My first completed map - for Ult.Doom - Updated with new areas

After a few months of playing doom mods and map packs (and almost a lifetime of playing doom on and off, having first played it when it was fairly new and I was 6 or 7) I finally completed something of my own.

It's a small map, seemed like a reasonable thing so I wouldnt get too bogged down in all the bugs my ignorance of doombuilder caused... It still bogged me down since I ragequit once, made a new map (this one) then ragequit again and went two months until I today decided to read up on all the issues I had and learned some pretty essential info that I should have learned before I even started the actual mapping.

Any Comments or critique apreciated, I'd like to improve for my next thing. (no need to mention it's sorta cramped, I know... still not as cramped as my first failed map hehe.)

Edit: v1.3, tested in PrBoom-Plus aswell as GzDoom.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/6vxnet03t7c2tmm/OMGiN00bZ1.3.wad?dl=0

Doesn't work correctly in prboom-plus -complevel 3 (Ultimate Doom), it isn't possible to lower sectors 25 and 59 (red key area is inaccessible). 5 sergeants were stuck in ceiling (things 19-22 and 73).

Blargh, shoulda said I've only tested it in GzDoom in which I found no bugs and everything was accessible.
I'll have to download some more ports and try it out to see what I can do to fix these things tomorrow.
I am ofcourse not very familiar with what breaks the original doom engine when doombuilder doesnt warn me of it.

Edit: tried it in prboom-plus and indeed, alot of the moving walls seem stuck. Gonna have a look at it.

I played through it and checked it in GZDoom Builder. The map is forgettable, though.

Link in first post updated to v1.1

Ok played through it in Prboom-plus and did some changes, all except one error was caused by things glitching into eachother. And one thing I changed to repeatable instead of one-time use and that fixed that.

A new glitch did appear however, when standing on the "balcony" a small strip of the ceiling becomes a different texture when seen from the right angle. Anyone able to tell what causes this and how to fix such things?

38_ViTa_38 said:

The map is forgettable, though.

Well yeah, it's no epic by a 20 year veteran of the scene. =P

Well,I tested your level with gzdoom and what can I say is - don`t make exit so obvious,send that exit somewhere else. Maybe add more exploration,details and you'll get more better level. But I can`t judge you so hard,because I`m newbie in doom mapping too.Good luck :')

Cute first map. One can see how you're experimenting with detailing and stuff. I think for your next one you should try exploring more triggers, like have some crushers, lights that can be turned on and off, etc. It's good stuff.

Seems like I missed quite a lot since I exited with only 65% kills and 40% secrets. Gonna try again now.

Its a nice, legit map, although a bit too easy (I tend to die on PWAD maps :P).

First playthrough- http://s000.tinyupload.com/index.php?file_id=66136160727604842006

Seond playthrough, with the red keycard section/cheat- http://s000.tinyupload.com/index.php?file_id=31936284839703434458

You should make that secret not a secret. Makes it more fun and satisfying

One shows a misalignment. The other shows a strange ceiling flat (I forgot the name of the error)
http://imgur.com/q6GyRk5
http://imgur.com/1zZ7AX5
Don't ask about the aspect ratio.

Voros said:

First playthrough- http://s000.tinyupload.com/index.php?file_id=66136160727604842006

Seond playthrough, with the red keycard section/cheat- http://s000.tinyupload.com/index.php?file_id=31936284839703434458

I made a serious effort to try to learn how to watch the files but I failed.

You should make that secret not a secret. Makes it more fun and satisfying

Ah yes, maybe making half the level be behind a secret isn't as clever as I hoped ;)

One shows a misalignment. The other shows a strange ceiling flat (I forgot the name of the error)
http://imgur.com/q6GyRk5
http://imgur.com/1zZ7AX5

Whoops, that computer texture, I wonder how I missed that one.
That ceiling texture is what I mentioned in my last post. It doesnt show up in gzdoom but it does in prboom-plus. I wonder what is causing it.

BoJustBo said:

I made a serious effort to try to learn how to watch the files but I failed.

Take omgd.lmp and omgs.lmp in the folder containing PrBoom+. Put it alongside the exe file.

Now run this command, replacing the words in brackets with appropriate ones: (prboom-plus/whatever the name is) iwad doom.wad -file OMGiN00bZ1.1.wad -playdemo (omgd OR omgs, only one)

BoJustBo said:

I made a serious effort to try to learn how to watch the files but I failed.

1. Associate .lmp suffix with PrBoom-plus.
2. Put both the demo and the wad it was recorded on into the same folder (not necessarily PrBoom-plus's folder).
3. Double click the demo, and watch.

scifista42 said:

1. Associate .lmp suffix with PrBoom-plus.
2. Put both the demo and the wad it was recorded on into the same folder (not necessarily PrBoom-plus's folder).
3. Double click the demo, and watch.

Tried it, it just keeps asking for dll files until I get em all and then I says something else is missing. "Mix_LoadMUS_RW" in glboom-plus.exe

Voros said:

Take omgd.lmp and omgs.lmp in the folder containing PrBoom+. Put it alongside the exe file.

Now run this command, replacing the words in brackets with appropriate ones: (prboom-plus/whatever the name is) iwad doom.wad -file OMGiN00bZ1.1.wad -playdemo (omgd OR omgs, only one)

I assume this is in the command promt? I have not used one of those for probably 20 years, but whats worse is that I cant even find it. I'm using windows 8.1

The ceiling weirdness is caused by unclosed sectors. You have some two-sided walls that should actually be one-sided since there is nothing on the other side. Most map editors have error checking tools that should tell you about that.

