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Deathmatcher

DTS-T - A ZDoom megawad [available now]

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I quite liked the voice over popping up now and then, gives the wad some character, and its quite well done too. Ok, you guys have convinced me to have another go.

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Half reviewed this on the ZDoom forums already but:
To the sceptic people out there, the first half of the wad isn't as good quality-wise as the latter maps in the apostruct. but the story is really good, and shit gets really creepy towards the end, and the voice acting just gets better. Theres a few gems in the hub maps too like The Jade Cube being one that you can't miss.

But all in all worth playing just for the story, epic ending. Beats the shit out of any story most commercial games has theese days.

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Cheers for the feedback so far, guys! Glad to see that you like the atmosphere and story.

Yep, the levels span a looong time. I did the levels of chapter I and II more than a decade ago. This is the downside of working on something like this for so long, I guess...

I hope you all stay tuned, when it gets "juicy" in the final chapter!

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Very nice! Not my taste exactly but I like it =)

Spoiler

Death Hostel, eh? You were quicker than me :D I'm also working on something similar.

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Phobus said:

I'm in two minds about Major Reily. I like the voice acting (he conveys the right emotions and isn't omniscent) but the distortion effect on the voice tends to make me think I have a friendly Dalek acting as my mission control :P


I don't see what the problem could be. DE-MONS ARE INFERIOR. EX-TER-MINATE! (Kill: 100%)

Actually, is there anything that disproves that the player is a Dalek? Moves around faster than possible with legs, fall without taking damage when landing, but cannot jump or move over ridiculously low walls (25 units and more).

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Doom guy can fall from an infinite height! But god forbid should he encounter a 25px ledge!

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As we're in ZDoom we have both jump and crouch (which, oddly enough, don't seem to be taken into account by Deathmatcher but equally have proven highly unlikely to break any of the sequences in the maps yet) so as much as I love the idea of being a Dalek, I just can't quite see it :P

All told, it probably doesn't help that I have the random pitch shifting on too, so I get a full range of Dalek voices when playing! (I got a particularly high pitched "MARINE! BEHIND YOU!" at the end of Morbus' Cathedral which definitely sounded right)

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Okay, I finally finished, and I must say this is one of my top 3 wads of all time. I am not just trying to be overly-happy but I really think it is that good. I don't mind the first maps, either. Some are short and sweet, others have good atmosphere, but later, OMG LATER, the game just keeps getting better! One of the most important things to me in a doom level-set, is that it is not anti-clamatic. This one certainly is not! A GREAT GREAT GREAT, I can't stress it enough, GREAT, level variety, ideas, and execution. I love knowing that I'm getting a different theme every level I get (okay, almost every level), yet still connects in the storyline to form this epic whole. It kind of reminds me of Fragport in that way. Some tough situations, Gluttony kicked my ass, cause I was on Brutal Doom and get punished for point-blank BFG shots. Plus my computer was lagging with that many chain-gunners, so I had to cheat that part away, sry :(

Anyway definite cacowards winner, I trust. VERY few wads are EVER this good, let alone, this consistently good, the whole way through. Had an absolute BLAST! WELL DONE!

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Found the Death Hostel secret map (which is indeed very Fragport - it even uses the same style of "tree"!) and made it to the Core on the space station. The ideas and feature usage are stepping up a bit now, with the layouts becoming a bit more clever (even if the design of the rooms is still largely very sparse).

The sensation of enjoyment I'm getting at something which is clearly a beginner's effort reminds me of Evil Journey - Plan A by Arch. It's like having a new classic to play, with the ideas and story line taking centre stage and the ride and sense of progression being the real appeal. I'm really looking forwards to these later levels as they seem to be very well-received.


I have to say, congratulations on getting something like this done! I've been wanting to make stuff like this myself pretty much since day 1 but my attempts either fail because I stop working on them or have the ambition reigned in too heavily to get the desired effect. Seeing this done is pretty inspirational though. I may yet get round to finishing my own dream project.

