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in: Modders, Mappers

Thomas

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Arrived on the modding scene in mid-2004 as Togo, then Possum Trot before using his own name.

Tomshrug

When asked why he keeps making mods.

Wolfenstein 3D/Spear of Destiny mods[]

Archival mods/Withdrawn mods[]

In late 2007, all projects released using the Possum Trot alias were removed from the Dome news and some mod listings on Thomas' request. These were later made available in SDL, however, but for a while these mods were viewed as unfinished and/or withdrawn.

Alternate versions of mods[]

Unrealized projects[]

  • Kill the Gezis (September/October 2004) - envisioned as a large-scale project using original graphics, taking place in an alternate WWII universe created by Thomas, who had written stories taking place in this universe starting when he had first gotten into Wolf3D. Canceled October 9, 2004 in favor of Abandon. An extensive manual was sent to Brian Lowe, but this was never originally uploaded on the Dome
  • Hitler's Evolution (November 2004) - announced using the moniker Mr. Monkey, but never got started
  • Abandon SE (December 2004/January 2005) - in collaboration with Conner94 as a reciprocation for comparing him with older modders in an unflattering manner in Abandon's manual. Some graphics were made, but Conner94 left the project briefly after. Deathshead (Zombie_Plan) was also involved for a brief period of time
  • Uber Deutschland (January 2005) - inspired by WSJ; also featured coding Thomas did on his own. EXE got corrupted and was never salvaged
  • Tod (April 2005) - envisioned as a Spear of Destiny map set. 1 map made; slotted into Secrets of Offenbach
  • The Battle Rages On (August/September 2005) - a Lost Episodes-style set. Material later merged with Nazi Operation
  • Abandon III (February 2006) - very much inspired by Laz Rojas, this lasted for a day or two before being cancelled. Levels either morphed into early ATAW levels or were deleted altogether. Coding by WLHack. Not to be confused with the actual Abandon III which came out in late 2013
  • Spear of Destiny map set (Early 2008) - with Dean, inspired by The Alliance of Powers. Two maps made, later appeared in W.O.L.F.
  • Graebengraeber (Mid-2009) - envisioned as a Totengraeber map set in conjunction with its 10th anniversary. Test map was made, deleted soon after
  • Wolfenstein Overdrive (December 2009/January 2010) - should not be confused with Wolf Overdrive. This was an attempted classic set containing all graphics and sounds from Wolfenstein 3D and Spear of Destiny, with a functional 150 levels long EXE. 12 levels made, deleted soon after
  • TomWolf (Summer 2011) - map set for Wolfenstein 3D. 7 levels made, deleted soon after
  • The Old Testament (Spring 2012) - envisioned as a .WL3 map set; later became Thomas' Wolfenstein 3D
  • The Silver Episodes (Late 2012) - inspired by The Golden Episodes; around this time Thomas beta tested its SDL port. Eventually became The Iron Dream
  • Luger Me Now (June 2013) - envisioned as a pistol-only type mod. 1 level made, later used in Victory of Faith
  • Hard Boiled (Summer 2015) - sprites and sounds were assembled but never put to use; modern-type setting inspired by DeathTrigger and Unreal Tournament '99 and was to include a "rooftop" level
  • Tech or TEK (2017/2018) - envisioned as a mod taking place in a 1990's software/dot-com bubble environment featuring Vaporwave music and all-new graphics and sounds
  • Spring of '92 (Late 2020) - shareware map set; tests were made using v1.0. Eventually morphed into Wolfenstein 3D: The Old Testament

Contributions[]

Resource packs[]

Mapping anthology[]

Starting in 2007, Thomas shared a diary of sorts describing the process and his personal thoughts on his history of making maps and mods. The anthology is updated from time to time, and consists just as much of stream-of-consciousness and all things Wolfenstein-related in connection with the maps and mods described. The most recent configuration dates from January 2022.

Wolfenstein 3D as a hobby[]

Thomas first played Wolfenstein 3D in November 1999. This was the shareware version. Around the same time, he also attempted to get into DOOM, though that particular venture took many years to fully develop. Around the same time, he played Prince of Persia and Worms 2, but was otherwise not interested in computer games as such outside the entrepreneurial/educational realm. Throughout 2000 he would repeatedly play the shareware version of Wolfenstein 3D in addition to Doom95 which only featured Knee-Deep in the Dead. Upon requiring the full version of Wolfenstein 3D in the spring of 2001, he would play this vigorously until discovering mods and the Dome in July 2003, leaving pretty much any other game behind. His very first discovery of any Wolfenstein 3D modification was Kenny Roels' website which featured a host of Roels' own mods in addition to numerous highlights released up until that time.

Aware of its demo version, Thomas never played the full version of Spear of Destiny until well after having played numerous mods. Not having grown up with Spear of Destiny also affected his preferences, with many of his mods being based on Wolfenstein 3D, until reevaluating Spear of Destiny and its merits starting in 2018.

For many years, Wolfenstein 3D overshadowed Thomas' choice in games, but he would eventually become fully invested in DOOM and DOOM II. Never a big fan of consoles, the family home only acquiring one in late 2002 (a PS2), he would sometimes venture into racing games, platformers and open-world games but could never truly get into it. To date, the only game he has completed on a console is The Simpsons: Hit & Run for PS2.

Technical issues and inspirations[]

Thomas freely admits to never having been technologically gifted, and would often run into issues either while playing or making mods. Between September 2004 and February 2005, Thomas made all his mods using Windows 98. This computer was not able to play digitized sounds or music. Only after getting VDMSound in December 2005 did Thomas get to hear digitized sounds and music again, and this affected the choice of music in future mods. From February 2005 on, Thomas made all his mods using Windows XP up to and including W.O.L.F.. From Endlösung and onward, he would use Windows Vista, then Windows 7. Starting in mid-2020, the switch was made to Windows 10. For most of his modding career all editors and EXE's have been run via emulation, not having had a native DOS system available since 2005. More an absorber than an innovator, his biggest mapping inspirations are Gary Ragland, BJ Rowan, AReyeP, Brian Lowe, Jack Ryerson, Chris Chokan and ack.

Using FloEdit until early 2005, Thomas started using ChaosEdit for adding graphics, sticking with that editor ever since. Some ventures into WDC have also been relatively successful, and he uses that editor mainly for implementing and changing music. Thomas has used Merthsoft's Re-Coloring Tool for textures and sprites for many years, though his main interest remains mapping. For mapping, he has used MapEdit exclusively since 2004. Starting out by using MapEdit 4.2, which had severe bugs and empty spaces in its data files, he eventually upgraded to MapEdit 8.4 (and eventually the 8.5 patch) in late 2004 via Project: Wolfgeist. To date, he has never made a map using any other kind of editor.

Havoc introduced Thomas to SDL in the summer of 2009 with the initiation of the Wolf Overkill project. Ever since, Thomas has been a proponent of SDL and mainly uses this port in his mods. Nonetheless, a resurgent interest and renewed respect for DOS began in 2021, and would at times take preference over SDL, all depending on the approach of the given mod.

External links[]

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