Droniac’s Gaming Profile

I’ve been playing PC games as of a very young age. I used to play Commander Keen and Prince of Persia on a 286 computer and eventually moved on up to the likes of Monkey Island, Heroes of Might & Magic and later Dark Forces and Doom 95. Back then I simply played a game occasionally and received them as gifts from family, or simply played over at a friend’s house.

That changed in 1998 when I first bought a game myself: Settlers 3. Quickly to be followed by games like Outcast and Star Wars: Rogue Squadron. In 1999 we received broadband internet and I took gaming online with Settlers 3, also forming my first clan. Unreal Tournament, along with it’s multitude of mods, eventually replaced that game as my favorite online gaming activity and from then on I was hooked. PC gaming has remained my main hobby ever since.

Genre Preference

Truth be told, I can’t really point out any genre as my absolute favorite. My favorite games are strewn across many different genres – and I can be enjoying a nice calm turn-based strategy game one moment, only to be blasting players to pieces in a fast-paced Quake deathmatch session an hour later. As a gaming blogger that’s obviously a bonus, because it means I can cover a wide variety of games and can reflect on many differing past experiences with games from entirely different genres.

I do have a distinct preference for science fiction games, which tend to score higher in my book, if only for their setting. There are also certain genres that I do not care for. I do not like racing and sports games for example. Similarly, I’m not a big fan of flight simulation games (unless they’re of the outer space kind) and ultra-realistic games.

Favorite Games

Guild Wars – mostly for the memories of the incredible beta days. Had some awesome PvP matches, but retail ruined it slightly.
Neverwinter Nights – is not the best RPG I’ve ever played, but it has the most awesome modding scene ever and is worth mentioning for that alone.
Outcast – is a true classic in every sense of the word. A game that combined innovation with beautiful graphics, an amazing soundtrack, a free-roaming world, an impressive story and excellent gameplay. Every gamer should have played this game.
Quake Live – is a game no modern FPS player should go without. A last bastion of competition and skill in a virtual world of first-person-shooter mediocrity – and it’s free!
Return to Castle Wolfenstein – for it’s incredible and innovative multiplayer gameplay. This game introduced the world to class- & objective-based first person shooter gameplay and it has yet to be surpassed. I’ve yet to play a better teambased multiplayer game.
StarCraft – does this really require an explanation?
The Witcher – is one of only two recent game in this list and rightfully so. Its gripping dark-fantasy setting and fun gameplay mechanics make this one of the best RPGs, ever.
Unreal Tournament – is simply the best first person shooter ever made.

Computer Specifications

This is my more-than-2-year-old gaming PC. And yes, it can run Crysis.

Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E6750
Motherboard: ASUS P5KC
Memory: 3GB Kingston PC6400 DDR2
Videocard: Sparkle Geforce 8800 GTX
Soundcard: Creative X-Fi Xtreme Gamer
Hard Disk 1: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB
Hard Disk 2: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB
Hard Disk 3: Hitachi Deskstar 7K1000 750GB
Case: Antec P182
Power Supply: Antec TruePower Trio 550W
Monitor: HP W2207h TFT (1680×1050 gaming resolution)
Keyboard: Logitech G15 v2
Mouse: Razer Deathadder
Mousepad: “FiringSquad“ fUnc 1030
Headset: Sennheiser HD 595
Speakerset: Philips amBX Premium Kit
Gamepad: Logitech Chillstream
Joystick: Logitech Force 3D Pro

Notebook Specifications

I’ve recently purchased a new notebook, which doubles as a gaming rig. It’s a XXODD XNi-980nu (local custom-made brand).

Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo T9600 (2.8 GHz)
Memory: 4GB Kingston DDR3 (1066 MHz)
Videocard: Geforce GTX280M
Hard Disk: 3x 320GB S-ATA 7200RPM
Screen Size: 18.4″
Screen Resolution: 1920×1080
Mouse: Logitech G5
Extras: Blu-Ray Drive, HDMI, 8 Game Keys

Achievements

I’ve been an online gamer for nearly a decade now and I have competed in many games during that time. For a long time I was fervently leading clans or guilds in every game I played, but more recently I’ve opted for the less stressful option of merely joining existing teams.

The following is an overview of some of my accomplishments, both online and on LAN parties. If you were wondering whether I actually know how to play PC games properly, then this should put your mind at ease:

Infantry – 2000 – I lead my squad to 1st place in Gravball and The Journey Out gamemodes. I also ranked 3rd worldwide in the individual ladders for The Journey Out.
Jedi Knight 2 – 2001 – I came in at 4th place in ClanBase’s duel (1 vs 1) OpenCup.
Jedi Academy – 2003 – I revived my Jedi Knight 2 clan – Dutch Jedi Masters – and lead it on a 3 month long unbeaten spree of 70 wins, 0 losses and 0 draws in Siege game mode. We never lost a round.
Ground Control 2 – 2004 – I ranked 1st worldwide on the drop-in ladder for three weeks during the multiplayer demo.
Guild Wars – 2004 – I lead my guild – Orto Sole – as high as 13th place on the worldwide guild ladder during the beta weekend events. Highest end-of-weekend ranking was 21st. Lost only 2 matches, both of which were avenged.
Unreal Tournament 3 – 2008 – I was the primary defender of two CTF teams, which both ended up ranking 1st in Europe on ClanBase.
On CodeMaster CampZone – 2004 – I managed to rank in 2nd place three times (Enemy Territory 5 vs 5, UT2004: Assault & Onslaught). Rank in 3rd place two times (Battlefield: Vietnam 8 vs 8 and UT2004: TDM). And rank in 8th place another three times (UT2004 1 vs 1 / insta 1 vs 1 and WarCraft 3 1 vs 1). It was an 11 day LAN party with over 1600 participants.

I’ll also throw in a writing-related achievement:

FiringSquad’s Editor’s Challenge – 2007 – I ranked in at 4th place in the final tally as the only remaining non-native speaker in the top 10.