Operation: Arctic Wolf Revisited

For 3DGE 2.0.4 Final or later.

An extensive update and improvement to Laz Rojas' legendary (and inspirational) WolfenDOOM mod. Featues all new weapons and a whole slew of new baddies along with new mechanics, more interactivity, lots of added effects, more immersion, scripting, updated textures, etc.

Screenshots:

Download the 6-level demo: http://www.mediafire.com/file/pr7hc1hayq8188k/arct_revis_demo.zip
You do not need the original to play this. You will, however, need 3DGE 2.0.4 Final or later and a DOOM or DOOM II IWAD.

Enjoy.

Concerning the levels:

Credits: (probably incomplete list)

I loved Arctic Wolf -- one of my favorite old school mods! I will definitely give it a run! Also, for the credits, Gray Matter made RtCW, not Raven (they made Wolf2009) :-D

I wanted to do something similar, except for ZDoom. Arctic Wolf deserved a serious gameplay reworkage.

2 hours ago, Da Werecat said:

I wanted to do something similar, except for ZDoom. Arctic Wolf deserved a serious gameplay reworkage.

I did something like a zdoom version with Project Einherjar, if that's the sorta thing you're looking for. Not quite as extensive as this, though: I'm not good enough with decorate. I tweaked a couple maps here and there and replaced all the enemies with randomized PE bad guys, plus a few new bosses.

This looks pretty badass man. I was always hoping someone would remake the mods, though, rather than just enhance them: better weapons and enemy variety is definitely needed, but so is better map design where the maps don't revolve around "go to the far end of this mile-and-a-half long base, get the key, then go allllll the way back to unlock the door, then go alllllll the way back to reach the exit" with anal-retentive enemy placement in every single nook and cranny. Arctic Wolf is without a doubt the best of the Las Rojas mods, but it still suffers from most of the same problems as the others. If someone remade it a la Blade of Agony, man, that would really be something. But this is a great start and I'm anxious to check it out.

Any chance of getting some gameplay videos as a showcase?

I don't mind the running back and forth style of map design, personally. But I do agree, some of the maps haven't aged too well. But I won't be doing any of that, I feel like I've "raped" the guys levels enough already.

My previous attempts at recording videos turned out awful, though that was a few years and a few computers ago. Any suggestions to any good (and free) recording software?

6 hours ago, Coraline said:

Gray Matter made RtCW, not Raven (they made Wolf2009) :-D

Oops, my bad.

Some screenshots of the Dam, part I...

Yes, I am aware that the wall doesn't tile... like... at all. Also, for those who remeber and know how to beat this level will get a little surprise.

On 5/5/2017 at 8:28 PM, CeeJay said:

My previous attempts at recording videos turned out awful, though that was a few years and a few computers ago. Any suggestions to any good (and free) recording software?

Sadly I don't know any free recording software. Bandicam has served me pretty damn well though, and I only had to pay a one-time fee of about $45 to use it forever.

Also I don't think the problem was that Wolfendoom didn't age well: lots of 90s wads seem sketchy by today's standards, but they still play pretty well -- the main trouble with most of them is the lack of detail and texture alignment. The Wolfendoom series suffered from a lot of design choices that are bad no matter the era, from the earliest mod right up to the most recent.

Even back when they first came out I couldn't suffer through them. I gave them the finger and blasted through Batman Doom instead. I never even played through Arctic Wolf until I made my modification; if yours had come out years ago I woulda been ecstatic!

22 minutes ago, Impie said:

(he did this rarely in OAW but it shouldn't have been done at all: they should've always been visible or else marked with a floor texture)

They are marked with a floor texture, actually. It's subtle, but it's there.

8 hours ago, Da Werecat said:

They are marked with a floor texture, actually. It's subtle, but it's there.

I'm mostly talking about Jailbreak Part 1, on the generator catwalks, where as far as I can tell they're totally invisible, and it makes no sense that there would be mines on a vital piece of machinery. Can't think of anywhere else where this happens.

Impie, calm down.

Some of your gripes with the original will be fixed with this mod. Better weapon and enemy varierty, better balance and what not. But there will be no extensive reworking of the levels for obivious reasons, I'm not going to re-work someone else's levels past the point of recognition. I do understand and agree with many of the points you're putting out, I just happen to not find as big of an issue with them myself. Maybe it's because of nostalgic reasons, or because I'm a little old school. I enjoyed the original, with weird quirks and all and have very fond memories of it. Yes, it didn't always make "realistic" sense, but that wasn't the point either. If you honestly dislike the original as much as you're letting on, than maybe this isn't the mod for you.

Needs serious playtesting...

Anyone interested ?

EDIT:

Well, it didn't take anywhere near as long as I would have thought but I'd say I have enough playtesters for now  :D

On 5/9/2017 at 2:00 PM, CeeJay said:

Impie, calm down.

