So I’ve come to the end of the Coagula project. The map didn’t turn out to be what I wanted it to be but at the same time it surprised me. The gameplay turned out to be pretty fun in spots. It’s always amusing when the id monsters can surprise you in some way after a decade of fighting them.
I’ll post a link to download the pack once it’s ready for public consumption!
Now to get back to ToeTag coding…
I had an interesting idea pop into my head the other day and I haven’t been able to let it go. Imagine a web site, like Google docs, where you could make Quake levels. Web applications are getting pretty damned complex these days and a Quake editor isn’t really all that demanding in terms of user input. Click, drag, copy, paste, etc. That’s all supported at this point.
So you log into the site and click a map name. You’re then thrown into the editor and off you go. You could work on your levels from anywhere you had access to a web browser and you wouldn’t have to worry about anything being on the local machine other than a working mouse and keyboard.
Of course, compiling the maps would be an issue. I suppose the compiling could take place on the server and then the results could be copied into whichever local directory you specify in your site profile. So running the game would require a local Quake install but not editing.
You could even turn it into a social experiment where people could make maps public instead of private, meaning that anyone who logs into the site can work on that level. If you did it right, they could even be editing it at the same time.
This would lead to community/team based speed mapping events.
I’m not sure this would ever get off the ground and I certainly don’t have the technical means to do it – but it won’t get out of my head so I’m purging it here!
Not much going on so I figure I’ll post some shots of my Coagula map. I’ve breached the 500 brush mark now. These are shots of the opening area which is basically complete, geometry wise. No real gameplay yet though.
I like the change in mindset on this level. Whenever I’m building something I have a sub-process running in the back of my head which is always scanning and looking for ways to build things with fewer brushes and pattern matching to find brushes that I could merge into a single brush. Conservation is key!
This is something I’ve been hacking on during my xmas/ny break. It might see the light of day eventually!
I like the new XBox update quite a bit. The avatar bit is a little stupid but some of the features are great! The Netflix streaming is a mega win and being able to install games on the hard drive is a super mega ultra win. I played Fallout this morning … in silence. It was glorious! I could hear everything going on in the game right down to the smallest audio cue. Suck it loud ass DVD drive!
In other news, I finally took part in a speed mapping event. The levels will be released in a pack on Monday so I’ll post a note here when that happens. Speed mapping was fun! You don’t really have time to fuss too much with textures or lighting, you just have to come up with scenarios involving the theme. This time around it was “Don’t touch that!”. My map is a fairly literal interpretation on that theme but it was my first time so give me time to get creative. 
I leave you with my NXE avatar…
“A biohazard outbreak at this facility has left the former occupants in a bad way. Enforcers have been sent in to clean up the mess but don’t get in their way. They aren’t on your side and will attempt to clean you up as well.”
This level was an extension of an idea that I had about creating a Quake level in an abstract way. Keep the usual shapes but take away the textures. I like how it turned out and it was great fun to experiment with using color in a much stronger way than is normally done in a Quake level.
This level is being released as a mod because I wrote a bunch of QuakeC to support it. To play it:
1) Create a directory in your Quake directory called “whiteroom”
2) Copy the “progs.dat” and “maps” directory inside the ZIP into that new directory.
3) Start Quake with the command line: “-game whiteroom +map whiteroom”
That should do it! Here are the downloads:
Player Pack
(contains the level and the associated progs.dat)
Developer Pack
(contains the source materials – the map source, the QuakeC source code and the WAD)
Enjoy!
I’ve been sort of quiet since posting my abstract screen shot awhile back. I honestly didn’t know where I wanted the level to go but it finally came to me. So this level should indeed see the light of day. I’ve added a bunch of code support so this level will come in the form of a mod. I’ve written a bunch of QuakeC to make my life easier and the level cooler so I hope people like it! For something visual, here’s a shot from the 2D viewport. Not done yet, but getting there:
Not sure when it’ll be done but safe to say it shouldn’t be too long.
So I started a new Quake level, mainly to test out a concept I’ve been tossing around in my head. I wanted to do sort of an abstracted level. Keep the same sort of shapes that we’re used to seeing in a Quake level but dress it up in a way that’s striking and interesting. Here’s what I’ve got so far:
This is requiring a lot of custom texture work (you don’t see it all here, of course, there are some surprises that I’m holding back). It’s fun! But a lot of work at the same time.
I’ve been making levels for years now and I’ve come to a realization. I like to listen to music while I work and I’ve arrived at what I believe is the best level design music.
Slayer.
There, I said it. Their music is loud, brutal, and filled with the sort of driving energy you need to kick your creative brain out of bed and get things moving. The drums alone are enough to do it for me (nobody pounds out double bass like Lombardo) but add in the vocals and guitars and we’re home.
Whenever I’m feeling creatively drained, I double click on “Disciple”, “Payback”, “Raining Blood” or “Behind the Crooked Cross” and just let things take their natural course.
I used to think that Venom was the ideal level design music but I’m switching to Slayer.
Looks like “Payback” is up next. Gotta get back to work…
For my own piece of mind – I’m going to
Tear your fucking eyes out
Rip your fucking flesh off
Beat you till you’re just a fucking lifeless carcass
Fuck you and your progress
Watch me fucking regress
You were meant to take the fall – now you’re nothing
Payback’s a bitch motherfucker
And yet another limit is hit. I’ve apparently used too many textures.
This typically isn’t a problem when it first happens as you generally have a ton of textures in the map that look pretty similar to each other so eliminating the duplicates is quick and painless. After the 2nd or 3rd time, however, it gets a little more brutal. Do I REALLY need that light variation? Does that wall really need to be split to include that extra panel variant?
Such is the life of the level designer. A life filled with choices that make things less pretty.