I've been given a hard time about the way client side impact/timed grens came about. If it isn't obvious, this was not the way I intended it. I implemented the client-selectable grenade option sometime after various discussions from which I gathered that giving the player the choice of what grenade to use was the most favorable way to go. I was planning to have the options in the next major release. In fact, it's already in the menu for build 16. Unfortunately, some people figured out the command before it could be released properly.
Anyway, I guess we may have to agree to disagree here. I've started
a thread about primed grenades, which I think would be a good compromise. If you don't think so, please give your reasoning in that thread.
I personally think the reasons for disliking impact grenades are severely exaggerated. I watched the demo bain posted and even played that very clan on that very map. I saw nothing to the degree of spamming 3 grenades at a time. In fact, I would go so far as to say I did not see grenades thrown any more than with the old timed grenade system. I felt the grenades actually offered a refreshing change to the perpetual lines of paint in that cramped map. They're effective for offense, too. In the demo, there were more offensive kills than defensive. Also, it wasn't like the only kills people were got were from grenades. Grenade kills were by far in the minority.
I'm also curious what constitutes a newbie. ER33t seems to think anybody who has been playing for less than 6 years is a "n00b" (or some other variation of the word), and should any such n00b defeat them, it's obviously a flaw in the game. Bob needs a newbie to teach him how to throw grenades, 'cuz it looked like he had too much skill to be able to hit people effectively, lol.
(sorry, but that was just funny).
Anyway, as Hobo pointed out, the impact grenades can act as an equalizer. So new players can get kills with them. Is that such a bad thing? Personally, I think the game should be geared more toward teamwork than raw skill, but maybe that's not what the community wants (
I set up a poll here so you can express your opinion on the matter). That's not to say I want to completely remove any skill involved in the game, but things may shift around a bit as we try to find a good balance. Like I pointed out in Blitz's thread, the game is still in development.
Lastly, I doubt the grenades had any effect on the map choice. People have been matching on cramped 1-path maps for years. It's nothing new, though it would be nice if it changed... And for the record, the wall-spraying strategy has been there since the QWPB days. I don't see how the new ball flight changed that. I used to be a wall sprayer myself, because it was too hard to actually hit moving targets with my ping.
Anyway, I'm not sure where I'm headed with this. Basically I agree to disagree and want to hear your feedback on the
offered compromise.