Paul “Bushlurker” Pelosi (1960-2017) Rest in Peace

[jakerod 254]

I wanted to make sure that everyone on these forums knew that Paul “Bushlurker” Pelosi, quite possibly the god of Terrain-Making, passed away over the weekend. There’s a good chance that if you have ever made a terrain or even tried to make a terrain you talked to him. I’m fairly certain that he knew everything about terrain making or at the very least could find anything out. If you had a question, he would do his damn best to answer it. He truly loved terrain work (and guitars) and was willing to help whenever you had a question.

 

I first started talking to Paul on the forums when I was trying to get back into terrain making during the ArmA 2 days. He was very helpful and I think he was one of the reasons I first got on Skype. He helped me through my Green Sea Expansion terrains and later got me a position as a Terrain Maker for the Cold War Rearmed 2 Mod. We worked on CWR2 together for several years quite commonly having terrain-related conversations at ridiculous times at night (for him in Scotland)and he continued to teach me about not only ArmA terrain making but other interesting topics as well. Things like his time as an archeologist and the digs that he went on or the software they used. He told me about hills made from broken amphorae like Monte Testaccio and software that would determine where ancient roads used to be based on the elevations of the terrain and location of cities.

 

A few years ago, Paul told me about what is now my current job in Pittsburgh. I probably never would have heard about it if it wasn’t for him and I especially wouldn’t have been prepared for it if it wasn’t for all the things he taught me over the years. Additionally, he gave me a recommendation. I’m fairly certain he did more to get me the job than I did.

 

 When I got hired, I chose the earliest starting time possible because I knew that Paul was going to be in Pittsburgh for training soon. The night he flew in we went to a bar downtown and he bought me my first scotch ever and had a lot of great discussions. We got to do some software training together and it was incredibly enjoyable. I will always remember him adding sheep into the surface mask of a terrain he was making during training.

 

That was unfortunately the last time I got to see him in person. We did a little more CWR2 work together but eventually both of us moved away from that. We kept in touch though and would talk on Skype at work sometimes or occasionally work on a project together. He enjoyed talking about sci-fi shows and he had started working on some music projects in the past year or two.

 

His health took a bad turn a while back but he maintained his incredibly high spirit and great sense of humour. He would disappear from Skype for long periods of time which always had some of us worried but he would always turn up again and tell us he just did a minor stint in the hospital. Many of us thought he was going to be out of the woods shortly and I know he was looking forward to getting back to work but I guess something went wrong. I’m not entirely sure what happened in the past week but he wished all the Terrain Makers on Skype a Happy New Year and then the next weekend passed away.

 

To Paul Pelosi, a great guy, friend, co-worker, modder, teacher, and the God of Terrain-Making

 

 

If you haven’t played on any of his terrains you should check out Carraigdubh for ArmA 2. He also did some of the terrains, like Malden and Everon for the ArmA 2 CWR2 mod, both of which are included in the CUP Terrains pack for ArmA 3. There’s also a ton of interesting stuff on his site: https://sites.google.com/site/bushlurker/

[road runner 4344]

Very nice words there Jakerod, sorry for the loss of your friend.

[ineptaphid 6413]

 A beautifully written piece jakerod. I always had a real soft spot in my heart for his Carraigdubh terrain (being Irish). Maybe someday it will be restored to it's former glory in Arma3.

 

A real loss to our community. RiP Paul.

[m1lkm8n 411]

Couldn't agree more Jakerod. Paul was a genuine good person. He got me interested in terrain making as well. Spent many night talking just like you did over terrains and guitars lol. He even tried convincing me to move to Orlando to take a job with BiSim. I am in my current job partly due to him teaching me about gis software.

 

There was no one with the patience level of Paul. It was something I truly admired about him. I often find myself frustrated when trying to help someone and feeling like they did not want to help themselves..but not Paul. He would explain things so eloquently and in terms anyone could understand. This comes a such a shock because he never seemed to let on just how bad things were getting. And from talking to him you had this sense that he was beating this thing. Paul was a good man...a good friend and someone I looked up to. He was the rock in the arma community.

 

We spent a while chatting one day about my love for Warren Zevon... so in his words "Remember to stop and taste every sandwich"

 

Paul you were a good friend. You will be sorely missed.

[Defunkt 431]

Terrible news. Loved Bushlurker's terrains and appreciated his willingness to mentor others.

[cosmic10r 2331]

Dang..

 Rest in peace Paul.

 

Sad news indeed...

The only thing we really leave behind are the memories we leave with loved ones and friends...

Sounds like Paul gave you guys many of those... and in this way he lives on...

 

 

 

[Cype_Revenge 651]

we lost our mentor in Terrainmaking and a good friend,

he always helped us to fix problems, he was a very good person

 

rest in peace my friend

[Snake Man 407]

The arma terrain community has lost one of its greatest, rest in peace Bushlurker :(

 

I wrote a tribute to Bushlurker.

 

Also what better way to honor Bushlurker's memory then by using his Bushlurker "Island 51" terrain.

[audiocustoms 375]

I can not speak for everyone, but i hope that all of our thoughts are with his friends and family in this hard time.

... we got a man down ...

R.I.P.
My deepest condolences to his loved ones.

[ravendk 25]

Rest In Peace Bushlurker, you will be missed.

[Muecke 114]

R.I.P Bushlurker.

[Varanon 892]

Never knew him, but knew OF him for most of my time since OFP. 

Rest in peace

[tupolov 520]

Very very sad news indeed.

