An Interview with TIEdup14

Recently we were contacted by a player who left the community some time ago wishing to have be interviewed.  He was TIEdup14, the leader of 'The Heroic Elite', which had the 4 teams, the., .td, .3e and .eu.

Here is that interview.

<@bgo> So, pretty standard first question.  What would you say your proudest achievement was in Battle Grounds?

<TIEdup14> Hmm, good one
<TIEdup14> As far as the general community goes, I'd say I'm most proud of ressurecting the then-defunct BFTC (second incarnation)
<TIEdup14> Of course it died out eventually, but it brought together a lot of players from many different parts of the BG community.  Sort of bridged the gap between LB/Skirmish communities
<TIEdup14> I took a look at the bgmod forums and I see that they are trying to bring it back for a third incarnation-- good for them, I do hope it works out.  Though I think the less that the devs are involved with it, the better
<TIEdup14> These projects should be BY the community, and FOR the community.  Official backing is great though.

<@bgo> Would you consider signing up for the campaign or even returning to the game in general or have you packed up your bayonet
permenantly?

<TIEdup14> You know, I think it's a very rare thing for someone to permanentely leave this game, for whatever reason that may be
<TIEdup14> All the time you see people leave and come back, and that's sort of the ebb and flow of BG in general
<TIEdup14> the new BFTC sounds like a project I could definitely support by playing
<TIEdup14> In how large a capacity, I cant really say.  A lot of my gaming time gets cut short by my job, but I would probably come back to participate and help out.  I dont see myself running another clan or joining the skirmish league efforts, however.  Not in their current state of affairs anyhow.
<TIEdup14> But if they get BFTC off the ground again I'd love to play.  I may even be able to convince a few old friends to come back
with me :)

<@bgo> Thats good to hear.  On a related note, is there anything to the rumours that you may be helping out 3D?

<TIEdup14> Ah, 3D!
<TIEdup14> Well, it's true, I've been playing BG with them a few nights here and there.  Mostly because Death is a really good friend of mine and I like to see how he and others are doing.  But as it stands right now there is really no reason for me to return to league play, and I think I've made my position on BGU (etc) quite clear.  But I have definitely been looking at becoming more involved with BG again, and 3D is a large reason for that.
<TIEdup14> You guys do your homework, haha.

<@bgo> We're called observers for a reason.

<TIEdup14> Good point :P

<@bgo> Staying with clans, do you think that there will ever be a gamemode devised where skirmish and linebattle can be played in harmony, enough to suit both styles?
<TIEdup14> Well, you never say never... but I highly doubt it.  Here's why:
<TIEdup14> 1) The maps just plain arent suited to a hybrid style.  As it stands, you either have a large open field suited for LB, or a small map with twists and turns suited for skirmish.  Now, if a mapper can somehow create a map that fits a hybrid style things could change, but given the past failings of the mapping team to meet the community's needs I dont see it happening.
<TIEdup14> 2) The goals of the two communities dont match up.  Skirmish style play is dominated by a sense of competition and individual player skill.  Whereas, and of course, my LB experience is rather limited, LB is much more of a group/team effort.  You would have to reign in and limit great individual players, and frankly I think that would hurt some egos and take away from some fun for the "good" skirmishers.
<TIEdup14> I had a third point, but I'll just incorporate it into my conclusion:
<TIEdup14> Basically the only way I see it working is through a system like BFTC.  Where the battle is either skirmish style OR LB style, based on the location of the engagement on a game map.  That way everyone is involved no matter what your playing preference is, and you dont have to deal with the inherant shortcomings that come with trying to do both types of gameplay on the same map at the same
<TIEdup14> time.  In fact, we had plans in the works to incorporate the LB community into the 2nd incarnation of BFTC, but the project collapsed before we could get to that point.  I really think that would work out quite well though.
<TIEdup14> And I would encourage the current proffers of BFTC (3) to strongly look into that idea.

<@bgo> I agree, that the old divide must be broken down for the community to thrive in the future.  What do you think, in terms of development BG2 needs to stay populated in the future?

<TIEdup14> For this, I'll try to keep my answer limited to "skirmish" play, as that's where the majority of my experience exists
<TIEdup14> First off, the Dev team needs to be reorganized.  There is a lot of dead weight on there that does nothing to help the mod, and much to harm it.  Community activists should be encouraged and assisted, not mercilessly trolled (remember, there was a time not too long ago where any mention of LB on the bgmod forums received endless LOLz, with tacit approval from the mods)
<TIEdup14> Mapping is probably the biggest issue.  The community will tell you what they want from a map.  But time and time again I see the mappers create these grandiose projects that end up killing server traffic (bg_quebec, bg_miningtown to name a few).  If they would just give the people what they want people would play the maps, and the servers would fill up.
<TIEdup14> The whole dev team attitude needs to change.  How many times have you heard "Well, we provide a free mod so you should be grateful for what you get and HOW DARE you complain about anything?"  That mindset has got to go.  The devs are paid through whatever value they ascribe to creating the mod.  They should have the wants/needs of the community at the forefront, for without players there is no mod to speak of.
<TIEdup14> And lastly, of course, I would really look into the idea of an officially backed project like BFTC to combine the LB and skirmish communities.  The LB community has remained strong since the beginning of BG2, and I dont see that changing anytime soon.  The more we can combine the fortunes of the skirmish and LB players, the better things will be overall for the mod.
<TIEdup14> The new "tickets" style play could be a good thing as well.  I'm very interested to see how that works out.

