This is the first of a series of interviews with the most famous community members of SWAT and Crossfire to bring you behind the scenes and to show you hidden aspects about the game, the clans and the people. This months I interviewed the icon of SWAT, some see him as a wise and strong leader, other consider him to be nothing less than a god, i give you SWAT_OP-R8R :
Interviewer : Vice-Admiral Sam Thomas (SA_ARROW) of the Silver Arrows.
Guest : SWAT_OP-R8R
Thanks for accepting my invitation to answer these questions OP, let's begin.
Q: Who is the man behind SWAT_OP-R8R ? What's he like in real life ?
A: The man behind the nickname was supposed to be a dead man which got another chance long time ago. Probably that is the reason why I grant so many second chances to other people. But like I already mentioned that was long time ago. I'm 29 years old and I know my time is very limited so I try to use every bit of it to make a difference. I am a business man but I am also an idealist, actually I am full of conflicts. I believe in a saying (unfortunatly i dont know the excact translation): "Everyone can change one part of the world to the good, hisself/herself"... I dont try to change other ppl but I still try to make them realize that they can change their own part of the world. If I succeed just one time, my life is worth living it.
Q: What jobs did you had in your life ?
A: Besides some minor jobs I worked several years for a german bank. I quit and am still working on the financial business but now with "better intentions". Unlike the assumption of many people I never worked as programmer or something like that.
Q: Does SWAT_OP-R8R have a dream to realize ?
A: Many but probably the most important one is that I'd like to retire someday knowing that people will continue my work.
Q: What was your dream when you were a child ?
A: I cant remember. Many people imagine what they want to be or what they want to do in their childhood but i can not remember that I ever had such a wish. When i was a child, and even today I love to leave the house in the middle of the night just to watch the sky and the stars. Maybe that is my dream.
Q: How have you been introduced to Starlancer and Freelancer ?
A: By accident and by my own idealism. I got the game (starlancer) from a friend (XL-R8R) and actually just installed it to test my new force feedback joystick. I clicked on multiplayer just to see if my crappy connection does even allow me to play and a few mins later i found myself among other SL players. One of them had a pretty big mouth and showed the highest amount of arrogance that ive seen until now and all others appeared to praise him. Maybe it was my own arrogance which forced me to challenge him and do my first fight in SL. Of course I did loose... I did loose badly against that jerk as he was the best SL player on the globe. His attitude towards the other players and my loss in combination with my ego gave me reason to stay with SL. I joined a clan the day after, told XL-R8R install the game again and try the multiplayer. Anybody who knows what I am able to do when Im motivated will understand that ive finished the SL training of my new clan (GTF) which normally tooks about 5 weeks in just one week (so did XL). Another week later I became a wingleader and trainer of my clan, another 5 weeks later I was choosen to become the clanleader when the original leader had to resign due to private business. Actually that shows how i was cought by responsibility.
Freelancer is a matter that i actually didnt want to happen. We SL players knew it would come and we prepared for it. I was member of GTF (a purly german clan and the biggest SL clan ever due to a pretty effective management) and as leader i disliked the fact that we were limited to german. I tried to change the clan but failed since germans are dickheads, so am I. I resigned as leader, left the clan, created my own international one. Fortunatly the top fighters of GTF were the ones which shared my oppinion and followed me.
My new clan (MoD) was much smaller but finnaly international and free prejudices.
Bad side of it was that my old clan started to show its worst and allied with that arrogant bastard that i was fighting since the first day i joined Starlancer. Result was of course a war which destroyed my old clan... first on Starlancer... later also on Freelancer. But actually the reason to join Freelancer were my old friends which stayed loyal to me. They asked me if i would be willing to start a FL clan. So Bloodguard has been founded and around the 2 clans XL-R8R and I have created SWAT (Special War Avenging Team -> XL considered it a funny name since both clans were at war from the day of their creation). Thats the story.
And yes that arrogant SL player did pay for what he did to others.
Q: When did you started modding for the Lancer games?
A: There were mods for starlancer and it was possible to add new ships but since i was purely interested in the multiplayer aspect of the game I was not allowed to use them. Every mod was a cheat at the same time and would have destroyed my reputation and everything i wanted to achieve. When FL appeared on the scene the first weeks playing it was a nightmare since every noob tried to mod the game and all the servers (vanilla servers) were completly instable. Just a few weeks after the release of FL a guy called Brainbug joined my FL clan. He was working on the first big mod which included new systems and ship balances. Thats the first time i had to do with a lancer mod. The community was just learning the very basics of FL modding and today im proud to claim that i never needed somebody else to show me how modding works... i love to learn by myself. However FL was by far not the first game that i've modded and it has not been the last... overall i've created mods for about 20 games meanwhile. In the past 4 weeks i've learned to mod 2 new games while i need to say that the result is for me more important than the modding procedure.
Q: What motivated you to launch SWAT Portal ? When did that happened ?
A: Friends and a clan war motivated me to launch SWAT, that happened in december 2002.
Q: How did the idea to create Crossfire came to your mind ?
A: Crossfire was a pure need. My clan (BG) was wandering from server to server starting troubles with pirates and other ppl which thought they could fight. But every time a server has been switched a long build-up procedure demotivated the clan. BG once had a good server... but lost it. Now it needed a new home. I decided for a risky move. I did rent a server and started to create a mod to attract new players. The costs for that server were very high but i did it for the clan and with the chance that other players would join and help to keep it alive. The first 2 clans which were created on that new Crossfire server next to BG were the Ice Pirates and the DragonCorps. BG helped to build those clans, we did training with them and both clans did help us to keep this server running. DC did even more over the many years. By time more and more ppl joined the server, new clans were created.... a long story.
Q: The storyline for Crossfire is vast and detailed. Where did the inspiration came for this successful background story ?
A: The inspiration mainly comes directly from the lancer games. The developers have left open so many unanswered questions. What happened to the coalition after the alliance left? where did the nomads come from? who are the Dom'Kavash? Why did they leave this part of the galaxy? Who ever reads close enough will find hundreds of questions which require an explaination.
Q: How do you see the future of Freelancer ?
A: Freelancer is old. People can try to see everything though pink glasses but the reality cant be denied. FL is not dead yet... but most players have not realized that they have to do something to keep it alive. Thats a shame.
Q: Do you think that after the success of Starlancer and Freelancer there should be a third Lancer game ?
A: Starlancer and Freelancer never really were a success. Thats just how fans of those games would like to see those games. The games had a pretty unique style, partly revolutionary but they didnt get the attention that they would have deserved.
Personally I dont want to see a 3rd lancer game. At least not an official one. There are many petitions out there for another sequel of the lancer series but to be honest I have not signed a single one of them. I have too many reasons to believe that a sequel finally would kill FL in the same way FL killed SL. And I have the feeling that no new story would fit to the both existing ones.
Q: You started the oldest and most successful clan of the Crossfire "server clans" : the Blood Guards. Any advice you'd give to beginner clan leaders that hope to take their own place amongst the top clans ?
A: Yes, stay out of politics and act based on the clans principles. But maybe its more important the members of the clan are proud to be in that clan and play with each other whenever they get the chance. To wear a clantag means nothing, only the interaction inside the clan is the key to success or failure. (unfortunatly something many clans dont know anymore)
SWAT_OP-R8R, thank you very much.
