December 2013 For SteamPipe DoD:S and CS:S HUDS... click the images above!

UPDATE: Ham and Jam now released!

It has finally happened! The news page on the WW2 MOD H&J has updated and downloads are in place for UK, US and a torrent.

DOWNLOAD

Go get it WW2 fans!

Read the latest news here!

 A XMAS donation to the crew?

 It is a free mod by the way... so maybe a donation might help, look to the right side of the website for the actual H&J donation link.

What is H&J ?

Look here for maps, here for renders and here for play test images.

ON-LINE Game Server ?

One server from what I can see at the moment from the SAW Clan in Australia. Just open the "Favorites" tab in "Find Game" (Servers panel) click 'Add a Server" button and place in ..."103.23.148.129:27070"  it will appear in the "Internet" tab.

SturmBot (Bot for day of defeat - Half Life 1)

SturmBot converts the old dod from a multiplayer only game into a singleplayer game. Bots are handy for players that don't want to go online, or have internet connection issues... or pepole like me that love customizing stuff. I have recently made a website dedicated to it.

If you have the Half Life 1 mod day of defeat 1.3 for steam then you can install Sturmbot and play a local game with up to 31 "players".

There are many facets to the program, you can download a simple to use installer on the site ready to play with 600+ maps, (600 waypoint files in the install not maps) and also find some hard to get custom files for Day of Defeat as well like my map pack for 22 of the best maps ever made.

If you like dod you will find bots can be a lot of fun.... give it a go, download the easy to use installer I made and you will be set up in seconds.  

Video courtesy of Justallinoneresource and YouTube

Enemy Front... a new WW2 game... CryEngine 3

The game is under development now by City Interactive.  Gameplay - Robert Hawkins is a war correspondent who is caught up with the Resistance. The game is played through his flashbacks and will include real historical events. 

News links to Enemy Front... VG 24/7  -  GamesIndustry International  -  IGN  - YouTube

July 2013 For SteamPipe DoD:S and CS:S HUDS... click the images above!

Got a problem with your steam game?

Report it to "GitHub"...

If you have an issue with a steam game how about reporting it? So many people have a whinge in forums, write emails and then see that issue go nowhere and just give up. Well, try the VALVe software GitHub sections.

What is GItHub?

GitHub is a web based service for software development projects and VALVe has a section for its games. Players can report issues to these areas after you register and login.

Let's say you are a fan of Day of Defeat :Source like I am and you need to tell someone you found a nasty bug.

1. Join GitHub here it is free.
2. Read the rules and how you report the issue, this part is important!
3. Find your section and make a new issue, if you like use my web links section here for your game. Or...

• Navigate to the main section like Source-1-Games for DoD:S
• Press "Issues" link on the side, top, right links
• Then press the New Issue button on the top right.

Tip: When starting a new issue make sure you give a simple, direct to the point explanation. Here is a good example of someone reporting an issue but the game developers fixing the issue need more information.

As you can see others will come in too and possibly add to more information, you will be asked for further info' so put in as much as you can while keeping it clear and simple. It will take time to solve issues, so be ready for a wait.

Here is a good submission from user "spacecadet" about a issue just about every dod:s player is aware of.... but not the game developer ! As you can see the dev' still had questions, so set up your account to watch for reply's and alert you via email so you can answer the questions and get the item solved.

Get involved if you want it solved. GitHub is not an easy web based layout to master, but give it a try.

June 2013 For SteamPipe DoD:S and CS:S HUDS... click the images above!

Map downloads have been checked, added to and updated! 

Also check out Dradz's new map, dod_rouen, it is stunning.

Old school dod anyone!  I like to do at least one piece of content per month, bit late I know but I updated the installer for Johan Linde's Sturmbot package. I also assembled a top 22 map pack for the best, (what I think was the best) old dod maps. All work perfectly with Steam dod ver 1.3 (HL1 dod SteamPipe updated)

Now you may have not played the old dod for a while, thinking it is too hard? Not with these two packs, setup time is reduced to a few minutes if you use the installers.

Give it a go, play some of the old stuff, practice with the bots and then get online for a few games... you will wonder why you did not do this ages ago.

May 2013 

I am still progressing on this site with revamping the many articles that now need upgrading to Steampipe format. The dods Hud tutorials were very old anyway and needed a clean up, over halfway through that. 

Mappers for dod:s, CSS and TF2 have a beta SDK underway, it works OK for now. DoD:s users my experience with this was ...

1. Opt in via Right click on your Day Of Defeat Source link in Library, Properties, BETAS tab, sdktools_beta...
2. It downloads after a little pause.
3. I needed to grab my dod.fgd and base.fgd from my old files ... C:\program files (x86)\steam\steamapps\My account name\sourcesdk\bin\orangebox\bin ...and put them in ... C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\SteamApps\common\Day of Defeat Source\bin
4. Start up hammer, it had a few errors, start again... works.

Note: you start hammer via the hammer.exe in .... C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\SteamApps\common\Day of Defeat Source\bin

Report any errors to this thread on GitHub.

