The official start of Season five aside from these current preseason matches is just around the corner, and with it comes a number of changes to the way the game will be played.  If nothing else, CAL has definitely proven that it listens to the community.  It is undeniable that these changes resulted directly in new teams being formed and old teams sticking around for another season; however, whether or not these changes will be embraced by all, is another question.

Server Settings

The slightest adjustment resulting in the biggest change this season has got to be new friction and stopspeed settings.  CAL has decided to go back to the default settings of sv_friction 8 and sv_stopspeed 50.  This has turned out to be great news for the competitive rifles as strafe and peak shots are now faster and deadlier than ever before.  Although the rifles will benefit most from these alterations, autos should also be thankful as they will see an increase in standing shots hitting their mark, as well as quicker results when dropping to one knee to hit those distance shots.  Surely the snipers and rocket-men gave a little groan when the new values were released, but even they should see enough increase in accuracy to keep them happy.  Although some were worried that the higher friction setting would cause the game-play to slow down, that doesn’t seem to be the case as pre-season matches have been as fast paced as any matches from last season.  Another benefit to the server settings being changed is that competitive players can now pub on almost any server without having to worry about ruining their sensitivity to CAL settings; good news for CAL players, horrible news for the average ‘pubber.’

Sentinel (plug-in)

Sentinel is replacing the old CALibrate plug-in, but more importantly, it introduces one key element to the Day of Defeat: Source gaming experience: pistols.  All classes are now equipped with a side-arm (with the exception of the rocket class), and so far the response has been pretty positive.  The interesting thing is that 1.3 players are definitely distinguishable from Source players in that 1.3 players, upon missing a shot with a rifle in close quarters, will immediately pull out their pistol to finish off the job.  The saving grace for Source players is the fact that the pistol animation takes a fairly long time to complete, in which time a second rifle shot can be taken.  The introduction of pistols to game-play should have a fairly minimum impact due to the fact that most players will stick to their main weapon, even when in a tight spot.  Should CAL consider alterations to pistol loading time (something this writer hopes never to see), then pistols could become an extremely important feature, especially with the rifle class.

rFIRE (plug-in)

The most controversial change this season is the introduction of a center-weighted cone of fire plug-in.  This plug-in has seen limited success in the Rivals League (which has graciously stepped down in support of CAL) and has evolved over the years in different versions of Pro DoD:S and DoD: C.  The COF fix, as it is being called, greatly increases the accuracy of all classes independently, in the attempt to bring more balance to this “broken” game.  Although the COF fix has many supporters, it is not without its critics.  Several well respected members of the DoD:S community feel frustrated at the aspect of having to adjust to a game that they feel is being changed to cater to the 1.3 community cross-over.  On that same note, several highly respected teams are in strong favor of this change as it will ultimately lead to a larger community base and stronger, more competent competition.  It is without question that the emergence of the COF fix has attracted many new teams to the competitive scene, while at the same time, appeased many established teams who were considering leaving.  Other members could simply care less about the changes being made.  In the end, it is undeniable that both individual and team tactics will have to evolve in order to accommodate the new style of game-play, but in the end, CAL should continue to see an increase in both community size and competition skill level.

CAL has stated that none of these changes are concrete and have even offered an additional week of pre-season play to iron out any issues that may arise.  It seems a little daunting that so many changes were given to the community at once; however, at least everyone is given an opportunity to try them for themselves and come to their own conclusion.  And if CAL has shown us anything, it is that they will listen to the masses.