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              <p><font color="#0000FF"><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color="#0000CC">volume 
                1, issue 15</font></b></font></p>
              <p><font color="#0000FF"><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color="#0000CC"> 
                </font></b></font></p>
              <p>  <p><font face="Courier New, Courier, mono"><b><font color="#339900" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Today 
                in loonygames:</font></b></font></p>

<P><font color="#000000" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">New!!</font><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2"> The Archives have been cleaned up, fead links fixed, and printable versions restored! Also, don't miss the new comments <a href="../../../index.html">on the front page</a>!</font></p>
              
<P><font color="#000000" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><a href="../../2.15/feat/index.html" target="">Livin' 
  With The Sims</a></font><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">: 
  theAntiELVIS explores the wild and wacky world that is Will Wright's <b>The Sims</b>, 
  asking the inevitable quesiton, &quot;is <b>The Sims</b> the first step toward a virtual 
  life where everyone is Swedish?&quot;</font></p>
<P><font color="#000000" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><a href="../../2.15/pixel/index.html" target="">Pixel 
  Obscura</a></font><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">: Josh 
  Vasquez on <b>Omikron: The Nomad Soul</b>.</font></p>
<P><font color="#000000" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><a href="../../rl/index.html" target="">Real 
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              <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b><font color="#339900">Related 
                Links:</font></b></font></p>
              <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><a href="http://www.planetquake.com">PlanetQuake</a>: 
                These guys host just about every <b>Quake </b>mod in existance.</font></p>
              <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><a href="http://www.telefragged.com">Telefragged</a>: 
                The rest of them can probably be found here. :)</font></p>
              
              
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        <p align="LEFT"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="+3" color="#0022A8">Tune 
          Up Your Game!<i></i></font></p>
        <p align="right"><font color="#804000"><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">By 
          Rowan &quot;<a target="_self" href="mailto:sumaleth@frag.com">Sumaleth</a>&quot; 
          Crawford</font></b></font> 
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<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/2.15/">Jump to an Archived Issue!</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/2.15/">2.15: Livin' With The Sims</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/2.14/">2.14: To the Extreme</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/2.13/">2.13: Not Just a Passing Wind</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/2.12/">2.12: It's Not Easy Being Green</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/2.11/">2.11: Inside Origin Systems</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/2.10/">2.10: Game Networking 101</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/2.9/">2.9: Tell me a Story</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/2.8/">2.8: Anatomy of a Video Game</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/2.7/">2.7: 1999 loonygames Awards</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/2.6/">2.6: PC Fight Club</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/2.5/">2.5: Paul Steed '99</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/2.4/">2.4: Sounds From All Over</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/2.3/">2.3: Kicking Back with a Bear</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/2.2/">2.2: End of the Line</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/2.1/">2.1: American McGee's Alice</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.41/">----- Volume 1 -----</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.41/">1.41: Put a Little Love...</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.40/">1.40: Game Programming...</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.39/">1.39: More loonygames @ E3!</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.38/">1.38: loonygames at E3!</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.37/">1.37: The ReRuns Issue</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.36/">1.36: Inside Raven Software</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.35/">1.35: Waking Graeme Devine</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.34/">1.34: Writing the Game</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.33/">1.33: Totally Tribal</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.32/">1.32: Under His Skin</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.31/">1.31: The Glory of G.O.D.</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.30/">1.30: Chillin' w/Jason Hall</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.29/">1.29: Extreme Annihilation</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.28/">1.28: Adventures in ASCII</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.27/">1.27: Serious Brass Ones</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.26/">1.26: Two Programs...</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.25/">1.25: The Unreal Cliffy B!</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.24/">1.24: Gimme Your Money!</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.23/">1.23: Old Crusty Gamers</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.22/">1.22: Bugs!</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.21/">1.21: 2001</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.20/">1.20: Can't Please Everyone</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.19/">1.19: The Rise and Fall...</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.18/">1.18: romuluSngan HoH!</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.17/">1.17: A Very Geeky Christmas</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.16/">1.16: 5 Years of Doom!</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.15/">1.15: Tune Up Your Game!</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.14/">1.14: NT + Games = ???</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.13/">1.13: Blue and Levelord...</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.12/">1.12: When It's Done!</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.11/">1.11: Hangin' With John Romero!</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.10/">1.10: Still Sick of Games</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.9/">1.9: Gettin' Odd with the loonies</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.8/">1.8: LAN Parties...</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.7/">1.7: The Community Summit</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.6/">1.6: DRAW Pardner!</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.5/">1.5: Taking Aim at Paul Steed</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.4/">1.4: Play Where You Like!</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.3/">1.3: *Special Duke Issue*</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.2/">1.2: Are You Sick of Games?</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.1/">1.1: Chris Taylor Gets Some!</option>

