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Yoshi interview
1
#1
0 Frags +

A prominent figure on tf2center.com, Yoshi is well know for his alternative playstyles. He regularly hosts games, developed a handy browser plug-in for the site and you’ll even hear people call out sentries on koth_product’s cliff as “the yoshi spot”. Despite this, a large portion of tf2center’s user base dislikes playing with him because he almost exclusively plays demo with a shield and takes every opportunity he can to offclass to engineer when he is playing scout. The way he configures his lobbies is also questionable, as he regularly hosts autobalanced lobbies which is certainly not the norm. So, who is this yoshi? What's his deal?

You would think a guy like Yoshi would be an epic troll or at least have a less than savory attitude, but in my experience Yoshi has always been an amicable human being who simply wants to have fun playing tf2 his own way. He gets a lot of hate but he seems to handle it pretty well. My only critique is that his responses are so passive, if he responds at all, that people seem to question if he is a real human being or artificial intelligence developed by masternoob to punish players for being unbanned. Sure, having a sentry gun and a teleporter set up on the opponent’s second control point is anything but standard play, but at the very least he does seem his hardest to make it work. In fact, I’m not even sure if this is a good example of a questionable gimmick play when it sets your team up for free sacks into the enemies last along with being a nightmare to push into. As for his alternative demoman shenanigans, It is undoubtedly true that stickies are superior to all of the shields, as they protect your whole team and not just yourself, but at the level of play typically seen on tf2center, pipes and a shield can do a lot of work and yoshi’s pipe aim is nothing to scoff at. He is honestly one of the better demos I have seen at really taking advantage of the projectile’s arc to hit you in places and times you least expect it. It's always embarrassing to eat a patented yoshi pipe with your forehead while you're standing behind shack waiting for an arrow.

What got you into tf2 and what got you into competitive tf2? Do you have a preferred competitive format?

I started playing in 2008, my junior year of college. My roommate bought the Orange Box set which included TF2, and our dorm got hooked on it pretty quickly. A few years later I became a member of a popular casual community/clan called 4L. We started as a network of good friends and steadily developed an extremely talented pool of players who created a team for fun in UGC Season 6. I started on Medic in Highlander. Since then I have started or subbed as Engineer and Medic in UGC and RGL for many years.

How has your unusual playstyle developed since you first started playing competitively?

My playstyle has always been the same: choose what suits me and our team the best. Whenever Valve released new weapons, I exclusively used them to get an idea of their situational advantages - so I am aware of all weapon pros and cons. The loadouts I use the most are just what I have learned to be the most effective overall for my skill set or team's needs. I understand why other players use rocket launcher over black box, stickies over shields, gunslinger over jag; I would use them more often too if it resulted in more wins, but I am simply more effective using what I am comfortable with - playing to my own strengths trumps conforming to someone else’s personal strengths.

What do you get out of offclassing to engineer and playing shield demo? Do you enjoy the theorycrafting that goes into offclass abuse or do you find people’s reactions to a level 3 where they’d never expect it funny?

I just enjoy playing Team Fortress 2, there is nothing more or less to read into the way I play.

Engineer is likely the strongest class on forward and last holds because of the added risks of cap speed for those points (on defense you lose a round quickly with nobody watching, on offense defenders have fewer resources to push your sentry because they need to have at least one defend), and I think Scout is one of the least effective unless you are a carry. I also use Pyro backburner for emergency clearance, Heavy if I cannot set up a sentry in time, and Sniper as a change-up for picks. The only complaints I ever get are either the enemy team infuriated at not being able to cap easily, which validates my playstyle, or my own team infuriated that it is harder to push to cap second - obviously less important than losing a round.

I think all weapons are essentially balanced. I remember from Valve’s blog that they update weapon attributes regularly until player usage is equal to their respective primary or secondary counterparts for the class. So basically, if one weapon is used overwhelmingly, they nerf it a bit. Or if one weapon is never used, they buff it. For this reason, I do not think any weapon should ever be discounted and I find my loadout to be the most effective way to achieve a win. I do use stickies intermittently as a change-up to trap second or last point, roughly 3-4% of playtime.

I do not think there is such a thing as offclass abuse. The game was designed to use loadout and class changes to counter your opponent which is why Valve created a UI that takes 2 keypresses to switch loadouts or classes.

