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Subscribe to this RSS 2.0 Feed30 June 2009 - Golden.
I've finished up major work on l4d_sv_bedrooms3, which is now formally known as bedrooms3: Bite Size. All that's left is more playtesting to make sure nothing is broken, and the map will be out. I'm not going to do a public beta because I don't feel like the map needs one. Hopefully that won't come back to bite me in the ass. If it does, Valve's new VPK packing system makes it easy to push an updated version out. Anyway, it should be done by the end of the week, just in time for release exactly a year after cp_bedrooms3 and ctf_bedrooms3 for TF2.
24 June 2009 - Zombies, 2x Mars and Octahedron
So with Valve's announcement that the update to allow matchmaking with add-ons is coming this week, I have been working hard on l4d_sv_bedrooms3 to make sure it releases around the same time. Right now the map is like 99% ready for release. Really I just need to tweak some of the nav stuff and create the "poster", which may or may not happen. You might wind up with a boring screenshot.
I can tell you that as it is right now, the map is a lot of fun, even with bots. Each room (including the outside area) is almost like a seperate map for you to defend. The cool thing being that you can alternate your defensive position on the fly. So one minute you might be in the bedroom, but then two approaching tanks force you to move through the mouseholes into the living room. Of course, as with the previous versions of the map, you can move around the various props to close the doors shut and seal off the different entrances. For this reason, I'm not including any propane tanks or gas cans. I've made sure that there are no spots that are incredibly easy to defend - there is always at least one way for the zombies to get to you. I'm excited about getting this out, but I want to make sure it's totally ready.
In other gaming news, I've been playing a lot of Red Faction: Guerilla. This has been a very pleasant surprise for me. I liked the first Red Faction a lot, totally skipped the second, and when I heard that this one would be third person, I lost all interest. Thankfully, I tried the demo out of boredom and got hooked. The single player is fun but the multiplayer is a blast, due in large part to the backpack system. Another thing worth mentioning is the Geomod engine, which allows you to accurately blow holes in just about any man-made object you find on your trek through Mars. Unlike the first game, though, it doesn't feel like a gimmick and I think that says alot. If you like shooters (first person or otherwise) you should definitely check it out.
Finally is The Mars Volta's new album, Octahedron. I've been a big fan of this band for a number of years now, so I may be a little biased. But I believe that this is their most accessible album since their first LP. It has a more mellow sound, with songs that are overall more reminiscent of Cicatriz E.S.P. than say Goliath. If you like prog rock, or are looking for something new, even if you didn't like their other stuff, you should check this one out.
9 June 2009 - l4d_sv_bedrooms3 is official.
How about this... not only am I officially about to tell you that l4d_sv_bedrooms3 is coming, but I also have nine screenshots and a four minute long video of the map in action.
So man, E3... There's a lot of good stuff on the horizon. Modern Warfare 2, Assassin's Creed 2, Splinter Cell: Conviction, Mario Galaxy 2, Metroid Other M, and even though I don't have a PS3, Uncharted 2 and Mod Nation Racers both looked pretty cool. You know what else looked cool? Left 4 Dead 2. That's right, I'm excited to plop down $50 for it. I don't subscribe to all this "boo hoo Valve didn't give us a ton of free stuff with Left 4 Dead" nonsense that's been going around. If it were any other developer, no one would care. Unfortunately, people don't appreciate a good thing and got spoiled with all the great, free Team Fortress 2 content that Valve has delivered. Now they're whining because Valve didn't drop any free bonus content for Left 4 Dead. Except wait, oh yeah, they did. Way to be ungrateful, guys. See if we get anything else for free.
Anyway, those are just my thoughts on the matter. You know, Valve could just nickel and dime people for every little piece of DLC *cough*Capcom*cough*
26 May 2009 - Greetings from San Antonio
On a week-long vacation in San Antonio, Texas. Been here for four days now and so far San Antonio seems like a pretty cool city.
Anyway, I made a post on the maps side of the site regarding my adventures with the somewhat recently released Left 4 Dead beta SDK.
30 April 2009 - Back from the dead.
I made a quick blurb over on the maps side about what I've been up to. Which is nothing. Which is not exciting. BUT I have been thinking of potential ideas regarding every gamer's favorite zombie fest.
Side note: I don't feel good.
4 December 2008 - New features on the map site.
Over on that there mapping site I have added some new stuff. There's now a screenshot viewer for your convenience so you don't have to keep switching tabs to view my (oftentimes ridiculous) creations. Along with some other PHP and SQL voodoo.
I was actually going to talk about some things, but now I don't feel like it. I'm sure you'll live.
18 October 2008 - Boom!
I've posted a new video on the maps site for you to check out. It's a video of the Crysis map I'm working on. Kind of. You can read more about it over there.
If chaos and explosions are your thing, I suggest you take a looksee.
9 October 2008 - The next movement.
So a couple of days ago I made a post over on the maps site about my next project. It's going to be a single player level for Crysis. I'm breaking the first rule of level design, which is "don't release your first map." But the Crysis editor is so user-friendly and easy to work with, that it's taken me very little time to get the hang of it. It hasn't even been a week since the first time I fired it up and I already feel pretty comfortable with it. I should have something worth showing off soon, and I'm even planning to get some video together.
As for real life, things have been going great. Jack is a month old now and he is like wonder baby. It's so weird being a dad. In a good way though, for sure.
7 September 2008 - A new Kid Ying in town.
On 6:19 PM, September 3, we had our baby boy, Jackson Matthew Byrd. It has been an amazing experience to say the least. After nearly two days of labor, and an hour and a half of pushing, the doctors realized he was too big and facing the wrong way. Because of this, they had to perform a C-Section on Stephanie. Thankfully everything went just fine, and they were able to pull all 9 lbs and nearly 7 ounces out of him out. So far he has been an absolute dream. He's very well behaved and is usually content to just sit and watch you do whatever.
This is obviously a huge change in my life but I'm embracing it with open arms. It definitely has its challenges, but they are totally worth it. It probably goes without saying, but I wouldn't expect much progress to be made on the map anytime soon.
11 August 2008 - First shots of cp_cliffside
Over at maps.kidying.com, I've posted the first two shots of my newest project, cp_cliffside. Nothing spectacular yet, but they might give you an idea of what I have in mind. Also talked about the different things I currently have going on in my life, specifically a baby that's about to shoot out of my wife any minute now. So don't expect the map real soon.
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