I'll just quickly jot down a thought or two and get back to business because I think this subject is an important one.(posted 9582 days ago)I am all for allowing pauses in mid-game. Were we in arcade situations, I'd be all against it. :) Yes, we should duplicate the arcade experience as much as possible. Sadly, though, some of us have lives which makes that difficult. The best example I can think of is that I own a dog (black lab). She's getting on in years and doesn't have the bowel control she used to. Now if I go playing a marathon game like Galaga, or perhaps Gyruss (if I ~could~ play a marathon game on that one, which I cannot), and she needs to go out, it's not a question of asking someone else to take care of it or telling my dog to hold it... Though that thought is kinda amusing. :) I either pause the game and let her out or the carpet gets ruined. Should I be disqualified for that? My feelings are that I shouldn't, but the community does not necessarily seem to agree.
Personally, I don't mind either way. One can always make time for the really long games, shut off the phone and such. I'm not interested in changing policy, just saying what happens to be on my mind as I read. Now as for autofire, I can't help but chuckle a little. I will take manual fire over autofire ~anyday~ when I'm playing a game. Yes, even Track & Field. And I suck horribly at that game. But I'm talking about the shooters primarily, because you need precision in addition to firing speed, and autofire doesn't offer that. I imagine some of you have played Quake 2, yes? Who gets more kills with the railgun: Someone who leaves the fire button held down, or someone who lines up each shot before firing? Autofire in that case also leaves you very vulnerable because you're always weaponless except for that one moment you get to shoot, but you're not as likely to be on target with each of those shots. Well, you get the idea. :)
Anyway, the reason I'm amused is because so many people are so, well, passionate about the autofire/manual fire debate. I see all kinds of posts about how someone is cheating (possible, depends on your view), how someone's score is less impressive because they used autofire (that one ~really~ made me laugh :). I'm not laughing to make fun, I just think that many MARPers have lost sight of the fact that this place, while it may offer competition, is not the Superbowl of video games. I can understand that rules need to be made now and then, but when I think back to that person going on about how his score was more impressive for having used manual fire, well, that's when I think egos are getting in the way of enjoying oneself here.
When I discovered this place, I was bordering on ecstatic because to me, seeing how someone got a score is everything. We see farther by standing on each other's shoulders, as it were, and if I can use someone's recording to better my own game and someday down the road, someone else uses my work to do even better, I'm all for it. One of these days we'll all kick butt on almost every game made unless we lose that sense of community first. I guess what I'm trying to say is that while competition is well and good, and I even enjoy a friendly round of trash talking before a good matchup, I don't see it as a good thing for MARP that people are making some of these situations to be a life-or-death thing. This shouldn't be stressful! Geez, go play a video game or something. :)
Taz (OK, that wasn't exactly 'a quick thought or two')