I do think it is funny when people die to unexpected sentry placements. However I throw change-up placements to get the kill, not to gain amusement.

When i’m playing against you on shield demo, I tell my soldiers to focus on softening your team’s scouts, so I’m curious about what you think your teammates can do to get the most out of you as a teammate. Are there any playstyle changes people should make when they're playing with a shield demo?

When playing with me, it’s best for the medic to pocket and use me as a shield. My damage tanking will always provide Medic with a fast healing rate to generate lots of Ubers. Pocketing me makes enemy soldiers and demo essentially useless, and scouts are pretty easy to kill when they have to first get through 2 scouts and 2 soldiers playing in front of me. I am hyper-aware of my Medic’s position and blind spots and usually kill anyone trying to flank or jump him. I often win when given at least 30% heals and playing with a passive Medic who focuses on survival.

As for playing against a shield demo, I suppose keep in mind there are no sticky traps to worry about. It is pretty difficult to kill shield demos; I suggest only scouts or shotgun soldiers deal with him one-on-one, otherwise make a concerted effort to gang up on him when he is reloading his primary and his charge attack is depleted; that’s usually what leads to my demise.
A prominent figure on tf2center.com, Yoshi is well know for his alternative playstyles. He regularly hosts games, developed a handy browser plug-in for the site and you’ll even hear people call out sentries on koth_product’s cliff as “the yoshi spot”. Despite this, a large portion of tf2center’s user base dislikes playing with him because he almost exclusively plays demo with a shield and takes every opportunity he can to offclass to engineer when he is playing scout. The way he configures his lobbies is also questionable, as he regularly hosts autobalanced lobbies which is certainly not the norm. So, who is this yoshi? What's his deal?

You would think a guy like Yoshi would be an epic troll or at least have a less than savory attitude, but in my experience Yoshi has always been an amicable human being who simply wants to have fun playing tf2 his own way. He gets a lot of hate but he seems to handle it pretty well. My only critique is that his responses are so passive, if he responds at all, that people seem to question if he is a real human being or artificial intelligence developed by masternoob to punish players for being unbanned. Sure, having a sentry gun and a teleporter set up on the opponent’s second control point is anything but standard play, but at the very least he does seem his hardest to make it work. In fact, I’m not even sure if this is a good example of a questionable gimmick play when it sets your team up for free sacks into the enemies last along with being a nightmare to push into. As for his alternative demoman shenanigans, It is undoubtedly true that stickies are superior to all of the shields, as they protect your whole team and not just yourself, but at the level of play typically seen on tf2center, pipes and a shield can do a lot of work and yoshi’s pipe aim is nothing to scoff at. He is honestly one of the better demos I have seen at really taking advantage of the projectile’s arc to hit you in places and times you least expect it. It's always embarrassing to eat a patented yoshi pipe with your forehead while you're standing behind shack waiting for an arrow.

[b]What got you into tf2 and what got you into competitive tf2? Do you have a preferred competitive format?[/b]

[quote]I started playing in 2008, my junior year of college. My roommate bought the Orange Box set which included TF2, and our dorm got hooked on it pretty quickly. A few years later I became a member of a popular casual community/clan called 4L. We started as a network of good friends and steadily developed an extremely talented pool of players who created a team for fun in UGC Season 6. I started on Medic in Highlander. Since then I have started or subbed as Engineer and Medic in UGC and RGL for many years.[/quote]

[b]How has your unusual playstyle developed since you first started playing competitively?[/b]

[quote]My playstyle has always been the same: choose what suits me and our team the best. Whenever Valve released new weapons, I exclusively used them to get an idea of their situational advantages - so I am aware of all weapon pros and cons. The loadouts I use the most are just what I have learned to be the most effective overall for my skill set or team's needs. I understand why other players use rocket launcher over black box, stickies over shields, gunslinger over jag; I would use them more often too if it resulted in more wins, but I am simply more effective using what I am comfortable with - playing to my own strengths trumps conforming to someone else’s personal strengths.[/quote]

[b]What do you get out of offclassing to engineer and playing shield demo? Do you enjoy the theorycrafting that goes into offclass abuse or do you find people’s reactions to a level 3 where they’d never expect it funny?[/b]

[quote]I just enjoy playing Team Fortress 2, there is nothing more or less to read into the way I play.

