This week we interviewed Nukk, who recently amazed us with impressive records and is mostly known for his demos on unofficial maps. The last week has been a bit quiet and therefore this weekly is not that huge; nevertheless, we hope you enjoy it.

Interview with Nukk

chrizZo: Hey Nukk. Please be so kind and introduce yourself. What kind of a person are you?

Nukk: Heya chrizZo! My name is Sergey and I live in Seversk, Russia. I’m 18 years old and I study management in college. I really love bodybuilding and it is a big part of my everyday life. Other than that I play kz and enjoy spending time with my girlfriend.

chrizZo: Tell us more about that bodybuilding hobby of yours.

Nukk: Well, I’ll probably never stop doing it, it is nice to see your musculature improve and how strong your body can be. Generally I love sport; it is a nice way to relax. I am not training every day, since you always need to rest for a day after you trained, but I would, if it was possible. As I said, I really love it and it is a big part of my life. Seeing proteins makes me happy already.

chrizZo: So you use stuff?

Nukk: Of course I do, I can’t get enough proteins via regular meals, so I have to. My body asks for it.
I also take something called Creatine; simply speaking, it increases the energy of your muscles. It does that by increasing the amount of ATP, which your muscles need to do their work.

chrizZo: How much kg can you lift?

Nukk: It depends which exercise we are looking at. For example: deadlift 165x8-10, pushup 108x8, squat 120.

chrizZo: How much time do you train every second day and since when are you doing it?

Nukk: I usually train 1.5 – 2 hours and I do that for around a year now.

chrizZo: Alright, so you spend a lot of time with body building. What about your studies? Do you like your subject as much as your other hobby? When did you start studying?

Nukk: I like it? Who does? Nah, I actually hate it, tomorrow will be the last exam of my second year and hopefully I will pass it and get ready for the summer.

chrizZo: Let us talk about your living conditions. What do you think of your nation, your city, your surrounding?

Nukk: I still live with my parents… it sounds so bad, but yea… I can’t wait to live with my girlfriend. And about Russia… I think is the worst country in the world. You want to know why? Corruption everywhere and our president doesn’t even care. None has money here, only him and his deputy. Some day we will die out; if that doesn’t happen automatically our president will manage to get it done. As I heard the USA is kind off capable to kill us as well very soon and we spend our money to armament. Just a question: do you know any Russian brand? No matter what (cars, tvs, computers, mobiles or anything). I am sure you don’t, because we don’t produce, we just spend money.

My city improves every year though. When I remember what we had 5-7 years ago… it sucked, but now our administration started doing something and it looks a lot of better.

chrizZo: Since your opinion about Russia is that negative, do you plan to leave your country?

Nukk: Yes, I do. I heard England is quite nice, so I would like to go there. Hopefully it is not just rumors.

chrizZo: As a little summary, can you describe a typical day of your life?

Nukk: I wake up at 7.30 am and take a protein of proteins and get ready to study (hygiene etc.). The college takes around 7-8 hours daily. Afterwards, I go to the gym and meet my girlfriend (best time of the day).
In the evening, I take my proteins again, usually eat a banana and play some kreedz. I don’t record wrs every day, but I play every day.

chrizZo: Let us now focus on kreedzing. When was your first contact with the kreedz world and how did it happen?

Nukk: It was in 2009. I played normal CS like everyone and friends told me to join their server; kz_6fd_volcano was running. I saw this map and I was like: “What the hell is this?” They were flying around with hook, which I called rope at that time. They explained me what this is all about and yea, I fell in love with it. Too bad we only had goldbhop and volcano uploaded on our server though. I already preferred goldbhop at that time and played it a lot, that is why I love bhopping. From that day on I played both aiming and kreedzing regularly; in 2011 I entirely stopped with aiming, because I realized I like kreedzing so much more.

chrizZo: When did you record your first demo and what made you do it?

Nukk: In the end of 2010 I’ve been #1 in our gameserver with around 300 records. Someone advised me to record some demos and I did, but I started recording for kz-extreme. After about a month I was #2 there and met a guy called elfeN. He said I should record for Cosy and that made me start it; but just for fun, to get some points and just for fun. Now I am #1 there; don’t know how that happened, but I am glad about it.

chrizZo: Now we have June 2012 and you started in the end of 2010; so you needed 1 ½ years to get to #1 at Cosy. That is impressive, don’t you think?

