Cpl, Baby!
<div class="IPBDescription">2005 Summer event!</div> "Launched June 26, 1997, the Cyberathlete Professional League (CPL) is the world's first video game sports league; and having hosted final tournaments on five continents and official qualifying tournaments in over 50 countries, the CPL is the global leader in professional computer game competitions.
Over the past eight years, the CPL has hosted 35 international main events with a total attendance of 45,000 gamers and has awarded $2,000,000 in prizes.
The CPL attracts extensive national and international media coverage and has been featured on: FUSE, MTV, CNN, ESPN, USA Network, WB, GSN, Fox, Nickelodeon, G4, Gamer.tv and ABC World News Tonight with Peter Jennings. "
This is the Texas summer event, hosted at the Gaylord Hotel. Among the awesome tournamenting is tons of free stuff (game demos, tshirts, ultra cheap hardware, the works), fun things to do everywhere (DDR, Halo 2 in 5.1 surround, arcade machines, a mini-movie theater showing off all the nerd cult classics as well as pirated versions of movies not yet released, plenty of pc gaming, etc), sponser booths showing off stuff they're making, and, oh, A FIVE-THOUSAND PERSON LAN.
I went today, and I'm going tommorrow. Dude, they have F.E.A.R. here. It owns SO hard.
More later.
Over the past eight years, the CPL has hosted 35 international main events with a total attendance of 45,000 gamers and has awarded $2,000,000 in prizes.
The CPL attracts extensive national and international media coverage and has been featured on: FUSE, MTV, CNN, ESPN, USA Network, WB, GSN, Fox, Nickelodeon, G4, Gamer.tv and ABC World News Tonight with Peter Jennings. "
This is the Texas summer event, hosted at the Gaylord Hotel. Among the awesome tournamenting is tons of free stuff (game demos, tshirts, ultra cheap hardware, the works), fun things to do everywhere (DDR, Halo 2 in 5.1 surround, arcade machines, a mini-movie theater showing off all the nerd cult classics as well as pirated versions of movies not yet released, plenty of pc gaming, etc), sponser booths showing off stuff they're making, and, oh, A FIVE-THOUSAND PERSON LAN.
I went today, and I'm going tommorrow. Dude, they have F.E.A.R. here. It owns SO hard.
More later.
Comments
4 awesome gamer t-shirts.
1 snazzy bracelet.
1 shiny key chain.
1 Intel beanie hat thingy.
Lots of information brochures.
3 flashing necklaces.
Like, 5 glowing neon stickers.
I love my t-shirts. I love them so much. Especially the "got owned?" one.
Me and my 3 friends played tons of Battlefield 2. And this journalist came and interviewed me about my opinions on the game while I played it. That game is great.
Oh, F.E.A.R.? I didn't play it, but me and my pals made a team for a team deathmatch tournament tommorrow on it. We watched a ton of people play the singleplayer, and man, it's just awesome (and scary) as it is in the trailers. And the AI is frikin good too, those soldiers will own you if you aren't careful and play it smart. Too many times I saw people just bust in with dual pistols and then get filled with lead while reloading, or completely waste thier slow motion time just to take out one guy. You know how AI is supposed to take cover from incoming fire and stuff? This AI actually DODGES and STRAFES and DUCKS, not run around the nearest wall. And they're tough. I hope we'll be able to get some practice playing it tommorrow, before our matches. It will be a true test of how much fun the multiplayer is.
Int: "It looks to me like Battlefield 2 and Vietnam are pretty much the same game, couldn't I just buy Vietnam or 1942 and get the same game?"
Me: "Well, uh, not nessesarily. Looking at it from a gameplay perspective, the teamwork involved in this game along with the ranking and award system make it a pretty different experience."
Int: "Ranking and award system?"
Me: "Uh, yeah. You see, as you play the game you might get points for capturing a flag or killing a bunch of guys or reviving someone. When you get enough you're awarded these medals and you go up in ranks. A guy with a few medals might be a private, whereas a guy with a bajillion might be a general."
Int: "Ah, so it's like an RPG, you become more powerful."
Me: "Uh, um, not nessarily. The awards and ranking are basically there to keep you hooked on the game, because it's a pretty satisfying feeling when you win something. There's no skill points or anything like in RPGs, you just go up in rank and everybody recognizes you as a better or worse player."
