Hello,
This is edition number three of the "Faces of Apolyton" interview series. This time, our questions are answered by Tau Ceti, administrator of the SMAC PBEM Tournament, which is a very popular choice of the SMAC multiplaying crowd. Also, you will notice that this time, most questions are asked by Keygen, not Solver. This means that everybody might be asking questions. If you want to be one of them, send me a pm or drop me a line at solver@apolyton.net , to have the ability to ask some questions for one of future interviews.
Now, let's hang on to the interview itself,
ACS Interviews Chief - Solver.

Keygen: How did you find out about Apolyton?
Tau Ceti: I followed a link from alphacentauri.com, and only looked at the AC section at first. Some time later there was a link to the forums in the news items, and I liked what I saw.

Keygen: What was your first reaction when you first played Alpha Centauri?
Tau Ceti: There was that good old civ-feeling; having a new world to explore, techs to discover, enemies to fight... it got me hooked immediately. I have heard a lot of people went "eugh!" at the graphics, but not I. For an alien world, I think they are appropriate.

Keygen: Was Alpha Centauri your first empire building experience or did you have previous contact with older games of the kind like Civilization II or Civilization I?
Tau Ceti: I started way back with Civ 1, and had played it, Colonization and Civ 2 to death before. So it was no great leap of faith.

Keygen: Still playing single-player?
Tau Ceti: Hardly ever these days. The AI is not very challenging, and you do get tired of it after a while.

Keygen: Do you consider yourself a good Alpha Centauri player?
Tau Ceti: -I am fairly good, but there are many who are better. My win/loss rate in MP is fairly even, which I suppose is OK as there are usually more than two players. My strong side is a great attention to detail, but on the downside I often lack a Grand Strategy, going after targets of opportunity instead.

Keygen: Which was your best experience with Alpha Centauri?
Tau Ceti: -Hmm, tough one. I think I will go with a multiplayer game from about a year ago, AXT011. That game had everything; a close tech race, involved diplomacy, back-stabbing, planet busting and orbital wars, and a come-from-behind victory (sadly, not by me). The players also got involved in writing a story. Great stuff!

Solver: Most people know you as an Alpha Centauri player. Are there any non-civ games you play as well?
Tau Ceti: Mostly older stuff, but I like pretty much all empire-building games. I also do RTS occasionally, and the odd driving game. Some adventure games, too.

Solver: Would you buy Civilization III?
Tau Ceti: -Almost certainly, unless it turns out to be a complete turkey. Which I strongly doubt.

Keygen: Your nickname, Tau Ceti, sounds kind futuristic ;-) What does it stand for?
Tau Ceti: Tau Ceti is a star (the glowing ball of gas variety), rather like the Sun. Apparently it is also the location of one of the other Progenitor manifolds, but I did not know that when I selected it. There was no deep thought process behind the choice; I just went through some star names that would not be too clichéd, and liked the sound of Tau Ceti (when pronounced in Norwegian, mind you).

Keygen: Tell us something about yourself.
Tau Ceti: I am 22 years old, and study astrophysics at the University of Oslo, Norway. A gamer through and through; serious board games, RPGs, miniature games, computer games; you name it. I have also recently started Kendo training (out of an interest in all things Japanese), which I enjoy very much. I am still only a 4. Kyu, though (lowest grade, yellow belt equivalent).

Keygen: What made you decide to join the SMAC PBEM Tournament along with Zsozso, the original creator of the Tournament?
Tau Ceti: Just like most players, I wanted to try my hand at MP, and Zsozso's tournament idea looked good. I could get into several games quickly, and the accelerated start should have meant quick moves. Of course, half the games folded very quickly (as I have found out is almost the norm), but by then I was in...

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