If you’ve been around the FF circuit for any amount of time, then you probably know just how difficult making precise, and as accurate as can be, herofiles may be from time to time. Lucky for us, and the newbies that just happened to pick up the STEAM version of the game, herofile maker extreme USAgent is around making them for us. With over 2,000 herofiles in his stash for both FF and FFv3R, FRP2 takes the time to spotlight the occasional skinner, USAgent, to see if he’ll keep his shield in active duty… or something.

FREEDOM FORCE

USAgent… that’s quite a name to be taking up as an avatar. How did you come about taking it as your moniker?

Well, when I first came across the original boards (MyFreedomForce), I had to create a account and [a] screen name, which I had never done before online,and the name “Jeff” just didn’t have that zing to it. I had no idea what to call myself, so I went with my old favorite comic character.

You’ve been around the community for several years, and you seem to love contributing whenever you can. What was the initial draw of Freedom Force and Freedom Reborn for you? What kept you hanging around the community?

I quit playing video games in the mid 90s, but I always dreamed of the perfect superhero game and would buy it if ever made. The game had just came out and the box art and the screen shots on the back just happened to catch my eye, so I gave it a shot. The draw to Freedom Reborn came from staying with all the different boards that Freedom Force had through the years… it all started with the MyFreedomForce original boards when the game first came out; I think one of my first posts was asking for help with installing skins/meshes (which Alex promptly helped me with).

What kept me hanging around the community was that Freedom Force/FFV3R are the only games I have actually played since 2002, and the Mods/Admins at FR kept the forums a clean and fun place.

As pointed out in the opening, you are the occasional skinner. How did you come about acquiring your skills, and why do you use them so rarely?

I used to request tons of obscure Marvel characters — some requests got filled, some didn’t. I really wanted to stop begging for characters that I wanted, so I decided to try skinning. An old member named “Robert” sat with me for 4 hours one night and taught me how to skin through instant messaging, then another 2 hours the next night. I started skinning everything from scratch except for the base skins at first, then I turned into a kittbasher when I found I could get skins done quicker that way, but I didn’t realize it was wrong until some other people got called out for it. I quit kittbashing and continued skinning a bit until burnout hit, then I had a baby (and another) and time didn’t allow for skinning any more. But earlier this year, a mod maker asked me if I wanted to help him out with some skins he needed for his mod, so that got me back in it for awhile; plus Johnny Patches just had way too many cool skopes out there with no skins on them! I had to quit skinning again once summer got here — just simply no more computer time!

Like fxing, not many people take up making herofiles to put on display for others to use. It seems to require a skill all of its own in many people’s minds. Why do you choose to make comic accurate herofiles for the community?

I originally decided to share my hero files when Kraven (remember him?) asked me if he could use my hero files that I sent him on his web site. Then I started getting compliments and requests on them, so I figured that as I continued to make them, I would share them with everybody since, at the time, I didn’t skin yet; and I wanted to contribute back to the community somehow.

Dr. Mike’s FFX add-on made many things possible in the FF community, especially when it comes to representing powers not in the basic game. Do you feel like FFX made hero file making easier or more complex?

FFX made it both more complex and easier. Complex because it added more options to try and figure out how to apply them to hero files, but also easier because you could now make them more accurate. Sometimes it was pretty hard to represent certain abilities without FFX.

As mentioned earlier, herofile making seems to be an acquired taste for some people. How do you go about making your own files?

I like to base my hero files around the old Marvel RPG stats using parts of Taskmaster’s conversion charts; that’s how I start my hero files, and after I get a base down, I start researching the characters online, hitting as many sites [as] I can find on them to get as much info as possible, then I locate some comic issues with the characters in them so I can try and get the correct looking fx to match their powers. Then I take them in the game and test them out. But no matter how much info I find on them, there always seems to be something I miss.

I usually reserve this question for pure skinners and meshers, but I see no harm in asking it to you. What is your motivation for skinning a character or making a hero file to represent a particular character?

My motivation for skinning a character is simple: It needs to be Marvel, obscure, and never been skinned before. I enjoy the obscure characters more because to me they are potentially more interesting than a character that has been made 100 times over. Also, If I skin an obscure character, there is a chance that an actual good skinner won’t skin the same character, [therefore] making mine obsolete (*clears throat* AA’s Adam X).

I really don’t have a lot of motivation for making certain hero files. I just wanted to get as many Marvel/DC characters in the game as possible because I enjoy putting together random battles and having a large number of different characters to choose from.

Many have stated it in the past, but FR seems to be a fairly tight-knit group of individuals, no? Is there anyone on the boards that inspires you?

My inspiration for hero files definitely is TaskmasterX; he was the original mass hero file maker. When I make my hero files I use what base tools we have to create them, but Taskmaster practically creates brand new tools and what not to make his as close to the comics as he possibly can.

My original skinning inspirations were Dark Jared, Gryphon, and Courtnall6 — everybody’s skins were based off their work in the beginning. My current ones are Blobula, Laughing Paradox, JKcarrier, and Podmark. I just love their choice of characters and also the way their skins turn out.

