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E-Mail Spookie All About Spookie Spookie Pix
Current Spookie Side Return To Methos Quake
| December 8th, 1998 |
It's Been Eons!
Gosh, I've been away far to long and I've missed responding to all you cool people
out there. First off let me thank all of you who took the time to drop me a li'l
B-Day email. Thank you Methos for blabbing to the whole world it was my B-Day! LOL Oh how
I love the presents, send me more, SEND ME MORE!
Btw, my computer woes (two hd reformat/win95 installations) have put a stall in my updates
and responses to emails. If you sent me an email and I did not respond please send it
again if you could.. :)
In my last update way back when I spoke of my own Celeron experience and how it seemed
best to just stick with a Pentium2 chip. Since that post I recieved a few emails from some
gents very educated in the art of Celeron overclocking and how GREAT it really is. I'm in
a Pentium 233 right now and happy, but as soon as Q3 comes out I want some REAL horse
power and just may spring for a Celeron once again, however my first choice would be a
Pentium 450 with an Intercooled Bolt on Saleen Super Charger and Headers! Ugh,
excuse me.. I've been reading too much Mustangs & Fast Fords.
PGL Stuff
This is all old news so I'm not gonna go into all of it in much detail and in a previous
update I mentioned "That Guy's" name about 10 times or so. So anyways "That
Guy" won the PGL Q2 1on1 overcoming a VERY powerful kid known as Immortal. After
seeing their 1st game demo I was very surprised that Thre.. er.. "That Guy"
would go on to pull it off. Immy's style of play reminded me of Sujoy in many ways..
he made that Q2 dm level.. (um.. what are the names of the Q2 dm levels?) look
about as comfy as Sujoy makes dm4 look. But, "That Guy" is and has been the big
honcho for some time now and reminiscent of Reptile's 1 game lead of two years back in the
RA Quake finals "That Guy" came back and won two games straight to win it all.
So what else was "That Guy" doin at the PGL finals? How about helping Clan
DeathRow edge out everyone else for "Kings of the World" honors? Ok, I
hear the murmur's goin on abroad.. um.. I mean for "Kings of the USA" honors!
I might add phenominal job by all the clans involved especially Clan Gib who nabbed
2nd spot honors.
Now I know there are still alot of ya out there who're not impressed with the performances
of "That Guy" and you've all seen better and some of you can even do a
better job yourself. Well that may be however "That Guy" has been doin it
so consistently for so long it's quite amazing when you really think about it. He's so
talented that when he loses a game it's huge news. He dominated Doom & Doom2 his only
loss that i've ever heard of in that game was to XoLeRaS at Doom map11. He dominated Quake
and his only loss in official competition there was to Reptile in the in the PGL finals at
dm4 which he went on to win. He has just recently dominated Quake2 and his only loss
was to Immortal. Now he's probably lost a couple of pick-up games here and there in
those games but in official competition he's um.. Champ.
Awesome display of consistency and domination.. now you guyz go visit his latest website,
"Thresh's Firing Squad" it's packed with software and hardware reviews and is
for Gamers by Gamers (did I rip that saying off from someone else? LOL)!
Cali-Girl ventured up to Frisco that week of the PGL and has a very nice write up
on her experiences there.. read about it here.
Who's The Best In The World?
Just who is the Best 1 on 1 DM'er in the world? It was the subject of a conversation that
Methos and I were having about a week ago. We went on to talk about how such a Tourney of
perhaps 10 or more players of "Invite Only" would be selected. Players
like RiX, Timber, Cenobite, sCary, Gollum, Randemarr and so on. Two players stood out in
both of our minds. Thresh & LakermaN.. perhaps because they both seem the most
well rounded for this hypothetical tourney.
It was regarded (in USA minds anyway) for some time that the USA clans were the deadliest
at Clan Wars at dm3. That was and has been proven inaccurate by those boys from Sweden,
Clan9. For the most part Thresh is considered the deadliest Quake player in the world, at
least by most of us here in the USA. He's probably the deadliest Q2 player around here and
the UK since he has proven himself here & there. But, who is the best Quake
player in the world?
Methos picks LakermaN while I stick with Thresh. And yes, of course there are at least 20
other players out there who could possibly edge out either of these two guyz. But
for now lets stick with mine and Methos's picks.
Now if LakermaN and Thresh were to have this King Kong vs Godzilla match what maps would
they play on? How about id's most popular dm maps.. Methos and I thought dm2, dm4
and dm6. What would they play tho.. QW or NQ? LakermaN is a native QW player
while Thresh is a native NQ player so perhaps the matches could be split up much like the
DR & Clan9 clan wars?
So how about 3 matches in NQ and 3 matches in QW, each with one match at dm2, dm4 and dm6?
What if there is a tie breaker you say? Then we go NQ e1m2 (visions of a Ferrari) to
settle it for once and for all! LOL No, how about a tie breaker decided at the Ziggurat
Vertigo with Axes only? No, ok.. in the event of a tie breaker how about a random draw of
either NQ or QW with either of the 3 dm maps previously mentioned randomely selected for
the tie breaker? ::Whew:: now that that's outa' the way lets see how our
hypothetical matches went?
Methos and I both agreed LakermaN was superior at dm4, we both felt Thresh would be far to
much for LakermaN at dm6. That brought us to dm2, perhaps the equalizer map. LakermaN is
awesome at dm2 based on some demos we've seen. So this level might be a toss up as far as
I'm concerned.. however Methos felt advantage = LakermaN.
Personally I think the NQ dm4 match for Lakes would be tougher than we think because of
the physics of QW and how they differ GREATLY in NQ play. IMO the QW dm6 match would not
be so much different for Thresh as the dm4 match in NQ would be for LakermaN.. advantage =
Thresh
Now LakermaN is heavily armed and he does work alot on dm2, dm4 and dm6.. he's most
concerned with being as well rounded a player as he can be and judging by his FANTASTIC
style of play he is. I think it's fair to say that he even plays more Quake these days
than Thresh does.. however don't quote me on this cause I don't know for sure. I do know
that Thresh is playing Q2, Half-Life and Blood2 based on his performances at the PGL and
reviews of these games at his "Firing
Squad."
I would have to put my money on Thresh though if this were an official organized event
with cash prize based on his experience in BIG matches.
So there you have it.. from Methos' pov it's Lakes.. from mine it's "That
Guy."
Give us your feedback and bug some of these companies that a 1on1 World Quake Deathmatch
Tourney is in order here! Long live Quake!
How About A Li'l Christmas Game Giving?
LQMS-JeZeBeL has informed me of a worthy
cause for the kids so if you have any games you wouldn't mind letting go of send them
there! Ya' know.. games like Space Bunnys and Battleship 3000.. heheh, hey now, just
kidding.. send them GOOD games ;)
Gawd I've got so much more to talk about but it's Sunday Morning and i've got to eat..
Thank you all for taking the time to read my page and check up on it.. I'm not
screwing up my system again so I'll have some more updates for ya hopefully on a weekly
basis!
.. and Paul2 we're gonna miss you dude, stay cool &
funny :)
XP-Spookie out!
| November 2nd, 1998 |
Dear Tricks and Treats
I hope you all observed a very pleasant Halloween, it was a very peaceful day for
me. }D
It's howdy doody time, kiddies.. the bad man is here..
Over the weekend I sampled the Blood2 demo, it's the 2nd game to use the Lith-Tech engine.
It's about as laggy as Shogo is but in my opinion it's got a lot more to it. For
the most part I'm not a Mech-Warrior type of game fan and even though I do like Japanese
Anime the tease in Shogo just isn't enough for me. With Blood2 it seems like we'll be
getting a solid shooter with some VERY good single player action. The few enemies I
encountered while playing the demo were
pretty tough (in suicide mode). I will probably end up buying Blood2.. it's scary and it's
fun. Hopefully I'll have a system powerful enough to run it.
The Frags Top Fraggers (pasted from blues..
shhhhh)
FRAG 2 Winners:
1 - RiX
2 - Makaveli
3 - Immortal
4 - Resonance
5 - Unholy
6 - Leprechaun
Now there is an interesting group of guys.. most of them have established
their reputations in Quake and now they're kicking ass in Q2. Nice goin guyz.. RiX
joo own!
Woe Is Me :(
Over the course of this last month I've had quite a computer ordeal. I've had a
p200 MMX chip sitting in my puter running at 166mhz no MMX for lack of a better mb. I
decided it was time to swap motherboards. I wasn't all to successful without the new mb
manuals and blew out the power supply (I'm lucky I didn't blow the chip :O), duh. So I
said forget this and went over to Fry's Electronics in Burbank and purchased a 300mhz
Celeron. I've been hearing all kind of good things about the Celeron so even though I
blasted it before I figured it must be good cause of all the positive talk about it. Ugh!
It actually ran GL Quake slower than my 166 and the modem that came with it wasn't worth a
darn. Having sdRAM, a 32x cd-rom and a ps2 mouse was nice but because of the fact that
most Celeron's come without Cache memory it's performance was poor. And since I didn't do
my homework before purchasing I ended up with a Celeron that was not Over-Clockable.
