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How I stopped worrying and learned to love Source part 2

My first article brought up as many questions as answers. I am not saying this is a great thing to be happening but rather pointing out the reasons why. First thing I see thrown around a lot is �Why do CAL I teams get to skip CS:S open?� The easy answer is this. It is INVITE. CAL can invite who ever they want. Teams do not earn a spot, they are given a chance to compete in the division. If you wanted to dig deeper you could bring up the fact that these teams have earned the right to be in Invite. A lot of the best players have remained at the top of the game no matter what changes have been made to it. They do deserve the right to fail in Invite. If they do bad, they will be replaced by a team that has mastered the ways of the Source. From what I can tell, CAL I and P will get moved to their own division of Source. The rest will go open. May the best teams win. Show up to Summer CPL and get noticed if you are good enough. So what is going to happen to 1.6? I would guess they cut back to a CAL O and M and that�s all. One day a week.

Next up are players saying they will not support Source or play at Summer CPL. Guess what, if that happens you will not see CS at Winter CPL. If you think the CPL will carry CS like it did Halo and Painkiller, you are wrong. I am sure a nice console game will be added in its wake. The thought of someone starting up another big CS 1.6 event seems to be a pipe dream to me. In the summer months teams are dying to attend as many events as they can. If someone put up a $20,000 CS event anywhere in the USA it would fill up. Yet no one seems to get it done and it is not because they are competing with the CPL. Raising the cash then pulling off a good event are two things only a few companies have mastered.

Now let us look at the money question. Five years ago I paid $40 on Half Life. I upgraded my 150 MHz pc to a 400 MHz and a Voodoo 3 card. I played HL and CS for 2 years on this pc and only upgraded out of my choice. I think people have gotten their money worth out of HL. The people that say they do not want to buy HL2 are really missing out. Not only on a great game, but on all the great mods that will be out later next year. Is $50 dollars really that much for countless hours of entertainment? Dinner at the Hyatt last CPL cost me more than that. Upgrading your PC may not be as bad as you think. A few tweaks and some of the slowest video cards can run Source even better than they can 1.6. Check out this Anandtech article here and here for more info. Just like in the days of Quake 3. If you wanted to run the game you had to tweak, but unlike Quake engine games, getting 120fps is not mandatory for better movement and play.

Once again if you plan on moving forward with the game, you need to make your voice heard. I have only been so vocal because I want the game to be fixed. If we like it or not it is being used at the CPL. When the CPL uses it, other events will follow. The ESWC thing is an article in and of itself, so I am not touching it here. Source will either be fixed by us or it is time to start looking for a new game to be played on a competitive level.

Counter-Strike Source: How I stopped worrying and learned to love Source part 2

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