gtkRadiant Tip of the Moment

Monday, March 3rd, 2003

Black-Tide is looking for help
Black-Tide Studios, are currently looking for volunteers to help out with a commercial game. Full credit and some financial incentives offered. The game is set in medievil time and uses the RTCW engine - they are seeking some good mappers and interested parties should send an email to game@itspecific.co.uk with the subject header "details" - project coordinator can be reached on info@cloakers.co.uk

Monday, November 18th, 2002

Tunnleram releases his map
Fellow mapper and friend from TramDesign released his map "The Interception" today. This is a fun map that's been in the works for a long time. Tunnleram released one of the first custom maps ever created for wolf (actually I think it was THE first map). It's about damn time he got around to releasing his second!

Monday, November 18th, 2002

SE Map Files
Over the months I've gotten a lot of requests for the .map files for my maps. I've normally said no, well, now I'm saying "yes". You can download my source .map files for se_bunker and se_mtn_assault here. And, in case you're wondering, I've pretty much stopped mapping for wolf. It just started to feel like something I was obligated to do, not something I enjoyed doing. A couple weeks ago I had a machine snafu and accidently deleted my games directory, this included my install of wolfenstein and radiant. As of today, I still haven't bothered reinstalling either of them. I'll still be hanging out in the community, offering what help and advice I can though.

Wednesday, November 13th, 2002

What's going on? Why no diary updates?
Just thought I get an update posted. As you've likely noticed, there haven't been any diary updates in a while. Well, I'm not really sure where there will be any. I'm finding that I'm just not motivated to map and have other things I'd rather be doing. In fact, mapping isn't even really fun for me at the moment, its become more of a "job". So, I've decided to simply stop mapping for a bit. This isn't to say that I'm done with wolf and I'm checking out of the wolf community, that's not the case. I just simply don't plan on mapping anytime soon. That could change at any time, but for now, that's how I feel.

Friday, October 18th, 2002

Updated the diary
After a few days off, I've added a new diary entry.

Friday, October 18th, 2002

Updated the diary
Added today's diary. I'm going to start doing something new today. I'm starting a thread in the Wolfenstein forums over on Tram Design. This will allow you to ask me any questions you have about what I've done or even make suggestions if you want. I'm hoping that this will evolve into a good general discussion on mapping.

If you don't have an account with Tram Design, you're going to have to create one. I know that having to create an account can be a pain but we've found that it helps keep the forums a much nicer place to hang out.

Thursday, October 17th, 2002

Updated the diary
Added today's diary. I'm not going to necessarily add a news item each time I update the diary so if you visit the site each day, and you're not on the email list for notification of diary updates, be sure to check the menu to the left to see if there is a new diary update.

Tuesday, October 15th, 2002

Updated the diary
Added today's diary.

Monday, October 14th, 2002

Updated the diary
Added today's diary.

Friday, October 11th, 2002

Updated the diary
Added today's diary. By the way, be sure to check the diary throughout the day because I update it more than once during the day but don't necessarily post a news item about it.

Thursday, October 10th, 2002

Updated the diary
I've started updating the diary today. I'm going to attempt to update it throughout the day instead of all at once. This will hopefully give a better glimps to my thought process instead of me simply showing a finished product at the end of the day.

Added the pictures to the diary
I've added the pictures I mentioned in the mapper's diary. Check them out here.

Wednesday, October 9th, 2002

SE Map Pack fix has been released!
The fix for the SE Map Pack has just been released. This patch will resolve the major issues with bunker, mtn_assault and mitchell down (scroll down for a complete list of issues that were fixed). Get the file here.

Simply extract the PK3 file from the zip and put it in your main directory. You must have the original se map pack (mp_se_pak.pk3) installed for this fix to work. Also, be sure to read the readme. And thanks to Kitty Carnage for help with testing!

SE Map Pack Fix in Testing
The patch for the SE Map Pack went into testing last night. Assuming the testing goes well, I expect the pack will be released this afternoon.

