Come Get Some!

Age : 27 (2012)
Location : Finland
Occupation : Graduated barely a week ago with a degree in economics so too early to say.

CGS : When did you first get in touch with Build/Mapster?
Mikko Sandt : Christmas Day 1997. I had gotten a Finnish Build guide as a Christmas present the day before. I had actually tried Build before this but it didn't quite work because I tried to launch the program directly off the CD.

CGS : What was your first map, released or unreleased?
Mikko Sandt : It was the map I started working on on that Christmas Day, as per the book's instructions. It was named "Cafepool" (it consisted of a pool and a cafe!) but unfortunately I've since then lost the map. Its sequel, Lava-Pit, is still alive however.

CGS : What is your favourite among your own maps?
Mikko Sandt : I don't have a favorite per se. I like Earth Base because its scale is a bit more ambitious than what you'd normally expect from my maps. Dukecide has a cool downbeat look and background and I like how DukePlus makes the map so much better (not to mention the soundtrack!). My AMC TC map is not architecturally ambitious but I like it for its rich background universe. Of my old maps, Unreal brings back tons of good memories and I was exceedingly proud of it back in the days (I had nothing to compare it to, however). My Brave New World mod's New LA map has a cool theme but I can't take any credit for that. MSSP1 was the first map that I actually tried to make look good instead of not trying to make it look good at all. I also made a cool rooftop boss map for Metropolitan Mayhem but I can't take full credit for that either.

CGS : How many maps have you done?
Mikko Sandt : Dozens.

CGS : Where do you get inspiration from?
Mikko Sandt : I draw inspiration from many things such as real-life locations, other maps (Duke and non-Duke; sometimes a screenshot is enough), movies/tv shows, games, even politics and music. Sometimes something as simple as a cool skybox can inspire or a rich selection of textures and new features. For example, Earth Base was inspired by the CGI movie Ice Age and Timeline 2: Iced Earth, a Half-Life mod. Dukecide was inspired by Quake 2, an old Duke3D map "Steel", DukePlus and Daikatana's soundtrack.

CGS : Do you listen to music whilst mapping? If so, what did you listen to?
Mikko Sandt : I rarely listen to music while on a computer (it blocks my thoughts) but for some mapping sprees I've used lots of music, mainly eurodance (maybe because it's simple enough not to be distracting and can also create these "landscapes" in your mind). Curiously, I almost never listen to anything while mapping for Duke3D, maybe because it's hard to change tracks while using Mapster as it tends to crash.

CGS : Do you see mapping as competitive?
Mikko Sandt : No.

CGS : Do you still touch Build/Mapster?
Mikko Sandt : Of course. I've always got something on my to-do list (even if I'm not actively working on anything at the moment).

CGS : Are you playing any DN3D maps these days?
Mikko Sandt : Since I run a map review site I'm pretty much obliged to play every new release. I also occasionally play usermaps from the past just for fun and sometimes just to check something.

CGS : What's your favourite map of all time?
Mikko Sandt : Hard to tell. A high score doesn't imply a favorite. Of user-made content I'd have to name the entire Last Reaction and Water Bases TC. Of the original four episodes I'd probably say Death Row, Dark Side or LA Rumble.

CGS : What are your opinion about the HRP and Polymer projects?
Mikko Sandt : It's commendable that someone managed to code a visually Doom 3 type of lighting engine for an engine as old as Duke's but Polymer is beyond the capabilities of my (relatively new and fast) computer. Also, it's not the look I look for in the game: I'm not interested in Duke3D looking like a modern game and Build/Mapster is a terrible editor for making modern stuff anyway because of its ancient interface and 2.5D limitations. As for the HRP (High-Resolution Pack), I've never been into it; it makes the game look too colorful and cartoonish but some mappers (MiaMax most notably) have managed utilize HRP assets with great success. The problem is that the vast majority of maps were not designed for the HRP (and this isn't an argument against those maps).

CGS : What other games do you fancy?
Mikko Sandt : For the past decade or so I've been into online military shooters and the Final Fantasy series. Lately I've been enjoying Battlefield 3 and the Mass Effect series.

CGS : Finally, is it something you'd like to say to the DN3D community?
Mikko Sandt : Keep Duke3D alive by playing and making maps!