The /newstuff Chronicles #390

I'm surprised this is what everyone's bitching about and not the obvious IDDQD'd screenshots in another review.

Because you're altering the appearance of the wad so that it looks the way YOU want it to look, not how the mapper wanted it to look. Under most circumstances this would be fine, but in this case, you're reviewing the map, and as a reviewer its not your place to try to change the experience to what you want it to be, regardless of whether it's gameplay changes or visual changes.
As for the whole IDDQD thing, so what? When I do a review of a wad, I usually run through it again after I've played it with IDDQD for screenshot purposes so I don't have to worry about dying before I get to a particular part I want to take a screen shot of. Also screen shots tend to look a lot better when they're not bright red. Hell, sometimes I even run through maps with -nomonsters if I want to showcase the visuals of the map without a bunch of projectiles flying around

Somehow e1sewers.wad (Maintenance Sewers) got placed into /idgames/levels/doom/Ports, even though it's a pure vanilla map:
http://www.doomworld.com/idgames/?id=16446

Is there some kind of script that's parsing the text files for strings like "zdoom", "skulltag", etc?

And is it doomed (heh) to remain in the Ports subdir for all eternity? The main reason I'm asking is because I mirror the /idgames/levels/doom{,2} trees, but exclude the Ports entirely. It's a lot more manageable that way...

hex11 said:

Is there some kind of script that's parsing the text files for strings like "zdoom", "skulltag", etc?

The archive maintainer Ty Halderman puts the files in their final places. You need to contact him, not us, about moving it.

DoomForever said:

I think many of the little classic style stuff in here is underappreciated (particularly Maintenance Sewers & Waste Vats)

I'm sorry if I gave the impression that Waste Vats was bad, it isn't. I just didn't fell that it was good enough alone to download, unzip, and create a script/shortcut for. Like I said, in an episodic wad it would fit very well.

I prefer the vanilla style maps which is why I choose it, but that doesn't mean I'm going to say everything vanilla is Gods gift to man.

Xeros612 said:

If I had changed the textures or something to that effect you may have had a point. Again, it's a minor palette change.

The thing is, people are going to think the wad uses that palette rather than the original Doom palette. They are going to think that whatever is in your screenshots is in the wad. That is the point of screenshots, to show what's in the wad.

And then someone doesn't check out a wad he otherwise would have because he thought some things were in it that he didn't like. Only they weren't really in it. Just in the screen shots. That's the resulting consequence. That's why people aren't liking that very much.

If you still don't understand it, just know that it's not wanted by most people here and thus a bad idea to do in a review.

Xeros612 said:

@hex11 That's a non-issue, isn't it? I doubt the majority of anyone here is on dial-up internet, and even still, higher resolution lets you see the map design better.

The size for most Doom levels, especially vanilla levels, is very very small. You don't need a fast internet connection to download and play most Doom levels. You really shouldn't need it to view review screenshots either. For a newer game with much larger file sizes that would be fine. But in doom 1mb+ screenshots are a bit much.

And I can tell you I know very well there are people here using dial-up. Hell I still was until very recently. Huge screenshots used to drive me crazy and reviews that used them weren't very helpful to me because I'd have to forgo the screenshots.

I have to admit I didn't fancy REJECTS when I saw the screenshots, but now I know that the palette isn't a part of it, and its made by Valkiriforce, I feel I must get round to playing it... if ever I get the time.

Yeah that pallette looks butte ugly, I also wouldn't have played it if I had judged it by the screenshots. So that's a strike against Xeros612's review I guess. :)

http://palettepeople.net

I personally think it's way worse when people have overly bright screenshots or even use "stretch skies" than a minor palette change. I understand the points against using a sliiiightly different palette (and i thought that one was nice and pretty), but still, i'm surprised at the priorities here. Were people really not gonna play the wad because they assumed that the palette was a bit altered in it? If it was my wad, i'd say that those people can ignore the wad altogether for all i care after THAT.

I think the screens for rejects are pretty unappealing for reasons entirely different than the palette and the palette is actually looking pretty neat.

I genuinely dislike custom palettes, particularly when they add nothing to the game and instead remove the vibrancy that makes Doom look so good to me.

As I've got a finite amount of time to play Doom in, I have to take things like that into consideration when I'm looking at what to download and play. Things like brightness and stretched skies are settings, and can be treated as such. Altered content instantly is assumed to be the .WAD and can therefore make a huge difference.

When's the new /newstuff Chronicles going to be released? There are already over 25 reviews submitted.

Bloodshedder must've disappeared into the twilight zone.

There is this thing called vacation. Or as some people might call it, holiday.

Ah I understand.

I actually had money on "real life," but I guess it's sort of the same thing.

Oh yes, I forgot sending my Fragport review.

Someone review PRCP.

EDIT: I'll take images and send them to you later Bloodshedder.

c'mon people, don't be afraid to review prcp. what's the worse that can happen? a mob with pitchforks and torches in the middle of the night? your name remembered as a curseword forever more? nothing to be afraid of. :)

All I want is feedback for MAP04. If anyone won't, then I'll review PRCP.

MAP04 felt too hardcore for 4th slot. It is almost a slaughter map.
Also I didn't like arena-based gameplay. I mean, there is only 3 areas where you can fight.
The nukage area was really cool though.

Huh, rejected? I think I sucked at the review...