The New Monster

I've been jonesing for a new PC for a while now. My Alienware is 3 years old finally, and though it runs most things really well, games can and should run at their highest settings. Dell had a grea deal on a desktop with 3gb of RAM, an nVidia 8800 GT w/ 512 mb of memory, an Intel Quadcore processor and more memory than I plan to use in this lifetime. So I took the plunge.

I really like it so far, aside from learning to use Vista. I especially enjoy my new 22 inch widescreen monitor. It's pretty ridiculous actually.

I spent the majority of the weekend installing iTunes, Steam, transferring files over (pics, music, writing), and patching all my games back to full. I only have one or two left and neither of them are on my current play list.

World in Conflict looks absolutely gorgeous with the final tweaks on it and Company of Heroes looks smoother and more vivid than ever. they are really masterfully crafted games. I'm patching Supreme Commander now, because I'm interested to see how it looks at the resolution it's meant to be played at. And, there's always Crysis. Computers are fun.

(posted by grant at 1/27/2008) (1) comments

Muir Some More

I was able to spend about 2 more hours on Muir tonight, so I thought it'd be cool to take a few more screens and go over what I've changed or added.

I felt that the town didn't look very lived in. It looked like a collection of houses. So, I tried to beef it up a bit.






Hopefully it's easier for an infantry commander to hold that position, but also more fun and interesting to destroy. It's also important that the area looks real or believable.

I moved the trees around a bit on the hill to the infantry approach, which overlooks the town. It still won't be an ideal place for tanks, but artillery can now go there to snipe and trucks can quickly shuttle infantry to the top.



I think I'm happy with my first pass of the Team 1 (USA) spawn point. Here are two views. Notice the second one looks into the valley.






Here's a quick look from Team 2's spawn (USSR), which also happens to be their route to the peak.



I took a first pass at the command point I'm calling Truck Stop. It's wide open and sparse with cover. I'm hoping this is where armor will feel able to maneuver and dominate.



A slightly updated shot of the river crossing.


Lastly, an overview shot.



I've added far more trees to really flesh out the lush, forest atmosphere of the map (as well as it being more and more of an infantry haven and tank nightmare). I love tanks...not sure why I'm doing this to myself. Also, I've been consistently tightening the map by making it smaller. As I add more objects, I can see how my initial scale was way too big. So I keep bringing it in so that it's not so massive.

I'd like to think I can compile it and throw some bots into it this weekend.

(posted by grant at 1/24/2008) (0) comments

Muir 2

One more quick update for a few more changes that I made. I fleshed out the point with the small, wooded hill. I turned it into a small town square.



Behind it you can see the river crossing, which I started working on a bit more as well.



I think I'm going to focus on this point next. Then, I'll head to the other side of the map and beef that point up. It's currently naked. After that I think I'll work on general map flow -- roads, points, and the little tweaks to get distance right.

I found a pretty thorough texture tutorial, so I can add things like concrete, dirt patches, and grass pretty easily. Then I'll run it w/ bots and see how it plays.

(posted by grant at 1/21/2008) (1) comments

Welcome to Muir

I finally booted up the World in Conflict Editor, provided free from Massive. Not only is the tool pretty polished (rare crashes, sure), it's incredibly easy to use. There are some very intuitive and powerful tools. My favorites include the ability to "grab" a spot of terrain, then pull it up or push it down to create quick mountains or valleys. I also like that I can easily create ramps. First, I create a low elevation point, then a high elevation point somewhere else. I select the tool, click on the low point, then drag to the high point. The editor then creates a natural, traversable slope between the two points.

My map right now is called Muir, and is based around the Muir Woods park north of San Francisco. It's a beautiful redwood forest tucked into the mountains, so I thought it'd be a cool idea to mimic...somewhat.

This is the point at the base of the mountain, which is the centerpiece of the map.



If you go up and around the mountain path (there's another one on the other side of the mountain)...



...you eventually get to the top. My hope is that it will make for some daring infantry assaults, as well as a good perch for artillery to annoy everyone.



