Shadowcaster - Doomworld /idgames database frontend

Title:	Shadowcaster
Filename:	levels/heretic/s-u/shadow.zip
Size:	1.63 MB
Date:	09/09/02
Author:	Stephen Clark (The Ultimate DooMer!)
Description:	A 21st century Heretic episode covering many styles of level, both traditional and unusual as well. Having achieved everything I wanted to in DooM 2, I have decided to move on to Heretic 'cos it's just as easy to make levels for it as it is for DooM. (although I will return to DooM afterwards) It's also a great game and I thought of some great ideas, many using Heretic's special features. If you love puzzles, then prepare to be tested, because there are a wide variety of fiendish puzzles in this wad, covering all of Heretic's features, from the regular to the weird and wonderful! Tests of skill also feature in this wad, again covering a wide range of Heretic's features. For those of you who like secrets, there are at least 5 in each level. (quite often more than that....) And, once again, you'll be pleased to know that the secret level is VERY well hidden..... And you'll be even more pleased to know that I have made an effort with the lighting this time! (even though the lack of texture/flat based lighting makes it a bit harder to do in Heretic, as there is only thing based lighting, which should all oscillate) In short, prepare to be challenged, in more ways than one!
Credits:	The creators of Heretic and all those custom levels and episodes made for it. (there may be not as many but they're still class!)
Base:	My creative mind (And lots of inspiration from a wide variety of sources)
Build time:	5 months
Editor(s) used:	WadAuthor, WinTex 4.3, HereHackEd, NewWadTool 1.3
Bugs:	The first 7 letters of each level title don't appear on the intermission screen (I needed all the title
Rating:	(30 votes)

Download mirrors:

/idgames protocol:

idgames://11667

View shadow.txt

Note: This version has been updated to make it compatible with a newer version
of ZDoom that runs fine with this wad. It still runs with normal Heretic, too.

The new version is at:  http://zdoom.notgod.com/lars
Download 12.zip and 13.zip, extract the files from 12.zip into your folder,
and replace the newly-extracted zdoom.exe with the one found in 13.zip.

Changes: Some ZDoom-only bugs have been fixed, and 1 or 2 puzzles have been
altered because you can't move manikins in ZDoom when invincible. They still
work, though.  I have also included a ZDoom-only version of level 4 (shadow4.wad)
after noticing that the gas pod gauntlet doesn't work in ZDoom.  So, I've patched
it up best I can, and the challenge is still there but it's slightly different.
(it's more like a room-sized crusher now, but the same time limit applies).

The original mechanism is still present in the main wad for plain Heretic users.

Also note that the first challenge in the test of air is now more difficult
than before due to ZDoom's behaviour towards players in wind sectors.
(tip: use a mouse if you don't already do!)
(But remember - it's not impossible, there's a technique to navigating the ledge)

Note: This newer version of ZDoom is the newest one to date, at the time of
re-releasing this wad.  When the next official version comes out, it should work
exactly the same with that, but you have to use this version of ZDoom for now.

And Level 6 is now a trouble-free zone! (no more crashes with plain Heretic)

==============================================================================
			 Shadowcaster - The Story so Far
==============================================================================

Another time, another world.

You are Banedon, one of a sentient race of heretical elves known as the Sidhe. 
Renowned throughout the kingdom of Durenor for feats of bravery and heroism,
you always get called up for quests of bravery and danger.  So, you are now
standing in the grand palace of King Rimoah, where he tells you of grave danger
that threatens these shores.

He tells you about the dark mage Tetrahagael, known as the Shadowcaster because
his presence casts a shadow over the island where he resides. That shadow could
soon be cast over the whole kingdom, because the King's mages of Durenor have
discovered that he is summoning evil monsters through some kind of portal to
another world, and is preparing an invasion force made up of these monsters!

No time to lose, then.  Your quest is to journey to the island of Fagranc, where
the Shadowcaster resides, destroy him and the portal.  Not an easy task, even
by your standards, but you do have some help.  The King's mages have prepared
a boat imbued with a spell that will allow you to sneak onto the island without
being detected by the dark magic (but not when you disembark).  And also there 
are many magical weapons and artefacts on the island that possess the power to 
destroy him and his evil summonings.

The next day, you grab your staff and elvenwand, and set sail for the island.
As you approach, you can feel the presence of evil all around the place, it
seems that the whole island could be infested with monsters.  You notice a
small village, located on the far side of the island, away from the tower where
the dark mage resides.

