Over the last 3.5-4ish years I have been a cook and a colonel, my score means very little to me nowadays, I know what kind of player I am and I don't need my score to validate that. I might reconsider that position and really try to increase my rank one day for fun or for sport but, with the scoring system, medals, not everyone having all the available tools, etc... the way all that is set up, it actually encourages farming and discourages open competition the way it used to be and I miss that....I love the invite feature don't mistake me, however public games are virtually non-existent, creating a somewhat unrealistic representation of an individual players' true skill. My point to that statement is that I met new people all the time (before invites) out of necessity and learned good team play because I never had the same partners, that was fun to me. I guess that could be argued fairly easily because people tend to stay within their comfort zone no matter what they do....and now I am the same way actually, I would rather play within my circle of partners if you will, (lol, where it's safe) it is still fun to me but its a different experience.
I stay for the clan.
I stay because new maps are fun to learn and my most prized achievement is my 100% crossmap (very close to at least 10 UD on all 164 actually)
I stay because of the friends I have made.
I stay because every once and awhile I get into one hell of a dogfight in a game and I really enjoy the competition.
I stay because winning a game is still a rush.
I stay because my regular partners crack me up and it's refreshing everyday to visit the (clan) forum, those guys a re funny bastards.
I find myself looking for more ways to be involved, I would like, for example to volunteer as a mod or something for team CC; I suppose I am thinking if I broaden my experience, the excitement and "new site smell" will linger, longer.
Medals did it for me for awhile but, some of the ways one can achieve a medal (really I mean multiple medals, ie: tourney creation) makes them less "valuable" in my mind now. The dice lately, make me want to throw my laptop, seriously. The cheating and the ridiculously stupid play from some users make me want to light my hair on fire and then beat it out with a hammer. The point system is antiquated. The GD forum is a mess with nonsense. Among other things..............
I am starting to understand why you are asking, I'll think on it more and get back to you MARF.
One more reason I stay....it's cheaper than the bar and I get in way less trouble playing CC all the time.