!!! BONUS !!!! EXTRA PLAY !!! BONUS !!! EXTRA PLAY !!!! BONUS !!!
In a prime example of how quickly things can change, I initially interviewed King Rabbit after his monumental #1 individual Hall of Fame achievement over GKP. Some of the things we discussed and hypothesized about during that discussion have already happened. Also, as you'll all be well aware, a new #1 ACS Hall of Fame then popped up with King Rabbit again being on the winning side meaning the original interview suddenly felt very incomplete. On top of that, I had been planning to make a completely different sort of post during this period only to find myself drifting back into the interviewing realm to make sure these events received the coverage they deserved.
Since King Rabbit had already been gracious enough to take part in the holiday special, part of the challenge of this interview was finding topics that didn't overlap too much with what we already knew from those conversations. I threw every hard hitting question about his method of play, his achievements, and the greater OGaming world he exists in that I could think of, with the king not turning away a single one. This post also plays on a greater theme where King Rabbit has not only taken away GKP's fleet, but also his status of having been the final SNN interview. Is there nothing safe from King Rabbit's recent dominance!?
This silly rabbit packs a powerful punch and it's time to get down to it with...an interview with King Rabbit.
I. THE NUMBERS GAME, SUPPORTIVE PEOPLE, AND PERSONAL HISTORY
II. OLD ACCOUNT CULTURE SHOCK, WHAT MAKES OGAME GREAT, GRAVEYARDS AND MERGES
III. MUPPETS POWER AND PLAY STYLES, CURRENT ASSASSIN/JEB SITUATION, AI IN GAMES
IV. FAVORITE ACHIEVEMENTS, PLAYERS AND ENEMIES, WHAT MOTIVATES A KING
V. BUT THEN THE NEW ACS HAPPENED, COFFY, CRITICS, FGR CONFLICTS OF INTEREST?
Quotespidey: Not sure what to do anymore
King Rabbit: Doing all of the things
QuoteDisplay MoreI. THE NUMBERS GAME, SUPPORTIVE PEOPLE, AND PERSONAL HISTORY
spidey: I think the question everyone really wants to know from the start is: Do you like big numbers?
King Rabbit: Depends on the circumstances. If you're asking me if I like big numbers for fleets, etc then sure, what fleeter doesn't? Though if you're asking me for big numbers of working hours in a week - Hell no!
spidey: haha that is a very important distinction! Given all of the calculations necessary for the fleeting you mentioned, was math one of your favorite subjects while growing up?
King Rabbit: Funnily enough Maths was one of my stronger subjects when it came to the exams, however being my favourite absolutely not. I was more of the PE kinda guy. Outdoors and sports. Was part of the Football and Rugby teams, etc. Sports is still a big passion in my life now. I enjoy watching most sports from Football to Darts.
spidey: How do you balance that passion for sports with finding time to be, I think pretty unquestionably at the moment, the top fleeter in OGame U1 .org?
King Rabbit: Very good question and one I don't even know myself really haha. We have a good balance in my household and I have a very supportive partner who enjoys playing other video games herself at the other end of the desk. This helps to give me time to play the game I enjoy while she plays hers. We have what I would call a tech kinda house so having sports on in the background or on another monitor is pretty easily done.
As for being the top fleeter in U1, I wouldn't classify myself as that. I have a good team around me who all play well and share a lot of hits with each other. If I'm around, I jump on them. While I have had a few Top 10s in the last 8 months which were in the main my own doing, on the majority that just comes down to patience and observing. I've learnt a hell of a lot from Muppets and FGR since returning to the game and owe them everything for trusting me with an account after so long out of the game but also ensuring I kept on learning again.
spidey: Good to hear you have support on all levels of your life 🙂
Which brings us to the oldie but the goodie, how did you learn about OGame and get dragged into its clutches?
