Thursday, May 31, 2012

The Dust Settled, What Do We Do Now?

Surviving our disappointment wasn't easy. More than half of our clan was gone. 90% of our remaining clan-members refused to play HL2DM. GDawgg Clan was in shambles. I was fortunate to have some stalwart clan-members who didn't give up on me. Who didn't give up on us. We were barely more than two years in existence in November of 2004. I asked myself, "what do we do now?" Finding answers to that question wasn't easy either.

Initially, the key to our survival was in playing other games. We were forced to go back to Half-Life, just to maintain some balance. We also played AG, DOD, CS and CS:S (Adrenaline Gamer, Day of Defeat, Counter Strike, Counter Strike:Source). The problem was none of these games could really sustain us given where we were mentally at that time. The build-up to HL2's release had been so huge and it took so long (the original release date was pushed back 6 months to November 2004). Yeah, you guessed it, the air had been let out of the balloon and we were completely deflated. It's a wonder that we got through that. We tried and tried to make Half-Life be for us what it once had been. We played it. We still had two very popular and well-trafficked Half-Life Killbox servers. It just wasn't the same anymore, no matter how much we played it. Being in this state of not having a game to play that we could be collectively enthused about made all of us seek other outlets. To be honest I can't remember what the other guys did. But for me, I had two HL2DM servers to run. Or, not to run. I could've easily just dropped them but for some reason, I didn't. I knew I had to get someone to make a Killbox for HL2DM and perhaps then my clan-mates would regain some interest and come try it out, even with all the flaws that HL2DM had. That was my mission. Find a map-maker.

How does one find a map-maker? Well, what I did was to search the HL2DM server menu for custom maps. Occasionally I would stumble into one of these custom maps and the mapper would be there alone, testing it. Sometimes I'd get kicked straight-away. Sometimes the mapper would leave and sometimes the server would just crash as soon as I arrived. One day, following my search routine, I wound up in a custom map with a guy named Black Hat Rob. He didn't feel the need to kick me out or crash the server or leave. He stayed and we chatted. I told him what I needed and that I'd pay him for it. We agreed on $35. A few days later (12.08.04) he produced dm_killbox_gdawgg and I began running this map on both of our GDawgg HL2DM Killbox servers. Then on 12.18.04, Rob created dm_killbox_gdwg, implementing some changes I'd requested. Unfortunately, the majority of my clan-mates were just not interested in HL2DM. Having a killbox for the game didn't change things. And, I completely understood. HL2DM was such a huge disappointment for all of us. The only difference for me was I had to take us somewhere. I didn't know where. I just knew we couldn't stay in this funk forever. We had to move forward and it was my job to get us there.

We did have one clan-member who embraced HL2DM. His name was TOI YA BAS, from Scotland.
TOI, as I used to call him, played HL2DM early and often, every day. He wasn't in a funk like the rest of us. This was refreshing for me because he loved our new HL2DM Killbox maps. Our killbox maps became popular and our servers were chock-full of regular players in a short period of time.

A few months went by. Another development that helped us get beyond our HL2DM disappointment was the creation of a Half-Life map by one of our clan-mates. Her name was stupid. Yes, that was her player name and she was anything but stupid. She was very creative. stupid was from Switzerland and she was a cutie too. To date, she is the only female member GDawgg Clan has ever had. stupid made a Half-Life map for us. It was called M-Cross. It gave us something new and different to play. I really liked the map. Played it a lot. It gave me an idea: have it made for HL2DM.

It was now June, 2005. I met a guy named Bullet Magnet. He's from Scotland like TOI. I have no recollection of how or where we met. It had to be in one of our GDawgg HL2DM Killbox servers but I'm not sure. Just do not remember. Okay, so now you're wondering why is it so important to remember when and where I met Bullet? Easy. He changed everything. He changed everything. How? He is a mapper extraordinaire. A "Master Map-Maker". He and I became fast friends. Bullet created a number of maps for GDawgg Clan. Eleven in total. He would eventually make an HL2DM version of stupid's map, M-Cross. Here's one of Bullet's most profound creations: DM_Killbox_GDWG_BB1 http://gdawgg.com/195.html. But, how did he change everything? Perhaps you'd like to know? He taught me how to use Hammer World Editor. This is the tool used to make maps for Half-Life and HL2DM. The entire pc gaming landscape shifted for me once I had the knowledge of how to make my own maps. It was like discovering an entirely new universe that had been dwelling right inside my own head just waiting to be revealed.