Engineer is likely the strongest class on forward and last holds because of the added risks of cap speed for those points (on defense you lose a round quickly with nobody watching, on offense defenders have fewer resources to push your sentry because they need to have at least one defend), and I think Scout is one of the least effective unless you are a carry. I also use Pyro backburner for emergency clearance, Heavy if I cannot set up a sentry in time, and Sniper as a change-up for picks. The only complaints I ever get are either the enemy team infuriated at not being able to cap easily, which validates my playstyle, or my own team infuriated that it is harder to push to cap second - obviously less important than losing a round.

I think all weapons are essentially balanced. I remember from Valve’s blog that they update weapon attributes regularly until player usage is equal to their respective primary or secondary counterparts for the class. So basically, if one weapon is used overwhelmingly, they nerf it a bit. Or if one weapon is never used, they buff it. For this reason, I do not think any weapon should ever be discounted and I find my loadout to be the most effective way to achieve a win. I do use stickies intermittently as a change-up to trap second or last point, roughly 3-4% of playtime.

I do not think there is such a thing as offclass abuse. The game was designed to use loadout and class changes to counter your opponent which is why Valve created a UI that takes 2 keypresses to switch loadouts or classes.

I do think it is funny when people die to unexpected sentry placements. However I throw change-up placements to get the kill, not to gain amusement.[/quote]

[b]When i’m playing against you on shield demo, I tell my soldiers to focus on softening your team’s scouts, so I’m curious about what you think your teammates can do to get the most out of you as a teammate. Are there any playstyle changes people should make when they're playing with a shield demo?[/b]

[quote]When playing with me, it’s best for the medic to pocket and use me as a shield. My damage tanking will always provide Medic with a fast healing rate to generate lots of Ubers. Pocketing me makes enemy soldiers and demo essentially useless, and scouts are pretty easy to kill when they have to first get through 2 scouts and 2 soldiers playing in front of me. I am hyper-aware of my Medic’s position and blind spots and usually kill anyone trying to flank or jump him. I often win when given at least 30% heals and playing with a passive Medic who focuses on survival.

As for playing against a shield demo, I suppose keep in mind there are no sticky traps to worry about. It is pretty difficult to kill shield demos; I suggest only scouts or shotgun soldiers deal with him one-on-one, otherwise make a concerted effort to gang up on him when he is reloading his primary and his charge attack is depleted; that’s usually what leads to my demise.[/quote]
2
#2
4 Frags +

Which shield do you use and why do you use that shield in particular?

Chargin' Targe is my favorite shield because it provides maximum survival. I believe sixes is a numbers and positioning game; you really don’t want to die unless it saves your own Medic, you kill the opposing Medic, or 2 opposing non-Medic classes. Almost all explosive damage is reduced to 30, and you can survive sticky traps and krit rockets/stickies, meaning you only have to worry about scouts, who are very easy to kill with a pipe. The lack of charge turn radius is an issue but I have figured out ways to slide off slopes and walls to reduce its downside, and I can predict where opponents are trying to dodge in the rare case I use it on offense. I also use that knowledge to roll out quickly for mid-fights when combined with a grenade jump. In the event a scout chases you, it is a good safety valve for escape and buying time to reload grenades. The other shields provide little resistance and focus more on charge impact damage and mobility which is not a good tradeoff. They are better for demoknight playstyle since swords and wee booties provide more speed and health replenishment.

Why do you host autobalanced lobbies?

It provides less likelihood of stacked teams. I agree with naysayers that it doesn’t always work, but it does work more often than people choosing their own teams. Some players have difficulty enjoying the game unless they get a win, so they usually stack. They are usually the ones you hear in Mumble blaming anyone but themselves for poor play and suicide the whole game for damage stats. Another benefit is usually they do not join auto-balanced lobbies so we are left with just people who enjoy TF2 gameplay whether they win or lose. I choose ETF2L because it reduces the number of offclasses allowed and adds potential for more rounds of gameplay to enjoy.

Do you have any tf2center memories you would like to share?