King Rabbit: I joined back in U29. I don't actually remember how I got into it in all honesty. This was back in 2008. I remember getting into the game a lot and managed to convince some of my friends and family to join and play. We all had a blast for a good year or so, but as always these players all left or stopped playing for whatever reason. U30 was opened at some point in that time, and being a speed uni I wanted to give it a crack; this was maybe 6 months after it had opened. This is where I started to fleet and eventually caught the attention of DOC and PRD alliances. DOC, or more specifically GoodRiddance, took me in and taught me the ways at the time. Eight of these players are still playing now in Muppets with me.
While playing U30 I also played U40, Electra and Quantum; though none of these ever had the same dedication I had for U30 at the time. A few years later my real life was getting rather hectic, around 2014 I believe (I had 3 kids by the age of 21, all with my partner who I'm still with now from school), that I had to give up playing OGame. I gave away all my U40, Electra, and Quantum accounts but I held on to my U30. This was the account I returned to the game with back in 2022.
II. OLD ACCOUNT CULTURE SHOCK, WHAT MAKES OGAME GREAT, GRAVEYARDS AND MERGES
spidey: Do you remember where you ended up ranked when you joined U1 with your U30 account after such a long break?
King Rabbit: haha that account came to U1 around rank 500. Much to my surprise I found Muppets and some of the old gang. I stayed on that account for a couple months making a few small hits etc, before Arcane gave me his old account. This was a ripper account though, but I started building up the speed fleet on it and making hits. A short while later Arcane said you need a proper speed account and we have one spare so that's the account I'm on now. When I took this account it was rank 50 or so and with 1.5B points. Now I know I've invested some real life income into this account, however I've also made a fair old few hits here or there to add on to this. I mean I have had 5 top 10s in the last 8 months. These hits are around 2T worth of profit alone.
spidey: It's humbling realizing your old top 100 account is barely worth a percentage of the modern top accounts, right? My current account (that, yes, I barely play on) was top 15 in Universe 1 a decade ago, now a new account can pass it within a month through expos alone.
King Rabbit: Yeah, it's crazy nowadays. Though I guess that's the game we're all playing now. I missed most of the market place exploits and all of the Expo exploits, but I am here for the pack era and, while I understand how bad it is for everyone and while I don't necessarily agree with it, I know I'm part of the problem. There does need to be a fix for the pack issues. A limit per month, all packs worth the same regardless of rank or something put in place. I'm comfortable in my real life to be able to spend on my hobbies, but I know many are not as fortunate and they either can't or they try and keep up when they should be prioritising bills, etc which does cause issues. That said, my U30 account was in the top 50 or so and iirc was a top 10 fleet. Came here and miles away now. Luckily I have some great friends who trusted in my ability still after so long away.
spidey: And I'm sure they're appreciating where they placed their trust these days as well haha
As you said, you've invested a lot of time and more into your OGame account, which makes me wonder what it is that you enjoy about OGame in comparison to other games you've played throughout your life?
King Rabbit: As with everyone, it's the people you play with. Muppets, and by extension FGR contrary to popular belief, are a bunch of great people from around the globe. They are always there available and waiting no matter how small. They have a wealth of knowledge of the game but also life in general. Arcane, for one, if you needed £10 and he only had £5 to his name he would give you that £5 and find a way to get another £5 for you! That's just an example but I kid you not they are a great bunch of people. I've met some life long friends in this game and that's the reason every one of us plays.
Either to play with the people we are friends with or to have fun against our "enemies". At the end of the day, no matter which alliance you're in or what uni, we all play the same game and we all have similar interests. Heck I'd love to sit down and have a cold beer with some of the enemies as much as I would with my alliance friends. Whether they would or not is another question.
spidey: Tensions can sometimes cross over into reality a bit more than the game may have intended, but I imagine it's also rather therapeutic to take out some underlying rage from life on people you "hate" in the game. I've always imagined that was one of the main perks of OGame anyhow.
Ok, now to try to clear up some of my own past confusions, MUPPETS joined Universe 1 during the last merge but you came along later and were not originally a MUPPET, is that accurate?
King Rabbit: Yeah, correct. I returned to the game late 2022. Muppets were already here.
spidey: So having originally made your way to Universe 1 via the graveyard, what are your thoughts on the recent changes to that system?
