Uncle Rico
2010-08-23 02:50:36
I'm here in the van with a true legend of HL2DMU flame wars, conservative fireball, and sometimes stubborn ol' coot, Impala. How are you, Impala?
I am just fine, no better.
Would you care for a piece of candy? I have Tootsie Rolls, candy corn, Jolly Ranchers, M&M's...
M&Ms for sure. They are diet food for me.
They may make you a little dizzy. Don't worry, it will pass.
Impala, you seem to be really passionate about many topics, and don't seem to have a problem defending your position on a variety of matters. Have you always been as tenacious as a bulldog when it comes to a fight?
Yup. I am an argumentative jerk and always have been. When my finely tuned Bullshit meter goes off, i'm ready to call it.
In an actual fight, i am experienced, tricky, and ropey.
I know you spent a great deal of time in the military. Tell us a little about that.
Not a great deal of time. I was four years in the Infantry on an airborne contract, Airborne School, Air Assault School at Fort Campbell and almost 2 years in a crap Mech unit in Mannheim, Germany. I was part of the replacement for 3/502d that crashed in Gander killing 200 and something Screaming Eagles. No combat but a few hair raising training deals that almost got me dead. I had a lot of fun in the service. Ultimately, it's too restrictive for me. My family on every side has a long history of military service.
Enough personal stuff. Let's get down to gaming. You've been around HL2DM for a long time. What's your opinion of the game and community now, as opposed to when you started playing?
The game still blows my mind. The physics, 3d quality, the movement... there is so much to learn, even before you get to map tactics. I did not grow up playing video games. This is the only game i play on any regular basis. I do all the FPS that come out but they are all so walk and shoot. One dimensional.
The community is great. There are some great people and some hooligans, which is fine. My No.1 rule is don't expect perfection.
People do come and go, probably any community. And some really great players are also some of the oddest folks i have met.
In general, the DM community is a pretty intelligent bunch (with the exception of Voz, et al). I like that. An interesting bunch.
The game has steadily become swifter and more violent. In that, i mean it's about violent fast collision, where nades, shotty, orbs, take down folks very quickly.
Movement and circuits and collisions play such a role. I don't know when the game became all shotty, but probably due to movement and collision.
What weapon could you not live without in HL2DM?
GGun. Otherwise, the whole game is less dimensional. Its one of the things that makes the player really interact with the game environment, more so than any other game.
Imagine the game without radiator kills, gnades, catching or deflecting orbs/nades...even grav jumping.
Definitely GGun. I would just play COD or w/e without it.
A while back, in a thread (http://www.hl2dm-university.com/forum/p ... 39&p=73413), a youngster chirped you and he ended up getting his ass handed to him by a few people. How did you feel when the community jumped in to back you up?
I thought it was cool and slightly sad, all at the same time. I felt kinda sorry for him. I don't really know where the comment came from in the first place, in less he just happens to hate my guts, which shouldn't be easy. I am a nice guy and never ever hold a grudge.
He got jumped pretty bad and i was a little shocked and gratified by the response. I didn't know how i should respond though. Thanks guys for...seemed too much.
You've been helping out with the draft lately. How is that going? Are you enjoying your role in it?
The Draft is happening. Folks seem to enjoy it. I like that. Enjoying my role in it? No, not really. I enjoy Indian Food, Margaritas, Friends...
I get some satisfaction that we have set up a system that seems to work well and organize the thing so others can enjoy.
That is what i like and what i do really well. I think outside the box, implement ideas, and organize work.
Do you think HL2DM in North America will ever have a viable league or is this game just cursed and there is no hope?
No, it will never have a viable anything. Its all conmmunity. For those that are better than noobs, there is hardly a server left to play on. Even clans with 15 folks have trouble getting 2 to play on any basis. The Draft is the only thing i see hanging around. There are not enough top players in North America (which includes Canada) to support a robust league.
All the recent leagues seem to have crashed or resulted in the same folks doing what they do, which is hardly a healthy situation.
The game doesn't make money for Valve, so i wouldn't expect anything from them.
If they redesign it and add Meson cannons and jet packs, EMP grenades, and leave in the movement or simplify it, like Painkiller, that might be something.
HL2DM is quite an old game and eventually, though some will fight 'til the end, it will fizzle out and die. How do you see the final days of the game?
Old and wizened, my arthritic spine curved over the board, my misshapen Advil fueled fingers fumbling with a mouse, probably with my teeth in a glass right there, cursing the shotty hacks. "Godamned shotty!!! ya young whippersnapper!"
All things must end.
Tell me about one of your favorite HL2DM experiences.
Getting owned so badly in FIOS. Somehow, i had played this game for a year without seeing one bit of the dark side. I stumbled around EE, Dez, Ratz, 24 Runoff.
One night, i saw someone leap over the railing in LD and was "Huh!""
So, i enter FIOS, no bunnyhop, no experience playing good players.
Lord Slashstab hid slams all over Powerhouse and was laughing.
I think it was Nate was slamming me into a corner.
Luke camped the long hallway and charger and i don't think i had a kill.
Bobadin scared the crap out of me, playing across the fucking ceiling like he does.
Dax Kaiser, Cleric, Twitch, Oozy, all these folks i'd never seen... it didn't stop.
Even some scrubs got in the action.
I changed my config and started to learn the Strafe Jumping, which took forever.
But entering FIOS, i was delusional.
If there was one person in the community that you could dick punch, without any repercussions, who would that be?
There are always repercussions. Think i'll pass. You don't telegraph a dick-punch.
Really? No free punch in the junk? Even Valiums or one of the other godless heathens?
I don't dislike Valiums. He isn't the first young person going to University who thinks they know it all. One has to be careful with what they think they know and often Higher Education exists in a bubble to a large extent. 10 years of real world often leads folks to other conclusions later on.
And i have a healthy ego, so understand him.
I follow 2 rules: 1. Don't expect perfection from Human Beings.
2. Never hold a grudge unless someone proves they are a complete louse.
Anyone you want to thank, praise, cuss or high five before we go?
Thank You for the interview and i appreciate everyone.
That does it for this edition of "In the Van". I'd like to thank my guest, Impala, for participating. You're looking a little sleepy, Impala, maybe you should have a seat. Those M&M's can make you a little drowsy. Tune in next time, when I invite some poor, unsuspecting soul into my van with the promise of candy.
