By all logic, DRD team could've, and possibly should've joined the many internet sites campaigning to put an end to SOPA and PIPA bills. However, there were reasons why I decided not to:

1) It seems some of the sites joining in have used javascript code to enforce their black-outs, for the specific reason that such a blackout could be bypassed. This, in its own way, is merciful in allowing people continuing access to information that they really need, however it decreases the real urgency and effect of such a blackout. DRD Team's blackout would have been handled differently, with a server-side enforcement that could not have been bypassed so easily. This would've been unfair to people in reason #2:

2) I believe it would unfairly affect people who have no ability to control what happens with the politics of a nation whose userbase makes up nearly a minority of the total number of people who use this site (only around 35%).

3) DRD Team is not even hosted in the United States any more, even though it is owned and operated by an American, it has long ago moved to the United Kingdom where it now resides.

4) It is argued that the effectiveness of this blackout is limited at best. And DRD Team is only a small pebble in the large internet pool - our stance might have made very little difference at too great of a cost to the international user.


There WERE reasons for joining in though, and they do hold some major significance to DRD Team:

1) Americans SHOULD be made aware of SOPA and PIPA. This is legislation that affects our very livelihood in many ways, and if it were to pass, would set a dreadful precedent to our country and our freedom, not only with the internet, but also corporate control of our lives outside the internet as well. As an addendum to this - it should be noted that there's something SERIOUSLY wrong with our country, and our economy, that legislation like this is even being CONSIDERED. People need to stand up for themselves in a government that actively encourages it - you need to tell your senators and congressmen to stop doing things to infringe upon your freedom. This has got to stop here and now - and you are a part of what will make that happen. This is unacceptable behavior of our elected officials to be willing to cut into our freedom so dramatically. It should not be tolerated.

2) DRD Team is one of the many sites that would be adversely affected by these bills. Should they pass, the existence of DRD Team would be at stake. It could very well vanish in the blink of an eye, and without warning. This in itself is a dreadful prospect. DRD Team is not a site run by one, but run by many. And countless more need and use the resources here on a daily basis.


So ... while DRD Team will NOT be "blacking out" for this event, I think people should still be made aware of what's happening, and if they can, take action. There is one wikipedia article that has remained open through the blackout, and everyone is encouraged to visit it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia: ... Learn_more

This post is not in protest of the bills themselves, but of the fundamental issues behind them. I believe that the momentum that's moving wrongful legislation like this forward needs to be stopped in its tracks, and permanently set the other way. Yes, piracy is wrong, but this isn't the right way to fix it - and I honestly believe it would be foolish to think that these bills are strictly meant to stop it, with the amount of power they grant to the wrong hands.

So - there you are - have a good day, and enjoy the non-blacked-out DRD Team!

The Phobos Directive is a nine map hub for DooM Episode One that plays under GZDoom. It features new enemies, new items, weapon upgrades, new music, mission driven gameplay and more.

Several maps in the hub can be played through in any order, adding to the replayability of the game. Additionally, in many areas, the type of ammo, weapon upgrades, and enemies you encounter will change with the weapons you have.

Risen3D v2.2.12 is now available for download. For more information visit the homepage

... and no, r3d v2.2.11 was not released.

In preparation for the eventual next major upgrade of phpBB, the default board style has been updated to a tableless style. Existing users are not affected by this change, so most of you will not notice this change until you log out.

While I would like to credit the authors of the previous DRD Team styles, the fact is that phpBB is moving to a new presentation format and subsilver2 formats are no longer being considered after phpBB3.0.x has run its course. So eventually everything must be ported to the new prosilver based system anyway.

Luckily, though, most style authors will find prosilver-based styles much easier to work with, as content presentation is controlled primarily using images and stylesheets, rather than with the templates themselves. This allows for greater flexibility overall.

So if anyone wants to submit any prosilver-based styles, now's your chance.

The latest version of Risen3D is now available.

Many of you in the multiplayer Doom community know of what started as a Skulltag project has now become an indiscriminate port-decentralized project now officially calling DRD Team its home. Although it has always supported additional ports (such as Odamex and Chocolate Doom), it has grown since it first started - and is now calling the entire Doom community as its home, rather than just Skulltag.

Please welcome Blzut3 and Zalewa as our newest hostees! Their homepage is here.

Sometime within the next week, I'm going to shut down DRD Team for at least a few hours to attempt a distro change. The downtime can take anywhere between a few hours to a couple days.

Because this is going to completely reformulate the entire system (basically I'm rebuilding it from scratch and copying the files over), I have no idea what to expect or what could go wrong (usually a lot goes wrong in the process, just to give fair warning, I've very rarely had smooth experiences with this kind of thing).

I'm going to try and do this in a time frame where there usually isn't a heck of a lot of activity, but I can't make any promises for when it will be back up while I am doing this.

If anyone wishes to mirror the SVN site during its downtime, or at least the latest builds, I highly suggest you do so.

The site upgrade is complete and things are running once more. Please check comments for details.

Some people don't believe in or celebrate Christmas. But for those that do, it is one of the most important and most special holidays of the year.

Regardless of what holidays you do celebrate, happy holidays to you, your family, and your friends, and have a wonderful new year!

Risen3D v2.2.09 has just been released. Grab it from the homepage.
Changes over v2.2.08 can be viewed here
and/or here .
What has not been mentioned is that now the spectre sprite now renders translucent black.