This week in AoCZone news:
After a couple weeks of silence, TOAO_Nai is back with more AoCZone news!
The reason for the absence? It was TOAO_Nai's birthday on the 18th of September, you had better say happy birthday!
I was on a drunken vacation and writing the news drunk is just bad policy.
SO!
This week we have a couple interviews with the poZ team and team Germany A
Some cute pets of AoCers
A look ahead to WSVG
And some tournament updates.
[READMORELINKDOTS]
_Richthofen_: Can you introduce yourself and tell us what you do besides AoC?
==> Ding is just graduated and working for a HK construction company, he has no extra time for AoC, 100% adult mode 11111.....
_Richthofen_: How and when did you start to play AoC? What Maps and Civs you like most and what don't you like to play or to watch?
==> In 1999 or something near, ding plays with star / kyo / cloud in HK ip game.
Hk AoCer likes huns war on arabia and we called it as MEN'S WAR. Once we have something that cannot be solved, such as arguing about map / strategy, the only solution is to 1v1 on arabia
Who win then who will be the king
_Richthofen_: Last year, your Team finished 6th, losing to Brazil. With what expectations did you enter this Nations Cup?
==> Our expectation is just playing with each other and since all players are busy in real life, we don’t have time to practise. So it is just for fun.
_Richthofen_: This year you are about to meet Brazil again in the Final Stage. How can you beat them this year, as they are considered to be one of the favourites?
==> We don’t have any chance to beat them honestly due to no practise and no strategy.
_Richthofen_: No practise together? Don’t you watch recorded games from your opponents as preparation?
==> We are free style players, everyone knows that poZ will never practise 111
We didn’t see any rec games of opponents.
_Richthofen_: What other nations impressed you most so far in the tourney and who is your personal favourite?
==> China played good as usual. Finland impressed me most so far, they don’t have perfect 1v1 skills, but they showed that they can beat good teams with impressive teamwork.
_Richthofen_: Why do you think Asian Teams perform so well in AoC, as 7 of the last 16 teams are from Asia?
==> Maps in nation cup favour Asian teams as you see that lots of maps are land map + nomad.
And this year, there are 4 teams from China participating as well.
_Richthofen_: Is there any rivalry with other Nations (China maybe^^) where you really play for more than just the win?
==> We are playing for fun, nothing related to rivalry honestly. I believe that we don't have public enemies. As i say before, we care about 1v1 men’s war between poZers more than competition with other nations
_Richthofen_: What do you think about the future of AoC? Do you see yourself still playing in 2 or 3 years
==> AoC is getting better and better, build orders are becoming perfect and team game strategies are more interesting, someone called it boring sling sling sling but it is the best strategy, if you cant beat it, join it 1111
For poZ, we are friends in real life so if other poZers are playing, I think we will keep playing tournaments but it will be hard for us to get back in shape like before, since everyone has a real life already.
_Richthofen_: Thanks guys for sharing some insights with us.
==> Ding is just graduated and working for a HK construction company, he has no extra time for AoC, 100% adult mode 11111.....
_Richthofen_: How and when did you start to play AoC? What Maps and Civs you like most and what don't you like to play or to watch?
==> In 1999 or something near, ding plays with star / kyo / cloud in HK ip game.
Hk AoCer likes huns war on arabia and we called it as MEN'S WAR. Once we have something that cannot be solved, such as arguing about map / strategy, the only solution is to 1v1 on arabia
Who win then who will be the king
_Richthofen_: Last year, your Team finished 6th, losing to Brazil. With what expectations did you enter this Nations Cup?
==> Our expectation is just playing with each other and since all players are busy in real life, we don’t have time to practise. So it is just for fun.
_Richthofen_: This year you are about to meet Brazil again in the Final Stage. How can you beat them this year, as they are considered to be one of the favourites?
==> We don’t have any chance to beat them honestly due to no practise and no strategy.
_Richthofen_: No practise together? Don’t you watch recorded games from your opponents as preparation?
==> We are free style players, everyone knows that poZ will never practise 111
We didn’t see any rec games of opponents.