You head towards the village, hoping it is unoccupied but ready just in case....

==============================================================================
Title                   : Shadowcaster

Filename                : SHADOW.WAD

Author                  : Stephen Clark  (The Ultimate DooMer!)

Email Address           : theultimatedoomer@hotmail.com

Other WAD's by me       : Operation: Lightning (OP-LITE2.WAD) - 11 DooM 2 levels
			  
			  Fragport (FRAGPORT.WAD) - 32 innovative DooM 2 levels

Quake 2 skys (Q2SKY*.WAD where * is 1-8)

Completion Date         : 30th May 2002

Release Date            : 31st May 2002 (This version September 8th 2002)

Misc. Author Info       : A hardcore DooMer who loves all it's similar
			  games (esp. Quake 2 and Half-Life) but still
			  thinks DooM is best.  Has decided to try his
			  hand at making Heretic levels.

Description             : A 21st century Heretic episode covering many styles
			  of level, both traditional and unusual as well.
			  Having achieved everything I wanted to in DooM 2,
			  I have decided to move on to Heretic 'cos it's just
			  as easy to make levels for it as it is for DooM.
			  (although I will return to DooM afterwards)
			  It's also a great game and I thought of some great
			  ideas, many using Heretic's special features.

If you love puzzles, then prepare to be tested, because
			  there are a wide variety of fiendish puzzles in this wad,
			  covering all of Heretic's features, from the regular 
			  to the weird and wonderful!

Tests of skill also feature in this wad, again covering
			  a wide range of Heretic's features.

For those of you who like secrets, there are at least
			  5 in each level. (quite often more than that....)
			  And, once again, you'll be pleased to know that the
			  secret level is VERY well hidden.....
		
			  And you'll be even more pleased to know that I have
			  made an effort with the lighting this time! (even
			  though the lack of texture/flat based lighting makes
			  it a bit harder to do in Heretic, as there is only
			  thing based lighting, which should all oscillate)

In short, prepare to be challenged, in more ways than one!

Additional Credits To:    The creators of Heretic and all those custom levels
			  and episodes made for it. (there may be not as many
			  but they're still class!)

==============================================================================
*Playing Instructions*

This zip should contain the following files:

SHADOW.WAD - The episode.
 SHADOW4.WAD - ZDoom version of level 4 (due to a mechanistic problem with one area)
  SHADOW.HHE - HereHackEd patch - contains new game text. (plain Heretic only)
SHADLOAD.BAT - Batch file for loading the patch into a copy of heretic.exe
     HHE.EXE - HereHackEd, the program that loads the patch.
     HHE.INI - Contains HereHackEd setup detail for this patch (assuming c:\heretic
          is where your heretic.wad is - if not, you will have to edit the INI file)
  SHADOW.BAT - Batch file for playing the episode with plain Heretic.
 SHADOWZ.BAT - Batch file for playing the episode with ZDoom.
  SHADOW.TXT - This file.
SC-NTEXT.TXT - Contains info about the new game text.
  SC-END.TXT - Victory text for ZDoom users and people who don't use the new game text.

To play :  Click on shadload.bat (you only have to do this once)
	    then on shadow.bat  (to play the episode)

For ZDoom, click on shadowz.bat

==============================================================================
* Play Information *

Game Version Required  : Heretic (Shadow of the Serpent Riders)
			 or ZDoom (vFriday the 13th - see the top of this file)
			 (other source ports will not work properly with this wad)

Episode and Level #    : E5M1-E5M9  (to avoid the intermission map)

Single Player          : Yes   (Built for it!)

Cooperative            : No    (no-one plays it anymore)

Deathmatch             : No    (Ditto)

Difficulty Settings    : Yes   (nice new titles, too)

New Sounds             : Yes - A new 'ooff' and a new 'scream'

New Graphics           : Yes - lots, including my alphabet texture.
			       (with the green Heretic letters)

New Game Text	       : Yes - See sc-ntext for details.

New Music              : Yes - I have included the original Heretic-style
			       tune (from DooM) and rearranged the original
			       tunes for those who like to use them.

