Hi, For our international friends who don't get the service, Teletext is a ascii text based information service broadcast free on analogue british TV using the extra lines not used by our signal. It allows up to the minute information, news etc in BBCB style 16 color block graphics
Very low tech but cool nonetheless.
On the Channel Four version on page 377 today they have posted a review of FPS Creator - it will only be up for one day and many of you won't be able to read it, so I am writing a transcript which I shall place here in a few minutes once its typed up
I will add my own comments in where I see fit, cos I'm big-headed like that
Review : FPS Creator (PC)
It's curious timing. Just after getting a number of letters asking about the availability of videogame construction kits, this comes along.
But of all the genres of videogame the First Person Shoot-em-up series seems the least in need of an editting tool. [sam: I agree in a way, but this shouldn't affect their opinion of it]
As powerful as free tools such as Unreal Ed are though, they're not exactly user friendly, which is where FPS Creator is supposed to come in. [sam: Unreal Ed & the like are NOT free, you have to buy the game to legally use them, and you can't use them to compile your own game or sell games you've made. But I think maybe GC didn't realise / see the potential of selling your own exes]
When you first load this program, all thoughts of creating the next Half-Life instantly evaporate.
You're faced with a completely blank page that looks like any other generic Windows application.
A quick perusal of the menus & toolbar doesn't reveal anything in the way of tutorials or Wizrds & the instict to just panic & run away from the whole thing is over whelming. [sam: perhaps a bit harsh, but remember these are game reviewers who are reviewing for people who have never tried sofwtare such as this before. I wholeheartedly agree that there should be a friendlier welcome screen, interactive tutorials available in the software itself and wizards for making basic games very quickly. Even t3dgm had a random game option...]
As every videogame player knws, manuals are for squares. But in this instance, the "getting started guide" proves invaluable.
In just a few steps it shows you how to jam together a couple of stock rooms, add a weapon and some bad guys & "hey presto!" - Instant Game.
Considering how starkly un-inviting the program first seems to be, it's all remarkably easy to create. [sam: ah well they've forgiven the initial lack of tutorials. This could have been avoided though with a simple window with a html version in the software - something to add for the next update maybe?]
Once you've created your first mini-game, the next problem is that the actual main manual is only in digital form, which is a pain. [sam: I agree, pdf files for reading on your pc are evil. Although quite how a large manual could have been included with the dvd style packagng for shop shelves lord only knows. I think they are being picky - just take the pdf to a print shop!]
But if you can suffer the hell of PDF files it does explain theprogram's more complicated aspects fairly well.
Creating a multiplayer version of your game proves remarkably easy. Pretty soon you're creating proper levels & using the 800-odd pre-made objects.
Not only can your games be played in multiplayer, you can also save them as files that any PC owner can play.
Importing your own graphics, sounds and 3d models is also easy - which is a good thing because the actual in-game art is pretty ugly & restricted to just sci-fi & wwII. [sam: I think describing the art as ugly isout of order. "Low poly" by todays standards, yes. "bland", maybe, what with the sameyness of the colour systems etc. but Ugly is unfair. Mind you, again, they are comparing this with the commercial games they play everyday, like hl2, painkiller, ffarcry & doom III so I'm not surprised they were non-plussed. The selection tho I think is more than enough, being that expansions can be added in the future, but again they'll see this as a 'finished' product]
Creating scripts to govern complex events & movements is more complicated & not for pc virgins.
Despite the lack of online help [sam: A wider more obviosu acnowledgment of htis community would have really helped them to have not made that mistake] this is a very easy to use program. It's nowhere near as powerful as Unreal Ed but its a better first step for those who want to learn how games are made.
It's useful for learning the basic concepts and, perhaps more importantly, practicing the art of level design.
The latter at least is a skill thats determined solely by your imagination & nothing else/ [sam: good thing they didn't play around long enough to discover lack of terrains etc. but as an ending to their review, its sounding quite positive
]
In short:
A first-person shoot-em-up construction kit for design virgins
Pros:
The Basics are easy to pick up with some fairly advanced features.
Cons:
There's no proper help system & the manual will need printing out.
Score: N/A [sam: they don't score software]
Out: 15/9 [sam: what its out in the shops today? so why do I have to wait till the 22nd for mine to be posted? lol
]
Two interesting things I noticed about the review:
1. It was by someone called "Roger Hargreaves". Nice of the great late Roger Hargreaves to take time out of his busy schedule writing the Mister Man books and being dead to review FPSC
2. This is the first games review page on teletext ever to be followed by a "Hot Chat 18+ Girls/Guys instantly" advert, rather than the usual games cheats / car adverts - what kind of people do they think wants to make FPS games?!?
Anyway, don't flame me for the review, I didn't write it, they did. And personally I think although it has a harsh tone, its pretty fair, especially taken from their perspective. A shame thosugh that with a few very basic tweaks (a welcome screen, in game tutorials, an another 1 or 2 models styles) it would have got a basically glowingly perfect review, rather than just a good one. Oh well, its all great publicity (200,000+ people read Gamecentral everyday reportedly) and I'm sure this review will encorage people who didn't know of FPSC or TGC to check it out
