Stan is the creator of one of my favourite levels,
The Downward Spiral, can you believe his first attempt at a Quake level?! Over to Stan...
Tell us a bit about yourself (like how old you are, where you live, what you do in the 'real' world :)
20 years old, full time student, University of Toronto, Comp-Sci (but of course :)
Did you edit Doom levels before Quake? If so, which levels did you design?
Nope, I first started level editing in Quake.
How difficult did you find it to learn Quake editing?
It was pretty tough at first, but then I found the
QuakeLab page :)
What was the most difficult aspect of it?
Gee... I'd have to say the lighting. It's pretty easy to figure out, but f**king hard to do right.
How much time do you spend editing a week?
Only about 5-6 hours, I'm afraid :( Not much time, what with school and
all.
Which Quake editor do you use?
Worldcraft v1.0a, BSP v0.65b.
What do you think are its best features?
I mostly use Worldcraft for the main architecture and texture alignment. It has probably the
most functional 3D textured preview of all the editors I've seen. BSP, I use for the complex objects, like spheres, stairs, arches,
etc.
What features do you think would improve it?
For Worldcraft? Gee, can't think of much. Oh ya, QMAP has a really nice feature to take the
textures directly from the Quake PAK files, so you don't have to have all those WAD files taking up space on your HD.
For BSP, prolly the #1 thing would be to PORT IT TO WIN95!!!
How do you come up with ideas for your levels? Do you plan or sketch them in advance?
Books, comics, TV, movies, dreams. Sometimes I'd get a picture of a room or area in my head,
then I'd run over to the 'puter and try to do it, or sketch it if there isn't a computer handy.
What do you think are the ingredients to make a great Single Player level?
In no specific order: Atmosphere, layout, originality, design.
What is your favourite id map (or maps) in registered Quake?
Gee... that's a toughie. Wind Tunnels, The Wizard's Manse (prolly the coolest name),
all of the E4M* levels (especially The Pain Maze).
What is your favourite user created map (or maps)?
In no specific order: Village of Dread, Liquid Despair 2, Trilogy, Notlob's Base, oh, and of
course, EvilWorld :)
What is your favourite monster :) ?
My dog. 2 year old huskie/rott/retriever... Oh, you meant Quake monsters :) For user monsters,
Ken Turner's Willy the Spider was pretty cool. Also, the Blarg, has this REALLY freaky scream. Sounds strangely similar to those
monsters from Abuse... Oh, and does the Reaper bot count? :) For registered Quake monsters, I'd have to say the Shalrath and the
Demon looked the coolest, and the Scrag, prolly had the best AI.
What is your least favourite monster :) ?
Da Shub. It just sits there and waves its tentacles at you, doing NOTHING. Also, I HATED the
Scrag. Those things PISSED ME OFF, but I loved blasting 'em to little bloody gibs :)
What advice would you give to people wanting to build their own Quake levels?
Visit QuakeLab!!! Also, try out as many user maps as possible, and replay all of id's original
levels with noclip and/or notarget to your discretion, see what you liked and didn't like about them, try to figure out how they did the
architecture, tricks, usage of textures, monster / weapons / lighting, etc. Also, people should remember to KEEP IT SIMPLE!!!
If you overdo it on the brushes, people will be too busy bitching about the poor framerate to admire your pretty
architecture. (Matt hangs his head in shame :)
What are the worst and/or most common errors you have come across while playing user created maps?
Bonus Item fell out of level, Walkmonster In Wall and texture alignment errors are probably
the most common that I've seen. The most annoying error is getting stuck in one spot and having to Noclip or restart the level.
The worst one I've encountered is when one guy didn't seal his map properly, and just enclosed the whole thing in one huge box,
and I fell through a hole in the floor.
Who is your favourite id level designer (hint: you can choose people who have left the company :)?
Hee hee... umm... to avoid stepping on anyone's toes, I'd have to say they all kick ass. :)
Where do you go on the internet for Quake editing help and information and Quake news in general?
But of course,
QuakeLab and
Blue's News.
How did you publicise the release of your last level?
Er... I uploaded it to ftp.cdrom.com.
Did you get a lot of e-mail response?
So-so. About 5 to 10 'mails.
Finally, what features would you like to see in Quake 2?
What I'm most looking forward to is better optimisation of the vis-ing algorithm and game
engine, to allow bigger outdoor areas.
Stan, thanks for your time!
Interview © Matt Sefton and Stan C., 1997.