties and booting are disabled, and you start with the DMR and no side weapon.

Right now they have Team Slayer listed with Asylum, Countdown, Reflection, and Zealot as available maps, and CTF with Aslyum, Countdown, and Zealot. Hopefully with some more testing and tweaking they’ll add some additional maps and game types.

For more information about the new rule set, check out the full article and description. See you on Live!

Super Smash Bros. Brawl Tier List #5

September 26, 2010 /

A new tier list for the video game Super Smash Bros. Brawl has been finalized just recently. This would make up the fifth version of the tier list for the game. The tier list is as follows:

S: Meta Knight
A: Snake, Diddy Kong, Falco, Wario, Marth, Ice Climbers
B: Olimar, Pikachu, King Dedede, Mr. Game & Watch, Lucario, Zero Suit Samus
C: Toon Link, Kirby, Fox, R.O.B., Pit, Peach, Donkey Kong
D: Luigi, Wolf, (Zelda/Sheik), Sonic, Ike, Sheik, Ness, Pokémon Trainer
E: Yoshi, Lucas, Mario, Bowser
F: Captain Falcon, Samus, Jigglypuff, Link, Zelda
G: Ganondorf

(Information found on smashboards and brawlfriendcodes.com).

For those of you who do not know what a “Tier List” for gaming is, it refers to a list that rates each character in order of their potential to win in tournament settings for gaming. The conditions of this list are also based on a characters “metagame.” Metagame refers to the strategies that are predominant in the current competitive community.

It should be noted that a tier list is not a “Best character to worst character” list. This mean that if you fight the kid down the street who has played the game twice but mains metaknight, the results will be based off of your skill. A really great captain falcon player would most likely win against an extremely cruddy pikachu player.

The tier list hasn’t changed much in terms of metaknight’s placement (since he’ll most likely always be top) but I’m going to give Falco some credit and say that he definitely has potential to take Snake’s place. Some of them Falco players are doing some tight things.

On another note, Olimar (my “main”… i.e. the dude I play as) has jumped two spots since the last version. Olimars are representing. There need to be more Yoshi players, though.

Otherwise, I think this is a pretty solid tier list. I think it will be interesting to see what the next one will look like. I’m thinking only minor differences… kind of like this one (not like the one where Olimar jumped 8 spots).

L8a.

Other Tags: SSBB, FGC

The Spawn Room Mumble Server by Apoplexy Industries

September 25, 2010 /

After much deliberation, comparisons, research, price matching, and talking around, we’ve decided to purchase Mumble hosting from Apoplexy Industries. I’ve personally been using Ventrilo for a good 4-5 years, so I really hesitated switching over, but I think it’s going to work out really great. The latency between what’s said and when you hear it is crazy fast. I tested the new server with my roommate and when he said something in his room, I heard it in mine almost simultaneously. I have to admit the interface is a little clunky, but a lot of features you have to mess with in Vent are automated in Mumble which is great. Voice sounds crisp and clear, and I believe it’s gaining them too (leveling sound so it’s consistent from every person). Overall should be a good buy.

Here is the general information:

IP:Port: 208.100.4.87:50018

Password: srbos1

Size: 25-man

Location: Chicago

Provider: Apoplexy Industries

So feel free to join up and hang out with some great gamers! If you need to download and install Mumble, check it out here.

Update: Fun fact about Mumble, you can download and apply skins to customize your personal look and feel! Check it out here.

Other Tags: VOIP, Mumble, hosting, AI

UPDATE: new Mumble server information can be found here.

HuK to Team Liquid

September 24, 2010 /

HuK, qualifier for IEM Season V and winner of MLG Raleigh is now part of Team Liquid, making there already solid team even stronger. The phenomenal Canadian Starcraft 2 pro, (I wonder if he trains with Jeremy) will be  moving into the Team Liquid – oGs house in Korea with several other Team Liquid players to play Starcraft full time. Read the full interview/article here. GG.

DaHang 2010

September 24, 2010 /

We’ve got another sick Feature Friday post for you! This time around it’s a Quake Live frag video featuring DaHang, one of the world’s best Quake Live players (DaHang currently plays for Team Evil Geniuses). This video is really well done and I love how they throw some shout casting in the middle. Check out the video on PLDX.

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