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scifista42

Switcheroom 2 - Alpha 2

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What is Switcheroom 2

A sequel to Switcheroom. Goal is the same - recreate original id maps in a different thematical style, to provide an interesting experience - you'll relive the originals in a new, unexpected way. But for a change, Switcheroom 2 focuses on Doom 2 maps instead of D1 ones.

The project aims to be vanilla compatible.


Alpha release

The megawad was in slow progress for a year and a half. Now, finally, we have enough decent maps to compile a full 32-map alpha release. Testing phase starts now.



>>> >>> >>> Download Switcheroom 2 - Alpha 2 <<< <<< <<< (from October 2nd, 2015)



Playtesting

Anybody feel free to play through the alpha, share observations, report bugs and suggest improvements of any kind. I will appreciate it! The project is still on a way to improve - particular maps can be improved, reworked, or replaced if needed. However, I will let the tuning-up work on respective authors themselves. I don't plan to do changes to anyone's maps against his will. Once things get moving, I will try to keep contact with the authors about it.


Map names

Even though I asked them, some mappers didn't give a name to their maps. To be honest, I also don't like many of the current generic names. I don't plan to change any existing map names against the author's will, but we've yet got to discuss it, and I'm accepting suggestions for map names from anybody. Specially for the maps that don't have a name yet.


Map order changes

During development of the project, each map had to be claimed for a certain map slot. However, the only goal was to recreate a general theme (Base or City or Hell or Nazi). Not all mappers followed it, but anyway, the maps can be shifted now. The general order Base -> City -> Hell (with Nazi secret maps) should stay the same. But I'd be willing to change map order within each episode according to their difficulty and complexity, for the sake of improved continuous playthrough.

I want input from playtesters, participants and possibly anybody else about this idea, or suggestions for particulars map orders.


Screenshot galore (clickable thumbnails, one picture per map)










Even more screenshots here: (due to forum software limit of images per post)

MAP25: http://i.imgur.com/18W6jJk.png
MAP26: http://i.imgur.com/X4uq9NA.png
MAP27: http://i.imgur.com/ZA25X78.png
MAP28: http://i.imgur.com/vUpPetD.png
MAP29: http://i.imgur.com/9NpTs15.png
MAP30: http://i.imgur.com/lCPNx8q.png
MAP31: http://i.imgur.com/XALEsgQ.png
MAP32: http://i.imgur.com/hgnNvI5.png


Maplist

MAP01 - "Iconic" (by Jayextee) - MAP30 in Base style
MAP02 - "Coolant Zone" (by Magnusblitz) - MAP15 in Base style
MAP03 - "Nirvantlet" (by Cell) - MAP21 in Base style
MAP04 - "Low Power" (by Magnusblitz) - MAP22 in Base style
MAP05 - <needs name> (by walter confalonieri) - MAP19 in Base style
MAP06 - "Nukeage Underworld" (by sincity2100) - MAP29 in Base style
MAP07 - "The Facility" (by traverds) - MAP12 in Base style
MAP08 - "Sector Zeta" (by Getsu Fune) - MAP16 in Base style
MAP09 - <needs name> (by Fernito) - MAP27 in Base style
MAP10 - "Starport" (by Megalyth) - MAP28 in Base style
MAP11 - "Death Yard" (by sincity2100) - MAP18 in Base style
MAP12 - "Underfactory" (by scifista42) - MAP02 in City style
MAP13 - "Misanthropia" (by tourniquet) - MAP05 in City style
MAP14 - "Ruins" (by joe-ilya) - MAP25 in City style
MAP15 - "Wolfencity" (by scifista42) - MAP31 in City style
MAP16 - "Waterside" (by cannonball) - MAP24 in City style
MAP17 - "Projects" (by Blue Feena) - MAP04 in City style
MAP18 - "Infected Well" (by cannonball) - MAP09 in City style
MAP19 - "Abandoned Market" (by Getsu Fune) - MAP26 in City style
MAP20 - "The Gantchlet" (by C30N9 and Jaws In Space) - MAP03 in City style
MAP21 - "Church of Evil" (by Blue Feena) - MAP06 in Hell style
MAP22 - "Dark Descent" (by Megalyth) - MAP01 in Hell style
MAP23 - "Unhallowed Fortress" (by Tactical Stiffy) - MAP10 in Hell style
MAP24 - "Fellowz Keep" (by cannonball) - MAP14 in Hell style
MAP25 - "Camp Blood" (by cannonball) - MAP13 in Hell style
MAP26 - "Brutto" (by scifista42) - MAP32 in Hell style
MAP27 - "Seoreh Cinatas" (by tourniquet) - MAP17 in Hell style
MAP28 - "Spirit Traps" (by Inkie) - MAP08 in Hell style
MAP29 - "'O' of Life!" (by C30N9) - MAP11 in Hell style
MAP30 - "Yuggoth Sins" (by Archi) - MAP20 in Hell style
MAP31 - <needs name> (by Megalyth) - MAP23 in Nazi style
MAP32 - "Grosse Simple" (by joe-ilya) - MAP07 in Nazi style


