Post by GizMoM|x ` ShawNz on Mar 5, 2008 18:15:26 GMT 7
Imagine searching for three hours for a host. Imagine that when a host is found, you still suffer abysmal delay. Imagine that by the time the game starts, it is already 4 a.m. and you have school or work in the morning. Imagine playing under those conditions.
Team Kingsurf does not have to imagine. They live in that world.
Kingsurf¡¯s rise to the upper echelon of competitive DotA was highlighted by their third place finish in MYM PriDe 8. And while this is an astounding accomplishment in its own right, the tribulations they had to wade through to get there make it even more amazing.
But are those trials ever going to change, or will Asian DotA teams forever be forced to try and climb the Western mountain?
KS|Xiaogui says the problem starts with hosting. Technology and infrastructure are billed as the reason for connection problems between Asian, North America, and Europe. However Kingsurf contends that there is more to it than just that.
¡°The cold hard truth in the English speaking Dota world is that Asians are just an ¡®addition¡¯ to the ¡®international¡¯ scene which is almost exclusively European or American,¡± Xiaogui said, ¡°Until this perception is changed , we must say that the ¡®international¡¯ scene would not tolerate an Asia neutral host.¡±
Xiaogui said that good Asian neutral hosts can provide .3-.5 second delay for Europeans, about the same as the best neutral host for Asian players. But even given this, there are still very few Asian hosted games that include non-Asian teams.
Kingsurf wants this to change, but they recognize the path to change is an arduous one. Xiaogui says that changing perceptions requires ¡°¡the mutual respect we have as fellow Dota-Gamers and the taking up of responsibilities by both parties to ensure a fair game for both teams in terms of host just might do the trick.¡±
Kingsurf cites team MYM as a good example of a team trying to do the right thing and change the current mindset.
¡°This effort is seen from their long relationship with Malaysian teams facing them starting from Team Wizz at PriDe 5 where MYM|Maelk actually took the initiative to find a good host for both teams hours before the match was due to start,¡± Xiaogui said, ¡°Sad to say , good sportsmanship like theirs are rare in teams nowadays.¡±
But a handful of teams attempting to level the playing field is not enough. ¡°From the assessment of the latest cases involving Asians, this perception is a deep rooted fact and it¡¯s very hard to change,¡± Xiaogui says.
One case in question here is the accusation of maphacking levied against Kingsurf during PriDe 9. While the accusation against Kingsurf was later withdrawn and apologies were made to Kingsurf, the question that raged through the DotA community was about bias. Were the European admins intentionally or unintentionally bias for the Greek team 1UP or bias against the Malaysian Kingsurf? Xiaogui says no, ¡°¡this is a version problem, I don¡¯t blame them.¡± However, Kingsurf does hope that the way in which future incidents are investigated is changed to prevent a problem like this from happening again.
Maybe one day the playing field will level. Short of a LAN event that everyone can attend it unlikely there will ever be a good answer to hosting. Xiaogui says that changing perceptions is an issue that exists beyond the DotA world, and there is little a team can do to change it. But Kingsurf is optimistic, maybe things will never change, but as Xiaogui said, ¡°We never stop hoping.¡±
Team Kingsurf does not have to imagine. They live in that world.
Kingsurf¡¯s rise to the upper echelon of competitive DotA was highlighted by their third place finish in MYM PriDe 8. And while this is an astounding accomplishment in its own right, the tribulations they had to wade through to get there make it even more amazing.
But are those trials ever going to change, or will Asian DotA teams forever be forced to try and climb the Western mountain?
KS|Xiaogui says the problem starts with hosting. Technology and infrastructure are billed as the reason for connection problems between Asian, North America, and Europe. However Kingsurf contends that there is more to it than just that.
¡°The cold hard truth in the English speaking Dota world is that Asians are just an ¡®addition¡¯ to the ¡®international¡¯ scene which is almost exclusively European or American,¡± Xiaogui said, ¡°Until this perception is changed , we must say that the ¡®international¡¯ scene would not tolerate an Asia neutral host.¡±
Xiaogui said that good Asian neutral hosts can provide .3-.5 second delay for Europeans, about the same as the best neutral host for Asian players. But even given this, there are still very few Asian hosted games that include non-Asian teams.
Kingsurf wants this to change, but they recognize the path to change is an arduous one. Xiaogui says that changing perceptions requires ¡°¡the mutual respect we have as fellow Dota-Gamers and the taking up of responsibilities by both parties to ensure a fair game for both teams in terms of host just might do the trick.¡±
Kingsurf cites team MYM as a good example of a team trying to do the right thing and change the current mindset.
¡°This effort is seen from their long relationship with Malaysian teams facing them starting from Team Wizz at PriDe 5 where MYM|Maelk actually took the initiative to find a good host for both teams hours before the match was due to start,¡± Xiaogui said, ¡°Sad to say , good sportsmanship like theirs are rare in teams nowadays.¡±
But a handful of teams attempting to level the playing field is not enough. ¡°From the assessment of the latest cases involving Asians, this perception is a deep rooted fact and it¡¯s very hard to change,¡± Xiaogui says.
One case in question here is the accusation of maphacking levied against Kingsurf during PriDe 9. While the accusation against Kingsurf was later withdrawn and apologies were made to Kingsurf, the question that raged through the DotA community was about bias. Were the European admins intentionally or unintentionally bias for the Greek team 1UP or bias against the Malaysian Kingsurf? Xiaogui says no, ¡°¡this is a version problem, I don¡¯t blame them.¡± However, Kingsurf does hope that the way in which future incidents are investigated is changed to prevent a problem like this from happening again.
Maybe one day the playing field will level. Short of a LAN event that everyone can attend it unlikely there will ever be a good answer to hosting. Xiaogui says that changing perceptions is an issue that exists beyond the DotA world, and there is little a team can do to change it. But Kingsurf is optimistic, maybe things will never change, but as Xiaogui said, ¡°We never stop hoping.¡±