12/04/2004 @12:40:37 ^16:40:58

REVERSAL OF FORTUNE

Easter long weekend, 9th-12th April 1993: Eleven years ago, I couldn't get it over fast enough. My dad's long weekend off work and rampant dislike of my use of computers meant ninety-six hours of acute dullness

Easter long weekend, 9th-12th April 2004: Now, it seems unable to get itself over fast enough and send me back to work

At least I haven't fucking broken any milk bottles this time

University House

If you are wondering what the new office in University House (aka the old National Grid building) is like inside, and you have been in the SRC on the second floor of the library, wonder no more. They are scarily similar. Okay there are fewer desks, which are bigger and have computers on them. But the overall effect is that I'm sitting there thinking I should stop staring into space and finish my maths assignment.

Outside in the hall the effect is rather more like a shopping centre such as West Orchards or Cannon Park. This is especially the case with the view from what will become the canteen or Starbucks or whatever on the ground floor, in which on Thursday there was a small reception involving free cakes and the most horrible cup of tea I've ever had.

I have no idea what the hell I'm supposed to be doing

garrulismo

I finished garrulo yesterday so I can follow up on the last time I posted about it. I gave up trying to do each map from a pistol start and began again, saving my game and carrying ammunition forward.

It's pretty much a straight rip off of Doom 2, following the standard base/technological to city/industrial to hell theme of the original. In saying that I am fully aware that I might be missing some nuances, but the plot is the only thing in the rather long text file that wasn't translated from Spanish.

The quality is mixed; most of the maps are of a high standard architecturally, with just the right amount of detail to be impressive but not so overdone to be, well, depressing to an inexperienced mapper. However it is let down somewhat by frustrations caused through areas not being accessible a second time, by bizarre choices of photos as wall textures, and by constantly using Wolfenstein SSs.

Some levels of note:

There are touches of genius within these maps construction but at the same time touches of such idiocy you wonder if this guy really knows what he's doing. On balance though I still think it was worth playing, and many of my irritations are ignorable. It's still a 32 level set made by one author, which is laudable. I doubt I'll be arsed to do all the maps from a pistol start though, not for a few months anyway.