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Monday, December 19, 2016 7:30 PM
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Hey everyone, I have re-launched the site! Welcome back!
To help mark the 20th anniversary of The Adventures of Dank and Scud, I added one new addition: a commentary track. Similar to a DVD audio commentary or a developper commentary in a video game, some panels will have an audio clip associated with them.
| To hear one, simply click on the little audio icon that appears when you hover your mouse over the panel. For those with touch-screens, click on the Show Commentary Icons checkbox above each page to make them appear. |
Look for these! |
The clips were taken from three audio sessions I recorded with co-contributor Andrew Warrington, where we talked about the ideas and techniques that were used to create the comic. We actually narrated the whole thing, where I did the voices and he did the narration and sound effects. It ended up being almost 4 hours long, but thankfully I spared you from most of it since it's the sort of thing that only we would find entertaining. I did however throw in a few bits where you'll hear us narrate things just to keep things colourful!
Also, a little word of warning: we're not podcasters. I think the last thing I ever recorded was the message on my answering machine, so I have little experience in this medium. Also, please forgive my cringeworthy Canadian accent. Sorry for that, and how very Canadian of me to apologize.
Anyway, enough rambling. Enjoy the comic all over again, and let me know what you think! I would love to hear what your favorite parts were, not just with the comics, but with Doom and Quake as well.
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Monday, May 3, 1999 11:08 PM
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Geez that's depressing. Did someone speed up time around here? Three months since my last update. Sheesh.
Sorry, sorry, sorry.
Unfortunately the reason for no update is because of just that, there's no reason to update. Once issue six
was finished I was so worn out from the endeavours of comic creating that I cut my mind off from even
considering another comic. Actually, that's a lie-- I am ALWAYS considering a new story for Dank and Scud.
Why so long, why so long...It's not like I haven't lost interest in comic creating. But, since the Half Life
issue I haven't really gained interest either. I need to decide where I'll take Dank and Scud next-- Sin? Quake 2? Thief? Super Mario Land? Maybe I'll
just leap-frog them all and have them fall into the realm of Quake 3. Well, whatever sparks my interest enough
to go spelunking for screenshots will probably end up being the setting for Issue 7.
On another note, I'm heading off on a pilgrimmage to The Electronics
Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles. Finally I'll be able to meet all the folks whose works have given
me the inspiration to create Dank and Scud.
So, that's it. For now. I'll try to update more often, and hopefully next time I update I'll have something
to show for it.
Thanks again for all of your support!
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Monday, February 8, 1999 11:11 AM
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Decided to spend some time with the site and clean it up a bit. I'm preparing a whole new section, which will
be up in about a week. Here's a hint (in PDF).
I've created an 'about' section to the webcam page, for those of you who are interested in how it works or
wish to submit a webcam 'scene'
Also, is there anything on the site you don't like, or think would be better?
Let me know. Please be constructive-- i.e. Rather than write
"This section sucks because of blah blah blah...", you should write "This section sucks because of blah blah
blah, AND would be better if you did blah blah blah".
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Tuesday, December 8, 1998 11:31 PM
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Hey! Dank and Scud make PC Gamer. Check it out on page 150 in this month's issue (January 1999)!
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Thursday, November 12, 1998 10:52 PM
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Well, with Half-Life going Gold and all, I just had to RELEASE ISSUE 6!
Have a look! This issue is BIG! You'll notice that the panels that make up the nine pages are of a much
better quality than before. Unfortunately this means longer, slower download times. My apologies, but I think
you'll see it was worth it.
I still have a lot of content to put up on the new site, so bear with me if some sections look a little bare.
Since the new site runs on a different platform than before, the mirrors will probably be delayed a bit-- if
there are any generous people who'd like to host the site on an NT platform,
mail me.
The zip file and PDF versions of the issues will be up shortly.
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October 22, 1998
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Welcome to the new site!
I apologize for the delay. After thinking about it, the main reason why
it took so long to launch the new Dank and Scud was simple: Quake 2.
Sure, I played it. Played it a lot in fact. But no, it wasn't the PLAYING of
Quake 2 that slowed me down. It was the idea of having to incorporate
Dank and Scud into Quake 2.
You see, once Quake 2 came out, I HAD to redesign the skins. In doing so, I
realized that the original D&S site looked pretty Quake 1-ish, so that would
need to be re-done as well. Then the story...How the Hell (no pun intended) would Dank
and Scud make the move, plotwise, to Stroggsville?
The whole idea of revamping the site, the skins, and the storyline was pretty
daunting to me. This, of course, let to procrastination, which, of course, led
to playing more Quake 2.
Luckly, I had something to distract me even more-- Half Life.
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January 25, 1998
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I finally put the PDF version of issue 5 up. It's a whopping 11 megs. Like I said before,
it's only worth the download if you're a big fan, and want to see the comic without the
jpeg fuzzies.
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January 23, 1998
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As promised, head over to the Media Section to finally
hear what Dank and Scud sound like.
Enjoy.
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January 22, 1998
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Wow. What a month. I was part of an environmental disaster! We had a freezing rain ice storm
up here, which caused everything to be covered with 3 inches of ice. Not only power cables, but
power pylons couldn't take the weight of the ice. The whole city went without power for days.
I was without power for more than a week. And Dank and Scud, who live over at Microtec.net, were
unplugged for a couple of days as well.
Anyways, things are finally back to normal around here. I got my heat back a couple of days
ago, Dank and Scud are back on-line, and it looks like www.quakecomics.qc.ca is working again.
