Revelations of the Soul: total_newbie

Interviewee: total_newbie
Interviewer: Jack English (aka Captain Harloch)
Date: 8th December, 1999 (mid-Beta test)
Reason/Significance: Undoubtedly amongst the best medics in the game, TN goes into great depth on how you too can ascend to the higher echelons of the Medical Fraternity and best of all he gives great tips on how to reduce your punctuation to a bare minimum (the antithesis of pet virus), .

NAME:

total_newbie

DATE FIRST PLAYED INFANTRY:

sometime in the alpha test for about 2 hours, then not until a couple of days after the beta was announced.

COUNTRY OF RESIDENCE:

singapore

REAL NAME (optional):

colin leong

EMAIL:

[email protected]

ICQ UIN:

53618562

EGN UIN:

N/A

SQUADNAME/SITE (if applicable):

One Spirit

WHERE YOU GOT YOUR NAME FROM:

Everyone had to start as a total_newbie sometime in their gaming career.

WHAT RESOLUTION DO YOU PLAY AT:

1152x864 windowed mode.

WHAT CONNECTION DO YOU HAVE:

laggy, overseas 56k modem and slightly-less-laggy-but-expensive overseas DSL.

WHAT PROGRAMS (IF ANY) DO YOU CLOSE WHEN YOU PLAY INFANTRY:

none

WHAT ZONES DO YOU SPEND > 75% OF YOUR TIME:

Infantry: CTF

FAV CHARACTER TYPES (list from 3 - 6 characters):

i dabble in all of the CTF classes.

FOR EACH FAV CHARACTER TYPE, NAME YOUR ULTIMATE WEAPONS SETUP, TAKING INTO ACCOUNT DAMAGE, RELOAD, RECOIL, TERRAIN RESTRICTIONS AND ENCUMBERENCE. AFTER EACH, NAME THE REASONS WHY YOU THINK THESE SETUPS ARE BEST:

at the moment i have no fixed configurations (since yankee's been messing around with the weapon and ammo weights recently).

FOR EACH FAV CHARACTER TYPE, GIVE WHAT YOU CONSIDER THE 3 BEST TACTICS THOSE CHARACTERS CAN USE:

my belief is that the player who adapts to the situation soonest has the advantage. given the variety of terrain/situations in the CTF zones, it's not possible to put a finger on any 'best' tactic. for example, hidden-mining doorways and pathways is a powerful tactic for Infantry/Engineer on defense in Twin Peaks or Callisto Crossfire, but loses its effectiveness on a map like Kliest's Ridge.

it also depends on what your goals as a player are - to get a kickass ratio, to get as many kills as possible, to win the flag game, to kill that lameass who's been bugging you all night, or a combination of the above. to be successful, you have to match the tactic/strategy to your aim.

a few brief examples:
Base medic (TP/CC) - goal: defend base. strat: anchor for base, summoner at the ready, provide healing to defenders, push sterons, stay away from trouble unless in dire straits. quite the no-brainer actually.

High-score infantry - goal: win/loss ratio. strat: fight in groups, always try to get numbers on your side, pick off weaker opponents, back off when outnumbered or outgunned, stay away from suicide missions, mine common-traffic areas. warp back for healing and reloads.

one of my personal tactics as a base-defense infantry is strafe-spraying AR rounds through the doorway. it is more of a support-fire role, but this kind of suppressive fire is effective at keeping heads down (and getting kills off the foolhardy). you don't really need to aim, just keep a constant spread of bullets flying through the path that the enemy has to take to get to your position.

NAME ANYTHING DIFFERENT ABOUT YOUR KEYBOARD CONFIG THAT BETTER YOUR GAMEPLAY:

i wish i had an impressive config to speak of. i use the default setup.

HOW IMPORTANT TO YOUR GAMEPLAY IS STRAFING:

i strafe a lot during battle, it is part of my dodging routine. strafing is also good for fine-tuning sniper-placed shots, and also very good for sliding through base doorways, pre-aiming for those nasty liddle tuwwets. =]

HOW IMPORTANT TO YOUR GAMEPLAY ARE GRENADES (Rep/Frag/Emp):

very little, only as the situation warrants (reps for mines, frags for large groups of enemies crowding at the door, etc).

HOW IMPORTANT TO YOUR GAMEPLAY ARE PORTALS:

moderately. the portal is an excellent way of disorienting your enemy and getting a couple of free rounds off, it's underused IMHO (kinda like sterons).

WHAT DO YOU AIM TO GET BY PLAYING INFANTRY (best rec/high bty/points/fun/best squad/combination):

fun, camaraderie, the satisfaction of being on a good team.

WHO IN YOUR OPINION IS THE BEST MEDIC IN CTF:

Shen-Lon and gambit are top-notch. there are many good medics around; they go about their work unnoticed, and are often mistaken for "idle wankers".

WHO IN YOUR OPINION IS THE BEST INFANTRY IN CTF:

Fluid.

WHO IN YOUR OPINION IS THE BEST JUMP TROOPER IN CTF:

Dysthymia/Phalanx.

WHO IN YOUR OPINION IS THE BEST HEAVY WEAPONS DUDE IN CTF:

Bioplague.

WHO IN YOUR OPINION IS THE BEST COMMANDO IN CTF:

toss-up between KOSH, Python and Ataqer.

WHO IN YOUR OPINION IS THE BEST ENGINEER IN CTF:

AKenCoFish.

WHO IN YOUR OPINION IS THE BEST OVERALL PLAYER IN THE GAME CURRENTLY:

hard to say, there are many outstanding candidates for this position but none really shine out just yet.

WHAT QUALITIES MAKE THIS PERSON SHINE ABOVE THE REST:

by 'best' i mean that person has an excellent grasp of gameplay mechanics, knows exactly what force to bring to bear in each relevant situation, is a solid team player and is well-respected.

WHO IN YOUR OPINION IS THE FUNNIEST PERSON IN INFANTRY:

Yankee.

WHO IN YOUR OPINION IS THE MOST ANNOYING PERSON IN INFANTRY:

Starflare. capslock addicts in general.

WHAT POTENTIAL FUTURE INCLUSIONS IN THE GAME ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO:

the Commander role - i have strong inclinations towards strategy elements, having moved to this game directly from StarCraft.

ON A SCALE OF 1 TO 100, RATE INFANTRY IN ITS CURRENT FORM:

84 - it's almost there. if a game takes up -this- much of my time, it can't be anything less than 80. =]

DOES ROD HUMBLE TITILATE YOU:

his Humbling America page provides an entertaining but thoughtful look through his eyes. good reading for a foreigner like me - taken with a bucket of salt, of course.

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