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Moustachio

Moon Escape! -- Short 4 Level Space Adventure! (MAP02 ADDED!)

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So, after the ultimately disappointing Interception came out, everyone was... well, disappointed. I don't think I was ready at all to map for a megawad, let alone manage one. So, I'm taking a step backwards and trying something a bit simpler...

Enter Moon Escape!, a short, vanilla-compatible wad containing four (count 'em) levels! I had begun mapping the base for this wad a while back, but I never really got around to even finishing the first level. I recently found it in a grab bag of old wads of mine and thought it would be a wonderful base to build off of.

So far, only the first level has been completed. It can be downloaded here: http://www.mediafire.com/?has54t438a3xn0r

(UPDATED: 2/11/13)
-More areas added onto MAP01
-RL secret made easier to find
-Visually improved outside areas

Screenshots (Taken in ZDoom):

MAP01 (Moon Escape!):
http://matt534dog.webs.com/Screenshot_Doom_20130210_144303.png
http://matt534dog.webs.com/Screenshot_Doom_20130210_144327.png

MAP02 (I.S.S.):
http://matt534dog.webs.com/Screenshot_Doom_20130302_145101.png
http://matt534dog.webs.com/Screenshot_Doom_20130302_145153.png

Please, leave me some feedback below! The purpose of this is for me to further myself as a mapper, and it would be impossible without your comments!

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Eh, feels like a step backwards from your Interception maps tbh. It's just a series of fights in cramped hallways followed by the final battle, where you circlestrafe for 30 seconds while shooting enemies, and happily leave once the doors open. Not a great starter level IMO.

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here's an fda

my grievances are perhaps the same that I had with interception, notably the cramped hallways and architecture that sort of gets in the way. Usually this means parts of walls that can't be smoothly ran against (due to misc posts and such jutting out), or height variations that make areas unnecessarily bumpy (something which I'm frequently guilty of as well). I think that replacing the cramped linear hallways with more open spaces would be a start in making the gameplay more interesting.

nice music btw, always a good choice.

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Thanks for the feedback. The next version will be less cramped, and the architectural bumpiness has been toned down. Most of the non-linearity will be saved for the next three levels, as I think it would ruin the flow of this level if I expanded on it.

EDIT: You know what? Maybe, it could do with a bit less linearity...

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MAP01 Updated: UPDATED BELOW

Changelog:
-MAP01 made less cramped, less linear, and more visually interesting in some areas.

I'll get to work on MAP02 here shortly...

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Tried out the update. There's definitely a lot of tunnelshooting, but I thought it was fun enough.

Felt the outdoor section was a bit visually unpleasant and oversized, and I'm not certain what makes the rocket launcher pillar drop? Tried everything I could think of.

Where is that music from, anyway? It sounds familiar.

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Without the SSG/RL from any obvious switches, the fights became tedious and boring. Might I suggest some more cliffs or possibly some liquid (however far-fetched) in the outdoor areas.

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Another MAP01 Update: UPDATED BELOW!

Changelog:
-More areas added onto MAP01
-RL secret made easier to find
-Visually improved outside areas

Thanks for the great tips from all of you! About time I got my head out of my ass and started thinking creatively!

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Assuming you're talking about DB2, it's an option in Tools -> Preferences -> Appearance

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My 2c worth ...

1. Y align the texture on line 26 and/or flag the line secret.
2. Lines 101, 713 could be flagged secret.
3. Suggest having sector 14 as the secret instead of sector 15. The player might not want to pick up the armour.
4. Suggest moving T204 and T205 slightly so they do not render partly into the stairs and walls. Similar for T132 and 133. Other decorations could be dragged away from the walls also. This was noticed in many of the maps in interception.
5. Tex on line 67 could use a slight Y alignment.
6. Was it intentional to have different textures at lines 259/261 ?
7. Player just sees the texture on line 270 for example. These areas could be reworked a little for more "realism".

