I was very nervous about taking the plunge into online game play. I thought it would be fraught with bizarre rules, and nobody would be nice enough to tell me about them. The truth is that I have found the UT2003 community to be, on the whole, very easygoing and inviting. Nevertheless, there are some rules of etiquette that may help you in not painting a HUGE bulls eye on your forehead....
- No type killing.
When playing online, you may notice players talking to one another. It's never nice to kill the player when his character is frozen during the talking. It's a cheap kill, and bad etiquette.
Another part of this subject is: type at your own risk in this game. Unfortunately, the representation of a character talking is very hard to discern in UT2003. As such, sometimes it's very difficult to tell when someone's typing. So, don't get mad if you get killed while talking. Most people who talk a lot (like me) realize that it's risky. The simplest thing to do is use Team Speak ...
- You're a cheater!
While I have some to consider it a compliment, it's nevertheless very annoying when someone insists that I (or someone else on a server) is a cheat. If you think a person is a cheat, logout, and log back on as a spectator. Then, spectate the player you think is cheating. Most likely, you'll find that the player you suspect is simply awesome. In my albeit limited experience with UT2003, I don't think I've ever seen a cheater. I have, on the other hand, had many online games wrecked by a player who insists with a litany of four-letter words that I or someone else is cheating.
- Use common sense.
Just because you're playing over an effectively anonymous interface, don't act like it.99.5% of UT2003 players are normal people, who play to have fun and take a break from reality. The last thing we want is to deal with a foul-mouthed jerk (I get plenty of those in real life). After all, this is entertainment, please don't wreck it for the rest of us.
- Camping?
While I find it frustrating to get killed by a camper (one who acquires a sniper weapon, and sits in a secluded area to take long-range sniper shots), I think it's a legitimate part of gameplay. If you have the skills to sit away from the action and take pot-shots at people, have at it. I have no problem with those who camp; I just don't have the skill to not seek out kills.
- Telferagging?
Like camping, telefragging (killing someone with the translocator) is also a legitimate part of gameplay in my opinion. However, many people have a problem with it and think it's lame. I think it's very similar to camping: those who complain about it are just angry that they cannot do it as well.
- Spam?
No, this is not porno e-mail or a meat-like substance, this is the term many players use to describe the lobbing of flak shells, rockets, grenades, or shock combos into a high traffic area. Many people hate this because it requires little skill to lob flak grenades over and over into a high-traffic intersection. Personally, I have no problem with it as I've never seen a spammer win, like I've never seen a camper win. Moreover, it's an effective way to acquire kills from time to time, and I would be a hypocrite for mocking it. It's not as cool as a lightning gun headshot, but it's very effective. I say, go for it!
- Clipping cheats?
Clipping cheats are exploits in level design. A map where this is common is Curse3 where you can teleport behind the dragon's head. Then, you can fire upon enemies and be protected by the head. In my opinion, this is seriously lame, and bordering on cheating. You'll never make any friends doing this...
- Be nice :-)
- Are you shooting me in the back?
- Are you running away?
Again...YES! Am I supposed to engage a foe with little health or no gun? I still don't understand why some people think it's poor etiquette to run away when appropriate.
- Super Weapons....
The UT2003 community is largely social. If you're nice to people, they'll be nice to you. All of the secret areas I know of in maps, I learned from other players who were nice enough to show me. This really impressed me, and makes the experience very enjoyable. This type of behavior must be perpetuated. If someone asks a stupid question, don't berate them by calling them a newbie. After all, you were a newbie once too.
In short: HELL YES. I have played several different people who think it's bad etiquette to shoot someone in the back. I'm still trying to figure this one out. Back, front, side, top bottom...it's all fair game as far as I'm concerned.
As the name implies, a super weapon (Ion Cannon and Redeemer) are extremely powerful weapons. They can take out huge groups of people, and kill even a fully shielded foe. But, they take little to no skill to use successfully. Just throw a redeemer rocket into a group of people, and wait for the screams.
This one is a tough call for me as I just came from a game where my only two deaths were from redeemer rockets. That was frustrating. But, I would be a total hypocrite for saying this is poor etiquette as I use the super weapons too.
It sucks to have a Godlike ruined by a player waiting for the deemer to spawn. BUT, it's a legitimate weapon. Also, there are mutators that disallow super weapons. So, while it may be frustrating to be fragged by someone using a deemer, it's totally fair and not poor etiquette in my opinion.