By HULKSMASH




THEINCREDIBLEPACO - known by most people as simply PACO - is the friendly, yet frequently unshaven face behind Owned Well. He fuels his body with only the purest of cereals for which his love is paralleled only by Unreal Tournament... or quite possibly himself. He recently overcame his worst fears (germs and tiny planes) on his journey to Epic. The former dictator talks about his trip and his UT4 plans for the future... one of them includes a naked statue of himself on a map.

1
What was more exciting: receiving the initial invite to the Community Event or setting foot inside the Epic building?

The invite was more exciting in a way.. My offscreen persona is a touch less loud and rambunctious (keyword: touch) than THEINCREDIBLEPACO but the grin from ear to ear was enough to provoke my fiancée to ask: why are you so happy?? After some smiles and a shimmyshake, I started thinking about the event itself and channeled my excitement into focus and thought about a wide range of issues that I might want to address. I'm not sure if the word "exciting" does my visit to Epic justice because as I set foot in the building, it was nothing short of awe inspiring. I've been around the world, seen and done a lot of things but for this first time in a long time, I felt a sense of wonder.

2
In the event recap on twitch you mentioned your fear of flying on the small propellor plane. Did you at any moment dig your nails into the seat and whimper for your mother - hence losing the preceding part of your name at 30,000 feet?

I cannot think of anything that would make me lose my title and I didn't dig my nails into the seat because I am courteous towards others property. I may or may not have emitted a whimper or two but at that height with those propellers blaring.. no one will be able to confirm or deny this.

3
So, first day at Epic. Did you dive straight on to the game PCs, take a tour or meet and greet the people first?

First thing I did was freshen up. Felt a bit groggy getting off the plane so I needed to wake up. We took a mini-tour and met up with some of the devs in the UT warroom. After some nourishments, we proceeded to play some UT4 and it was freaking awesome.

4
As an obsessive germaphobe who carries Purell in his front pocket at all times, did you sterilise the gaming peripherals Epic provided you with or simply use rubber gloves?

I only really use the Purell before I'm going to eat so no sterilization or rubber gloves were necessary. I did however use the same computer three days in a row but that was purely by coincidence.

5
From the stream it seemed like you spent most of the time playing - however you also mentioned you spent a lot of time talking to the devs. How were your days split up?

Probably 50/50.. A lot of playing and a lot of chatting. There were some formal things scheduled like the community vs devs and the stream QA but some great moments occurred during some informal and free flowing conversations.

6
When meeting the Unreal Tournament players and devs, did anyone stand out or take you by surprise? Eg being completely different in real life or incredibly passionate?

Cafe wasn't a hobbit. This surprised me greatly. Mysterial and RZE are giants.. I had to arch my neck to talk with them. Flak is somehow even nicer in person. I didn't think that this was possible..

7
Before you left, you were working on series of videos pertaining to Unreal Tournament for the developers - could you explain what these videos were about and did you get a chance to show them all?

One of the videos that I showed them was pertaining to mantling. I don't hate the mechanic but at this particular moment, I don't really like it either. It feels clunky and also forgiving in some instances that I don't think a player should get that extra boost. It's automatic and it can be activated when a player might not even want to mantle a ledge. I know that Steve Polge commented that a missed jump is not really a missed jump if it's possible with the current mechanics and that mappers could design around it. He also pointed out that some of the sticking features might not be related to mantling but instead the shape of the player capsule.

8
Did talking to the developers change the way you feel about certain aspects of the game?

I have been cautiously optimistic about the new game since I heard about the announcement. There have been sequels and new games in the past 15 years and I vividly remember feelings of disappointment. After having met with the developers and getting candid responses on where they want to take the game.. I can officially drop the cautious side of my optimism and say that I am genuinely excited.

9
Did you learn anything new or insightful about the game whilst there?

I saw some cool art stuff (cool is an understatement) and also learned some cool stuff from Jim Brown about what they want to do with player profiles and keeping track of in-depth statistics. The whole visit was insightful on an assortment of topics and I could probably write for a few hours if people wanted to know everything.

