For many, domination is a game type in popular FPS Call of Duty. However, this round has seen, more than ever, the word be used to describe crews who set out to top the food chain. Namely, in this round, the likes of Asura and The Family. But what is, or can be, done to combat this level of dominance? Are rumors of Elite Guard corruption true? We spoke to Mika to see what he had to say on all these issues.
The dominance of certain crews has been something users have come to expect in each round of Bootleggers. Often it used to come from statistics based crews, whereas this round it has mainly been from the depths of underground. Out first question for Mika was what he made of this domination. He told us, "I think it has always been part of the game in one way or another. The way the game has been set up it pays to be on the top of the food chain and to have your hands on most resources. Past rounds used to see alliances of crews doing this, and now it appears to have shifted to underground crews doing it more." Continuing, "For the sake of an action packed round I would prefer seeing normal crews doing the dominating, really." So Mika is in agreement that this is an inevitable point of each round. The fact the balance of power has shifted in particular in rounds of late to underground crews is perhaps a highlight of the work that needs to be done on the statistics based crew feature.
But how does Mika view the shift to the underground world of power? What effect does he believe it has on the game? He answered our questions, saying, "I feel in general that it does not benefit the game, as it appears to make a lot of players quit. On the other hand I do not feel that the aggressive style of play is to take all of the blame, however. In the past, crews and players alike used to be able to retaliate when they were shot or even when they were wiped." So, perhaps the change of mentality in players has in part contributed to the rise of crews such as Asura. Mika went on to tell us, "The fact that they are no longer shows how the player attitude appears to have changed into a more passive playing style, which renders them vulnerable to more aggressive players. Something they could change by taking a more aggressive and calculating stance themselves." So, this answer appears to indicate that the players future is in their own hands. A lack of retaliation against crews such as Asura and The Family is there for all to see. Were this to change, perhaps power would once again shift, but until such a time which that occurs, things are sure to maintain.
With claims throughout the community rife of the Elite Guard interfering in this matter, attempting to stifle the growth and dominance of said crews, we felt we had to question Mika on this. He was clear in his response, telling us, "We have no desire to combat any crew who attempts to dominate. As long as they are playing by the rules then any dominating party will simply be doing something better than the others, and then they deserve the position that they have acquired. Of course every round and every major happening teaches us something about the systems and game mechanics, and how their uses reflect to what we would ideally like to see, which can then in turn prompt change to balance them out." So while the Elite Guard will not combat directly the crews leading the way in how to play the game, they will look to implement changes to the game to create a more artificially balanced playing surface! Mika continued on this subject, saying, "Take the current situation of crews, for example. While these crews worked great in the past it appears that nowadays you are not much more than a sitting duck in a crew. So, based in part on player feedback and in part on the desire to overhaul the crew feature to make it more complete, the decision was made to revamp the feature. This is not done to combat any dominating party as any changes could and most likely will benefit them as much as anyone else, but rather to ensure that crews are used in game play the way we would like them to be." This may be seen as an indication of what we can expect to see from the crew overhaul. While it will benefit crews who occupy the spots, it appears from these claims, that it will also benefit the other users on the game. Again, this may be to maintain or try to create balance throughout the game, no matter how you try to play it.
A strong claim coming from associated members of Asura and The Family is that users on the Ban on Sight (BoS) list had or have been removed, in order to disrupt their activities. We asked Mika what prompted any removal of a player from this list, to which he responded, "There are no set guidelines for that, really. Any BoS player who wishes to appeal the status may do so and will be asked to explain why that person thinks he or she should be allowed back onto the game. Time served on the BoS list plays a role there, but mainly it's the explanation that is given on which the final decision is based." So any removal seems to be based solely on appeal basis. The truth of this nobody can ever be sure of. We asked about the removal of players to disrupt the activity of crews, to which we received the expected answer from Mika, as he said, "There is no truth to any of those claims."
The Buzz also received information on the use of scripts, from a source who wished to remain anonymous, but whom is heavily linked with [define]The Family[define] and Asura. He described to us the basis of a script for detecting bankers. We asked Mika how hard it would be to detect players using these scripts, and how possible it is, to which he said, "It's not. Seeing money stays in the bank there is no way to develop a script that sees how much money is in your account. Therefore, bankers cannot be traced. Especially seeing as per the game rules anyone who banks money should also play the game." However, we then went on to describe the scripts in the way we had been informed of them, which saw the answer from Mika change somewhat, as he said, "That could be possible in theory, but any account doing that would be easy to track down." For security reasons we cannot disclose the information we received. However, we believe the change of answer from Mika shows one of two possibilities. One, that he did not expect us to have the information we did and that therefore he originally started by saying it was not possible, but was then forced to change his answer. Or secondly, that the Elite Guard are out of touch with potential new scripts that are emerging, and that this is a signal or how people are able to find our bankers so easily.
That concluded our interview with Mika. With claims of corruption denied and a distance established from the use of bank detecting scripts. He did however provide a clear reason in his eyes for the dominance of underground crew of this round, identifying the increase in passive nature of users, who it has to be said use the game increasingly like a social networking site as oppose to a mafia based game. The updates that are said to be in the pipeline may balance the playing field temporarily, but how long would it be before dominance is once again established? Surplus to this, how long could we be waiting for these updates? With delays upon delays, it would appear it could be a while. For now, the Elite Guard is keeping itself clean, or at least removed, from many of the rumors that are rife among the community. We wait to see the difference proposed updates will bring. But don't hold your breath on their arrival!
