Todays interviewee is Demorian, Leader of GTN, long ago a Member of DI along with my earlier interviewee Kamikaze Chicken, and also a Staff Member.

Demorian, tell us how GTN was founded and a short history of the fleet.
The Navy was founded during the exodus of players from the massive beta fleet known as Death Incarnate. A few weeks after Pitch Black broke away from DI, I asked a friend of mine who had gone with the PB offshot how they were able to soar so high in the fleet rankings so quickly. (DI was very organized and militaristic, the antithesis of PB and GTN.)
He told me, very simply, that there was no work involved in PB.
Those words really rang true to me and I founded GTN very soon after that. We've been going since then, for almost two years now. We've had our share of glory days and slumps, like all big fleets do. I'm proud to say that we've been running all this time under the flag of Honor, which we, as you know, hold to a very high standard.
That flag has been attacked a few times, and some of those times with good reason (we've never been perfect), but I'm proud of what GTN has been, and what it has become.

What would you put to #1 on Faustus to-do-list if you were given the chance?
I'd have to say a total, thought-out rework of weapon strengths and layouts for each and every ship, so that power can be brought back to the frigate and strategic use can be brought back to the Dread and Station... so that the Cruiser is truly the mainstay of the fleet, as it is intended to be. Not the Dread.

What element of the game do you like most, what least?
What I enjoy most about the game is what most of us take for granted, and what a fair share of newbies complains about: Naval Combat. That is, DarkSpace is 2D in its movement, and I think it just would not be the same were it 3D "Dogfight" style. It creates a less hectic level of play that really lends itself to strategic thinking and teamwork.
So do you believe the 2d limit offers more tactical possibilities, or is it that the players are more willing to approach the game on a tactical level when they can’t apply their “Wing Commander” play style to it?
I think that 2D limits tactical possibilities per se. The positive thing is that it improves ease of tactical thinking when you don't have ships coming at you from literally all directions. As for the second part of your question, yes, I think that ultimately the lack of the third dimension makes it easier for players to have more enjoyable fights.

What is it that you dislike the most then?
What I dislike the most is how pathetically easy it is to take a planet. Think about it, these are entire planets here. Star systems. Yet, in the current state of the game, it takes maybe an hour to capture a small system, and three to capture a large system. Now, I know the whole "fleets are supposed to defend" argument, but even so, planets simply should not fall as fast as they do.
The game needs to provide a system where careful strategy and planning is needed on the part of the invaders to take a system. I think DarkSpace should operate on a planetary territory basis, not a system basis. Right now, it's "K'luth took Wolf, OH NO"... no. What should be a big deal is that "K'luth took Wolf 1." On top of that, it needs to be somehow easier for the defending team to capture back their own planets that are inherently loyal to them.
As far as I know that part is on the dev board since a while now. Let’s hope the game will advance to a more strategic level.
Indeed.

So, apart from the game itself, what is it that makes DarkSpaces community stand out amongst other online communities for you?
To be honest (don't kill me, guys), I think what started the community in motion as it is today are Selvarian's original Rules of Conduct. As we all know, we're stricter here than most communities. We try to maintain an atmosphere where there is no harassment or foul language, and as we continued with that goal in mind, the players that could fit in gradually got comfortable, and those that didn't like it left.
As a result, thanks to the staff and the players, we have a community that simply can't be beaten, because the kind of people that have the best time are the ones who aren't always wanting to cuss other people out or tear them down emotionally.
In short, we appeal to the `good` gaming crowd, which is rare.

Please tell us about an ingame event of interest you would like to share.
Well, one of the things that made me most proud to be part of this gaming community is when my clanmate and our close friend R33 passed away. GTN did a [lost count, insert random number here]-gun salute to him around Sol, and as you know, shortly after that, ICC, UGTO, and K'luth forces gathered under a flag of truce, in Sol, to pay tribute to him. It was just incredible, and something we should never forget.
What can I say, I did never know R33 but that is truly amazing. I don’t think any other gaming community would be able to come up with it.
No, not at all. Not as perfectly as that came together. It was a massive fleet. No one fired. That is, until someone high up gave the go-ahead. Hehe.

So, how did you find DarkSpace and how were your first minutes in the game?
I found DarkSpace on the Gamespot Beta Center back on October of 2001... My first minutes in the game can best be summed up by the following quote:

[-GTN-]Demorian: "I was totally and completely oblivious to the interface of the game when I started, I did not see the jump drive or anything. So I'm in a frigate going 27 going "WHOOHOO! WARP SPEED!"
[PB]Varzadium pictures Demo saying that while holding a blow-dryer up to his face ...
Hehe. But you found the jump drive eventually.
Eventually.

What Players do you respect most as Pilots or Companions?
Well, as for wingmen, I can't get much better than Malduc. He's a good player and pilot, and we work well together.
Indeed, he kept me dictored good yesterday.
As for companions, I truly do respect any player capable of having a good time within the bounds of good sportsmanship and the Rules of Conduct.
So I can't just name any one or any few players in respect to that.

So what do you do when you are not playing DarkSpace?
Currently? Hang out with my college buds (no, I don't party or get drunk, so don't start) in various rooms. Or I attend class... other than that, not much. My life lacks spunk.

You hold duties as a forum and lobby moderator, are the tasks of player management really so dull it justifies me to not be able to imagine a good question about it?
Yes.
I feared so.
It is the sad, ironic truth. *wink*

As a staff member you have some insight to the ongoing development though, what are you thoughts about the new version that is going to be released?
Well, I don't get TOO much more than you do, because I'm not a full-fledged Dev Team member (like |2eason or Shig), but based on what I know, I think it will be a very big step in a good direction. Whether it's the right direction or not will be determined by the gameplay changes made after this server backend patch. The gameplay changes in 1.481, while some are revolutionary, won't be making any very drastic changes in that context.

K’luth are losing cl-2000 which has been much debated. This seems like the last in a series of kludges applied to the K’luth as a response to what I will call the “general opinion” here. Do you generally agree the K’luth should have less firepower than they have now?
Yes. I don't go so far as to think that their "overpoweredness" resides only in that change, however. I think there are a number of elements that make K'luth as strong as it currently is, one of which is the strongest active player base due to the faction itself having a slight strength advantage. Don't get me wrong though... I don't like seeing a frigate or a destroyer so easily taking on a cruiser or dreadnought.

How do you think the K’luth can be made to fit within their designated role?
Whoa. I think that their designated role is that of the stealthy, powerful, hit-and-run race. The reason for which is their lack of defense on their ships. This is one of the reasons I've never liked the fact that K'luth have armor now. It used to be that they didn't, and it was better that way. The K'luth are stealthy and they are stronger offensively, but they can hold their own in an outnumbered battle without hit-and-run, and that’s what makes them too powerful.
Everyone so far seems to agree that there is a design flaw here that doesn’t directly relate to firepower. Lets hope the "balance patch" will bring the game to a better level of playability.
Aye. I hope that that patch will be the complete weapons/system rework I mentioned... that's what it needs to be.

That was my last question for you. Anything more you want to tell us about?
I guess I should thank you for the interview, then. It's been fun, and for what it's worth, I think it's cool that you're doing this for the players. It's good food for thought. Thanks, bud.