King Rabbit: Yeah, this was not something that was around when I left the game before. It was pleasing as a returning player to see I could choose where I wanted to go at the time. Did a little research on MMO and found the most active uni, although this wasn't a speed uni that I had become used to and grew up playing. However 1x (or 1.5x now with LF) is the perfect speed for me at the moment.
As for the other recent changes I don't really know if it's a good or bad thing. I would like to see more accounts back in U1 and I dont think it's possible still unless they originated in U1. I've seen reports of some players going to the GY this week, but only being able to go back to the server they came from. So guess they will all have to wait for the mergers instead. They can't be too far off now can they?
spidey: I think you might be on to something with that merge speculation. Now, are you ready to get into some more controversial territory? 😛
King Rabbit: Sure
III. MUPPETS POWER AND PLAY STYLES, CURRENT ASSASSIN/JEB SITUATION, AI IN GAMES
spidey: It is hard to ignore how dominating the MUPPETS alliance is points wise and how many large accounts the MUPPETS alliance has, but MUPPETS has also gotten a lot of flack for the play style of being in vacation mode most of the time and only emerging to take advantage of big hit opportunities. This is certainly not unique to your team but I think your prominence in the universe makes your team the easiest example for others to attach this particular scorn to. Do you think it is a problem for OGame when top players give few opportunities to be attacked not because of their strategic, careful in-game play but because they are mostly in a literally untouchable state most of the time? For example, your recent history making hit on GKP may not have been possible if he utilized a similar playing style.
King Rabbit: Absolutely, however I also understand that RL always comes first. I know from Muppets POV some of them play monday - friday and V the weekend, some are V for extended periods, and some do a bit of V fleeting. Like you said this is not isolated to Muppets only, and can be seen in most alliances and in every universe. When I last played back in speed unis, VM was the 1 day for 2x uni and less for other speeds. This was spoken about back then at length and is still a discussion point now. I don't see this changing any time soon so it's just a game mechanic that we're stuck with and people use if they wish.
My personal play style is I FS. Though I've V a fair few times here and there across my time on the account, in the main I play by the intended methods. I did see a comment somewhere saying Muppets have only played 5 days in 2023. 5 Top 10s in 2023 so 1 top 10 a day is good going I'd say.
Also props to GKP. I looked at his MMO and he has only VM for 2.73% of his time in U1.
spidey: 5 days played and 5 Top Tens would imply a 100% success rate for the strategy which certainly wouldn't help arguments against it lol
Prior to your joining Universe 1, ASSASSIN vs. FGR was the hot competition everyone was keeping track of. Then MUPPETS came along, siding with FGR, and helping to weaken ASSASSIN, with diplomatic issues eventually leading JeB to join with ASSASSIN in opposition to your coalition. With all of the recent events, what do you make of the current state of ASSASSIN/JeB and what this might mean for the future of Universe 1?
King Rabbit: I obviously came into U1 way after the coalition was made between Muppets and FGR. That said it's the perfect partnership, the guys in FGR are really good and have some great players and fleeters.
I think that Assassins have been very clever siding with JeB, they have a decent sized eco whale which will help them in the future as it already has. It's sad to see the state of Assassins currently, and I do hope that they sort things out with the banned accounts or whatever they need to do. I truly believe GKP will rebuild his fleet in no time, he's only lost 1b in the end after WF. He's a solid fleeter when he puts his mind to it and not bashing with his RIPs. From my understanding he's the kinda player who needs people around him and likes teamwork. Certainly looks this way from the outside in.
If them joining with JeB helps to motivate them to continue to play I'm all for it. I imagine without Assassins strengthening them this would of ruined the balance of the uni even further in our direction which is no fun for anyone. That said, in JeB, other than Amotion, I don't see much threat. Lord42 has the RIPs for sure, but unsure what the ultimate end game is for that account. Nightmad is active as hell and always around, but keeps to himself in the main. Ghostwolf well lol is all I'll say.
