Poll: Your Definition of Camping: A 2014 Followup

[Tanner The Monotone]

Before I took a 3 year break from this site, I had a tradition to ask the people of this domain what their definition of camping was once a year and see how it changed.

I can't think of a better way to start using this site again. So, what is your definition of camping?

 

[Neurotic Void Melody]

Woods, fire, tents, accoustic music, drugs and alcohol. (And friends. You don't wanna go alone. People do get the wrong impression).

 

[tippy2k2]

To me, it's hiding in a single spot and waiting for people to accidentally run into you. The Venus Flytrap of gamers.

However, if your objective is to keep that room safe (or a similar choke point in the area), then it is not camping (well....I guess it is technically but it is justifiable camping). Same thing with a sniper (although if you are a sniper camping, you're not being a very good sniper as people will figure it out pretty quick I imagine).

 

[Michel Henzel]

A very easy and effective tactic, that mostly works well against bad players.

 

[Saelune]

I think most people agree on what 'camping' is. I think the problem is whether people consider it a valid tactic or not.

In run-around deathmatch games, it is debatable, but in most objective based games... DEFENDING THE THING ISNT WRONG!

Or do people criticize Hockey goalies for 'camping' too?

 

[Prime_Hunter_H01]

It can be done well or poorly, though I think any complaint of camping is more of wanting an easy out. The "venus flytrap" camper is on the lower end of skill though setting up an ambush it perfectly fine, same with sniping. I think it speaks more on the game if it is such a problem that even high skill players cannot counteract it.

It feels like a non complaint same as the "Noob Tube," people who want skill without planning to be the only deciding factor of winning are complaining about a tool that would allow someone with decent skill and some planning or awareness to compete at the same level. In the same sense, if it is super broken it speaks more on the game itself rather than that player as mindless grenade or RPG spam should be counter-able.

 

[Phoenixmgs_v1legacy]

Every shooter is about camping and is basically a game of tug-of-war over map control. Your goal is always to engage an enemy in combat when you are in a superior position. However, there is good camping and bad camping.

-Good camping
You run out at the start of the match to take a key strategic map point and then you camp it while trying to push up little by little to control even more of the map. You want to camp a route to the objective somewhere between the objective itself and the enemy spawn. You want to stop the enemy BEFORE they get to the objective.

-Bad camping
You don't run out at the start of the match and you start camping right away just trying to get kills. By not running out and trying to take the mid-point of the map at the start, you are basically giving the enemy team map control for free and only making it harder for yourself to win and also get a good KDR. Bad camping actually makes getting a good KDR harder, which is the goal of camping. It's not good for you nor is it good for your team. Also, you don't sit at the objective or behind the objective and camp it, you push up past the objective and camp a route to said objective. It's only a matter of time before an enemy push will wipe out your team, isn't it better to get wiped out in front of the objective so you can spawn in and have a chance at stopping them from capping the objective vs being wiped out at the objective point and having no chance of running back to stop them from capping the objective? Playing the objective is keeping the enemy as far from the objective as possible as every shooter is simply a game of tug-of-war for map control. If you control the map, you'll get the objective.

Anyways, people hate (bad) campers because regardless of what team you are on, they make matches boring and noncompetitive. If my team is full of campers, then my team will get pushed back to our spawn and it'll be a frustrating match. And it's even more frustrating to lose when your team didn't even try to win. If you're on the dominating team, it's boring trying to shoot people camping in their own spawn and afraid to come out and "play".

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

You stay in a good vantage point and pick out other unaware players.

 

[TheMysteriousGX]

If it's working, it ain't camping.

If all you're doing is hanging about a non-vital area not actually playing to mission objectives and just padding your kills/damage, it's camping.

World of Tanks example: that guy who just hangs out in a secure area and gets most of their kills and damage out there after the battle's been decided and the other team is just mopping up the rest of yours. Sure, their damage/kills/metricofthemonth is great, and they'll complain about the noobs who keep losing, but maybe your six kills would've been more useful when the rest of your team was actively fighting the other one.