History of Dodgeball

[JotEmI]

I'm doing some research on history of Dodgeball mode and I hope you'll help me. I know that the first DB server ever was [eC]Dodgeball but I'd like to know the exact date when it was started. Also who gave the whole idea of Dodgeball, who made the first maps, when zitro-stats was enabled on[eC]Dodgeball, why and when was it closed. I sent e-mail with this questions to EnEsCe but he is probably to busy working on 1.5.0 version to reply. So I ask you if you could support me with this info. I'd also like to know about any other DB servers, players who played on them, your personal reminescences. I'll put all your memories together in one article.

[BondJamesBond]

Man, I do think it was Avarax who created Dodgeball.. Along with soccer, basketball, etc - but DB was the one that stuck. There were DB servers before EC's, but they were small. I'm trying to think... Almost back to 1.2

I remember I made some very lame DB maps. And the first dodgeball maps were all simple. Two sides, hardly any scenery, a big wall in the middle.

[Rai-Dei]

I'm pretty sure Freeze made Soccer, Volleyball, and Basketball. Not sure about Dodgeball though.

[BondJamesBond]

Ok then, I don't remember so well

[rugburn]

i must no more about dodgeball as i dont play it alot and when i actually do play it  its fun =)

[M.rSnow]

I dont know much about DB but the first time i played it it was an a avarax server.

[Beanjo]

Here's the history of dodgeball to my understanding:

In December 2004, Yukwunhang created a dodgeball map and mode to be played with the m79. Here's his Soldat forums topic from the old forum archive.

About one year later, when someone on IRC showed me the map and idea behind dodgeball in Soldat, a few other people and myself thought it would be much better to use knives.  I do find it hard to believe a year would pass before anyone would think to use knives for the mode, but...  According to my logs, in February 2006, we began testing it privately and shortly after realized that knife CTF with survival mode enabled would be the perfect Soldat dodgeball mode. There was the one map by Yukwunhang but it lacked jets, so I edited the amount of jets and also made the background darker to be able to see knives more clearly.  I modified the speed of the knife to be slightly faster so that it could reach across the map.  To my knowledge, this was the first dedicated knife dodgeball server, and it quickly became very popular when made public.  It was constantly filled (32 slot server since back then one of the Soldat server hosting companies gave a flat rate and not per-slot pricing) with 16 vs 16 dodgeball action... which would be played until the server stop letting people be killed and needed to be restarted.  After running a single-map mapslist for about a month, the server slowly the server got a few more maps from people on our channel.

The name of the server in the lobby was #FU Dodgeball, or some variation of that, for anyone who can remember.  We constantly advertised a graphics and sound mod based on the Dodgeball movie (with Globo Gym vs  Average Joes) made by one of our members, but never felt the need to post on Soldat Forums.  However, you can see people (two from this thread) talking about the server here.

Since many dodgeball servers started popping up and we began to grow tired of the mode, I change the server back to a private normal mode at the end of April 2006.  Afterward, more people made dodgeball servers and also started advertising them on the forums, including EnEsCe and Shoover.  There were a few other unadvertised servers, too.  Playing 16 vs 16 dodgeball with people hiding under dead bodies, jumping into the "hobo pit" and popping out, or just commenting on the game while waiting to get back in was a great time in Soldat.

[Rai-Dei]

I actually remember FU Dodgeball, I was in Panda in those days haha.

[a-4-year-old]

The way I remember it was:

"Hey I got a great idea"
"Uhgg you again"
"Hear me out, we make a map that is really flat, that way we would have to use foxholes and stuff"
"Thats fucking retarded, we are not doing that!"
"Well I don't see you with any good ideas"
"I made climb maps!"
"I said good ideas"
"Fine, why don't we make one that is divided by a shoot-through-poly and throw knives at each other"
"Thats better than that stupid race thing... ok."