Either way whatever it brings we will be ready as we have been.
spidey: Building off one of your implications there, Universe 1 is well known as the place with some of the most complicated diplomatic relations in all of OGame, but do you think there is any danger of things getting "too friendly" in the universe if one group of allies becomes untouchably dominant?
King Rabbit: I doubt that will happen personally. Merges wouldn't be too far away and who knows what that will bring. Chimera still has some massive fleets and can't be underestimated. Assassins will come back bigger and stronger if they still have the motivation. There are still plenty of options out there.
spidey: Alright, less serious now (or maybe far more serious!). You have become rather infamous already for the AI generated images that accompany your posts, what are your thoughts about artificial intelligence and what changes do you think we'll start to see in the world in the near future because of it?
King Rabbit: Just a few months ago you would need someone to be photoshopping pictures to make these kinds of images, now look at how good they are. It's crazy how good they can make an image already and what they can do with such ease. That said, I can't take all the credit for these. I've made a few, but Astral, Arcane and Mine Maker made the majority to start with. As for the future of AI, I dont really know what's around the corner, but I'm sure it will be something crazy and that will start to be more and more human but done with so much ease.
spidey: As a slight follow-up, gaming in particular has become a place where AI is expected to have a huge impact in terms of allowing for faster development times and offering independent developers greater opportunities to make their ideas into a reality. With AI being such a hot topic everywhere else, what are your thoughts on an AI presence in OGame?
King Rabbit: Having played a bit with my son's AI in Meta Quest 3 it is certainly an immersive experience. It's good fun and I look foward to the way that will go in the future for gaming. Sadly I don't see OGame ever being incorporated into this. I think OGame is good as a browser based game and that's how it will remain until it dies.
If you ever played Freelancer back in the day, that was a space ship multiplayer MMO. That kind of game I could see being portrayed in one way or another in AI for sure.
spidey: First I've heard of it but I'll check it out (or at least read about it to figure out what it's like lol).
IV. FAVORITE ACHIEVEMENTS, PLAYERS AND ENEMIES, WHAT MOTIVATES A KING
spidey: We're getting into the final rapid fire round of questions! RIPs at the ready! Firstly, your favorite OGame achievement/accomplishment?
King Rabbit: Got to be the new NN1 on GKP
spidey: Just the spectacle of it all?
King Rabbit: Yeah, it's a NN1 for one. Not many players out there get to pick that tag in an established uni. Not many people can say they have hit GKP on his moons for decent profit either. Like I said, he's a decent fleeter, and making any hit on a decent fleeter is always satisfying.
That said, my first top 10 here in U1 was on Cabanadave. He made me work for it for sure and it was very satisfying when I finally caught him. I know a lot of people didn't like me relocating everywhere around him, but the thrill of that chase was good fun and went on for a good period of time. This was meant to be a quick in and out job to catch him on one moon and it turned out to be anything but. At one point he was even trying to pop my moons. Finally catching him was very satisfying, but to catch him again a day later on a blind return I think really cemented that one!
spidey: Incredible, and for certain recent achievements have easily punched your ticket as one of the most elite to ever play the game.
Favorite players?
King Rabbit: All Muppets and FGR are there, for sure. Can't think of one bad egg in there. I have a few friends outside of this alliance who I won't name but they know who they are.
I also wouldn't say I was elite. I just play the game for fun. Right place right time is usually all it takes 🙂
spidey: Best antagonists?
King Rabbit: It's weird because I somehow always manage to avoid these guys in the main.
Ice and I have some good fun in-game against each other. Nothing major, he's farmed a couple of my planets, I've farmed a deut fleet. Failed a return.
GKP is certainly on the list for most players, but I've always managed to avoid him until this week in the main.
Amotion and myself have good respect and understanding of each other but would crash one or the other in a heartbeat if the opportunity arose.
I guess there has to be a special mention for Deneb in this too. This guy invested a hell of a lot of time to try and annoy me for such a long period. I learnt to just ignore him pretty quickly and leave him to nuke me or do what he wanted as this didn't impact my gameplay, growth or anything else in the end. One thing that can be said for Deneb is he is persistent with his agenda, whatever that may be at the time.
