mp_smith addon - Call of Duty: United Offensive

Documentation

Author: AndrewT
Contact: modsonline.com, moddb.com
Map name: mp_smith
Version: v0.9
Release date: 2014.03.15
Platform: Call of Duty: United Offensive v1.51
Applications used:
- CoDRadiant
- CoD Texture Editor
- CoDUO Maker
- Adobe Photoshop CS6
- Notepad
- Audacity v1.3b
Sources used:
- modsonline.com (tutorials, comments)
- modbase.be (tutorials, comments)
- totalconversion.hu (tutorials, comments)
- cgtextures.com (textures)
Testers:
- Vandread05 (thanks, mate!)

History
This is the part that I believe no one would care to read. Anyways... The map has quite a history behind it. Back in 2005 when I started experimenting with Call of Duty map editing, I chose the same subject, but unfortunately didn't get far with it. Lack of promising results, lack of skills, lack of patience and lack of trustworthy hard disk drives hindered the completion, and at the end, this very initial and amateur attempt failed and completley lost.
Four years later, unfortunately and ironically, I had the freetime that the learning curve of the map editor and the completion of a map needed, and finsihed a completley different map project on a quality level I was quite satisfied with, being a first "real" attempt. Note, that by that time it was already 6 years into the game.
Out of the blue, in 2010 the infamous demonstration version of Commandos 2 appeared on the web. This was the only version of the demo, and wasn't initially meant for public release, only journalists could take their hands on it back in 2001, and you have to admire their discipline, as this demo wasn't leaked earlier. Only a couple of pictures were published about it, and only legends were floating about the functions it featured, meanwhile the final version of the game did not. The demo version presented, what a lucky coincidence, the mission Saving Private Smith, and the player was able to utilize the later restricted functions, like complete rotation and panning inside the buildings, and an additional top view outdoor.
This was the trigger, a chance you don't want to miss, as this top view could have served as a blueprint, offering exact dimensions, portions and placement. An input that is immence to a mapper that aims to recreate an "existing" location accurately. Something that would be invaluable for any mapper, and something most custom maps lack. So in December 2010 once again I took up with mapping, this time with more knowledge, more experince, more patience, but less time, which obviously shouldn't have caused an almost 3 year long building time. During this period I experienced the widest range of distractions that could have kept me away from the project sometimes for weeks, sometimes for months. Work, other obligations, frustration caused by the limitations of the editor, and finally a hard disk breakdown, again, after it seemed that 8 months of work was about to lose away. Only couple of days later appeared so, that luckily it wasn't.
About the limitations. After a while I had to admit, that if I ever want to finish this project, I couldn't stick to the 100 percent accuracy I was so desperately aiming for. Imagine that the good old Commandos 2 inside and outside models didn't fit each other sometimes, so the layout determined by the indoor view can't physically result in the respective outdoor view. Imagine that Call of Duty utilizes the so to speak veteran Quake 3 engine, and prefers every elements stick to the grid, parallel or perpendicular. Models can freely be rotated, theoretically brushes as well, but they become heavily distorted and off the grid, causing glitches ingame or even preventing the compilation. Considering all the above, some buildings on the map must have a different angle compared to their original counterparts. Except for this, every other inch of the map pretty much resembles the one Pyro Studios created.
Friends tried to convince me that it is only a waste of time, and I should find a newer platform to base the map on. I would say, they were right, but it was not a rational choice of mine. I am rather emotional about these two legendary games, Commandos 2: Men of Courage and Call of Duty: United Offensive. Doesn't really matter wether a decade has past since their release - this is my way to pay tribute to them, their developers, and the community. These are not one of those many games that you throw away just one year after their release, when the actual episode comes out. These games still have a surprisingly large player and modder community attached and addicted to them lurking in the shadows of the web, still enjoying what these games have to offer. Legendary games will always be remembered.

Future
A finished or completed map: every mapper knows that such things don't exist, there are always new ideas, new ways to polish your bits and bytes and change something around. You don't, you can't release a final "product", neither do I. You only publish something that has reached a quality level you judge worthy enough to let some players take their hands on it. Mp_smith has plenty of areas to be improved, couple of ideas that could not have been implemented. Yet. However this map most possibly signals my last act as a CoD/UO mapper, maybe some minor updates to it can still be expected.

Thank you for downloading and reading. If just one (being a multiplayer map, let's rather say: two) player(s) could enjoy this map and appreciate the enthusiasm involved in its creation, then all the efforts are already paid off. Please feel free to leave constructive comments on the download page.