I’ve noticed in the past that you seem to play a lot of mods, and you have a certain love of crossover mods, right? What are some mods you’d recommend to others to play when they need a FF fix?

I gotta say my favorite all time mod for FF1 is the Great Hunt. It has a large diversity of characters (major crossovers), great voice acting, and all around story. The Fan4 mod (Fantastic Force) was fun, although not complete. For FFV3R, no doubt its the Crisis: DC/Marvel Alliance mod with its large cast of characters, many missions, and fun levels. The Exiles mod is right behind it.

Everyone knows your specialty seems to lie in herofile creation, but have you ever considered taking on new skills such as fxing or ezscripting?

Most definitely, no doubt about it. If I had the time, EZscripting would be my choice activity. I always dreamed of a way to make a mod where there would be a base story and I could just drag and drop, or copy and paste, characters (hero files) into a mod, and when I was done, slap new characters in there to create a whole new mod (well same story with different characters).

As of the past few months, you seem to be on a hiatus. Do you have any plans to ever return to skinning, skoping, or herofile making?

That’s hard to say; it seems like the longer the hiatus, the harder it is to get back interested in Freedom Force. But winter time is around the corner, which means more “indoor time,” and FF/FFV3R are still the only games I have; so I can see myself getting pulled back in. I still got about 300 characters I need to make hero files for! Now, if I can just get my wife off of this Facebook thing….

And finally, many have found that the skills they’ve gained over the years from their FF activities have found a way to translate into their real lives and jobs. Have you noticed any of your FF skills coming in handy for you outside of the game?

I definitely learned A LOT about computers in general through Freedom Reborn — more than I ever knew before Freedom Force. I also learned to manipulate photos with Photoshop with great enjoyment. I once made a picture of my mother-in-law that…… um… nevermind.

MISC.

As many may know by now, I have a great love for the British hero Psylocke, and I feel like I’d be missing an opportunity if I didn’t ask you what your favorite comic and/or comic character was; so, USAgent, what’s your favorite comic or comic character?

Well, of course, it’s USAgent. I saw a picture of him along side Captain America on a comic cover, and I bought that issue just to see what this “other” Captain America was all about.  Well, I found myself trying to find out everything about the guy, and then found myself just rooting for that character. I had always been a fan of the lesser known mainstream characters, and he fit the bill.

My favorite comics when I collected them were anything Avengers — Avengers/West Coast Avengers plus most of their solo titles like Quasar, Wonderman, Thor, Captain America, Iron Man. But to pick a favorite — West Coast Avengers.

I don’t know if you still collect comics, but this has always been a question of interest for many people. For what reasons did you buy your comics: art, writing, characters, or combination of many attributes?

I don’t buy new comics anymore; I don’t like the direction a lot have gone, but I do still collect comics. I usually buy about 30 comics at a time from Mile High, all the old Avenger and Avenger related titles dating back as far as I can afford, and I keep them all in a drawer under my sink in my bathroom next to my favorite reading spot…..wait a minute…was that too much information?

I originally got into comics when I was about 6 or 7 when my mom purchased Green Lantern and a Avengers [books] for me (back in the 70′s). I got back into them (90′s) when I found out that a number of my close friends also used to collect comics as kids, and we all decided to go to the comic shop just to check things out.

I think everyone has an idea that he/she hopes to see published in one form or another. What would you like to see produced in the near future whether in comics or any other visual media?

I am not sure, but I really liked what Marvel did with those new “motion” Spider-Woman online comics.

Removing ourselves from the comic talk, there are many great books and authors out there, no? What are some of your favorite books or authors out on the market?

I am not a big book reader currently, but one author that sticks in my head is Timothy Zahn. I collected the Star Wars extended universe books when they first came out and remember liking his stories.

There’s a certain quote out there that goes like so: “A world without music is a world I don’t want to live in.” What kind of music would one find in your collection?

Being a product of the 80′s, its all about 80′s rock. Love them hair bands! If they had long hair, face melting guitar solos, and a rockin’ screaming voice (not like the stuff the kids call metal now-a-days), I had it. Def Lepard, Motley Cru, Poison, Anthrax, Quiet Riot, White Snake, Ratt…ect.

Imagine that a bag full of adjectives were in front of you. Reach in and grab three that’d be most likely associated with you.

Skeptical, honest, and relaxed.

If you could travel through time and talk to someone you really admire, who would it be?

Jesus, no doubt about it!

Halloween seems to be a “holiday” where people go crazy with the money. What would be your dream costume or Halloween event?

I don’t know about a dream costume, but last weekend I went to a costume party for adults and went as Lieutenant Jim Dangle from Reno 911, and got first place I might add! (but I don’t know if any of those pics are gonna make it on FR or not :) ).

So what did you all learn about USAgent? I’ll tell you what I did. Not only does he have a LARGE collection of herofiles, but he puts a lot of effort into researching and making his files as accurate as possible. Not only that, he’s a part-time skinner, dressed as Lt. Dangle for Halloween, and loves USAgent more than Captain America. Wow… now we know! If you want to grab USAgent’s herofiles, you can find them here. As for some of his skins, go here and here.