If you've had problems getting to the site in the past few weeks, I apologize. Blame it on
the climate, and in the future, bookmark Dank and Scud's mirrors!
To make it up for all of you, I've got a special treat for you folks. In less than a day,
you will finally get to know...well...I won't reveal it just yet. In the meantime, download
the shockwave flash plug-in.
Stay Tuned...
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December 29, 1997
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Whoops...I must have confused a few people by removing the zip files. My mistake, they were
always there-- I just screwed up the links. I'm gonna fix it right now. Sorry.
(later) Just finished uploading issue 5's zip file. Usually Andrew is the one who creates the zip
version, so I may have done it incorrectly. I think it got the conversion (to 8.3 file format)
right, but if there's a problem let me know. The high-quality PDF version will be up shortly as well.
Some people have mailed me asking what will happen to Dank and Scud after issue 5. Is this the
end? Will they be fighting The Strogg? Will they ever find the BFG? Well, you'll be happy to know
that there are still plenty of Adventures about Dank and Scud that have yet to be told, not
all of them in the realm of Quake. I won't reveal anything yet, but I promise you now-- Dank and
Scud will NOT meet Duke Nukem and kick his ass, as so many of you have requested. The concept
is well, just too cheesy, sort like Street Fighter Vs. the X-Men. Besides, I had too much
fun creating new villains like The Prophet.
Before I start issue 6, I'm going to spend some time revamping the site. Believe it or not, my Day
Job involves web site design and ASP programming, so I've been itching to make this site a little
more efficient and better looking (and fix that dang old counter). Tune in here for up-to-the-week
updates on my progress.
Can you believe it-- people are already asking me when issue 6 will be out! Sheesh...
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December 28, 1997
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Page 5 is done. And, oh look! Page 6 is done as well! Starting page 7...
WAIT A SEC! There is no page 7! Issue 5 is done! Have fun! Enjoy!
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December 9, 1997
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Page 4 is done, but who cares-- Quake II is out! Don't worry, I've promised myself not to play it
until I've finished the two remaining pages...
(Yeah, right. --ed.)
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November 26, 1997
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Finished page 3. That's all I wanted to say-- you know, to stick to my word on keeping you posted.
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November 17, 1997
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Finished page 2, and a bit of page 3. Things are really rolling now. On another note, I finished Riven.
Great game. And as cheesy as this may look, I decided to commemorate the moment with the following
picture:
Yes, Riven was a great experience. It's too bad so many people are going to shun it because they
haven't improved the interface. From a newcomer's point of view, they wouldn't be able to tell
the difference between the sequel and its predecessor. Anticipation can cloud a fan's
experience, and I'm sure many Riven fans were expecting more (even I was expecting the 360 degree
panning that made Zork Nemesis so enjoyable).
Luckly, the folks at Cyan humbly ousted the competition by simply having an adventure game WITHOUT
puzzles. Zork Nemesis, Obisian, Drowned God-- they're all cursed by the same problem-- a intriguing plot,
beautiful pictures, wonderful music, inevitable puzzles. Yes, these games are enjoyable, but so is
GAMES magazine.
Riven lets you discover without the worry that you're going to encounter some frustrating variation of
checkers which you have to win in order to get you to the next cutscene. It's no wonder Riven didn't
improve the interface.
But what's a Quake player doing playing an adventure game? Play Quake like a sport. Play Riven like
a novel. 'Nuff said.
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November 16, 1997
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A big thanks goes out to Barnabas "Barney" Toth, who optimized the lag-inducing banner I made a couple
of months ago (see below). What was 127K is now a slimmer 50K. Richard Simmons would be proud.
Thanks, Barney!
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November 13, 1997
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Hmmm....Another Coincidence:
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| Blue from Blues News & Quakecast |
Dank from, well, you know |
Separated at birth? You be the Judge.
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November 4, 1997
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I've discovered something-- In Mark Laidlaw's cyberpunk short story titled "400 Boys",
one of the characters says "Aw, Skud", which I've learned is cyberpunk-slang for "shit".
Coincidence? We think not.
Mark Laidlaw is currently developping the story for Valve's eagerly awaited game, Half-Life.
For those who wish to pursue this snippit of conspiracy, the story is included in the 1986
cyberpunk anthology "Mirrorshades" (edited by Bruce Sterling, ISBN 0-441-53382-5).
Pretty weird, if you ask me...
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November 3, 1997
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Wow, another month has gone by. I've completed one and a half pages of issue 5, but more importantly
I finished creating the level for the final scene. I was faced with the decision to either find a
level in Quake which best matched the scene I needed, or create it myself. Luckly, I chose the
latter. It takes longer, I know, but we want quality here, right? Like, you can't have a chariot
scene in a parking lot, now can you? Geez, Mike, that ought a confuse them...
They say you can find anything on the Internet. Well, that just ain't true. The other night I spent
over two hours looking for pictures of explosions. I searched high and low, and couldn't find a
single puff! I finally found one on a movie site, which will remain unamed for the sake of the
copyright protection (especially after all that foxing that's been going on lately).
So when will issue 5 be out? Hell if I know. I'm working on it. Rather than give you a date, I'll let
you know here whenever I finish a page worth, that way you'll get a better idea of the progress. Oh
and, the title for issue 5 is: "A Void At All Costs"
'till then,
MH.
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September 23, 1997 (6:41 a.m.)
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Back from Italy. Incredible trip. My new apartment is empty, except for the computer. The empty rooms
are making my keyclicks echo all over the place. I don't even have the speakers here yet, so I can't
even play Quake. There's nothing for me to do here except finish issue 5, and there's nothing more
I want to do.
