Journals

2 HL1 maps and 1 HL2 map on the way... mayby i should do one 1st...

Goin' away for a week or two.

Behave.

Examples of my work:

http://hosted.hostilezone.net/tycell/

First entry: Just abusing this space to keep some notes (And for reference of others).

The idea is this: A TWHL community project called (temporarily for now) 'Space Station TWHL' - The simple idea is that the organiser of the project creates 2 airlocks in Hammer, an enter and an exit, then when people sign up they get given a map name, like (again an example) TWHLSS_1 When enough people have signed (my original plan was for 10, more are welcome) the organiser distributes the airlock enter and exit points. Then each mapper can make whatever he / she wants.

Now, although the airlocks are based in a space station, the map they make, doesnt have to be, they can use a teleporter to take the player wherever they like and make any enviroment, so long as they come back to the exit airlock at the end. This way its just like "I have an idea" but everyone does the work at the same time. Then when all maps are done they get handed back to the organiser and because of the airlocks, they all fit together very easily. Volla.

Hell, that was a good holiday. Merry christmas and a happy new year!

I have decided to start mapping for source but can`t decide what to make...It will be HL2 for sure.

Shortly after Muzzle got his HLDM server, we chatted about it a bit and he asked me to do a map for it. I decided it would be a fun thing to do in this stressfull time, so I put together a map in a quick 5 hours. I used some style elements of an unfinished map I once made for the machinery compo (which was going to be called Pumpworkz) and textures from my never-finished map Sector Gamma (which I also used in The Playtest).

Anyway, here are some screenshots of Trirena:

1. One of the two small inside arena's
2. A shot of the RPG tower
3. The harbour as seen from the RPG towers lowest part

You can check out the map here. It's also in the current rotation of Muzzle's server, so you can check it out in action as well. Have fun!

im sorry i cant finish my unfinish singel player map : . i have lost my .map file

http://twhl.co.za/mapvault_map.php?id=3482

Hello Luke! This is your 3100th login.

It was just one of those interesting days, when my patients seem to share all the same interests as me.

I saw a high school football player this morning, and he was seeking advise on weight lifting and supplements. About an hour later, this sixteen year old boy was talking up a storm about World of Warcraft. He spends more than eight hours a day playing WoW.

Ahh, de_syrinx is finally released. check it out Here.

I've recently added some music to my library, and if you wanna check it out it is free.
Nikkfurie de la Caution. they are a french rap duo, but they have a really cool techno song, which you may recognize from the Ocean's 12 "Laser Dance."
(Download it Here. Second band from the bottom)
Project X. These guys re-made some Megaman tracks, and they sound very good.

I have undergone a radical re-thinking of my own personal mapping philosophy, one that I wanted to share with you all. At a recent LAN party, I witnessed a depressing series of events that made me question the purpose and value of mapping for Half-Life 2:

1. Ichthyosaur's map, based on Stargate series, attracted players totalling a maximum of 4 out of the 11 computers that were capable running HL2 at peak times. The rest played Unreal Tournament.

2. My own map, which I had slaved over for hours upon hours despite the Hammer AppID error of last week, was not played at all.

3. The two people who wanted to play Counter-Strike Source couldn't get a LAN game going because no one else felt confident enough to play (based on previous losses online).

4. Unreal Tournament and StarCraft beat out HL2 for total playtime by a long shot. Even the GameCube hooked up in a separate room attracted more enthusiasm (although no offense to the GC, I love mine to pieces).

I began to question: what is wrong with HL2 and our maps that no one wants to play on them? The answer occurred to me after a while: a combination of thematic inaccessibility and unbalanced gameplay mechanics with the added over-emphasis on graphical excess/accuracy crippled our maps' playability and appeal. The reason more people were attracted to UT comes from the fact that that game is more of a sport, where everyone starts on a relatively level playing field, and where no player is given an overly biased advantage (even newbies overthrew the more advanced players in large groups). The UT maps are also highly conducive to fast-paced yet enjoyable gameplay, and "party game" comes immediately to mind - something that also reminded me of the SSBM tournaments that were going on with the GameCube in the background.

With this in mind, I decided to completely change my mapping philosophy. Multiplayer maps that are just a mish-mash of separate projects do not work; moreover, they produce unbearable lag (such as my second castle level did when combined with my pirate ship, chapel and skyscrapers) that hinders the fluidity of the experience. My new multiplayer maps are being designed from the ground up to enable fair, balanced gameplay across all skill levels. I also will address the unpleasantness of being a player of lesser skill than others in a given battle. I was displeased to have personally been slaughtered despite having tried my best, and after a while, it simply wasn't fun - the whole point of playing the game. What multiplayer levels need are novice-geared handles; that is to say, features within the map that can help newer players turn the tide against higher skilled players while still being fair to everyone.

I personally vow to make all future maps with these aforementioned concerns as my chief considerations, and I implore everyone who makes multiplayer maps to take them to heart when you load up Hammer next time, for the betterment of the HL2 experience of everyone that your work reaches.

Hello ZeG! This is your 800th login. A true TWHLer!

Hello BrattyLord! This is your 2300th login.

oh, and Happy New Year!

Maybe it's about time I write another entry.

I don't map anymore.
I don't have time for it.
I'm in the army.
I intend to study after I get out.

Thanks for reading, but don't pay too much attention to the ramblings of an old man.