I honestly doubt that I would've kept the system even if it was
Over-Clockable to 500mhz! LOL! So I'm in my 200 mhz MMX puter now. No more 166mhz
and the Celeron has been safely (lucky I didn't smash it up in a fit of rage) returned to
Frys, a very good store I might add. I always dreamed of having a p200 MMX and now that I
finally have one all the newer games lag on it. :(
Moral of the story: Don't buy Celery, just save up for a p2 :)
I have a very busy weekend coming up as I have a visitor coming from out of state. I'll
get to spend some REAL LIFE time with one of my FAVORITE Female Fraggers. Till next time
kiddies..
..the bad man is gone.
| October 26th, 1998 |
Methos' Mother Of All Quake Polls
As you all know Methos wrapped up the Quake poll and it was a huge success, it just
goes to show you that when we all team up we can wear Methos and his computer down. 8) A
few things I found interesting in the voting were:
Mousie: excuse me, Spookie?
Spookie: er.. I'm busy right now, Mousie.
Mousie: oh, ok how long is this gonna take?
Spookie: Grrrrrr!
Spookie: Happy now, Mousie?
Mousie: Yesh! :)
Gawd Save The Queen!
Yeppers, in case you haven't heard Thresh showed up to fight in London, Quake style ..um Quake2 style. The
number1 contender of the Quakeadelica
tourney, Billox, who was able to overcome a very tough Leper, finally had his shot at
glory. Oh how tough it is to get your chance to frag against the best overall Quaker
around, Thresh. Billox did get his chance.. the former flight-sim player turned Q2 monster
stood up to fight.. hrmm but was quickly knocked out. Ok, it took 20 min but it was over
very early. Thresh held the Rocket Launchers and made goin for the Railgun a bad idea.
When Thresh wasn't offering Billox Armor Shards for protection he was cutting him down
with a deadly Railgun/Chaingun combo.
Mousie: Thresh, that's Billox not Xenon from clan9, don't be
so mean!
Spookie: Mousie! Shhhhh!
Where was I, ok, yeah, so basically Thresh dominated the entire match much to the chagrin
of the Poor Bloody Bastard who offered, "Billox, get one for Britain!" Billox
never played any Quake and I'm wondering if all them fights Thresh had Vs guyZ like B2,
Reptile, mikeJ, Unholy and WhiteWolf helped? Not to mention his Tournament success of the
past. Dennis, you obviously have your critics and on any given day anyone can be beat but
Quakers need to look no further than your fantastic record which speaks for itself. GG
Man!
Mousie: Spookie, you've been reading to much Paul2!
Spookie: Why, just cause I said, "Poor Bloody
Bastard"?
Mousie: ..yesh
Spookie: oh, Mousie, you misunderstand, Brits talk like that
all the time.. it's actually quite affectionate 8)
Mousie: :O
On-Line Gaming News Cali-Girl Style
Cali-Girl over at CGN
recently gave this page some extra exposure on her news site. If you haven't been to
Cali's page you must visit it. This woman updates all the time (unlike me :p) and has the
latest scoop on everything from Quake2 mods to Rainbow6 patch updates. She's very talented
and wants to hear from you so email her with NewZ or just to say "hi." I first
met Cali-Girl while playing "Rage" Rocket Arena. She was probably still playing
a lot of C&C back then but she was falling for Quake. We've both come a long ways
since then and it's good to be in XP with her. Did I mention she is charming in person
too?
The Abandoned Unreal Base
There is something else I wanna blab about before I go..
Oh yeah, for those of you who have Unreal, ya'know.. that GREAT game that never was cause
of sucky Netplay? Well, I've found the ultimate map for it at PC Gamer. It's dm3 for Unreal,
yep, good ol' Abandoned Base, if you're a fan of that map you MUST download the Unreal
version. Panic is the savvy guy behind this
conversion. I dm'd on it Vs the Unreal BotZ and it was very fun and probably the best
looking map I've ever seen. That is until someone does a more exact representation of it
for Unreal. The dimensions are off a bit but again.. it's gorgeous and it's dm3. .. sigh,
the legacy of Quake continues to live on 8) See a cool picture of
it here.
Mousie: Spookie, you gonna tell them about your new spooky
midi theme and pic?
Spookie: Thanks, Mousie 8)
Mousie: I was just trying to.. I.. ok 8)
| October 18th, 1998 |
Happy Saturday Night Fever Peeps
Methos Lags The Internet With Massive
Quake Poll
Yeppers, people.. all that lag you've been experiencing lately is due to the
increased web traffic from desperate netizens trying to get their VOTE in before the doors
of the ULTIMATE QUAKE POLL 2 slam shut. It'll be really interesting to see what the
results are this time around especially with the increased voting. I'm hoping you all eat
DoritoZ and drink Cherry Coca Cola like I do while playing Quake. Calculating the
results of the UQP2 in MS Excel is also taxing Methos' cpu to the limit, so who says
Spreadsheet Bunny's don't need a 500mhz P2?
Methos just recently turned um..? Geeze! His age remains a mystery to me, regardless.. me being 31 goin on 32, I informed him that it is not all downhill from here on as he now has a legitimate excuse for losing games to Younglings. Slower reflexes! LOL. Happy Birthday Bro! ;D
Wake Up And Smell The Quake, Spookie!
In my last update I rambled on about the "GREAT" Quake2 mod no one was
working on.. remember? Well in separate incidents two really kewl guyz who go by the
handles' "Vigo" and "Kilm" smacked me down with some email informing
me of project GENERATIONS for Q2. What's so kewl about this mod? Basically it
allows you to play as either the Quake2 or Quake grunt with some original Quake maps
included. Dm6 never looked so lovely before (honestly). In my experience with
the mod the people who used the Quake Guy were kicking the Quake2 Grunt and Gruntess to
the curb with powerful Rocket Blasts and wicked shaft slicing. So now we know Quake
is better, right? LOL One problem I did have with the mod besides the Quake2 feel was
rocket jumping. I could not RL jump worth a darn. I hope this will be improved
if it can. So if you Love Quake and haven't really been able to get into Quake2 at
this point go check this mod out!
I'd also like to say, Fantastic job to the guyz behind all the GREAT work at Generations: Skid, D.Nite, Cricket, DaTa, Dicion, Hawkmoon, BleacH, HellFire and Priest! Whew! ::pant:: :)
It's A Small World After All
A few months ago at work I struck up a conversation with a patient who had hurt
herself rock climbing. Turns out she is a game programmer. We talked about games but
mostly about Quake. She's played Quake online before but didn't really know about Female
Quake clans or even the fact that there are many Lady Quakers out there. I turned her
on to the QGirlZ and Lady Quake Marines. I told her
about a Princess[QGirlZ] I knew online and how she too was into rock climbing. She
asked me if her name was Tara? I said I wasn't sure, but then it occurred to me that
that was in fact her name. She then went on to tell me about how much of a fan of
Tara's she was and how great a rock climber Tara is. I was like.. whoa.. small world.
Then a couple of weeks ago we had a person come in for X-Rays named Steve Dangcil. I was like.. um.. "Do you have a brother named Jim?" and he said, "Yep!" I laughed and said, "I was in clan POSTAL with him." It turns out this was the older brother of the Legendary Reptile, formerly of clan POSTAL and now DEATHROW. Like Jim his brother was very nice and I'm sure excels in his Video co. the way li'l bro Jim does in Quake.
Is that enough about Quake people? Hang on.. here's one more.. I was at Fry's Electronics the other day looking for a cpu/motherboard upgrade because I had blown out my power supply and low in behold I spot Notorious.Gib. I walked up to him and said, "Hey man, what's up?" After exchanging greetings he informed me that he hasn't really been playing much Quake. I hope he gets back into it cause he's a very strong 1 on 1 player. :)
Xtreme Prejudice Sends It's Regards
Mousie: Spookie how come you never talk about
XP?
XP-Spookie: Doh!!
Let's catch up to Xtreme Prejudice right now. XP has been very active in the OGL Open Q2 ladder, XP-Bass-o-matic, XP-BigJack, XP-Chocula, XP-Cromwell, XP-Kiljoy and XP-Zadius have been working their way up that ladder. We started in at the bottom like 88th or something now I hear we're 19th and getting closer to the big 10! XP is also very active with Tom Clancy's Rainbow6 shooter and is putting much playing time on Mplayer. If you like the game catch up to us on Mplayer we're easy to find cause we almost always wear our XP names. I have word that our Team Fortress QW squad is still going strong too. Our Q2 Weapons Factory squad is also very active. If you'd like to scrimmage or play with us.. or just hang out drop by. We're always looking for more good people.
