September 2003

Dominant Species - Clan - Depot & IcyLiquid
Conducted by CLIMaX

Natural Selection is a Half-Life 1 Mod that first hit the HL scene in October 2002. Powered by the same dynamic game engine as Counter Strike and Team Fortress Classic, NS is a team-based game that pits Marines against Aliens that infest spacecrafts and colonies. Marines teams rely heavily on strategy, planning and communications to rout the enemy. Alien teams--monsterous creatures with immense strength and lightning-fast reflexes--rely on their primative but powerful attributes in the never-ending action/strategy struggle to become the dominant species. The latest version of Natural Selection is 2.0 and can be downloaded for free at Natural-Selection.org.

A large and thriving NS game community has evolved since the game was released late last year. Clans, leagues, pub servers and websites can be found throughout the world, and possibly beyond. Recently, I was able to catch up with one of those clans, the Dominant Species crew from North America. Led by Depot and IcyLiquid, |ds| have been around since the beginning and can muster eleven seasoned players to the Ready Room. |ds| members are located in Canada and the U.S., and range in age from 13 to 55. But, as clan Leader Depot points out, the only difference between men and boys is the price of their toys.

_____________________________________________________________INTERVIEW

[CLIMaX] How did you guys get into gaming? Give us a little evolutionary history on who Depot and IcyLiquid, the gamers, really are.

[Depot] Around 6 years ago I bought a P3 450mhz Dell (can't claim it was my first pc though---I had anApple2c back when pc's weren't even cool). I didn't really get into gaming for another year or so when I downloaded RealGame's TFC demo. I was hooked and HAD to go buy the retail version. I pubbed for a while, then joined [GAS] which was some "mature" fellows who loved TFC (Geriatric Assassin Squad). A year later [GAS] disbanded and we merged with PFM. I downloaded NS 1.0 the day it was released (hey, guess what, a gorge doesn't HAVE to be a good aim...lol) and gave up TFC for this great mod. As I'm fully retired I get to spend all the time on here I like. Good thing because running a clan is a lot of work!

My oldest grandson (15) spends the weekend sometimes and the old Dell is set up for his gaming pleasure---we frag ALL weekend! If I have the younger one too (6) he sits on a stool here in the study and watches us play---he nicknamed the offense chambers "SpikeyMonsters", and that's a phrase my clan uses often.

I am also Director of Ultimate Gamers League's Natural Selection Division. We have recently restructured and have a brand new website---all of this is very exciting!

[IcyLiquid] I got into 'serious' gaming when I got my first computer, a 486 DX2 66mhz number crunching monster that could play Seawolf SSN! I would get all my friends to play with and against me online with my blazing fast 33.6k connection. Before this, however, I often played older IBM games like 'Gauntlet' and Pacific War' on my friend's, now ancient, computer. It was games like these that introduced me to gaming, and indeed computers in general.

My inspiration? I imagine it is somewhat similar to that of any other kid: pure enjoyment. Gaming is an escapist's world where rich business men are clamouring to fulfill your wildest dreams with new and innovative games, every day. To me, it is a wonderful way to spend my time. My real life actually intersects with my gaming life at school! I know several people 'IRL' who I first met online. Biology class has a strange way of introducing you to the DoD player in your school :D

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[CLIMaX] How did the formation of Dominant Species come about? And, how do you guys split responsibilities as Leader and Co-Leader in running the clan organization and in battle?

[Depot] Dominant Species was formed in late October 2002 by RifterX, a college student. I was one of the first to join and immediately began recruiting. The clan had no gaming server and an amateurish website. I rented us a server, helped RifterX to revamp the website, got us involved in the NS community, and helped the clan take off. Shortly after that RifterX changed schools and lost his (gaming) internet connection, and I inherited the clan.

The idiom, Dominant Species, represents the players of this clan. We all stand above the rest as experienced players in Natural Selection when we play, and we feel that we are far more mature than some of the clans out there that we have had the opportunity to challenge. It's all just a game, have fun with the experience.

I am very efficient at keeping my clan members informed, whether it's on our website, our forums, via e-mail, or on IRC. I also updated PsychoStats to include 2.0 weaponry, images, and mappics and presented my NS2.0 Update.zip to Stormtrooper (PsychoStats dev) who approved it. I run a small dedicated NS server so that keeps me busy also. Finding us scrims and organizing practices are part of my duties, as is pouring over the NS Forums to keep abreast on latest developments. In matches or scrims as an alien I am normally the lead gorge and direct resource and upgrade development, and as a marine I am simply a grunt, or a backup commander.

Backstaber, although the youngest member in our clan, is one of the most mature and helpful---certainly a model clan member. He is the third member of The Council who make all major decisions in the clan. George also is an Admin on our gaming server 66.177.40.168:27017 Depot's Nutz NS v2.01d and helps to keep players there in line. He ALWAYS responds to all clan e-mailings, no matter how trivial they may be. He and IcyLiquid I can trust explicitly, and I have the utmost respect for both of them.

IcyLiquid has contributed greatly to our clan. He constructed our website http://dominant.webhop.net and also hosts it and our forums. Did I mention he completely designed and built Ultimate Gamer's League new website also?

As anyone involved in gaming clans knows, it is WORK to keep a clan going. It seems weekly there are established clans dropping out. It is a milestone for ANY clan to stay in existence over 6 months. Dominant Species has survived, and will continue to thrive.