_Richthofen_: What other nations impressed you most so far in the tourney and who is your personal favourite?
==> China played good as usual. Finland impressed me most so far, they don’t have perfect 1v1 skills, but they showed that they can beat good teams with impressive teamwork.
_Richthofen_: Why do you think Asian Teams perform so well in AoC, as 7 of the last 16 teams are from Asia?
==> Maps in nation cup favour Asian teams as you see that lots of maps are land map + nomad.
And this year, there are 4 teams from China participating as well.
_Richthofen_: Is there any rivalry with other Nations (China maybe^^) where you really play for more than just the win?
==> We are playing for fun, nothing related to rivalry honestly. I believe that we don't have public enemies. As i say before, we care about 1v1 men’s war between poZers more than competition with other nations
_Richthofen_: What do you think about the future of AoC? Do you see yourself still playing in 2 or 3 years
==> AoC is getting better and better, build orders are becoming perfect and team game strategies are more interesting, someone called it boring sling sling sling but it is the best strategy, if you cant beat it, join it 1111
For poZ, we are friends in real life so if other poZers are playing, I think we will keep playing tournaments but it will be hard for us to get back in shape like before, since everyone has a real life already.
_Richthofen_: Thanks guys for sharing some insights with us.
_Richthofen_: Hello. First, like usual, can you introduce yourself?
[nC]Andorin: Hey, I'm known as Andorin or just "Ando" in the community, I'm 21 years old and from Germany (currently living in Sri Lanka).
_Richthofen_: How did you come to AoC?
[nC]Andorin: When I moved to Sri Lanka couple of years ago, my friends introduced me to CBA, but I got bored soon playing the same map over and over again so I tried out all the other settings AoC had to offer.
After watching a nomad record from L_Clan_Chris luring a boar over the entire map without loom and blocking it with sheep I was quite impressed, tried out RM enjoyed it and eventually stuck with it.
_Richthofen_: About the German team, how did you select who is playing for Germany A Team?
[nC]Andorin: Well, since Jordan had no time because he wanted to focus on the WSVG tournament and was busy with other stuff, and lots of people from last years Nation cup team were kinda inactive or busy, we decided it would be a good choice to take some players from the previous B team who had improved over the time and form a A team together.
_Richthofen_: What ambitions did you have to enter the tourney, especially without Germany’s best player?
[nC]Andorin: We were aiming to reach the top 16 at least and maybe show the community its not all about individual players but about teamwork. Who knows maybe (hopefully) next year Jordan has the time/motivation to join us.
_Richthofen_: How did your preparation look?
[nC]Andorin: We couldn't play as much as we wanted to due to Family and Work limitations but still played a fair amount of games. Also we tried to focus a bit more on Arabia, as everyone knows it isn't our best map 11. I think we really improved a lot on Arabia, though at the end it was only useful for a single win vs. China C. ^^
_Richthofen_: What maps does your team prefer?
[nC]Andorin: We prefer maps where you can win with the superior strategy and Civs and good teamwork instead of the maps like Arabia where the individual skill is really important , we put a "bit" more thought in to the maps /Civs than most teams i guess who almost always went for the standard Civs, the Goldrush vs Finland is a good example where we chose Goths over Mayans to be slinged.
_Richthofen_: Speaking of Finland. It was a close series were you came up short. What made the difference in the end?
[nC]Andorin: We honestly expected more like a 4:1 for Finland , and we were surprised to get such a good result against them. In the end some minor (major errors in some peoples eyes i guess ^^) cost us certain games. In the Arabia and Plains we were simply outplayed. Not having Shine (our usual Mongols player) for any of the games hurt us a lot though.
_Richthofen_: You were upsetting Brazil A, a team, that many think, belongs to the favourites. Was that Germany's best series in the tournament and do you think that win made people taking you as serious contenders?
[nC]Andorin: The games against Brazil A were a great and unexpected win.. but we always felt like the outcome would have been different if Dogao didn’t play on that tiny notebook with sling only and they would have chosen to play 3v3 instead of 4v4 in certain matches. (at least their hm, I cant remember the sets right now) ^^ But it was still a great achievement for our team.
