Where have I been?

mobs2r

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The short answer? Busy with a lot of projects (not Lockers, but we'll get to that if you're interested) and also just life in general.

Just know, if you don't read all of this, I'm still working hard on new projects, including more 1v1 maps!

For now, don't expect a lot of updates from me.

More information on ALL of my projects for this year (and maybe some coming into 2021) will come out soon and I'm very excited. Most of what I announce this year should be released by the Christmas season! ❄?


The long answer is a little all over the place, so bear with me...

When I originally began mapping I intended to make a collection of 1v1 maps that would lend me the basics of geometry in Hammer and potentially be added to the server. I never realized the scale at which a map needs to be in order to copy it fifteen times and have the proper amount of arenas to fit a 32 player server. I began work on Lockers, Paint, and another unnamed 1v1 map without ever thinking I'd hit my entity cap, but that was before I knew I had to copy the map fifteen times, so I'm sure you can imagine I reached that cap rather fast. Lockers was the smallest so I finished the general layout and basic detail of that map first, and I've loved how it has progressed through and through.

Lockers ultimately was a flop to say the least and the short corridors and tight angles didn't pan out well in-game, people hated it. I took much of the criticism from players on the server and with friends I showed the map to and revamped the map quite a bit, adding the windows, allowing for access behind the shower faucets, cleaning up tight angles, making the map longer, removing most of the dividers in showers, and many more gameplay changes that came directly from the server's criticisms, and for that I am so grateful I was able to have it on the server, despite it lacking real success, I learned a lot and the current version that is available in the offline page [0.7.1] is generally something (gameplay wise) I'm generally proud of at the end of the day. I still intend to add more detail and make it a better map, but right now it's on hold.

I think I rushed myself by requesting to have it added to the server, when I could have waited and put out something a lot more polished, but then again, without the criticism given by players on the server, I feel the current version would be far more flawed. I'm incredibly grateful for every piece of criticism I received and I'm even more grateful sneaK added the map.

The idea of breakable lights is something I truly love and something I hadn't seen pulled off in CSGO before. I also think it works incredibly well on Lockers and if you haven't tried out the offline version of the map with breakable lights, I while might be bias, I think it's a lot of fun. I have a secret project (not really in the works yet, just an idea, so I don't want to talk to explicitly about it) where I intend to incorporate this on a much larger scale, but until then let Lockers serve as a tech demo for this cool feature.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2067129174 <- (Link by the way.) ;)

When it comes to the progress of Paint and the unnamed 1v1 map, I still intend to release them, so look out, but I've been busy with some mapping projects I intend to release in correlation with some mapping competitions. There is some fierce competition and I'm not too sure I expect to win, but the experience of mapping in many different gamemodes is a lot of fun. I also find that when I'm in a creative slump, simply switching which map I'm working on can help me break that slump.

Here's a sneak peek at what I've been working on lately: [With correlated contests...]

jb_intmt [Jailbreak] [https://gamebanana.com/contests/104]
20200628211847_1.jpg

de_urbanz: [Wingman] [https://www.sediscord.com/wingman2020/]
20200628211522_1.jpg

I decided not to post too much because I've already shared quite a bit within my own friend group and peers, and I really don't want to spoil too much before the actual release so when the map comes out there's still that sense of exploration and wonder. I also intend not to share anything for Paint or the unnamed 1v1 map until I'm confident with their gameplay and visual fidelity, while still handling 16 arenas. Both of these 1v1 maps are larger than Lockers in scale so it will be a challenge to detail them effectively while still staying below the entity count.

I've also been watching tons of videos on Radiant (Black Ops III Mapping Tools) and Blender (3D Modeling Software) so I can have a larger skill set and knowledge base for the general tools of game design that extends beyond one program. I've also been learning a lot about VScript for my Jailbreak map and I'd like to eventually learn more about how to make my own SourceMod plugin. I have many more projects (including the one with lights) in mind I want to get to work on, that extends beyond just CSGO, so as I increase my skill set even more I'll keep you all posted with all the major details.

Life has also just been incredibly busy. I've finished up my classes and I'm happy to finally say I've graduated high school, it was a wild ride and I'm incredibly happy it's over. I intend to eventually go to school for Level Design/Game Design and Architecture. Amidst all this COVID-19 nonsense I'm sure you can imagine ceremonies and the general setup was very convoluted and rather stressful, but it's over, I have my diploma, I can apply for scholarships, and I'm happy I can finally get back to work with some ease of mind that's all behind me.

On June 10th, I also lost a member of my family, my first and only doggy Sammy, who has been part of my life for fifteen years, which put me into a bit of a slump and made me want to just spend more time with my family. He had multiple seizures, was showing signs of having had a stroke, was going blind in one eye, had hip issues, and possible signs of cancer, so we made the tough decision to have him put down. He was very healthy up until the last year or so of his life, he helped raise me and all of my siblings, RIP a good boy, 2005-2020. Due to this loss, progress on these projects hasn't been as proficient as I'd like, if you've ever lost a long-time pet I'm sure you can imagine how much of an adjustment it is, but I want to let you know I'm not out for the count and to expect some good work from me in the future! Maybe one day I'll be able to add Sammy to a video game where he can live on forever. :)

Here are some pictures of the legend himself: (I've posted these in the Discord too, along with a few others!)

Sun bathing, 2013.
216025_1024581741911_7143_n.jpg
Halloween, 2016.
12241792_10208343371128999_1625435692912569247_n.jpg
Him & I, 2017.
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Waiting to go outside, 2017.
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Christmas, 2018.
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A few weeks before he passed, 2020.
95334015_10223634602720232_783274826449027072_n.jpg
 

sneaK

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I'm so sorry to hear about Sammy! It sounds like he lived a very fulfilling life, received and gave lots of love to you and your family. ♥

The sneak previews look super neat - if you wanted to host some live playtests I'm sure we could get that going for you! Glad to see you've been productive, pretty motivating form a personal standpoint :)
 

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