Reldresal Revival [Vanilla SP/Co-op WIP] (5 maps so far)

UPDATE 2015-05-25
Minor bug fixes, 2 new maps.
Absolutely not Boom-compatible; complevel 6 or less required for PrBoom.

Since I probably shouldn't have attempted a megawad as my first project and it's taking longer than I thought (mainly because I keep taking long breaks from editing), here's (what will hopefully become) one tenth of it. Three vanilla Doom II SP/co-op maps supporting up to 8 players in co-op (but not in vanilla, obviously) and 10 in deathmatch (though they're not really designed for DM). I think I'll aim to put out an update every three maps or so. The WAD uses music from Doom and Doom II and has a few new textures.

Note that a VPO may occur if you noclip outside the map bounds (cheaters never prosper), otherwise there should be no major bugs (though, I wouldn't be the first person to say that). All maps were tested in vanilla Doom, PrBoom+, and ZDoom. Naturally, being vanilla maps, jumping and crouching are cheating, but I won't stop you.

The action takes place on the Reldresal crater on Phobos, after the events of Doom II. Yet another dimensional gateway has opened up on Phobos, and it's once again up to you to save the world from whatever horrors emerge from it. That old story again.

Download link:
freewebs.com/foxpup/rldrswip.wad

Feedback appreciated.

MAP01: Spaceport
126 monsters
Par time: 1:30

Standard techbase map with lots of low-tier monsters. Stock up on as much equipment as you can; it will come in handy later.





MAP02: Anomaly
(Actually intended to be MAP11, but the intervening maps aren't finished.)
135 monsters
Par time: 3:15

Moderately large subverted techbase map. Ammo is rather tight, though 100% kills is possible (but difficult) from a pistol start. In deathmatch, the regular exit is not accessible (and attempting to access it will just kill you, so don't do that), so an alternate exit is provided.

This map has a couple of bugs in ZDoom. First, two secrets may be scored without actually finding them (in vanilla, you will not get credit for these secrets unless you find them properly). Second, there is some voodoo doll trickery that does not work correctly if Buddha mode is used (this bug is partially fixed in commit 2020769).






MAP30: Anticreation
(Follows directly from MAP02 in ZDoom; warp required in vanilla or other ports.)
13 monsters (not including IoS)
Par time: 1:15

Icon of Sin battle with a slight twist. Note that this map must be pistol-started (and not just because you have to warp to it). In deathmatch, the boss is inactive, and an alternate exit is provided.

There is a minor HOM (drawsegs overflow) in this map if both staircases are triggered (doing so is generally a waste of time in single player anyway).

looks pretty interesting.....

Just some very quick feedback from a brief playthrough:

MAP01: You've certainly got your detailing covered, but the map as a whole is pretty much rooms connected by corridors. It's basically a somewhat monotonous layout with not much height variation and considering this is your opening map you want to leave the as good an impression as possible: it's said that you should make your first map last so you can put the knowledge you've accumulated making the other maps to best effect. Gameplay seems to be the general "SEE MONSTERS - SHOOT - CONTINUE" model as well, which ties in with the layout problem.

MAP02: This one I feel is a decent bit better than the previous one, even though it suffers a little from the same layout problem. I kind of ran through this one like a headless chicken, so I can't give you much gameplay feedback: my bad. :D

MAP30: You made this map that shape on purpose, right? Cause it'd be creepy if you didn't. 0_o That aside, I liked the style of this bossfight. I'm guessing you're supposed to goad the Cyberdemon into shooting at the Icon? I couldn't manage it if that's the case. Still pretty cool though.

Obsidian said:

MAP01: You've certainly got your detailing covered, but the map as a whole is pretty much rooms connected by corridors. It's basically a somewhat monotonous layout with not much height variation and considering this is your opening map you want to leave the as good an impression as possible: it's said that you should make your first map last so you can put the knowledge you've accumulated making the other maps to best effect.

Noted, though on the other hand I'm not a fan of the "first map = amazing; subsequent maps = mediocre" theme that seems to be more common than it should be. I feel the opening map should be somewhat basic with nothing too surprising or challenging, though the ideal is probably somewhere in between. I'll probably come back to this map later and revise it if I feel it's too boring.