10
How was it playing instagib? Is it similar to UT99's instagib?

InstaGib is pretty decent. Spawn protection gets ten thumbs down but the overall feel for it is very good. The increased accel/decel helps the wiggle and makes players slightly harder to hit. The netcode is great however I have some concerns that IG will be too easy in the new UT. IG in UT99 is broken and I'm worried that high accuracy gameplay will negatively affect UT4. We had some discussions on how to make CTF less turtly and hopefully that will make iCTF more playable in the new UT.

11
Was it true that you only picked out the keyboard as a prize due to your current (obnoxiously) loud one almost making your fiancée reconsider her acceptance?

Happy wife, happy life but the real selling point is that my mechanical keyboard doesn't have a numpad and the extra keys will help me with binds in game and for my streaming setup.

12
We played a UT99 sDOM demonstration match, how did that come about and how was it received?

First and foremost, I came on IRC and asked for a fair matchup. Sandy Andy was hyuking all the way to the bank as we were dominated on Campgrounds. Map two we subbed in bleh and it lead to some of the funniest moments of the event. "chumb0.. boost me... chumb0... chumb0... chumb0 where are you... chumb0 boost me? James? chumb0?" Meanwhile I see him running around confused on low.

13
So a lot of people would like me to ask you: how did you manage to lose Peak low?

No config. 60 refresh. Weird mouse. It had nothing to do with my opponent.. I was my own worst enemy.

14
What is your general impression of the event?

It was amazing. I have nothing but respect for the people that I met and it was easily one of the best weekends of my life.

15
What was your favourite moment of the event and why?

Talking with Steve Polge on Saturday night. He was telling us, "I gotta go.." and an hour later, he was still deep in conversation and taking notes on all of the points that we were bringing up. It was a very engaging conversation and I was entranced with what he was saying.

16
Did the trip inspire you to do anything? Like dive into the editor to make a CTF PACO?

Note from the editor: PACO unfortunately didn't answer this question as he instantly bought a sub and started creating CTF-PACO. Apparently there will be two giant naked sculptures of himself in each base that spit water fountains and the theme would be best described as Grecian, which is only fitting for a half Cypriot.

17
I understand you've been mapping for two days straight. But I'd like to ask if the Owned Well community can look forward to even more UT4 content in future streams?

Absolutely. I love UT99 but UT4 is the future. We have our weekly UT4 show on Monday however as the game matures, I can see us dedicating multiple nights to UT4. When it becomes polished enough, we will also be supporting/covering it competitively.

18
What about actually playing Unreal Tournament? Is pugging a possibility in the near future?

They are looking at making a lobby system and pugs/irc obsolete. I think it can definitely be "pugged" but at the minute, it's probably better if it's playtested and the people signed up know what they are getting themselves into. It's a pre-alpha and people need to be aware of it.

19
Thanks for your time. Is there anything else you'd like to share with the community?

We are at an exciting juncture in time. We kept our heads held high even where there was no hope but there is finally great news for the UT community. I'm excited about all of the possibilities and where we can take this!

Close this interview

According to his most loyal fan, bleh- is "the best and most handsome UT player of all time, who excels at every mod and game type. Whenever I post a video of him it instantly gets 10.000 hits". While that opinion is debatable, he is definitely one of the highest skilled players in Unreal Tournament and has been ever since he was a little bleh. This disgustingly British crumpet enjoys champagne breakfasts, talks like he's some kind of UT rockstar but hasn't even signed a UT disk yet (not even RickJames'). That being said, he's won cups in just about every game type you can name. I spent some time getting to know him, intimately...

1
Do you think Epic invited you because of the rockstar status you have attained within the Unreal Tournament community?

I'd love to think so, I feel a large factor of this was my recent affiliation with THEINCREDIBLEPACO. On a serious note, I think a lot of it was down to word of mouth from the first event, I knew Flak from the Fragalonia servers years ago and it was kind of surreal to receive a direct message from her.

