,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, An interview of Nostrada (kuski of month on October 2002): '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' -= When did you start playing? =- I started playin' in 2000, 2-3 weeks before world cup 3. the reason i started is a bit funny: My little brother came home and said he had found a new fun game, and that he thought me & EML never would beat his times, so we started to beat his times 1 by 1 just to prove him wrong, later it became an obsession and we were hooked. -= Ex-teams and why did you change teams? =- SRX, C0ol, REM and ¿. SRX was my first team, it was started by me & EML just before wcup3. Later SRX was shut down, due to me & EML was caught cheating. We both just didnt manage to quit elma, and made up 2 new identities, I made Deadelous and EML made Satan, as we thought we wasnt gonna be accepted as ourselves anymore. I joined c0ol as Deadelous, but left because they were spreading my recs. Then i was asked to join REM, i accepted and had a great time there, later i found out that EML and me was gonna be accepted after a while banned, so i decided to leave REM and become myself again (more about this in my interview on REMs site: http://rem.rulez.cz/dd.txt). Now, that i left REM i once again was looking for a team, and it's weird that i now joined C0ol again, the team i once left, i rejoined mainly because ribot (aka csybe, cp) was there. Now, me, Ribot & EML planned to form a new team, and we all are now in ¿, along with 2 new kuskis, Thanatos and Ramone. -= Current total? =- uhm... 40:44:54 as Nostrada, and 41:43:59 as Deadelous, i dont know my real TT yet, as those states are not yet merged. -= Top5 newest and olderst personal records? =- Top 5 newest is: Hi-Flyer 34,41 Jaws 56,24 Uphill Battle 21,30 Long Haul 32,00 Bowling 1:11,85 Bowling was taken on 24h TT (12.09.02)! wow, i gotta start play more again. Top 5 oldest is: Steep Corner 44,86 Curvaceous 35,04 Pipe 34,02 Shelf Life 40,10 Spiral 46,83 Wow, alotta work, had to copy all Nostrada and DDlous recs into another folder, sort by date modified, and cross check if i've beaten DD times with Nostrada, heh.... -= Across Career briefly. Any WRs?, World Cup I and II and so on.. =- None, at all.... -= Elma career? =- Well, i started elma playing world cup 3, where i came 2nd, only beaten by Dr_Luni in my 2nd event ever, had many top5 placings, one event win (wcup312), and came 5th overall. Also, i got my 1st WR on freefall (15:66) but this was erased from WR-history because it was assumed i also cheated this wr when I and EML was caught, which is my darkest time in my career. Then i became Deadelous, i had 4+- wrs when i left c0ol, and this went up to 12 wrs in one table when i joined REM, also, i won the Elma League, hosted by EML, and i lost only to Stene in div. 1. Now that i'm Nostrada i have 8 wrs, 3 of which is Deadelous. I also do OK in World Cup 4 with a current 3rd place in total, and 2 event wins. But i'm hoping to improve this... -= Do you still like Across? Why/why not =- I can't actually answer this question, when i haven't played Across, but i can say i still enjoy Elma, and hope to be a part of the elma scene a while longer. Of course you get sick of playing elma from time to time, but you always end up playing it later... -= How did you get Across/Elma? Was it your worst mistake? or the best? =- I got Elma from EML, i actually didn't have a legal version before i won an Elma Forever CD. Mistake? Well maybe, if you consider the time you spend playing the game and the addiction, but it has its upsides aswell, you have a game you always can go back to, when you are bored IRL, or of the other game you may have. You also get new friends through Elma Scene, but this might also be a downside, as both IRC and Elma takes damn much time. I can say i don't regret playing this game, but also i think it's messing with you IRL... -= Favourite internals / most irritating internals =- Favourite internals are Warm up, Flat track, Engima, Jaws, The Steppes, Precaurius, FREEFALL, Downhill and What the Heck, there alot of them since i had to start play other levs as DD. Most irritating are Twin peaks, Tunnel Terror, Gravity Ride, Serpents Tale, Spiral, Upside Down, Steep corner, Fruit in the Den, Double Trouble, Enduro and Expert System. -= Your own best WRs? =- Enigma, Downhill, and Loop-de-Loop. -= Best WRs in your opinion? =- Enigma should be DAMN hard to beat, Flat Track is damn höyled, only the most experienced on this level can beat it, Twin is good, mrickx new wave also, upside down, Headbanger is damn nice, Zig Zag is always hard, and also jeppes Sink. Karlis freefall is damn good too, despite some people say they got a new 10:xx style. -= What's the limit of WR times? =- There is no limit of WR times, if you try to imagine those graphical (WR Times vertical) the WR line will go steep