SPQ2 Level Heaven logo by Matt Sefton


Thursday 18th June '98
The inevitable...

After a few weeks of soul searching, I've come to an inevitable decision - I'm closing down (or to be more accurate, ceasing to update) this site.

For some time now I've been making references to a "major situation" looming in my life - it doesn't get much more major than becoming a father for the first time. In approximately 4 months Angela and I will (God willing) have our lives turned upside down by something we've been waiting and hoping for for a very long time and we can't wait! The closer the big event has been getting, the less free time I've had, to the point where I rarely stay online for more than a few minutes a day. Instead of thinking about Gunners, Gladiators and Beserkers, I've been thinking about Piglet, Pooh and Tigger (oh, and musn't forget the master - Dr Seuss :)

I've been involved in this "community" (aghh - I hate that phrase...) of ours for around 3 years now, running sites for over 2, seeing many of my friends find new lives in the gaming industry. It has been one of the most enjoyable experiences I've had and the (literally) hundreds of exceptionally cool people I've been in contact with over this time have made my life a far more interesting place. I'd like to say an enormous thank you to everyone who has supported me during this time, both by visiting my sites and playing my levels. The feedback has been overwhelming.

Not much more to say - I'm not dropping off the .net altogether and I can still be contacted by mail. I may yet pop up with a new site in the months to come. A few people have asked me recently if they can take over the site, or help me run it - my advice would be "do your own thing". My sites have always been very personal to me and I wouldn't feel right about someone else taking over my stuff, but I appreciate the offers. Thanks again for everything.

Matt.

p.s. quit taking advantage of Thidwick the Big Hearted Moose...
p.p.s. Quake Arena - totally misguided company strategy or inspired brilliance? id has never let me down yet but I don't have access to a lan, my online time costs a fortune, my ping is four figures and (oh yea, I knew there was something else) I *suck* at deathmatch. That's a big ball to drop...


Saturday 6th June '98
New Neil Manke map...

I've added a belated review of Neil Manke's new map Soldier of Fortune - Mission 2 to the Latest Levels page. A truly original piece of work.

Things are pretty hectic round here at the moment - too many games to play, not enough time :) I'm still working my way through the unreal Unreal and trying to develop content for the new site. I would like to say that it's refreshing to find developers who are so accessible and willing to help out with questions regarding their work. My experiences with the Unreal Team have been nothing but good so far.

Last night I bought the new Xatrix Quake II Mission Pack, The Reckoning. This afternoon, I finished it! It's a very nice piece of work, with hats off in particular to a friend of mine from Quake 1 days, Dan Koppel, who created some of the superb levels in the pack. Can't help feeling that I've just eaten a Burger King when what I really wanted was a Hard Rock Cafe Pig Sandwich (if you see what I mean :) The pack is well worth the money, but... maybe I've just been Unrealized...


Saturday 30th May '98
Single Player Unreal Level Heaven...

Well, due to me and my big mouth (heh!) news of my new site leaked out this morning. I'm pleased to announce the (slightly premature) opening of Single Player Unreal Level Heaven, hosted by the mighty Planet Unreal. I'm currently about 40% through Unreal and loving every minute of it. Take a look at the new site - hope you like it!

(p.s. the Unreal site *doesn't* mean that this site is coming to an end in any way - variety is the spice of life, y'know? :)


Friday 29th May '98
New Unit - Marty Howe's Waiting to Die...

I finally got round to playing and reviewing Marty Howe's new unit, Waiting to Die. You can find it on the Latest Levels page. I've also updated the Classic Levels page, which should cause some controversy :)

Yes, I have Unreal :) My main man, Jeff Yost from the mighty Ramshackle bought it for me in the States at 10.09 last Saturday and it arrived FedEx in the UK on Tuesday - very cool! Jeff is currently deciding on his preferred method of repayment from me for the favour - current contenders are several sticks of Blackpool Rock or a Newcastle United shirt :) I'm not going to comment on the game yet - I'm only about 25% through it - but it *looks* stunning.

Cryptic message: hosting is sorted, design is done, content is forming... can you say SPU?


Friday 22nd May '98
When Robert Lee goes up to lift the FA Cup...