It happened like this: I was looking through the HL2DM server menu one day and I saw a map named "tehbox" in the server list. The name intrigued me. I joined the server. There was no one there. The map was so cool to me. By the looks of things it was quite apparent that tehbox was unfinished. What I had discovered was a work in progress. It was a huge wooden platform with very few weapons and a smallish cinder-block building in the center with an operable crane on top. There were also shipping containers on the huge wooden platform. I looked and looked for some clue as to who the original map-maker was for tehbox. Attribution is very important to me. It was critical to find out who made this incomplete, yet very cool map. Unfortunately, I never found out who the original mapper was. I asked Bullet to make some changes to this map for me. It became quite the collaboration between the two of us. He must've made five or six versions of this map for me. The best version, dm_killbox_tehbox_3a was very popular on our GDawgg servers. Then one day I say to Bullet,"can you make a map for me with a long corridor and a bunch of doors leading to various different rooms?" The idea for this map spawned from the film, Matrix Reloaded. In the movie, there was a scene where Morpheus and Trinity have to get the Key-Maker out of a building with a long corridor and hundreds of doors. That's where I got the idea. I figured that Bullet and I had collaborated so well on Tehbox_3A that this doors idea ought to be just as good, if not better. We got started. It was a good start. But then something happened on Bullet's end. I think it was either family or career-related. Or, maybe he simply got tired of making maps for me. That's quite possible. Whatever it was made him almost inaccessible via the web all of a sudden. I couldn't get in contact with him when I was having brainstorms about the doors map. I had to write stuff down and/or remember stuff and some of my ideas got lost in the process. So, after a few days of no contact with Bullet, I finally caught up with him and said, "hey man, maybe you can show me how to use Hammer..." It only took an instant for him to show me where to download Hammer from and where to find an online Hammer tutorial. Within an hour I created a test map by following instructions from the tutorial. Nothing in my pc gaming world would ever be the same again.

To be continued...


Monday, May 28, 2012

Half-Life 2

I realize many current HL2DM players never played Half-life. The result for those players has been to praise HL2DM as this magnificent game with this magnificent "gravity-gun", awesome physics and awesome graphics. Many of those players, the ones who never played Half-Life, still think and some will even say that Half-Life 2 is one of the best games ever made.

Those of us who played Half-Life and loved the game do not agree.

In 2003 and 2004 our entire clan of 30 plus members was anxiously anticipating the release of HL2. We just knew it was going to be awesome. The entire pc gaming world was on the edge of it's collective seat, waiting for the release of HL2. This was going to be big. Real big. In May of 2003 I flew out to E3 in Los Angeles to meet with and interview Gabe Newell, the Managing Director of Valve Corporation, about this great new game that he and his company were set to release. I recorded my interview with Gabe and it can still be seen on GDawgg.com today: http://gdawgg.com/gnv2.mpg.mpeg. Valve was so engrossed with their new physics engine and facial movements of the game's characters that maintaining weapon continuity from Half-Life and fluidity of player-movement were simply not on their radar. When HL2 was finally released in November of 2004, I and my clan-mates were completely disgusted with the game. So much so, that nearly half of our clan lost interest in playing and left the clan. To put it plainly, we were pissed. We felt betrayed by Valve.

Here are a few reasons why.
  1. Half-Life is "always run", not the pathetic "fatigue-able sprint" that encumbers HL2DM.
  2. In addition to being always run, there is also a server variable in Half-Life that allows admins to adjust the player run speed. This variable was disabled in HL2DM.
  3. The "jump-pack" from Half-Life was also removed from HL2DM. This item allows players in Half-Life to jump high, long and fast.
  4. Running/movement in HL2DM is like running in a vat of molasses. I was one of the first, if not the first, HL2DM server admin in November of 2004 to adjust the gravity on all my servers to "105" simply to make player movement more fluid.
  5. The .357 Magnum in Half-Life is zoomable. This also was disabled in HL2DM.
  6. The crossbow in Half-Life had no delay. ZERO DELAY. Not so in HL2DM. What does that mean, no delay? It means that if you target a player with the crossbow in Half-Life and click the mouse, the player is hit and is dead immediately, unless they've picked up some armor. In HL2, you have to lead the player and anticipate the player's next move to get crossbow kills.
  7. The most egregious change/omission made by Valve was the replacement of the tau-cannon with the gravity-gun. The tau-cannon is easily the most multi-dimensional weapon I've ever used in any game I've played since 1992. The alternate-fire feature on the tau-cannon (right-mouse) allows the player to charge the weapon and upon release of the right-mouse the burst from the tau-cannon can propel the player high and far in an instant. Additionally, this same alt-fire burst can kill enemies through any surface in the game (walls, floors, ceilings, etc). In killbox the tau-cannon is lethal because the position of every player in the map is visible and this weapon is used to easily kill players on any catwalk or platform in the map with a simple charge and burst. The gravity-gun, in comparison, is not even worth mentioning. Many would argue this point. I would answer those arguments by saying the gravity-gun has zero bearing on player movement, unlike the tau-cannon. The instantaneous propulsion of the player by the tau-cannon is a game-changer. No other weapon in any game has this capability. Also, the gravity-gun cannot kill an enemy by itself, unlike the tau-cannon. Finally, the gravity-gun cannot kill an enemy in another room or building from the outside of that room or building. The tau-cannon can and does. This single omission/change, removing the tau-cannon, by Valve in their release of HL2 was the one that pissed us off the most. To the Dawggs of GDawgg Clan it was inexcusable. Valve and Steam became synonymous with failure to us. That sentiment still exists in our midst today. However, for anyone who never played Half-Life Killbox, you don't understand our perspective and you have no frame of reference so it's impossible for you to ever understand.
In the wake of this disaster, HL2DM, my clan was in a state of unrest and anger. Some guys just disappeared never to be seen again. Other guys said their good-byes and went to play BF1942. Either way, those of us who remained were left to keep the clan together in spite of HL2DM.


