Hello guys.
Today I just got a simple reflection about this mod, some thoughts of mine that I'd like to express with you, my followers, or fellow modders, or simply those of you who like my work and are always there leaving those awesome comments.
So let's get to it. To make things short, I can't believe how fast time goes by, how much things can change in the course of years, even life itself.
I remember a while back, when I started this mod. Back in 2012, to be exact. All I wanted was to create a single player experience that was most likely going to be a portfolio piece rather than a playable mod for the community. I was (and I think I still am) just some modder trying to recreate my thoughts and ideas into a game, THIS game actually, Doom 3, a game I loved ever since it came out (Well to be honest I was quiiite young when it first saw the light).
So without even noticing, my knowledge started to grow, after many, many years of trial and error, mapping, editing, gui coding, scripting. And here's where it all comes down. This, my project. S.T.A.R. 1088. I would have never thought I'd ever undertake on a project this big, this ambitious.
Yes, there's a lot of new stuff going on in S.T.A.R. 1088, and believe it or not, even though I did have previous experience, most of the features seen here were all learned throughout the creation of this very mod! Believe me, when I first started this, I didn't even know a language called C++ existed (Actually I did :P, but I'd never thought I'd ever even understand some of it, or even create lines for it!) And here I am, I can consider this project my very own jewel.
You can't imagine how important this is to me. I'm sure you can't imagine...
Looking back through the years, I usually have this feeling of nostalgia. If you guys notice, the older screenshots were taken in a poor 1280 x 1024 resolution screen! My old screen, the one that accompanied me through most of this process called learning.
And here's where all this nostalgia comes from. I'm sure most of you here will understand me.
Many may not, and I don't blame you!
I'm not saying this is easy, sometimes it becomes a hard and tedious task.
There's a lot to be taken care of by only one man, me, the whole team!
And I'm thankful there's still an awesome community willing to help. Be it comments, borrowed textures, sound libraries, concept art. Many of you guys helped through the development of this project.
And I hope you'll keep helping!
I've also seen how many of you loved the assets pack I've uploaded way back in 2013.
I thank you for that, for at least taking a look at it. If you enjoyed it, I guess I acomplished my task as a modder. There was a lot of time and effort put there, and it's free for you to use!
And back to this project, even though some times my life doesn't allow me to work that much on it,
not as much as I'd like to, every time I open the editor I think to myself "this is S.T.A.R. 1088, not just some mod". I'm not going to lie to you, it's difficult to map for this project, I aim for a fully detailed world where "every single square inch of the game is taken care of".
But I swear It'll all be worth it. All this effort, this project itself!
So I guess this is it, I'll try to deliver a unique experience, the best I can. I hope you don't mind this little thought, I thought I needed to share it with you somehow, wherever you are :)
I hope you guys keep up all your awesome feedback, you know who you are ;)
See you next time!
Hopefully you'll notice how much more alive the new ones look compared to the old ones you've seen previously. And these are only two out of the many more there are! :)
i just want to say that those screencaps look amazing either way
I believe you ;)
// Personal sidenote: I think that major obstacle when maintaining such a large-scale pet project is fatigue.
// If it wasn't for your work, I'd never be able to finish OD3, or at least get it to its current form.
// Creating multitude of assets and writing line after line of custom code is taxing, especially if you don't see effect immediately. Proceeding without feedback is like walking blind. Not to mention all the fear linked to perceived reception of one's work.
// Releasing often " a good enough software " gives a very good feedback. With OD3 I released new iteration every single day at some point. If it wasn't for a very forgiving, helpful and excited community, my project would go to limbo forever. But I have a bit of OCD myself, I understand when it's not a feasible approach. It took me almost a heart attack to release first alpha, and every other one pumped adrenaline into my brain like crazy.
// For quite a few years I'm coding a roguelike game. It went through two engine changes, three major rewrites (including one starting from scratch), and even two whole concept revisions. Unlike OD3, this one is 100% mine, and I know I won't release it until it'll be perfect.
// But is it even possible? Now I know it's not. There'll always be some issues, always. But I'll proceed nevertheless, hoping that one day it'll meet my unrealistic requirements.
// Most important thing (I guess) is to enjoy the road itself. Nowadays many people are discouraged by "the road", many people would like to see rapid successes. And I think I'm one of those people. But I try to focus on "the road" itself and take as much joy from walking it as possible. And I see you do too, which I deeply respect.
// Keep up the good work. I believe that we'll see S.T.A.R. very soon.
// And that some crazy ******* will give it 1/10 with a review saying: "dull, nuthin laek 2016 doom meh" ;)
Great pics, both instances of those scenes show quality to me, but I understand the improvements.
Your thing and D3:Phobos are the most exciting Doom 3 projects for me right now (I'd also say Total Recall but I wish to have more info and screens about it).
I'm glad to see that you are still motivated, after some time one's will tend to get dimmer, so many dead projects...
Know that you can count on me for whatever kind of help you may require, I know that you are already well fitted in all of Doom 3 editing aspects, but I just want to confirm on my part your statement that this is a helpful community.
Saludos.
This looks more like something from a major {good} development house than from one person slaving away. Unbelievable work.
A magnum Opus if there ever was one.
You are a professional mapper, no doubt about that.
As people say above You are pro :) and I hope You will finish what You have started.
I totally get what you're going through. I've grown into a man while working on Phobos. It's ambivalent to think about how much time you spend on a project like this, but in the end it all shows through the project itself and that's super satisfying.
Keep at it! Your game looks really great so far!
I can only empathize with you man. Modding teaches you some valuable lessons and skills, not only in gaming, but it also broadens your horizons of what is possible in real life too. Trial and error used to restrict me but when motivation hits me now, I can create some great pieces of art, that a couple of years ago the old me would think 'WOW, if only I could make that'. This is not to say I'm bragging, it just shows progress.
I'm hoping you're finding inspiration because we all need to play this, so get it finished! :)
Hoping to see it released, so I could critize it :))