April 2013 

Aghhhh, Damn you SteamPipe! The articles on this site have been hit with errors because of the new SteamPipe formats. Just look for this logo for pages that have been updated ... if it does not have a logo... it could have incorrect info or files in it. I have done some downloads and a page or two already. Going to take a while... contact me if confused about something.

DoD:S...SteamPipe.   So dod:s is now on SteamPipe, it seems to be going OK, there were lots bugs at first, lots of confusion but I think it went quite well seeing they ripped the guts out of the file system and completely replaced it!

There were a few items I was worried about like all my downloads and places like gamebanana ...will it still work? Mostly it does. There seems to be some custom models missing bits here and there, that may be down to some .VMF and .VTF file paths now incorrect in the files. Basically all you have to do with older custom stuff is where it used to go in the "dod" folder it now goes in "dod\custom" then make a new folder and call it any name you like. That folder is now the "dod" folder for custom files.

So when downloading older content if the readme says to install the folders in "dod" make sure you visit the new "dod\custom" folder, make a new folder of what that custom item is say... "terminator player skin" and all the folders like 'models' and 'materials' now go in "dod\custom\terminator player skin". It really is as simple as that.

The other things the community rely on like like Sourcemod plug-ins and DBlocker are up and working... so quick! I thought those two would take a little longer.

Linux... small steps now, a revolution for gamers?

The big 'win' I think is, Steam not only has Windows OS users but now Linux OS users, Mac have also been with Steam for a while. VALVe are really moving into Linux in a big way, in fact it is going to be the platform for SteamBox.

I don't know what they will end up with as far as what the hardware will look like but listening to some of what Gabe Newell says recently it seems VALVe will make a more open PC like box that connects the large screen TV not only to games you alredy own but also something running a Linux OS that can also have features to bring the web to your fingertips. Media center, game console, interactive web TV.

Something the TV manufacturers just plain fail at is access to your local media files and getting the web on a large screen TV. Gabe Newell is a clever guy, this platform could do a lot more than just add a few games on it, it could be the killer app for the lounge room.... that is also on your PC should another household member want to watch days of our lives and you don't.

This move to support Linux has some possible great side effects, Linux for me has always been an optional OS, it is a place I can find free software where I can use awesome programs to edit fonts, images and a fall back and a rescue platform when windows has one of it's issues... virus, BOD's, and a couple of others that are just plain strange. So why not install it for a spare OS? Have a read in my forums, if you have a motherboard that has a Boot feature, (on my asus MB you press F8 before windows can load and you get a bios boot menu) and a spare hard disk you can have a back up OS and install steam with some of your favorite games.... free.

But, it is early days yet for Steam and Linux, one of the more annoying things is the absolute shit, (yes... shit is the right word) support for Video Card drivers. Both ATI and Nvidia. You may see that change dramatically now VALVe has a Linux team (do look at the video and note the DirectX vs OpenGL items) and have plans for a standalone device running Linux for the lounge room.

In any case it was easy, opening my PC inserting a spare drive, disconnecting the SATA plug on my drive Windows is installed on, inserting a Ubuntu 32 bit install via a pre burned ISO. If I want Linux, I restart, press F8 at the Asus bios screen, select the 250 gig drive and it's done. No fooling with complicated dual installs on the same drive and Linux screwing with windows fragile master boot record.

So much is being investigated, problems solved and new products being released. Now add that to the Steam user numbers, billions of people world wide. If hardware, software are supported and billions of people are using Steam products on older and newer hardware... including the lounge room big TV crowd, using the top 3 operating systems.... well that is huge. It has the capability of bringing a lot of people together in one place.

It has the same feel as the "web" ... lots of different ways to get it and you don't need special hardware to access it.... like my pet hate buying a hardware console when I have a $2,000 PC that eats any console ever made, just to play a game? Hell no!

It will affect what hardware manufactures do with hardware and software like DirectX vs OpenGL preference, it will effect what console you buy next or if you don't want a console at all just use your PC with a wireless GamePad, or build your own and plonk in your steam account with Steam running in "Big Picture Mode", that is if VALVe do make this a success.

If you look at the past record of the failures and successes of that company once they say they are going to do something...it happens.

March 2013  Note new HUD for the DoD:s "SteamPipe" Beta...see here.

UPDATED!

UPDATE: 31 March. A lot has happened since dods updated, the servers are coming back and it does not look that bad now. If you are still struggling with where to place custom files I have a guide here.

 UPDATE: 16 March. My current "pre SteamPipe" version GUI and HUD for DoD:S and CS:S are now complete, no more versions will be developed for them.

All new improvements will be for the new SteamPipe versions. The new version of the custom GUI and HUD for DoD:S is done and CS:S is here.

UPDATE: 14 March. Day of Defeat:Source ...beta! (SteamPipe file system)

As you may know all orangebox titles are eventually moving to a new file system, SteamPipe.

I actually made some stuff!

OK it has been a while since I did anything, there is a reason...I am bone lazy.

