Yes, I know that. That's why I said I think it "should be mentioned in the announcements/specific rules of future Nations Cups", since, as I've said repeatedly (and has been the main point of my earlier posts), it would be easy for a team leader to think the NATIONS Cup would be an exception to such a thing. Although I understand it probably would have been too limited or less catchy, had it been called the "European Nations Cup" there would have been less room for confusion.

I played in the ETF2L Highlander Challenge, I've led teams in 3 seasons of ETFL2 HL, and I've led a team in a ETF2L HL Fun Cup - and before this thread I thought the goal of the Nations Cup was to involve as many countries as possible, much like the goal of the HL Challenge had been to introduce new players from across the world into highlander. The reason I posted to this thread in the first place is because I was discussing the ping situation with a European friend who plays for a Euro National HL team (and has more than once), and he too wasn't sure why fair pings weren't sought out. I might be an American who pays more attention to the American HL scene, but he's an involved Euro player who also thought the Nations Cup was an invitation to all countries.

It almost feels like you're replying to me as though I'm trying to nitpick or say that ETF2L is in the wrong. I'm not. As awesome as it would be to have a true, fair Nations or Worlds Cup or something of the sort, I don't think there is anything wrong with ETF2L wanting it to be mainly for the European countries. I just think that given its name, it doesn't hurt to be more specific about that fact when opening up the event and inviting teams to join.

Ultimately, it's up to you guys. Maybe you don't think enough people could possibly be confused to include a sentence on the announcements for the Cups about the Cup's Eurocentricity or to simply include the aforementioned line from the General Rules to reiterate that the event is aimed at Europeans. I'm content in knowing that I've pointed out something I believe could be improved upon, plus there exists the possibility that players who do get confused will find and read this thread and have a better understanding of all the Nations Cup is and isn't.

UGC currently has 66 active HL teams from Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and South America. I'm sure many of those team leaders would qualify to put together a team for the Nations Cup and it wouldn't be unreasonable for many of them to be surprised they would be forced to play only in Europe for something entitled "The Nations Cup".

I'm not trying to argue policy here, I'm merely saying that it should either be a global Nations Cup with fair pings, or it should be mentioned in the announcements/specific rules of future Nations Cups that the event is designed for European countries and that although countries outside Europe are welcome, they are expected to play on European servers and times. It's not a clarification needed for every tournament ETF2L holds; it's only needed for the one(s) whose name suggests it encompasses more than Europe. That's it. One small sentence which could potentially save a bit of hassle and/or frustration for people down the line.

It wouldn't be the easiest to manage, but it is certainly possible. That aside, I believe the confusion stems from the event being called the "Nations Cup" for "the best players of each country to band together and prove their country is the best at Highlander!". Neither the opening announcement nor the updated announcement mention that this is mainly aimed at European countries.

If this is the case, then I'd suggest future Cups include that bit of info to help countries outside of Europe understand why, if they choose to enter, they will be probably be playing with a handicap. As I said in my original post, it makes sense that non-European teams would have to adapt for normal competitions, but I think for something called "The NATIONS Cup", a little more explanation would help.

While I think the more unfortunate aspects of today's match were due to Steam being difficult, the ping differences do raise an interesting question.

In normal ETF2L competitions it makes sense that teams have to play on European servers unless both teams agree to play elsewhere since ETF2L is a European league.

However-

I don't think this rule makes the most sense when applied to the ETF2L Nations Cups. The goal of the Nations Cups is to get countries from all over the world involved, but, with this rule in place, European teams (unless they are incredibly generous) will always have the ping advantage over teams from Australia, New Zealand, Korea, Canada, Brazil, the United States, etc. For these cups, why not use a server equidistant between both countries, or, at the very least, alternate between servers for each map?

Oh, the envy I am feeling right now. I've led 3 comp teams and each one was named after an OK Go song. Such a fun band.

Anyway, that's really cool you got to hang out with them and it's a nice picture of both you and Damian.

Didn't he say on the TOTH stream he's been working on DOTA2 for some time and, for the most part, lately he hasn't been involved in TF2?

Another great read, Argo.

Try this, maybe? http://www.edge-gamers.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-206816.html

Those are some gorgeous graphics. Also, the article is a good read.

Thanks for another great article.

If you do nothing else, at least give this man some frags. He could have been out chin wagging/eating Twiglets/having a round with some mates/blokes/chaps/chums/lads or snogging some girl(bird? lass? I have no idea) but instead he penned a 2,000 word essay for us duffers/pillocks/berks. Let's honour his sacrifice and dedication with frags, extra "u"s, poorly used British slang, and perhaps even some feedback.

I guess I'll start.

Excellent article. Or as they say in my neck of the woods, "wicked awesome article". And let me just mention (because I suspect it was a pain for you to do) - beautiful formatting. Also, I'm going to choose to believe that your article title was an homage to my UGC "Let's Talk About Lower Platinum" thread which was sadly killed before its time earlier this week. Fair warning, I'm going to continue believing this even if you tell me otherwise.

