MP - Etiquette - How to behave correctly!

[Tomisama]

This part bothered me a bit.

•Saying gg FOR your opponent when he/she is clearly defeated is NOT good manners. A pre-emptive gg is the equivalent of kicking dirt in the eyes of someone and laughing while they are on the ground, broken and bleeding. Don't be a jerk; gg only when YOU surrender.

Up until “today”; a “good game” was a “good game”, win or lose.

If both players exchange this equal recognition at the end of the game, they leave in appreciation of each other.

It is the same as offering “good luck” as you enter.

Failing to offer either is a slap in the face, and people who do not offer them are in my book, are disrespectful.

To the best of my limited knowledge, these expressions have been a Total War tradition for almost 12 years now.

And they appear in The Code, represented by the following:

* To enter the game with a salute, and leave with a salutation, consistent with good sportsmanship.

What could be better sportsmanship that whishing your opponent “good luck” before battle, and acknowledging their efforts in the match with a “good game” after the battle is finished, no matter who won or lost.

And winning can “not” be the ultimate goal of multiplayer, or you will eventually destroy the player pool and devastate the game.

The superior objective is to build a strong community that appreciates all players, and encourages growth and development.

The motive for this can be purely selfish, as to insure you will always have opponents, or magnanimous, to insure all will be able to enjoy the game as much as you do.

The result is the same…

Now I can change my ways; but I think that it would be a terrible loss to the quality of the game

[Kekvit Irae]

Up until “today”; a “good game” was a “good game”, win or lose.

If both players exchange this equal recognition at the end of the game, they leave in appreciation of each other.

There is a difference between saying gg AFTER your opponent bows out, and saying gg BEFORE your opponent.

Example 1:
Player 1 (the loser): gg
Player 2 (the winner): gg

This example is a form of good etiquette. It's like highfiving the other ball team after a game.

Example 2:
Player 2 (the winner): gg
Player 1 (the loser): gg

Player 2 is an example of bad manners. It's like saying "you haven't accepted defeat yet, so I'm going to pre-emptively throw it out for you because I owned you so hard." This is what's called an Offensive GG.

You can read more about proper etiquette for a gg at TeamLiquid's wiki: http://wiki.teamliquid.net/starcraft2/Gamer_Etiquette

[Tomisama]

There is a difference between saying gg AFTER your opponent bows out, and saying gg BEFORE your opponent.

A fuller explaination.

Thank you, and well done



Edit: Unfortunately in the majority of recent match-made games, the losers bail as soon as they see what is going to happen, and we never get a chance to exchange words.

In that case would it be proper to extend a “well played” (wp) in advance if you felt it was deserved?

Then we might be able to squeeze a gg out of them to respond to

[Kekvit Irae]

A fuller explaination.

Thank you, and well done



Edit: Unfortunately in the majority of recent match-made games, the losers bail as soon as they see what is going to happen, and we never get a chance to exchange words.

In that case would it be proper to extend a “well played” (wp) in advance if you felt it was deserved?

Then we might be able to squeeze a gg out of them to respond to

You really shouldn't throw out anything until the opponent does so first. Even a pre-emptive wp can be seen as offensive. If the opponent bails early, then its their loss and you really shouldn't drag yourself down to their levels. When in doubt, wait. If you're playing against someone you know who knows you in kind, then feel free to throw out that pre-empt, as your opponent will know you're good for it. The same does not hold true to random matchmaking opponents. More often than not, if you throw up a glhf at the beginning of the game, then that will signal to the opponent that you at least know about etiquette... but since TW is worlds apart from the competitive scene of Brood War or SC2, your mileage may vary.

However, as far as congratulating your opponent, as long as it's not done as an offensive gg or such, then feel free to banter (again, providing it's not done to distract the enemy). For example, in StarCraft 2 I usually throw out a "nice defend" if my attack fails and the opponent defended quite well. I don't consider this type of banter to be distracting (unlike questions), and require no response.

[Ludens]

I am a bit surprised that GG could be offensive. I thought it was just a general politeness. Doesn't that trip up a lot of newbies who are trying to be polite?

Thanks for the warning, anyway.

