HARDTALK - An interview with [RNGD] Smacavelly

When did you first enter into the Star Trek game community?

I don’t really remember to be honest but I think it was around the end of 1999

What thoughts have you and RNGD got on the current state of trek games?

We haven’t given it a thought to be honest, as the creators of the games seem to not care why should we, the ability to sell crap games in the hopes that Trek fans will just buy them no matter what kind of turns anyone off to any kind of true thought about Star Trek games.

What’s the WORST and BEST thing's in the fleet world that you see?

Don’t know as RNGD doesn’t consider itself a “fleet” I couldn’t voice an opinion on the matter.

What do you think has made RNGD such a hot topic and popular fleet in trek gaming?

The ability to be the bad guys the ones who will stop at nothing, the fact that we did and do hold such a overwhelming presents in Bridge Commander even though most of the BC players have gone on to other games.

If you were given the opportunity to voice your opinion to Activision about trek gaming past and present what would you say?

What would I say? That’s a good one; well I would have to say way to mess up a perfect franchise Excellent work on taking advantage of Trek fans around the world.

If you had the chance to go back to the beginning of trek gaming...what would YOU personally change in the world of trek gaming that would affect the present?

Assuming I was in a position to start at the beginning on the drawing board. I would have to ask my Dev’s do you really know what people want can make a stable game.

Is it really worth destroying our credibility to earn a dollar. What kind of game do Trek game players want? “Maybe ask them”. Try a couple of Beta runs before releasing games to the public.

As I haven’t been a fan of many Trek games other than Bridge Commander & knowing what a truly shit game that is the bugs the unstable servers the no ability to remotely manage a Bridge Commander server, The reasons I bring up remote management of it is because of the amount of crashing it does if someone wanted to host this game on a dedicated box as RNGD wanted to do

It’s frankly impossible!

People have said that the fleets have wrecked the trek game community...what would you say to them as a counter argument?

I would say Clans like RNGD and many others I can remember all there names have been the only thing keeping these games alive. We create interest where there is none we do everything we possibly can to breath life into these games, these games that are truly sub-standard compared to the quality of today’s games!

If any game out there could be converted to have a Star Trek feel to it and be released as a new game, what would you want it to be and why?

That’s an Interesting question Vic, the problem with the question is that no a game shouldn’t be converted, they should have the skill and ability to come up with a new concept, or at least run with a concept that is proven to work and do it right!

Paramount have said that thing's will be improving in the trek game world. If you had the opportunity as a trek and general gamer to tell them what you think needs to be done to the world of trek gaming and to new games coming out, what would you tell them?

Get a group of people together that truly know what gaming is, ask people who play Trek games and other games what they like best about an Online Video game

What would be RNGD's (and your own) ultimate trek game?

To be honest Bridge Commander was one of the best games I have ever played at the time.

So I would have to say a Bridge Commander 2 The ability to go one on one in your own ambassador is simply fun no to ways about it!

Would you like to see an MMORPG style game released (like SWG) in which people had to pay a monthly fee to play online?

SWG is a perfect example of a company willing to do what it takes to please the masses.

Although some bugs still exist its easy to see they are doing everything they can to clean it up and update the game as fast as possible from the test center where they put everything before releasing to the public so they know what is proven to work and not just because some hot shot developer thinks.

So yah SWG is a perfect example of a pay to play game that would be enjoyable based on Star Trek!

When a new publisher for trek gaming is announced, would you like to see them fix up all the old games like Klingon Academy and Bridge Commander and release new games based on the old classics?

Well hell yes, There is nothing more I would like to do for the Bridge Commander players in our clan than host a dedicated Bridge Commander Server on our Box.

A lot of fleets have hit the wall and died during the past year of trek gaming. Why do you think RNGD is still going?

That’s an easy question really we haven’t settled, we have moved on to other games. Not waiting around for the Trek world to keep up, Hell after we did it a lot of other Trek clans started doing it can’t blame them! Not to mention the RNGD game style that is still to this day and our Clan Motto

“Shut up & Play” & the fact that if you get in our way we will just rough you up!

Do you have any messages for new fleets who are forming in the world of trek gaming? Any tips and info?

Don’t be afraid to be different, when we first formed RNGD ten clans where hounding us! People hated us for our game style, couldn’t stand the fact that we wanted to play and not sign on as Standard Trek gaming clan. Cried to us about the way we treat them, couldn’t stand the fact we wouldn’t allow people to talk trash without ripping them a new asshole. I have been threatened by lawsuits I have seen people come and go out of this clan the one thing that will remain constant is the fact RNGD is here to stay.

Take it all in strife it’s a video game nothing more.

So basically to sum this all up my message is as long as you have a good group of people to play these games with it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks as long as you can backup your words with action I.E. like RNGD has always done!

Smacavelly

RNGD.net

“Shut up & Play”

Previous Interviews...

Dan "Devil" Jones

DynaVerse.net