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The Man Behind OKW: Modus - 5/15/00

(by Downtown)

Hello folks, Downtown here. Today we are interviewing Adam "Modus Virtuoso" Toering; he is one of the guiding forces behind the OKW (Oberkommando Der Wehrmacht) for the Virtual German Player, the Commander of the Virtual 2nd SS Panzer Division, and the writer of the "War Story" series.

First off Modus, let me say that your "War Story" series is outstanding. I read the history of the 2nd SS Panzer Grenadiers before reading your stories and I like your blend of fact and fiction.

Now down to the nuts and bolts.

Can you describe you online gaming experience so far, do you play Counterstrike, RB6, WB, AH, or any other games?

Well, I've been playing computer games for quite some time now. The first online game I played was Quake 2, namely the CTF (Capture the Flag) mod. From there, I jumped around - R6, DarkForces II - Jedi Knight, Aliens vrs. Predator, Half-Life, HL-TFC, HL-CS, Tribes (my favorite community), and countless sims such as Panzer Commander, the Civ series... the list goes on!

Any other handle that we may recognize from those games?

I've been Modus since Quake2... But Mplayer already had a few of the nick "Modus", so I was "mad"... hence "Mad-Modus". ;)

Have your ever done anything as comprehensive as the "Oberkommando Der Wehrmacht" before?

I've run my share of gaming groups... But OKW is different. We're a resource. I'm not in command of the Axis forces. I'm in command of the site! That's about it. I just want to see everything get organized. If that means barely sleeping for a couple of weeks straight, and harrassing my best friend (Tom "Shik" Farnsworth) about subtle graphics variations in the logos, then so-be-it!

Can you explain a bit about how you see the OKW being used?

We're a resource. If someone wants to find out what the German Gamers are up too, they head to OKW. If they need to find out how the historical German units fought, they read an article or two, or some tactics. If they are interested in how they can become involved with units and the "in-game" command, we'll have info about that, too (down the road, when we can publicize it).

The Wehrmacht historically refers to the German Army, yet I see tactics for Naval and Air Combat, can you give us a comparison of what the Virtual OKW will be doing, and what the real OKW did?

Well, it started out as just one little "Army" organization... and then it spread like wild-fire. As you may have noticed, back in January I was calling for all Axis units... After discussing things with the Rats, we decided to tone it down some.

As to the Historical OKW - The "OberKommando Der Wehrmacht" stands for the "German High Command". In a nutshell, it was Hitler's way of controlling the military, personally.

As a comparison - for one thing, I'm not Hitler. ;) Seriously though, The WWIIOnline-OKW will strive to help the German Gamer in any means... if they want it, we're going to do our best to get it for them!

What about the OKL (Oberkommando der Luftwaffe) and the OKM (Oberkommando der Kreigsmarine)? do you know if there are plans to develop websites specifically for those functions or will everything be rooted from here?

This has been brought up in some of the discussions I've had with CRS... Right now, OKW will remain itself. If, further down the road, expansion has been such that we can seperate into the different arms of service, I'm all for that. Whatever will facilitate providing for the German Gamer. But right now, I think OKW stands rather well... Especially since we openend up Thursday morning!

Do you think that the time you spend working on the OKW site will interfere with your command of the 2nd Panzer Grenadiers or add to it?

Dane "The_Dude/AndreDaGiant" Lengerman and I have talked about this openly (he's my Second-in-command)... Right now, we're way behind on our recruitment. We have around 20 recruits that are waiting to find out if they are in or not. It's our main task for this weekend (May 13-14). We'll see what happens. So in other words, yes, OKW is interfering with Das Reich... But... which is more important?...

Plan on showing favoritism? :)

eheh... As you may have noticed, there aren't any Squadron/Unit listings on the OKW page yet. Right now, I'm trying to remain very keen on promoting the entire German Armed Forces, and not some little unit. One of my biggest concerns with this game is that there not be any *major* rivalry between friendly units. Cooperation and Teamwork are key. Fighting over recruits is sooo first-grade! (ehehe)

I see a Chat link on the OKW page, what applet are you planning on using,hope its both MAC and PC Friendly?

"AndredaGiant" and I were talking about this tonight (May 12)... We think it'd be a great addition... But, right now, we're don't want some chat were there's one person idling for hours and hours on end. Hell, I've moderated IRC for quite some time now (TribesIRC - irc.dynamix.com).... It can get real tedious and boring, but when it's hopping, the fun never ends!

Will Allied Players be welcome on your Chat?

I'm fine with them being there... As long as they understand that there will be some *interesting* subject matter discussed - French Barmaids, cheese (fromage, is it?), Paris, the Eiffel Tower, Donkeys-eating-waffles in French Cafes (going out to you, Oddbol!)... you get the picture!

I also have noticed a forum, will allied players be welcome on your forum? What about folks with little or no loyalty?

One or two have already stopped by! I'm completely fine with it, just as long as they remember where they are. ;)

I have heard that there will be a secure forum who will be allowed in?

This is another aspect that is still in discussion. Currently we haven't decided. You'll probably know the day I do!

Do you know if there are any plans for a Allied High Command? I haven't heard anything about it?

It appears that it's in the works. My hats off to them, and if they have any questions about how I started OKW up, I'm here...

Do you think that with the input for the OKW and your time as Commander of the 2nd Panzer Grenadiers will affect how much stick time you get?

I'll be playing. I really don't care how much. Just as long as I get my *fix* sometime or another.

How much info presented will be from in-game, and how much historical?

We really want to keep it 50-50... But we'll see. When Open Beta starts, the news section will be going bonkers. =D

Who else is involved in the site?

WebMeister - Tom "Shik" Farnsworth (My best friend IRL... this little bugger got me addicted to online gaming... he's to blame! I think he's also one of the best players I've ever had the priveledge of playing with... I'm sure some of the Rat's will agree. He spanked the begeeebees out of 'em in CounterStrike when we were down there.)

ArticleMan - Dane "The Dude/AndreDaGiant" Lengerman (secdond in command of DasReich, and a close online friend. He's getting married soon, so one way or another, we're going to have to give him an online bachelor party! ;) He's been an amazing help... He does just about everything text-related. I owe him alot.)

We have some more assistants, but no one public yet. More or less, our trio has been running the show... I'm sure more will join the Staff soon enough. I'm looking for some Tactics writers, as well as other positions. Contact me if interested!

Why aren't there more HQ banners?

Erm.... ZeeTongue made it so? Speaking of banners.... eheh... I won't spoil the fun... eheh... *CACKLE!*

What do you do if a Char gets behind your Panzer?

Most likely a 75mm shell up the wazooo... Either that, or some really horribly directed bombs dropped from a STUKA. =D

Thanks for taking the time to share with us Modus, I look forward to the next installment of "War Story."

Thanks! My pleasure, as always!

Thanks to Adam "Modus Virtuoso" Toering for taking the time out of his busy schedule to answer our questions. Make sure to visit his site, the OKW, or else he might come after you.