Hello and a question to my friends at eGO!

[Shane1]

Freeze-Cam question/discussion

First off, congrats on your 2 years of success! I don't play here much, but I appreciate and respect what you do. I was chatting with Kendle and he suggested I post this question here just for the fun of the discussion, I suppose.

That said, what prompted this post (other than a desire to say HULLO!) was when I noticed that the eGO DoD:S servers where mostly "freeze-cam" free (since changed, I think). As someone who's been following this issue since the patch went live, I'm interested in why people don't like this new "feature".

My perspective is that in the previous version you were shown the location of your killer and then followed him for a few seconds. While the freezecam shows a direct view of him, it is immediate and freezes and, thus, you can't track his movements as long as the old system. To me, that is a better implementation. Now, I'll grant you I'm not a fan of the "save this moment" text w/ the camera icon. A dogtag w/ some DoD/WWII themed text would've been better, but to me that's a quibble and not a reason to reject the whole thing.


Here's a video made by coqRapide, initially posted to this steam forum discussion that, IMO, demonstrates my point.

In the beta I didn't like it at all, but I got used to it and came to see it as a nice improvement.

Just curious what my friends at eGo think?

 

[Kamakize Tommy]

We have brought the freeze cam back. It affected a lot more then we thought when we removed it.

 

[Bones]

I find that the freeze cam show others withing the area around the sniper too. I can now see that there may be 2 or 3 people setup in that area instead of just being shown the general vacinity. I can also see if my killer is prone and not likely to move.

 

[Shane1]

I find that the freeze cam show others withing the area around the sniper too. I can now see that there may be 2 or 3 people setup in that area instead of just being shown the general vacinity. I can also see if my killer is prone and not likely to move.

Not saying I agree w/ that assessment, but from your perspective is that good or bad for the game?

 

[Bones]

It was an observation. When shot from the open, it may have been different. When I was shot from a room, the old method would have shown me the outside of the window where I was sniped from. The new method zooms into the room itself and I can see anyone else in close proximity at that time. That is how I find out that there might be 2 or 3 snipers / MGs in there at that time. I am not a sniper. I am almost always assault, so it does not impact my game much. I don't think I have heard from a sniper that they like this feature. Some things are not a choice. I think this is one of those things that we will just have to work with unless they find a better solution. There are other things that are like that. I have never liked the shell shock from a grenade, but I have learned to work with that too. That's my 2-cents.

 

[Blackout Menace]

well anyway didnt it affect the achievements too
on that way they didnt work or something cause i heard someone talk about that

 

[Big Bang (Rookie)]

The problem is with snipers and MG if you set up with the mg on the beach it pinpoints you to the sniper you just killed. I have yet to kill a sniper and not be killed by that sniper as soon as he respawns he knows exactly where I am. You can't make one kill and move with the mg because it takes too long to set up. with the sniper I know exactly where he is not just a guess as to his location. I Hate it! not just a dislike but Hate!!!

 

[PiPbOy]

the main reason is the old way showed the general direction of your killer which if he/she is hidden in a house you had to guess the window that they were in and then if they moved you were sol no it shows you exactly where theyre shooting from so snipers like Gen. Sniper are at a huge disadvantage if they choose to camp it up a bit in stead of a rocket guy guessing a window and hoping he hit something he can put a rocket exactly where you are based only on the freeze cam in all it reveals to much information that you shouldnt gain unless you know the maps, the game, and most of all the players and their strats

 

[EuroTrashGirl]

the main reason is the old way showed the general direction of your killer which if he/she is hidden in a house you had to guess the window that they were in and then if they moved you were sol no it shows you exactly where theyre shooting from so snipers like Gen. Sniper are at a huge disadvantage if they choose to camp it up a bit in stead of a rocket guy guessing a window and hoping he hit something he can put a rocket exactly where you are based only on the freeze cam in all it reveals to much information that you shouldnt gain unless you know the maps, the game, and most of all the players and their strats

I concur completely.

In my opinion even knowing the general direction of your killer seemed unrealistic. When you die your screen should go BLACK, instead you see exactly whats going on and you can come right back for revenge or call out the enemy on the mic...

 

[Shane1]

It didn't show you the general direction. It centered on them. And then tracked them for a couple seconds. IMO the only way you don't know where that person is is if you don't know the map or the rare occasion where the centered view had a line of sight w/ more than 1 possible location in terms of the depth of field.

Additionally, the game is not solely to cater to the needs of snipers or mgs and not just any sniper or MG, but those who never ever ever move. For 98% of situations the freeze cam discloses less information.

@ETG (great song, btw) your quibble is not w/ the freeze cam per se, but with the whole idea how showing ANYTHING after someone has died.

I think the wise players will incorporate what they know about the freeze cam to enhance their game. I already have taken the tactic of making feints immediately after a death to mislead someone. Not always, but when I can and when it makes sense.

So, rather than go on about a feature I may or may not hate, I learn to adopt and use it to my advantage.

