Suspicious Minds Interview
Posted by Wildfire on 28/8/2000.Dutch clan SM. are one of the most respected TFC clans in Europe and you don't have to look too far into their track record to see why. They won the second season of the UKTFCL against some pretty tough competition with no losses whatsoever, and a glance at the match statistics page of their website shows that they've won a total of 89 out of the 106 matches they've played in their history. That's pretty damn good!
Wildfire caught up with clan leader Mol to find out the secret of their success.
How did your clan get started?
We first played Quake in different clans, some of us for over 3 years. After the Quake-scene "died" a group of players wanted to play Half-Life because the single player experience was great to them. The group formed a clan and SM was born. Shortly after TFC came out and we started recruiting more ex-Quakers.
Who was your first TFC clan match against?
Our first match was SM vs. MMC (Mortal Maniacs Clan) which ended with us winning 30 - 20 (20 - 10 on 2fort and 10 - 10 on Well). We played with 1 pyro and 2 soldiers on offence in a 6 vs. 6 game :)
Out of all the matches you've played, which would you say was the most difficult?
SM vs. tmcS (our first match against tmcS). We'd just won the UKTFCL and were in prime shape, as was tmcS, uncrowned champions of Europe at that moment. The match was called Armageddon and it was one of the best I've ever played, high quality gaming in all aspects, with tmcS winning with 40-20 on 2fort and 40-30 in well.
What did you learn from that match?
We learned that tmcS had really good soldiers :). They were the first clan to use mainly soldiers against us, so both our defense and offense started thinking about ways to stop them or avoid them.
Which is your favourite map to play clan matches on?
My personal favourite is still 2fort. It's a classic map which people never stopped playing and it's always fun to play.
Out of all the clans you've played, who has surprised you the most?
Clan All Stars who we played in our newbie-time. We didn't know until then that there were such lamers in the TFC-world.
What have you learnt as a clan since you started with TFC?
We learnt that TFC is our real first teamgame and you don't win purely on personal skill. From now on a lot of our members will only play teamgames like TF in the future.
Out of all the leagues you've played in, which have you enjoyed the most and why?
UKTFCL season 2, because it was our first real venture outside the Netherlands and also because we won :). We liked the UK-scene and clans.
Moving onto TF 1.5, was the patch what you expected?
Yes the patch was what we expected of it at first, but later on we realised that our perceptions were wrong. We expected the game to be screwed by the patch, and we thought that happened at first, but after a while we got to see the positive sides and tried to forget the negative ones. Unfortunately we lost some members because of the patch.
What affect has it had on your clan matches?
Far less captures in a match, less fast-paced gameplay.
Do you see your clan progressing into other games, such as Q3A, CS or TF2?
Yes, probably TF2...if it EVER comes out :)
What is your opinion of the European TFC scene today?
I think the European TFC scene is too focused on winning nowadays. Clans play to win by all possible means, this includes whining at a referee for a win just because the other clan has 7 players instead of 8 1 second after the match was supposed to start.
Vital stats
| Website: | http://sm.gamepoint.net/ |
| Achievements: | UKTFCL Season 2: Winners |
| Clan leader: | SM.Mol |
| Clan deputy: | SM.Fenz |
| IRC channel: | #sumi on Quakenet |
| Interviewed by: | Wildfire (August 2000) |