Quake2 Technology Vs Unreal
I've been doing some reading both on the net and in the gaming magazines and I'm
very excited about a few projects utilizing Unreal Technology.. namely Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time RPG and Werewolf: The Apocolypse. I'm
a fan of both of those books/games and I think the lush graphics of Unreal and solid
single play will benefit. However I'm concerned about a lot of these game companies
that are choosing the Unreal Tech route for their Multi-player endeavors. Such as
Duke Forever and many others. I've heard about how much easier it is to create maps
using the Unreal editor. But Quake2's multiplay internet code is superior hands
down. And even though at this point we're only gonna see Heritic2, Daikatana and
Anachronox utilizing this network code (perhaps even tweaked a bit) I personally have a
feeling based on what I've read that Herectic2 will go over REALLY big with us (the
Multi-player group). I have very high hopes for Daikatana and Anachronox. I'm
concerned about how well 3DRealm's new
Duke game will play over the net. I know a lot of work is being done to improve code
at Epic but look how long it took before QW v2.30 was released?
You know what's pretty strange about the gaming industry.. it seems there are always so many GREAT games in production. Actually there have been many many GREAT games in production for many years. Maybe half of them were finished and maybe 10% of those were worth a 2nd look :(. It'd be nice if we would see a few more success stories in this gaming industry. My hands down pick for success is Quake3 Arena. Let's see how many companies switch to Quake3 technology when it comes out. :)
Mousie: Spookie?
XP-Spookie: Yes, Mousie?
Mousie: Do you think Id will send you a
beta-test version of Quake3 Arena?
XP-Spookie: Of course, Mousie :)
ZZZzzzzZZZZzzzzz ::snore:: Zzzzz ZZzzzzzzz
| October 4th, 1998 |
Q2 Invaded By The Predator
I don't do much Q2 but I recently gave the "Predator" mod a shot.
I'm very much a fan of the movies and I am always looking for a twist to the usual (mods
like RA2) Q2 game. The Predator patch installs very nicely and in no time I was out
hunting "Dachande" or one of his menacing brothers. Even with a fairly large
group of Marines at my side hunting.. um or rather being hunted by the Predator (the lucky
player) it was not an easy venture. Unfortunately the Predator can choose to become
invisible and is exactly that most of the time. So basically the Marines cut down the
level with as much fire power as they can in all directions at the sound of a twig
snapping. Pretty funny stuff especially if the guy right beside you has just been
disemboweled by this totally invisible creature of destruction. The mod is still in beta
and I'm sure it will be improved.
Here's what I'd like to see in the finished product:
I think these few changes would vastly improve the chaos and fun of the mod. Meanwhile, ^Metal^, Beamer, |||Rage||| and Diablo are hard at work! Go pay them a visit and check out the kewl mod they're working very hard on. GG GuyZ!
A Kewl Q2 Nobody Is Working On :(
With all the talk of Coke vs Pepsi, Mac vs PC and Quake vs Quake2 how come none of you
kick ass programmers have come up with some kinda' mod to actually attempt to address this
undying issue? Here's all you have to do (coming from someone who has not even an
inkling of programming knowledge LOL):
OMG, look how easy that was!? NOW SOMEONE GET WORKING ON IT NOW 8)
A Couple Of Very Kewl USA QW Clans
Long ago at a QW server called Ensinc I would FFA with this dude called
GQ-Kukabuka, it was actually quite frustrating cause he was so damn good. But, not only
was he a helluva' player he was a kewl guy. In time, I met a fellow clanmate of his who
goes by the handle GQ-King Stud, we deathmatched a few times and he showed me his
expertise at dm6. 8) Now both Kuka and Stud are gentlemen.. hmmm, hence the Clan GQ it must stand for
Gentlemen's' Quake. Go pay them a visit and who knows maybe King Stud will indulge you in
a 1on1 challenge, he's basically a dm6 player but he tells me he's working on his dm4 game
too!
Hey, If you haven't heard of DVC or the Deadly Venom clan go pay them a visit now! They've got some really kewl
people/players in their clan in the form of [DVC]KiTiara (not to be confused with the
Kitara in my pic) and [DVC]ZMAN Z-28. Both of these People/Quakers are very
competitive and have a true love for the game.. and again.. most importantly are mature
and friendly.
XP-Spookie: Clan GQ and DVC we salute you!
Mousie: Yesh!
Ever Wonder Why Great Players Are Unkewl?
Well, as I've known all along they're not. For instance last night I was playing at
the Mortician's QW server (198.106.23.1:27500) and some LPB logged on with a really kewl
nickname.. the nickname was.. um, oops, I can't give her Alias away, but anyway we started
to talk. I thought this person's handle was very kewl. She later asked if I was
XP-Spookie and If I knew Kornelia, I said yep to both. She changed her name and
BINGO, it was the legendary Kornelia herself. Turns out she remembered me from the
Beatdown and was surprised to find out I wasn't an ass er.. was a cool guy.
8) We chatted a bit more then proceeded to frag, she was a bit rusty but still
kicked my arse. She was a total Gentlem.. um.. Gentlewoman. :)
Another legend in her own right and my NQ fragging partner LQMS-JeZeBeL (Founder of Clan Lady
Quake Marines and a Super Individual) confirmed Korn's awesome aim. Some people are
blessed! The Quake community would not be the same without these awesome
individuals!
Mousie: jez and korn, we salute you.. :|
XP-Spookie: um.. Mousie, better stand up straight when you say that and speak up!
>:|
Mousie: LQMS-JeZeBeL AND Kornelia WE SALUTE YOU! :O
XP-Spookie: much better, soldier.. as you were. :)
Btw, for those of you who've never seen me play, I can assure you that I'm Improper CRAP!
LOL, sPoOkHoLiO outies
| September 26th, 1998 |
Of Mice and Men..Err, Spooks!
What's the lowest ping you'd like to play with?
Mousie: um... er.. a zero ping "0"
Spookie: To bad you only get that kinda' ping when you play Reapers, Omicrons and Frogs.
What's best for Lan play, NQ or QW?
Mousie: QuakeWorld! it's the BEST!
Spookie: QW is best played over the Internet (that's what it was designed for) even if it does have settings that make it feel more like NQ. The rocket blast radius is still not right.
Teamplay mode 1, 2 or 3?
Mousie: Teamplay 1 cause then I get to Rocket Jump all over the place like they do..
Spookie: In Clan Arena and in some, ahem... prestigious UK Tourney (where they use TP3). No, I don't think so because, it's actually quite lame and takes away from the actual skill of the players. Teamplay 2 or bust.
What game plays better over the internet, Quake World or Net Quake?
Mousie: QuakeWorld! 8)
Spookie: nice, Mousie, It was designed for Internet play.
If you're playing Quake over the internet with a 250ms ping which will aid your Lan game more, NQ or QW?
Mousie: Net Quake because the Lan party will be in NQ like you said, Spookie!
Spookie: er.. no, QW is better practice via the net for a Lan play. As a hpb you will still be able to react relatively quickly over the net. Lagged NQ will really throw your timing off.
Ok Mousie, here's some Cheese, off with ya now! 8)
Watch Out For Falling Babes!
Ever been to LoonEtick's Playground (204.142.105.4:27500)? It's a pretty kewl FFA
QW server with artifacts and custom maps. I met a really kewl Fragress there, she goes by
the handle, "SnowWhite7" and she's very charismatic with her artifacts. Be
careful not to let her cute name fool ya, she's a butcher! 8) So go get fragged by
her and visit her web
page which is quite resourceful.
Also, my fragging partner and part-time lover (LOL) Vain Dame introduced me to
"Gina" from clan Super Sport. I'll go ahead and pop a link up right here.
Apparently she's in my neck of the woods too! 8)
What, not enough Quake for you? You don't care, you want more lady stories? Ok, sit
back and check this then.
A Very True Spookie Story
Last week at work I noticed a rather Shagadelic Babe in our CAT Scan room. Being the
inquiring guy I am I decided to um.. assist with this patient. As soon as I approached her
she stood straight up and and um.. she was built like a race horse. I introduced myself,
"Hi, I'm Spookie.. er Charles", she shook my hand but she didn't introduce
herself. Hmmm, she looked very familiar and outa' sight! I asked the technologist who she
was. My co-worker responded with, "Heather Thomas." My heart began to beat
rapidly and as I proceeded to set her up for the CAT Scan I said, "I think I've still
got one of your posters laying around in my room somewhere. She chuckled and said,
"Now that brings back some memories." Her exam was uneventful and she is
as healthy as a race horse! Check out this link for some
pictures of her. She was Lee Major's co-star in the TV show, The Fall Guy. She's a bit
older now but, trust me, she looks better than ever! Damn, forgot to ask her if she played
Quake? She coulda' been a contender for Methos' Quake Babe spot. 8)
I'm gonna go look at pix of Heather, cya'll later!
| September 7th, 1998 |
Methos and his Poll
Just when you thought it was safe to stop wondering about what Spookie thinks.. an update!
Methos really kicked some ass with his Quake Poll work. Big THANKS to all them people who
made me an honorable contender on the list of "Coolest Quake Players!" ::Blush::
If Methos does another survey anytime soon I'm gonna spread the word about it here in the
USA. The general feel of the votes seemed quite international and knowing how vocal us
American's can be that voice was somewhat lacking in the final poll results. However it's
always great to hear about what the Quake scene abroad is thinking too! It wasn't
surprising to me that Thresh dominated more categories than any other single player. I was
surprised to see LakermaN score so high in votes. I know how good he is I just didn't know
you all did too! Xenon placing high was neat too. I hear he recently gave Sujoy a great
game on dm4 too (I'll have to see this demo). I'm sure there are many other GREAT
players out there too that didn't make the votes both inside and outside the USA. Maybe
next time. BTW, wouldn't you all like to see some 1on1 matches between Thresh and LakermaN
though? 8) Which brings me to our next subject..
