The Fantastic Love Adventure of Lt. Feel Good (My 1st Map!)

So normally, I wouldn't create a separate thread for a level that is already submitted to a community project*, but since this is the first map I've ever released and it's the product of much labor, it gets a special announcement right here. Please download, play, and tell me what I got right and what needs fixin'. Honestly, I really appreciate it.

Download is here: http://www.mediafire.com/download/7qiau1a4pywikyp/absurdo2.zip

It plays in ZDoom in Hexen format. A limited amount of crouching and jumping is required. If you haven't already, you'll also need to download my friend Obake's ewm.wad (for custom monsters/textures) which you'll find here: http://www.mediafire.com/download/995j2qq662abi2h/ewm.zip

The .txt file will tell you everything else you need to know about this map. The creator of this map takes no responsibility for lack of entertainment one may experience while playing. Too much time spent at a keyboard has been known to cause numbness, anxiety, carpal tunnel, etc.

Here's a preview of what you'll encounter:















*Doomworld Mega Project 2014 http://www.doomworld.com/vb/wads-mods/66958-doomworld-mega-project-2014-21-maps-63-mappers/

looks really nice... i'll check out later!

walter confalonieri said:

looks really nice... i'll check out later!

Thank you Mr. Confalonieri. I look forward to what you have to say. I'm surprised at how little response this map has received. On the plus side, mediafire says it's been downloaded 72 times. So someone's playing it even if they're not posting here.

Probably the most hilariously strange map I've played this year. It could use more ammo though, as I didn't get the plasma gun until I was well into the map.

Also, there's a door that can't be opened (sector 8011) because the linedef with the action special that opens it is blocked by another linedef with an action special in front of it. The relevant lines are 46914 and 46929.

This map is a piece of twisted genius and a work of art. I mean it. :D

First off, this is mightily, stupidly impressive for your first map. (Though maybe it's not the first map you've made, and simply your first release? The term "first map" is a little ambiguous in this manner. D:)

I love the arcade at the start to bits. The arcade machines (the grabber!). The benches. The sector cutlery. The giant tiki in the middle. That first area alone has an incredible amount of eye-candy to offer and my enthusiasm was comparable to a hyperactive youth in a convenience store that purveyed such comestibles. (It also features the most ingenious use of a camera texture I've ever seen, which I only discovered after IDDT'ing.)

I began to realize that this was no ordinary map when I left the arcade and suddenly found myself in space. I double-checked the monster count on my automap. 547. This was to be an odyssey. Unfortunately I was beginning to get driven mad by the repeating D_RUNNIN, so I dropped the console and typed "stopmus". Immediately the experience was somehow made all the more mesmerizing, and I continued.

I happened upon a giant hockey arena sort of place, with bouncing imps and mancubi. Then to some caves. It's like the loveable incongruity of 1994 design was paired with the detailing and scripting capabilities of 20 years on. It made no sense at all, but it was strangely endearing and not at all horrendous on the eyes - some of the detailing is damn impressive, I have to say. Then I got to the baseball stadium. Holy shit. :O

As I progressed through the level some more I started to notice various cute and crazy little things that made it seem an artistic kind of strange. Like crates always having the wrong color flat on top of them. The sector hearts that seem to be everywhere. And most hilariously, all the key doors being marked a different color. Once I cottoned on to that, I was able to find myself around a lot easier. Bastard move, but I grew to love it.

Mad props for being the first ZDoom level I've ever seen that uses the Doom flats as wall textures in a way that works. (The FLAT20 restaurant was a little odd, though.)

Then um, the new pinkies happened. That was unexpected to say the least.

---

All that said, I do have some criticisms, that don't necessarily weaken what is a wonderful effort:

Towards the end I was finding myself getting a little impatient. I ran completely dry on ammo for a start, and it seemed as though health was getting pretty scarce as well since I was dying a whole bunch.

The map itself started getting disorienting with all the teleporting between different rooms. Revisiting old areas that were previously inaccessible is fine and all, but when they're all visited within seconds of each other, it feels less like a logical progression and more like the author took an easy way out. Honestly, I kind of get the feeling that the map took a long time to build perhaps because you were either getting used to the editor or trying to build your own style at the same time, and as a result there's an imbalance in quality - even between adjacent rooms.