 

[EuroTrashGirl]

@ETG (great song, btw) your quibble is not w/ the freeze cam per se, but with the whole idea how showing ANYTHING after someone has died.

Thanks for recognizing it as a song, lol... most are like ARE YOU A GIRL!?!

If I recall our servers just pointed you in the direction of your killer but did not track them. I have seen the tracking thing on other servers but not on our Flash server. But yes, my main gripe is that no help should be given to the dead, lets keep it somewhat realistic.

Another thing I dislike about the freeze cam is that you can often see the location of multiple enemies that may be near your killer. Strikes me as unfair.

 

[X-KP]

Well, I have been playing DoD since the first beta came out. At first I got in to it to get away from the hacks in CS after Valve nerfed my sentry guns in TFC. Now I've been hooked for years. Here is my two cents:

1.) I think when you take enough damage to kill you the game should fix your POV and then slowly fade to black like you are passing out or something.

2.) I like the new system less than old system because it breaks the continuity of action. If you are going to have any kind of after death ESP in a FPS game it should follow the action and not disrupt it's flow. The whole 3 second freeze thing might not seem like much to some, but I am always cursing it because it's a waste of time.

3.) I do not expect Valve will change it. They already have our money and will do what they want just like they always have. We can't remove it ourselves because as stated it affects a lot of things. So we'll just have to live with another choice Valve made for us even if we don't like it.

4.) Props to Valve for FINALLY doing work on the CoF. It's truly the best thing that has happed for this game in years. It's just a shame that most of the Old School players have already moved on to other games.



KP

 

[Section-9]

I kinda like the freeze cam now, I am use to it.

 

[Elldallan]

This freeze cam just makes the game more like TF2 rather than it's own game, and TF2 although better graphically than it was is not as playable as tf classic in my opinion, and this will change dod too much for the worse, why tinker with something that is good and working and try to make it something else. I am not saying dont change anything but this is not a good change. A lot of us like to play a game rather than get all the silly add ons that may amuse children, When you die you should see nothing. Fade to black is way more fairer, better however you want to look at it

 

[Redshift]

So, rather than go on about a feature I may or may not hate, I learn to adopt and use it to my advantage.

That sounds about right. I got the same answer talking about gas prices.

Generally whenever a game manufacturer/support makes changes to a release/update after the update, it always has to do with technical issues, not if the user community is in favor of aspects of the change or if it is a good idea to start with.

It usually comes down to, "You want to play the game? Suck it up and deal with it". Microsoft is one of the famous ones that does this...both in games and OS.

It's our problem, we have to live with it. There's no choice.

 

[Currahee]

There's always choice! We just have to find it. I absolutely HATE the new updates. It makes the game into something completely new. Gone are the days of 'WHERE IS THAT SNIPER?!' commotion and anxiety.

From what I gather changing the death sequence changes the way halflife stats work? Couldn't we have one or two servers like this? I don't play for stats i play for the experience, and I play team fortress when I want that experience...

 

[Shane1]

Thanks for recognizing it as a song, lol... most are like ARE YOU A GIRL!?!

Great song... great band You could've called yourself "Movie Star"?

If I recall our servers just pointed you in the direction of your killer but did not track them.

That could be 1 of 2 things. First it might've been some kind of mod because IIRC the old stock options where the tracking or nothing... but I'm willing to stand to be corrected.

The other thing would be that in my time playing on eGo I notice that snipers/mgs tend to play an extremely static style. Meaning, they don't typically move much, hence not much to track.

Another thing I dislike about the freeze cam is that you can often see the location of multiple enemies that may be near your killer. Strikes me as unfair.[/QUOTE
Yeah, that's about the only thing that I can see the argument for. Especially on a 32-man server. So many players that you're much more likely to see some other player or two than in a 6-on-6 match.

That sounds about right. I got the same answer talking about gas prices.

Generally whenever a game manufacturer/support makes changes to a release/update after the update, it always has to do with technical issues, not if the user community is in favor of aspects of the change or if it is a good idea to start with.

It usually comes down to, "You want to play the game? Suck it up and deal with it". Microsoft is one of the famous ones that does this...both in games and OS.

It's our problem, we have to live with it. There's no choice.

"That sounds about right." I could say the same when people cherry pick 1 point out of several.

You'll note I didn't even mention that in my first or second post in this thread. I only added it later and did so not in terms of OMG THIS IS THE CROWNING argument, but rather a point of fact. Also, something I didn't mention earlier, I initially HATED the freeze cam, but once I realized how it could help me as someone who just killed someone, I realized it was a better approach, IMO.

There's always choice! We just have to find it. I absolutely HATE the new updates. It makes the game into something completely new. Gone are the days of 'WHERE IS THAT SNIPER?!' commotion and anxiety.

I never had that problem ("Where is the sniper"?) w/ the old version. I'm honestly surprised at how many people seem to have not had a good grasp on how to use the old system.

That said, I agree w/ you on the issue of variety and eGo certainly has enough servers to where they could have some w/ it and some without. However, if I understand what Kendle has told me correctly, there's some other performance related issues with having it off.