On the backside of the mountain is a fairly straightforward capture point. I think I may leave this point fairly barren of trees to give armor a point where they can really dominate.



I'd like to put a bridge crossing here, but I'm still working on the flow of the map. I'm not sure how it will work out. Off the top of my head, I think I'll move the bridge to the other side so that it can be used to gate team 1 if necessary. Blow the bridge!



This is my favorite capture point. It has three circles, one of which is only accessible via air drop or infantry moving through the woods. I like the idea of napalm opening this area up to armor as the battle continues.



The second point for this command point is going to be a narrow canyon. I really like it.



Here's the overview of the map, which includes the two current spawn points. I'd like to make custom shapes for the spawn regions, but I don't know how to do that yet.



Obviously, I need to texture the ground and add a lot more trees, buildings and overall scenery. I'll add it as I go though, with the primary focus being layout and map flow. I'd really like the map to be a fun one for infantry and transport choppers, like the Ellis Island/New York map (I cannot remember the name!) that shipped with the game. I also want choppers to have a field day, assuming they intelligently maneuver behind the mountains.

I'm having fun -- such a great tool!

(posted by grant at 1/21/2008) (0) comments

Battlefield Heroes

EA today announced Battlefield Heroes, a new free-to download and play game. It's essentially Battlefield, only now it has a new art style -- a pretty significant departure from the realistic look of other Battlefield titles.



Other changes include a more casual friendly design. Most importantly, revenue for the game will be generated from ads and micro-transactions. One can customize their character with new outfits or weapons. Senior Producer Ben Cousins even states that new features and content will be added over time:

"With the new online model, we will continually add new content to keep the game fresh and keep players engaged, while integrating player feedback in real time. As a game developer, it is such a cool new way to make games." Thanks Shacknews.

I think the game is a fantastic idea. For starters, it's a pretty bold and risky move to make a game featuring a non-realistic visual style. It's hard to pull off and it's something the majority of game developers aren't doing. I'm pretty sure I've read the Valve guys say that Team Fortress 2's brilliant art style was a fairly large risk that really paid off. I think it's just a good, smart change for EA. Things need to be shaken up from time to time.

I also think the casual friendly focus is a great one. Nintendo has proven time and time again that more casual friendly games can lead to great design innovations and are frankly great for business. My parents, great uncle and girlfriend all love the Wii. They have zero interest in my Xbox 360. That's important.

I also love that the game is free. Sure, ads can be annoying, but we have no idea how they will be shown. On the website you get the game from? No problem. In game every time I die? Less awesome. I also love Downloadable Content when it's done correctly. I've purchased at least 20 songs for Rock Band already. I've purchased a few picture packs to customize my Xbox Live Avatar. The ability to add new storylines, quests and game features for $1.89 a pop in Oblivion were also very appealing. I honestly think that the DICE guys can provide great content for a reasonable price. I always found the Battlefield booster packs worth my money, so I'm hoping that trend continues.

Most of all, it's great that EA is trying a new business model. Games sell at $60, and will continue to do so. But I think it's very wise to pursue other revenue types. It's good to remove some of the barriers to entry and try to introduce others to games.

It all saddens me to see the internet just rip the idea apart though, simply because it's EA. Updated: Seems Kotaku isn't so negative.

(posted by grant at 1/21/2008) (0) comments

Pirates...and not the cool kind

Shacknews had an interesting news article today about Infinity Ward and piracy affecting Call of Duty 4. This led to a really long thread.

Contained within you'll find developers saying pirates should die, morons saying the publishers are just greedy and shouldn't worry about a "few" pirated copies, a few just saying they steal games outright for whatever reasons, then a few people just taking your standard online forum potshots.

I just find the topic infuriating.

It's stealing. That's pretty much my argument.

Apart from the clear bottom line hit of people stealing stuff and distributing it (and yes, there are arguments that those who pirate would have never bought it in the first place), it causes developers to do things like avoid the PC. Or add really frustrating restrictions, like what 2K did with Bioshock. This makes us look like chumps and the loyal customers become outraged.

