G'day mate. I had the pleasure of speaking to a true veteran of SD who has been pumping out excellent maps for many years. Somehow, he has never been MoTM before! I decided to right this injustice before an army of spiders destroyd everything I love.

Yeebaagooon: Welcome Khan. Please check your surroundings for the presence of a killer spider. Are we safe to continue?
Khan:I am.

Yeebaagooon: So AoM seems to be ageing well. Can you remember first contact?
Khan:All too well haha. My grandparents bought AoM vanilla so that I would have something to do over the holidays when I was staying with them. I really disliked the game - the whole idea of godpowers really bugged me. I couldn't understand how the devs would let something so devastating into the game... being only 13 at the time I obviously didn't think that they would have balanced the god powers lol.

Yeebaagooon: And how did you find yourself becoming part of AoMH?
Khan:Well I had always loved the editor in the Age of series, so naturally I made my way into the AoM editor. I started messing around in there, then I started looking at other maps that I had obtained via ESO. Eventually I craved more, so I went looking online and there I stumbled upon AoMH. A shining beacon for all map editors.

Yeebaagooon: How did you get into RMS scripting?
Khan: I first decided I wanted to learn how to make Random Map Scripts when I saw some of M0nty_Pyth0n's custom random map scripts. They were very similar to scenarios and I was really keen to dive into making more of those. After opening up an RMS and having a looksy I saw that some of the stuff was common sense and easily edited, while other stuff was completely matrix code lol. I contacted M0nty_Pyth0n, Matei and some other's to help me through as the Random Map guides at the time were not very helpful for those that have no programming experience. Anyway it was here that I slowly gained knowledge on how to program, I had no idea back then that I would be learning the skills to get me through university. I also forged a close friendship with Mythic_Freak something that I would have definitely missed if I didn't start programming in AoM. After a couple of years I made the venture into trigger code, by this time I had experience in PHP and Java and many years of AoM experience so it came to me pretty quickly. I think my main goal at the moment is just to make triggers, RM's and programs that the community wants or uses.

Yeebaagooon: You have a long standing history of designing indeed. What have been your main highights?
Khan: I actually feel like I haven't really created much to be proud of. I have several unfinished products just like many of the scenario designers at AoMH. I guess The Pirates Life or the Smite of Winter are my personal favourites, I still play The Pirates Life every now and then when I get cold and lonely. Most of my multiplayer maps have been total disasters, so I tend to stay away from them lol. So my main highlights would be making those maps and meeting the community in AoMH - like when you actually connect with some of the users, that's definitley the best

Yeebaagooon: So speaking of the other uses, what has befallen of Steak?
Khan: Steak, ah
Well it was AoM that actually bought Steak and myself together. We we're good friends for many years. Turns out good friends don't make good partners, after a while we ended it - somewhat badly and to be honest I haven't seen her for almost a year now. Bad times. I'm not sure what she's doing now, last I heard she graduated from university and got a job, I'm not sure where.

Yeebaagooon: I'm sad to hear that . You also enjoyed being lord of the official review team while it was alive. How did you find the experience as a whole?
Khan: Hahaha, overwhelming! I was much too young at the time, I lacked the leadership and experience to really be the head. Although leading people that aren't getting paid is always tough. If I was this age and was leader I think things would have been very different. It was a lot of fun though, and I met a lot of people and played so many maps! Moderating the DL section was loads of fun though, while it was tough staying on top of bad reviews I met a whole different world of people. People that would never make the dive into the forums. I never did hit 100 Reviews though, I still feel I cheated myself there.

Yeebaagooon: 4 to go I believe. Should be plenty of opportunity to hit 100 now .
So where do you see AoM going now we have AoM:EE?
Khan: For the moment, nowhere I feel that it will be some time before any real change or step forward happens. I feel that balancing patches will be the next thing that MS brings out. Or maybe a modding tool. In terms of scenario design, and all of the XS coding - I think it will be a while before anything comes; if ever.

For AoMH it can only bring good news! new faces, more hits, more activity. I feel that many of the old designers will be making maps again and I am very eager to play them. Already we have Zeno with Smashball, yourself with Tower Defence Battles, rjs23 bringing out a new tool for RMS dev, nottud is back and so is Mythic_Freak - times are good

Yeebaagooon: How do you cope in Australia where pretty much every animal can kill you?
Khan: It keeps life interesting
I guess though if you are born here you are just used to it. You know which spiders can kill you by looking at them, which ones can kill you but can't bite you, which spiders kill other spiders and so on. Spiders and snakes are just things that are around, like sticks and stones - don't play with them and you'll be fine lol. I must admit I am a little attached to just how badass our wildlife is, every now and then I hear on the news about how some teenagers where abusing a Koala or a Possum and then they end up getting their face scratched apart (karma haha). I feel like this is natures way of telling Aussies to simmer down. I think if I ever saw a Bear or a Wolf I would definitely be scared, everything in Australia just wants to be left alone - wildlife from around the world seeks you out! That's scary haha.

Yeebaagooon: And how about the nice things like beaches?
Khan: The beaches are nice! No matter where you go in Australia there's always a beach nearby. Probably because there is nothing worth mentioning inland. Most Australians can't surf however, I feel like this is a common misconception. I can't surf and I think I only know maybe 10 people that can. I think I also take the beach for granted as going to beach is just something to do - and most of the time I'd rather play sport or watch a movie or hit the pub first .

Yeebaagooon: Excellent. Any closing remarks?
Khan: Just that yourself, DragonQ and Elrich are doing a great job at AoMH and I hope you guys continue to keep it going for as long as members are active