[King David X]

I am a bit surprised that GG could be offensive. I thought it was just a general politeness. Doesn't that trip up a lot of newbies who are trying to be polite?

Well, it depends how you look at it. While I'm not big into competitive, multiplayer strategy gaming, I do come from the world of MMORPGs, and there is a similar convention there. Using World of Warcraft because it's the largest and most recognized example, let's say I'm in a Battleground fighting against players of the enemy faction. I stumble across a very weak player, one who I can easily dispatch. If I throw out a "gg" before we even engage, it could be considered a sign of disrespect, as I'm immediately dismissing his value as an opponent. Basically, I'm saying "this fight is over before it has even begun." If someone were to do that to me in a Total War battle, after I spent time customizing and optimizing my army, studying strategies, trying to improve, etc., it would most definitely be offensive.

Let's put it in a Total War context, then. Say I'm in a tight-pitched battle, one that could go either way, but I slip and leave my general rather exposed. My opponent is positioned to kill my general, and he knows that once he does, my battered infantry units will break and the battle will effectively be his. It could be considered rude for him to say "gg" before he sends his troops in to slay my general; it shows some arrogance on his part based on the assumption that his men will be successful in killing my general. If, however, my leader was able to escape and I proceeded to thrash the rest of his forces, he'd be quite embarrassed for saying "gg" before the battle was determined. Just equate "gg" in that context to "You're done", "It's over", or "Go home." The same applies to "wp."

Well, that's how I understand it. Even I, who trudged through the droves of immature kids in WoW, can still get mad if someone says "gg" before it's clearly evident that he's won. If there's still a chance for me to win, I don't like him writing me off as a loser, so to speak. The real issue here is one of intent, and you should take into account what a person meant instead of only what he said.

[Kekvit Irae]

I am a bit surprised that GG could be offensive. I thought it was just a general politeness. Doesn't that trip up a lot of newbies who are trying to be polite?

If it was a newbie mistake, and you know it was one, then that's perfectly understandable. The best course of action at that point would be to (POLITELY) teach them the rules of proper etiquette if they are willing to learn.

Well, it depends how you look at it. While I'm not big into competitive, multiplayer strategy gaming, I do come from the world of MMORPGs, and there is a similar convention there. Using World of Warcraft because it's the largest and most recognized example, let's say I'm in a Battleground fighting against players of the enemy faction. I stumble across a very weak player, one who I can easily dispatch. If I throw out a "gg" before we even engage, it could be considered a sign of disrespect, as I'm immediately dismissing his value as an opponent. Basically, I'm saying "this fight is over before it has even begun." If someone were to do that to me in a Total War battle, after I spent time customizing and optimizing my army, studying strategies, trying to improve, etc., it would most definitely be offensive.

GG depends on the context.

You threw out WoW as an example. In WoW BGs (and everywhere else in the game) you are unable to speak to the other faction. In this case, when your communication is restricted to just one side, GG can really mean "good game" instead of "I surrender" or "I accept your surrender." Even so, it can be seen as a jerk move (depending on context) to throw out a GG if you're losing. If your intention is to say "Good game, well played guys. We'll get them next time," then it's perfectly alright. However, if you throw out something like "gg no re" (I surrender, I don't want a rematch), then that is totally a jerk move because not only are you saying it was a bad game, but you're also insulting the people who fought along side you.

Now let's contrast two other games as an example: League of Legends and StarCraft 2.
StarCraft 2 is very cut and dry; if you exit a game, then your opponent automatically wins and you are taken to the score screen. No further communication is possible unless you decide to private message the other person. Therefor, it is important that the surrendering player makes his intention known before leaving the game and the victor to wait for that surrender.
League of Legends is worlds different. If the enemy team loses their nexus or votes to surrender early, then you've got a few seconds left before you're booted to a chatroom with the entire game's players. Because someone doesn't automatically lose when they leave (they can reconnect at any time), the fact that there's a few second delay between the surrender/nexus destroyed and the boot to the score screen, and the fact that you have an after-game chatroom, throwing up a gg regardless of who won or lost is not bad manners. However it has to come after the surrender/nexus, otherwise it WILL be seen as a jerk move. In LoL's case, gg'ing before the enemy but after the surrender/nexus is perfectly fine as etiquette.