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August 30th, 1997
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Finally, I have some time to update.
Busy, busy, busy. I've been so busy lately that the only free time I've had for developping Dank and
Scud is at work (ssshh, don't tell them!). Ok, here's the deal:
- I'm moving. As of September 1st I will no longer be found at my Old Apartment.
- To make things a little more challenging, tomorrow I will be going to Italy, for three weeks.
Still hasn't really hit me yet, but yeah, I'm thrilled. Finally, a vacation!
- Combining the two items above = = chaos.
Now, 9 out of 10 campers would agree that Real Life has taken over for Michael Houston. Nope. Nada.
In your dreams. It seems that the lack of time in front of the computer has caused the creative juices
to flow-- I have many plans for Dank and Scud once issue 5 is released. Here are some tidbits:
- It's offical-- Dank and Scud will make a brief cameo appearance in the Sega Saturn version of Quake.
Well, Dank will, Scud might have some problems, since he really dislikes lawyers, let alone fans
of "disposable assasins". I might be able to get his younger brother, Scuz, to understudy for
him. I first spoke of this on
Pseudo's
Quakecast (July 31, 1997), where I successfully confused the hosts by first mentionning the Sony
Playstation, then the Sega Saturn. Only the latter is true.
- Issue 5 is underway. It will be out mid-end October (As much as I would like to, I am NOT bringing my
computer with me to Italy). Being the final issue in the "Doom Guy" series, there will be a lot of
climatic elements, as well as plenty of explosions.
- We've started a Monday Night Quakeworld over here in Montreal, where every Monday night a bunch of
friends set up a server and play until our eyes bleed. It's quite fun, really. So much fun that we're
going to set up a permanent Dank and Scud server. For now it'll be a simple QW CTF server, but we
have major plans for this one. Here's the idea: We're going to have two new runes, one looking like
a 'D', the other, an 'S'. If you're lucky enough to pick one up, you become Dank or Scud. This
is great, cause this means that there'll always be only one Dank and one Scud in the server at a
time. Being Dank or Scud will deem you with quite unique abilities, ALL of which pertain to the
issues. I've already created Scud's Special Weapon in QuakeC. Ahhh...QuakeC-- remind me to thank
John Carmack for creating a tool to make me believe that I was actually programming a game. Anyway,
the weapon is....well, now that would be giving away the plot for issue 5.
- At about the same time that we're developing the Dank and Scud CTF server, Dank and Scud will finally
jump into something a little more interactive. A couple of weeks ago I had an incredible web
based idea for Dank and Scud, which could only be done on the web, and would actually
highlight, not hinder, the comic. I won't go into detail until issue 5 is completed first.
So, yes, Dank and Scud are alive and well. The web site is not dead, just off-season for the
next few weeks. Until then, Ciao!
- Michael.
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July 23, 1997
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Andrew here... yet again.
Can't resist but to use this very public forum to display a pic or two of my little girl, taken
early this afternoon. And no, she doesn't always frown. She only frowns when her parents force her
to sit in front of a camera.
Ok, enough with that. I've indulged myself now. This is, after all, a Quake page....
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July 23, 1997
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I am pleased to announce that Andrew, the "Dank" of D&S, is the proud father of a baby
girl. Zoé Alejandra Warrington-Arroyo was born on Sunday, July 20th at 8:18 pm.
Please mail him your best wishes. Amazing, not even a day old
and she's already learning to circle strafe...
I've uploaded the PDF version of Issue 4. Strange, at 7 MB it's two megs bigger than
the last. I figure this is due to the increased jpeg quality that Photoshop 4.0 uses to create
PDFs, but I'm only guessing.
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July 18, 1997
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Andrew here again -
I have heard from a couple of our mirror site maintainers and would like to thank them for their
quick responses, especially given that I have not written them in a while.
Thank you Piotr Marek and Lachlan Smith. Our sites Poland and Australia are now
up-to-date again.
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July 17, 1997
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Well, it's taken half a year to create, but it's finally done. Issue 4 is ready. Enjoy! The PDF
version should appear shortly.
NOTE: Issue 4 is BIG. When I say BIG, I picture size BIG. It all still fits at 800x600
resolution, but the pages are longer (it's actually two panels bigger than issue 3!). What this means is
that you might get unloaded pictures for the page with your browser. I've found that only way around this
is A) free up more memory, or B) read the PDF version. Why does it seem bigger? Well, my guess is
that I did all the work for issue 4 in 1072x768 resolution (not 800x600 like before), which made me
unintentionally create bigger panels (because things looked smaller). When I saw the work in
800x600, the images really popped out at me (you're in for a treat!)
MIRRORS: Unfortunately, we've kinda kept out of touch with the hosts of the Dank and Scud
mirrors sites, so you may have to wait a bit until they appear there. We would appreciate it
if the kind administrators of these mirrors could contact us so we can get it up as soon as possible.
He's still in charge of updating the mirrors, so try to contact him first. Thanks.
Enjoy QuakeCon!
- MH.
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June 30, 1997
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Time for an update...
First off, I'd like to apologize with my pathetic email upkeep. No, my email is NOT broken-- I've read
all your email, and will eventually reply-- once the issue is done. I hope this relatively large
update can somehow make up for this. Sorry.
