With that title I already know that I'll get hate but maybe it'll attract more people who understand and would like to help.

Ok so since the 2nd of May nobody has been able to get into a game. Nobody can play right now. And there's no solution without the help of someone else except for waiting.

"Waiting? How do you know that it'll even start working again and Valve isn't just shutting the console version down?" You might wonder.

Well, this has happened at least once before. The game was probably down for close to 2 months and then it came back. Out of nowhere. It started working again. So maybe we can speed up this process right now or at least get someone to look into this by getting this post at least a little bit of attention. (Which I doubt will happen, because not many people on here would care, or even Valve themselves) But it's worth a try. I really don't know what to do.

I quickly wanna explain how the matchmaking works. If you don't care you can skip this part. I don't wanna make this too long.

The way it works is, you click on search and it puts you into a random lobby with other players. Or if all the games are full, it'll put you in a game with bots and people then can automatically join that game by searching for a match. Alternatively you could join a friend, but since no one can find even a game with bots, it's not possible. It'll just search for hours and nothing happens if you try to play.

A friend of mine has already contacted steam support and they said they are going to pass it to the CS:GO devs and are going to look into it. But I don't have much faith and I wanna try more to get help as fast as possible.

If someone on here knows someone like a dev or a CS:GO personality that I can contact, that might be able to help in any way. Or some other way that we can resolve this situation quicker than last time. It would be very helpful and all the console players would be very thankful.

EDIT: MAY 2 NOT MARCH! Sorry it's pretty late here.

Hi guys!

So I'm excited to share the beginning of a new passion project! I felt like there were a lot of conversations that I wanted to have, ones that I feel like you guys would enjoy, and I myself am a big fan of the podcast format. You can currently listen here: https://soundcloud.com/ddk-1

I'd love to hear some feedback to help me direct the progression of the podcast. My aim is to have conversations that illuminate the nuances of esports and professional play; naturally the focus is on CS:GO with the majority of my guests coming from this space.

The first episode, with Sean Gares, is focused on trying to explore and expand upon ideas in IGL'ing and I tried a more interview-type format for this. We didn't get to half of the topics I wanted to cover, so we will be following up on this in a part 2 which we'll try to record in the next couple weeks. I'll switch to a more conversational style.

The second episode, which was much more conversational, was a discussion with Launders about being an analyst; we discuss mindsets, difficulties, methodologies, and more. Definitely a good one!

I have a lot of growth to do as a podcaster, but I'm really excited by this format.

I recorded these with the rode podcaster and as you can tell there were some issues with the audio, but it should be quite listenable regardless. I'll be focusing on trying to improve the quality as much as possible in this regard. I have a studio level recording setup in London, but I'm currently recording using my travel setup (rode podcaster) and my laptop with adobe audition / audacity / discord. I will add the bells and whistles and potentially a website, I just wanted to get the episodes out there for feedback.

I hope you guys enjoy this, and to maximise your enjoyment, I would love to hear any suggestions on the following:

Format / duration, distribution, tweaks, advice, monetisation, guests, topics, and anything else that comes to mind.

If anyone is also interested in helping me as far as sound editing or branding goes, I'm currently looking for people who could assist, particularly with branding, actually.

Thank you so much!

edit 1: https://anchor.fm/ddk - I'll use this as the distribution platform for the time being.

Business idea. How popular would an airsoft place be if every map were an actual counter strike map, such as Inferno and Dust 2 for starters, and they were actually run in 5 v 5 games with allowance for "flash bangs" and smokes?

Honestly been thinking about starting up an airsoft place once I get out of the military and the idea has just hit me that this could be a big hit.

I've seen many people complaining about Mercy's new skin, saying "OMG this skin is so fucking expensive Blizzard why".

First of all: if you can't afford the skin or if you'd buy it for less money, it'd be a great idea to donate that money you'd pay to any breast cancer charity (or any charity for that matter!). The more money we can get to them, the closer we'll be to winning the fight against breast cancer.

Second of all: if you're just here to complain, remember that some games like Fortnite sell skins for around $20 each, and NONE OF THAT MONEY goes to charity, as far as we know. This skin is just a gift that Blizzard gives you for helping against breast cancer.

I'm not pulling a gun to your head saying that you should buy the skin or you're a heartless monster, I'm just saying that instead of complaining, take a few seconds to grab as much as you can, even if it's a few cents, and donate it to breast cancer. Every little money we can get means A LOT.

Thank you everyone and I really hope that one day we can beat ALL cancer once and for all. <3

http://prntscr.com/jfe5e5

100% of the purchases will go to the Research Foundation! Great skin for a great cause.

Edit: Imgur Album for those not able to view atm: https://imgur.com/a/fvxaGsH

To start, I should say that Overwatch has been a positive influence on my life overall. When the community is good, it's great! I've formed many lasting friendships, and I'm currently in a relationship of almost a year with someone I met through the game.

But Overwatch has a problem with women. Not all players are like that--not even the majority. But enough assholes are loud enough to ruin the experience for so many girls I know, and we as a community can do better.

I'm a woman. I like to play comp, and I get on voice to make call-outs and provide encouragement. For the most part, it's fine and we all have a good time (except when the enemy Junkrat somehow gets his ult every push.) But there are times when teammates get toxic in a way that doesn't get applied to male players. And sometimes the very presence of a female voice in the chat is enough to set people off--it's not funny when you ask me if I'll send nudes, or if I'll perform an obscene act for you. (Even if you're "joking," it's really not funny, I promise.) It's grating to be continually asked if I'm a Mercy main since I'm a girl, or for you to demand that I pocket you. (I don't play Mercy. Sorry. How about Lucio?)

