Who is the official creator(s) of The Snarkpit

I'm sure I've seen this before but I was curious as to who or who is the group who officially created Snarkpit?

I just wanted to state what a marvelous job you did on this site and for all of the help your site has given me over the years. I say that this site may very well be the reason (possibly the only reason) that I am still in the mapping community today and responsible for providing me with most of the knowledge about mapping that I have today. Thanks!

I know I'll get bashed for this but, this version is nothing, a pale shadow
compared to the previous one. But to answer your question.. Here you go.

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The best things in life, aren't things.

The help you get is still very good though. We could say it was better in the past (I'm sorry, I didn't really experience that time on the pit) but for now this is what we'll have to do with.

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Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/Nibgames

Here's the thing about the current Snarkpit. Virtually every post is here since 2003. Before 03, there were 2 resets on the posts. I am not sure if they are still accessible but I am betting that they are saved, someplace. So, learning about the beginning of Snarkpit, resides on that saved place. However, everything since 03 is mostly here. You can sift through most of it by going to the oldest pages and working forward. What you may, or may not get is the comradre and the ideals we had then. This place was WAY more interested in teaching, than soothing.
You can gather some of it by reading but, many of the early members knew each other from elsewhere and we brought out kindred spirits with us. We had a few malcontents who couldn't grasp out ideals but few when compared to the over all active members.

The search engine currently used is far inferior to the old one so searching for specifics is not as likely to give you what you need without a lot of digging and/or sifting.

As far as who made this place. Everyone did. Then, and now.

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The best things in life, aren't things.

Im making the maps section interesting :P

Wild Card said:
Im making the maps section interesting :P

I'd have to agree.

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The best things in life, aren't things.

The search engine currently used is far inferior to the old one

Why is this?

Also, thanks Orpheus that link was very helpful and interesting.

Just to be clear, a search engine and the ability to search on a website are two ENTIRELY different things.

All a website search does is run a SELECT query on the database. A search engine is a massive cataloging set of computer farms that categorize everything viewable on the web and then organize it into quickly searchable chunks of data.

Not the same thing.

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Blame it on Microsoft, God does.

Whatever the definition, what we have now, doesn't function as well as the old one.
I can accept generalities for responses if you ask general inquiries BUT, if you ask a specific question and it still coughs up generalities, IT SUCKS ASS.

The other day I asked it to find "Recently Laughed" as a topic heading. Its a simple inquiry and it coughed up pages of crap. I had to dig for the response. NO IT WASN'T HARD but the point is, instead of it being the number 1 item on the list, it was way down somewhere.

Anywho, I am really unwilling to debate the usefulness of our current search engine. I would rather debate something that works well or properly.

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The best things in life, aren't things.

I've gotta agree with Orpheous.

The site is nice and all, but the Snarkpit got left in the dust when HL2 came out, and the reasoning is entirely because of the VDK and sites that just hosted maps that weren't full of people telling you your terrible maps were terrible.

Instead the more popular sites are (still) will of people telling you your terrible map is awesome, while we still tell the truth.

Just a sign of how the modding community has changed, I guess.

Orpheus, I don't think anyone is arguing about the uselessness of the current search feature. I was pointing out it's not a "Search Engine". :P

What happened was, HL2 came out, everyone bitched and complained that things were different and no one made maps because they were acting like jaded pricks. <~ Unfiltered recollection.

The people who did bother to work in the new environment for any meaningful amount of time, left because they got jobs or lives.

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Blame it on Microsoft, God does.

Sadly I think it might only get worse since you nearly have to know rocket science to map now days.

IMHO mapping got old for HL2 because it took so long to make any map worth while and then it saw so little play time. NOT that that was our primary driving force for mapping but when you looked at servers and saw truly (not exaggerated) but TRULY awful maps being played a lot because they were geared for the brain dead, it sorta pushed people off toward the fuckits.

and.. our search feature is yukky.

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The best things in life, aren't things.

To be honest, mapping has become simpler in most respects. If you have some basic knowledge of modeling, you can map in every single current game. Some don't require any modeling skills at all.

But that's still a mapping vs. modeling issue. If you want custom content, you have to be able to model, that's just how it works. Games aren't shipping with "brush" systems (which was a limited thing anyway) because they don't make sense anymore.

But to argue that mapping is more complicated now ... that's simply not true. Mapping in current games is pretty simple. You move stuff around and drag and drop into a real-time environment.

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Blame it on Microsoft, God does.

So, you're making a good argument for starting prefabland II.. Modeland?
Whatever.. LOL

If mapping is as easy as plonking down a prefabricated model then why not be at the forefront and start a website for just such?

and..

You cannot truly think its easier? I have looked at DM_Island17 that Maze made. Its fantastically complex compared to anything I made for HL1.

and before you say it, I wasn't considered a noob.

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The best things in life, aren't things.

I was only half joking you know. Snarkpit needs to broaden its horizons quite a bit if its gonna survive the next few years, let alone the next decade or more.

90% or more of my suggestions went into the original Snarkpit and helped make it the success it was. NOT 90% of all the suggestions, but 90% of the ones I suggested were used.

I think, given time, I could come up with another successful website dedicated to level editing.

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The best things in life, aren't things.

I think you should put your money where your mouth is Orph, and Make a new web site, I would love to see your ideas at work. I would love to see how it pans out... I bet it would do great, After all your the sole reason the SnarkPit has succeeded thus far... no one but you has ever contributed anything in its history, its all because of you.. so yeah man start kicking out the bucks and html and show us what you got.

Sometimes I wonder if you are playing games. Nobody can be as stupid as you act.

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The best things in life, aren't things.

G4MER don't explicitly stir shit up. If you have an issue with what someone is saying, discuss it, don't just instigate trouble because you don't like the person.

Orpheus, Can we get something straight ... Half-Life 2 is an EIGHT YEAR OLD game. It is not really modern anymore.

Unreal Engine 3, CryEngine 1, 2, AND 3, Dunia, 2 Elder Scrolls Engines, and a thousand others have emerged and taken control of the marketplace since HL2 came out.

The only people using Source now, is Valve. Which is fine. But it's hardly what you'd call the norm in game engines today.

And, to be honest, a lot of the stuff in source is actually simpler in concept. It's just the engine can handle more, so levels are bigger. But tools have vastly improved to make many jobs easier.

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Blame it on Microsoft, God does.

True enough. I really need to look into some game editors. The last one I was looking at was for Stalker and I am unsure if it was even a program we can use or if its for the creators only. Its been a couple years but I seem to recall some DM maps being released.

Anywho, since I talked to you I was on the phone with Maze. We were discussing a model editing site. Sounds doable to me.

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The best things in life, aren't things.

What am I stirring up, I would Love to See Orph do his own site.. he has done so much for this one. He claims to have the talent & resources and claims to be the reason the Pit has done so well over the years, he should put his skill, and influence too use... and put his money where his mouth is. He after all is the only person who seems dissatisfied with the Pit.. I would love to see what he does. No where did I call him any names, or insult him.

I think Mapping has become easier in the sense that the tools are more user friendly and accessible and not faced with limitations from 10+ years ago. But I think in another sense it has become more difficult too. From an aesthetics pov it takes more effort to make something look up to par at least in Half-Life 2 compared to Half-Life 1 especially if you want to make something original.

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Aaron's Stuff