I miss when the site was more popular and lobbies would fill even if there were 7 active at a time. The admins didn’t take down fun maps like plr_hightower or koth_trainsawlaser. Now no fun is allowed, and too many people troll the chat and complain if there is even a slight deviation from what has been done a million times. Players were friendlier in the past; I miss that. I rarely speak in Mumble anymore because often there is an echochamber of arrogance and it is emotionally intelligent to ignore toxicity.

What are your hobbies outside of tf2?

I mostly travel around the world, but that’s been put on hold this year with the pandemic. I study new languages in my spare time. I am big into finance, trading, and investing. I write software for work and fun. I enjoy rock climbing and long-distance running; I competed in the USA 50 mile road and trail championships in 2015-16.

Any update ideas for your plugin?

Someone mentioned adding sound effects or a sound notification when they are joined to a slot. I am thinking of adding support for the Skill Index to PugChamp and also showing team win probability on the lobby pages. The extension has a link to Reddit at the bottom if anyone wants to leave suggestions.

Any shoutouts?

Just a thank you to those who enjoy the game, win or lose, and show kindness and empathy to their peers whether new or experienced.

Yoshi’s twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/yoshi21
Firefox tf2center plug in: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/tf2center-tools/
Chrome tf2center plug in: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/tf2center-tools/oagdkccjchnflfcikaagcelgipminjhd

[b]Which shield do you use and why do you use that shield in particular?[/b]

[quote]Chargin' Targe is my favorite shield because it provides maximum survival. I believe sixes is a numbers and positioning game; you really don’t want to die unless it saves your own Medic, you kill the opposing Medic, or 2 opposing non-Medic classes. Almost all explosive damage is reduced to 30, and you can survive sticky traps and krit rockets/stickies, meaning you only have to worry about scouts, who are very easy to kill with a pipe. The lack of charge turn radius is an issue but I have figured out ways to slide off slopes and walls to reduce its downside, and I can predict where opponents are trying to dodge in the rare case I use it on offense. I also use that knowledge to roll out quickly for mid-fights when combined with a grenade jump. In the event a scout chases you, it is a good safety valve for escape and buying time to reload grenades. The other shields provide little resistance and focus more on charge impact damage and mobility which is not a good tradeoff. They are better for demoknight playstyle since swords and wee booties provide more speed and health replenishment.[/quote]

[b]Why do you host autobalanced lobbies?[/b]

[quote]It provides less likelihood of stacked teams. I agree with naysayers that it doesn’t always work, but it does work more often than people choosing their own teams. Some players have difficulty enjoying the game unless they get a win, so they usually stack. They are usually the ones you hear in Mumble blaming anyone but themselves for poor play and suicide the whole game for damage stats. Another benefit is usually they do not join auto-balanced lobbies so we are left with just people who enjoy TF2 gameplay whether they win or lose. I choose ETF2L because it reduces the number of offclasses allowed and adds potential for more rounds of gameplay to enjoy.[/quote]

[b]Do you have any tf2center memories you would like to share?[/b]

[quote]I miss when the site was more popular and lobbies would fill even if there were 7 active at a time. The admins didn’t take down fun maps like plr_hightower or koth_trainsawlaser. Now no fun is allowed, and too many people troll the chat and complain if there is even a slight deviation from what has been done a million times. Players were friendlier in the past; I miss that. I rarely speak in Mumble anymore because often there is an echochamber of arrogance and it is emotionally intelligent to ignore toxicity.[/quote]

[b]What are your hobbies outside of tf2?[/b]
[quote]I mostly travel around the world, but that’s been put on hold this year with the pandemic. I study new languages in my spare time. I am big into finance, trading, and investing. I write software for work and fun. I enjoy rock climbing and long-distance running; I competed in the USA 50 mile road and trail championships in 2015-16.[/quote]

[b]Any update ideas for your plugin?[/b]
[quote]Someone mentioned adding sound effects or a sound notification when they are joined to a slot. I am thinking of adding support for the Skill Index to PugChamp and also showing team win probability on the lobby pages. The extension has a link to Reddit at the bottom if anyone wants to leave suggestions.[/quote]

[b]Any shoutouts?[/b]
[quote]Just a thank you to those who enjoy the game, win or lose, and show kindness and empathy to their peers whether new or experienced.[/quote]

