RTCW 2020 Interview Series: #3 - DeadEye
Virus047: For our next interview we’ve got DeadEye here to give us his input on current world events…. Ehhh actually just kidding. <3 DeadEye! Welcome to the interview! Give the community a quick rundown on the man behind the name? What keeps you coming back for more RTCW?
DeadEye: Walter Kronkite got nuthin on me… Thanks for the invite. Stupid name I thought of when I first tried to go multiplayer back in the day. Just kept it. Moniker I earned while deer hunting with a buddy. What keeps me back? Some of it is addiction. Now it’s just more friends and Lols. Those are harder to come by since the political shit after the election.
Virus047: If you could tell us your thoughts on why RTCW is so good? What about this game has kept you playing for all these years?
DeadEye: Rtcw, is the original. And really the gaming industry hasn’t done any better as far as the registry, the gravity and movement etc. I really am shocked at how clunky crap some games are. Back in the day, 2002/3 when I first went multiplayer. IDK when that was for sure, to be honest, I remember it was a friggen high. I feel like an addict now, because I’m still chasing that high, but I can’t get back there.
Virus047: Your earliest experiences in the game involved frequenting OLTL servers. What about that game style do you think makes for good competitive players?
DeadEye: Well Ganja Palace was high competition for a pug. You can mindlessly charge the beach on ECGN, and it will only give you bad habits (not watching spawn etc.). OLTL made you be careful. Made you a better med, because if you missed that rev, your team was another player down, and you kind of caught hell for it. You learned patience, team work, and it was just more all-around fun, trying to be last man/team standing. It was a precursor to today’s battle royale, but with teams. The anxiety of having 30 guys watching you as you’re the last guy vs another guy. Nerve wracking. Oh and most games weren’t 10 min long drag out affairs except for the Saturday Night Tourneys where we picked teams. If you just look at many of the remaining players MANY came from Ganja Palace, Cypher, Nigel, Kittens, Brujah, Me, Caff too I believe, Booty, OllioKath, Timer, Gut, Scrilla, Reker, Luna. Many I’m forgetting.
Virus047: Your first competitive clan was -[x]- (Extreme Soldiers), can you explain how to ended up getting into this clan?
DeadEye: I was pubbing on Old Crows or Budget Internet server a lot. Mostly playing beach like 99%. I was using dial up at the time. I had a Compaq laptop with barely any ram. I was laggy AF. So I stayed on sniper hill and sniped a lot. Well I got pretty good at it, for back then. Then I got Cable and the whole world changed. Holy shit. Pubbing there and it was bani mod, there were a few clans; -[x]- was one, ZERO clan was another. One day I struck up a conversation with -[x]- Surge in chat, wasn’t even on comms. It was late and server was basically empty. He asked me if I was interested and I was hell yes! So I joined Forsaken, Badman, Surge, Uber, Atlas, Banger, and we started playing TWL ladders and seasons in Shrub mod. Later a kid named Nigel came along and joined. We pubbed with Timers MNG clan on Old Crows server.
Virus047: -[x]- (Extreme Soldiers) had a fairly long time rivalry with Syndicate Soldiers in TWL’s Shrub League. In the TWL Shrub League Season #3 Playoffs, -[x]- finally beat SS 3-2 in the Semi-Finals before finally beating ASF for the Championship. Give us some background in to what went down with this rivalry. Why was SS always getting the edge during the regular season matches?
DeadEye: Preparation? IDK. SS was really really good. I don’t remember even playing them outside of matches, like I had never seen them in pubs. I’m not sure Luna or Booty or Scrilla if they were on that team or not. And I wasn’t very good I think. Ok, first let me say I thought it was Season 4 Shrub. It was happening in 2004 / 2005. And 2nd it was HairPullers we beat in the final for the championship. SS was in the semifinals. IDK who was in HairPullers either.
