Nostalgia Vector

It's come to my attention that I haven't updated this website for a long while.

I generally don't like hiatuses, ( if this is even a word, but meh, you get my point ) but this was one of them.

Here, I give a small update, and some enlightment on the website's new name: "Nostalgia Vector".

This isn't usual for me to develop such a name.

Nostalgia Vector generally means that I'm broadening my horizons from a single project to a global concept and wish to keep some memories alive, namely, oldie games, through a vector of modernization and remake, to keep "good ole" memories alive.

I'd like to quote a few names: Take No Prisonners (1997, by Raven Software), Tomb Raider 1/2/3, The Infernal Machine, my own outdated (but still rehasheable) Metal Gear fangame projects, old dreams, and so on.

These are mostly projects I would wish to see rising back from the grave, or, more friendly speaking, have a makeover.

Since these games ( for the MOST ) part have no (or no more license) at all, I could try. I won't start all of them at once, this would be suicidal and a very bad thing for my imagination and inspiration. One thing at a time.

I don't really mean I'll do all these projects on the same TRLE/NGLE engine, but as far as I think of it, for the most part, it will be the case until contrary notice.

Note: this also means I'll have to make do with "lara croft's silly female animations -_-'. I could use those, but the moment they were created years ago, Lara was portrayed to display her feminine curves, something she's not looked at for anymore today ( eg: Tomb Raider Underworld's beta-tests revealed that testers looked longer at her detailed face than her female features. Gaming has changed.... A lot. )

This is no surprise for me and for readers, possibly, to notice that progress is slow, very very slow.

This is mostly due to the technique I use of making level after level in a linear fashion, while I should probably have focused on other, more optimized schemes.

What kind of scheme I could adopt was uneasy for me at first until I decided to go with BETA Mapping, so they call it.

In TRLE, Beta mapping means building a level with basic, almost MetalGearSolid-esque virtual reality textures, and stuff things afterwards; A very easy to understand architecture like this indeed allows me to recognize areas easily; and I can still set Triggers and elements easily enough.

I have not tried to explore this system in a hugh depth but the results are already promising. I have tried to apply the Beta Mapping scheme to Nub's Tomb's first level, and it seems I have got it right. What's the best about Beta Mapping is that the structure is entirely ready once I need to create this level, I only need texturing and placing ambiance; this doesnt' slow me down while I can work on other levels.

Stay tuned, I'll possibly post another news after that with screens of what Beta Mapping looks like.

This is a bizarre glitch. I can't show a screenshot yet; but overally, the QuetzalCoatl boss of the Olmec Valley apparently doesn't work as expected.

For some reason, instead of spawning the boss, Lara's camera strangely flips 180° and we now see the ground and not her, like if it was the ceilling. This sure is a bizarre glitch.

This is probably the oldest, lowest article you will possibly find. This website/blog/what ever you call it, is my personal show-off room, dedicated to the L.C.&The Infernal Machine Project.

The Infernal Machine used to be a 3D adventure game under the Indiana Jones license, released on 23rd November 1999. Widely called a Tomb Raider Clone,

The Infernal Machine made up of its shortcomings with an awesome and deeply addicting storyline. At the very least, that was my case.

However, precisely one day later, Tomb Raider 4 ( aka. The Last Revelation ) came out, and so, completely cloaked The Infernal Machine out of the picture.

While Tomb Raider 4 was widely acclaimed, I always found it to be one of the most inferior titles of the series.I had to wait until Tomb Raider 5 : Chronicles to come out, as it would finally gift Tomb Raider players with the ultimate powers of creation: a CD containing most of the development data - including the tools - that were used to build Tomb Raider 4. Core Design discontinuing this engine to turn towards a new one for the soon-to-be-released ( to great mourn ) Angel Of Darkness.

It was safe to assume that Core Design's aging engine was not a "severe" threat anymore to any recent game, and as such, would be vastly ignored by many big-leaders of the gaming industry as it is today. This allowed Tomb Raider Level Editor ( aka TRLE ) to quietly grow into a full-fledged, active community and level workshop, pouring better and better content over time.

Today, we're nearing 2012, and I have jumped into the crazy bet of building a remake of The Infernal Machine. Further articles will explain in deeper detail what this is all about.