From:
Chris Davis
Subject: Q3A strafe jumping
It is widely known that His
Quakeness (John Carmack) is not a fan of strafe jumping. His aborted
attempts at limiting the number of successive jumps a player can perform
or altering the game physics to specifically prevent "bunny hopping"
are a fitting testament to his position on this particular tactic.
As if that weren't enough,
I just read the following quote from a Quake III beta testing report
by Kenn Hwang of Thresh's Firing Squad [linked as http://www.firingsquad.com/features/id1199/
from Blue's News on November 12]:
"From the very beginning
of testing, I was strafe-jumping everywhere around the game. The first
time Carmack came out to watch us test, he just stood there with his
arms folded, shaking his head at us bunny-hoppers."
Personally, I find the sight
of players bouncing around as if on pogo sticks quite distracting. It
detracts from what is otherwise an extremely immersive gaming experience.
I would therefore like to suggest an alternative which may have been
overlooked...
Reduce the effect of jumping
in *any* situation.
I know that an overwhelming
number of people will balk at the idea, but please consider the following
points:
1. The current jumps are
extremely exaggerated. In Quake II, the male player model appears to
jump roughly 125% of his own height. If he were 6 feet tall, he would
have a vertical jump of 8 feet! In Q3Test 1.08, the visor model reaches
an altitude which appears to be closer to 100% of his own height. Yes,
I do realize that a player model does not necessarily fill its bounding
box, but the visual perception of such an enormous jump is at least
partially
responsible for the annoying and occasionally humorous results.
2. A huge vertical jump
is not unnecessary in an arena combat game. There is no need to "hop
from one crate to the next" in an attempt to find an elusive secret.
Even stairs and lifts have been removed in favor of jump and acceleration
pads to provide a boost when it is required.
3. Doom is arguably one
of the most popular multiplayer games ever, and jumping was not even
possible. Granted, there was no need to jump since the vertical dimension
was essentially an illusion. However, the ability to move in three dimensions
does not imply the necessity to jump, especially to such an extreme
degree.
Quoting Dennis Miller, "of
course, that's just my opinion, I could be wrong." After all, it
is only a game, and I will probably play it whether or not it includes
strafe jumping, audible footsteps, a grappling hook, or any other hotly
debated feature.
Finally, it is not my desire
to exert any undue influence on the development of Quake 3 Arena or
any other game. I simply wanted to voice my thoughts. If you read this
far and reflected on my musings, then I thank you for your time and
attention.
- Dexter