The World Quake Tournament
I think the Fat Lady who was just about to sing "Farewell my Quake" just caught
a frog in her throat. Things seem underway as organizers work out all the particulars of
the upcoming, "World Deathmatch Tourney." I understand it's been and will be no
easy task. Everyone has an opinion on how it should be played. QW or NQ, Teamplay 1 or
Teamplay 2, Teams events only or Teams and 1 on 1 duel matches. It's my hope that this
tournament will be the BEST Quake Tourney ever. I think we're all in for some incredible
displays of team talent and perhaps even some great 1on1 duels. ::fingers crossed::
Q2 anyone? :p
A Spookie Hope for Q3
I been thinking about Q3 and what has made it's predecessor Quake so awesome? What could
be done to improve it (if it's possible)? Let's turn back to Doom. What happened when you
ran out of ammo? You basically ran around looking for more ammo while punching anyone who
got in your way. However feeble the punches were they made for some very hysterical
laughter on my part and perhaps yours too? If you were lucky enough and ran into a
Berserker Powerup suddenly you were a Mean Ass Mofo not to be taken lightly. More fun and
laughter ensued as you knocked some heads off with your bare hands. Then came Quake and
the axe. Hrmm.. the axe is kewl and I'm sure we've all had some fun and laughs with it
too, especially Quad Axe! However I thought the punches in Doom were more fun. I won't get
into the Q2 Blaster, bleah. Both the Quake axe and Doom punch were pretty kewl but could
they help get you out of a tight situation? Could they possibly buy you some time by
slowing down your opponent and giving you that extra millisecond of time to make your
escape in hopes of finding a more powerful weapon to protect yourself with? Probably not,
unless you had an LPB axe and the person chasing you had an HPB nail gun. But even then
without ammo (no broomstick) you would be at the mercy of your chaser and, if your pursuer
was a Kick Ass HPB or half decent LPB you were dead meat. How about a little twist this
time around with Q3? I propose a new non-weapon attack for Q3. I'm thinking along the
lines of something like a Body Slam or a Side Kick. Either new form of attack/defense
could perhaps buy you a split second or two and make for some very funny moments in the
game.
Picture if you will, yourself on dm4 at the lightning gun. Your opponent has total control
of the level and you're about to grab green armor and suddenly he/she is on you like a
cat! Maybe your opponent's aim isn't that great and he is far to aggressive. So he jumps
down and fires a rocket at you that you somehow survive. Now you are in fighting range but
have no weapons. Or maybe you do but you opt for your hand to hand fighting skills over
your shotgun. So as your opponent prepares to deal that final death blow you reach around
his waist (get close enough and initiate your hand to hand combat bind) and lift him up
and throw him over your shoulder. Only this time as he flies over your head expecting to
land on solid ground staring up at the ceiling (off balance for maybe 1/2 a second and
taking perhaps 10 points of damage) he soars over the edge and lands into the Lava.
Lots of laughter!
If moves like this were included into Q3, (yes, I know seems a bit like Virtual Fighters
but that was a great game ya'know) I think they would only add to the fun and excitement
of the game. Weaponless you might have half a rats ass of a chance of surviving an
attack? These moves could also be used in stealth to sneak up on your opponents and at
best could buy you some time. Just a thought on what I'd like in Q3 that the GREAT
Quake lacks. 8)
Before I go, I just upgraded my QW2.21 to QW2.30 and I'm getting stuck on the walls all
over the place on many different levels. The QW rocket launcher blast radius is still to
great and deters from the skill of the players. Thresh has touched upon some of these
things in his latest Frontline posts. So if you don't listen to me listen to him! Yeah,
and bring back quicker silent movement in Q3 too!
Remember, it's the PlayerZ who rule or you don't get rich! 8)
Buh bye for now, everyone..
::Hugs and Kisses::
| August 11th, 1998 |
Sweden's Clan [9] Reins Supreme!
In what was supposed to be perhaps the GREATEST international Quake match ever, the USA's
clan DeathRow was set to clash with Sweden's elite clan [9]. Expectations were high here
in the US and well into a frenzy in Europe. I had spoken to several of my friends and it
seemed as though the Quake community in general was very excited about this international
clash. I did realize though that DeathRow losing their first match to Unforgiven earlier
in the PGL was no fluke. They seemed a notch below their normal game. I had heard that
many of the DR's were switching to Q2, that one of the DR's had lost a QW match to a very
strong HPB known as EG-Monster (he's beat the crap outa' me too 8). And that some of the
DR guyz were VERY confidant, perhaps too confidant.
This surprised me because long ago, Methos helped open my eyes to some of the
international talent out there. He showed me demos of the Sujoy, Danold, Ettu,
Randemarr and some of the other European Quake front runners and since then, the talent
has only got better. The European talent on dm4 is amazing and I'd never play any of these
guyz on dm4. What I'm trying to say here, is that people take their Quake just as serious
as us regardless of their location on the planet. Point being is when some nice guys from
Stockholm invite you down for a game of Quake and someone else is picking up the 20k
airfare and accommodations you had better be ready to play some serious Quake because
their not going through all that trouble to lose.
Buster Douglas did the impossible and beat Iron Mike Tyson he got lax and Evander
Holyfield walked up to him in his next fight and knocked him out. History has shown
us that it's no easy task staying in top form for every new challenge out there.
Clan9 studied up on DeathRow before these matches which was very smart. DeathRow was
making an about face from Quake2 back to Quake and trying to develop some QuakeWorld
skills too. The Clan9 players are very accustomed to the Lan game calling out positions
and strategies verbally. Even if DeathRow would have been in top form (I think it's fair
to say they weren't.. but that's no ones fault but their own) the games still would have
been a struggle. As it turned out the games were in my opinion a disappointment. I'm
not just saying this because I'm American and wanted to see DeathRow beat Clan9 (which I
did 8). I'm saying it because I wanted to see DeathRow at it's best go up against Clan9
who most would agree are at their best right now. The guyz that I know from DR and have
played with on the net did not show up for these matches at their fullest potential. If I
were Clan 9, I'd be a bit disappointed because it's no fun beating the PGL Champs when
their out of shape. By game 7, Clan9 had already won 6 games and had secured the
tournament victory even though there were still 3 more games to play.
Let it be said though that even a clan like DeathRow who was not in top form for this
competition was still VERY dangerous. Any team with a guy known as Thresh on it is. Major
Kudos to Clan9 for dominating these matches. Clan9 is the deadliest Quake team in the
world right now.
Looking at the whole picture, isn't it great that through a game like Quake we can have
people from different walks of life and places compete in a friendly way like this? All in
all, I think the tournament was incredible even if the team I was rooting for didn't win.
How about another series of matches in the future, with maybe clan9 coming down to visit
and hang out in the USA?
This is a strange time for Quake, it should've already been dead with
Quake2's arrival but Quake's fast paced deathmatch style of play continues to live on. So
don't stop playing Quake out there just yet you never know. The boyz from Stockholm might
pay us a visit someday and next time we had better be ready.
Beatdown Makes Front Page of the LA Times!
P.J Huffstutter wrote an article for today's (Monday August 10, 1998) LA Times entitled,
"Vitual and Real World Combine at LAN Party."
The article starts out by telling us of Andrea Bruns's (a.k.a. China from clan Crackwhore)
trek from San Rafael to Coasta Mesa (no short drive) for the Beatdown. Many of the
attendees come from out of state with their computers and entrance fee. Having been to the
Beatdown, it was fun reading about the 72 hour non-stop Lan Party and how these types of
events are more and more becoming the thing to do for the 20 something's. A new type of
fun if you will, a Cyber Party in Real Life. The author goes on to give the reader a feel
for what exactly goes on at these gatherings and who is into them. Amazingly, the author
tells us nearly everything about the Beatdown without ever mentioning Quake or Quake2
which are the primary games played.
I wonder if the Beatdown will have me back again even though I kinda' sucked?
Ok, I'm gonna pass out.. Good Night Kiddies..
Spookie out.
| August 5th, 1998 |
XP-Con2!
Whew, where to start off about such a fun & unique event? How about at the beginning.
On Friday night, the XP's and friends assembled at Cromwell's house up in Agoura Hills
California. We dined out under the stars (well it was dark by the time I got there) and
basically made introductions and blabbed a lot. We later headed inside to watch some
Jackie Chan stuff (that guy is insane.. but I'm not ready to see him enter a UFC
just yet). At about 2am or so we called it a night and I headed home in my Blue Renta'
Beetle.
