Originally posted by BladeRunner Prong, I realize you stated your dislike of "point farmers".
For myself I'm going to look at the past and think of it as
"water under the bridge".
What we/I are looking for here is a promise by you to follow
server rules for the ECGN public servers.
BTW, some of our most respected regulars came to the
ECGN forums by way of the "Been Banned?" section of the
forum.
BladeRunner,
It is very honorable of you to consider this entire episode as “water under the bridge”. This single comment demonstrates a pure administrator philosophy that is severely lacking in the hard core gaming community. It is this pure administrator philosophy that builds a strong community, and also sends the proper message to those who are considering joining the community.
Unfortunately for me, I have already been labeled as a “point farmer” and “exploiter” by some of your peers. To overturn that decision now would certainly result in the loss of some respect and integrity from your peers. For that one reason alone, I am reluctant to consider your generous offer.
Chacal and Donkey are right when they said that the Public ECGN #1 server is probably not the place for me. In all honesty, I prefer a much less “safe” environment than provided by ECGN.
Playing Battlefield 2 is challenging enough with the way the maps were laid out and designed by the EA development team. Hundreds of man hours were spent deciding where to place obstacles, assets, choke points, flags, bases, and starting ticket counts. The maps themselves are inherently unbalanced and quite often favor a specific side based on the current scenario being played anyways.
The implementation of squad based combat and commander elements catapulted this game to the top of the charts. It provides what every hard core gamer has been dreaming of for years. It is the perfect marriage of a first person shooter, overhead strategy game (commander view), and vehicle simulator rolled into one juicy package.
In my honest opinion, EA did a great job of implementing team kill and team balance management tools right out of the box. These automated tools are more than sufficient to manage unruly players who team kill or team switch for the purpose of destroying everyone else’s enjoyment.
Playing on a server that dilutes the purity of the competition by enforcing extra rules for the purpose of creating a “safe” environment isn’t adding any value. It strips the game of all competitive elements and promotes a false sense of security to those exposed to that environment.
I didn’t need a “no base camping rule” to protect me. I learned how to properly defend my bases.
I didn’t need a “no spawn rape rule” to protect me. I learned to spawn at a different flag.
I didn’t need a “no vehicle ramming rule” to protect me. I learned how to stop those vehicles before they ever got near me.
I didn’t need a “no jet ramming rule” to make me a better Blackhawk pilot. I learned to avoid them by honing my flying skills.
The mere thought of any administrator willing to break up a squad by forcing the squad leader to the opposite team sends chills down my spine. EA thought it was important enough to fix that team balance bug in a patch, so why would an administrator even consider doing something like that to the player community that supports them is beyond my comprehension.
There is an old saying, “What doesn’t kill you will only make you stronger”.
Having to deal with the examples above has made me a much better player. I didn’t need a quick fingered administrator to protect me from my enemies. I countered my enemy’s moves and learned from my victories and defeats.
I guess that I am not cut out to be an ECGN community member. I refuse to sacrifice my integrity, honor, and skills to play on a server that promotes a “safe” uncompetitive environment where the administrators are allowed to influence the course of a battle with a simple click of a mouse button.
I wish ECGN the best of luck…
Over and Out,
Prong2005