I think there is some kind of mutual respect between myself and these guys. From my side there is certainly.
spidey: Ugliest sweater competition winner?
King Rabbit: I don't get the question lol
spidey: lmao it's meant to be random! Also, maybe it's a cultural thing, ugly sweater competitions tend to be won by the most creative/crazy people 😉
King Rabbit: hedgefund is quite possibly the craziest person I know now for sure
spidey: LOL he can have the honors then
Final thoughts?
King Rabbit: OGame might be in a sorry state, and I know Muppets and I had a part to play in it, so this is rather hypocritical of me but we played the current meta well within the uni. Hopefully something does come along in the future to help rebalance.
Everyone should remember we are all like minded people playing the same game, enjoying the same hobby. This is just a game and no matter what side you're on, or what's happened in the past, we all have plenty in common. People forget this part far too often and get sucked into the drama too easily.
I want to thank Arcane specifically for trusting me with his account and welcoming me back to OGame, as well as all Muppets and FGR. Would never be in this position without these guys. They are a great bunch of people and that's what keeps people in the game and playing well. It's all about the people. As well as all enemies I've had the pleasure of chasing or being chased by which has been good and helps to keep my motivation high.
spidey: Some very thoughtful and respectful comments. Thanks for taking the time to chat.
King Rabbit: Thanks, was enjoyable 🙂
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V. BUT THEN THE NEW ACS HAPPENED, COFFY, CRITICS, FGR CONFLICTS OF INTEREST?
spidey: I've recently been hearing that probe and go hits are "no skill" hits and that this is what almost all top individual hits have been as of late. This makes me wonder what constitutes a "skilled hit" and how many past hits that people have championed as great accomplishments were equally "unskilled"?
King Rabbit: You wouldn't be wrong tbf with the probe and goes. While there is an element of luck to probe and go, there is often a good understanding of your target as well, more often than not. If you spend enough time watching players you can usually figure out their patterns and habits. This gives you a good chance at connecting when you know the time is right. A lot of my hits are probe and go in the main. Though with most of my big hits I've spent some time watching prior and then comes the luck of launching at the right time. As for skill, there isn't much skill to be had in this game these days in all honesty. It's mainly about being in the right place at the right time sprinkled with some luck.
spidey: Which brings us to why we suddenly have this additional section as you and Rya came out of nowhere with a new #1 ACS smash that crushed all others in the past, taking down Coffy for the second Top Ten on that account. Obviously there are some secrets of the trade that can't be shared but can you give us a little bit of your side regarding how that hit came about?
King Rabbit: Myself and Arcane had looked at hitting coffy before a few times over the last 6 months or so. We even had a little bit of fun and testing on if this was possible in the PTS server lol. We had moved near where his big silos are many months ago and coffy was careful when we were there for a good period. However coffy continued to grow his rips from 400k to 1mil. He also decided to move his rips to another galaxy where he had some close allies. We had done some watching around coffy and realised we had a window on when we could make a connection however with real life and gaming comes issues. I was V mode a few times, Basil a fair amount. Though, ironically, we were both out of V mode when we made this hit for once lol.
On the day of the hit coffy had been out of V mode for a few days. Rya had noticed he had his rips sitting near us in G9 and that he was idling. Rya was asking if we wanted to chance a risk, and knowing the time we were launching, we had some chance of it connecting but, in all honesty, wasn't actually expecting it to connect. But it wasn't massively expensive on fuel so I said sure, let's go. Basil popped up a few minutes into the flight but didn't want to slow us down and let us fly without him. The team player he is, he was just happy to see that we had launched and was even more happy that it connected. Coffy was a great sport and, with his mines, I'm sure wont take him long to rebuild.
spidey: From your perspective, having two #1 hits that are likely to stand the test of time within the course of a week, how would you compare those hits? Which one felt like the bigger accomplishment? Which one did you personally put more effort into?
King Rabbit: Yeah, it's crazy to think that I have my name on the NN1 for solo and NN1 for ACS and done both all in the space of the week. Both are equally as good in my mind.
