> Whoa. Everyone who gets cable or ADSL or whatnot, enjoy the speed headrush. Until you remember that cablemodems never get turned off while you're on, and the bandwidth'll get clogged with them. Then everyone will be back to Square One at the "proper" snail speed. Heheheheh.
>

I hadn't heard that the shared-bandwidth problem of cable-modems applied to ADSL as well, but then I haven't really looked into it. Me, I'm still relegated to the masses of 56K modem users out there collectively wondering when high-bandwidth Net access will stop costing bigger bucks than we've got to spend.

> Whatever tweaks iD put into Q3test, they rule. Q3 is the *first* 3D shooter I've ever seen that doesn't give me a splitting headache when I watch one (had that problem with Heretic, Tomb Raider, Doom, all the way back to Wolfenstein 3D). Also I like that Q3 is not TOO overly graphic -- the flying eyeballs in other clones have been waaay too much.
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I've never gotten headaches from the motion itself, although staring at the screen for too long will certainly do it. :-)

Also, I'm with you on the not-horribly-graphic violence issue. I have NO idea why so many games seem to make it a selling point that you can see each individual coil of intestine spilling out of your slain opponent, or whatever. Yuck.

Of course, "sorta violent" versus "extra violent" might seem to many people like a stupid and hypocritical distinction to make. Isn't it more than gross enough that you can blow people up with a rocket launcher in Q3test? It's always seemed a futile exercise to me to try explaining why I can stomach some violent games and not others, but I think the distinction is this: a less grotesquely violent game can be fun in the same way that a sporting event is fun, while a more disgustingly violent game just destroys the fun factor with sadism.

If you can play with a good attitude, are able to laugh when someone sends a rocket all the way across the map into your face, discourage name-calling and trash talking--in short, practice good sportsmanship in an online game, then blowing up the other players seems much more cartoony and innocuous than morally corrupting. Even in single player mode, if the game focuses on rewarding players for developing movement, reflexes and accuracy, or concentrates on creating interesting and immersive virtual worlds, then it's much more palatable. Q3test features cartoony violence and focuses on fast, arcade-style gameplay. For me, it's more like a sporting event than a bloodfest.

On the other hand, there are games like Blood or Postal (older games, I know--I haven't seen the latest ones), which deliberately put players in the role of sadistic killing machines. It's a different story when a game expects you, for instance, to dispatch innocent people wandering around the game world, just to watch the gore. Enemies in Blood can be set on fire, and they'll run around screaming "It BURNS!" It's harder for me to see how you can keep a good attitude while pointedly grotesque and macabre events are going on all around you. The focus isn't really even on reflexes and skill, but on doing horribly sadistic things to virtual characters. The difference between that and Q3test may not be perceptible to the average Mom, but it's an all-important difference to me. Sorry for the long dissertation. :-)

> Hey, I'm sure my Dave would love to play against any and all of you (and maybe even all at once). Anyone figured out what key/mouse maneuvers to use to be able to track and shoot dead-on with the Rocket WHILE in the middle of a jump? Seen that. Those guys are GOOD.
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You mean rocket-jumping? I can do that, though not as gracefully as many other players I've seen. I need to work on my aim, too.

> I have heard much about the legendary Thresh, but little in the way of actual details. Can you explain more what Thresh was able to do (or pull off) in Doom that no one else could even match? Thanks.
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I remember a few years ago John Carmack of id software said, "There are expert Quake players, and then there is Thresh." Since that time, he's been on top of the pile just by being an amazingly good player with lightning reflexes, a good grasp of game strategies, and of course a T1 connection. (Just kidding about that last part--I have no idea, really. :-) ) I once downloaded a couple of recorded demos of Quake matches between Thresh and other players, and the guy simply dominated. Quite unbelievable. And that's all I have to say about that.

Iss "good game y'all" achar