It's especially not funny to be harassed, to have people make videos of them "trolling" me (and to receive dozens of hateful messages after), to be told to kill myself, to be called a bimbo and a slut and much, much worse. I've blocked people who then make multiple accounts to continually harass me. When playing with my girlfriend, we've been called all kinds of sexist epithets, plus an extra helping of homophobia when they find out we're dating.

And despite all this, I still get on mic and speak. Partly because I'm not about to let a few sweaty manchildren ruin my gaming experience, but partly because it's more than just me. Time and time again, I've had other girls timidly get on mic when they hear my voice and express their relief at hearing another girl. They say they don't usually talk out of fear, but that it's nice to hear a friendly voice. People say that there aren't any girl gamers, but that couldn't be further from the truth--you've just create a climate where they're too scared to talk, because many of them have experienced the same things as me.

I know most of you are decent people. I'm lucky to have a close circle of players who are talented, kind people. But we as a community need to do a better job of standing up against this kind of poor behavior. More than just reporting it when you see it (although I wholly recommend doing that): make it known that you don't tolerate sexist conduct. Even a simple "hey man, that's not cool" can both (1) let the harasser know that their behavior isn't condoned and (2) let the harassee know that decent people do exist. The silence of complicity and the silence of dissent sound the same--speak up to make your true colors shine.

So please: be mindful, foster an environment that welcomes female players, and don't forget to push the payload!

ETA: Thanks for the (mostly) supportive response, I appreciate it! It means a lot to me that the average person still knows how to be polite. Like I said, it's the good eggs who make this community what it is.

A couple people have said things akin to "this is the internet, grow a thicker skin, etc." I'm well aware of how the internet can be, and I do have a tremendously thick skin as a result. It's not me I'm worried about; a lot of people don't have such a thick skin, and it's those girls who aren't as hardened as I am who really suffer. Just because I'm a hardened shrew doesn't mean we all have to be.

People have also said things akin to "if you don't want to be subject to homophobic harassment when you're playing with your girlfriend, you shouldn't announce to people that you guys are dating." Aside from putting the blame on me (which I think is unfair), I don't think these people understand the dynamics at play. It's not like I announce to everyone "Hey guys, this is my girlfriend! We are dating!" (although I really ought to, because she's a phenomenal woman). What generally happens is one of us will refer to other as "babe" during a game (e.g., "nice Deadeye, babe"), then someone asks if we're dating, and then all hell breaks loose.

Also, every person who responded to this post with "shut up Mercy bitch" just proved my point. I know you think you're hilarious but you're not gonna get a comedy special for your scathing wit.

I mean I don't have very high hopes but it'd be really nice to see at some point. I'd definitely buy that along with the mercy breast cancer awareness skin.

Link: https://www.bcrf.org/

However, if you want to be rewarded with a skin for your donation, you have to donate a X or higher amount. I mean, there are so many people involved in this cause doing a lot of things for free without expecting anything in return, you shouldn't be complaining about a donation you don't have to make. I think the way this event in particular is running it's already benefiting everyone involved in the Overwatch community.

Edit: complaining* =_=

It seems that if you log into overwatch right now you get this pop up of a new charity skin "Pink mercy"

https://image.prntscr.com/image/c5jbnRQRSm2arWxZUUI4fQ.png

My wife told be about a post last night of people wanting to see character skins for an evening in Rialto - well maybe you all will enjoy this! I've been doodling some of my favorite OW characters in evening wear for a couple months now! May I present:

CLASSYWATCH - Overwatch characters in evening attire https://imgur.com/gallery/twcZbLZ

Here's a colorized version of Mercy if you're interested: https://imgur.com/gallery/4JLRPhv

Also I added a widowmaker: http://imgur.com/gallery/NLI2xBT

I lost my mom to breast cancer almost exactly a year ago, so seeing Blizzard do this fundraiser is awesome. I'm glad they picked a great charity too. I don't play Mercy much at all, but best $$ I've ever spent on a skin. Thanks Blizzard!

(First of all ignore the quality of my photo)

But I'm absolutely blown away with how nice some of people I've met on overwatch are. I befriended two people just randomly playing some quick play and slowly we became really good friends. We've been playing overwatch together for over a month now and I've always expressed my love for wanting a pink skin for one of my mains. None of them seem to have them. And when I seen this one I was blown away. Not only cause it's a skin I could have only ever imagined. But it's for a cause that it extremely close to my heart, I usually donate my money to this charity when I can so, to see this many people doing the same thing makes me feel extremely happy, even if they are just doing it to get the skin...every little helps right ?. Unfortunately this time i was unable to donate like I usually do . But here i am still expressing my excitement even though I somewhat knew I might not be able to own it use it (and to hopefully raise more awareness for the charity)

Anyway I was playing and speaking to my friend about it and how long I've supported the charity And how much it means to me that my favourite video game are supporting them too... (They also know I love the colour pink and I'm a mercy main, with all of Mercys other items)

I got a notification in my battle net browser telling me I had a gift. And my friend had gifted me the new skin. After hearing how much I support them They said it was the least they could do to support them.

They sure did make a 24 year old man cry.

https://m.imgur.com/cBTZtVF

Not that big'a deal, but slightly annoying. Internet was restarted so took me a minute give or take to get straight into the match.

I think it would spice up creativity in the custom games browser. From what I have seen, it is pretty stale atm.

I feel like this would be a fun little throwback and would allow newer players to experience what it was like when the game first released. Reaper's soul collecting, Mercy huge rez, hanzo scatter, sad Bastion, Doomfist giant punch, Roadhog super hook with one shot, etc.

Obviously nothing competitive, but just a fun game mode in arcade for the anniversary event.