Well, I guess it's time for an update, huh? All is VERY quiet on the Western front right now - I haven't played an awful lot of Quake II in the past couple of weeks but the maps I have played haven't quite made the cut. Yes, I *know* you would like me to update more (my mailbox tells me this) but I've said it before and I'll say it again - I'll only update when I've played a map I've enjoyed enough to post. Hopefully there'll be some new stuff up soon.

We were beaten in the FA Cup Final 2-0 by Arsenal - no arguments, the best team won on the day. The 2 day trip to London was one of the most enjoyable outings I've had in years, thanks in no small part to the great people I met on the coach on the trip down, namely Nigel, Joe, Tony, Chris et al. We had a monumental piss up (drinking session!) on the Friday night in central London around Covent Garden (and for a guy who doesn't drink much, I surprised myself :) and ended up halfway up Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square at 1.00am along with around 2,000 other Toon Army foot soldiers, much to the amusement of the London Police :) There's always next year (he said, ever the optimist...)

Finally got Forsaken and I have to say it's the most fantastic looking game I've played yet as well as being awesome fun to play - it's also rock hard! Found a few of good Forsaken pages too - Forsakened, Majix's Forsaken News and ForsakenNet. Well worth a look.

As far as the game on everybody's lips goes, Unreal, as I'm lucky(?) enough to live in the UK, I've got another 3 weeks to wait until I can get my hands on it :( I had a mail today from one of the major players on Epic's Unreal design team asking if I would be starting an Unreal review site (which was very flattering, btw Cliff). Trouble is, where would I get hosting for such a site? ::grin:: Never say never...

Keep the faith...


Wednesday 13th May '98
Yes, you've come to the right place...

A week since I last updated so thought I better check in. I'm in the middle of a blissful week off work. Here are some of the things I've been doing:

  • Painting the bloody kitchen :( (wild honeysuckle, if you're interested...)
  • Spending time with Angela, Larry and the forthcoming "major situation"
  • Preparing for the pilgrimage to Wembley starting Friday to see Newcastle United stuff Arsenal in the FA Cup Final (I can dream, can't I?)
  • Trying (unsuccessfully) to get into Gran Turismo on my Playstation
  • Gloss painting the bloody kitchen :( (pure brilliant white, if you're interested...)
  • Waiting for Forsaken to FINALLY be released in the UK on Friday
  • Designing a new look for Warren Marshall's MPQ
  • Did I mention I was decorating the kitchen?

Things I haven't been doing:

  • Playing any Quake II levels I've liked enough to post
  • Making any progress worth keeping on my new map
  • Updating my web site (oh, you noticed?)
  • Answering much e-mail (oh, you noticed?)

If you've managed to sustain your interest to read this far, you'll be happy (?) to know that normal service should be resumed in a few days :) Toodle Pip...


Wednesday 6th May '98
Enough already :)...

Well, since I posted my last update regarding The Powersphere Quest, I've had over 200 mails on the subject. For once (and this is not like me at all) I hope you'll forgive me if I don't reply to each mail personally - I just don't have the time right now. The overwhelming opinion from the mails was that yes, the map is very tough and challenging, but in no way did it deserve the abuse it received from some quarters. Everybody agreed that from a map building point of view, it's probably the best example yet seen. Not everybody appreciated the gameplay - for me, I really enjoyed the continuous wave after wave of attacks that the map threw at me, but I can see how people could find this overwhelming and frustrating. Anyway, the case on The Powersphere Quest is now closed :) One thing this exercise has confirmed to me is how supportive the "community" (if we must use that phrase) can be and I appreciate it as always.

Over and out from the Minister of Mappage (© Blue). Better than being Siskel or Ebert, huh Crash? :)


Sunday 3rd May '98
A Rant, unfortunately...

Forgive the need for this update - I am officially pissed off. Since I posted the review of Cedar Kraus' Powersphere Quest unit yesterday, I have had a few semi-abusive mails suggesting the map is, in the words of one piece of incisive, constructive criticism "5 megs of complete crap!". Let me say this very slowly unless people didn't get it the first time - the maps featured on my site are MY PERSONAL FAVOURITES ONLY. I *don't* post maps I don't enjoy, I *don't* post maps because they have been made by my friends and, most importantly, I *don't* force anyone to visit this site OR download the maps contained within. I stand by everything I said about The Powersphere Quest. I am, at best, an average player. I completed the maps on Skill 0 (as the author recommends) without cheating once and thoroughly enjoyed them. If you didn't, then I'm sorry, but dem's the breaks.

