On Saturday and Sunday, January 22nd and 23rd, United 5, Team 3D, and E-Sports Entertainment are joining forces to help raise money for the tsunami victims in Southeast Asia. Members from both teams will be conducting lessons through http://www.esportsea.com and 100% of the proceeds will be donated to the American Red Cross.

Expect gaming lessons from the CS, CoD, PK, and WC3 members from both teams as well as managing tips from Craig “Torbull” Levine. Hours for each of the instructors will be posted in their availability in the coming days. If you were looking to see how you could help those in need or were thinking about ever getting a lesson to hone your video game skills, this is the perfect opportunity!

Xfire has contributed $200 to the charity drive, and has purchased a set of lessons from Team 3D. We will be raffling these lessons off to Xfire members on Saturday, January 22rd!

¶ 9:03 PM //

AmpedNews: Recently we have witnessed the split in the Counter-Strike community with Counter-Strike 1.6 and CS: Source. As of right now The CPL will be holding CS: Source tournaments, while ESWC will remain CS 1.6. No one knows if both of these events will work closer together so we don't see a split in the community, but if things remain as is what event will your team be attending and why?

We will most likely be attending ESWC for CS 1.6, unfortunately CS: Source — although it has the word "CS" in its name, is not comparable to Counter-Strike as we know it. It's a completely new game — that has been completed and still has too many issues in it to be used on a professional competitive level. The decision to use CS: Source in the upcoming Summer CPL before a season of CAL has even been completed seems pretty negligent in what the competitive community deserves.

Click here to read this fine interview.

¶ 8:59 PM //

Daniel Tander aka. Vivastar Time. 01:49 Date 18 January 2005

I really don’t think I even have to introduce my next target to appear in my big profiling interviews. I could actually write a book on his accomplishments alone. He is one of the biggest names in E-sports and of course also one of the best players that has ever lived. And now recently they also made big news when they went back to their legendary team name Ninjas in Pyjamas. So without further a do I present to you, Emil “HeatoN Christensen

Press "Read more / Comment" to read an interview that you never will forget.

Could you please introduce yourself to our readers?
Hello, my name is Emil Christensen AKA HeatoN, I am 20years old, live in Stockholm, Sweden, and plays counter-strike in Ninjas in Pyjamas.

When did you first come in contact with Counter-Strike?
I think it was about 4 or 5 years ago, my friend showed it for me at an internet café and I really liked camping on the roof on assault with the "super-sniper"
So I downloaded it when I got home and played it a little bit then & then, and started to like it more and more.

When did you decide to start playing Counter-Strike seriously?
Well when I played in Nostradamus I got a brand new computer, and I started to get a lot better, and I knew there where a lot of tournaments coming up so then I started to play real serious.

What has your career looked like so far?
Well for the first couple of years I played in some semi-elite clans like Online, HIFI etc and about 3 years ago I got a chance to play with the best (NiP) and from then on I have always played on the highest level and started out by winning CPL Holland, and won 8 more CPLs until now and a lot of other tournaments Like the WCG etc.

Do your parents follow your results and accomplishments and to they support your gaming life?
Sure, they are really proud of me and what I have done so far and I have a lot to thank them for, for supporting me so much, in the beginning they where really negative about it cause it effected the grades / My ice hockey training etc, but when they finally understood how big it was and how much I liked it, they started to support me as much as they could.

What do you think is the most important ingredients in making a successful Counter-Strike team, name three things?
Talent, Motivation and that u fit together as persons.

¶ 8:49 PM //

More Realistic Human Reactions

The CS Bots now have an enhanced "attention" system that takes into account gunfire, cover, distance, motion, and posture when determining whether a bot "notices" another player. For instance, previous versions of the bots would always notice an enemy if they had a clear line of sight to them and they were in their field of view, even if that enemy was crouched and hidden half behind a crate hundreds of yards away. The CS Bots notice moving players much more often than stationary players, and the chance of noticing players in their field of view drops further the more cover the enemy is behind and the farther away they are, among other factors. This brings yet another level of strategy to the bot game, making stealth and positioning much more valuable.

The CS Bot now has two states of attentiveness: normal and "alert." If the bot has been attacked or has seen an enemy recently, it becomes "alert" which increases its chances of noticing future enemy activity, further enhancing the value of stealth tactics.