<@bgo> Have you tried out the SVN version at all?

<TIEdup14> Honestly I havent gotten a chance to.  I have the SVN files and everything installed, but it seems that there's been some difficulty arranging an appropriate time and server to play on.  From what I understand they are looking at purchasing an "Official" BG2 server, so hopefully that will solve a lot of those problems.

<@bgo> Sorry to jump here.
<@bgo> You're probably most widely known as the the. leader in BG2.  It was one of the largest clans at its peak.  Did its size
contribute to its downfall?

<TIEdup14> Well, yes and no, heh.
<TIEdup14> The size itself wasnt a problem-- as you see SS has done the "teams" thing for quite some time and hasnt really had any debilitating issues
<TIEdup14> But I think my own personality conflicted with that setup
<TIEdup14> Those who have had the privilege of being a part of my inner-circle know that I like to have a large amount of control over all facets of my clan, for better or for worse.  But with the multi-team structure you have to find a balance between what the team leader wants and what the overall clan leader wants.  This caused some friction in the clan, especially when it came to assigning new recruits.  In the end, we could have easily continued to exist as a single-team entity (the. reg team remained intact to the end), but I made the decision to shut down the clan when faced with the prospect of joining BGU.  The interest for myself and most of my members was simply not there anymore.
<TIEdup14> I want to make clear that I had some strong leaders working for me-- Cruve Crasha, Crymore, even (at one point) Danihel.  But we had some problems with members trying to usurp the team leader's authority by going to me, and vice versa.
<TIEdup14> Overall, of course, the. was a great clan that I am very proud to have founded and been a part of.  The problems I listed above were minor at worst, compared to some of the other issues I've seen with other clans.

<@bgo> A clan leaving is always a great loss to a game like BG.

<TIEdup14> I hated to do it, honestly, but it was the right choice for us at the time.  If the competative skirmish scene changes, I've talked with some of my members about a possible revival.   But we'll have to see how everything shakes out.
<TIEdup14> But we had some great times and were BGL Champions for a period, so I would definitely call it a success.  Most of us still keep in touch to this day.

<@bgo> As some may or may not know, the. was active in BG1.  Would you say you enjoyed it more back then or more in BG2?

<TIEdup14> Techincally you are correct, but [THE] back in bg1 was a very different thing.  It was my first foray into BG clan leadership, a test run if you will.  We had some success with it, and in fact most of those original members would return to help me form the BG2 version of the.  It would probably be more accurate to compare [13th] in BG1 and the. in BG2
<TIEdup14> Without a doubt, I would say I enjoyed my time with 13th much more in BG1.  This says absolutely nothing about my own clan members; I had great people working with me both times (many of them the same) who I wouldnt trade for anything.  But the community was so very very different.

<@bgo> Ah, shows how rusty my BG1 knowledge is.

<TIEdup14> Back in BG1 we had trolls, rivalries, etc.  But it was never pervasive to the point where it impeded gameplay
<TIEdup14> For example, 13th had a rivalry with GND*.  We played them in very close matches many times, and saying that there was no love lost between the clans would probably be an understatement
<TIEdup14> But at the core, there was ALWAYS a mutual respect for each other
<TIEdup14> If, back then, I could have snapped my fingers and disbanded GND* I wouldnt even have thought of doing it.  Because I knew that we both wanted the mod to succeed and we both had the best interests of the mod at the forefront of our clans
<TIEdup14> In BG2, people actively tried to dismantle the mod and the community.  It really was a sad thing to see.  Remember the bot team in BGL that tried to break every rule possible in their matches?  Most of them were dev team members.  It was a sickening thing.  Teams trying to make others forfeit by technicalities, just a bunch of stupid stuff like that.  By the end of it, even we would be guilty of such things.  That's the difference between BG1 and BG2 skirmish communities.  One wanted the mod to succeed and grow, the other cared more about personal achievement and trolling.
<TIEdup14> The mutual respect that held the BG1 BGL together was no longer there.
<TIEdup14> So, to answer your question (haha), BG1 13th was more fun, but I think BG2 the. had a larger impact.  At least I hope it did.

<@bgo> Ok, before I wrap this up is there anything else you would wish to share?

<TIEdup14> Sure.  Let me go over my notes here and make sure I hit all of my "talking points" :P
<TIEdup14> All of the BG2 clans need to get together and offer a unified voice to the dev team.  The LB community has their LBL, and the skirmish community needs BGL.  That way, the devs arent clouded by one clan's influence alone (as is the current state of affairs).
<TIEdup14> This way, they can also help come to some sort of hybrid style play like we discussed earlier.
<TIEdup14> There needs to be a new skrimish style league created that doesnt have the same integrity problems that plague BGU.  Competition is what keeps the skirmish clans playing and growing.
<TIEdup14> And lastly, I look forward to the new BFTC.  I really think that this could be a key turning point (positive) for this mod and its future.  All clans, lb and skirmish, should be involved in this project and should lend their full and utmost support.
<TIEdup14> I do want to thank the BG2 devs for their work.  BG has provided me with countless hours of fun and lifelong friendships.  Keep up the hard work, and good things will follow. :)

<@bgo> Alrighty then.  Thanks for your time.  I should have this on the site sometime tomorrow.

<TIEdup14> Thanks for yours as well.  You guys provide a very valuable service.  Keep up the great work too :D


*Was mistakenly shown as GsT on first publishing.