I have to wonder if it is really just ETF2L 6's that is seeing a decline. Keeping strictly to the Euro end of things, ETF2L HL seems to have seen fewer team signups over the last few seasons...and then there is the struggling UGC Euro divisions. However, is it possible that there are the same number of players (or more) in competitive TF2 but they are simply spread out amongst too many leagues? ETF2L HL & 6s, UGC HL & 6s, Wireplay HL & 6s, ESEA, and CEVO are all targeting mostly the same pool of people. What's more, each league’s scheduling is not always compatible with the scheduling of the other leagues, which forces people to pick and choose more so than they might otherwise do.

Whatever the case, you are absolutely correct in that the competitive community can not survive without new players. Like a lot of highlander players, my introduction to comp TF2 came from ETF2L's Highlander Challenge, and I hope the Highlander Open is able to generate similar interest in players unfamiliar with competitive TF2. It’s not a solution, but I think it's part of one.

Anyway, that's my two cents/two-penn'orth.

I would have agreed until I watched the fourth season of Arrested Development where their continuity errors just kept taking my head out of the story. That (as well as some odd personality changes in the main characters) nudged Archer ahead for me. I'd love to see AD redeem itself with a new season though.

I like how they have so many AD voices in Archer too. Justified has done with same thing with actors from Deadwood - I'm pretty sure they've had around a dozen of them on. They've also had a bunch of folk from Band of Brothers. And for some reason, Justified loves hiring people known for comedic roles and putting them in really intense, often dramatic scenes. Oddly enough, it seems to work really well.

Sleepy Hollow is surprisingly good. It tends to neatly sidestep plot clichés/tropes, and it works hard at being consistent.

Carnivàle is an older, complicated fantasy show with great acting and cinematography - but keep in mind it was cancelled before its storyline was complete.

Wonderfalls had fantastical elements and was a cute & quirky little show. It only had one season but it was an enjoyable one.

It's been a while, but I seem to recall the first season of Witchblade being entertaining, and the second a bit of a letdown.

Supernatural is campy fun that's smart enough to know when not to take itself seriously, but can still pull off some good drama (and annoying melodrama). It's too uneven to be a great show, but given it's about to enter its 10th season, that unevenness is probably inevitable.

American Horror Story has great acting and a fantastic premise...but because of terrible plotting/writing I can't in good conscience recommend it. (Sadly, I feel like I can say this about any Ryan Murphy show.)

Archer is smart and hilarious animated action fun. And my god do they know how to keep continuity, as well as how to utilize callback jokes better than most any other show (sorry, Arrested Development).

Of the suggestions from other posters, I've watched Doctor Who, Sherlock, Battlestar Galactica, and Agents of Shield. While Doctor Who and Sherlock are two of my favorite shows of all time, you'll probably find Battlestar Galactica shares more in spirit with Game of Thrones than the others (I haven't seen Rome, but Rome also looks like it's in the same vein, and *maybe* House of Cards as well). Personally, Agents of Shield hasn't quite won me over yet. If you want to go Whedon (and not have to watch several seasons), I'd suggest Dollhouse over Agents of Shield (so far, at least).

Arrow is on my to-watch list as is Hannibal, Merlin, Bitten, and Teen Wolf (just to see what the hype is about). Orphan Black looks fantastic and I suspect it might be the exact show the OP is looking for, but since I haven't seen it yet, I can't say for sure. I tried Once Upon a Time and Grimm, but I'm a huge fan of the comic series Fables (the basis for Telltale's Wolf Among Us game) and as a result I couldn't help but make unfavorable comparisons between the shows and the comic. My guess is that someone who isn't familiar with Fables will get more out of those shows than I can.

Even though it doesn't share much in common with the other shows I've listed, I'd be remiss if I didn't add my current favorite show, Justified. It's a show with great acting, fantastic dialogue, and a sneaky, snarky sense of humor. Episodes 2 thru 6 of the first season are a bit weaker than the rest of the series, but the show picks up in episode 7 and then just doesn't stop. It's the perfect kind of show for fans of Breaking Bad, The Wire, and True Detective to enjoy. It has two episodes left in its current season before it gears up for its sixth and final season (the network wanted it to run longer, but the showrunners didn't want to risk the quality of the show degrading) and now is the perfect time to catch-up. Unfortunately, the one bad thing about Justified is that it's only available to stream on Amazon and not Netflix.

Finally, if you want to watch something while you're figuring out what you should watch - and I know this happens to a lot of us - Whose Line is it Anyway is currently airing new episodes. It's a bit more formulaic than it was back in the day of Clive Anderson and Twiglets, but there's an energy to it that the Drew Carey years had started to lack.

A treat to read as always. Thanks for another great write-up, Argo.

Makes me laugh more that any other forum poster. Loves the game is and is always working on improving. Could be Batman.