2
Had you been playing a lot of UT4 prior to receiving the golden ticket to "Willy Wonka's Chocolate factory for gamers" as PACO called it?

I'd played a fair bit, unfortunately my current PC leaves much to be desired in terms of performance so I wasn't as keen to be playing it 24/7, if I'm honest most of my time has been spent schooling Morpheus at CS:GO. It's become quite time consuming. Since returning, I don't think I've done anything other than sleep and play UT4 though.

3
Did you do any preparation or write down a list of ideas you wanted to discuss with Epic?

I had a list of things that I wanted to discuss in terms of gameplay, and also a list of things I wanted to know about in terms of player interaction in-game (friends lists, stats, player profiles etc.). My main frustrations with the current state of the game were the translocator which was discussed in depth at the event, and team-boosting which also took up a large proportion of the discussions we had with Steve Polge. It was quite interesting to hear their views in terms of designing a game that appeals to the masses of first time players, and how the UT1 style team boosting could seem daunting to them, but at the same time wanting to create a game that supported a high competitive level of play. The marketplace and social side of the game was something I wanted to learn more about, and I can honestly say there's a lot of things that I'm looking forward to seeing in the final product.

4
You spent the night at Heathrow. Had a champagne breakfast, then took a nine hour flight. Didn't sleep. I take it the first thing you did when you arrived was go to sleep?

Surprisingly not, by this point I was full of bad coffee and nicotine. The first thing I did upon arriving was meet the legend that is Joe Prince (inside joke). Then me and chumb0 both had to walk around Cary for about 2 hours trying to find somewhere that sold a UK to US power converter as we could not charge anything. After some time walking around Flak called us, we went to Five Guys (<3) and then ended up going to a sports bar after raxxy and Rush arrived.

5
Were you looking forward to meeting any community member in particular?

If I'm honest the person I was most looking forward to meeting was m3ss (sorrynotsorry PACO). I've literally spent more time with Matt in the past 6 months than I have with my own girlfriend and had already started to question my relationship with him.

6
Did anybody ask you to sign their UT disk?

Unfortunately not, although this is on my bucket list so if anyone is interested?

6b
Will you sign mine?

Yes!!!

Update 18 Nov 2014: I just received this in the mail:

7
Is there any particular game type or feature which you think makes UT4 unique?

I think the feature that will make the final game unique will hopefully be the combination of all the "snippets" from each game coming together to unite a much larger community. I don't think there's any other game that has rivalled the UT series gameplay of CTF, and I think this has always been a defining factor of the game. CS has its trademark gametype, as does Quake, and other games like TF2, I feel UT CTF has always been the best demonstration of what the game is all about, more so than duel in my eyes.

8
As someone who has played a lot of UT99, would you say UT4 is similar at all? Do skills from previous UTs "translate" to the new Unreal Tournament (e.g. movement, aim)?

I think the main basis of the game is very similar, some players historically have struggled to carry that over (I cannot stress how much I sucked at UT2k4), however the game has evolved massively from UT1 and people are going to have to adapt if they want to carry that level of play over to the new game. Obviously hitscan and other skills that carry through the game will translate fairly easily to an experienced player.

9
Do you think that the game is accessible to new players as well as old?

I do think so, I think most UT's have been accessible. It's always depended on what kind of gamer they are. There's been countless players that have come and gone, never played competitive clan matches or in ladders or leagues, some even still play now just as casual gamers. I've known players pick UT1 up in the past 3 years through referral and stick with it. I think the series itself has a community that has driven this.

10
Did you spend the majority of the time just playing, or did you also spend a lot of time talking to the developers?

We spent more time than I thought we would talking to the developers to be fair. They were quite happy just sitting with us in the play test lab and watching us, then asking questions relating to things they saw. One of the best things was having Clawfist and Neoduck there to give them feedback around their maps. It was quite cool to be able to walk someone around their map and point to things on the screen with them standing there. We had a few different breakout sessions on various subjects, but everyone was so open to just opening up a line of conversation.

