Background:
Hirntot was the first server to Monty's knowledge that drew spawnzones on the maps. The idea was that if you fired heavy weapons or airsupport into the protected spawn zones and killed an enemy, then the server would automatically kick the player in question. This was a proud moment for server owner Harlekin, as he proclaimed that he had now found a way "to deal with the problem once and for all". Players were terrified of making a spawnkill, because they knew that if they did then the server would automatically kick them. What made this spawnkill-script effective was that it counted how many times each player had been kicked for spawnkill. The punishment would grow incrementally based on this integer (doubling in amount of minutes banned for each new spawnkill). So if for example you were just a bit unlucky and had made only a handful of spawnkills in your Hirntot career, then the server would hand out a mediocre punishment (around a 1-day ban). If on the other hand you were a career criminal and had made over 20 spawnkills during a year of ET, then the punishment would be much more severe - resulting in bans that could last much longer. Why would you want to ban a player weeks you ask? Well, as we found out back then, some players didn't care one iota about being banned for just 1 day. It was only when the punishment became so severe that they had to ponder being without ET for a prolonged period of time that they managed to reel themselves in. This is why some countries practice longer jail sentences and even carry the death penalty: the punishment needs to be severe - otherwise the public will view being a career criminal as "worth the risk".
The situation today:
Monty doesn't know what happened, but the spawnkill-script is no longer there. Yes, there is a script that will put you spectator if you make a spawnkill, but there is no count of how many spawnkills you have made. A player making his first spawnkill will receive the same punishment as a career criminal who has made 20 spawnkills. And the punishment itself is where this becomes even more of a joke: you only get like a 1 minute timeout where you are unable to rejoin a team. You don't even get kicked from server! Monty's theory is that a decision was made to not kick repeat spawnkillers because they don't want them to go to rival servers. Better to keep the server rocking at full capacity - even if it means keeping a few rotten eggs.
Monty is one of the few players who have been at Hirntot since day one and watched the evolution of spawnkilling. The drawn up spawnzones was a huge step in the right direction... but in the latter years not much effort have been put into dealing with repeat spawnkillers. For example, you don't see refs hand out !warn to repeat spawnkillers anymore. This was standard practice a decade ago, whereas today the attitude seems to be to just laugh at the ones being put spectator for spawnkilling. Even the spawnkillers themselves laugh when being put spectator - often because they accomplished what they set out to do: take out a whole bunch of enemies in their spawn. This is not in the spirit of how Hirntot was founded.
For some players, doing a spawnkill has become a viable tactical option in order to win the round. Noone exemplifies this more than player PAAVO. For a mercenary like him, winning the round is all that matters - even if it means deliberate spawnkilling.
An example of PAAVO's tactical spawnkilling we see in demo 2024-03-16-171359-fueldump.dm_84:
Here we see the Fin playing as allied, sneaking into the axi garage on Fueldump. He hides while he waits for axis to spawn and climb up the ladder towards door that will take them to roof. He knows that if he manages to panzer the axi engis at this spot (1 meter from their spawn), then they won't get on roof and there will be no time for them to defuse the dynamite. The deliberate spawnkill with panzer at this spot has become PAAVO's signature move when playing allies on Fueldump.
