Name: Fulvio Tornaghi
Location: Verona
Posts: 4
Clanbase signups for the 2007 Spring Season for Quake 3 Arena has started, with an EuroCup XV 1v1 and two TDM OpenCups, 2v2 and 4v4.

Keeping in mind that EC XV will not be on discuss cause it will for sure be a CPMA cup, I would focus a discussion on the mod choice for both 2v2 and 4v4 competitions.
First of all I should say that all quake 3 competition should have the same mod selected; excepting prolly CTF, 1v1 and TDM have to be under the same mod. We had just seen quake4 early TDM scene ruined by a mod battle. Someone liked xbattle, someone liked q4max since the beginning (I was one of them).

Here, now, is all about thinking about what mod is better.

OSP: the historical mod for quake 3 arena. All the glorious competition were played on it, is it nearly a perfect mod. Nearly. Don't think I've to praise its performances or qualities, we all know about OSP.

CPMA: it all begun with CPL choosing vq3. I never meant to install CPMA before, and I admit that I was not aware of the vq3 physics was implemented into CPMA mod. I was doing the stupid equation CPMA=CPM. It is not only that.

With a bit of disappoint, I had to get used to it, I was trying to compete in CPL Italy Stop. Playing it for about 8 month, I figured out that CPMA could and SHOULD be the one and only mod for internet and lan competing for quake 3 duel and team deathmatch.
Here's why: basically I'm going to analyze the parts of the game thinking about the plus and the minuses into both mods.

Movements: here we go. Here comes all critics to CPMA mod. CPMA is still stick to 76 fps baseq3 physics according to arQon choice. OSP opted for a 120fps physics. Some jumps possible with osp aren't so simple with cpma. Cpma vq3 has still more difficult movement style to master than osp. I'm not the best world player, but Im still considering myself a good player, and with 8 month of playing I've improved a load with movement skill. And I've to tell you that cpma IS NOT slower than OSP. In fact, in cpma is more important the movement speed than osp. Osp is simpler and you can obtain speed more easily. Vq3 needs a bit more movement skill, but when you reach a high level moving through 76fps physics you can notice you have a nice advantage on other players that arent so fast. Jumps are harder, but all can be done. It only raises the difficult of movement, and I think it can only be a good thing.

Netcode: here nothing to say. CPMA stands far ahead OSP. Even high pingers could now battle with low pingers, resulting in lowering the server search time and making the ping whine somewhat useless. Players like spartie, unity and many others still playing with cpma in the USA, with osp that's nearly impossibile or really tough. In vq3 you could do it and you could do it ia a fairer way. Really close to be even.
Now nations with bad connections like Italy, Spain, Greece, Belarus, Poland, Russia or even Iceland could fight at the same possibilities with central europe better connections. The "ghost rail" osp sensation has been wiped out. It has indeed a cost. Higher difficult to hit a high-ping player for a low ping one. But ping isnt a thing you can choose, you got it and you've to get used to it. There's a weird sensation with cpma, that's when you get hit by a higher ping player your health decrease not is real time... But these two little things could be forgotten if we are letting more players play. I suppose. More players, more fun, higher level, better competition.

Features: here again, CPMA won for sure. MVD feature rips osp a new one. Seeing a 4v4 MVD of both squads is really amazing and it's letting you understand movement tactics and errors of both squads at the same time, in a nearly ten megabytes file. All the other things remain the same.

Server support: now cpma servers are well distributed in europe and they're in a comfortable number. They're constantly being served by owners and they got all the new maps for playing. Still, OSP leads here with about half more servers... But more than a half of them could not be setted for tdm or has not the right mappool. Still, we've to remember CPMA's server place is not so important as OSP.

In conclusion, we've a league that is open right now and running cpma; it's kuh3liga one, a 4on4 league with cpma mod and I have to say that I've never played a cup so well. No ping whining, no hourly server search... And MVDs let the coverage simpler and deeper. We should unify duel and team deathmatch under the same mod flag, and now the best mod is objectively cpma vq3.
Who wants osp wants it only for being stuck to the past and they're too lazy to give themself 3 days to jump through the map and get the right movement skill.
We should just try to play a season of cpma, then if it's really more bad than osp (and when you've tried it you'll never say that) blame me and other cpma promoters and return happily to osp.

I really would like to make a poll out of this, but I admit I'm too noob for knowing how. If some admin could help me aha so pathetic.
I'm really waiting for reader's impression and make a discussion about it.