The issue is coming along just fine. Great, in fact. So great, that I've decided to give you all a
release date:
ISSUE FOUR WILL BE RELEASED DURING QUAKECON '97
(July 16 - 20)
About a week ago I had a nice IRC chat with The Ranger's Unknown Soldier. He told me that RGB 3,
the Rangers new movie, would be shown during QuakeCon '97, which gave me the idea to release Issue 4
at the same time. Please do note, however, that this co-release does not mean that the issue
and the movie are tied together in any way.
For those of you who are interested in playing against Dank and Scud, try out (No longer valid). It's
a local CTF Quake server set up by some friends at our generous ISP, and Andrew (Dank) and I (Scud)
usually log on several times a week to vent our frustrations. Word has it that Andrew has since become
a CTF junkie, so expect to see Dank on there more often. If you see Scud on there, it's me, so
please tell me to get off the server and finish the issue, damn it!
Speaking of On-Line fragging, I was playing around with the ReaperBot and managed to set up a Dank and
Scud server, which you could join and fight against two Dank and Scud ReaperBots. It was the first time
I ever saw these two in action, and gosh they were good. Now, if I could only get them to stop fighting
each other (it would seem I wasn't enough of a challenge for them). Still, if anyone has the
resources to have this set up on a permanent basis, I'd love to help make an official Dank and
Scud QuakeWorld Deathmatch server.
Last week I made a wonderful purchase- I am now the proud owner of a Diamond Monster 3D accelerator.
This card must have some sort of black magic wired into its circuits (no wonder they call it a
Voodoo chipset). Geez, I must have spent an hour looking into the ultra-smooth plasma texture of
a teleporter. Once I snapped back from my hipnotic state, I tried out a screenshot.
Impressive -- it saved it as a targa file (due to its 16-bitness). When I tried loading it in
Photoshop or Paintshop Pro, however, it didn't look right. Upon closer inspection, the screenshot
looked sort of, well, interlaced (pronounced horizontal lines):
GL Quake Screenshot Detail at 200%
I haven't tried any other screen resolutions or refresh rates, so I don't know yet if there is
a solution. What I DO know is that the screenshots I've found on the Internet "seem" to be
of a much better quality. Any suggestions on this would be appreciated. If I can get the
images to be sharp enough, expect issue 5 to be the first GL Quake ehanced issue of Dank and Scud!
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May 29, 1997
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Wow...I must be getting better at this-- it's taken me half the time it normally takes for me to
lay out a page, yet with twice the quality. I'm starting to use the new and improved version of
the Quake Model Editor, and now have much more freedom in having Dank and Scud pose for me.
Here's a sample:
Geez, I must have given away the whole storyline with that pic. Sorry. The issue is coming along
wonderfully, although I must confess-- I like spending time designing the comic. What I mean is,
the more complicated or challenging the panel, the more I enjoy laying it out.
This, in turn, usually means I spend too much time fiddling with the graphics. Please be patient.
On another note-- a lot of good games have come out recently (Interstate '76, MDK, etc). Well,
now that they've been completed and behind me, I can now devote ALL my time to the comic.
Jedi Knight won't be out until September, so that should give me plenty of time to finish the
issues, heh, heh.
Oh yeah, before I forget-- the first two pages are complete.
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May 12, 1997
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I feel like I've been keeping the fans of Dank and Scud in the dark. I apologize. Here's the news:
Item #1: Where the hell is issue 4? I'm asked that on average three times a day, and my
simple answer is, I'm working on it. I'm working on it on a daily basis. Trouble is, to the rest
of the world, it looks as though I'm sitting around doing nothing. All I can say is that at
least one new panel is drawn every day. I could give in to the threats and put up a page at
a time, but what fun would that be?
To put you in better spirits, I have some startling news for you: I've finished the storyboard for
issue 4 AND 5. I had 8 pages written, and wanted to add more, so I split it up into two.
Issue 4 will be five pages, issue 5 will have six. It'll only take a fraction of the time to create
the fifth issue, since most of the model editing and skin re-drawing will be done already.
Great news, eh? This means there's more to come after issue 4, and it'll come sooner.
Aren't you excited? Just, please be patient. Issue 4 will not be the Direct3D port of Dank
and Scud, if you know what I mean.
Other good news-- Issue 4 will be laid out on a nice new 17 inch monitor, and I just got
Photoshop 4.0. I'm in heaven.
Item #2: You may have noticed that I've been updating the news page these past few times.
The reason is that Real Life has taken control of my PR person, Andrew Warrington.
This is a set-back for you, since you will not be informed as often. Not to worry
though-- Andrew still helps me out with the storyline and humour, so at least there's no set-back
for the comic. When I say Real Life, I mean it-- Andrew will be a father this summer.
Item #3: What's with Dank and Scud Interactive? Originally, I thought I'd take some time
off the comic and play with other Dank and Scud media. Even though I enjoyed creating these little
experiments in art, I still felt the pull of issue 4. I was interested in Dank and Scud Interactive, but
I was more interested in getting issue 4 out. So, I'm going to put this
whole Interactive thing on the side...at least until the next Rangers movie comes out...
Item #4: Here's a little known fact: Dank and Scud are featured on the CD of the
June issue of Computer Gaming World. There's no write-up to speak of, but it's
there on the CD in PDF format. Still, it's nice to have the comics finally on permanent media.
So, there you have it. Once I finish this update, I will be entering Cocoon Mode, and
will not emerge until issue 4 is finished.
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April 24, 1997
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Here's a flashy Dank and Scud banner for those of you who wish to include a link to
Dank and Scud on your web page. Share and enjoy.
