DF-21 Forums

[Barry Brien]

This topic is just to see if anybody else is actually still working on Dark Forces?

Personally I'm working on the Dark Tide IV, and yes I'm still working on it quite regularly.
I can also vouch for the fact that Patrick and Matt are still working away on the Dark Tide III, and I must say that it'll be well worth the wait. I've played through it and it is epic.
Hopefully DTIV won't be too long after DTIII, it should definitely be within a year at the most, at the very least a couple of months. I would hope that both would definitely be out before the end of the year.
Anybody else out there still working?
Lionel. Archangel 3, how about it?

[david_crowther]

Hi,

I'm new to dark forces editing, but i'm quite interested in making my own missions. At the moment i'm just learning to use WDFUSE and how to do things to get the most out of it. I probably won't be producing any decent missions for a while. If you have and tips and tricks for me they would be much appreciated. Also if you know where i might find some good tutorials for WDFUSE and dark forces editing in general. That would be a great help. I'm a student and i'm currently studying AI and games development at the university of newport, south wales. I'm thinking of producing a dark forces mission as part of my final project. There is a previous post of mine on the forum about creating a multistorey building with an elevator. Could you have a look and tell me exactly how to implement it?

Cheers

Dave

[Geoffrey S]

Um. Every now and then I do on some stuff. Nemesis might get finished if I sit down for some time and do some serious work, it was looking pretty good the last time I checked.

[Fish]

I'm working on and off on the Lava Planet (yes, I'm aware I haven't updated the webpage for ages). The main problem is lack of time and lack of fresh ideas. Sometimes I feel like I've shot out all the tricks I've had in mind, and don't want to make the remaining parts of the level just dull. However, I'm very satisfied by what is done already, and just want to keep that level further.

But the soundtracks are finally complete!

[Barry Brien]

Good good good. David, great to see new blood. Especially after 11 years. You need any help with anything, just gimme a shout through email. My address is onthesteets@hotmail.com

Geoffrey, I've always said that you are one of the most talented Df editors I've ever seen. Some of the stuff you've sent me, paticularly Nemesis is kickass. You have to finish it.

Personally, I'm real happy. Took the day off college today, and got level 1 of Dark Tide 4 more or less done. There is some dark snap going on with that level.

Come on, who else is active? I still advocate the idea of minilevels. Rather than spending months or years on massive projects, spend a week or two on a really good, really small level.

[DarthDoctor]

I just might pop something of my standard quality out in tyhe next few days...

[Death_Blood_Fire]

I haven't done any DF editing in a while, but I never erased all of my editing software, WDFUSE, Wedit, all that stuff, from every computer I have ever owned, and all the data I have ever made, my DF stuff is all I have left, and I can't bring myself to delete it, and I think there is a subconscious reason why

You know what. I think I am going to make something real small this weekend or some crap just to get back into the action. I still have like 3 weapons I made and never released.

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DBF, formerly j-dogg, formerly DBF. haha.

[The MAZZTer]

I made a .NET tool that can parse and load a LEV file.

It can then take that data and render a grid and wireframe of the level.

It doesn't do much more than that, partly because I have no clue how to even start with hit detection for sectors or walls. Someday I'll google around and figure it out.



I'll finish the level in this picture someday...

_________________
http://www.mzzt.net/ | I am a respectable admin with a respectable sig.

[Fenwar]

Nowt at the moment... buying a house etc kind of dominated the proceedings recently.

Joining a Counter-Strike: Source clan probably didn't help either...

It would be nice to put a levvel out there but TBH when I look at most of my old work there are one or two nice bits but most stuff ends up in the 'scrap and try again' box.

Never say never...

[Geoffrey S]

Confession time. I've just finished a bunch of exams and opened DarkForge once again. Last two days I've been working on the fourth mission of Nemesis, and have been busy combining as much as I can of my old work on the level with the better parts of my other level Base. All in all it's more than doubled the size of the Nemesis level, which is good. So maybe it'll be done some day after all.

Hang on, the phone's ringing. Satan wants to borrow some ice skates.

[Taton]

I'm still toiling away ever so slow on my projects, Despayre and Flames of Arataan. Right now I'm trying to find a mouse because my old one broke. Anyone try to use WDFUSE without a mouse? Not pretty...