If I was paid to run this site, and authors were paid to build the maps, I would accept this type of negativity as part of the job. Neither is the case so I don't accept it. In addition, if you have *constructive* criticism on a map (which is always welcome), mail the AUTHOR - he/she probably has a lot more time and patience than me. At the time of writing, The Powersphere Quest has received rave reviews from A World of Quake 2, Talon's Strike, Lt Dan's Single Player Quake and Akuma's SPQ2. I guess we all must be full of shit, huh?


Saturday 2nd May '98
2 New Map Packs - The Powersphere Quest and Heroic Bloodshed...

A hell of a weekend for levels - I've added Cedar Kraus' Powersphere Quest and Marty Howe's Heroic Bloodshed to the Latest Levels page. The Powersphere Quest in particular is the finest piece of work you'll find on this site - I've had the levels for a few days now but I wanted to complete them before reviewing the set here, and that took some time thanks to the levels containing the entire population of Planet Strogg :) It's maps like this that make me realise that hanging up my editor was a good idea...

You're probably not interested (but when has that stopped me?) but I watched Newcastle United hammer Chelsea 3-1 this afternoon despite the constant bleatings of the big girl Vialli (oh dear, flames ahoy :) With the Cup Final to look forward to in a fortnight, life is sweet for a change. Enjoy the maps, it's Coke Float time (which does not mean I'll be levitating 3 feet off the ground in a chemically induced haze, thankyewverymuch :)...


Wednesday 29th April '98
New Map - Iikka Keranen's Leftovers...

I hadn't intended to update the site this week - I ain't in the best of moods and wanted a break from this stuff - but when a mail from Iikka Keranen dropped through my box tonight with news of a new map, I had to open up shop, didn't I? Leftovers... (the map in question) has been added to the Latest Levels page. Also, I'm not really a fan of prefabs of the editing variety, but I was wandering about the .net today and had a good look at the Quake Prefab Park 2. Not only is this a really well put together site, there's also some great stuff in there as well - I may have to nick that big rig! Go and take a look at it...

And it *still* bugs me that Forsaken isn't released in the UK yet... grrrr...


Saturday 25th April '98
New Map - Jonas Lindstrom's Angron Installation...

I've added the new map by Jonas Lindstrom, Angron Installation, to the Latest Levels page - very original and enjoyable map.

Got my ticket for the F.A. Cup Final (w00p!) so I'll be at Wembley on the 16th May with my face painted black and white :) Can't seem to motivate myself to work on my map these past couple of weeks. I'm spending most of my time learning Macromedia Director 6 instead. And playing my Forsaken demo because, as usual, the UK gets second best when it comes to software releases (apart from, it has to be said, Activision) so the full version ain't released here yet. Me and Larry have a date with a large field so I'll see you later...


Tuesday 21st April '98
New Map - YooShin Yang's Blood-red Sunset...

Oh happy day. We have been blessed with a new map by the Evil Overlord himself, Mr YooShin Yang, called Blood-red Sunset. Head over to the Latest Levels page, if you please.

My references to Kiss generated a fair bit of mail of the "hey, you like 'em too?" variety :) I'm getting to that age where nostalgia is a big factor in my life (sad, isn't it :) - if anyone has the means to convert American NTSC videos into UK PAL format, I've got some great live videos in PAL format I'd love to trade, mostly audience-shot but great quality of Kiss, Vai-era Roth and Van Halen. I'm looking for full concert, high quality footage of the Love Gun/Destroyer tours.


Monday 20th April '98
New Map Pack - Jim Hughes' Saturation Point...

I've added a 3 level pack, Saturation Point by Jim Hughes, to the Latest Levels page. Big download but well worth it so check it out. Work on my new map stopped dead this weekend while I attempted to relax and do nothing, dropping in on the QERadiant irc party to talk to Lard (sorry, I refuse to do that UppEr/lOweR case stupidity :) of the Quake 2 Workshop and friends. It cracked me up when Wolfen of the Ravages of Radiant site commented "Is there something significant about Matt?" (i.e. Who the F*** is this person?) hehehe... Nope, I am the master of insignificance (he said, significantly...) How to win friends and influence people...