_Richthofen_: Looks like your BF games always contained something, let’s call it, entertaining. The game vs. VNS for example or the game vs. Brazil. How about that?
[nC]Andorin: To be honest we kind of knew it wouldn't be a tough BF game against VNS B but we didn’t expect it to go so bad for them, no disrespect to Madeincholo but that was just downright hilarious and probably one of the biggest titanic's I’ve ever seen.
About the BF vs. Brazil, it was kinda of unexpected but we took it lightly, a win is a win and it was their decision.
_Richthofen_: Do you keep track of all the other games of the NationCup and what team did surprise you most so far?
[nC]Andorin: We sometimes watch games and talk about them in teamspeak discuss them and just have a good time, also Arma and me are following the prediction contest (set up by Prv_limb) religiously. Finland surprised us all I guess, we didn’t expect them to get so far.
_Richthofen_: Your pick for the final?
[nC]Andorin: Brazil A vs. China A
_Richthofen_: And what team would you like to win it more^^?
[nC]Andorin : I like both teams...but I am definitely rooting for China A! Close one though
_Richthofen_: Is there anything you would like to change, set wise, for the next NationsCup maybe?
[nC]Andorin: Me personally (I don’t know about my team) would like to see sling nerferd .. I know it’s hard to do so but moving coinage to castle and Banking to imp is already quite a good solution... Also I would like to see the Admins being a little more consequent and not allowing delays that could benefit a team and could delay the tournament (no hate just criticism, they have done a great job so far otherwise!)
_Richthofen_: Last question, how do you see the future of AoC, and what about your own AoC future?
[nC]Andorin: I see a bright future for AoC , Voobly is constantly improving, people are donating a lot of money for even small tournaments and it seems we are drawing a bit of attention to AoC lately. As for me I hope to improve and maybe reach a decent level soon but there is no rush.^^
_Richthofen_: Sounds like a plan. Thanks a lot for taking the time and gl for future tourneys
[nC]Andorin: Hey, I'm known as Andorin or just "Ando" in the community, I'm 21 years old and from Germany (currently living in Sri Lanka).
_Richthofen_: How did you come to AoC?
[nC]Andorin: When I moved to Sri Lanka couple of years ago, my friends introduced me to CBA, but I got bored soon playing the same map over and over again so I tried out all the other settings AoC had to offer.
After watching a nomad record from L_Clan_Chris luring a boar over the entire map without loom and blocking it with sheep I was quite impressed, tried out RM enjoyed it and eventually stuck with it.
_Richthofen_: About the German team, how did you select who is playing for Germany A Team?
[nC]Andorin: Well, since Jordan had no time because he wanted to focus on the WSVG tournament and was busy with other stuff, and lots of people from last years Nation cup team were kinda inactive or busy, we decided it would be a good choice to take some players from the previous B team who had improved over the time and form a A team together.
_Richthofen_: What ambitions did you have to enter the tourney, especially without Germany’s best player?
[nC]Andorin: We were aiming to reach the top 16 at least and maybe show the community its not all about individual players but about teamwork. Who knows maybe (hopefully) next year Jordan has the time/motivation to join us.
_Richthofen_: How did your preparation look?
[nC]Andorin: We couldn't play as much as we wanted to due to Family and Work limitations but still played a fair amount of games. Also we tried to focus a bit more on Arabia, as everyone knows it isn't our best map 11. I think we really improved a lot on Arabia, though at the end it was only useful for a single win vs. China C. ^^
_Richthofen_: What maps does your team prefer?
[nC]Andorin: We prefer maps where you can win with the superior strategy and Civs and good teamwork instead of the maps like Arabia where the individual skill is really important , we put a "bit" more thought in to the maps /Civs than most teams i guess who almost always went for the standard Civs, the Goldrush vs Finland is a good example where we chose Goths over Mayans to be slinged.
_Richthofen_: Speaking of Finland. It was a close series were you came up short. What made the difference in the end?