_________________
"A fight should be clean and elegant, without waste"
-Asuka Langley Sohryu, Evangelion

[DarthDoctor]

...uploaded!

[Jackson]

A new level?! Wow!
I'll get to putting it in the right folder pronto.

EDIT: I just skimmed through the zip and it appears a pretty essential file (briefing.txt) is missing. Would it be possible for you to re-upload the mission with that intact?

[DarthDoctor]

snap, you're right - I'll try and get that up asap - maybe in a coupla days.

[DarthDoctor]

Okay, everything should be swanky now.

[Jackson]

Swanky indeed! Everything's intact... I'll have it up for you shortly.

[Barry Brien]

Nothing new, but I've uploaded an updated version of my Boba Fett level. Hopefully it won't crash any longer.

[Lionel Fouillen]

Strangely enough, it's the first time I *notice* this thread.

To answer Barry's question: yes, I'm still working at Archangel 3. Which means it crosses my mind at least once a week and I occasionally launch the Wdfuse project on my rickety PC.

Then, I don't know why, I just keep staring at the map, thinking of the level but not being able to actually "get in". I keep writing it in my mind but can't get to typing values on my keyboard and moving the mouse... Like if I were intellectually blocked, so to speak.

The problem is that I started creating these levels in 1995 (do you newbies realize ???) back when I was a student. Today, I'm 35 years old and the things I have to do in life are so much more important than designing DF levels that the latter seem so insignificant.

I think of it. I want to finish it. But I'm just so "out of it". It belongs to the past. I'm just not there anymore. Don't you other oldtimer editors like Barry and Patrick, not to mention component contributors like Carlos or community members like Sheldon, feel the same ?

I have to say I'm happy to see the Light Forces screenshot above. Great to see that there are still people out there so interested in DF that they even build new apps. Congratulations !!!

Anyway, at least I wanted to reply in this thread and here is a screenshot of Archangel 3 as it is today. As some of you may remember, I lost the level in a hard disk crash a long time ago and even wanted to give up the whole project because of this. Some of you convinced me to start again and I did it but there was so much work to do. The green area corresponds to the demo level.

[Patrick Haslow]

It's truly a great level. Hopefully we'll see it someday. I have been lucky enough to see Matt H's related cutscenes, for part 3 and the special edition of the whole series.

I can relate to thinking of it "in the past". In fact, I have sacrificed a lot of my time these days to finish up The Dark Tide, when I know there are other things in life many might consider more important. However, my creative endeavor, one which I have spent such a massive amount of time developing, deserves to see the light of day or it was all for nothing- and I need it to be done so I can move on.

[Barry Brien]

Oldtimer? Excuse me. I may be 10 years at this editing lark, but I started at 14, so I'm still relatively young.

[alkaline888]

Barry -- to answer your question, I've been thinking of reviving my two multi-level projects, GRANLAND and THE HERESY MACHINE. Haven't done a stitch of work on them for about 2 years. But I have them well backed up and would like to see them released in some shape or form. So much creativity and work was lavished on them... I wonder what would happen if I scaled back my fantastic plans and spent a half hour a day tuning them up.

Lionel -- to answer your question, yes, life in your mid-30s certainly can put a pinch on DF editing. The beginning of my hiatus coincided more or less with (1) beginning my full-time permanent job, (2) moving in with my long-time gf, (3) deciding that I needed to focus on my novel writing in my spare time, (4) friends having babies, notably my DF partner, (5) I could go on.

Priorities begin to shift with age. I spent so many hours in front of my CRT editing DF that I'm surprised I have any brain cells left... I realize now that life can be short, and I feel that I've got to be all the more strategic in how I choose to spend my time.

Plus I seem to have developed a desire to be out in the world interacting with people face-to-face and doing things in support of the things I believe in. The unfinished DF levels are still in my mind, but I've no regrets to have chosen to do the things I've been up to the past couple years.

Greg

_________________
Those who believe in telekinetics, raise my hand.
—Kurt Vonnegut

[DF Veteran]

I have wanted to make a DF level ever since I got DF (and that was quite a few years ago, before JK ever came out) and I have started a couple of levels in the past, but they never turned out right and were really crappy anyway. Then my computer crashed and when we got a new one I was in high school and had no time. Now I am in college and have even less time.

