Q. What Plugins have you developed and what do they do?
A. ACDualClient. allows multiple accounts in game at the same time. Also provides "tweak" abilities for windowed mode, port, path, and visualization.

Q. What was/is the 1st Plugin/3rd party Application you programmed?
A. For AC, my first app was ACDualClient. kind of. Before that, I mostly did utilities as needed, but hardly ever released them.

Q. What inspired you to write it/them?
A. At the time, there were no other good options for what ACDualClient does. Pinky's Dual Client was ok, but the interface was simplistic, and mainly "functional".. and there is nothing wrong with that. As far as Tweaks went, that was TweakAC, and the patching was released every month by a different group of people. I wanted to consolidate ALL that into one application. And thus ACDualClient was born.

Q. What was the biggest obstacle you had/have to overcome in writing your Plugins/3rd party Applications?
A. My biggest obstacles were mainly in the code itself and getting it to do what I wanted efficiently, and in a quick enough time frame. After development, I had a lot of flames and accusations to deal with. I was fairly unknown, and people generally aren't trusting with their account information (nor do I blame them for that). People were mainly unsure of what my program did, and why they should use it. There were a lot of flames from the Pinky's Camp, and the TweakAC camp on functionality overlapping and keeping my program simplistic (KISS). It all worked out though, and I have pretty much taken control of all those aspects of AC now. TweakAC hasn't been updated in forever, Pinky's DC isn't around anymore, and no one releases patched clients anymore except me.

Q. What is your favorite language to program in?
A. I definitely LOVE C# lately. Its easy, quick, pretty powerful, but not efficient. I like C++, VB6, and Java for some other tasks, but my main language now that I use and like is C#.

Q. How long have you been programming in general/with Decal Applications?
A. I've been programming for about 10 years. I started out with the lower forms of programming being "scripting" which some people don't feel is programming. Then I moved into some compiled languages and have worked my way up to where I am now. I've been programming for AC since ACDualClient was released originally. I didn't do much work with Decal Plugins before that (at least none that I felt good enough to release) and my main work with AC besides ACDualClient now is Decal and making sure it runs smoothly from month to month.

Q. Have you felt the overall contribution of the decal programming community has been positive on the game?
A. I feel that overall the contribution of Decal and the community has been a boon to the game. Decal provided many options and functional uses to the game that wouldn't have existed otherwise. It makes a great addition because the Turbine devs can get a ton of "free" devtime to add features because they don't have to do it. Someone else will. Unfortunately, that also allows some not-so-nice Plugins which most of which are against the Decal Code of Ethics, and we do not support them. Hopefully we can get everyone happy with Decal and make sure that Plugins comply with the Decal Code of Ethics. Until then... we just have to keep it updated and keep playing the game.

Q. What Plugins/3rd party Application other than your own, do you use?
A. I use Magellan2, Oracle of Dereth, Sixth Sense, and Nerfus Buffus II,. I don't like relying too heavily on Plugins, and I'm a player from way back in the retail opening days, so I'm well aware of how to play the game without Plugins.. Some just make the experience more enjoyable. I try to stay away from all Plugins which could do anything "for" me that I couldn't have done myself.

Q. What can we look forward to in upcoming versions of your Plugins/3rd party Applications?
A. ACDualClient is in the phase where I'm just trying to finish up bug fixes and ensure it continues to work. I don't currently have any plans on adding additional features.

Q. Do you still play AC and if so what Server/s do you frequent?
A. I don't play as much as I used to.. in fact.. I hardly play at all.. I have an account still, and its still active, but I rarely log onto it because of my busy schedule.. 40+ hours a week doing work, and 3 classes at school.. makes for a busy life.

Q. What is your favorite Plugin/3rd party Application that you have written?
A. My own ACDualClient .. duh! *grins* My second favorite 3rd party app is of course Decal! double duh! .. heh.. as for plugins, my all time favorite Plugin has to be..... Magellan2. Any Plugin that can show me a map of where I am ROCKS!

Enjoyable interview. Thanks for selecting me. It was fun.
-Drakier