The MBF dogs showed up, which gave me flashbacks to obake's UAC Enterprises. I don't really know why they're a thing in ZDoom, honestly. D:

---

All in all this is a fantastic level, barring some probably minor balance issues and a bit of jarring progression. It's a surreal and engaging experience the whole way through, on top of being pretty fast-paced and difficult. The readme describes it as a "kitchen sink" level, which might be correct though perhaps doesn't paint the map in as positive a light as it deserves - there's a hell of a lot going on in it, for sure - but all in all it flows nicely, and the little gimmicks that are there aren't played out exhaustively.

People, play this. It's fascinating.

I saw the screenies and was like, "Holy crap this looks like everything and the kitchen sink got thrown into this map." And then I just read Jimmy's review and now it'll be a must-play later this weekend. :D

I was avoiding this because of jumping and crouching and 20mb of extra download for a single map, but having just played it I have to say its one of the most bizarre journeys I've ever been on inside a doom map, and would have to recommend it solely on that basis.

The gameplay itself is a bit dodgy in places, and i found myself struggling for every scrap of resources through most of the hour and a half it took to get through it, eventually save-spamming through every encounter just to survive with enough health and bullets for the next one. I also gave up wondering where I was meant to go and what I was meant to be doing, and even the locked doors didn't seem to know which key you needed to open them (tip: just try every door you see no matter what colour markings it has). But despite all this it was worth it just to experience the weird and unpredictable world it is set in.

One thing I would suggest for anyone having a go is IDMUS02, that seemed to go quite well with the quirky surroundings.

Have to agree with Jimmy, this really is worthy of people's attention.

Da Spadger said:

Probably the most hilariously strange map I've played this year. It could use more ammo though, as I didn't get the plasma gun until I was well into the map.

Also, there's a door that can't be opened (sector 8011) because the linedef with the action special that opens it is blocked by another linedef with an action special in front of it. The relevant lines are 46914 and 46929.

Thanks for playing and giving me your thoughts. The door that you say won't open, opens fine when I play. Line 46914 does have an action special, but it's activated by walking over so shouldn't be an obstacle to activating the door. It could be something to do with the source port you're using. Anyone else reading this, let me know if you've had trouble opening this door.

Note: I know it's usually bad form to post multiple times in a row in the same thread, but given the length of the replies I think it's prudent in this case to avoid a skyscraper of text that no one will get through. Please forgive me, moderators.

Jimmy said:

First off, this is mightily, stupidly impressive for your first map. (Though maybe it's not the first map you've made, and simply your first release? The term "first map" is a little ambiguous in this manner. D:)

Thanks for all the superlatives. I should clarify that this is my first completed level. There are other maps that I've started and scrapped or are still in production. So, yeah, I have more mapping experience than the average newbie, but this is the first time my work is being seen outside of some close friends.

Jimmy said:

It also features the most ingenious use of a camera texture I've ever seen, which I only discovered after IDDT'ing.

That camera trick was one of the first ideas I had in the project and the last thing to be perfected. Initially I put the words on the ground with the camera up in the air pointing straight down. I struggled a long time with adjusting camera fov and z-height, but couldn't get anything beyond a blur. I left it alone for months while working on the rest of the map. I discovered that it showed up better with the words on the ceiling and using two cameras pointing straight forward. I knew I needed to warp the letters to trick the perspective, but it took lots of fiddling around to get the proportions right so I'm glad the effect is appreciated.

Jimmy said:

I began to realize that this was no ordinary map when I left the arcade and suddenly found myself in space. I double-checked the monster count on my automap. 547. This was to be an odyssey. Unfortunately I was beginning to get driven mad by the repeating D_RUNNIN, so I dropped the console and typed "stopmus". Immediately the experience was somehow made all the more mesmerizing, and I continued.

I happened upon a giant hockey arena sort of place, with bouncing imps and mancubi. Then to some caves. It's like the loveable incongruity of 1994 design was paired with the detailing and scripting capabilities of 20 years on. It made no sense at all, but it was strangely endearing and not at all horrendous on the eyes - some of the detailing is damn impressive, I have to say. Then I got to the baseball stadium. Holy shit. :O

As I progressed through the level some more I started to notice various cute and crazy little things that made it seem an artistic kind of strange. Like crates always having the wrong color flat on top of them. The sector hearts that seem to be everywhere. And most hilariously, all the key doors being marked a different color. Once I cottoned on to that, I was able to find myself around a lot easier. Bastard move, but I grew to love it.