Int: "So it's kind of a 'get new bonuses' thing?"
Me: "Actually, yeah. You gain access to more customizations and weapons. The bonus weapons aren't nessesarily more powerful than the normal ones, but the better you are the more freedom you have."
Int: "So which do you preffer, 1942 or this?"
Me: "..."
Me: "..." [Here comes the bullet dodge!]
Me: "...Um, I think I would like 1942 better, simply because it has a ton of fun mods out there, but BF2 has only been out for so long. I think in time BF2 will come out on top in the end, it's already very fun."
Int: "One of the things I've noticed when I played is I move pretty slowly on foot, like I'm in a mech or something. Doesn't that get annoying, compared to faster games like Onslaught mode in UT2005?"
Me: "...(*thinking hard*)"
Me: "...Well, I suppose that really depends on the player's taste in games. Battlefield 2 and Onslaught mode are generally alike, but then we put theme and sound and graphics and other things into perspective, and we get different games altogether. Some people like quicker games with crazier action, some people like slower games with more required strategy."
Int: "'Fo realz."
Me: "..."
Me: "'Fo realz...(?)"
Int: "That's how I'm going to end my article. It was a pleasure meeting you."
Me: "Heh. Okay, it was a pleasure meeting you too."
Oh, and I love my new tshirt and hat.
<a href='http://img300.imageshack.us/img300/4272/thereyougo8ev.jpg' target='_blank'>http://img300.imageshack.us/img300/4272/thereyougo8ev.jpg</a>
Wow. WOW, F.E.A.R. owns. The AI is simply incredible, dude. They peek around corners, jump, duck, roll, flank the enemy's cover, give covering fire so squadmates can advance, even use props for cover. Not just walls, as one time this guy had no walls near him so he grabbed a large cabinet and threw it infront of him. Pretty clever because it blocked my shots, until I gave the thing a flying kick and watched it crush him. I'll never forget the one time I killed about 6 guys in a room from a hallway, stood still for 30 seconds, saw no movement, advanced foward, and I'm almost to the door of the room when BAM, the last guy peeks from behind the corner, tosses a frag grenade, and screams "TAKE COVER!" I got him before the grenade gibbed me.
Clever clever clever clever bastards.
Oh, and the graphics are mouth-dropping. When you zoom in with a plasma cannon, slow down time, and watch as the blue flame not only sears right through the soldier but also hits the explosive barrel so he goes flying, a tear comes to your eye. Oh, and for the first time ever, the fire and explosion graphics <b>actually look realistic.</b> Oh, and the scary parts are SCARY. Like, PARANORMAL SCARY. I jumped twice.
Basically, Half-Life 2 just got owned incredibly hard in the Presentation department. This game won't outdo HL2, but...Somebody had to have sold their soul to the devil to get this greatness, and it would take miracle for this game to end up sucking.
Oh, and as far as lanning goes, the developers did one heck of a job with the netcoding. It's like they completely succeeded where The Specialists failed. Even during the slow motion moments with 12 people, there was NO LAG. AT ALL.
Omega, signing out. Expect pics when I get home.
Yes i'll give mine away too. Look for [MM] signed up under counter-strike competition...that's us!
harhar, me, shoebox, lodwkefin and some other friends had paid wayyyy back in like november for the CPL. We aren't going anymore, but I'm sure you will still see [MM] under the competitors. You can compete as me if you want, I'll give you my ticket
You don't have to play the competition as me, but you can bring your computer and LAN with everyone else
A tempting offer. I'll have to pass, but very tempting, almost as tempting as when I was playing the E3 demo of F.E.A.R. and kept wanting to grab the CD out of the computer and run for it. It would have so been worth it.
This is where I bought my tshirt. My awesome awesome overpriced tshirt.
<a href='http://img182.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc000340ak.jpg' target='_blank'><img src='http://img182.imageshack.us/img182/4022/dsc000340ak.th.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' /></a>
THE F.E.A.R. BOOTH. SWEEEEET.
<a href='http://img182.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc000356bb.jpg' target='_blank'><img src='http://img182.imageshack.us/img182/8150/dsc000356bb.th.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' /></a>
The F.E.A.R. booth, part two.
<a href='http://img182.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc000368nw.jpg' target='_blank'><img src='http://img182.imageshack.us/img182/2750/dsc000368nw.th.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' /></a>
A sweet 24-person LAN of Battlefield 2.