towards 0:00:00 as first, but slowly even out to almost go even with with the bottom line, but never go exactly even with. -= Are there some kind of external contests you like? What kind of contests do you like? Are there any new competitions you would like to see? =- I like World Cup alot, but it's not perfect... I think it's too long lasting, and events should be shortened, 1 month is more than enough for a World Cup. Also, i like the 1 on 1 competitions as Elma League, and Elma Duel, Both league and Knockouts are good with 1 on 1 matches... Maybe an idea to make World Cup as a Knockout competition? With rules as in volleyball, and some other sports, where you still got a chance to reach the finals if you're beaten would be preferable, as f. ex. Kuiva vs. DMD in round 1 would give the wrong results... -= Best lgr in your mind? What lgr do you use? =- I havent really tried alot of LGRs, I've tried the Graveyard LGR, but it could be had to see vertexes clearly in it... I use Default for now... -= Mention some good things you have gotten with Across/Elma? =- Good friends, and something to do in times i'm bored, also a nice feeling to get WRs. -= Mention some bad things you have gotten from Across/Elma? =- Hard situations, with both beeing tempted to cheat, and a hard decision to leave REM. Less spare time of course also. Also a reputation in elma scene as beeing kinda "evil" as AAL/Nostrada, mostly because of the cheating i think.... -= What is the most frustrating thing you have faced in your career? =- The most frustrating thing must be the situation with Deadelous, when i became good friends with Dz, Janne, mrickx and Zo3non in REM, but felt it necessary to leave to come back as my real identity. Also, beeing tempted to cheat, when i found out how, is a close runner up, and i still feel bad about it. -= The biggest mistake of your Elma career? =- The biggest mistake is of course that i cheated, and also that i became DD in the time i did, when i was banned as AAL. -= Cheating, what feelings? Do you use level unlocker/nitro etc? =- I feel bad ok? :(( Seriously, i think Cheating is bad, but i also think the majority can be tempted to cheat. All it takes is a weak moment, a weak moment of poor judgement, a weak moment when you feel you can't do what you want to achieve, whatever, and that you know how to cheat... Once done it's also hard to come clear, so i think mrickx is a very good person, it takes alotta guts to come clear on something like this. I use unlocker to make maps of levs in world cup f. ex. And nitro to compare recs, as it was not recommended to use 1.11h anymore... -= Elma tuning, have you tested? Opinion about it? =- I've tested, but i only know of vsync on/off. vsync off gives extra grip on levs you hang on, like hangman, and it also might make it easier to get bounces on some places, vsync on gives, atleast in my opinion an advantage on levs you need to avoid edges, like wcup402e.lev, as in my mind you float over those edges easier. I don't love tuning, but i can't diss it either, as some will always use it, and if you want to keep up, you need to use it aswell... -= Best kuskis and teams? What are the things you value in another kuski/team? Best kuskis in my mind is Dz, DMD, Jokke, Jeppe, Dr_Luni, Psy and TorInge A kuski gotta be good on internals as well as externals, have some wrs, have a good TT, do well in competitions, and be a nice & cool person, if Dz f. ex. had the personality of MoshMan he would suck as cooperation and conversation would be impossibe ;) Also i like a more stable and reliable kuski, sorry, DMD and TorInge, you both are "bombs" going off in elma scene, just as i were with DD, i think the old reliables are better, those who always have been good, a good example is Psy, he's been here for ages, and can do good on everything whenever if he wants to. -= Your best achievements? =- Having 12 WRS in one table, 5th place in World Cup 3, Beeing 2nd in my 2nd event ever, after only starting playing 2-3 weeks before that wcup started, Winning Elma League. -= Do you do any other neat finger-related stuff like playing violin, repairing watches, pick pocketing etc? I play a bit volleyball and bowling, finger-related i think :) -= How much did you play in your sickest period? How much these days? =- I played most of my spare time in wcup3, and also in some periods as DD, now i don't play as much, just look at my top5 newest personal records, i know some will say that they havent improved internals in a long time, but hey, this is little in my opinion! ;) -= Have you had Elma dreams? =- Nop, and when i do, i'll quit playing, and make an appointment with the nearest shrink. -= Strengts and weaknesses as a player? What moves you like/dislike? =- My stenghts is that i'm höyla and i'm good at finding new styles and details... There isn't any moves i really dislike, though i'm worst at