When Obake playtested the level for me, he thought some people would be frustrated by the mismatched key-door gimmick, but I decided to keep it since it was meant to be a surreal level and I thought it was a rare chance I could get away with it (my other Doom projects are much more traditional). In the context of this level I think players will get the joke, though I don't think I can get away with it again.

Jimmy said:

Mad props for being the first ZDoom level I've ever seen that uses the Doom flats as wall textures in a way that works. (The FLAT20 restaurant was a little odd, though.)

ZDoom has always been my choice port so it never occurred to me that certain textures should only be used on the ceiling or floor. (For some reason FLAT20 seemed fitting for a kitchen area. I had other plans for FLAT20 rooms, but didn't have enough space in this level. Maybe the 2015 Mega Project...)

Jimmy said:

Then um, the new pinkies happened. That was unexpected to say the least.

Credit that to Obake. His mapping style is vastly different from mine, but I realized his weird monsters would fit right in with the level I was trying to make.

Jimmy said:

All that said, I do have some criticisms, that don't necessarily weaken what is a wonderful effort:

Towards the end I was finding myself getting a little impatient. I ran completely dry on ammo for a start, and it seemed as though health was getting pretty scarce as well since I was dying a whole bunch.

The map itself started getting disorienting with all the teleporting between different rooms. Revisiting old areas that were previously inaccessible is fine and all, but when they're all visited within seconds of each other, it feels less like a logical progression and more like the author took an easy way out. Honestly, I kind of get the feeling that the map took a long time to build perhaps because you were either getting used to the editor or trying to build your own style at the same time, and as a result there's an imbalance in quality - even between adjacent rooms.

The MBF dogs showed up, which gave me flashbacks to obake's UAC Enterprises. I don't really know why they're a thing in ZDoom, honestly. D:

Yeah, I was worried that the level dragged on. The series of teleports was another crazy idea that I didn't think would be feasible in most projects. Playing it myself, I felt it started to be a slog. I've contemplated making part of the teleport section an optional secret. Thoughts?

The item balance that you, Mouldy, and Da Spadger mention as a problem was something else I had reservations about. I'm generally of a feeling that ammo conservation should be part of a level's challenge (I think it stems from my proclivity to be conservative with item usage when playing any video game whether it's necessary or not). As can be guessed, I spend much more time building architecture than placing enemies and items so my skills for the latter have a longer ways to go.

Also, my playtesting only let me know that there was enough ammo and health for a player who knew where all the secrets were and what enemies to prepare for. That's why getting feedback like this is so important.

As for the MBF dogs that was another little detail that I knew wouldn't fit into another level (also see: Nazis, translucent and stealth enemies, invisible items). Funny you mention Obake since these dogs were actually his making (same graphics/sound, but less hp than normal MBF dogs). I like his UAC Enterprises, warts and all, though he's definitely improved his mapping skills. Like I mentioned before his and my style are worlds apart, but he introduced me to Doombuilder and taught me most of what I know about the mechanics of mapping.

Thanks so much for the lengthy feedback. It means a lot coming from a cacoward winner and all. I'll take your words into consideration when tweaking the level for final release. Hope you'll check out my future releases too.

mouldy said:

... having just played it I have to say its one of the most bizarre journeys I've ever been on inside a doom map, and would have to recommend it solely on that basis.

The gameplay itself is a bit dodgy in places, and i found myself struggling for every scrap of resources through most of the hour and a half it took to get through it, eventually save-spamming through every encounter just to survive with enough health and bullets for the next one. I also gave up wondering where I was meant to go and what I was meant to be doing, and even the locked doors didn't seem to know which key you needed to open them (tip: just try every door you see no matter what colour markings it has). But despite all this it was worth it just to experience the weird and unpredictable world it is set in.

Have to agree with Jimmy, this really is worthy of people's attention.

Thanks for the kind words, Mouldy. Means a lot to get praise from an experienced mapper such as yourself. Since you're not the only one to mention having trouble with ammo, I'll definitely add some more before releasing the final. As I mentioned in my reply to Jimmy, I playtested it as someone who knew where to pick up every scrap of ammo and health including all thirteen secrets (would be interested in knowing how many secrets players were able to find).

I'll also have to try IDMUS02 as finding the right MIDI was a task I hadn't completed before release (I have ideas, but you'll have to wait for the next release to see... er... hear what I mean).

Again thanks for your feedback. Hope this isn't the last time you play one of my maps.