 

Bushlurker was one of the best. Always helpful, always patient, always willing to share his knowledge on terrain making. Its not surprising how many people in modding knew of and benefited from Paul's knowledge and helpful manner. I personally started modding Arma through terrains and I don't think I would have ever completed my first mod (Qom Province) without Bushlurker's help. He always had time for people, and always took the time to explain things regardless of how simple/wrong/stupid (there are no stupid questions!) the questions were.

 

He was simply one of the best community modders out there - not only for his knowledge, but his approach to helping the community. He has set the bar high for us all.

 

It was no surprise he was hired by BISim and it was great to see him get to do his "passion" as his day job.

 

Condolences to his family.

 

Rest In Peace Bushlurker.

 

In The Beginning, There Was No Clutter...

...only bushes....

...and not very many of them either...

Clutching his low poly M16 and wandering the streets of La Trinite late in the Summer of '01 ("you're in position, Six!") - Bushlurker found a Suitable Bush - and got under it... he's been under there ever since... making things...

 

Check out bushlurker.com

[lodu 145]

Very bad news and condolences to the family.

 

It is his magnificent creations of lands "science fiction" that pushed me to continue to make addons of vegetation, with the idea, one day, to offer him a cooperation to make a land similar to pandora.

This can not be done during his lifetime.

 

RIP.
 

[jeza 5416]

Was always very polite and warm in any interactions I had with him and helped me out a massive amount with the terrain I worked on. Big loss to the community.

RIP. 

[Electricleash 133]

Sad news... While not personally knowing him, he had my respect as a terrain guru and very much enjoyed faffing on his Geo terrains in back in A2.

Rest up BL.

 

[domokun 515]

Wow. I'm shocked and saddened to hear this. Just the other day I was thinking which terrains I wished had been migrated from Arma 2 into Arma 3. And the one terrain that most struck me was Carraigdubh. Although I never met him in person his talent, his dedication and generosity touched me. His departure will be felt by many I'm sure. My thought are with his family.

[Tankbuster 1746]

I was lucky enough to know this fine chap. He was my squad medic for a series of competition games a few years ago. His hearing wasn't great so there was often comical shouting for the medic, which is not only a great memory, but huge fun, so it's how I choose to remember this fella.

Not only was he a great team player but later he became the authority on terrains that we are all grateful for.

RIP mate.

[Reezo 45]

Hello everyone, I came here to pay my respects.

 

I think what really shines through in this apparently-futile round-robin of custom user content is the level of true selfless sharing and passion that reveals that human beings can live as such instead than doing the typical "get/give/profit" ideas and they are trying to put us on, and the dreaded consequences such a mindset creates. I believe it's in the smallest of things that you find your strongest self. Thanks Paul, you inspired people, to me there's no best way to be a human being.

 

[DnA 5154]

My condolences to Paul's family and friends. We can take some solace in the great spirit of sharing he's left behind for the community. His terrains are ever-lasting tributes to his modding efforts.

[major_desync 137]

This is terribly sad news. My sincerest condolences to Paul's family and friends.

 

I think it's fair to say that without Bushlurker a lot of community ARMA terrains simply wouldn't exist. Mine certainly wouldn't. His guides, his advice, and his endless patience were indispensable, and they'll be missed. If it's any sort of consolation, some part of him will live on in the memory of those that knew him and in the terrains he left us with - his own and the many others to which he generously gave his time. 

 

Rest in Peace, Bushlurker. There'll be a fine dram raised for you tonight. 

[mr burns 132]

My sincere condolences to his family and friends.

 

Normally i could´nt care less, but for a guy like him, i really hope god exists so he has someone to chat with about terraincrafting!

[W0lle 1050]

When Jake sent me the mail with the terrible news, I was shocked and speechless. And while I've sworn to myself that never again I will post in this forum, this justifies an exception.

 

Paul was a legend when it comes to terrains in the Armaverse. If Paul didn't know the answer or a solution, then probably no one knew it. And boy, he was a patient teacher. No matter how busy he was, he always found time to explain things, write a tutorial or even solves the problem on behalf of the person seeking help. There are not many like him, that's for sure.

I enjoyed his terrain work ever since he made the first attempts. And I was very glad to have him in the CWR² team as he eventually saved the project. Because without Paul, there maybe would be no Malden, or only a crappy and bugged to hell terrain. For some strange reason, the AI refused to drive on the roads. Now with this splendid engine this is nothing new, but it was really bad because they just ignored the roads completely. I must have spent weeks in checking everything, and placing the road network from scratch twice.
Then Paul joined and had a look. At first, he had no idea either because everything just looked fine. He then decided to make the whole terrain from scratch and see, the 'artificial idiocy' decided to use the roads.
And then there was my fancy idea to port the 'VBS1 Intro terrain' to ArmA2, known as 'Elephant Island'. As if he wasn't busy already with his own and CWR² projects, I lured him into that one as well. And in the end, he not only created the terrain textures. He created them twice - at least - because he never was happy with some aspects. And he made the logo, and the roads too. He was not only a patient mentor. He was a freakin' perfectionist as well! :-)

 

In the past year I lost contact to Paul, now this makes me angry because I never had the chance to talk with him again. I will miss our nightly discussions on Skype going on for hours. Not only about terrain editing, or missions from the old days but also about everything else in life.

 

Once again I lost a mentor, a fellow Mod team member and a good friend. Without Paul, this community won't be the same anymore. But he lives on in his terrain tutorials, his beautiful terrains and last but not least in the memories of those who had the pleasure to work with him or were able to create their projects with his help.

 

My sincere condolences to his family and friends.

 

Rest in peace my friend, you will not be forgotten.

[R0adki11 3949]

My sincere condolences to his family and friends.

 

Bushlurker was certainly an inspiration for all of us, may he rest in peace. 

 

 

[silola 1087]

I'm speechless

 

R.I.P. Bushlurker !