Also check out springrts.com. It was inspired by TA. It is an engine with several clones of TA to choose from, plus new unrelated stuff. Open Source.

You can start working on some open source software. Spring RTS is a great way to get started. Or make your own text editor.

Does anyone know an adress where money can be sent to this kid? There will probably be a court case and I'd love to donate. I play video games myself and have tried to make maps before, but they're extremely difficult. If this guy had the skill to make a good one for Counter Strike he probably had more intelligence than anyone here commenting. Also, I've seen a lot of comments saying that the punishment didnt fit the crime? What crime? He was found not guilty of anything by the police; because there is no crime! It's not a crime to make a map of anything. I doubt the layout of the school was copyrighted. I doubt there was anything in the student handbook about creating a map of the school, much less a digital version. I bet their handbook or website has a map of the school! And if this boy's actions were "terroristic" then I suppose we should start suing companies that make maps for games based on real life locations. Dawn of the Dead? I bet you that was filmed in a mall. Rainbow Six? Several of the locations are based on real life. I'm a 16 year old student in AP and College classes, and as such I have learned that there is nothing in the law about making a map of your school. In the Constitution you are guranteed freedom of speech. Surely this is a form of free speech? All these adults saying the administrators of the campus were put in a difficult situation by this are wrong. The boy did nothing wrong, they did. They made a big fuss where there should be none. He should be reinstated into his normal school and classes, police and school records wiped clean of this, and if he by chance had something on his school record in the past that should be taken off to to make up for their mistakes. I normally respect policemen but a hammer? Come on! As I glance around my room I see a pellet gun, a BB gun, a 4in knife with paraframe plade, several pocketknives and multi-tools. If this Honor's Student was going to attack someone, do you think he would pick his hammer? Oh let's talk about that too....He planned an attack on the school. Map? Check. Friends to do it with? Check. Brains to pull off an operation based on firing guns in Counter Strike? Check. Mode of attack? A hammer! Yes that's right folks. He used a map to plan out his hammer attack. I'm sure his friends were going to use the ever so deadly screw driver? Oh yeah his big muscular friend? He was gonna use the tape measure. I can see this plan working. Storm down the 300 hall, bash the security guard on the head with the hammer, then take the principals as hostages (two of the principals in my school played in the NFL) whereupon he would call the police, announce his intentions to gain better lunch ladies capable of not making slop, and also he wants a 100 for his Calculus test last week. Sure, Columbine happened. Virginia Tech happened. In both cases the students were known to be slightly crazy. Being a videogamer doesn't make him crazy. Having a hammer doesn't make him crazy or worth of punishment. They're not letting him walk the stage at his graduation? That's the moment every Senior looks forwards to. For making a map in Counter Strike they're taking that away. The school should be sued for taking his rights away and at the least even give him a scholarship because they may well have ruined some that he might have been receiving.