Fernito's Phobos base BETA

First off, I want to do a mea culpa and tell you that I did something really dumb: I released a WAD on idgames which had been tested only on ZDoom. The result: it runs AWFULLY on not-so-advanced ports, all this due to a broken TEXTURE lump, missing textures, tutti-frutti effects everywhere, etcetera, etcetera...

The point is that with the help of Archy, Maes, and other guys from the forum, I could figure out the problems and fixed them, so before I upload it again to idgames*, I would be very grateful if you guys can play this beta version and tell me if you find any bugs. By the way, I could also use some feedback regarding mapping, gameplay, and such, as this is my very very first WAD. So far there's been 3 reviews on idgames, with mixed opinions (one of them was "snoozefest" LOL, that hurted a lot :P).

Anyway, here's the newer version (updated 03/17): http://www.mediafire.com/?js77dcewd12uk6x

Thanks in advance guys!! :)

* -> is there a way I can make an update to a WAD I have already uploaded to idgames, or the only way is uploading it as a new release?

EDIT: guys, forgot to mention that this WAD won't work in Vanilla/Chocolate because levels are very big and will crash because of the visplanes limit, so please use this Chocolate Doom hack that removes said limit: http://www.speedyshare.com/BxTPx/chocolate-doom-archy.rar

Fernito said:

is there a way I can make an update to a WAD I have already uploaded to idgames, or the only way is uploading it as a new release?

Just upload the wad as usual but write something like this at the beginning of the txt:

Archive maintainer : Please replace ferno.zip with this new version
Update to : levels/doom/Ports/d-f/ferno.zip

Memfis said:

Just upload the wad as usual but write something like this at the beginning of the txt:

Archive maintainer : Please replace ferno.zip with this new version
Update to : levels/doom/Ports/d-f/ferno.zip

I'll do that, thanks! :)

Anyway, I'm not uploading it until some people test it and confirm that there is not a single bug left haha :P

Fernito said:

...as this is my very very first WAD.

Holy onion juice! You're doing great then! I have yet to try the other 8 maps but E1M1 was great.

Archy said:

Holy onion juice! You're doing great then! I have yet to try the other 8 maps but E1M1 was great.

hehe thanks! I don't mean to sound arrogant or whatever, but IMO the first level is the weakest of them all, so I hope you like the others even more :)

Check your PM.

Ohh, thanks for pointing that out Archy!

Yeah, I forgot to mention that this WAD won't work in Vanilla/Chocolate, as levels will crash due to visplane overflow. You can check them using this Chocolate Doom hack by _bruce_ that removes the visplane limit: http://www.speedyshare.com/BxTPx/chocolate-doom-archy.rar

I will edit the first post now adding this info.

Fernito said:
...Chocolate Boom hack...

Defuq?

haha fixed :$

very fun set of maps, love the doom 1 style of it.

Forgot what map, either E1M3 or E1M4:


E1M4:


E1M4:


And how are we supposed to get out of here?

Here's a bug, but I like it and think you should keep it. It makes for a good speed-running shortcut, and one of the funnest parts of speed-running is exploiting bugs.

@Magic-Walker: thanks for your comments :)

@Archy: Wow, thanks a lot for your thorough testing! :D

Regarding the lava secret, for some reason in ZDoom the key pedestal goes just a tad lower, allowing the player to come back. I'll fix that, thanks!

As for the last bug, wow, what an ugly bug LOL I'm sorry for all the speedrunners, but I must correct that! :P

Thanks again for all your help!

OK, fixed the bugs: http://www.mediafire.com/?js77dcewd12uk6x

@Archy: would you say that now the WAD is ready for being released?

Fernito said:

@Archy: would you say that now the WAD is ready for being released?

No, absolutely not. I have yet to test E1M5, E1M6, E1M7, and E1M9.

Anyways, some non-error relate comments:
On the final release, make sure that "fernov1.1.wad" is renamed to something that fits the 8.3 file format (such as fernov11.wad or fer1_1.wad or simply fernov.wad)

Another thing is I think you should do is replace demo1 though demo4 with something, it is very annoying watching a demo desync before you've even started playing level one of a wad. It's like seeing a pianist play poorly in a preview and then expect to still be excited about seeing him play in the Cliburn competition. It just gives a bad feeling to it.

Also, before you release it, are you sure you want to keep the default music? I'm not saying you should go find new music, but maybe do something like make d_e2m6 for E1M9? Just a suggestion, but WADs with default music do not make a good first impression (though after one's given it a chance, it makes little difference).

By the way, another error (E1M6) (unless it was fixed in the new WAD):

Archy said:

No, absolutely not. I have yet to test E1M5, E1M6, E1M7, and E1M9.