On Saturday we met up just outside of Knott's Berry Farm and pigged out at Mrs. Knott's
Chicken Dinner Restaurant. The food was very tasty and it was quite exciting watching
XP-Bass down some Rhubarb. Boy, has Knott's changed.. well, maybe I've just been away for
to long? At any rate, all them rides seemed to have gotten' a lot scarier and then they
got this new thing, I don't recall the name of but, it basically shoots you way up into
the sky and drops you down very quickly then back up again and so on. Being the Spookster
I am, of course I watched 8). XP-Chael was very kewl and consoled me throughout my Knott's
experience. No thanks to XP-Kiljoy who might as well have been trying out for the Space
program with all the nerve he had. How's that pager, KJ? LOL The highlight of
Knott's for me was sinking a shot at the basketball stand. Swwwiiissshhh! Bingo, I won a
li'l Tweety Bird stuffed animal. hrmm I asked XP-Jasp to hold it for me and I haven't seen
it since. As the sun started to sink I began to rally the XP Sin-a-Matic squad. We headed
back to LA and after a few drinks and a lot of TranZ music I basically lost myself in the
club. Um, can someone tell me what happened at Sin-a-Matic? My
mind is a blank. I've been having weird visions of getting intimate on the dance floor
with Lambodomy! Ack! Hrmm well, he was subservient so it's ok. Long live XP Squad
Sin-a-Matic! }D
We all met at Thousand Oaks on Sunday for lunch and a movie. Most all of us opted for
Saving Private Ryan which turned out to be quite a fantastic movie. After goin through
half a box of Kleenex I headed for the parking lot and I parted from the wonderful group
of friends who
all made XP-Con2 an incredible success.
Thanks a lot XP's and friends!
Well now Spookie aren't ya gonna tell everyone where they can see all the pretty pictures?
Yesh, go to XP-Con
Pictures.
SiN The Demo
I tried the demo of SiN out with my friend JeZeBeL. We both liked it. The opening scenes
are very impressive and the game seems to have potential. I'll be a bit more cautious this
time around since I went all out with Unreal that to this day, still hasn't gotten the net
play right! SiN, on the other hand may not sport the fancy Unreal graphics but it plays
GREAT over the net and that is what might catapult it over some of the competition.
Ok, be good or be good at it!
XP-Spookie
| July 27th, 1998 |
CPL Champ is U4|Rix
The CPL champion has been crowned and he is none other than Clan Unforgiven's Rix. He
fought hard and tough on dm6 to beat his co-clanmate and east coast legend Gollum. Gollum
really jumped out strong, taking and controlling both rocket launchers for sometime and
taking a 2 to 0 lead on Rix. But, today the sun would shine on Rix even through the purple
cloud cover of dm6. Rix racked up 10 frags by being (seemingly) everywhere on the map at
once. Gollum made a final charge and finished with 5. It's one of the best dm6 matches
I've ever seen. Right up there with Thresh Vs Reptile and MikeJ Vs Thresh.
Congratulations Rix, Gollum wasn't able to come back and get you at the end as he did last time you two played. Great game GuyZ!
CPL Vs PGL Demos
One thing that really impressed me with the CPL was that they got the demos done right.
The PGL on the other hand was perhaps not quite as organized or something and lacked POV
demos. Not so with the CPL which has about 50 POV demos available. Let me reiterate
out there.. WE QUAKE FANS DON'T LIKE CHASECAM GIVE US POV DEMOS! Heh, there. 8)
sCary was able to bounce back in the competition to secure a 6th place
finish, not bad for a QW native. Kornelia was never able to bounce back because she was
knocked out of the competition because of that loss on dm2. Bum deal there. Kornelia
definitely would have been one of the
top 10 finalists had she been able to play her matches exclusively on dm4 and dm6. However
that was not the case. So to all you aspiring players out there hoping for your name in
the big bright cyber lights make sure you're well versed on all the big 1 on 1 levels,
namely dm2, dm4, dm6 and e1m2. Lord Vader did exceptionally well and finished 3rd. I
was amazed at this guys shaft aim. Great job everyone!
But before you guyz n' girlz go working on your Quake game.
Is The Fat Lady Singing?
Being the die hard Quake fan that I am I certainly hope not. I can't ignore the fact
though that the PGL has omitted Quake from
the 1 on 1 tourney (the PGL still has Quake as it's teamplay competition) and turned it
into an exclusive Q2 1 on 1 tourney. Nor can I ignore the fact that the big Quakeadelica
challenge pitting the UK's best player against the Mighty Thresh will be Q2 also.
Lets enjoy this latest CPL challenge because it may very well have been the last GREAT
Quake tourney. Go get those demos and savour them.
SIN Demo Released Today???
That's what everyone has been saying only I can't find the bloody FTP site.. well as soon
as I do I'll download it and play it a bit and let ya all know what I think about it.
Morticia-SNM
Do you like Lady Quake players with VERY good aim? You do? Then go say "hi" to
my friend Mistress Morticia. Check out her screenshots and vote!
Ok, I'm gonna go back to burning up here in LA and maybe get lucky and track down that
elusive SIN demo. (the virus free version)
XP-Spookie out.
| July 25th, 1998 |
...and nearly a month later, another
update :0
Hrmm I'm back. I got tired of sharing a cabin with Grizzly Adams so I've returned
to the city and have missed all my fav Netizens.
CPL Stuff!
At last check, the latest CPL Tourney
was well underway and Unforgiven's very own Gollum was leading the pack with 111 frags!
Hedgehog a non-CPL competitor is in 2nd place with 96 frags. Lord Vader who has most
recently established himself as a serious power on QW came in with 84 frags. It should be
noted that LV originally got started playing NQ in the West mainly at KittyStanford.edu.
sCary and Kornelia didn't do great but I'm sure they're gonna pick things up.. I have
faith in them 8).
XP-Con2
Geeze, I'm a bit late in telling everyone about this. If you've visited our XP page then you prolly know
we're all getting together for some fun the weekend of July 31 - Aug 2nd. If you didn't
know that, now you do! Feel like hanging with a lot of fun people you probably only see
and hear about online? Then come on by. Hurry up though cause it's NEXT weekend!
Q2 Vs Quake (as seen through the eyes of
Medusa.QGirlZ)
Medusa writes a very balanced
article regarding this whole topic. She and I have bonked heads on this subject more
than once and I'm impressed with her version of it all. Or am I just becoming soft on Q2?
Nice strafing Q2 Girl! I think I been playing to much Q2 Rocket Arena. :O LOL
Thresh
The UK vs
Thresh, eh? On dm2, dm4 or maybe even dm6? Um.. no, Q2.. so maybe Q2DM1? Darn, I
really wanted to see the UK's best and Thresh throw down on Quake! Ok, I won't say
anymore, it'll still be a fun contest to watch. 8)
and More Thresh
On July 15th Methos posted a demo which he labeled as a cheat demo. He claims the guy was
using a bot? Hrm, Methos, I will tell you that guy with the 300 ping shafting everyone in
sight was not a bot. It was just Thresh warming up for his upcoming Deathrow vs clan9 matches! Did I
forget to mention that I was the big winner in last week's Lotto? ..and um..
Jasmine Ghari the Victoria's Secret model is on the phone waiting for me right now?
Uh oh, gotta' go! Bye for now 8)
| June 29th, 1998 |
PGL All-Star Games.. Yeah Baby Yeah!
Greetings fellow Quakers and Quakettes!
I just got done watching the PGL All Star Demos that were played at the last E3. It was
4on4 Quake on dm3 just the way we all know and love it. The teams were broken up as
follows.
Blue Team: U4-Gollum, U4-Thorn, D8-Reptile-POST ( ;D ) and Kornelia.311
Red Team: D11-Thresh, D13-Unholy, D2-B2 and Dmann (not sure what clan he's in but he's
always been VERY tuff).
Before the game started, reading the pre-game chat it seemed to me that the Red's (mostly
DR's) were very very confidant. Come game time tho, Blue took charge of quad and pent
early on with U4's Gollum and Thorn pulling a Batman and Robin early on controlling the
quad and bridge. Thresh and co. scrambled and fought as best they could but were denied
any real quad/RL control. Gollum would go on to lead all scorers with Thorn in 2nd place.
Thresh in defeat finished 1st for his team with Unholy 2nd.
No biggie, best of 3 games, we've seen DR (I'll chuck Dmann in there too) come back with a
strong 2nd game (T3 finals) and throw down very hard when they're up against the wall.
Hrmm could the Dynamic duo, Rept-Man and Korn-Lady stave off the sure to come 2nd game
rush by the DR's? You betcha! With some strong play by the U4's again. Even tho the
initial spawn presented Red with quad. Blue was patient and hung closely to red armor and
edged their way to bridge/RL. U4-Gollum would go on to lead all scorers for Team-Blue.
Thresh and Unholy tied for tops as Red.
The demos are great and you can find the Gollum pov demos on Methos' demo page. If you'd
like to watch the demos from other pov's (I watched them from Kornelia's POV :) go to sCary's, he's got'em there for you on
his Saturday update!
A Very Pleasent Surprise!
