March 28, 2009 Newsletter

Longtime readers of this newsletter and my site may have noticed a drastic dip in the frequency in which I have sent out newsletters in the last couple of years. A large part of that has to do with a shift in my focus from a journalism-like approach to more of a publishing system. I have tried to only post articles that have substance over the years; but now, I never force myself to post anything new unless there really is something new to add. If I add something new, I try to make sure it will remain relevant for years.

I have been spending a lot of time immersed in 3D Studio Max 2009 over the last year, as well as Mudbox. Together, these two programs have dramatically increased my creative potential. I have finally broken the barrier that was limiting some of my level design capabilities—I have finally learned how to create content for the levels I like to build for games like Counter-Strike and Hidden:Source. For those of you who have been waiting for me to finish my Hidden map, expect it to finally have updates soon.

Andrew Penry and I have started building a new Counter-Strike: Source map (a remake of de_tension that I made for CS 1.6). This new map will include the models that I have been creating in 3D Studio as well as a completely new element to CS maps that will probably make a big splash in the CS community when it comes out. I expect to have screen shots available in a week or two; the completed map will likely be done in about a month.

In other news, Webonizer 3 is almost ready. Andrew and I built a new configuration system that makes maintaining and updating dynamic websites more simple than ever. When released, it will allow me to add new features and controls to Webonizer much more quickly than I have over the last few years. We may start selling that new system apart from Webonizer as a development tool for other programmers.

Speaking of Webonizer, one of my most recent clients is using Webonizer. Lee Ann Lewis is a humor columnist from Florida that has just launched her site. Feel free to visit Lee Ann at www.leeannlewis.com and let her know that Shawn sent you!

Finally, here is a little news about my site itself. I have made some updates that streamline and cleaned up the look and feel across browsers. Furthermore, I have added a new Flash element to the right side of every page. The new flash element is done in the latest version of Flash... so if you visit the site you may want to make sure that your version of Flash is up-to-date.

Despite my sluggishness in adding a lot of content, traffic has remained strong. The visitor count is on the verge of passing 11 million soon.

That's it for this newsletter. I hope you are all doing well. Feel free to leave feedback on the guestbook.

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