Obsidian said:

Gameplay seems to be the general "SEE MONSTERS - SHOOT - CONTINUE" model as well, which ties in with the layout problem.

In that case, you're going to hate what I have planned for MAP07, though I guess it gets a free pass because... MAP07.

Obsidian said:

MAP02: This one I feel is a decent bit better than the previous one, even though it suffers a little from the same layout problem. I kind of ran through this one like a headless chicken, so I can't give you much gameplay feedback: my bad. :D

Thank you, that's exactly the gameplay I was aiming for. ;)

Obsidian said:

MAP30: You made this map that shape on purpose, right? Cause it'd be creepy if you didn't. 0_o

It's symbolic. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. It's also not a homage to ROTT, either.

Obsidian said:

That aside, I liked the style of this bossfight. I'm guessing you're supposed to goad the Cyberdemon into shooting at the Icon? I couldn't manage it if that's the case. Still pretty cool though.

Yes. It's not meant to be easy, though difficulty settings are implemented (in particular, the invulnerability sphere on easy is especially useful). It is possible on UV, but you're in trouble if the boss spawns an arachnotron or pain elemental. It also doesn't help if the cyberdemon gets distracted by other monsters. Try to stand as close to the centre of the platform as possible when not dodging projectiles.

Considering how knowledgable you've proven to be about all of Doom's little quirks and bugs and line actions and stuff, I was quite looking forward to this. I was expecting all kinds of neat little light changing, floor movement, and other precise and unique effects, and you didn't dissappoint! Although the appearance of the maps is classic 90's megawad, the interconnectivity of the maps with the aid of all the special effects had me running around like a kid in a candy store going "whoa! wow! how'd he do that!? etc." the whole time. I can never get enough stairbuilding tricks. :)

I'm hoping someday I can master these skills enough to make highly detailed modern maps that utilize similar and highly under used effects.

In MAP02 where'd the two soulsphere's go? Cool trick! Was I supposed to find a secret for them to stay? Also was I supposed to ignore the two Hell Baron(s) at the end? The damaging floors should make it problematic for UV-MAX demos, but with the aid of the soulsphere before the teleport I suppose it's doable. I didn't try though.

Very nice, looking forward to the rest of the maps!

Here's some FDA of MAP01 and MAP02 if you wanna watch.

40oz said:

Considering how knowledgable you've proven to be about all of Doom's little quirks and bugs and line actions and stuff, I was quite looking forward to this. I was expecting all kinds of neat little light changing, floor movement, and other precise and unique effects, and you didn't dissappoint! Although the appearance of the maps is classic 90's megawad, the interconnectivity of the maps with the aid of all the special effects had me running around like a kid in a candy store going "whoa! wow! how'd he do that!? etc." the whole time. I can never get enough stairbuilding tricks. :)

I'm hoping someday I can master these skills enough to make highly detailed modern maps that utilize similar and highly under used effects.

Thank you! I don't really care much for ultra-detailed maps; they just don't feel like real Doom.

40oz said:

In MAP02 where'd the two soulsphere's go? Cool trick! Was I supposed to find a secret for them to stay?

Yes. They disappear into a good old-fashioned illusio-pit. Since items are larger than the player, the pit is necessarily large enough for the player to fall into, hence the obstructive pillars.

More sector trickery: since the soulsphere sectors can't be entered, the secret is actually in the surrounding sector. But it's literally impossible to miss (there's no other route to the blue key), so to avoid giving credit where it's not due, the secret sector has the same tag, causing the secret to disappear along with the soulspheres. (This doesn't work in ZDoom; apparently, disappearing secrets are a bug in vanilla that doesn't even merit a compatibility option.)

As for how to get the soulspheres (and the secret) before they're gone? Well, if I told you that, it wouldn't be a secret, now, would it?

40oz said:

Also was I supposed to ignore the two Hell Baron(s) at the end? The damaging floors should make it problematic for UV-MAX demos, but with the aid of the soulsphere before the teleport I suppose it's doable. I didn't try though.