Nukk: I don’t remember for how long I actually play because I stopped for some time in October 2011. I didn’t play for about 5-6 months. When I came back I’ve still been #2 at Cosy with about 80 demos; kayne was dominating the scene with 160 records, if I remember correctly.

chrizZo: Other people need way more time to become that good and most notably record that many demos. Can you explain your success?

Nukk: I don’t know actually. Some people call me lucker and haters call me cheater. I can’t describe how it all happened. I am sure everyone could do the same, you just need a lot of motivation. At XJ, for example, many people think they have no skills and can’t do world records, but they should just try. They don’t take the risk, but if you won’t, you’ll be forever unknown, an axiom that works everywhere in life.

chrizZo: Do you have any idols or favorite kreedzers you look(ed) up to?

Nukk: Only shnz can rape everything, I love his style, I love his skill, I love his strafes. He is god. Nothing more to say.

chrizZo: How much time do you need to do a world record? How much time do you spend recording?

Nukk: It takes such a long time. I don’t know why, but I actually don’t like most of the XJ maps and that is why I can’t beat them as fast as I want to probably. They’re too overplayed and oldschool, nothing interesting.
On Cosy, the records are really easy and it takes me about 15-20 minutes to do them most of the time. All records can be improved there, I guess. There are a lot of good players that just don’t record, even though they could.

chrizZo: Would you consider yourself as talented or as a geek?

Nukk: As I said before, I don’t have that much luck, I need a long time to do XJ records, so I am probably a geek. On the other hand, I don’t geek maps that much for Cosy and play kz in my free time only for fun.

chrizZo: Many people are fascinated by your skills. Are you one of the best kreedzers out there at the moment?

Nukk: I can read a lot of comments from fanboys, so probably I am very good, but not one of the best. As I said, there is only one person capable to do any world record. There are some other guys I would rate as one of the bests, like koukouz or novice. I say that, because they can do every world record no matter how long the map is – that is really skillful. I totally hate long maps, even 5 minute maps are too long for me.

chrizZo: Can you describe your own style?

Nukk: I don’t know how to describe it precisely, but I love everything that is fast. And my strafes are fast… It is the same in real life, I listen to music like hip hop. Every move in my demos excite me.

chrizZo: Why is your style like it is? Did it form itself automatically or have you been working on it? Do you think it is effective?

Nukk: Actually, I totally hate my strafes for playing, they just look good. I didn’t work on them and I would like to get slower strafes; not too slow – like fast, but not that fast. And I’ll always say that strafes don’t matter that much when bhopping. That is just my opinion. You can do 1-2 strafes every bhop and still be very fast. Prestrafe is the most important thing; with a 260 – 290 prestrafe you will bhop a lot of faster, since you don’t lose speed. I would focus on 2-3 strafes every bhop, that should be the most effective way.

chrizZo: You are very skilled for quite some time already. Why didn’t you start recording for XJ actively earlier?

Nukk: I had some world records, but I stopped kreedzing. After my comeback I didn’t try XJ recs, but now I am back. I stopped recording for Cosy and I will try to get top 5 on XJ now. Until now, I did not record them because I don’t like XJ maps actually, as I said. Cosy maps are way better. Speed maps, nice climb maps, short extreme bhop and cimb maps. There are only like 5 maps at XJ that are better than the ones at Cosy.

chrizZo: So you will record XJ maps now even though you do not like them?

Nukk: Yea, I will. Guys spam me „Nukk beat this and that, you can do it”. If none would do that, I would probably stop kz.

chrizZo: Is recognition and fame that important to you? Is it the only thing that motivates you?

Nukk: I wouldn’t say fame, but recognition. I hope you and everyone else will understand me regarding this. Everyone wants to be recognized, don’t you think? Why do we play otherwise? Just for fun? It was fun the first year, but now it is about recognition. Well, it motivates me and it makes me recording, I wouldn’t do it otherwise.

chrizZo: Do you think a certain character trait lead to your success?

Nukk: You need to be motivated and persistent.

chrizZo: Do you think other active recorders at Cosy could overtake XJ’s recording scene?