One is against possibly one of the best opposing fleeters in the universe and has a legacy that only some can hope to achieve. Love him or hate him. GKP is a solid player when he puts his mind to it. He's tenacious in what he does and is always hitting people and farming. I had not put much effort into GKP prior to the day I hit him. I watched him for around 1 hour 45 mins and had hit him by the end of it. That said, this one was very satisfying.
How many players in OGame can say they helped to take out 1mil rips in one go, the biggest hit .org has seen, and the 2nd highest ACS hit world wide. This was also done with just two players compared to the 5 of the number 1 ACS world wide. We spent some time watching coffy between us and playing with friends is what keeps the game alive. This one was a team effort and we all did our part prior to the day of the hit. Though, on the day of the hit, I did nothing really other than add fleet, send recs and do some watching while in flight. Rya did the hard work on this one on the actual day.
If I had to pick one its tricky to say which one I'm more satisfied with. They both have unique features.
spidey: It's possible that the suddenness of your targeting GKP may have actually been one of your biggest strengths in that situation.
Since our last conversation the comments on the GKP hit, and now carrying over into the Coffy hit, have a lot of similar themes. You've been very open that you understand the way you and others have grown your accounts have given you advantages others wouldn't have. Does all of this criticism effect your desire to play? Does it potentially motivate you to play even more, maybe to target the players who are being so critical?
King Rabbit: No, it doesn't effect the way I play or who I target. Like I said, I understand the critics and understand how it impacts the balance of the universe. I play the game how I want to. I've had a good return on investment some would say. Both opposing players from the NN1s are not shy from a pack or two here or there haha. One of them might be the biggest packer in the uni tbf. It comes as no surprise there are critics out there about the way I have increased my account. I won't lose any sleep over the comments about it in all honesty and fully expected comments about it. Everyone has freedom of speech 🙂 If anything I'm surprised there weren't more comments about it. Most of the comments are pretty positive.
spidey: Going back to the Coffy hit, there is a lot of - I'm not sure if controversy is necessarily the right word - but certainly a lot of reasons for people to see conflicts of interest given that both MUPPETS and FTN are allied with FGR. Not only has FTN historically been a major deut supplier for FGR but it could be argued they only have the fleets they have because of their connection with Coffy specifically. In any other circumstance, Coffy could have potentially turned to FGR for help, but in this situation he didn't have his biggest allies to ask for assistance. There are people who see this as FGR not being very good allies to an alliance that has been very good to them over the years. What is your perspective on FGR, their connection with FTN, and their role as an in between in a situation that heavily favors MUPPETS fleeters?
King Rabbit: We have a great relationship with FGR. We have no alliance with FTN as anyone in FTN would tell you. As for the connection between FGR and FTN, that's up to them if they want to have one. We fully honour the relationship they have and we don't include them in any discussions we have against any FTN player. That keeps them completely impartial to the situation and causes no conflict of interest for any parties. The Top 10 hit I did on Nick shows this pretty well I think. I sent pretty much my whole fleet at this hit and had Basil on standby as I fully expected FGR to defend against me. We have always had an open and honest communication between FGR and muppets and have always said that they would defend FTN if they can at the time. I was lucky that day as I had noticed that two of their fleeters were locked in V mode, as was coffy, so was pretty safe in the main. They had other options but couldn't defend against my full fleet.
As for FGR "Heavily" favouring Muppets fleeters. This is not true. People only see what they want to see and what we let them on the boards. There are lots of closed chats between us that we have and I'm sure they have plenty of closed chats with FTN people. There is no conflict of interest between any sides and we fully trust FGR with what they do.
It won't come as any secret to anyone that we have a good relationship with FGR because that's what people see on the boards from us and if FTN had more fleeters I'm sure it would be a similar situation with what the public can see.
spidey: I think that covers the big topics in the wake of your historic #1 fleeting accomplishments. Thanks for taking a little extra time for this follow up 🙂
King Rabbit: No problem, my pleasure
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It's over!?!?!?!?