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        <p align="LEFT">&nbsp;</p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Among that mods that were 
          finished included the remarkable '<b>Zerstorer</b>', along with other 
          impressive projects such as; <b>'Air Quake'</b>, <b>'Action Quake'</b>, 
          <b>'Quake Rally'</b> and '<b>Quess</b>' (well, I couldn't leave them 
          out!). I think even id Software were surprised at the variety and quality 
          of mods produced, but that’s actually a reasonable reaction when you 
          consider the above list includes; flying, driving, playing chess, and 
          a side-on platform game, all modified from a first person action game!</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Other games boasting free 
          mods include a number of other FPS games such as <b>Quake II</b>, <b>Unreal</b>, 
          and <b>Duke Nukem</b>, along with other genre titles such as <b>Total 
          Annihilation </b>with its <i>StarWars</i> mod. Some of these add-ons 
          take as long to create as a real game, plus the authors are generally 
          trying to keep down a full-time job or study at school/university, so 
          the level of dedication and commitment is immense. This is particularly 
          true when you consider the harsh nature of the Internet environment, 
          a place where people say what they feel without too much worry of retaliation. 
          Everyone is essentially anonymous and if someone has a problem with 
          something, you can expect they'll speak their mind. Examples are, sadly, 
          all too easy to think of. For example, a guy emailed the <b>Quake Rally</b> 
          team during its production, complaining that it was taking too long 
          and that we should send all the elements to him so he could finish it 
          off. Or another example might be the clever guy who complained to me 
          that I hadn't made an update on the <b>Quake Rally</b> news page for 
          over a week and, by not doing so, I was "letting the community down". 
          Complaints such as those are rather strange when you consider that the 
          authors are setting aside sometimes more than a year of their free time 
          to create free entertainment for other people, yet they keep coming.</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">With the success of free 
          mods, it was only a matter of time for commercial mods to enter the 
          equation, and, again, <b>Quake</b> started the ball rolling with titles 
          such as '<b>Shrak</b>', '<b>Malice</b>' and <b>'X-Men</b>'. Commercial 
          mods differ from 'mission packs' in that they present a totally new 
          environment for the game rather than simply extending the existing game, 
          and they differ from 'commercial add-ons' in that the engine itself 
          isn't licensed; the mods can only be used if you already own the game. 
          Additionally, 'mods' are rarely commissioned by the company that produced 
          the original game, they are instead usually made by the fans, or by 
          companies wanting to add some short-term projects to their production 
          schedule.</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Working on a commercial mod 
          can be very similar to working on a full commercial game, <i>or</i> 
          it can be a lot like working on a free mod; it's dependant on whether 
          a publishing deal, and therefore development money, is arranged before 
          (eg. the <b>X-Men</b> project) or after (eg. the '<b>Gunman</b>' project) 
          the game is created. Even with a pre-arranged publishing deal, the structure 
          within the team can vary heavily depending on the departments of the 
          team and wishes of the publisher.</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Taking the <b>X-Men</b> commercial 
          mod as an example, the coder and the lead artist worked on the project 
          full-time for its duration, with other artists and all the mappers working 
          in their spare time, with a publishing deal arranged well before the 
          completion of the project. Along the same lines as commercial mods are 
          mission packs. </font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Mission packs <i>extend</i> 
          an existing game by adding new maps, baddies, and weapons, all within 
          the confines of the original storyline and gameplay. If you trace back 
          the origin of mission packs you come to <b>‘Doom 2 </b>Episode 3; Thy 
          Flesh Consumed', a whole new episode for <b>Doom 2</b> created by talent 
          from around the net. Since that time, the idea of mission packs has 
          really taken off to the point where mission packs are almost <i>expected</i>. 
          Consider the approach of companies like Ritual and Valve which have 
          already commissioned official mission packs for their unreleased (or 
          only <i>just</i> released) games (<b>Sin</b> and <b>Half-Life</b> respectively). 
          An official mission pack is one commissioned and approved by the creators 
          of the original game, typically farmed out to other companies or development 
          teams rather than being produced by the original game creators. A number 
          of game companies got their start producing official mission packs, 
          such as Ritual who formed to create the second official <b>Quake </b>mission 
          pack, and there are a lot of individuals now in the gaming industry 
          who used mission packs, and mods for that matter, as methods of getting 
          their foot in the game development door.</font></p>
        <p align="LEFT"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Until only recently, 
          'mods' had been almost entirely a byproduct of id Software titles, due 
          to the games since<b> Doom </b>being designed with mods in mind, but 
          mission packs have quickly engulfed a variety of games covering a number 
          of genres. The 3D action game market can't seem to get enough mission 
          packs; for every game on the shelf it's often flanked by a mission pack 
          or two, but even real-time strategy games, such as <b>Total Annihilation</b>, 
          have mission packs to extend their used by date and playing time. We've 
          been discussing official mission packs, but mission packs come in two 
          main flavors; official, and unofficial, with unofficial packs further 
          split between 'commercial' and 'free'. Since the release of <b>Quake 
          II</b>, unofficial mission packs have taken on a life of their own, 
          with at least a dozen in production right now for that title alone.</font></p>
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    <td><i><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-2"><b>Credits:</b> 
      Illustration &copy; 1998 Dan Zalkus. Tune Up Your Game! &copy; 1998 Rowan 
      Crawford. All other content is &copy; 1998 <a target="_self" href="http://www.loonyboi.com">loonyboi 
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