Actually, the soulsphere simply ensures the player has enough health to survive the damaging floor run. You'll need more than that to kill the barons with time to spare, though UV max isn't a problem: getting 100% secrets naturally makes getting 100% kills much easier.

40oz said:

Here's some FDA of MAP01 and MAP02 if you wanna watch.

Nicely done. Though, the monster closet and teleporting monsters in the blood fountain room on MAP02 are intended to be two separate traps; not firing a single shot in any of the previous areas before entering it the first time isn't a strategy I had really considered. Though it didn't seem to cause you any problems. :)

Well, it's been 10 months, and I've got another two maps. At this rate, this megawad should be done in about... a decade. I didn't think this through very well. Though I did have a load of real life problems interfering that I've now got mostly dealt with, so I should be able to speed things up in future. Maybe.

As of this update, this WAD is absolutely not Boom-compatible. For PrBoom, complevel 6 or less is required. For (G)ZDoom, the ZMAPINFO lump sets the required compatibility options. All maps follow directly from each other in (G)ZDoom; for everyone else, start on MAP06, MAP12, and MAP30.

Download link:
freewebs.com/foxpup/rldrswip.wad

Previous version (for those keeping track):
freewebs.com/foxpup/rldrsw01.wad

MAP06: Reldresal Spaceport
126 monsters
Par time: 1:30

Unchanged from first release except for minor texture changes. And being moved to MAP06 so that MAP07 can follow directly.

MAP07: The Wall (NEW)
102 monsters
Par time: 3:00

Standard linear boss map, featuring my most astounding vanilla trick yet. 40oz is gonna flip when he sees it. As is often the case with MAP07, the exit is inaccessable in nomonsters mode, except in deathmatch, where a player who spawns in the exit room can open the door from the inside.

A few bugs: Most critically, Boom's floor movement bug fix makes the exit unreachable in single player or co-op in Boom-based ports without compatibility options. Less critically, ZDoom's incorrect secret scoring strikes again. One of the secrets is not counted in ZDoom, making 100% secrets impossible. There are also some rendering issues on the first door in GZDoom.






MAP08: Reldresal Anomaly
135 monsters
Par time: 3:15

Mostly unchanged. The southwest bars now open automatically when approached from the wrong side (only applicable for DM), also some texture alignment fixes. Moved to MAP08 to follow from directly from MAP07.

MAP12: Acheron Harbor (NEW)
53 monsters
Par time: 3:00 ?

Hell map for the pistoleros. Ammo is tight if trying for 100% kills.





MAP30: Anticreation
13 monsters (not including IoS)
Par time: 1:15

Unchanged from first release except for minor texture changes.

This is looking excellent... I love the visuals in particular. Gonna give this a proper play and leave better feedback, but judging from the screens alone - Keep it up!

Looks really pretty in the pics. :)

In the name of avoiding work I decided to record some demos of these maps:
http://www.mediafire.com/download/0atr59wul711eve/rldrs-mouldy.zip

Old school style stuff, fairly low difficulty and straightforward gameplay but kept me entertained. Map12 was interesting, I thought I might have missed a weapon or berserk somewhere, but was able to dodge around everything in the end. i couldn't figure out map30

mouldy said:

i couldn't figure out map30

You almost had it at the end (and if that was your first attempt, I'm impressed). You just have to be more precise and less... dead. There is meant to be a difficulty slope to the WAD, which is why it isn't the "low difficulty and straightforward gameplay" of the previous maps. ;)

Foxpup said:

You almost had it at the end (and if that was your first attempt, I'm impressed). You just have to be more precise and less... dead. There is meant to be a difficulty slope to the WAD, which is why it isn't the "low difficulty and straightforward gameplay" of the previous maps. ;)

Aha, i had an idea it might be that, but its the kind of thing where if it doesn't work after a few attempts I start wondering if it might be something else. I'd consider making the "aim" a bit more forgiving maybe, I'm guessing you tested it loads though.

mouldy said:

I'd consider making the "aim" a bit more forgiving maybe, I'm guessing you tested it loads though.

Well, I did try to take that into consideration and make it a lot more forgiving than it needs to be, but I guess it goes to show that puzzles are always way harder than the designer expects, even when the designer expects this.