Maps

I have placed the St Lo map on the shelf... having a rethink. I did however get enough time to finish off another one from the dark depths of my hard drives, office. CSS office was always a favorite but for dod it is a disaster because the axis spawn in the play area and dods does not have hostage mode. I think I have a good enough version to playtest, please see here and here for a look and download.

VALVe and SteamPipe... a change that will disrupt all custom files and how that affects you

What are they doing? VALVe explain here.

The old GCF system will be removed and files will now go in VPK packages.

The addons folder is removed, so SourceMod needs to deal with that, also some plugins may not find the sounds and material folders as they too have changes in addresses.

The way files are downloaded from servers change, the custom files for HUD's, skins, sounds and maps will change address.

This seems to be just a revamp of the file system, scrapping the GCF file system. Probably to make it more efficient, (less work/cost) to update orangebox games for VALVe.

Pros:

• It may be slightly faster delivering files to the client, especially the "loading resources" part of starting a game.
• A small positive may also be that some game folder files are sometimes overwritten in an update, custom files may be not affected so much being in a non standard location, if that is the case when you do have all your custom files selected you could back that up instead of the entire game folder.

Cons:

• It will kill off a lot of content if the authors or someone else do not update to the new folder locations.
• Server mods and plugins will need fixing as addresses of files used in plugins may change, the addons folder that MetaMod and SourceMod use ... is no longer there. Materials and sounds could also now have to be in the new "custom" or for downloadable content from the server... "downloads"

Opinion: I think it will cause about the same damage as the orangebox update but deliver very little in actual improvements for players. For dods it looks like we will be left with a smaller pool of custom files and server plug-ins, popular ones will get updated for sure, some will go too.

I would not count on any other fixes, just disruption. I cannot say this is a good move but there is little anyone can do about it, the disruption to sites like mine and Gamebanana are that all of the downloads will be...broken.

Who is going to fix them? Be assured I will fix my stuff... what about large download sites!!!

dod:s HUD

The version 11 of my HUD will drag on a bit more yet, it is ready, at Beta 12 and here for a download, (See first post). Small changes happen a lot, I am waiting for the file system in orangebox games to change and break instalers and manual downloads. The Version 11 beta 12 does also have a huge set of manual files, it is in the first post but here it is anyway... download (warning, installing a HUD this complex is for advanced users ONLY, better use the installer if you are not sure)

CSS HUD's

I have not done anything with them, same reason, VALVe will change the file system soon and it will kill all installers and zip file locations.

February 2013

Adobe older versions are free now?

Some visitors to this site make content for Source games, when doing that you need graphics software, the best is Adobe Photoshop. While the alternatives like Paint.Net and the Gimp are very good Adobe Photoshop is easier to use than the Gimp and has many more features than Paint.Net.

But... Adobe Photoshop is very expensive to buy for a non-professional person just to edit a few files every now and again so most people use end up using the Gimp and Paint.Net, the cheap Adobe alternative "Photoshop elements" is not worth it as it does not handle Alpha layers, (the Gimp can but not Paint.Net) well now you can have a full Adobe Photoshop CS2 from Adobe.

It seems they have issues with activation and have realesed a lot of the versions on this page with serials, a lot more than just Adobe Photoshop CS2. I am not sure how this stands up for a person who has not bought this in the past, is it abandonware now or what? It is very old and may give bad results on some PC's like the later windows 8 and some Mac PC's but for the gamer that just wants to edit a couple of images this may be worth having a look at. Myself... I still prefer the Gimp and especially Paint.Net for simple stuff, probably because I am comfortable using them and PhotoShop does take quite some time to load for simple edits.

January 2013

Due to other things in my life the webbie has taken a back seat for a while.

I have almost stopped, (again) on HUDs for Steam games. However I still get a kick from mapping and very now and again the Hammer editor gets a run.

Saint Lo  holds an interest for me, it was heavily bombed during the Normandy campaign, the town had 95% of it's buildings destroyed initially by the 8th air force and then by the retreating German artillery. The pay off from all that tragedy of the civilian deaths, loss of individuals from both sides, incredible destruction of "carpet bombing" was Patton's 3rd army raced through Normandy... "the breakout" after Operation Cobra.

So the way Saint Lo looked just before and during July 1944 started to interest me. Also the other ww2 games don't really depict it as it was so I thought a bit of realism was in order. It is harder to do this and the amount of times I have ripped it up and started over? Around 20 or so times.

I think I am around 50% done, the map area is the intersection where the major roads from the coast meet at the town.

Images

There are a few images kicking around the net for a reference, the images below were helpful, first on on the left looks like one of the first air raids, 10 minutes before Saint Lo was changed forever, for the occupants the town would never be the same after this point. In the 2nd from left image the intersection of the roads is around the image center, just to the right. Other images show the a couple of the reference files used and what that looks like in the map at the moment.

Before the Bombs See full image here	dod_saint_lo_b1	Edge of graveyard and intersection	Map view of the graveyard and intersection	One of the houses still standing	Map view of that house

I will keep plugging away on this, one of the more annoying things is some areas don't have good photos so I try and guess... then I find a photo of that area and start all over again!

Previous Months News...