I’m being Original here.

I’m being original here… Or am I? Today, we’re discussing the Original, the rocket launcher that reminds us all of the good old days, where rocket jumping was something new and grenades weren’t limited to a drunk, black, Scottish Cyclops. While we’re at it, we’ll be answering the question of whether the Original is a reskin of the Rocket Launcher or not…

Or will we?

Alright. The Original was released as a promotional item for Quake 4 in August 2011, and became droppable, tradable purchasable and craftable on August 9th 2011, like most other weapons. It’s a nice, futuristic-looking weapon, that brings back memories to the few who remember the game Quake and the slightly more people who remember the original Team Fortress. Apart from being a sexy reskin, the Original’s feature that makes it, heh, original, is that the view model is in the center of the screen, unlike the normal rocket launcher. It also uniquely fires from the center of the screen, instead of the left or right.

So, let’s get this clear right now. The Original can’t be a reskin because it doesn’t function in exactly the same way as the Stock Rocket Launcher. Stock fires from the right while the Original fires from the center. See, different! Okay, it looks the same from the point of the world model (i.e. what everyone else sees) but that’s not as important.

Now, there are some upsides and downsides with this. With rockets firing from the side, it gives you the ability to fire around corners. Nah, I’m kidding, but it does allow you to edge around some corners, firing from the relative safety of a wall. You peek out, fire a rocket and hide again. This is limited slightly by the Original, but just a bit.

The upside is that everything from rocket jumping to aim in general is slightly easier, since you’re firing straight down the middle. When you rocket jump, you’re firing directly at your own feet rather than slightly to the side. And you can still edge around corners, just not as far as with Stock.

Alright, I understand, some of you may disagree. It’s all personal preference really, and if you’ve used stock your entire life, you probably won’t like the Original. Personally, as someone who can’t aim, the straightness of the Original seems to have an effect on me. I aim far better from the center than from the side. It’s possibly the placebo effect or something similar but since I’ve used the Original, I’ve actually managed to do a couple of airshots.

Speaking of airshots, there’s nothing more amusing than shooting your Trolldier brother out of the air and watching his virtual gibs rain down on his team mates below.