Corp Rankings: #6 What the French

The next corp on our list is not only a group of FPS veterans but also a group that represents a specific

national community. Many have heard of What The French but we sat down with CEO and early 

Dust notable, Cazaderon for  a chat about his group of mercs. 
 

1. Tell us a little about What the French.
Well, [What The French] story is like many other clan stories. You get on a 
game, meet people, have fun with them and start to develop friendship as
 this game is giving you time to discuss with them as much as playing 
with them. For me and most of my clan mates, this game was MAG. Long 
story short, What The French is made of various MAG clans that used to 
play together as a single entity in MAG in order to compete with other 
other clans such as [KEQ], [RND] or [PRO]. It was fun times !

But then MAG was left alone by its developers and i offered this French 
community to build something new in order to be ready, to keep playing 
altogether, when the next big thing arrives. To me it definitely was 
Dust 514, and for most of my fellow comrades, it is now as well.

In the mean time, we rolled on other games under that new banner, FPS like
 Battlefield 3, MMOs like DCUO. But more importantly, twelve or so of us 
decided to give EVE Online a go. We wanted to taste that universe and 
its complexity, and frankly, it was a good experience : we created the 
[WTFR] corp, wich is meant to harbor all of us when the time comes, made
 Capsuleer friends and enemies and overall learned about the Eve 
Universe and how things work in it.

2. You are one of the first regional/national corps in Dust 514, many 
powerful persons have said to beware of warfare with groups like these, 
do you agree?
Honestly, i don't think that being a national or even regional group makes you 
more dangerous or something. I'd say it's more the way the Eve Universe 
works that gives this feeling. This single shard universe forces people 
to take into consideration players from all around the world. Thus, no 
matter how strong you may be in your time zone, it could be dangerous to
 have a beef with people who could do some damage while you're 
vulnerable.

3. Weapons that fire from the surface of planets into space are now a reality, whats 

your opinion on them?
I'll just say that we can't wait to see them in action ! And know exactly how 

hurtful they'll be to Eve Ships.

4. Is it important for corporations that have previously invested in 
capsuleers almost exclusively to now also have a ground element? 

Honestly, i don't have enough knowledge of deep EVE corporation management to give a definite answer to that question. But, as CCP stated that both Eve and Dust players would benefit from mutual work or alliance, i'd say it would be silly not to take advantage of this new type of partnership. Outside of politics, i feel that what made Eve Online so interesting, even after a decade, is that the game itself has grown and keeps growing, adding gameplay layers one after another. Dust 514 is in my opinion one of the most interesting one that could be added and even though i can understand the reticence and fears of some hardcore Capsuleers, i'm still convinced it will all work out and that having dusters will end up being a valuable asset to any EVE corps.  

5. Say CCP's developers come to you regarding three features that need to be added. 

What are they?
Well, well well. First thing that comes to mind would be some sort of weapon 
customization. CCP wants to grab FPS console players and those love to 
add silencers, handle, or various scope to their guns. Then, i'd love to
 have a very deep corporation management tool in Dust 514. Now that i've
 used the one in Eve, i know how any clan\team\guild tool should be 
done. Finally, i'd ask them to raise the player cap as much as they can,
 and as soon as possible. Battles on New Eden's planet ground could only
 be more epic with more players : 32 against 32 would already by a very 
decent number in my opinion.


6. In your opinion what is the most important part of achieving continued success in New Eden?
To achieve a continued success in New Eden ? This is a tricky question. 
Some will say number, others ISK, others Diplomacy. I think there are 
more than one road for a corp to left a mark in New Eden's history. Of 
course, having good players in your corp helps a lot lol.


7. Whats on your list of things you don't like in Dust 514?
I'll leave technical issues out of there as nobody likes that. I can't 
really go into details as NDA is still up but let's just say there is a 
specific type of grenade that rimes with Tucker that i find a bit 
annoying. In fact, i tend to dislike anything thats a one hit kill or 
doesn't require some skill. I will also add that i'm not especially fan 
of CODEX build modifications regarding character movements on the field.
To me it kinda cripples the game.


8. New Eden retailers recently paid tribute to the "MAG Border Skirmishes" with new 

commemorative dropsuits, whats your take?
It's a fun gesture really. I played MAG a lot as i said earlier and i'm 
pretty pleased to know i can get those commemorative suits. But i don't 
want to see too much MAG reference. Maybe one or two gun named after MAG
 but that's all. I'm glad to know that former MAG developers are now 
working in CCP's dev team but this is a brand new game. This is Dust 514
 and it needs to move on.

9. What alliance are you a part of?
None at the moment. To be quite honest, i find it pretty hard to discuss 
alliances without knowing exactly how everything will work. I love 
talking about it with my fellow corpmates, or other corp representative,
or Capsuleers but game mechanics on planetary conquest, or even 
Factional Warfare are still too blurry to actually commit.

Yet, when we'll have a clear view on what dust corporations and alliance can
 actually pull off, we will definitely look for a strong alliance.

10. What do you make of this Anarchist led Burn New Eden movement?
I didn't quite follow that but i read a few things. As much as i disagree 
with the very rigid vision of some Capsuleers regarding console players 
and the destined fail of Dust 514 in the Eve Universe, i don't think 
being aggressive is the good attitude. Those people don't believe in 
dust 514 ? Or think console players are too dumb to actually build a 
pretty good corporation ? Well, i'll just do what i can to show them 
wrong. Not to rub it in their face, but for me and my corpmates to have 
fun.

11. We've heard about planets with hostile environments, gladiator arenas, 
bounties, assassins and even ship boarding. What other mechanics do you 
think are important? 

Gladiator Arenas is actually a brillant idea, mainly with the fact that everyone 
in new eden will be able to bet on those e-sport type of games. To me, 
that's one thing that will fit in Eve's background perfectly : like the 
new hype sport everyone's watching and that generates lots of ISK. Now, 
if i had to choose one mechanics to add, it would be social areas that 
would mix both Capsuleers and Dusties. Actually seeing us in EVE Online 
would help a lot dust 514's integration.

12. As is our custom, the floor is yours for the last question. Is there anything we should know?
Not much, i dont feel like explaining how hard WTFR will rock New Eden or 
something. We're all just eager to see Dust 514 grow to its full 
potential and get some awesome fights, juicy contracts, solid friendships
 and all. In fact, it may be usefull to add that if anyone feels like 
contacting us, they may just use my twitter account @Cazaderon.

Thanks to anyone who fully reads this, and thanks for the opportunity.