12/22/97

On Decmber 19 id software's Paul Steed made a lengthy .plan update lashing out 
at Quake II MOD makers who were creating Q2 that were essentially reverting 
Quake II to "Classic" Quake. What follows are excerpts from his posting and my 
own response to his tirade.

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Paul's comments are noted by a preceding >.
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12/19/97

>Oh. I almost forgot. I wanted to thank all the tireless people out there 
>scurrying to turn Quake2 into a Quake mod. Great job!

Gee, thanks. (/me senses this is going downhill from here)

>I mean after all what in the fuck do we really know about making games anyways. 
>We spent the last 13 months giving little to no thought about a quality product 
>that would befit our hordes of consumers. Thank god there's so many people out 
>there who can fix our mistakes and advance the genre we created even further. I 
>mean christ, all we did was create the most known and respected 3d engine on the 
>planet and some of the best visuals ever imagined on a PC. Why should we invest 
>any personality or ownership in our work? Isn't it really just a shell for 
>others to go in and do it right?

What do you know about making games? Apparently a shitload. Quake has sat in the 
top spot of games for what seems like eons. From what we've seen of Q2 thus far 
seems like it'll probably wrestle that title away and hold it for some time to 
come. It took Quake to be the Doom-killer, and indeed Q2 seems to be the only 
potential Quake-killer.

While most definitely creating the most well-known/respected 3D engine of 
all-time, unfortuantely you saw fit to provide us thus far only about 85% of it. 
The other 15% is still sitting on machines at id central waiting for it's 
eventual release. Worst of all this is the 15% that will make the thing work 
properly. However the "personality and ownership" you have invested means little 
when coupled with the apparent lack of pride and respect you had with regards to 
this same work by allowing such an ailing version to be released to the public. 
What is saddest of all is that anyone who thinks about it for more than two 
seconds has certainly come to realize that the reason for Q2's premature release 
most certainly has to do with nothing but the almighty dollar. Whether it was 
due to the fact that revenues from Q1 are down and John needs to make the 
payment on his Ferrari's this month (doubtful), or more likely, the fact that a 
pre-Christamas release date was a stipulation of the Activision distribution 
agreement it's both a sell-out and an insult to the dedicated fans who have now 
spent as much as $60 each for the "privelage" of being your personal bugtrackers. 
The stench of Microsoft grows strong in Texas.

>Granted, the mod makers and 'fixers' out there represent a vast minority of 
>our consumers but don't think for a single minute that I (at least) dig the 
>fact that some people are trying their best to turn Quake II into Quake. In 
>fact I find it offensive that people are doing things 'fixing' the rl's rate 
>of fire or the demands of e-mailers to do a center-mounted weapon model.

Well, I'll say nothing of the rocket launcher mods, that's simply a matter of 
preference to the user (or server admin). As for the demands to do a center 
mounted weapon model just like Quake's... Hey Paul, you guys decided to have a 
center mount option in the engine itself and then not include a model for it. 
The reason why the farmer doesn't leave the barn door open is so that the cows 
won't inevitably wander out and fall into the lava. Well.. You opened the damn 
door on this one and now it's you standing in the lava. Nobody to blame but 
yourselves. What I really wanted to know is, had id stuck to the long-time 
philosophy of "when it's done", would we have gotten that center mount model 
right out of the box? Think hard before you answer.

>All the mail I've received so far about the game has been awesome and full of 
>praise for the game. I guess it just seems odd to me that some of you hardcore 
>'fans' don't seem to respect the intent and direction we pursued with Quake II. 
>We didn't build this game solely for your manipulation and as a shell for your 
>home-grown code and art. The devotion of the fans of id and Quake have been one 
>of the most awe-inspiring and pleasantly fulfilling aspect of my year+ here. I 
>do think there's a point though when that fervor and dedication can lead to an 
>almost disrespectful and avaricious abuse of John's generosity and 
>forthrightness. Dissing Quake II because it ain't Quake is your right. But 
>please understand that the differences were very thought out and intentional. 
>Don't blame me if I get pissed when I see someone(s) casually disregarding that 
>effort.

We respect the game fine (all 85% of it). The direction is great. I can't wait 
til it's finished.