If a CS Bot is attacked by an enemy it cannot see and didn’t expect, it will "panic" in a much more humanlike manner than did earlier versions. Panicking bots look around wildly for their attacker and often retreat to cover while doing so.

Improved Tactics

The CS Bots understand the flow and timing of Counter-Strike much better. Not only can they "rush" more effectively, but they also know approximately where to expect the initial encounter with the enemy team allowing them to take up defensive positions appropriately and throw grenades at the right place and time. CS Bots are much more attentive to noises made by the enemy, as well as important events such as friendly casualties. Additionally, the bots use stealth more often, such as sneaking into a bombsite to defuse the planted bomb. They are also smarter about prioritizing enemies when confronted with several possible targets at once. Also, when low on cash, they will now save their money instead of squandering it on extra ammo and grenades.

Improved Navigation

CS Bots are more adept at navigating narrow ledges and other tricky areas. In addition, they will shoot out breakable objects such as windows before they actually reach them, which can save precious seconds when rushing the enemy.

Snipers

Bots are now aware of enemy snipers, and will warn their teammates accordingly. Also, they realize that standing still in a sniper’s line of fire is a bad idea, and will often retreat behind cover while dodging when presented with an enemy sniper. The actual aiming and sniping behavior of the bots has been made more humanlike as well.

Grenades

The CS Bots are far more proficient at grenade throwing than they have been before, and throw their grenades in more tactically intelligent places. The bots attempt to retreat from incoming HE and Flashbang grenades as well. If a bot is blinded by a Flashbang grenade, it behaves in a more believably human manner, typically retreating and sometimes firing blindly while doing so.

Other Features

• In addition to the normal bot_quota system, the host can set bot_quota_mode to "fill." This changes the bot_quota into a minimum number of players required for the server. As human players join, bots will leave. For instance, in fill mode if the bot_quota is 10, the server will have 5 bots on each team. When a human player joins the CT team, a bot will leave. If 10 humans have joined, all the bots will be gone, and yet more humans can still join. Only when the number of players drops below the bot_quota threshold will bots begin to re-join the game.
• Players can turn off the bot’s "auto following" behavior to prevent bots from deciding to follow players on their own.
• Bots no longer fall from ledges and cliffs when in combat
• Bots buy equipment and weapons more quickly (for those who prefer no freeze time)

The Counter-Strike: Source Bots were developed in conjunction with Turtle Rock Studios.

¶ 7:55 PM //

by Andrew "m0j0" MacKenzie

Make no mistake, Counter-Strike is at a crossroads in its life. On the one hand, CS 1.6 has a huge following and an active competitive community. On the other, CS: Source is vying to be the migration path for that same community and to be the standard for team-based FPS competitions to come. A great many opinions have been written on this subject, some by our own staff at GotFrag (including Bootman's rant and Alchemist's observations). What I would like to do in this article is to step away from the game mechanics itself and address some of the issues around why we are in such a position and why CS: Source is going to prevail as the competition standard for years to come.

What is a pro gamer? That may seem obvious... anyone who earns a living playing games, right? I would like to draw a bit of a distinction in that definition. Let's say that a pro gamer is someone under contract, or someone whose primary income is from gaming. I also assert that a true "pro" gamer makes his living on more than just prize money. There is an element of sponsorship here (or benefactor, in the case of coL). Win or lose, pro gamers don't pay their own expenses to compete and typically don't buy their own equipment. By the above definition, there are really not that many "pro" gamers around today. In CS, the number is probably less than 100 (and possibly much less than that).


So, if sponsors are the key to professional gaming, what do they expect in return for forking over thousands of dollars in prize money and expenses/salaries for gamers? They expect to sell their products or services. Simple. Despite what might have been written about this subject, when Coke advertises its products at a baseball game they are in fact trying to get baseball fans to buy Coke. Who would be watching a baseball game besides baseball fans? Whom they are not necessarily trying to sell directly to are the actual baseball stars themselves. But when they sponsor a baseball star to promote their product, they are counting on the popularity and fame of that player to make their product more desirable to the fans of that player. Even when the product being advertised isn't necessarily one that can be "consumed" directly (e.g. financial services), sponsorships are still designed to build brand awareness which in the long run sells more product.