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Phobus said:

As we're in ZDoom we have both jump and crouch (which, oddly enough, don't seem to be taken into account by Deathmatcher but equally have proven highly unlikely to break any of the sequences in the maps yet)


Yes and no. By the time I switched the project to Zdoom, 2/3 of the levels were done, so for a long time, DTS-T did not support crouching and jumping (I actually had it deactivated in MAPINFO). However, I figured a ZDoom-specific project should allow jumping and crouching, so I made all the levels robust for it.

As long as you don't start rocket jumping (or jumping on top of monsters excessively), jumping should not get you in places you're not supposed to be in.

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Not that I was trying to break it or anything, but it seemed pretty Robust to me.

Also, maybe I'm just an odd cookie, but IMHO, this is how I wish every wad was. If this is your first wad/megawad/whatever, HOLY JESUS where were you all these years? I really dig your style.

My personal taste puts things (everyone has different tastes, guys) like how epic the level-set feels, how anti-climatic the level-set is, the atmosphere, and aesthetics above anything else (unless the gameplay is just obviously terrible or non-existent). But the game-play, of course does matter, and (I think) you did a great job of that here, as well.

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Dunno if it's been mentioned yet, but the teleport puzzle in the inner sanctum can just be done via automap. Best to hide those teleport lines on the map.

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NaturalTvventy said:

Dunno if it's been mentioned yet, but the teleport puzzle in the inner sanctum can just be done via automap. Best to hide those teleport lines on the map.


Oh, I missed that one indeed! Thanks for the hint!

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Is anyone else having problems with the framerate in "Of Blood & Steel" or is it just because I am using Brutal Doom? (Please don't yell at me for playing Brutal Doom).

It happens only after I have been in that level for a while, and gets worse the longer I am in it.

It may just be because I was using Brutal Doom, but I'm not sure.

While I am on the topic though, you should (if you were so inclined) make a Brutal Doom compatible version. I only say this cause you wouldn't have to do much, just fix the "Of Blood & Steel" part, if indeed that's what it is, and fix Gluttony in "Seven." That part is impossible with Brutal Doom, not just because of the lag, but because of the double damage you take (not to mention the punishment you take from point-blank BFG shots).

Anyway, just wishful thinking :-)

P.S. As soon as I was done beating it the first time, I loaded it up and beat it straight through again. I friggin' love this wad. Awesome different last boss fight, too!

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I have to say this, also:

I can't believe how long this game has been released and no one has mentioned the "Lust" part yet. I mean O....M....G! LOL 0.0

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VylePhinder said:

and fix Gluttony in "Seven." That part is impossible with Brutal Doom, not just because of the lag, but because of the double damage you take (not to mention the punishment you take from point-blank BFG shots).

That's not this wad's fault, it's the mod you're using. You can either edit said mod yourself and remove the BFG damage and all that stuff you don't want, play the wad with different mod that doesn't exhibit such issues, or play the wad alone without any kind of gameplay mod.

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Yeah, it's really not a map author's responsibility to rebalance their maps for third-party addons that have nothing to do with them or their wad.

If you're playing with a gameplay mod and it's breaking stuff, um... don't do that, then?

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^ This.

I'm really happy that you like DTS-T. I will not invest time to comply with 3rd party mods, though. Especially not with ones that change the stock Doom gameplay.

I'm actually very happy with the gameplay and balancing of the Gluttony encounter, by the way. I strongly recommend trying it without Brutal Doom.

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As for the lag issue in "Of Blood and Steel" VylePhinder is having, I confirm. The map itself is the source of the issue (though playing it with Brutal Doom will probably make it worse).

I started the map with 73-ish fps and after exploring the whole level, I went back to the starting room and checked my fps -- it was just below 40. This is just after 10-15 minutes of gameplay.

I'm running ZDoom with vsync set to "on".

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I must confess that "Of Blood And Steel" has the most aweful mess of ACS scripting in all of DTS-T. Tons of decorative items and mosters spwawning, making their way through conveyor belts and being removed again...

I never had performance problems with the map, though. As long as it's playable without 3rd party mods, I'd prefer to never touch it again and just take it up to never code together something like this again. :D

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Deathmatcher said:

I never had performance problems with the map, though. As long as it's playable without 3rd party mods, I'd prefer to never touch it again

I was playing it "vanilla". No gameplay mods were loaded.

