Bodycount Interview
Posted by alpha on 28/8/2000.Clan BodyCount were formed in August 1999 by EAT_THIS and Drakan after a chance meeting on one of the Demon servers. After gaining a couple of members, the name "BodyCount" was decided on when Mocus went ahead and created the website without telling anybody (previous suggestions included "International Brotherhood of Monkey" [IBM] and "Saltans of Ping" [SoP]). For a few weeks you couldn't go anywhere near the Demon servers without seeing "BODYCOUNT - http://www.bodycount.freeuk.com" spammed in the in-game chat (I remember it well) and they quickly gained members. Since then they have matured into a greatly respected and skilled UK clan, picking up various TFC players along the way from clans such as [WG], [Chpt], [TiTS], [NRG] and (}{); as well as a couple of whores (Dispel and Edz).
They are currently competing in BWTFCL, GWTFCL and Clan Base international ladder, and have just been invited to the next season of ETFCL. Many of their players also play for the Counter-Strike clan RATM, which is run by =BC=Fu. We caught up with clan leader Eat to find out about BC's journey from rags to riches.
What was your first clan match and what was the result?
Our first game ever was against BOB and it really was a farce (have a look at pings in the picture to the right). The first really competitive game was vs 10th which we won 40-10. We played TA quite early on and getting beaten badly made us realise that we need tactics and it motivated us to do better.Out of all the matches you've played, which would you say was the most difficult and why?
We've played BIA 3 times in as many weeks and they are one of the best clans around IMO. They totally thrashed us in the BWTFCL, but we dusted ourselves off in UKTFCL and scraped a 20-0 win, and then just last night we beat them 30-0.
Which is your favourite map to play clan matches on?
We all like Shutdown_l, I have no idea why but we seem to play well on it. We love 2fort aswell because of the speed the map is played at. Although we dont like Rock2, we have never lost on it in a competitive game EVER! (Damn someone's gonna try to beat us on it coz I said that now)
Out of all the clans you've played, who do you respect most?
MUF because we befriended them when they were in their infancy and have watched them grow from an ugly ducking into a beautiful swan. They are great for a game and very sporting. DW come second because of Edz' great quiff.
Out of all the clans you've played, who has surprised you the most?
" Dwalk was like being beaten up by a granny wearing a disguise"
Dwalk definately because we had never heard of them (Wlz mentioned that they were from Germany or something before the game). They caned us to the tune of 60-0 on 2fort but on Rock we played amazing, coming back from 45-15 to
draw 60-60.
Dwalk definately because we had never heard of them (Wlz mentioned that they were from Germany or something before the game). They caned us to the tune of 60-0 on 2fort but on Rock we played amazing, coming back from 45-15 to
draw 60-60.
Are there any players from other clans you've seen who you'd love to recruit?
I dont think there is anyone that really sets the world on fire, but if anyone I would have to say Sprucemuce (TA/AK47) because he can play any posistion, and do it just as good as the best.
How different is BC now to when you started off?
I think we are very fortunate to be able to field at least 4 players from our original line up in current games. Myself, Disa, Afx, Drak, Dimps, Wlz, and dr3amz form the mainstay of the BC teamsheet. We have never prejudiced against HPB players when choosing the team. We are proud that the original members improved and we didnt get to where we are by getting new players.
You're known as being one of the few decent clans made up of mostly HPB players. Have you found this to be much of a disadvantage?
Well to be honest we've never thought our pings were a disadvantage. We just concentrated on getting our tactics right and i think HPB players have to work a lot harder and play better. Just recently we have struggled against the LPB clans. Its hard when you have one player with a ping below 100 and your opposition has an average ping of 65 (BA + BIA). Recently our defensive soldiers have become LPBs which is the only area that i think it matters.
Out of all the leagues you've played in, which have you enjoyed the most and why?
Season 3 of UKTFCL was a really great season. The ladder really was exciting, with about 10 clans all fighting for the top spot. I think the most adrenaline pumped game ive played was against LT on CZ2 when they just pinched us with a late all 5 cap.
You aren't currently signed up for season 5 of the UKTFCL. Why is this?
We are waiting to see what format they decide on. The quality of the clans is also disappointing now.
Why do you think so many of the good clans have left?
It's been quite a gradual process. To start with European teams got fed up of the distance problem and gave up. Then at the start of this season a lot of the clans that I thought were brilliant (CWD, RA, (}{), LT) stopped playing in the league (mainly due to the patch which took people 2 weeks to get used to). Now the situation is that BC could play in leagues such as GWTFCL and be playing great teams like SM and DW, or play lesser teams in the UKTFCL. We're also getting fed up with playing lame teams that go 6 defence with 3 HWGuys.
This seems to be a growing trend. Why do you think this is, and what is your message to those clans?
Well it's the easy route isn't it. HWGuys take no skill to get good results. Stick a few in defence and they get 30+ kills a game. Top teams use soldiers instead of HWGuys because they are more flexible and can be more reliable. It does take more skill to be effective but the benefits are greater. We use HWGuy on a couple of maps (Water in Well, Yard on Rock) but we dont have a dedicated HWGuy player, we just let B0wnz (one of our sollies) do it coz he's not a LPB.
What affect did the release of TF1.5 have on your clan and its members?
We almost jacked it in. It caused a lot of problems and we really prefered 1016, where the game was a lot faster and more about light classes. We experimented with lots of other mods (Q3f, WFA) but then we remembered that Q3 is shite. But in the end we realised that TFC is still the best game around. It took a few months to get our form back but in the last week we have been playing amazing, beating UE, KASAP and BIA.
Do you think it was a good idea for Valve to make so many changes at once?
We think that it should have been a different stand alone MOD. Although I do think that there are a lot of good things that have come from it, like Engineers. I still get REALLY pissed off with HWGuys who stay in the middle of a map not trying to play CTF.
Do you see your clan progressing into other games, such as Q3A, CS or TF2?
Quite a few of us like playing CS. We all hate Q3. I can see us moving forward onto UnF and TF2 if they turn out to be as good as they look at the moment.
Thanks for the interview - it brought back loads of great memories in IRC.
Thanks for the interview - it brought back loads of great memories in IRC.
Vital stats
| Website: | http://www.clan-zone.net/bc/ |
| Achievements: | UKTFCL Season 4: 3rd UKTFCL Season 3: 2nd in Ladder BWTFCL Season 1: semi-finals (at the time of writing) |
| Clan leader: | =BC=eat |
| Clan deputys: | =BC=Wlz & =BC=Afx |
| Useless but lovely co-founder: | =BC=Drakan |
| IRC channel: | #bodycount on Quakenet |
| Interviewed by: | alpha (August 2000) |