Virus047: As a follow up, give us a run down on how -[x]- managed to win the TWL Shrub League Season #3 Championship? Who played on that team that season (roster)? What was that run like though that season?
DeadEye: Dang it virus I can’t really recall stuff. I can’t do like you guys remember so and so from Narf. I’m like wtf is Narf. I didn’t really know or care that much I guess. Roster for sure was Surge, Badman, Forsaken, Uber, Banger, and there was another guy who was a ringer. I can’t remember his name, I DO remember he was quite a dick. And I was on the roster as well, but I didn’t get to play because of Iraq. They kept me on the roster though as a tribute if you will.
Virus047: You are a veteran having served in the U.S. Military during the Iraq War back in 2004/2005? You actually played RTCW while deployed over in Iraq. Can you explain what that was like to be serving our country over in Iraq but even in your downtime still playing some RTCW?
DeadEye: I used to play RTCW from my hooch in IRAQ. There was a huge satellite on top of my little building (I lived in there too) It fed the internet cafe which was nearby. But the TOC and the 3 guys who lived in the building with me had unabated internet access. So every day after duty, I would go back to my room and wolf on my army laptop till whenever in the morning. Before deploying I even bought like 100‘ of CAT 5 so I could make a LAN party over there in the down time. I never had enough time though, and I realized that I really didn’t want to hang with all those guys I spent the day working with. I enjoyed the solace of my prison cell type room, with no windows. The Problem was that my ping was ginormous, like 5 - 600. AND we were 12 hrs. ahead of USA. So I rarely could play with friends. I played on whatever servers wouldn’t kick me off for my huge ping. Just pubbing. I met dude from NMN clan, No Medics Necessary. They were good dudes. I explained where I was and we pubbed at times... Sometimes I would slink off to my room and play wolf. It was a huge distraction from the shit. Dirty Iraq, it was hot, monotonous at times and living with I guy I really didn’t like. Plus I had twins at home while I was in Kuwait, in Dec 2004. They died in March and April 2005... SO I was dealing with that too. I came back from emergency leave and finished my tour.
Virus047: You’ve been playing some other games lately including Dirty Bomb! I’ve played the game for a long time including participating in the early private Alpha tests back in 2011, and found the game very enjoyable. What personally keeps you coming back to DB over some other more popular gaming titles available now?
DeadEye: Well, DB I think was a lot like the wolf mechanics, but was also team oriented like ET. But on steroids. Not slow and clunky but quick. DB was a good game but I think splash damage wasn’t making the money they needed to make from skins etc. (it’s a free game for download) they pulled the plug on it and it’s just a matter of time after that. I was better at DB than RTCW (Shut up kittens)! Now I kind of quit playing DB actually because Kittens gives me hell. I played it also because it was fun, and my graphics card/computer can handle it. It’s getting to the point anymore that I’m going to need an upgrade.
Virus047: With that in mind, why does RTCW continue to be such a draw for players like us whom might not be the best players but who have played this game since almost the beginning and keep coming back for more “pain and punishment” as I’ve mentioned a time or two?
DeadEye: Virus, I ask myself this damn question every week. It’s like going to the driving range, hitting all worm burners and then you get a hold of one for 300 yards straight. Then Luna stands on a hill somewhere and starts hitting you in the dome with balls from his pitching wedge, and you want to throw your club at him. I think also, you get to a point of diminishing returns. You’re just not going to get better and in fact you start getting worse from bad habits, hand placement, eyesight, alcohol, and fukitol etc. It becomes more for friendship and Lols, like I said earlier. And then that becomes scarce especially since the political stuff happened.
Virus047: You have spent the last good chunk of time with Team Cross Breed during the majority of the major RTCW revival cups from 2012 until now and before that your long tenure with -[x]- had you playing with tons of other great players throughout the years. Looking back at this now, who do you consider was the best player overall (Gun/Skills/Speed/Strats/Coms/etc.) that you actually played with on a team competitively and why?
