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Posted by distrans [203.29.11.113] on 2004/09/28 22:09:35

I recently realised that every time I tried to map on my "Archane" level:
a) certain background conditions had to be in place, and
b) certain actions had to be performed
...before mapping could commence.
So, the ambient light level in the room had to be below a certain level, jasmine incense had to be burning in the next room, Concrete Blonde had to be playing (rather loudly) on the stereo. With all this in place, I then had to go through the elaborate process of either brewing a pot of tea or decanting a bottle of red (depending on the time of day). Only with beverage in hand and Ectoplasmic Lover ringing in my ears could I move through the scented haze and commence mapping.
Wierd... possibly, but I suspect not unique. It is rumoured that Vondur cannot lay brush one without first sacrificing at least one goat to the lord of the underworld, and that any of ELEK's mapping sessions had to be preceded by a large meal... generously laced with chives.
Fess up! What rituals do you perform before, during or after mapping?

Bleh...
#1 posted by distrans [203.29.11.113] on 2004/09/28 22:11:27
...and if a mod could find the errant 't' and place it appropriately in the title, I'd much appreciate it.
#2 posted by Scampie [66.231.198.188] on 2004/09/28 22:16:03
for the last... few years at least, I can't begin work on a map without first building an 8 or 12 sided brush curve and somehow expanding from there. strange... BUT TRUE!
P J Harvey's 4 Track Demos
#3 posted by HeadThump [65.141.73.140] on 2004/09/28 22:19:06
In the background is the only necessary ingredient I need these days for mapping. A month ago I would have said NIN Further Down the Spiral (remix).
No candles, or incense, though I like my lighting to be set on low.
True Say
#4 posted by R.P.G. [24.136.230.101] on 2004/09/28 22:35:11
Fess up! What rituals do you perform before, during or after mapping?
I need to make sure the duct tape is securely fastened around the people's mouths so I can map in silence.
Quote Tags
#5 posted by R.P.G. [24.136.230.101] on 2004/09/28 22:35:36
Fess up! What rituals do you perform before, during or after mapping?
I need to make sure the duct tape is securely fastened around the people's mouths so I can map in silence.
#6 posted by Zwiffle [69.210.60.219] on 2004/09/28 23:02:36
I can map any time or place,
I can map outside of space.
I can map when Scampie !kicks,
I can map on Shambler's dick.
I can map over there,
I can map when I'm bare.
I can map night or day,
I can map. Bl1tz is gay.
I can map any time,
I can map when I write stupid responses to threads.
Errrr.... nevermind.
Zwiffle Is Straight
#7 posted by Blitz [24.218.86.166] on 2004/09/29 00:16:36
I can't map with anyone in the room. Period. It's weird but I need to be totally alone to feel comfortable when I'm mapping.
Minimal light is also a must.
I have to have music when I'm doing it. It helps to get over the more boring stretches.
Coffee/caffeinated beverage isn't necesary, but it's usually present.
TV off.
Cough
#8 posted by Vondur [81.195.21.77] on 2004/09/29 01:35:26
yes, i'm dating new gf now for further sacrifice. so expect more maps from me soon...
If I Knew The Answer To That....
#9 posted by metlslime [66.135.131.169] on 2004/09/29 03:28:43
i'd have a lot more released maps!
But i can tell you that all the necessary conditions are mental, not environmental. I have to have a certain amount of energy, a good block of free time, and be calm and focused. Listening to music on headphones helps, but only to block out distraction, not becuase i need music.
#10 posted by pope [207.216.236.96] on 2004/09/29 03:33:24
- 1 tall frosty beverage
- 1 plate full of sugared or salted munchies
- 1 girlfriend in another room
- 1 black cat asleep on my desk
- 1 other black cat asleep on couch behind me
Optional method is to fill a pipe with mari*****a and slowly puff away at it like it were tobacco during the mapping session.
With ...
#11 posted by JPL [192.91.75.29] on 2004/09/29 03:43:00
Good music
Light down
Lot of free time
Drink and Food in case of long mapping session...