Methos was bugging the hell outa' me today and I couldn't seem to slap him away
like I usually do (hahah, it's usually the other way around). He said, "Spookie, you
gota' check this out, go to Challenge.AU"
So I figured the best way to get him off my back was to comply, well now upon
visiting this Kewl Aussie page I was pleasantly surprised to find some of my Quake Vs
Quake2 comments re-printed for others to read. I wasn't ragging on Q2 like I usually do
(LOL) but just calling it like I see it. So, if you'd like to re-read my words (you know
you do!) go visit this page. It's got everything from demos to spotlights on
International players and Quake cons. Btw, thanks for reading and telling,
Knight[MHCN]!
The Superstar
Okie, time for me to do a li'l bit o' ranting here. Lemme step up on my soapbox. We
(Clan XP) recently had a very good player
join our ranks. Hrmm this guy is not just good, he's got amazing Quake/dm3 & team
skills. We scrimmaged a few times with him taking charge and even as a HPB contesting our
LPB's for leads at the finish!
It's something else when you've got a superstar on your team, right? Well,
unfortunately for us, in this case our superstar decided that Clan XP was not for him. No
problem, right? Wrong, he took it a step further and started saying derogatory things
about XP. Even going so far as to post messages from our private message board to his NEW
clans IRC channel! Can you say Clan Whore? I'm prolly not even half as good a Quake player
as this guy but, with that attitude I'd rather play Quake with Austin Powers.
Remember when Michael Jordan 1st came into the NBA? Who'd he have as teammates to help
carry him to greatness? I know he had Charles Oakley! Shortly thereafter he had Scottie
Pippen and John Paxton. But early on Jordan was an incredible talent, he'd end up having
to practically go up against the Detroit Piston's with Bill Lambeer, Dennis Rodman, John
Sally, Joe Dumars and Isiah Thomas single handedly in the playoffs. I know after the BullZ
were eliminated every season he was very disappointed but, he always had a vision. He was
determined to make the best of himself and his team mates. The rest of his story is
history you all know. Point being if you're a superstar (I hope your modest if you are)
don't be so quick to jump ship if you sense or think that the clan you've just joined is
not for you. Why not stick it out a bit and see what you can do for that Clan? You might
be surprised to find out that they really do have a lot of potential and Clan Xtreme
Prejudice does as do many other clans out there. XP will overcome you.
Also, not everyone is gonna be accepted into Clans DeathRow & Unforgiven and forgive
me for leaving out the other powerful clans out there both domestic and international. Nor
should all of the most talented players flock to these said clans. In my opinion play for
fun people, but play hard and demonstrate some loyalty! No one likes a clan hopper. You
just might pass up playing with and getting to know a great group of GuyZ n' GalZ! 8)
Spectra
How about if I spotlight a friend's homepage? She's very nice and has a
lovely family. She also has a lot of pictures of various USA Quakers, even your favorite
Quake Llama, Spookie! Ok, go check out Spectra's homepage!
I'm tired of typing now but I luv you all! Buh bye for now.. hrmm btw, thanks for
visiting, Carmack! :p
XP-Spookie out!
| June 16, 1998 |
Shake It Up!
What the heck is goin on?
April 27,1997 we're told 3D Realms is gonna use the Quake 2 engine for the upcoming Duke Nukem Forever.
June 15,1998 we're told by George Broussard of 3D Realms that they're switching over to the Unreal engine.
June 16,1998 Carmack says he's abandoning Quake 3 and single player in pursuit of a refined deathmatch style "Quake Arena" complete with Bots for single player play?
This is alot of news to stomach. Romero are you gonna stick with the
Quake2 engine for Daikatana? My heart is going pitter patter! Welp perhaps graphics
and a cheaper price are the lure for 3D Realms to the Unreal engine. However, at this
point id Software still has superior internet code.
Now some of you might be wondering about what XP-Spookie would like to see? You're not?
I'm gonna tell ya even if ya aren't! :)
Maybe John Carmack could give us with "Quake Arena" more of that classic Quake
feel but with souped up graphics? No, I don't mean Quake2 all over again. Quake2 has been
out for quite sometime now and even though it's a very good game, it hasn't sparked
intense Clan rivalries or great 1on1 matches at dm2, dm4 and dm6 that take place at 3am in
the morning like Quake did! I have yet to see MikeJ (who was QW's leading fragger back
when id kept frag stats) play Thresh in Quake 2. Quake's clan matches and 1on1 games were
(still are) so exciting. Where is that great Mancer vs sCary demo at dm4 in Quake2?
My point being that something is missing from Quake 2. It's Quake's solid DM play! Seen
many Quake2 demos lately? heh
Come'on Carmack, let's get real DM back and don't forget to bring the Quake RL and Shaft
back too! :)
Ok, in other news Bastard's
Beatdown happened this weekend and guess who attended? How about Kornelia? Guess who
won the QW Lan 1on1 tourney? How about Kornelia? Guess who I wanna play like when I grow
up? How about Kornelia? :p BTW Scunnion was 2nd so hopefully a demo will be
forthcoming!
Ok, I gota' run over to #XP on Effnet. I'll be back soon, promise.
Oh Geeze! Almost forgot make sure to vist sCary at his new home over
at: www.shugashack.com/
XP-Spookie out!
| June 2, 1998 |
Xtreme Prejudice Sends It's Regards
Hey now! Did I just kinda skip over being accepted into Clan XP?
Well darn, here's the scoopy from Spookie: I saw XP-Bondo on an FFA server
and he asked me to come hang out in the #XP irc channel on Effnet. At that time Clan
Forsaken was still sorta' alive. A few months later, long after Forsaken had faded,
my buddy XP-Hobgoblin had mentioned to me about joining Clan XP. I gave it some serious
thought and decided it'd be pretty kewl at least to go hang out with the guyz on Effnet.
Shortly thereafter, XP-Chael who is perhaps the ultimate gentleman said he'd sponsor me
for membership into clan XP. That meant he'd be inviting me into the Clan and putting his
reputation on the line for me (very Spookie thought, eh?). So, the process began which
involved XP-Chael speaking to other XP members, Co-Magistrates and perhaps even
Magistrates on my behalf and me reading and becoming familiar with the XP manifesto. Not
knowing whether or not I'd be accepted into XP I didn't harbor any expectations and it was
fun hanging out on IRC again. I'd been nomadic for some time now and could continue to be,
however I had reached a decision in my mind that the next clan I'd be in would be Clan XP
or none. A week or two later, XP-Bass sent me an interview form. I was very impressed by
the questions and content contained therein as the questions were very well worded.
Basically, the feel of the interview was, "Hey, do you really want this?" To
which my response was, "YES!" A day or two later XP-Bass who is a
Co-Magistrate gave me a phone call just to chat with me a bit and to tell me he liked my
interview response. I was then sent one final email describing the policies of XP in which
good sportsmanship, maturity and basically a good clan attitude were all reiterated. I put
down my cyber signature and became XP-Spookie. :)
Now I haven't been in many clans but, I basically consider POSTAL being my only real
clan since Forsaken never really manifested, but I must say I was very impressed with what
it takes to make clan XP. You've got to have some skill with online games (namely Quake
but not limited to), however, first and foremost it's character or the desire to build
character that gets you into this "invite only" clan.
Thanks very much guyz for allowing me, Spookie, into your fine organization.
VCNet Lan Party
Ok, now about that VCNet Lan party. My drive up to Camarillo California was a li'l
over 1 hour from the Downtown Los Angeles. I arrived a tad late but like most Lan parties
people were still setting up. I was greeted by XP-Bass and began setting up. XP-Kiljoy,
XP-Cromwell (both clan magistrates) were in attendance and it was nice meeting them again.
I met many of the guys at XP-Con while I was Jarlaxle-POST. Things started off with a 1on1
double elimination tourney. Of course, my lousy luck being what it is at Lan
parties, I was matched up with Notorious Gib from clan XBN early on who would later go on
to win it all. Fortunately the tourney was double elimination so after being spanked down
very hard by Notorious I could vent my ire some other unfortunates. :) I placed 4th,
XP-Inequity 3rd and XP-Zadius and Notorious battled it out for 1st place. Notorious came
through but it should be noted the game was very exciting and close with a 9 to 8 win for
the Victor. Congratulations, Notorious, great job!
Basically after and in between that many of us took to the net with our T1 connections
provided by VCNet. Then before things were wrapped up 4 XP's were gathered up to
battle it out with our XBN counterparts. XBN only had 3 guyz and it should be noted
a standin, Torak the Tamer, took the fourth spot on their roster. I was very excited when
I was asked to be one of the 4 XPs to play. I've watched Clan XP for along time and
have always wondered what it'd be like to play with great players like XP-Kiljoy. We
picked our spots, XP-Kiljoy would be Quad, XP-Inequity Rocket Launcher with XP-Zadius
roaming the bridge/YA/Quad area. I was granted the Red Armor / SNG area. :)
Basically my XP teammates took charge of the bridge area and sent the spawn kills my way.
Armed with the Super Nail Gun I was able to protect RA and take out quite a few people. A
bit later I got my 1st RL which helped a lot more. :) We were victorious and I was able to
maintain my RA position and keep my death toll low because of the fine job my comrades did
on the other side of the level. Great game XP's & XBN's!