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A small 9-person LAN of Battlefield 2.
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Ooh, nice booth. I wonder who it belongs to?
<a href='http://img182.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc000396te.jpg' target='_blank'><img src='http://img182.imageshack.us/img182/3883/dsc000396te.th.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' /></a>
Why, it belongs to Hitachi!
<a href='http://img182.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc000402fe.jpg' target='_blank'><img src='http://img182.imageshack.us/img182/1452/dsc000402fe.th.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' /></a>
Three arcade games, and air hockey!
<a href='http://img182.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc000417ca.jpg' target='_blank'><img src='http://img182.imageshack.us/img182/3446/dsc000417ca.th.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' /></a>
Now, this was sweet. It's call Amateur vs Pro, where you play against professional gamers one on one in Painkiller. If you win, you get great prizes.
<a href='http://img182.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc000426xu.jpg' target='_blank'><img src='http://img182.imageshack.us/img182/8079/dsc000426xu.th.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' /></a>
This is the widdle baby Doom3 booth, for widdle baby matches on widdle baby laptops.
<a href='http://img182.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc000426xu.jpg' target='_blank'><img src='http://img182.imageshack.us/img182/8079/dsc000426xu.th.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' /></a>
See those blue boxes? Bawls, on wholesale price.
<a href='http://img182.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc000457rv.jpg' target='_blank'><img src='http://img182.imageshack.us/img182/4678/dsc000457rv.th.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' /></a>
I call this the Halo 2 Triad. I was impressed with how good Halo 2 looks on an HD screen.
<a href='http://img182.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc000483pa.jpg' target='_blank'><img src='http://img182.imageshack.us/img182/2382/dsc000483pa.th.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' /></a>
See those guys upstairs? Those are the guys that do commentary and control all the media for the tournaments.
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I call this the lounge center. This is where I'm posting from right now, with a laptop, and in my comfy beanbag.
<a href='http://img182.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc000506vf.jpg' target='_blank'><img src='http://img182.imageshack.us/img182/6011/dsc000506vf.th.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' /></a>
Tournament center, part one. Staff members work furiously while everyone tries to find their seat.
<a href='http://img182.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc000515qk.jpg' target='_blank'><img src='http://img182.imageshack.us/img182/37/dsc000515qk.th.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' /></a>
Part two. If you take the time, you can see the elevated "command center" where the staff moderates all the matches.
<a href='http://img168.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc000522gf.jpg' target='_blank'><img src='http://img168.imageshack.us/img168/8544/dsc000522gf.th.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' /></a>
Part three. Everyone is busy practicing.
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Just a shot of some booths.
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<3
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nVidia! Hoo-Haa!
<a href='http://img168.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc000565wd.jpg' target='_blank'><img src='http://img168.imageshack.us/img168/3770/dsc000565wd.th.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' /></a>
<a href='http://img168.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc000570wg.jpg' target='_blank'><img src='http://img168.imageshack.us/img168/3628/dsc000570wg.th.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' /></a>
The 5000-person LAN. I tried to get as many people as possible, but I got a better picture than this.
<a href='http://img168.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc000583ty.jpg' target='_blank'><img src='http://img168.imageshack.us/img168/3060/dsc000583ty.th.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' /></a>
The dining section! PIZZA FOR EVERYONE!
<a href='http://img168.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc000617rq.jpg' target='_blank'><img src='http://img168.imageshack.us/img168/9281/dsc000617rq.th.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' /></a>
Abunchabooths.
<a href='http://img168.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc000632vg.jpg' target='_blank'><img src='http://img168.imageshack.us/img168/9687/dsc000632vg.th.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' /></a>
Yay, more F.E.A.R.!
<a href='http://img168.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc000647hb.jpg' target='_blank'><img src='http://img168.imageshack.us/img168/5264/dsc000647hb.th.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' /></a>
See this guy? He's awesome, because he gave me a F.E.A.R. tshirt out of everyone else.
<a href='http://img168.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc000664lx.jpg' target='_blank'><img src='http://img168.imageshack.us/img168/8113/dsc000664lx.th.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' /></a>
Oh yeah, the DDR booth.
<a href='http://img168.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc000676lp.jpg' target='_blank'><img src='http://img168.imageshack.us/img168/6978/dsc000676lp.th.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' /></a>
My favorite 5000-person LAN pic. I excluded alot of crappy ones from this post.
