So hey. Uhhh... it's been a while, hasn't it? My bad... ummm....
I haven't really been working on anything. Sorry. But that doesn't mean I haven't been thinking about it. Here's what I'm thinking is going to happen. Because Left 4 Dead 2 is so close, I'm thinking about taking the update for Bite Size and simply releasing it for L4D2 as opposed to L4D. There are a couple reasons for this.
I get to avoid version confusion. If there's one thing I hate, it's putting out updates to what I thought was a finished map. Even though L4D's system makes it easier, it still isn't perfect.
I'm looking to implement the new Scavenger mode. Obviously I haven't played it, but from what I've read it seems like it will work in the map. This isn't a definite, but it will give players a little more incentive to download the map again.
I'm still not sure exactly how I'm going to go about branding the update. Because it's for a new game, it's not technically an update anymore... but it also isn't a new map. But players need some way of knowing the difference. So do I call it bedrooms3: Bite Size 2? bedrooms3: Bite Size Remix? I don't know. If you have suggestions, let me know.
Other than that, I sadly don't have anything else planned. I have played around with the Fallout 3 GECK and made a personal companion, but other than that I don't think it's something I'll take seriously. So right now I am pretty much without direction. Once I determine where I want to go, I'll be sure to post it here.
(Brace yourself for the longest update EVER)
As of writing this, bedrooms3: Bite Size has been downloaded almost 5,000 times. And that doesn't include the other map hosting sites where people can get it. More importantly, though, feedback has been outstanding. Needless to say I'm happy, but a bit surprised. When making this, I honestly just expected to release it and not hear much about it. But I've gotten more e-mails, youtube posts, and site comments than ever before.
Because of that, I've decided to put out an update that addresses some issues I've seen or people have told me about since release. I'll be the first one to say that I rushed it, and many of these things should not have made it into the map. Either way, I'm mostly done with it, I'm just testing it throuroughly *cough*likeishouldhavedonethefirsttime*cough*
Here are some of the more important changes/fixes coming:
- Added vent area to very top of stairs to combat camping up there (only infected can access it)
- Fixed an exploit where a player could sit at the top of the ramp near the stairs and be totally unreachable. The pathing has been fixed and just in case that fails, there is a new way for infected to reach that spot.
- Doors now break into smaller pieces when beat up by a tank. No matter what, I've been unable to make the doors indestuctible. A tank will ALWAYS be able to break them if he tries hard enough. So I figured I might as well work with it. I've gone back and modelled new chunks for the door to break into, and I've also set the health of the doors to something appropriate. It takes the tank about 30 - 40 seconds to destroy a totally blocked door. At first I wanted to have the chunks remain, adding new things to manuever around. But even though they collide with just about everything, they don't collide with each other. So there was just this mass of door chunks clipping through each other on the ground. Now the chunks fade away shortly after hitting the ground.
- Fixed bots not following the player when starting the map. The starting nav area had the BATTLESTATION tag so the bots figured it was cool to just hang out up there. I removed the tag and they work as they should now.
- Fixed the download link in the mission file. For one, I had the link go to the map's preview page, so when the map was released, the page would not exist (I wound up coding in a redirect for future maps). Two, I made a typo, so it didn't matter anyway. The link says maps.kidying.com/l?=... instead of maps.kidying.com/?l=... so people were just getting my lovely 404 page. I had to use some javascript on the 404 itself to redirect anyone coming for that specific (broken) link. I actually completely reprogrammed the way the site handles links and GETs because of this.
- Added a player clip ramp to the lower fence frame. People were jumping to get on the top frame, missing, and falling to the lower frame where they were incapped. They couldn't be revived from the ground, so this resulted in other players jumping down there to attempt a revive and also being incapped (as if the outcome would be different). So now the player falls, slides off the invisible ramp, and usually dies. Which could be argued is not a "solution" but at least it keeps the whole team from turning into lemmings.
So those are some of the bigger changes that I've already done. I'll include a full list, including the minor stuff, in the changelog in the readme and here on the site. I mentioned in there about changing some stuff around with the site. I also did a lot of under-the-hood stuff, a lot of it having to do with how the site shows up when googled. I've also made the site 100% XHTML 1.0 compliant. Because I have two seperate php pages for previews and released maps, but they use the same database, a user could click on an outdated link to a map's preview page, but since it was released already, it would look all funky. Now the two pages check the release status of the map, and if it's the wrong one, redirect to the right page. Map downloads no longer go right to the .zip and now link to a download pop-up, which is to help me track how often maps are getting downloaded. As such, it's now possible to sort by popularity on the releases page.
Anyway, I've gone on long enough here. Stay tuned for the update, which should be ready by the end of next week, but continue to enjoy the current version in the meantime.
Sorry about the barebones update last time, but hey, it was the 4th of July and I'm lucky I was sober enough to do even that. I've since gone back and given bedrooms3: Bite Size a proper description, dev shots, and a new video. Just in case you were still on the fence about it.
Speaking of videos, I've also totally redone the videos portion of the site. Video information is now pulled from a database, just like the maps. This means that they will be easier to upload and update. I'm still tweaking the feature, so I appologize if you encounter anything weird while browsing the site.
In the meantime, feedback for the map has been very positive, so download it, get out there, and put it on your servers!
So on the anniversary of cp_bedrooms3 and ctf_bedrooms3 being released (as well as the American Independence...), bedrooms3: Bite Size is out. I'm mildly inebriated and partying with some friends, but I thought you all might like to get at the map. Possibly more to come later.
