A backup copy of skyboxes/environment maps made by Simon O'Callaghan, a.k.a. Sock, in 2000-2001. Sock's website is down at the time of this writing, but the skyboxes could be reclaimed with the Wayback Machine.
All the zip files contain 6 images (512x512 size), a shader file and some instructions on how to use the skyboxes in your maps. The skyboxes were produced with the aid of a package called Terragen (still exists, by the way).
All of the skyboxes are licensed under https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/.
Below are the skybox previews and descriptions written by Sock on his website.
Dust Ball
The dust is so thick you can taste it at the back of your throat. The burning hot sun claws its way through the dusty atmosphere baking all living creatures in its path. Better take cover soon because when this sand blaster starts a twirling your flesh will be stripped to the bone ...
Devil's Punch Bowl
A Gaping mouth set in the landscape bearing red stained lips. Set halfway down the throat lies a thick soup of mist hiding an untold secret. A mighty city once stood these grounds, but now its gone, swallowed whole and sucked down into the ground. Sometimes the gods don't play fair either ...
Mars
The sky has the slight hint of clouds but mainly dominated by a burning hot sun. The ground is rough and coarse with no sign of water around.
Ice Station Zebra
As you stand all alone in the middle of nowhere you finally realise how cold and lonely this place is. The air is sharp on your lungs and your feet are numb from the ice below. The wind blows right through you as you stop and stare at the mist swirling around the mountains like relentless tornado's. If hell could ever freeze over, this place could be it.
Frozen Wastelands
The background mountain range cut like jagged teeth across the horizon, offering no route for escape. The sky is clear and cold with wispy clouds scattered across the heavens. The ground is frozen with blue/grey rock breaking through the persistent snow coating.
Dusk till Dawn
Your only source of warmth is about to set behind those far mountains, for what may seem like eternity. The wind around you is gathering speed and cutting like some old rusty blade. As the shadows grow tall and the mountains turn to blackness you just feel numb.
Graveyard
The cold mist licks around your feet hiding the rough ground below. The air is damp and heavy on your lungs and every breathe feels like your last. The eerie silence makes your skin crawl with dread as the bleak atmosphere saps your lifeforce away ...
Emerald Lagoon
The hills on all sides gently kiss the waters edge, keeping the eternal secret of this forgotten place. The mornings' mist still lingers at the outskirts of this secret garden of paradise. Deep tranquil waters reflect a bright sun set amongst moody clouds drifting peacefully by.
Desert Canyon
Rolling dunes of sand flow across the canyon basin and lick at the edges of the rocky hills around. The sky is hazy with a burning sun above offering no shelter from the unbearable heat. The ground is a mixture of different shades of sand broken in places by the original canyon rock.
Night Ball and Stratosphere (I lumped the last two previews together, because I ran out of picture attachment space)
Under a tranquil moon sits a barren landscape devoid of life, bathed in a blue light. The wispy clouds float by effortlessly across a star studded backdrop only to be consumed by the horizon. You stand on what may seem the edge of the universe waiting, for a sound to pierce the consuming silence all around ...
Drifting high above the clouds and floating with the stars.
All the zip files contain 6 images (512x512 size), a shader file and some instructions on how to use the skyboxes in your maps. The skyboxes were produced with the aid of a package called Terragen (still exists, by the way).
All of the skyboxes are licensed under https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/.
Below are the skybox previews and descriptions written by Sock on his website.
Dust Ball
The dust is so thick you can taste it at the back of your throat. The burning hot sun claws its way through the dusty atmosphere baking all living creatures in its path. Better take cover soon because when this sand blaster starts a twirling your flesh will be stripped to the bone ...
Devil's Punch Bowl
A Gaping mouth set in the landscape bearing red stained lips. Set halfway down the throat lies a thick soup of mist hiding an untold secret. A mighty city once stood these grounds, but now its gone, swallowed whole and sucked down into the ground. Sometimes the gods don't play fair either ...
Mars
The sky has the slight hint of clouds but mainly dominated by a burning hot sun. The ground is rough and coarse with no sign of water around.
Ice Station Zebra
As you stand all alone in the middle of nowhere you finally realise how cold and lonely this place is. The air is sharp on your lungs and your feet are numb from the ice below. The wind blows right through you as you stop and stare at the mist swirling around the mountains like relentless tornado's. If hell could ever freeze over, this place could be it.
Frozen Wastelands
The background mountain range cut like jagged teeth across the horizon, offering no route for escape. The sky is clear and cold with wispy clouds scattered across the heavens. The ground is frozen with blue/grey rock breaking through the persistent snow coating.
Dusk till Dawn
Your only source of warmth is about to set behind those far mountains, for what may seem like eternity. The wind around you is gathering speed and cutting like some old rusty blade. As the shadows grow tall and the mountains turn to blackness you just feel numb.
Graveyard
The cold mist licks around your feet hiding the rough ground below. The air is damp and heavy on your lungs and every breathe feels like your last. The eerie silence makes your skin crawl with dread as the bleak atmosphere saps your lifeforce away ...
Emerald Lagoon
The hills on all sides gently kiss the waters edge, keeping the eternal secret of this forgotten place. The mornings' mist still lingers at the outskirts of this secret garden of paradise. Deep tranquil waters reflect a bright sun set amongst moody clouds drifting peacefully by.
Desert Canyon
Rolling dunes of sand flow across the canyon basin and lick at the edges of the rocky hills around. The sky is hazy with a burning sun above offering no shelter from the unbearable heat. The ground is a mixture of different shades of sand broken in places by the original canyon rock.
Night Ball and Stratosphere (I lumped the last two previews together, because I ran out of picture attachment space)
Under a tranquil moon sits a barren landscape devoid of life, bathed in a blue light. The wispy clouds float by effortlessly across a star studded backdrop only to be consumed by the horizon. You stand on what may seem the edge of the universe waiting, for a sound to pierce the consuming silence all around ...
Drifting high above the clouds and floating with the stars.