[nC]Andorin: We honestly expected more like a 4:1 for Finland , and we were surprised to get such a good result against them. In the end some minor (major errors in some peoples eyes i guess ^^) cost us certain games. In the Arabia and Plains we were simply outplayed. Not having Shine (our usual Mongols player) for any of the games hurt us a lot though.
_Richthofen_: You were upsetting Brazil A, a team, that many think, belongs to the favourites. Was that Germany's best series in the tournament and do you think that win made people taking you as serious contenders?
[nC]Andorin: The games against Brazil A were a great and unexpected win.. but we always felt like the outcome would have been different if Dogao didn’t play on that tiny notebook with sling only and they would have chosen to play 3v3 instead of 4v4 in certain matches. (at least their hm, I cant remember the sets right now) ^^ But it was still a great achievement for our team.
_Richthofen_: Looks like your BF games always contained something, let’s call it, entertaining. The game vs. VNS for example or the game vs. Brazil. How about that?
[nC]Andorin: To be honest we kind of knew it wouldn't be a tough BF game against VNS B but we didn’t expect it to go so bad for them, no disrespect to Madeincholo but that was just downright hilarious and probably one of the biggest titanic's I’ve ever seen.
About the BF vs. Brazil, it was kinda of unexpected but we took it lightly, a win is a win and it was their decision.
_Richthofen_: Do you keep track of all the other games of the NationCup and what team did surprise you most so far?
[nC]Andorin: We sometimes watch games and talk about them in teamspeak discuss them and just have a good time, also Arma and me are following the prediction contest (set up by Prv_limb) religiously. Finland surprised us all I guess, we didn’t expect them to get so far.
_Richthofen_: Your pick for the final?
[nC]Andorin: Brazil A vs. China A
_Richthofen_: And what team would you like to win it more^^?
[nC]Andorin : I like both teams...but I am definitely rooting for China A! Close one though
_Richthofen_: Is there anything you would like to change, set wise, for the next NationsCup maybe?
[nC]Andorin: Me personally (I don’t know about my team) would like to see sling nerferd .. I know it’s hard to do so but moving coinage to castle and Banking to imp is already quite a good solution... Also I would like to see the Admins being a little more consequent and not allowing delays that could benefit a team and could delay the tournament (no hate just criticism, they have done a great job so far otherwise!)
_Richthofen_: Last question, how do you see the future of AoC, and what about your own AoC future?
[nC]Andorin: I see a bright future for AoC , Voobly is constantly improving, people are donating a lot of money for even small tournaments and it seems we are drawing a bit of attention to AoC lately. As for me I hope to improve and maybe reach a decent level soon but there is no rush.^^
_Richthofen_: Sounds like a plan. Thanks a lot for taking the time and gl for future tourneys
1st place
8th Wonder
2nd Place
guitarizt
3rd Place
Lavie Head
Honourable mention
SouFire
Just my opinions for the order
8th Wonder
2nd Place
guitarizt
3rd Place
Lavie Head
Honourable mention
SouFire
Just my opinions for the order
5th of OCTOBER is when it all starts
I hope you are all excited, the time has finally come!
All games will be live and LAN connections.
Look forward to seeing pictures of players meeting and some of the best games ever!
I hope you are all excited, the time has finally come!
All games will be live and LAN connections.
Look forward to seeing pictures of players meeting and some of the best games ever!
Week 1
China A 5:3 Finland
Vietnam A 0:0 Canada
Week 2
China A 5:1 Vietnam A
Finland 1:5 Canada
Week 3
China A 0:0 Canada
Finland 0:0 Vietnam A
China A 5:3 Finland
Vietnam A 0:0 Canada
Week 2
China A 5:1 Vietnam A
Finland 1:5 Canada
Week 3
China A 0:0 Canada
Finland 0:0 Vietnam A
What do you want to see on AoCZone News?
This is for the community, so community ideas are more than welcome!
This is for the community, so community ideas are more than welcome!
Thanks for reading and keep on conquering!
And don't forget to follow on Twitter at AoCNews
-TOAO_Nai