[Wyvex]:  Frankly, we are a young clan. We have only been organized for a little over a year. The four original members, boku, Wretch, LucaBlight and I played together all the time on the same server. We were all decent players and wanted to take our game to the next level. We got together one afternoon and decided to start a clan, although we wanted to do ‘the clan thing’ a little differently than we saw it done around us. We wanted to build a team of players that liked and respected one other, as well as treated other RA3 players with respect, when it was due. We built the clan with a few basic tenets in mind:

1. No smack talking or treating other players rudely. We have fun playing the game, and don’t want to make it less enjoyable for others that play.
2. We do not recruit on skill alone. We want teammates that are willing to work hard and show continuous improvement.
3. We don’t bring members into full clan status right away. All recruits go through a training process, during which the dedication to training and the clan in general are observed. Once the training process is completed recruits are raised to full clan status and can participate in sanctioned matches.

With these basic philosophic principals in practice we have brought together a great bunch of people who still enjoy the thrill of competition and value and respect one other as well as the rest of the gaming community.

[boku]:  You can check out our clan philosophy at clanhaste.com - it's a little unorthodox. We've had very few players drop from the clan because people really enjoy being a part of something respectful and encouraging. Three of the four originals are still with us (Wretch, Wyvex and myself) 15 months later.

[LadyGamers]: Do you think RA3 should be an official tourney at QuakeCon? What makes it qualified to deserve that kind of attention? Will you be attending Quakecon 2004 even if RA3 doesn't make it into the events schedule next year? Would you compete in another mod in 2004 if that happens?

[Wyvex]:  I would like to see RA3 as an official tournament at QCon, but I think it might be a little late for that. Quake III is getting old in gaming years these days. It may last a another year or so, but with Doom III and Quake 4 coming out in the next year or year and a half, Quake III’s days may be numbered. I will probably still play it for a couple more years, and would like to see it last that long. RA3 is a great mod and offers something that the other major mods don’t, no power ups. I think this gives it a dimension that the other mods can’t. If you take damage, that’s it. It makes you rely more on movement strategy, stealth and weapons use, instead of getting to heath and timing power ups. Not that other mods aren’t great, but I do think RA3 is as good as some of the other mods like OSP. If Qcon added RA3 as a tournament in 2004 I would probably go. I might go even if they don’t, but competition would not be my main reason for going. I would like to take some time and see what the vendors are doing and meet some of the people I have been playing Q3 with for many years.

[boku]:  By the time Quakecon 2004 rolls around, I'm not sure either that Q3 will be the game of choice anymore with Doom 3 and Half-Life 2 coming out in the next year. I went to Quakecon this year with little interest in competing and hope to do so next year as well. The BYOC and exhibitioners held a lot more interest for me than the tournaments. It was great to meet a few star players, and those were the games I watched in demos when I got home.

As for RA3, I think the fan base in Canada and Germany has made a lot of headway into proving RA3 is as good for tournaments as any other Q3 mod--- just look at the annual Fragapalooza LAN in Alberta. RA3 has a lack of
respect in the USA, but I live for the day when a large competition like Quakecon acknowledges RA3's huge player base.

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[LadyGamers]: How has your clan been preparing for upcoming CAL matches? Do you have a set schedule of practices or just get on when you see others?

[Wyvex]:  Haste spends a great deal of time playing, on pubs as well as in scrims. I have been playing 2 or more hours a day for the last several weeks to sharpen my skills for these matches. We are also planning a number of scrims before each upcoming match and will probably hold some intra-squad scrims as well. During these scrims we work on team communication and strategy as well as record demos for review afterward, if members want advice or assistance. In addition to this preparation all members go through a regimented training process, to assist with aim, movement, weapon selection, etc.

[boku]:  We look for scrims with other clans when we can. It's been tough over the summer months as people haven't been around as much. Rumor has it that Wretch prepares by bathing himself in baby oil and playing naked, occasionally slipping off his chair and giggling uncontrollably. I have reliable sources.

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[LadyGamers]: Of all the RA3 focused clans out there what was it about the one you joined that attracted you the most? 

[Wyvex]:  Well, as I mentioned before, we started the clan because we all enjoyed the mod considerably. I decided to work with these guys to start Haste because they were all great players, and above all else, I knew they were great guys. We had all played together for months and I respected their skill level and their approach to others that played. They were always the ones to compliment a good shot, to help when someone asked, and always seemed to be having fun regardless of the nonsense that can and does arise on public servers. In addition to working together as a gaming clan, we also spend a great deal of time talking about what’s going on in ours lives. I consider all of the guys in Haste ‘good people’ as well as friends, and will probably keep in touch with several of them beyond the clan’s existence.

[boku]:  UNLIMITED COSMIC POWERRR!! BEHOLD MY WRATH!
 

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[LadyGamers]:  Do you think your clan has a chance of being the champion of your division in the CAL finals? If not, who do you think will be?

[Wyvex]:  We do have a chance to take our division, but it is going to take a lot of teamwork to get there. We have some extremely skilled players in Haste, and if we all can play our best the night of the matches, we may just squeak out a victory. If we do not make it, I would say that Inter Frag has a great chance of taking the division. If Inter Frag is on their game and working together, they will be hard to beat.

[boku]:  There are a lot of tough clans in the playoffs, many of whom have more experience than us. The fact that we've made it this far and into the semi-finals is a victory itself. We were relatively unknown a few months ago and now we're placed among top clans in the west. Obviously, we'll try our best, but even if we lose I'll consider the season a grand success. If I had to pick any one clan in the west bracket to win it, I'd also go with Inter Frag, too; they have a wealth of talented players and they've got nerves of steel in matches.
 

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[LadyGamers]: Are there female players in your clan? If not, why not? Do they participate in CAL and the playoffs? 

[Wyvex]:  Ya know, we don’t have any female players in our clan. It’s not that we don’t accept female players; we just haven’t had that many women show interest in joining Haste. As long as anyone can abide by our basic philosophies and has demonstrated potential we will consider them.

[boku]:  We don't currently have any females in the clan, though we consider Wretch sexy enough to be the clan "booth babe" at LANs. We welcome anyone who's interested in getting better and competing, female or otherwise. We also welcome throngs of adoring fans. Sexually promiscuous male fans should direct queries to Wretch.
 

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[LadyGamers]: Have you ever fallen down in public?

[Wyvex]:  Haha Good question! Yes I have fallen down in public. Actually, it was more of a slip on the ice. I was walking to class one day in college and slipped on a huge sheet of ice that formed because of a water main break. It was between classes and there were hundreds of people around, and bam, down I went. Trying to avoid embarrassment, I tried to catch my fall and went down awkwardly, and unfortunately heard a snap. Needless to say, I was no longer worried about being embarrassed, …I guess I still was a little. To my surprise, a bunch of people came to see if I was alright. Two guys actually took time from their busy day to help me to the doctor’s office on campus, as I had broken my ankle from the fall. Instead of being laughed at as I had feared, I saw concern and kindness. I learned something about people that day I will never forget.

[boku]:  I try to make a habit of it.

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