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April 17, 1997
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Dank and Scud made a visit to the QuakeCast on Thursday...They got a chance to meet Mexican Mace
Royer in the Studio. Have a look!
For the curious, the original pic is from the
Live Studio Cam at the
Pseudo site. During the show I scraped the pic from
Netscape, and had the Dank and Scud version posted here before the show was over, so that the
chatters could see. Although you couldn't really see it here, but Mace was smoking cigars,
which is the butt (no pun intended) of Scud's joke.
- MH.
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March 26, 1997
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Due to popular demand, I've re-created the "Boulevard of Broken Limbs" picture down below
to a higher resolution. It is now a 155K jpeg, clocking in at 1024x768x16bit. You can find it right
here. Enjoy.
- MH.
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March 15, 1997
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Michael here. No, Andrew is still about, I'm just sabotaging his news page. My birthday is on
St-Patrick's day. So, to celebrate, here's some nice doom-suit green text for ya! Andrew,
you realize how long our fans have been waiting for issue four? We gotta give them
something! Fans, I know what it's like to wait for something-- I've been waiting for the new
Nine Inch Nails album for what seems
like months. At least Trent put out The Perfect Drug to keep us happy. Well, I feel we
should do the same. So here, more artwork...
Dank and Scud have asked The Escher Clan to help them find that awfully clever weapon,
the BFG. Can you help them find it?
Well, that was fun. Did I make you click? Thought so. Here's one more:
Yes, I know these files are big. This is because a lot of people asked me if I could send them a
higher quality image of Boulevard of Broken Limbs. Well, unfortunately, the quality you see
down below was the best I could find on the Internet (I have since found a 1234x673x16M copy of it --
expect an update). So, the two images above are of a higher quality, and should suffice to be your Windows
wallpaper.
As for the images, I should give credit where credit is due. Here are the titles and authors of
the works I used, from the top:
Relativity -- M.C. Escher
Sleep -- Salvador Dali
Nighthawks -- Edward Hopper
The pictures you see here will eventually find a home in a new "Art Gallery" section, which will be part
of the "Dank and Scud Interactive" site. This Art Gallery will house the numerous submissions I've
received by people who have started their own Quake related artwork. I'm hoping the three pictures
I've created here will prime the pump of artistic endeavor. If you do wish to send me your
artwork for The Gallery, PLEASE send it in jpeg format. It's a bit frustrating to wait for
a 1 meg bitmap to arrive via e-mail.
Other news: I've created PDF files of the comics. To most, this may not seem like much, but
it's a tremendous improvement over our zip-file thing. Check them out in our new
PDF section.
I'd also like to once again say thanks to all who support Dank and Scud. Issue four won't let you
down. Like Andrew said, we've been talking about it, and all I'm going to reveal is
the title: Welcome to the Machine. Isn't it great how many ideas can sprout from
a single title? I bet right now you're all thinking about what it could be about.
Well for now, listen to the song.
Happy St-Patrick's Day.
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March 9, 1997
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What to say... what to say. Well, despite the quiet on the pagefront, there is
a lot of stuff going on right now. Michael is actually working on many Dank
& Scud projects at once. We meet to discuss things like Issue 4, Dank and
Scud Interactive, and "The Big Surprise" (a new opportunity that has
arisen in the last 2 weeks). I write this so that you do not despair. A new
issue will come, and there will be plenty of goodies in it. As I like to say,
"Don't forget us, we're not dead!" It may be another month before
you hear another peep out of me, but hey, you're still likely to see the
next Dank & Scud "thing" before you see Quake 2.
I hope that's not a depressing thought. :-)
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February 11, 1997
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I F A Q
Ok, here's one for the InFrequently Asked Questions, as put forth by
Michael Richards (a fan). BTW - Mr. Richards... Are you the same one we see
on TV? I didn't know you were a Quake addict....
Do Dank And Scud Like TOAST?
Dank's answer: Yes.
Scud's answer: What?
It's always my pleasure to provide more intellectual reading for you, the
Quake community. Thank you, thank you. - Andrew
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January 27, 1997
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F A Q
Here are the first few questions to be considered common enough to be
included in a FAQ:
How do Dank and Scud get email in the world of Quake?
Dank's answer: Forget email. I just want a change of clothes.
Scud's answer: (fakes a foreign accent) I
been e male since I be born. No need to get m'e male. Heh.
Do Dank and Scud "walk on the other side of the fence"?
Dank's answer: There are no fences in Quake.
Scud's answer: When your only human contact for years is someone like
Dank, you end up being kind of asexual. But the FGB gave me wOOd.
|
January 26, 1997
|
As you may have read on Blue's, Michael has done a little something for
Dank & Scud Interactive:
Yes, yes, I know... It's not exactly interactive. We're working on
that. When we say interactive, we mean some of it.
On another front - the zip files are up after much procrastination. For
those of you with Win3x systems, or those using pkunzip 2.04x, I am sorry
that your systems were not supported at first. But I have corrected the
problem... all references to "html" have been changed to
"htm".
Any Quake fanatics in the Montreal area?
Write me.
|
January 8, 1997
|
This email came to my attention yesterday. It started as a message someone
sent to the new company Ion Storm. It then got forwarded to us and
Michael replied.
At 07:49 PM 1/7/97 -0600, you wrote:
>At 09:30 AM 1/6/97 +0000, you wrote:
>>ok, this is like an unknown figure, i hang out on irc (efnet) #quake ...