11
When playing the developers... did you at any point feel bad beating them 16-2? Or did the old competitive saying "in it to win it" apply?

It felt very good. We discussed in detail the importance of not losing this game. There were many arguments over whether PACO should be allowed to play at all. Unfortunately raxxy was tucked away in an office upstairs so we had to call upon our bench.

12
What was the best part of your entire trip? Was it completing your lifelong goal of taking a picture with the giant Malcolm?

There's quite a few actually, getting my photo with Malcolm was definitely up there. Playing Clawfist 1v1 in UT1 on Agony would have to be my highlight. That was epic.

13
Do you feel different about the game and Epic after having experienced it from so close?

I feel much better about the development of the game in general. It was quite refreshing to hear the guys at the top discuss things in such detail and consider both sides of casual gaming and competitive gaming. I definitely got the bug again. Having seen what I've seen so far, I'm confident that Epic can produce a great game.

14
As a competitive gamer, do you think UT4 has the potential to become the next big thing in the competitive scene?

I think it has the potential to be the next big arena shooter, without a doubt. We certainly need one.

15
Can we expect you to remain at the top of the charts with UT4? Or do you think the game will attract new talent?

I'm hoping it attracts new talent, I can't see myself competing at the top in UT4 (as much as I'd love to), but I also hope that the old faces we've seen come out of hibernation stick around, and more appear.

16
Has the trip inspired you to take a more proactive role in the development of UT4?

I came home and actually found myself brainstorming on ways in which I could help. I've now got my sub, and I'm definitely going to get back into mapping!

17
If there would be another Community Event closer to home, could we expect you to make an appearance?

I'll keep going until they tell me I'm not welcome anymore.

18
Anything else you would like to share with the community?

I'd just like to ask if chumb0 has any intention of boosting me anytime in the near future. Let me know.

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This cheeky self-inviting shout caster was lucky enough to be visiting Epic for the second time! A competitive streamer, games affecionado and co-founder of Owned Well, m3ss has solidified himself as a community pillar. Apparently he's medium sized and only looks short when stood next to giants (hmmmm), frequently 'forgets' items when deemed convenient and has already started converting CS:GO players to UT4.

1
There was talk of you actually being a party pooper. Care to dispel this nasty rumour?

I'm guessing this question is about Saturday night when I went to see Interstellar with Raxxy and Rush instead of going out on the town with the rest of the group. The thing is, I knew if I went out it would be a really late night and having to drive back home the next day I was trying to be somewhat responsible. Of course it was confirmed the next day that my suspicions were correct with bleh and chumb0 getting in sometime around 5am that morning. Although somehow PACO managed to make it to bed before all of us...the man is a magician. In hindsight, I do regret missing out on the shenanigans with PACO, bleh, chumb0, and especially Sovvie, but I have a feeling I'll be seeing that group again soon enough. :)

2
You'd already met all of the people at Epic last time, but how was it to meet these community members and your co-founder at Owned Well?

To be honest, this event was a great opportunity on both fronts. Not only were there multiple community members that I was excited to meet in person, but I also felt I would be more comfortable talking with the developers this time around having already met them at the first event. I was especially pumped to meet bleh in person though, as I've played UT99 with him for over a decade in addition to having many long, possibly inebriated conversations with him on teamspeak. It was certainly a meeting that was a long time coming and hopefully won't be the last because the guy is the dog's danglies. Of course, meeting our fearless leader PACO, the Australian curmudgeon raxxy and the ever-enthusiastic chumb0 were great experiences as well. Overall, this was a rare group of community members gathered in one place, and being so close by I couldn't pass up the opportunity to meet them all. I certainly was not disappointed.

3
As you visited both events, could you enlighten us on similarities and differences between the last event and this one?