It's all really sad. I downloaded a bit of music my freshman year in college. Nothing too crazy, and since then I've stopped completely. There are just so many games out there that are only $20 after they sit on the shelf for a while. Or you can get them from Gamefly to rent. Or at Gamestop used (even though that ultimately hurts publishers too...).

Buy the game, or get a different hobby. You're giving pirates a bad name.



(posted by grant at 1/15/2008) (0) comments

Back to School

This weekend I'm going to start doing level design. I swear it! I don't know what it is, but there's just something about having to learn something from scratch that just scares me. Learning...good. Feeling like an idiot...not good.

On a slightly related note, Valve just bought Turtle Rock Studios, the guys currently making Left 4 Dead. They work in Los Angeles, which is pretty cool. Valve constantly impresses. They just won't sit still.

(posted by grant at 1/10/2008) (0) comments

Blowing Things Up is Fun

DICE just published a developer diary showing off the world destruction in Bad Company. It looks pretty incredible. If the rest of the game is solid, I think this could be huge.

(posted by grant at 1/08/2008) (0) comments

Late Additions...like Portal

I wish 2007 hadn't ended so swiftly (damn you calendar year!), for I have a few more games to add to my "awesome" list.

I finally finished Portal...for some reason the 2 hour game took me a while. Needless to say, I think it deserves the praise it's getting from the gaming community. It's so unique and different, not to mention the team at Valve made a great action game of sorts that doesn't involve violence. I think that's a really big win for the industry. I want 3 games to come from Portal.

Obviously, Portal 2 in the real world (which the ending of the first alludes to). More Portal is good.

Then I want an action game that involves a Portal gun. Not Half Life, but something new. Really, I just want a grenade, a Portal gun and a rocket launcher.

Lastly, I want multiplayer...in two forms if possible. Cooperative, because having two portal guns with a potential four portals sounds like a lot of fun. Although puzzle design only gets more difficult when you add more people. Then, I want a competitive mode. I think it'd be incredibly cool to combine CTF with portal guns, or perhaps a game mode where you use portals offensively to send opponents into a holding cell or something. I have no idea how this would happen, but Valve can figure it out. They always do.

I'd like to replay it soon with commentary on. I really want to hear what the designers and Erik Wolpaw have to say about it.

(posted by grant at 1/07/2008) (0) comments

It's a Mad World...Garth

This morning at Starbuck's I heard that song "Mad World" that they played on the Gears of War commercial. Then I started thinking of Gears of War. And then I started thinking of the chainsaw rifle, mostly because the manager there won't stop calling me Garth.

Seriously, Garth? It's not a really loud concert in there. I spelled my name G-R-A-N-T. Garth? Why?

(posted by grant at 1/07/2008) (0) comments

Gaming Resolutions

New Year's Resolutions are mostly useless, but often a fun exercise to pinpoint what exactly is important to you. I want to learn a few things related to game development that I think would be fun once I figured out how to do them, but also good for the career. It's difficult to spend time making games after work though, especially when I spend all day making games.

Level design tops the list. It's just a fundamental tool of design for action games. And at some point I want to make action games. The top of my list is Valve's Hammer Editor, for use with Source. I'd love to make a map for Day of Defeat or Team Fortress 2. I also want to make a map for World in Conflict. I've worked with similar tools before, so this one should be less difficult from a tech perspective. Design wise they are equally difficult.

I also need to touch up my writing. I'm way out of practice and my creativity is a bit shot at this point. Not sure what to focus on here, but something needs to improve.

If it's at all possible, I want to play more games. Different types, play certain games longer and really try to find some new stuff to play. Also, go back and play some games a second time. Bioshock, Half Life 2 Episode 2 (w/ Developer Commentary), Portal, TF2 and skate all come to mind.

(posted by grant at 1/04/2008) (0) comments

This Week, at Costco...

I must wholeheartedly endorse the carnitas, found towards the back in a refrigerator. For approximately $10 you get a massive piece of deliciously prepared pork of the carnitas variant. 8 minutes in the microwave and it's ready. It's pretty much the best implementation of pig meat.

(posted by grant at 1/04/2008) (0) comments