That should be the better environment... But in most of case, it's really hard to group all these conditions when you are nor alone at home... Believe me: don't be married !!
Hehe
#12 posted by Shambler [82.38.194.13] on 2004/09/29 04:19:54
Cool topic. All about the esoteric rituals.
P.S. Pope, what other cat??
My Conditions
#13 posted by Kinn [81.152.168.251] on 2004/09/29 05:36:47
I map best under pressure actually. No music, no creature comforts, just good old-fashioned FEAR. To be more specific:
"OMG OMG OMG I should have started this shit 5 years ago! Oh Jesus Christ I've been working on the same map for nearly 6 months! What did you say? Quake 3's already out?!? When? 1999?!?! AAAGGHH!! WHAT? DID YOU JUST SAY 'DOOM 3'?!? OMG! OMG! (BEES) AAAAGGHHH!!!"
Yeah, that sounds about right.
When Mapping...
#14 posted by Jago [81.197.201.94] on 2004/09/29 05:42:18
When mapping I tend to:
- wait until at least 8 PM (or whenever it becomes dark enough)
- have music in the background (kind of music highly depends on mood)
- tell everybody around me to shup up or (preferably) go away
- have tea or an energy drink (Red Bull or Battery) around
- sometimes consume salted peanuts
When Sirius Is Ascendent
#15 posted by Kell [82.41.8.22] on 2004/09/29 05:56:55
My little garrot is more or less permanently set up for mapping and related activity.
Light - low; table lamp with enregy saver bulb angled towards the floor. Candles are on hand, but I usually reserve them for playing rather than mapping.
Sounds - actually, given most of my collection is on CD, I tend not to waste time sifting through. The soundtrack to my mapping is usually the steam boiler in the corner cupboard. Sometimes DCD.
Food - toast + whatever. It's only the duration of a novis/nolight compile to and from the kitchen.
Drink - budget cola, perpetually. No sugar, no caffeine.
Misc - smokes. My readmes usually report the estimated tab count for a given project. New cartons purchased only during full compiles.
<hack>*cough*
Prior to a mapping session, the only ritual I might perform is the Boiling Of The White Kettle. And maybe the odd goat gutting, for appearances mostly.
Kinn. Dude. Chill. We're not going anywhere and neither are our Quake executables.
Oh And
#16 posted by Vondur [195.128.65.237] on 2004/09/29 07:44:40
together with sacrifices i require winter and rains and autumn, everyone knows that. so wtf i'm typing this here...
Von
#17 posted by R.P.G. [24.136.230.101] on 2004/09/29 09:27:11
You forgot dark forests and evile ambience from the speakers.
With..
#18 posted by JPL [192.91.75.29] on 2004/09/29 09:35:17
... cool sounds of rain, wind and thunder, adding screams of blooded suffering people in Hell is the best ambiance for a good mapping session...
Mapping Rituals?
#19 posted by Friction [84.230.91.121] on 2004/09/29 09:47:38
You guys are stranger than I ever imagined. Mapping is just that, mapping. I map when I feel like it, which has been quite often as of late.
About All I Need Is Music...
#20 posted by pjw [63.236.226.222] on 2004/09/29 11:05:05
And that's not really a *need*, just a preference. Something to drink is nice.
I've been listening to Creamy Radio a lot lately:
http://www.thecreamygoodness.com/
...
#21 posted by necros [66.185.84.80] on 2004/09/29 13:45:55
i don't really need any special things to map.
i just need to be in the right frame of mind to map. i don't really know what constitutes this frame of mind, just that when i'm in it, i map. :P
music helps, but i usually have something going all the time. for mapping, it also depends on my mood. i don't really listen to a particular type of music... sometimes i listen to generic bass ambient stuff, other times black metal. the titles music to Alien is also great, as is the titles music to The Postman.
light needs to be bright bright bright. i use two energy saver lightbulbs that are equal to 100Watt normal light bulbs. if i knew how, i'd wire up some fluorescent lights instead.
aside from the music, it must be quiet.
the temperature should be fairly cold... no more than 22c.
if it's fall or spring, i like the window open. the smell of the outside freshness is really cool and inspiring, i find.
aside from that, there's really nothing else to it...