>>my name there is "roman", and as i was reading the last issue of dank
>>and scud, a quake comic book type of thing, located at
>>http://www.quakecomics.qc.ca/ , anyways, in the latest issue. the doom
>>guy god brutaly killed... i didnt like this. since he IS my hero and all
>>(not kiddin, i even have the same hair-cut as him). so, i started
>>complaining in #quake, because the doom guy got killed. so, some people
>>suggested that john romero killed him. and, since this is john romero's
>>new company... its only fair that i ask you guys if he did it... or he
>>ever had intentions of doing it. dont think im a idiot, but some dudes
>>in #quake told me to ask you guys. because they didnt have the guts to
>>do it. so anyways, do you think that john romero killed the good guy? or
>>did he ever think about killing the doom guy? anyways, thanks for your
>>responce in advance.
>
>I would never kill my Doom Guy. I love him. I was sorry to see him killed
>in the last issue, but maybe he just pressed SPACEBAR and got back up at
>the start of the level and you just didn't see him!
>
>+-------------------------------------------------------------+
>| John Romero Game Designer Ion Storm |
>| romero@ionstorm.com http://www.ionstorm.com |
>+-------------------------------------------------------------+
Ha! Well, I think I could clarify things a bit. After consulting the
scriptures, I can confidently say that John Romero is not the one
who killed the Doom guy. On the contrary, my dear fellow - it was
the Doom guy who killed John Romero.
On the Third Panel, of the Third Page, of the Third Issue (hmmm, sounds
biblical), you may notice the head of Romero, proudly mounted on the
wall.
Well, John, I must say you're looking pretty good for a dead guy.
What's your secret, decappinated coffee? Heh.
- Michael.
|
January 7, 1997
|
Blue scooped me on my own news! Blue and Joost Shuur win the awards for
fastest updates. They both had a mention of issue 3 within an hour of
the time we released, I think. But Blue went even further and posted an
email from Mike that I hadn't even seen yet! Well, it saves me from
scripting the HTML. Here it is, stolen directly from
Blue's News:
New Dank & Scud
Dank & Scud Issue 3: Marine Corpse,
has come out. Here's the new location of The Adventures of Dank &
Scud (though the old one won't be removed--they need the
mirrors for these graphically intensive works). As for the
future, author Michael Houston
explains:
Before we start creating issue
4, we're going to spend the next few months creating a sort
of "Dank & Scud Interactive" section of the
site. This'll include all the odd ideas we've had for D&S
that couldn't be done with a comic. Rather than make the comic
more media-infested with animations, sound clips and what-not (thereby
making it less of a comic), we decided to create a new
section which would contain all these things and more. Quake,
combined with the Internet, spans countless forms of media,
and we don't want Dank and Scud to be limited to just one.
So, please don't ask when issue
4 will be out - we won't start it until after March. Instead,
ask when The Official Dank & Scud Win95 Desktop Theme
will be out!
|
January 5, 1997
|
Start off the New Year with some gibbage.
Issue 3 is here!! Michael finished it up and
it's now available in most of the locations where Dank and Scud pages are
displayed. Go read it here.
With the release of this issue, there are three announcements to make:
1. Dank and Scud have a new home at www.quakecomics.qc.ca. However, you will still be able to access
Dank and Scud at the old address.
2. We have a new Australian site, right over
(not here anymore!). (Thanks Lachlan Smith.)
3. Our next project will not be a comic, but rather, something
I will elaborate on in my next update.
Enjoy Issue 3.
|
December 30, 1996
|
I know, I know... If we were working for you and took this long to produce
something, you'd have us fired. Well, the problem is that we work for
someone else, and it's the Christmas season, and, well, yeah.
What Michael has been doing instead of D&S: Since I last updated
this page Michael has created a system for our workplace that could
drastically reduce our company's paper usage. Hey, he's a programmer with
a mission...
Dec 12 - 30... That makes 2.5 weeks since the last update!!
Jeez... Doesn't mean we're not working on it though.
Don't forget about us... We're not dead... Dank and Scud live on...
|
December 12, 1996
|
A new mirror site - in Poland. The very patient Piotr Marek, Jr.
has set us up a site. In fact, it was set up weeks ago and I didn't
mention it until now. Ahem... well... erm... yep.
We have a new counter!! It was provided by
David Sears, Internet Guy. Accompanying the kind gesture was an email:
Subject: You've got your counter, now F*** OFF!
[end of email]
I guess we were pestering him a lot. Seriously though, Dave is not really
bitter... It's just his sense of humour.
From what I understand, this counter shows the actual number of hits since
day 1. A lot more than I had imagined!
|
December 10, 1996
|
There is much mail asking Mike when #3 will be ready. Well, yes... it might
be nice to know that. Personally, I look at it from a mathematical
standpoint. Four out of eight pages are done. Michael started drawing
the issue a month ago. If one half of the issue takes one month,
then two halves take...
Of course, he's gotten to the part of the issue that he was really
dying to draw, so maybe this will speed him up. He calls the next few
pages "eye candy"...
|
December 8, 1996
|
PC Gamer. January. 1997. Buy it. Go to page 200-and-something.
Mike picks up where he left off on the
Quakecast about how much time he spends in the shower.