Personally, I recommend using your stereo! 
			       (with some fast-paced dance or metal tracks)

Demos Replaced         : None
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Construction *

Base                   : My creative mind (And lots of inspiration from a wide
			 		   variety of sources)

Editor(s) used         : WadAuthor, WinTex 4.3, HereHackEd, NewWadTool 1.3

Build Time	       : 5 months

Known Bugs             : The first 7 letters of each level title don't appear
			 on the intermission screen (I needed all the title
(plain Heretic only)	 space, including the e5m*: bit, which doesn't show
(not in ZDoom)		 on the intermission screen).  They still appear on
			 the automap, though.

: Minor HOM at the start of levels 1 and 6, and in level 8
			 there is an ugly line at the bottom of the sky when you
			 leave the ground in the outdoor area (it can't be helped)

: Savegame buffer problems in the following areas:

Level 3 - Entire level (unlikely but possible)
			 Level 4 - After you reach the gas pod area (likely)
			 Level 5 - After the yellow key (only if you destroy the pods)
			 Level 8 - Boss arena.  (unlikely but possible if there are lots
						 of projectiles on the screen)

: Large numbers of gas pods closely packed together can have
			 weird effects, but these don't last forever.

: When a manikin is hit,  the health loss does not show up on
			 the status bar.  When you next pick up some health, the 
			 health counter rights itself.

In ZDoom, the health loss shows up on the status bar, but 
			 not if you have just the green health counter showing.  
			 You will have to shrink the screen or look at the automap 
			 to see the actual health loss. When you next pick up some
			 health, the green counter rights itself.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Manikins	       : These are life-sized statues of yourself, and are 
			 present throughout Shadowcaster.
			 When a manikin is hit (by a projectile, explosion or
			 a shot from your own weapons), you take the damage! 
			 So be very careful whenever you see one!  
			 (unless you cheat or use a ring)

If you are killed by a hit on a manikin, but the manikin
			 itself doesn't die, then you won't die, but your weapon
			 will disappear and you won't be able to fire or cheat!

The same thing works in reverse.  If a nearly-dead manikin
			 takes a hit that kills it, then you will die also, regardless
			 of the amount of health you have.
			 (they start with 100% health and their armour matches yours)

Of course you can move them around by hitting them, but just
			 remember that you can only hit them so many times....

By the way, if you fire an egg at a manikin, you will turn into
			 a chicken.....so be careful when using eggs in their presence.

*IMPORTANT ZDOOM NOTE*   You cannot move manikins around when invincible (god mode or ring)
			 in ZDoom, so this has forced me to modify some puzzles to take this
			 into account.  Rings have now been replaced with health and armour
			 to ensure the puzzles can be completed without killing the manikin.
			 (as a manikin's armour matches yours at all times)

Other Important Notes  : Some items/powerups are needed to solve puzzles, so don't 
			 go using/destroying them unnecessarily! (this includes gas pods)
			 Shadowspheres, tomes and timebombs are not used in puzzles.

Don't worry, the required items will be provided in levels 
			 containing puzzles, but you will have to find them....
			 (they won't be hidden in secrets, though).

And finally, if you do get stuck somewhere, then remember
			 that it is not impossible, the puzzles are not of the same
			 nature as those in DooM (ie. lots of doors and switches) 
			 they utilise Heretic's special features and items that 
			 DooM doesn't have. (there are doors and switches also, but
			 nothing over the top, Level 6 is the worst it gets.)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

*Editing Tip* - To get oscillating lights into Heretic with WadAuthor, save
your wad, change to the Doom.wcf or Doom2.wcf file, put the oscillating light
feature on the sector(s), save it, return to the heretic.wcf file and run map.
There! The feature remains unless you edit the sector properties. (in which 
case you will have to go back and put the oscillating light feature in again)
This also works with the light flickers randomly feature.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

* Copyright / Permissions *
  
Authors may NOT use any of these levels as a base for other levels. 
There's no point in doing that anyway, 'cos you can't improve on perfection.
Be inspired by them, but don't copy them.

You may distribute this wad as long as you include this text file and the 
other files intact.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

* Where to get this WAD *

ftp://3darchives.in-span.net/pub/idgames/levels/heretic/s-u/ (and mirrors)

My DooM 2 wads are at:  /pub/idgames/levels/doom2/ports/m-o/op-lite2.zip
		  and:    "     "      "      "     "  /megawads/fragport.zip
My Quake 2 skys are at: /pub/idgames/graphics/q2skys-1.zip and q2skys-2.zip

=============================================================================

That's about it.  Thanks for choosing to play this episode, you won't be disappointed.
Next, watch out for my Ultimate ZDoom episode, coming in the next few months!

=============================================================================

mong