making brutalvolts, i dislike levs where there's no good styles, like wcup402, that's a sort of lev you just struggle not to lose speed. -= Tips for average players? =- Play much, and try to copy the the details in good recs, even if they seem hard and try to never safe your runs. -= Best memories with Elma? =- Hmm, 5th place in World Cup 3, and the whole period as Deadelous in team REM... also making some good friends. -= First time at #across? =- Dont remeber exactly, but it was after World Cup 3 event 02, during event 03. -= Best Elma friends? =- Ribot, Ramone, EML, swos, onla, \DC, whole REM, though i dont know how they feel now.... -= Thoughts about Elma meetings? =- They are great, if you can afford to travel :) -= What do YOU think should be improved in an eventual new version of Elma? =- Never gravity in internals, alovolt/supervolt on own key (not though a patch/hack) online play, and of course better security against cheating... -= How about battles? =- Fine by me, they are fun, and give a good picture of who's best, and who höyls like hell without skills to get their times. -= You've got some negative feedback about playing Elma from your friends? =- Yup, they think i play it too much, and they can't understand why i play an old game with poor graphics. -= What games do you like beside Elma? =- Deus Ex, RPG games such as Baldurs Gate series, Arcanum, Neverwinter Night, Nox, i used to like RTS and 3d shootemups, but an neverending wave of c&c and doom/quake clones but an end to this. I also like some Simulators, like old Tie Fighter and Elite series. Sid Meier games as Civilization and Railroad Tycoon i also apreciate... And of couse i like Soccer related games, like Championship Manager, FIFA series etc. -= Did you buy Elma? Why not? =- No i didn't. But i HAVE an legal copy though. I may have bought it if there was an online paying alternative like VISA, but to go to the bank, exchange to dollars or a check, then send it through snail-mail is just too slow and complicated. -= Have you thought about if you could stop playing Elma soon, or anytime? =- I've given it some thought yeah, even had some attempts to quit, but when i'm bored i always seems to start up elma again by impulse... -= What gets you still playing Elma =- Addiction/Boredom -= Are you at the top of your career now? If not, when? =- I think i have been at the top as DD, but you never know, maybe i'll get as big as then and even bigger, who knows? -= Forecast the future of Elma. How the scene will be in five years? =- Well, if there wont be another version of the game, Elma 2/across 3 or something, i fear it'll slowly die out in 5 years time :( -= Was it a surprise to be voted for the kuski of month? If it was who should have won in your opinion and why? =- It was a surprise yeah, Jokke was leading, and i clearly wrote my feelings in in the poll: "I've already won, so u better dont even think of me as a candidate..... and jokke deserve it, of all the candidates...." But noooo, some can't understand english, and voted me anyways, so i ended up 1 vote more than jokke, those retards deserve to fill up 10 of those huge interviews i tell you... :/ I think Jokke deserved it because as Abula said "He's been around for ages" normally i wouldn't agree to vote only because of this, but the other candidates havent done anything good at this time either...... then i'll vote bcuz of previous accomplishments. -= Mopolauta, thoughts? =- It's a good disgussion board, allthough some makes irritating and unneccessary comments/posts there. -= Opinions about Elma Crime, MUe's animations and stuff like that. =- It's great, they are very entertaining, and helps to improve morale in the elma scene. -= What's your favorite Elma website (not Moposite)? =- Gotta be REMs page(nicely made web-pace), ribots page/¿ team page(Cool page, but still unfinished;), also psy's page is/was good.... -= Your relation to OLP? =- Hate it, other than that..... BLAEH heh -= Why that nick, Nostrada? =- I the nicks i've had earlier sucked, AAL-Owen(my initials+Michael Owens last name) was damn shitty, so was Weird-AAL, which i made bcuz i'm a big Weird-Al Yankovich fan.... I shose this nick for no reason but i think it is WAAAAY better than the others... it's as simple as that. Deadelous was better in it's original form: Daedalus -= Your real life. Do you have it (school/work, other interests etc)? =- Well, my real life sucks at the moment, no cash, insomnia, so i can't work or take a higher education.... yet.... other interests is Soccer though i'm not active anymore, but i do still do some other interests, as volleyball and bowling.... -= Write something about the game, fellow kuskis, Moposite, #across, etc =- something about the game, fellow kuskis, Moposite, #across, etc =- that's the second time you ask me to write that damn line ;) Nostrada/Deadelous Tuesday 5th November 2002