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Archived old news - March - April 2000:
News: Friday 14/4/00
Hello.
I'm going to be away for a couple of weeks....heh, doubt anyone will notice the difference. I haven't been updating much, nor promising future updates, because I simply don't feel like doing it. I may do some updates when I get back, I may not - either way, it's not important. At any rate, all the funk will remain here to read or download, even if I don't update it much.
News: Sunday 9/4/00
Ho hum.
Don't feel like posting much at the moment....so I'm not going to. Apart from a bit of this:
Maps 'n' things...
Another UT single player map pack released this week, and reviewed by my good self over at Nali City. It's the SP-PerilPack, finally finished and revamped for UT, a quite good, if incoherent, pack, it gets a place on my recommended Unreal SP maps list. And on my favourite Q1 DM maps list is Mickey's new Mjdm1 which is a fresh, cool feeling, vaguely Unreal flavoured, map with nice lighting and designs, and good, slightly unusual layout that works very well for a small FFA - particularly if you hog the upper levels. I'd beta-tested this one and I'm glad Mickster kept the funky ceilings in =).
News: Friday 7/4/00
Hmmm...
...thinking...
News: Friday 31/3/00
Bleh.
Away for a bit, coping with stuff, so I can't guarantee any updates soon. That includes Shambler'n'Fribs too, I'll try to tackle it when I'm next able. And, no, I did not do "that" logo!!
Another IRC treat:
* excessus stares at Vondur admiring a Living Monument to Human Lazyness
Laterz,
Shambler
News: Wednesday 29/3/00
Shambler 0wnz PeejnFribs.
Shambler's global FPS gaming site domination moves one step closer to success as the ever so trusting Peej has unleashed him upon everyone's favourite mapping news site. Big mistake!! Actually, I'll just be doing some news there, whenever I can. That might not be very often - don't rely on regular news from me - but I'll try anyway...
<Bal> doing a good nob at pnf shamb
<S|-|^|V|8|_3R> doing a good nob??!?!!!!
<Vigil> Yeah Sham, a good nob
* S|-|^|V|8|_3R thwacks Bal with a good nob
<Vigil> Poor Bal...
<Bal> haha
* Bal checks his keyboard
<Bal> i wont believe me, but i actually didnt do that on purpose =)
<Bal> ack, u wont..
* S|-|^|V|8|_3R checks Bal's keyboard - yup, two "n" keys
UT maps and stuff:
Firstly, I was going to mention the neato Real Maps site, but I already did that at
PnF already, so read it in the news and check the site if you're interested.
Secondly, if you are as stupid as me, you might not have realised how easy it is to start Unreal Tournament Assault maps as defence first....simply change teams to the other
team colours before you start. I can't believe I was grumbling about this for ages - I remember a huge argument with the Bal that the lack of a defence first option was a problem.
Eventually the Bal admitted I was entirely right and agreed to work on Nehahra as a penance (that might be a total lie)....well it turns out both of us were arguing from a bollocks basis, heh.
Finally, if you want to know what people recommended for my "UT-very-small-very-good-map-quest" (see earlier news), and how suitable I found their suggestions, go read
that thread again, where I've posted about all the maps suggested.
TEAMJungle:
Bit of CD EP action today since albums and compilations are a bit slow ATM...
Future Cut - "Bloodline EP" (Renegade Hardware) - Two tracks of ruff amen action (one classic No U-Turn style, one quite chopped up), a real nice minimal hypnotic roller, a typical Hardware techstep cut, and an ambitious but jarring vocal track. More variety and interest than a normal Hardware release, and with only the vocal track being a dud, well worth a listen.
Moving Fusion - "Atlantis EP" (Ram) - Three tracks in a typical Ram roller style, with the usual sci-fi noises though more funk than normal, a classy deep dark title track, and a short, surprisingly powerful downbeat track to finish. The usual well produced Ram soundscapes, not as forceful as the Future Cut EP, but check it if you like Ram.
More IRC fun:
* Vondur releases ex as prepatch for additional betapatch for q3 unoficial build, and uploads it to borked fileplanet
Laterz,
Shambler
News: Monday 27/3/00
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0ops.
