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  • idgames Maintainer Ty Halderman Passes Away At 69


    Late last April, new files stopped appearing on the idgames archive, leading to mounting concern about maintainer Ty Halderman's well-being. The following month, in late May, a visit by a Doomer in Ty's native New Orleans confirmed that he was alive but hospitalized. That same month, Bill Koch (Bloodshedder) and Eric Baker (The Green Herring) were recruited as interim maintainers to keep the idgames archive running. Today on the forums, a close relative confirmed that Ty Halderman died on July 31, surrounded by his family. We have no reason to believe that this information is fabricated.

    As maintainer of the most important part of the Doom community, Ty Halderman was the reason over 20 years of custom levels and mods remain available today. As part of TeamTNT, he contributed to TNT: Evilution from the Final Doom package among other WADs, and was one of the main programmers of the source port Boom, which set a new standard for custom level design that remains today. Needless to say, Ty Halderman was not called an "essential pillar of the community" for nothing. For all of this and more, he received the Espi Award for Lifetime Achievement at the Cacowards just last year. The work he did for this community is immeasurable, and his loss devastating. We at Doomworld offer our condolences to Ty Halderman's family, and would like to thank him for his efforts in keeping the central archive of the Doom community alive. He will be missed by us all.


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    I only ever had one email correspondence with Ty and it was short, but he was very polite and a real stand-up guy. The work he put into this site and the Doom community in general is something to be thankful for. Also, TNT ftw; no wonder it was so good.

    Thank you for all you've done and rest in peace for now; we'll see you on the other side, Ty.

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    I came across that the other day. I think that AMA is not genuine - there doesn't appear to have been any verification that it really was Ty. If the "girlfriend" stuff is genuine then it would mean his "grandmother" was only 12 years old than him.

    The thldrmn Reddit account is shadowbanned which is another indicator it's probably a troll.

    Guessing one of those Terry WAD idiots posted a fake AMA impersonating him and wrote some stupid replies as some kind of sick joke.

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    I dunno, most of his responses seem genuine. What the hell would someone gain by posting something like that? Perhaps it's a case where the truth is stranger than fiction.

    And I doubt it has anything to do with Terry: those morons aren't nearly as subtle in their machinations, as can be seen by the comment from "greenmario47".

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    Obsidian said:

    I dunno, most of his responses seem genuine. What the hell would someone gain by posting something like that? Perhaps it's a case where the truth is stranger than fiction.

    Before telling your first lie, it pays to prime your audience with some stuff that's true, or at least plausible. For the "girlfriend" part to be true, Ty's mother and grandmother would both warrant inclusion in this list, so I can only assume the Reddit troll guessed Ty to be 30-something.

    As for why it was posted - retaliation is the first reason that springs to mind. That interview was posted shortly after the great Terrywad purge of 2014.

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    Hi all,
    I'm a freelance writer with PC Gamer, and we're working on a story looking back at Ty's contributions to the Doom community. If anyone has any stories about him you'd like to add, feel free to send them to me at icb0005@gmail.com.

    Thanks
    Ian Birnbaum
    PC Gamer

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    Ty rarely posted on the forums as it is; something tells me reddit, a forum about nothing, wouldn't have much appeal to him.

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    40oz said:

    Ty rarely posted on the forums as it is; something tells me reddit, a forum about nothing, wouldn't have much appeal to him.

    He was definitely a classic working man: he's interested in what he's got to do. No fluff needed, all dedication, no thanks required. I don't think he'd post there either.

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    It's a testament to Ty. Even the lack of stories tells about his character. Someone who worked and ran everything so efficiently that he often fell behind the scenes. The kind of person who would really be missed when they're gone.

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    God damn.

    I grew up with the guy being the archives custodian. His contributions to TeamTNTs work were a big part of my early adulthood. I'll always treasure his unwavering dedication and professionalism; traits, I think, we can all take away from.

    My only regret is I have never took the chance to express my admiration to the guy himself. Rest in peace, man. My condolences to friends and family.

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    I just noticed that I didn't post in this thread at the time. Unfortunately work and other things can take me away from the internet and DW for some periods at a time these days.

    The last time I checked in, we had been seeking updates on Ty's condition.

    His absence worried me because, like all truly important people in any concern in life, Ty's work often went for granted, under the radar - here's a guy who, despite an immense resumé, worked largely behind the scenes in the later years. I worried that he would be irreplaceable if ill, and in hindsight that just seems ludicrously selfish.

    Lüt styled him a pillar of the community - but he was variously a pillar, the heartbeat; the very clockwork of the archives.

    If you haven't yet, please read Quasar's excellent piece for his lifetime achievement award in the Cacowards section of the site.

    Thank you for everything, Ty.

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    Sorry for the bump, but I feel I need to add my voice of appreciation to the chorus. I probably would not have played Doom past the 90's if it wasn't for idgames.

    It's crazy to think that Ty was maintaining it when I was first exploring what the internet had to offer in my early teenage years, that he was maintaining it when I uploaded lame joke wads to /incoming during my stupid years, and that he continued to maintain it until I was 30 and rarely playing Doom.

    If I ever get the itch to fire up some new wads, I will think of Ty when I download them.

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    Sorry for the bump but damn, that is such terrible news I couldn't just keep quiet. R.I.P sir, you will be missed. :(.

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    Damn, I can't believe this happened. I don't what to say. Speechless.

    ...

    You had a awesome run, Ty Halderman. Rest in peace.
    ;_;

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    Seems I never posted in this thread; it was sad to hear about the loss of Ty some time ago. I only had a minor exchange through email with him once about the dislocation of Doom Core, but I'm otherwise aware of his stand as the leader of TeamTNT and maintainer of idgames. RIP

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    Sorry if I'm too late, but I'd like to pay my respects to this great man who has done a lot for us. He's the reason this community has been able to share with one another for many years, and we have to acknowledge him for everything he's done for us.

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