Spent far too long today combing through the Kiss Vault, a huge site with literally hundreds of superb photos of the band since '73. Brought back loads of happy memories - I bought Destroyer when I was 11:) Anyone with the slightest interest in Kiss should go and take a look at this superbly put together site. Also, do yourself a favour and get hold of the Forsaken demo, which stole several hours from me this weekend. Dumb, mindless, Descent-inspired shooting and HUGE fun!

(btw, sorry crash - guess I was too late, as usual :)


Wednesday 15th April '98
New Map - Carson Utz's What the End is For...

What's that they say about buses coming along at once? I've added What the End is For by Carson Utz to the Latest Levels page. Another total mofo not to be missed...

It's times like this that running this page gets me down (in the nicest possible sense). I have to stop work on my own map to update the site and as I get so little time to edit anyway, my stuff gets pushed further and further into the distance. Woe is me - the sacrifices I make for you... :) Off topic completely, as Larry the Quakedog was abandoned by some heartless bastard and we got him from the NCDL Rescue Centre in Darlington, we have no way of knowing officially how old he is, however the world's top vetinary brains who are brave enough to approach a railgun toting canine have determined that it's about time for his second birthday :) Everybody say AAH... (or should that be aaaaarrrrrgggghhhhh!!!)


Tuesday 14th April '98
New Map - Alex Richardson's superb Crater's Edge...

I've added a new map by Alex Richardson, Crater's Edge, to the Latest Levels page. This is one of the best maps I've played since the birth of Quake II - yup, rocked my world, baby :) The lack of updates has been caused by the lack of maps that pushed my buttons in the past week, and the fact that, thanks to the extended Easter holiday (which I managed to avoid having to work though), I've been burning the midnight QERadiant on my new map. Long way to go yet, but I've made a nice start. Working title is 'Pump' (to extend my current Aerosmith fixation :)

Album of the week (how come 'CD of the week' just doesn't sound right?) - 'The Heat' - Dan Reed Network.


Tuesday 7th April '98
New Map - Marty Howe's Exterior Infiltration...

I've just added a new map by Marty Howe, an old friend of mine from Quake 1 days, to the Latest Levels page. As usual, it's top quality stuff so take a look. Not much else going on at the moment. I am, dare I say it, working painfully slowly on a new single player map, but whether it'll ever see the light of day is anybody's guess.

Album of the week - Rainbow Rising. Cozy Powell R.I.P.


Friday 3rd April '98
New Map - Jeff Turner's Starseed 3...

I've added Jeff Turner's new map Starseed 3 to the Latest Levels page - another nice piece of work so check it out. Also, if you didn't catch Sir Jeff Yost of Ramshackle and the venerable Taloooon (© Joost Schuur :) of Talon's Strike on QuakeCast yesterday, go and have a listen/watch - all good stuff.

I've been getting a lot of mail lately about my original Quake 1 site Single Player Quake Level Heaven, with most of the mails asking why the site hasn't been updated (and a few *demanding* an update - yea, right... that's gonna work, boys). The simple fact is, as stated by Talon on the aforementioned Quakecast, I do this stuff in my spare time, after my Real Life commitments. I'd love to be able to spend more time at it but there simply ain't enough hours in the day. This basically means I don't have time to review Quake 1 maps anymore. SPQ Level Heaven will remain online as a valuable resource to the many people who still love to play Q1 (myself included). I'll post an update on the old site soon explaining things. All good things, etc, etc. By the way, one guy actually mailed me and said I must be too busy with my music and books to update the site - that's what trying to add a bit of personality to your web site gets you... :)

Oh yea... Album of the Week - Night in the Ruts. How such great music could be generated under the influence of so many chemicals remains a mystery... And there's a new Nick Hornby book out (if you haven't read Fever Pitch or High Fidelity, do so)... Shit - I've spent so long on music and books I've got no time left for


Legal Disclaimers and Credits

Planet Quake

QUAKE(R) and QUAKE II(R) are registered trademarks of id Software, Inc. QUAKE(R) and QUAKE II(R), the stylized reproduction of the QUAKE(R) and QUAKE II(R) trademarks, including, without limitation, the Q in QUAKE(R) and QUAKE II(R), and the images depicted in QUAKE(R) and QUAKE II(R) are the copyrighted property of id Software, Inc.

The content of this site is Copyright © Matthew F. Sefton, 1998. If you would like to use any of the text, graphics or images from this site for any use whatsoever, please do me the courtesy of asking me for permission first at matt.sefton@dial.pipex.com