I suck immensely. Before last weekend I'd managed to SHAG all the links to zips on this site, by replacing "www.team-sh.dircon.co.uk" with "team-sh.dircon.co.uk". This affected all the
Quake 2 speedruns, the Unreal speedruns (except the Wp][_107 UT run), the trick moves (except the 3 recent Q1 DM tricks), and the
deathmatch demos - and all this at a time when I was getting some good promotion for those recent demos.
"ARSE"
Anyway, the zip links are all F1X0RED now so get downloading if you hadn't managed to copy the b0rked links and add "www". Remember unique demos never seen before not available elsewhere cool tricks yadda yadda blah. Thanks to Grob of the UDQ site for pointing this b0rkage out. Anyway, I'm back and I'll probably be updating soonish. Probably.
Heh:
* Vondur resets smabler's brain
God knows, I need *that*!!
Laterz,
b0rked Shambler
News: Thursday 23/3/00
On a UT flavoured map quest:
That is rather similar to my Unreal map quest* a while back: Very small, very pretty, very good custom maps. They can be for any flavour of UT, and any architectural style, but they must have the following:
1. Small size suitable for 1on1 DM, 4-6 player DOM, 4-6 player CTF, or 4-6 player ASS.
2. Extremely good, consistent, well made architecture, with a lot of eye candy and impressive designs.
3. Strong atmosphere and a sense of place - i.e. a map that feels like "somewhere" rather than an abitrary arena.
...as well as the usual stuff like great gameplay, smooth navigation, flawless bot support, no bugs nor glitches, etc etc. If you have any suggestions, please post them in this forum thread, and I'll be grateful =). To give ideas, here's a few I have already:
DM-Haphazard - like the style of this, and the overall layout, a tad big and the room designs are far too plain.
DM-Realworldgonebad - very, very nice style, atmospheric, a little flat but otherwise great.
DM-Ridethedragon - ideal size and good design, nice style too, want a bit more splendour though.
CTF-Aloft - great style and funky design, just about right at the largest size I want.
CTF-Ancient - reasonable size, nice style, but too plain architecture.
CTF-Freespace][ - good size and reasonable architecture, but a bit "oh another space map".
CTF-Nokeep - good castle theme and central arena, but drab style and bland lighting elsewhere.
CTF-Romra - ideal size, reasonable style, though far too simple.
As-Atlantic - good style and size, but too one dimensional in gameplay.
(There are some others I tried but discarded very quickly because the architecture and style just weren't good enough.)
* That quest was to dish out the.....errr, actually to get the 0wnage dished out to *me* by the SCRAD in Unreal DM - and I still have some sweet screenshots of that in action. This time it's just for some botmatch fun =).
To remind UK p1mps...
Channel 4, 9pm tonight, the "Dispatches" program is about the influence of computer game violence in Real Life™ violence. Not something I personally get over-excited about, but hey, it's always topical...
9:30 pm update: It was predictably mundane.
This weekend:
I am on a spiritual pilgrimage to the abode of the virtuous Brother SCRAD, to seek karmic realignment.
...i.e. I will be back on Monday.
And finally:
<kjdmx> http://www.goatsex.com/
<S|-|^|V|813R> kj: i already have bal's website :P
<kjdmx> rofl
<Bal> hehe
* Bal slaps S|-|^|V|813R around a bit with a large trout
Business as normal =)
Laterz,
Shambler
News: Tuesday 21/3/00
Tricks, at last!!
Got inspired and added some more trick moves on recent custom Quake deathmatch maps ('twas 4 months since the last lot). Not many of the good new maps were suitable for interesting tricks, but Ikdm9q1 provided a great, tantalising trick, and Auhdm2 and Gomdm4 had a couple of useful manouvres, so go check the demos on the trick moves page.
Diss Shambler's UT-WhitePalace][ review!!
And win a patented Shambler Refutative Smakdown™ as a prize!! What is it with people?? They think writing a couple of lines slagging off a map I gave a positive review
of is going to impress me?? They think just because they personally don't like a map that I'm going to apologise for the review?? They think whining about the score and ignoring what I wrote in the review is going to get me to pay attention?? Jesus...
* Shambler waves his hands around in the air in frantic bemusement...
