Team Interview: Nup Squad Features
Heals, 14-May-09 » G1raffe, war organiser for brand new OZFL league division 1 kingpins nsf took time out to chat with Heals from netGameRadio about their new found #1 ranking, MAD DOGZ's departure from the game, sponsorship, shoutcasting and the future of competitive Team Fortress 2.
Heals: Hi G1raffe, thanks for taking the time :)
g1raffe: hey Heals, happy to be here :)
Heals: How are things?
g1raffe: Going pretty good at the moment, nsf have been up and down a bit lately which sort of means the same for me, but I can’t complain really.
Heals: I guess it’s kind of by proxy, but how does it feel being at the top of Australia’s premier TF2 ladder?
g1raffe: feels good to be up near the top again. I would like to think it’s where we belong, but I guess we will find out if we deserve to be there over the coming weeks of competition.
Heals: So things are more up than down at the moment?
g1raffe: Definitely, we’re starting to get a more stable line-up like we used to have. On top of that, we’ve recently been going over and improving our strats for most maps.
Heals: interesting...you made the second round of the nGRi last year but were knocked out of the first round of the f6i this year by Ragecore, did that put a dampener on things for nsf competitively?
g1raffe: It did, that was a hard time for us, the worst we had been for a long time after losing some core members and a few players going inactive. We had 2-3 new players for the Foosh tournament, guys that had just started playing; there was almost no teamwork or strats either.
Heals: Will you guys be looking to push hard into future tournaments?
g1raffe: Absolutely, we really enjoyed playing in ngri last year and the good games with top teams like beastin, spadebow, MAD DOGZ etc. We’re keen to be up at the top again, #1 spot in Aus is up for grabs now that MAD DOGZ have stopped playing, and a lot of teams will be going for it.
Heals: mmmm, the hunger is back, I like it.
Heals: Over the past few months we’ve seen a few top tier teams pursue corporate sponsorship, is this something nsf have thought about?
g1raffe: Quite a few multi-gaming organizations have asked us if we are interested, however we like the nsf tag and being our own team :)
Heals: Well surely sponsorship doesn't always mean you need to lose your identity? eXile5 come to mind?
g1raffe: Well that isn't the only reason, we already have our own TF2 server, vent, mumble (thanks to exe), so we don't really need anything the sponsors can offer us.
Heals: Give us your honest opinion of Nezero.
g1raffe: Haha, he’s a great guy, good to have in your team and on vent, lots of interesting 'Nez stories'
Heals: Ohh any to tell?
g1raffe: None that I can remember.
Heals: Do you think he has a legitimate future as a singer?
g1raffe: No way, but good to see him singing on YouTube, etc
Heals: Perhaps that's a sponsorship opportunity you haven't considered... karaokepartyhire.com
Heals: Your thoughts on casting in TF2 (and/or in gaming in general)?
g1raffe: I think the shoutcasts are great for the community to listen to while watching games, all the casters do a great job, something I wouldn’t do if I ever casted anything!
Heals: Surely you'd be better than Nez?
g1raffe: No-one is better than Nez
Heals: Touche.
Heals: With MAD DOGZ out of the picture for now and you guys on top, who to you think the new biggest contestant for the crown spot will be?
g1raffe: Definitely eXile5, although rewound, c2i, we-r and spadebox will all be up there as well.
Heals: Some people in the community have recently, perhaps overzealously, said TF2 is “dead”. Confirm / Deny?
g1raffe: I don't think TF2 is dead at all, shame to see the MAD DOGZ and ysw lose interest in TF2, however with all the other teams now going flat out for #1, competitive TF2 should be as good as ever, at least I would hope so.
Heals: Right on.
Heals: So what are nsf’s plans for the rest of the year?
g1raffe: Be the best that we can be!
Heals: Can you give everyone a quick rundown of the history of nsf?
g1raffe: Sure, we started out as N!SF late in 2007, shortly after TF2 was released. The clan was created by ThePhotoshop and a few others and started off as a casual clan on the GA ladder like most. When teams started playing 6v6 we started being a more serious clan, our core line-up changed quite a lot and we started using the nsf tag, as we were basically a new team. We worked our way up from div2 to div1 and have been improving ever since.
Heals: Okay, one last question before I wrap up...If nsf could hypothetically recruit, pinch, borrow, poach, kidnap or steal any player from any team right now, who would it be?
g1raffe: We don't really have a core medic at the moment, that role rotates between a few players, so I guess we’d recruit anyone that could fill that role well. Good medics are surprisingly very hard to find!
Heals: Got a name in mind?
g1raffe: Bowt
Heals: Didn't see that coming.. :P
Heals: Thanks for the chat mate, best wishes to nsf in your upcoming OZFL games.
g1raffe: No worries, thanks for the interview.