Salt-Man Z said:

I saw the screenies and was like, "Holy crap this looks like everything and the kitchen sink got thrown into this map." And then I just read Jimmy's review and now it'll be a must-play later this weekend. :D

Thanks. Let me know what you think. I'm excited to hear.

Toxie Rocks said:

Thanks for playing and giving me your thoughts. The door that you say won't open, opens fine when I play.

Yeah, it turns out that if you play it in Zdoom, you need to turn off a compatibility option to have it work properly. The flag in question is called "All special lines can block <use>".

If you want to change it so that it works whether the compatibility option is on or off, put the walk-over linedef inside the door sector so that it can't block use button usage from either direction.

Da Spadger said:

Yeah, it turns out that if you play it in Zdoom, you need to turn off a compatibility option to have it work properly. The flag in question is called "All special lines can block ".

If you want to change it so that it works whether the compatibility option is on or off, put the walk-over linedef inside the door sector so that it can't block use button usage from either direction.

I believe there's also a MAPINFO flag to force that compatibility option on or off. It's probably safe to assume most ZDoom maps will expect it to be off, though, unless the default has changed recently for some reason.

Salt-Man Z said:

I saw the screenies and was like, "Holy crap this looks like everything and the kitchen sink got thrown into this map." And then I just read Jimmy's review and now it'll be a must-play later this weekend. :D

Toxie Rocks said:

Thanks. Let me know what you think. I'm excited to hear.

Well, I played it for a few minutes over the weekend. It certainly looks impressive! First I wandered around the tiki bar for too long (feels like there should be some health bonuses or something at the tables) then found myself in space and had fun killing the cyberdemon across the gap. (It takes a lot of caco fireballs to kill one!) Headed up those nigh-interminable blue stairs where I was ambushed by a shotgunner--but then when I stepped into his alcove I immediately fell into an invisible hole and had to noclip my way out. Took the elevator down, killed some imps and a manc on the trampolines (fun, reminded me of the Pirate Doom circus level) and then found myself in a network of caves filled with revvies and mancs and armed with only a shotgun and chaingun and very few shells or bullets. I ran around like crazy but didn't last long after that.

I played in GZDoom on HMP, by the way. Did you fully implement difficulty levels? If so, I'll probably run it again on a lower setting. It does look cool, so I'd like to play it some more, but the resource scarcity doesn't fit my playstyle at all. (Not to say that any map needs to fit my style of play, I'm just more likely to play it if it at least doesn't discourage it. :))

Salt-Man Z said:

... I played in GZDoom on HMP, by the way. Did you fully implement difficulty levels? If so, I'll probably run it again on a lower setting. It does look cool, so I'd like to play it some more, but the resource scarcity doesn't fit my playstyle at all. (Not to say that any map needs to fit my style of play, I'm just more likely to play it if it at least doesn't discourage it. :))

Sorry for the long wait for a reply. Difficulty levels are fully implemented. Your feedback is appreciated. With how many people have trouble finding enough ammo, I know I need to make adjustments. I want the level to be challenging, but not frustrating. I'm not sure what happened to you in that alcove. The floor is supposed to raise (revealing the shotgun guy). I'll see if I can fix it.

Salt-Man Z said:

... found myself in space and had fun killing the cyberdemon across the gap. (It takes a lot of caco fireballs to kill one!)

If you press the little box to the right it shoots rockets. To the right of that is a techy thing on the wall with the UAC logo on it. Press that for a one-time BFG shot. Killing the cybie opens up a secret later in the level. It appears that the battle doesn't work correctly with ZDoom 2.7. Cybie moves around but doesn't fire unless you no-clip outside the space station and his rockets don't activate the earthquake line special which completely nerfs the battle. Anyone else have trouble with this part? This is another portion of the level I'll be adjusting.

Thanks for your feedback. Anymore from anyone will be helpful in making the level it's best before final release.

Update: Youtuber Major Arlene just uploaded a playthrough of this level. It has spoilers, but she hardly finds every secret or even explores all areas. For those interested, here it is:

Quote my post to see how to properly post youtube videos: (the yours isn't showing to me neither in Internet Explorer, nor in Opera)

scifista42 said:

Quote my post to see how to properly post youtube videos: (the yours isn't showing to me neither in Internet Explorer, nor in Opera)

Thanks for the help. It will be useful info to have.

I tested it for about 5 minutes and I can already tell this is awesome stuff. I love all the detail n' stuff. specially the stuff. You should continue making maps (personally, I would tell you to do maps that follow a story)