Posted on Sunday, 8th April 2012 by Scott
I’m perpetually amazed and gladdened at how this mod continues to attract players.
Prolific game reviewer and proper British gentleman Chris Were recently posted his five part video walkthrough of Burden of 80 Proof.
You can check it out here: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5
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Posted on Thursday, 15th December 2011 by Scott
I wanted to start the player with a Lancer but no ammo.
It took some trickery to make it happen, so here’s how I did it using Kismet.
1) Create a new Level Startup Event (New Event > Level Startup)
2) In your \Gears of War\Binaries folder, create a text file called “Start.txt” containing these two commands:
Set WarfareGame.Weap_AssaultRifle InitialMagazines 0
Set WarfareGame.Weap_AssaultRifle MagSize 0.5
The reason we set MagSize to 0.5 is that setting MagSize to 0 produces the effect of unlimited ammo for the player, yet as soon as you collect some real ammo the game displays the NEGATIVE number of rounds you’ve shot so far. For some reason, 0.5 sets the effective MagSize to zero, so let’s use it.
3) Create a new Player Variable (New Variable > Object > Player)
4) Create a new Console Command Action (New Action > Misc > Console Command).
5) Create a new Give Inventory Action (New Action > Pawn > Give Inventory).
At this point, Kismet is changing the default values for the Lancer so that it comes with zero ammo, then it removes the player’s starting Lancer and replaces it. The player now begins the level holding an empty Lancer.
But of course the player will eventually, triumphantly find some ammo. So how to we set things back to normal? Much the same way.
6) Add a WarWeaponPickupFactory to your map, in the place where you want the player to collect his first ammo. The editor will append an integer to the end of the object, let’s use WarWeaponPickupFactory_1 in this example.
7) With the WarWeaponPickupFactory_1 STILL SELECTED in the Editor, enter Kismet, right click and select New Event Using WarWeaponPickupFactory_1 > Pickup Status Change.
8) In your \Gears of War\Binaries folder, create another text file called “FirstAmmoPickup.txt” containing these two commands:
Set WarfareGame.Weap_AssaultRifle InitialMagazines 6
Set WarfareGame.Weap_AssaultRifle MagSize 60
You can set these values to whatever you want, I chose the default values from the Gears of War single player campaign.
9) Create a new Console Command Action (New Action > Misc > Console Command).
10) Create a new Give Inventory Action (New Action > Pawn > Give Inventory).
So now when the player picks up this Lancer, Kismet again resets the default values for a Lancer, then removes the player’s Lancer and replaces it with a new one.
Here’s the finished Kismet diagram (click to enlarge):
That’s it, you’re done!
Posted in Gears of War Design Tutorials | Comments (0)
Posted on Wednesday, 9th September 2009 by Scott
…about its legacy!
In honor of the Sega Dreamcast’s 10th birthday, I oil painted an 8′ x 12′ rendition of The Last Supper with Ryo Hazuki as Christ, Crazy Taxi as Judas and the chicks from Dead or Alive 2 as everyone else. Unfortunately, it got ruined by those security pricks at the Guggenheim, with their “You can’t bring that in here” and their “He’s obviously drunk.”
So instead I present the fantastic image below, by Nacho Fernandez.
Happy 10th, DC!
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Posted on Tuesday, 28th April 2009 by Scott
Bathroom Construction Completed: 2145
Bathroom Style: Futuristic
Features: 3 urinals, 3 stalls, 3 sinks, 3 soap dispensers, 2 hand dryers (Mars City); 3 urinals, 3 stalls, 2 sinks, 1 soap dispenser, 1 hand dryer (Delta Labs)
Can You Play With The Fixtures? No
In Doom 3, the 2004 first-person-shooter from genre pioneers id Software, the powerful and ethically grey Union Aerospace Corporation has opened a gateway to hell in their Mars Research Facility, releasing a scourge of violent demons. The player takes on the role of a nameless space marine, sent to battle this legions of grim creatures intent on destroying humanity, including the research facility and its two bathrooms: one in the “Mars City” level and another in the “Delta Labs Sector 2A” level.