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Later that day Paul made a follow-up
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>Yep. It's one of those three bagger Fridays. My last post was harsh. Fucking sue 
>me. I didn't piss on all you guys who do mods. I think if you read it again 
>you'll find I just object to SPECIFIC alterations of Quake II designed to turn 
>it into the mother of all Quake TC's. Flaming me won't illicit a retraction, 
>just a swift kick up your ass. Again I have always been a staunch supporter of 
>this virtual community we have going on. It is even inspirational at times. But 
>re-read the post and try mouthing the words slowly this time.

>We take pride in our work and its probably my fault for being so close to the 
>project that I find the 'let's-turn-Q2-into-Q1-as-fast-as-we-can' mentality so 
>annoying. Just put yourself in my shoes. I dig you guys and you fanaticism. I 
>just finished up the first half of the CTF animations for the player characters 
>today and the new weapon model for the grappling hook. All of which will be 
>GIVEN away because the fans of id are THAT important. So stop accusing me of 
>slamming everyone. I think I was pretty clear in who got me riled, so a big :P

Ok tough guy... read it again... Even mouthed the words slowly... This is what 
stands out to me...

"I wanted to thank all the tireless people out there scurrying to turn Quake2 
into a Quake mod. Great job!"

"Granted, the mod makers and 'fixers' out there represent a vast minority of our 
consumers"

The mod-makers AND 'fixers'... Hey Paul, newsflash, you took down everyone by 
seperately identifying the mod-makers and the 'fixers'. Your post most certainly 
implicated everyone from myself to Zoid and you made no effort whatsoever to 
change the face of said implication. So screw you and you "holier than thou" 
attitude. Next time re-read your own damn post before shoving your sanctimonious 
bullshit down our throats.

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And of course, just as I was writing this I found Paul's inevetible shot at 
damage control with regards to the public, not to mention a vain attempt to 
extract his Nike from his too oft running blowhole. 
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>Well as usual I stick my foot in the ant pile and get stung. 400 e-mails in 2 
>days is impressive enough to post yet another well-placed kick into the bloated 
>corpse of Trigger.

>I never said and never implied that mod-makers suck or otherwise demonstrate 
>traits of humanity I personally find distasteful. Make Quake II a better game 
>through mods and tc's. Take it a step further. Don't take a step back and 
>re-hash old stuff.

Um, I think I already covered this one. You are essentially correct in that you 
didn't say that they/we suck. What you did say is that we were offensive, 
implied that you made a gesture of releiving yourself upon us and even 
threatened bodily harm should we dare to take effort to insult you in any way.

>I know at some point every level of Quake will be converted to Quake II. I 
>accept that now and again applaud your devotion for standing by your game. 
>Servant of your will that I am, I appreciate all the support of you fans and 
>would hope that you realize that I wasn't taking a piss on the mod squads out 
>there as a whole. Many of the letters I received chide me for kicking that 
>backbone of the fan base in the crotch. For that misrepresentation I apologize. 
>I don't apologize for voicing the fact that it hurt my feelings that people 
>rushed to modify the game I sweated blood on for 13 months well before they even 
>gave it a chance.

If your feelings were hurt that's understandable. However, that it took you
this long to come to the realization that Quake II would be TC'd to Quake
is ludicrous and obviously your vision and mind are quite clouded. I and many
others were salivating many months ago about the potential of seeing Quake 
Classic running on the new engine, thereby pushing the limits of the greatest
game ever by in essence giving it a hardcore tune-up. It's not taking steps
backwards, it's essentially pumping new blood into an old friend. I noticed
we never saw any chiding towards the makers of YPOD or others who attempted
to transform Quake Classic into Doom, why not?

Either way, you're probably right, EVERY level from Q1 will eventually be 
pushed forward to the new engine. And while I am by no means an expert on
the capabilties of this new toy (hell, haven't even gotten the hang of
directional lighting yet) I am very proud to present my attempt at what is
the first full (well, it'll be full once id incorporates co-op play) 
Q1 to Q2 level translation available... 

Enter now into... Slipgate '98.

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Comments by Erich Heintz (erich@heintz.com / fett@inconnect.com)
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Special thanks to id software for making available a preliminary version of the 
MAP code for Classic Quake's "The Slipgate Complex" in the form of jrbase1.map 
without which this conversion would not have been possible so quickly.