The CPL is also counting on the players being professional. What do I mean by that? I mentioned above that I would leave the game mechanics out of this discussion. I will (mostly) honor that by saying that, while I agree that CS: Source is quite a bit different from CS 1.6 (especially in the “feel” of the game, which can be directly attributable to the different engine), it is certainly not so far removed as to be compared with Urban Terror. Essentially, it is the same game (rules, semantics, objectives, etc.) it just “feels” different. So what the CPL is counting on is that the professionals at the highest level of the sport are true “pro gamers” and that they are able to adapt from one game to the other.


Am I saying that CS 1.6 is dead? Am I saying that no one should play it and everyone should move to CS: Source? No. I am not. What I am attempting to explain is how CS: Source will become the professional, team-based FPS game as we move forward. I agree with Alchemist that future big-ticket LANs running a CS 1.6 tournament are unlikely (ESWC notwithstanding, as they lumped their decision to use 1.6 into the same discussion as their protest against the CPL "stealing" their dates, the decision seems far from final). If your desire is to make money playing CS, then it seems likely you'll want to play the "pro" game. If what you really want to do is play CS for your own enjoyment and you have tried CS: Source and don't like it, why bother with Source? There are plenty of games that are played merely for the enjoyment of the game, such as TFC, RTCW, Ravenshield, and BF1942/DC. These are all games that have active, passionate communities, but do not have any significant LAN money at stake, thus eliminating the notion of purely pro teams. Games and communities can survive for years without the direct influence of the original developer. Following the pro game should be totally up to you and your team. I have sought only to explain the reasoning at work and the differences between a hobby and a pro sport.

¶ 1:54 AM //

Friday, January 14, 2004

by Paul Toms

Complexity: Redemption is a gaming film that is going to turn a whole lot of heads.

Ampednews.com

Paul Toms, a full time student at Boston University, is a weekly columnist for Amped News. Questions and comments about this, or any other, Point + Click can be sent to ptoms at ampednews.com.

¶ 1:21 AM //

News

[ January 16th, 2005 ] :: Pre-purchase NS2? (Flayra)
We're not announcing that we're doing this, but it's something I'm thinking about.

The idea here is to raise seed money for development. There are investors and publishers that are interested in NS2, but because we're still in the early stage of development, they would take a large percentage of the company or profits.

Getting funded by the community means a greater chance of us deciding when we ship (instead of a publisher doing so), and also means we would keep more of the profits and retain control over our company, enabling us to make better games in the future.

We will still probably need help from investors and a publisher, but the idea is to wait as long as possible before doing so. The more of the game we have done when we talk to them, the less risky it is for them, and the better deal we'll ultimately get.

Notes:
- Assume NS2 would have cutting edge single-player and multi-player play in large-scale diverse environments.
- We couldn't guarantee that the game would ever come out. There is always risk associated with creating software and games, but hopefully we've shown you with NS that when we put our mind to creating something, we'll do whatever it takes to ship it.
- Assume that pre-purchasing the game now would cost you $25, and that the game would cost around $55 or $60 when it was released.
- Assume you would receive the game in electronic download format (ie, no box), though there's a possibility we would send out physical copies (we would probably have to raise the price to $30 or so or limit it to United States and Canada in this case).
- Assume it would have the following system requirements (this is a prediction, not definite):
* 2.0 GHz Processor
* 256MB RAM
* DirectX 7 capable graphics card (128mb)
* Windows 2000/XP/ME/98
* Mouse
* Keyboard
* 56k+ Internet Connection

So, if you had the ability to use Paypal or a credit card to pre-purchase NS2 now (for around $25) would you do so? Please e-mail me your thoughts, or respond in this poll.

¶ 1:16 AM //

NS Stocks: Early Season Trading Monday, January 10, 2005

Introduction: CAL-ns preseason started on Tuesday of this week after a nearly one month off season. Thirteen teams are scheduled so far with more to start soon. The new Natural Selection website went up this week with many new features, but without the announcement we were all waiting for, the release of beta6. These are only a few of the issues touched on in the second installment of the Natural Selection stock market.

¶ 1:09 AM //

Just yesterday it was announced that the infamous Sunman from such teams as zEx, TSG, and United 5 has left the team to pursue a career with the 5th placing North American team CompLexity. This was news that shocked the entire world and not even his own teammates saw it coming.

But with every player loss, there is a player gained and United 5 has just announced that that player will be none other than Brian "Gosu" Longhofer.