Okie, the Bulls & Pacers game 7 is gonna start in a li'l bit I better get ready. Buh
bye for now!
XP-Spookie out..
| May 28th, 1998 |
Hey There!
VCNet is holding a Lan
party this Saturday, May 30. It should be a lot of fun. Signed-up are players from clans,
PP, OSL, P2 and of course 12 members of XP including myself. The fragging should be fast
and furious and we're promised by VCNet to have dual access T1 connects to the net too.
Whooo Hooo! I'll have more coverage of this event early next week.
I just checked the PGL team standings and in the West. Clan Dyscrepency is looking very
good with a 4-0 record. Both DeathRow teams are undefeated as well, team 1 boasting a 3-0
record and team 2 at 4-0. One of my favorite PGL teams, Femme Fatale is looking good too,
they're undefeated at 2-0. Now who was the meanie who put them in the same division as
DeathRow Team 2?
In the East it's Clan Unforgiven and Zero Tolerance both sporting 4-0 records. Clans
Mplayer, Gamehendge and Doom all looking strong at 3 & 0. I'd keep an eye on Clan CGIB
too, even if they're only 2-0 at this point. They're a very experienced clan with some
really great players like Gunpowder, Ronbob, Honus and Havoc.
Things are set for E3 in Atlanta and it
should be exciting both on the Quake front (PGL All-star game) and overall game expo.
I read in Methos' .plan that he's done with Quake 2 and moving over to Unreal. No? Oh, I
mean he's getting the impression many other people are. It's nice to know I'm not the only
gamer who thinks Unreal rocks. It's Quake on the net and Unreal Single player mode for me.
Hopefully Unreal's Network code will be optimized for the Internet soon! How about Unreal
World 2.21?
Ok, I'll be back in a few days to tell you all about VCNet and how the Lan thinghy went.
Until then..
Spookie out
| May 22nd, 1998 |
OMG Unreal!
Someone help me pick my lower jaw off the floor. Every once in awhile a great 1st person
shooter comes along. Doom was great, Quake was great now there is Unreal. I'm gonna go out
on a limb to say that this may be the game we've all been waiting for. I was very
skeptical when I popped the Unreal CD into my "P166 with a 3dFX card but no
MMX." The box cover recommends at least a p166. The game does run a bit slow on my
system but considering the incredible visuals and vistas, I'm amazed it runs at all. I'm
even more amazed (Quake 1 is still my 1st love) at how much better it feels overall
compared to Q2. So far it feels very solid much like Quake. However before I get ahead of
myself, I have yet to test the game over the net with a 33.6 and I'd be taken aback if it
played better over the net than Q2. It's also fair to note that you don't need as much PC
horsepower with Q2 that you do with Unreal. Geeze, let me reiterate, the graphics on my
li'l "P166 3dFX, no MMX" look unbelievable. I had to watch the opening scene
several times before the hairs on the back of my neck began to lower.
Installing the game took nearly 30 minutes and required about 400mb of disk space. Once
you're ready to begin you choose between 2 female models and 3 male models. This time
around the male models look good too. Customizing you're own setup is just as simple as
with Quake. I used the same mouse sensitivity and it feels as though I'm in GL Quake. The
colored lighting and sound effects are very nice and the initial game start has a very
"Spookie" feel to it. Of course like a true Spookie, I'm running around the game
in "Easy mode" and the Monster AI isn't half bad. I'll save "Unreal
mode" for when I'm in the mood to die. :)
The character sound for jumping is kinda' weak and the universal translator that you have
to keep updating is quite bothersome. But very small nuances to have to put up with for a
game that feels very solid. One thing I don't like about Q2 is how it feels playing over a
Lan or in single player mode. It feels kinda' like you're on the internet when you're not.
Unreal doesn't feel that way. Unreal's weapons feel very responsive and you have the
option of holding your weapon in left, right or center position with the model viewed at
all times.
I really wanna rave about this game but I'd better play it some more and get a better feel
of it. I'm willing to bet though if you have a system that can handle it, good speakers
and a 3dFX card you'll feel like I do. My money was well spent on this product. Unless the
game somehow proves me wrong later on or over the net I feel it's a great investment.
Move over Q2, Unreal has finally arrived.
P.S. Go to Bluesnews and check out the fancy graphic of Blue about to become Unrealed! LOL
Spookie Unreal!
| May 19th, 1998 |
Bastard's Beatdown A Blast!
Greetings, All !
I just returned from Bastard's Beatdown here in LosAngeles. hosted by that legendary
Bastard himself! The action started at 4pm Saturday with lots of Quake and Q2 multiplayer
action. The music was very loud and everything was very fast paced and exciting. A Quake
1on1 tourney was held on the map Aerowalk between Ruckus and Pooja, two very amazing Quake
players and after 3 matches that ended in a tie, Pooja overcame Ruckus to be this month's
Beatdown 1on1 Badass. The Lan party ran well into Sunday afternoon and was a lot of fun,
great job Bastard! If you're interested in more coverage of the event and photos head on
over to his site.
Apparently I wasn't the only one having problems with the new QW2.20 and there is an
update in the works. Zoid has really done a marvelous job with the new QW. It feels very
much like NetQuake but with pushlatency. Hopefully this will unite both NQ'ers and QW'er's
once and for all! We both need to compromise so you stubborn NQ'ers don't blast the new QW
until Zoid's update is out. And you QW'ers the new QW is more the way Quake was intended
to feel. So go back to Methos's Quake and
get that QW v2.20!
Okay, I'm out to work on my QW v2.20 skillz,
Spookie out!
| April 11th, 1998 |
Rocket Arena for Q2!
Whoot, I haven't been the Q2's biggest supporter. Maybe it's because I
like Quake so darn much. Q2 CTF I've liked though and it seems to be getting better.
If you don't have it yet, go and grab Dan Bickell's Boba Fett player model so your Crackwhore model won't be lonely. Great Job, Dan!
Now for that Rocket Arena for Q2 (12.6 MB). All I can say is, awesome. I'm still not giving up Quake but what a nice feel the Q2 RA has. The server I tested it out on had the game in teamplay mode and boy was it fun. Quit calling Spook a camper ya Llamas! He had major PL. and besides, it's a team game and people camp team game levels like dm3. :) It's a 12 meg download and will take ya at least 1 hour with a dial up connect but it's worth it! Also, make sure you download the View Weapons Patch (1.7 MB) so you can see what the other guy is holding. Great job RA Guyz !
Also of no small note, Medusa's QGirlZ are at it again this time giving the boyz over at OGR Magazine a taste of what I'm quite familiar with. Can you say Rocket upside the freakin' head? So go read about the matches and download the demos. That Princess is wicked :O)
I'm on a bit of an up note right now I finally defeated the Terminator Omicron bot on my custom "Arena" like map.
Ok, off with ya now! Be gone! And go get all them goodies I mentioned or I'll haunt the server you play on!
Spookie wubs ya but has his own Budlight :p
| April 5th, 1998 |
Well It's Been So Long!
Hah! You thought Methos and me were done with Quake, eh? Great news, people,
Methos' site is now gonna have Quake demos! Methos has always had
a sharp eye for only the best demos and I'm sure you'll all like his super selection.
I still haven't converted to Q2 but the new Q2 Model, CrackWhore by Paul Steed just might be enuff to whisk me away. And the sounds she makes.. OMG! Hope I'm not offending any of the lady players, maybe some of you find the Quake guy's grunt sexy? LOL!
Okay, what else? Hey, even tho I'm still heavily into Quake and I don't think Q2 dm is gonna sway me I am very impressed with Q2 CTF. You gotta' check it out.. looks and plays pretty darn good.
Now here's a change for ya, after speaking to a real good buddy of
mine, Vain Dame, I've decided after being a frustrated Quake hpb to give good ol' QW a
shot. Let me tell ya, I'm really liking it. It's also an excuse to use my 3dfx card and
yes, 3dfx Quake does rule. I'm still making my way up the learning curve but it's pretty
nice not feeling so damn lagged :). The good thing about all this is now my Quake
and Q2 game both have the same mouse sensitivity.. ugh, it was frustrating trying to
switch from low Res Quake to High res Q2.
I'm learning the ropes at this really kewl QW server it's from the people at Eagle Networking service and the server is
called Ensinc (207.154.181.5:27500). Stop by and help me get my QW wings by fragging me.
Also, what makes the server really kewl is they have a QLog
running. So, after you play, visit the web page and check on your stats.
Incidentally, stats are being reset today, so come on down and get your name on the board!
:)
Ack, before I forget, I'm changing my Quake Name/Handle. It's inspired by two really
good and kewl quakers. First off sCary,
I didn't really know what Quake was all about until I saw this guyz Mancer.dem.. he was
way ahead of this time and he is also a dm4 Lord. Second person is Pookie, not only
does this lady have mad quake skillz that rival even the mighty Kornelia's.. but she's
also got such a kewl name :) I guess it helps when you play Quake with guyz like,
B2, Thresh and Spear. Ok, so what is my new Quake name? What do you get when you combine
the nicks Scary with Pookie? You get Spookie!