One who also has grown tired of this signature move is referee crux, who promptly kicks him. PAAVO (who has played this Fueldump version for over a decade) of course feigns ignorance, claiming "never seen before was sk". This is just so pathetic:
PAAVO returns to server 70 minutes later, this time offering up an "explanation" to crux for why the script set him spectator for spawnkill. Apparently player SEPI "flew" to the spawn when PAAVO fragged him with his panzer, and that was the reason why his panzer shot was deemed a spawnkill. Just when you think PAAVO's stock can't go any lower, he comes up with shit like this:
PAAVO then suggests that crux's kick was done for personal reasons (without an ounce of bad conscience being shown for what he just did). Referee crux responds by reminding him that it wasn't a ban (which in this case would have been the appropriate reaction for the repeat offender):
PAAVO's trail of patheticness doesn't end there, because just a mere 6 days later he finds himself in the exact same situation: playing allied panzer, on Fueldump:
2024-03-22-192703-fueldump.dm_84:
- during warmup: PAAVO comments that if he doesn't win this round he will ragequit (his team has lost first 4 rounds of campaign so now on round 5 he is desperate)
13.58: just as 6 days earlier, PAAVO hides inside the axi spawn garage and shoots his panzer at the ladder (spawnkilling player MajorMAJOR):
And just as 6 days earlier, he feigns ignorance:
For a career criminal like PAAVO, he will always try to prance flat-footed into the garage on Fueldump and perform his signature spawnkill:
The question you all should ask yourselves: do we want to live on a server where blatant spawnkilling is done as "tactical play" by certain players, and where they are allowed to repeat these actions over and over without any fear of serious repercussions?
And Monty would be remiss if he didn't also mention member [!!!]Pun!* in this whole spawnkilling debacle:
2024-03-21-200822-fueldump.dm_84:
In this demo we see Monty playing axi panzer, Pun!* playing allied panzer. That goes as expected, with the self-proclaimed "punisher" repeatedly outclassed.
At 13.35 into the demo, Monty spots Pun!* camping up on the mountain and blasts his head off (his favorite shot to pull off while defending his Fueldump):
At 12.49 into the demo, Pun!* takes revenge with one of the most blatant spawnkills you are ever likely to see - firing his panzer into an area he knows is axi spawn zone (because he thinks Monty is standing there). The reaction from Pun!* when the script puts him spectator says all:
What is unsettling here is that member Pun!* does not get the same 1 minute timeout in spectator mode as a regular player. Because Pun!* is a member, he is allowed to rejoin his team immediately by simply typing !allies. This is something that the admins need to have a look at. A member can be just as prone to temptation as the others, and is just as likely to perform a blatant spawnkill (when thirsty for revenge) as any other player. Monty has seen this workaround used by several other members over the years, so it is not a problem pertaining only to Pun!*. It is fair that a member gets to skip the queue when joining, but it is NOT fair that a member gets to skip punishment when doing a blatant spawnkill. A simple script that prohibits any player from using the commands !allies, !axis, and !join x amount of minutes after being put spec for spawnkill should be doable.
Monty's suggestion for a better spawnkill script is to keep it the way it was before. Each time you do a spawnkill, the amount of minutes you get banned doubles (until they get the message).
Example:
1st spawnkill: no punishment, but a warning in console that next spawnkill will result in a 10 min ban.
2nd spawnkill: 10 min ban
3rd spawnkill: 20 min ban
4th spawnkill: 40 min ban
5th spawnkill: 80 min ban
6th spawnkill: 160 min ban
7th spawnkill: 320 min ban
8tht spawnkill: 640 min ban
9th spawnkill: 1280 min ban
10th spawnkill: 2560 min ban
11h spawnkill: 5120 min ban
12th spawnkill: 1024 min ban
13th spawnkill: 20480 min ban
14h spawnkill: 40960 min ban
15th spawnkill: 81920 min ban
16th spawnkill: 163840 min ban
17th spawnkill: 327680 min ban
18th spawnkill: 655360 min ban
19ht spawnkill: 1310720 min ban
20th spawnkill: 2621440 min ban
The count on the number of spawnkills could reset at the start of each year.
In the current environment, a player like PAAVO will do 20 deliberate spawnkills a year. According to Monty's model, a 20th spawnkill would earn him a 260 week ban. Monty thinks that with that sort of punishment looming over his head, he will have been completely vaccinated already by his 10th spawnkill (a 1.7 week ban). This model is fair and logical. You would have to be insane to want to go past 10 spawnkills. This model would go a long way in curing the problem of tactical spawnkilling by regular players on Hirntot.