Original project rules

Spoiler

Rules:

  • This time, the "Switching rooms" will be based around themes. The themes will be Base, City, Hell, Nazi. You will pick a map from a certain theme (i.e. Base), and convert it into another theme (i.e. Hell) while keeping the original layout mostly the same, but changing texturing, mechanics, feel and pace.
    Maps 01-11: Base - water, startan, tech, low tier monsters...
    Maps 12-20: City - bricks, buildings, height variation, sandbox levels, high-HP monsters...
    Maps 21-30: Hell - flesh, marble, red colour, gore, hellspawn, demonic environment...
    Maps 31-32: Nazi - Wolfenstein textures, Nazi soldiers

    Think about these themes in their pure form. For example a lot of actual Doom 2 Hell maps don't follow Hell aesthetics exactly - but your maps will in Switcheroom 2.

  • How claiming a map goes: You pick both a Target Mapslot and a Layout Pattern. You will be working with the layout of the map you picked as Layout Pattern, and converting it into the theme of your Target Mapslot. In the (possible) resulting megawad of Switched-maps, your map will take place in the Target Mapslot, so build it there.

  • Your Target Mapslot and Layout Pattern must be from different themes! This is given both aesthetically and by the mapslots inside Doom 2:
    Maps 01-11: Base
    Maps 12-20: City
    Maps 21-30: Hell
    Maps 31-32: Nazi

    So, you cannot claim for example MAP21 and MAP25 together. But, you also cannot claim for example MAP27 for a city slot, because MAP27 in particular is clearly more of a city than Hell. You can't pick it for Hell either, though. Pick as different style for your map as possible, for the sake of an interesting uniqueness!

  • DO NOT MAKE A SIMPLE MIX OF MAPS. You should follow the layout of the Layout Pattern. The basic structure and connection of rooms should remain the same, the rough look of rooms should remain the same, and must be recognizable. But you're allowed to have a leeway in pretty much everything else. Change texturing, shapes, scale, lengths, detailing, mechanics, in order to achieve the feel of the Target Mapslot theme.

  • Theme: Stick just to the general theme - Base, City, Hell, Nazi. You do not have to imitate the style of your Target Mapslot in particular, just the theme. But you're allowed to do it, of course. And in fact, it'd make things interesting, so feel free to do it, just be sure it's no obligation.

  • DO NOT add areas to the Layout Pattern, or substract areas from it. Keep the base layout the same, as was said previously. The exception is secrets, you can add or remove them as you wish and consider right.

    DO NOT add there even areas from the Target Mapslot map. This shouldn't be a mixture of maps. However, you are allowed to transform a certain room from your Layout Pattern to resemble (or play like) a certain part of the Target Mapslot, if you consider it fitting.

    SIMPLY PUT, DO NOT CHANGE THE LAYOUT JUST TO ADD HOMAGES!

  • Build your levels from scratch, don't use copypasted IWAD map as the base. Besides copyright issues, it's also about originality - we're curious about your work. Get creative!

  • Compatibility: Your map should be vanilla-compatible and use stock textures only. Doom 2 is the IWAD. Your map doesn't have to comply with vanilla's savegame buffer limit, but should follow all other static limits otherwise.

  • This time, custom music is allowed. But you must mention where your music is from.

  • Give your map an interesting name. The name should not be more than one or a few characters longer than the original slot's name because of technical reasons - DEHACKED doesn't allow for longer strings. As this is a minor issue, we may discuss it later - I'll elaborate on the exact name lengths then.

  • To claim a map, post in the thread and claim your Target Mapslot and Layout Pattern. When your map is done, post it in the thread. No changes will be made to it without your permission, you may only receive a criticism about compliance to the rules, and may be asked to rework it.

  • Last, the obvious rule: Switcheroom's goal is mainly to come up with interesting ways how the IWAD levels could be tweaked. Do your best to create a great and mindblowing deja-vu experience to the audience! It's even more important than anything else, even than attempting to perfection in the "map-switch". Be creative!

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OK. This is exactly how the claiming should go. :)

EDIT: Oops, I forgot to add links to finished maps to the OP, will correct soon.

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Yay...I had an kind of premonition that this was going to start soon, and allready began to work on an abstract version of map 5 which is getting quite mixed between city and hell theme. So i think that i'll claim slot 21 cuz it might fit the most.
Not sure about the name so lets call it "Wasted Nirvana" right now.

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MAP05 layout is already claimed, sorry, please pick different one. And do either proper City, or Hell, because that's the right approach.

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I'll be interested in this one only if Switcheroom uno turns out to be an interesting experience! Glad to see you're trying the idea out in Doom 2 though, best of luck with that.

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Eeeek, very complicated rules and I strongly dislike the idea of following just some general themes and not themes of certain maps. I think I'll pass.

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Suitepee: Thanks!

