Yeah I don't blame him for moving on, but I still wonder what's to be done about the people left behind?

As for the SnarkPit Server, I only played on it a couple times, and in general I don't think it was used enough to warrant the payment (I don't even know the cost).

reaper47 said:
The Snarkpit may not be the biggest mapping site anymore but it still has the best community and the maps/forum system is excellent if you ignore the few bugs. No other site has its user's maps so well organized. I like it here.

Man, I completely agree.

I meant the website's server (or whatever you network administrators call it :razz: ).

But the game server would be nice, too. I don't know much about server costs but I might break my personal anti-internet-money-transaction philosophy and donate.

Having a place to test maps would be nice, although not a whole lot of maps are moving into the testing phase nowadays. Listen servers work OK as well for a few people, so I dunno. And then of course there's the issue of only having 1 type of game on the server. HL2DM doesn't get played much, we don't have a lot of CS:S or DOD:S mappers here either. Maybe we should just wait till portal comes out and make a server for that (if its Multiplayer) :razz:

Additionally, it's not a flat fee, it's a monthly one. I don't know who would be willing to pay out of pocket month after month especially if it doesn't get used often.

Even if I could access the web hosting (we don't have our own server
like "Big" sites eg PHL) i'd still need access to the SQL db too, and
even with all this, we'd need a commited and experience PHP coder to
keep the site in top form.

It goes from fixing a few bugs to being a 'full time' calling. Either
way, I am no longer the head admin here as I don't have energy or
inclination (nor is it a role needing overview nowadays) so any chance
of getting someone on board to fix up code etc would be on ReNos head.

Game server? Too expensive, too little interest, too little time to
organise and run it - plus the fact the volume of serious maps and pure
HL2DM maps going through here won't warrant it.

i'm sure Lep still comes here as a guest from time to time. I suppose, if you want to see him, your best chance might be here

as for the topic, i think Finger described my opinion best

Finger said:
To me, the 'death of Halflife' happens when I no longer squeeze any enjoyment from the game, or from mapping. As others have said, communities are shrinking onthe whole, and Halflife Deathmatch mapping has long since had it's time in the limelight... but as long as I still find excitement in mapping or playing, the game will be alive for me. If at some point in the future, the realization strikes me that I haven't played Halflife or opened Hammer in ages, and I am not compelled to do so anymore; then the game will be truly dead.

Contrary to what some have said; i rather find it a challenge to overcome HL2's learning/time barriers and ride with the possibilities it can offer. those barriers just lie further than HL1's, but it's obvious nice environments/effects come at a higher price. The downside is that many ppl arent willing to pay that price, so there are fewer serious mappers, and thus there is less momentum.

Which i believe is a more measureable warning sign that induces the one Finger talks about. Low map feedback levels, low contest response/involvement... don't exactly give much stimulus to continue mapping.

Then there are the bugs/limits that don't really encourage mapping either, like this recent FinalLightFace one i'm having.

BlisTer, you've probably googled for an answer to you FinalLighFace error already, but give this thread a try:

http://www.dayofdefeat.net/forums/showthread.php?s=8e9aed44fd1777ae1564e5069f22aaf7&postid=857153

If you're looking for new ideas on what's wrong, or how to track down the culprit. There's no definitive answer in the thread, just a bunch of ideas that may be helpful for tracking down the offending brush.

wtf is that link blister???

For some reason my ip is banned from those forums that I have never visited before. Yeay! dynamic IPs!

yeah i tried every solution i could find on google including these ones, but nothing works. it must be that i'm bumping into a complexity limit, because it occurs whenever i try to add even the simplest things. really would've loved to expand it into a FF map.. thx anyway man

---

These words are my diaries screaming out loud

rs6, he linked to some scary decaying corspe faces like Lep's, all set out doing humorous activities. Quite disturbing :smile:

Sorry to hear BlisTer. Sometimes intagibles like maps are frustrating because you can't actually break the damn thing open and see what's wrong.

Lep no longer visits this site. His last visit was over a year ago in fact. Reasons? Hes busy with real life, and his alternate life in WoW.

Like Gwil said, this site has been under construction since HL1 came out. It was the first editing site for HL1, and has a broad history. If you want to reminiss...

http://www.snarkpit.net/index.php?page=about

The history of the snarkpit. The golden years of snarkpit were during the changover of the site to the black background version- our dark war with Biohazard, our arch nemesis who we destroyed with our powahs!

---

-[Better to be Honest than Kind]-

I really admire the way this site has about 1 reply every 8 hours. :rolleyes:

It's a shame, I agree with you on all three points.

Though I have to say about point number one, possibly the reason why
there are so many less than impressive maps is because hammer editor is
a lot easier to get, and a lot more people know about it. You used to
have to find it, then set it up (the latter I found a PITA), whereas
now it's there in steam and it does it all for you.

I whole heartedly agree. Setting up hammer used to be a sort of "competence test." All it really took was a google search and half a brain. If you failed this "test" you either don't use search features and forum-goers would hate you for asking questions they've answered many times before, or the fact that you have less than half a brain means you'd probably only make subpar killboxes anyway, again causing people to hate you.

Now with hammer all set up right off the bat and easily accessible, people that would have given up before getting hammer working can make over-scaled killboxes using two textures and no light to their heart's content. I wouldn't care if people didn't release every killbox they make and actually strived to improve their skills, but for the most part I don't see that happening with Source mapping. Mostly I just see people making maps "focused on gameplay not graphics lol."

What's in a map? That which we call a killbox by any other name would play as bad.

---

o

"focused on gameplay not graphics lol"

lol

reaper47 said:
"focused on gameplay not graphics lol"

lol

I have heard that excuse way too often :smile:

Also, "don't knock it 'till you try it"

Also, "don't knock it 'till you try it"

I have! In the 700 other box style 'fun' maps before!