Gosu had played for team GSX for quite sometime as local friends until he finally decided to enter the big leagues and joined long-time friends, TEC. His first LAN as an official TEC member was at the ESWC USA Qualifier. He didn't see much playing time, but many think they may have had a much better showing with him playing for wick3d. After that he was locked in as a starter for Everlan and Summer CPL 2004.

Right before CPL Winter 2004, due to missing a few practices, Gosu was replaced for the CPL roster by the old leader Gouki, who had gone inactive. After he was informed of this he left the team and became a hot free agent.

Although Gosu lacks experience on an international level, he is always able to put up big numbers. I was able to grab United 5's co-leader cbz to answer some questions about this hot new pickup.

United 5 has just announced of ex-TEC player Gosu joining the lineup after this surprise player movement of Sunman. What everyone wants to know is, why Gosu?

As everyone knows gosu is a solid player and from all the people we talked with seemed to have an incredible drive to succeed and was one of the biggest things we were looking for. He was coming in with the same goals as we do and after talking with his father it sealed the deal. Rodney you're the man.

All of United 5 is local to Chicago with yourself and hare living together, da_bears moving in, and derosa living a few minutes away. How will Gosu living in Texas affect your practice?

Gosu will be coming up here A.S.A.P. to practice with us on lan to prepare for the first CPL World Tour stop in Turkey. I think once we get a foundation of strats and teamwork preparing for Turkey things will fall into place a lot easier even if he is in Texas.

Neither Gosu or Derosa have any real experience playing against international teams on a top level. Do you guys feel confident now having two players that are kind of trailing behind you in experience?

We feel just as confident with these two guys as we do with sunman and dominator. If we didn't, they would not be on the team. We expect great things from both in and out of game.

One of the main reasons Gosu left TEC was because of a lack of dedication factor. Now that he is moving to Chicago do you guys plan to have a strict practice schedule to get him into the swing of things?

I think it will be a snowball effect with Brian. Once he sees how hard we work at things he will keep up and do his best to do the same if not put in more time.... OR ELSE!!!! 8<

As many know, Sunman was a very crucial player for both TSG and United 5. Being the player that has played with him the longest, do you feel United 5 can reach that same level of success with the addition of Gosu

Well any dummy can tell you that they are not easy shoes to fill but I know we will work through it together and continue to compete with the top teams in the world.

Right now you have yourself and hare being the main tactic callers in-game. How do you feel about the other three, are you expecting them to put up pretty big numbers to even things out?

After putting in serious work I expect everyone to keep putting up big numbers and everyone will play with the mentality that they HAVE to carry this team. Just because hare and I will be calling strats doesn't give us an excuse to not put up big numbers as well!

A big thanks to cbz for the interview and good luck to team United 5 next month at the first CPL World Tour stop in Turkey!

¶ 1:06 AM //

3Dv's Professional League

Friday, January 14, 2005

You probably ask yourselves ‘what is this 3Dv League I’ve never heard of’, well, I understand you. Israeli gaming rarely reaches the eyes and ears abroad, but we’re here to change that. So let me explain about the League and the teams participating.

3Dv is a professional Israeli gaming company lead by Nitzan “Timmy” Dickshtein- a young man determined to change the sad world the Israeli gamers live in. The goal of 3Dv is to allow exposure outside Israel and make this small (yet solid and united) community more professional. I must say he’s doing a good job so far, because the clan that wins will get the chance to participate at ESWC which will take place in France. For Israel it’s big. Sending a five men team abroad was never done before.

One of the things that make this league so unique is 3Dv’s anti cheating policy. The servers used for the league are not running any anti cheating program. There’s simply no need for one. ‘Why’ you ask? Let me explain. If a judge suspects something is wrong, he can check the player’s personal computer with a one minute warning. Every player participating in th league must sign a contract saying that if he’s caught cheating, he’ll pay a fine of (almost) 200$ (1000 Shekels). So who would take that risk? This policy will prevent incidents like the one with ESL from happening. Also, every team must have a manager to handle the administrative aspects of the team. CAL-l declared the same policy a couple of months later.These innovations will sure make the league much more organized and vocational. There is also a medium league with prize money, but I will focus more on the upper league right now.

Anyway, the first season of the league is starting and at the end of it will be declared the winner team that will fly to France and compete in the ESWC.

Written By Alex Weinberg

¶ 1:02 AM //