Thanks.
To Jesse @ SDA for p1mping my recent UT speedrun - of his own
volition, I might add!! The update contains harsh words for people who just stick to Quake 1 speedrunning, but to be fair, I think both Jesse and I understand why they do: Quake 1
running is well established, it's very competitive, and has the security of proper timers, good organisation (sometimes!), and a strong scene. It's just a difference in personalities, I guess most runners focus on the competition, the challenge, the exercise of skills - but I prefer the exploration, the novelty, the thrill of finding something new and it actually working (and I'm not good enough to be competitive even if that was my inclination). It would be nice for the SDA scene to progress a bit more rapidly into other games to see what the best runners' mad skillz can produce, but hell, I don't mind being the pioneer!! Each to their own preference - I'm not any sort of genius for doing runs in other games, just....different =).
The battle continues...
...and somehow Shambler gets conscripted. I'm just a grunt though, mere cannon fodder in the 3rd Excessus vs. Vondur war.
*Sigh* =)
I could quote these recent logs for months...
* excessus reconfigures Vondur to actually appear remotely intelligent
Laterz,
Shambler, still laughing
News: Sunday 19/3/00
World's first Unreal Tournament speedrun demo:
This is a proper speedrun, it's not just completing a botmatch level as quickly as possible. Obviously the original UT levels are unsuitable, but mappers have been porting custom single
player maps over from Unreal, and the first one is not only a great map (see below), it also provides a classic speedrun demo:
UT-WhitePalace][ - run in
1:07
Krall boosts are the order of the day here, giving a very large shortcut, while UT's good air control provides a curve jump too. Thankfully, UT demo playback is *much* better than Unreal demo playback, specifically:
1. You don't need to preload maps as UT starts the map fully, then the demo.
2. Playback is automatically from a 1st person perspective (can be a little choppy but very watchable).
3. All the sounds and effects are present, including the HUD.
And remember if UT speedruns aren't your thing, you'll also find unique Unreal, Return to Na Pali and custom map Unreal demos on the Unreal speedruns page
(where this UT demo is also posted) and lots of excellent and exclusive Quake 2 custom map and mission pack demos on the Quake 2 speedruns page.
Fun for all the family =).
First ever Unreal Tournament single player maps - reviewed by...
...me, of course =). Proper, progressive single player, in UT with the UT weapons and feel, sounds good to me. And indeed the first such map *is* good:
UT-WhitePalace][, a taster for the forthcoming Legacy episode. Splendid architecture and lots of Krall to kill in this
one, as you'll find out from my review for Nali City. This level has it's place on my
recommended Unreal SP maps list - the most reliable list of the best levels and nothing else. Also reviewed is UT-DecyberduelSP, a conversion of a
classic Unreal map, based around solid arena combat but lacking in inspiration and theme.
An "arseload" of IRC chat logs:
It's struck me recently, what a dry, emotionless place the internet community is. For a "reality" that has so much richness in features, rules, opportunities, variety, interaction, etiquette,
information, it's still almost entirely devoid of feeling. Although you feel happy, you feel impressed, you feel respect, you feel hatred, etc etc, for various occurences and various people, but it's all
throwaway, it's all superficial, you turn off the PC and nothing remains. Experiences online are bland shadows of their real-life equivalents....except for one thing:
Humour.
For real, laugh out loud humour, the internet works just like any other media form - the net and it's occupants can often be genuinely bloody funny. Which brings me neatly to the latest batch
of IRC chat logs, and in particular the recent "battles" between Excessus (Spanish Q1 DM mapper famous for his
Exdm series), and Vondur (Russian Q1, Q2, HL and Q3A mapper, famous for
many maps). Just check out the main conflict and then the
following skirmish - these guys are on top form exchanging witty and surreal smakdowns without respite =). If that isn't enough, witness Shambler making a tit out of
himself as he tries to DCC his entire C: drive and fight off Rush who is prying for Real Life information again. Finally, if you are
bored of the silliness, then bugger off somewhere else :P. Okay, before you do, ponder on cyBeAr's interesting ideas that navigating Quake maps increases
your brain size. One things for certain, reading these logs won't increase your brain size, it's more likely to turn you into some sort of drooling humanoid vegetable thing - hey it worked for
me!!
