Name: Maxime QuoilinNick: mAx
Clan: sFx Gaming
Country: Belgium
Gaming Setup: Old mx500 on old qpad's, 400 dpi 500hz, 1396kjl.
Favourite Song: NERD - Rock StarJason Nevins Remix
Introduce yourself…
My name is Maxime Quoilin aka mAx, I'm an 18 year old arrogant Belgian, mostly known for being a rambo medic in the past, and I have a big ego. I was originally called HoTmAx because I was HoT, but then felt a bit colder so I dropped the HoT, and mAx stayed.
You guys seem a pretty random group, how was the sFx LAN team selected. Was it a case of if you can travel you can go?
I'm a good friend of Xionn, and since I missed Quakecon, I really wanted to meet some people at the Crossfire LAN, so we started a team project. Xionn knew Tiigeri from deMi, and we teamed up with his sFx friends, all of them can afford to travel by themselves. Then we asked reload because we assumed he could afford it having been to Quakecon and he has some LAN experience.
How hard are sFx practicing, we're less than 2 weeks away?
Well, as much as possible, since we are pretty new, something like 19-23 almost every day. But we got the right mix of classes and play styles, so it makes things pretty easier :)
Of the eight attending teams I'd say you're the darkhorse, the one team that could cause an upset. You agree - and do you believe you're underrated?
I don't know how people rate us and I don't really care about it, I think we can do pretty well if we keep on practising, that's it.
Do you expect the CPC trip to fund itself, or have you guys planned for being out of pocket? Also what input do the sFx multi-gaming clan have, if any?
Xionn and I will go by train since we are from Belgium, which isn’t expensive. The 4 others will take the plane, so that's a bigger problem. I guess we'll mostly afford it on our own, but sFx is some kind of community and we're getting a pretty solid donation from them.
Does this return to ET mean that you've given up playing Quake4?
Let's say I'm on a break. I don't really like ET as it is at the moment, but the CPC really motivates me to play and it's the only reason why I'm playing ET at the moment. After CPC, I'll probably practice Quake 4 100% for WSVG London and other events if I get more lucky with the sponsors :).
You said “I don't really like ET as it is at the moment” - what do you mean by this?
Even though the maps are improved in a way, the overall speed of the game is a bit too slow. There’s also the other reasons stated above, there's too much lame compensations making the game annoying to play. Plus it’s not RTCW.
The only notable names on the WSVG London sign up list are
stermy and 
draven, you think top 2 is a possibility? The only notables names _so far_ :) You'll see the likes of toxic, cooller etc signing up after Kode5, I think. I'll practice as much as possible and I think it would be stupid to hope for a top place at first, I just want some experience and play every matches at 100%, the results might follow, we'll see.
Have you signed up for any of the Q3 CPL qualifiers?
The only open sign ups are CPL Singapore and CPL Winter, so far. Let's be realistic, if I play Q3, it will be for some European CPL's, you can't fill the gap with players who played ztn/dm6/hub for years in a few months.
There's been rumours aplenty regarding this, but I'll allow you to publicly clarify. Why didn't you attend Quakecon, whilst Galahad did, and are you still with idle?
I talked with Galahad after Quakecon and let's say we both got mistaken :). Only time will tell if I'll stick with idle.ee.
What expectations do you have for Rotterdam?
Meeting some nice people out there, and let's say a top 3 placing wouldn't annoy me :).
Onto the map list, and its somewhat controversial selection process. Do you agree with the final 5 maps?
Compared to Quake 4 maps, I would say the map choice is ace, but I don't really like oasis anymore, it feels a bit unbalanced with nowadays play style. I think Reactor could have replaced it, same style but faster and more intense.
On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate the current skill level in ET? (10 being the highest it's ever been)
Hard one :D, I would say 5 with idle notably raising the number. It's easier to be a good team with nowadays playstyle but it's very hard to be a top one. I don't see many teams complete in every field of ET, apart from idle (the fields being aim/ teamplay / chemistry).
Can we expect a mAx Chapter 3 from this venture with sFx?
When you get older, your need to attention whore gets lower, but that could be a nice idea if I have the time :P.
What do you think it takes to be good at ET?
Playing a LOT can make a "good" player out of anyone. But to become more than a good player you need to analyze more, analyzing is the key in gaming, I think. Watching your demos after the games, checking what was wrong and thinking about how to change it, that's the obvious but not that simple way to go. You also need to experiment new things, "play worse at first to get better in the future" as whoever said. A down to earth attitude is also pretty important I think, I started getting better once my ego decreased, and that took some time :D. Another game as a background can be a good idea, after Quake, I started to analyze the opponents play, a lot more, to play a lot more with the timer, stuff like that :). But in the end, confidence and analyze are the keys :).
So you watch your old demos to improve? And if so, what are you looking out for?
I mostly do that for Quake, but in the past I sometimes watched my ET demos. Since ET is a team game, checking ET demos is more about checking your gameplay as a team, your tactics and stuff. After all, there’s no need to be Einstein to see I was such a crappy medic :D. Last days I've been watching the way I move and my positioning on the map, and my combination with the other players in the team, how I reacted to them and what should I change about it. In the past I did it for my aim, checking what was good and what was bad, and working on the bad stuffs.
Life's tough at the top, or so some would have you believe. Do you enjoy playing at a high level?
I don't really like ET anymore, it's too easy to fill the lack of any kind of skills, which makes the skill gap between medium and high skilled players pretty weak. Playing against idle is funnier than playing any other teams, cause there's some challenge and they probably do some stuff your team can't do. You can choose your play style, and I think some "top" teams got a playstyle which is all about compensation. Any team can play with 1 panzer 1 rifle, some field ops, and focus a lot on spawnkilling, that playstyle makes the game pretty annoying to play. Now some top teams could/can avoid that playstyle cause they are able win in a more skilled way, and that's what makes the difference between a good and a top team (I'm gonna get flammed for this)
Do you think, given that teams can learn from the old schoolers - a new clan in ET or RTCW can realistically surpass the skill of their predecessors?
Aimwise, I definitely think so, cause the technologies evolve, the talents pop up... Teamplay wise, maybe yes, maybe not, it's all about a good combination and chemistry. Some team might have a perfect combination and chemistry, all speak the same language, and that should be hard to beat. I think the teamplay will evolve less than the aim in both games. But well, RtCW is dead, I recently argued about the fact vib (my rtcw team) could have been among the best teams in the past, there's simply no answer to that, the debate will always be open, but when you look at it, in the end, who cares? The most achievements win, that's it :).
Why do you game?
I started because it's entertaining, and I guess I kept playing cause I like the improvement part of each games, and I honestly feel most of the players play to feed the habit. I think gaming gave me more than it took from me, at the moment. I feel like a much better person than I was 2-3 years ago if I have to be honest.
So you're addicted to gaming?
No, I'm addicted to the fact I want to improve in what I play, I like the challenge. Without the challenge I wouldn’t’t play, not on a regular basis at least. I think you can talk about addiction when you have no big goals, you just play a lot for the sake of playing. I could take a break without problems if it doesn't break any goals.
Your Crossfire Quakecon team would’ve been?
mAx Ganon shewie alka sbkWe’d be called mAx’s Friends
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