Lunatic.wad - idgames download available

These screenshots look phenomenal. I'm really looking forward to playing this.

Sorry, now that I look at what I typed, I realized I come across as more insulting than I intended to be.


Skillsaw:
On map04 it's possible to grab the plasma rifle without triggering the trap.

Thanks Death, fixed it!

tm512 said:

On MAP01, linedef 4289 does not get triggered.

Just tested this in single player skulltag v98d and it worked fine.

skillsaw said:

Thanks for playing through even though it wasn't your thing. I value this kind of feedback every bit as much as the positive - and you raise several legitimate points.

I've always been poor at including secrets in my maps, and I'll try to go through and add a few here and there before I release the final build of this.

The fight with the zombiemen on map03 has been on my radar for a while and I've been trying to come up with something better to replace it, but I haven't thought of anything yet. Hoping to find some inspiration today.

As far as infighting and lots of open space go, that's just going to be a feature of my maps. We'll have to disagree here. I agree with most of what dew said about freedom of movement and encouraging the use of infighting being because they are so unique to Doom (and its derivatives). I also want to add that there is plenty of health on each map and thus aggressive play isn't punished as heavily as in other maps.

Ah, I'm thankful you didn't take too much offense there Skillsaw. I will confess I've been feeling like a jerk today, worried that I was overly harsh on your work. Seeing other people's responses has made me realize a thing or two about this type of mapping, and I think they bring up good points. Someone called it Arcade style, and I think that's a good description of it. I can see much more enjoyment being gained from a WAD like this with more aggressive play then how I go about things. I do indeed find it tough to not exploit the weakness of DOOM enemy behavior, such as letting the monsters trickle in after wakin' them up, or abusing corners. But you are right, there was always a lot of health left over once I was done, so there's more room for sure to go a'murdering.

Which is why I enjoyed map5 the most, I was forced to go a'murdering due to the constraints. The timer is also a great addition, as it compelled me to kill as much as possible in order to not become overwhelmed by the numbers. Again, really good stuff.

But indeed, I am sorry for saying the gameplay is shallow. Still not my style, but I do respect the hard work you've put into this thing.

NT

NaturalTvventy said:

Ah, I'm thankful you didn't take too much offense there Skillsaw. I will confess I've been feeling like a jerk today, worried that I was overly harsh on your work. Seeing other people's responses has made me realize a thing or two about this type of mapping, and I think they bring up good points. Someone called it Arcade style, and I think that's a good description of it. I can see much more enjoyment being gained from a WAD like this with more aggressive play then how I go about things. I do indeed find it tough to not exploit the weakness of DOOM enemy behavior, such as letting the monsters trickle in after wakin' them up, or abusing corners. But you are right, there was always a lot of health left over once I was done, so there's more room for sure to go a'murdering.

Which is why I enjoyed map5 the most, I was forced to go a'murdering due to the constraints. The timer is also a great addition, as it compelled me to kill as much as possible in order to not become overwhelmed by the numbers. Again, really good stuff.

But indeed, I am sorry for saying the gameplay is shallow. Still not my style, but I do respect the hard work you've put into this thing.

NT

Don't worry about it, I have thick skin (...or maybe a thick skull?).

Could you post another beta with all fixes so far?

It's your choice but I think enough's been pointed out and I'd appreciate it. :) I'd like to have the fixes so far before I potentially start playing.

I'm working on it right now. I have one more map to fix, it'll be ready sometime in the next hour I think.

Beta 2 up, should fix all bugs mentioned here, plus some changes I made on my own.

http://www.mediafire.com/?dyi7ywt2w17n5s3

skillsaw said:

Beta 2 up, should fix all bugs mentioned here, plus some changes I made on my own.

http://www.mediafire.com/?dyi7ywt2w17n5s3

Thanks. :)

(Might want to change link on first post to Beta 2.)

Small idea here - if it can be done without being illegal and/or violating any copyrights - would it be posssible to include lyrics in the music for Map05 (similar to Map32 of Whitemare)?

skillsaw said:

I'm sorry to bring up Duke Nukem 3D again - but were you inspired by the map called Spin Cycle for this? It looks very familiar. (plus you did use sounds, textures and music from DN3D in Sector 666, which shows that already like the material).

I'm waiting for a final release to play this. Meanwhile, I'm playing your older wads for the first time.