TEAMCheese:
The mappers' favourite feature that sporadically promotes the best in underrated British cheeses. This time it's the very nice
Sage Derby, which is a medium cheddary cheese with a hearty streak of sage running
through it - the addition of this distinctive herb produces a particularly pleasing taste. That cheese link goes to it's entry at
Cheese.com, I bought the cheese from Waitrose, and you can also order it from
Heart of England. Eat and enjoy!
What's Shambler doing??
In case anyone cares... Not much actually. Apart from the UT SP reviews, I've just been *bumming* around the net, reading a lot of forums (except the gun debate SHITE at the
QBoard), viewing a lot of screenshots, but little else. No other reviews nor important updates to do, no
maps that have caught my attention, hell, I've haven't been playing any games either!! There's plenty of things I could be doing on the PC, but I'm not feeling inspired ATM. Maybe I'll get round
to finishing UT, installing Op For, playing some game demos, buying Battlezone 2, writing some rants and ravings, doing some demos, Maybe...
Cool Q1 DM map:
This just in: The latest map from the "hot" Auhsan is pretty damn cool. Auhdm2 has a nice, luxurious, Unreal/Hexen2 style, with some great Q3A style designs. Layout is
compact and good in a "twisty" sort of way, though a bit cramped and sticky in a few places. Slow in 1on1 despite the size, but a blast in a small FFA where the sparse health and multiple GLs
give a right fragfest. For the looks and the action, this goes in high on my favourite Q1 DM maps list so go take a look. I've also added the beta of
Seth's map which is shaping up nice and curvey and will be another worthy release.
One of many quotable lines from the Vondur+Excessus IRC chat logs:
* Vondur sells ex as potato to some arab
Laterz,
Shambler
News: Tuesday 14/3/00
State of things:
I am gradually becoming able to update a bit more. Issues, unrelated to these sites, have been very difficult recently, so it might be a slow process to get back updating. I've started by
doing a proper update at TSQLR, and a shortlived one at
spektrum - I'll focus on the updating I have obligations to do, before doing the more casual stuff here soon.
Something to read:
In the meantime, if you like "hearty" and "enthustiastic" map-related discussions, go read the
As-Asthenosphere thread at the ActionXtreme forums.
As-Asthenosphere is a highly acclaimed UT map....but witness one person take on what seems like the entire UT custom mapping scene in a desperate, doomed, attempt to
prove it sucks. Make sure you check out CliffyB's 0wnage
BEFORE, then read the Zenn - the final word thread AFTER
to see UT mapper Faceless delivering the final smakdown in phat hip-hop phormat (honestly!!). A quality bitchathon.
Sorta topical:
<cf-wratte> q3 in general sucks huge arse, but it's always nice to see a good map.
Can't remember what map he was talking about then (it was a while ago), but it's as good a time as any to mention that Lunaran's
Lun3dm1 is a bloody superb desert base themed map, with more atmosphere than you could previously imagine... Just a pity
Q3A is such a pile of bouncing-items-garish-hud-miserable-damage-indication-air-controlless-SPANK.
Laterz,
Shambler, recovering
News: Tuesday 7/3/00
I'm back...
...but I don't know where to, and until I find out, I'm not sure when I'll be able to update here, sorry.
Laterz,
Shambler
News: Thursday 2/3/00
An update, by the Gods!!
And just to satisfy Vondur and Killes, those Gods are ancient Scandinavian Gods of death, and indeed, destruction =). Yes this is the update in which I don't reveal what
I was doing with a bathtub of tree branches. Shambler, a veritable treasure trove of non-information =). Anyway, I'm away this weekend so this is the last you'll get for a while, make the most
of it.
TEAMJungle Drum'n'Bass reviews:
At least two speedrunners (what is it with speedrunners and jungle, eh?) liked this feature, so...
Knowledge magazine, Vol. 2 No. 14, free CD (Emotif / Botchit & Scarper mixes) - In a word, PHAT. The jungle mix by Tonic @ Emotif is as good as anything you'd buy at full price.