For example, this one needs to be deleted: http://i.imgur.com/AI57A1J.png

It might be confusing at first, tell us if you're having problems dealing with these sectors.

BoJustBo said:

Tried it, it just keeps asking for dll files until I get em all and then I says something else is missing. "Mix_LoadMUS_RW" in glboom-plus.exe

Try again after you reinstall PrBoom-plus, that is, delete your current version, download the latest version from its official website, and put it into a different folder than Program Files (because Windows treats Program Files with special read/write restrictions that are known to cause problems to some Doom ports in various ways). If it doesn't help, check if the problem at least occurs the same way in both prboom-plus and glboom-plus executables.

Memfis said:

The ceiling weirdness is caused by unclosed sectors. You have some two-sided walls that should actually be one-sided since there is nothing on the other side. Most map editors have error checking tools that should tell you about that.

For example, this one needs to be deleted: http://i.imgur.com/AI57A1J.png

It might be confusing at first, tell us if you're having problems dealing with these sectors.

Ah yes, some leftovers from when I was ripping my hair out trying to understand things back in july. I'll see if I can fix it tomorrow.

scifista42 said:

Try again after you reinstall PrBoom-plus, that is, delete your current version, download the latest version from its official website, and put it into a different folder than Program Files (because Windows treats Program Files with special read/write restrictions that are known to cause problems to some Doom ports in various ways). If it doesn't help, check if the problem at least occurs the same way in both prboom-plus and glboom-plus executables.

Ok awesome, I got it to work in glboom-plus after downloading the previous version of the port. Thanks for the help.

BoJustBo said:

I assume this is in the command promt? I have not used one of those for probably 20 years, but whats worse is that I cant even find it. I'm using windows 8.1

You can copy paste that command into a BAT file (aka TXT renamed to BAT)

But i see you got it to work.

Voros said:

You can copy paste that command into a BAT file (aka TXT renamed to BAT)

But i see you got it to work.

Yeah, thanks for the demos.
After trying it yourself so much you become completely biased and dont know how a first time player would play the map, very interesting to see.

Ok updated the file to v1.2

Changelog:
-Removed all linedefs and such that were outside the playable areas, even the ones that didnt cause any problems.
-Fixed three texture allignments
-Did a very minor change to have a moving platform not go a few pixels further down than I wanted it to.

I still get that sliver of weird ceiling texture in PrBoom+. Do I have to redo the sector? Is it permanently corrupted until I delete it and make a new one? Anyways I think I'll leave it be and move on to something new.

You should post a picture of the map in DB2/GZDB.

BoJustBo said:

I still get that sliver of weird ceiling texture in PrBoom+. Do I have to redo the sector?

The linedef is tagged as double sided (you actually have a few of those sprinkled around the map)--going into sector mode, selecting the invisible sector behind it and hitting delete will cure that issue. It takes a while to get used to the peculiar intricacies of Doom, so don't stress yourself out if it feels frustrating at first.

I like it a lot, specially for a first map.

The one thing I didn't like was that the exit isn't marked. If you're not using the classic exit door, add some "exit" signs.

Now for the good things:
- First thing I see is some height differences in combat. That's something even I, who got like 10 maps under my belt, have some trouble doing.
- I really like the detailing you did, just try not to overdo the nukage pools unless that's your map theme. It's fine how you did it, just don't go overboard on your next when you don't know what to use to detail! :P
- Secret within a secret... I hadn't seen one of those in a while, honestly. Another thing that's excellent in small sprinkles.

Voros said:

You should post a picture of the map in DB2/GZDB.

Ninja

dobu gabu maru said:

The linedef is tagged as double sided (you actually have a few of those sprinkled around the map)--going into sector mode, selecting the invisible sector behind it and hitting delete will cure that issue. It takes a while to get used to the peculiar intricacies of Doom, so don't stress yourself out if it feels frustrating at first.

Yeah that is something i'd never have checked about. Oh well, better to learn these things early on so I don't repeat em too often.

Albertoni said:

The one thing I didn't like was that the exit isn't marked. If you're not using the classic exit door, add some "exit" signs.

Ah, you are very right, i might want to make that teleport go to an area containing the exit instead so there might be another update on the way, we'll see.

- First thing I see is some height differences in combat. That's something even I, who got like 10 maps under my belt, have some trouble doing.

My first try on this map which made me ragequit was actually even more vertical with the area behind the starting position actually going over it with a running jump.

But since one of the things I wanted to improve with this second try was making the rooms less cramped I had to skip that running jump area for something simpler.

Ok so here's the final update, all bugs gone as far as I can see.

Reworked the balancing in a few spots, so now you might have to punch a few pinkies to save ammo if you play on UV and don't find the secrets. Previous versions had way too much ammo.

Also redid the ending, the teleport (which is now in a slightly redesigned area to improve the gameplay when moving around) now takes you to a new area which leads to the exit and also has a loop back to a previous area if you feel you havnt finished yet and need to go treasure huntin'.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/6vxnet03t7c2tmm/OMGiN00bZ1.3.wad?dl=0

http://forumbilder.se/FBCH1/map01.png?width=400

Edit: Oh yeah, and I made the main secret more obvious. More meaning it isn't quite 100% just normal wall like it was before, that was a lazy way to hide what was then almost 50% of the level =P

Surprisingly there were curved hallways :D normaly you just see square rooms in First Wads :) a little bit short but pretty good for the first try :D