Also,
#22 posted by Kinn [217.43.54.119] on 2004/09/29 18:47:52
I find that careful usage of a certain 19th century optical toy often increases my mapping productivity, particularly during the later, i.e. "finishing", stages.
I'm Surprised
#23 posted by . [68.77.197.145] on 2004/09/29 18:50:51
No one maps nude.
Phait
#24 posted by R.P.G. [24.136.230.101] on 2004/09/29 20:30:11
czg hasn't posted yet.
Phait
#25 posted by Zwiffle [69.210.60.219] on 2004/09/29 22:20:19
I can map over there,
I can map when I'm bare.
Thank you for noticing.
#26 posted by [62.183.50.164] on 2004/09/30 11:33:53
#27 posted by PuLSaR [62.183.50.164] on 2004/09/30 11:33:54
I can't map with anyone in the room. Period. It's weird but I need to be totally alone to feel comfortable when I'm mapping.
I can say the same. Nobody should be at least in my room.
Unlike most of you I prefer to map with bright light. (That makes me sure that my map won't scare me ;)
Music - slow, relaxing, something old, nothing fast and modern.
And no food or drinking during my mapping process
I've Mapped...
#28 posted by pope [207.216.236.96] on 2004/09/30 22:23:13
...nude, honest
it's not uncommon that I find myself in boxer shorts or an open bathrobe either.
btw Shambler: I moved in with roomates, one which owns a black kitty aswell. So cube and he wrestle ...alot
This post was flagged as spam.
#29 posted by a spammer [218.93.127.152] on 2005/10/07 00:53:08
I Like Your Style
#30 posted by czg [85.93.227.233] on 2005/10/07 02:23:59
But the quality could improve I think.
Oooh, Mapping Conditions.
#31 posted by Text_Fish [194.72.70.124] on 2005/10/07 05:16:56
Door locked.
Phone switched off.
Orchestral music/film score.
Rum.
Pistachio nuts.
Tobacco.
Dim lighting.
Closed curtains.
And I must be fairly tired.
#32 posted by HeadThump [65.140.59.124] on 2005/10/07 12:21:34
..nude, honest
it's not uncommon that I find myself in boxer shorts or an open bathrobe either.
Louis Griffin (sitting down, looking sexy) -- I have a suprise for you, honey. I'm not wearing any underwear.
Peter Griffin -- We'll burn the chair later.
#33 posted by Ankh [83.17.205.242] on 2005/10/07 12:58:33
I'm often mapping in bed from midnight till about 2 am with my wife sleeping at my side. I always map on my laptop and almost never use my desktop pc for mapping.
_
#34 posted by . [70.224.196.234] on 2005/10/07 16:16:09
I'm often mapping in bed from midnight till about 2 am with my wife sleeping at my side.
Cute.
Can I say cute? CZG can.
LOL
#35 posted by Shambler [82.38.192.54] on 2005/10/08 02:35:22
That IS cute. Although I hope you give her the occasional sleeping teabagging as well.
#36 posted by Kinn [86.128.10.242] on 2005/10/08 02:40:40
Although I hope you give her the occasional sleeping teabagging as well.
A reasonable way to pass the time whilst waiting for those pesky compiles to finish.
#37 posted by Ankh [83.17.205.242] on 2005/10/08 03:08:27
today I have learned two new english words:
"pesky" and "teabagging"
:)
Ankh
#38 posted by starbuck [82.40.164.126] on 2005/10/08 06:21:00
I recommend that you come to the UK and throw teabagging into casual conversation.
"I would have got to work on time if it wasn't for those pesky teabaggers!"
As for mapping conditions, it helps if there's no one around when I map, and it helps if there is A) no music playing, or B) ambient/quiet instrumental/sigur ros or mogwai or something similar.
Also I need a bowl of only brown M&Ms and amps that go up to 11.
Mapping
#39 posted by voodoochopstiks [85.224.215.86] on 2005/10/08 09:26:44
I need it to be nighttime, completely dark except for the monitor, with everyone around asleep or away, and some kind of music that doesn't have heavily defined lyrics.
