- last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT
This is going to sound hostile, but I'm not trying to make it so...
Which tournaments specifically? I'm presuming you mean MLG tournaments, which are not H2's only competitive events, though they are the most popular. Its not as if there is an MLB, NFL, or NBA of Halo, I played a tournament at a kids house once where he said "no screen looking". I played another event at my college where enough players complained about the PP/BR combo that the organizer said "don't use the combo". That doesn't make screen looking and the combo illegal in every game of H2 ever. Tournament organizers are free to establish any rules they like, and in the case of MLG, much of the comepetitive community follows those rules, but they are not official Halo rules. Were I to enter an MLG event with such equipment, I would be cheating. But the XBLive Terms of Use, and the H2 instructional manual made no claims about the legality of timers.
The calculator in math class is a poor example, the calculator is capable of doing the calculations for you. Game timers don't control your character or play the game for you. They give you an advantage that you could potentially translate into a win. Math test takers are still free to use their fingers to count, or to use their erasers to correct mistakes.
Good players use any legal advantage they need in order to win. That is not to say that all good players use timers, but some feel timers are useful, and so they use them. I would assume really talented/experienced players don't need a timer, because they have memorized the weapon respawn times, and trained themselves to keep track of those times while playing. I don't use a timer because I'm just not at the level of gameplay that using one would help me signficantly. But I don't feel I've been cheated if someone exhibits better weaponspawn control than me.
Can I really be proud of my win when I've used a timer to know when all the spawns are? Sure, competition is all about the Win. As long as I don't violate any of the existing gameplay rules. Preventing me from using a device like a timer is like preventing someone from playing on their 1080p TV because they have better resolution and can see better.
I apologize, this post sounds really contrary. I'm not meaning to be a dick, but its difficult to be polite and express a dissenting opinion.