Memfis: Nothing prohibits you from imitating a theme from a certain map. I'm expecting mappers will do it anyway, and it won't be wrong, as the particular maps already do follow the general theme. In fact it may get interesting, my MAP12 has many touches of The Factory too. Well, I just wanted to make that clear.

Sorry for long rules, I wanted to specify the idea in detail to prevent misunderstandings, you know.

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The rules for this one compared to the original seem like what Invisible War did to Deus Ex: everything is dumbed-down and there's less freedom for exploration. Why are the theme buckets so broad? Why can't the levels put their own spin on the layouts and progression rather than copy everything exactly? Why are there all these "do nots" that serve only to shoot down ideas before they're ever made? Why can't I make a Condotown? I can already imagine exactly how that'd work and it'd be awesome.

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scifista42 said:

  • Theme: Stick just to the general theme - Base, City, Hell, Nazi. You do not have to imitate the style of your Target Mapslot in particular, just the theme. But you're allowed to do it, of course. And in fact, it'd make things interesting, so feel free to do it, just be sure it's no obligation.

    DO NOT add there even areas from the Target Mapslot map. This shouldn't be a mixture of maps. However, you are allowed to transform a certain room from your Layout Pattern to resemble (or play like) a certain part of the Target Mapslot, if you consider it fitting.

    SIMPLY PUT, DO NOT CHANGE THE LAYOUT JUST TO ADD HOMAGES!


  • Homages aren't expressly forbidden. It's about incorporating homages without making drastic changes to the basic lay-out. Tacking on extra areas, just to say you have some homages, was rampant in the first Switcheroom.

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    Quick question: what do with MAP30? It doesn't really adhere to any theme in particular, so which ones should it be compatible with?

    Also @Megalyth I liked your old title better. :)

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    I think the stricter rules are a good idea (but that shouldn't be surprising since I was pushing for stricter interpretations in the last one, YES I'M LOOKING AT YOU MEMFIS! haha). The core concept is "Map X in Episode/Aesthetic Y", so the rules here are necessary to avoid both 1) maps that just seem like mashups of two map layouts rather than one map layout with a different map theme, and 2) avoid changes that make the map unrecognizable.

    I am a little worried though about the "some Hell maps are clearly city maps" such as the example that MAP27 is a city map, not a hell map. While that makes sense (no point to doing "MAP27 as a city map") you might find when you start getting near the end that there aren't enough theme slots available.

    That said, I think I'd like to take MAP22's layout in MAP04's slot.

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    •Please realize that many Doom2's Hell maps look like a city, and mustn't go into either City or Hell slots. Take that into accound when picking your slots.


    Where does MAP26 fit in then? I kinda want to take this layout but am unsure exactly where it would fit. (guessing it wouldn't fit in Base or Hell themes)

    Edit: If city-theme is the only viable option, can I have MAP19 slot then?

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    I know we will definitely run into some theme issues along the way, but we'll just try to deal with them the best we can. If anyone is in doubt, just propose your idea, chances are it's workable.

    Obsidian said:

    Quick question: what do with MAP30? It doesn't really adhere to any theme in particular, so which ones should it be compatible with?

    It crossed my mind, that and map07, since they're "boss" maps and use special coding and circumstances. I'll admit I don't have a handy answer to this one.

    Hurricyclone said:

    Where does MAP26 fit in then?

    I think map26 is closest to a hell theme, so either base or city would be fine for this one.

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    OP updated, and I'm glad to see interest!

    But sorry, I can't give some of you the slots you've asked for:


    Superluigieth1: Slots you've picked are both city levels, please pick slots from different themes.

    TheMionicDonut: MAP04 target slot was claimed by Magnusblitz before you, please pick different slot.


    EDIT: To address the problems with strictness, I think that Megalyth's quote of the rules explains it well. The important is just to avoid adding homages beyond the borders of the original layout. Nearly everything else is allowed, so there's a lot of space for ideas and changes. See also the last point of the rules.

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    Obsidian said:

    Maybe MAP30 could incorporate all of the styles? I'd be up for it if that's the case.

    Any one style, except Hell. Mind you, the primary decision about styles is made by the "episode groups": MAP01-11, 12-20, 21-30, 31-32.

    I'm curious how you'd like to incorporate MAP30 layout for a non-boss slot. Or you want it for MAP07 or any special slot? (Remember, the layout will end up in different than MAP30 slot.)

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    Eh, you can't really just slap an Icon fight in the middle of a megawad like that. This one will take some puzzling through, methinks.

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    Personally, I'd love to see a MAP30 layout done in MAP31 or 32 for laughs.

    BTW my planned map name is "Abandoned Market."

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    Layout of MAP14 (city) with the target/aesthetic of MAP24. If it's available.

    Name will be tricky, because "The Chasm" is so short, but how about ...The Inner as a working title. :/

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    "Can I transform MAP11 layout into the MAP29 slot?"

    This means that MAP11 layout will be on MAP29 slot with MAP29 theme. Right?

    Pardon me for confusion.

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