The /newstuff Chronicles #78

Cock your shotgun, five fresh new maps managed to sneak their way into /newstuff this week.

LOLLY by Andie Mckie - - Kicking off this /newstuff with the newest deathmatch map from Mystic over at Doom Heaven. Running on Doom 2 Map01, LOLLY makes use of Legacy's transparent 3D floors to provide a deathmatch arena, on top of a deathmatch arena. Its unique design could satisfy oldschool DMers and and your average ZDaemon player alike. There are some spiffy new textures and sprites tossed in to make things interesting as well. On the downside, the slew of powerups on the edge of the arena can ruin the map's balance, and the sound replacement is more of a nuisance than anything else. Requires Doom Legacy.

IC DooM Series : 2001 Reprisal by Ian Cunnings - - An impressive single-player map running on Doom 2 Map01, Reprisal strikes an excellent balance between looks and playability. The level takes place in an Episode-1 style base centered around a scenic outdoor courtyard and never leaves you without something to battle. The ammo balance is near perfect - you'll always have those extra shells right when you need them. The challenge of the map might be a bit overwhelming for newer doomers however, especially on higher difficulty settings. Recommended!

Sniper - A view from both sides by Richard J. Sham - - One mediocre Doom 2 map with discernable real theme or setting, running on Map01. The map places you in the middle of an intersection, where you are given a choice of four doors, three keyed. Beyond each door is the entrance to a different section of the map, including a series of small rectangular arenas filled to the brim with demons, and a pesky and repetitive tunnel maze. Eyecandy is kept to a minimum, although a neat doom2.exe trick is used once or twice to give the player a scare. There is a music replacement borrowed from Duke3D and a new sound set with a supremely annoying player damage noise. Might help pass a rainy day or a boring class period in your school's computer lab.

Energy Control by Boris "Tarin" Iwanski - - Well-known editing guru Tarin releases this single base-themed deathmatch map for Doom 2. The layout is simple and designed for fast-paced, balanced DM; There are at least two entrances to every room and powerups like the megasphere are nowhere to be found. The custom sounds and graphics come from other FPS games like Blood 2 and Duke3D, and the music replacement is that of Doom E1M1. Interestingly, the weapon placement is shifted around on higher skill levels for use with Immoral Conduct. Port features are used creatively to create a hazard for anyone aiming for a bigger gun. Requires ZDoom.

Shape of Things to come by Alastair Montgomery - - And we're finishing up the week with a single deathmatch wad from Big Al at Doom Heaven, running on Doom2 Map01. The layout is very circular; hallways around hallways around room, and the hallways are very cramped (the fastest trigger finger will dominate!). SOTTC provides fast, intense 1on1 gameplay although you might find yourself annoyed in large FFA games. The constantly oscillating lights and pool of water provide an interesting twist to the gameplay that's missing in most popular DM maps. Requires Doom Legacy.

Glad to see /newstuff Chronicles back. But all the image links return 404 Not Found pages :(

The image links work for me.

Good job Liam! I'd post a little "thumbs up" gif or something, but I can't be arsed :)

Finally... but what happened to my WAD?

At the time I uploaded it to the incoming directory (2 weeks back), all the WADs reviewed now were there also. But my map seems to be the only one that got transferred to it's final location before the review!

The map is here -

ftp://3darchives.in-span.net/pub/idgames/levels/doom2/Ports/s-u/snq.zip

ic2001 is an fantastic peice of work.
Exactly what I look for in a Doom2 map. Reminds me a lot of Kesler's maps.
I didn't like his earlier work nearly as much, but this is pure quality.

Hey, congratulations to the new guy. Liam! Now to sit back and see what life is like on the other side of the fence.

doom2.exe trick? What was it?

IC Doom 2001. I really enjoyed this level, plays really well.

Maybe more could have been made of the indoor sections, more detail in the corridors etc, fix the texture misalignments.

Hurrah for Liam!

/newstuff is back, just in time for the uploading of my wad =)

Yey!

rtz said:

doom2.exe trick? What was it?

I presume it's the monsters rising from the floor.
After playing through Sniper it's obvious a lot of the attention is on the gameplay.It's a real good challenge.
Three cheers for Liam,that's a great start!
Now on with ICDoom 2001....

Good stuff Liam. Nice, fair reviews and comments. I always enjoyed AndrewB's input, and it looks like "newstuff" is still in good hands.

Good too see newstuff back in action.

If you've run my wad in OpenGL, MiniGL or Glide modes you get some off those naff dancing lights as well :D

These levels are not that bad... didn't take long but not too bad.

I presume that the doom2.exe trick is the one where monsters appear instantly from the floor. If it is (I'll find out tonight), then it's not just a doom2.exe trick, it works on Legacy, Boom and ZDoom too.

Ultimate DooMer said:

I presume that the doom2.exe trick is the one where monsters appear instantly from the floor. If it is (I'll find out tonight), then it's not just a doom2.exe trick, it works on Legacy, Boom and ZDoom too.

I think Liam was saying that it's a trick that doesn't require a source port to work, not that it only worked on Doom2.exe.

I remember back in 95/96, on a couple of maps, come around a corner and see and hear a CyberDemon, only to find out it was just a "cardboard cutout".

Anyone remember that?

Thanks for the fair review Liam, its nice to see you on your home turf for a change, as usual I think I uploaded that wad a day too soon, some things never change.

Its good to see the Newstuff chronicles again, now I have a 'good' reason to visit Doomworld.

Both wads were fun to play and pretty tough, too. One had me struggling for ammo (sniper), the other one for health (ic2001). It just goes to show that lots of detail is not everything when it comes to making great DooM levels.

(By the way, I got the bfg in ic2001 via an archvile jump, which really helped me beat that tricky outdoor area)

On another note, it's great to see the chronicles back again, I was getting worried there for a moment....

Both wads were fun to play and pretty tough, too. One had me struggling for ammo (sniper), the other one for health (ic2001). It just goes to show that lots of detail is not everything when it comes to making great DooM levels.

(By the way, I got the bfg in ic2001 via an archvile jump, which really helped me beat that tricky outdoor area. And I was wrong about sniper's doom2.exe trick, it wasn't the instant creature trap, it was the gradual rising one instead. nevermind)

On another note, it's great to see the chronicles back again, I was getting worried there for a moment....

Hey Liam, could you please correct the spelling of my name, Andie is the girly version.

Fixed in the news forum post, I don't have access to the DW news script though.

Ic2001 was an enjoyable half an hour this avo. Nice map.

As for sniper.wad, well I'm positive I played it before a year or more ago, where's it from originally, anyone know?

pritch said:

Ic2001 was an enjoyable half an hour this avo. Nice map.

As for sniper.wad, well I'm positive I played it before a year or more ago, where's it from originally, anyone know?

Yeah I enjoyed IC2001 and yes 30 minutes is exactly right,lmp at my page.
Sniper is originally from a Classic 10 level megawad called 'Immortal',it's been re-worked to good advantage.It really is a tough but rewarding challenge.