Nukk: They can do it, but I am sure they are scared. It’s also because XJ is dying. It is not interesting to record when none else does. No challenge – no sex. Every guy in the top 5 of Cosy is really skilled. I don’t know why they don’t try. Maybe it is because Cosy maps are way better? I think XJ will die, if they don’t change the mapchecking system in the near future.

chrizZo: Some people suppose a lot of records at Cosy are cheated. What do you think about it?

Nukk: I don’t really understand how people can say that without any proof. It makes me laugh actually. Why do they call me cheater, if they can’t prove it? I had that problem when I did 268 mcj with 18 ducks; they started saying that for no reason. Maybe they are just jealous? And by the way, I did my first records for XJ because kayne thought I am a cheater. Not only kayne actually. XJ is the community where you can prove you don’t cheat because of eDark; Cosy does not have someone like that to check demos.

chrizZo: Please explain us how to do a 268 mcj with 18 ducks.

Nukk: Ducks need sync like longjumps or bunnyhops. Without a good sync you will not get a good prestrafe. You do the duck first and after like 0.3 sec you have to do a strafe to gain some speed. If you understand how to do it once, it is so easy.

chrizZo: Do you think you could become #1 at XJ as well? Is there any type of maps you are really good at?

Nukk: Not that sure. First thing, the maps are uninteresting and if you record a map, that is not fun, it’s like homosex.
That would be just about geeking. Kelta has 90 records right now, most of his maps suck, but he still geeks them. If I’ll have more free time some day, I’ll try to reach #1 at XJ by geeking every map. I am sure every map can be improved, even though most of the people think differently, but it is just about milliseconds.

Personally, I think I am good at bhop and speedclimbing, but I can still play extreme maps etc. too. On speedmaps you can show your real skills though. I’d be glad to reach #1 one day.


chrizZo: Did you ever feel like you waste your time geeking CS?

Nukk: Nice question. I play for fun, but in the last year it changed a bit, because I started to have real life, a girlfriend, started with gym and my studies. I wouldn’t play CS anymore, if I knew what else to do at home. There’s nothing more interesting here. But I expect my real life to become better and better and one day I don’t need to start CS anymore. I think it’ll happen when I buy a house with my girlfriend.

chrizZo: Do you think you will profit from your gaming time in the future? Is there anything useful you take with you?

Nukk: No, I don’t think so, do you? I improved my reaction time. At least people in the TV say it’d be an effect. Well, I am a moviemaker too and worked with sony vegas, after effects, cinema4d and other programs and I am happy about that. Thanks to kz! It’d be cool, if these skills would help me in the future.

chrizZo: Can you give us some details about your hardware and your settings?

Nukk: Windows 7, random keyboard for 3$, mouse: x7 (xl-730k) with 3600 dpi and 1000 hz (refresh rate), windows sensitivity 6 (standard), in-game sensitivity 2.2, in-game resolution: 1280x960, RInput mouse fix, random mouse pad

chrizZo: The last words are all yours. Thanks for this interview.

Nukk: First of all, I would like to thank you chrizZo for this interview. I have so many friends and I won’t say all their names, just a to everyone, who knows me, especially to elfeN. Cya.


Community news

There is not too much to report this week; you are probably all busy watching the UEFA EURO. shNz recently started playing again and did some amazing runs on public servers. He even did a world record on public I heard. There are rumors saying that he broke a lot of world records for the next release, so be prepared to watch bestial destroying of kreedz maps.

A poll was started about that shortcut discussion we already informed you about in the previous weekly. We count on your participation!

For people, who don’t know that yet: Cobrex created a youtube channel, where mostly battle movies are hosted and gathered. If you are interested in those, his collection will occupy you for quite some time.

As a little preview, daza told me about a map he creates at the moment. It will be a long tunnel; the map itself will be easy and a mixture between bhops and climb parts. Until now, daza is satisfied about the looks and shared a picture with us.


Movie Reviews

PHINX - CREATIVE WAYS

Phinx, a promising up-and-coming moviemaker has just released his second film, which revolves largely around sliding and surfing trickjumps. The film comes with a fairly simple edit, harkening back to the oldschool days of Kreedz moviemaking, but with a newschool flair to it - adding campaths and visually exciting flashes and effects. The energetic rock music is coupled with this edit and makes for a very enjoyable viewing experience, as Phinx takes us on a unique journey; guided by his entertaining style and fascinating trickjumps. The campaths are very well done, serving to not only add to the movie experience but also to reveal to the viewer important bits of a trickjump. All of this combines to give the film a very exciting and fun feel to it, leaving the viewer feeling happy - which definitely makes this movie worth watching.