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I never intended to say that it was "this wads fault" or the author's responsibility to comply with 3rd party mods. I probably wouldn't if I were an author. I will say that my quote above was taken 'slightly' out of context as I was not just saying "and fix Gluttony in 'Seven...'" I was only saying if "one were inclined" that would be all one would have to do to fix it.

I would never think any less of this wad for something as trivial as it not complying to a 3rd party wad, nor would I expect it to do so. I just don't know how many people play Brutal Doom, I guess.

Anyway, this wad will always be among the few wads I replay over and over again... with or without Brutal Doom.

Thanks again, Deathmatcher for the awesome megawad :)

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I understood you the right way, Vyle. :) And you're welcome.

By the way: DTS-T is in the archives now. I'd be glad for ratings. :)

http://www.doomworld.com/idgames/?id=17037

Speaking of it: It doesn't show up on the newstuff review center yet (I uploaded on Dec 2nd and the latest wads there are from Dec 1st). I guess it just takes some more time?

*edit* It's in the review center now. :)

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Playing it now. The starting maps are very primitive, but they're at least passable through the usage of atmospheric Hexen music. I like the progression of it. Sir Enri's Dungeon felt almost like a Wolfenstein level, sorry...

Still excited tho, can't wait for the later maps!

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Deathmatcher said:

By the way: DTS-T is in the archives now. I'd be glad for ratings. :)


Oh, I already 5 starred this sucker, some time ago!

My review starts out with:

"This wad is one of my top favorite wads of all time."

:)

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I can't say I've enjoyed what I've played. The construction is rather poor, very square and lacks a sense of architecture. The flow and pacing is just not there (map 25?). It's nice to see wads that try and add atmosphere and a sense of exploration, but I don't think it has worked here.

VylePhinder said:

I bet I would hate every one of your favorite wads, I know your kind. I would say that without you and those like you, more authors would be inclined to make good wads like this one, instead of constantly using the same Doom 2 stock textures and atmosphere that I have had almost 20 years to, quite frankly, get sick of.


Stop being so defensive. The author isn't getting just negative feedback (not that that really changes anything), but has had people such as yourself state they enjoy the wad. Authors are free to take both sides into account in their future works if they wish.

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Halfway through the Egypt/Gogypt episode now, and this is my piece.

Yes, so far the levels look ugly. Some very much so, (the early castle ones). But I'm having a good time playing this. Much like I enjoy the kind of dimension jumping you do in games like Hexen, Daikatana or Serious Sam, I enjoy this. The puzzles are simple, and only a variation of finding a key. But that variation helps. I like it. Reminds of games of old, when you'd explore these kind of ruins.

So yeah, I enjoy DTS-T becuase it manages to capture that feeling I got from games like Hexen and the games that can after it. Where you'd travel from world to world, solve puzzles, fight enemies, fight a boss then hop into the portal into the next episode. It's not 5 star material, and yes the map visuals are kinda shitty. But I'm enjoying the map designs. Nothing wrong with that.

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I like this .WAD and even I've flat-out said the level design is bad and the overall project is nowhere near Cacoward quality. I'm amazed people even considered nominating it. I enjoyed this because it conveys a sense of adventure and it represents the sort of thing I'd like to do if ever I could bring myself to get ambitious and really get to work on something as a long-term project.

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I played the first 4 maps then got bored. The maps look pretty bland structurally. At first I got really excited when I saw all the doom marines walking around. I thought this might be a wad with gameplay I rarely get to experience these days.

But I was wrong. I might get back to playing the other maps, but the first few maps looked so boring that I have no will to play on unless i force myself.

What normally keeps me playing a wad is suspense in the sense of theme. Wanting to know what surprises the next map will hold and how cool it will look. Unfortunately I didnt get this feeling from this wad. Though I could be wrong when I play more maps.

From what iv been told you seem to get better at mapping per map, which isnt bad but it ruins the quality of the wad when the first maps are just noobshit and the rest of the maps are actually decent.

What I do when I map is if i get better at mapping a few maps down the line, I actually update the maps before to reflect this change rather than leave them be.

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