Quake Map Magazine - Warren Marshall

| As the webmaster of the popular Mulitiplayer Quake (MPQ) you might think that Warren would not have the time to also create levels. Well, think again. The Bad Seed demonstrated that Warren has the right bad stuff.

My real name is Warren Marshall and I'm currently living in Seattle, WA ... soon to be moving to Canada. I do C++/Win32 programming for a small company.

It's weird ... most people know me either from my web page or from one of my levels, but my true joy in life is coding. I love it. :)

For Quake2, Bad Seed is definitely my best work to date. I really tried to make a cohesive unit with that one and, although it was a LOT of work, it was a lot of fun. I still go back and look at some of those areas and get a nice warm feeling -- which says a lot for me. I go back into most of my old levels and I shudder at what I see. Like the infamous misaligned texture in the Warehouse that EVERY DAMN REVIEWER SAW! :)

It's also my best work from the point of view that I actually sat down and wrote out the story beforehand and planned how the areas were going to interconnect (including the "contrived" air duct. Hehe...). I'm kind of proud of putting myself through that whole process and actually sticking to it. Once I got going on it, the level building was a lot easier because of it. I didn't have to make up stuff or come up with things on the fly. For the most part, I knew what was going to happen in a given area, and I was able to just implement it.

I only did one released SP WAD for Doom2, and that was "99 ways to die" (99ways.zip on cdrom.com). I still get email to this day about it and it really is one of my favorite pieces of work. There are a few people who say it's their favorite Doom2 WAD ever, and I find that very flattering...

T h e B a d S e e d
It's changed over the years... Inspiration comes mainly from other levels and whatever pops into my head while editing. Really. Every time I start playing levels from the original game, or certain other ones from the web, I get the "editing itch" and I just have to fire up the editor and give it a go!

Screenshots are a good source as well. If I see something really cool in a new screenshot I'll try and do something similar in the editor.

This is not to say I don't try to be original, but I think you can draw on something you see and change it enough to make it your own. I mean let's face it, how many ways are there to build a staircase? When I make levels, one of my big hang-ups is realism. I mean, I know you're a space marine on a foreign planet shooting a handheld rocket launcher ... but I'm talking about environmental realism. Overhangs should have support, crates/stairs should be sitting on the floor (not magically floating over it), light should have a source, etc...

Well, on the professional side ... Tim Willits is hands down my favorite author. His work on Quake2 was absolutely, without question, stunning! He came a close second to Levelord before Quake2 shipped ... now he's definitely my fave. Tim's levels have that "thing" that make them just excellent. I can't describe it ... it's just a feeling I get when I play them.

On the other side of the line, I'd have to say for SP maps it's Matt Sefton. Matt's levels are always cool and full of original stuff - like the ending to Jawbreaker. I tried to do a co-op project with Matt last year, but we both ran up against the Real Life wall and had to give it up. We released what we had done so far as separate levels ... his was Jawbreaker, mine was The Warehouse.

For DM maps, I would have to say Adriano Lorenzini and CopyCat. Adriano's UltraViolence is far and away the fastest, bloodiest DM map I've ever played and it's STILL in our DM rotation at work. Copy created UKOOLDM2, which is also still in the rotation. After those 2 maps, we're pretty much drained...

Quake2 is an excellent engine, and I'm more than a little sick of listening to the bitching about it being a "beta" and being loaded with bugs. All things considered, it's still the best engine out there, and it's an incredible creative outlet for mod/maps makers.

The power of the engine is incredible, and the flexibility for adding in your own code, models, maps, etc... is amazing. John Carmack really knows his stuff, and each engine just gets better and better.

>From a player point of view, I just like the overall look-and-feel. It's incredibly smooth and good looking. Most of the user made SP maps have been very good, and I think that's a reflection on the game as well as the authors. The best testament to this is how you can make something in the editor that looks "ok". Then you compile it and run it in Quake2. And it looks GREAT! The new lighting model really brings out the life in the textures, and it's just an incredible thing to see...

I used to use my own editor ToeTag for a while in the Q1 days. Near the end, due to peer pressure, I switched over to Worldcraft. I made MPQ1 in Worldcraft, but then I got sick of waiting for the 1.6 release and decided to try some others. I tried them all I think, but settled on QERadiant. It's got everything I need. It's clean, simple and powerful. I just hope Robert doesn't get "feature fever" and fill it up with code bloat. It's wonderful in it's current state.

Free time... I've heard of that. Some people I know have some, but I don't know where they got it and they won't tell me...

Heh... Well, when I get done coding at work, I come home and code on my machine here. I told you earlier ... I love it! I'm screwing around with multiple things at any one time... Right now I've got an OpenGL project on the go and a few other things that aren't really worth mentioning... It's mainly for my own benefit and learning...

I do some level editing from time to time as well, but not so much lately... Been busy coding.

Actually, once I get done downloading my porn I'm pretty much finished... :)

No, I do the usual circuit ... Blues News, Shuga Shack, PQ... I'll usually check a few others from time to time ... other review sites, Inside3D, check to see if Unreal has shipped yet, etc...

Map wise, I don't have anything serious on the go. I have a few started, but I'm probably going to tank them.

MPQ is going to be undergoing a major facelift in a few weeks with a new look, some new sections and some other little surprises so be on the lookout for that.

I'm also a part of The Coven who just released their demo version of "Disposable Heroes", a DM mod for Q2. Check it out at http://www.planetquake.com/thecoven.

On the editing side of things, I don't subscribe to the new dogma that you should only use surface lighting and that point lights are no good. That's ridiculous. You have to use what's right in each situation. If you need a small point light to make a corner "dim" as opposed to "pitch black", then do it. Just try and make it look natural.

Colored lights are an excellent mood setter, but PLEASE use restraint. We're not at the carnival here.

And this is a personal plea to all map authors out there...

If you're making a level and you can see that it is going badly and you can't fix it - throw it away. If you're making a test level just to learn a new editor - throw it away. If you're bored and make a level in a single weekend - throw it away.

What I'm trying to say is, only release the maps you feel are worth other peoples time to download and don't just upload everything you do. I don't care if you spent 100 hours on it so far. If it sucks, it sucks. Chalk it up to a learning experience, and throw it away. I can't tell you how many levels I've scrapped over the years.

Releasing a test level or a level you did as a "learning exercise" will almost certainly suck and probably cause people not to download your next level. Why would they? The last one sucked...

And I'll leave it at that. :)

~Warren Marshall - May 2, 1998

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