For the most part the event format was quite similar. We arrived at the studio each morning and played informally for a few hours before playing some more structured exhibition games in the afternoon. I think the one of the major differences this time were the "breakout" sessions where they had smaller group discussions between coders and developer. Another new addition this event was the streaming of the general Q&A session. From a personal perspective though, I know I had many more meaningful discussions with the developers this time around, but much of that can be attributed to the game being further along for discussion than last time.

4
After seeing the pictures, the people would like to know: are you short, or were the other community members just incredibly tall?

Ha ha! I would say it's a combination of both actually. I'm pretty average height, maybe 5'10" if I'm having a good posture day, but many of the community members and developers on giants, so it just exacerbated the height difference. It's funny how little you notice a person's height when you're used to only seeing them from the waist up.

5
Has the build improved since you were last there?

Absolutely! There have been several significant updates in the builds leading up to the event, including the implementation of the new "netcode" as well as the movement speed increase. The game continues to be refined and improved week to week and I think Epic continues to demonstrate a responsiveness to community feedback. We've already seen several significant adjustments since the event including the slowing down of the translocator and the implementation of team boosting, which further shows that Epic is listening.

6
We saw you playing CTF a lot. Would you say the focus of this event was CTF?

I would, which was great to see. I know that some of the guys played two new CTF maps on Friday evening before I arrived, and then Saturday was devoted almost exclusively to CTF playtesting and discussion. The game was in a much better position this time to evaluate and we spent a great deal of time discussing things like the translocator, team boosting, self-boosting flag dropping, half-time, and spectator mode, basically anything related to CTF gameplay.

7
In the twitch recap stream you mentioned that they have changed the translocator to a lower speed. Were you one of the people for a lower speed? And have you had a chance to test it since?

I've absolutely been a supporter of reducing the translocator speed. I think a lot of us attending the event knew the translocator would be an important issue and within a few hours of being there it had already been adjusted in the direction we'd hoped for. I've playtested it a lot since the adjustment, and while it is definitely an improvement, I think there are still tweaks to be made before its right. I'm confident though that with further playtesting and feedback we'll get the translocator to where it needs to be.

8
Were there any other changes you were rooting for, that you talked to developers about?

As I previously mentioned the translocator was probably number one on my list of changes needed coming into this event. CTF is starting to be more of a focal point in the game, and moving in the right direction with the translocator is extremely important to that development process. Additional hot-button items I was hoping to discuss were team-boosting and halftime. It seemed like from of our initial discussions that team-boosting was an issue they might remain stubborn on. I certainly understood their position, particularly regarding some of the more powerful aspects of team-boosting, but I felt initially it would be tough to change their minds. However, we've already seen team-boosting added to the latest build which is a huge change that I was surprised to see. I thought we would have to battle a bit more on this particular issue, but again, I feel this reiterates that Epic is being quite responsive to community feedback, especially if it's provided in a clear and constructive fashion, rather than a combative and demanding one.

9
I believe you spoke to the developers about spectator tools, what does this mean to a streamer such as yourself? Are you excited at the new possibilities?

I really am excited for the possibilities. Obviously most of the ideas right now are hypotheticals, but it's clear that Epic wants to focus on eSports and supporting better coverage through improved spectator functionality. I think a lot of the work may need to be community driven, so I'm looking to get my hands dirty with trying to implement some of our ideas, but I'm definitely looking forward to casting some high-level UT4 competition in the future.

10
What game mode did you enjoy playing most?

Capture the Flag of course! I've always been a CTF'er at heart both as a competitive player and shoutcaster. Playing Outside in a competitive setting on LAN with guys I'd played UT with for years was an amazing experience! It really highlighted for me the potential for UT4 to rekindle the greatness that is UT Capture The Flag.

11
Have you experimented with the "goo webs" yet?

I actually haven't yet. I think I tried using it in the last build when it wasn't actually implemented yet, so that was a typical m3ss facepalm moment. I do remember RZE setting it up on their flag stand during the community versus devs CTF game on Dam though, so that was pretty funny to see. To be honest, I don't see the goo web feature remaining in the game, but I like that they're trying different creative ideas to see what sticks. Some people may be frustrated that these ideas are being implemented while other items remain problematic, but personally I like the experimentation. You never know what crazy idea will turn out to be great.