Sorta funky, rollin' techstep, what's cool is the fresh, quirky feel many of the tracks have - some real catchy, sinister stabs and b-lines on some of them, like Ill Figure's classic
"Nimrod". You also get a nu-skool breaks mix with some harsh electro type stuff, not my thing normally but in this mix it's heavy enough for me to like it. Dunno where you'll get the mag outside
the UK, but this is recommended.
Various - "Classified" (Dread) - Ray Keith business here, in his familiar style: a mixture of ploddiness, darkness, some Amen breaks, chopped up sections and some soulful vibes. Even
with his trademark style the tracks are still quite diverse and thus some of them kick arse and some of them just drone along. Worth a listen for something a bit different.
DJ Sappo - "Daywalker EP" (Advisory) - 9 tracker mixed by the man Kenny Ken (why wasn't it mixed by Sappo??). Simple rollin' 2 step vibes in general, and enough good tracks with
wobbly, catchy basslines and stabs, but a few dull tracks that waste space. Good stuff overall but would have been better as 6 track EP. Or just with more breakbeats =).
TEAMMinimal Trance'n'Techno reviews:
Not very minimal at all this one...
Lab4 - "Neurocide" (Trebleate)
SCRAD: Is it "bangin'" then??
Shambler: Oh yes =)
That's all you need to know!! Okay, okay....150-155 BPM hard trance, full of pounding kick drums, abrasive ravey melodies and acidic stabs. Don't like the cliched looped vocal samples,
but aside from that it's blatant energy packed excellence, I love it. Listen at high volume and get pogoing...
A bloody interesting discussion:
Hot stuff at the moment is the debate about whether the QBoard-ocentric mapping scene is corrupted by
hero worship of it's idols so that new mappers don't get a look in, or whether it's an open minded community where any good map by anyone is appreciated. It was kicked off by
Hoony's interview with Jude, a Q3A mapper claiming the former position, then the
indefatigable PeejnFrib picked it up in their news on Monday 28th February and the item drew a lot of comments,
including one from Jude pointing to a comments thread at F u X o R d. Also, at least
Captain Fribbles and myself emailed Hoony, who may be doing a follow up article. You can read all my comments in the
F u X o R d thread - although this might seem a small issue, it's actually quite important because it
concerns the perception and attitude of a scene that many people I know-online are in - and how open-minded we are, how we deal with people around the scene, is worth reflecting on.
Goat pr0n!!
Or at least, a civilised and sensible discussion thereof. Well, as civilised as you can get in #terrafusion, i.e. not very.
<Rush> Shambler: yeah i like to eat shaved goat too!
...
<Killes> sham
<Killes> <Rush> Shambler: yeah i like to eat shaved goat too!
<Killes> that shud be quoted
<Killes> on ya website
<Killes> :)
Consider it done. Like I would not post that or anything =). I must say, it's a class IRC chat, that one. I wasn't really there during it, but still people kept asking me
what goat pr0n was. Like I'm an expert on the subject or something!!
New Q1 DM map Shambler likes.
And that map is Theend by Biggus, and it's been added to my favourite Q1 DM maps list. Sorta a concrete and metal base built into a
cavern/canyon system, all on quite a small scale. Nice architecture and outdoor bits, the latter, along with the design, feeling rather fresh. Gameplay is pretty tough as the bots love it and the
stiff layout can make for some inescapable fragging. Another one that looks good for teamplay.
Explosion of the week.
Is awarded to this beauty from that DS9: The Fallen game. Gotta love a
nice explosion and this one looks fresh and very nice. The site it's posted at doesn't get a fucking link from me though as the image was tucked away in some Java shit and took me too long to
get a normal link, bastards. The game itself....looks great, but 3rd person?? Urrrhhh....no thanks.
Old one I've been meaning to post...
<Paul> no, my computer dls stuff for me automatically
<Paul> like pr0n
<Paul> how did that get there!
<Paul> i do not remember looking at this!
<Rene-dm> only reason you need to download pron is so you screw your floppy drive with your needle dick you little bug fucker
<Paul> bug fucker...
<Paul> i resent that bit
<Rene-dm> paul =)
<Rene-dm> hey if the dick fits fuck it
Laterz,
The sporadic Shambler
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