Coming soon: New relief for Australian readers...
|
December 4, 1996
|
|
Issue 3: 3 of 8 pages done. I know it's painfully slow, but Michael
is doing a fine fine job on this issue. Page 3 has been technically
challenging. It's always like this; some pages take a week, some are done
in a night.
|
December 1, 1996
|
|
It's Thanksgiving in the US, and as a result, we Canadians have all decided
to take a week off. More news will be posted when it happens or when that
week of vacation is up, whichever comes first.
|
November 26, 1996
|
CRASH! GURGLE GURGLE GURGLE
For those of you who noticed, our page was acting wonky for a while
there. (You like my word... "wonky"?) Yeah... after it got
resolved I mailed a not-to-be-named employee of our internet service
provider, and got an interesting response:
Me: Are you guys constantly under attack from hackers, or are
your problems just the same everyday problems that anyone would have if
they wanted to run an Internet Provider? Just curious...
Response: Aliens
[end of mail]
Progress:
Micheal has finished page 2. This is a big deal because he had to teach
himself some new tricks to get the last panel of that page done... I think
that there are going to be a lot of technically challenging panels in this
issue.
Mirror, mirror, on the Net [groan]
Following their IKEAn dreams, Dank and Scud have gone to Sweden, where they
can now be found
here. This is great news for European Dank and Scud fans - a mirror site to call
your own.
|
November 24, 1996
|
|
STOP! Go get this:
RealAudio 3.0.
Done? Installed? Ok, good. Now click
here to hear Michael Houston on the Quakecast!
(I'm in there too... Listen for "ALMOST!"... that's me.)
|
November 23, 1996
|
New Orleans has jazz, Mardi Gras, cobblestones and ... Dank and Scud!
If you find yourself in the southern United States, you might prefer
looking at our page from
(not here anymore),
our new mirror set up in New Orleans by Brian Grisaffi.
Thanks Brian!
|
November 20, 1996
|
The following dialogue took place between Michael and myself over the phone,
when discussing a piece of mail Mike had received:
Andrew: Yes, I think I do feel gleeful when a baddie explodes into a
shower of gibs in front of me...
Michael: ... And when the gibs fall all around, it's like confetti ...
[gleeful snickering and grunts of agreement]
... ...
... Well, maybe you had to be there. Anyway, back to the comic. 3 panels of
page 2 are done.
|
November 19, 1996
|
News from Michael!
Page 1 of Issue 3 is done. That's out of a total of 8 pages planned so
far. Progress...
Answer to the guy who said that he'd like a Dank and Scud
T-shirt:
SO WOULD I!!
|
November 14, 1996
|
Issue 3 is going to be BIG. So find and memorize the location of
your nearest T1, 'cause it's going to be a bandwidth bonanza! :-)
If you come back in about two weeks, production will really be moving,
and this news page will be getting updated much more frequently.
Oh yeah - There's something on the horizon for this site... Something
new... Something Michael and I have only just started to talk about.
A secret project. More about that after Issue 3.
|
November 12, 1996 (4:46 am)
|
When is issue 3 coming out?!
Soon. Chill. Michael and I had some good laughs on the phone tonight as we
talked about the 3rd issue. The issue is in the preliminary graphical
stages. That means we're at the part where Michael is doing his Photoshop
thing.
Well, it has been a week. Still no sign of any improvement on the
Australian site. In fact, I haven't even heard from our contact.
I sincerely hope he's alright over there....
|
November 5, 1996 (2:11 am)
|
Yes, we know. The Australian site has been down for a while. They were
hit with some misfortune. I forsee them being operational again
within 24 - 48 hours.
Michael, David Sears and I got together to discuss some ideas for the
comic, and things are coming along. I think Michael's head is now
working full-time on Issue 3. He's already named it. He was even
doing a few sketches while we drank our beer.
|
October 29, 1996
|
Well, I haven't updated in the last few days. There hasn't been much
going on. It's the calm between the storms. However, I did have an
email exchange with David Sears, our consultant for All Things Internet.
It went something like this:
Hi Dave!
Hi Andrew!
How are ya?
Good... but busy
ok...ok ok ok ... I was wondering two things:
shoot
1. How is it that Odyssee doesn't yell at Mike and me for
using up so much bandwidth??? (People downloading Dank and Scud...)
Dank and Scud might be popular bud but it aint no Yahoo. It
doesn't cause a problem. We have Pentiums!
2. What's the ETA on the domain name?
One week
3. (oops - 3 things.) Are you going to have a Halloween party?
Don't think it's gonna happen
-Andrew
-Dave
Time to thank Greg Ross. He sent me the suggestion of splitting the table
on the front page into two rows to get rid of the text-display problem.
In fact, I copy-and-pasted the HTML right out of the email he sent me.
Sure, it means we lose that great "text-over-image" effect,
but if you can't read the text, what point is there anyway?? Thank
you Greg for taking the time to look at this.
|
October 25, 1996 (later)
|
Well, a lot of interesting news today...
I had lunch with our good friend David Sears, who is in charge of All Things
Internet for the page. He informed me that our domain name has been
approved. This being the case, we will probably be making a move
within a week. No worries, though, we'll leave behind a link to the
new location...
Also on the internet front, David managed to fix my email
@webframes, and I received all the mail that I thought was lost
forever. I received messages from a few people interested in setting
up mirror sites... so we'll see where that leads us.
|
October 25, 1996
|
Poor Michael has realised that his half-day of vacation is over and it's time
soon to really jump into issue 3... For those who wonder, issue 3 will be
done "when it's ready", which is to say, not extremely soon.
Michael likes to say that his main concern is quality...
When issue 3 is ready I will post it to rec.games.computer.quake.announce.
And now for something completely different:
The other night I went a little crazy with the HTML's... added all kinds
of "onMouseOver" parameters... I was really tired, ok??
