4-28
P.M. Well, the Red Wings swept the "Mighty" Ducks in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs!!!!

One wierd thing about having a person with a PHD in Physics is the depth of the conversations that can happen. Right now Carl is talking to Peter about nutrons, photons, slowing light, particle accelerators and stuff like that. My brain hurts just listening! I was lost in the first sentance or two. Back to building the final level.

4-22
P.M. Wow. Almost a full month since my last entry. I was entering things pretty regularly and then I got busy. Oh well. I started building the final level in the game on Tuesday(today is Thursday). It is one mother of a level. I don't think I should really say much becuase I think you folks will be reading these before the game is released. I can say that I am having to think on a grand scale. It's going to be a very good single player space that will cap off Rogue Spear with a bang! I think we will be able to make a good multiplayer space out of it as well.

Paul just got my sound working on my NT machine again today. Woohoo!!!!!!! I'm rockin' out with Ratt as I type this. Thanks Paul

My Red Wings won their first playoff game last night. They look pretty good I think they will get the cup again.

Later

3-24
A.M. I switched to decaf coffee yesterday. Really, I had to switch becuase I was starting to get the shakes about and hour after I drank a cup of regular coffee. Oh well, no big deal.

3-23
A.M. Steve has "grasciosly" handed off the Casino/Spe level for me to biuld. Thanks Steve!-) This thing is one tough nut to crack. The level itself isn't all that large, it's just that the architecture is very elaborate and rooms/floors aren't matching up the way they should. It really is hard to visualize a grand structure from 2-d drawings and a few 3-d sketches. Oh well, it gets my brain moving and shakin'. The levels, this time around, are more eleborate than the first time. I don't necessarily mean larger or more complex, but just as I said. Elaborate. The final levels are trully a team effort. No one person is responsible for the success or failure of a given level. That being said, I have come to the realization that Travis's designs, Thomas's ideas and Steve's williness to make things work have pushed me into opening my mind a little in building levels. they have made me think a little more detailed than I used to and I now push my level building a little further than before. I'm starting to take some more chances and add some more of the "little things" that make a level come alive. I guess it's good to take a step back and evaluate yourself and your techniques every now and then.

Now to go give Travis and Steve a swirlly for giving me this thing to build!-)

P.M. THE NOISE!!!!!!!! STOP!!!!!!!!!!

There is a HUGE amount of pounding going on in the main common area outside our office. It is driving me nuts! I guess this is a good time to break out some of my new CD's. I guess this is as good a time as ever to profess my love of 80's "Hair Band" Glam Rock! You know you all secretly love it. I just got a few to add to my collection:

Ratt & Roll 8191 (Best of Ratt)
Whitesnake Greatest Hits
L.A. Guns: L.A. Guns

There sitting right next to my other Ratt, Motley Crue, Cinderella and Def Leppard. Other things I listen to in a given day are:

Joe Satriani
Eric Clapton
Pink Floyd
Cranberries
Van Halen (old and new)
Smashing Pumpkins
Rob Zombie
Bryan Adams
Ozzie Osborn
Some Poison
Some Beastie Boys
Some Winger

A pretty diverse musical taste, huh!

More P.M. Here's a little tip(that works for me at least). If I'm building a level or area that I'm having a hard time visualizing, I just build something simple. I make the room a box with doorways and then get it into the game and look around in it. It helps me mentally fill the space with the stuff from the 2-d plans. I then go back to MAX and start shaping the room and then add the details. All the time continually checking back to the game for reference. It seems simple, and it is. Just get something in the game to start with. Just a small tip.

3-11
P.M. This has been a very frustrating day. For all those who really want to build levels, I wish you could have been here today. With our game, when it chokes on a level, it seems to choke bad and I usually have to bug an engineer to help me track down the problem. It just so happens that they are all integrating the new renderer and are unavailable to really tackle my problem. So, I shelve that level and pick up another to work on. It has problems as well! On to *another* level. So far so good. This one is working for now. Most of the day lost.

3-9
a.m. My back hurts. You can never give a person who works on a computer all day a chair that is "too good"! I need a better chair.

Steve discovered a way to load up a map without having to go through all the planning phase stuff. All I have to do is click on a shortcut I made and walla! In the Action phase. That alone has saved me about 5 minutes each time I want to test a map (wich is about 10 times a day).

P.M. It was a somewhat redeming day listening to Travis bitch and moan about trying to get maps to work properly in the game. Redeming in that now I have finally gotten to see how an "outside person" (someone who is new to using the level tools and who wasn't part of thier creation) reacts to using our current tools. He now knows our pain! Actually the tools have gotten way better since R6. Thanks Philip. Travis is getting a crash course in placing objects and doors.