Stomach in, chest out; on your marks, get set...

After about six weeks of very hard work, mostly spent on maths and dynamics revision for a scary exam, with three courseworks thrown in for good measure (Virtual memory simulator, PS2 forced-perspective [2.5D] sprite game, OpenGL racing [crap] game), I finally managed to escape. My maths exam went very well, so I am extremely pleased about that. I went into the exam fully intending to scrape a pass and came out cursing my luck that I won't get an A because I buggered up two easy questions on finding and classifying critical points (usually do those without blinking, but it was an equation I had a lot of trouble differentiating adequately) and a parametric line being transformed by a perspective matrix (again, usually a piece of cake, but I managed to arse it up). On the plus side, I got 2.5 / 3 of the dynamics questions correct when I'd been absolutely bricking it. It's strange how things work sometimes. Ultimately, I picked up all of my marks on questions I was afraid of doing and then made errors in questions I consider my 'bankers' (and no, that's not a euphemism for anything). Live and learn, I suppose. Next time I shall revise much more evenly. After the exam, I ended up getting sunburnt in a beer garden. Couldn't have scripted it better (was roasting!)

Anyway the whole point in this update (it's getting a bit Joe Webloggish) is that I am FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE and can now work on Fortress Forever as much as I would like. As stress relief during my crunch period, I started an AD map called "Mayhem", but it's in the very early stages of development. The source engine really is a sight to behold when fiddling with displacements. Even better is the fact that they're cheaper to render than Jesse's mother. Cobble together several bajillion adjacent displacement maps, contort them into a beautiful cliff and canyon, and then marvel at the miniscule render time.

So, before I get back into it, my current status:

ff_Spirit (Original CTF map) - Architecture mostly complete, just needs a little more detail and some better lighting. I can't say whether this map will be released with FF (I suspect it may be put away for a rainy day, given that the maplist is currently dominated by CTF already) but it will probably see the light of day in future releases at the very least. The FR smacks of 2mesa3 (but different) and it has some nice concs and trimps available.

ff_Bases (Classic CTF map port) - Architecture is still a little rough, texturing needs work in the RR and I'm currently reworking the whole style of the map. I've hit upon some nice combinations with regard to the texturing, hence the revamp. I'm tempted to restart the whole map using a 32 grid. The base map was converted from my TFC layout, so some of it uses an 8 grid which, to be honest, is an absolute pain in the arse to work with. It's like going back to the 70s, man.

ff_Mayhem (Original Attack/Defend map) - One CP roughly laid out and the theme is developing at a rate of monkeys. Just putting some ideas down and seeing how it looks, really. It has an arctic feel to it and looks pretty decent already. A 3D skybox with huge, grey rolling mountains will look fabulous.

Before anyone says "But Defrag, why not just work on one map at a time, you idiot?" I shall answer pre-emptively: Working with several maps simultaneously is great for overcoming any stagnancy in your style. If you hit upon a problem you can't figure out how to tackle, you simply switch maps and do a bit on the others, then come back later. The chances are that during your development of the other maps, you have either discovered a new architectural / texturing style or combination and can employ it to solve your original 'block' or problem.

Anyway, I'm meant to get a PT job for summer, but I'll be doing my best to not bother doing so.

As El Mozzer once sang:
"I was looking for a job and now I've found a job, and heaven knows I'm miserable now"