12
Do you expect to be playing or streaming more? Or a combination of both?

I imagine on the whole I will be streaming and casting more than playing, but I expect it to be a combination of both. I don't have the time or the reflexes to compete at the highest level (not that I ever could in the past either though), but I will definitely be playing the game in a semi-competitive fashion. Whether that's with an actual clan in ladders and leagues or just matchmaking remains to be seen, but I definitely see myself playing the game a lot.

13
From a player perspective, what are you personally looking forward to most for UT4?

The return of clans! Draft leagues area great and without them UT99 would not have seen this sort of longevity, but I'd love to see the return of hundreds of clans duking it out in leagues and ladders again. While I don't think it can be argued that individual play is at an all-time high right now, I feel we've lost some of the really nuanced and tight-knit teamwork we saw at the height of clan competition. I really hope we get to see some familiar teams return to maybe rekindle some old rivalries!

14
You play and stream a lot of CS:GO. Do you think CS:GO players would be likely to start playing Unreal Tournament? Or are these two completely different types of FPS players?

Absolutely! I've spoken to several pro and semi-pro level CS:GO players who've already said they would jump to UT4 in a heart-beat if it has the community and the eSports support we are hoping for. Given the lack of a true arena shooter in the popular eSports landscape right now, I think many people are playing CS:GO because there aren't any proper FPS options on the PC. While CS:GO is extremely different from UT in terms of gameplay and competitive meta, the first-person shooter aspect translates reasonably well and I truly believe there is room enough for both of these games to flourish. I can only hope UT4 achieves even a small percentage of the growth and success that CS:GO has seen in the past year.

15
You are known for your 'm3ss ups'. We already heard you forgot your mouse at the end of the event (unless it was just an excuse to come back) - any other m3ss ups?

Ha ha! I'm definitely the most appropriately named person in the community. I'm sure I had plenty, but I remember switching to play on chumb0's setup at one point because the streaming computer was hooked up to his PC. I was running the flag on Outside and went to switch to the hammer to piston up to the stand, but it was his feign death bind so instead I feigned death and dropped the flag. Doh! And of course, I blew several bridge to amp boosts playing sDOM on Campgrounds with cafe. Pretty much par for the course for me, though. M3ss facepalming

16
What was your favourite moment of this event?

The whole event was memorable so it's difficult to pick just one moment. I would say one great moment was the hilarious banter between chumb0 and bleh while they were playing sDOM on Saturday night. "chumb0 boost me!" "chumb0!" "James?" Other than that, I think the discussions with Steve before he left Saturday were extremely worthwhile and it felt like we covered a great deal of important material in a short amount of time.

17
How did Flak end up with your shirt on in the Community Event recap?

I was sent four new Owned Well shirts by Scott to take down to the event: two for myself and two for PACO. Obviously, I rocked one on the first day of the event, but I thought I should give the extra away to one of the developers or community members while I was there. In the end, it was an easy decision to make. Flak deserved it more than anyone as she was the main reason we were all there in the first place, and I thought it was the least I could do to show our appreciation. I almost forgot to give it to her actually, but remembered just as I was getting ready to leave to drive home. She was extremely appreciative, but I never expected her to wear it on the event recap stream. I really can't say enough about the developers and Flak especially, who showed such great hospitality to us while we were at the event. I think as PACO pointed out, she was somehow even nicer and more pleasant in person. Thanks again so much to Flak and all of the other developers for showing us an amazing time!

18
Will you be 'picking up your mouse' at the next event?

Unfortunately no. I guess they were on to my tactics for ensuring my next visit, as Flak mailed my mouse and mouse pad back to me within a few days. Next time I'll conveniently lose my car keys down a drain pipe or something. :D

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Stay inspired and stay competitive!