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The world of antitrust is reminiscent of Alice's Wonderland: everything seemingly is, yet apparently isn't, simultaneously.
June 26th, 1998
Tetrisn't [7:00pm PDT]
In a random comment, TyR (of TF2 acclaim) gave me a wacky idea: A deathmatch level that is like a tetris game (vaguely) in reverse - Tetrisn't. I made up a quick version in about 20 minutes. It's got 4 DM starts in it. I haven't had time to test it out that much. Heck, it's not even QRAD'd (tho I'm not sure if it needs it). Here's some stats:
  • made for 4 (or so) players
  • it's a single room, 1024L x 1024W x 1536H (yeah, hehe, 1 big room) filled with a bunch of rising platforms.
  • players start with a rocket launcher and shotgun, ssg's are available in the main room.
  • no health! >:)

So, uh...yeah. :) It's very minimalistic ... no detail, no lighting, and the textures have all been stretched by a scale of 10000 (gives a "flat" look and eliminates bsp splits ... er ... i think). Anyway, for 20 minutes work, there's not alot to look at, but things are working enough to get a 4 player game going. What I'm looking for is opinions: Is it a good idea? Is it dumb? Bad choice of weapons? Need health? Game is too fast? Too slow? Anything. :) And for god's sake, don't judge my design ability on this!!! :) It was done VERY quickly as a test only.

The Houdini Act (or something) [7:00pm PDT]
I'm pulling a disappearing act this weekend (and next week) (er, and part of next weekend). When I get back, I should have some cool stuff to post. I've got some new prefabs, a MupMapMod FGD, and hopefully the FGD utility. Should make for some cool stuff. :) The WC 2.0 suggestion stuff has slowed down alot, so I'm going to wait until I get back to post the remainder of the suggestions.

Have a good weekend, and week, and weekend. :)

-autolycus
June 24th, 1998
FGD!@# [6:00pm PDT]
This...is...cool! Anyone who wants to do a little FGD modification/creation will find an upcoming tool (programmed by Chris "Cray" McArthur) invaluable!

click above for larger versions

Sorry, this is just a teaser, but the utility should be available soon.

-autolycus
June 23rd, 1998
Crack Editorial [1:00p PDT]
I have written an "editorial is in response to Fargo's editorial "Add On Packs: Pro or Con?" ... [In it] I assert that his statements are based on inaccurate poll results, his market split theory is wrong, and his suggested solutions are economically unsound." Feel free to send me opinions, thoughts, cookie recipes, whatever...

-autolycus
June 21st, 1998
Quake II Level Editing [10:10am PDT]
PC Games has posted an article on Quake II level design. As a bonus, all the descriptions are based around Worldcraft, so things should sound familiar. User Suggestions [10:00am PDT]
Ok, I let a bunch of suggestions build up to make a larger update, and...well...alot of what i got is already covered, or is already a part of Worldcraft (either in 1.5b/1.6, or in 2.0). If I haven't listed your suggestions, its either for that reason, or I saw something wrong with it. Alot of what I left out was good but very very specific, and did not lend itself well to extendability. Other things, like adding pak'ing support and texture creation and modification, simply did not fit into Worldcraft's plan. It is a map editor first and foremost, and Valve is not going to have time to extend into branching areas. (I think I'd rather see them improve the mapping functions anyway, wouldnt you?) That said, I *do* think that it would be cool to have easy access to the other programs (texture, pak, etc) from within Worldcraft, which is why noe of the suggestions I added was for a configurable "External Programs" menu.

Again, things to not send in: Suggestions for adding Half-Life support (I thought that would be a no-brainer), suggestions to fix bugs (*we* aren't calling them feature anomalies hehe), suggestions to make it more like <insert other editor here> or more like <professional 3D design program here> - please be quite specific and concise (unlike this here post heh)

So, if you think you have a leetass idea, check out the list. If its not there, send it in! :) ... even if i dont post your particular suggestion, i may combine parts of it with other suggestions, etc, etc blah blah. Ok, I'm done.

-autolycus
June 15th, 1998
User Suggestions [10:00am PDT]
Well, the suggestions are slowing down quite a bit. Here's a few tips if you want to send in suggestions:
  • Check out what's on the list already, this isn't a poll, multiple entrys dont "win" or anything
  • Be a bit familiar with Worldcraft, or at least be sure that Worldcraft doesn't have the option you're suggesting. I've been getting alot of suggestions for things that are already implemented: face-splitting (in vertex mode, select two opposing edges, hit Ctrl-F), full brush selection in Texture Application mode (hold shift while clicking on a face), and various other things.
  • Don't suggest that this or that bug be fixed. Of course they'll be trying to kill as many bugs as possible.
  • As mentioned on the page, there's no guarantee that any of this will get implemented. It all depends on how much time they can alot to Worldcraft development. All I can guarantee is that they'll see the suggestions.
I think I'm going to have to split the suggestion page up into sections. It's a tad unwieldy as it is. -autolycus
June 14th, 1998
User Suggestions [10:45am PDT]
Wow! Been getting some great suggestions! I'm going to try to update the suggestion page each morning. I should say right now that I am doing this on my own with no involvement from Valve, so there is no guarantee that any of this will see the light of day. However, I *can* guarantee that they will see it, and you will be heard, dabnabit! =) -autolycus
June 13th, 1998
Editor Wars? [1:50pm PDT]
Every once in a while I get asked what I think is the best editor. Actually, I get asked often enough to have come up with a stock answer:
I tend to stay out of editor wars, but ... the way i see it, the editor (be it wc, bsp, qer, qoole, etc) is a tool. Now, do you judge a carpenter or mechanic by the brand of his tools, or by the quality of his work? If you want to go by quality, then the actual tool doesnt matter as long as it allows you to get the job done with relative ease in a manner you are comfortable with. Since not everyone is going to be comfortable with the same thing, when someone states that one editor is better than another, they are in error. They can only base their judgement on their own personal likes and dislikes. As always, I suggest people try all available editors.

