The Donnington Project
Recreating 14th-Century Berkshire Ruins in a 1996 Engine.
Introduction
Tactical Reconstruction (Overview)
GRID_REF: SU 461 691
STATUS: UNFINISHED_SYMPHONY
What is Donnington Castle
Donnington Castle is a ruined medieval castle, situated in the small village of Donnington, just north of the town of Newbury in the English county of Berkshire in the UK. Originally built by Sir Richard Abberbury in 1386 under a license from King Richard II. The site became a major strategic stronghold during the English Civil War, where it endured a brutal 20-month siege before finally surrendering to Parliamentarian forces in 1646. Today, only the striking twin-towered gatehouse remains standing as a protected ruin under the care of English Heritage.
Games as a Gateway to Geography and History
As a gamer kid who chose both Geography and History at GCSE, I've always believed games are an untapped tool for historical exploration. This project isn't just a photograph or video—it’s a 3D interpretation of history that lets you exist within a physical site translated into a digital playground.What this "Challenge" has meant to me
Over a five-year development cycle -spanning job changes, serious health battles (a bilateral pulmonary embolism and a CVST stroke), and welcoming another child -this project fundamentally changed how I view the physical world. When you spend hours obsessing over how a 14th-century flint wall should be rendered in Quake, you start to notice the world around you with forensic detail. Whether I'm at Donnington Castle or just walking through Newbury, I find myself looking "up close and personal" at architectural nuances I would have previously ignored - the specific angle of a buttress, the weathering on a stone, or the way shadows fall across an earthwork. Mapping has taught me to experience my surroundings differently, turning every local walk into a masterclass in digital and physical masonry.WHY QUAKE?
Revisiting map-making during the COVID-19 lockdown, I realized Quake remains the gold standard for 'pure' level design - balancing manageable complexity with raw technical constraints. Building a historically accurate ruin was the ultimate test: seeing if 2020s skills could conquer 1990s limits for a community that is still thriving thirty years later.
The Modern Toolbelt
You can't restore a castle with a standard hammer. You need the right digital chisels.
The following are a list of applications I used during the map build, where possible I have tried to include the original website and a copy of the application I used (hosted from my site) - Quake is 30 years old now and some of these tools can be a little hard to find - if the host website goes down at least the community will still have a copy (hopefully).
J.A.C.K.
My primary editor and a modern descendant of Worldcraft. I stuck with its familiar X,Y,Z workspace rather than learning Trenchbroom, allowing me to map efficiently from day one.... Official Site for J.A.C.K Application Download
EricW Tools
The map compiler of choice these days... Like the old compiler but on steroids. It handles the lightmaps and ray-tracing that give the flint walls their depth and shadows. Official Site for EricW Tools Tools Download (Win64)
Wally
A blast from the past, I used to use this for texture management, I still do - Essential for making new textures and adding some additional flair, the Original Quake textures were good, but not perfect for what I needed. Official Site for Wally Application Download
Terrain Generator 3.05
A heightmap utility used to auto-generate natural slopes and wall edges, saving me from having to manually carve every single brush. Official Site for Terrain Generator Application Download
Makkon Textures
Makkon (Ben Hale) who has created a legendary, comprehensive library of high-quality, stylized textures and trim sheets for the community Slipseer Page itch.io Page
Adobe Photoshop
While Wally handles the technical conversion, Photoshop is where the "forensic" art happens. I use it to process and clean up textures. It's essential for creating the base layers of the world before they are "crunched" down into the 256-color palette required for Quake.
Object Limits & The Grass Incident
My original goal: Replicate the castle grounds exactly. Reality: The Quake engine is a jealous god of resources.
Critical Failure Detected
I attempted to create realistic grass using func_transparent entities. I wanted a lush, green hill. The engine saw several hundred blades of grass and promptly hit the Object Limit. In Quake, a lawn is a technical disaster.
Replicating ruins is harder than building "new" castles. Circular towers and crumbling edges require complex "brushwork" that pushes the engine's limits. I've had to navigate multiple versions to balance visual fidelity with a stable framerate.
The Engine Landscape: Source Ports
Choosing the right gateway to render the ruins.
Acquiring the Core Game and Assets
To explore the Donnington Project, you will need a legal copy of the original 1996 Quake to provide the engine assets - specifically the pak0.pak and pak1.pak files needed by modern source ports like Ironwail. Fortunately, the game is readily available and inexpensive on modern digital storefronts:
- Steam: Includes the original game files alongside the modern enhanced remaster by Nightdive Studios.
- GOG (Good Old Games): Ideal if you prefer a completely DRM-free installer that preserves the classic PC files natively.
Once installed, simply locate your id1 folder, copy the PAK files into your source port directory, and you are ready to deploy the map.
Not all Quake engines are created equal. Depending on whether you value 1996 "Vanilla" authenticity or modern graphical fidelity, your choice of engine will change how the Donnington ruins are rendered. While the map is built with 1990s constraints in mind, modern "Source Ports" allow us to bypass original stability issues.
Engine/Ports Compatible
Quakespasm / Spiked
The community gold standard for "faithful" gameplay. It retains the original physics and look of Quake while removing the crashing bugs of the 90s.
Ironwail
Highly recommended for this project. It is incredibly fast and significantly expands the engine's "brain" for modern hardware.
DarkPlaces
The graphical powerhouse. If you want Donnington to look like a modern game with real-time lighting and complex particles, use this port. It emphasizes the fog and torchlight effects seen in the E5F build.
vkQuake
A modern port using the Vulkan API. It provides a smooth, high-performance experience on modern GPUs while keeping the "Vanilla" aesthetic intact.
Engine/Ports not compatible
FitzQuake
JoeQuake
Quake (Original DOS)
WinQuake
Pete's Recommendation
For the most stable experience at Donnington Castle, I recommend Ironwail or AfterQuake. It offers the perfect balance between the 1996 feel and the technical "headroom" needed to render thousands of flint stones without hitting an executable limit.
Feedback and Comments
This project has been a five-year labor of love, and as an amateur mapper, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Fun fact: 20 years ago I actually sent my CV to John Romero and got a lovely reply back! I hope to get a similar reception from the incredible Quake community today - please try the map and leave your feedback below!