In this trip around the metaverse we combine the original Star Wars trilogy with the all-new The Force Awakens universe, AArcade-style. We also take a look at Source 2, the sequel to the Source engine, and where it fits into AArcade's plans for the future!
When you think about being stranded in the desert, an arcade is probably not the 1st thing that comes to mind. But to an experienced AArcade user, even the barren planes of Tatooine can feel like home.
When you have a nice, cool Sandcrawler to take shelter in, the heat of the desert isn't so threatening. You can even go for a hover-in movie right in the middle of the day! In the screenshot I'm watching scenes from Star Wars: The Force Awakens on a giant screen that I placed on the side of the Sandcrawler, turning it into a rolling drive-in movie theater!
In addition to the arcade built inside of the Sandcrawler itself, there is also a nice, cool Krayt dragon cave to take refuge in, a moisture farmer's homestead, and a crashed transport ship to get you out of the hot desert sun. I've heard rumors of a Sarlacc in the area, but have never found it. Be cautious! And may the Force be with you! This awesome GMod community map was created by the very talented Lord Trilobite!
Note: You need to have Counter-Strike: Source mounted to use this map in Anarchy Arcade.
References:
- Rp_Tatooine_Dunesea (the GMod map shown in the screenshot)
- Map Author's Steam Workshop (Lord Trilobite)
If you've been keeping up with state-of-the-art game engines, you've probably heard of Unreal 4, Unity 5, or even CRYENGINE as they all compete for the attention of next-gen developers. What you may not have heard about is Valve's own next-gen engine called Source 2, which has been brewing for its glorious public release for years.
First of all, you can already see a young version of Source 2 in action in Valve's game Dota 2 Reborn.
Second, the map editor for Source 2, called Hammer, is a newer version of the Source 1 map editor, also called Hammer.
Third, based on interviews, Valve seems to be building Source 2 specifically around UGC and mountable content, even more so than Source 1, which already has unparalleled cross-game content sharing & UGC features. User generated content, or UGC, consists of the game's community and everything that the community creates & shares with each other.
Fourth, Valve has partnered with HTC to create the premium home virtual reality hardware/software experience that will be available to gamers some time before 2016. What in-house engine does Valve use to develop & test this state-of-the-art technology? You guessed it! Source 2. Seems like a no-brainer that Source 2 is where you'll want to be for VR development.
And in case you haven't heard about VR, it ain't no joke! It's like you're standing INSIDE of your favorite environments. The Vive even lets you stand up and walk around! Watch out for the pooch! Still not convinced? Well, check out this 360 degree screenshot and multiply its coolness by infinity. It's a math thing.
Click here to view 360 degree screenshot of Anarchy Arcade
So where does Source 2 fit into future of Anarchy Arcade? Honestly, we can't be sure until I get my hands on it to see what its backwards-compatibility is like. Then we, as in the AArcade community and myself, can determine if a Source 2 Anarchy Arcade is something that could be an update, or would need to be a sequel itself.
Either way, the future of the Anarchy Arcade we know and love it today is as solid as ever! With hundreds of thousands of addons and unparalleled cross-game content sharing, the Source 1 engine is a great place to be! We can only hope that Source 2 is able to stand on the shoulders of all this great existing content and be truly epic on day 1!