Graphics: 9/10
Sporting the id Tech 4 graphics engine designed by id Software programming guru John Carmack, Doom 3 delivers some of the best looking bathrooms in gaming. Using a feature called per-pixel lighting, Doom 3′s bathrooms boast a convincing and very eerie atmosphere, with stall doors dynamically casting spooky shadows over the bathroom’s dimmed fluorescent lights. Additionally, Doom 3′s advanced physics engine allows bathroom props (such as mop buckets) to react to the player in an extremely realistic manner.
Sound: 8/10
The audio direction in Doom 3′s bathrooms can easily be described as top notch. The bathroom doors open and close with a convincing whoosh, the player’s movement rings with the authentic noise of boots on industrial floor tiles, and flickering bathroom lights sound exactly like they are struggling to stay powered up. The game also supports 5.1 surround sound, so if you have the appropriate audio hardware, Doom 3 allows you to fully immerse yourself in the sounds of an action-horror bathroom like no game before it.
Bathroom Design: 7/10
Aside from the technical achievements, Doom 3′s bathrooms also exhibit excellent aesthetics. With their spacious layouts, the bathrooms in both Mars City and Delta Labs make a good first impression. The urinals adhere well to the futuristic theme, and are spaced comfortably apart. Both the urinal dividers and toilet stall walls appear to be constructed of the same industrial steel which comprises the rest of the facility, providing visitors with a genuine sense of security while they go about their business. And little touches like the multiple soap dispensers in Mars City really round out the experience of being in the bathroom of a futuristic military base besieged by vicious monsters.
Amenities: 6/10
Overall, the amenities in Doom 3′s bathrooms are decent but not stellar. Large mirrors feature prominently, and the soap dispensers and toilet paper rolls are both well stocked. On the down side, it was somewhat disappointing to discover that the fixtures did not work, as functional sinks, urinals and toilets are present in older and less technologically advanced games such as Deus Ex.
Cleanliness: 3/10
Unfortunately, here’s where things start to go downhill for the Doom 3′s bathrooms. On the day I visited the Mars City bathroom, a headless and limbless torso was on the floor as well as several quarts of smeared blood, both of which were definitely noticeable. I found the situation to be much the same over in Delta Labs; the front area of the bathroom was spotless, but there was a grotesque Fat Zombie occupying the middle stall, sitting amidst what appeared to be more pools of smeared blood. As I approached him he awakened and began shambling towards me in a threatening manner, forcing me to bludgeon him to death with the flashlight I was issued upon arriving at the facility.
However, given that much of the rooms were actually clean beyond these particular offending areas, I’m willing to give the custodial staff the benefit of the doubt, with the understanding that under better circumstances the bathrooms would likely be free of splattered bodily fluids and the undead.
Hazard and Safety Compliance: 1/10
Here’s another area where the Doom 3′s bathrooms could use some improvement. Let’s start with the good news. One of the bathrooms was fairly well lit, and aside from the pools of blood I mentioned earlier, free of any leaks which could create a risk of slippage. I was also glad to see the handicapped stall, which is definitely necessary to accommodate any wheelchair-bound space marines.
Sadly, I’m afraid these positives are vastly outweighed by the bathroom’s drawbacks. In addition to the dangerous Fat Zombie I mentioned earlier, the Delta Labs rest room is home to a pair of active hell-portals, which spawned two large and very unsafe Imps as I was exiting the room. Additionally, someone had carelessly left a working shotgun on the floor of the center stall, which could pose a danger to any child space marines.
Final Score: 6/10
The rest rooms in Doom 3 are a study in contradictions. While the Union Aerospace Corporation clearly excels at a number of industrial pursuits, one gets the feeling that life for the residents and employees of the Mars Research Facility could definitely be improved if the issues I’ve outlined here were addressed.
Got a game bathroom you’d like to see reviewed? Let us know!
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Posted on Wednesday, 17th December 2008 by Scott
According to the Entertainment Software Association‘s recent study (“Essential Facts About The Computer And Videogame Industry”), the current average video game player age is 35 years. Here’s a look at the sales figures for this year’s top selling titles aimed at the “30 and over” demographic:
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