MegaDoomer said:

Small idea here - if it can be done without being illegal and/or violating any copyrights - would it be posssible to include lyrics in the music for Map05 (similar to Map32 of Whitemare)?

As fun as it would be to an include an mp3 of the music for MAP05 I don't think it would fly on the archives.

methy said:

I'm sorry to bring up Duke Nukem 3D again - but were you inspired by the map called Spin Cycle for this? It looks very familiar. (plus you did use sounds, textures and music from DN3D in Sector 666, which shows that already like the material).

I'm waiting for a final release to play this. Meanwhile, I'm playing your older wads for the first time.

I don't think so. I haven't played Duke Nukem 3d since it was a new game - I can't remember any specific levels other than the first.

skillsaw said:
I don't think so. I haven't played Duke Nukem 3d since it was a new game - I can't remember any specific levels other than the first.

That's interesting. Here is a comparaison screenshot

Out of curiosity, what graphics am I credited for? I don't remember doing a lot.

@methy: yeah, that looks strikingly similar. The scale even looks to be about the same.

@Ghastly_dragon: you're credited for sprite edits on the Repeater Zombie and Devastator Zombie from R667.

skillsaw said:

As fun as it would be to an include an mp3 of the music for MAP05 I don't think it would fly on the archives.

Was the "Time Trapped Isle" music on Whitemare Map32 an mp3 or just a midi with lyrics?

If it was an mp3, it's probably okay to do it for Map05 here. If it's just a midi with lyrics, then you're probably right to leave it as is.

Although, you *could* still release a separate version with a Map05 mp3 and just still upload the current version (Map05 midi) to the archive. The author of Deus Vult II (Doom Marine IIRC) did that.

MegaDoomer, this is a Boom wad. :-\

esselfortium said:

MegaDoomer, this is a Boom wad. :-\

As you put it, "It's compatible with modern Boom-derivative ports". One of the features that such ports have is MP3 playback.

I'd enjoy the level alot less if I had to hear vocals roaring over the fighting. But that's probably just me.

I don't care for lyrics in soundtrack either. They'd distract from the action.

Another vote for no lyrics in my Doom. I guess it wouldn't hurt in a separate wad, but why would anyone consider such an addition to be an improvement to the experience is beyond me. Speaking about any wad and any music, not just this one.

I would comment that the colours of new zombies didn't look right against the original ones. They are more muted.

A new WAD from the author of Vanguard? Obligatory!!

I sort of agree with the lyrics thing when I think about it more. I'm calling the idea abandoned.

This is some of the most fun I've had in Doom. Though I enjoyed the earlier maps a bit more as I prefer fast paced killing to whittling down swamps of monsters. But I loved them all nonetheless.

Vermil said:

I would comment that the colours of new zombies didn't look right against the original ones. They are more muted.

They might be worth changing a bit, I agree. Minor, but still possibly worth looking into.

MegaDoomer said:

Although, you *could* still release a separate version with a Map05 mp3 and just still upload the current version (Map05 midi) to the archive. The author of Deus Vult II (Doom Marine IIRC) did that.

One could also have both the Midi and MP3 in the wad; the midi would have the same name as the original track it's replacing, while a MAPINFO lump or Map Info def could be used to remap the track for ports that support the lump or Ded def.

That said, I don't think lyrics in the music would fit Doom.

Is anyone aware whether Skulltag supports voodoo dolls when playing online in cooperative? Tm512 reported issues while playing online... I'd like to know if it's something I can fix, if it was a flags issue, or if it voodoo dolls just break online play.

Also, I *JUST* noticed that the short version of the sky (loaded in non-ZDoom / non-Eternity ports) was based on an old version with a crappier looking atmosphere effect. Glad I caught that before I uploaded to the archives.

Other than that, it looks like this project is pretty much wrapping up! I'm going to play through it once more, and barring any major issues I'll have Lunatic finalized and on the archives by the weekend.

@Vermil: I agree that the coloring of the sprites could look a little better, but I think it's probably too much work for me to do considering the relatively small scope of this project.

skillsaw said:

@Vermil: I agree that the coloring of the sprites could look a little better, but I think it's probably too much work for me to do considering the relatively small scope of this project.

That should be fine as long as Vermil/others don't think it's that big of a deal.