DeadEye: God help me. It’s Kittens. The only thing that sucks is his coms because he is so laid back you don’t hear him sometimes. Hands down the best game sense. If you haven’t seen my lil frag video yet, you really should. Lol. It’s all because kittens on coms is telling me call outs and Intel. It really isn’t even close. Due to my mentorship these last few years at CB he has become a force. After him I might say -[x]-Badman.
Virus047: From the current community of players playing actively in RTCW right now, who has your number? Who gets under your skin the most when you play them? Why?
DeadEye: He don’t have my number, I just can’t stand the retard. Raiser. After him it’s John Mullins and then Wang. Retards all. After the retards, it’s Luna. Luna if he is on my team, plays too passive and I’m running by him. If he is on the other team his is doming me from the hill with a luger and I’m on top of stronghold. Then it’s the fight to not be at the bottom of the stats. THAT my friend is probably who has my number and gets under my skin. Because that guy is an asshole every week and he never changes.
Virus047: I generally always ask people I interview to pick the map they love to play the most in RTCW or perhaps to pick your personal least favorite map? This time around I actually want you to pick your fav. map that ISN’T being played currently in major competition or pubs that you think would be a great choice to be used in competition? Even if it need some tweaks (looking at you Source)! Why this map?
DeadEye: Axis Complex, I spent a lot of time on this map over the first 10 years. Omg (first 10 years) I think it’s a good map. It’s fun. What needs tweaked? Probably spawn times. Some might think it’s too small.
Virus047: This next question is all theoretical so I’m looking for you to be the GM/Captain of your own RTCW Team and need you to give me 6 names of players (currently playing or not playing any longer) you would handpick to build a brand new team in some future RTCW event? Why these players?
DeadEye: Kittens, Bru, Nigel, Scrilla, and Murkey.
Virus047: What’s your Disney movie? Why?
DeadEye: My what? Like any of them? I guess, Toy Story Franchise. 1 and 2 were good. 3 sucked balls with Ned Beatty playing the shitty bear. I also enjoyed Despicable Me and UP!
Virus047: Do you have any books you’re currently reading? What are they?
DeadEye: I’m reading a Song of Ice and Fire. STILL. I’m awaiting book 6 due out by this December. It’s only been like 9 years since A Dance with Dragons. Other than that no. I do highly recommend “Revolutionary Summer” The Birth of American Independence. By Joseph Ellis. Nonfiction.
Virus047: And finally…. Can you explain your relationship with Kittens to everyone?
DeadEye: No I really can’t. This is a funny question and making me smile as I type. I gotta think about this… BBL…. Ok, this took me aback. Had to think about it and I still really don’t know. Maybe there isn’t one. I think it’s a strange dichotomy of things. We are soo opposite in many ways. I would actively punch someone in the face he I think is more passive. He is quite book smart. I am not so much. I got a BA degree, but I’m more hands on. He is good at gaming. I in turn am not so much. We are also opposites on political things. We can yell at each other and go back to normal and game. He sent me his old graphics card one time when mine died. I think that’s what happened, we like the same lower shelf rum. Admiral Nelson. He likes to yell at me about dumb shit I do in game, I yell back but he’s usually right. He has some hot sisters! I’m single. :D We used to play H1z1 a lot. Kittens always drove and I was shotgun taking too long to loot gear, he would yell etc. Those were some of the best gaming times looking back. He is good at every FPS we have played. Yet he never held that over my head, like he was too good for my skills, even tho he is. So, yeah I think it’s all about the fun and LOL’s with him too. I am from Pittsburgh, he is from that shithole on the other side of the State… Yeah we are pretty damn different. But it works, at least for me.
Virus047: Any shout outs or messages for the community?
DeadEye: To Monday night guys. It’s been great, I appreciate all of you (Even you Jaytee). Thanks for letting me be a part of it.
Virus047: Thanks for your time! Enjoy!
NEXT INTERVIEW COMING SOON!