 

Some of your gripes with the original will be fixed with this mod. Better weapon and enemy varierty, better balance and what not. But there will be no extensive reworking of the levels for obivious reasons, I'm not going to re-work someone else's levels past the point of recognition. I do understand and agree with many of the points you're putting out, I just happen to not find as big of an issue with them myself. Maybe it's because of nostalgic reasons, or because I'm a little old school. I enjoyed the original, with weird quirks and all and have very fond memories of it. Yes, it didn't always make "realistic" sense, but that wasn't the point either. If you honestly dislike the original as much as you're letting on, than maybe this isn't the mod for you.

I'm perfectly calm, dude. I copypasted my gripes from another part of the 'net to illustrate my issues with the originals. Just because you disagree doesn't mean I'm a raving, froth-mouthed lunatic, nor did I insist or even suggest that you specifically rework the levels.

Nobody said you were that. And I certainly never meant to step on anyone's toes, I was being slight humorus with the reply (and a little drunk).

24 minutes ago, CeeJay said:

Nobody said you were that. And I certainly never meant to step on anyone's toes, I was being slight humorus with the reply (and a little drunk).

Hell, I couldn't tell at all from the way you wrote it.

But I am down to test the mod for you since I was already just bingeing on AW recently.

Well, I guess I could use another playtester if you're able and willing. The mod turned out to be quite an undertaking, the original was 20 levels with two seperate IWADs of assets and code. There's still things I've no idea what they are supposed to do or where they are used.

Let me know and I'll pm you the stuff.

Go ahead and PM it to me, and I'll let you know when I get around to it. I got a lot of writing projects on my plate but it'll be nice to take an occasional break to Doom it up with a new mod.

Nothing wrong with a little toilet humour

You'll be able to drink from smashed toilets, ala Duke Nukem 3D. 'cos interactivity is fun.

I've also changed two of the easter eggs to something a little more fitting, as the originals were a little odd to say the least. A smurf in the toilet onboard a submarine? I know it is both a reference to the Smurfs and an old video game but I don't get the connection. What does smurfs have to do with submarines, or water for that matter. It's just too random, which kind of makes the whole joke fall flat. The poster of the Yellow Submarine from the movie of the same name was a clever one, though. Probably should change the Bill Clinton one come to think about it, since it's a little dated by this point.

On 5/8/2017 at 1:00 PM, Impie said:

Sadly I don't know any free recording software. Bandicam has served me pretty damn well though, and I only had to pay a one-time fee of about $45 to use it forever.

 

Also I don't think the problem was that Wolfendoom didn't age well: lots of 90s wads seem sketchy by today's standards, but they still play pretty well -- the main trouble with most of them is the lack of detail and texture alignment. The Wolfendoom series suffered from a lot of design choices that are bad no matter the era, from the earliest mod right up to the most recent.

 

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1) Tried to force wolf3d onto doom instead of adapting wolf3d FOR doom. He rarely if ever took advantage of the doom engine, as most of the mods are just endless networks of bland, repetitive corridors with the occasional non-wolf3d architecture. Makes you wonder why he didn't just use the wolf3d engine for most of them. Arctic Wolf and Rheingold are the closest he came to taking the wolf3d setting and characters and really adapting them to the doom engine. There's still too much blando wolf3d corridor architecture, but he shows a lot more creativity and establishes a sense of place more often.


2) Poor handling of enemies in general. Even the most basic footsoldier takes too god damn many hits to kill (3-5 "shotgun" blasts). And they're placed absolutely EVERYWHERE, and in the most obsessive-compulsive ways possible. Every single corner has an enemy hiding around it. Every single doorway has an enemy hiding inside it. If the room is symmetrical, you can be sure the enemy placement is, too. Combine this with almost zero weapon variety and it's a cocktail of tedium I'm amazed anyone can get through.
 

3) Cheap, tedious bullshit, like the Arctic Wolf rocket hallways, invisible mines with nothing to mark their location (he did this rarely in OAW but it shouldn't have been done at all: they should've always been visible or else marked with a floor texture), and required keys hidden in obscure secret areas. Also every key/switch being as far out of your way as possible. Also not knowing how to advance because you made your way all the way to the next locked door, found no key, and didn't realize you hit a tripwire that opened a secret door with a switch or key all the way back at the other end of the map, instead of just putting said switch or key where said tripwire was.
 

 

 

Even back when they first came out I couldn't suffer through them. I gave them the finger and blasted through Batman Doom instead. I never even played through Arctic Wolf until I made my modification; if yours had come out years ago I woulda been ecstatic!

Most of his mods are straight conversions of his Mac Wolfenstein maps, and any attempt to adapt Wolf3D gameplay for Dehacked will automatically suck because of the limited functionality available.

And I wouldn't say he didn't take advantage of the doom engine. He often implemented variable heights, lifts, stairs, ambient sounds, lighting, etc. He was in fact among the first to use ambient sounds in that way. But he was without a doubt learning as he went along as there is a clear increase in complexity as well as quality for each mod he put out. I find most of his earlier works to be either "meh" (such as Second Encounter) or just flat out boring (such as Treasure Hunt).