Check it out. l4d_sv_bedrooms3 is REAL. You can click that link or head to the Previews page to check out nine new screenshots AND a video. Yes, yes... I know I said I wouldn't be doing another bedrooms for a while, but there are a couple reasons why I decided to move forward with this port. For one, it's quick. Once I figured out why it was crashing (I had always used two phys_hinges for the doors, apparently L4D didn't like that) it only took me a few hours to get it in a playable state. Two: bedrooms is popular. Let's face it, I've established my name by building these maps. People either love them or hate them, but anytime I put one out, response is usually very positive.
So that being said, when can you expect a release date? I would like to have it ready for when Valve enables custom maps over their matchmaking system. So hopefully within the next month or two. At this point the only things that NEED to be done are some cosmetic changes to bring it more in line with the Left 4 Dead theme. There are some things I am looking at adding, mainly just more objects for cover. But those are relatively unimportant.
I am still looking at starting a totally new L4D project. It will probably be a single survival map, but at this point I don't have any other info.
So the beta SDK tool for Left 4 Dead were released a little while ago. I haven't had a lot of time to play around with it, but I think the inclusion of a Google SktechUp exporter is pretty cool.
So what am I going to do? I still haven't decided yet. I did attempt to open up bedrooms3 just to see what it would be like, but I kept getting an odd error after compiling and the game would always crash when loading the map. So no matter what I do, I'm going to have to figure that out first.
Anyway, I guess I don't have anything solid to report right now. Just saying that I am actually looking into starting a new project.
Okay, so I know it's been like thirty years since I last updated, but I just haven't had any reason to. I still don't, to be honest. But I don't like letting the site just sit for too long getting stale, so I figured it would probably be a good idea just to post some thoughts.
I have literally made no progress on any map. I can't even remember the last time I fired up an editor. When I do have some down time, I mostly spend it playing either Left 4 Dead, Fallout 3, or Resident Evil 5. But that doesn't mean I haven't had ideas. I would really like to do a map for L4D's new survival mode. I'm just worried I won't have the time to really devote to making a quality product. I don't want to half-ass it, you know? I also don't want to spend a year making it.
I want to create a cool scenario. Not something too off-the-wall, but something that would make an exciting location to fight off an endless wave of zombies. I make myself sick, because the first idea I had was like a spooky version of bedrooms. I go on and on about how I can't wait to do something other than bedrooms, and here I am wanting to do another one. I'm going to try really hard to think of something else, but I'm not ruling that out. After all, it probably wouldn't take that long to do...
We'll see. Hopefully it won't be another 5 months before my next post.
Hello. Sadly I don't have any new information about my Crysis project. This is because I haven't really worked on my Crysis project. If you are into video games, you undoubtedly know the past month or so has been rough. There have been a slew of great games begging you to spend your money on them. Left 4 Dead, Fallout 3, Gears of War 2, and Mirror's Edge - just to name a few. Not only do these games suck up money, but they also suck up time. That's exactly what has been happening to me. As such, I have been spending my gaming time gaming and not mapping. But I think it's good for me to take a break and regroup. Working on what is essentially the same map for 4 years (yes, I'm talking about you, bedrooms) has kind of broken my brain. So I have just been enjoying my family and enjoying the great new games that are out. I do plan on finishing the Crysis thing, but I'm looking forward to a really new, fresh idea.
That's not to say I haven't been up to anything. Over the past week or so I've been working on some things for the site. For starters, map previews are now pulled from a database like my released maps, which will allow me to update them more easily. It also allows you to post comments about them. But the most important new feature is the screenshot viewer. When looking at my maps, instead of the screenshots popping up in a new window each time you click, it will bring you to a page with the full-size picture and a thumbnail strip of all the other shots for that map. So basically you can check out all the screens without leaving the page. You can even jump to other maps. I've also added captions for every shot for every map. Now you have a better idea what you're looking at.
This may not sound like a big deal, but damn it, it took me a while to get working and I'm proud of myself!
So I'm not sure I'll have anything to post before the holidays, but as soon as I do, I will update the site.
So I've been working a lot on my Crysis project and learning the engine in the process. So far it's going pretty well. The seamlessness between editor and game is both a curse and a blessing... on one hand, it allows me to quickly assess the level almost instantly, whereas I would have to take minutes to compile and jump in the game on the Source engine. On the other hand, I find myself spending too much time playing and not enough time building!
Anyway, I whipped up a new video (wow, a year and half since my last one). You can head to the videos area to check it out. It's the one labeled crysis - fun with rockets. So how did this madness come to be? Well I was working on the new map and setting up the enemy classes when I decided to add a dude with rockets. After testing him out, I decided he was awesome. I had already partially set up the little village you see in the video and thought it might be chaotic to fill it with a bunch of rocket dudes. What you see in the video is the end result.
These guys won't hang around for the final map (not all of them, anyway) but I got a kick out of this and I figured you might too. Plus it also lets me show off what I've been doing. Keep in mind, though, that it is still very, very early. I should have some solid screens up a little later.
Okay, so I know in the last update I was talking about cp_cliffside, but a lot has changed in two months. For one, with a new baby I don't have a whole lot of time for it. Second, I've lost interest in Team Fortress 2. It's a great game to be sure, I've just grown tired of it. There isn't a whole lot of motivation for me to finish a map that, let's face it, isn't too far into development anyway.
So what am I doing? Well, the other day I started playing around with the Crysis editor. So far I really like it. In fact, I like it so much that I have decided to start my next project for Crysis. It's going to be a single player level, which is different. I've started a couple single player projects in the past, but never finished them. Hopefully I'll be able to change that now.
I should have some early screens soon. I'll leave cliffside up in the previews section for now, but it will probably be going away soon.