QBSP3 and QVIS3, revisited [11:30am PDT]
Remember that article you read a few days back about QBSP3 and QVIS3 and hint brushes? (You did read that, right?) Well, it's been updated with more info. All perspiring and aspiring map heads should check it out.

Worldcraft 2.0 - What do you want?? [11:30am PDT]
I've decided to do a little non-official trolling for your opinion on what features you'd find valuable in Worldcraft 2.0. I've setup a Worldcraft 2.0 suggestion page so you can look over what other people have suggested as well. (I'll also be making a link to it available on the main Intro page).

-autolycus
June 11th, 1998
Where's Wally? [11:00am PDT]
Neal White III dropped me some email this morning to tell me that public beta 1.09 of Wally is now available for download. Among the new features added are: a line tool, a poly-line tool, and a ray-line tool. (Apparently the ray-line tool is especially good when coupled with mind altering substances).

If you're not familiar with Wally, its an especially leet-ass quake2 texture editor. Support for the other Quake2 based games is also planned, and even non-Quake2 based games, so this is definitely something to check out.

-autolycus
June 10th, 1998
Worldcraft 2.0 - a coded message?? [4:00pm PDT]
Earlier today I received what appears to be a coded message in relation to Worldcraft 2.0.
I got your smooth. Right here.

I will serve you cooked pheasant with succulent gravy and white wine. I will serve you hand and foot. I will serve you on a soft, silk table-cloth that has been freshly laundered and purchased from the finest table-cloth store in all of creation. It will be the most spectacular dinner you have ever consumed.

There will also be corn served.

- Smoove B

Wow, that's smooth! But...what could it mean?? Time will tell...

The Reckoning FGD - update² [1:00pm PDT]
(note: Dan sent me a bit more info about the reckoning entities and i was able to fix a couple entity bounding box size problems as well as add a few missed keyvalues. If you've downloaded the FGD, make sure it was in the zip named reckoning-0610a-fgd.zip. The 0610a is the important part there.)

Daniel Koppel from Xatrix dropped me some email letting me know that there was a missing entity - key_green_key. So, if you're making maps with Worldcraft for The Reckoning, you'll want to get this newer version of the FGD.

Thanks Dan!!

-autolycus
June 7th, 1998
QBSP3 and QVIS3 and Hint Brushes Demystified [11:00am PDT]
Steven Boswell (certainly insane, judging by the following :) has completely ripped apart qbsp3 and qvis3 in an effort to understand their inner workings. He's written a very indepth and informative article explaining how and why the tools do what they do, and what techniques you can use to optimize your maps for fast compile times and fast gameplay. A large portion of the article is dedicated to explaining the proper use of hint brushes, and several example maps are included. I encourage everyone who didn't originally program these tools (hehe) to read this article.

-autolycus
June 6th, 1998
Valve/TFS interview stuff
There was a bigass interview with some of the Valve and Team Fortresss 2 crew on Undernet #half-life yesterday. There is a log of it available. If you're not in the mood to read an irrelvant rant, go away now.

<RANT>

I don't want to get off on a rant here, but...what the hell is up with the m4d hAx0r n3wk0r nuking everyone at the interview. Like, everyone is going to think "Oh my god that guy must have a big dick!" ... This is no place to compensate for a small penis and a smaller intellect ok? Ooooooo...you can make my computer crash. I'm sooooooooooo impressed. Well, keep practicing pushing buttons, because when i take time out of my busy schedule of actually leading a productive life doing something i bloody well enjoy to go down to McDonalds, I expect you to be pushing the buttons as fast as possible to make my cheese burger. And at the end of your day, when you're all greasy with hamburger sweat, think to yourself, "I am one 31337 m0f0 hAx0r, I r00l d00d." Yeah, just keep telling yourself that, and maybe, just maybe, you'll be able to postpone the realization that you are a pathetic little zero.

</RANT>

Ah, now i see why Dennis Miller does that. I feel sooo much better.

-autolycus
June 1st, 1998
Quake II, The Reckoning [4:00pm PDT]
Worldcraft support for Quake II, The Reckoning (the first Quake II mission pack, by Xatrix) is now available. The new entities in this FGD are:
  • ammo_magslug
  • ammo_trap
  • func_object_repair
  • item_quadfire
  • misc_amb4
  • misc_crashviper
  • misc_nuke
  • misc_transport
  • misc_viper_missile
  • monster_boss5
  • monster_chick_heat
  • monster_fixbot
  • monster_gekk
  • monster_gladb
  • monster_soldier_hypergun
  • monster_soldier_lasergun
  • monster_soldier_ripper
  • rotating_light
  • target_mal_laser
  • weapon_boomer
  • weapon_phalanx

The Quake2 Workshop has more information on the entities. To use this FGD, place the file in the Worldcraft directory, then create a new game configuration using it. (Worldcraft 1.6+ required) This should be considered a beta version of this FGD, as I don't have a copy of the mission pack yet, and am unable to test it myself. All feedback is appreciated. If the file is not yet mirrored, have patience, it will be within the hour.

-autolycus
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