Words with BicycleofDeath

We have a varied and interesting community in The Division and in the Twitch world in general and today’s guest is yet another great example of that. BicycleOfDeath is the death metal fan with a soft heart that many of us know well at this point.

Today I present to you his answers to my “doing my best” questions. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Who is BicycleOfDeath? What are the things we should know about you?

I believe in right and wrong, but there is also a belief in perspective. Rather than jump on bandwagons, playing the devil’s advocate and challenging my own perceptions and opinions has been a habit for a while. I believe in being kind until given a reason not to, then I have no issues becoming a malefactor. Highlighting belief in perspectives, it’s an enjoyment to focus on one on one conversation and learn why friends and acquaintances think the way they do. I wield chronic insomnia which allows for a dive into intricacies. It also can kill my personality. My D&D character sheet would be a Rogue class with a +3 bonus to charisma.

You are a known and proud metal fan, what kicked off your love of the music genre?

This could be a book in and of itself. The basic answer being that I was very much into punk and hardcore but I wanted something heavier. I wanted something faster. Somewhere in the ballpark of age 15, I walked into the local record store, Radio Kaos, and asked the hippie behind the counter about it. He walked over to the shelf and pulled the CD “Slayer — Reign in Blood” from the rack as his recommendation. Two decades later and my tastes have migrated to death metal, black metal, and dungeon synth. However, Randy (the owner) is probably one of my oldest friends and is like family to me.

What game did you play the most as a child? Have you revisited it as an adult?

If I had to pick two staples from my childhood: Wizards & Warriors (NES) and DooM (PC). I still play DooM via source ports and I never lost my touch ebb and flowing through enemies and laying waste with the shotgun. Bobby Prince’s metal influenced MIDI soundtrack may have influenced my musical taste.

Wizards & Warriors. I used to conquer that game with no continues when I was eight years old. Now, I get to level three and give up. It’s fun, but frustrating. The game also has some significant bugs like the invisibility cloak that just makes the player invisible but the monsters still see you. Makes the game harder, not easier. Again, great soundtrack.

What are your hobbies besides gaming/streaming?

This is how the alias BicycleOfDeath comes into play. Bicycles are a passion of mine. I’m a former Pro-BMX rider and I still ride for fun. Fixed gears are also in my garage. The simplicity is appealing. There’s a sense of freedom in it.

I also collect vinyl records. I currently have 715, mostly death and black metal, albums listed on my Discogs.com profile. However, it hasn’t been updated in a year.

Less prominent hobbies include driving manual transmission, being in nature, firearms, and the last two go hand in hand for my interest in survivalism.

What inspired you to start streaming? What has surprised you most about it?

Streaming started because it seemed just as easy to stream as it would be to record footage. I got sick of getting rolled in the Dark Zone and I wanted to report cheaters with evidence. What I found is that I’m horrible at Division PVP, which surprised me from being a former CPL/CAL competitor with Day of Defeat and Team Fortress Classic. So, that surprised me. Was educated on what the symptoms of server desync were and all that. Also, it still surprises me how draining it can be. I love it, though. We have a great community.

I’m very pleased with what I’ve heard about the improvements on the engine for The Division 2 during one on one conversations.

What do you think is the single biggest issue currently/upcoming for gaming?

Aside from how gruelling the gaming industry is and how it seems to eat itself? Cheaters. I currently don’t see a method that will entirely mitigate them, however, dedicated resources to combat them is exhausting on all fronts. I can only imagine the financial, coding, and humanpower burden of protecting the integrity of a games gameplay. The Division has significant room to grow here and I’m very pleased with what I’ve heard about the improvements on the engine for The Division 2 during one on one conversations.

What initially attracted you to The Division?

Simple. I have a fondness for Role-Playing Games and shooters. The Division is both. Game play wise, I believe it nailed the formula. I really enjoy how the feels. Also, Ola Strandh with the soundtrack!

Is there a single feature you are hoping for in The Division 2 over anything else?

I got my hand-grip on the Super 90 that I wanted in the original. Yet, I would love to see an iteration of Diablo III’s treasure goblins in The Division 2. A personal concept I have played with is having them be Dark Zone only. Looters foraging to provide for their families. A player makes a choice, murder the civilian and be flagged rogue or take the moral high ground and miss out on a loot piñata.

What was the highlight of your trip as a Star Player to PAX?

Spending three hours dedicated to talking with Keith Evans. I really enjoyed hanging out with the other star players, but picking Keith’s brain about the game as well as personal music conversation…that takes the cake.

What did you think of your time with the TD2 demo?

It was too short. I would have really appreciated some alone time with it. The game it self feels BETTER. In the demo state, all of the weapons felt balanced enough to be enjoyed. Though, sniper rifles were favorable by many players. It helped mitigate incoming damage, as it should. I quite liked the shotgun. Anyone else notice that the 870 is now the M133, which is the nameless shotgun from Far Cry?

What issue in The Division 1 got too much attention from the community/devs?

Honestly? I think shotgun damage was nerfed a bit much through the life of the game. However, the number one issue? Loot. The blanket loot pool for everything keeps the initative to run some of the less favorable content in an uninspiring state. It makes it difficult farm for specific pieces of gear. It’d be great to have specific loot tables, in example; Reclaimer’s Kneed Pads only have a chance to drop in location X. Loot drains from the sky but, most of it isn’t really worth looking at as it’s a High-End (Gold) item and the talents aren’t relevant this late in the game, or were never relevent.

What issue got too little attention?

Gear talents, hands down. It was such a relief to hear what the developers had to say in regards to talents for The Division 2. Gear talents, and some exotic talents, would have benefited from a revamp quite a while ago. It’d be quite beautiful if each category had at two best in slot talents. I would also like to add that some of the engine improvements will greatly assist with the cheater issue in the sequel. Many conversations were had about that and I really like what I heard on all fronts.

And last, you can design your own cosmetic for TD2, what is it and why would everyone want it?

Can I pick two? I would love a “Military Cap — Black”. Where did it go in the original? I had it. It’s not there anymore. Also, “Weapon Skin — Black.” However, that doesn’t answer the question as those could be pretty easy to design. How about a black denim vest with a bunch of patches on it, similar to the “Roadie Jacket”? With a nice big BicycleOfDeath logo backpatch (that would get covered up by the backpack, sadface).

Big thanks to Bike for taking part in this little project and for being the insanely supportive person he is in general. I have a few of these lined up and will try to put a bunch out before the TD2 release!

Until next time.