Starting something new today: The Mapper's Diary
Going to try and start something new today. I'm going to attempt to document everything I do from the start to the finish of a map. I can't promise that I will make it to the end since I've been telling myself that I was going to stop mapping for wolf since I finished the original Mountain Assault. But, Rummie talked me into redoing bunker for this map pack and now I've got this hankering to do a new map from an idea that's been floating in my head lately. So, we'll see how this goes. You can check out the first installment here.

Tuesday, October 8th, 2002

Update to Newbie FAQ
I've updated the Compiling & Running page of the Newbie Faq. This update reflects the compiler options that have changed between q3map 1.x and q3map 2.3.

Monday, October 7th, 2002

Update to the Special Edition Map Pack Coming Soon
So far there are been a very good and positive response to the map pack! However, it appears that a couple annoying bugs slipped into the final release. Because of the significant impact on gameplay, Rummie & I will be releasing an update. The update will include the following fixes:
Bunker

• Fix allied forward spawn problem
• Added team_wolf_objectives for all spawn points (so you can choose your spawn point)
• Fixed location of crates in vault room so players can no longer get stuck between the crate and the wall
• Fixed a minor missing texture

Mountain Assault

• Fixed allied forward spawn
• Added team_wolf_objectives for all spawn points
• Fixed the deadly, crushing switch from hell!

Mitchell Down

• Fixed falling axis spawn
• Fixed missing terrain texture
• Fixed missing railing texture

We expect to release a fix that will contain just those 3 maps within the next couple days - possibly as soon as tomorrow afternoon. The above maps will be renamed to XXXX_v2.bsp (i.e. se_bunker.bsp ==> se_bunker_v2.bsp). We will not be including all the other files (textures, video, shaders, etc). This means you should keep the original version (mp_se_pak.pk3) and simply add the update (mp_se_pak_v2.pk3) to your main directory. This should ensure that you will be able play any map (old or new) that is on a server running the Special Edition map pack.

Saturday, October 5th, 2002

Special Edition Map Pack Released
Rummie & I have released the "Special Edition" map pack that includes our previous maps rebuilt, redesigned and repackaged. Get the pack at any of these locations:
File Planet
RTCW Files
RTCW Central
Team Timelord

You can find a list of servers that should be running the pack here

I just want to say thanks to everyone that supported us, and to the server admins that are running the map pack. Rummie & I really hope you enjoy it!

Thursday, October 3rd, 2002

New Tutorial Added
I've added a new tutorial that explains how to convert terrain from the old vertix lit method to the newer (and much nicer) lightmapped terrain method. That can be found here.

News on the map pack
The map pack is very, very close to being released.

Monday, September 16th, 2002

OK, Clarification Time
A couple folks have taken exception to my use of the word "exclusive" when I was talking about running the map pack. Just to be clear, if you don't want to run the map pack exclusively, you don't have to. My thinking when I added the word "exclusive" was that if the map pack was being run exclusively that players would not be booted due to not having a map that comes up in rotation. From what I've seen, this is an issue with custom servers and I was trying to think of a way to help solve that problem.

So, again, if you don't want to run it exclusively, don't. You don't even have to run our maps in the order we specify, nor do you have to run them consecutively, although we highly recommend it.

To those that simply asked for clarification on my meaning, thanks for being mature and asking for additional information and clarification, I hope this clears things up. To those that went off the deep end, seek some counseling.

Friday, September 13th, 2002

ATTENTION Server Administrators
Rummie and I have a deal for you - Host our Special Edition Map Pack and get perks

As some of you know we are getting ready to release 4 special edition maps. These maps are balanced, high performance, heavily scripted maps and we hope they raise the bar on Wolf MP. The 4 maps are played in order, to tell a story. Each has it's own unique objectives and scripted actions - from triggered air attacks to interactive garage doors. These maps have been tweaked and tweaked again to provide the best possible playing atmosphere for intense MP games. We are including a recommended server configuration file that will give your server the most balanced games in the correct order. We will be releasing these maps within 2 weeks.