Along with WRATH and Spam I AM, two of my most trusted clan-mates to this day who stuck it out with me during those early HL2DM years are Swiz and MaiM. We've all gotten to know each other very well over these years and their loyalty to our clan is unquestionable. These four guys and myself are all that remain from the pre-2004 GDawgg Clan. There are not sufficient words to express my gratitude to WRATH, Spam, Swiz and MaiM for what they've meant to this clan over the course of what will soon be a decade.

Guys, thank you, thank you, thank you.

To be continued...


Friday, May 11, 2012

The Dawggs

Plainly put, IP and I went on a recruiting binge. He would bring me the names of prospective clan members aka "Dawggs" and I had final say as to who would get in and who wouldn't. I wasn't too overly selective, we had a clan to build. I'd never done this before and there were no manuals on "clan-building" lying around. My pressing concern was to get Spam I Am and Sarge in the clan. They were each hesitant initially but both agreed to join us. I was thrilled. Now my new clan could take on anyone in a clan match and win. Awesome!

These are the names of the early Dawggs of GDawgg Clan: IP_Sitting_Down, GULL THE VIOLATOR, doc (later changed his name to WRATH), gorgon, Mad Hatter (gorgon's hockey-playing son), Spam I Am, Sarge, slash aka W/O Remorse, godwhisky, Kill Sport, Whole Lotta Holes (Holes for short), sil3ntninja, Big Mac Attack, Romello, Tarwn, FIREFOX71, FalconX, PuShAmAn=ud1*, deadami, X a Qshuner, TOI YA BAS (Scotland), Swiz, (Northern England), Enhanced, Desert Eagle, MaiM, Austin Powers, Rancid and Sidewinder.

The stories I could tell. Whew! We had a blast together. There was only one game worth playing back then as far as we knew and that game was Half-Life. Killbox was the only map we ever played. Endlessly. I set the time limit on all GDawgg Killbox servers to "0". For the uninitiated, that means there was no time limit. The map never rotated - lol. Players would regularly spend four or five hours at a time fragging in our servers, racking up scores well above 1000 kills for a given session.

The Dawggs of the GDawgg Clan were very close and we had some real characters in our midst. Most notably GULL. What a guy, what a guy. GULL was a crazy-awesome killbox player, very talented, extremely passionate about our clan and loyal like there's no tomorrow. He was pretty funny too. FIREFOX, aka Foxy was quite the character as well. However, I had a nemesis in my own clan. A guy who I targeted whenever we were in "the box" at the same time: doc. He and I must've spent thousands of hours fragging, blowing each other's brains out repeatedly then laughing about it. It didn't matter who else was playing, I was always trying to kill him first and foremost. Why? You might ask. We were both intensely competitive and somehow we both tried to prove it by killing each other more, most, early and often. He was simply the guy I had to kill, no matter what. The cool thing about it is we became very good friends. There was never any ill will between us, just great competition. I think the reason he called himself doc was because one of the stock Half-Life player models was Dr. Kleiner, a nuclear physicist. doc always used that model. Dr. Kleiner had a bald head and a lab-coat. Go figure. In September of 2003 doc changed his name to WRATH. I'm proud to say he's still a member of GDawgg Clan to this very day. He's seen the thick and the thin of it in our clan and he's never left. For that I'm truly grateful.

For every guy who has ever been in our clan I could tell four or five stories. Of course, there are some stories I simply cannot tell.


At the moment, there's just not enough time to recount all the events of our newly-formed clan that occurred between 2002 and 2004. But some of the names from the list above stand out: Tarwn: stone-cold .357 killer and the guy who re-coded our website for me in 2003. Tarwn is a skilled programmer. Kill Sport: killbox RPG camper. He was unapologetic about it too. We didn't mind though, he was one of us. sil3ntninja: graphic artist. Extremely talented and deadly in killbox. Ninja made numerous banners, logos, and flash images for our website. He made major design changes to GDawgg.com. Whole Lotta Holes: great guy, great player, great clan-mate. Holes is an experienced Unreal Tournament series mapper. Desert Eagle: deadly. Almost impossible to beat. Austin Powers: funny funny guy. Big Mac Attack: perhaps the most deadly Dawgg ever in Half-Life. Skill out of this world! He's no longer in our clan, yet he's still our friend and he still plays Half-Life killbox.

For my next blog post I'll talk about two very good friends who've been on this path with me since 2003: Swiz and MaiM...