You know, I now realize I’ve been terribly insensitive to Lute. What first appeared as a handful of posts serving as thinly disguised call for attention and forced respect, was actually a call for help. After looking at his rank and stats (see, I know where you were going with your posts, buddy), I can see the turmoil that must exist for him and the other rank masters. Lute, in his humility, avoids credit for his accomplishments, passing them off as some byproduct of his natural gameplay. But, as the great rank player Voss (perhaps rank’s greatest icon) once noted in a detailed thread, there is actually a lot of work required to rank high consistently month after month. Spawn points to be camped, vulch runs to be made, fights to be accepted or avoided depending on the situation, undefended strats to be bombed from time to time -- a serious amount of thought and effort. And then there is the time, lots and lots of time -- 80 to 90 hours a month devoted to the effort in Lute’s case.
And what does HTC do to reward those rank-focused players, to let us all know who are the rankest of the rank? Not much. Why, large portions of the player base likely don’t even know who Lute is, or the effort he has put forth to be the best of the best. It’s sad to say, and I’m a bit ashamed that many, myself included, never even cared! It must be galling to put in as much time and effort each month as you would to get an undergraduate degree, an MBA or a law degree (part time) and not receive the recognition that you feel is justly deserved. To have to resort to demeaning “look at me, check my scores” BBS posts while lesser men like Drex, Fester, DMF and even that obnoxious Shane get accolades heaped on them by others out of the blue. And for what? They seldom land a kill, never jump in a GV and most seem to end up with a k/d in the 2-1 range. Even a hack like me can do that (with a lot more effort and lower k/t of course…)
So, on behalf of this overlooked core of the community, the AH salt of the earth, I will step forward and say what they are too humble to say. HTC, give these individuals the attention they so desperately crave! I suggest a splash screen when you log into the MA, like the survey pop up only far more grand. It would list the highest ranking players and the highest ranking squads. Maybe each could provide a short bio for those interested (though watch out for those calming to fly for the CIA!). Perhaps the close button would read something, like “Salute, my AH Heroes!” I may be pushing it, but you could even add a special button by each of their names to send them a personal greeting, a “You da Man” kind of thing that would appear in their mailboxes each day like a flood of so many e-birthday cards.
Wow, I feel spent.
Charon
