People don't accept change that well around here.
Now I'm not sure if it had been the strict set of match rules that was applied to the server, but in either case I'd like to talk about them anyway. jitspoe's strict rules go something like:
- No opponent chasecam
- Observer blackout
- No respawn
- All team's flags must be in base to cap
- Flag capture ends round
- Friendly fire
eR33t had a game recently with eXT with these rules. Overall it wasn't too bad, but there are problems. I enjoy the observer blackout (just be nice and specinvite your obs teammates so they don't get bored to death). The inability to chasecam your opponents is great because it allows for more strategic play. Although these two things are good, they are heavily outweighed by the other rules.
The behavior of the flags is a major problem when playing in strict mode.
I think that flagsmustbehome is a great CTF setting in at least one of the following conditions: a) quick respawns after death b) there are a large number of players(and respawns are possible) like 6v6+ c) a round timelimit is in place
However current match conditions are typically 3v3-4v4 on small or large maps. On small maps, respawns don't usually happen unless there's a couple really tight players going head to head. On large maps there is too much space that needs to be covered to assign 1-2 players on flag defense with only 3-4 players on each team.
Small maps don't see the impact so much because the rounds are fast, grabs don't occur very often, caps are rare. The biggest problem is ffire because the map is typically comfortable for 1v1 play at best, but sees action of up to 5v5.
On larger maps, once the opponent has any of your flags they can begin to hide without much fear for their cover to be blown. This opens a whole new skill of who can hide the longest, which then if there are 60s respawns opens the door to a 2+ player strategy called who can hide while their teammate spawn kills the longest. For the lone flag carrier on his team to eliminate the spawn killer is rather difficult given the nature of most spawns and unless you're successfully counter spawn killing, you're soon going to face a 1v3-4 situation. But if respawns are disabled, this sets up the very very long rounds while both flag carriers are hiding from each other.
I believe that jitspoe has made the changes to see if it brings a different edge to the current state of competition. If I were to suggest anything for match server settings it would be to enable observer blackout, and locked chase cams. If the mindset of clans change and they being to selecting large maps everytime, then ffire is possible. The flag behavior must be left alone for 2+ flag maps. Flagcapendsround is suitable for single flag maps (through use of an .ent file) but otherwise I believe that the flag options should both be disabled. The hybrid ctf mode that jitspoe has created for experimentation could allow for respawns to be disabled, however it would best be coupled with a timelimit on rounds which isn't something I'd like to see implemented, so that leaves it more or less out of the question.
Feel free to flame away; Happy Holidays!
