Hmm, apparently I took the second step before the first. In the thread on the PF forums the question was raised why class balance was important in the first place, and if class balance was needed for the game to be fun. I have to admit that the thought never occurred to me that class balance could be considered anything less than a fundamental element of TFC (But then again I always thought that TFC wasn’t a deathmatch game either, so sue me for being naive). But on the other hand seeing (...)

Or: A lecture in the principles of class balance ... Disclaimer: This is a revised version of an editorial I wrote back in 2000 for a different website. Chess is a game where both opponents control a set of 16 pieces, composed of a number of different pieces, with the goal to beat the other player by setting the king checkmate (or to immobilize him). In chess there are 6 different kinds of pieces: Pawn, Knight, Bishop, Castle, Queen and King. The different kinds of pieces are mainly (...)

Okay, I’m not a kitten anymore, and some good ideas just popped up too late (read: after having posted the editorial). Regarding the ’leveling the field’- and ’cheat or no cheat’-aspect of the discussion I remembered something which caused a lot of turmoil one year ago (plus/minus, don’t bother me with accuracy). When ASUS introduced their range of GeForce3 cards they developed drivers which enabled the user to switch to a wireframe-view during the game. In short they offered a driver-based (...)

After reading a few things about the nemesis hook I finally got around to take a look at it. For those who don’t know: The nemesis hook is a dll-file which, when launched with TFC, will enable the player to make certain tweakings to the game. The features of the recent version are: Disabling underwater fog, flagstatus and -timer, speed-o-meter, winamp controls, switching between crosshairs, clock, disabling messagemode 1 and bunnyhop fix. The hook has been discussed quite controversially (...)

Hi folks, as you can see I have returned from my vacation. As expected it was interesting, it was expensive and it wasn’t much relaxing. Vacations can be so exhausting I also had the opportunity to meet my buddy 12pack for a day. It’s always an interesting experience to see someone in person the first time after knowing each other for more than 3 years, and this was very enjoyable (and far too short). After my return the everyday routine caught up pretty quick again, along with some nasty (...)

The Fort will not be updated during the next 2 weeks. Not that anyone would notice I will be on vacation. I will be visiting the States for the first time ever. This will definetely be very interesting since on the one hand I know a lot about the US but on the other most of this knowledge is second hand. Hopefully I will not suffer a mental overload from Disneyworld and the shopping paradises (boy, this will defintely become expansive but also be able to relax a bit, so I can haunt you (...)

Watching how people behave themselves in online games and treat others is a very sad affair. Self-centered, egoistic, common use of bad language and insults, complete lack of respect for others, in some cases no moral concept for issues like cheating or lame behavior ... the list is long and, at a closer look, not very comforting. The main reason for this general attitude is without doubt the lack of social control and social repercussion. People get away with a kind of behavior they (...)

You will remember that I reported in my editorial from April 29th about a German teenager running amok and killing 16 people. Politics and media were very quick in blaming violent games since this teenager, Robert Steinhäuser, was an enthusiastic Counterstrike player. And while the public discussion is still raging, people from various fractions are demanding law changes, banning or further restriction of violence in computer games and media (as if Germany wasn’t restrictive enough) and even (...)

As the title suggests this issue has been discussed endless times already, with arguments pro and con raging against each other. So at one hand I can understand that many are tired of the discussions and I apologize for dragging this out in the open once more. Yet I feel I should try one more time to bring together a comprehensive look on the topic of scripting, since the issue - dead horse or not - will stay with us as long as we play TFC. Definition: Scripting may be defined as any form (...)

Popups are evil. Period. I can accept that some sites use popup windows for navigation, like opening an option window for downloads while keeping the original page in the main window. Sometimes this makes sense. But I have no tolerance at all for popup advertisements. Sure, we all have to get used to the idea that the concept of the ’free internet’ is becoming more and more an idea of the past. Serverspace and bandwidth cost. Professional design doesn’t come cheap either. And since the (...)