GGL Wire

GGL’s Steven Palmer delved into the murky world of IRC to deliver this interview.

Let’s give a big welcome to Soulimano, player manager of globalteam.esports’ Crysis squad, champions of the Clanbase Crysis Beta cup.

GGL Wire: So first, Congratulations on winning your first Crysis cup, the first Clanbase Crysis cup and possibly the first Crysis tournament of all time. How does this achievement make you feel?

Soulimano: We are all very Happy. Happy to have won the first Crysis tournement, and happy because it’s our first Gold cup on an European challenge.

GGL Wire: What are your thoughts about this tournament? How did it run; was it enjoyable?

Soulimano: This tournement was very well supervised by Killerman; thanks to him. New rules about [frag totals deciding the winner] in case of draw, and new rules about rocket laucher were written in time to have a nice tournement. We didn’t have any conflicts or problems with other clans so we enjoyed the cup and had a lot of fun. Even during the finals, the fairplay was very pleasant between globalteam and [00].

GGL Wire: In past games, players have often viewed Punkbuster(anti cheat) as more of a hinderance than a help, how well did Punkbuster work for you?

Soulimano: We’ve been playing Crysis in multiplayer since the beginning of the Beta, and very soon, some cheats appeared. For a month, we played without PB and some players had sometimes an amazing level, unbelievable skill. As soon as PB arrived at the end of the tournement, thoses roxors suddenly were capable of nothing… So even if punkbuster is not 100% efficient, trust me it is doing a great job anyway and is really « indispensable ».

GGL Wire: Would you play in future ClanBase Crysis tournaments?

Soulimano: For sure. We enjoyed this tournement, and we are looking forward to new cups and ladders on Crysis, trying to keep some good results. We hope, also that Killerman will be present as referee!

GGL Wire: Crysis: Do you think it has an eSports future?

Soulimano: This is THE question a lot of players are asking themselves. Crysis has an esports future, for sure, because Crytek has done a great job on the multiplayer aspect of the game, so it will be adopted by enough players anyway to allow cup ladders and LAN events. The question is rather, will it be an esports blockbuster as Battlefield 2 was, for exemple?

The question can’t be answered now because the multiplayer game is so unexpected. We expected a modern Farcry with no great future and it is nothing like that … Mainly because in Crysis you can find elements that have made the success of other very popular games: the flag capture of Battlefield, the buying system of Counter Strike and, thanks to the nano-suit, dynamic and quick fights that recall Quake or Unreal. Thanks to this original mix, Crysis was able to find its own style and will find its own audience with players coming from various communities.

However, there is competition and I think Crytek and EA will have to show strong signs of their commitment to e-sports to reassure the gaming community who could doubt the future of the game. They should follow in that Activision who didn’t hesitate to donate a serious cash prize for the first cups on Enemy Territory: Quake Wars. Then of course a good follow up will be necessary; new weapons, new maps, regular patchs would allow the Crysis players community to reinforce itself and even to develop.

It may seem a little utopian but when you give a look at the SDK of Crysis, the Sandbox, you can’t help but be amazed at the amazing work done by Crytek at this point. The creation of maps, or even mods becomes really accessible, and this will greatly influence the future of the game.

GGL Wire: Is Crysis a good game overall? Why or why not?

Soulimano: I can only talk about the multiplayer as I haven’t been able to test the solo part yet. Of course, we think that Crysis is a great game because:

For one part, the 3D engine is exceptionnal and should remain a reference for years to come. The game is beautiful and the environment is rich. The physics engine is excellent too, and the vehicle stunts are thus spectacular. It also blends many ingredients that have been successful in other games as I said before.

GGL Wire: I noticed many of your squad are from Battlefield 2, what has the transition to Crysis been like?

Soulimano: We have felt immediatly at home with the mixed use of infantry and vehicles, and that’s one of the reasons why we chose Crysis. The great novelty were the power struggle mode that asked for some strategic adjustments (but so fun to play!!) and mainly the nanosuit that brings something new and really refreshing! We had to learn really fast to juggle between the different capacities of the suit to overpower the oponents.

GGL Wire: Its no secret: System performance in Crysis is harsh. Has this issue affected your squad?

Soulimano: No, not at all. We were lucky, thanks to BF2142 to win serveral tournements with a lot of cash prizes and hardware prizes so we are all really well equiped with Intel Quad-cores extreme edition…

GGL Wire: Do you think Crysis’s high system requirements will lower the chance of it getting eSport glory in its first year?

Soulimano: Certainly. This not a secret, Crysis is very demanding and will be at first reserved for well equiped players. This is not the best way to help esports develop… Now Crytek promised many patchs to optimise the performances and the new generation of graphic cards (affordable at about 150-200 E) are able to make the game perform in good conditions. Moreover Christmas is coming so… who knows, many players should be able to join us!!

GGL Wire: What’s next on the agenda for the Globalteam Crysis squad?

Soulimano: Our next goal is to keep our leadership in Crysis which should be a real challenge with the arrival of new teams. Than we plan to travel this year in Europe for Crysis LANs. Last but not least, we aim at contributing in the development of the game in the gaming community by sharing ideas with the modding teams for example.

GGL Wire: Thank you Soulimano for this interview, and LeeO for arranging it. Best of luck to Globalteam for the future. Any final words Soulimano?

Soulimano: Thanks again to Killerman for his efficiency and to the ClanBase staff in general. Thanks to all my players who have remained faithfully with me for more than a year now, especially GT-Lotus, and a personnal thanks to my wife who endures every night the training matches, the shoutings (out of joy or more often sheer frustration) and the infinite hours I spend in front if my PC…

More info about our team : www.globalteam-esports.net