Ok, I'm off to get fragged at Ensinc.. um.. to do some fragging.. yeah yeah!
| February 10th, 1998 |
Clan POSTAL No More :(
For quite some time, I've been a proud member of Clan POSTAL (being a bench
warmer in a Leet Ass clan is kewl :). I've made a lot of friends in POST and have had the
chance to play with such talented players as XoLeRaS, Da5id and Reptile (yeah, the guy who
beat Thresh at dm4). You other Pimping POST's know who you are too!
Well, times have changed, Reptile who is POST's founder has moved on to play with Clan
DeathRow. It should be noted that it was a very tough decision for the Reptile Man. It's
also very tough to refuse guyz you know very well on and off the net like Unholy, Little
Dragon and Thresh. So if you've got the skillz and they come looking for you it's a chance
of a quake lifetime. I miss Reptile and POST but I totally support his decision.
I've heard word of a possible DeathRow vs the UK's finest match? Could anyone in their
right mind pass up that opportunity? Best of luck, D8-Reptile!
Now you may be wondering what happens to the majority of former POST members. Well, we
move on too but most of us wanna stick together and play together cause of that really
kewl bond we formed while in POSTAL. So we've come up with "Clan FORSAKEN". So far we
have XoLeRaS, Krieger and a quite a few other POSTs back to play with us. And some
new talent like MisterGin (who's heading our web site. Check it out, he's good!), Endosmok and Sybok. We're
all very excited about this. Initially the demise of POSTAL brought us all down but it
looks as though we'll be back and perhaps better than ever. :)
Jarlaxle|4 out :p
| February 8th, 1998 |
Thresh Triumphs at PGL Finals
Going into the PGL finals, the
general consensus was that Thresh wasn't at the top of his game. It was said more than
once that he had slipped a bit, that he wasn't playing enough quake and that "so
& so" would defeat him to win the PGL finals. There was even criticism in certain
circles regarding his role in the PGL as a conflict of interest because of how closely his
company "Gamers Extreme"
works with the PGL. All I have to say is this. Would you like to see a tournament of
the greatest players in the USA without perhaps the Greatest player in the world? Didn't
think so. Amid all that, Thresh headed to Seattle along with seven other Quake PGL
finalists.
Demigods in their own right, three deadly HPB's and five deadly
LPB's: U4 Cabalist, DR-Unholy, Soulnet, DR-B2, Frick (formerly [LGD] Blackhole),
DR-Thresh, Lord Jim (aka CGIB-Kurtz) & DR-Reptile um.. I mean Reptile-POST ;)
Things didn't go to well for the HPB's on Lan. I guess when you're used to playing with a
250 ping delay it really screws up your Lan game. The LPB's proved stronger on Lan.
Reptile was able to overcome Soulnet, Unholy and Thresh to advance to the finals.
"Hey, wait a minute, back that up a bit. Did you just say Reptile beat Thresh?"
"Hmmm yeah" :p
Thresh pretty much had his way with his competition defeating Kurtz and B2. Then running
into a very dangerous Reptile at dm4. Thresh rebounded to defeat Unholy and qualify as a
finalist vs Reptile.
The stage had been set, Thresh would need to win two games to conquer the PGL finals &
Reptile would need to win only 1 game to become the King. First match was at dm2,
Thresh defeated Reptile 5 to -1. No sweat, next match was at dm6, Reptile's best level.
Thresh won 5 to 2 and became PGL champion. Congratulations to all the competitors who
showed their skillz, we were "oooohed and aaaaaahhhhed" :)
I do have a major gripe with the PGL. Amd's Professional Gamers League is taking online
gaming to new heights. People and sponsors are gonna be making real money outa' all of
this stuff. Guyz, if there was a way to put people in say.. Michael Jordan's point of view
to see the game as Mike sees it. Do you think the NBA would do that? Do you think it'd
make the game even more exciting? Yes, it would. What I have a hard time understanding is
how come all the PGL demos are chasecam? It is a nice chasecam, however, chasecam demos do
not compare to player point of view demos. POV demos are superior. Ask any Quaker out
there and they'll tell ya the same thing. PGL, start making you're demos from POV.
Ok, enuff Quake stuff. I had a chance to see two movies since last
we spoke. "Great Expectations" and "Good Will Hunting". Great
Expectations left me Greatly Exasperated and the sad thing was I saw it first and passed
up Good Will Hunting for it. Good Will Hunting was great. Real drama, real emotion and
real life. If you're heading out and looking for a good movie to see don't pass it up.
very good movie.
Ok, I better do some ReaperBots. Yeah, I still like Reapers over Omicron. lates :p
| February 3rd, 1998 |
DR Captures T3!
I arrived at Slamsite in L.A. around noon on Jan 24th with my sidekick Kitara
(she'll tell ya differently), both of us sporting Red Armor. We spread out, Rocket
Launchers at the ready. I spotted some of my fellow POST's engaged in a match with
DeathRow. Da5id, Club, Reptile along with Geiger from DR were trying to establish some
footing on dm3 but Thresh, B2, Unholy and Spear gave no ground. After the match, I
said my hellos to the boyz while Kitara proceeded to investigate the mall. My friends Time
Traveler, XP-Chael and Orion were on hand too. We then watched POSTAL's scrimmage with
Unforgiven. With DR-Geiger on our side we fared much better in the scrimmage with U4. (Go
POSTAL! ;)
So at this point you would think DR would be to strong for U4 ?
At 2pm the first match started and U4 was simply amazing. Taking total control of the
level while most of the DR guyz struggled just to stay alive. D5-Spear had a great
performance but U4's Graphik and Gollum were unbelievable. U4 took the first match hands
down. Monitors were spread out all throughout Slamsite and the crowd (of about 200)
started edging towards U4's camp. At this point I was in a state of disbelief. Not
to take anything away from U4 but I had DR picked as winners for this final.
Game 2 started and immediately U4 seized control of dm3 once again. U4 built up a solid
lead very quickly as I watched the game from Thresh's POV up on the monitors. My jaw was
inches away from hitting the floor. Unforgiven would be champions. Good for them, they
deserve it if they beat DeathRow I thought to myself. But then something happened, it
seemed as tho all the U4 guyz died and lost their rocket launchers and control of the
level slipped away very quickly. Unholy, Spear, B2 and Thresh were awake and began playing
like the champions I was so sure they would be. They cut U4's lead then overcame
them. It was quite amazing. The stage was set for a game 3.. all or nothing.
With spirits and confidence regained DeathRow took quick control of dm3 and proceeded to
rack up the kills without mercy. By the time U4's Batch scored his first kill it seemed as
tho all DR players were in double figures. Thresh totally took over the match racking up
kills at RA and SNG while the other DR's maintained bridge security. I knew if DR were to
be victorious Thresh would have to have a big game. Well, just like Michael Jordan coming
through for the Bulls, Thresh came through for DeathRow. Game over, DR T3 champions.
Congratulations, guyz, way to go DR's and U4's, Great games ! :)
I was quickly knocked out of the euphoria that had gripped Slamsite as DeathRow was
crowned Champs by an LG blast from Kitara. :O Together we strode away from Slamsite,
away from the mall, away from some of the greatest players ever to play the game. It
was a quake experience I will never forget.
However, Kitara was a very nice distraction ::kiss n hugs::
Tomorrow, the PGL Finals. As seen through my eyes. Stay tuned if you got nuttin better to
do ;) See y'all tomorrow. I'll also have a review of "Great Expectations" the
remake.
Jarlaxle-POST fades..
| January 18th, 1998 |
The Ragnorok of Quake Clan
Matches Doth Approach!
Ok, before we move on to Quake 2, there's still some unfinished business with Quake
(which is still very much alive on the net). I am referring to the T3 finals which pits
the unbelievable clan U4 (Unforgiven) against your favorite deadmen walking, Clan
DeathRow. Asgard may very well fall when these two powerhouse clans battle it out
for the ultimate Quake supremacy and it will all happen in Los Angeles on January 24th.
Your very own Jarlaxle (that's me) plans to be on hand at Slamsite when these Quake
deities meet in person. Don't worry about me folks, I'll be sporting a Pentagram of
Protection that will last throughout the event.
You might be asking yourself, "Self, who are these guys Jarl
is Jabbering about?"
The masters of Lightning and Rocket Bouncing:
Unforgiven:
DeathRow:
Gollum
Thresh
Thorn
Unholy
Graphik
B2
Batch
Spear
One clan will be considered 2nd best the other, simply the best. Good Luck guys! If you'd
like to read more about the upcoming event, you can go to Mpog and CSN.
Okay on my last update way back when I said I was gonna go see Titanic.. well I did and
for those of you who haven't already seen it GO SEE IT NOW! It's a really good film
with a great love story. Good job, James :)
Hurry up January 24th !
| Welcome |
Thanks for visiting my page. Thanks also to my buddy Methos for giving me the opportunity to basically Jabber with y'all :) I have a pretty good perspective on Net Quake in the USA, some of the top players and Clans. While Methos has a much better view of the UK scene and Quake World. The argument of which is better will no doubt go on forever, but for now we have a choice, thank god ! :)