(excuses, excuses...) Today, though, I'm going to do something very
functional, at the request of Cameron Gregory. I'm going to add WIDTH and
HEIGHT parameters to the IMG tags to speed up the loading a little.
|
October 23, 1996
|
Whoa! I just realised that my (Andrew's) email
address @webframes doesn't work!! Hum. Well, the situation is corrected now.
I have replaced all the links on this site with my other working email
address. Please note - if you sent me mail via one of these links since
this news section was started - I did not get it. However, not to
panic. Michael, as well as Dank and Scud, have been receiving their mail.
Well, I think I've droned on long enough about this...
Give credit where credit is due: I wanted to mention the efforts
of Cameron Gregory, who has provided us with our counter. I think it's
about the best looking counter around. Thanks, Cameron!
|
October 22, 1996
|
I'm pleased to announce that the Australian mirror site is now fully
functional. So if you're Australian, or if you happen to be in
Australia, or both, you might get more satisfaction reading this page
(no longer) here.
Special thanks goes out to Nathan Tallack for setting that up for us.
Australian users, mail him and thank him - he sped up your load time!
|
October 21/22, 1996 (midnight)
|
Issue 2 is finally here! Stop reading this lame page and
go check it out!
Still here? Read the issue already? Ok... then I ought to tell you that
we have a mirror site in the works... Should be
running within 24 hours... Very exciting stuff for us small town kids...
|
October 20, 1996
|
Question:
SAY, MIKE AND ANDREW, IS ISSUE 2 OUT YET ????
Answer:
Well, ... no. Issue 2 is not here yet. And please don't shout. Issue 2
is finished, though. Actually, it's so good, we've decided to keep
it to ourselves for a while. No, that's not true. We're actually doing
final touch-ups and edits. As I type this I'm on the phone with
Michael and he's concentrating deeply on his screen.... You can tell
he's concentrating when he starts to make noises... He's starting to
sound like the Swedish Chef... "GIB Gib gib gib gib gib...."
|
October 17, 1996
|
I think that last night Michael didn't get as much done on the comic as he'd
wanted to... because he was at work until 11:00 pm. (Note: Michael and I
work at the same place. He works a day shift, and I work a night shift.)
But I expect that he'll damn near finish Issue 2 tonight. Although I can't
say for sure, I feel that Issue 2 will be released within about 60 hours...
I have some work to do for Issue 2 myself... work I have been neglecting.
That being said, I am now going to turn my full attention to the completion of
Issue 2. There may not be any more updates to this section for the next
couple of days.
See y'all soon!
|
October 16, 1996 (5:34 am)
|
Finally! Mike has told me that he should be finished Issue 2 within a week.
When we spoke earlier today, he had just overcome a major roadblock, and was
happily moving forward. (Actually, he started making weird noises on the
phone. Then he laughed maniacally. Then he hung up.) ... But don't worry
about his health. It's a part of his creative process.
Other stuff:
I've been desperately trying to figure out what to do about that bug on
the main page... where the text between the pictures of Dank and Scud
doesn't appear properly unless you scroll down and then back up
again. If anyone knows how to fix this, I'd appreciate an email at
delay@odyssee.net.
|
October 15, 1996
|
Today Michael and I agreed that under no circumstances will Dank and Scud be
used to sponsor other services. This means no advertisements. We feel that
to make money from the site will result in it becoming too much like a job,
and will take away from the spirit of the comic.
On another note, I put in an application today for a domain name for Dank
and Scud. It should be coming through in a couple of weeks.
|
October 13, 1996
|
Michael, (with some of my help, of course!), has planned out the story lines
for the next two issues. Issue 2, to be released within two weeks, has been
completely sketched, and is in production. At the time of this writing,
three of the five pages were completed, and Michael was taking sick days off
work to complete page four. Don't email me asking to see the pages!
Michael keeps them on his hard drive, which is locked inside his computer,
which you can't turn on without an authorisation code. The computer is
sealed in an airtight room 400 feet underground. When the time comes to
release an issue, Michael activates the elevator with a retina scan and
descends. He then copies the encrypted files to a Zip drive, which he
locks in a briefcase. The briefcase cannot be opened unless you have
both keys. Michael carries one key, and the other is held by the security
guard at the WebFrames server.
Well, okay... It's not that bad... but he's asked me to keep a tight lid on
the issues until their release dates...
|
October 12, 1996
|
Okay, okay... Everybody's role has changed a little since Issue 1.
Here's the list of contributors as I see it:
Michael Houston: Concept, design, graphics, script, page layout,
story and ego. Wants nothing more than to be invited to some sort of
id Software Quake event.
Andrew Warrington: Story, "The Idea Guy tm", criticism,
criticism, criticism, web page maintenance and alter-ego. Wants nothing
more than to be invited by extension when Michael gets invited to some
sort of id Software Quake event.
David Sears: Our consultant for All Things Internet. What he lacks
in presence he makes up for in wit. Gives great advice such as
"You figure it out, I'm busy".
Greg Houston: Always kicks my butt in deathmatch. Don't want to
talk about him.
id Software: Sets, models, lights, sounds, inspiration,
history. 'nuff said. To see the original contributors list, click
here.
|
Before October 12, 1996
|
We have heard from a couple of people who are interested in creating mirror
sites in Europe and Australia. We think this is a great idea, and are looking
into it further. A page like this is the last thing you want to have to
download across an ocean....
Michael's hard drive crashed! Aurgh! We lost everything! Skins!
Background textures! Original uncompressed frames! Oh, well. It's Hell,
but what can you do.
|
|
