{Community newproject} 60 levels to Eternity

[printz]

I've decided to try myself for a megawad community project. It's for the source port Eternity. There are going to be 60 levels, arranged accordingly, for coherence's sake. It's supposed to be for Doom 2, not TNT or Plutonia though.

What's to be done: you send me by email your finished map for Eternity, I playtest it, I check it if it obeys the rules, then I decide whether I keep it, modify it, or reject it. Of course, you can release it yourself if I reject it.

There's no real dead-line. If I get newprojected, fine enough. If it gets abandoned, I'd be happy with even just a few maps. If I get flamed, that's it.

Don't worry too much about the port. Mapping for Eternity is like mapping for Boom, but you can add "friend" monsters (thx MBF), set map information (EMAPINFO, like ZDoom's MAPINFO), use extensive modding formats (EDF), use "Extradata" for extra map object parameters (so polyobjects will work), and small script. And it doesn't crash in normal situations.
Luckily it has an easy-to-get documentation. So here you get the (latest) port, docs and small compiler.

Now onto the rules:

• No new textures. Doom 2 has a monster of PNAMES and TEXTURE, and it should be a Cyberdemon to mix all the new textures together. Not even skies.
• No replaced lumps. Only new ones. Mixing wads each with replaced lumps makes it bad to decide what to choose.
• No OPTIONS lump. No KEYDEFS lump. It better be free for the end-user to set up.
• If you're scripting, only use Levelscripts. No Globalscripts.
• If you're using SWITCHES and ANIMATED, don't modify the original switches and animations. I'll pick up new switches and animations and add them to a pair of "master" lumps.
• Using custom EDFROOTs is encouraged, but only for new stuff (monsters, decorations, special effects, frames, sounds, sprites), not modification.
• New flats are allowed.
• New colormaps are allowed.
• New music is allowed.
• Always use EMAPINFO (and never the map title lump) for the level you're sending.

The levels can be of ANY style, except WOW.WAD and weak joke wads. Good joke wads will probably be made secret. I'll fit them accordingly in a possibly branched or "-o-" progression. Don't consider the map position. I'll decide it. If the project fails, tough luck for me.

My email address: p r i n t z 1 5 0 a T y a h o o d o t c o m

{rem ove all spa ces and sub stitute sig ns for the ult raf or mat ted wo rds}

The slots.

1.printz(progress) 16.                31.                46.
2.                 17.                32.                47.
3.                 18.                33.                48.
4.                 19.                34.                49.
5.                 20.                35.                50.
6.                 21.                36.                51.
7.                 22.                37.                52.
8.                 23.                38.                53.
9.                 24.                39.                54.
10.                25.                40.                55.
11.                26.                41.                56.
12.                27.                42.                57.
13.                28.                43.                58.
14.                29.                44.                59.
15.                30.                45.                60.

So I've got a map in progress. Here are a couple of screenshots, so I don't get newprojected so easily. It's only begun:

[Dutch Doomer]

Sounds interesting but I got little to no experience with mapping for Eternity, is 60 maps not an bit too ambitious?

[printz]

You can make it BOOM or MBF compatible then. But use an EMAPINFO lump though (which declares the name, music, sky and whatnot of the map, pretty much like MAPINFO).

60 levels? I like it aimed high. :)
No rigid theme is set.

[Quasar]

Good luck on this, but I doubt just announcing a project like this will break peoples' determination to ignore EE as an editing target.

[Aleaver]

Good luck with this...I hope you can get 60 maps put together!

[printz]

Not necessarily 60. If it gets ignored, then less than 60.

[Aleaver]

printz said:

Not necessarily 60. If it gets ignored, then less than 60.

Good idea..But just think if you did get 60..That would be a hell of a map set!

[hardcore_gamer]

I don't have eternity but perhaps i will get it for the sake of the project. Right now i a busy in another project but since it will take allot
of time to get together 60 levels i will probably submit a map or 2 for
the project. Good luck with it by the way. :)

[esselfortium]

I recommend aiming for less than 60 levels. Even a 32-map community megawad takes an enormous amount of time, effort, and frustration to put together, unless this is Eternity32in24.wad. ;p

It's ironic in a way, that every Eternity project takes an (oh god what a pun) eternity to get finished. Including my own. :(

[Manc]

Quasar said:

Good luck on this, but I doubt just announcing a project like this will break peoples' determination to ignore EE as an editing target.

Way to be supportive!

[Searcher]

EE is a fine port.

