The Donnington Project
Recreating 14th-Century Berkshire Ruins in a 1996 Engine.
I got a secret... Can anybody tell?
In the world of Quake, Secrets are hidden areas or items that aren't necessary to complete the level but reward the player for curious exploration. When a player discovers one, the game displays the famous message: "You found a secret!" and tracks the total count on the end-of-level tally screen.
For this project, adding a secret wasn't just a nod to 1996 gameplay - it was a requirement for the map to feel "authentic" to the Quake experience. Although this isn't a traditional map, I still feel that a Quake map without secrets is like a castle without a ghost; it feels technically complete but soul-less.
In my reconstruction, I used the secret as a way to reward players for exploring the map and spending time looking around. It allowed me to hide a small "Easter egg" in an area that might be historically inaccessible in the real ruins, bridging the gap between a dry architectural model and a living, breathing game world
DonnyE3
Snapshot Date: 11 May 2025
So, at this point, I decided to start looking at reducing the number of grass elements and added in some signs, which the user can walk past to learn about Donnington Castle. These obviously don't appear in the real world (well, theres a sign at the bottom of the castle's path however I disgress) -I plan to include more around the map as a learning tool as people explore the map
Models vs Maximum Compatibility with engines
At this stage, we are at 3586 models on the maps over the maximum of 2048 allowed for quakespasm based engines, but below the maximum of Ironwail engines which is 4096, however for maximum compatibility I'm going to want this to work on both Ironwail and quakespasm game engines.
DonnyE5
Snapshot Date: 21 June 2025
So, It begins, the reductions in the amount of grass, over 1500 blades of long grass removed, it's less of a meadow of grass but the effect is still there
Below the limit
We're at 2038 Models at this version, with 10 left before we hit the 2048 limit of the quakespasm based engines!
DonnyE5F & DonnyE5FR
Snapshot Date: 22 June 2025
Anyone for Weather? This DonnyE5F version literally just adds Fog to the map for Engines that support it, there were a couple of setting tweaks to make it work - I was going for an early morning British late autumn / Fall look, the kinda of 7am morning walks feel. Later you see, that I more to a sky map featuring clouds and the full moon, so this is more a look and feel of an late autumn / Fall night
The DonnyE5FR version added in Rain that is compatible with Darkplaces related engines
Expert Note
Fog is supported in more modern Quake engines including but not limited to: Ironwail, Quakespasm, vkQuake, Darkplaces - Most of these use either OpenGL,Vulkan or Direct3D/DX9 or above - you won't see it in the Dos version! Rain is only compatible in Darkplaces engines, but adds a level of realism to the map, hell, we are talking England here.
CURRENT BUILD DonnyF5
Snapshot Date: 14 June 2026
At this point, I looked at the textures and realized Makkon's stone textures were a much better fit for the map. I extracted a couple and added them; most of Makkon's textures have about eight times the resolution of the standard Quake textures from 1996, so including them gave the map a more realistic look. I also picked out the perfect skybox - a full moon amongst the clouds - which let the level pop with the exact look and feel I wanted: a wet, somewhat foggy night with the atmosphere of a late Autumn/Fall evening.
I have also finalized the in-game signage detailing the history of the ruins. My hope is that these descriptions add a layer of rich lore and educational depth, making the environment feel like a living, historic space.
Recently, I have also been adding enemies into the map to make the higher difficulties more challenging. Playing the level on Easy skill gives you the map with no enemies, allowing for peaceful exploration. Switching to Normal, Hard, or Nightmare significantly increases the enemy count.
What's Next? The Roadmap
It's take me 5 years to get to this point, and i feel there is more to do! The digital masonry never truly stops. Here is a look at what is planned for future iterations of the project. ETA when it's done!
Make the path appear more "worn trail" like
The trail up the hill from the carpark isn't really a path as seen in the map, it's more of a stone trail with embankments, I would love make the path seem more realistic
Rebuild the Fence
The back fence is current just a single pixel blocker border, I would like to make a proper fence
Quake II and Quake III Arena Maps
Create versions of the map for use in Quake II and III Arena. This will be a pretty big task