Anyways, some non-error relate comments:
On the final release, make sure that "fernov1.1.wad" is renamed to something that fits the 8.3 file format (such as fernov11.wad or fer1_1.wad or simply fernov.wad)

Another thing is I think you should do is replace demo1 though demo4 with something, it is very annoying watching a demo desync before you've even started playing level one of a wad. It's like seeing a pianist play poorly in a preview and then expect to still be excited about seeing him play in the Cliburn competition. It just gives a bad feeling to it.

Also, before you release it, are you sure you want to keep the default music? I'm not saying you should go find new music, but maybe do something like make d_e2m6 for E1M9? Just a suggestion, but WADs with default music do not make a good first impression (though after one's given it a chance, it makes little difference).

By the way, another error (E1M6) (unless it was fixed in the new WAD):
http://i1164.photobucket.com/albums/q574/ArchyMcMuffin/doomp_012.jpg

Oh, since you recorded that video playing in E1M8 I thought you had already played all the levels :P

As for that crate bug, nope, I had missed that one :P

Regarding the demos, I think you're right, but I don't know what version should I use to record those demos. I mean, if I record them with v1.92, they will desynce on ZDoom (or any other port), and viceversa, or am I wrong?

As for the music, I actually tried changing the default music, but I personally didn't like the result, so I went back to the original :P

Fernito said:

Regarding the demos, I think you're right, but I don't know what version should I use to record those demos. I mean, if I record them with v1.92, they will desynce on ZDoom (or any other port), and viceversa, or am I wrong?

No demo format will work with all Source Ports but (Hacked :P) Vanilla/Choco v1.92 (Ultimate) is guaranteed to be more universal than any other format.

And just to let you know, it may be a week before I can test the other maps, as I'll be busy over the non-weekend, and even once I'm done testing them, I'd wait a month or two before releasing it because I may have overlooked something. I've been testing WADs for just over a year so I'm pretty new at it and don't always know where to look for bugs.

This still remains in E1M1:

Archy said:

No demo format will work with all Source Ports but (Hacked :P) Vanilla/Choco v1.92 (Ultimate) is guaranteed to be more universal than any other format.

And just to let you know, it may be a week before I can test the other maps, as I'll be busy over the non-weekend, and even once I'm done testing them, I'd wait a month or two before releasing it because I may have overlooked something. I've been testing WADs for just over a year so I'm pretty new at it and don't always know where to look for bugs.

Hey, no problem, I'm patient :P Thanks a lot!

PS: I thought I had already corrected that E1M1 bug.

Fernito said:

OK, fixed the bugs: http://www.mediafire.com/?js77dcewd12uk6x

Fernito also said:

PS: I thought I had already corrected that E1M1 bug.

Not with that link.

Archy said:

Not with that link.

I know! I actually hadn't fixed it, but I thought I had :P

After completing E1M7, it says "Entering Phobos Anomaly."

Anyways, could you supply me with a -nomonsters demo of you getting 100% secrets on each level above E1M1 (if you can't/won't do each level, E1M6 would be the highest priority)? It must be compatible with V1.92 (so either record in Choco Doom, PrBoom-plus -complevel 2, or hacked Vanilla)

This would greatly speed up my error checking process by allowing me to learn the map without trial and error and without WAD editors. You may even spot some errors your self if you chose a port other than PrBoom.

If you won't, that's fine.

Archy said:

After completing E1M7, it says "Entering Phobos Anomaly."

Anyways, could you supply me with a -nomonsters demo of you getting 100% secrets on each level above E1M1 (if you can't/won't do each level, E1M6 would be the highest priority)? It must be compatible with V1.92 (so either record in Choco Doom, PrBoom-plus -complevel 2, or hacked Vanilla)

This would greatly speed up my error checking process by allowing me to learn the map without trial and error and without WAD editors. You may even spot some errors your self if you chose a port other than PrBoom.

If you won't, that's fine.

If that helps, I'll do it! :) Give me some time though haha

Fernito said:

If that helps, I'll do it! :) Give me some time though haha

That's fine.

Archy said:

That's fine.

For some reason the game keeps crashing on E1M4, and I can't find the reason. I'm using your hacked Chocolate-Doom. I'll see if it happens too with v1.92.

Odd, does it leave any error message behind? Does the EXE hang, does Windows recognize the program as not responding?

Archy said:

Odd, does it leave any error message behind? Does the EXE hang, does Windows recognize the program as not responding?

It crashes and Windows throws the message "chocolate-doom.exe stopped working". The strange thing is that it doesn't crashes on v1.92!

Anyway, I'm sending the demos to you via PM ;)