The life of a mapper is not always easy. People tend to think of mappers as the lowest part of a modding team, as it doesn't require special skills like coding and modelling do, and most people can pickup the basics in a couple of hours. And for that reason, we are often treated a bit harshly by others. These are my ramblings, read if you dare...
SourceForts is the only game I have ever really released content for, and boy! its been an interested journey. I played the first ever version of SourceForts, and haven't missed a release since then, the game caught my imagination so much, that I created the some-what controversial sf_skywalk.
Since Knifa left the mod, and jlf took over, things have changed a lot. Being perfectly honest, we really mucked around for ages after that initial v2.0.0 beta, and I'd be the first to admit that it took a immature, glory-seeking coder to get us back on track. But I think that people often expect a lot of game modification developers, especially when there was someone like Knifa running them, releasing a new version every week. Just remember, we don't get paid for this, and we are all studying and/or working full time.
Things haven't been easy, when jlf first joined, we had a good band of "official" mappers, but since then, all but one have basically left, leaving me with unfinished .vmfs and in some cases, nothing at all. Perhaps you've wondered why you don't recognize any of the names in the maps list; this is why. But I have tried hard to improve the standard of the maps for our next release, and hopefully they will offer much more enjoyment than the shoddy lot we released with 1.4.2.
In these past couple of weeks, I must have done 100+ map compiles, working through lists of bugs/tweaks I have made for myself. It seems that every time I get through one list, I, and the beta team, find another whole list to work through. Buying an Athlon 64 3000+ has really paid off, I'm telling you! That said, it's been a struggle at times for the other mappers to be as enthusiastic as me to want to continually update their maps, so don't blame me if they aren't all perfect!
Cor! This is the longest post I have ever made. I suspect if you even get this far, you might actually be interested in some of the projects I have been trying to complete:
sf_magma, now there's a cool map. It was made by Tylak, but he got a job as a level designer, and as such, didn't have time to do projects just for fun... If you played an early beta that Tylak released, you might think, "Hey, nothing has changed!". But believe me, the bugs/problems have just seemed to keep coming (I probably caused half of them myself). But I haven't had to make an adjustment in over a week now, so here's to hoping.
Most everybody knows sf_fieldtrip, also by Tylak, although it's never been released in an "official" package, because Knifa didn't like it. Anyway, I have updated this for inclusion in v1.9.0. And this is basically a replacement for the long standing sf_testmap.
sf_rooftop, by Dredge, is one of only two maps that were actually made specifically for v2.0.0 (reservoir being the other one), and is a really interesting design. What I found funny about this map, was that it was very well designed, very neatly laid out, but there was some questionable texturing and no use of cubemaps (which I have been fixing). Anyway, it's a cool map to play, and could present some interesting styles of strategy.
sf_skywalk you all know (and hate), and its had a few changes since 1.4.2, mainly the change to spawners, the increase in size, and covered spawns. You can see screenshots in jlf's first DD thread.
When jlf announced his intention of releasing a v2.0.0 I decided to totally redo sf_abandon, as can be seen from the screenshot which has been forever on the frontpage of our website. It has been a long time coming, and I didn't think it would be ready for v1.9.0, as the other maps had kept me more than busy, but this week I finally got a version out and we've started beta testing it.
One last thing I want to mention; I am on the lookout for a couple of experienced mappers, who want to
work on the mod, developing levels and gameplay... not just contributing maps.
Ok, enough of my rambling, I just can't wait until we release 1.9.0!
09/09/05 - Ramblings of an Insane LD
i wish to god i had done more than just kind of exist when i worked on this mod briefly so I could have stuck with it. You're a hell of a real modder mate.
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