PEACE OF MIND

The famous Nubz steps up to the plate yet again to deliver us a brief but impressive showing of ZippoW. The clip is almost - but not quite - a minute long, but comes with a short-but-sweet display of some very impressive scout trickjumps. The edit is a thing of beauty, with wonderful sync to the chillout music, giving the film a very classy feel with lots of vibrant colors - yet at the same time projecting a calm disposition onto the viewer. The most impressive part of the film has to be the dedication to the sync with the music, which completes the experience as ZippoW tears it up with some gorgeous strafes. But then, before you know it, the movie is over...


THOUGHT OF THE WEEK

Perfectionism Within the Community

Let's face it, Xtreme-Jumps is a niche community. That's easy to accept, especially when you consider our platforming nature and how bizarre jumping on blocks might be to some outsiders. Because of our generally enclosed nature, we've done a lot of refining of our art forms - not only in terms of actual gameplay, but also in movies and maps. World records are a given; they are the best of the best when it comes to runs on maps, and they're meant to strive for perfection. Maps and moviemaking, however, might come off as a different story. There's no doubt we have some certainly talented individuals within our community; Timmycakes has been renowned as a very talented mapper, and in the same manner ndR may also be seen as an exceptional moviemaker. The talent of these individuals cannot be understated, but the thought stands that our standards might be a little too... elitist. This is definitely a hot topic right now within the map-checking team, where it's almost universally stated that aesthetics are held to too high of a standard, whereas jump quality suffers because of it. This may very well be because of the technological advancements in graphics within the gaming community (which incurs a want to replicate those advancements as well within CS 1.6), but might it also be because we are promoting aesthetics too harshly? Not only that, but what exactly does it do to aspiring community members who want to partake and make maps and movies, but they are too daunted by our standards, or what has already been accomplished? To some, we might come off as elitists or perfectionists because of our rigid standards and quality checks. Of course, this is not entirely a bad thing - the Kreedz movie scene has developed tremendously, and so have the maps. A desire for quality is definitely something we should strive for; however the thought comes to mind that perhaps we're chasing some potential talent away with our regiments. We've perfected something within our own realm, now how can we spread the talent to the masses, and encourage them instead of deter them?


Drunken Thoughts of the Week

"Time isn't wasted, when your getting wasted."

“So hey, this weeks subject is; People that dislike each other but doesn't say it.

So time pass and friends come and go, but it never strikes wrong. People that pretend to like you for their own profit.
I mean people that actually dislike you but pretend they don't, I don't understand how that is profitable by these people.

However, the fact that they do it to enjoy your company, or even some of your "glory", such as if your administrator at Xtreme-Jumps, or even if you enjoy heavy parties in your spare times.

There's all-ways going to be people being there, talking, "enjoying" and having a blast all on your expense, if you guys have a problem with someone; whats the problem with just saying it, straight out?
No need to sugarcoat your bullshit really, either you like someone or you don't. If you pretend for your own sake to enjoy something you don't, eventually it will shine through, and what the fuck will you do then?
When people realize you really are as full of shit as they initially thought?

Somehow it always come up a few people that are REAL with their shit though, real thoughts, real feelings; no bullshit.
It's what I enjoy, if I'm an ass, I don't want people to treat me like I'm the king of the world, but actually tell me how I acted.
But at the same time, when your a nice guy like myself, sometimes when people try to talk to you: you just get tired and forget to answer.
No disrespect to the guys that are generally nice, but sometimes you just talk too much. You had a hard day at work, and yet somehow a lot of people expect you to answer to them about general questions, even though it's not someone you regularly talk to.
And it gets too much, at times.

No disrespect, but peeps have other shit to bother their minds with, than random conversations.”

’Interview with Nukk’ and ‘Community News’ were written by chrizZo, ‘Movie Reviews’ and ‘Thought of the Week’ were written by Kangaroo, ‘Drunken Thoughts of the Week’ was written by Moxx