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Havoc

Hi, I'm René "Havoc" Nicolaus.

Senior Software Engineer • Indie Game Developer

I build and tinker with engines, editors, tools, libraries, web applications, and games - from a Half-Life mod to a Doom-style engine and various utilities.

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You can explore a selection of my projects here, with additional ones available on my GitHub account.

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The Pushing Point
A 3D take on Sokoban puzzle gameplay.
February 20, 2025 <span><i class="bi bi-windows icon-underline version-cursor" data-tooltip="Windows Version"></i> Version 0.1.0</span> [DOWNLOAD_SIZE]
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Havoc 3D
A beatable demo of my discontinued ray casting engine.
November 02, 2024 <span><i class="bi bi-windows icon-underline version-cursor" data-tooltip="Windows Version"></i> Version 0.3.1</span> [DOWNLOAD_SIZE]
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Dangerous Adventure in Space
My side-scrolling run-and-gun game, originally made for the <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130916234139/http://ludumdare.com/compo/">Ludum Dare competition #27</a>.
Updated: February 05, 2024 (SDL 2.0 Version) <span><i class="bi bi-windows icon-underline version-cursor" data-tooltip="Windows Version"></i> Version 0.1.4</span> [DOWNLOAD_SIZE]
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Escape Made Easy (E.M.E.)
My rougelike game with a dynamic music system.
November 19, 2024 <span><i class="bi bi-windows icon-underline version-cursor" data-tooltip="Windows Version"></i> Version 0.3</span> [DOWNLOAD_SIZE]
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Dark Tide
A small single-player map I originally created for <a href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/2229830/Command__Conquer_and_The_Covert_Operations">Command & Conquer: Tiberian Dawn</a> on September 4, 2005, now updated to work with the <a href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/1213210/Command__Conquer_Remastered_Collection">Remastered edition</a>. Installation instructions can be found <a href="project/dt">here</a>.
Updated: September 16, 2025 (CnC TDRA Map Editor - Remastered Version) <span><i class="bi bi-file-earmark icon-underline version-cursor" data-tooltip="Command & Conquer: Tiberian Dawn Map"></i> C&C TD Map</span> [DOWNLOAD_SIZE]
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Wild Aim
A simple <a href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/10/CounterStrike">Counter-Strike</a> aim map I created for my old clan. Installation instructions can be found <a href="project/wa">here</a>.
September 07, 2004 <span><i class="bi bi-file-earmark icon-underline version-cursor" data-tooltip="Counter-Strike 1.6 Map"></i> CS 1.6 Map</span> [DOWNLOAD_SIZE]
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Times of Darkness
A single-player mod for <a href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/70/HalfLife">Half-Life</a>. Installation instructions can be found <a href="project/tod">here</a>.
September 27, 2003 <span><i class="bi bi-windows icon-underline version-cursor" data-tooltip="Windows Version"></i> Version 1.0</span> [DOWNLOAD_SIZE]
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Times of Darkness 2 - Intro Song
Intro song from the canceled sequel: Times of Darkness 2.
February 15, 2004 <span><i class="bi bi-filetype-mp3 icon-underline version-cursor" data-tooltip="128 kbps MP3"></i> MP3</span> [DOWNLOAD_SIZE]
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havCurCtr
A WinForms-based background app that registers a global hotkey to center the mouse cursor on the primary monitor.
August 24, 2025 <span><i class="bi bi-windows icon-underline version-cursor" data-tooltip="Windows Version"></i> Version 1.0</span> [DOWNLOAD_SIZE]
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IntAltGr
A <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QWERTY">QWERTY</a>-based Windows keyboard layout that enables direct input of international characters (e.g., German <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umlaut_(diacritic)">umlauts</a> and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%9F">sharp S</a>) via <code>Alt Gr</code> (or <code>Ctrl</code> + <code>Alt</code>) modifier, without the "dead key" behavior of US-International.
Updated: October 10, 2025 (rebuilt) <span><i class="bi bi-windows icon-underline version-cursor" data-tooltip="Windows Version"></i> Version 1.0.3.40</span> [DOWNLOAD_SIZE]
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havGSD
A task list plugin for <a href="https://codelite.org">CodeLite</a>.
September 13, 2025 <span><i class="bi bi-windows icon-underline version-cursor" data-tooltip="Windows Version"></i> Version 0.2</span> [DOWNLOAD_SIZE]
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Havoc Startup Minimizer
A lightweight, efficient, and permission-free extension for <a href="https://www.thunderbird.net">Mozilla Thunderbird</a> that minimizes the main Thunderbird window immediately after startup. Installation instructions can be found <a href="projects.html#havStartMin">here</a>.
November 16, 2025 <span><i class="bi bi-windows icon-underline version-cursor" data-tooltip="Windows Version"></i>, <i class="bi bi-apple icon-underline version-cursor" data-tooltip="macOS Version"></i>, <i class="bi bi-tux icon-underline version-cursor" data-tooltip="Linux Version"></i> Version 1.0</span> [DOWNLOAD_SIZE]
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Havoc's Screen Saver
My very first Windows screen saver.
February 07, 2024 <span><i class="bi bi-windows icon-underline version-cursor" data-tooltip="Windows Version"></i> Version 0.2</span> [DOWNLOAD_SIZE]
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About

My name is René "Havoc" Nicolaus, and I'm a Senior Software Engineer and Indie Game Developer. I enjoy building things from the ground up: custom engines, editors, plugins, libraries, web applications, and the occasional full game or mod.

Over the years I've worked on everything from Half-Life and Command & Conquer maps to a Doom-style engine, along with tools and utilities that make my own workflow more pleasant. Some of that work lives on GitHub - other parts are shared here as downloads or articles.

If you're interested in games, engines, editors, or tools, feel free to follow along via GitHub, YouTube, LinkedIn, or other feeds linked above.