real-world places that would make good Doom maps

It goes without saying that levels based on real locations tend to have poor gameplay. Yet, there have been some "realistic" maps that have gained respect, such as "The Unholy Trinity" (Trinity College in Cambridge, UK) and some churches from GothicDM.

If we take full advantage of an advanced source port, what real-world locations might make a good Doom WAD, assuming they could be scaled up or down as appropriate?

Come to think of it, it does seem kind of hard to come up with a good real-life place that could be turned into a Doom level. However, there are a few that come to mind, such as:

Machu Picchu
Data centers
The Colosseum (scaled up, for deathmatches)
The Inverted Tower (probably requires a source port with RoR support, such as ZDoom)
Chand Baori (would make interesting deathmatches)

Any others?

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/Adobe_pueblo_revival.jpg

I always kinda liked adobe architecture for some reason. Pretty easy to translate to doom too, even with stock textures:



Machu Picchu is something I always wanted to see, but while the ruins themselves may be more easily translatable, the epic scenery surrounding them would be more challenging =P.

Sahara?

That Chand Baori place looks like one of the most obnoxious layouts ever conceived. D:

Your residental area.

http://ralphis.unidoom.org/stuff/img/rink10.png

http://ralphis.unidoom.org/stuff/img/rink29.png

http://ralphis.unidoom.org/stuff/img/tower4.png

http://ralphis.unidoom.org/stuff/img/stadium3.png

Holy cripes, the first one looks like the TD Garden. Throw a Bruins logo at center ice and...

heh, just yesterday
<[XV]Evolution> oriental house http://i.imgur.com/muKQ6Lo.jpg
<Alteus> rofl
<Alteus> that house looks like a giant super mario enemy
<memfis> that's actually a cool idea for some building in Doom

Antroid said:

That Chand Baori place looks like one of the most obnoxious layouts ever conceived. D:

Wouldn't want to be stuck with the bottom of the well as a respawn point, it'd be Snakes & Ladders in 3D with little prospect of reaching the top. ;-)

I'd started mapping that place and will get back to it later, now that I'm starting to come to terms with stacked 3D architecture.


(Thumbnail)

EDIT: WTF, my anti-virus went on lockdown when I viewed that Inverted Tower link. Some kind of exploit called "Black Hole". Be advised.

I always thought ancient ruins were pristine locations for Doom maps.

Rayzik said:

WTF, my anti-virus went on lockdown when I viewed that Inverted Tower link. Some kind of exploit called "Black Hole".

My antivirus didn't like the pop-up on that page either. Try this one, it's where placesmustseen.com pinched most of their content from.

Borobudur temple in Indonesia is another interesting old spot, as are the temple complexes at Karnak in Egypt and Ellora Caves in India.

EDIT - lupinx-Kassman might like to attempt one of the cliff dwellings in Mesa Verde National Park.

@Ralphis: That second screenshot is one of the best city-areas I've seen put into Doom, I really like it.

GreyGhost said:

as are the temple complexes at Karnak in Egypt

It has already been done in Serious Sam TFE but it’s a good idea for a slaughter map.

http://ellisllk.lautre.net/jeu/ecran/12_karnak-sam0008.png

Suburbs (map16).
Downtown (map13).
The house I live in can make a good deathmatch map.

ducon said:

It has already been done in Serious Sam TFE but it’s a good idea for a slaughter map.

And it was then done leagues better in Serious Sam 3.

I was pretty impressed by Planisphere 2, which is a replication of New York City.

The StoneHenge would probably make a good DM map.. or at least a Duel map

Karnak temple in Doom - http://doomedsda.us/wad2033.html

Hotel Negresco in Nice, Italy is an interesting one. Perhaps also Pioneer Courthouse Square and surrounding area.

Memfis said:

Karnak temple in Doom - http://doomedsda.us/wad2033.html

It has no secret exit?

Paging Prism to the thread, heh.

Remember visiting an old disused military fort when I went to San Fransisco years ago, but can't remember what it was called. I know it was somewhere near the Golden Gate bridge. Thought the architecture really suited a Doom (albeit with slopes and 3D floors) map.

Google tells me it might be Fort Miley, but that doesn't look quite how I remember it, so may have been another one nearby.

//EDIT: Here we go, whichever one this is:

http://californiabeat.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/ggb1.jpg

Sagrada Familia basilica in Barcelona would be a good one for the uber-detail fiends.


EDIT - Another interesting little place I found is the fortress island of Spinalonga in Crete. Being not much larger in area than Hashima, it should be possible to fit the entire island into a map.

I've come up with a few more places:

Some of the more notable catacombs
A part of the Grand Canyon (scaled down) - would make an interesting deathmatch level; imagine trying to hit players on the other side of the canyon without falling to one's death
Arches National Park (scaled down) - to mix things up a bit, one could add teleporters that are triggered when the player walks under an arch
Area 51 - already done in many games
Hoover Dam - done in the official expansion pack for Redneck Rampage
A real nuclear power plant
Vienna - gameplay could be similar to Map 29: Odyssey of Noises in Plutonia
An oceanside resort (with houses above water) on a South Pacific island - I think this is what TeamTNT may have been trying to do for Map 31: Caribbean in Evilution
A thermal area in Yellowstone - these places are dangerous as parts of the ground could give way to new boiling springs. This could be simulated by lowering and changing a sector into one with a liquid texture and a damaging floor. It would certainly make interesting deathmatches.

Honorable mention:

Event Horizon - not a real place, but would make a great Doom premise. In fact, I believe there is a Doom 3 mod based on this movie.

ixfd64 said:

Hoover Dam - done in the official expansion pack for Redneck Rampage

There was at least one attempt.

Da Werecat said:

There was at least one attempt.

That WAD sounds really impressive, considering that it has an average rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars even though it was released in 1995. I'm downloading it right now.

Ralphis said:

http://ralphis.unidoom.org/stuff/img/rink29.png

Those trees look strangely familiar. Those are some nice shots.

The Winchester Mystery House could either be one of the greatest or one of the most annoying Doom maps ever. Might make for a suitable Map32 in some megawad, if nothing else.

Also, how about an undersea restaurant or resort? http://www.world-insights.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Underwater.jpg

Not necessarily Doom, but I remember the first time I walked through the Victoria Square mall in Belfast and immediately thought it would make a great DM map for something (most likely Quake III Arena).

scalliano, IMO any mall from any country wwould be good to recreate in Doom. They might be good for slaughtermaps too.