You can visit the nsf steam community here: http://steamcommunity.com/groups/nsf6v6
Heals: Hi G1raffe, thanks for taking the time :)
g1raffe: hey Heals, happy to be here :)
Heals: How are things?
g1raffe: Going pretty good at the moment, nsf have been up and down a bit lately which sort of means the same for me, but I can’t complain really.
Heals: I guess it’s kind of by proxy, but how does it feel being at the top of Australia’s premier TF2 ladder?
g1raffe: feels good to be up near the top again. I would like to think it’s where we belong, but I guess we will find out if we deserve to be there over the coming weeks of competition.
Heals: So things are more up than down at the moment?
g1raffe: Definitely, we’re starting to get a more stable line-up like we used to have. On top of that, we’ve recently been going over and improving our strats for most maps.
Heals: interesting...you made the second round of the nGRi last year but were knocked out of the first round of the f6i this year by Ragecore, did that put a dampener on things for nsf competitively?
g1raffe: It did, that was a hard time for us, the worst we had been for a long time after losing some core members and a few players going inactive. We had 2-3 new players for the Foosh tournament, guys that had just started playing; there was almost no teamwork or strats either.
Heals: Will you guys be looking to push hard into future tournaments?
g1raffe: Absolutely, we really enjoyed playing in ngri last year and the good games with top teams like beastin, spadebow, MAD DOGZ etc. We’re keen to be up at the top again, #1 spot in Aus is up for grabs now that MAD DOGZ have stopped playing, and a lot of teams will be going for it.
Heals: mmmm, the hunger is back, I like it.
Heals: Over the past few months we’ve seen a few top tier teams pursue corporate sponsorship, is this something nsf have thought about?
g1raffe: Quite a few multi-gaming organizations have asked us if we are interested, however we like the nsf tag and being our own team :)
Heals: Well surely sponsorship doesn't always mean you need to lose your identity? eXile5 come to mind?
g1raffe: Well that isn't the only reason, we already have our own TF2 server, vent, mumble (thanks to exe), so we don't really need anything the sponsors can offer us.
Heals: Give us your honest opinion of Nezero.
g1raffe: Haha, he’s a great guy, good to have in your team and on vent, lots of interesting 'Nez stories'
Heals: Ohh any to tell?
g1raffe: None that I can remember.
Heals: Do you think he has a legitimate future as a singer?
g1raffe: No way, but good to see him singing on YouTube, etc
Heals: Perhaps that's a sponsorship opportunity you haven't considered... karaokepartyhire.com
Heals: Your thoughts on casting in TF2 (and/or in gaming in general)?
g1raffe: I think the shoutcasts are great for the community to listen to while watching games, all the casters do a great job, something I wouldn’t do if I ever casted anything!
Heals: Surely you'd be better than Nez?
g1raffe: No-one is better than Nez
Heals: Touche.
Heals: With MAD DOGZ out of the picture for now and you guys on top, who to you think the new biggest contestant for the crown spot will be?
g1raffe: Definitely eXile5, although rewound, c2i, we-r and spadebox will all be up there as well.
Heals: Some people in the community have recently, perhaps overzealously, said TF2 is “dead”. Confirm / Deny?
g1raffe: I don't think TF2 is dead at all, shame to see the MAD DOGZ and ysw lose interest in TF2, however with all the other teams now going flat out for #1, competitive TF2 should be as good as ever, at least I would hope so.
Heals: Right on.
Heals: So what are nsf’s plans for the rest of the year?
g1raffe: Be the best that we can be!
Heals: Can you give everyone a quick rundown of the history of nsf?
g1raffe: Sure, we started out as N!SF late in 2007, shortly after TF2 was released. The clan was created by ThePhotoshop and a few others and started off as a casual clan on the GA ladder like most. When teams started playing 6v6 we started being a more serious clan, our core line-up changed quite a lot and we started using the nsf tag, as we were basically a new team. We worked our way up from div2 to div1 and have been improving ever since.
Heals: Okay, one last question before I wrap up...If nsf could hypothetically recruit, pinch, borrow, poach, kidnap or steal any player from any team right now, who would it be?
g1raffe: We don't really have a core medic at the moment, that role rotates between a few players, so I guess we’d recruit anyone that could fill that role well. Good medics are surprisingly very hard to find!
Heals: Got a name in mind?
g1raffe: Bowt
Heals: Didn't see that coming.. :P
Heals: Thanks for the chat mate, best wishes to nsf in your upcoming OZFL games.
g1raffe: No worries, thanks for the interview.
You can visit the nsf steam community here: http://steamcommunity.com/groups/nsf6v6
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| Category: | Gaming Interviews |
| Posted: | 14-May-09 6:48:33 pm |
| Author: | Heals |