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pretty fun actually, a lot better than map01 imo.

here's a fda: http://www.mediafire.com/?axp6h3ikq1qjwn8 demo features a ghost imp, I was slightly paranoid that it would be clipping through walls and stalking me for the rest of the level, but I took a cyber rocket to the face before I got a chance to worry about it :)

Anyways, some gameplay commentary:
- ammo is extremely scarce in the beginning. granted I didn't find many secrets, but it felt a little rough.
- the baron/AV room seems a bit harsh without foreknowledge
- there's no incentive to kill the enemies that appear after picking up the RL, largely because ammo was rare already, why waste it?
- the YK room is a bit of a clusterfuck, maybe all those enemies should appear after picking up the key?


also I recognize the music, but I don't remember from where, what is it from?

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*starts MAP01*
*hits monitor panel thinking it opens obvious door*
*turns around to see open wall*
"Oh cool, a secret aleady!"
*Revanants*
"Oh for fuck's fucking sake."
MENU > QUIT GAME

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@Ribbiks: The music track is from the Sega CD start-up screen. A bit obscure, but I thought it sounded cool. :P

@BaronOfStuff: I'm starting to think you may not like revenants... Also, you don't necessarily have to fight those revenants. ;)

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It's not that I don't like Revenants, I just hate the constant unimaginative use of them across the board; "OH I HAVE SOME SPACE HNNNNNGH SKELETONS" soon becomes aggravating beyond words, when a better (and equally avoidable) encounter could be set up (zombieman > shoot to alert Manc chamber > get SSG > fatman appears).

Think of it this way; throwing in Revenants so soon would be like encountering Medusa Heads in Castlevania before anything else. That may sound tolerable so far, but then imagine Medusa Heads along with every other encounter, or at every platform moment. That's what constant Revenant encounters feel like. Problems thrown in for the sake of creating problems, regardless of existing problems in the current situation.

Yeah, they can make something difficult, but not necessarily fun at all.

(Semi-related: love the music choices. The Mega-CD start-up music is surprisingly fitting.)

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I've never really thought about it like that. I'm relatively new to Doom, so I'm not familiar with how aggravating some enemies can be. Thanks for the heads up!

I guess I'll think up a better idea for that room then... or I'll just steal yours. :P

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Ignore BaronOfStuff. Revenants are great enemies; they're the second best ones in doom after archviles.
Use them as much as you want... ;)

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Yeah, revenants are awesome, they really make the player move with their homing missiles and relatively high movement speed.

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Processingcontrol said:

Ignore BaronOfStuff. Use them as much as you want... ;)

Jokes aside, there are limits to being a dick with monster placement.

I tried MAP02. The ammo count is pretty tight, for me. Assuming 0 shots are taken on the arachnotrons at the beginning, I had about 4-6 shells on subsequent playthroughs for killing the archvile.

After that, the blue key room was nigh on impossible with all the revenants shitting on your face with missiles from a higher altitude BUT with NO PLACE to dodge. You can only throw yourself into the nukage, which by then you'll have either radioactively decomposed or have been chomped on by lost souls. I'd suggest making the room less cramped, add some pillars and maybe add a different PLAT lift elsewhere? And probably space out the monster populations too.

Again, assuming no shots taken on the arachnotrons, the blue key hallway provides some ammo, but the design is very bland. There's one texture for each of the four sides with illogically placed hanging men that don't really help. I liked the piles of crates near the end though. I'd suggest adding maybe tech indents or more windows to spruce things up a bit. I like the startan/support staircase. Good job on that.

One recurring problem is your monster placement. Monsters are just...there. Nicely designed rooms are ruined by many monster variations littered across the floor. For example, the yellow key room. You have a roundabout layout, which is nice, but every step there's a different monster in your face. Likewise with the cyberdemon room, monsters are just randomly slapped on. It'd be more interesting to have monsters gunning down from higher positions/chokepoints in hallways rather than (room w. monsters) x 20.

Hope I didn't sound harsh though, I did enjoy the return route after grabbing the red key. It makes me smile when I open a key'd door and go "sweet, a shortcut."

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