<a href='http://img168.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc000693qr.jpg' target='_blank'><img src='http://img168.imageshack.us/img168/5046/dsc000693qr.th.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' /></a>
Similar to our NS Forum admins and mods, the CPL Staff are at EVERY PLACE at EVERY TIME.
<a href='http://img168.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc000715aw.jpg' target='_blank'><img src='http://img168.imageshack.us/img168/5207/dsc000715aw.th.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' /></a>
And last but not least, GET PERPENDICULAR!
<a href='http://img298.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc000724hx.jpg' target='_blank'><img src='http://img298.imageshack.us/img298/1343/dsc000724hx.th.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' /></a>
Maybe I'll have a few more when I get home. Please take the time to reply, it took forever to upload all those.
Mullet, you and your crew really are that skilled at CS? I'm watching the Source tournament right now, and these guys are just as if not even more skilled than the guys playing 1.6.
<b>Anybody have questions?<!--emo&???--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/confused-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='confused-fix.gif' /><!--endemo--></b>
<b>Anybody have questions?<!--emo&???--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/confused-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='confused-fix.gif' /><!--endemo--></b> <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
why do they have such crappy slogan
Answer: "We look for teams that stick together. Like, live together and stuff, because we don't like it when we put work into a product and then it falls apart. We also look for personality, we don't just want a bunch of babes. An interesting strategy to try out is this: Say you're into CS right now. But you also like BF2. So you go to EA and say 'Hey, let us wear BF2 stuff and promote it as we play at this CS tournament, because if people see us liking BF2, they'll like it too."
Answer: Sorry guys, I didn't pick up alot of it. But they were like, "HECK no. It's gonna be around for a loooooong time."
THIRD QUESTION: What steps will you take to support competitive console gaming?
Answer: "We're already starting to. Look, those guys over there are playing Halo 2 right now." "I just wanted to say I think the division between Console and PC is imaginary. Come on, every PC gamer I know owns at least one console at home. It's the market that's creating the division." "As competitive console gaming grows, so will we."
FOURTH QUESTION: How do you choose which games to have tournaments on?
Answer: "Well, first we look at how many people are playing it. New games are risky to support, because you don't know if they'll become popular or not. Blahblahblahblaahblah it's really all about what the players want.
HOLY **** JOHN ROMERO JUST SHOWED UP OMG
John Romero: "What the difference? When you satisfy the community, you get more market. When people started making cracks and hacks for Wolfenstein, we wanted to support the game, help prevent that stuff. And thus, we made more people have to buy the game, and we also made the gaming fairer for the rest of the community."
Answer: "If it's anywhere as fun as Quake 3 multiplayer was, it's DEFINITELY on our maps."
Err, I didnt catch the last question. Too busy taking pictures of John Romero to pay attention.
Indeed. <!--emo&:0--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/wow.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='wow.gif' /><!--endemo-->
Okay, I'm home. Time for my last update on pictures, at least until tommorrow.
A pic of the guys that were questioned, minus John Romero.
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The following are the 4 best quality pics I could get of John Romero. I had to take, like, 25 pictures because my hands kept getting shaky in excitedness, and blurred most of the pictures. Oh, and I ws too scared to get too near him.
<a href='http://img231.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc000768ch.jpg' target='_blank'><img src='http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/893/dsc000768ch.th.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' /></a>
<a href='http://img231.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc000788in.jpg' target='_blank'><img src='http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/5953/dsc000788in.th.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' /></a>
<a href='http://img231.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc000865ad.jpg' target='_blank'><img src='http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/2928/dsc000865ad.th.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' /></a>
<a href='http://img231.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc000883fr.jpg' target='_blank'><img src='http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/1783/dsc000883fr.th.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' /></a>
Could it be...?
<a href='http://img231.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc000902mt.jpg' target='_blank'><img src='http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/5773/dsc000902mt.th.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' /></a>
No, I guess not.
<a href='http://img231.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc000891dq.jpg' target='_blank'><img src='http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/4339/dsc000891dq.th.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' /></a>
Cool helmet, though.
<a href='http://img231.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc000910xg.jpg' target='_blank'><img src='http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/9886/dsc000910xg.th.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' /></a>
Most likey, there will be more tommorrow.
And interview random people.