Recollection. (Long Winded Post from an Old INF Map Maker.)
Posted: Wed Jan 04, 2012 8:30 pm
Hello Friends,
This post will be a bit long winded, but I just wanted to take a moment to reflect on this game, as it has always held a special place in my heart. It gives me a good feeling inside to know that some semblance of a community still exists.
For those of you who do not know me, I made my first steps into the Infiltration playground back when I was 14 years old. I am 26 now, so almost half a lifetime ago I began playing Unreal 1. I was in Junior High school, and I had saved up just enough money to buy a game. My family had its first computer, and I was wanting to jump into the world of 3D Games. I still remember the store I was at, and where I found the box that would forever change the concept of video games for me... UNREAL! Its black box, embossed logo... Gold trimmed!
Upon purchase, I went home and installed it. Having spent most of my computer time making maps for Warcraft 2, I immediately learned of UnrealEd. Unfortunatley, UnrealEd would not work for me. Having no internet at the time, I went to a friends house and paid him the remaining money I had to download and burn "UnrealEdFix4.exe" to a CD for me. Once I got UnrealEd working, the next step was to learn how to use it! While at school one day, I found a site with tutorials, and printed out an entire binder of these UnrealEd tutorials. I spent the next several months making my own Death Match maps.
I remember the first night that my family got the internet. 56k Modem! Screaming fast! I jumped on Unreal only to find that I had to patch!!! I waited and waited, FINALLY! I was able to jump online! In the server browser I saw many many servers. Most of them were empty, but there was one name that was prevalent through the server list
[SOBServers.Com]
Naturally, I gravitated towards these servers. They had low ping for me, and I was able to make a few friends my first few games. As I looked at all of the SOB Servers in the list, I became rapidly aware of Infiltration. I downloaded the mod and waited as the first map that I would see loaded... "Ghetto". I was a teenager at the time, and hearing the repeating loop on the radio, matched with the more realistic feel for the map SOLD me. The next day as I got home from school I jumped on UnrealEd with some new realistic texture packs and hit it hard.
Over the course of the next few weeks (Or was it months?) I did all I could to become a member of this [SOB] Clan. I was hell bent on being their official map maker (haha). Eventually I was granted membership, and [SOB]Grunt, seeing some potential in me, talked [SOB]DaddyBone into offering me some webspace to host my maps. It was at this point that I created my first webpage.
I spent the next two years making maps for Unreal Infiltration. I was always so satisfied when I came upon a server hosting one of my maps.... For me, it was a big deal!! As time went on, and I made more and more maps, I realized my satisfaction didnt come from the game, but from seeing people play on my maps. It still astounds me to this day that Gravity Kills became such a big deal.
Skip forward to today. SOBServers.com is dead, and all of my old friends are gone. I occasionally talk to Grunt online Via Aim. I am a web programmer by trade, but I still havent lost my passion for gaming.
Its good to see this community still has a pulse (Albeit a very subtle one).
I came upon a few websites after googling my username, and I found several sites hosting zip files of my old maps. The feeling of nostalgia rushed back and bit me!
I purchased Unreal Gold on steam the other day for $2... I think I will create a map to see if I still have any talent left. Perhaps we can all organize a time to play.
At any rate.. Cheers, to any of you who know me. Greetings to those of you who do not.
This post will be a bit long winded, but I just wanted to take a moment to reflect on this game, as it has always held a special place in my heart. It gives me a good feeling inside to know that some semblance of a community still exists.
For those of you who do not know me, I made my first steps into the Infiltration playground back when I was 14 years old. I am 26 now, so almost half a lifetime ago I began playing Unreal 1. I was in Junior High school, and I had saved up just enough money to buy a game. My family had its first computer, and I was wanting to jump into the world of 3D Games. I still remember the store I was at, and where I found the box that would forever change the concept of video games for me... UNREAL! Its black box, embossed logo... Gold trimmed!
Upon purchase, I went home and installed it. Having spent most of my computer time making maps for Warcraft 2, I immediately learned of UnrealEd. Unfortunatley, UnrealEd would not work for me. Having no internet at the time, I went to a friends house and paid him the remaining money I had to download and burn "UnrealEdFix4.exe" to a CD for me. Once I got UnrealEd working, the next step was to learn how to use it! While at school one day, I found a site with tutorials, and printed out an entire binder of these UnrealEd tutorials. I spent the next several months making my own Death Match maps.
I remember the first night that my family got the internet. 56k Modem! Screaming fast! I jumped on Unreal only to find that I had to patch!!! I waited and waited, FINALLY! I was able to jump online! In the server browser I saw many many servers. Most of them were empty, but there was one name that was prevalent through the server list
[SOBServers.Com]
Naturally, I gravitated towards these servers. They had low ping for me, and I was able to make a few friends my first few games. As I looked at all of the SOB Servers in the list, I became rapidly aware of Infiltration. I downloaded the mod and waited as the first map that I would see loaded... "Ghetto". I was a teenager at the time, and hearing the repeating loop on the radio, matched with the more realistic feel for the map SOLD me. The next day as I got home from school I jumped on UnrealEd with some new realistic texture packs and hit it hard.
Over the course of the next few weeks (Or was it months?) I did all I could to become a member of this [SOB] Clan. I was hell bent on being their official map maker (haha). Eventually I was granted membership, and [SOB]Grunt, seeing some potential in me, talked [SOB]DaddyBone into offering me some webspace to host my maps. It was at this point that I created my first webpage.
I spent the next two years making maps for Unreal Infiltration. I was always so satisfied when I came upon a server hosting one of my maps.... For me, it was a big deal!! As time went on, and I made more and more maps, I realized my satisfaction didnt come from the game, but from seeing people play on my maps. It still astounds me to this day that Gravity Kills became such a big deal.
Skip forward to today. SOBServers.com is dead, and all of my old friends are gone. I occasionally talk to Grunt online Via Aim. I am a web programmer by trade, but I still havent lost my passion for gaming.
Its good to see this community still has a pulse (Albeit a very subtle one).
I came upon a few websites after googling my username, and I found several sites hosting zip files of my old maps. The feeling of nostalgia rushed back and bit me!
I purchased Unreal Gold on steam the other day for $2... I think I will create a map to see if I still have any talent left. Perhaps we can all organize a time to play.
At any rate.. Cheers, to any of you who know me. Greetings to those of you who do not.