[IcyLiquid] I must say that Depot holds the clan together. He somehow manages to stay abreast of all the new developments in NS builds, clan matches, and the myriad schedules or our members. It is my job to recruit new members and then train them.

In marine battles, I am the commander, usually sending backstabber out on a scouting mission. I maintain, upgrade and host the website and forums. Depot uploads Psychostats daily via FTP and posts news and events on the calendar.

Our clan believes in training together and training often, which is why we practice 3-4 times a week and have assigned squads, allowing members of these smaller groups to get to know each other well enough that they function almost as a single body.

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[CLIMaX] Does NS successfully fuse the concepts of real-time strategy and first-person shooter into one game? What is the most appealing aspect of NS to you?

[Depot] My having evolved from TFC I would have to say absolutely yes! What I find most appealing is the uniqueness of each team and even the classes within that team. Strategy AND skill is necessary to pull off a win---AND teamwork! As an alien you are allowed one type of upgrade chamber per hive (total of 3), and once you've built that chamber each alien has 3 choices of how to use said upgrade, ie: First (opening game) hive the gorge (builder) decides to drop a defense chamber. 3 defense chambers will give any alien maximum benefit. The alien player then would have a choice of selecting redemption, regeneration, or carpace from the defense upgrade. As a marine you have a choice of several weapons, and either a jetpack or heavy armor.

[IcyLiquid] I think NS is unique in its combination of these two gameplay styles. As far as I know, only Command and Conqueror: Renegade comes even close to accomplishing what NS does. Much like an RTS, NS has a resource model which promotes expansion, but has the ground-level unpredictability of an FPS in which your teammates/units might actually decide to disobey orders! There is also the human error factor, forcing the commander to be that much more flexible in his tactics.

As for the most appealing aspect of NS, I would have to say it is the community. As far as I can tell, games like CS have evolved to the point where the community has little or no impact of the players. The words spoken on public servers are harsh, and the price of being a 'newb' is high. NS I found to be much different. Other players are always willing to lend a helping hand and are far less likely to criticise weaker players. This is something I value greatly in a game. We were all noobs once, right?

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[CLIMaX] Earlier, you explained how org leadership and battle command is handled in |ds|. What strategies and tactics does the team employ as Marines and as Aliens in matches?

[Depot / IcyLiquid] One could actually break strategies down into three areas or time frames: early, mid, and late game. Early game would be a combination of rushing the enemy base/hive (to prevent them from having the run of the map) and securing resource nodes to have funds for building.

Mid game (after the first one or two enemy rushes) you'd begin upgrading. As an alien our choice of chambers will vary from match to match - movement, defense, and sensory - and you can only drop one type per hive. The exact order often depends on information relayed to us from our scouting party and their success/failure at hampering the enemy advances. There are 3 hives on each map, and you start with 1. Offense chambers, an alien form of the turret, can be dropped about the map to shoot spikes at enemies within range. Marines will have several choices as to upgrades and strategies, depending on several factors such as starting hive location, aggressiveness of the enemy, and how you want to handle the game. Marines have at their disposal armories, observatories, arms labs, prototype labs, phase gates (for rapid travel between outposts) etc. It is important to note that NS is unique in the FPS world in that it has a resource system. By this, I mean that like most Strategy games, 'mining' is an important part of, if not THE singular aim of NS. Simply put, the more res you have, the more toys your team will have at their disposal for dealing with the enemy.

End game strategies will hopefully aid you in destroying the enemy base/bases and eliminating all enemy forces as quickly and efficiently as possible, sometimes using Siege Cannons, Onos, or Heavy Armor.

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[CLIMaX] Any thoughts you'd like to share regarding Half-Life 2?

[Depot] From what I understand Flayra http://www.overmind.org/ would have to completely re-work Natural Selection for it to be compatible with the Half-Life 2 engine. I don't see this happening any time soon.

[IcyLiquid] I believe Half Life 2, aka Full Life, will have a profound effect on gaming the world over. Not only will the old methods of gameplay fall away, but so will the old standards of what makes good and bad games. As a result, older games like CS, NS and the HL1 engine they are based on will become ever more obsolete and underpowered than they already are. I think that while NS2 is a great, well-rounded game as it is. NS with half Life 2 behind it would be a whole new world of immersive gaming. I believe that Flayra has made some off-record remarks to the effect that he envisions NS becoming a much broader game than it currently is.

That said, dont expect anything from the Dev Team within at least a year of the release of HL2, probably even longer. Making a mod takes enormous amounts of time.

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[CLIMaX] Have you ever fallen out of your chair while gaming?

[Depot] Just last night I did! I was playing an intense game of NS on ns_veil and a HUGE palmetto bug landed on my shoulder! I was startled so I flung backwards, arms swinging. I fell flat on my back, my headphones ripped off my head, and I knocked BOTH satellite speakers behind me OFF of their stands! After I recovered from that heart attack, I found that damn bug and tortured him (yeah, I live in Florida, and palmetto bugs are a dime a dozen!).

[IcyLiquid] Yes I have. As a matter of fact this is a routine occurrence. You see it all started when i switched from speakers to headphones. My setup right now includes a Sound Blaster Extigy, allowing me more freedom regarding my sound. I have taken advantage of this by connecting the output of two my computers to the Line In of they Extigy. Obviously this allows me to hear sound from both machines, making them equally usable. The only trouble is, my chair often rolls over my headphone cord due to the placement of the Extigy. I bend down to rectify the situation and invariably end up doing some form of damage to my person. no, I am not smart enough to come up with a better solution.