Entry 01: December 5 2897

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"Two mags of ammo, and one grenade left, we won't be holding out much longer. Gage went outside to try and collect some of Their guns. I don't think he's coming back, They're too smart to let us scavenge anything. They know we won't last without weapons. He'll go outside, and They'll be waiting for him. He probably won't have time to scream..."

"...I hate Them, I wish They had never been created. None of this would have happened, and we wouldn't be stuck inside this fortress, with no hope of survival. Every time I see One, I can barely move, I'm so scared. I hate the small ones the most. They'll sneak up on you, and rip your head off before you can even take a shot. They crawl all over the fortress at night, and I can hear Their claws clicking on the metal. I haven't slept for five days, I can't stand to close my eyes anymore, not even for sleep."

"...1:00 in the morning, all is quiet outside finally. Gage didn't come back, just like I expected..."

"...2:00, I can hear something moving outside, something huge, I suspect this is going to be our last stand. The rest of the team is standing near the airlock, guns locked and loaded. If something comes through, we waste it. I'll go back to the armory to grab my shotgun and our last hand grenade, if we're overwhelmed, at least we won't go out without a fight......"

......

Big giant bugs! AAAAUGH!!

Well............... The last view weeks have been seriously tough, I'm running into pits and stumps with INFESTED, and it's a lot more trouble than I really ever thought it would be. 3D game work isn't easy, and neither is scripting. But that's not my problem. My problem is MAP making. I'm having a bad time with Dim3s map editor.

The good news, is Brian (Dim3 creator) will hopefully have something out soon that will allow me more flexibility. I know you all want INFESTED out ASAP, but it's haaaaard. And you don't want a pre-release of a crummy Alpha do you? That's what I thought... Anyway, be patient, and don't get fretful, if that's really a word.

Oh, and something cool isn't coming soon, and I'll just say that it might keep you distracted while you wait for INFESTED.

Until we meet again! Au Reviour!

Alexander-

Carpe Diem and COD3

Carpe Diem! Seize the day! That's the motto for me as I work forward to the release of Chapter-One of Marathon INFESTED. I am working to get as much done as possible, even if the texture's aren't right, or the gun sounds bad, or the map is a little bit off, or the frame-rate is not consistent, I simply want to get everything IN, so I can work everything OUT. i.e. I want to finish all the Chapter-One content so as to get to a solid playable state, then work out all the bugs and kinks. And so far this is working well.

Call of Duty 3? YES!!! The game totally rocks, and the Multiplayer can keep my attention for hours. I love this game! Why is this important? Well, because Call of Duty 3 does something truly remarkable with it's gameplay and graphics and level design. COD3 can keep your attention simply by making you feel as though the world around is alive with movement, sound and graphical effects. The graphics make the map look good. The sound makes the good looking map sound good, and lets you know what's going on, while immersing you in the world even if you're not doing anything. Lastly, the movement is the cream on the cake by turning the map into an artistic piece. The map is no longer a static model, but an interactive landscape that gives you an idea about what has happened, what is happening, and what may happen.

After playing COD3, I have realized what I really want to do with INFESTED. I want to take the awesome gameplay of the Marathon series, and combine that with the immersive game design of games like COD3, and combine THAT with the gritty and amazing looking graphics of games like Quake 4.

Will INFESTED look like Quake 4? Heck no, but Q4 will be the goal, whether I make it or not.

:D

Alexander-

(PS, if you see any typos or something, it's because I was punched in the eye while sparring at my Tae Kwon Do classes, and my eye is rather watery)

BIG FAT MAJOR PROGRESS!!!!

Lo Siento, to those who have been waiting for an update from this site. I am quite forgetful and I often need a reminder to do things. ccccc has kindly obliged, by reminding me that I DID say that the purpose of this blog was to prevent me from having to update my website constantly.

He's right, that's exactly the reason I created this blog. Soooooo, let's get on to the update...

BIG FAT MAJOR PROGRESS!!!! That is the headline for todays entry. INFESTED has progressed in leaps and bounds, and I have become more skilled in low poly modeling. I have also created a new process of texturing, where I hand paint, with no external textures, all of my models. It's awesome! I also found a great resource on the internet for photos for texture reference and base that I am using for my environmental textures. Progress is as follows:

*Finished 2nd Map
*Huge progress on 2nd texture set
*Completed Rebel Soldier Model/UV/Texture
*Devised new texturing technique
*Drew out concepts for almost every map in Chapter One
*Finished new weapon concepts
*Worked on Low Poly modeling skills
*Much progress in storyline
*New website design, [COMING SOON[
*Atmospheric Design Changes
*Modeled/UVed/Textured Rebel Gun Turret
*Designed HUD
*Progress in HUD graphics
*Revised Particle effects
*Preliminary AI Concept work

And more....

And if that's not enough to get your adrenaline running, then somethings wrong with you. :D

Anyway, Chapter One is going along smoothly, and although this may seem like a long wait (And it is) once Chapter One is complete, I'll FINALLY have a solid foundation on which to build the other chapters. So please be patient and know that it will all end happily.

Thanks!

-Alexander

INFESTED Progress!

The most complex level in Chapter One is complete! And I've finished texturing my own version of the Jjarro texture set, 36 hires hand painted textures in all. :)

The weapons are almost finished, just one more left, and the vehicles are near completion.
Maps are coming along very nicely as well. Expect Chapter One out soon! As well as another project.

Stay tuned for more.

SHOTGUN Poll (Results)

Unless someone else post, it looks like the WSTE-M duals only options has won. I will have no equivilant to the WSTE-M and it will be the only shotgun in the game. Thanks for voting people. :)

SHOTGUN Poll

Hey guys, I'm going to have a poll of sorts here to determine something about Shotguns in M:I

Of course I have the dual WSTE-M Shotguns in Marathon: INFESTED and no Marathon based game is complete without them. But, I also was going to have a rebel variant of a shotgun. BUT, I don't know if you people think it would cheapen the dual WSTE-M Shotguns to have another shotgun in the game. I was thinking of a shotgun along the lines of a clip-fed sawed-off type of weapon. So, post your opinions in the comments, and I'll see who wants what. The choices are:

1: Only the WSTE-M should be used, no other shotguns.
2: Use both, they sound cool and you should have variants.
3: OTHER