Yoshi’s twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/yoshi21
Firefox tf2center plug in: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/tf2center-tools/
Chrome tf2center plug in: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/tf2center-tools/oagdkccjchnflfcikaagcelgipminjhd
3
#3
22 Frags +

yoshi is my god, i got myself perma banned from tf2center because i am not worthy to play with the likes of him.

yoshi is my god, i got myself perma banned from tf2center because i am not worthy to play with the likes of him.
4
#4
41 Frags +

when yosh first started showing up to nut city pugs i thought he was yoshi and was impressed at how good he could play when not playing engi.

when yosh first started showing up to nut city pugs i thought he was yoshi and was impressed at how good he could play when not playing engi.
5
#5
16 Frags +

shield demos can only dream of reaching yoshi's level.

shield demos can only dream of reaching yoshi's level.
6
#6
8 Frags +

nobody makes threads quite like capnfapn does

nobody makes threads quite like capnfapn does
7
#7
28 Frags +

i took a yoshi21 teleporter once and shit was so cash

i took a yoshi21 teleporter once and shit was so cash
8
#8
10 Frags +

shoutout to all the skitzo tf2 players

shoutout to all the skitzo tf2 players
9
#9
7 Frags +

can someone interview theshorty

can someone interview theshorty
10
#10
37 Frags +

i almost wouldn't put it past capnfapn to have written both sides of this

i almost wouldn't put it past capnfapn to have written both sides of this
11
#11
3 Frags +

alright this explains a lot

alright this explains a lot
12
#12
21 Frags +

for those of u that don't lobby and haven't experienced yoshi, this is a good summary of him https://www.twitch.tv/auurr/clip/ShinyPowerfulRadishItsBoshyTime
https://www.twitch.tv/auurr/clip/ExuberantAlertClintKappa

for those of u that don't lobby and haven't experienced yoshi, this is a good summary of him https://www.twitch.tv/auurr/clip/ShinyPowerfulRadishItsBoshyTime
https://www.twitch.tv/auurr/clip/ExuberantAlertClintKappa
13
#13
20 Frags +
capnnofapnpeople seem to question if he is a real human being or artificial intelligence developed by masternoob to punish players for being unbanned

this is the only conspiracy theory i believe

[quote=capnnofapn]people seem to question if he is a real human being or artificial intelligence developed by masternoob to punish players for being unbanned[/quote]
this is the only conspiracy theory i believe
14
#14
1 Frags +

Made an account just to comment. Yoshi is GOAT, he hits the most random pipes. Autobalance is honestly fine, althou people do like to play with friends so I guess that is an issue. Also Yoshi why are they in NY TT Kansas at the farthest east PLS

Made an account just to comment. Yoshi is GOAT, he hits the most random pipes. Autobalance is honestly fine, althou people do like to play with friends so I guess that is an issue. Also Yoshi why are they in NY TT Kansas at the farthest east PLS
15
#15
4 Frags +

Thank you for the work you put into this CapFapn, you're a kind and beautiful soul. I hope you flourish marvelously with your future endeavors.

Thank you for the work you put into this CapFapn, you're a kind and beautiful soul. I hope you flourish marvelously with your future endeavors.
16
#16
4 Frags +

18 time engi and medic champion. :100:

18 time engi and medic champion. :100:
17
#17
11 Frags +

i tend to tilt at yoshis shenanigans so this article was pretty convicting. seems like an honest dude.

i tend to tilt at yoshis shenanigans so this article was pretty convicting. seems like an honest dude.
18
#18
5 Frags +

why does he rollout to mid on scout, then immediately run straight back to last and build a sentry

why does he rollout to mid on scout, then immediately run straight back to last and build a sentry
19
#19
21 Frags +
Air_for those of u that don't lobby and haven't experienced yoshi, this is a good summary of him https://www.twitch.tv/auurr/clip/ShinyPowerfulRadishItsBoshyTime
https://www.twitch.tv/auurr/clip/ExuberantAlertClintKappa

Hilarious, thanks!

[quote=Air_]for those of u that don't lobby and haven't experienced yoshi, this is a good summary of him https://www.twitch.tv/auurr/clip/ShinyPowerfulRadishItsBoshyTime
https://www.twitch.tv/auurr/clip/ExuberantAlertClintKappa[/quote]

Hilarious, thanks!
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