I wish you the very best of luck with this.

It will be tough to pull this project off since CC3 is having trouble even getting 32 maps and most of the better mappers are likely already busy with their own projects and/or previous commitments.

[Quasar]

Don't get me wrong, I have the best of wishes for this. I HOPE that some people will turn out and make some maps.

[Aleaver]

Searcher said:

since CC3 is having trouble even getting 32 maps

Ah yes...But with stead fast reslove, we will get it done..And I think thats what he plans to do too.

[Dr. Zin]

You need to release some of your own work before people will start taking proposals for community projects seriously.

[Vegeta]

I may be wrong, but just the idea of "60 maps" for DOOM 2, no deadlline, no special theme, doesn't motivate mappers much. I mean, imagine you are a mapper that submit a map, then you have to wait like 2 years (with luck!) to get your map released, and being one of the 60 (that doesn't seems atractive for the mapper's narcissism).

I suggest to reduce this to something like a single episode, from 5 to 10 maps. And to claim the use of more features from the Eternity Engine (otherwise what's the point of using it intsead Boom or Zdoom?).

What about The Shores of the Eternity? I know that's something that's not gonna happen, but it should be cool to see the diferent episodes reinterpreted in the diferent ports. With the exception of Chocolate DOOm for obvious reasons ;-)

[deathz0r]

printz said:

No new textures. Not even skies.

This is not a good idea unless you don't mind having 28 levels without a sky.

[entryway]

I'm on Vegeta's side

[hardcore_gamer]

Yes 32 levels would be a better goal. And i would never bother playing 60 freaken levels with no new textures.

[Tormentor667]

Only 59 slots left!

[esselfortium]

Tormentor667 said:

Only 59 slots left!

Oh god they're running out quickly D:

[printz]

No problem, this is really no source of frustration. It's more like a motivation to do my wad work of the day. I'm now using polyobjects, and Small works. :D I like 60 levels because it's like Wolfenstein, and twice the usual size (30 levels) of most popular games. And I get more freedom too. BTW, this is my first ever try at making a thread about something to be released. Cancelling something is rather pointless, because it's a game and good stuff are uploaded anyway.

@deathz0r: the skies aren't fixed to the slots. But if I have to turn this thing for myself only, then I'd be able to use new textures, global stuff, changed things, loads of fun.

[Antidote]

Let me ask a question: what makes Eternity so special? I am just curious, what sets it apart from other ports?

[hardcore_gamer]

Antidote said:

Let me ask a question: what makes Eternity so special? I am just curious, what sets it apart from other ports?

Here is the stuff you people are going to want to know about eternity:

http://doom.wikia.com/wiki/Eternity_Engine

But why did you indeed chose eternity?

[printz]

The excitement was caused by the fact that this one is based on BOOM-MBF-SMMU. Friendly monsters, improved AI, full Dehacked support, combined with scripts and hubs (though hubs are disabled). :(

I keep using Eternity because I think I could author interesting maps that are very close to the vanilla format. That I can play demos and megawads with little compatibility concern is another reason. Now ZDoom overpasses it -- especially with DECORATE, slopes, colormapped sectors, and ambient sounds, but I use EE because I want so. I admit, it doesn't excel specifically at anything, but it's moderate and challenging. That Eternity-TC shouldn't have been cancelled, I think it was a bad mistake to do so.

[Aleaver]

printz said:

That Eternity-TC shouldn't have been cancelled, I think it was a bad mistake to do so.

This is true.

[Antidote]

I am not saying it sucks or anything, I merely want to know what it does.

While ZDoom is great, and stuff, I wouldn't mind playing a bunch of maps close to Vanilla, and from I've read, EE can provide that.

[esselfortium]

If you don't think Eternity especially excels at anything, you obviously haven't learned how to use portals yet. They're the coolest thing that's ever happened to Doom mapping. :)

[hardcore_gamer]

esselfortium said:

If you don't think Eternity especially excels at anything, you obviously haven't learned how to use portals yet. They're the coolest thing that's ever happened to Doom mapping. :)

What is a portal? Some eternity feature?

[printz]

A way to see other parts of the map within a floor, ceiling or wall, SIMILAR to how teleportation "Portals" in Quake 3 Arena work. You can get the Q3A shareware, it's likely that the first map has an obvious "Portal" right at the first room. The ones in Doom don't automatically teleport, and have no regular shape.

[Quasar]

The "teleporting" is being worked on. We call it linked portals.