Let me get to the deal - We all know there are a bunch of custom maps out there - most of which never get played. We don't want that to happen to this map pack, because, quite frankly, we feel these maps ARE some of the best customs out for RTCW and they WILL set a new standard for interactive scripting. Due to this we are offering the following:

• Emailed updates of probable release date
• you will be able to download the maps BEFORE they are offered for public consumption on the day of release
• your server could have the opportunity to be one of the beta test servers for maps that will be add-ons to this map pack (this will be based on many factors not listed here)
• Emailed updates of future special edition maps
• Your server web page will be linked from the following high traffic web sites Rummie's Maps and nib's Mapper Resource Center

In return we ask the you have a dedicated server that runs our maps exclusively, supports a minimum of 14 people and that you run our map pack in the recommended order.

We are pushing this map pack for a lot of reasons, predominantly that we feel Wolf is taking a nose dive and we don't want that to happen if we can help it. If you are interested, please email us with the subject of "SE SERVER".

Thank you for your time.

Tuesday, September 10th, 2002

New Special Edition Teaser Movie
There is a new teaser movie featuring the initial 4 maps to be included in the Special Edition Map Pack that Rummie and I are working on. The map pack will include Airstrip, The Bunker, Mitchell Down and Mountain Assault.
This teaser video is top-notch so be sure to check it out. If you have a decent connection to the net I recommend you get the hi-res version, it is worth it!
Hi-Res AVI (37 Megs)
Regular AVI (15 Megs)
Regular Quicktime (15 Megs)

Tuesday, September 3rd, 2002

New SE:Bunker screenshots!
I've finally gotten around to posting some new screenshots of SE:Bunker. These shots give you a feel for what the inside will be like, you'll notice that it has a very different feel than the original. I still have some more detail to add and I need to increase the lighting a bit but the map is mostly done.

Wednesday, July 31st, 2002

First screenshots of the SE:Bunker
Posted some alpha screenshots of the new Special Edition:Bunker map that I'm working on. Those of you that have played on the original bunker will notice the fact that the outside is 100% different. Expect the inside changes to be just as radical.

Tuesday, July 2nd, 2002

Help with a Mountain Assault problem
Some folks have been having problems running the new Mountain Assault map. Be sure to remove the old beta (mtn_assault_beta.pk3) from your main directory. This will solve your problem.

Saturday, June 29th, 2002

New Custom Map Pack in the works
You have now all seen or heard of Mitchell Down, The Bunker, Airstrip 2, Mountain Assault, and The Philadelphia Experiment. Some of you loved these maps, some of you didn't. All of the maps have certain "problems", things that were just not quite right. For example, Mitchell Down has performance issues and The Bunker is just one big dirt map while Airstrip 2 is just old and dark. No doubt many of you have played these maps, and some of you think they are great the way they are. We beg to differ. With each map we created we learned things, we made better maps each time. Maps that were bigger and had more detail. Yet each map is still not completely polished and some were just never polished up like the official maps.

Have you ever wondered how much more fun Mitchell Down would be if you got twice the FPS you currently get? Have you ever wondered how much more enjoyable firefights would be in The Bunker if it wasn't just dark dirt textures all over? Or what about being able to actually see people in Airstrip 2? You are about to get your wish.

We are currently working on revising all of these maps. The enhancements will be better performance, more detail, more eye candy and better lighting effects. Much of the maps will remain the same, yet they will be like brand new maps with all the improvements. The maps will be released in a map pack with a story that leads from one map to the other. We will be including a suggested server rotation for admins so that a server can set up MP campaigns on the new maps with each one leading into the other.

As soon as we get more details we will post them. The Special Edition map pack will be available as soon as we are satisfied with the new changes.

Rummie & Nib

Sunday, June 23th, 2002

Mountain Assault Released!
Mountain Assault has finally been released! Check out the Mountain Assault page for more information or download it here.

Tuesday, June 18th, 2002

Teaser avi for Mountain Assault
Thanks to Rummie there is a new teaser video for my upcoming map, Mountain Assault. The clip is only about 7.5 megs so start downloading! Thanks Rummie!