Hello [R-DEV]Rudd , and thank for taking your time to answer these questions
1/Hello Rudd, could you tell us a bit about yourself?
I'm 22 years old and have been doing odd jobs in healthcare for a while now, basic work and some phlebotomy (taking blood samples etc). I received great news recently that I've been given offers from both the Universities of Brighton and Cardiff to allow me to do a nursing degree. The only downside of course is that the amount of free time for gaming will decrease significantly , but I'm sure I'll find a way to stay in touch with PR and all its projects.
2/We know you are a [R-DEV], what is your role within this team, mapping ? coding? Can you describe how you became a member of this Project Reality?
I started out as a normal player like everyone else, I fell in love with the game mainly due to the great people I encountered playing it, my old clan iGi in particular were a great bunch of blokes.
I started playing around with the BF2 editor using the map audit tuts, creating my own version of Operation Barracuda with different lighting and having the Brits instead of USMC, then I was involved with a serious effort to try and get night versions of maps working; however certain technical issues prevented that from working. I finally bit the bullet and started working on the first version of Burning Sands, then named'Al Muthana' with a rolling dunes theme. However it eventually morphed in to the desert city based on features I saw on google earth in Saudi Arabia, mostly from the town of Arar. It was around then that I started the first version of Jungle Fire.
night versions of maps
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Since I was actively mapping I was approached by the PR Team and given [R-CON] status so that I would easily be able to work with the latest assets and communicate with the team in our private team forums. Once I had a map in the actual build I was given [DEV]ship, which was a honour. I have been PR mapping manager for a little while trying to organise the mapping side of PR. I and my team did several hours worth of work to fix bugs, implement changes and correct balance on all current PR maps; however due to personal circumstances I requested to be demoted back to non-manager. AFsoccer has taken up the task and I know that he'll do a fantastic job as manager with the full support of the PR mapping team.
3/Since how long have you been in this team? What do you think of that? Do you feel you belong to a group of friends, have you got a message to pass them on?
I've been a dev for over 6months now, I think. The PR team is made up of some of the smartest and competent people I've ever met; I've yet to meet the majority of them in real life, however I hope to in the near future. I certainly count several as friends and all as valued collegues. I met a couple of team members in Edinburgh this week, and had a real blast putting faces to names.
4/You have made a map for the v0.95, Burning Sand, and this map is fun to play, yet there is this famous dead zone. Could you tell us what you are going to do concerning this bug which was beyond your control?.
The bug was the product of a bad method on my part, mapping combat zones, assets etc is supposed to be done loading all layers of your map (64, 32 etc) at the same time. However I accidentally did not set the layers up correctly which resulted in one of the skirmish combat zones copying in to the 64 layer. Since theres no map markings for that, it wasn't discovered until it was too late. The bug was very easy to fix, however it does require a client side update, which means the players will have to wait untill the next release cycle. Since this bug I have always modified gameplay layers individually, which requires that I reload the editor alot, however it makes modifications far simplier.
However I'm sure you'll all love the other changes to the map that are listed here
I've found that using public tests of WIP maps has helped find bugs that are not immediately obvious such as this, and I hope we'll be using that more in future
5/I could see you have made a map for the French Forces. What can you tell us about that? How is your relation going with them?
forest fire (formerly Jungle Fire) was good fun to make, however I did pass the responsibility for the map on to R-DEV Amokandy, who has done great work on it and other projects. The primary issue is getting a reasonable tree coverage while maintaining performance, we've done alot of optimisation to try and get it to an acceptable level.
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My connection to the French team is only really through its English speaking members like [R-DEV]Hauteclocque, their team is very impressive and they have a great sense of humour; however I do get several messages per month saying I should make a French Vs GB map haha. The French forces are definately going to be an epic addition to PR with unique gameplay.[XFIRE]256b4f[/XFIRE]
6/Do you have other projects in mind or is it a secret? If not, would you mind sharing some, content wise?
Right now the only project apart from optimising maps already in PR is a 4k afghan map that is based on topographical data from the area NE of the Kajaki Dam.
its early days, but its starting to come together. The gameplay is hopefully going to be based around the chinook, with very little ground transport for blufor. I hope I can get this map finished in a few months.
However there is also a little suprise in the next update regarding Jabal version ONE (not two, thats not finished yet) Hopefully it should modernise its gameplay considerably; butI'll leave some of the details a mystery.
There are also a couple of ex-projects of mine floating around that I have allowed other people to work on, such as a woodland sea assault and a new version of Road to Kyong'yang Ni (based on the original terrain however jazzed up with geocontrol 2 and made in to a 2k map)
7/I guess you are a part of the PR:ArmA2 project, aren't you?. How is the progress so far? What are you doing, what is your contribution?
Last week I would have said that I have no personal interest in the ArmA2 project, however I did spend a couple of days in Edinburgh this week meeting up with TG Jeepo, TG Ristin, Animalmother and A1med and their enthusiasm has given me the motivation to see if I can seriously contribute to the ArmA2 effort. I'll see what I can do.
8/As far as I am concerned, Project Reality is a state of mind, a way of thinking I can't find anywhere else... What can you say to the old dinosaurs of PR and the new ones who are discovering the game?
All I can really say is thank you, since models, maps and gameplay dynamics can only go so far - it is the project reality community who ultimately makes PR what it is today. To the old dinos I say, stay friendly and thanks for the great games. To the new guys I say, have fun and remember PR isn't the same as any other game, so don't play it the same as as any other game.
9/I know you are doing some humanitarian actions, and it's all credit to you. Would you like to talk about it?
Last year I went to kenya to volunteer near Diani beach. We did a range of things, such as vaccinating goats to help the local farmers. I havent been able to return due to financial concerns. I was set to go back on a medical outreach program in September, however I'll be in university at that time. But I'm definately going to go next year even if I have to use some leave from nursing, hopefully it will be with the same outreach programme I missed this year except it may be in Ecuador. I've never felt so rewarded and content as I did in Africa; everyone should go out there for at least six months when they reach the age of 18; it changes the way you look at the world.
That's it Rudd, I hope this interview will tell more about you and I hope the readers will see how fantastic your work is for this community.
Thank you psychickactivity, its been a pleasure to talk to you.
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