What is The Node

The Node is a site dedicated to Sin Entity definitions and scripting in particular - it is not intended as a resource for 'Newbies', but rather as a resource for intermediate to experienced level designers who wish to design levels for Sin.

First of all, let's take a look at Sin shall we? Sin is much more than just another cool game with new monsters and weapons. It is a genuine landmark, a revolution in 3D game design because of two major and entirely new concepts: scripting and in-game consoles. But that's not all. Sin also includes numerous other exciting features that sets it apart from any previous FPS game.

Is Sin and Sin map editing something that we're really excited about? Yes. Is all of this mere hype? No. We hope that Scripting will totally change the way that we approach level design for 3D games. Sin, although it uses the same basic engine, 3D brush geometry, textures and entity system as Id's Quake2, is nevertheless a radically new game that makes possible things that couldn't even be considered before. In previous games like Quake 2, the behavior and functionality of the game was determined by the entities through a fixed set of key values and spawnflags for each entity type. Therefore, the entire responsibility of possible outcomes was placed on those. If you wanted or needed an entity to do something that was outside its normal "operating envelope", you were confronted with 2 choices: coding a new entity and recompiling a new game .DLL or simply "grin and bear it". Since most of us level designers are not programmers, most of us went for the second option.

Sin's map editing concept throws the fixed, dedicated entities concept out the door and adopts an entity system which is more generic in nature. These new entities become more like pawns or simple placeholders and most of the responsibility for their behavior and functionality is handed over to a script, a simple text file which does not require a sophisticated tool to create and edit and that, most importantly, does not need to be compiled: simple, elegant, flexible, powerful and utterly brilliant.

And THAT's the reason why the main focus on Sin editing HAS to be on scripting.

Can you say game models (actors and objects) that can be scaled to just about any size you want?...And scripted into complex interactive scenarios?... Can you say user made brush models with a virtually unlimited degree of complexity and functionality (robots, machinery, vehicles, aircraft)?... All controllable through highly customizable consoles?... Can you say complex in-game cinematic sequences with or without player intervention?... Can you say areaportals that can be opened or closed from within a script?... AND... Can you say an editor (SinEd) and bsp compiler which will support floating point coordinates?... And that's only the tip of the iceberg, believe it or not :)

The Node is an invaluable resource for more experienced level designers who are familiar with the concepts of Quake2 editing.

If you're a 'Newbie' to level editing, we suggest you pay a visit to the Quake2 tutorial section at

Rust game editing design - because Sin is based on the Quake2 engine, most of the concepts are the same.

Stay tuned folks - this is gonna be one helluva ride !