What is all this fuss surrounding the use of mines with the on-line community? I think this matter deserves some discussion because it seems to me to be more than just a matter of taste. There is real, vocal opposition to their use and I see an increasing number of (particularly Deathmatch) servers either stating 'No Mines' or kicking you for daring to bring the tone of the game down with their use.
It's exhasperating. Much as I enjoy Co-op and Occupation, they come into their own when played with organised, communicating groups. I never get to do that. Thus I can be found mainly on the Deathmatch servers which, for the most part, I enjoy.
Something I also enjoy is laying down mines in corridors. I get a quite a rush of excitement because it renders you defenceless for a few seconds and so you have to choose your moment carefully. The sound of approaching footsteps can be terrifying because the animation can't, as far as I know, be interrupted. Then there's the satisfaction of hearing that distant, muffled explosion and seeing the kill message. However it's invariably followed by a warning that anyone using mines will be
banned!
So, what's up with mines? What difference does it really make if you are sniped by someone hiding across the other side of the map or lose a limb from a carefully placed mine? Why this snobbery about their use? Is it, as I suspect, that some find the lack of skill involved appalling? Becasue I haven't looked down the barrel of my weapon or tracked you through the sights then the kill is somehow less valid. Rubbish! I took considerable risk, leaving myself open to attack, whilst I set it down. Just because I might be involved in some other action when you finally step on it doesn't mean it's unfair.
Perhaps they should look at their surroundings more carefully. One of the great aspects of the H&D game, Campaign and MP, is that you can easily spend much of your time time just waiting for the enemy to be in the right place at the right time. You'll be camped in bushes or on a hill or in a room behind a window. There'll be sporadic pockets of fighting here and there but often, when there are fewer than, say, 15 players on a good-sized map, you'll have time to take in your surroundings. You'll probably find yourself squinting at any movement off in the distance or tensing at sudden bursts of fire somewhere close. You'll have your eyes trained un-moving from salient points. But how often do you take the time to look down at the floor? Naturally most people have given up worrying about it since using mines is such bad manners. But players should instinctively take this into account. The mindset should have been: Mines are an option, they might be used, therfore I should lookout for their tell-tale shape on the floor. My point here is that H&D isn't necessarily a 'twitch' game. This allows for more consideration of your environment, even in Deathmatch. And it's a CORRIDOR!! Naturally you should expect mines to be layed in them.
I read over on the other H&D forum (frequented by the DBV - great forum, btw, great guys there too) that someone resented noobs or kids coming in, laying mines all over the place and scoring cheap kills. This might be a popular complaint. I think this a purists complaint, though. People who, quite rightly, appreciate their, and other's, prowess with a rifle don't like stepping out from their bush right onto a mine. Like impact granades they can be seen as 'cheap' kills. For me though it adds an element of the unpredictable to the game. And, after all, they are there to be used by anyone. In fairness, I can't claim to ever have seen huge clusters of mines laying around. Normally it's that one or two right where you should've expected them.
Ther are certainly things that I feel are annoying, though. Mining a spawn point, like spawn campers who sit there with a sub machine gun or impact granade, are missing the point of the game and should be rounded-up and shot. At very least immediately kicked once their plan is discovered. These individuals give people like me a bad reputation and have caused, I think, this popular mistrust of mines.
The fact is that they can be very hard to spot (just like that sniper up on the hill in the bushes, eh?) Not impossible, just tricky when you're busy listening, and nervously looking around you or running from one spot of cover to the next. But they can be seen. Once you've identified them you find you can spot them every time, if you've looked. I like the slower paced games and mines really help bring the tempo down. If I wanted twitch run 'n gun I'd go play Halo or Call of Duty. I believe that H&D was intended to be played with all due consideration. That should include scanning occasionally for mines.
So, what do you all think about mines in the game and thier use?