Heh
#40 posted by necros [70.31.50.57] on 2005/10/08 09:43:42
these days, i just leave gtkr minimized and when i feel like mapping, i just open it up and go to it... no specific mood, music or time of day required. ^_^
Mapping
#41 posted by DaZ [80.42.206.102] on 2005/10/08 18:06:16
I find that I need msuic when I map, though I find that something I bit deeper than hte usual hardcore/freedfrom stuff I like works better for mapping. I like to listen to something that I would like to be PLAYED along with my map, it helps set the atmosphere of the map I find...
Other than the music, a quiet environment is required. Music is the key, music is always the key :)
Starbuck
#42 posted by nitin [138.217.5.187] on 2005/10/08 18:58:24
Why don't you just make ten louder and make ten be the top number and make that a little louder?
But, Nitin,
#43 posted by HeadThump [65.140.59.63] on 2005/10/09 03:53:42
His goes up to eleven.
I Need A Purgatory Style Environment...
#44 posted by Tron [202.7.183.132] on 2005/10/09 09:17:41
darkness annows me because then I can't easily see keys on the keyboard, but light means I get easily distracted by things around the room.
I like some good music playing on headphones while I map, however I have discovered a weird side effect.
Way back when in the days of Napster, I only had a very small mp3 collection that I would play on repeat whenever I mapped. I now associate all those songs whenever I hear them with mapping and some I even remember what brushes I was laying down while I was listening to them.
#45 posted by Zwiffle [69.210.59.5] on 2005/10/09 09:56:34
Similar to me, I played through Quake over and over when it first came out with Bach in the CD drive, and now Bach always makes me think of those Medieval levels. Kinda neat.
Winter
#46 posted by Kinn [86.139.70.165] on 2005/10/09 14:23:56
Winter reminds me of the time when I first discovered Quake, and all the old memories of jumping out of my skin at the lurking terrors whilst getting about about 15fps in 320x240.
Of course, for the ultimate nostalgic experience, I put on the music I used to listen to at the time (and I won't tell you what it is because it's really embarrasing :}), and make some honey and cinammon on toast (I used to eat that stuff all the time). Playing in software mode mandatory.
Yes
#47 posted by HeadThump [65.140.58.224] on 2005/10/09 14:45:05
Playing in software mode mandatory.
When I recently discovered Vic's toChris I got chills. Software rendering at 1078xwhatever and higher resolution is a thing of beauty. The first thing I did was create a shortcut for Zerstörer and played it in all its unhendered glory.
Headthump
#48 posted by Mr Fribbles [202.161.117.131] on 2005/10/09 19:17:40
Dude even WinQuake lets you play in high res (I know I've tried it in 1280x1024). I guess the frame rate is pretty shittacular though, is this toChris faster?
ToChris Does Run Smoothly
#49 posted by HeadThump [65.141.73.179] on 2005/10/09 20:40:13
on high rez settings even with dynamic lights and interpolation cranked up and and I have a really low end system _ a PII 300 mhz with an ATI Rage Pro. Vic is one of the guys behind the QFusion project and he is one hell of a coder. Here is the download site:http://sourceforge.net/projec...
The problem I have with WinQuake now is it wants to use some files that are only in the registered version of Quake. I no longer have the CD for Quake so after my last computer crashed, I was forced to cobble Quake together from scraps on CDROM mirror sites. The onliest thing I am missing now are the Enforcer and Hellspawn sounds.
How Did That Happen?
#50 posted by HeadThump [65.141.73.179] on 2005/10/09 20:43:31
http://sourceforge.net/
projects/l33t/
Lol
#51 posted by necros [70.31.50.57] on 2005/10/09 20:49:22
it happened again... XD
http://sourceforge.net/projects/l3... maybe? ;)
Yeap,
#52 posted by HeadThump [65.141.73.179] on 2005/10/09 21:00:00
that's what I was aiming for. You know you are a badass programmer when the world's largest CVS depository allows you to get a way with 133t as your project name.

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