I do have some ideas written down on paper, whole levels actually, but I haven't had the time to start any of them. In the next couple of months I hope to start on at least one of them, but we'll see.

[Patrick Haslow]

[alkaline888]

You're right, I've been utterly deluding myself. I'm going to go run a hot bath now and slit my wrists...

_________________
Those who believe in telekinetics, raise my hand.
—Kurt Vonnegut

[Tom Resnick]

I was feeling nostalgic the other day, and went through the ancient files on my dying iMac. I found I still have quite a few of the old BHDF graphic and sound files lying about. *sigh* You know, I never finished one damn DF project I started. I am teh fail at teh life.

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T-Minus 15.193792102158E+9 years until the universe closes!

[Kir Kanos]

I started out way too ambitious for my own good, like I'm sure many DF editors past and present did, and expected that I'd be able to make a five-star DF level first time out, and man, it'd be great and have this and this and this in it. The result was the abyssmal Operation Cakewalk demo, the only thing I've ever "released" and boy, doesn't that wreck my credibility? Yeah, it was weird and funny, but a few altered waxes and silly sound files do not a level make.

Since the demo, I've picked up and abandoned several DF levels and projects on a fairly regular basis since 2001.

Here is a taste:

- Operation Cakewalk (abandoned due to lack of interest)

- The Galimar Saga! This was my pet project and the closest I ever came to actually completing something. It was going to be a five level series in which you would play an Imperial Stormtrooper named Dol Galimar. You were sent in to attack a rebel base and discover these incriminating files that indicate one of the Empire's own was betraying them by disclosing military secrets. So Galimar goes off and eventually finds out it's this corrupt Imperial governor. And the conclusion is you facing him down at his fortress. I had high epic plans of making something like Beyond Glory 2, and my first level's archetecture was actually all done, but an unfourtunate hard drive crash lost my level files and everything I had done. Over three weeks of solid steady work gone and I lost much of the desire I had to complete the project, so it's never been picked up again. The grand conclusion would have you facing down both rebel and Imperial soldiers, but it was too ambitious an idea for my skills at the time anyway. I didn't even know how to do second altitude yet.

And there were other "projects" that came and went. I'm still occasionally working on a little project that sees Kyle infiltrating an Imperial base in the mountains. It's actually quite impressive and I have the editing and design skills to back it up, but my job and the rigors of life after high school have eaten up any time. I've also got other interests now, but I still love DF and would love to finish a GOOD level. Of course it's a pointless venture now, since the community is dying and people are moving on.

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"Curse you, Kanos!!! Why don't you just DIE?!"

[Barry Brien]

I'm considering releasing level 1 on The Dark Tide IV pretty soon, like in a matter of weeks. Hang around for that.

[Nottheking]

Over the past couple of weeks, I've actually picked up WDFUSE again, partly because some problems put my main PC (which simply can't do DF) out of commission temporarily.

I've re-done that elusive "first level" for the last time, and am now making actual progress on it; I know what it's going to look like, the overall outline of the mission, the location, etc., so it's set from this point forward. In a few days, I may even put out some screenshots to show what it's like.

While I'm not INCREDIBLY interested to be working on this, I know that there's another project that I've been enamored by since I started working on it back in 2003 or 2004. (don't remember the YEAR, now isn't that sad?) However, the plot-line that was part of it, and so integral to it, requires that there be a level before it. Hence, the need for a first level of this "series." (likely 4, possibly 5, missions)

So, in short, I'm moving forward with this, (already at, sector-wise, around 200 with around 2500 vertices) and I'm not stopping. I may nuke individual sections of it, (I recently spent several days working on a single area as the original design because it had portal HoMs all to hell) but the overall concept and design is set.

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Wake up, George Lucas... The Matrix has you..

[Jackson]

Well, it's Spring Break for me, so I'm going to work on sprucing up the projects section -- i.e. putting together a form for authors to work with, like we used to have.

[Nottheking]

Wow, for the first time, I FINALLY got Dark Forces working on my Athlon64 machine. It's taken me what, nearly 3 years?

However, a slight problem: I can't get music. Sound, yes, but if I manage to give it ANY music data that works, it will lock up. Ah well... But perhaps this means I'll actually be editing more often, then...

_________________
Wake up, George Lucas... The Matrix has you..